Bench Monday

So, here are my feet again, perched atop an old rickety chair I picked up in an El Paso, TX thrift store for a whole dollar years ago. It was for the look of it and not much else. At the time, I thought it would great to catch the things in the bedroom that other wise would end up on the floor. Since then, it has been the time-out chair and the computer chair.
My naked feet have joined us again and for the life of me, I have no idea why, but since they decided to participate, I thought I'd allow it.
Off the clean the kitchen counter and sink before Little Miss Ava joins us for the stormy Monday morning!
And, maybe later I will share some details of all the happenings of this past week.

Bench Monday

Here's a bench and it is Monday and I took it upside down. I did it because these are the types of days we are having. We have added a friend to come and play with us two days a week. Her momma and I parted our former employer together as part of a lovely force reduction plan. She's nearby with her new job and I am at home with my wee ones: why not make good use of our current positions? So far, I think it is working out rather well!

Alas, here are my feet perched up on a bench to join the forces in spreading Bench Monday!

Now, if anyone has any new ideas as how to get the lipstick and mascara off of my bench without having to repaint it, just say the words!

Looky!

Looky what I added to my reading list!

Sew Subversive, by Melissa Rannels and Plush You, by Kristen Rask.
Both were found at the discount store, Ollie's for $3.99 and $2.99. While I really hate to see good books hit the secondary and discount markets, I completely understand why and it helps me save money, plus add to my book stash. I know that often when we see brand new books in the discount market, it is often due to the over production of the item and by some specific laws, they must be moved this way.

Well, I'm off to clean something and peruse these two new books whilst my bambino sleeps!

Reading List

So, here it is. The stack of books that I am currently perusing. Why "perusing?" Well, unless a book is fiction, I'm not so likely to read it cover-to-cover. I flip through pages and often read my books and magazines backwards.

First, I flip through the pages to see if something catches my eye, then set myself to read that portion, and so on...

We garden every year and since I'm not a real fan of chemicals, we have a few books related to organic gardening, although I don't understand why it is called organic gardening since it was originally the conventional method. What is conventional now, should be renamed "Chemical Crazy Gardening."


The Secret, to some might seem silly and a waste of strange time, but when things were rocky for my at my former job, it helped me re-center and focus on the positive aspects of everything. Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying you'll be dancing around singing to the birds and critters like Snow White, but it can help one rediscover the importance of thinking positively and how in doing so helps to bring about positive change. Give it a go.

The Sorceress, it is the third in a series of books I started reading thinking it might be light reading when I needed a good book, but not one I had to really focus on. I love the Harry Potter series and this is lighter than that, yet has caught the attention of my 9 yr old. It is Youth fiction, however, does have quite a bit of history throughout. Great for young readers or someone who needs a light read. Not every book we read needs to be a great philosophical endeavour.

The Creative Family, by Amanda Soule, seems to be on almost every blog I read, so I thought I should see what all the buzz was about. So far, I'm on the fence about it. I've read most of it, but I felt like I was being spoken AT as if I were not very bright. Sorry to offend anyone, but I have my right to my opinion. The ideas are great and the messages in this book could definitely be repeated daily throughout the world, especially now that so many are taking a long hard look at their lifestyles. So that said, in short, I'm not feeling how it was written, but the information is good.

Healthy Meals for Babies and Toddlers, why not just go out and buy some jarred food? Have you tasted that nonsense? I picked this up for $6.98 at B&N recently and have enjoyed the information and recipes with great photos. I often think the visual content can really make or break an information based or cook book.

Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross. Yep, another blog buzz book that I thought I should check out. So I did. While I didn't enjoy the $27 price tag, I did resolve to buy it if I saw it at B&N. It was seriously cheaper on eBay, but I wanted to see it while I had a a few days without my LBO's in tow. I'm working on my second project from this book. If you are not willing to wait for the next edition, just be sure to check out the Flickr group and Heather's website for the corrections. And, be sure to check those sites BEFORE you purchase fabric and any notions for these projects. A few mistakes are not on her website, but are listed in the Flickr group.

Big Brother Time

LB takes his big brother responsibilites very seriously. He collected E on the loveseat to entertain her the other night while I was implementing sleep re-training on Bam-bam.
From the pictures, snapped between putting BB back in bed, this special time was to E's delight as LB read to her and showed her picture books. Poor baby was so tired, but she hung in there for Momma and so did LB. Bam-bam, on the other hand fought dearly and I have the scratches to prove it to keep from giving up and going to sleep.

Bam-bam was going to bed all peacefully until daddy decided he could hold him on the couch and let him fall asleep to the sound of the TV. Eh-eh, no TV dreaming under my roof! Reason #1-no good sleep results from that racket. Reason #2-what happens when you don't have a TV to listen to when you are, oh say, out in the woods camping?!?!? Reason #3-because I love my children and will not put a TV in their room, nor should I be subject to watching pre-school programmming at 10pm because some little one hasn't fallen asleep, yet! Bad ju-ju that TV dreaming thing is. Bad ju-ju.

Last night was night #3, and off to bed he went, w/o fussing!

Trains anyone?

Trains, yep, I was on my way to the fabric store last week when I got caught by the train. Haven't been this way in quite a long while, so I decided to take a few pics for my Bam-bam who is three and loves trains!

Happy 4th of July

Here we are this beautiful morning on the East Coast of Virginia, trying to decide how to spend this day, baby chatting in the background, Bam-bam brushing the bugs out of his teeth. While my family is planning in its sleeping confused state, I hope your family has a wonderful day and celebrates the freedoms that we have here in the country. I hope you are inspired throughout the day by all of the celebrations of the our great country and if you can, take the time this coming week to contact your Representatives to uphold our rights and freedoms in this country. Together, we can help keep our home, our country, the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.

My passion for this is driven by the simple fact that I am an American and that I am a proud veteran, the daughter of a vet, the grand-daughter of a WWII vet, and the great grand-daughter of a Navajo Indian.

Happy 4th of July!

Sunflowers

I think that sunflowers are a befitting subject today as this is my last day at my out-of-the-home job.

One of the neat things about leaving for work early (as if we can find any other reasons) in the morning is catching the sunlight as it wafts through my yard and garden.

So, here:

Giveaways

More wonderful giveaways here:



http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/



and


http://sewinstitches.blogspot.com/

Craft it Forward

I've decided to start the week of festivities by participating in the Blog Sensation that is quickly covering blogland!Craft it Forward is sort of like the movie "Pay It Forward." The object is to do something nice "just because."Here is the fine print:The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:* I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I will do my best.* it will be done in the next couple of weeks* you have no clue what it’s going to be - that’s the fun part! But it will be handmade.It could be a hand sewn item, stationary personalized for you, baked goods from my kitchen, or something knitted. What will it be? You’ll have to wait and see! I reserve the right to do something completely bizarre or completely normal.In return, all you need to do is post this text into your own blog and make 5 things for 5 others. (If you don't blog you could send a mass e-mail to friends and craft for the first 5 respondents.) What could be more fun! Some ideas you could do for others: artwork, CD’s, burn a DVD, write a poem, crochet a scarf, make a mini book, send a photograph (a printed one, not e-mailed. etc…).If you are interested, leave a comment below with your email address (if you don’t have a blog-based email address and are not comfortable leaving your personal email address, you can also email me at jsrenn (at) yahoo (dot) com, but be sure to put LIMABEAN4 in the subject line so I will know that I should open it.

I copied and pasted the above info from Becky's blog and thank you very much for posting it for us to pass along!

As for what you may receive from me, ya just never know as I dabble in a little of this and a little of that! I sew, do some basic knitting, cook, bake, embroider, and whatever else just happens to cross my mind. If you have wee ones, please let me know!

From This to This

I purchased these two pieces of fabric a few weeks ago with the idea that I would make a girlfriend's daughters aprons. So, I toted them back and forth to work everyday because the fabrics made me happy whenever I looked at them. Well, here they are, 100% complete and soon to be mailed to Smithville, Ohio. One, no doubt will be used for cooking and cleaning, and the other, well, maybe to collect bugs and wear while helping Daddy work on a car or plant flowers, for she is "Dude."

With a Sense of Peace

As I have written before, I have been bombarded by most with a sense of doom from the impending job lose, however, I woke this morning with a migraine and a complete sense of peace. I usually run completely ragged until I drop the wee ones off at daycare, but this morning, all was calm.

Maybe the calmness came from the sense of peace that I created in my home by creating this weekend. Maybe from stealing moments here and there to create things just because I could. Maybe because I decided that staying home was the solution to the lost weekends. Maybe the peace came from not saying "yes, or "no" to the implied invites or requests for our attendance here or there, or maybe it came from accepting the household chaos and declining to not get flustered by what I did not accomplish and celebrating what I did.

Who knows?

I did, somehow, without much fuss, manage in between dishes and laundry and solving 3 year old issues and nursing and cuddling a 7 month old, to make two aprons for my dear friend's little girls, a potholder to go into the Christmas gift stash, and a skirt for my little one. I made dinner for my husband last night and brownies on Saturday. My brother and his girlfriend came up to bring veggies from the CSA and spend the day. I found all the nasty tomato worms that my husband graciously plucked and killed in the garden. And, just enjoyed the weekend that seemed to take its time flowing by.

10 More Days

I have never been one to offer much in the way of pity to anyone. I often try to find a way to focus on the positive aspects of how any event will impact another person's life. You know, God will give you no more than you can bear, when God closes one door, he opens another? All that and more. Often, I try to find the comical aspects of any and all events. Heaven knows we all need a good laugh when our lives harbor chaos. So, why do we feel the need to bog down every one with the negative aspects of events, feel the need to take some one who is having a hard time to even greater depths of despair than they already have on their own? Why must we dwell on the cons? Do we feel the need as humans to try and convince ourselves that some one's life is far worse than our own? Do we feel if we can drive them further into despair that we are better off or that we may be responsible for their rescue later on down the road, "You know, I was there for them when they were at their lowest?" Maybe we drove them to their lowest and they, they alone, without us, had the strength and fortitude to bring themselves back up? In some cases, though, our pity and self inflicted despair drives them so deep that they will never recover.

For the past four weeks, I have been confronted with pity by my co-workers, so much so that I truly loathe some of them now. I state to them that I am indeed fine with my lay-off, that my family will be just fine, that I finally will have the time that this insane commute steals from me to be a better person, a better mother. Finally, the stress of an abusive/malicious boss will be gone. Can we not accept what may be bad for one, may indeed be awesome for another?

Sure, the loss of income is sad, but that extra $200 a month, because let's be honest here, after daycare and gas, that's about all that is left, and if we can't make due without that $200, we really need to re-evaluate our life style!

I hope that I will always be secure enough within myself to find the positive in life and to express it to others, especially when they are down.

In the meantime, God, if you could give be a gentle push in the direction where that new door is, I'd be glad to investigate it!

In that Dizzy Daze, Again!

As you can see, I am a migraine sufferer. Yep, so today is Day 2 of a migraine. Hubby slept on the coach last night because this one has been so bad. Not walking to well, ok, not walking like a sober person. I'm kinda walking diagonal. I'm pretty up on the drunk walk. I know it too well as I was a bartender when I lived in Richmond, VA. Hey a girl's gotta pay that darn tuition somehow. Anyway, right now, the thing is on the weaker side, but progressing nicely to another day of horrid pain and working in the dark. I have a huge window in my office, so half of the blind is closed so the sun's brightness will cause the least amount of pain.

Just 2.5 weeks left before I become a full-time SAHM of three wee ones, otherwise known as the LBO's (little blond ones). Between the conflicting emotions attached to this lay-off, I am happy to be spending the summer at home and putting my creative side to good use.

Migraine Day

After a fantastic weekend with the kids and hubby, I had to come back to work toting with me, a migraine.

But, for a quick run down: Saturday, I braved the word with the boys, 9 and 3, and baby girl Peanut, and headed to Hampton for the Annual Blackbeard Festival. The boys, who usually forget their names in public, were wonderful. We caught a puppet show, they ran around, we bought wooden swords and eventually met up with friends and watched all four boys have a wild a woolly time.

Sunday, just a relaxing day of church, lunch out and several more hours of sword fighting pirates on the SS Splinter (otherwise known as the fort/swing set).

My head is doing me in right, so off to the homefront! Ouch.

Laundry

So this week, we've managed to get the insanely thick mattress cover out on the clothes line. For some strange reason, the washer didn't want to spin it out and it was far to wet to dry in the dryer. Why the dryer? Um, I was trying to put it back on the bed as Peanut's diaper leaked. Any who, out it went, strung across two lines over night in hopes that the next day would be hot enough and dry enough to dry it!

Other than that, two loads of lonely diapers laid out on the drying racks. The first one dried in the nice hot sun, the second load has been condemned to dry in the living room as it will be raining for the next day or two.

Work in Progress-sorta

I swear I fell in love with this fabric (Heidi Grace) as soon as I saw it, now it sits here, almost done, accept I'm having button hole nightmares. My Singer manual left out more key points on making button holes than I could have imagined. After a few days of trying to work it out, I walked away from the machine. Peanut NEEDS this pinafore and I NEED to make button holes!

I still need to finish cutting one panel. Note to self: do not, I repeat, do not try to read a pattern and cut it at the same time the kittens and cat and 3 yr old are trying to walk, lay and play on your fabric. Simply because I have a tendency to over think things and this pattern, for as many wonderful reviews that it has, has driven me nuts!

Please feel free to let me know how to rotate my pictures in here.

Line Dry that Laundry Girl!

Yeah, go ahead and hang those clothes out to dry! You'd be surprised at how wonderfully fast they dry and how delicious they smell, oh wrap my soul in sunshine smell!

Man that sunshine can do wonders for stains and stinky man smell! Just hang those freshly washed clothes right on out there to "'taying in the wind." No fabric softener needed! Trust me on this one. I swear by Charlie's Soap.

Let's Get it On...

I was just emailing a girlfriend about her trip to Richmond, VA for a show last night and was reminded of times I used to have with old friends when I was in college. Yes, I went to college which seems to stun too many people. I dunno why.

Anywho...me and a few girlfriends used to head out to a little diner called 3rd Street for a little dinner, a beer, some Motown, and a lot of laughs.

Ahhh, how much I miss the good food and cultural entertainment and art of Richmond, VA. If you're ever there, stop by Sidewalk Cafe or Bogart's, or the Tap House and have a good beer and meal for me.

The Garden is Growing!!!!

1 June 2009, I'm dating it because this is the first day of my last month at this dreaded job. My last day is the 30th and I am sad to be leaving the working world for now, but elated to be spending more time at home with my little people. For now though, melancholy has set in while I am at work. That point where the soul is conflicted between happy and sad. For eight hours each day I sit with out any real purpose and with out a real job or sense of worth with my department. This is amplified by the fact that the new boss been brought down several times to meet the staff and the person responsible for introductions stops short of my office. I guess it is best that he can not put a name and a face with the position that has been eliminated. Those of us who have been laid-off have been treated as if we have a disease or as if we are not known. Some have been here for over twenty years. I will miss working a job that I enjoy, I just won't miss being here.

Despite the occassional bunny munching going on out there, the garden is surviving. A little over grown with grass, but we commute and have three wee ones who need tending as soon as we get home, so the grass grows.

Anything to stall night-night

And there the bedroom door just slammed again, followed immediately with tears and cries as if his wee-self has been neglected all day long. After all, we did go to the Farmer's Market and he held Mommie's hand while she carried Peanut in a sling, and lest we forget the trip to Mr. Chuck's house and seeing the bicycle with a motor on it (moped that hubby is getting in exchange for a donation to help get a new furnace for an organization), or the trip to Sleven for a Slurpee and Doritos, or rummaging through Big Bruder's room to find the other cap gun, or hours of playing outside with Mommie and Daddy, oh, and let us not forget raiding Pee-paw's chocolate jar when we found out Nannie and Big Bruder were not at Nannie and Pee-paw's house! Oh no, poor wee-one who is now, thanks to a Daddy rescue, laying on the couch at 9pm watching Hockey!

As for me, we had a really busy day with the usual laundry, dishes, and so on. Lots of weeding the garden and rigging ways to deter the deer from eating our squash blooms! Hubby has been weeding lately and I am happy to have the help. I'll post a picture of the growing garden soon. Today I stood out looking at it and was amazed at how much it has grown so far. We will have squash for dinner later this week. Yippee!!!!! Zucchini bread will follow in a month. Our garden has nearly paid for itself so far just from the salads we have not had to buy for our dinners and lunches!

The Hair

Sixteen inches will be donated to Locks for Love and that's what I did on 05/23/2009.

Yeppers

I think back on my experiences here and there in my life and often I can't believe where I came from, where I've been, and where I am heading. Right now, I sit at my desk at work and type away like there is really something going on here, when in reality, I'bve been here, pecking away for three years and have not had even one moment of proffessional growth. Nope, not one. So, when co-workers stop by to check on me and pour the pity on, I they are befuddled when I say that I am fine. No, really, I am fine with this lay-off. This is life and this is how this nightmare of a job finally ends. Am I happy that I sat here for three years? No, but I am grateful to have had a job where I did meet some nice people. Honestly, I have been ready to move on and now that I am in this position, I am happy. Other things will come along and I can spend time with my kids and I relish that thought well above anything else going right now.

Why no post on Veteran's Day? Because I am a vet and I was happy to be hanging out at home with my family thinking about all of my ancestors who served before me and how they helped protect this great country.

RAWRRAWRAWR

You know, some days you just get up and things flow, and then there are the days where you swear you are fighting every element in th world just to move, let alone function. Well, the later was my morning today.

Last week I found out that I am being laid-off due to my position being eliminated. Now, you'd think that would break my heart, but trust me, it doesn't. Long story and will just leave it at that. I am embracing this break in my career because I have three little people who would love to have one wild and crazy mommie home for the summer and I am cool with that!

However, since I do have some time left at the normal job, I was scheduled to take a class (I have to take classes to keep my licensure) today. I looked forward to it because knowing the instructor, we'd get out early and I'd get home early and I'd LOVE IT!!!

Class was canceled. UGH!!!!! Why "UGH!!!!"? Well, because I was sitting at the school, in my Jeep, knitting away while this woman kept coming out of another office starring at me, all the while, unaware my class had been canceled. So, at 9am, I had to go to said job and be there all day. I'm there now. Shhhh, don't tell.

Thrift Store Finds Part 2

Wow, yesterday, not a day I intending on spending any money yielded another fabulous find: fabric. I LOVE getting fabric at the thrift store. Nothing like five yards for $2.

The picturesque scene was made in the 80's and I haven't decided if it would be better as a tote or an apron. Gotta figure that one out. The brown and white fabric is a polyester and will eventually become a skirt. Now, the other two will becone skirts or pinafores for the weeone, or both!

Okay, I'm learning this as I go.

Day One of this Thing

I just thought that with my crazy kind of life, that a blog about it and all of my adventures might be in order. I don't really know why, but I just did.

I have days where nothing all that incredible happens and then there are those days where it seems the adventures never stop.

I went out at lunch to the local thrift store in the small town that I work in and found this great little set of Mickey Mouse Weebles for $4! Hubby and I had just been telling the boys about Weebles the other night and they thought we were crazy!