A Mess Put Together Nicely

Ready

2011-10-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

I'm ready to just be me.
I'm ready to love myself and my kids.
I'm ready to let go of the trash in my life.
I'm ready to not worry about the ones who don't matter.
I'm ready to let go of those that don't matter.
I'm ready to admit that there are some that don't matter.
I'm ready to go.

But I'm really scared to do it!

Back to the drawing board

2011-10-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we expect to much of a person. Sometimes that person just can't (or won't) live up to that expectation. I can't keep expecting great things when great things just don't happen. So what do I do, I lower my expectations. When the person tells me they will do something great, I listen. I hope it's true. But I do not hold my breath. Oh, I used to! I just learned it easier not to. So now when he tells me he wants to have a picnic in a park down town, I automatically assume he's making empty gestures. But when he also tells our 6 year old they will spend time together I get MAD. You might get away with messing with me, but NOT with my children. And I don't care if they are your children too. You don't mess with a mommas baby boy... All I have to say is that if he does not carry that one out I know what I am getting him for Christmas.

If you need to know a little more about my reasoning behind a big metal animal, I would look to the Bloggess and her awesome post about bath towels and a big metal chickens. Seriously, a good read by the way! But I like the big metal donkey because it actually says "hey Jack Ass" in a not so subtle silence. HaHa...

In other news... I want a trade. I want a man who can support me and still want want to take me on walks and/or picnics on the sea wall or the beach. Nice long, childless walks by the water are romantic early in the morning, at sunset or any other time of the day or night really. So if time isn't an issue why can't it happen? It doesn't 'cost anything, unless you want it to.

And now on to your regularly scheduled procrastination... cause I know if you had something better to do than to read my blog posts you would be doing it.

Getting away

2011-10-08T23:38:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting here in the best cafe ever. I'm enjoying a falafel wrap with a side of baby carrots and some hummus. It's such a good and fresh taste. Well, because it is fresh. But I am alone. I'm ok with that though. I just don't like it so much because when I spend time alone and away from everyone and out of the house I end up thinking about how nice it would be to have someone with me that would really enjoy walking on the seawall.

2011-09-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

I started crocheting again! I made a few small pink ribbons for our city's art walk that happens today. And I also made a kerchief. Which, in case you don't know, is a triangle shaped piece that ties around your head kind of like a handkerchief would. I have finally discovered a way to pull my hair back with out pulling it into a pony tail! Woo Hoo!!! I'm also going to start making a few small pieces for a craft event at our local farmers market. I'm thinking things like coffee cozies, hats, pot holders and maybe some of these kerchiefs as well. And I'm going to print out some of my photos and see if any of them sell. Maybe framed? I'm not sure yet. I figured the $15 it costs for a table isn't much to worry about. I'm sure I'll sell at least that much worth. And if not, at least I had fun making it and I can say I participated.

Tonight I am going to be busy, busy, busy! And for the 4th time in a row, I will not be going to the Art Walk tonight. :( I'm so sad. I've never been able to go. And now I just have way to much going on tonight. Who would have known having so many kids would keep me this busy?! LOL We now have Tae Kwan Do, Running Club and Baseball going on all at once! And that's only 2 of the kids. Just wait until the other one is old enough to start sports. Which may possibly be next year. OMG, where did the time go?!

On a completely unrelated note... online forums and social media sights have spoiled me. HaHaHa... All I want to do is add little faces and stuff to everything I type. There should be "like" buttons on blogs too. So that you can just show you like a blog post and not have to comment on it.

Love

2011-09-19T22:17:00.001-05:00

Is it really that hard?

Apparently so. We aren't fighting as much right now. And we are pretty much just doing the things we like to do. Only problem is unless it's something we both like/want then I'm on my own. Either he's out drinking and I'm at home with all the kids. Or I am taking an early morning to myself and back by the time the kids are getting up. If it's anything else I do without him I have at least one child with me at all times.

The real problem I have right now is that I don't feel in love anymore. I long for some romance. The real stuff. Not the stuff money can buy. His idea of a romantic date is a restaurant and a movie. Mine is a walk together under the moon and stars. Talking, or not... Of course food would be a good start and movies are fun sometimes. But nothing beats walking in the moonlight with a guy who is not only talking to you, but listening as well.

I experienced that once! It was amazing. The only thing wrong with that picture was that he and I were teens and didn't live anywhere near each other. Our paths just happened to cross that one time. Or night as it may be. Or have been. Whatever. And the nicest thing about that night was that I got to experience it with someone who did not try to get anything out of it. He didn't even try to hold my hand much less kiss me. I actually cried when I was about to head back home. But in silence, so that no one could see.

I think that boy made it almost impossible for any other guy I met after that. Eventually I gave up looking for someone to just talk to.

So here's my "what if" thought for now. What if we both had lived in the same little hick town that we met in? (we were both visiting at the time, if I remember correctly)
Still not regretting my life thus far! Just wondering where I would be if... What my life would be like if...

I am such a water person

2011-07-25T13:03:00.001-05:00

Perhaps it's becasue I am a Pisces?! When I can, I like to get out and watch the sunrise. I decided this time would be down town. I love the marina, even though on really hot summer afternoons/evening, it smells bad when the shrimpers come in. LOL But this early in the morning, it sure was nice!

I love the reflections on the water. I only wish I could have a better camera to take really nice pictures of them!

Any one want to buy me one? No, I didn't think so. But it didn't hurt to ask, did it?!

This is the same boat from the other picture, just in a different setting on my cheap camera. ;)

Here's my favorite pick from today!
I love the beach and a palm trees mean beach to me. :)

Sunsets on the bay are just as beautiful as they are out on the beach!

This was something new. I hadn't ever noticed this old pier. It's obviously no longer used. But the green mossy stuff all over makes it nice and colorful. And the bird was an added bonus, he didn't stay long though. I got a little to close for him.

Same pier, different settings and getting the sunrise in this one. ;) Bonus! A bird flew by just at the right moment. I love it when that happens!

I love the reflection in this one. Looks like it was painted on!

I found a bench with standing water on the seat. Yes, I did just say standing. Hehehe...

Made for a really nice mirror though!

And one last pick... the sun behind some more palm trees. These were just planted this year though, so they aren't as pretty as the other ones.

On a side note. I wish people were like palm trees, growing prettier with age! Wouldn't that be nice?

One on One

2011-07-23T23:21:00.000-05:00

Some times the kids just need you all to their selves. Kaleb, being the middle child, seems to need it more often than anyone else. I told him Thursday night that he and I could get out of the house for a little bit, just us! But My husband had made plans to go to the beach. We all love the beach and always have fun there. But as soon as Kaleb found out that was the plan he insisted that he was not going. He was going with me, for "our day." So Daddy took the other kids to the beach and Kaleb and I spent the afternoon together!

We started our afternoon with lunch. We went to one of my new favorite places, the Urban Fare Cafe. I've been twice, but the place it's self is so inviting! Plus it's healthy food and great customer service. The first time we went there the owner brought the boys some cream puffs for free. That's one of my favorite deserts. mmm... They had already eaten so they were pretty much just along for the ride. lol This time when I walked in the lady taking my order recognized Kaleb from the last time! Aww... how sweet. I told her how he remembered the place by the cream puffs. And of course as he looked at the deserts available he pointed to the little chocolate cheese cake bites. YUM! I love cheese cake too. lol Any ways. As I was paying with the Living Social deal I got. I used the app from my phone. The guy looked at my phone and says, Buckler, where do I know that name from? Well, facebook of course. LOL He remembered my excitement about the new cucumber water they have available. I just found that kind of funny. Kaleb must have really enjoyed his pizza because he made a yummy sound every time he took a bite. ;) And I have to say that the Tai chicken wrap was pretty darn good too! I thanked the lady for recommending it to me. Anyways, two - for - two, they brought Kaleb some of those cream puffs again this time too! This time he shared one with me. And OMG they were really good! The cream inside was just right not to sweet and not too bland. And it was soft more like whipped cream than pudding(like I've usually had them). That's one lucky kid there!

I let him have the choice of either riding the surreys, or the paddle boats. And he chose the paddle boat since he hadn't done that before. I was proud of him though. He was so nervous about it! He didn't like the idea of such a small boat and being so close to the water. Either way we paid our $10 for half an hour and spent 15 minutes paddling my but off against the wind. The wind won. So I paddled a little more to go back to the doc and get off. Money well spent right there!

As we got off the Harbor Ferry had just landed and was about to cross the harbor again. So we took a ride over to North Beach. That was a boat Kaleb like better! We had to sit down until it took off. But as soon as it did he wanted to run downstairs and watch out the back of the boat! We watched a huge cargo ship leave the port as we stopped and waited. He seemed to like that part too. When we arived on North Beach we walked down to Dot'z, the ice cream shop. Hey, it's a really hot day, I deserved some ice cream after all that paddling! We took pictures in those boards that you stick your head through, and played hula hoop while there. Kaleb hadn't ever done it before. And now he wants to buy one for our house! lol Sounds like fun to me. :) He did pretty good for a 6 year olds first try. Then we walked back to the ferry doc and waited for it to land. This time it backed up to get out and going. Which made the waves splash the people in the back. Kaleb wanted to get splashed, so we did. It was refreshing. Sort of. About as refreshing as getting splashed with salt water can be. And that's how we ended our day.

I enjoyed every minute of it too. It was so nice to have him and not have the other kids picking on him. He's a pleasure to be around when he isn't screaming at them. ;)

Coconut Milk

2011-05-26T02:54:00.000-05:00

Yum! I turned a coconut and the coconut water from inside of it, into some yummy coconut milk a while back!

It's not hard to get the water out of the coconut at all. And not quite as hard to open it as you may think. But getting the coconut meet off of the shell... ugh!!! That was a LOT of work! And my hands were really hurting after that. But I did it. It got done and I was able to put it all in the blender and make some milk out of it. It was really good milk too!

Oh man, was it good! I drank a glass that night before it even had a chance to get cold. LOL The rest of it was used for baking because the kids didn't really like it to much. I think it's becasue they expected a cow milk taste thought. I bet they would get used to drinking it after a while.

Want to know how I did it? I used a nail and hammered it in one of the eyes of the coconut. Then I took it out and listened to the suction breaking loose. lol Then I took a drill bit to open the hole a little more so I could poor out the water. Then to open it I held in in one hand and hit it with the hammer around the middle of the coconut, turned it a little in my hand and hit it again. I kept that up until it broke open. Then I pried out the coconut meet with a knife. I suggest you search for ways on doing that. ;) I have now used two ways out of 4 that I found. I put in about half of the coconut meet into the blender with all the coconut water. Then I blended it until it was nice and smooth! Then I took it out and strained it through several layers of cheese cloth. (there are bags made for this sort of thing, I just haven't bought one yet) Then I put the rest of the coconut meet into the blender and added the milk I had just strained. Now the fist time I made this, I used the whole coconut at once and had to add water to make my blender work(it's a cheep $10 one though). That time it tasted to watered down to me though, so I used the milk from the first half to make it thicker and more tasty. I liked it WAY better that way. After lots and lots of blending I got about 3 cups of coconut milk out of one small coconut. I used some of the left over pulp in some cookies and some of it I threw into a meatloaf that I happened to have been making on the same day. It's not sweet, so no one even knew the difference!

I need to look into more uses for the left over pulp though. I hate to just throw it all away. Seems like such a waist! If you have any ideas please leave me a comment.

I'll talk about a similar experience making almond milk next time!

My Weekend

2011-05-23T10:21:00.004-05:00

So I think I'm going to try to keep this blog updated more often. We'll see how that goes. LOL

One thing I hear a lot from people in Corpus Christi is that they are board and there is nothing to do here. While there is certainly room for improvement in this town, there is plenty to do. You just have to get creative and look around for new things to do. Few people from here actually rent the paddle boats or surreys(4 wheel bikes with a roof top), or take the fairy from down town to North Beach. These are things that "tourists" do. We live here, so we don't need to do them. Boy is that the wrong way of looking at things!

There are so many places around town that I have never been. And I've been living here for more than 15 years now. I am not going to say I am going to try them all, because lets face it, some of them are not my type of seen. I do not go to clubs or bars becasue I don't drink. I may have a fruity drink of some sort while hanging out with family or something, but that's few and far between! So naturally the down town area has always been a no-go for me. After all, it's for the night life and tourists. LOL

This year, with out trying to set goals or anything, I have been finding more things to do and new places to eat. Can I just say, Facebook is awesome! One of my inspirations for all this is 40 Things To Do In Corpus Christi 2010. The title of the page says 2010, but they are still showing new and exciting things to do in Corpus for 2011!

Back to my weekend now... On Friday we had planned to get up and go meat the in-laws on Saturday morning. Which is what we always do because they always want the boys to spend the night with them. So we planned on dropping off all the kids and heading down town to rent a bike and ride them on the sea wall. Things rarely go as planned though.... But sometimes it makes things better like that! My SIL graduated last week so we meat the in-laws for lunch at La Playa. Then they invited us to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Which was a nice time since we don't really go to the movies anymore! After that it was already 5:00 PM and we had the baby with us since they only keep the ones that can get up on their own in the morning. lol So I was sure that our day was over and we didn't get to go do our fun date night. :'( I was all upset and almost in tears. lol Then instead of turning the way to go home, he kept going and we headed down town to have some fun!
We stopped and parked on Shoreline Drive by the Seawall. First we walked down to to T-head and rented a paddle boat for $10 for a half hour. Fun Time Rentals is where we spent our money! We only made it for 15 minutes though. That's hard work to paddle so much and only go a few feet. lol But it was fun and Keegan was quite upset that it was time to get off! But he didn't have to do the foot work... So we walked back up tot he sea wall and rented a surrey from the same people as the paddle boats. Lots of fun! Not as hard to peddle as the boats, but not all that easy either. This time we kept it for the whole 30 minutes and we rode down towards the American Bank Center to check out what our little splash park looks like. Thinking we may go there tomorrow which is Christian's last day of school and last day to be an elementary student! Ugh... that's another story though. ;) So after that we were supposed to use a certificate I got a while back for the Black Sheep Bistro. But it was already late and that would have taken to long to drive to since it's on the island and we were down town. So instead we went to the Railroad Seafood Station that's kind of hidden down town. It was all good food, but maybe a little higher priced than I would have liked. ;) Service was great too. Jason had been there with people from work, but I hadn't been there ever. Never even knew it was there! It sure is nice to find some new places around town! After that we headed home. It was late and little man was tired. So off to bed he went and Jason and I watched Little Fockers before we went to bed ourselves. What a nice day it was!!! I haven't had that much fun in a while.

Since we didn't get to use our gift certificate to Black Sheep Bistro, we decided we would go have lunch there and have the in-laws meat us at the beach with the boys when we were done. Sunday comes... I went to a secret meeting (shhh... yarn bombing coming to Corpus Christi soon) at Barns & Noble and Jason went to the office during that time. We met back up at home then decided to head on out to the island! On the way there I decide to look up the restaurant on my phone for the hours. No luck at all! The place closed at 2:00 on Sundays and it was already 1:50. We were not going to make it in time. :'( The certificate expires today(Monday) and guess what... they are closed on Mondays. >.< (more on that later though) We looked and looked on the main strip on the island. Couldn't find anything that looked open out there! I couldn't believe that the island didn't have many good places to eat. We found a little burger joint though. It was called the Island Burger Company. lol How original and unique! It's mainly a bar with a patio, and I must say the burgers were NOT good! Plus it took 45 minutes for us to get them!!! So service was not good either. And the prices for a plate were to much for burgers. I paid $13 for my plate, and Jason's was like 11 or 12 or something. So that place was a bust! The beach after wards made up for it though! The kids had a blast. Keegan proclaimed right away that he was scared of the water. That didn't last but 5 minutes though! After that I couldn't keep him out of the water and I had to do some major entertainment to keep him from trying to go deeper. LOL

Now back to the Black Sheep Bistro... remember I had the groupon deal from back in December and it expires today, on the day that they are closed. Well, I decided to vent a little and post on their page that I was disappointed in myself for not making it over there before it expired. I have to say that so far I have very good customer service experiences with them and I haven't even been there yet! They told me that they would extend it for one more week so that I could come on in. :) That made me a happy camper! I have been looking at their menu online for weeks now and seeing the pics of food they post on their FB page makes me want to go even more! So Now I need to find a sitter, or find someone to go with for lunch one day this week. I will report my findings later on that. ;)

I'm so bad at keeping up.

2011-05-05T23:05:00.002-05:00

So another year has come and gone and I'm still here. In the past couple of years I have changed so many things in my life to cut costs or be a little "greener." I've used cloth diapers, although I've gotten to where it's only part time now. But the little one is starting to learn to use the potty more, so that'll be gone soon any ways. I no longer use paper towels, paper plates or plastic cups. Even during the summer when I have all 5 kids here! I use free and clear laundry soap, biodegradable stuff when possible money wise. No more fabric softener(and I don't miss it at all). I use natural house hold cleaners like vinager and baking soda now too. I also use the no-poo method for washing my hair. The kids don't do that though and neither does my husband. Basically all it is is baking soda to wash my hair and a little vinager in some water to shampoo it. Works great and my hair looks 10 times better now! No fly aways which I always hate and it just looks healthier now. I used regular shampoo for a couple time in a row and I hated it!

So, now my newest thing is to start eating healthier and find alternatives that I like better. I have started cooking at home every day now. Of course we do go out every so often still, and I still get that cheep crap from McDonald's every so often. The kdis love that stuff and sometimes I just don't have time to cook after a busy day(like tonight).

I go to the farmers market now and get lots of locally organic grown stuff. It's only once a week though. But I have also been baking like mad lately! I started with what I know, cookies! LOL But now it's from scratch, not from a box mix. ;) Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, sugar cookie, and the latest... sweet beet cookies. Which were a hit with the little guy! I also enjoy making breads like pumpkin, zucchini, carrot cake... My oldest loves these for an after school snack! The hardest part of all of this is finding stuff that my 6 yr old likes. He likes cookies(but not the beet ones) and he likes the cakes and cheese cake I made, but not the breads at all, including muffins. :( He's such a picky eater. I am going to try some Zucchini Raspberry Cupcakes next. I'm hoping that the chocolate and the chocolate chips in them disguise the zucchini in it and make Kaleb like them. I'm always on the look out for something new to hide some veggies in! I'm also up to making some coconut milk soon. Jason said he likes that! And Christian has requested a pina colada(virgin of course) with some of it, which means now I need to get a pineapple again. Man, we have gone through more flour, milk, eggs, and fruits and veggies than ever before! But I am loving it all the way along!!!

I'm also reading a lot up on healthier eating and alternatives to some things. It's so much fun trying out new recipes and what works for us all and what doesn't. If you have any tried and true stuff you think I might like, please don't hesitate to let me know about them! The almond milk I made today wasn't bad, a little watery, but not bad! I know to use more almonds next time though. ;) I'm looking forward to using them in my recipes too.

I started a garden this year too. So much fun and so fun to see my 6yr olds face when he notices how much the plants have grown! I can't wait to get some stuff out of it! I know we will get tons of okra since I have like 10 of them. And I"ve got 14 corn plants, 4 cucumbers, 2 banana peppers(they aren't doing so well though), 2 garden beans(the rest didn't come up) and out of the 24 carrots I planted, I only have 5 of them. But I am learning and having fun along the way.

I still have the lemon tree and we now have oranges producing on the other tree in our back yard! :) The lemons are wonderful!!! Not to sour, but just enough. They are pretty sweet ones. But the oranges, they are sour! I have no idea what kind they are but they are nice and juicy but a little to sour. But... when life gives you sour oranges, make orangeade! It's just like lemonade only made with oranges. I sweeten mine with some local, raw honey instead of sugar. Mmm... the perfect summer drink! Can't wait for all those little green balls in the tree to turn into some fruit!

Oh, one thing I had forgotten about, is the carrot salad I made the other day! Most people put raisins in theirs, but I never have done that. Some people even put mayonnaise in theirs. Yuck... sorry, I just don't like mayo that much. I like mine more natural I guess. I shred all the ingredients and toss it all together in a bowl! The one I made the other day was carrot, beet(left over from the cookies) and pineapple. The pineapple adds just enough sweetness. ;) That's it, nothing more than that is needed. If you leave it in the fridge over night is tastes even better the next day! I also like to make it with jicama, cucumber and carrot. On that one though, I add a little lime juice and a tiny bit of salt. Two totally different tastes, but both equally delicious.

This blog attempt is totally random and pretty much just me rambling. LOL Sorry, I'll try harder next time. ;)

Long time no see

2010-10-14T09:07:00.003-05:00

:) I'm happy to still be here though! Check out what I've been making for the past month or so on my other blog Lissa Lue Creations or on my Facebook page. The weather is cooling down so that means more hats! I have an order in for a hat and matching scarf too.

Any ways I thought I would post some paintings my kids have done. They are not recent at all. But I just found this one that my oldest son did when he was in first grade. It's an awesome piece of abstract art! I've seen a face, a nursing mother, and two people standing next to each other and hugging. I love that you can see different things in it! The next one is the one my middle son did last year when he was 4 yrs old. I think it's just as awesome! I see a forest in the fall.

There is something about a child's art that is so pure and innocent that makes me love it more than others. I walk into my living room and smile because I know my kids made the art that hangs on my walls. I love all kinds of children's art. But of course, like most, I like my kids the best.

The Only Drawback...

2010-06-15T15:14:00.004-05:00

So I did 3 loads of laundry with the Soap Nuts. They were soft, and looked and smelled clean. The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't take the stains out of the kids cloths. I'll have to look into that some more, but I may have to get something else to add to it to make that work. :(
In the mean time... Does any one have any tips for that?

Soap Nuts

2010-06-14T00:42:00.003-05:00

I was surprised to see it for sale at my local Farmers Market this Saturday! I've seen lots of people talk about using it online. The only reason I hadn't tried it was because I didn't want to pay for shipping. So of course I bought it. I got a little sample size to try out. For just a dollar you can't go wrong. LOL Any ways, I read that it works best with hot water to release the sudzy stuff in it. But I wash my cloths in cold water. So I decided to make it into a liquid. I boiled the 7 little nuts that were in the package in 4 cups of water. It was reduced to 1 1/3 cups. So I thought I would try it out as a cleaner too. I put some in a spray bottle and cleaned the bathroom with it tonight. I must say that I like using it! I heard that it could smell kind of bad, and I heard that it didn't have a sent. I found that with mine there is a sent to it. But I don't think it was a bad smell. IMO it's a lot better than bleach or Pinesol for sure! I might be the only one, but I kind of like the smell of it. It cleaned the mirror great too! No streaks at all. I like to use the Gerber flat diapers to clean glass though. I think that works way better than a paper towel or news paper. I'm excited to start my new journey of a chemical free, non toxic household. I'm going to do my first load of laundry with it next. :) I can't wait to see how that works out! It is supposed to leave your cloths softer than the free and clear stuff you buy from the stores. I've been using purex. But since I ran out and the store didn't have it when I went back I had to pick up what ever else was there. So I ended up with the store brand. It does not work near as well as the Purex as far as softness goes. :( The cleaning is fine. But my cloths do not feel as soft. Any ways... I am off to do some laundry now. Fun, fun... lol.

Car Seats

2010-06-09T13:09:00.005-05:00

I totally stole this from a friend, who stole it from one of her friends, on Face Book. LOL But really it's so true. If we would all listen to manufactures more we would all be a little safer! State laws are just a minimum requirement after all.

"Rather than taking our cues from state requirements how about from the car seat makers? The safest, most confining seat available for the height/weight of your child is what you should go with. First thing to check is, is a seat available that rear faces my child? If yes buy it, is a seat available that harnesses my child? If yes, buy it. State laws change and state laws take a bit of time to change. Eventually they'll get there but your consequences for choosing a booster with seat belt for a child that could still be harnessed and rear facing don't come from the state you live in, they come from hospital bed or grave your child occupies after the accident."

Does It Really Cost Less To Use Cloth?

2010-06-02T21:08:00.004-05:00

Not for me!

My cloth diaper stash is worth around $1,245. However some people are able to keep it cheaper using flats(which are the least expensive of all diapers). And PUL covers that either slip on, snap on or velcro on. Those people can get away with spending under $500 for the entire time they cloth diaper!

Here is my break down on the cost of diapers for me.

I used disposable diapers for my two oldest kids. I bought one package of diapers a week, price being about $8 each package. That was for Luvs. So that means I spent $416 a year on diapers I threw away every time I used them. My boys potty trained at 3 yrs old. One a little before and one a little after. But it still averages out to 3. :) So that would mean I spent $1248 on each kid just to throw them away and never use them again. :( That means I spent $2496 on my two older kids diapers. Keegan was a different story though. I was a little better off financially and Luvs no longer worked for us. So we used Pampers. I didn't start using cloth diapers until he was 6 months old. So I used the same amount only this time I bought them in boxes and went trough a big box in 3 weeks. Each box cost me $35. I'll just say I went through 9 boxes before I started cloth diapering full time. That makes it $315 in disposable diapers for him. So my total disposable diaper costs were $2811 for all three kids.

My cloth journey started off a little rough. I spent money on the crappiest diapers I have ever seen! Probably about $150 after all the shipping costs. I got the majority of it back though. I traded things with people to get diapers and I sold off other things to get more diapers. But the diapers I have right now are my favorites ones! And they have mostly come from out of pocket money's.

So I broke down what I have spent on cloth diapers so far.

First off: I threw away about $50 on all the diapers I got at first and didn't like. I spent more but made most of the money back.

I use BSRBs now. That's what I have found to be the trimmest and most absorbent of all the rest. Plus I have always gotten the best fit around his chunky little thighs. LOL I have all sorts of them too. I have some AIOs, Hybrids, UF, and TIANs. I just love them all. Any ways, I now own 25 of them. Plenty to last through potty training! I got some used off of Diaper Swapers. And I got some new strait from Joyces hyenacart store, Bagshot Row Bamboo. All of them are made out of bamboo material so they are nice and absorbent, as well as soooooo soft. Any ways the way I am adding it up on here is going to be more than I actually spent on them. First of all when I buy just one from her it ends up being about $24 after shipping. So I am going to just round up and say I spent $25 per diaper. $25 @ 25 diapers is $625 total for those diapers.

I bought flats to try out from Little Lions for 12.5 for the dozen. I'm just going to say I spent $25 after shipping and everything. (I got some preemie prefold seconds for using as doublers)

I have 4 flips @ $17 each plus one extra insert @ $5 = about $75 with tax and free shipping.

I bought 4 Thirsties Duo Wraps @ 13 each w/free shipping = lets say about $55 with tax.

And I have bought 100% wool yarn to crochet my own woolies which I have probably spent less than $100 but lets just say that. ;)

So that's: 625+25+75+55+100= $880

I have spent $880 on what is in my stash ATM. But let us not forget that I still have a lot of accessories and diapers that I have gotten in trades. I still have prefolds, Wet bags, pail liner, snappis, and BG AIOs. I got all of the BG AIOs free with there coupon from last month. And I got them all from places with free shipping! So in a quest to find out a round about cost of my cloth diaper supply I looked up the cost of everything and went to add it all up. My husband does NOT want to look at this figure!!! ROFL

BSRBs - $535

Other Fitteds - $80

BG AIOs - $100

Flips - $75

Thirsties Covers - $80

Prefolds (1 doz) - $55

LL Flats (1 doz) - $15

Woolies - $100

Inserts/Doublers - $30

Wet Bags (1 lrg, 1 small) - $35

Snappi - $20

Pins - $5

Snaps added to diapers - $115

Grand total of $1,245 worth of cloth diapers. Which is about what you pay for one child's full diapering days in disposables. I will remind you that at least 80% of all my diapers are one size. That means that if/when we decide to have another baby, all I need is some smaller woolies, and PUL covers! Of course I'm not saying that I would just not buy any more cloth diapers. *blushing* Especially if we were to have a girl!

Summer Time Is Coming Again!

2010-03-30T17:31:00.003-05:00

It's a fun time of the year. But lets be more careful with our kids in the sun. Just in case you don't remember my blog about what happened to us last summer. Here's the link to that... Warning. There are still scars on my little guy. And the small one on my foot. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

Let's have some fun!!!

Photo Gifts

2009-08-28T11:23:00.004-05:00

So I have tried out a few different sights for photo books. I've tried Shutterfly, Snapfish and ArtsCow. Snapfish was the worst I think. Not that the photos weren't nice or anything. It's just the options that were given to create my book weren't as nice. And there were a lot less options than Shutterfly. I like a lot of layout options! I also like the option to make my own layout and decorate the page as much or as little as I want. That is why I like ArtsCow the best.

With ArtsCow you have the option of choosing a premade layout or creating your own from scratch. You can also use the premade layout and customize it by moving things around or deleting or adding things you want. This creates an endless list of layouts for you to play round with! This is why I LOVE ArtsCow for photo gifts. The company is out of Hong Kong so it takes a bit longer to get here. But over all my photo book from them is a better quality. The pages are stitch bound. To me it makes it look better when the book is opened. The glued books from Snapfish and Shutterfly don't lay out as flat. Have you ever had a children's book fall part on you? I have. It was glued like that too. I have old books that were my mother's when she was a little girl, and they are stitch bound. All but one of them is still held together! Leading me to believe that the stitch binding is better quality in the long run as well. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

And least we forget. The prices are great! When you sign up there are tons of free things that you can get. That's how I got my first photo book and some Christmas ornaments! They have most, if not all, of things available at Snapfish and Shutterfly.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my review. No giveaway this time. Unless you sign up with ArtsCow. Then you'll get a bunch of stuff Free For Shipping! I just thought I would let you guys know about another place to get some good deals. As long as you don't mind waiting a little longer for it to get to you. If you are in a pinch and need it faster, then go with Shutterfly. Other wise, definitely go with ArtsCow!

Glider Giveaway!

2009-08-17T10:43:00.004-05:00

I found another giveaway that I would love to win! It's for a nice, comfy glider and ottoman from Stork Craft. Doesn't it look nice? Go take look! I looked around on there and they have a lot of nice things. If I had the money right now I would get the rocking horse for my little guys birthday.

Go to Two Of A Kind Working On A Full House blog spot to find out more about this giveawy.

And The Winner Is

2009-08-17T09:14:00.002-05:00

I went to Random.org to pic a number for the winner. First I wrote everyone's names down and put a number by them. I did not include my own post responding. :) Out of 30 entries the winner is post Number 1. So Jen, you have 24 hrs to go to the Inspired By Fin and pic out any necklace you want up to 16 inches long. Then email me back with your address so I can have it sent to you.

For everyone who didn't win. Here is a coupon code for you to get 20% off anything in the store! Just use the word blog at check out.

I am still looking for my next giveaway . Hopefully I can get a response form someone by the end of the week. Thank you everyone for joining me in my very first giveaway. This was lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again sometime in the future.

Baltic Amber Giveaway

2009-08-03T11:31:00.002-05:00

My First Giveaway!

I am excited to be hosting my very first giveaway. And Rachel from Inspired by Fin has greed to let me giveaway one of her Baltic Amber necklaces. I have one of these that I got second hand for my little guy. When he wears it he drools a lot less! (from teething)It also seemed to help out a little with an ear ache he had a while back. I have also heard a couple of moms say that when they wear them they get a lot less headaches. So I really want to get a new one of these for me. Inspired by Fin has so many selections to choose from. And all sorts of different sizes. By far the best looking baltic amber necklaces I have ever seen.

Well, on to the good stuff from the people that know about it better than me.

Inspired by Finn Online Shop: "Historically, Baltic Amber has been used in Europe as a natural and traditional remedy and curative for many ailments for centuries. Long ago it was considered one of the leading ‘medicines’ of its time. Baltic Amber is the most esteemed amber in the world, and the healing qualities of Baltic Amber make it unlike any other type of amber found in the world.
When baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin.

Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic Acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and it's presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways."

So what other ways can this Baltic Amber help us?
*Pain Relief
*Strengthen the body's immune system
*Restoring energy
*Maintaining Wellness
*To help break a cycle of (chronic) inflammation

Click here to see what other's are saying about Inspired by Fin.

To enter please leave a comment here. Also remember to leave a way for me to get a hold of you if you win. If I don't know how to get in touch with you then I can't give you your prize and I will have to pick someone else. The giveaway is for your choice of any necklace in her store up to 16inches long.
For more entries:
*follow my blog and post a comment that you do.
*Blog about my giveaway with a link back to here and a link to Inspired by Fin. Then leave me a comment saying you did. Remember to give a link to your blog.

I also would like to add that Rachel has given me a code to give out to all of my readers for 20% off in her store! So if you don't win one, you can save some money on one. How cool is that?!

This giveaway will end on Sunday August 16th. So hurry up and get your entries in! Good Luck to all of you.

Tiney Bubbles Cloth Diaper Detergent

2009-07-27T17:38:00.002-05:00

I got my free Tiny Bubbles Detergent in the other day. So far I have washed 2 loads of diapers in it. On my 3rd now. ;) I like it so far. I don't have to do the 3 extra rinse cycles like I had to do before. It's always a good thing to save water, electricity and time! I am going to wait at few weeks before I give my complete review though. Just to make sure it really does work for us. But so far so good. It also has a lot less suds. I guess that's why it takes less rinses.

Warning... - Parenting Talk - DiaperSwappers.com

2009-07-27T17:35:00.001-05:00

This is my post from a forum I visit. I just want to pass it on and let every one know about it as much as I can. Don't let this happen to your baby!

Warning... - Parenting Talk - DiaperSwappers.com: "Last week we were at the beach. Which we do very often. Loaded up with plenty of sunscreen and some shade set up too. Any ways, my 10 month old baby boy always eats tons of sand out there. This time he found a half of a lime that my sister had used for her drink. He chewed on it the whole time we were out there. I thought it was great because it was keeping him from eating all that sand. A lime is bound to better than sand right? We went home after a few hrs and washed up and every one went to be a little early. All normal... Until the next day. My poor baby woke up with a red rash all around his face. Later that day it was on his chest and arm. Over night blisters came up on his face. By the time I got him to the Dr the second day, he had blisters on his chest and face. And the ones on his face were popping.

Apparently the combination of the citric acid in the lime and the sun produces a chemical reaction that can burn some people. I just want to clarify that none of us, including the baby, are allergic to limes or other citric fruits. I even got a small burn on my foot where the baby touched me.

If you really want to see what this burn looked like I am going to post a link. As I don't think I would want to see it with out being fully warned of what it is before hand. I just really want to spread the word out there so no more babies will get burned like this. It comes on pretty fast in my little guy. His blisters are already all popped and healing. Where as my food is still blistered up. So the time frame may vary according to how much exposure, and how much juice got on you.

I guess it's like how we add some lemon juice to our diapers to bleach them out. Or like some people put it on their hair to bleach it. Makes since by all means! Just didn't dawn on me I guess."

Here are the links to some pitures of his burns. Just incase you need to see what this can do.

Here is his face and chest.

Here you can see the big blister on his thumb.

Here is what it looked like yesterday. You can see the lines where it dripped down his arm.

And here is what it looks like today.

Change Can Be Good

2009-07-16T15:26:00.004-05:00

I'm finally getting the hang of cloth diapering and I am starting to venture out and try new things. For instance, I just got some prefolds in a trade. So I am going to try them. I use AIOs(All-In-Ones), Pockets, and fitteds right now. With so many kinds of diapers out there it's overwhelming at times. So I haven't even tried switching detergents since ours has been working fine so far. The only thing I don't like about it is that I have to run the rinse cycle 3 more times after I wash them. That seams like a waste of electricity to me. Not to mention the water. Right now I use Purex Free & Clear. Mostly because it's the only one I can find locally that is safe for use on cloth diapers. I often visit The Natural Baby Company to look around. I keep eyeing a few things there. But the next thing I want to try is the Tiny Bubbles Laundry Detergent. It's completely phosphate free and biodegradable. It's also a low residue detergent. So maybe that will help me cute out some of those rinse cycles.

2009-06-18T12:20:00.003-05:00

We went to the beach in South Padre Island. Well, we went down there to go to Schlitterbahn. But the day we got there we decided it was to late to go there so we headed to the beach first. I didn't get many pics of the kids because they were in the water almost every second. But all us girls went on a banana boat ride. It was a lot of fun. We tipped over three times. And I was the one to help every one back on the boat. No one else could do it. That was where holding a 20+ pound baby all day comes in handy. LOL This was my nephew's first time to the beach. He found the sand, and loved it! What is it about baby's and sand? They just seem to love it. The pic I have down there of Evan has Keegan in the background eating more sand. But it's a nice pic anyways.

Me & Keegan

Keegan & Evan

Keegan & Daddy

Christian, Keegan & Justin

On the boat: MIL, SIL, Me, Niece, Niece & Megan

Everyone else I don't know. LOL

I'll put up more when I get the pics back from Schlitterbahn! I'll even tell you how all of that went.

Monkeys, Monkeys, Everywhere!!!

2009-05-29T14:15:00.004-05:00

We all love monkeys in this house. Mostly because my oldest son has an obsession about them. We have some crocheted monkeys the kids still play with, and my kids have tons of stuffed ones! And of course from time to time we have monkey related shirts and cloths. LOL But come one, how can you NOT like monkeys?! This Monkey is no different... 3MonkeysClothDiapers on Etsy has some cute prints! And they are AIOs for only $13.oo. How much better could that be? MonkeyToes Reviews has her review of the new 2 size diaper. And a giveaway! Check it out... Review & Giveaway

Personally I like the the dragon print best. But honestly, I would get at least one monkey print too.

The Coolest Bib Ever!

2009-05-29T13:05:00.003-05:00

If you have kids you know that they get messy when the are learning to feed themselves. This bib from Baggino is the ultimate bib. It covers so much! Even the arms. And it goes far enough down so that when food is spilled it doesn't hit their pants! Now how many times have I wished it were easier to clean up the baby after he eats? Way to many... I think I could actually let him wear his cloths while he eats with this bib! LOL If you click the Baggino link above you will see that there is a neat looking diaper bag too. :) I just had to add that. :) I want one!!!

With out further adieu... You can enter to win one of these at Two of a kind, working on a full house. How cool is that?! I just love the chance to enter contests. I have yet to win one. But I'm sure to win sometime soon. This contest ends June 12th so hurry!

GroBaby is here!

2009-05-29T12:16:00.004-05:00

Yay!!! I got my free Gro baby one size cloth diaper in the mail today! I am so excited to try it out. I just did the diaper laundry though. So I'll have to wait a couple of days to get it prepped. :(so sad) I think I may need to get some more soakers to go in it though. ;) I am liking the idea of a snap in soaker that you can just replace when wet. If I like these as much as I think I will I will be buying some!

In case anyone is interested you can find them for sale here: The Natural Baby Company

There are also some other things I want from them.... hehehe.... I'll never have enough fluff.

Cloth Diaper Giveaway

2009-05-22T11:23:00.003-05:00

I found out about this new give away from a cloth diaper that sounds amazing! Here's the link to find out more: Your Moma Reviews. It even shows some video and goes into detailed description all about the diaper. It's a great review. Anyways, I am entering. I need all I can get. And FREE IS GOOD! And if these diapers are what they say they are, I'm in for a special treat.

Cloth Diapering

2009-05-21T18:40:00.003-05:00

I have begun my cloth diapering journey. Finally. LOL I have fallen prey to a bunch of people selling bad ones out there. Then I found a couple of great forums that I learned from! I was so glad I found them. I have learned so much from both places. The biggest place is Diaper Swappers. I have gotten a few good ones from there. And the next is a newer forum with some of the greatest ladies I have met online. It's Cloth Diapers Anonymous. I find all the info I need and then some, and I get a lot of laughs doing it!

Anyways, I have heard of a new Gro Baby diaper. I think this is one that I would LOVE to try out. I've heard some good things about it and I really want to see if it's right for us. I found this place to be a good one to get them from: The Natural Baby Company. Maybe in a month or so, once I catch up from all that waisted money!

Busy Days

2009-04-05T10:29:00.004-05:00

With baseball season up and running now I am really busy. Kaleb and Christian are both playing this year. This is Kaleb's first year. Him and Dillan are both on the same team. They just got their uniforms yesterday. We had opening ceremonies and pictures. That took most of our day. Especially since they were spread apart at 9:00-11:00, then again 4:00-5:00. We had just enough time to go eat lunch then come home for a nap in between.

Christian in in his first year of kid pitch. There are more rules to follow now. LOL But he's liking it and learning more. He's getting better. His team is the Cardinals. Red shirts and white pants. I hate it when they have white pants. It's so hard to get that red dirt and the grass stains out. But he loves it for the same reasons I hate it. LOL That way he looks cool. Like he slides all the time.

Between the two of them I am at practices and games almost every day of the week. But as busy at it sounds it's all good. I love watching them have so much fun. And the little ones are just so darn cute!

2009-03-21T09:09:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to update a little. Keegan is 6 months old. He's sitting up now. And getting on his hands and knees. Every day it seems like he is doing something else. Christian and Kaleb are starting baseball practice now. This will be Kaleb's first year. He's really excited. He got his first bat the other day and has been carrying it around with him every where asking when he gets to play. It gets pretty annoying, but it's really cute too. I can't wait to get some pics of them at there games this year.

I've learned a little more about photography so I am looking forward to trying out some sport pics next. Now I really want to share some of my favorite pics of the kids. Keep in mind they are not taken with a really good camera. It's not an SLR or anything. So some of the pics may look a little grainy. But I have done my best with what I have. I think I'll go ahead and add the edited ones too. Maybe some of you can critique them for me. Who knows, maybe I can get some pointers and learn some thing new. Please click on the pics to see them better. For some reason they kept on loading big and not resizing themselves. So I had to do it manually on here. They may be a little off.

The twins are coming down this weekend. They will be here for one week. And of course their spring break is the week after my kids spring break. Oh well. At least they will get some quality, one-on-one time with daddy this time. We are headed out to the beach this weekend too. More photo ops!

It really has been a long time!

2009-03-04T14:30:00.003-06:00

It's been a long time since I posted any news. Baby is almost 6 months already! LOL I don't know where the time goes.

I guess I'll have to update with lots of pics! I've been trying my best to get some really good ones. And in the process I have been taking way to many. But that's OK. I love it anyways.

These are from October.

Duh...

November

I am running out of time so I will have to get back with more pics tonight or tomorrow.

See you soon!

I LOVE free stuff

2009-03-04T14:17:00.002-06:00

Don't you?! I found this free give away today and thought I would share. Because I love slings and wraps to carry babies in. And because I like supporting people hand crafting things. So follow this link Christopher And Tia to find out how you could enter to win a free ring sling from SugarBugSlings. It's one of these slings Choose Your Hues Ring Sling. Nice huh?

Poor Baby...

2008-10-16T14:41:00.003-05:00

LOL We were not able to get him him circumcised at the hospital because of that hurricane threat. So I scheduled it for Oct 7th. He was 4 weeks by then, but that's the soonest they could get me in. Then he ended up with a fever. So they sent us to the hospital. Apparently anything over 100.4 in a baby 1 month or younger is cause for concern. And they are supposed to hospitalize them and have lots of tests run to rule out anything serious. So we were admitted at the children's hospital and he had blood drawn. He made such a fuss over it that they had to try again in his little foot. Then they tried to insert the IV. They couldn't get it so they ended up putting it in the other foot. Then they had to run a spinal tap on the poor baby. Then the IV ended up clotting so they had to move it to the other hand. I felt soooo bad for him! I was able to stay there with him. Luckily my husband was home so that he could take care of the other two kids. We were in the hospital for two days. The test results all came back normal. TG.

So we set up another appointment with the Dr for his circumcision. Well this time he found a heart murmur! So he sent us to get some x-rays done and to see the pediatric cardiologist. He had to be held down for the x-rays, which he didn't really mind. And then he had lots of sticky things attached to him for the EKG. Again he really didn't mind. Then he had to have an ultrasound to look at his heart. They used his blanket to hold his arms down. He seemed to be very comfortable though. In fact, he almost fell asleep. LOL It's about time he went through something that wasn't so harsh on him! Our next appointment there is in April of next year. So we aren't looking too bad.

I am almost scared to take him back to see the pediatrician. What else could he find?! At this rate we are never going to get him circumcised!

Well other than all of that, he is doing great! He sleeps well, eats well, potties well. LOL You know what I mean.

He was born at:
7lbs, 13oz
21 1/4 inches

At 1 1/2 weeks he was:
8lbs, 2oz
21 inches

At 2 1/2 weeks he was:
8lbs, 12oz
21 inches

At 4 weeks he was:
10lbs, 2oz
22 inches

And at 5 weeks he is:
10lbs, 12oz
23 inches

So he gaining a lot of weight and growing bigger every day! I keep telling him to stop growing, but he won't listen to me. He's my last, I want him to be a baby for a long time. I started noticing today how much bigger Kaleb really is. It kind of makes me sad... :(

Finally! He is Here

2008-10-01T12:34:00.002-05:00

And doing wonderfully! I went in at 5:30 am. They got me changed and hooked up to the monitors. I signed all the paperwork. They put the IV in me and started the pitocine by 6:30. At 8:00 my Dr came in and checked me. I was at 4cm and about 80% effaced. So she broke my water for me at 8:30, since it hadn't gone by itself. Contractions started getting worse after that. I asked them to put me in line for the epidural right away, because I knew I would want it, and last time I had to wait a long time because he was doing two other emergency c-sections. He got in there at around 9:30. I was dilated to 5 cm, still at 80%. He hit a nerve on the way in and it sent a really sharp pain down my left leg. He got the procedure done by 9:30 but he messed it up. It was only working on my left side. So my left side went numb and I couldn't even move it. It felt like it weighed a ton. I couldn't even bend my toes. So I could only feel half of my contractions. That was an odd experience. They had me lay on my right side to try to get some of the medication to go to that side too. It took a while but eventually both sides were feeling exactly the same. They came in to check me at 10:30 and I was up to 7cm. But the baby was still pretty high. So the sat my bed up for me. Since I had no control over the bottom half of my body I kept leaning to my left. LOL I had to use my hands to move myself over. At around 11:15 the nurse came in and asked how I was doing. I told her that the contractions were feeling completely different now. I could feel the baby really low and it felt like he was trying to come out now. So she checked me, had me do a trial push and called the Dr. I was completely dilated, 100% thinned out and baby was engaged. It was time. It took a while for the Dr to get there. What seemed like for ever! But it wasn't really that long.The Dr finally got there and I started pushing. She made laugh during every contraction. LOL There was a Hurricane threat, Hurricaine Ike. So when he started turning she called him Ike. LOL I couldn't help but laugh at what ever she said. I don't remember it all. So it took me four or five contractions to get him out. Not bad at all! He was born on Sept 9th at 12:01 pm. He weighed 7lbs 13oz, and was 21 1/4 inches long. He's my biggest boy. Christian was 7lb 12oz and 20 1/2 inches. And Kaleb was 6lbs, 11oz and 19 inches long. Also Keegan is the shortest labor I had.

Only a few days left

2008-09-03T16:44:00.004-05:00

I have been to my very last Dr's appointment! I am dilated to 3 1/2 cm now. Last week I was at 2 cm. So if the trend continues I will be at 5 cm next week. I go in to be induced on the 9th, next Tuesday. So that would put me half way there by the time I get to the hospital. Of course that all depends on baby. LOL I mean he could decide to come a little earlier than that! I have been keeping myself busy for the past week. I've been cleaning, rearranging, and organizing everything in sight! Have you ever heard of a pregnant woman's need to "nest"? I don't think I ever had it this bad with the other two. But I guess it's a good thing. At least the house is staying clean on a daily basis right now. LOL DH certainly is loving it!

Anyways, I am probably going to be just getting home from the hospital on our second annual International Crochet Day. So I don't believe I will be doing anything on that day. However, I am working on the Care Bear for my little boy. I'm doing Bed Time Bear for this one. I'm using Caron simply soft. I love that stuff! I guess I will be working on that quite a bit for the next few days. Hopefully I can find the time to get it finished before he arrives.

That's all the time I have for now. I guess I'll be putting in my labor story and the arrival of our new little boy the next time.

Wish me luck!!!

Getting Ready!

2008-08-23T12:11:00.003-05:00

I think I am almost ready for this baby to get here! I only need to get a few more things. I set up the crib last night. I finally got all of the stuff out of it and put clean sheets and all of the bedding on it. I love it! Dragons. It's not a very common theme, so I had to order the set online.

Here it is all set up.

And here's a pic of the blanket that I made for him. For all you crocheter's out there, this is the Diagonal Box Stitch. I have come to love doing it. It's very quick! I can't remember the yarn that I used. It was Bernat though. And it is soooo soft. I used my Jimbo Hook, it's a size H.

Any ways, back to my baby! I have everything but a car seat and stroller. DH wants to be here when we buy it, so I am waiting for him to get home on Monday. I have all of the things that I need for the hospital all piled up. I just need to put them in a bag. LOL I have 4 weeks till my due date. And I am hoping that I don't actually last that long! I guess we shall see.

The kids are getting excited! Christian likes to help me set things up. And Kaleb loves to pick things out. They are going to get New Big Brother Gifts on the day the baby comes. I got a digital camera for Christian. I am going to pick up a replacement wedding band for Jason. He lost his months ago! I picked out one that has 3 diamonds in it. It's pretty simple looking other than that. It's made out of a really strong metal too. Tungsten. It's supposed to be the strongest one available. It should be able to stand up to working in the oil field! I will pick up something for Kaleb. I'm not sure what yet. But he's easy to get for, so it shouldn't be a problem.

2008-07-01T16:57:00.006-05:00

I am getting so big this time! Well not me, but my belly is!!!

At least it's for a good cause.

Here is Keegan Blane. 28 weeks and one day. Everything looks great. I think he looks like Kaleb in the chin and like Christian in the eyes and nose. The sonographer said it looks like he has no hair. She said sometimes they can see hair if there's enough of it. Both my other boys had very thin hair. So there's still a chance that Keegan does too. We saw him yawn and change his expressions. Saw his hands and toes move too. It's so cute! There is one picture of his legs and feet. It looks like they are really big feet! He also liked to keep his feet up by his head. It's amazing how flexible they are in there!

I guess I could tell a little bit about the day we had. The kids were a hand full! They started off the day like that. So they were not on their best behavior for the ultrasound. But they still enjoyed it. The sonographer said they can sometimes see if there is any hair on the babies head. She saw none on Keegan. Doesn't surprise me though. Both my boys came out with very thin hair. So that could be why she didn't see any. He is already in position for birth! That doesn't surprise me either. Kaleb was like that for three months before he was born too. Keegan likes to keep his feet up close to his head. I wish she had gotten a picture of that. But she specifically tried not to. She wanted his hand by it instead. Which he did have them up there. But they were tucked away so she couldn't get a pic of them. It is an awesome experience! I wish these ultrasounds were covered by insurance though.

Kaleb kept on saying, "that my baby? My baby in yours tummy? Doctors get my baby out yours tummy?" I kept on having to tell him, not yet. He was pretty amazed by all this too.

BTW - Keegan looks like he has chin like Kaleb's, but looks more like Christin with the chubby cheeks.

Some Good News For A Change

2008-06-29T16:22:00.004-05:00

We have had a good summer so far! We went down the Comal River, near San Antonio. The boys went to a baseball camp, we've been to the beach and to the pool. Me and Megan have been shopping. We've been to the Texas State Aquarium.

In other words, we have kept busy every day so far since the twins have been down! For those of you that don't know, I have twin step kids. One girl one boy. They are 6 months younger than my oldest son. So I have had my hands full, with four kids at our house. One week left! They've been here for two weeks already. Being pregnant makes this a harder feet than normal. LOL But we are loving it anyways.

On Tuesday we go for the 4D ultrasound. I get to take all of the kids with me too! We are all excited about that one.

I'll add a few pics, then I am off. We are going to a baseball game tonight. I need to get all the kids ready to go.

I like this one of the kids on the hammock.

The Boys looked great on the playground this day.

This is one of my favorite pics so far this summer.

He looks so sad, but cute. Isn't he?

This is a pic of what Kaleb has to wear every time he goes into the water now. If you read my last post you will understand why.

Dreams???

2008-06-09T23:04:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had a dream and then it came true? I'm not talking about just thinking about something you really want, "dreaming." I am talking about really having a dream then a day or two later it comes true! At least the main event in the story....

The other night I had a dream that I was walking with Kaleb(my 3yr old). He ran way ahead of me and I thought it was OK because there were some people we knew ahead of me. Then in my dream there was a pool. Well, Kaleb jumped right in! The lady that was close to him jumped in and got him out before anything bad happened. But it scared the **** out of me! In all the excitement he threw up and as I walked away to get a water hose to wash him off with, I threw up too. Then I woke up. This was the day that I was going to my family reunion. Well one of my dogs decided to get sick that night all over the bathroom, where he sleeps. He does that sometimes for no reason because he has a very week stomach. Half way through cleaning it up I had to run to the other bathroom to throw up. I just thought what a weird coincidence, and continued on with my day. Later that day, at the reunion the kids followed an adult outside to go swimming. Kaleb decided to go with them. I thought it's OK, there's an adult with him. She will keep him from drowning. Little did I know.... He followed the big boys right into the pool! He was fully clothed, because we had already gone swimming about 30 minutes before that. So my cousin had to jump in after him. I was right behind them so I was there right after it all happened. As soon as that boy had me in his arms he asked if he could go play again! It didn't faze him a bit!!! Talk about a scary account!

It's enough to make me scared to dream anymore. Any ways last night I had another dream. I was talking to my mom while we were watching a show about c-sections. I was telling her how scarred I was about having to have one. Then later on in the dream my water broke. I just stood there terrified! It was way too soon for that. I am only 5 months along. Then I woke up. I really hope those "fortune telling" days are over! LOL I guess I will know within a couple of days.

An Outlet of My Thoughts

2008-06-03T16:51:00.004-05:00

I woke up early this morning thinking about an old friend of my moms, Marsha. I hadn't even thought about contacting her before this morning. I feel bad for forgetting. So this morning I called my grandpa to see if her number was in my moms address book. It wasn't though. And all of her calls had been erased from her phone. So I did a search on Google. But I couldn't find anything. So I called my grandpa back to see if I was spelling the last name right. Well, I wasn't! What do you know. So I re-searched for her and found her number and address of her work place. I guess she owns it, or at least runs it. So I called her there. I think that one day I want to talk to her more about my mom and dad. Marsha and her husband were real good friends of both of my parents. They were around when my dad died and I was just 2 yrs old. Marsha said that my mom had called her around Mother's Day weekend. She said she told her that she had cancer and had just found out. Knowing my mother, I'm sure she did tell her that. But also knowing my mom, I'm not sure weather to believe this to be true or not. She always told me and my sister different things about her health. Cancer was one of them at one time. But then she also denied it many times. So that brings up a whole new set of questions. What exactly did she have wrong with her? As soon as we are able to get the death certificate I will be going to get her medical records. But there is a 4-6 week waiting period for the certificate. And it's a 15 day process to get the records from the hospital. With as many times as she has been in there, there is sure to be a lot of pages. And at $1.35 per page I'm sure it's going to cost a lot. But that's OK. That's at least 1 1/2 months from now, if not two. I have been wanting to do that for a long time now anyways. I was just never able to.

One other thing that was kind of strange is that Marsha told me that she never agreed with what my mother did. I'm not sure what that means. I'm sure it has something to do with my mom and dad splitting up and probably something to do with him killing himself. So one day I may have to go visit her and have a long chat. I have always been very curious about that time in my life. I would love to know more about my dad too. And they were very close to him. I wonder if they have any pictures of my mom and dad? I am big on pictures. Especially old ones of family.

For My Mom

2008-06-03T16:47:00.005-05:00

I had to shorten it just a bit. So the pictures go by much faster than they usually would. And the song Amazing Grace is no longer on there. I had to chose one song to cut off so that it would all fit. And the other two are just to perfect for my mother to loose. So this is it. This is the video slide show that I made in her honor. I miss her already!

Sad Times Around Here...

2008-05-27T22:12:00.003-05:00

I lost my mother. I don't know how to feel about it. I am sad. But I still don't feel like it can be true. I cry in bed at night because I know I can call her tomorrow anymore. It's too late now. I found a beautiful poem that expresses my thoughts very accurately.

Everyone has their time
But why did yours have to come so soon?
There are so many people in the world
So why did God have to pick you?
They say things like this make you stronger
But how can that be?
I feel so weak inside
It all feels like a dream
I didn't get to see you
You passed away too soon
But I feel you watching over me
And someday I'll see you again

Andrea Nickel

The last time I saw her was the Monday after Mother's Day, on the 12th. The last time I talked to her was on the 19th or 20th. She sounded so good. She wanted to go to the family reunion. And she wanted to take Dillan (my niece) with us. She had just talked to Yvonne (another close family member) and was excited to get to see her. My grandpa called me on Thursday the 22nd to tell me that she wasn't feeling well. She hadn't gotten out of bed for two days and wasn't eating. She was crying out in pain in the middle of the night. He called me because he just didn't know what to do. He was worried about her. I could hear it in his voice. It worried me a little bit to. Just knowing that she hadn't gotten up out of that room for two days. Not even to eat. She didn't want him in her room, or to even bother her. I told him that the only thing that he really could do would be to call the ambulance to come get her. He didn't want to do that, because she was drinking. He thought that she just wasn't getting up because she was too drunk. Which I guess could have been the case. I feel horrible for him. He had decided that if she didn't get up and at least get something to eat then he would call 911 in the morning. But when he went to get her up, she was gone. God had taken her pain away. That's the only thing that gives me comfort anymore. Knowing that she isn't in pain any more. And knowing that she is in better hands now. With someone that can guide her and take care of her the way she needs it. Like none of us here could ever do for her. She called me to ask if I could stop by on my way home from picking up Christian from school. She wanted to see the kids. But I was being selfish and didn't want to. I hated taking my kids over to see her. I didn't like them seeing her in this dirty place, with liquor on her breath and cigarette smoke all around. Would that really have hurt anything that badly if we just drove by for a minute or so? She could have seen her grandchildren one more time before she died. The last time she saw them was at Christian's game on the 10th. Christian was in one of those moods. And he wouldn't talk to her. He felt bad about that later, and talked about it for a week. That was one of the first things he said when he found out the news. After why did she have to die? And why do people have to get sick? And why does mostly our family have to die? What do you tell an 8 yr old that has lost two grandparents in the past three years. It was harder to tell him about his Mini than anyone else in this world. He did ask me the other day why we called her Mini. I told him that's the name she wanted you to call her. Because she is your skinny Mini! I got half of a smile from him. She was very skinny.
I have been working on a video slide show of pictures of my mom. I have almost 80 pics of her throughout her life. It's a shame really that I don't have more of her in the resent years. I put them together with a few quotes/poems and songs. I used Desperado, by The Eagles, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by Simon and Garfunkel, and of course Amazing Grace, this one was done by Leeann Rhymes. The trio of songs is beautiful! I think it has helped me in my grieving. Although, I don't think I am done. I am far from it actually. It still doesn't feel right to me. It still feels like I am talking about someone else when I talk about her memorial service. I still can't believe it has happened.

I had to go put flowers on my father's grave sight the other day. This has hit me hard. I have no parents now. My father committed suicide when I was only 2 yrs old. And now my mother is gone too. And I can't help but think about how I could have done more in the past couple of years to include her in my family's life. I don't want to feel like that. But I do.

Now I want to go visit San Miguel de Allende. Where we lived for a while, in Mexico. My mother loved living there. She was free to be herself. People didn't judge you like they do here. It's a beautiful country too. So primitive compared to here. I have always wanted to go back some day. I would like to show my husband where I lived for a while. I would like to show him what a beautiful place it can be. But with the baby on the way, now is not a good time. I guess it will be a few years before I can even think of going back.

I think I've rambled enough for the time being. Maybe I will try to get the slide show downloaded next week, and put it up on here.

It's A Boy!

2008-05-07T12:33:00.004-05:00

We are very excited! And this way we aren't going to have to spend all of that extra money on bunches of cute girl cloths. LOL All I need to get is the big stuff, like a crib! And then a few cloths for the first few months. I'm sure the family will give a gift or two as well. But everything looks great. Baby is measuring right on schedule. And the heart rate was 153. We are having a hard time getting Kaleb to remember that it's a boy and not sissy. We picked out the name Keegan Blane. So now we just tell him it's baby Keegan. He's getting the hang of it. My MIL and Christian both went with me to the ultrasound. They had a bet going. If it was a girl, Christian would pull weeds at Nana's (my MIL) House, and if it was a boy Nana would buy Christian a toy. Christian won! He was very excited about that!

I had really wanted a girl. But it looks like God had other plans for me. This is going to be my last baby. DH is going to get "fixed" and we are going to look into me getting it done as well. We may have to wait untill we can pay for it though. It's cheaper for DH so we know we are gong to do that one. But I have been very sad lately, because that means that I will not get a chance to have a little girl of my own. Then I start feeling bad about feeling bad! I know it will be alright, I guess I just need some time. I wanted to go shopping after I found out, but I didn't end up with the time for it. So I went the next day with my sister, my aunt, my grandmother and my cousin. I looked around at cloths, but didn't see anything that caught my eye. Not for a boy at least. I saw tons of stuff for girls! I finally settled on a couple of outfits on the clearance rack. But I wasn't thrilled about them. I actually ended up finding a lot of maternity cloths that I liked though. I ended up splurging and getting myself an outfit too. I have tried to get into shopping, but every time I go I gravitate towards the little girl stuff. Then I get sad again and don't want to shop anymore.

I know that I am excited about the new baby boy. I am in love with the name we picked out too! I'm getting upset now because my need for a little girl is getting in the way of me enjoying this little guy! It's making me mad at myself. I better get over it soon! But then every time I tell some one else that we are having a boy they all say, "aww...", or "I'm sorry." I hate that! Don't be sorry! Be happy that he is a healthy baby. I am. I am only sad that I won't have a little girl, ever.

Maybe it's just all of the hormones going crazy inside my body that are making me feel like I am crazy!

1 on 1 time

2008-04-26T22:08:00.002-05:00

I got to spend the day with my oldest son yesterday. We had a blast. And he must have said a million times that that was his best day ever! Enough to make me want to do it more often!!!

It all started when my husband got called into go to work. He was told that they needed him on a different rig out of town. It's a "sit down" job, so that means he stays in a trailer out on the rig untill they are done,, or untill they don't need him anymore. He is taking over someone else's job because they needed to take care of some things at home. What ever. So his mother decided to have lunch before he has to leave town since his birthday is on May 2nd. And he will not be here. At first our youngest son was saying that he wanted to see Papa Dean(my father-in-law) and Nana(my mother-in-law). Well Papa Dean had to be at work so it was just going to be us and Nana. He wasn't so happy about that, but still OK with it. We get there and Papa Dean shows up too! OMG!!! Kaleb was soooo happy! He sat on Papa Dean's Lap the whole time!When it came time to leave he told me, "Be go you" and pointed to my in-laws. This means he wants to go with Papa Dean and Nana. I tell him no, you have to go with mommy and daddy. You can go with Papa Dean and Nana tomorrow. The kids both stay over at their house every Saturday night. But he just kept saying "no, be go you," and pointing to them. So we all walk out together and he runs to Nana and holds her hand out to the car. We all went to look at her rental car. So when it was time to go he gave her a hug and wouldn't let go! It was like it was a life or death situation! He wanted to go with them so bad! I have never seen him want to go with anyone that badly before. It was actually pretty funny, I have to admit. Well, Papa Dean ended up giving in and taking Kaleb with him. He was just ever so happy!

So right after that I had to pick up Christian from school. Who, by the way, made the A honor role again this 6 weeks! We started off thinking that we would go practice throwing the ball at the park, then go for ice cream. But we had to go pick up my husbands meds before he went to work. And we were stuck waiting for them to sort out the details for 45 minutes! Ugh... And that's because I called it in the day before! Any ways, he changed his mind and wanted to go to a movie instead. My father-in-law, said that he was going to bring Kaleb back home at 8:00 pm that night since he had to go play music that night. So we ran out of time to go see a movie too! It was already 5:30 by the time we were finally able to leave the house. That's the time that daddy left for work to. So we ended up going to McDonald's for dinner. Mmm... *sarcasm added here* I hate McDonald's. Then we went to Target to exchange one of Kaleb's birthday gifts, that was a double. While we were there I told Christian that if he wanted to get a toy and settle for an icee instead of an ice cream we could do that. And, of course, he agreed. So he picked out an Iron Man toy. Then we came home and played 3 games of Yahtzee. He won every one of them, fair and square! That boy has the best luck on games. Just after that he was saying how much fun he had. And how we should do this more often! That just made my heart melt. He even said, but I know we can't get a new toy every time. So we should just have our special day more often. Aww... My father in-law called about that time and said that Kaleb had already fallen asleep so he could just stay there for the night. So Christina and I could have gone to the movies after all! But Christian didn't see it that way. His first thought was, cool, more time for me and you! So we ended up going to Hollywood Video and renting a couple of movies. Then going to Marble Slab next door and getting some ice cream. We picked out the Bad News Bears (the old one with Walter Matthau) and Benji, a classic. When we got home we popped some popcorn and watched Bad News Bears in my bed. Christian must have said this was the best day ever about 20 times! LOL I love that boy so much. And I was so glad that I was able to spend some time with him, and with out his little brother. He finally was able to get some much needed attention from me. Now I know I am going to have to do this more often!

Well, since my hubby is not going to be here for his birthday, that also means that he won't be here for the ultrasound that we are going to have that day! I had set it up for his birthday, and at a time we knew he could make it. Well that was for the job he was on. We didn't expect them to pull him off of this one to put him on another! Ugh... I hate the oil field! It's so unpredictable. Even when you think it is for the next few weeks or so! So I asked my mother-in-law to go with me since my hubby won't be there. I am so disappointed! We are hoping to find out what we are having then too! And he won't be here for that!!! Oh well, at least I don't have to go alone. And I can call him. At least he can know about it on his birthday.

Baseball Season Is Here!

2008-04-07T11:45:00.003-05:00

My oldest son is playing little league this year. We put him in it when he was 5 but he just didn't have to patients for that yet. They put him as catcher for t-ball. LOL Like there is anything to do there! So he built sand piles and jumped in them. And when he was in the outfield, he just picked the grass and threw it in the air. LOL Well this time he is much more attentive. He is catching very well, throwing better, and batting with coach pitch! He's not the best, but he's catching up! His team won their scrimmage last week. They had their first game last Friday. They won that one too! So now his confidence is supper high.

Kaleb loves baseball now too. He just has to be like his big brother! So everyday he talks about playing baseball. I ended up getting him a glove and ball so he can catch like bubba. He is getting a t-ball stand for his birthday. Witch is coming up on the 20th! He's going to be 3 yrs old! My, my, my, where does time go?! Kaleb has also learned to ride his bike. He peddles, steers and breaks now.

Everything else is going great! I no longer have morning sickness so that's always nice. I started to feel the baby moving a few weeks ago. And as of yesterday I can officially feel it with my hand! Dh still won't touch though. He has the Alien fear. LOL Too many scary movies! What a sissy! I have still been neglecting my crochet work. :( I'll get back into it sometime though. I like it too much to stop forever.

Whoa Baby!

2008-02-24T19:38:00.004-06:00

He he he...

Well I had my first ultrasound on Friday, the 20th. All looks great with baby and me! The Dr. didn't tell me what the heart rate was. But we did get to see the heart beat. She did say it looked great. That's got to be better than good. I could see the little arms the head and body and the umbilical cord. I couldn't pin point the legs though. They must have been curled up. Anyways my 2 yr old son now says there will be two babies. Him and the new baby. LOL Got to love that boy. He just refuses to give up his title!

On the crocheting side of things, sadly, all is not going well. I haven't done any work since my last update. I have had all of this morning sickness and fatigue for this first trimester. And it's kicking my but! But the good news is that I only have 3 or 4 more weeks untill it should all be over! I need to get busy on the house and my crochet!

Time for an update

2008-02-01T19:38:00.000-06:00

I went to the Dr on Monday to get my progesterone levels checked. Everything looked great! I am right on schedule. Dr said I should be at at least a 10 and I am at a 15. I am so relieved to hear that. I am having different symptoms this time. When they say every person is different and every pregnancy is different, they are right! This time I feel slight cramping(normal for the pulling and stretching) and some mild nausea. With my other two guys I didn't have any of this cramping, at least not so soon. And I didn't ever have any morning sickness! TG!!! But this time I can only eat up to a certain amount. If I get to full I feel sick. And then I am hungry with in an hour or two. I hate it! I like to get full and eat only twice a day, sometimes three. Now I have to eat at least three times a day, plus a snack or two. Oh well. Such is life... hahaha. I love being pregnant though! I can't wait until I get to feel the baby. And I hope this one moves more than my youngest son. I love feeling them move around inside my belly. Until, that is, the last month when they are kicking my ribs and bladder. That's no fun! I have my first ultra sound on Feb. 20th. I should be 9 and a half weeks by then. So I should be able to get some good pics of a baby shape in there instead of just a bean. LOL

On to my crochet! Well I haven't really done too much. I don't seem to have the time to sit and do that to much lately. But I am almost half way done with a baby blanket for my neighbors new little girl. I am using an H hook and Bernat Satin in Sea Shell. It 's the Diagonal Box Stitch. I have grown to love it! It's so simple to do! It does get pretty monotonous at times. But that's OK. It doesn't slow my down because I love the look! Here's a couple of pics.

Exciting News!

2008-01-19T21:08:00.000-06:00

I just took a home pregnancy test. The results are a (+) I am pregnant!!! Kind of a surprise, kind of not. See my husband and I decided that I would go off of birth control several months ago. So we used other means for a few months( ok maybe only one or two). Then went off completely. It has been at least 6 months since we last used anything. I was beginning to wonder if it was going to happen at all. My periods began to get to normal and I was never a single day late. Until today! I actually started spotting on Monday. It lasted until Wednesday. Then I was supposed to start today. We were out of town on a tiny vacation, so I tried not to think of it. When we got home tonight, I decided to go ahead and use the last home pregnancy test I had here. The plus sign showed up almost immediately! There is no doubt in my mind that it is true. I am pregnant! The only thing is that now I have to wait untill the first of February to see my Dr. That's when the new insurance kicks in. I hate that!!! My last pregnancy I needed to take progesterone pills for the first trimester to keep the pregnancy going. I had lost two prior to that due to not enough progesterone being produced naturally. There is a difference this time though. With the home pregnancy test that I took those times, the second line on the + came up very faintly. This time it is dark, just like the other line and the test line. That shows that the hormones are there. Now what worries me is the spotting that took place for three days.

I need lots of prayers for this one to work out for me. At least good thoughts!

We have decided not to tell anyone in our family about it until I can get to the Dr and know that all is well, for sure. I'm not sure how long I can keep it a secret. I need some help with that too! That's why I am posting it here. I can't hold it in. I need to tell someone, everyone! But it needs to wait for a little while longer.

Mean while I have found a pattern to use for the blankets I will make. It's the diagonal box stitch. It's not hard at all, and I love the way it looks. I went ahead and used a different hook though, size H. The Jimbo Hook is just to big for most blankets(size J). =( But given the news above, I think I will put that hook to better use! No harm after all. lol

Well, I guess I better go now. I have a lot to do before bed.

2008-01-15T10:04:00.000-06:00

I haven't actually made anything in a while. Well it's been about a month now. I got Jimbo's hook in the mail on Saturday night! It's a beauty!!! So nice to work with and comfortable to hold. I went to JoAnn's on Sunday to get some pink yarn. I am going to make two blankets for some new born baby girls. I am searching for the perfect stitch! I would like to have a beautiful stitch to go with the beautiful hook that I am using. Some one from Crochetville recommended this pattern Crossed Ripple Preemie Afghan. But I'm not satisfied with it. Maybe I'm just not doing it right, or maybe it would look better in a different yarn. I was able to do it though, so that's a plus! I didn't think I could just from reading the pattern. Anyways I am off to look for a different pattern. I'll have to frog the few rows I got done but that's OK.

This is My Jimbo Hook!The picture just wouldn't come out right, so sorry about the quality.
It's tulip wood and has a kind of pinkish tint to it.
I just love it!

On another note, today is my 4th anniversary to my wonderful husband! We've had our ups and downs. But that's to be expected I guess. Especially when his father died, we lost a baby and we had a baby. All within the first couple of years. But life has been good in general. He got hired on with a new company today too. He is there right now filling out paper work and picking up his company truck. I love the fact that he can get those! It saves us a lot of money!!! Any ways, I look forward to many more wonderful and loving years!

We aren't really doing much to celebrate right now. But we have decided that we are going to book a cruse for the summer. We just have to decide which one! We are calling that our gift/honeymoon(since we never got one).

Retinoblastoma

2008-01-09T20:30:00.000-06:00

"There are approximately 350 new diagnosed cases per year in the United States. Retinoblastoma affects one in every 15,000 to 30,000 live babies that are born in the United States." http://www.retinoblastoma.com/frameset1.htm

That's not many! However this is a condition that affects my cousins little girl.

Macy was under a year old when she was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina. At first it was unilateral, meaning in one eye. By the time she was two years old it had become bilateral. Macy had to have both of her eyes removed by the time she was two years old. In there place there are now some prosthetic eyes that matched hers.

She is now 5 or 6 years old. She uses a cane to walk with and reads braille. Just last year this wonderful, strong little girl played baseball! Yes, you read that right, I said she payed baseball! They used a special ball that made a whistling noise. She was on a team of little kids that could see. She loved it! Just not enough to play this year. My son was the same way though. Baseball is a pretty slow game. And little kids, like these two, lose interest quickly and become board. So I don't blame her there.

This little girl is the strongest little girl that I know! She sets her mind to do something, and she does it! Just this Christmas she asked to have a camera. Well, no one can say no to her so of course she got one. And from what I hear, she has taken at least a couple of shots where the people are right in the center of the picture! See what I mean. She CAN do anything she wants to. Having no sight doesn't slow her down!

Any ways, Jimbo's interest in getting the word out there for his cause got me to thinking. What if I can do something to get the word out about this condition as well?! I know what you are thinking now, especially if you know his blog. But no! I don't carve wood. So I can't make you a nice, pretty crochet hook. And I doubt that I will have time to make anything to auction off or to give away as a prize. But I thought I would put the word out there for those few people that might read my blog. Maybe one day I will get around to holding a contest something like what Jimbo is doing on his blog. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

So here are some links that you can go to, to find out more about Retinoblastoma. The first link is where you can find some stories about the survivors as well as information about the condition. The second one is where you can find some information that is easier to understand(for me at least). The other two are just some links that I found by googling.

http://www.retinoblastoma.net/about.html
http://www.retinoblastoma.com/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinoblastoma
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/retinoblastoma/

Thanks for reading!

Friedreich's Ataxia

2008-01-09T08:55:00.000-06:00

I would like to share my support for Jimbo's Front Porch. He is helping to raise money for Friedreich's Ataxia. There he puts the website info. He is giving away a hand carved crochet hook to one lucky winner. No donations are required. He just asks that you go to that sight and read about it. Then click on some of the stories from the family's of those with Friedreich's Ataxia. You can read more about it in his blog. He is also trying to sell hooks made from chopsticks. You can order yours on his sight here. Please take a look. Even if you don't crochet, or have a need for a crochet hook.

It's all about getting the word out!

http://www.curefa.org/

Something a little different

2007-12-30T21:24:00.000-06:00

I took the kids to my father-in-laws parents house this weekend. The boys were very much like little boys. LOL We were out in the country in south Texas. They found all kinds of dead animals. Including a hog, a dog, and a bird. Not to mention the various bones they loved finding. They wanted me to take pictures of the rotting corpses of a couple of the animals. Eww... I said NO! That's just gross. As we went on our walk I did happen to take some really good pics on the old train tracks near by. I used my brand new camera! My loving husband likes to spoil me. :) It's got a 10x optical zoom and 7.1 mega pixels, as well as many other features. I took it out this weekend for a "test drive" so to say. I made these into black and whites. Just because I think pics of people walking on the train tracks always look better in black and white.

My favorite pic is the one on the bottom. Can you tell? This is my father-in-law and my youngest son. I think it looks like it's one of the old pictures you see on the post cards or something. It sure would make a great Father's Day card. I have gotten many good pics with this new camera. I am loving it! These are just some of my favorites. I've been wanting to get some good pics on the train tracks for a while now.

On another note. I haven't been doing much crocheting lately. I'm kind of burned out, I guess. I am beginning to get started again. But I don't expect to be getting anything done soon. I have my step kids down for the week. So I have a houseful! It's loud, rough and crazy. But I love it. I guess that's because I know it won't last too long.

I just started a dear stalker hat for my FIL. Our Christmas isn't over yet. So I still have some time. DH gets home on the first or second of NEXT YEAR. So we will open up the rest of our gifts then. That doesn't give me a lot of time to get it done does it. I guess I better get off the computer and get busy!

Bye, for now!

Sssssssscarf

2007-12-13T08:17:00.000-06:00

I actually got a request from my oldest son! He asked me if I could make him a scarf two days ago. He is seven years old, and other than stuffed toys, he hasn't ever asked for anything crocheted. So boy was I ever happy to oblige! I made him a Snake! I used Caron Simply Soft Brights and a J hook. I did it after he went to bed each night and got it done last night. I didn't get a chance to take a picture with him wearing it this morning. Maybe I'll add one after he gets home from school. I also forgot to measure it, so I don't know how long it is. But now that he's been playing with it all morning, it wraps around his neck twice and still leaves some hanging down. He loved it! I didn't tell him that I was doing it yet, so he woke up this morning and found it on the couch. I thought I would go ahead and get it done for him since we got a cold front yesterday afternoon, and it is finally starting to feel like winter around here! Yesterday we almost reached 80. Then the front came in at 2:00 pm and it got down to 47 right before the sun went down. We go from wearing shorts and sandals to sweaters and pants! All in the same day too. LOL

I still need to weave in the ends of that hat below this post. I just keep putting it off. Knowing me, I will probably procrastinate so much that I will me up untill midnight the night before I am supposed to give it to my sister. lol

X-tra Long . . .

2007-12-10T23:22:00.000-06:00

Hat

I finished it! This is the hat for my sister. I'm not sure I like it all that much though. But I made it with no pattern. So I guess that counts for something. Maybe it's that it's to tight around the head. We will see if she likes it come Christmas time. I used the same yarns as I did for the Supper Simple Scarf that I made. I used the same hook as well. Sorry about the photo quality. I used a timer for the ones with me modeling it. And now I can see a little black spot on the computer screen. LOL It was pretty simple. I think it would be easily adaptable to fit anyone. It's about 39 inches long with the bottom folded up and the tassel at the top.

And look at all those loose ends to weave in! Ugh . . .

Chocolate Shawl

2007-12-07T13:39:00.000-06:00

So this time I decided to make a rectangular shawl. All of the other ones I've made have always been triangular. This one is a Christmas gift for my mother-n-law. I used the repeats from the Ocean Waves Blanket from the Leisure Arts booklet Noah's Ark For Baby. I have made three blankets from that pattern. I liked it so much I thought I would try my hand at a shawl with it. I just reduced the amount of ch at the beginning. I figured out how many it took for each repeat, and went as long as I needed. On the two ends I sc across, so that it would look straighter. And that way I didn't need to worry about doing a border. It took me two skeins of Caron Simply Soft in Chocolate. I love the name of the color, don't you? It makes me hungry just thinking about it. I love how soft it is. I really want to make one for myself now! I think this one is my favorite one so far. I used an H hook, and it ended up being about 56x18.

Here's a closer picture.

No Pictures This Time

2007-12-06T16:26:00.001-06:00

I am working on a rectangular shawl for my MIL for Christmas, using Caron Simply Soft in chocolate. Sounds yummy doesn't it? I am using a pattern repeat from a baby blanket pattern that I have used a few times before. I just shortened it up and I am making it longer. So far, it's coming out nicely. I finished up the skein of yarn I was using last night, and went to get another one today. It should be done in a few days or so. Who knows, I may put it down for now to pick up another project. I am lost with only one project going at a time right now. You know how it is, us crocheters like to have at least a couple of projects going at any given time. But since Christmas is getting so close, I've been keeping it to only one project at a time. That way, I know I'll get it done. I have this shawl, an extra long stocking hat, a stuffed frog, and an ear flap hat of some kind to do still. Then I will be done with my must-do Christmas list. Everything I make after that is just an extra gift for some one to have. :) I think I can do that!

The stocking hat that I am going to do, will be my own pattern. I typed up the pattern that I will use. From there, I will make any adjustments that need to be made. Then I will type up a final pattern after all is said and done. I hope it works out like I want it to. I just need to come up with a good stripe pattern. I am using the same colors that I used for the Super Simple Scarf I made. I hope you don't think that I wrote up the pattern for this project before ever trying it out! Actually, It is just an adjustment to the stocking hat from a few posts back, that I gave to my youngest son. I thought it might be easier to make changes if I wrote it out first this time. Then I might be able to see where it is going wrong, and what I can do to make it right.

I took the pants for the doll that I am making to my grandmother today. I needed her to make them smaller to fit him right. But there is bad news there. :( She said her machine wouldn't be able to sew through the thicker material. I have a machine here at home (her old one), but I just don't think I can do it. I've never been able to sew a straight line! But I will at least try to. I guess we will see how it goes. And I still need to die the shirt for him, and hem it up as well. This was a much bigger project than I had anticipated! "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . ."

I am glad that I am at least getting some things made for Christmas, since I will not be able to buy any gifts untill about one week before! Long story, so I won't bore you with all of the details... But in short. My husband lost his job one week before Thanksgiving. He was supposed to still get one more full check, since he had two weeks vacation he hadn't used yet, and they still owed him some overtime. What he got instead, was not even a quarter of what it should be. He started his new job two weeks after he lost his old one. Not bad. But he won't get paid from them until, not this Friday, but next. It will be a huge one. So we will be able to get caught up on the bills and still buy gifts for the kids. But right now we are hurting! We are borrowing money just to get the things we need like groceries and gas for the car. But it will all be OK. We may even have one more huge check come right before Christmas. So I may be able to get hubby something as well. ;)

Supper Simple Scarf!

2007-12-02T19:31:00.000-06:00

I made my sister this scarf for Christmas. She said she wanted one to wrap around her neck once. I used Caron simply soft in off white. As well as Bernat Satin in various colors. I had all of this on hand. And I still have lots more left. Except of the off white, which was almost gone already. So I would say that this was a great stash buster. There is only one thing that I don't like about the scarf. That's the length. If I were to do it again, I would add another 20 ch to the beginning. I hate changing colors so much too. But this time it worked to my advantage. I was able to tie them off and not weave in the ends! My most most dreaded thing in crocheting! It just added more to the fringe. Which was perfect, because without it I think there wouldn't be enough fringe.

So, here is what I did.

I used the off white and ch 121 with a J hook.

Then, going down the back bone of each ch, I sc in each across.

(for all remaining rows) I changed colors at the end of the row, ch 1 then sc (in back loops only)across.

Then ending with the off white, I slip stitched back down so that the thickness on that side was the same as the first side.

Then I cut two strands of each color, and several of the off white and added them to the ends.

That's it! So simple!!! I love a project that is so easy and quick. Don't you?

This time, my youngest son wasn't here when I finished, so he didn't model for me. Sorry guys! You'll just have to wait for the next item to see him again.

Stocking Hat

2007-11-29T08:26:00.000-06:00

My sister has wanted a stocking hat for about a year now. Not just any stocking hat though, one that is extra long! The only pattern that I could find was for a small child size. Other than that there are tons of patterns out their for knit stocking hats. The problem there, of course, is that I don't knit! So In between other projects, I thought I would use up some of that extra yarn left over from the afghan I just finished. I came up with this one. I could tell that it wasn't going to be long enough so I just made it long enough for my son. He loves hats, so he was very excited to get this one. I need to figure out how to add a tassel or a ball or something to the tip of the hat. But I am in no hurry to do so! :)

I am coming up with so many of my own patterns now! Maybe I should try to publish them or something! LOL At least then I could get some money for my efforts.

Afgan For a Gift Exchange

2007-11-23T15:39:00.000-06:00

At my aunts house, every Christmas we each buy a $25 dollar gift and put them in the middle all wrapped up. This year, I thought I would save money and make a lot of my gifts. HA! I didn't save any money here! I actually spent about that much on the yarn for this one. Of course I do have a lot of it left over now. Any ways, we all draw numbers to see who goes first. The first person chooses a gift. Then the second person gets to choose the first person's gift, or one from the middle. And the game continues... The only rules are that a gift can only be chosen three times. So who ever chooses it the third time, gets to keep it. It's a LOT of fun. Kind of like the "white elephant" game.

I used the Caron One Pounder in lace and exspresso, with an N hook. I used a V stitch and put three dcs at the end of each row. Then for the border, I dropped the lace color and just used the exspresso color. I sc all the way around. On the ends I used (sc, hdc, dc, htc, tc, htc, dc, hdc) all the way across. Then sc down the sides. It was supper easy! Which is what I like. And, it went supper fast!!! Which is also what I like. The total size is 4 1/2 feet wide by 6 feet long. Should be able to cover up a tall person on the couch, don't ya think?!

My two year old wouldn't let me take the pic without him in it. Then he told me "thank you" after I took it. He is so sweet, and cute.

Oh yea! I almost forgot to mention that My step-daughter finished her purse! We took it with us on the way to take my step-kids home. I asked her if she wanted to keep going, or if she would like to make it into a purse for herself. So she decided to make it into a purse! It is so soft, that she says it will remind her of Tinkerbell (our kitten). I forgot to take a picture of it before we left though. :( She did so much better on this one too. Oh well, maybe she will bring it down with her next time and I can get a pic then.

And get this! My oldest son decided to make a bed for the kitten now. So he is using two strand of some purple I had lying around. He decided to make it since she made the purse instead. The kitten has to have a bed, right? He is going much slower though. He only has enough patients to work on it for a little bit at a time. So I expect that it will take him a while.

Good Little Girl!

2007-11-20T14:13:00.001-06:00

This is my step daughter. She loves making things when she comes down here now. Last time she was here she made her very first project for her mommy. She made a little blue purse with the knifty knitter. She had so much fun that she wanted to make a bed for our new kitten this time! It will be a small bed, but that's OK. She is using some of the softest, and most furry yarn I have ever felt.

We went to JoAnn's the other day so I could get some yarn for a couple of projects. She decided she HAD to get some pink yarn to make a bed for Tinkerbell. She wanted the softest yarn she could find. Of course she had no price limit. Luckily she only needed one skein and it was only four dollars. We added some caron simply soft with it to make it more sturdy. She is almost ready to finish it off!

I am so proud of her for sticking to it!

Two New . . .

2007-11-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

I have two things to show off today! Fist, I finished this one yesterday, is a Seraphina Shawl. I used TLC Amore in seaglass. I love the feel of it! I hope it washes well. This is the second Seraphina shawl that I have made. I think it is the most beautiful pattern for a triangular shawl! It will go to my step mother for Christmas. I am also going to add a picture of my kitty in there. Just because I think she is so cute. She loved this yarn too!!! She played with untill she fell asleep on it.

Next I have a pie pan holder. I made up the pattern as I went. It was very simple, yet I still had to frog it way too many times! Just to get the size right though. I used four strands of Peaches & Cream and a P hook. I am going to make either a cheese cake or a pecan pie to put in it. Then it will go to the neighbors across the street for Christmas. Of course I will cover the pie with plastic wrap or something.

Now I am off to decide which gift to make next! I have to do at least one more afghan, an ear-flap hat, something for my mother-in-law, and possibly some cat toys for our cats and both of my neighbors' cats. I keep thinking I am forgetting something, I just can't remember what!

Progress Has Been Made

2007-11-11T10:28:00.000-06:00

I got the hair and face all done for the doll. I'm not sure I really like the beard though. It looks funny to me. My kitten, Tinkerbell, decided that last night would be the first time she would play with the yarn while I was trying to work. That was quite hard to maneuver the yarn for me! But, I did get it done. I guess that's what counts. You can see Tinkerbell in the picture above. She wanted her picture taken too! I'm not completely happy with the eyes either. They don't look exactly the same. But at least they line up right! There is still some detail work to be done. But I don't want to give away who it is yet. So as soon as the pants get here I will post the finished pics. If you know country music, you WILL know who this is! I ordered the pants already and they are supposed to be here by Wednesday. I hope it's sooner than that!

Pay It Forward (PIF)

2007-11-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

I found out about this wonderful thing that is going on in the blogger world. Pay it forward. It reminds me of the movie. At least the idea. Once some one has payed it forward to you, you pic three people to pay it forward to. Here in this blogger world, you pick the first three people that comment your blog. I was chosen by lesalicious. And now it's my turn to PIF to three others. Leave me a comment, and I will PIF to you. Here's the quote for the rules.

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

I look forward to making some one smile soon!

A Doll I'm Making

2007-11-08T09:01:00.000-06:00

I have been working hard on making a doll for my son. This isn't just any doll though! It is going to be a famous person. I am not going to tell who it is yet. At least not until I get the hair and cloths on it. It is a person that we took my person to see in concert. So I guess that's a small hint. Now you know that it's a musician. I got a small patch of hair on it yesterday. But I ran out of the yarn I was using. So now I have to go get some more. It's taking me a long time to make! I had to redo the head several times. I was trying to figure out a way to put the nose on with out having to sew it on. But no matter what I did, it just wouldn't come out right!!! So I finally just left it off. Then when I got to the legs I had to redo the foot several times, trying to get the right shape to it. I finally got it though. Then I used the arms from another pattern I had. I didn't want to go through trying to make up the hands. I feared it would take WAY to long. Given the amount of time it took me to get the rest of the body done. Then I added the nose. I had to make it up too. I was surprised though! I only had to do it once! I got it right the first time! Yea!!! The hair is some thing else though! I just don't know how I'm going to get it right. I don't want it to be to thick. So I am having to work at it. I put it on then take it off, because it doesn't look right. My son better really like this one! And take care of it! It sure is taking a lot of work!
Well here are some pics of the beginning of it. I still need to add the eyes, cloths, shoes, hair, (and I am thinking a beard but I'm not sure if it will work) and a few extras as well. I ordered some cloths on line. The doll wears newborn size clothing. Not to be confused with 0-3 month size! New born is for 5 to 8 pounds. So I had to find jeans and a a black shirt. Which reminds me, I still need to find a newborn size or preemie size black t-shirt! I don't know how I'm going to do that. Everything for babies has some sort of baby applique on it. I need some thing plain. Well wish me luck!

Cradle Purse

2007-10-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

I finally figured out what else to make for the little girl! I made a cradle purse! I used a pattern that I already had, but I left off the ruffles and made a couple of little changes. I used Red Heart yarn in Purple and White. With a G hook. I put the hood on crooked. I guess I just counted wrong or something. But I'm sure a two year old little girl won't mind. I got the little doll from WalMart for a dollar!

I also made a blue mesh skull cap to go with the other one. I am going to give it to her Grandfather, who lives here. He will be going up there in a week or two to visit her.

Mesh Skull Cap w/Flower

2007-10-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

This hat had a lot of trial and error. The first one I made was way to big! It was supposed to fit a two year old little girl, but it was too big for me! The next one was my size. The next one I used a different yarn and a smaller hook and it fit me. So the next one I made came out like this! Finally! It fits my two year old boy perfectly! He loves to model for me. LOL These will be great pictures to show his future girl friends!!! Can't wait for that. I used Caron Simply soft in autumn red for the hat and an off white for the flower. Here is the pattern: Mesh Skull Cap. You have to scroll down a little. The third one I made went to my sister so I have no picture of it. And the first two, well, I didn't even finish making them. I just trashed them. So now I will package them up and get them ready to go. But first I have to make a toy to go with it. I might make something else to go with it, I'm not sure yet though. All of the finished items will go to a little girl that was recently diagnosed with Leukemia.

Hats & Booties

2007-10-08T08:08:00.000-05:00

These are all of the preemie size hats and booties that I made for the children's hospital. I still need to drop them off though. The hats are made with the kniffty knitter. I used two strands of yarn held together. Patons ~ Be mine in wuzzy white, and various colors of the Bernat Baby Softee. They are so quick to make. I love it! The booties are made with this pattern, Quick & Easy Tiny Booties. They were supper fast to make too. For them I used Bernat Softee baby in soft lilac, pink, and baby denim. I also used Caron simply soft in off white. Although, I think it looks more like a soft yellow. There is one pair of booties for each hat! I attached the little cards to each of them. They are for the crochet group that I have. The say Know Someone Cares from Corpus Christi Crochet, on the front. On the back it says this was made by hand by a member of Corpus Christi Crochet. Not only does it add a little bit of a personal touch, but it also puts our group name out there. There is also the URL to our group myspace sight, and my email address. Just in case some one would like to join our group.

I can't believe I did it!!!

2007-09-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

I actually got a tattoo! Of course I had to have a few drinks before I could gather up just enough courage to go through with it. I have been wanting one for a while. The number one reason that I never got one before was, "It will hurt to much!" The other reason being that I had no idea of what to get. My husband has a lot of them, as does my sister. So when we went yesterday to get my husbands tattoo, I found one that I liked. His took three hours to finish up. So we went out for our "date night" and had a few drinks after he was done. I got up the courage to go to the place down town and get mine done. I still can't believe that I got it! It only took about 15 minutes to finish up. And, YES, it hurt! My sister said the one on her foot didn't hurt that much. She also said that she doesn't think any of them really hurt. I think she was just trying to build up my confidence. My husband told me "don't worry, it won't hurt on the top of your foot." The tattoo artist replied, "do you have one on your foot?" Any ways, here it is. I like it!

Thank God for Clorox Wipes!

2007-09-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

Today I was hooking away, when my husband calls. (He is out of state working) I am sitting on the couch and talking to him when I all of the sudden realize that Kaleb (my 2 year old) isn't climbing all over me and generally making it imposable for me to work on the preemie caps. In the middle of my husbands speech I blurt out, "where is Kaleb?!" At his point I don't see him in the living room so I get up realizing that he is probably into something he's not supposed to be getting into. The fist place I look is in the front room. (where there is everything that he isn't supposed to be in to!) There I see him! He is in the corner! Playing in the kitty litter!!! OMG There is kitty litter everywhere! With all of the dirty stuff that goes into the litter box! Ewwwwwww . . . So I am yelling into the phone by this time, "No Kaleb! Put that down! Eww Gross! That's dirty!" By this time I have scared the poor baby. So I calm down and say lets go take a bath. Poor hubby is still on the phone, unaware of the dirty mess he has just gotten into. Or maybe it is a good thing he wasn't here! LOL So I have to let him go and get the baby cleaned up. Thank God for Clorox Wipes! I had to wipe down every surface near that corner. Plus a couple more!

I can't wait untill they finish the home repairs so I can put things back where they go! Then I might have been able to prevent this from happening. The bad thing is, this isn't the first time it's happened! He did an even bigger mess at my in-laws house a few months ago. Their litter box in their bathroom. And the whole bathroom was covered in kitty litter!!! It's one of those big bath rooms too.

2007-09-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

I finally got this one done! It's a Christmas gift for my neighbors. They feed our animals for us when we have to go out of town. So I thought I would make something special for them.

I used the four and a half hour afghan pattern from LionBrand.com. I ended up going with a P hook and two strands of WW yarn. I used Caron's One Pound in Taupe, and Jumbo Prints in country basket ombre. The colors match perfectly together. And they will match their living room pretty well too. They have a sort of Indian decor going in there. So there are a lot of blues and earth tones. In fact, he told me today that his wife wants to paint the walls this grayish blue/blueish grey(?) color. I think it will go well! The taupe color is almost the same color as my carpet, so it blends with the carpet. LOL

The final size of the afghan is 64X46. A good size to cuddle up on the couch with!

2007-09-13T22:03:00.000-05:00

The tadpoles are growing up so fast! If you look close you can see one of them to the left that has arms and legs (It's towards the bottom of the pic) The picture to the right has a little frog hanging on to the wall of the aquarium. There were about three of them that are ready to be released. They were all sitting on top of the rocks earlier but I couldn't get the camera to take good pics of them for some reason. The kids watched them for about thirty minutes today after school. We will be releasing the baby frogs in my neighbors pond tomorrow. I will let my oldest son help me take them over there. This is such a cool thing to do! I think I like watching them grow more than the kids. LOL

International Crochet Day is here!!!!

2007-09-12T13:37:00.000-05:00

Today is International Crochet Day! So here is what I did to celebrate:

I invited my group to meet me at Barnes & Noble at 9:00 am this morning. I asked them all to bring in an item to donate to Driscoll Children's Hospital. I also challenged them to make the Naked Sheep, which is now the official Mascot for the day! Here it is, by Emily Miller. And BTW, thanks for the free pattern!

Well one person made the naked sheep to donate. She also added a small square of fleece for a blanket(it's not in the picture though). And one lady made a blanket. She hadn't finished it yet so she was working on it while we were there. And I made a baby hat. I had wanted to make a bunny blanket buddy and a naked sheep as well, but things have been busy around here and I ran out of time. :( I gathered the items that the ladies brought. We put little cards on them. On the front it promotes our group. And on the back it promotes International Crochet Day. I thought that was a good way of doing it!

Here is Sue's Naked Sheep!

Here is Sherry's Baby Blanket!

And here is my Baby Hat!

I had really hoped that more of the members of my group would participate. But one has moved away and one had school. The other's didn't even reply! I am really trying to make it easy for everyone to join in our fun here. But it proves to be a bit difficult. I even made sure to tell everyone that if they wanted to meet later just let me know! But no one did. I have 7 members on my myspace group and two more on my email list. That is a total of nine of us. I hope that one day it will grow in to a bigger group. But I just do what I can. So we shall see...

Tadpole Update!

2007-09-10T13:28:00.001-05:00

I just thought I would let you all know that our tadpoles have begun growing legs!!! I would put up a picture, but they are so small that it wouldn't show up. I'll post pics when they get a little bigger.
Christian will be so excited when he gets home from school!

Baby Blanket

2007-09-08T22:52:00.000-05:00

I finished my baby blanket. Well it's not for me, I just wish it was! I really like how it striped itself. Any ways this is a blanket for a lady in my mother's group. Her baby shower is this Wednesday. Which is also our "International Crochet Day" for those of you that may not know. I actually only worked on this one for four days. Even though it took me a week to finish. I just didn't have time to crochet every day, or all day long. If you have one kid in school and one toddler at home, then you know what I mean. You crochet during naps, when they take one, and after they go to bed. And you might be able to sneak in a row or two while watching TV with

them, if you are lucky.
Well here it is. It's 34x35. I'm not sure I like the square shape of it, but it will have to do. I don't have the money to buy more yarn right now. That's why I have an afghan, only half way finished, sitting on my couch. I used JoAnn's Sensations ~ Rainbow Boucle. It's the pattern from Lion Brands website, the Four and a half Hour Afghan. I used one strand of yarn and a size K hook. I did make it longer since the yarn, and hook size is smaller. It's very simple and quick to make. But that's why I love it. I am a simple type of person. Here's a close-up of the stitches too.

Christian's Tadpoles

2007-09-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

We have had a lot of rain for the past couple of weeks. In front of our house, by the street, a frog laid some eggs. So we now have tadpoles by our curb. Christian really liked that, he liked watching them, and wanted to keep them. I told him no, of course. Instead we caught some and put them in a plastic container to watch them grow. As soon as they turn into frogs, we will let them go. It's a much safer way to let him watch his tadpoles grow! And he gets a little science education in the process. Got to love that!

When we came home from school yesterday, he noticed that the water was going away, so he asked me to add some water to them so they didn't die. He is such an animal lover. And, yes, we added water to our curb! LOL

My first post!!! ~ AC problems

2007-09-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

Our window unit went out two days ago! First, it stopped blowing so well, then it just stopped cooling. You want to know what made this so funny. Well, first I should tell you that we live in my in-law's house. They let us move in when they got a new house. (Great people, but that's another story) So all of the AC units were already installed when we moved in. OK, now the funny part. In the back of the unit(outside) there is a place for the water to drip out. Well that place was plugged up! I guess when it was installed it came with a rubber stopper. They left it in when they put it in the window! Before, the water just found another place to exit. Then after around three years, it got filled with dirt and turned to gunk. Slimy gross, black gunk. Ewww... So the water had no where to go, and the front of the AC(inside) got wet and ewwy and clogged up too. So it just stopped working. My mother's friend came over to mow my yard(not for free) and ended up fixing my AC as well! Yeay!!! So now we are not melting in our house anymore. LOL

When it gets to be 96 degrees with a 106 heat-index, you really have to have all the window units on for it to stay cool inside the house. It was really hard for me to get up the nerve to crochet the baby blanket those two days!

So there's my first "blog". What do you think? One day I will get this all down, and hopefully be able to mkae it look real cool!