March On!

Today Michael marched in his first parade with the CHS band.

(Michael, second from right, 3rd row, playing clarinet)

He looked so very handsome in his uniform and the whole band was way classier than the other bands that marched in t-shirts and shorts.

The entire Strawberry Festival Parade was very good. Lots of candy for the little ones and the floats were both nicely done and well thought out. The only drawback was that we only saw Michael for a moment and then he was on to perform for others and he didn't get to see much of the parade himself.

Patience is a Virtue

Of which I'm lacking.

Sorely lacking.

But I hope you have more than I do!

My boys are all home for summer break. I love my boys. They are my sunshine! But they test my patience daily. Some days I lose it. I totally lose it and I have to give myself a timeout. I give them timeouts, too. But I think it's safe to say that I'm the one that needs it the most, because as I remind Mikey often, I'm older and I should know better.

Right now, my living room is cluttered. Not just a few toys, books and papers randomly scattered. No, it's a mountain of clutter that I moved from my bedroom to the livingroom, knowing that it can't stay that way and I will be forced to deal with it. While it was ensconced in the bedroom, I could ignore it. At least until I went to bed each night. Then I tossed and turned wishing I had the energy to do something about it.

I'm glad to say my bedroom has not looked this good in 8 years. It's peaceful and relaxing. I think I'll spend my weekend in there.

Or not.

I have to get this pile taken care of.

Anyway, I said all that because I know I haven't been posting regularly and I feel bad for my readers. I'm sorry. I may not have much of anything important to impart to you folks on a daily basis, but I know that when I do post, it gives you an excuse to put off the dreaded housework, homework, errands, etc. a few minutes more. I understand this.

But it will be worth your while to keep following. I'm working up to my 100th post and in celebration of that I will be posting about 10 of my favorite things for posts 90-100. And I would like to have a giveaway for each post. So stay tuned. Hopefully, we'll reach that 100 post together before snow flies. *fingers crossed*

Remember:

Patience is a virtue

Virtue is a grace

Grace is a little girl

Who wouldn't wash her face!

I'm too old for this!

Tonight I took Eli and Samuel for a bike ride. It sounded like such a good idea. I've been needing to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine and they need an outlet for all their energy.

So we took off and decided to only go as far as the Post Office. That's probably just over a 3 mile bike ride. Not bad.

The ride there was great and exhilirating. It was Samuel's first foray past our road. And we had a great big hill to coast down and feel the wind in our faces and he loved it.

When we got to the Post Office we got drinks of water from the natural spring behind the building and then headed back home.

I taught the boys the rules of biking.....follow all rules of the road, signaling, staying on the right side, riding in single file, etc. They did great except for Samuel swerving off the road onto the gravel shoulder and then back straight into the road, almost cutting me off, forcing me into the road to avoid a collision (thank goodness there were no cars in sight).

Then we turned back onto our road and started up the hill.

Oh, boy! It was a ride. About half way. Then we got off the bikes and walked most of the way up. We got back on the bikes as soon as we were to a spot flat enough to start off from.

I am ashamed to say that it was too hard. Way too hard. I was in so much pain. My legs were tired but that's not the bad part. I couldn't catch my breath. I stopped for a last rest right before a friend's house (didn't want anyone to know I couldn't do it). Then I forced myself to ride the rest of the way to the side road we live on. As soon as I passed the neighbor's house, I stopped again to take a breather before making it the rest of the way home. Then I flopped down on the couch for 10 minutes to catch my breath and will my heart to not explode.

The sad thing is, I used to ride my bike to school everyday, until the snow flew, which was about 10 miles from our home.

I guess I must be getting old. I don't like how it feels. Not one bit!

Hot Time in the UP

Yesterday we had some very unseasonably warm weather. Very.

At 8:00am it was 38*F. At 2:30pm it was 94*F. Yowsah!

It was a very dry heat.

And there was a LOT of wind.

Know what that means?

Very extreme fire hazard. That's what it means.

And we found out all about that fire hazard last night.

On our way to church we spied a cloud of smoke to the east and all I didn't know was where the fire had originated. A fire had started just east of L'Anse and quickly spread with the wind gusting up to 50-60mph.

Mike was on the golf course and I gave him a call to see what he knew. All he knew was that the fire was a big 'un and he wasn't responding to any calls til his 18 holes were played. (Ninny!) Baraga was called to assist L'Anse around 6:30pm and the kids watched as the fire engines raced past the church. Pelkie Fire Department was put on standby later that evening (Mike was finished with his golf and ready to respond--finally!) but they were never called out.

Now, the news last night was that certain residents (one lady from our church included) were asked to evacuate just in case, but as we left L'Anse at 9:00pm we could see that it was mostly under control.

The info I heard from our local gossip is that it was sparked off by someone welding. I'm sure Mike will get the whole scoop today and I will pass it on.

That's the closest I've ever been to a forest fire and I hope it stays that way. I was really nervous yesterday....we live in the middle of the woods (literally surrounded on all sides by trees--lots of deadfall) and when I was going to get the kids from the bus I got spooked by the smoke from my neighbor's wood furnace. It was more than normal and I did notice that their chimney needs repair. You notice these things when the danger is so high. Normally, I'd just be irritated with the heavy smoke blowing into our yard. *cough*

Here is the report as of 5/21/09 on the Pinery Lake Fire in L'Anse.

Go here to see pictures of the Pinery Lake Fire.

There was also a fire in the Ishpeming area Wednesday. Go here to see pictures and get reports on the Black River Falls Fire.

Vision Forum Giveaway.....

over at Five Little Arrows. Check out Laura's blog and enter to win a DVD from the Reclaiming the Culture set recently released by Vision Forum. Laura has the link to the descriptions of each of the 5 titles offered:

You May Not Take Our Guns
The Devolution of Law
Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation
The State of Parental Rights in America
Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ

100th Post and a Giveaway at Kelli's Blog

Head on over to Kelli's blog, Random Thoughts of a Supermom, to help celebrate the coming of summer with her 100th post and a giveaway!

Woo hoo! Who doesn't like a giveaway?

Check out her archives and see how a mother of 3 boys takes on the world.

When the kids are restless

At the bottom of Silver Mountain

you force them to climb a mountain in the rain.

Saturday morning got off to a slow start. I did not want to make a humongous breakfast, which I usually do on Saturdays, because I was up until 1:30am the night before. We had friends over. It was fun. I'll tell you about it. Later.

So, the kids were getting restless. We had seven of them here. Yes, seven. As in 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Cinnamon's friend, Jojo spent the night because her mom was in the hospital overnight and Mikey's friend Steven spent the night because Mikey was missing him after being grounded for almost 4 months.

I got ready at 11:30, told the kids we were leaving, to get shoes, jackets, gloves and hats on. They readily complied. And we were on the road to Silver Mountain.

We made two detours on the way. One to check out Prickett Dam to see if it was full open. It was, which explains why the Sturgeon River is running so high and fast. I love it! Then we went to the other side of the dam, at the boat launch. I heard the fish calling my name. And I'm gonna heed their calling one of these days. Just gotta make sure it's legal to fish there now first.

We got to Silver Mountain and it was drizzling. There was one other car at the bottom.

The kids were so excited to go up that I had to yell for them to come back down to get a group picture.

There's a lot of stairs. I think it would hurt less if you just hiked up. I am so out of shape. I was panting by the time I got to the last step. And we still had a way to go. Ugh!

See the girls at the top of the stairs. Riley and I were last, dead last. *panting*
Just as we got to what I thought was the top, we met the other people that were up there. The guy told us to make sure we went "all the way to the top". What! You mean I have to go further?

So we did.

It was worth the extra climbing. It was beautiful in the sleet. Mmmm-hmmm. Yup, sleet. So I can only imagine how pretty it is in the sunlight.

The kids were making me nervous and they didn't want to stand real still for the pictures. So after getting a decent one, I told them they could do anything, but PUSH!

Mikey, Steven, Jojo, Cinnamon, Samuel, Riley and Eli

Then we had to head back down.

Steep, steep, stairs!

Let's just say, it's easier going up, if you can ignore the burning pain in your thighs.

Samuel, the next GQ cover model

I almost landed on my bottom a few times, slipping in the mud. Ewwww!

Riley

Eli sitting still for a few!

By the time we got to the bottom, I had a few minutes to take a cupla pictures of the kids climbing, exploring and being silly. Then we had to zip out of there--my brother came up to visit and was already at my house.

Mikey, always so dramatic (this is why I refuse to take my boys to the Grand Canyon)


Next adventure....Sugar Loaf. Or Copper Harbor (if I can get over my fear of driving there. I get car sick and the ride there is full of tickle-bellies. Oiy!)

UP Ladies Retreat 2009

I know, I know. I'm already a month behind in my blogging. And I promise, I will get to those things. Soon.

But, while I'm thinking about it, I want to tell you about the Ladies Retreat I recently attended.

Every year, our Section puts on our own Ladies Retreat because the District Ladies Retreat is a 10+ hour drive for us here in the Upper Peninsula. We have had the privilege of hearing some high-caliber women speak at our retreats.

LaJoyce Martin and Sherry Langson (my pastor's wife)

This year we were honored to welcome LaJoyce Martin as our speaker. If you have never heard her speak, you are missing some good stuff. She is very comical and has lots of wisdom. And she also has one of the most astonishing and romantic stories about how she and her "Hunk" got hooked up.

LaJoyce Martin is also a writer-a prolific writer. I was able to purchase two of her new books (Women's Secrets, Crooked Halos and Clay Feet) this time, plus 2 CD's of Bible stories (The Tattletale Trees, Let's Go to the Fires- both w/Granny Mullins). I will post reviews of all four as soon as I get through them.

This year Sis. Martin spoke on "Satan's Lullaby" (the 5 verses that put the church to sleep), "The Times of the Signs" (we still need holiness - the sign of God's people), and "The Masked Blessing" (what seems like a hard trial is really a blessing in disguise). It was ALL good.

I really appreciated "The Masked Blessing" as I'm going through a hard time right now with my niece in my home and I came to realize that it may be her being here that opens a door for my brother to come back to God.

"Satan's Lullaby" was a real wake up call. (oxymoron, eh?) We can easily be lulled into spiritual slumber by things like inactivity, comfort and shutting our eyes to things that should not be. I've gone back to this lesson over and over in the past weeks to encourage myself to stay awake in this day and time when it may be easier to just roll over and shut it all out.

All the pastors' wives present with Sis. LaJoyce Martin

Ladies Retreat is always an awesome time. I always feel so much pressure getting ready for it and fear that once I get there I'll be too tired to enjoy it all. But I really shouldn't worry. Once I got there I was able to sit down, relax and have a great time.

Marcia Gannon and Me

My Mother-in-the-Lord, Marcia Gannon, from my hometown was able to be here again this year and we were able to catch up on all the family and church news.

We also get two really awesome meals on Friday during the retreat. Our ladies provide the food, potluck-style. This year I brought a relish tray and cake balls - 1/2 were chocolate and 1/2 were strawberry. Everyone that got one was so very impressed. I really enjoyed making these.

Cake balls (thank you Bakerella and Pioneer Woman)

Pastor Bryan Langston (Marquette) baptizes {L} in the wonderful name of Jesus!

{L} was baptized on Saturday after the retreat.

I'd have to say that was the perfect ending to a perfect retreat!

Junior Prom

Do you remember your Junior Prom?

I do. But I'd rather not. It wasn't the highlight of my year, that is for certain.

For my Junior Prom, I went with the guy that I was currently dating, which wasn't Mike. I was excited since I originally hadn't planned to go. I bought my own dress which wasn't sparkly, slinky or long. It was a spaghetti strapped-lace covered-knee length thing that was really very pretty. I thought I looked rather nice. My date showed up and had a red rose wrist corsage for me. My dad dutifully took pictures that I have never seen. I wonder if they were ever developed. See, that was a long time ago. No digital cameras back then!

I was nervous but excited for the Grand March. We stopped at his sister's house to show off our fancy duds and then we'd be on our way. Well, lo and behold, his sister and her husband were watching WWF wrestling and he got sucked into that.

We NEVER made it to the Grand March. I was SO upset. But being Lil' Miss Nicety-Nice, I didn't say anything and we headed on over to the dance. Which, by the way, is the lamest part of the prom. Who agrees? I spent more time sitting and watching the juvenile antics of all the guys than I did dancing and when it was over, and I didn't win any of the door prizes, we headed out. And I asked to be brought home. I think that was the first time I was home BEFORE my curfew (I had always made it home BY curfew but that was definitely a first for me!).

My senior year, I was dating Mike and we decided to skip the prom (he'd already done the prom thing with his ex-wife) and do the Senior Dinner-Dance instead. Lame-O! Another bad choice.

ANYWAY!!!! I told you all that just to let you know that Mike's oldest son, Anthony, just went to his Junior Prom this past Saturday.

I feel old.

Mike and Michael went to Menominee to see him.

He escorted his girlfriend, Krystal.

They are a cute couple and both looked so nice in their formal attire.

Anthony was also a member of the prom court. Their theme was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

When the crowning took place, each court member received a chocolate bar and the girl and boy with the golden tickets were crowned Queen and King (decided upon by a prior vote).

Anthony did not get the ticket but Grandma was so proud of him anyway. Who wouldn't be proud to claim such a handsome young man as their own?

Do you have a good prom story to tell? Please share!

The Stress of Illness

I'm trying to catch you all up on the happenings while I was away from my 'puter. Some are fun and exciting and some of it may be a bit boring. There was also a fair amount of stress. Tag-along as I finally get to it!

My mom, niece (CJ) and I went down to my sister's home in Illinois on the 3rd of April. On the 4th I hosted her babyshower. It was a lot of fun. But that's another story for another post. You'll just have to come back to hear all about it. Or you can go here and check out the highlights now!

On Sunday, the 5th, we were going to have a quick breakfast with Kim, Russ and the girls before we hit the road so I could get back to the Keeweenaw that night.

My sis and BIL were busy in the kitchen making breakfast when my mom and CJ arrived from the hotel. My mom started to complain about a pain across her shoulders. We thought maybe she just slept wrong but after a few minutes she went to sit on the couch and got really pale and started having problems breathing. I asked if she was okay or if we should call the ambulance. She said she was okay but I just wasn't down with that. I was about to ask Kim what she thought when my mom started retching and grunting. It was SO SCARY. There was spittle around her mouth and I thought she was having a stroke or heart attack. Kim totally freaked in a completely controlled way. I know--WHAT? But really, she took control and when my mom said she was okay, Kim told her in no uncertain terms, "No you're not!". Russ called the ambulance.

Mom wasn't too thrilled about the ambulance but she did realize that she needed medical attention because she was not aware of her "episode". Everything seemed fine as far as the paramedics could tell but they said she really should go in. We opted to take her in ourselves to a hospital that my sister preferred.

We ended up in the emergency room for quite a few hours. Her EKG was fine. She's never had any problems with her heart. So they did a CAT and and echocardiogram. Mom had fluid build-up around her heart which caused the pain in her back and chest. Because of fluid her heart had to work harder and caused the "spell". But she was also experiencing extreme nausea that the doctors could not explain.

After 3 days in the hospital and 3 echocardiograms the doctors decided the fluid was not blood which was a real concern as she's on blood thinners. They released Mom to her own doctors.

We drove home on Tuesday. It was totally uneventful except for the backed up traffic between Kenosha and Milwaukee caused by a burnt out charter bus.

Mom went to see her doctor on Thursday and testing showed an improvement in the fluid level around her heart and also a problem with her gallbladder.

So far, so good.

Then Saturday night my brother, Jason, called to say mom was back in the hospital. She called the ambulance herself after experiencing the same symptoms she had the previous Sunday.

The fluid had doubled since Thursday's appointment. About an 1/2 hour after Jason's call, he called again and said Mom was going in for surgery. The doctor decided to insert a tube and drain the fluid.

With all the strain of being away from home extra long, taking CJ into our home, getting ready for Easter and remodeling our kitchen I did not take it really well. I cried--A LOT. Mike tried to console me.

I think part of it was that I could not be there for Mom. I didn't even have words to pray for her. I just cried.

I still had to clean the church that night so CJ, Mikey and I set out to do that at 9pm. I called my pastor's wife and she prayed with me.

While I was on the phone, Ian stopped in to help us clean. I was so grateful for his help. With the four of us we made short work of it. The kids also prayed with me for my mom.

Mom got through the surgery okay and was out of the hospital by Wednesday.

There are still a few unanswered questions. We still don't know what caused the fluid build-up. We don't know if it's related to the problem with her gall bladder. We don't even know what's wrong with her gall bladder.

I'm thankful that the stress of it all is over for the time being. I am slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things at home. My kitchen is coming together nicely with lots of help from my wonderful hubby.

Stay tuned. I hope to post kitchen and babyshower pics soon.

Read this

If you love blogs about children, families, messes, girls, princesses, ballerinas, pink stuff and fluff, you may just want to check out my sister's new blog The Pink Pack.  http://thepinkpack.blogspot.com  She has two girlie-girl princess ballerinas and one more on the way very, very soon.  Check out this pack of pink! 

 

Warning: Watch your heart around these cuties -- they are sure to steal it right away from you!

Pussy cat, Pussy cat, Where have you been?

Well, it hasn't been to London to visit the queen!

I have been away from my blog for 15 days. Can you believe it?

Actually, the only thing I have done at my computer in the last 12 days is check my email and read a few headlines. That's it.

But today....My life is settling. A little. So I started to catch up on all the posts I've missed. I'm still not 100%. But I hope to visit most of you in the next week to let you know I still exist.

So. Where have I been?

Green Bay, WI - on layover at my Mom's enroute to Kim's for her babyshower

Elgin, IL - Kim's for baby shower

Delnor - a very nice hospital in Illinois with really nice staff. I visited my mom there for a few days after a small scare

Green Bay, WI - on layover at my Mom's enroute to my home....way far away....with a newbie in tow

Home - lots of company and a kitchen remodel

Marquette, MI - visiting in-laws. What was I thinking?

Home - very, very messy house. Problems with kiddos and newbie. We're dealing!

All over God's creation - here, there and everywhere. More shopping than I do at Christmas and the start of the school year! Golly!

School - Ever try to transfer someone when there's less than 2 months left to the school year and the classes from another state don't mesh real well with your local schools?

Home - Yah! I'm home all morning today. I'm excited. But I have more shopping to do. It's gonna pick up the pace here real quick today. Hold on!

Marquette, MI - tomorrow I'm going back there. Gotta drop the kiddos off at the in-laws and then my newbie and I are going to a Ladies Retreat! I can't wait. Just gotta endure the stress until the moment that I can drop into my chair and listen to LaJoyce Martin expound her godly wisdom and humor to me. Hallelujah!


Are you exhausted yet? I understand. I want to go into details on a few of these things later. I just don't have the time right now. So if you'll hold tight, keep your eyes and ears open into next week and don't abandon me now, I'll give you the lowdown. Ok? Ok.

Because I KNOW you want to know some things: who's the newbie? Why Delnor? Kitchen Remodel?

Oh! Oh-hohoho. I'm gonna let you in, alright. And I hope you won't mind a bit of venting too. That's what we're all about right?

Ok, then. I'll let you go for now and I'll get back to you soon. Real soon.

In the meantime, check out these sites -- my favorites!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

http://thepinkpack.blogspot.com

http://photografour.blogspot.com

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/

http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com/

http://www.sarahsbluecastle.com/blue_castle/

http://peterpanandfamily.blogspot.com/

These are just a few of the blogs I regularly visit. I hope you enjoy!

Farewell, Coco

Today, at 9:25am, Coco breathed her last breath as I stroked her side on our front porch.

I had just returned from dropping Riley off at the bus stop. Coco was under the deck so I called her up and she ran to the door, turned around and all of a sudden she lurched, fell and went into convulsions. It all happened really fast and she did not suffer.

Still, I sobbed and could barely manage to make myself understood as I told Mike over the phone. He called our neighbor to remove Coco from the porch. We will be saying our last good-byes tonight when the boys get home.

Coco was an awesome dog. She barely ever barked (only at strangers and when she was cold outside and wanted in) and she was SO friendly. All you had to do was say her name, whisper it even, and she'd come sit quietly by your side. She wasn't pushy. And she had an iron bladder. Really! 48 hours in the house proved it once when we were stuck out of town unexpectedly.

We got Coco from our local shelter 9 yrs ago. She was abused and had almost died after being hit by a car and thrown into an oncoming car. Thankfully she survived her injuries to become our dog. She could not jump (due to those injuries) and she did not play. If you threw a stick or ball she'd just look at you.

Coco was awesome. I am not a dog lover. But I LOVED Coco.

I miss her already.

Random Picture Challenge

27th folder

Or December 2007

27th picture

Oh, my word.

Well, that would be Eli. Actually, Eli's mouth. And his tooth is barely hanging on. I'm sure he plucked it out right after this picture was taken.

You asked for it. You got it!

PS. Notice the sand in his nostrils and peanut butter at the corners of his mouth? This picture screams summer time! LOL

For the Family

I decided that we needed a getaway. Well, actually, I really, really, REALLY need a getaway. But I'm getting one. In two weeks. But that's then. This is now!

We, the whole family, is going to Minnesota Friday and Saturday. Just because. Just because we can. Just because Samuel thought of it. And it's his birthday Saturday. And I like Samuel. Because.

So. We are going to take in an IMAX film. About the Great Lakes. Because I like water. And one about the Grand Canyon. Because I like water and great heights. And I've been to both places. Yup. Small parts of them but still.

We are going to eat out. Yum. No more eggs for me this week. Guess what? When you don't feel like cooking....eggs are an easy meal. But they get old. And if you have an aversion to them because you are pregnant with your 3rd or 4th child it just might not be the best meal.

And we just might go to a "REAL" mall. You know, the kind that has more than 3 open store fronts.

But. We gotta get there first. And that is going to be the telling. Are we still in the honeymoon phase of childrearing? Hohohohahahee. No. I coulda told ya that. But the boys will have to get along. Sitting REALLY close together for 4 hours. Mike and I might just let them run the halls and we'll lock ourselves into our room and have a honeymoon. Woo hoo.

Ok. It's late and I'm gonna go back over to PW to read more of her real-time answers. Hope she answers my burning questions. See ya there!

Random Picture Challenge

3rd folder

1st picture with the color brown

My little sister Kim holding Riley. I'm not sure how old Riley is at this point but it can't be too old...maybe a month???

Mikey was so cute! Look at the little man in his suit!

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

I am taking an informal poll....

How many of you have ever heard of Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

No?

Don't feel bad. Not many people are aware of it.

I first read up on it about a year ago as I stumbled upon the term when I was having labs ran on a spot on my breast. That spot turned out to be a very small cyst and it went away on its own rather quickly.

I forgot all about IBC. Until today.

Yesterday I visited my doctor because of a sore lump surrounded by a large reddish patch below one breast. He told me it was cellulitis and prescribed an antibiotic. Thanks, and I went home.

Today I started studying up on cellulitis. That's not pretty in itself. I specifically 'googled' "breast cellulitis" because most sites mentioned that it was common on the extremities (arms and legs) and was a cause for great concern if on the face. But nowhere did it mention the breast. When I started looking into "breast cellulitis" I found on one site that it mentioned that IBC was often misdiagnosed as cellulitis of the breast.

Well, that woke me up in a hurry.

I am not of the hypochondriac variety. But I dug a bit further and made up my mind that if this does not clear up in the 10 days of antibiotic treatment I will have my doctor specifically check for IBC.

It's kinda scary.

Here's some facts:
1. Rare but very aggressive. Accounts for 1-5% of all breast cancer cases in US.
2. Can occur in men and women of any age. Young to old.
3. Symptoms include redness, swelling, warmth, often lacks noticeable lump, skin may be ridged or pitted like orange peel, heaviness, burning or aching of breast, inverted nipple, discoloration, swollen lymph nodes.
4. Mammograms often miss the diagnoses because it does not look like the "typical" breast cancer lump but is more like a sheet of cancer in breast tissue.
5. 5 year survival rate of 25-50%
6. Symptoms can appear over-night.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/inflammatory-breast-cancer/4016186461

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/sites-types/ibc

Surprisingly, the Susan G. Koman for the Cure site does not have any information on this type of cancer.

I hope by posting this will help someone survive.


PS. I would appreciate any information anyone else has on this. Thank you!

Whew, I'm finished!

I finished one challenge! The Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge.

Check out my reviews here.

Zoey

Zoey has been home with us for a bit over a week now.

She is a puppy.



Puppies are like babies.



Lots o' work.

Everytime I think things are going well, she changes. Her housetraining was going really good. But now when I take her out, she plays around and though I try to be patient with her, it gets old--really fast.

She is a cutie though.

Zoey, thankfully, is a very small dog so her doo is small and her puddles are small and the few accidents she's had are easy to clean. But, alas, I don't want to be cleaning up after her for months so I'm really wanting this training to take hold in her teeny-tiny brain.

Mike is the one getting up in the middle of the night with her. I told him, "I got up for all the midnight nursing and diaper changes. You can get up to take the dog out." He claims he got up for 80% of those nightly feedings and changes. I don't remember him nursing! Oh....I see. He woke up. He didn't GET up.

Well, Zoey's whining. Again.

I will take her out once before I head to the bus stop for my baby, Riley.

Later!

These were quick and easy

I had to come up with a number of quick and easy cards to make Wednesday afternoon. I was feeling my creativity begin to ebb and I was short on time. So I grabbed an old Stampin' UP! catalog at random and began to search for an idea. The original had an image of a frog stamped on a white circle with white rick-rack. The background paper was darker. After I had most of it assembled I decided it looked a bit unbalanced. Maybe because my image was larger than the original. So I added the tab to the side of the color strip. Evened it out a bit.

This is my favorite.

What do you like/not like about these cards?

Kim's Baby Shower Invitations

My sister, Kim, is pregnant with her third girl. She had two big baby showers for {A} and my mom, sisters-in-law, and I surprised her by driving 4 hours to give her a baby shower for {L}. This time I figured we couldn't surprise her again. She does not surprise easily--she's too keen for that. So I went ahead and told her I'd throw her a shower at her home. To make it a bit easier on her I'm going to do all the cleaning and decorate. My mom decided to get catered food for the most part and the guest list is small and intimate.

We are doing a book themed party so I wanted the invitations to reflect that. Check 'em out!

Not your typical baby shower invites but I wanted it to portray a girl and look like an old Golden Book-type cover. The image is stamped on pink card stock and embossed. Then I bleached out the image. When it was dry I water colored the image. A friend cut out the scalloped ovals using her die cutter. I used a bone folder to score along the "binding". A gold gel pen worked great to give it some detail and write the title. Gold cord was taped inside the binding and ran down the front.I already decided to make a library card for the actual invitation but also added the pocket and fabric-patterned scrapbook paper. I used three different patterns. Just because I wanted to. I like them. I think the stripe and the circles are my favorites.

I always finish off my cards with my signature, bottom center back.

Baby {B} and Mom

Here's Baby {B}

He's the recipient of my long dormant creativity.

He looks just like his daddy.

And here's Mommy with the gift. She was thrilled. She always is. It makes me feel all warm inside to be able to give each mother an original gift that will last longer than any of the dozens of awesomely adorable outfits or boxes of diapers, lotions, shoes, bibs, etc.....

I like to give all that stuff, too. It just doesn't make me feel all warm inside. It just makes me say "ooh" and "ahh". And wish I could have another baby.

Okay, maybe not. Can I just have a baby shower? Without the baby?

I've been feeling Crafty!

This past Saturday I had a baby shower to attend. For my close friends I always try to make something personal. Something they'll never, ever throw away.

The problem was that by Friday I still hadn't come up with an idea or gone shopping. So Friday night we ran up to WalMart and I picked out a few items in the infant section: a camoflage had and mittens set that will fit next winter, long sleeve white tees that will fit in 12 months and the most adorable monkey sleeper that will fit 3-6months.

But I still wanted to find something personal. I had about given up when we were perusing the clearance aisles. That's when I found this.

For $5.

Couldn't pass that up. Wish I would've grabbed them all!

So early Saturday I picked out four paints and got to work....

Baby {B} is a boy so I wanted to go sorta primary but picked different shades of primaries. Instead of the typical red, yellow, blue and green, I chose crimson, canary yellow, leaf green and sky blue.

It took 3 coats of paint to get a nice even finish. Sorry, I don't have a close-up of the final coat here.

I thought it was a major improvement from plain ol' white. But it still needed something so I scrounged around in my supply of Stampin' UP! rubber stamps and picked two that I thought would go: safari or bugs.

I went with the safari. Though I borrowed the ant from the bug set. I did his name free-hand in green at the bottom. I added some word stickers to the mat (a favorite of mine). But I wish-really, really, really wish-I would've painted the mat blue. I still could but, eh....that's kinda awkward to do at my friend's house. What do you think? Technically, it isn't finished in my book because I haven't signed it yet....which I'm going to do today....it's a long story. See, if I sign a painting, I'm saying that I'm done and have to be happy with it as is. It's my way of dealing with my perfectionism.

More later about my sudden burst of creativity brought on by necessity.

Serious.Life Magazine

I wanted you to know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine.

They just published the March issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it. The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

Again, the subscription is FREE, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. http://www.seriouslifemagazine.com/