The Other Kind of Labor

Since Stephanie is playing along {meme provided by Rocks in My Dryer}, I thought I would play too

How long were your labors?

Kid #1: 14 hours
Kid #2: 14 hours
Kid #3: 14 hours

Aren't they supposed to get shorter the more kids you have? At least I'm consistent

How did you know you were in labor?

Kid #1: woke up at 2:30 am with back pain & contractions, unlike the Braxton-Hicks I had been having.
Kid #2, water breaking.
Kid #3, mild-contractions when I woke up for the day that were semi-regular. My doctor's appointment that same day confirmed that I was in labor, and, um, 6-8 cm dilated.

Where did you deliver?

With all of them, at a hospital. Homebirths are not for me.

Drugs?

#1: IV drugs. Requested epidural. Anesthesiologist was "busy". By the time he was "unbusy", I was already too far along.

#2: Epidural. Successful this time.

#3: No drugs until 9.5 cm. Requested epidural. Waited for 20 minutes. Still no anesthesiologist. Feel need to push. First push & baby was nearly out. As baby was crowning, anesthesiologist was knocking on door.

Note to self: If future pregnancies should occur, request epidural before arriving at hospital.

C-section?

Nope. Thankful for that too. Really would rather not have one unless medical emergency necessitates it.

Who delivered?

Doctors, thankfully. If I wouldn't have had a doctor's appointment the same day with #3, I think hubster might've had to wear his catcher's mitt.

Hope you enjoy yourself a great day with family!

Whoooo.....Whooo.......

I am a night-owl. There is just something about the peacefulness of a quiet house that is very relaxing to me. Hubby goes to bed earlier & wakes up earlier, leaving me with some...well...me-time! I pretty much always do a craft: knitting, cross-stitching, scrapbooking or sewing. Sometimes I make to-do lists for the next day, research new recipes, or menu plan. I pretty much always try to do something productive balanced with something relaxed. Friday night, I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed {got a bunch of sound sleepers here!}, and gave myself a manicure. Last night I went through several bins of clothes in preparation for an upcoming garage sale. Tonight, I will go through another bin, work on my to-do list for tomorrow, with a little cross-stitching in between. {Since we canceled our DishNetwork, I've been watching TidalTV from time to time as well.} I like getting things done at night. Almost makes me feel like I've got a little jump-start on the next day. Besides that, tasks go a bit a whole lot faster without three children and a husband needing to be cared for!

Any other night-owls out there? Whadda ya like to do at night?

The "A" Word

It makes me want to run for cover. It makes some people just cringe at the thought of it. I'm sure many are scared or unwilling to ask for it, while many others embrace the thought of it. In a walk of faith though, it is necessary & good. This awful awesome word?

Accountability.

I wish I had many good things to say about this concept. I long to share how accountability has been a blessing in my life and in the lives of others. Maybe the blessings are slow coming & maybe there have been some that I am just unaware of. It seems there is ONE sure-fire way for YOU to stray from your desired course of action: Ask ME to keep you accountable for it. Somehow I am a magnet for those who want accountability, but then stray & reject my counsel.

"Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."

~ Proverbs 9:8-9

I have grown skeptical in recent days that there are even relationships that exist where the people can hold each other to higher standards. I don't just mean encouragement or motivation or inspiration. I am a big believer in "iron sharpening iron" or as I like to say "spurring each other on to greater things", but accountability is *so* much more than that. Isn't it? There have been lots of cases recently when I really wished I could have spoken truth {drenched in love} into my friends' lives saying something like, "God really doesn't want you to be doing that....."

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." ~ Galatians 6: 1-2

It just doesn't seem like many people embrace accountability these days, especially when they didn't ask for it in the first place. Maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems to me that when we, as Christians, become part of the Kingdom Family, accountability is just part of the package, whether we like it or not. I'm sure there have been plenty of times when I didn't respond as well as I should have to some rebuke or other wise counsel, but that would only be because of my own foolishness.

My notes-to-self & questions to ask the next time someone asks me to keep them accountable:

How serious are you about this matter? How badly do you want to "not stray"? You would think that just the act of asking for accountability would indicate their seriousness, but I don't believe this is always the case.

How does accountability look in a practical way? Do you want me to ask you about this once a week? Once a month? Nearly every day?

Who should I ask to get involved if you start backsliding into your old ways? I think this is pretty important, then if that person doesn't follow through, they won't be surprised when you show up with the pastor/husband/parent to sit down and have a talk.

What Bible verses {if applicable} are going to help you in your desired actions? "I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

The worst note of all?

Be prepared for a broken or lost relationship. This is an unfortunate & distinct possibility. I am grieving over this reality as we speak. If the other person begins making wrong choices & rejects our counsel, they may distance themselves from us because *we* remind people of what they had held in their hearts at one time & the commitment that they had made to us, themselves, and God.

I am totally un-perfect & I don't want to seem like I have this issue all figured out. These are just some things that I've learned {the hard way} throughout my adult life. I believe that accountability can be a beautiful thing. I have to believe that. Now that I think about it, I have been honored, simply by the fact that people have felt safe enough to choose me to come alongside them in their walk.

Maybe you are scared of accountability. Maybe you have seen the blessings of it. Maybe you have seen relationships broken because of it. Maybe you don't think you really need it.
In any case, I'd love for you to share your thoughts.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
~ Hebrews 10: 24

Win Some, Lose Some

I *love* it when a plan comes together. That said, we all know what sometimes happens to even the best laid plans. Let's start with the one that went awry.

I was trying to make a pattern for a Kitchenaid cover for a friendly blog reader. I measured. I re-measured. I planned. I felt confident. {First sign that a plan will inevitably go haywire.} I would have felt terrible if she would've just followed my diagrams, cut her precious fabric & then have the pattern not work out. To avoid such an inevitable awful situation, I figured I better just cut some of my own scrap fabric following the pattern right quick. Um, yeah. Here is the evidence that I tried:

:: maybe it can be saved? ::

It isn't too easy to make something fit nicely on an object that isn't very, um, nicely shaped. The front is wider than the back, leaving way too much excess fabric than I had planned. I did manage to repin the whole thing to see if I can get it to fit better. Dear Andrea, you might be better of just buying a pattern from JoAnn's when they go on sale for 99-cents. I'm sure you could tweak it to look like the one you saw at Target :>)

Now for the plan that *worked*.

:: pink damask on the outside ::

:: rainbow of colors inside ::

I had seen crayon rolls {most recently at Steph's blog} and pencil rolls, but really loved the rolls that had the fabric in each slot matching the crayon/pencil color. I think it just adds a really cool dimension to the whole project, not to mention can work as a great teaching tool for the little ones as they need to match the colors. I had this project already in the works & decided to pull it altogether just in time for my 6-year old niece's birthday gift. You could probably do velcro on a strap to hold the whole thing closed, instead of tying a ribbon. I think the ribbon makes it look prettier, not to mention being good practice for bow-tying, yes? I envision several of these as Christmas gifts, when paired with a personalized sketchpad or coloring book. The best part? Using up the scraps that I've been saving makes this a pretty & *pretty frugal* project.

A Frugal Find

In an attempt to change a certain behavior, I am giving myself some rewards along the way {kind of like a sticker chart for grown-ups}. My first reward? A hair cut {needed} and an eyebrow wax {the reward part}. Total cost: $11 {$10 for the cut + free wax with a coupon + $1 tip} . I discovered this great deal at a local beauty school. And I realized two things 1) part of your money at a salon pays for THE experience and 2) if you are willing to forego the experience, you can get yourself some great deals on beauty treatments. If you are interested, I went here. If you have never received beauty school treatments {this was my first time}, enjoy my candid information & tips based on my experience:

Make an appointment. This school accepts walk-ins, but only if they have enough students to accommodate. Otherwise, you'll be waiting.

Plan LOTS of time. It took nearly 2 hours for the cut & wax.

You are basically their practice. If you are overly fussy about your style, don't have a lot of patience, or have lots of disposable income, then this frugal find probably isn't for you. These students have been in classes for several months before they ever arrive at the cutting chair. The students have your cut approved by an instructor before they make the first snip. An instructor also double-checks the cut after the student is finished to see if any areas needed touching up. My cut did not.

This is NOT a spa. Remember: this is more like a college classroom than anything, hence sometimes the chatter & atmosphere reflects that.

Not only for cuts. The school I went to offers lots of services, basically anything you'd find at a full-service salon. So if you're too nervous to have them come at you with scissors, maybe a frugal manicure or pedicure would suit you. Highlights? Up-do for a special occasion? Take your daughter for a mommy/daughter treatment?

Will I go again? Most definitely! {My student was Mallory, in case you decide to go soon.} Ya just can't beat the price for some really great beauty treatments {unless of course you did it yourself......}

Ever received beauty school treatments? Got another frugal beauty find to share?

Talk About It: Kids on Leashes

At a recent outdoor church gathering, I was somewhat surprised to see a woman with a child on a leash. Maybe the appropriate term is "tether"? {If you're not familiar: the child wears sort of a harness, then there is a long strap that attaches to the back that the caregiver can then hold onto or can wear around their wrist.} My first thought was, "Wouldn't it just be easier to train that child not to run off?" Now maybe this wasn't the child's parent, so the caregiver just didn't want to take chances. I could see if maybe you were in a super crowded situation like a bustling airport at rush hour or wall-to-wall people at an outdoor event. But at a church picnic?

What do you think? Child leashes: Appalling or appropriate??

As always......

Rules: Play nicely. We all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

Sometimes I Pickle Him

Photo by SiFu Renka

There are several books & magazines next to my bed for occasional night time reading. One of them is an anthology of food writings by the famous James Beard, an enormous icon in the food world. Wikipedia goes so far as to say that he "is recognized by many as the father of American gastronomy". {I am a foodie, in case you haven't been reading this blog for long.} I picked up the book and read an essay the other night about pickles. Fascinating stuff. I love me a good pickle. Nowadays, the word "pickle" is pretty much synonymous with a pickled cucumber, but a pickle is any food, which has had the pickling process done to it, yes? {Hang in there, I'll be getting to a point later.} Mostly the food is put into a jar with spices & a vinegar solution. Vinegar. Yum. Useful for many things. Making pickles, salad dressings, and natural cleaning are some that come to mind.

Hold that thought.

Hubster & I had been having some very....um....intense fellowship these last couple of weeks {and I don't mean the nocturnal kind}. It's like something in our communication systems went haywire & the whole husband/wife processes were affected. It wasn't pretty. (I think the virus that infiltrated our communication system was called Stress 5.0). So during system debugging one discussion {where we were talking about our marriage}, I came to realize that I tend to use snappy little {sometimes snide} remarks to try and get my points across. Usually it happens when I think something is really important to me & hubs either doesn't "get it" or I feel he isn't taking me seriously.

Hold that thought too.

Ya know that saying "You'll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar." Whelp, sometimes I like to use the vinegar. I pour out those vinegary comments on him, hoping that'll get his attention.

Ok. Now take that saying & put them there two thoughts together.....

Yep.

I pickle him. A husband pickle, folks.

I told him that, which served for a great & much needed laugh. And now that I'm more self-aware, I'll be trying my darndest to be that quiet, gentle spirit I know I can be. A crown to my husband, instead of a constant dripping. I'll be using that honey {and maybe a little butter too} to try and get my points across. Out with the pickles!

Anyone else out there making husband pickles? Let's pour the honey on our hubbies together. I'd love to hear from you. You're so close to the comment button already, ya might as well click it.

Pretty Little Things

Um, yeah. So this is not deja vu or anything, but yet another post on pretty little things. I think I have been experiencing a resurgency in my creative juices because a) my baby is getting older & not so needy-as-a-newborn and b) necessity indicates that we be "creative" with our finances. That second one is important because making/finding/admiring pretty little things gives me a sense of satisfaction & feeling-goodness in the same way that retail therapy does {but of course you have no clue about retail therapy, right}? Plus, learning to see beauty, even in the smallest thing, is just plain enjoyable.

First up....Not quite a pretty little thing, but more of a nifty thing. I finally figured out how to use a feed reader, which is totally revolutionizing my computer time. A glance at one page tells me who's posted something new for me to read. Totally sweet! Along with some of my blogging friends, I am keeping track of Today's Creative Blog and How About Orange {Money Saving Mom, Simple Mom & Sew, Mama, Sew are givens}! If you don't use a feed reader, you should. Seriously.

Here's a pretty little thing I made recently:


Tatiana collected the rock on a birthday adventure at Lake Michigan. The only supplies you need are a BIG rock that has a large semi-flat surface & rub-ons {a scrapbooking product}. I was going to do the words "Pure Joy" or "Faith", but somehow this verse came to me. If you look it up, you'll see why {I know, I know, I have a corny sense of humor}. Best part = FREE!

Did you know that every month I download a free creatively designed desktop from the Shabby Princess blog? You need some sort of photo-editing program to add your pics, but it only takes a couple of minutes for a pretty little desktop that lasts all month. Here's the one I made for this month:


The nice thing about it is that, besides being totally cute & free, there is always a space for the desktop icons on the left-hand side, so it's not like you have to move them around every month.

Have you discovered Wordle yet? You just enter in the addy of your blog & pick your design/colors & then it will make this creative little wordle picture for you. Here is mine:



If you click on it, you can see it much bigger. It takes all the words from whatever URL you enter & makes a fun wordie image. You can play around with the layout, fonts, colors, etc. Looks like I should rename this blog: Just One Detergent Party.

Enjoying any pretty little things lately? If you decide to wordle, please leave me a comment so I can come check it out!

And the Winner is....

You guys have such great ideas! I'm totally diggin' the ice cream sundae bar. Since I'm the Queen of Trying-to-Do-Too-Much Over-the-Top, I would probably have about 10 15 20 different toppings to choose from. I do have to agree that Chuck E. Cheese parties are really super. I've done one there & it's so little work. If I had *unlimited* funds, I'd do lots of my parties at different venues. {Royal Caribbean birthday, anyone?} And even though I know that making my own cake is cheaper, I usually have so many other things to do & food to make, that it's just plain easier to purchase one. I'm trying to simplify, really, I am. Enough about me, let's announce the winner, shall we? I would've taken a picture of the winning name, but hubby took the camera to work today. I do have a newly-7-year-old witness who chose the name.......

.....Alicia!

Congrats my dear friend! I will get you your prize asap. {Probably hand-delivered, if you don't mind!}

**Edited to Add: I think we can see what happens when I have too many balls in the air, yes? If any more comments are received with best frugal party tips on the previous giveaway post, then I will draw a second winner tomorrow morning. Otherwise, we'll just keep things as is. My apologies!!**

Party Notes + Giveaway

I survived our first ever kids-only party, thanks to the help of my uber wonderful hubby & my dear neighbor, the mom of one of our guests. She helped me hold down the fort for about half the time. I think that was about as much girly-energy as this house has ever seen. There was screaming, there was dancing, there was water-fun, there was one really happy birthday girl.

My personal pizza idea didn't go over as well as I expected. The girls *loved* making them, but they didn't get gobbled up like I thought they would. Maybe other girls don't love pizza {or homemade ones?} as much as my kids do. Or maybe the pizzas were just so big that they were scary. I don't know. The cupcakes on the other hand, I think are just beeeaauutiful. They look {at least to me} like they came from some NYC bakery. I think I will be making these often. I think they're pretty enough to bring to a gathering. Maybe with different pastel shades of frosting. The delicate sprinkles are just the right touch, yes?


They tasted as good as they looked, although one girl was just a frosting-eater & one girl told me that her & her other little friend "didn't really like them". {My ego was only slightly bruised.} The low-cost goodie bags came together nicely, thanks to my little creation, the Target dollar spot {pencils}, as well as a great CVS deal I happened to come upon right before the party. {I spent 1 penny on seven gargantuan Hershey's bars, a package of eight mini-Reese's and a 3-pack of Trident gum. Willy Wonka would be proud.} Total cost per goodie bag: about 50 cents, including the bag!

:: all dressed up & waiting to go ::

And in honor of all this party fun & frugal creativity, and since I'm sure you are tired of reading about the hair clips I thought I'd share some of the goodness here. I am giving away this pretty little thing:


Simply leave a comment with your favorite low cost party tip by midnight on Wednesday, August 6th & a random winner will be drawn and announced on Thursday.

Good luck, ya'll.

P.S. I've been playing with Photoshop to enhance the photos. Likey?

Pretty Little Things

Because it might as well be pretty.... ...

This is a reclaimed salsa jar. I love these jars as they are pretty heavy for their size, plus they have amount markings embossed in the glass. I have a bottle of silver spray paint in the basement, leftovers of a long ago costume project, that came in handy for spraying the lid. A couple of baby food jar lids got makeovers as well.

{P. S. If you want to "test" the dishwasher detergent, but don't have the ingredients, just let me know & perhaps I can send you a sample!}

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A birthday gift for a friend {sure hope you don't read this before tonight!} that I designed myself. I picked out all the beads at the Big Bead Show I went to in June.


It bears a lot of significance for her right now & I hope she loves it! I also am having one made for myself with a stone at the bottom that says "create", so we will have semi-matching necklaces. Can't wait til it's done!

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These little pretties are destined for some birthday goodie bags for our first-ever kids' party tomorrow.


Here is a tutorial for the yo-yo's, to which I just added a button & hot glued onto the metal hair clips {sold as quilting clips in the fabric department, who knew?} I kind of wish the clips where much smaller, so that the yo-yos would completely cover the clip, but I'm trying to keep it frugal by using what I have.

Aren't they cute? Super-simple project, made with things on hand, oh, and a bit of love too.

A Simple Solution

photo by Ben-Millett

I just discovered a simple, frugal solution to commercial dishwasher detergent. It comes from my new favorite book. Are you ready?

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
Use one tablespoon Borax & one tablespoon Washing Soda.

That's it. Was that so hard? I was skeptical about trying it at first, but I figured I don't have anything to lose. If it didn't work out, I'd just rewash the load using my purchased detergent. These two same ingredients are used in homemade laundry detergent, so if you make your own, you already have the stuff around. I also put vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser to help with drying {a trick you can use even if you aren't making your own dishwasher detergent} . The dishes were sparkly clean! Now I can mix up a bigger batch & keep in a {reused} glass jar. So, so, simple.

Weekend Wrap-Up

The Party.....
The highlight of the weekend was a family party for my not-quite-yet-7-year-old. In an effort to keep things frugal, we served only cake & ice cream with some beverages. I can honestly say that this was the first party that I did not serve "food" of any kind. It was a suprisingly nice change. I did however put the extra effort into making a homemade cake. The birthday girl requested a wedding cake style, so I made a two-tiered cake with pink polka dots. I used the chocolate recipe here, which was divine! The frosting recipe was a little finicky, but I made it work out. I made homemade vanilla ice cream as well. More on "the big gift" in a future post.

:: mini photo shoot ::

:: presents! ::

:: the cake ::

In Other News.....
I discovered two really wonderful blogs this weekend, so spent some time reading. Make & Takes is a blog devoted to crafty fun ideas for the home & family. It is written by a former Kindergarten teacher & chockful of creative goodness. How cute are the little feather duster puppets?? To the second blog I discovered I say, "SimpleMom, where have you been all my life????" I love the blog design, all the inspiring articles bookmarked along the side, and the truly simple & creative ideas for making the beloved job of homemaking & managing all the more enjoyable. {Be sure not to miss the Home Management Notebooks articles. Great reads, whether you don't have one yet or your old one needs revamping.} She is also doing a giveaway of the book Creative Family by Amanda Soule {I've been eyeing this one for awhile now}! So be sure to stop by & follow the instructions to leave a comment :>)

Talk About It: Painting

Not quite as deep of a topic as we have discussed in the past, but none the less, it leaves me in a quandry. In an effort to make our home a sanctuary and a welcome space for all who enter, I have been doing some painting, decluttering, and organizing. My issue is with the painting {don't get me wrong ~ I *love* painting}. My house has several "openings" that lead from one main living space to the next or are transitions from the room to the hallway. I am wondering what everyone else does. What color do you paint the threshold of a room? Or maybe you only have doorways? Here are a couple examples:

:: this one needs some help desperately ::

Would you paint it the color of one of the adjacent walls? Which wall? Or just paint all the thresholds white like the ceilings?

What would you do?

P.S. Sebastian is crawling!

Feeling the Squeeze

We all know the economy is bad & gas prices are high, which makes food costs higher, which puts the squeeze on...well.....everybody! How are ya'll coping out there? Everybody hanging in? We are feeling significant strain because of past choices & Sweetie's new business which isn't generating as much as we need. We are thinking that one of us may actually have to get a job outside the home. We are currently working through part of our business plan, and perhaps, God willing, it won't have to come to that. Building a business can be a scary thing. I just pray that God would spare us from foolishness {this prayer comes in handy for many other situations as well. Feel free to use it. } I share this not for sympathy or pity, but maybe someone else reading this is going through a really hard time as well and sometimes it is comforting to know you are not alone. Not only that, but maybe we can weather these rocky roads together! Here are some things that I am doing this week to stretch the dollars:

• Cooking from the pantry. I made a batch of Corn Chowder since I had all the ingredients on hand. I did let a bunch of asparagus go bad though. Need to plan better use of fresh produce.

• Shaving in the sink, instead of the shower. Sweetie suggested this. Kind of a pain, but I'll get used to it.

• Not traveling as much. Combining trips. I am giving up shopping at my *beloved* Woodman's as the gas to get there and back pretty much cancels out any savings I would get. I will also be combining the trip to Sienna's karate class with an Aldi run.

• Price-matching at my new local Super Wal-Mart to compensate for not shopping at Woodman's.
  

• Selling stuff. Hubs is mostly doing this, but I've also sold a special order notepad holder ;>)

Anyone trying anything new this week to stretch the budget? Or continuing with something that you've found that really works?

Waiting....

I ate another frog today by finally deciding on & ordering our homeschool curriculum for the fall. I was agonizing over this decision & was going back & forth between two options. I scoured homeschool forums & read as much as I could. Things were so much easier {and cheaper} when my student was younger & I could just print off some free internet worksheets or buy a workbook from Wal-Mart or just get her cutting and pasting things. First I felt God leading me to a specific program, then I thought He was leading me to the other one. I finally came to the conclusion that He really wasn't leading me anywhere particular and as long as I keep Him as the focus in all we do, it really won't matter who my curriculum publisher is. So, we are staying with Heart of Dakota, by moving on to Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. The three things I like best about these programs are:

• the Christian focus is well-integrated into all aspects of the program. Not just a tacked-on Bible study in some "Christian" programs.

• the Teacher's Guide is just "open & go". There is a formatted lesson plan for each day. Being a creative-type, I didn't think I would like this, but I love it! Less planning!

• Use of living books. I just think learning from a textbook is not as exciting as learning from good literature. I think books makes things come alive, from an educational standpoint, that textbooks just can't duplicate.
  

I am *so* excited and can't wait to start receiving all the materials, so I can move into the planning phase. I spent hours trying to find the best prices & make the best use of the resources I have. I truly wish we lived near an amazing library system or at least had access to a library at all. But such is life. I will just have to slowly and frugally work towards building our own home library. So now we are waiting for "box day", as homeschoolers call it. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Eating the Frog

I recently came across the saying "Eat the Frog". I. like. it. What it means is that you do the hardest/yuckiest job first, to get it out of the way. Our old fish bowl was rapidly turning into a fascinating science experiment & hubster told me he'd take care of it. I finally told him to just "Eat the Frog". He was so glad he did! I often find that a task left undone actually sucks up more energy from me dwelling on it, than it takes to actually just complete the task. {Unfortunately I doubt this is true for the bazillion bins & junk that needs to be sorted through in my basement.} Particularly as it relates to crafting, I know that I am a greater "starter", but I tend to lose motivation if a project is particularly long. Considering this, I'm astonished that I have actually completed not one, but two pairs of knitted socks. Amazing. Another reason why I don't finish or have a hard time finishing is if I run into a "roadblock" during the project. If an aspect proves to be especially difficult, it's almost as if that difficulty sucks the life/joy/excitement right out of a project. I do *love* the feeling of completing something that I had previously abandoned or lost motivation for, which is what I have been trying to do lately. I will feature some frogs in the posts to come.

Are you a "starter" or a "finisher"? Have you eaten any frogs lately? Or are you on your way to do that now? :>)

Say What?!

Me: What kind of dress do you think you'll want for your birthday party?

Tatiana: Maybe like a brown one with pink polka-dots. {One she already has.}

Me: No, not that one, maybe something new.

Tatiana: Well, definitely a beautiful one.

Me: OK.

Tatiana: Yep, you better make it beautiful or else I'll make you and dad... *spoken in a sneaky secret whisper* ...talk about your marriage.

Uh, guess I better get to sewing something beautiful.

H2O Woes

I did not do any laundry today.

I have not run the dishwasher or wash any dishes in the sink.

I have not taken a shower or given the kids a bath.

I have not watered my plants.

I did not make spaghetti for dinner as planned.

Lest you think it is all because I'm lazy or am just taking the day off, it's NOT. We had a water main break in town. Again. Yep. This seems to happen about 2-3 times a year. SO I HAVE NO WATER. I'll spare you the rest of the ugly details . I had to at least wash the baby's bottles in a big soup pot. I really want to submit all my receipts for my purchased gallons of water to the water department & short them the amount that it has cost me. I just pray this nonsense ends soon.

Weekend Fun

Here's a little weekend fun. I made this mosaic from flickr photos using the instructions here. You search flickr using the answers to a dozen questions then choose a photo for each answer from the first page of results. I opened the mosaic maker here in a separate page to make it easier to copy & paste the photo links. This is the mosaic that the answer to my questions produced:


Let me know in the comments if you have a blog and decide to give this a try! Have a fun weekend, ya'll!

I'm Hiding

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man has to seek Him first to find her." ~ Maya Angelou

I came across this quote recently & I. just. love. it. I've been mulling over what it means & how that looks in a practical way. I think in a dating relationship, this quote would ensure finding a godly husband. In marriage, it keeps us both seeking after Him. I read this post about the same quote & agree that a man having to seek God to get to the heart of his beloved is, indeed precious. The author of that post also discusses how young woman today try to "hide" themselves in so many other things just to fit in: boyfriends, fashion, diets, drugs, but I think married women can fall into the same trap of looking to earthly things for satisfaction and happiness: exercise, a super-clean home, a nice car, even our dear children. Not that those things are bad in and of themselves, on the contrary, many things *I* try to hide myself in are good things, but are nothing compared to loving Jesus. I should be pursuing the things He loves so passionately that my husband has to look to Him, if he is to understand me. That sounds like such a high calling *gulp* that I don't know if I can even ever get to that place. I guess all I can do is try.

7 months

My little guy turned seven months old over the weekend. I really do not know where all the time has gone. Seriously. Hubby even agrees that it seems like it was just the other day that I took a nap, went to my doctor's appointment, was told I was 8 cm, and the boy popped out. Sebastian is such the little fella. We just want to squeeze him & cuddle him all the time. This last month he perfected rolling over {a little late} and also sitting up. My Spud can push pretty far up on his arms, but no signs of crawling yet. He is pretty sturdy on his feet as well, and hubby keeps hoping he'll be an early walker. Um, yeah. I rather not encourage it! He moved up to Stage 2 foods & loves him some Zweiback toast. He still only has two teeth, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing some tooth action tooth, as he has all the symptoms of serious teething. Sebastian is not much of a talker. He is a rather quiet baby {as all my babies were} and only makes some noise if he is super interested in something or is crying about something. I cherish all the little moments I have with him, not knowing if he will be the last of my babies that I carry or cuddle or rock with. *sniffle* The little guy loves his big sisters & they are still just as ga-ga over him as they were on the day they first met. Happy 7 months little man! I can't wait to see what things God has in store for you :>)

Three Cheers....

...for the red, white & blue! Hope your 4th of July weekend was filled with Fellowship, Food, Fun & thankfulness for our Freedom. Since this blog hasn't been gettin' much love lately, I thought I give you a big weekend scoop, starting with....

The Crafts
The creative juices were needing an outlet so I made some little themed decorations. The first two are courtesy of Martha Stewart:

::garland of ribbon stars::

::a close-up::

::striped sand candle holder::

::practicing my face-painting skills::

I also made these {alas, no photo} and stuck them into a few of the little jars that were too full of sand for votives. {I knew those used baby food jars would come in handy for something!} Now if only I can store them carefully so as not to muddle up the sand for next year! It helps if you use a funnel to pour the sand into to get somewhat evenish layers. I think the unevenness does add a bit of charm though. As for the ribbon stars, If I would've had more time, I would've printed out some little sayings to go in the middle of the larger ones. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the little stars have two punched out hearts in the middle of each one. The face-paints {$2.99 at Hobby Lobby} were definitely the hit of the weekend with the kiddos. I would paint something different on their faces each day. So far I've done hearts, patriotic stars, a patriotic butterfly, swirls, and a shooting star with a rainbow coming out of it. The only thing I didn't like about the purchased paints was that they got really cracked on the child's face after awhile. Hubby looked up some recipes on-line to make some face paints, but I didn't have enough time to purchase one ingredient I would need {cold cream}. I figured I could pre-mix the colors & store them in those 7-day pill boxes. Sometime I will try this recipe! Great for birthday parties, ya think?

The Plans
We began the weekend on Thursday, kicking it off with the end of the week Showcase for Tatiana's CYT Summer Camp. What fun! She had an amazing time & I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this program to someone else. We had my dad & step-mom here as weekend guests, and they arrived as we came home from the Showcase. We had A LOT of food this weekend. I will need to step-up the exercise plan this week to make up for it! Shrimp, Ribeye steaks, Asian Coleslaw, Baked Beans, Homemade Onion dip & more. YUM-O. Somehow in the midst of all this entertaining, I somehow managed to make 5 meals for the freezer too.

Friday brought more entertaining as we enjoyed the company of hubby's sister, her boyfriend, and my niece, who joined us for a BIG cook-out, a local fireworks show, and spent the night as well. That is the most people I have ever had sleeping in my house on one night: 10!! We were all comfortable, with plenty of room to spare. Yesterday, we went to a cook-out at my mom's house, along with my brother&wife and my step-brother&wife. MORE FOOD, ya'll. We played a bit of ladderball there. Never played before, but I rocked it, winning the match for hubby & I.

The Aftermath
Today, our weekend guests headed home. Hubby drove to Chicago to get a lawn mower from my dad for free, since ours conked out. He took the girls & decided to leave them for a sleep-over at his parents' house. This will help with the cleaning up, but only a little, as my Spud seems to be teething. {Poor guy!} Our DishNetwork dish is on the fritz, so hubby is working on moving that around, since now there is a tree blocking its view. DUH. You would think those DishNetwork guys would notice the smallish tree there next to the dish & somehow realize that the tree ain't always gonna be that size. Nope. But I digress. To me, the worst part of entertaining, is the clean-up. Yuk. I've always that a party clean-up business would make big bucks and today I'm reminded why.

At least I have a house to clean, a baby to care for, and freedom to do most of the things I love. So there's the scoop :>)

You Get Used to It

I've found, that whatever circumstance you're under when it comes to parenting, you get used to it. If you work outside the home, you get used to only having the kids around for a few hours at night and on the weekends. By Sunday night, you're ready to go back to work on Monday {or at least that what's people in this situation have told me}. If you homeschool, you get used to having the wee ones around most of the time. That's your norm. It kinda makes me chuckle when moms whose kids GO to school are pulling their hair out during the long summer days of having the kids home all the time. They just have a different norm. If your hubby works long hours, you probably get used to it, not having him around as much, doing what you can to manage most things on your own. If your hubby works from home, you get used to that too, an extra pair of hands for helping or another set of eyes to keep on the kiddos for a second. Until....

WHAM!

The rug gets pulled out from under ya. Yep. Ask me how I know. Tomorrow hubby is going to be taking his mobile office on the road as he will be going out practicing to get his CDL. He already has his permit, but needs hands-on training. Bummer for me. So I guess I just need prayer that I'll....

....get used to it.

P.S. I sent my mom an email that included this which you may find funny too:

Hubby leaving home + monthly cycle + 3 kids = crazy wigged out mommy

But I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Dear Blog...

....it's not that I don't care about you. I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have spent all that time and creative energy to give you a little facelift. Maybe after writing that last post, my internet love/hate relationship just swung a little bit the wrong way. I have just been busy doing other things. Like family stuff. Sewing. Researching for something super top-secret. Traveling to Chicago for massage therapy. Trying to exercise. Writhing in pain from my latest affliction. Enjoying not having to homeschool. Things other than blogging. I hope that maybe we can catch up soon. I just wanted you to know that I haven't abandoned you. I am just loving other parts of my life way too much! And whoever is {still} reading, I hope you are lovin' life too.

Talk About It: The Internet & Relationships

I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. I am an avid learner, so I love the endless information aspect. On the other hand, I could sit here endlessly soaking up all the information. Not good! I can barely remember life before Google, but I definitely think that the library and heavy encyclopedias may have been involved. I think many people enjoy the connection that they get to the outside world, especially if you are a homemaker, like me, who previously had little daytime adult interaction. I can't underestimate the importance of connecting and relating to others who have similar views, beliefs, and interests. Sometimes I wonder though, is this really a true connection? Can you really consider the internet a relationship builder? I have used email to build a relationship with a friend and to maintain my relationships with old friends, but something about just seems not real or maybe it's just that, at least to me, it pales in comparison to sitting face to face with someone chatting, laughing, sharing. Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still continue to use my email to keep in touch with other people, but if you find me dropping by unannounced or calling a little more often, it's just that I'm a little old-fashioned and rather see your facial expressions and hear your laughter instead of looking at a little emoticon or reading the abbreviation "LOL".

Do you think the internet gives us a false sense of connection with other people? Does it help you or hinder you from building what you consider to be real relationships?

Rules: Play nicely. We all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

Phew!

I'm finally finding a little time to catch my breath. It seems like I've been going and going since last week, with all my spare time going to keep up with homemaking & spending time with my loved ones. So here is my long update. My trip with my mom went wonderfully! After dropping her off at the convention center, I made my way to the local CVS. Here's my loot:


The Chex mixes were all free as they were 5/$5 and there is a $1 IP. The Johnson's Buddies Foaming Shampoo were a great find as they were on clearance for $1.90 and I had a $1 Q for each. It was kind of an expensive trip, with my OOP being around $6, but since I have recently weaned the baby, I needed the feminine products. YUK! My eyes nearly fell out of my skull when I opened the door to our eensy-weensy hotel room. Mom & I both agreed that it was the worst hotel room we had stayed in {in the US at least, for me}, but that rural Guatemalan huge-tropical-bugs-in-your-bed, concrete-floored, shower-is-a-pipe-sticking-out-of-the-wall hotel is a story for another day. The bed sagged & creaked and the noise from revelers outside our building kept us up til the wee hours of the morning, but at least we kept a sense of humor about it. It sure was memorable. The Bead & Button Show was A-MAZING! Seriously. Even though I'm not a beader, I sure can appreciate a passion for a craft when I see it. Miles and miles of beads. I purchased two things for myself. One is a beaded cross-stitching project. I am making that as sort of a Thank You gift for Mom. She picked out the design. The second one is a funky bracelet kit. Since it's sold as a kit, I think it should be fairly easy. I totally fell in love with these, but at $8 per bottle cap, I would need to spend about a weeks worth of grocery money to make myself a junky-funky bracelet. Couldn't justify the purchase at the time, but maybe next year. Now I am working on designs for Mom to make with all her bead purchases. I wore this to the bead show since it is the only beaded project I've ever made myself:

::Odessa by Grumperina::

::top view::

I got several comments/inquiries about it, as well as the tote bag I was carrying. My mom was cracking up by the end of the show & insisted that next year I carry some business cards with me. Immediately upon my return, Tatiana had her year end dance recital. Twice. This was the first year that she was in two shows, which was a little crazy. Here she is in all her glory:


After that I've been spending time doing my part-part-part time job for Metrostudy. When people ask if I work {meaning outside the home} I usually just say "NO" since this job is only a once every 3 months gig. It's works out kinda nice because I basically can do the surveying at my leisure as long as I return my materials within the allotted time. I have been "working" for them for 2 years now & am thanking God for recently expanding my territory {it nearly doubled!} as an answer to prayer for extra income. He's too good to us, isn't He? Hope you're having a lovely week & I plan to meet you here tomorrow for another Talk About It session.

Talk About It: Sibling Love

I've always wanted a sister. It seems like everyone I know {and I do mean nearly all my friends} have sisters. I have one friend who is an only child & one close cousin who does not have a sister {she does have a few step-sisters though}. I guess since I don't have one, I've built up in my mind what I missing. It is something like what you'd find on one of those made for TV movies on the Hallmark channel. I'd imagine us painting each other's toenails, late-night giggle and gab sessions, borrowing each other's clothes, keeping secrets from our parents. As adults I'd figure we'd be bridesmaids in each other's weddings, calling each other for parenting advice, crying on each other's shoulder. We'd be best friends. Um. I guess from people I've asked so far that my lovely little picture usually only happens in the movies! One older woman I asked this Talk About It question just looked puzzled and kept repeating, "I don't know." Another Christian man I asked, quipped a bit harshly, "What siblings?" {He does have siblings.} So, here it is:

Considering your own childhood, what can a parent do {or not do} with their children now to lay a firm foundation for sibling closeness as adults? If you're close with your siblings, then maybe you can say what your parents did right. If you're not, maybe you can discern what might have gone wrong.

Rules: Play nicely. We all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

A Train, A Cab, An Automobile

Travel. Travel. Travel. That's this week's theme at our house! Today the girls and I spent some quality time together by taking the Metra from a nearby town to Chicago. Although I picked the morning Express train, cutting down the travel time by about 25 minutes, it was still an 1 1/2 hour commute & required an early rising time of 6:45 am. {I can't imagine having to wake my little pumpkins that early in the day, or earlier, to catch a school bus!} We barely made it in enough time to purchase our tickets at the station, which I was thankful for, because otherwise that would've meant a $2 surcharge. We leisurely snacked on dry cereal, trail mix & water as we rode along. Once we arrived in the Big City, I had a mildly difficult time catching a cab from our stop. It seems like that particular station is a bit out of the way, unlike the station downtown, so there aren't a plethora of cabs to be had. If you're a suburban girl like me & you ever find yourself in need of hailing a cab, here's two pieces of advice: 1) Stand at an intersection. It increases the likelihood of cabs passing by as opposed to just the side of one street. 2) Know which direction you will need to travel to your destination. i.e. I knew {only because I asked my dad} that I was heading North, so I made sure to stand on the East side of the main street, that way the cab wouldn't have to circle around to get where I needed to go which wastes time and in this case time = $$$. I got a much needed clinical massage & a quick lunch with the girls' grandma & then we were on our way back home again. My littlest pumpkin was so tuckered out, she was asleep and drooling on the car ride home from the station. All that and it was barely 1:30 pm!!

I made sure to spend extra kid time today, because tomorrow I am going to Milwaukee with my mom for this event. She is totally into beading & jewelry making, so this is really her thing. We are staying overnight in a hotel & I am traveling kid-free. I was having a bunch of mommy-guilt about it, but am trying to just Let. It. Go. Know what I'm talking about? I am praying for rain because then hubster's work will be slower, giving him a little less to worry about. It will be so weird to just be out and about by myself. Tatiana has her big year-end dance recital this weekend, so I will be busy with that immediately upon my return. Busy. Busy. Busy.

I will be kind of glad when this weekend is over, then I can just focus on the family, the house, and my part-part-part time job. I will be scheduling another Talk About It post for tomorrow for all to enjoy while I am gone!