My Own Crafty Wonderland

Week One.

2012-01-05T19:41:00.002-06:00

"Week One".

That's a good title for the first week of January AND the first week with our little foster princesses.

This New Year's was nice and low-key for us. Well, as low-key as things can be when you have two guests in your house on top of the three other kids you have. ;) We don't normally do anything for New Year's Eve anyway, and since New Year's Day was a "church day" for us, we went to bed at a normal time and got a good nine hours of sleep. Some might say "boring"; we say "bliss". Going to bed early and getting a lot of sleep = bliss.

Also, this year I made NO resolutions. What's the point? I always start out with good intentions in my resolutions, but I always end up giving up (or forgetting about them) after only a month or two. In many ways, it really is just another day. But on the other hand, I also love that feeling of getting a fresh start, a do-over per say. This year I'm looking to simplify my life in many ways (don't laugh -- it really is possible to simplify even with a house full of kids), so I just decided to go with the idea of picking a word for 2012. And instead of picking a word that is a bit more me-centered like I've done in the past, this year I picked the simplest of desires of my heart, to be "willing".

No more telling God what I want, no more telling God how I think things might work the best, no more asking God for stuff. I truly just want to be "willing" -- willing to follow what He wants me to do. 2011 didn't exactly turn out the way my husband and I wanted it to (although yes, we got two added blessings in our two new sons), but despite the things we went through, we are happier folk because of what we went through. And we definitely learned that letting go of all of those things we try so hard to control in life didn't end up making us miserable like we thought it would, but instead freed us and just added to our happiness and faith in God.

So there you have it. May the year 2012 bring out my most willing heart to be a woman for Him and not for this world.

As for how "week one" has gone with the girls, things are going better than expected. Their transition was much easier than I anticipated, probably due to the fact that at this point they are used to being moved around a lot and it's kind of their reality, bless their little hearts. I found a daycare with spots for both of them and they started yesterday. For gals who'd never been to daycare previously, they did fantastic! Their teachers gushed over how sweet and polite they are, and we couldn't be more proud. And I'm not going to lie -- while I'm at work, it's so nice to have some moments of quiet and adult conversation while they are being taken care of.

Overall we're settling back into a normal routine for us, and the girls are fitting right in. I haven't really changed the way I run my household, and I think that's been the best way (at least for me) to work this out. They're quickly learning all of our "house rules", and it's just life as usual, with two extra little people.

There are times I look at them and can't imagine the day when they will more than likely be moved out of our home. There are times I think my heart will break into a million pieces if they are. And there are times where I think, no, it will all be okay, and then we'll probably get one or two more little people who need a safe place to land and we'll probably love them just as much while we have them. I guess I won't really know how heartbreaking it might be until we cross those milestones, but I guess I'm also learning with this process to simply take it one day at a time and not worry about the next day. Right now my husband and I are looking at it as kind of a "grandparent" type of thing -- you know, how grandparents get to love on them for a little while and then send them back, haha, one of the perks of being a grandparent. It's also a good lesson in patience dealing with the state, and I'm learning to be consistent (read: borderline annoying) and make things happen, you know, to be the squeaky wheel when I need to. It's not only our responsibility to take care of these little ones and shower them with love, but it is also our privilege to be an advocate for them.

So that's our first week in a nutshell. I promise to return with more crafty posts at some point. Believe it or not, I actually squeezed in quite a bit of sewing in the last two weeks, but I need to download my pictures to share.

Oh yeah, and we had a snake in our bathroom. That will make any first week of the year quite exciting, don't you think?!

In the nick of time...

2011-12-31T15:48:00.002-06:00

I'm posting the last post of 2011.

And I know it's been a bit lame around here with the lack of posting, but it's been mainly for lack o' time.

Just to keep you updated, my latest little "surprise" with my family is the fact that we are now a foster family. And we picked up our first two little "guests" this week, so we've all been adjusting to a "new normal". They are unbelievably cute -- two sisters, one a toddler and one a preschooler. I can already tell you my heart will break into a million little pieces when they leave us, whenever that may be. But I knew this going into it -- I have to be prepared that my heart will break each and every time, but that's okay. My job is simply to love on these little people and give them a safe place to land and thrive while I have them. Our state is in desperate need of more foster families, and it breaks my heart to think of how many more there are waiting to find a safe place to call home, even if it's just for a little while.

I wish I could post pictures, but I can't show you their little faces, so you'll just have to picture two darling little girls. ;)

2011 was good to us. We went from one son to three, and now we've gone from three to five children who call us Mama and Papa. 2011 was very good for stepping out of our comfort zone, getting out of a more self-centered world into one where we are focusing much more on others. I never thought this is where I would be in life, but I also can't think of a time when I've been any happier. And I'm learning a little more every day that the more I give up to God and hand over the death grip of control I've tried to have on my life, the more He is able to show me such amazing things and allow me to be a part of what He is doing in the world.

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year.

You need this music.

2011-12-17T19:10:00.003-06:00

I have a very talented fellow associate who used to work at Anthropologie with me.

She's a gorgeous girl, both on the outside as well as the inside. And she just happens to be a skilled violinist that plays in the band, Gungor. Hello, they're kinda famous...

I recently found out via Facebook that she was part of a new Christmas project, another gorgeous offering from those talented Gungor folk.

There don't seem to be any videos on YouTube that I can show you, but you can click here to listen to snippets of the amazingly beautiful Christmas tunes yourself. It's almost like standing out in a beautiful field at midnight with snow falling down and songs of Jesus filling the sky. Really.

Check it.

Holiday SOS.

2011-12-11T15:27:00.004-06:00

This isn't really an SOS.

But I kinda feel like my posts have been so sporadic that it's almost like I'm sending out an SOS now and then...

"still alive"

"send help"

"send chocolate"

You know, that sort of thing, haha.

But, of course, it's the same old shenanigans --

we're crazy busy.
It's the holidays.
I have three boys to keep up with. (Yes, sometimes that reality check still hits me like a ton of bricks!)
I'm a pianist: at Christmastime I am crazy busy with extra rehearsals and performances, pretty much every night.
Oh, and I started a new job.
I now work an average of 25-30 hours a week.
There's a big change for ya'!

I am now an "Artist in Residence" for our local public school system. (I prefer the title "Arteeeeeest" if you happen to run into me, haha.) Translation: I am a pianist for the vocal music and dance programs at a high school. I should probably clarify that this is an inner city high school. Stress on the "inner city" part of that sentence, yo'.

So far I love it. But what an eye-opener. It is as inner city as inner city gets. Let's just say I might stick out like Little Bo Peep walking the halls, and those halls are more like that Michelle Pfeiffer movie, "Dangerous Minds" (remember that one?), or that TV show on Fox several years back, "Boston Public". Yep, more like that.

But like I said, I love it. I love when they say "hey, Miz Fischer" to me in the halls, I love when they really actually try to sing and glory, hallelujah, what comes out of their mouths is nothing short of heavenly, and I love that I'm (hopefully) making a difference in their lives. Because most of us just can't imagine living in their reality, and that's the truth. Hopefully I am part of the bright spot in their days because they are becoming a part of mine.

And in the meanwhile, we have a few other tricks up our sleeve as a family that we're just waiting on. As if we need more excitement 'round these parts, right? ;)

So what's new in your neck of the woods? I hope you're enjoying a wonderful holiday season so far, and if you're like me, trying to remember to focus on the real meaning of Christmas -- the amazing gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy December!

Random awesomeness...

2011-11-18T13:38:00.001-06:00

...so you know I'm still alive, haha.

Have you seen this?

Pure voices mixed with empty plastic containers. Awesome.

Three little spooks

2011-11-10T13:16:00.003-06:00

Before I forget, here is a glimpse into the magical first Halloween we had together as a family of five...

I had no choice but to come up with something halfway awesome for my three Lego-loving little guys, so I made two Lego bricks and a Lego Darth Vader costume (their ideas). They were pretty excited!

*Please, if you want to borrow my image to share the awesome Lego love with others, please please ask my permission in the comments and also source it back to my blog. I'm no professional, but after hours and hours slaving away on these things, I'd say I might deserve a little credit. Thanks...

We've got it all.

2011-11-06T07:30:00.002-06:00

I think Oklahoma needs to change it's tourism marketing plan to something like this:

We've got it all here in Oklahoma!

Blizzards? We've got 'em!

Below-zero temperatures? We've got 'em!

Tornados? We've got 'em!

Floods? We've got 'em!

Hurricanes? (technically we can get the remnants of those, too) We've got 'em!

Over 100-degree temperatures for billions of days on end? We've got 'em!

Droughts? We've got 'em!

And now add to the mix...

Scary earthquakes?

We've got 'em!

I'm just waiting for the "tsunami zone" signs to go up somewhere so we can technically say we've got all of Mother Nature's fury covered -- surely our lakes could get a small tsunami going, haha.

Sheesh.

I felt the earthquake we had last October (2010) which was a 4-point-something. I slept through the next 4-point-something that happened yesterday morning around 2am. But darn-it-all-to-heck if I wasn't WIDE AWAKE for last night's fun, a 5.6 scary ride. Our house shook for at least 20 seconds. We were laying in bed, jumped up, ran down the stairs, and when I thought it was mostly over, I sat down on the sofa only to find my sofa was still shaking for probably another 5 seconds or so. I'm pretty sure I'll be shaking for weeks.

Not cool, people, not cool. Tornados usually give a little warning, and there are places you can seek shelter. Temperatures, high or low, I can deal with. Floods again usually give a little warning so you can evacuate. But earthquakes? What the heck?! There is no warning system and not really much you can do.

And here I'm guessing most people thought Oklahoma must be a boring place to live. I personally would prefer that it be a little less exciting, please...

How did I miss this????

2011-10-25T07:48:00.004-05:00

I don't have an official "bucket list" for my life, but in my head there is a running list of things that I've always wanted to see, experience, etc. You know, things like traveling to far-off places, seeing interesting things, etc. Does anyone else do that?

I checked the weather this morning on our local station's website, and lo and behold there were NORTHERN LIGHTS visible in our neck of the woods last night.

And I missed it.

Folks, I've lived up in the cold, cold north and never saw them there either.

Shoot.

Cross your fingers for me that this happens again and I might get a glimpse of the beauty someday...

*image from here

Keep it classy.

2011-10-25T07:39:00.002-05:00

Other than this, you will probably NEVER find me posting about Lady Gaga, or as I personally like to refer to her, Lady Gag-Me-With-a-Spoon. It's no secret, I'm not a big fan. I think she's talented, yes, but unfortunately I think she has used her talent in all the wrong ways, and I'm not crazy about the influence she seems to have on the kiddie set.

BUT.

There is always an exception.

Like this ADORABLE video. Tony Bennett + Lady Gaga = fantastico.

Lady Gaga actually keeps it classy! And we all know, that yes, unlike Madonna, the gal can croon.

So enjoy.

And please, pretty please, Lady Gaga, put out some more o' this and a little bit less o' that...

The Great State of Oklahoma has declared it...

2011-10-13T17:18:00.003-05:00

OFFICIAL.

Our new and improved forever family of five...

On Friday, September 30th, our little family stood in front of the absolute nicest judge (she even had presents for each of us) who declared us ADOPTED.

What a relief. It took us all by surprise that the process really did indeed take only six months for the state to wrap up (which is a small miracle in and of itself). It's done. These boys will never have to worry about caseworkers, foster homes, shelters, or any other such stuff ever again. As the eldest, Rudy, put it, they are now "just like everybody else", "normal kids with a mom and a dad". I love that.

I also love how Rudy summed it up -- "Mom, my whole life has been filled with short timelines, from my birthparents to different foster homes to here, and now it is just going to be one big ol' timeline going forward".

Amen to that.

And thanks for all of the support and encouraging comments you all have left over the last six months of this crazy journey. Every single word was greatly appreciated.

God is good. All the time.

2011-09-28T13:42:00.003-05:00

Imagine my surprise when this afternoon I received a call that our adoption finalization will be THIS FRIDAY.

Thank you, God.

It's gonna be a great weekend.

The September Post.

2011-09-28T08:42:00.003-05:00

Hmmm. It's September 28th, and this is my only post so far this month.

Busy much?

September has just been one big whirlwind. The facet of my life marked "adoption" has taken over and twirled me 'round and 'round through the month, and I am just now slowing down, trying to stop my dizzying fall and regain a sense of normal. September equals "school" for much of America, and in my house, it's been the biggest adjustment of all with my newer boys.

Most days I would tell you that this adoption journey (this second one, keeping in mind we did the international thing six years ago) is a piece of cake. But I'm learning to keep my mouth shut because September seemed to be laughing at my standard answer and decided to throw me some curveballs with my boys. So I'm learning a few things as an adoptive mom.

These kids are relatively easy, it's true. They are not your typical "state" kids, inasmuch as they really haven't experienced the same level of traumas and abuse as many of the older waiting kids in our state. For that, not a day goes by that I am not thankful to my core that they were somehow spared a lot of grief and heartache. That being said, they still have six and eleven years of history that didn't include my face, six and eleven years of history and learned behaviors and all of that stuff that I am still learning about (and so are they, for that matter).

This year all three of my boys are at a new school, and thankfully they are all three at the same school which has been a new form of heaven for me. No more long drives from school to school dropping off and picking up. When the weather is nice, we can walk! For the most part, everyone has made the adjustment pretty well. Everyone seems to love learning, everyone is excited about making new friends, and everyone likes their teachers. A pretty good outcome. We also have each of them in a different grade. My youngest two are just two months apart, but we decided at the end of the last school year to hold our newest six-year-old back for another year of kindergarten. Best. Decision. Ever. Although there are times it is like having "virtual twins", they really are quite different in both physical size and personality and learning styles, so now everyone is in their own separate grade. No competition, only support and encouragement for each other, and that part is working out perfectly.

The biggest adjustment for me personally has been the eldest child. Most parents get to work their way up to fifth grade with their child, but I've just been thrown to the wolves, per say. Oh my heavens. He has three different teachers, quite a bit of homework every night, special projects that need to be done at home, lots of tests every week, different teacher websites to keep up with for updates/information, etc. I feel like I need a whole separate planner just for my fifth grader. Anyone out there looking for a personal assistant position? That works for free? I could use one, haha.

Waaaaaay back in the day, I was a fifth grader. I was the poster-child of academic excellence -- nerdy as they come, Coke-bottle glasses and all, but straight-A's on every single report card were my specialty. (I remember crying buckets in high school when I got my first B. Seriously. Oh, the drama.) I was always respectful to my teachers (I had the fear of my mother in me), never skipped homework, never did sloppy work, never forgot papers or tests, etc. It was just second nature for me to try and excel at every single academically that I could. Pretty much picture a milder, quieter Hermione Granger, and you would have fifth-grade me.

Fast-forward to now and it is quite easy to see where the universe is having a great big laugh at my expense. Bless my son's heart, before he moved in with us, he was failing most subjects, and understandably so, as he didn't have anyone checking to see how he was doing in school, to teach him how to be a good student, etc. You can already picture this hilarious new equation, I'm guessing -- my total-other-end-of-the-academic-spectrum son + my overachiever former self = good times, good times.

I'm just going to be honest. September has sucked. It has pulled and prodded, poked and shoved, stretched and strained me. I have had several parenting successes, and I have had more than a handful of parenting FAILS. I keep looking for that parenting handbook that I swear these kids should've come with *winkwink*, and I am trying to figure this all out by trial and error. I've rejoiced with my son in his achievements, and I've definitely cried some tears over his failures. Trying to find a balance between where he is coming from (failing many subjects) and where I would like to see him (hello, straight-A model student, of course, *winkwink*) has been one tightrope act that I have yet to master. Slowly but surely, he is adjusting, I'm being tweaked myself, and we are actually this close to a straight-A report card. We could not be prouder, and it is amazing to see the sense of confidence he is gaining academically. But oh how he has challenged and tested us in other areas as well. We're smart enough to be thankful for the fact that he is challenging and testing us and not just quietly keeping it all to himself, but dang, if it hasn't been a trying month for my husband and I with this one.

In the midst of all of September's drama, I have also struggled with my other two shrinking in the shadows. As most of my focus has constantly been on the eldest, thankfully the other two have still been marching ahead in their own education and thriving. But it has also weighed on me that I have yet to find a good balance where am not just focusing most of my energy on one and not the other two. Dang, how do you mothers of three (or more) do it? Again, a parenting manual would've been nice (haha) because I've had to figure this mother-of-three thing out all by myself, and dangit if I won't be trying to figure it out until the last one turns 18!

Coincidentally, September also marked six months of being a new family of five. Last week we hit the six-month-mark, which is pretty hard to believe! For those of you that have been wondering, we're still not official and are technically just waiting on the judge to set a court date. If you feel so inclined, say a little prayer for us that we get a "good" judge that sets dates earlier than later (I've heard we could expect a court date as late as the end of the year, say WHA????, and that would be no bueno), and that my kids will all be able to write our last name on their school papers sooner than later. It's been official in our hearts since the day they moved in back in March, and not a day goes by that we don't tell them that, but I know that it will just help them feel that much more secure and confident when it's officially recognized by the state as well. They're old enough to understand all of it.

So that's my September in a long-winded nutshell. How was yours?

On the Telly...

2011-08-30T16:14:00.007-05:00

Do you get excited about the new fall television shows?

I used to, but here in the last few years, my TV-watching has dwindled greatly, not that I'm complaining. With less TV shows on my radar, I've gotten a heck of a lot more accomplished on sewing, reading, enjoying the outdoors, etc. And my eyes don't bug out nearly as much, haha...

Regardless, there are a few new shows that are going on my DVR schedule to try out. Here's hoping I don't get hooked on all of them so I can keep up my good television habits and not watch too much!

Zooey Deschanel? Yes, yes, and yes. The "New Girl" is looking good. (Is it sad that I recognized her dress in the promo picture as Anthro? Of course, it is.)

Folk music in a cave? Sign me up. "Bluegrass Underground" is supposed to premiere sometime in mid-September on PBS.

Retro and vintage -- right up my alley. I can't wait for "Pan Am" to start on ABC.

Storybook mixed with modern? Intriguing. Could be good, could be a flop. We'll see. But it's got Ginnifer Goodwin, and she's a fave, so surely it has a chance. "Once Upon a Time" starts in October on ABC.

Supposedly there is also a two-part reality show series in the works from TLC all about Sarah Palin's hair salon up north -- "Big Hair Alaska". I might tune in for that -- sounds entertaining to me!

Other returning shows I'm planning on checking out again, at least for a while:

"Gold Rush Alaska" (no air date yet for Season Two) -- my husband and I got hooked on this one for whatever reason

"Sister Wives" -- what can I say, the crazy polygamists suck me in every time. (Well, not really, just suck me in to their stupid TV shows, that's all.)

"The Fabulous Beekman Boys" -- please, PLEASE tell me this one is returning. I think they're pretty fabulous, and Polka Spot the Llama holds a little piece of my heart.

And last but CERTAINLY not least, I'm ready for January to get here so I can start watching "Masterpiece Theater" again! (Fingers crossed for the Downton Abbey Christmas special I've heard about, plus I've heard there will be a second season of regular episodes which supposedly just finished filming.) I'm a total convert, and "Masterpiece Theater" has turned into one of my absolute favorite parts of television.

So what are you planning on watching?

Makin' stuff.

2011-08-30T13:23:00.006-05:00

Late yesterday afternoon I actually donned an apron (never happens) in preparation to make dinner, which coincidentally was a very cute full-length-down-to-my-ankles apron from Anthropologie (bargain bin). I only mention this because the whole time I was wearing the apron, I felt drafty in the back (since it was full frontal coverage), and it kept making me think of the scene from "The Parent Trap" (the original, please) in which Hayley Mills cuts the back of her twin's dress off as a prank. I thought that was kind of funny.

Anyway, I digress. Last night I made a deeeeeeeeelicious dinner from scratch. Emphasis on the deeeeeeeeeeelicious. I've never heard such whoopin' and hollerin' from my boys at the dinner table, all of whom proudly proclaimed how much they love my cookin'.

Put a fork in me and call me done.

It was all Pioneer Woman-style up in here last night with some o' this Peach Whiskey BBQ Chicken

and some o' those Smashed Potatoes.

It's safe to say that Pioneer Woman sure knows a thing or two about feedin' boys. And it's always a festive occasion when the Baptists get to take a trip to the liquor store for a big bottle of Jack Daniel's. Just sayin'.

Today I'm a-cookin' some Farm Chicks Granola,

which will hopefully be a delicious alternative spooned on top of vanilla yogurt instead of the usually offering of cold cereal for breakfast. Hopefully one or all of my boys will notice and heap some more lovin' on their mama. Either that or I'm keeping it all to myself. Yum.

And holy cow -- my house smells all sorts of awesome right now from that granola in the oven. Better than any Yankee candle, Scentsy, or other artificial smells. I wish I could bottle it up!

Anything good been cookin' lately in your kitchen?

*First image found via Google; second two images via the lovely Pioneer Woman; last image via Serena, the amazing Farm Chick

Going green.

2011-08-23T08:50:00.010-05:00

Saturday I took my first big step towards being a "greener" household.

I made my own liquid laundry detergent. Boo-yah. I sho' did.

Via Pinterest, I found this brilliant tutorial. Thank goodness I thought to half the recipe my first time. I was unsure if all the ingredients (including the water) would fit in my big pot, so I took the safe route and only made a half batch. Sure enough, I was right, and from now on, I will make this stuff in half batches.

I found both the Borax and the Arm & Hammer super washing soda in my trusty Wal-Mart Supercenter (look on the bottom or top shelves if you don't find it at first). I had a bar of soap in my arsenal already, so I just used it. It was some fancy-schmancy pinky-purple bar of French soap, which made my liquid laundry detergent a pretty pale pink color. Ooh-la-la. I also took the time to read through ALL of the comments on the tutorial blog post, just in case there were any extra tips. Sure enough, many people commented to use only half a bar of soap instead of a full bar. Since my fancy-schmancy soap was a smaller square-ish size, I considered it equal to a regular half bar of soap.

The hardest step in all of this is the grating. I don't have a stand-up grater, so my arms definitely got tired grating my bar of soap. It did kind of give me a sense of Pioneer Woman (not the Ree Drummond-variety, but the real deal like my grandma was who was born in Indian Territory) grating that soap. I then halved my soap shavings, saving part of it for when I make another batch on down the road.

Another smart thing I did (imagine that) was to save my last two liquid laundry detergent containers. Ah, recycling at it's finest. Plus, the cap can be used as a measuring cup as it's capacity is a 1/2 cup just like this recipe calls for. I know how to use my noggin every once in a while...

If you make this laundry detergent, keep in mind three things:

1. Yes, it will coagulate (watch out, big word), meaning it will thicken up and get quite gelatinous. When I made this, I had enough to fill one jug completely and another jug 1/4 full (remember, I made a half batch). Next time I make it I will think ahead and pour both of them half full, giving me room to shake them up before pouring it out if they are really thick. So, don't be afraid if your batch turns out really thick. You can still use it, and most of the comments said their batches were pretty thick so it is completely normal.

2. This does not produce suds. (Suds do not necessarily equal "clean".) This was hard for me to grasp at first, but now I am a couple of loads in and believing in the magic.

3. My batch turned out very lightly scented. Since I use dryer sheets (I tear mine in half to make the box last twice as long), I don't need the detergent to scent my clothes because they end up smelling like whatever dryer sheet I throw in there. I'm pretty sure this detergent alone will not leave much of a scent on your clothes. When I used store-bought liquid laundry detergent, I usually went for the "free" versions without the scents or dyes anyway.

According to the tutorial, this liquid laundry detergent is a huge money-saver. For the $6 spent on a box of Borax and a box of Arm & Hammer super washing soda, this apparently will make enough detergent to clean approximately 576 loads. (I'm guessing it might make less for me since I never feel like I get as many loads as what they say on regular laundry detergent anyway.) Regardless, considering I normally spend $6 on one container of All (or Tide or whatever) that probably gets me somewhere around 50 loads, this is pure gold. You don't have to be a math genius to know that ends up costing mere pennies per load. And better for the environment to boot. And maybe better for your clothes as well since it doesn't have all the artificial crap in it.

So, do you think you'll try it out?

Next up for me: homemade dishwashing detergent, which by the way also uses Borax and Arm & Hammer super washing soda. (And hello, did you know you can use plain ol' white vinegar for rinse aid? Genius, I tell ya'.)

I'm loving this "green" stuff. Watch out, tree huggers, I'm comin' your way!

{Edited to add: I also just read about the benefits of white distilled vinegar in the laundry, so I am adding 1/2 cup to every load (there is a spot in my washing machine I can pour it in to be released during the rinse cycle). Apparently it not only whitens whites and brightens brights (ah, I am a poet), but it also softens the laundry and eliminates static cling. So maybe I can stop using the dryer sheets after all and switch to lavender sachets to scent my laundry...hmmm....}

**I do not have a high efficiency washing machine, nor do I have a front-loader. You should probably read through all the comments on the tutorial blog post to see if it would work in either of those (I think I remember reading that it would).

End o' summer. Thank the good Lord above.

2011-08-22T10:11:00.006-05:00

Today marks the first day of kindergarten, first grade, and fifth grade for my boys. I love those boys somethin' fierce, but I cannot lie. I am ECSTATIC to have a quiet house for a couple of hours to myself. It's plain heaven.

So how did we do on our Summer Bucket List?

Out of 48* items, we checked off 41. Not too shabby.

I'm usually a perfectionist and would aim for success being measured in checking off all 48 items, but a month or so ago, I decided, screw it, we'll just get done what we get done.

A much better perspective if you ask me.

One of the most embarrassing items to not be checked off the list?

Yep, that would be "start piano lessons". Hello, I have a piano degree. In "piano pedagogy", no less (translates to: piano teacher). However, in my defense, I did go out and purchase books for everyone, and we are starting this week, perfect timing with the start of school. So we barely missed this one.

Other items not crossed off?

Ice cream truck, go figure. It was a rarity to hear one coming down our street, and when we did, it was not good timing. Dang.
Ears 'n Beers: the party we usually do with neighbors. Totally missed the boat on that one this year.
Mini Golf -- too dang hot, and by the end of the summer, watching my three boys whack each other with metal rods didn't sound too appealing to me.
Farmer's Market: we obviously didn't make it on that one either.
Make a secret clubhouse? We got halfway there, clearing out the cubbyhole closet in the boys' room, so at least it's ready when we decide to do it. Maybe that would be a good idea for a snow day.
No training wheels -- too dang hot here to ride bikes. With most of our summer between 100-115 every stinkin' day, we didn't spend as much time outside as we would have liked. C'est la vie.

I also had to alter a couple of items. With the extreme, record-breaking heat we experienced this summer, we didn't have but a few fireflies, and it was very early in the summer that I even saw them. But for whatever reason, the dragonflies flocked to our yard instead. So I changed "catch fireflies" to "watch dragonflies". And I also had it on the list for us to visit the Oklahoma City Lego Store. On our trip to Minnesota, we took the boys to the much bigger Mall of America Lego Store instead.

Tell me, did you make a Summer Bucket List? Did you cross off many items? I just have to add, while I have been very flattered at the compliments about being a good mom by making our list, the gosh-darn truth is that I knew I NEEDED the list to survive the summer with three boys. If it wasn't for the list, this summer would have been anything but intentional in filling up with lots of fun things. Thank goodness for the Summer Bucket List!

*There were originally 49 items, but after analyzing "our" skillz at the roller rink, I knew there was no way "we" were all ready for the ice skating rink, so I promptly crossed it off.

Can YOUR dog do this?

2011-08-09T09:53:00.002-05:00

My mom is a dancing queen. No, really. She started taking dance lessons after my dad passed away, and she's been going at it ever since. She's really, really good. Anyway, she definitely knows a good dancer when she sees one, and she showed me this YouTube video. If you've got kids, you'll want to let them watch it. My boys love it, and they think we need to teach Mercy a few dance steps...

For the love of food.

2011-08-05T12:34:00.005-05:00

I feel that it would actually be considered cruel for me to withhold this deliciousness from you.

This recipe* came to me via Pinterest, a source I have been wholly utilizing these days in the nightly battle of wondering what in the heck I am going to make for dinner. Pinterest has not disappointed me yet with the recipes I've been trying. De-lish.

When we ate this last night, I was convinced it was the best sauce I have ever eaten. (And I've gotten around, let me tell you, eaten at lots of amazing restaurants across the country.) When I ate the leftovers for lunch today, I knew for sure that it is indeed the best sauce I have ever had. In fact, my three boys gobbled it up faster than any meal I've seen them eat before.

So don't delay. Make this for your family. It makes a lot, so be sure and freeze part of it so you can enjoy it later without the work.

And if you really love your family, buy one of those cheap little boxes of Jiffy pie crust mix and follow the recipe on the box for cherry pie. Good stuff, folks, good stuff.

*I followed the recipe exactly, using all Great Value brand cans of sauce and tomato paste from ye' old WalMart, but for the diced tomatoes, I used what I had on hand -- two cans of Del Monte diced tomatoes with basil and oregano, and one can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes, also found at ye' old WalMart. I have no idea if it would matter what I used, but I thought I would just let you know.

Support.

2011-07-31T18:21:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago we got a flier in the mail about a marriage retreat geared towards adoptive families. I guess you could say I normally wouldn't get excited about a marriage retreat -- having to get in touch with feely-feelings, sharing TMI with people we don't even know, etc. -- but I cannot lie, the idea of two days (and a night) away from my wild-albeit-lovely children at a very nice retreat center, all meals and lodging paid, even the CHILDCARE paid -- well, it was kinda impossible to pass up. Being that we are adopting through the Great State of Oklahoma, this is a program offered up to families like us that is funded by state and federal grants. So, heck yes, I signed us up. My poor husband didn't really have much of a choice, haha.

Fast forward to yesterday morning when we showed up for the retreat: like I said, we didn't know anyone else attending, and if I'm being honest, we were wondering if it might be the same "caliber" *coughcough* of individuals that we met through other parts of this process. (Not to say that there aren't plenty of awesome people with hearts of gold that sign up to be adoptive parents, because there are, but there are also plenty of folk you could swear walked in from the State Fair. You know the type.) Regardless, those two phrases -- "no children" and "all-expenses paid" dangled temptingly in front of my weary eyes. No matter what, it was going to be more-than-likely a nice air-conditioned, quiet experience at the very least. So we marched confidently in.

Thank goodness we sat down at a table with another couple with whom we hit it off immediately. I just cannot tell you how refreshing it felt to sit down and automatically find kindred spirits who understand what dealing with the state can be like, what getting children through the state can be like, what being adoptive parents through the state can be like. We automatically just got each other. Throw in sarcastic wit and we were friends from minute one. We knew this would be two days we could sit through for sure.

Funny thing -- remember the brutal honesty in my motivations for signing us up, the "no children" and "all-expenses paid" phrases? -- well, just like everything else in this process that we have very much been blindly sailing through, we had no idea that you could earn credit hours for taking this course. Ha. So as an unexpected bonus, we received enough credits of annual required training to float us at least another year with the state should we decide to take on any more kids in the future. (Someone might be wanting a girl, just sayin'....)

Most of the classes were geared towards the marriage relationship as it applies to adoptive families because yes, being married as an adoptive parent puts a new spin on things. Did you know that while the divorce rate these days is pretty darn high, it's even higher with adoptive parents? I didn't know it either, but it's not too hard to believe. Adoption is hard, ya'll. It's awesome and amazing and rewarding, but it is downright HARD at times, too. Topics from our classes included ways to deal with conflict and resolution, making marriage fun (again), intimacy, and communication. For us especially it was a very good reminder that we need to establish regular date nights, something we keep saying we will do but just haven't made a priority. Now that there are three kiddos in our family portrait, it is more important than ever for us to remember who we are as a couple and not just as parents. Because let's admit it -- more often than not, I wear the hat of "exhausted FUN-SUCKER mama" and not the hat I used to wear as "fun-loving wife".

But there was also an afternoon session about parenting kids who've been through trauma. At first I was skeptical and didn't really see how it would apply to our situation being that the level of trauma our kids have experienced seems pretty minimal compared to some stories we heard from others, but it really ended up being something I needed to hear. There were a couple of lightbulb moments for me -- one of validation for me as the adoptive mother and taking a lot more flak from the kids than my husband does -- and another for dealing with my boys and some of the behaviors they've exhibited that might be stemming from trauma in their past. Honestly, these two lightbulb moments made the entire weekend worth it for me, especially because before leaving for the retreat Friday afternoon, I had pretty much hit my limit of stress for the week. It was a doozie of a week with dealing with the kids and various behaviors, and I really felt at my wits' end, with the bonus of high-blood pressure to boot. I honestly just wanted to get away from them for a couple of days, but by the time it was over today, I was ready and felt more empowered to come home and be a better parent to them.

I guess that's the thing -- while this experience these last four months has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, there have also been more than a handful of times that it has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I've been pushed to what I thought was my limit as a parent, and I've been going through this pretty blindly. (Ha, that really doesn't sound much different than regular ol 'parenthood, now does it, but adoptive parenting is still a whole other ballgame.) Not that any kid comes with an instruction manual, but especially getting two older children that have their own history they come with, well, an instruction manual would be really nice. And while I use the word "I" in describing this, I don't mean like I'm a single parent. I've got the most supportive husband in the world (I really do), but since I am mostly a stay-at-home mom in between my part-time gigs, there are lots of time it's just them and me, and I'll be the first to admit, I don't always know what to do, how to react, etc. in a lot of situations that are new to me.

All that to say, it took me by surprise in how much I really enjoyed and also needed this weekend. We made some great friends that understand this whole crazy process, learned some valuable tools for marriage, received validation as parents of adopted kids, enjoyed some great laughs (there was a "Newlyweds Game" at the dinner banquet that was downright hilarious), learned more about our kids and how to best help them on their journey to become good citizens of the world, and a mostly importantly, we got a good night's sleep, baby.

High fives to the Great State of Oklahoma for the refreshing weekend and to the grant-writers of these United States for picking up the tab because this is one grateful, refreshed mama.

How was your weekend?

Why YES...

2011-07-18T21:56:00.004-05:00

...I AM going to be spending the evening with this lovely lady in T minus 24 hours!!!!!!!

And just for the record, I think I would just keel over if in the middle of the concert she said, come on out, my friend, and Kenny Rogers came out and joined her in a little "Islands in the Stream".

That would pretty much make my decade.

I {heart} etsy.

2011-07-14T15:42:00.003-05:00

Because these three things are headed my way:

for Mercy...

Girlfriend is going to be stylin' in her Union Jacks! It's very Wills and Kate, you know...

also for Mercy...

because I couldn't decide between the two, but the price for both off of etsy was LESS than the price for one in the same grapevine pattern from my local doggie boutique. I'm all about supporting local business, but not when it is more than twice the price. This one is very Orla Kiely, don't you think?

And for Dolly (the Airstream)...

a 5x7 print from here. I'm just going to pick up a white frame and mat from WalMart or Hobby Lobby and hang it on the wall in the Airstream. We've kept it very simple in there, but a fun little etsy purchase will be perfect. I can't wait to show you pictures of Dolly as she is getting very close to being finished!

Are you an etsy shopper?

On my nightstand.

2011-07-13T15:19:00.004-05:00

I'm what I'd like to call a voracious reader.

I enter my local library faithfully once a week. I use the online system of ordering books (and CDs and DVDs) and having them sent to my library for pickup. My librarians know my boys and I by name.

I love that.

And it never fails that I'll have at least 3 or 4 books come in at the same time. Books that are "high demand" and cannot be checked out for longer than two weeks, so I'm always cramming at night to get some good reading time in before I go to sleep. Most nights I don't even watch TV. I go upstairs around 8:30, climb into bed, and read until 10:30 or so.

Here's a sampling of what I've read lately:

Oh my, was this one laugh out loud funny. I picked this one up after getting one of the recommended reading emails from the library, so I had no idea what to expect. But I must tack on a warning -- it's got some language and occasionally there were some moments where it was a bit TMI for me from the author and his partner. I'm kind of a prude when it comes to most things, especially language and such, but I couldn't put it down because it was so dang funny.

Loved this one. Ate it up, finished it in one night's time. Great summer read.

This book made me constantly hungry, and hungry for good food. It's kind of like a cookbook and memoir all in one. I marked a few of the recipes that I would like to try.

Oh heavens. Forget BossyBants. Tina Fey is a PottyMouth. There were some funny moments, I'm not gonna lie, but I was squirming with all of the bad language. It would've been just as funny with a way less f-bombs. I mainly just skimmed through it because I got tired of all the bad language.

Just started this one last night -- another one from the "recommended reading" emails from my local library. Appears to be an easy summer read.

Technically this one is a young adult fiction read, but I loved it. Brought me back to my youth and the type of novels I enjoyed the most.

So, what's on your nightstand? Any recommendations for me?

Monday: Laundry Day

2011-07-11T13:55:00.004-05:00

Monday is Laundry Day at my house.

*Beautiful image from here. Don't you just love this laundry room?

So far today, I've cranked out 4 loads (washed, folded, and put away, thankyouverymuch), and I think I've got 3 or 4 more to go.

I've learned a lot over the years (and over the last few months since we gained two family members), and here are some tips that work for me.

*I stand at the dryer and fold the clothes immediately as I pull each item out of the dryer. Otherwise, clean piles of laundry would inevitably sit around my house. I do not allow myself to take the whole pile of warm clothes out because I don't trust myself they will get folded in a timely manner and actually put away!

*I rip my dryer sheets in half. My clothes are just as soft and static-free and nice-smelling as they were when I used a whole sheet per load.

*The boys now sort their clothes for me into three piles: whites, mediums, and darks. They are expected to turn everything right-side out and empty all pockets, otherwise any money I find I keep (since I wouldn't be able to determine whose money it was). They also each have an embroidered towel with their name on it that they use all week. On Laundry Day, the towels go into the wash with the rest of their clothes. It has saved at least one load of towels for me a week. For now I still wash, fold and put away all of their clothes. When they've "helped" in that department, I've had to go back and re-do what they've done, so we might wait another few months before we attempt it again.

I've still got plenty of room for improvement though. I need to clean and spruce up my laundry room (maybe this week?), and I would like to start making my own "green" laundry detergent to use. And I'm sorry to admit this, but laundry does not include doing the ironing, which I am dreadful at. My great-grandmother, who ironed absolutely everything, would be sorely disappointed. But my confession is this: out of all the household chores, I actually love doing the laundry.

Is Monday Laundry Day for you? Got any tips you can throw my way?

Have Mercy.

2011-07-11T11:36:00.004-05:00

We did it.

(Er, I did it, actually. It's all my fault.)

We went and got us another dog.

If you've been reading for a while, you know that we are big animal lovers. At one point we had five dogs for six years. Two years ago, our beloved Golden Retriever passed away. Our hearts were broken. And then a month or so ago, her companion passed away, and our hearts were broken again. That left us without a "house dog". We do have three Italian greyhounds whom we love dearly, but they spend their days in my husband's office with him (behind our garage, he works from home) and come in to the main house on occasion because they've never been fully potty-trained, if you catch my drift. So they are loved and spoiled, but not the main house dogs.

On Thursday I got on Craigslist.

{Note to self: stay offa there.}

With full-own guilt, I glanced through the pet listings, knowing I shouldn't be on there. There was one listing that jumped out at me. I knew, I just knew, this was it. I sent an email to my husband with the listing, and I even titled my email: "I should NOT get on Craigslist". My husband agreed -- I should NOT get on Craigslist, and although it was tempting we should avoid getting another dog. Hello, we still had three. It's not like we were wanting for canine companionship.

But I could not help feeling as if the house was too empty. Our kitties even have seemed a bit lonely since our Mazi girl passed away. So I cheated and sneaked in an reply email to the Craigslist post. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

Sure enough, they replied back with all sorts of wonderful things to say about this baby. Honestly, she was PERFECT for us, and I knew it. Thankfully, my husband forgave me, even confessed that he had been thinking about her since I sent him the email, and called them immediately.

Mercy came home to live with us Friday night.

She is the BEST dog:

*4 years old
*English Setter mix
*spayed
*housebroken
*quiet
*submissive
*in great health
*fur that feels like mink
*SWEETEST disposition ever
*wants to cuddle and be loved 24/7
*quiet, but a great watchdog

Yes, she came with that awesome name, MERCY. The couple we got her from were actually fostering her for a few weeks. Her owner had to give her up as he just found out he has brain cancer and wasn't sure if he'd be able to care for her. Before that, she was apparently a rescue, so we don't know her full story, but the owner gave her that name because he's a Christian and thought it was fitting for such a sweet rescue dog. Don't you just love her name? And she was FREE. Zero dollars for this beauty. They just wanted to be sure she would go to a good home. After checking out our reference (veterinary clinic) and our assuring them that she would be pampered and the queen of the castle, she was ours.

*Here's Mercy, already settled in on the sofa with Minnie Pearl and Romeo. You can see Harry in the background, sleeping on the side table next to the lamp. Tex was nesting in the other room, otherwise there would have been four doggies on the sofa. And I'm happy to report that Sally, the female cat, has officially finished her "hissing period" and has come around to love Mercy as well. It's unanimous -- the other pets all love her.

I'm more than happy to report as well that I'm her person. Maybe she secretly knows that I'm the one that found her. Who knows. But she has latched on to me. And that makes me all kinds of happy to have a little shadow in the house every day.

She's perfection all wrapped up in canine packaging.

Hideaway

2011-07-06T12:16:00.003-05:00

This next quilt was made back in February for a darling baby girl. This baby girl has some ultra cool parents, so I was a little extra picky about the fabric for this one. Once I spotted the Hideaway line by Lauren + Jessi Jung, I was sold. Alpine chalets, tiny towns, little forests, and cuckoo clocks? Yes, please!

*click on each image for a closer look*

I basically made a strip quilt (easy peasy and a great way to showcase fabrics), but I added a little panache to this one. I got all fancy-pants and quilted the baby's name on there! I'm not gonna lie -- I was proud as a peacock that it turned out so well.

The two printed fabrics were from the Hideaway line, and the light brown printed fabric and the pink solid were both found at my local JoAnn's. The brown print is a sweet old-fashioned sort of print that I felt helped tone down the brightness of the Hideaway prints. The pink is not normally a choice I would purchase as it is kind of a "country pink", kind of mauve-ish, but it matched the Hideaway prints perfectly while also blending well with the light brown print.

And not to worry, I still have enough fabric to make another one to keep...;)

Quilting catch-up...

2011-07-04T11:14:00.003-05:00

Because I haven't been able to download my pictures for several months, I'm having to play catch-up on quilts I've made since the beginning of the year. Here is the first of the posts:

This is a lap quilt I made in February. A friend of a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and having a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, so I made this quilt for my friend to give to her. I really didn't have a plan, but I decided to go with the pink idea that is usually attached to breast cancer support. I meant for these to really be modern crosses, and it kind of turned out a bit Red Cross themed, hmmm, but it also made me think of the idea of "thinking positive" with little plus signs. I really like how it turned out.

On the back I used flannel. I've never backed my quilts in flannel, but it certainly won't be the last time I do it because it turned out so nice and soft. I used a breast cancer ribbon printed flannel, mainly because it ended up being on sale and much cheaper than buying other cottons to back it in. I'm not usually one to buy "themey" fabrics like that, but in this case it worked out. For the stripes in the middle of the front and all of the binding, I used a print that had stripes in pink, magenta, and red, and I like how it ended up looking like I pieced it when I didn't.

Morning sillies.

2011-06-24T09:11:00.001-05:00

haha, very funny, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

My sweet husband knows me all too well.

This morning he took the boys to breakfast so currently I'm enjoying a quiet, quiet, Q-U-I-E-T house. I decided to go in and steal the last of the chocolate cupcakes for breakfast.

Oh yeah, that's how I roll. I totally keep the last of any chocolate or sweets for myself. Selfish, I know. Bless their hearts, all my boys are used to it.

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I opened up the container and found this little remnant.

Guess my sweet husband beat me to the punch...

Thriving.

2011-06-23T13:30:00.001-05:00

calla lily, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

I'm not known for having a green thumb.

I'm trying to remedy that this summer, although I'm doing so on a very small scale with a few hanging ferns and a little container garden. So far, so good. (Except for the poppies which basically ditched me a couple of weeks ago. Seriously, they went from gorgeous one day to brown and all withered up the next. Guess they don't care for the crazy Oklahoma weather either.)

A month or so ago I noticed a little green poking it's head out of the flowerbed in the backyard, so I started watering it every day. I honestly thought it was more than likely another weed (the only thing I'm good at growing), so imagine my surprise when this little sprout turned into a ginormous plant with three gorgeous calla lily blooms.

Someone else obviously planted it, but as the flowerbed was very unkempt when we moved in, I hope they'd be tickled pink (or rather, a luscious deep purple) to see how she's faring now.

...and the back.

2011-06-23T09:59:00.001-05:00

baby quilt back, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

(Just in case you wanted to see the back.)

I wish you could see these pictures up close. The fabrics had lots of flowers, trees, and birds in them. Completely adorable. And I loved the chance to do one of my favorite color combinations -- pink and orange.

Happy babies...

2011-06-23T09:56:00.001-05:00

baby quilt front, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

use happy quilts!

This was a baby quilt I finished up a couple of weeks ago. The fabric is "Happier" by Deena Rutter. Pretty cute, no?

Normally my "go-to" method for a quick baby quilt includes strip piecing the front, but this time I had purchased a fat quarter set instead of 1/2 yard cuts, so I couldn't do that. On the fly I came up with my own version of a stacked coin quilt, and I'm pretty happy with it. I used all the leftover strips to make the binding which I rarely get to do, but I absolutely love the look of patchwork binding.

All-in-all a very cute and easy quilt. My only regret is snapping a quick photo with my smart phone instead of my fancy-schmancy camera. It was bright outside that day so the colors in the picture aren't near as vibrant as in real life.

See? I told you I've been cranking 'em out. I have so more quilt pictures to share once my husband gets the ol' iPhoto relaunched on my computer and I can download everything off my camera...

Quilty-quilty.

2011-06-21T20:14:00.001-05:00

plus quilt, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

I promise I've been making quilts. Lots of them actually, although they were all gifts. Except for this one -- it's all mine.

I started this one on our Tulsa Modern Quilt Guild quilting retreat last month, forever to be known as the "Rapture Retreat" as there was a good chance according to that old spook that we were all going to be raptured sometime that day. Awesome. Actually, it made for lots of funny jokes all day long.

This is a "plus quilt" top made mostly with fabrics from the "Farmdale" line by Alexander Henry along with a handful of random prints and solids thrown in for good measure. I followed a tutorial very loosely, making my own measurements up so I didn't waste too much of my fabric. It's a generous lap quilt size.

So now to pick out some backing and get this baby quilted before I procrastinate...

Best souvenir EVER.

2011-06-21T13:50:00.002-05:00

shatto milk, a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

Those that know me in life either already know or won't be surprised to know that I pretty much eat ice cream every day.

EVERY day, people.

It's my vice. But I don't smoke, drink (okay, I take that back -- I enjoy one or two margaritas a year), or drink pop, so I figure a little ice cream every day shouldn't hurt anyone.

Being such a lover of ice cream and most things dairy, there is a dairy farm in Missouri that holds my heart -- Shatto Milk Company. We took a tour of the dairy farm two Spring Break's ago and fell in love with their milk. Unfortunately for us, they don't deliver to anywhere outside of Missouri.

So it is now imperative to stop at a grocery store and load up whenever I am passing through Missouri. And this is exactly what we did. Two glass bottles of whole milk and three glass bottles of root beer milk later -- I am a happy, happy girl.

Root beer milk = perfection. It tastes just like a melted root beer float. And that, my friends, is the best vacation souvenir EVER.

Come and find me!

2011-06-16T06:09:00.004-05:00

Just when you thought I'd probably never post again, I'm guest blogging today over at the RHOK.

That stands for REAL HOUSEWIVES OF OKLAHOMA.

Ha.

We don't need no stinking reality show here in the heartland. A website will suffice. And I'm pretty sure there is less silicone and less whining and more intelligence and hilarity than those dumb reality shows anyway.

So go check it out.

I've never been a guest blogger before, so this is exciting stuff, folks. Exciting stuff. Well, at least my friend Jonni Baloney thinks it must be exciting stuff since she asked me to guest blog. Bless her heart. If only she knew...'cause her own blog is seriously one of my faves. She keeps me in stitches with her hilarious stories.

In the meanwhile, stay tuned for some posts here next week regarding our little family's own personal National Lampoon's adventures.

Seriously, the Griswold's have nothing on us.

Meet "Dolly".

2011-06-01T21:07:00.001-05:00

"Dolly", a photo by valerie-in-wonderland on Flickr.

What's summertime without a fun little project to work on? ;)

We interrupt this broadcast...

2011-05-19T10:56:00.004-05:00

of normally sunshiney happy posts

to vent.

About how life sometimes sucks.

Yesterday was our ninth wedding anniversary.

(That part doesn't suck, just in case you were wondering.)

My husband was out of town on business.

One of the kids woke me up at 3am.

My husband was supposed to be in town by 11am so we could go to lunch together, sans kids, for our anniversary.

His flight was canceled.

The dog wasn't doing so well.

I began to wonder if the dog was going to make it.

My husband did come home yesterday afternoon, thank goodness.

The kids were not acting their best.

We had some homework issues that made me want to pull my hair out.

The dog continued to get worse.

My husband took the dog to the vet prepared for the worst, but was reassured by some young veterinarian that our dog would probably be feeling better in a few days. So he returned home with the dog.

I didn't know if I could make it much longer having to see our dog like that.

All day long I had already been on pins and needles over the dog.

So stressed.

Ten margaritas couldn't have calmed me down.

We went to dinner with the kids, not exactly what we had in mind for our anniversary.

But oh well, what is a ninth wedding anniversary without some good ol' fashioned reality thrown in, right?

We even drove the kids past our wedding venue on the way home from dinner. Who would've thought we'd end up living two blocks away from where we were married?

Throughout the night the dog continued downhill.

I couldn't sleep too well, aware of the inevitable.

This morning the kids (again) were not their best.

This morning more homework issues were discovered.

This morning attitudes were adjusted.

Unfortunately mine was not one of them.

This morning my husband had to take our beloved dog in to be put to sleep.

You'd think that the people (us) that had five dogs at once would be used to the loss of a dog since we just went through this approximately two years ago, but no. It doesn't get any easier. We're true animal people. You know the type -- even after having kids (of the human variety), our furry children never took much of a backseat. Think about it -- pets can't talk back, throw tantrums, etc. There's a lot of unconditional love going on when pets are involved, at least in our house. So I've done my fair share of crying already this morning. And it's going to take awhile to get used to the empty feelings in the house.

Tomorrow I have no doubt I will be back to my normal, glass-always-half-full mentality, pushing the rose-colored glasses I love back up on my nose. But today, I just need to vent.

And probably cry quite a bit more.

Thanks for letting me get that out.

G'morning, poppies.

2011-05-16T12:01:00.002-05:00

G'morning, poppies., a photo by valerie_fischer02 on Flickr.

I am bound and determined that this will be the summer my "black thumb" is no more. For several weeks now I've been purchasing plants, repotting plants, watering plants, talking to plants, etc., in the hopes that they might actually survive the summer. I haven't had too much luck with plants in the past, but dangit, this year will be different!

And boy howdy, do I ever love my poppies. I still need to repot them, but I've been babying them in the meanwhile, and I think they might stick around...

Seven weeks down.

2011-05-11T18:44:00.000-05:00

Yeah.

So I didn't really mean to go AWOL there for so long. It's been almost a month since my last post. Yowza.

But then again, someone handed me two kids practically overnight, so I'd say that's a pretty good excuse for the last seven weeks.

For those of you wondering what our life is like now, here's the skinny. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it so you think my life is like the Donna Reed Show, all shiny and happy 100% of the time. (Are any of you out there in BlogLand like me -- honestly a tad sick of reading so many of these blogs where it looks like Martha Stewart threw up in their house, Mother Theresa was obviously their lifecoach, and every detail of their life is peachy keen with an extra cherry on top? Please tell me you haven't lumped my little ol' blog into that category. I'll have to slap you back to reality if that's the case, after you've come in my house, tripped over my messes in every room, and picked yourself up off my floor that hasn't had a good mopping in weeks.)

I'll be kickin' it to ya' Clint Eastwood-style...

The Good:

*All three brothas are still really getting along 95% of the time. To say they love each other is an understatement. They loooooooooooooove each other. This revelation has honestly blown all of our expectations out of the water.

*The transition, in terms of a typical state adoption of older kids, has been phenomenal and off-the-charts. Any person that would see our family on the streets would probably assume we'd been together forever, or at least I hope they would.

*We're two homestudies down towards the finalization of the adoption. (I think we've got four more to go.) Easy-peasy process so far.

*Three kids = three people to help with housework! ;)

*It's been pointed out to me that I'm a lucky woman having three boys because generally speaking, boys love their mama's quite fiercely. And so far, I think that's pretty true. I feel pretty loved most of the time.

*I love how well they've transitioned to our church, too. Going from once-or-twice a year attending church to every blessed Sunday can't be easy, but they seem to love it already, and we are thankful.

*Three boys + good weather = boys spending time playing outside & extra free time for the mama. God bless the backyard, the mini-penitentiary of my dreams.

*My husband has majorly stepped up in helping me. Although yes, they are with me more than my husband which means a good chunk of the responsibility is on my shoulders, he has not left me in the trenches by myself. When I discipline, he backs it up immediately. When I am tired and overwhelmed and it is apparent to all involved that I might need to step away to cool off for a moment or two, he immediately grabs the reins and takes over. He is a good example to all three boys in many ways, including making me feel special and making sure they understand they need to do the same for their mama. I am very blessed.

*For the most part, I am feeling more and more like their mama and not merely their legal guardian. As you can imagine, if someone handed you two children ages 5 and 10, it might take a little bit getting used to going from feeling like their new babysitter to feeling like their forever mama. We're closer to the "forever mama" end of the spectrum these days.

*I love school. Public education has afforded me 7-8 hours every day of peace and tranquility in my home while the boys are (hopefully) gaining some wisdom and knowledge, and I suppose a little bit of street smarts. And it's free.

*They're potty-trained. You may think that's a dumb thing to add to the "Good" list, but since potty-training was on my list of worst things ever, I am not taking it for granted. Ha!

*85% of the time I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

The Bad:

*I'm tired. All the time. Ha. And I go to bed a lot earlier every night than I used to.

*Fourth-grade homework stinks. Bigtime. I am not a fan.

*Driving to two different schools every morning and every evening. Thank goodness that ends in another month.

*I've never seen so many pairs of jeans with holes in both knees. Which means I will never be buying so many pairs of jeans at Gap Kids again.

*Boys are messy. Dirty. Stinky. Gross. Take this times three. (Although I could also argue that these qualities make them so endearing all at the same time. Boys are truly a whole different species from girls, and it makes life fun at our house, that's for sure!)

*Let's just say that the new bathroom rule in our house is that everyone sits. I'm guessing you've caught on to this...

*Stepping on Legos with your bare feet -- good times.

*Three messy boys + one messy mama who is trying to reform her ways and be a better example = lots of work. Keeping the house picked up has never felt so daunting. I have a long ways to go before this is overcome.

*He said VERSUS He said VERSUS He said. This is the very reason I implemented Rule #1 in our house: no tattling whatsoever (unless, of course, someone is injured or in danger or about to be one of the two). If you tattle, all three of you will be in trouble. No question.
Best rule ever, by the way.

*Daily reminders to myself and the boys:
I am not a maid.
I am not a short-order cook.
I am not a dictionary/thesaurus/encyclopedia/Cliff's Notes for getting homework done. (I help, but I am not going to give you the answers right out. I'm here to guide you to solve your own homework, etc.)
I am not a referee (well, technically I am, but don't tell them that, as I am making them learn to work problems out themselves). I am not merely offering up suggestions, but rather I am telling you what to do. Yes, I am your parent.
I only have two hands. I cannot do ten things at once, so get in line.
I am new at this, and they don't come with instruction books. ;)
Although I may feel like it a lot, I am not the Fun-Sucker. (*see "The Ugly")
I don't have to listen to whining. (Here's the only other major rule that I've implemented from Day One. Rule #2: NO whining. Period. You whine, you lose a privilege. It's great.)

*10% of the time we look at each other and wonder what in the world we were thinking??? ;)

The Ugly:

*Did I mention fourth-grade homework?

*The middle name I jokingly gave myself years ago as a mama has definitely not been as much of a joke these last six weeks. As the chief disciplinarian (since the kids are with me more than my husband, but not to confuse since he also is a strong force in this area), I jokingly call myself "The Fun-Sucker" since it probably appears to my charges that I seem to suck the fun out of life when discipline comes into play. So take that times three now and you've got a mama that feels unfortunately like the uninvited guest at a party. I'm the Fun-Sucker a lot these days. Laying down the law, keepin' the peace -- I know I'm truly the good guy in all of this since it will make my children better citizens of the world (we hope), but I know to all three of my children that unfortunately more often than not, I'm appearing as the villain in their life story. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...

*Fourth-grade attitude and stare-down's. I must admit, my eldest guy is not near as naughty as some of the other 10-year-old's out there, so this is pretty minor, but dang, when he does get in trouble, I'm not a fan of the attitude. Quite different from dealing with kindergarten attitude. But *we're* all working on it.

*Laundry. Oh heavens.

*Cooking for five. (Remember, eating out costs a heckuva lot more for our family than it used to, which means not only am I cooking for five now, but I am cooking much more often for five as well.)

*We will have a third driver in the family in five short years. Heaven help us.

*Time for sewing, quilting, blogging, TV-watching -- hmmmm, it's pretty much flown out the window. But the good news is it will be making a return soon. Slowly but surely I'm getting a grasp on this larger-family-business.

*Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime. You know what this means?

79 days of me + three boys.
Lots of togetherness.
LOTS of togetherness.
LOTS of TOGETHERNESS.
SEVENTY-NINE DAYS of TOGETHERNESS.
Dang, I've got to come up with some sort of a plan.

*5% of the time I've got my bags packed and ready to move to a convent in Europe somewhere...

So there you have it. Two not-so-perfect parents raising three not-so-perfect little boys but with the help of a perfect God, we're hoping to do a pretty decent job of it...

A Good Samaritan

2011-04-14T10:05:00.004-05:00

Are you familiar with the story in the Bible about the Good Samaritan? Here is the summary from Wikipedia:

According to the Gospel of Luke (10:25-37) a Jewish traveler is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured Jew. Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to a question regarding the identity of the "neighbour" which Leviticus 19:18 says should be loved.

My oldest boy has been learning a song about the Good Samaritan, and we've been singing it over and over in the car. His children's choir at church is putting on a little musical next month, and he's already learned most of the music. I'm pretty proud.

Like the Good Samaritan if you care you can see a need
Like the Good Samaritan if you're there you can meet it
Like the Good Samaritan if you care you can change someone's life
So be there, care, share the love of Christ*

Like I said, because we've been playing the CD in the car over and over for him to learn the music, our whole family has learned this song. It's got a catchy tune, simple lyrics, and the backup band is fun. But you know, if it really boils down to it, in the car is pretty much as far as that story has gone for me. I haven't exactly played it out in real life recently, ya' know?

I bet your city is a lot like mine where you see the occasional homeless person panhandling for money by the side of the road. You know the type -- cardboard sign asking for handouts. Our city unfortunately has been overrun with this, and although there are probably a few honest folks out there, for the most part it is a whole network of people that beg for money for their living. This means that most of the time I turn a blind eye, although on occasion, I've handed over a bill or a McDonald's gift card, knowing all the while that it might go to purchase alcohol instead of food, but just praying all the same that God would use my bill (or gift card) to bless them just the same.

And I bet your city is a lot like mine where you sometimes get approached by a person in a parking lot (especially downtown) asking for a handout. It's pretty common 'round here. I think I've actually become desensitized to the whole thing. And to tell the truth, we all know that it's really important to be on guard and safe and watch your surroundings in these situations.

All that to say, I honestly haven't been much of a good Samaritan lately. Not in the truest sense of the story, at least. And because I am so immersed in what is happening in my own little corner of the world, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't even noticed this about myself. Until recently.

I'm married to a Good Samaritan.

He doesn't toot his own horn on things like this, but this is a story that has honestly really affected me and convicted me and inspired me all in the same fell swoop. Maybe you'll get something out of reading it as well.

A couple of months ago my husband came home to tell me about something he did that day. He was at Walgreen's to drop off a prescription, and out in front was a man (who appeared homeless) asking for help. The man wasn't specifically asking for handouts like we normally see, but for help. According to my husband, the guy was in his 30s, in a wheelchair, missing all of his teeth, and pretty darn shaggy in appearance. So obviously, people weren't lining up to help. And I'm ashamed to say I would probably fall into that category if I had seen him there**.

Like the Good Samaritan, if you care, you can see a need

My husband told me that he had a super busy day that day, and that he had no business stopping because of how much work he had to accomplish. But he said that he felt a very strong tug on his heart, that this man was placed in his path for a reason. Simple as that. So he stopped.

Like the Good Samaritan, when you're there, you can meet it

Long story short, the man shared with my husband his story of needing to get his prescription, but having no money because someone had just stolen his wallet. This was not the first time he had had money stolen. It has happened over and over to him. Being that he suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is in a wheelchair, he is a target. Recently he even had his teeth stolen from him. Can you imagine? And there was one instance of his being beaten up so badly after being robbed that it actually made the local news. My husband later checked it out online and found out that the guy was telling him the truth.

On this particular afternoon, this man was not asking my husband for much, just help. My husband found out how much his prescription was for (I want to say it was super inexpensive, $5 or so), and after picking up the prescription, my husband drove him home. The man never asked him for extra money, etc. He just seemed extremely grateful and thankful to God that my husband stopped to help. He told my husband that he had sat there almost all morning with no one ever stopping even to ask. My husband was the first and only one after many hours.

Like the Good Samaritan, if you share you can change someone's life

From what my husband learned that day, this guy is trying to make it on his own. I don't know if you know much about MS, but it's quite the crippling disease. Apparently this man was a pretty normal healthy guy once, played basketball in high school even, but then MS started to take over his body. It got to the point where his mother was his primary caretaker, but at some point she moved here to our city with him, got tired of the responsibility, and left him here by himself. And I guess he's been on his own ever since. He obviously is getting help from the state to make his bills, but he tries to do everything he can on his own, like taking the bus to go grocery shopping, etc. He even told my husband that although he qualified for an electric wheelchair, he didn't ever want one because he would lose more muscle if he stopped having to use his body to propel his own chair. A guy just like many throughout the world -- dealt a tough blow and simply trying to survive, but dodging roadblocks and setbacks every step of the way. And all alone.

So be there, care, share the love of Christ

I was skeptical when my husband first told me he had stopped to help someone at Walgreen's. Just like any other wife, I didn't want him doing "something stupid" or being taken advantage of or worst-case-scenario, getting in an unsafe situation. But after hearing the full story, and especially the fact that we didn't hear back from the guy asking for more help or more handouts, I came to realize that this was a true blue Samaritan opportunity that thankfully my husband recognized and obeyed.

Fast forward to this past Tuesday -- my husband and I were about to have a rare lunch date and had plans to get some Chicago dogs from Sonic and eat them at the park. But he got a call about an hour before we were going to leave, picked it up, talked for a few minutes, hung up, and looked over at me. He had to cancel our lunch date.

To say I was a bit peeved and disappointed is the truth. But after hearing his story, all I felt was ashamed that I was honestly so selfish.

As you might have guessed by now, the phone call was from that guy. He hadn't contacted my husband since that day a couple of months ago, but this was a call from him asking for help. He was in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia, and my husband's number was one of the only ones on his cell phone. In fact, when my husband went up to the hospital, the guy pretty much told him that he was his only friend.

I don't know about you, but I don't have just one friend. I'm not living without a single family member nearby. If I were to go to a hospital, there would be a long enough list of people that would be concerned, that would want to help, that would be praying for me and loving me.

But again, I was a bit skeptical thinking, here-we-go, now he's going to latch on to my husband, and my husband is going to take this on as his own personal charity case thinking he can save the world, blah blah blah. (Again, I'm just admitting my own faults here. At least I'm honest.) Thank heavens I don't wear the pants in this family. My husband went up to the hospital with his laptop in tow, and over the course of an hour or two, he got lots of information and set to work. One of the first things he did was call the Social Security office and get some things cleared up in the man's favor that had been mistakenly screwed up. He also was able to find out the deal from the doctors and nurses and extend the guy's stay a few more days until he is well enough to leave on his own. Being the savvy and well-connected businessman that he is, he made several calls and sent several emails to organizations in our city to help get the resources this man needs. My husband is such a caring guy that he even felt guilty about one thing: apparently the guy appeared to have a pretty bad cold or something when he helped him out that first time, and my husband was horrified it turned into pneumonia which landed the guy in the hospital. Somehow he felt that he should have recognized that as well and helped even more. What can I say? My husband is over and above a super compassionate guy. But the wild thing is the one request from the man that was so in-your-face-that-this-is-a-God-thing: he was told he needed a hospital bed. So the man was asking my husband if he knew how he could get a hospital bed donated or for a great low price.

Get this: just that morning, my husband had gone for a quick breakfast at his favorite diner a couple of miles from our house. He is one of the "regulars", so all of the waitstaff and many of the other regulars know him by name. One of his fellow regulars was chatting with him over coffee and asked him if he could take a look at a hospital bed he had, and if he thought he could sell it, find a person to use it, etc. He knew my husband is in the medical sales field. Although my husband does not deal in hospital beds, etc., he was nice and took the guy's name and number regardless to see if he could help him out since he does know quite a bit about that field.

Honestly???

My husband and I don't believe in luck or coincidence or any other explanation for something like this. This was all orchestrated by God, the One who cares for each and every one of us. Even if we don't have a single friend in the world, He cares and loves us more than anyone else in the world. He already had already anticipated this man's need, and He had already orchestrated the solution for that need. He just needed a willing Samaritan to obey and be used.

So my husband, who normally would have no idea about getting hospital beds, etc., immediately had a resource for this guy.

I'm sure this won't be where the story ends. It's our prayer that this man will not only heal from the pneumonia, but that God would work in his life, that God would continue to help provide the resources and support this man needs to survive, and that God would be glorified through it all.

I think we all could learn a little from my husband. It's time for me to take the blinders off, throw away the tunnel vision that I've been very comfortable wearing, and start listening to God and seeking out the opportunities He puts right in front of us. Now I'm not saying you need to go pick up the next homeless man you see on the side of the road, but if you'll just tune out the world and all of it's pressure for us to be self-focused and tune into God and how He wants us to be Christ-focused, it's amazing the opportunities you'll begin to recognize.

So be there, care, share the love of Christ.

**Music and lyrics by Kathie Hill and Melody Morris for "Donkey Tales", a "3-in-1" kids' musical

**Of course, being a male, it is obviously safer for my husband to step up in this situation than it would be for me, so I just wanted to stress to you all that I do understand the importance of being smart, being wise, and not putting yourself into a situation that would possibly be unsafe. I'm sharing this story simply in the hopes that we would all be reminded of God's call to live our lives like the Good Samaritan and that we would tune our hearts to be on the lookout for the opportunities God places in our path.

We got all sorts of bugs.

2011-04-08T09:04:00.005-05:00

Bugs, you say?

Oh yeah, we got bugs 'round here.

First off, there's me and my own set of bugs. My ring finger on my right hand started swelling up last week (out of the blue, nothing had happened to it). I assumed I had been bit by something and watched it for a few days since all I could see was swelling. By Monday I was officially creeped out, and the doc drove the final nail in the coffin -- I had a bad staph infection.

{insert tires screeching}

Say wha????

If that doesn't creep a person out, I don't know what will. The doc reassured me that we all carry the bacteria on us, and sometimes it doesn't even take a cut or hangnail or anything for it to happen. Yay me. Regardless, if I hadn't gone in, it could've spread to other parts of me, and I could've lost a digit if I'd waited. Awesome. Thank goodness for docs and for antibiotic horse pills (seriously, they are mammoth). But boo for how long these infections take to heal. My finger has made vast improvements since Monday, but it's still not over yet. And it's no bueno for a pianist, although I've done remarkably well so far using only four of my fingers on that hand.

So those are my bugs.

But the boys have bugs, too.

It's a bug party up in here, people.

My son, H -- the "original kid" before we added two more to the mix three weeks ago -- has the dreaded pink eye. For reals. When we put him to bed last night, the white of his eyeball was very pink and there was green goo coming out. Fantastic. Lots of bribery was involved with encouraging him to not touch it, but of course, the little booger woke up with TWO red crusty eyes this morning.

Fun, fun! We're back to the doc later this morning to pay the co-pay (so frustrating when I already know what it is and simply need a prescription written) and to pick up the eyedrops. Then it'll be a fun adventure figuring out how to keep it from jumping in the rest of the family's eyes. The bad news -- we had special outings planned for this weekend, and those will not be happening. My kid may have picked this up from the general public (thank you, general public), but we've got the politeness to not send it back out into the world if we can help it. The good news -- my boy and I have a day to ourselves, just him and me. It's kind of a nice little special treat in that respect. He never gets sick, and now that we have three boys, it's going to be rare when it's a day just for the two of us (although we have plans in the works for special one-on-one dates for each boy in the next few months with just my husband and I).

But don't despair. My boys have some fun bugs, too.

My husband left me this week for three days of single-mom-ness (good times, good times) while he went on a business trip to Florida. He likes to bring home little treats on occasion, and this time he brought home some fun stuff. He hit up one of those trendy "candy bars" -- the little swanky candy shops popping up on the East and West Coasts. He brought home quite the assortment, much to our boys' delight: Lego brick candies (taste like SweetTarts, and yes, you can actually stack them together), chocolate rocks (look just like polished rocks), gummy rainbow snakes, and {drumroll, please}...

little boxes of bacon-and-cheese flavored crickets and BBQ flavored worms!

The boys were horrified, but after we bribed them with a dollar each if they would eat a cricket, they were tickled. (We rarely bribe in this house, so it had better be worth it when we do!) I'm proud to say everyone earned a dollar! H even downed two of them, superfly guy that he is.

Here they are proudly showing off their dollars. You can't see H's dollar because he was waving it in his left hand.

Here's wishing you a weekend free from bugs!

(Ooooh, unless they're ladybugs. Aren't ladybugs that land on you some sort of good luck?)

An ESCAPE (er, I mean "little getaway")

2011-04-06T09:30:00.003-05:00

Becoming a mom virtually overnight of three rowdy young lads has plum wore me out. Thank goodness I already had a trip planned for last weekend to take a little overnight trip with my mom and sister-in-law to Dallas. And since my sister-in-law is a mom of three young boys as well, you can imagine the excitement between the two of us!

Friday afternoon we stopped at one of my favorite haunts, Cloverleaf Boutique, on the way down. So much fun stuff for sale there -- if you've never stopped, it's right off I-35 in Ardmore, Oklahoma (between OKC and Dallas) and well worth a little break from driving. Friday night we dined at Blue Mesa (hello, delicious adobe pie!) and then I took my sister-in-law on her first-ever trip to IKEA. Our hotel was fantastic -- we stayed at the Westin Stonebriar in Frisco (on the north side of Dallas) -- thank you Priceline for a great deal. Oh how I love me a "heavenly bed"! Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast at La Madeleine (why don't we have those in Oklahoma???), and then we all headed down to the Dallas Arboretum. The whole time I lived in Dallas I had never been there, and once I saw how beautiful it was, I was kicking myself for missing out while I was a Texas resident. Finally, we topped off our trip with a little stop at Northpark Mall in Dallas on the way out, eating our second meal of the day at the La Madeleine there as well. What can I say? We LOVE La Madeleine.

I haven't yet figured out this "smartphone pics to Flickr to blog thing" where I can post my phone pics on the blog, so for now, you can click on the slideshow to see pics of our fun (and fast) little trip.

No April Foolin'

2011-04-01T07:34:00.002-05:00

In case you were wonderin' 'bout my lack of blog posts:

I am still here.

My kids are still here.

Although I may or may not have briefly contemplated running away to Mexico today after my oldest misplaced his tennis shoes this morning and almost left all of the homework at home for the second time this week (homework that I sat there yesterday for over an hour to help him on) and due to his being so late we ran out of time to review his spelling words again for his test today. But yes, I am still here.

But alas, my laptop is not.

My Mac, which apparently is supposed to be a computer that won't fail, has frozen up on me.

So you'll have to bear with me as I learn to blog on this new-fangled contraption of a smartphone my husband forced upon me this week...

Have an awesome weekend!

Snippets of our days (in bullet points)

2011-03-22T20:25:00.005-05:00

*The youngest had never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Almost six years old -- sounds like one for the record books, doesn't it? His conclusion: "I thought it was gonna be nasty 'n stuff, but it was really good!"

*The oldest is excited that we have a dishwasher.

*I'm parenting exactly the same way I was before they came -- I'm quite the rule-enforcer, consistent and strict but with a very calm, neutral attitude when I do have to get on to anyone, I try to always make my expectations clear, and I'm trying to really praise each of them for good choices. So far, it's working well. I've already heard them repeating and reminding each other of the #1 family rule: "the first time we OBEY". And I've gotten several "yes, ma'am"s with no prompting from me. They're also really spurring each other on towards good behavior as they don't want anyone getting in trouble and losing privileges.

*We've also been drilling the idea into all three of their heads about brothers being a team, brothers sticking together, brothers being buddies, brothers being kind to each other, brothers standing up for each other, brothers helping each other, etc, etc. (Of course, so far I can't get the movie "Tommy Boy" outta my head, and I'm constantly wanting to say to them, "Brothers gotta HUG!") I would love nothing else than for them to grow up to be best buddies.

*Someone taught these boys well -- they are polite as can be, they take their dishes to the table after meals (I didn't even ask them to do that), they pick up their toys pretty much the first time I ask, and they are very mindful of not being wasteful. Love.

*The oldest told me that he is so glad that I care about his homework and making sure he gets it done. I've also been reading over it to make sure he is catching his mistakes so he can turn in a job well done the first time. I'm grateful he enjoys school and seems to take pride in learning. He's just never had anyone pay attention to his education.

*I don't know who's more thrilled -- my first son or us -- with the fact that he now has playmates! Love, love, love. It's especially perfect because they seem to love Star Wars and Legos as much as he does. We've barely had any issues between them because they are very quick to resolve arguments amongst themselves, and for the most part they've all been sharing really well.

*Warms my heart that the oldest already has a few of the songs memorized from Sunday night children's choir and has been singing them non-stop around the house.

*They hardly ever had the chance to play outside. You can imagine the delight we've witnessed through nightly walks on the trail to the river and hours spent playing outside with a soccer ball, sidewalk chalk, etc. Not to mention it's great for keeping me in shape, haha.

*We're off to a fantastic start -- two school days down with awesome behavior and attitudes. The teachers are happy. We're more than thrilled. And for those of you that asked, we are keeping the oldest at his school for the remainder of the school year since it is only about two more months. The youngest was in a different school and needed to be moved (for reasons not related to him), so he is now in the same school and same kindergarten class as our first son. We'll probably put them in separate classes in the future, but to make his transition easier, we thought for two months it would be a good idea.

*It's really neat having three kids now and seeing such differences in each of them:

The oldest has a caring heart, taking care to help both of the younger ones. He likes music and drawing, loves reading, enjoys school, and always wants to please and obey the adults. He is also excited to help with soccer this season.

The now-middle-child, our first son, really enjoys playing -- with toys, video games, board games, sports, etc. He loves listening to stories, and he loves people. He's definitely outgoing and always up for a good laugh.

The youngest is very mechanically-minded. He enjoys building new creations with Legos, and he has a great imagination. He is more quiet, and he would play for hours by himself (if we'd let him). He loves doing any art, especially drawing. He has also really taken to the cats especially and is very good at approaching them quietly and gently to win them over.

*For the most part they've really enjoyed the food they've been served. For Sunday lunch I made a roast with potatoes, carrots, and gravy, and you should've seen them scarf it down! When they've been served something they don't like, they've obeyed the rules so far and tried their best to eat it anyways since we don't serve a whole smorgasboard of choices. What Mama cooks is what you get. Usually this has ended up with them liking whatever it is they weren't sure about. And thank goodness they love milk! I told them that worst-case scenario, if they absolutely hate something, take a bite and wash it down with milk really fast. Ha.

*They are both proud as peacocks to have a new family and a new last name. (Even though it won't be finalized for about six months, the state is letting us tack our last name onto theirs already.)

*So far they've been calling us "Mama" and "Papa" about half the time. We made it very clear that they don't have to call us that until they feel comfortable.

*Bedtime is such a sweet time. I usually read a Bible story followed by a kid's book of some kind. It's been neat to see their reactions to the Bible stories since it seems to be the first time they've heard most of them. And so far they've all slept soundly each night.

*And yay for the fact that the state has gotten the ball rolling, and we already had our first monthly home visit with our caseworker. Six of those visits total and we will pretty much be ready for the adoption to be finalized.

Some of the backstory...

2011-03-20T21:17:00.004-05:00

Sitting down tonight I realized that many of you don't know me from Adam in the real world, and you're pretty much in the dark regarding how all of this came to pass. I mean, here I was, blogging about my skincare regime one day, and then a few weeks later announcing that we had two boys moving in pronto! So I'm guessing you might appreciate some details?

I'll try and condense this as best I can (but you know me, I'm long-winded):

In case you didn't know, our first son (technically now the middle child) came to us by way of international adoption back in 2006. He was born in Guatemala, and we brought him home at 11 months old. We weren't your typical adoptive parents in the fact that we never really considered having a birth child. Adoption was on our minds for a long time, and we knew if we had a family, that's how we were going to build it.

Fast forward to last year. Through a series of small events, God made it clear to us that we should look into adopting through the state. This was no small feat however -- in the past we had heard horror stories about the state, foster care, state adoptions, you name it. We had always sworn it off for those reasons, but God really started making it clear to us that this was the next step we were to take. My heart was opened to it first, and then, with no prompting from me, my husband approached me one day, out of the blue, that he was now open to the idea as well. You can bet your bottom dollar that I called the state the very next day.

We started our training late last summer -- a combined 54 hours with both of us of sitting through all-day-Saturday classes that, I'm not gonna lie, we really thought were pointless to have to sit through. We're pretty decent parents (if I say so myself), and now the state with it's broken system was expecting us to give up our Saturdays to teach us how to be parents? You've got to be kidding me. And you can imagine that our classes weren't exactly filled with the cream of the crop. Most of the people in there were doing foster or kinship training ("kinship" means the families that are fostering that are either related to the children or have an already established relationship to them), and if I remember right, we were one of the only adoptive couples in there. But at the end of the five or so weeks, we were surprised at how much we learned. It really opened our eyes to many aspects of the system, and it definitely softened our hearts even more to the needs of the kids. Thank goodness God didn't let our stubbornness and pride get in His way!

Our homestudy was completed by Halloween, and then we just waited. Because that's what you do with the state. LOTS of waiting. In fact, we figured we'd be waiting for FOREVER. Because that's pretty typical -- families can be waiting for years even. And our mindset was on the fence -- if it worked out and we eventually got kids, great. If it didn't work out and we were never matched, great. We were perfectly happy with the one awesome kid God had already given us. We did have one thing in our favor though -- we put that we were open to siblings, and we were pretty much expecting anything between ages 3 and 12. Throw in the fact that I am a card-carrying tribal member of a Native American tribe (which means we qualify for ICWA kids as well), and we were pretty marketable in the ol' system, haha. That's right -- we didn't go into this wanting a baby. Pretty much 98% of people want the babies, but nobody wants the older kids. And oh, how my heart is for the older kids. I hope that this process uses our family to open more eyes to the joys of older kid adoptions because there are a lot of amazing and deserving kids out there.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when we were finally "picked" by a caseworker for a sibling group. We were presented with their paperwork, but after reading through (a phonebook sized stack of paperwork, mind you), we both knew immediately it was not the match for us. You can't even imagine some of the stuff in this paperwork, the horrible things some of the kids had been through. As my husband said it best: "these kids are paying someone else's consequences in life". So true, and so heartbreaking. But this process is all about looking at these matches with a toughened heart -- a heart that knows no matter what or how heartstring-tugging the details are, above all, you have to be wise enough to know what is right for your family, and that includes the heartbreaking decisions of having to say no to some of the matches.

This "match" was also a good reminder of what we had gotten ourselves into. If you're looking for an adoption all wrapped up in a pretty red bow, adopting through the state may not be for you. Most of the kids have been through way too much in their short lives and as you might expect, they come with some "baggage", some more than others. You have to know these things in advance, you have to expect a less-than-perfect picture of the future, and for us, this meant surrendering even more of ourselves over to God and being willing for Him to give us His idea of the "perfect" kids for us rather than our ideas and wishlists for the perfect kids. But oh, when you allow yourself to surrender these things to God, how very much He can sometimes surprise you with the most perfect and amazing and unexpected blessings, as you will find out in future posts when I tell you cool stories about this past week and how amazing these kids of ours have turned out to be...

I digress.

Fast forward to this past Monday. We got another call about being "picked" again. Since it was pending state approval (for us to truly be "matched"), we were given a small amount of info to read about these boys. After reading the info, we thought, yep, this could possibly be a good match. But we knew that it would still be a good 2-3 months at least for them to come stay with us, and that would be best-case scenario IF everything went well. So we just waited, thinking in maybe a week or two we'd get another call if the state approved us or not, and then we'd wait for the next step in a long line of steps.

Two days later, on Wednesday morning, our caseworker called to ask what we thought about the small amount of info we read through. I told her we were definitely interested. She then dropped the bomb: basically they had a rare situation where the boys were needing to move to a new placement (i.e. foster home or worst-case scenario, a local shelter, and no, I am not joking about the shelter part {shudder}) by Friday. If we were truly interested, would we be willing to start the process* immediately with them moving in to our house? She had the full stack of paperwork available for us to read through before making our decision, and that decision needed to be made pretty much immediately.

Say wha??????

Do you understand what this means? Sure, foster families are a little bit used to this scenario. They could get a call to come pick up a baby or a kid with only an hour's notice even. But not adoptive families. EVER. And the other major difference in all of this is that not only would we need to make a decision immediately regarding all of this, but we were pretty much having to decide on these kids just from what we'd read in the paperwork alone, never having met them or seen them, and their placement in our home would be a forever placement. No trying anyone on for size. No face-to-face to know if we thought it might work. These kids would be told that it would be their last move, that this would be starting the adoption process for all of us.

Sounds a bit weighty, huh? But you know what? God made it crystal clear to both of us immediately. I don't know how else to explain it. He just made it clear. THIS. WAS. IT. And we chose to obey.

So we said yes. By 5pm that very same night, we were sitting in our local Chick-Fil-A meeting our boys for the first time. It was surreal. No other way to describe it. And it was clear that it was the right decision. We parted ways after an hour and a half, reassuring the boys and the workers that we'd be ready for them when they arrived with all of their stuff to move in to our house less than 48 hours later.

So that's how my family was born. Not how I would have planned it, but boy am I ever glad that God doesn't always go along with my hare-brained ideas. His plans were SO much better.

And I can't just end it without mentioning something: I realize that adoption is not for everyone. Just two years ago, my husband and I were both completely opposed to this idea of adopting through the state and swore we would NEVER consider it. But God started dropping hints to us here and there. We could've ignored these hints. Thankfully we chose to listen to God and obey. And then, when we first started hinting about or newfound plans, we were met with quite a bit of opposition, quite a few "you're insane" comments, quite a few "why would you put your own child at risk?" questions, etc. Thankfully we chose to listen to God and obey instead of listening to what the world thought of our plans. (And this is not to say that we didn't also receive awesome support from others because we did.) And then we're presented with this INSANE opportunity where we have to make an INSANE decision in an INSANELY short amount of time. We could've said no. I think most people would've understood. But we chose to listen to God and obey.

We're not perfect people. Not anywhere close. Just ask everyone who knows us in the real world, haha. But hopefully this can serve as an example of the wondrous things God can do through your life if you just tune your heart to listen, to watch for His guidance, to choose His best rather than what the world might tell you is best. If you do these things, be prepared to be blessed beyond what you could ever imagine.

*"start the process": now that they have been placed in our house, the process can start to finalize the adoption, which hopefully will happen approximately six months from now, but the kids are technically ours as all parental rights have been terminated

Day One...

2011-03-18T21:55:00.002-05:00

We did it.

We became a family.

I'm sitting down in my quiet house, three sweet boys tucked in their beds and hopefully drifting off to dreamland, kitties up and ready to play, rolling a rubber ball across the wood floors, dog snoring on the wood floor -- so I figured I might as well post. Besides, I just don't want to forget any of it.

The boys arrived just after lunch. The caseworker pulled up with a government minivan and her two teenage kids in tow (good sports and helpers to share their mom on what was supposed to be her day off, and I love that when they left the older son told me it was a "privilege" to come and be a part of dropping the boys off to their new family). The two boys piled out of the van with beaming faces, and we all unloaded trashbag after trashbag of their stuff and hauled it up to their new room. They actually had quite a lot of clothes and toys, which was nice. Their caseworker handed me two folders with a few pictures, special artwork, medical and school records, and letters from their foster family inside. After a few more papers and instructions, she looked at me and asked, "So, are you ready for this?". Ha! There are definitely no instructions for this, but I knew I was as ready as I'd ever be. We hugged, she left, and I was instantly a mom of three kids.

As my husband is out of town on a short business trip he absolutely could not miss (great timing, right?), my mom came over to help, and she and I started the business of sorting and putting away all of their stuff. The boys, of course, were thrilled to dig in and just start playing with our son and all of the toys downstairs. Although they did come with a lot of clothes, many of them were hand-me-downs or gently used, and I know my husband is going to be so excited to start buying them a few new things. The sweetest moment was unpacking their two 8x10 frames with photos of each of them with their birthmom. Melt my heart. I could not be more thrilled that they have those on the dresser in their room, so they will always remember her and feel like she is watching over them. (She passed away less than two years ago.) Those pictures are an amazing blessing, as many of these kids in state custody often don't even have ANY photos from their childhood, let alone photos of their birthparents.

Once we got them unpacked, we let them play some more before we left to make a Target run for pajamas for the youngest (he had one pajama top) and socks for both. It was the absolute cutest thing when the oldest looked at me and cried out, "YES!!! Our first trip to Target as a FAMILY!" Seriously, these kids get it. They know how very dear it is to actually be a part of a family. The thing that most of us take for granted, being a part of a family unit, these kids have wished and prayed for for far too long. So you can imagine how my heart swelled every time I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw three smiling faces in the backseat looking back at me.

We came home, my mom left (since my husband successfully made his flights and should be walking in our door late tonight), and I was on my own. Imagine my shock when the house was relatively quiet enough for me to sit down and relax because all three boys were playing quietly with toys. After a bit, I got up and made boxed mac-n-cheese (hey, at least it was Annie's Organic, right?), along with sliced apples and grapes. They were all polite as could be at the dinner table -- we said the blessing, everyone ate all of their food, and they all took their plates to the sink when they were done. These boys have MANNERS. That is such a nice perk!

Thank goodness my sister-in-law called and alerted me to the newest Lego cartoon on TV tonight, so I set the DVR, and after playing a bit more with toys and the Wii, they all three willingly picked up the playroom and put all the toys away before piling into the two armchairs to watch it. Then it was time for a little ice cream (BlueBell, of course, nothing but the best for my guys), before we made our way upstairs to start the bedtime routine. Again, thank goodness that they were already used to routine at their foster home. No issues whatsoever putting on pj's, brushing teeth, rinsing with SpongeBob fluoride rinse, and climbing into their beds. I then read the first story out of my son's childhood adventure Bible (because I honestly don't know if or how many Bible stories they've gotten to hear), followed by a Little Golden Book (of course, since I have over 100, no joke), and then more unbelievable heart-melting moments.

At that point, the boys both wanted to bring their notebooks up and show me all of the stuff inside -- the pictures with their foster family, their artwork they were proud of, etc. That made me feel very trusted by them, and that is a big thing. Even our two kitties -- Harry and Sally -- ventured into their room, and I was so proud as the boys sat there super still and quiet until the kitties were brave enough to jump up on their beds and sniff them, and then they began to pet them oh-so-gently, and they were so excited when the kitties began purring! They've never had cats, but I can tell they are already in love. (What an amazing blessing for my husband and I that they are so gentle and loving with pets because that was one of our greatest fears, believe it or not.) Then I tucked them all in, doing my best to reassure them that if they needed anything at all, got scared, anything, they could come find me at night and I'd be right there. Gosh -- how in the heck do you tuck little ones in that barely know you, in a room they don't recognize, in a whole new life? I mean, I could barely even make it at a couple-days-long summer camp being away from my own parents when I was a kid, and here these boys were so very very brave to be going to sleep in a complete stranger's house! I felt so inadequate, but I just silently prayed that God would bless my first attempts at being a mother to these little ones. And oh, I think you would just melt into a puddle if you knew how many times throughout the day those big, brown eyes looked up at me, asking over and over, "Do we really get to stay here FOREVER?".

So that was our first day. 97% unbelievably great, maybe 2% where we had to learn to be brothers, haha, and 1% surreal moments every hour or so when I had to remind myself that this wasn't babysitting or a playdate, that this was the first day of forever. Pretty darn sweet, if you ask me.

I cannot wait for tomorrow.

Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming...

2011-03-17T21:06:00.002-05:00

...and not because it's St. Patrick's Day.

Whoa. Where do I start?

Looooooong story short, we've got two brothers moving in to our house tomorrow.

I will be a mama to three.
And they have been told this will be their forever home.

And most of this all transpired since Monday. It's been the craziest week, to say the least.

I have so many stories to tell you all about the past 48 or so hours, but I'm tired and overwhelmed (in a very good way) and have a lot I still need to do before these precious little things arrive tomorrow. And let me tell you, friends, God has shown Himself in a BIG way in the tiniest of details. Exciting stuff.

I promise, promise to return quickly with more info for you...

It's all clear to me now.

2011-03-03T11:43:00.005-06:00

Acne.

Girls, I know I am not alone in this battle.

I've had acne since I was a teen. And I'm not talking a little pimple here, a little pimple there. I'm talking about those nasty huge ones that are below the skin, that hurt like a mother, that last for months only to leave scars that last for years.

Awesome.

Thanks, Mother Nature. Love you, too.

As ya'll know, I am now inching towards the ripe ol' age of 34, and it is only in recent weeks that I have finally gotten my face under control. So under control, in fact, that my face is currently the clear clear clearest that I can honestly remember. This is big stuff, people. Really big stuff.

I cannot promise these products will work for you, but I'm going to tell you what I've been doing lately, just in case you're looking for a new solution to try. I glean a lot of my information from other friends, blogs, articles, etc., so I think it's important that when you find something that works, to share it with others so we can all benefit and help each other out. Keep in mind I have always had moderate to severe acne, my skin is white-as-the-driven-snow, combination oily and normal, I've never been one to really stick with a routine as far as skin-care goes (until now), and yes, I've tried prescriptions, and I've even tried the dreaded ProActiv (which I'm not even going to link to because it was such a horrid experience).

So you can imagine how happy I've been lately with the fact that my skin has cleared up, is super soft and moisturized, and is a smidge away from being able to go out without makeup (foundation) on if I really wanted to. Here's what I've switched to:

In the morning, I wash my face with this:

I love that it is a cream cleanser and doesn't foam or lather up. I don't know where I read it, but I know I've heard that cleansers work better if they don't produce as many bubbles.

Then I use this applicator and dot it on my face where I see any small bumps/redness:

Then I go ahead with my makeup routine (starting with a matte photo-finish primer).

At night, I remove my eye-makeup first, and then I wash again with this:

I dot on the applicator again wherever I see any small bumps/redness:

Then I slather this all over my face and neck. It smells really nice and has a pretty sheen to it:

And I finish off with this on my lips:

When I wake up, all redness is gone, and my porcelain skin (as my grandmother used to call it) is glowing. And let me tell you, it is only in recent years that I have come to appreciate my uber-porcelain skin, and I'm hoping to take better care of it from here on out.

So far, so good, and I'm hoping this trend continues. I've been doing this for about a month, and it has rocked my little world. I'm thinking of buying the radiance day cream next to add in to my morning routine, and maybe an eye cream (for the wrinkles, girls, as they are starting to show up more) to add to my nighttime routine.

Do you have any awesome products to recommend?

***FYI: I bought the radiance night cream and the Carmex at my Walmart Neighborhood Market and the rest of it from my local Ulta beauty store.

Favorite new song.

2011-02-24T08:16:00.000-06:00

Pea by Rabbit

A day late...

2011-02-15T11:06:00.003-06:00

and a dollar short...

and I'm just now jumping on the bandwagon to read this book:

I'm only a few pages in, but I can already tell it is good, good stuff. Any of you read this one? If so, what did you think?

Happy V-Day.

2011-02-14T15:28:00.011-06:00

I've never been a big fan of V-Day, but V-Day took on a whole new meaning for me five years ago (or really, the day before, if you want to be technical). It was the day I met my son! I'll never forget getting the call in my hotel room from the lobby saying he had arrived, riding down the elevator, shaking nervously, the doors opening up, and seeing his little brown drooling face pulling up on a chair. Instant, instant falling in love for me. So in our household, we now celebrate V-Day for a different reason -- more like celebrating the love of family rather than as much the romantic side of things. It's how we roll.

How are you celebrating V-Day?

***

I rarely put anything about fashion on this blog, but it's definitely something I enjoy. Anthropologie has been a huge influence in not only my own personal style but also in the decor of my house. I need to start putting some more fun fashion-y posts up on the ol' blog, don't you think? And as a proud team member of Anthropologie, I thought I'd draw your attention to the romantic love side of things and tell you about the newest member of the Urban Outfitters company, BHLDN. Today, the day of all things loooooove, just so happens to be the highly anticipated launch of BHLDN's online shop.

One of my favorite Anthropologie-bloggers, Kim, has a great three-part blog post series all about it, chock full of swoon-worthy pictures. She was one of the lucky girls invited to the Urban Outfitters campus to see it all for herself! What a dream.

BHLDN (pronounced "beholden") is a whole separate brand under the Urban Outfitters umbrella, although it's quite obvious it was heavily influenced by its sister company, Anthropologie. I can't tell you how many times girls have come into our store and mentioned wanting their wedding to have that "Anthropologie look" -- and now it can!

Now, I've been married almost nine years (our anniversary is coming up soon in May!), but if I was a bride-to-be, I'd be saving my pennies like crazy to deck myself out head to toe in any of these looks!

Just for fun, I'm posting what I would pick if I had to plan a spur-of-the-moment gorgeous affair:

If I was tall and leggy (which I'm not, by the way), I'd pick this unbelievable frock --

Since I'm all kinds of short, I'd probably pick this little number --

My bridesmaids might wear either this (oh who am I kidding, I would totally want this one for myself!) --

or maybe this one since most of my friends are usually taller than me --

And since my mantra is "always the pianist, never the bridesmaid" (get it? instead of "always the bridesmaid, never the bride"), I'd deck my best musician in this one --

There's no question that these might be my shoe of choice --

although going with the "something blue" idea warrants these a place in the spotlight --

There are also oodles of other things to shop for as well -- lingerie (ooh-la-la!), jewelry, hair accessories, and wraps. Grab your heart-shaped box of chocolates, put your feet up, and go window shopping. Their gorgeous online shop is truly a feast for the eyes.

Captivity Log - Day #8

2011-02-08T09:57:00.003-06:00

I kid, I kid. Well, maybe sort of...

As we move into Day #6 of NO SCHOOL (really it's Day #8 since we also had two snow days a couple of weeks ago) and Day #8 of Snowmaggeddon, we're all getting a little crazy here in T-Town. I can't stress this enough: this type of winter is UNPRECEDENTED here.

We don't EVER get this much snow, especially not all at once.
We don't EVER get these below-zero temperatures.
The snow NEVER sticks around this long.
We don't have the set-up in our city to deal with this sort of thing.
We don't have the snow plows like other cities (or at least not even close to having enough of them to deal with this).
We don't have the driving experience to deal with this. It's a free for all out there, and people are driving like idiots for the most part.

But we persevere. And in true Oklahoma fashion, we're all helping each other out, keeping smiles on our faces, and braving the weather. Even when there is a forecast tonight for another possible 4-12".

No joke.

And yesterday afternoon, we got MAIL!!!!

I was backing out of the driveway when the neighbor down the street yelled over to ask if I had checked my mail. When I said no, he told me that he went and got the mail for the entire street and hand-delivered it into our boxes himself. How nice was that?!

And yesterday the boy and I were on our way home from the grocery store (stocking up) and the library (also stocking up) when we came upon a poor soul stranded in the snow. Sure enough, this gentleman had gotten out in his brand spankin' new uber-expensive BMW (the $80K or so costing variety). His tires were spinning, and he was going nowhere. I rolled my window down to see if he needed a tow. (Keep in mind, I have no towing experience, but my husband, who LIVES to tow people out and rescue them from the snow, keeps a tow rope in our car.)

He hemmed and hawed (just like a man) for five to ten minutes, trying his best to get out, and finally had no choice but to take up my offer of either towing him or driving him to his destination. Since he couldn't find the place on the front of his car to hook my rope, he ended up opening the hood and hooking it on to a thick piece of steel on the engine. (I was nervous about this, but since he personally hooked it there on his car and still wanted me to tow him, I figured I wasn't liable if it went south.)

Slowly slowly I pulled him out UPHILL almost a block. With barely a thank you, he was on his way, albeit a bit embarrassed that little ol' me had hopped out of the car to rescue him, haha. Dang, it felt good.

Yay for my first tow! My husband was crazy proud. And the boy was in the backseat cheering, "Hurray, Mama! Hurray, Mama! We did it!"

Unanswered Questions

2011-02-07T10:11:00.004-06:00

And the Snowmageddon Saga continues...

Will we ever receive any mail?
(Our last delivery day was Monday of last week. Any catalogs/magazines would've been greatly treasured and appreciated during our incarceration last week. The fabric I had ordered would've been lovely as well. But bless our postman's heart, our street is still not fit for a little mail truck to come around.)

Will I ever be able to get the trashcans to the curb?
(The trashmen finally came back this morning after a week of no trash pick-up, but alas, we were unable to get our trashcans down the ski slopes we previously called our driveway.)

Speaking of said curb, where is it? Will we ever see the curb again?

Did we accidentally move back to Minnesota without me realizing it?
(These below-zero temperatures are unheard of for Oklahoma. Before long we'll all be starting to speak the phrases "yah sure, you betcha", taking "hot dishes" to pot-luck dinners, and school being out of session for the fifth consecutive day will be a thing of the past.)

Will my kid finish out his year in kindergarten?
(I kid, I kid, but seriously, on this fifth consecutive day of no school AND the forecast this week for an additional 5-10" of fluffy white doom, well, it does make you wonder...)

Will my convertible ever cruise the streets again?

Will I ever get to wear cute shoes again?

Will this mama and five-year-old son come out victorious or will they eat each other alive in the House of Fluffy White Doom?

Stay tuned, my friends, for these highly anticipated answers to life's most difficult questions...

Puzzling...

2011-02-04T06:49:00.000-06:00

What are snowy days good for?

Working jigsaw puzzles.

(How old am I?)

(hahahahaha)

What can I say? I LOVE working jigsaw puzzles. When I was a kid, every winter my dad would drag the big "puzzle board" out of the garage -- it was actually a large 3'x 5'(or so) sized piece of pressed board that he had painted -- and put it on the carpet in front of the fireplace. There was always a puzzle set up to work for anyone who wanted to work on it. This is one of my absolute favorite family memories.

I still remember my favorite puzzles from childhood as well. The more pieces in the puzzle, the better. It had to be at least 500-pieces to be worth working at our house, and preferably 1000-pieces and up. My absolute favorite one was called "Wee Folk" and was set in the forest with lots of tiny fairies and gnomes and mushroom houses, etc. My brother and I would practically fight over who would get to put in specific pieces of the cutest characters in the picture. My mom informed me the other day that she accidentally sold it in her last garage sale. Accidental, my foot. I think I might actually start scouring eBay for that one, I liked it so much. And my other favorite was a picture filled with stuffed animals -- and hiding in the sea of stuffed animals was E.T.! A child of the 80's, that I am. I know there were other puzzles that were favorites. I'm not as much a fan of real landscape puzzles, although I'll still do them. Most of ours were whimsical or paintings of make-believe landscapes.

So for Christmas, I asked for puzzles. No joke. My mom picked up three $4 puzzles from Target, and I was as happy as any little kid with my Christmas loot! And my husband bought me one of those "puzzle saver" mats. Talk about someone making money -- basically it is a big piece of felt with a telescoping cardboard tube and oversized ponytail holders. Dang, why didn't I think of that?

Here are the three 1000-piece puzzles I did all by myself since Christmas:

Well, actually the little man helped some. His idea of "helping" was to hide the last piece (grrrrrrr...imagine my frustration) so that HE could put it in. I know it's juvenile of me, but I was a tad irked that after putting 999 pieces together, someone else got to stick the last satisfying piece in there. But of course, I put on my big girl panties and allowed him the pleasure. And thank goodness I got over myself because I think I've created a puzzle monster in the five-year-old! I picked up a couple of 100-piece puzzles for him at the dollar store (including a United States map puzzle), and he's been in heaven. I'm pretty happy about that. I've been telling him that working puzzles is super good for your brain, and he's thrilled about that, as am I.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that I have him good and well trained, too -- always work the outer border first, then tackle the insides...

Another quilt...

2011-02-03T10:11:00.002-06:00

I finished this baby quilt a couple of weeks ago. I was going to wait to show it until after it had been received, but the "Snowtorious B.I.G." happened (my latest favorite name for the blizzard) and who knows how long it will be before I can give it to it's intended recipient!

I found these adorable little girl fabrics at JoAnn's -- there is a smaller print with little girls and moms all over it, and there is a bigger print with old McCall sewing patterns all over it that I used for the back of the quilt. I threw in a light green fabric with white polka dots and a traditional striped rose fabric as well. (You might need to click on the pictures to see the fabrics better.) It's not exactly baby-ish, but I figured it was better to make something she can grow with, right?

As you can see, I'm really getting into the simple strip piecing for the fronts. It's easy, it looks good, and when you're cranking out a pile full of baby quilts (I feel like a quilt factory as of late), it gets the job done.

I hope they like it! (And shhhhhh, if you know the recipients, don't spoil the surprise...)

Snowmageddon 2011

2011-02-02T11:11:00.004-06:00

(I prefer this hilarious name since it kind of rhymes -- "Snowmageddon 2011"...)

I've been a bit MIA only because my laptop seems to have bit the dust. And since we received a whopping (and historic, record-breaking) 14"+ snow yesterday, we can't take my laptop to the doctor yet. So I'm borrowing my husband's laptop here and there when I can...

But I've been busy. I've been cranking out the baby quilts again, so here is a peek at one for a baby boy born almost two weeks ago:

*I had a willing helper in Harry...

*It was so nice to sit in front of the fire while I was handsewing the binding on.

*Quilt front - I know it has purples and pinks in it as well, but I'm hoping this is versatile enough that if they had any more kids in the future, it could be used for all of them. It might be hard to tell from the picture, but these are all reproduction-type prints with dogs in them. I think it was a line from Moda that was released several years ago to benefit the SPCA. I added the scottie dog sihouette at the bottom just for some extra panache...

*Quilt back - again, Harry is so helpful for these sorts of things...

*14" baby! We think we actually got a little more than this, but with the blizzard-like conditions, a lot was blown around. Our drifts, of course are several feet tall.

*My poor little Celica buried under the snow. I know, I know -- you'd think we would've been smart enough to move it into the garage the night before.

*the back of our house -- Oklahoma hasn't seen snow like this ever before!

Don't Look Back

2011-01-19T15:36:00.001-06:00

Fun new video from She & Him (song from Volume Two)...

No bueno.

2011-01-19T10:41:00.002-06:00

Last week I was driving home with my son in the backseat. Lately on car rides he has immersed himself with reading these cow comic books he got in a couple of kid's meals from our favorite, Chick-Fil-A. (Now, I must mention that we don't eat there all that often, but since I also get a kid's meal when I eat there, we always seem to have an abundance of the "prizes".)

Anyway, my boy loves these comic books with superhero cows. Go figure. In fact, he kept his little fingers as a bookmark in a page until we got home, and he showed me the t-shirt he wanted to order.

{It is also important to note that I have one of the least greedy five-year-olds on the planet. He rarely asks for anything, and when he does ask for something, it is almost always in a polite way, not with a typical whiny voice. Just one more thing I love about my kid.}

I looked at the page and sure enough, there was a cute t-shirt with all of the cow superheroes on it for $8.95. Realizing this would be a great opportunity to teach him about spending, I asked him if he would like to use some of his money to buy it. He saves money in his piggybank and has quite a bit saved up, but he has yet to spend any of it, even a little bit, other than taking out money each week for offering at church.

(Sorry about the world's tiniest picture of the t-shirt)

He thought long and hard and decided that yes, he wanted to order a shirt.

Awesome!, I thought. A great opportunity to teach him about spending. So we came inside, got on my laptop, found the t-shirt online, and I filled out the billing and shipping information, only to be hit with this whopper...

$7.75 shipping.

For a t-shirt that costs $8.95.

Are you kidding me?!

We all know that a little kid's t-shirt is not going to cost more than a couple bucks to send in the mail.

So the lesson was lost. I had to try and explain to my five-year-old that it was not a good investment if he was going to have to spend almost as much money to have the t-shirt sent to us in the mail. I guess I could've chalked up the money for the shipping myself, but I guess it's the principle of the matter. I didn't want him thinking it was a good idea to spend almost double the amount for something to include shipping that obviously was a rip-off.

I am always a fan of Chick-Fil-A. (You hear that, Chick-Fil-A executives??)

But not today.

No bueno.

Hello, Little Dumplin'.

2011-01-18T17:47:00.003-06:00

Hello, Delicious.

Hello, Comfort Food.

Hello, my little Crockpot.

You gotta love it when dinner turns out really well, especially if it is a new recipe. I loved it, the boy loved it, the husband will love it (it's a late dinner night for him), and the dog gave it two paws up when she licked the bowls with abandon. I never really had Chicken 'n Dumplin's as a kid, so I decided it was high time to try it. Now before you go feeling all sorry for me, don't -- my mom made chicken and homemade noodles a lot that were to die for as well as homemade macaroni and cheese. That's right -- I never tried the boxed mac 'n cheese until I was an adult. And no surprise there -- it don't hold a candle to my mom's macaroni and cheese!

I used this as a base, then I made some changes to it like the reviews suggested. Anything with "slow cooker" in the title always makes my ears perk up because it almost equals "easy". So here is really what my little recipe ended up being:

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used a package of 2 giant ones, but I probably should have used a little more, so I think anywhere between 2 and 4 is perfect)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of celery soup (I did buy the fat-free versions of both, which I don't normally do, and it turned out fine)
1 (14 oz.) can of chicken broth (here is where I should've maybe used 1/2 can since I used less chicken, but it still turned out fine)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 (10 oz.) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, torn into pieces

I sprinkled both sides of the chicken breasts with seasoned salt and pepper, then put them in the bottom of the slow cooker along with the 2 Tbsp. of butter. I mixed the cream soups and diced onions in a separate bowl where I also shook in several shakes of the following: dried parsley, poultry seasoning, cumin, more seasoning salt and pepper. Then I poured it all over the chicken. Last I emptied the can of chicken broth in on top. (Like I said above, since I used less chicken than the original recipe called for, I probably could've gotten by with 1/2 the can and it would be a little less soupy, but we were too busy stuffing our faces to complain, so obviously it's fine either way.)

Turn the slow cooker on to high and walk away for 3&1/2 hours or so. Open it up, use forks to shred the chicken in the slow cooker, then tear the pieces of the refrigerated buttermilk biscuits and arrange them on the top, pushing them down a little to where the tops are still showing but the bottom half of them is submerged to soak up the goodness. Cook for another 1&1/2 hours.

That's it.

The reviews were against adding in frozen vegetables since it added extra water, but I do think throwing in a handful or two of baby carrots (you know, those extra petite ones in the produce section) would be delish.

Just so you know, I totally channeled my inner Swedish Chef and sprinkled those extra spices in with finesse.

"see dee shakey dee parsley on dee chick-chick...shakey dee chick-chick on dee chick-ee-boo...oh-kay...bork, bork, bork!"

(Don't tell me you've never channeled your own Swedish Chef -- 'cause you've been missing out if you're not as nerdy as I..)

Masterpiece Thea-tuh

2011-01-16T22:08:00.002-06:00

You must say it that way in the proper British way, otherwise it's not near as fancy...

Anyway, I must give a shout-out to my {real-life} friend, Lindsay, for introducing me to the joys of Masterpiece Thea-tuh. I am now utterly hooked on the four-part miniseries, Downton Abbey. And, of course, this means I'm going to have to procure the DVD's of past Masterpiece Thea-tuh series since they are surely as addictive as this one has already proven to be. Seriously, I just watched Episode Two, and I'm bummed that I have to wait seven whole days before I get to find out what happens next!

Anyone else watching?

Always quilting...

2011-01-09T14:44:00.006-06:00

Here's a baby quilt I finished a few weeks ago to show you. The pictures are NOT fantastic by any means because I was trying to get them done in a hurry and didn't use natural light or get up high enough above the quilt to do it justice, but oh well.

The front is all strip-pieced. My mom found this adorable print at JoAnn's -- it's very Land of Nod-ish with the pink bicycles and aqua birdies and happy sunshines. I just cut it into strips, added strips of another adorable pink print also from JoAnn's, and then some very subtle Kona grey stripes in there to kind of tone it down a smidge. It's about 36"x45". I used 100% cotton batting (my fave), and the backing and binding is all from a coordinating polka dot print. I chose to do loop-de-loop style quilting on this one.

I cut a little piece of the main fabric out to use for the label on the back (ironed down with fusible web to hold it in place) and just used a Sharpie to write the details down. I'm hoping that Sharpie stays on there through washings. I normally blanket-stitch around my labels, but I was running low on time so I chose to just hand stitch a running line on top of the label a smidge away from the edges in a brighter pink embroidery floss. I think it turned out pretty dang cute.

This one was already given to a good friend of mine at work that is due very soon with her first baby, a daughter.

Prairie Home Companion

2011-01-09T14:04:00.004-06:00

It has come to my attention that some of you may have been missing out on one of life's joys.

So, of course, I am here to bring it to light and remedy that for you. {wink wink}

Prairie Home Companion, folks. If you've never listened, you might want to start.

Most every Sunday, my little family hurries home from church and I or my husband start cooking something for lunch. Right about 1pm, I reach up and tune in my little Crosley radio to our local NPR station, and the magic begins. We are immediately transformed into a little family from days gone by, gathering together and listening to a good old-fashioned variety show on the radio while we enjoy our lunch. It's really become one of our favorite times of the week, and even the little guy really gets into it. Today's show is an especially good one since it's featuring one of my favorite modern (yet vintage) crooners -- Nellie McKay (Garrison calls her a "Doris Day gumdrop", don'tcha love that?!) -- and a sibling set of fiddlers that are fantastic. According to the website, Sara Watkins will be on next week, another favorite of mine. Many of you might recognize her name since she used to be in the group "Nickel Creek". And last week, my girl Kristin Chenoweth dropped by the show.

Garrison Keillor is a master storyteller, and it's always comforting to hear his soothing voice telling yet another tale from Lake Wobegon, his fictional setting for the weekly stories. There's sometimes "Guy Noir, Private Eye" -- a funny detective always on the hunt for clues to solve the mystery. My favorites are the "commercial" jingles for Rhubarb Pie and Powder Milk Biscuits or even the Ketchup Advisory Board commercials, haha. The guy that does the sound effects is nothing short of amazing, and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is so talented and will have you tapping your toes under the table in no time. There is always good ol' Minne-SOH-ta humor, which we can appreciate after having lived there for a short while.

My husband and I enjoyed the experience a few years back when we took his aunt and uncle to a live taping while we were in St. Paul, Minnesota for a visit. It's in the historic Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul, and what a fun time. There are signs for the audience of when to clap, etc., just like in the good ol' days. The stage is set with a front porch of a farmhouse and moon as the backdrop, and some audience members even get to sit up there through the taping. They use those old fashioned big silver microphones which are really cool. The live tapings are on Saturday nights (I believe), and then our local NPR station replays it on Sunday afternoons (which I believe most radio stations across the country do as well). But if you miss out on the radio air times, you can always go online and listen to the podcasts.

So there you have it. Check it out, and enjoy some of the simpler things in life. Turn off the TV, and turn on the radio. You won't regret it!

*image found here

A free tutorial

2011-01-08T20:45:00.001-06:00

I've decided I need to incorporate some tutorials into my little blog, so here you go.
Tutorial #1.

"How to turn something BORING into something EXCITING"

(Oh, did I just lose some of you who were hoping it was a crafting tutorial? Never fear. This tutorial is so much more useful than how to crochet a pair of bunny slippers out of the cat fur you sucked off the sofa with your vaccuum hose.)

For this lesson, we'll use our last 48 hours as an example...

Yesterday the boy, the husband and I loaded ourselves into the car bright and early for a fun little roadtrip. Er, make that a little business trip. (Trust me, the little guy already knows how to negotiate a business deal, haha.)

Our destination?

The place most folk want to get the heck outta.

Any guesses?

That's right, kids.

Dodge City, Kansas.

Now, 'ol Wyatt Earp might beg to differ with my branding of this as a "boring" roadtrip. Back in the day, Dodge City was filled with hopeful cowboys and crazed outlaws, and it was anything but boring. Fast foward to 2011, and unfortunately it might not be on Travel Magazines' list of top destinations. The drive from here to there is pretty dang flat, it's in the middle of winter so there's no greenery to be found, and it's pretty much cows, cows, and cows to look at. (No offense, Dodge City. Had we more time to spend, we would've been happy to visit Boot Hill, down some delicious steak, and hobknob with the locals. I promise we'll stop on our next drive through.)

Let me tell you something: most people traveling out that way (from these parts, anyway) are headed to beautiful Colorado, usually straight for the Rocky Mountains. So stopping by Dodge City might make 'em chuckle and smile as they continue past, eyes on the prize of Rocky Mountain highs. (Dang, I am a poet.) But as a final destination, well, not too many people probably stop there. Except my husband -- who needed to be there for a short business meeting. And since it is a 6-hour drive and my husband is not quite the best road-tripper (as a driver especially, although as a passenger he is fantastic since he is a pro on his laptop and can also fall asleep at the drop of a hat which we all know makes the time on the road pass quickly) -- I volunteered for the position of chauffeur. Our son got to play hooky from school for the day (since he never gets sick and never has to miss otherwise). We piled in the car, and made the best out of our 640-something-mile-long, less than 36-hours-total roadtrip.

So let's get to the tutorial, shall we?

Step #1:
Be sure and talk up the boring subject until it sounds exciting (and you've managed to successfully convince yourself as well that it could be fun).

Dora and Diego are the best (and the most annoying) at this if you need to watch some cartoons for good examples; otherwise just tack some exclamation points on to whatever you are saying. For example: Dodge City sounds AWESOME!!! Dodge City -- what a neat place full of cowboy history!!! Ooooh, I heard there used to be BAD GUYS in Dodge City!!!

(By the way, the five-year-old was eating. it. up.)

Step #2:
Think outside the box.

Instead of counting cars (hello, boring) or counting mile markers (hello, boring), we counted GRAIN ELEVATORS! (Don't be jealous.) My five-year-old got quite into this. And he could never remember the real term for them, no matter how much I repeated it and made him repeat it, and instead called them "food makers". Cute. (Note to self: be sure and look for agriculture books at the library with pictures. The kid wants to know more, and my sad little attempts at explaining the process of grain from field to table was probably not the most accurate.)

Step #3:
Stop and smell the roses.

Now, speaking of "smelling the roses", that would've come in handy on this trip. Unfortunately I was trapped inside the car with two humans of the male species. Niiiiiiiiiiice. It meant a lot of emergency rolling down of the windows, yelling on my part, and howling with laughter on their part. I'm sure you've caught my drift by now. Throw in the fact that Dodge City is also quite the fragrant town, and we could've used a whole lotta roses. (In case you haven't been there, the air smells straight like cow poo. And lots of it. Bless their little hearts in Dodge City. And neighboring Garden City. Don't let that name fool you -- it don't smell like no garden.)

But instead I really mean "stop and smell the roses" as in -- stop and see all the fun that is lurking around the corner. Kansas is full o' fun.

Some things we stopped to see:

*the world's largest hand dug well!

my own handsome cowboy peering down in there

Trust us, it was deep, and if someone really did dig that 109-feet-deep sucker by hand, well, color me impressed!

By the way, we noticed that this particular town was a bit different from the other small towns we had driven through. All of the buildings on its little main street were new, as were most of the houses, and the trees were strange-looking as well. Then it dawned on me. The town must've been leveled by a tornado. Bless their hearts. Sure enough, I looked online when we got home, and in 2007 it was hit by an F5. You know what they call those -- the "finger of God". Nasty stuff. We don't mess around with tornados 'round these parts, and we've all been affected by them in one way or another, whether we personally have been in one or one of our communities was struck by one. So I'm glad to know that little town is rebuilding and will survive.

*the world's largest collection of....(?)....well, we're not quite sure exactly, but it was large!

It was basically a collection of a billion whirligig type metal sculptures, many of which had {ahem} political statements of their own, like the ones titled "Hillary" and "Laura Bush" that had swastikas on their heads. Yipes. Appropriate and tasteful? Hmmmmm, notsomuch. Interesting? Most definitely.

*tumbleweeds!
(Have YOU ever seen one in person? My boys are holding one for ya'. It had been a-tumblin'.)

*cotton fields!

*old oil mansions in small towns! (Okay, this part was in Oklahoma....)

Some fun things we DIDN'T stop to see but would've if we'd had more time:

*the Kansas meteorite museum -- I guess all the farmers pooled together and made a collection of all the rocks that fell outta the sky and landed on their property? My boy would love this as well.

*Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City

*the beginning of the Santa Fe trail -- I would've liked to have seen this since apparently you can still see the wagon ruts in the ground, but alas, it was an additional 7 miles WEST of Dodge City, and honestly, we were ready to get on the road for home.

*a museum featuring a hideout of the infamous Dalton Gang -- again, too far off the beaten path, but since my grandfather wrote down his own personal account of when the Dalton Gang rode into a neighboring town here in Oklahoma, I would've found it interesting.

*the world's largest hairball (I couldn't make these things up if I tried)

*Prairie Dog Town -- Kansas, I'll be coming back soon...

Step #4:
Make lemonade outta lemons.

Once we got to Dodge City, my husband had to skedaddle off to his meeting. It was 3pm, and the boy and I were pretty much trapped in the Holiday Inn Express until further notice (which ended up pretty much being all night since we didn't end up leaving). This was also finalized by the fact that my husband failed to grab my makeup bag in the pile of things to throw in the car, and we all know dang well I didn't really care to venture out in public with no makeup. Sure, I do it all the time when I go to the grocery store and Wal-Mart, but on our trip I wasn't too amused that I had no options.

But instead of being bummed about this incarceration, I flung off my socks and shoes, planted myself on one of the beds, remote in hand, and enjoyed an evening of mindless TV watching with my kid, "dinner in bed" (a la Subway sandwiches that the husband brought back for us), and pretty much having no "to do list" of any sort other than just to relax. Trapped? No. Forced to relax? Yes. (And okay. It wasn't mindless TV watching. "Gold Rush" on the Discovery Channel is one of the coolest new shows on TV. Those dudes are living the dream. I totally want to go to Alaska now and pan for gold.)

Step #5:
Don't spend big bucks. Free is where it's at.

Know what awesome souvenirs my kid came home with?

For starters, we brought home a TUMBLEWEED. Awesome! And hilarious! And one-of-a-kind!

And free.

Periodically I would look in the rear view mirror on the way home and crack my own little hilarious-to-me joke:
"Hey, is that a tumbleweed in your trunk or are you just happy to see me?"

I know. I'm awesome. My husband tells me all the time...

My kid also came home with all-natural-cotton picked straight from the fields. Cool AND educational. He wants to take it to kindergarten to show all his little buddies.

(Don't worry. We didn't steal from the farmer. We only took what was straggling behind after it had already been picked and bundled.)

And my husband and I got our own free souvenirs. At the oil mansion we visited, we got a free program from the pre-inaugural ball that was held there last night for our first-ever-female-governor that is about to be sworn in. Kinda cool, huh? That's right. We like to hobknob in the same places all the rich and fancy folk do. (More on this oil mansion tomorrow. It's good for a whole other post.)

Step #6:
Realize that there's more to life than all the bells and whistles and fancy iGadgets and commercialism and consumerism and...you get my drift, right? Go for the simple things.

This step can't be bought and paid for. This one is straight from the heart of the world's most awesome five-year-old.

When asked about his favorite part of the trip (because he thought it was AWESOME and EXCITING, remember, to be trapped in the car in Kansas in the dead of winter with his quirky oddball parents on the way to a destination that not only smelled like cow poo but also that he would really see nothing of other than the inside of a Holiday Inn Express motel room), he answered:

"hanging out wif my Mama and Papa".

PRICELESS.

And that, my friends, is how to turn something BORING into something EXCITING.

(You're welcome.)

Revving up...

2011-01-04T17:55:00.001-06:00

So far this year I:

*organized the clothes in my closet

*did five bazillion loads of laundry...or maybe actually eight

*finished putting away the last Christmas decoration stragglers that had been overlooked

*vaccuumed all the pet hair off the red velvet sofa, a job all by itself

*drank a lot more water than I normally do -- trying to kick my chronic dehydration to the curb

*laughed at my little shadow -- Sally, the cat -- who follows me EVERYWHERE

*enjoyed my monthly Starbucks date with my gal pals

*worked on planning a possible little family vacation next month

*ate a delicious cheeseburger from one of my family's favorite haunts in NW Tulsa - Ted's

*took my kid to school two days in a row and picked him up as well, quite the luxury since I worked so much this past holiday season and rarely got to do that

*deleted masses of emails to clean out my inbox

*did some housekeeping on Facebook as well and dropped a few friends that weren't really friends but more acquaintances

*cooked dinner three nights out of four

*ate my daily allowance of BlueBell peppermint ice cream

*cleaned my boy's closet and drawers as well, pulling out all the clothes he has outgrown {sigh}

*tried out a new-to-me restaurant with a good friend -- crepes!

*almost finished a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle

*did a leetle bit of sewing

Not a bad start to 2011. If I could just keep up the momentum, it would be a very productive year indeed!

Only three little letters...

2011-01-03T08:11:00.001-06:00

Every year I jump on the bandwagon and pick a word for the coming new year.

Last year's word: possibilities.

Quite appropriate. So much happened that wasn't planned, so "possibilities" is definitely an appropriate description.

2009's word: content.

That's a word that would apply to every year since I am always desiring to find contentment in everything.

I've thought about this a lot for 2011, and I've finally settled on a word. It took a lot of pondering and thinking, and it took a lot of giving up control on my part. In fact, you could downright call it a "leap of faith" picking this word. Last year all I truly wanted was a nice, quiet, uneventful year, and honestly, I got the complete opposite of that. Looking back, of course, with my 20/20 hindsight, I wouldn't have it any other way.

So this year, I'm giving up my control-freak-deathgrip on trying to plan it all out my way, and I'm allowing God free reign of our little family and where we are headed. My word for this year is...

BIG.

I am expecting God to do big things in my little family.

I am expecting God to move in big ways through my little family. There may be only three of us, but God only needs a couple of willing hearts, right?

I would love big blessings, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

And let's be honest, I have this (not so) little underlying fear that by somehow picking this word, I'm setting myself up for the possibilities of any big bad things that could come my way as well. Of course, I am hoping for no big challenges, but if they come, well, I'll do my very human best to embrace the journey. Remember, my friends, lemons can churn out delicious lemonade, and if I have to have a few lemons thrown my way in 2011, well, then I'll just ask for big and beneficial lessons to be learned along the way and a big happy ending, of course...

I've heard it said before, and I know it to be true:

God has so much bigger and better plans for us than we could possibly dream. I know in my own life I've asked things of Him that didn't happen and became sorely disappointed and upset, only to look back later and realize that I was asking for such scrawny blessings in comparison to what He had planned. Who am I to know what is best?

So let's do this, 2011. Let's make it a BIG year.

*And forget the resolutions this New Year. I just want to try harder at doing my best, every single day, for Him, and for nobody else.

2010 Top Ten

2010-12-31T08:39:00.002-06:00

Here are ten favorite things from 2010. There might be some that I forgot, so don't sue me, which I suppose means this might not really be a "top ten" list but more of a "ten awesome things I could think of at the drop of a hat" list.

Oh well...here goes.

1. My "Little Dresses for Africa" birthday party! To sum it up: I turned 33 (the same age as Jesus) and celebrated in what I thought was a big way, but actually turned into a much-bigger-than-I-dreamed way because we sent off 100 dresses. Picture 100 beautiful African girls all in a new dress. Seriously, the coolest. I'm already brainstorming about what we can do when I turn 34...

2. My little man's Halloween costume: it rocked. Especially if you're from T-Town, I think you'd agree.

3. My husband stayed HOME. We're not talking marital problems, peeps. I mean, he stopped traveling all the gosh-darn time for business. I cannot tell you what a world of difference it makes, having him home every day with us. What a blessing and a luxury in today's day and age, especially for our son. He gets so much quality time with his dad, and I am forever grateful and will never take that for granted.

4. Landing a job with Anthropologie: let's face it -- no matter what, a job is a JOB. (Especially when you are working retail during the holiday season -- not for the faint of heart, I tell ya'.) There are days I might not be crazy excited to go in to work, just like anybody else. But it's a pretty cool gig, and I've truly enjoyed making new friends, being constantly surrounded by inspiration, and of course, ye ole' employee discount. Not gonna lie.

5. Learning how to free-motion quilt: and my world's never been the same since.

6. Modern Quilt Guild: this spring our little city started up its own chapter of this national organization. What fun to make new friends that are all as nerdy as me (haha) and get just as excited to talk about fabric, quilting, patterns, etc. They get me. They really get me.

7. My church pianist gig: it had been 8 years since I was previously a church pianist, but I've been reminded this year how much I truly enjoy it. And I'd be lying if it didn't feel the teensiest bit like getting paid to go to church. Ha! (Don't get your panties in a wad. We'd go anyways. We always have. Just had to throw that one in a for a laugh.)

8. Kindergarten. Whoa. I still am in denial that my kid is no longer in preschool. But really, it's been nothing short of amazing to watch his little brain take off at warp speed. Just in the four months or so since he started, it's crazy how much he has learned. We are really, really proud of our little man.

9. Professional family portraits: it's been several years (at least three of four) since we've had our pictures taken by a professional. Several of my friends are professional photographers, and one of them offered up a deal too good to pass. We're really grateful to have these shots of the three of us, especially before my little man gets any bigger. {Sigh.}

10. Top Secret Family Things that I can't yet speak of, but that have been in the works this year. I'm thankful to walk this crazy journey through life with my husband, and we've really grown even closer this year through some new experiences. Just take my word for it...

Thanks for reading this little ol' blog of mine. It's nice to have a place to pen my thoughts, and I've really enjoyed these cyber-friendships that are a result of people actually reading what I have to say and choosing to like me anyway... ;)

You. Must. Watch. This.

2010-12-28T10:50:00.001-06:00

Oh Mamacita!

2010-12-11T17:19:00.002-06:00

Love this new-to-me Christmas classic!

The song is from the 1950's. Unfortunately, according to the video description, this adorable little guy lipsynching in the video and his mama passed away in a car accident a few years ago. What a blessing for the dad to have this darling video to remember him.

I dare you not to get this one stuck in your head. My little Hispanic cutie thinks this is his new favorite video...

Christmas wrapped up perfectly...

2010-12-09T09:17:00.001-06:00

....in song.

Enjoy.

Oh, the cuteness...

2010-12-02T13:38:00.000-06:00

...that is Harry and Sally.

Thanksgiving Glimpses...

2010-12-01T08:32:00.002-06:00

...from the scene at my house.

We enjoyed...

*a 19-pound bird
*fun paper squirrel party favors a-la-Martha-Stewart (free printables on her website) filled with hazelnut chocolates
*perfect cold and cloudy weather
*a new cranberry sauce recipe that uses Grand Marnier -- yum!
*parade watching, of course
*a wishbone that wouldn't break, only bend, so my aunt and I both end up with good luck, right?
*a roaring fire in the fireplace
*a little drama with the stupid bird that took FOREVER to finish roasting
*great time with family

How was yours?

"Christmas Farm"

2010-11-30T07:45:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year!

It's the time that my boy and I load up on Christmas reading material. There over 30 Christmas books in our bin by the fireplace for him to read and look through whenever he likes. These are the books that I have collected, most of which came from thrift stores. You should see me light up when I find a new $16 book for $1! Thrift stores are a treasure trove of new books if you know where to look.

But besides those books, we load up at the library as well. And yesterday we picked out a gem.

I'm definitely going to have to buy a copy of this one.

"Christmas Farm" by Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Barry Root*

Oh, what a little gem of a book.

Charming illustrations and a fantastic little story about a lady who grows Christmas trees to sell. For my boy, who is currently into all things that can be counted, hearing page after page of how many seedlings survived yet another winter to grow taller, how many trees were bought, how old the neighbor boy was becoming -- this was a perfect book. I'm a book lover, it's no secret, but this little book just really seemed to tug at all of my heartstrings and really sang to me. If I could climb into the pages, believe me, the boy and I would!

Just thought I'd share, in case you have a little someone you'd like to read this one to. Or even if you don't, maybe you might enjoy it yourself. Be sure and check your local library to see if there's a copy you can borrow.

*image found here

Git yer jingle bells on.

2010-11-29T12:02:00.001-06:00

Because I'm a professional pianist...

I thought you all might enjoy this little Christmas ditty by the fabulous Ferrante and Teicher. You've probably heard their other famous Christmas tunes of "Sleigh Ride" and "Jingle Bells", but this one is a new favorite of mine, a fun Brazilian twist on Christmas.

Hope you're all getting in the spirit of the season!

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

2010-11-25T07:31:00.002-06:00

Today I have much to be thankful for...

*a stress-free turkey roasting experience (no repeats of last year, thank goodness, although if you missed out on that story, you'll want to click over for a few good laughs at my expense)

*a husband who cheerfully hung curtains last night in two rooms even though he probably didn't feel like it

*an early morning wake-up call to get Tom the Turkey ready for lunch (also a blessing in disguise since I have to wake up very early the next two mornings for work)

*some quiet, uninterrupted, early morning sewing (since I was up anyway!)

*freezing cold and cloudy weather (my favorite for Thanksgiving!)

*a clean house

*Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!! (which I WILL attend in person someday)

*family coming over for the feast

...and of course, so very many more blessings as I could go on and on and on. The Lord's been good to me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Still thankful...

2010-11-24T09:43:00.002-06:00

Day 21:

I am thankful for my sewing machine.

Oh man, am I ever.

It is not fancy. It was about $300, maybe less, almost nine years ago (a combined b-day gift from my parents and my brand-new husband, mere weeks after we were married). It is not computerized. But it does exactly what I need it to, and it rarely gives me grief. You could say we are BFF's.

Thank you, little Huskystar 224. I {heart} you.

*image found here.

Day 22:

I am thankful for a wood-burning fireplace! Woohoo! It is supposed to be freeeeeezing here tomorrow, and I can't wait to have a fire in the fireplace to keep us nice and toasty. Our old house didn't have a wood-burning fireplace, so that's exciting for us.

Day 23:

I am thankful for my super-always-healthy kid. Seriously, we go to the doctor once a year for a checkup. That's it.

Day 24:

I am thankful for TURKEY BRINE!!! Heck yes, as we speak, my house officially smells like Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving, thanks to their expensive jar o' brine mix that I purchase every year (this is officially my fourth year of turkey roasting, folks!). Saves me time and effort and assures me that I will end up with a dripping, juicy bird. Gobble, gobble!

*I would've linked to the jar, but they sell out every year. I've gotten into the habit of purchasing my brine sometimes as early as Halloween to ensure that I have a jar. And while we're on the subject, I'm also thankful for Ziploc brand XL bags. For $6 a box, I can get four bags (lasting me four years) of the exact same size bag that Williams-Sonoma packages as their "brining bags". Williams-Sonoma, however, charges $16 for a set of two large and two small bags, which only last me two years. Thank you for the savings, Ziploc!

Day 20

2010-11-20T08:43:00.003-06:00

Today I am thankful for gorgeous Oklahoma sunsets.

Say what you will about my home state, but there aren't too many other states that can surpass mine in beautiful sunsets.

This is an untouched photo of an amazing sunset we enjoyed in mid-October up north of T-Town.

I remember when I was in college the kids from other states and other countries constantly remarked about the sunsets. It's true. We enjoy the brightest oranges, the most vivid pinks and reds and luscious purples, and it seems like we enjoy them quite often.

How about you?

Are there beautiful sunsets all the time where you live?

Day 19

2010-11-19T14:11:00.003-06:00

Today I am thankful -- VERY thankful -- for our local library system.

I've been a big fan of the library my whole life. Throughout my childhood, my parents took my brother and I to the big downtown library. I loved getting the parking ticket stamped, the giant (or at least, giant to me) reading room for story time, picking out videos and records (ah, back in the day), looking through the paintings (did you know our library used to have framed artwork you could check out, take home, and hang up on the wall?! I was never able to get my parents to agree to do it unfortunately), and the smell. Oh, the smell -- a smell of old and books and a pinch of imagination. Sometimes I go to the downtown branch simply because I love that wave of nostalgia that washes over me from entering the building and that first whiff of library.

As an adult, I've continued to be a library connoisseur. I am there at least once or twice a week, and it makes me feel good that my boy and I are on a first-name basis with the staff. Love that. I've dropped Netflix and avoided Redbox because the library is my main movie source. New music? Find it at the library. New books? You get the picture...

Anyway, this was a GREAT library week. See that stack on my nightstand?

No, really. Check it out. ALL of that crafty goodness.

I added up this stack to see what it would total me at my local Border's bookstore.

Borders = $186.36

My library = FREE

All of that FREE inspiration, just waiting on my nightstand to be devoured. Library, I HEART you.

Oops.

2010-11-18T08:04:00.008-06:00

Did I say I was going to post something every day? Niiiiiiiiiiiice.

Looks like a messed that one up! I actually had some posts started but forgot to set them to publish. And I didn't even finish 'em anyway -- guess that would've helped? So here is another little catch-up post.

Day 13:

I am thankful for more TIME AT HOME to accomplish things around the house. After moving at the beginning of September, I was barely home for over a month, and we have lived in partial chaos that whole time. Unpacking and setting up the store at my new job only to come home to an unpacked house as well? A big ol' can of stressful, folks, that's what that is. So I am thankful for this free time I've been enjoying more of lately. (So this is the apology for no blog posts as of late, although I'm happy to report I've been accomplishing a lot with my time even if I haven't been posting.)

Day 14:

I am thankful for a new craft space. Sure, I have to share it with the laundry, but since that's one of the only chores I actually enjoy, I find it soothing to create next to the whir and hum of the washer and dryer. Plus, it smells nice, haha. And I have a great view because of all of the windows.

As you can see from the photo, I am using what used to be our kitchen island as my new worktable. Counter height workspace? LOVE that. I would like to get a new lamp for the table since the lighting at night is atrocious (no overhead light at all), but all in good time...

Day 15:

I am thankful for my quilting bees. This week I've been working on blocks for the other members, and it got me thinking about how the two quilting bees I participate in are partially responsible for teaching me lots of new quilting skills. Now I'm not intimidated anymore by some of those techniques.

This was the block I made for Jacquie, a tall order in my book since she is a bit well-known in the online quilting world, and I must admit, I was a bit intimidated about making her a block. She asked for mid-century modern house squares, and that's what she got! I really enjoyed churning this little one out. I hope she likes it.

Day 16:

I am thankful for our cars. I know, seems like a funny one to mention, but keep in mind we don't have new cars. In a world where most of my friends and family seem to be sporting fancy newer pimped-out rides, I'm grateful for our cars. One is almost 14 years old, and the other is almost 8 years old, and both are still running with no issues. I'm thankful for no car payments and no relationship with a mechanic since our cars never need anything other than basic oil changes and occasional tuneups (and new tires every so often). They get us where we need to go. Thanks, cars! (And way to go, Toyota. We {heart} Toyota.)

Day 17:

I am thankful for the gorgeousness around me -- fall here in T-Town is beautiful this year! So many vibrant colors everywhere you look! And I will tell you the truth -- every single beautiful tree I see really does point me straight to God and His amazing creations. I love that each tree has been a good reminder for me to thank Him for the beauty we are enjoying.

I snapped these pics just the other day from my front porch. Such beautiful colors on my own street.

Day 18:

I am thankful for accomplishments! Like I mentioned in Day 13, I've gotten a few projects crossed off the list (finally). Check out my little guy's bedroom. It's finally done, and I am really happy with it. (Well, minus the lack of bedskirt. Must find bedskirt ASAP.) For a tiny little space, I think it is so darling! I was going for a hodgepodge of "classic little boy room", and I think it looks pretty good.

I worked completely with what we already had:

*the iron bed (there's also another) had been stored in the garage
*the paintings above the bed are all from our Guatemala pick-up trip to bring our son home, and he's pretty proud of those "Gualamala" pictures above him
*the "N" used to be gold and sat in my closet for years, and since my son's actual first name starts with an "N", it's appropriate (he goes by his middle name)
*the denim curtains were in the playroom in our old house -- I simply chopped them off to make them a bit shorter
*the sheer curtains were in the guest room in our old house, and since I put the labor into those suckers, they came with us (I made them years ago from Ikea curtain panels that I cut down and pinch-pleated, a true labor of love)
*the pennant flags on the windows are partially from my father-in-law (the school ones) and the travel pennants I had bought a year ago at an antique shop and saved for a good project; I simply stitched them together using embroidery floss in the corners, and stitched black ribbons at the ends to tie them up to the curtain rods
*the spinning colored disco ball was bought for $10 by my husband at an antique mall, and it is probably one of my boy's favorite things in the room (it is an exciting night when he has earned the right to fall asleep with the colors spinning around the room!)
*the armoire was previously holding our electronic equipment for the TV in our other house, and it now serves as a second closet space

Hmmmmm, now what will I be thankful for tomorrow?

Day 12

2010-11-12T07:42:00.008-06:00

Today I am thankful for...

my friends.

And to be more specific for this post:

my Bunco* friends.

I am thankful for this Motley Crue, rag-tag bunch that we are.

When my husband and I first moved back to my hometown (six-and-a-half years ago), it was a strange feeling for me. I was moving back to everything familiar, and yet, I didn't know too many people. Not very many of my friends still lived here, so it was the same typical story of moving to a new place and having to make new friends. A friend of mine invited me to her Bunco group, and the rest was history.

I didn't know any of these girls to start out (except for the one who invited me). We all lived on opposite sides of the city, and we all came from different walks of life, schools, churches, etc. But the one thing we did all have in common was God. And that was enough to gel us as a group. And over the course of six years, these girls have become more and more important to me, especially since they've walked through life with me. When times were rough -- my grandparents and dad passing away, all of the adoption drama, etc. -- these girls were such a stronghold for me. You name it -- we've walked through it as a group, supporting each other through so much good and the occasional bad. So now, six years later, we've got history. The type of history that truly binds friends together.

In that span of six years, our group has grown, shrunk (down to where we would meet and go to the movies if we didn't have enough people to play), and grown again. We now have a bit more order as far as scheduling a year in advance for who will be the hostess every month, but we still are nice and laidback, not requiring substitutes if you are gone (playing with ghosts), etc. The themes of each month seem to have gotten more and more creative as well, and we have so much fun together. We may only see each other once a month, but that is once a month I never want to miss.

I love my Bunco girls.

For your viewing pleasure, here are pics from last night's tea-party themed Bunco. Sooooooo much fun to get dressed up. And believe it or not, I think this was my very first real tea party to attend (other than the ones with stuffed animals as a kid, haha). There was great food, lots of teas to sample with special German sugar to add in, and we each got to take home our own cup and saucer. In fact, it was so much fun that half of us didn't even roll the dice and just enjoyed catching up on life, haha. What a fun evening!

*Side note: which is the true spelling -- Bunco or B-u-n-k-o? Drives me crazy every time I write it because I was always a spelling champ and not knowing the true way to spell something drives me nuts. The Internet search wasn't conclusive as I found it spelled both ways. Grr....

Count Your Blessings

2010-11-10T08:05:00.017-06:00

Halloween wore me out.

This fall has been exhausting.

My blog has been suffering.

But I'm never too tired to be thankful and show it.

So let's do a little catch-up, shall we?

For November, I will join in and post something I'm thankful for each day. Since today is already the 11th (oops), I've got a BIG list to write today...

Day ONE:

I am thankful for a roof over my head. Whether or not I own that roof doesn't matter. Whether or not that roof is my dream roof doesn't matter. As I found out in September, the Lord's plans for us were so much bigger than what I had dreamed up -- silly me, thinking I could control everything. Thank you, Lord, for the roof over our heads that we absolutely love.

Day TWO:

I am thankful for a job. Err, three jobs. Especially in an economy where this is harder and harder to find. With lots of friends (and relatives) on the prowl for employment, I feel very thankful. And this third job, the dream Anthropologie job, where I thought it would be mostly for the discount that I was working? Again, the Lord is good to me. I've not been spending my paychecks after all, and they've in fact helped pay the bills, taking pressure off of my husband and allowing us to save more.

Day THREE:

I am thankful for a financial overhaul over the past year. And saving. And spending less. Which, in case you were wondering, feels very, very freeing. Who needs a houseful of crap anyway? ;)

Day FOUR:

I am thankful for my husband. A support, an encourager, spontaneous, full of fun, hilarious, just the right amount of nerdy (can't compete with my own personal amount of nerdiness), an extremely hands-on dad (er, Papa, that's what we call 'em in our house), a protector, a provider, and best friend. To top it all off, he puts up with me. True love.

Day FIVE:

I am thankful for my pets. They provide unconditional love (well, as long as we feed them, I suppose), and it is the best thing to walk in the door after work and find lots of wagging tails and purring bellies happy to see me. If owning a pet makes a person live longer, well, I'd say my family is set! Six animals to love us every single day.

(Harry, on the right, and Sally, on the left)

(the Italian greyhounds demonstrating a true "dogpile" - Romeo on the bottom, Tex and Minnie Pearl on the top; and sorry for no pic of our fourth dog, Mazi)

Day SIX:

I am thankful for my boy. I could go on and on about how he is the greatest kid I know, and although, yes, I'm his mama and a tad biased, I actually know several people who would back me up on this. He's kind and oh-so-compassionate, well-behaved, grateful, respectful to adults, caring to our pets, and almost always obedient. He's funny, a fantastic healthy eater, he's gorgeous (sorry, but he is, and oh, those dimples), and he loves to hear about Jesus and Bible stories. Throw in just a handful of mischief and naughtiness, and you've got yourself an awesome kid. What more could a mama ask for?

(the little man and I, Halloween 2009)

Day SEVEN:

I am thankful for 2010. This probably sounds like a strange thing to be grateful for, but at the beginning of the year, I was praying that 2010 would be a nice, quiet year -- no big changes, everything just chucking along like clockwork. Boy, was I wrong, and boy, did we ever get the opposite. This has been a crazy year for us, full of lots of surprising changes, lots of attacks on our little family from Satan (sorry, if you think I'm weird for typing it, but I know it's true), and just nothing like we expected it to be. But you know what? These changes have ended up being just what we needed (duh, I know, God always knows better than I), and it's ending up being a great year after all. So, thanks for 2010.

Day EIGHT:

I am thankful for more radio and less TV. Ha! But it's true. I'm down to just a very few select shows I watch, and with the radio on more often, I've been getting more accomplished and just feeling more balanced in general. Don't get me wrong, it's really more me listening to the radio than my guys, but it's been great for me not to feel so zapped from the boob tube. And I'm proud to say that my five-year-old only watches about 30 minutes of TV a few days a week. Yay for less TV! Although this is not to say that I could live WITHOUT the TV quite yet. Nope, not ready for that.

Day NINE:

I am thankful for kindergarten. My boy has a great teacher, a little classroom filled with new friends and diversity (for which I am very thankful), and he has learned so much in just a few short months already. He went from counting to 10 to counting to 100, recognizing and writing every single one of his letters, and starting to spell and read. He loves the cafeteria food and cafeteria ladies, calls the principal "Mrs. President", and eats a good breakfast with his classmates every morning. And thank goodness for "green faces" ("green faces" = good behavior) every day. Er, most every day. So far, so GREAT.

(my guys walking to school the first morning of kindergarten 2010)

Day TEN:

I am thankful for double chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. Oh, heavens. So grateful that I have already made two big batches of them this season (most of which may or may not have gone to my own thighs). And I'm sure I will be making them again before the Christmas season starts, especially since I've already got the ingredients in my pantry for two more batches. I just can't help it.

Day ELEVEN:

I am thankful for veterans. I have a brother-in-law in the Army. My dad was in the Army. And I have several friends that are veterans. It seems so cliche to say I am thankful for them today, but I really am, and I've been thinking about the sacrifices of all of the veterans a lot lately. My boy is currently into all things "Army mans" (and has been for over a year), and if you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, these days his answer is consistently "an Army man". So I've also been a good mom and watching a some of the military channel on TV with him as well, and it has been a great reminder of what a sacrifice each of these soldiers make for the rest of us. We've taught him to go up to military that we might see in public and say "thank you". And let me tell you -- for a mama that rarely tears up, that's a surefire way to get the teary eyes, to see your little man proudly walk up and tell a serviceman or woman thank you for serving and "keeping us safe"!

(my son's birthday cake from April 2010 -- it was a little "Army mans" party with the family, of course!)

On a lighter note, I am also soooooooooo thankful for not having to go in to work today! I called in and got the green light for a day off. And I vow to make this day a productive one, so with that being said -- see ya' tomorrow...

Boo to You!

2010-10-31T14:10:00.007-05:00

Happy Halloween, my friends!
(and a Happy Reformation Day to you as well, thanks to the reminder from the Prairie Home Companion broadcast this afternoon...)

Let me just say, I'm lovin' this Halloween season!

Here is my boy dressed in all his Halloween finery...

You may not recognize this costume if you're not from around these parts, but if you know anything about our little neck o' the woods, you might get it. My boy is dressed up as the Golden Driller statue, a Tulsa icon. You can read all about this iconic giant here.

The pants and workboots are from Wal-Mart; the shirt is from our local Goodwill thrift store (it was a woman's shirt that my mom and I completely deconstructed to make a new shirt from, impressive!); the belt was also from Goodwill and I made a new buckle for it out of a glitter gold foam sheet glued to a piece of wood and then cut out black foam letters that I stuck on the top; the hardhat is from our friends B.J. and Lauren that I spraypainted (gold, of course), the kids' work gloves are from Atwoods, and the oil derrick is painted on a piece of wood from Home Depot. I actually had the guy at Home Depot cut the big plank into that long piece and two short pieces, one at the top and one at the bottom for a base and a place for my boy to rest his hand on the top. There is also a drawer handle drilled into the back so he can pick it up and move it as it trick or treats.

I'm pretty darn excited about this costume!

While we're on the subject of Halloween, here are the "punkins" on our porch:

I used the idea from the October issue of Country Living Magazine. I had trouble downloading the images and then enlarging them to the right size, so I just eyeballed 'em and drew them on myself as best I could. Then I painted them black, carved out all of the windows, and we've been lighting them up at night. Pretty darn cute! And the paint seems to be keeping the critters from gnawing on them, so that's a double win in my book.

I also decorated our mantel for Halloween and forgot to post a picture until now:

We're off to a fun "trunk or treat" event followed by our annual family Halloween get-together and trick or treating. Hope you all enjoy a great evening with your own little spooks as well!

More Music Monday...

2010-10-18T20:36:00.005-05:00

As if The Secret Sisters' debut album wasn't enough to make this music-loving gal happy, check out these two Christmas albums that just came out from two of my favorites...

the Indigo Girls!!!

Hello, Indigo Girls + Christmas music = AWESOME. (Or at least it should be awesome, I'll have to give the album a listen and let you know.) And, of course, listening to the Indigo Girls brings back hilarious memories of the concert a couple of years ago where my girls and I found ourselves in a sea of lady love. I'll never forget that concert! I couldn't leave until I heard them play my absolute favorite, "Galileo"...

And how 'bout those Puppini Sisters!!!

Oh, I expect great things from this Christmas album. GREAT things!

And then a new album from Brooke Fraser?

Seriously, I FINALLY have reason to spend my iTunes gift card from my birthday (hello, it's been a dry five months musically for me, nothing to buy on iTunes in awhile)...

Any new tunes rockin' your world lately?

Download, Baby, Download.

2010-10-18T19:23:00.002-05:00

My Fall Music Mix is a bit overdue, but never fear, it is in the works. And you can bet your bottom dollar that these lovelies will be a part of it...

Have you checked out The Secret Sisters yet?

Seriously. I'm in love with their whole package -- looks, undeniable talent, backstory, the whole works!

Wacky Wednesday, indeed!

2010-10-13T15:25:00.004-05:00

What a crazy and fun day. First, the earthquake.

Then, an email from my girl Michelle telling me I won something.

Say what????

Something fabulous. Fab. U. Lous.

I clicked over to one of my absolute favorite and most inspiring blogs -- Grosgrain. (If you haven't checked out Kathleen's amazing creations, you've been missing out. Girlfriend's got more talent in her little pinkie than ol' Martha Stewart's got craft supplies and Chow-Chows. Seriously. I've been a longtime fan.)

Sure enough, there's my name! I won the Reporter Frock Giveaway!!!

Kids, I cannot wait to wear this. It's funny because I've been drooling over the dresses at Anthropologie that look like blouse and skirt combinations, and that is just what I won. An utterly gorgeous and one-of-a-kind frock. I can't wait to wear it, especially to work! And just knowing it was made by such talent -- that makes it extra awesome.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kathleen!!!

4.3

2010-10-13T12:23:00.002-05:00

That's the magnitude of the earthquake that struck my state this morning.

Crikey.

Most of my friends and family didn't feel it. But I sure did. And let me just say, experiencing an earthquake wasn't exactly something I wanted to be able to say I've experienced in this lifetime. But now I can check that off the list!

I was upstairs in my son's room, putting a new lightbulb in his lamp, when the whole room started shaking and the bed was creaking like crazy. It lasted maybe about three seconds or so, although, of course, when you're experiencing something like that it feels like a lot longer. My husband was mowing outside in the backyard, and I remember thinking, man, why is he ramming the lawnmower against the side of the house??? I ran outside to ask him if he felt it. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he noticed that a neighbor's house alarm had just gone off seconds before. Sure enough, when I jumped on Facebook, other statuses were reporting the same, so I knew I wasn't crazy.

It rattled me so badly (literally) that my legs felt woozy for a good hour afterwards.

Let me just say this:

I'll take tornadoes any day of the week over earthquakes. Any day.

Here's hoping for a quieter rest of the day...

Hypnotized and Mesmerized

2010-10-13T08:45:00.002-05:00

...by this song.

Holy beautiful.

If there is any song that could encapsulate my feelings right now about life and how fast it flies through our fingers and how much I love my beautiful boy and wish he could stay little forever,

THIS IS THAT SONG.

Oh, how this is that song.

Lately I've been feeling so much nostalgia and bittersweet feelings about how quickly that little man of mine is growing. Kindergarten is in full swing, he's learning to read, and a few tears fell the other day when I was folding the laundry and noticed one of his little shirts with a "size 7" tag in it. How could he be growing up so fast? There isn't enough time in the world for me and little him. I even made it a point to burn the memory in my mind this morning of walking hand-in-hand with him down the leaf-covered sidewalk to the front door of the school when I dropped him off. Of knowing that he might not always want to walk hand-in-hand with me in public, kiss my goodbye in plain view of his friends, be so little with his giant backpack strapped on. Oh, how I wish I could freeze these moments in time.

Read these gorgeous lyrics while you listen to the video:

Hourglass

Mindy Gledhill
© 2010 Blue Morph Music (BMI)

Little boy, when you speak
I can't help but kiss your cheeks
I love the way you grab my hands
And tell me all about your plans

Rocket high, comets fly
You and I could take a ride
And fly away to Neverland
And give our best to Peter Pan

When you reach for the stars
Don't forget who you are
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast
See the sand in my grasp
From the first to the last
Every grain becomes a memory of the past
Oh, life's an hourglass
Life's an hourglass

Stories read, prayer is said
Close your eyes sleepyhead
While angels linger in your dreams
And hold you in their feathered wings
Just like you, I was small
Not that long ago at all
I wish you all the happiness
That God gives freely if you ask

Chorus

Bad blogger, bad blogger.

2010-10-05T14:06:00.002-05:00

It's been nuts around here, ya'll.

I'm just now coming up to the surface for some air, so maybe I can scrounge up a lil' blog post for you real soon. Until then, get out and enjoy the bee-yoo-ti-ful fall weather. It's gorgeous 'round here!

Just checking in...

2010-09-17T19:29:00.002-05:00

Another oh-so-exciting Friday night in which my husband and I crash from exhaustion whilst our five-year-old prances around the room with unbelievable exuberance and unending energy, and we pray that bedtime will soon come.

Ha.

Just keepin' it real, folks. It's been a looooooooooong week.

A looooooooooooong week justifies bullet points for the weary and worn out, so here you go:

*I clocked in 44.5 hours of work this week between my three jobs.

*Next week holds the possibility of anywhere between 34.5 & 48.5 hours.

*This doesn't count the endless hours of any mothering duties. ;)

*My hours included lots of manual labor helping set up the store.

*This meant my feet were downright burning at the end of every work day from standing all day long.

*But I am loving it. Truly. And meeting so many great people.

*Today all of my Anthro-working dreams were fulfilled when I was paid to hand-embroider items (for decoration in store displays) all day long.

*Serious dream come true.

*Which also meant I got to sit instead of stand all day.

*But the sitting was on the very hard wooden floors so I'm not sure it really counts as a victory in that department because my rear was very numb at several points during the day.

*Our old house is finally on the market. Hurrah!

*Our new house is still not fully unpacked. Boo.

*In fact, the TV is still not hooked up. Double-boo. Project Runway on the Internet for me tonight, I guess.

*On the flip side, this means we have gotten a lot accomplished with no boob-tube to plop ourselves down in front of to waste time.

*We got a new mattress, so we were finally able to spend the night on a queen-sized bed after several weeks sharing a full. (This comes after our entire marriage thus far was spent in a giant king-sized bed. So you can imagine there was much rejoicing when the queen mattress arrived.)

*My mom and I were the ones to actually get the box spring up the stairs. It barely made it within about an inch. Thank goodness.

*My little guy enjoyed his second week of all "green faces" on his behavior chart at school. That's always awesome news.

*He also is one sticker away from completely filling up his "30 Nights of Dry Pull-Ups" chart on his wall. When it is filled he gets to pick out a new Star Wars Lego set. Anticipation is high 'round our house. Can he do it? Will tomorrow be the day he and Papa get to go to the store? Very exciting, folks!

But the biggest and best part of this week?

My little guy is learning to read.

As in, SERIOUSLY learning to read!

Sounding out simple three-to-four-letter words, one sound at a time, so excited that it is his new obsession, trying to read every single second of the day.

There are no words to tell you how very excited and proud we are.

A great week, indeed.

(Ah yes, the absence of pictures in my blog posts is duly noted. I will continue to search for my camera cord...)

More words.

2010-09-11T20:00:00.002-05:00

Wow.

So many of you are demanding more than just a two-word explanation of my last post. Dang!

Really, it's been a crazy, but great couple of weeks. Although I guess we might have startled quite a few real-life family and friends with our somewhat "fly-by-night" method to our madness. The thing is -- it just all happened so darn fast that we had no time to call and announce and explain and all of that. And honestly, since the move was such a lightning fast operation, it was actually kind of nice to keep it to ourselves and get moved before telling everyone and dealing with all of the questions.

So here's the skinny for all you Nosey Nellie's out there, haha:

Earlier this year in the spring, we put our house on the market. At the time, that was the decision we thought we needed to make -- to sell our money-guzzling house and get ourselves in better financial straits. For the last few years, we've been Dave Ramsey-ing it up with the best of 'em -- paying off debts, plunking over cash for EVERY last thing, and really changing our financial habits. It's been a great transformation for us. I feel like we could be on a commercial to sell some Dave Ramsey! And the house was the last big hurrah for us that we were going to hand back over and really be able to fast-forward our saving money by doing so. (Not that I was really happy about doing so, letting go of the house, that is. Nosirree. I was not a willing participant, to say the least. And the windows of opportunity weren't exactly flying open for us like we would have liked them to. It was a very confusing place to be for us.)

Then the doors all slammed in our face. There were a lot of factors up in the air that were changing, and it was clearly determined that this was not the path we were supposed to go down right then. We wouldn't be needing to sell our house after all. Lots of hallelujahs went up from this ol' gal -- anyone that knows me knows how very much I loved my house. It was my "forever house" -- as in "you can just go ahead and bury me in the backyard 'cause I ain't going nowheres".

Fast-forward through a beautiful summer full of lots of fun and amazing adventures. We enjoyed our pool for the hot months and simply continued down our path of Dave Ramsey bliss. Until about a month ago.

The winds began changing again. (You know, kind of Mary Poppin-esque, like how she said when the winds shifted or whatever it would be time to leave.) It became quite clear to us that staying in our house was not going to work out like we thought it was after all, at least not enough for us to stay in it and still move forward financially the way we wanted to. It was clear as day -- we* needed to move and let go. Our beautiful house was the one thing standing between us and a financially beautiful future.

*Um, yeah, I use the term "we" very loosely. When I say "we", I actually mean "me", since my sweet and patient husband had already long come to this conclusion and was having to deal with a very stubborn and uncooperative wife. Yeah, not so proud of this about myself.

For this control freak, personally this was a big thing. That meant once and for all loosening my death grip on my beloved house. For the longest time I had been holding tight with white knuckles (who am I kidding, my knuckles are always snowy white, haha), telling God that I had a better idea of how we could stay in our house for the long haul, how He really needed to rethink His plan and get on my wagon with me. 'Cause it's kind of an ugly truth about my generation. We've got an ugly case of the "me's" going on. Somehow my generation has become jaded in thinking we all need grander houses than our parents had, stainless steel-this and granite-that, remodeled this and remodeled that, and oh, by the way, we want it all now.

Yipes. Thank goodness God has a great sense of humor. Like I could really know better than Him!

This time around, though, I knew that God wanted me to let go. Not just halfway, not just one hand, not just loosen my grip, but let completely go both hands with a willing heart. Dang, that's hard sometimes.

And slowly............and reluctantly................but finally willingly -- I did.

We decided the best path for us would be to find a house to lease for a while, until we figured out exactly what we wanted, what would fit best in our new financial map, and most importantly, to aggressively save even more money over the course of the lease. So we started looking. And it was a little depressing because there weren't many houses in the area we wanted to stay in and for the price we wanted, etc. But I told myself to buck up, get over my selfish nature and just plaster a smile on my face no matter what we found or where we landed. Right when I did that, something popped up on good ol' Craigslist.

The house description was really too good to be true so I was skeptical, but regardless I told my husband to call and jump on it. Unfortunately someone had already beaten us to the punch, but the friend of the owner of the house said he'd show it to us anyway, even though the person before us already told him they wanted it. Thank goodness. We made a new friend, and he ended up recommending us as tenants. Within 36 hours, the house was ours.

So here we sat, only a week or so into this huge decision (that we hadn't told anyone about) with a new house already found, vacant and ready to move in.

Sheesh. I was still getting used to the fact that we really were going to put our house on the market, and here we were with a new house ready to go. I braced myself for the fact that probably within 30-60 days we'd be moving.

Yeah right.

The house wasn't the only quick deal God had in store for us. My husband had called around only to find most movers were booked for several weeks out, but then a last-minute cancellation happened. Oh yeah, not kidding. My husband called me at 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon (just four days after learning the house would be ours) to tell me the movers would be there the next morning at 8am.

Hello, we hadn't packed a single thing.

Heck, I hadn't even cleaned my house in a week.

Not to mention we hadn't even really told anybody!

Long story short, we made the decision, found a new place, and moved all within about two weeks.

Crazy.

So so crazy.

Did I mention how crazy it's all been?

But God is so good. I cannot say it enough.

I don't know how to explain it, the fact that I was so very much on the other end of the spectrum emotionally -- upset, mad, not wanting to let go of my house, not excited about all of the unknowns, and definitely not trusting of the big picture I couldn't see -- but the very second I knew I needed to change my heart and attitude and give it up like God was asking, and not just give it all up, mind you, but give it all up and accept with a grateful heart whatever the future held, best-case scenario down to worst-case scenario, be ready to accept any of it before it happened, control-freak issues pushed far to the side -- yes, the very second I resolved all of that in my thick little head, God pushed the fast-forward button on laying it all out for us, clear as day.

New place to live -- check.
Getting moved in -- check.
Loving the new place and actually not even missing the old? -- check.
(Now that was an unexpected bonus blessing I certainly hadn't counted on. Seriously, I looooooooooove our new place. And I promise to do a picture post soon -- you know, after I locate my external hard drive in the sea of boxes so I can actually attach pictures.)

To sum it up -- I thought I had a good idea of what I knew for sure would make me happy if only God would follow MY plan, but He taught me that if I would just hand the reins over to Him, He had way better things planned for me than I could have come up with myself!

Am I the only dense person out there? Poor God has to sure thump me on the head to get me to see things sometimes.

So that, folks, is the skinny. Just a reluctant ol' gal in Oklahoma, slowly learning to change her heart, and thanking God for the journey and lessons learned along the way.

We've still got boxes to unpack and put away, the old house to finish emptying and clean to get ready for sale, and the sale itself. But I'm confident that God will order our steps the rest of the way, just as He's already done. And this time, goshdarnit, I'm not going to speak up and try and tell Him how it should be done! ;)

Two words.

2010-09-08T13:40:00.002-05:00

(Let's play.

Shall we?)

We moved.

No joke.

Different house.

Happened fast.

Crazy fast.

Big surprise!

Not planned.

God planned.

Thank goodness.

Boxes everywhere.

No Internet,

all week,

until today (yay!).

Waaaaaaaaaaay behind.

Messy (old) house.

Messy (new) house.

More packing.

Still. {Blech.}

New house
+
new kindergartener
+
new job
+
other stuff

=

some stress.

Oh well.

Life's good.

Real good.

New house

=

no pool (yay!)

big yard

less bathrooms

(ha ha)

new furniture

(bedroom furniture

too big

for stairs)

warm & cozy

cul-de-sac -- hooray!

wood-burning fireplace

first-floor utility (yay!)

quiet street.

That's it.

I'm done.

Need nap...

The wind is a-changin'...

2010-08-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

Fall always seems to bring about change, and with fall approaching (come on, hurry up now, get rid of these nasty hot temperatures, please) there are many big changes comin' round in our little household.

One of those changes I just found out about on Friday. I'm still a little bit in shock, but super excited.

I am officially an Anthro girl.

I rarely talk about fashion on here, but it's something I really enjoy. Don't get me wrong, some days I don't try at all and look like poo on a stick, haha, but most of the time I love mixing and matching it up and trying out fun new outfits. Anthropologie has been a big part of that for me. I have shopped there since 2003 (I think), and thanks to some serious sale-shopping at other Anthropologie stores around the country, I've been able to slowly build up my closet full of fun finds. And now I will be an official part of the team for the new store in our little city. But like I said, I am still in shock about landing a job there. I'm sure there were loads of applications. At the last-minute, I zigzag stitched up the side and bottom of my resume in bright pink thread in the hopes that it might make it stand out a bit from the rest. And I wore my cactus cowboy boots with an Anthro ensemble in the hopes that it might show my quirky and proud Oklahoma roots. And then I kept it all a secret because I had no clue if it would all pan out.

But yay for it panning out! I'm very excited.

Of course, this recent development should help in distracting me from the fact that I am now the mama of a KINDERGARTENER.

What?!

When did this happen?!

I know it sounds crazy, but I am seriously having a hard time wrapping my mind about this idea. It just cannot be true! And for this usually-not-your-typical-emotional-girl, the last few weeks I've felt a bit more emotional than normal. My baby is growing up. Dang.

It really does seem like yesterday that we arrived at the airport to our own little "welcome home" party with that chubby, cutest-thing-you've-ever-seen little 11-month-old guy. And if it's already gone this fast, it'll practically be tomorrow when I'm handing over the car keys and ordering his cap and gown.

{Sigh.}

Can't someone just hit the "PAUSE" button for me, pretty please?

Free-motion Series: Quilt #5

2010-08-12T09:03:00.007-05:00

Okay. I don't like to play favorites.

Really, I don't.

But I might, just might have a new favorite.

This baby quilt might be my favorite, and I might have been a leetle bit sad to pack it up and mail it off across the ocean yesterday.

But not really since it is going to my super-awesome brand spankin' new 1-week-old little nephew (nephew #7; I also have 2 nieces). And I think his parents are really going to like it.

Want to see?

I thought so...

(Click on the pictures to see the details!)

Here's the front:

Here's the back:

Here's a teensy part of the hand-embroidered label I made.

I can't show it all to you because I doubt his new proud parents would want all of that info on the world-wide-web for everyone to see, but you can see a part of it. Basically it said:

This "Castle Peeps" quilt
was lovingly made for
_________ _____________ ___________
born
______ ___ 2010
in
______________, _______________
by his aunt, Valerie ___________
in ___________, ___________

It took me several doggone hours to stitch that up by hand. I listened to a Sunday afternoon's worth of NPR and had a towel handy to wipe my super sweaty hands. (That's a story for another day, my sweaty hand issues. I can rust needles with the best of 'em!) But I'm so glad I made the label because it is crazy cute, and that nephew is going to have a reminder of how much he's loved by his crazy auntie.

The free pattern for the quilt, "Villagers Rejoice!", was found here. The fabric line is from the new "Castle Peeps" by Lizzy House. You can find it for sale in lots of different places online, but I got mine for 35% off! Score! I switched it up only a teeny bit and made the outside borders all white (Kona white) because I personally liked the simplified look of it and how it showed off the castle on the front better. I also made sure to try and position one of the flags to look like it was coming straight out of the top of the castle tower peak. It looks that way on the original pattern picture, but there is no reminder to try and do this in the actual pattern instructions.

I had told my sister-in-law and brother-in-law that I wanted to make them a baby quilt and sent them lots of links for several different fabric ideas. They had mentioned liking the "Castle Peeps" fabrics, but I never got a full confirmation. When it went 35% off (a rarity for relatively new fabric) I made the executive decision to order it. They were being surprised by the gender of the baby, so I forged ahead with the yellow and green combo, but I have to admit I was secretly excited when a boy popped out because I think this looks a teeny bit more boyish than girlish, although it would work for either. And the fact that he was born in a land of real-life castles? Too cool. They'll have this baby quilt as a small reminder of that. My brother-in-law is a military man so they may not be there for more than a few years, but what a gorgeous and amazing experience to get to live in such a neat place across the globe.

Once again, I chose stippling for this quilt with white thread, not wanting the quilting to take anything away from the pattern. I had NO puckers on the back (yay!), but I still had a couple of places where the fabric got a little bunched up. Darn it if I can't figure out how to avoid that problem completely! But when I washed it all up and threw it in the dryer to get it all nice and crinkly, the bunching became invisible.

So now I am a happy peeps myself.

Over yonder...

2010-08-10T16:14:00.006-05:00

Last Friday I spent the day over yonder in Oklahoma City with my boy, my mom, my sister-in-law and three of my nephews. We had a great time as usual, and this time my sister-in-law had the brilliant idea to get a babysitter for the afternoon so she, my mom, and I could go for a visit to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. There was an exhibit we wanted to see which was fantastic -- all about Hollywood and fashions from the movies ("Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design"). Since I am a huge fan of shows like Project Runway, I knew this would be a great exhibit.

I would love to show you pictures of it, but unfortunately the security guards roaming at will were going to have none of that. So I have no pictures. Trust me, there were some cool costumes to be seen, from Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat to Elle's pink suit in Legally Blonde (hello, tiny!) to Superman's famous tight suit. Some of the costumes were insane, like a 1930's or so Marie Antoinette costume that weighed umpteen pounds, was covered in hand-sewn beads and sequins, and was literally six feet wide across the bottom. I was astounded at the workmanship on some of these costumes.

I was, however, able to take pictures in another wing of the museum where the Dale Chihuly works are.

If you don't know Dale Chihuly, you've been missing out. Gorgeous stuff. I first learned about him up in Tacoma, Washington at the glass museum there, and I've been a fan ever since. That museum was my first taste of glassblowing since they have a working studio on site, and it's one of the reasons I was inspired to make a date two years ago for my husband and I to try it out here in Tulsa. (I highly recommend it; you can read up on our experience here.) One of these days I hope to see one of Chihuly's exhibits where his glass sculptures are featured in outdoor gardens.

Enjoy the pictures...

And what would a good visit be without bringing something homemade? My little three-year-old nephew wanted his own nap mat and cover just like his bigger brother will have at kindergarten, so, being the good auntie that I am, I obliged and made him something his little horse-loving-self would love...

Free-motion Series: Quilt #4

2010-08-05T16:36:00.003-05:00

Back in May, I whipped up a fun little birthday present for my second cousin who was turning 11. She enjoys cooking with her mom, so I figured an apron would be the perfect gift. I used this tutorial, fudging my way as I went by making it a little bigger all the way around -- at age 11, she is already almost as tall as me, so I figured if it fit me, it would work. I picked two coordinating fabrics (actually three if you count the solid pink) and made it reversible, adding her monogram as well to each side. It turned out adorable, and the bonus is that it fits her mom as well. Word on the street is that both of them have worn it!

Anyway, I'm telling you about this gift because it really does have something to do with Quilt #4.

I had leftover fabric from both this apron and from another flag pennant banner (or whatever you call those things) I had made for a friend's nursery, so I made up a little quilt top. Instead of the usual stippling, I tried out the "loopy flower" quilting I had seen here. I figured this quilt top was girly enough to handle it! My flowers don't look quite as perfect as in the tutorial, but regardless I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I used bright pink thread -- the flowers kind of disappear more into the quilt top, but you can see they stand out against the white of the quilt backing. I also had leftover black and white houndstooth which made for great binding.

This quilt doesn't have an intended home yet, but it is a great start to building up a "gift stash". When I need a baby quilt for a girl, this will fit the bill and it's already done!

Free-motion Series: Quilt #3

2010-08-04T15:06:00.000-05:00

Isn't it darling?!

(You might have to click on the photos to see the fabric better. I should've taken a close-up shot. Just so you know, it's a square quilt, even if it looks rectangular in the photos. It's because my unwilling models weren't available to hold it up for shots, so I just laid it on the bench under the magnolia tree. Oh, and it's in the shade, so the colors in the photos are a bit off. Oops.)

This baby quilt is for the soon-to-be-born third daughter of my good friend Sacha, making her big debut sometime between now and Monday. Let me just tell you, I nearly squealed with delight when I found this fabric a couple of months ago. Sacha raises chickens in her backyard, and I knew she would love the quirky French chicken fabric as much as I did. And the best part was that I got it on super sale -- gotta love it when that happens!

I knew I wanted to fussy-cut the little chicks out and make some wonky log cabins, so this is what I came up with. I love the color combination (of course I do, they are some of the colors found in my own house), but I didn't realize that it would blend in her new nursery as well. Hurray for that! The quilt is about 35.5" square, somewhat smaller than other baby quilts I've made, but honestly, it's a great size for different stages -- it could be a wall-hanging, it'd be great for tummy-time on the floor, and it could be carried around easily by a toddler. I didn't wash and dry it yet to make it all nice and crinkly, so hopefully it will only get softer with time.

I also tried out a style on this quilt -- pebble quilting -- instead of the stippling I'd done on my first two efforts. Dang, pebble quilting goes through thread like no one's business, and I seriously thought my arms were going to fall off from all the circular motion, but I LOVE how it looks. I love the contrast of the straight lines in the log cabins with the circular quilting. I also like that it makes me think of eggs on that chicken fabric. And I especially love the fact that there were less puckers on the back with this quilting. I will definitely be doing more pebble quilting in the future.

And in true Sacha fashion, since she is one of the coolest cats I know, she sent me home with a sack of fresh eggs, collected straight from her backyard while I was there dropping off the gift. First fresh eggs (as in, laid that morning) I've eaten that I know of, and now I am hooked. Dee-lish!

Free-motion Series: Quilt #2

2010-08-04T12:56:00.004-05:00

I finished quilting my 5th quilt yesterday with my new free-motion foot.

Money spent on foot: $35

Money saved: ballpark estimate of $90 so far
(estimating that 5 quilts times $25 would have totaled $125 already)

I'm seriously loving my free-motion quilting foot. Why I was intimidated by the thought of free-motion quilting for so long is beyond me. Once I tried it and got the hang of it, it was no big deal. Or should I say a big deal since it has rocked my little crafty world!

So I figured I should do a little show-and-tell series of the quilts I have made and quilted all by my little self since I bought the foot only a month and a half ago. You've already seen Quilt #1, so we'll start with Quilt #2.

This one is for me. All for me. Do you recognize what it is made from?

Go here to refresh your memory. (Don't worry. I'll wait.)

It's a fantastic little souvenir from my Little Dresses for Africa birthday party!

When the armholes were cut from the pillowcases, most of the scraps were not usable because they had seams up both sides. But for the scraps that didn't have the seams in them, I saved them, ironed them out flat, and cut squares from them. I also used the scraps from pillowcases that were cut down in length to make smaller-size dresses, as well as the scraps from the extra fabric used for making pockets, etc. for embellishment. In total, I ended up with 144 squares, so I sewed them up in rows of 12.

I love it. Love, love, love it.

And I let my little man pick out the binding fabric. He chose this orange-yellow print from my stash. Pretty good choice if you ask me.

It is super soft since a majority of the squares were from vintage pillowcases, and every time I look at it, it brings memories of one of my favorite days ever.

Our favorite summer meal.

2010-07-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ya'll already know about the mad love I have for Serena and her fantastic website, The Farm Chicks, oh, and her fantastic little cookbook as well (I've got myself a fancy schmancy autographed copy!), so it won't come as any surprise to you that she is the source for my family's newest and absolute favoritest summer meal --

Fish Fajitas.

And yes, I'm old enough and smart enough (by golly) to know that favoritest is not really a word.

Although it should be. It's so much funner (I mean, more fun) to say than "most favorite". I'm sure the folks at Webster's couldn't argue with that logic.

Anyway, you must make these.

You must.

Even if you don't like fish.

Remember, this is coming from the gal who lives in landlocked Oklahoma, a true meat-and-potatoes type of gal. In fact, before these life-changing fish fajitas, I'm gonna admit to you that I had never before purchased fish to cook.

Nope, not a fish lover. So why would I want to buy it?

But as I said, I'm a big Serena fan and trust her judgment completely, so I forged on to the grocery store to buy my first fish. Of course, they didn't have halibut at The Wal-Mart (my fancy-schmancy grocery store of choice), so I settled for some frozen tilapia fillets instead. They were white, so I figured they would pass for a substitute.

Hello, delicious-ness.

Tilapia works mighty fine as a substitute, and these fajitas are TO DIE FOR. For a non-fish eating gal like myself, you can hardly taste any fishiness (again, is that a word?). And I suggest using yellow bell peppers. They are always my bell pepper of choice. And vidalia onions (pronounced "VIE-DAYL-YUH" like good proper Okies say it) as they are the sweetest and bestest. Leave me alone, Webster's. I'm on a roll. Whatever you do, DO NOT leave out the guacamole or the cilantro. They are a must.

Anyway, go make these. You can thank me later. Or invite me over for dinner.

A little bit country

2010-07-27T20:59:00.003-05:00

Anybody else hear about this?

Gwyneth Paltrow has a country song out. No joke.

Apparently she is set to star in an upcoming movie as a country singer, so she did her own singing for the film. You can go here to listen her single. Get this -- the back-up vocals are done by none other than Vince Gill and Patty Griffin.

Can you imagine -- even though she's definitely not a nobody, she's a nobody in the country music world, and here she debuts with two country music greats as her back-up singers?

Way to go, Gwyneth! I've always enjoyed her movie roles, and she's a pretty cool mom from what I've read. And I am always impressed when an actor is more than just one-sided. If they've got other talents as well, they're a lot more legit in my book.

I have to admit, I listened to the song and kinda' like it. What do you think?

Bag Lady

2010-07-27T13:01:00.004-05:00

Just call me the "Bag Lady".

Last week, I decided to try and tackle a few things around the house while my husband was gone, you know, to surprise him when he came home. I cannot tell you how many projects are on my to-do list that have gone unfinished for years, and when I finally tackle them and they take a surprisingly small amount of time to actually finish, I am so ashamed. So very ashamed for putting these projects off for so long. This is one of those projects.

In our kitchen, we hang a plastic bag from Walmart, Target, etc. on one of the upper cabinet knobs and fill it with garbage every day before throwing it out the side door to the trashbins. Oh yes, we are classy that way. Super classy with our garbage bags hanging from the knobs. It drives my mother crazy.

But you know what? We live that way. And it works for us. And if you think about it, we are oh-so-green for repurposing the bags, right?

So, this means I have a plethora of plastic bags waiting in the wings to be used. Once upon a time, we had one of those fabric tube things that you can stuff them all into. It was super ugly, something I think we picked up from the grocery store when we lived up in Minne-SOH-ta. It did the job though, until it got so many holes in it that we had to throw it away. Since then, we've been stuffing them behind our pet food containers in the closet under the stairs.

I told you we were classy.

I figured it was high time to do something about that. So I dug through my fabric stash, picked out a larger cut of fabric (it was probably about a yard, I'm guessing), found enough elastic and ribbon, and got to work. Using this tutorial, I was able to sew up two grocery bag holders with materials I already had in my stash. Costing me NOTHING. And yes, we had more than enough bags to stuff both of them with. So now I have one hanging in the basement (for kitty-poo-scooping-from-the-litterbox purposes, sorry if that is TMI) and one hanging at the top of the basement stairs where I can easily access it from the kitchen every time I need a new garbage bag.

Because yes, we still hang our garbage bag every day from the cabinet knobs. We just can't help how classy we are.

Some things may never change...

Bee blocks

2010-07-26T21:10:00.010-05:00

I think it's been a while since I've posted any quilting bee blocks on here. I've been busy keeping up with my two virtual bees, so let's do a little show-'n-tell, shall we?

May was the first month for the newest online bee I joined -- the Honey Bees (part of "Not Your Grandmother's Quilting Bee"), and I made these for Janet:

Also in May, I made these blocks for Michelle, part of the Pieced Together Quilting Bee (PTQB):

In June, Lael requested house blocks (Honey Bees). One of which is this one that I slaved over like a crazed person:

I'm still not sure what possessed me to even attempt that. I also made another tree block, but forgot to take a picture. Oops. Don't worry, though. It wasn't even half as fun to look at as that farmhouse block!

June was Katie's month for the PTQB, and she sent out fabric from vintage sheets. Oh, the softness! These are the blocks I sent back to her:

For July, here are Jody's blocks (PTQB) based on "Drunk Love" by Denyse Schmidt:

And Colette's block (Honey Bees):

Woohoo for me, actually getting my July blocks done and mailed out before the end of the month! I'm usually the gal that barely scrapes by in the nick of time, mailing them out the very last day of the month, but somehow I'm improving...