Where in the World ARE YOU?

Bring on the comments here people! I want to know where you live. . . you don't have to post your exact address - just your spot on the map. I am in De Pere, WI - very close to Green Bay - home of the Packers. We have 4 seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring & Construction, er, I mean Summer. Over the past few years we have been seeing much more overlap among the seasons. For instance, we had snow in May, 70's in March (for those of you in the Southern part of the US - this is NOT normal for WI). Yesterday there was hale as big as tennis balls in some parts of WI (Thank God it didn't make it here.)
So give me a shout out in the comments section. . .even you lurkers out there. I posted 2 days in a row! That should count for something:) I'm still trying to think up some sort of prizey give away sort of thing I can do. . . I will be purging my scrappy supplies sometime soon (keep in mind soon to me can be anytime in the next 6 months. . . tee hee. . .I'm the queen of putting things off!)

I NEED to work!

I am ending my sabatical from blogging. . . thanks to Lola (http://lolaagain.blogspot.com/) who commented on my lovely firemen first:) I know it's been quite a while since then. I did have a few weeks off of work thanks to my very interesting work schedule of 2 days a week (12 hour shifts), a week of vacation & then a week of low census in Labor & Delivery. Then I ended up teaching last Tues & Wed, worked the floor Thurs & Friday (people were getting very cozy 9 months ago!) & then I taught again on Saturday. I then had Sunday off only to jump right into another population explosion Monday & Tuesday. Today I am home with my rugrats. I did miss them. . .
Now that you know what I have been up to. . . there are SO MANY topics to discuss: Brett Favre. . . no comment. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle & since I don't have a whole lot of control over what happens (even though I'm a Brown County tax payer & help support the Packers), I choose to try to take it all in & watch what unfolds. He IS the best quarterback to ever walk the Frozen Tundra. Enough said.
Babysitters. . . boy, I hope none of mine read my blog. . . Do you remember when WE babysat? It's a new day, I know that. I just can't quite get how I got paid $2/hr to watch 3 kids under 3 years of age, got them fed, often bathed, put to bed on time, house cleaned up & extra housecleaning done & then finished my homework when I babysat. Maybe it's the letter "S" stamped onto my chest or the cape that I manage to wear. . .but man, I did a lot. I'm not asking that much from my babysitters. . . .all I'm asking is that the kids are taken care of - you know, played with/entertained without too much rough & tumble, Carter's diaper to be changed & the kids to be put to bed by about 8:30 or so - in their beds or somewhere close to their beds before watching TV. Oh, and I pay more than $2/hr - obviously inflation should count for something I guess. Oh, and rules??? We don't eat anywhere but in the kitchen. It's a fairly new house - I'd like to keep the place looking fairly good for a while. (I also hate scrubbing carpet & upholstery.) But lately there are remnants of supper & snacks throughout the great room & the hallway. . . when I ask the boys what the deal is with that. . .they tell me, of course, that it wasn't them. . .but it was the babysitter. And then Spencer, my oldest, pipes up - we told him there's not supposed to be eating in the living room but he said he is older so it's OK. NICE! Now, do I totally believe my kid? WHY WOULD MY KID LIE? HA! Well, I'm not THAT naive. . . I'm sure my kids have something to do with it. Obviously, I need to reinforce the rules a bit more. Just venting here. It's not just this particular sitter either. Before we moved we had sitter issues. In fact, there were times we'd come home & ALL of the leftovers from supper were still on the table - now wasted because they were not properly refrigerated. NICE.
SOLUTION??? I think I should start an Exceptional Babysitter Class. I could train young people the fine art of being excellent care providers as well as space management. . . really, most are making more than minimum wage, tax free I might add, and once they get the kiddos in bed they're sitting watching TV & eating snacks. This would improve customer service & maybe get them a raise. Call it job training:) I'll file that idea away. . .

Speaking of those little people I call my children. . . I need to go entertain them now. I do miss them. . . even their incessant fighting. . .

Oh, & this is my 100th post! Holy snikeys! I have to think of something fun. . . . . .well, maybe for the 101st!

Jen

What I've been up to. . .

COUNTRY USA 2008

Sharing MY firemen. . . look at these hotties! Oh, & the boys are not bad either! Tee hee! They were in the entrance area collecting cash for muscular dystrophy. Of course, my sis & I HAD to do our part to help. Poor guy's knee from me sitting there! I NEED a tan!

Sugarland on Wed night was FANTASTIC! I want to be like Jennifer Nettles & her extremely thin body & awesome attitude:)

And I also made my debut as a country singer. . . .






I am getting TOO old for this though. I'm still tired. I need a vacation from my vacation! The weekend before last was a NASCAR race in Milwaukee. . I had last week off of my real job helping babies be born. I feel like I worked harder taking care of the babies I grew. They are so funny. . but oh so busy! With Country USA thrown in there I am so spent. And I think I added poundage to my already expanded hips/hind end area. What is UP with that? Why can't it just migrate to the boob area?
We went to Bay Beach & then the Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. I need to get those pics loaded to my failing PC yet. This poor computer. . it has Alzheimer's already. My new Kodak EasyShare has most likely done it in. Time for some therapy. Of course, the camera battery died prior to many pics being taken. Oh well, I guess I could focus on making the memories instead of documenting them:)

New Concoctions

My neighbors think I'm off my rocker. . .but I've made some very interesting food discoveries in the past week. It's amazing what you can do with limited ingredients.
Discovery #1 - impromtu chip dip: I had potato chips & once in a while I like to dip them in ketchup. . .don't knock it. . .have you ever had really crispy french fries? This is like the same thing. But this isn't the discovery. I decided to combine the ketchup (organic of course) with some organic raspberry preserves. This was INCREDIBLE! Remember a while back when Tastefully Simple had the Raspberry Chipotle sauce? This is better because there was something in the TS stuff that inevitably sent me running to the bathroom. . .sorry for the explanation there.

Discovery #2 - made at lunch today as a matter of fact. . . have you been to PB Loco yet? This idea was inspired by that place. The boys had quesadillas. . but I ran out of cheese. . .so I had to punt for my own lunch. We have Peanut butter. . . we have cream cheese. And we have raspberry preserves. . why not combine these??? Oh, & let's not forget the green onions! So I took a flour tortilla, slapped some cream cheese, peanut butter & rasp on it. . .& then cut up the green onions. . .wrapped that baby up & then heated it in a pan for a few minutes to meld the flavors a bit. Voila! This was absolutely YUM! I think PB Loco has a version like this only they add lettuce & shredded carrots. . .& maybe some other stuff. Very filling!

Off to the races tomorrow. . . no pun on that one. I'll have pics to share I'm sure:)

Getting in the Game

I have rolled out of bed at 5:55 AM the last 2 days to walk with my dear neighbor, Kim. We walked for about 30 minutes yesterday & maybe 40 today - subtracting the time it took to coerce a small dog named Cheese back to his yard. It feels GREAT to get moving. It is exhausting come this time of the evening. My body says, "TIME FOR SIESTA!" My kids say, "TIME FOR FIESTA!" No, they don't really speak Spanish. But you get my point. Of course, come bedtime tonight. . .my brain will kick into its 2nd wind & tell my body it can't quite sleep yet.

I have some cool pics that I need to share with you. I just need to get my computer to clear up some space. I need more RAM. I'll work on it. This weekend should supply me with even more adventures as we're going to the NASCAR race at the Milwaukee Mile. Cooler yet. . .we have VIP Pit/Garage passes!!! I'm not a NASCAR junkie. . .but this is going to be cool. Young guys working on cars. . . hmmm. . . need I say more? Of course, I'll be with my loving, adorable husband.

Time for soccer. I'm going stag - well - that is, I'm going with my 3 little men. Daddy is still at work with Jerrick Johnson. . the NASCAR driver who came to visit Rasmussen College today. I'll share pics later:)

Come together

I've been blog surfing & commenting. Figured I'd better update mine now. We have SO MUCH going on here. And as soon as I figure out what the heck is going on with my Kodak EasyShare software I'll get some pictures posted. Baseball has come to an end & Soccer has revved up. We think Summer is actually going to stick around now too, but one never can be too sure. We are in WI after all.

I planted my first ever veggie/fruit garden. HOLY Shnikees, Batman! Why didn't someone warn me it would be THAT much freakin' work? Of course, I have clay. . not exactly the medium of choice for a garden. And we had someone come with a tractor to break up the sod & work the dirt. But then I waited a bit before getting out there so I needed to till it quite a bit. Of course, this required a tiller. We didn't have a tiller. . .so I went & bought one that attaches to a weed whacker. I am woman. HEAR ME ROAR!!! I bought a manly tool. . .OK, it's a womanly man tool. . .but a man tool just the same. And it worked for the most part. Let's not kid anyone, clay was meant to be molded, not planted. Maybe it will loosen up & be better next year. Maybe I'll shoot monkeys out of my butt. . . sorry, had to.

My boys have discovered many living creatures in the back pond (storm retention pond that is). The little stream that flows from it is in our backyard so the boys have a blast finding frogs, toads, turtles, tadpoles, etc & they like to take said creepy, crawly critters in a pale or whatever they may find to contain them, up to the house. We have a tote container full of polywogs & frogs out front right now. I'm sure some animal of prey is having a great buffet this evening. Nice. And this evening the 2 older boys, along with neighbor boys, decided to have a mud fight. Double NICE. Have you ever smelled swamp mud? Not exactly rosey. Kind of reminds me of smelly, stinky, moldy sock smell. Ewww! And clay. . . so nice when it stains! Hey, maybe I can just rub THAT on my skin instead of spray on tanner! (Thanks to my gardening experience, I am red right now.)

Summer vacation has begun. Who's vacation is that?

My Parker turns 6 on Friday. . . yup, 6 on Friday the 13th. . . creepy combo. We're having his party on Saturday. . . hoping for sunshine! The garage still has my garage sale stuff in it. . .slowly getting rid of that.

Time for night night.

Nippals & Pwivates

Caught your attention with that one I bet! Had to share the latest Carterism. I was changing Carter, er, Spiderman just a moment ago & he looks down at his chest, points to his nipple & asks, "What's this?" I reply promptly, "That's a nipple." He exclaims, "Nippal!?" I say, "Yes." Then he inquires, "You have nippals?" as he inquisitively looks at my chest. I reply, "Yes, Momma has 'em." He then says as he attempts to lift my shirt, "Me see!" Of course I don't want to terrify the poor child with my National Geographic porn star version of nipples. . .so I say, "No, Momma's nipples are private." He stares at me sweetly & says, "Pwivate? Why they pwivate?" I simply reply, "All girls' nipples are private." I know, so simple. I'm hoping he doesn't go nipple hunting anytime soon. Social services will be knocking on my door. . .

Saving the Earth

10 Green Things You Can Do This Week Check this out! I've been blog surfing again. . .but this is SO COOL! I just may be linking her blog up to the right folks! Gotta Save the EARTH!

YADDA YADDA YADDA

Don't know exactly why I titled this the way I did. . .but I did. . . so there! Probably because it's going to be a cluster of topics so I will begin:

Garage sales - not selling the garage - but it's not really a yard sale because I do plan to use the garage & the driveway. . .so why don't we call them Driveway sales?? But then again, driveways could technically be part of the yard. . . so we're back to yard sale. I digress. We're doing a neighborhood sale June 6th & 7th. (so does that mean we're selling the neighborhood? Tee hee, couldn't pass that one up.) Am I ready? Of course not. Why would I be ready already? It's over a week away, right? Yeah. Ok. We'll see how that goes. I am getting rid of a lot of stuff. Let me reword that. . . I'm planning to get rid of a lot. AND, whatever does not sell I will donate. It's part of my 12 step program for being a packrat.

What the heck is up with me update - I'm in limbo on the MS front. So far we have this: MRI of brain has changed since 2004. 2 new areas/lesions. NOT tumors - but demyelination I guess. C spine & thoracic spine have nothing abnormal. Visual evoked responses - normal. Sensorymotor Evoked Potentials - slightly delayed but still within normal limits. Physical exam - normal. Symptoms - improving - still some pain issues with my low back & legs but only when I'm inactive. Seems that being physically active really helps decrease my discomfort.
What's the Plan? I'm taking 1000 mg of Fish Oil 3 times daily, 1000 to 2000 mg vitamin D daily, 250 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid daily as well as decreasing my grain intake. I will be having a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) probably tomorrow. I'm having an anesthesiologist do it. If that is clear - then I remain in limbo & deal with symptoms. OR, I get another expensive genetic test for a rare disorder that isn't very likely. . . AND, I have a repeat MRI of my brain in November. I don't mind having a non diagnosis. The alternative kind of sucks. Then again, knowing what is wrong might be a relief & prove that I truly am not crazy. (well, that could still be debated I suppose) I'm going to remain positive either way. Why not?

Sewing - I've begun to cut out a new purse. I will post it when it's complete. I still have tons of ideas that I hope to be able to put to use one of these days. While attacking the pile of laundry this past weekend I had the TV on & saw some cool things to do to repurpose jeans: making cute skirts by using the waist & hip portions & then cutting panels to attach - I don't explain this well. . .go here:
Nancy's Notions Denim Redesign It's the skirt on the left bottom. Isn't that cool? I really liked the kid version - but I don't have girl people other than myself in this house. You do realize this could cause my clutter problem to become worse, don't you? I mean, those pants that I don't unload at the sale could suddenly find themselves back in my grasps. What cool projects could erupt from already owned items???? It would be a shame or even a SIN to GIVE those away!!!!! (Somebody, quick! Save me!)

Why did I drink coffee at 7 PM? WHAT WAS I THINKING??? Duh! Body is tired. . .mind is not! Or is it the other way around? Or maybe both are tired but restless??? YIKES!

Shout out for Positve JU JU!

It's been a while since I posted. I have reasons. . . of course, doesn't everyone? This is a shout out for positive thoughts & prayers & overall good "ju ju." (What is "ju ju" exactly? Hmmm. . .) Anyway, I'm being evaluated yet again for MS. This will be the 3rd time in the past 10 year going through some tests. I have symptoms & the MRI of my brain is abnormal, however, my physical exam is normal. So there's nothing for sure but I thought a little shout out for the positive would be a good thing.

I'm not a very private person. . .obviously. And maybe this will be another wait & see kind of situation. . . & I'm OK with that. Really, I am. I hope that I am able to get active again & stay active with the boys & with work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not unable to do things. . .just slightly impaired - sometimes more than others. No crazy, white female thing going on either. . . as I saw the new lesions in my brain. Now to check the spine & some other neurological tests. Then maybe onto the dreaded lumbar puncture. . . yeah, not looking forward to that.
Wish me luck!

Got My Book!

When I got home from work last night it was here! I ordered this book: http://www.peterwalshdesign.com/3books/3_2book/3_2book.html It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. . .he was featured on Oprah & I knew I needed the book (funny, I need MORE stuff to fix my problem of TOO MUCH STUFF!). So now I am going to go multi task while reading it. . .

La La La Lazy. . .

Have you heard of The Love Monkeys? They're a Milwaukee band. . . been around for quite a while. . . anyway, they have a song called "Lazy" & this has become my theme song for this week. With not being able to do much physical stuff due to my lovely hip inflammation (I sound like I'm 80 or something). . . I've become quite lazy. (Disclaimer here. . .80 year olds do not all have bad hips & are not all lazy. In fact today, they probably are much more productive than I have been all week.) OK, I'm making a short story long.

Potty training update - hurray hurray the first of May - potty training begins today. I know, this is NOT the sing songy phrase that usually follows, but I adjusted it for my own purposes. Carter does not exactly have this potty training thing down. And I know, it's the first real day of it. . .but boy oh boy. . . this is not fun. Buzz Lightyear does NOT like to be peed on. Does this stop him? Nope. And bribery is lost on him as well. I say, "if we go try to go potty on the big boy potty I will give you some juice." He replies, "Me did go potty alweddy. Me want juice!" and then he proceeds to scream bloody murder when I don't let him have any without trying a potty. I'm evil, I know. . .but I refuse to give in to the screaming child. I'm one of the evil mothers in the store who actually leaves a cart with merchandise in it to leave the store after threatening to do so if a child does (insert sassy behavior) one more time. I have been known, on occasion, to say, "Hmm, everybody is looking at you as you scream." and I have also carried a child, kicking & screaming, out of said store as people stare in horror. No hitting (except by the child at times), just calm assertiveness (same as dog whisperer techniques thanks to Cesar Milan). The child must always know you are the pack leader:)
How did I get so far from what I was talking about? That's me. . .short story long.

Maximum OVERLOAD

I need to take action. If you watched Oprah yesterday, you saw the update on the hoarder. By all means, I'm not THAT BAD. . .but THIS is pretty bad! I need to take action today to start getting rid of clutter. My office, pictured here, has become the gathering ground for every hobby I have as well as various coloring books that Carter likes to busy himself with. It all gets moved TODAY. . .as long as my back holds up (another story - see my wellness blog). Wish me luck. I'll take more pics when it's the end of the day.

SPRING - interrupted - RETAIL THERAPY FIND!

Since Spring was once again interrupted this morning by SNOW!!!! (IT'S APRIL for crying out loud!) I did some retail therapy. I ventured to Hancock Fabric & boy did I make a FIND!!! Here is what I found. . . at $1.99/yd I was ecstatic. It's upholstery fabric. I know I will use it for something. I was actually considering making a headboard for our bed by covering a few pieces of wood with the fabric on the right. Then I would probably need to get a new comforter. And let's not forget pillows. . . oh the ideas! Maybe I could find some comforter type fabric that matches or accents it. Oh boy, I must be manic. Anyway, the colors didn't really come through on this pic (I need a new camera - another story there) but the darker color is a deep purplish color. . ooo, I'm just so so so excited!! This was WAY too cool of a shopping trip for me! I FINALLY bought NEW fabric - allbeit on the clearance rack - but it IS NEW!

Here's a little something I created this weekend. It's not pieced together yet. . .but I think it will go nicely onto a tote or whatever I decide. . . I might add some steam coming from the top. I also think I could design a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. . .oh the ideas are endless!

Carter-isms

"Are you waffin' at me?" "What? Are you kiddin' me?" And let's not forget, "Pooperman" instead of Superman. . . This kid is hilarious! And he's all MINE! I pretend to nibble on him once in a while. .. & he laughs his ever lovin' butt off. But once in a while I ask if I can munch on him. . . just a little moment ago he comes up to me as I'm blog surfing. . .and he says, "Munch on me 'gain, Momma." I say, "What? Are you serious?" He says, "Yeah, munch on my boo boo." (FYI, "boo boo" is his belly)
His blonde, curly hair is absolutely adorable. . .even though it needs to be cut badly. Buggers. . .was going to take a pic of him just then but my batteries need charging. . . later for that. (added the pic now!) So I'm just loving up my little man today. . . there will, sadly, come a day when he no longer wants his Momma to munch on him. . .& quite frankly, there probably SHOULD come that day. . . (kind of freaks the neighbors out if you're munching on your 13 year old - not to mention it's probably illegal in most states).
I'll be back. . .

Quilts?

OK, so I never thought these words would come off my lips let alone be serious. . .but I might want to try to quilt an actual QUILT! No kidding! You HAVE to take a look at http://web.mac.com/cjroskelley & see what I'm talking about. Go there now. . . really, do it. And while you're there. . .leave a comment & tell her that I sent you there from here: http://scrappinfor3.blogspot.com/ so we both get a shot at winning this absolutely gorgeous quilt.

And just in case I don't get lucky enough to hold this fantastic piece of art in my hands as created by such a talented lady. . .I might just have to go here: http://web.mac.com/cjroskelley/Thimble_Blossoms/Thimble_Blossoms_Home/Thimble_Blossoms_Home.html to purchase the pattern.

Productivity!!!

I'm a procrastinator & kind of disorganized (there I said it!) in my personal life. Professionally speaking I'm very organized & get things done quickly when I'm at work. So today I am going to try something again. . . I'm going to STAY FOCUSED on my tasks. So, I will only check my email 3 times today. One is now. . . . so I will check again around noon & again before the kids get off of the bus around 4 ish. . . this will be interesting. . . wish me luck!
So I'm off to make my TO DO list for the day. I need to stick to it. This will be great practice for me when I do some home schooling of the kids this summer (just the summer folks. . .I'm not THAT good that I could do the home schooling thing for the year). We're going to do Spanish (hablo Espanol un pocito) & possibly sign language as well as crafty stuff & we'll squeeze in science & math in a creative way as well. I know, it's ambitious. But I believe I'm up for the challenge. It's going to be fun!

See you later!

It IS FINISHED!!!

Here is the finished bag. I feel pretty good about it. It's super cute. I brought it to work yesterday to get people's reactions & it was a hit. I have several people wanting one. It's funny because one of my coworkers was saying, "Oh, we need to market these. You could make them for craft fairs & I would work your booth for you. . . " Totally hilarious! And do I think I could? Sure. . . now that I've got this one under my belt the difficult part is done. . .the designing that is. Of course, my prototype is being gifted today so I won't have it on hand. . .but I have many pics.

I might get to the tutorial on this within the week so please be patient with me. I have never done a tut so I am not sure how to go about it. Suggestions to where to create it online???
I think if it were for an adult I would make the straps a bit thinner & longer to fit shoulder length. And I may even make the dimensions of the bag part deeper. These will surely be one of a kind bags as there is no way to keep them consistent.

This design needs a name. . . I could call it The Maddie - it's for my niece, Madelyn. Feedback please:)

What kind of Handle??

Here is the exterior body of the bag all put together. This wasn't as difficult as one might think. Then again, I kind of made a boo boo with the flower (note to self, don't apply any embellishments until AFTER sewing parts together). Now I need to figure out what kind of handle/strap to make. Any suggestions? I need to have this finished by Saturday. . .so I'm on time constraints here. I was originally planning to do 2 longer shoulder straps. Now I'm considering 1 longer strap & attaching it across from narrow side to narrow side (do you smell what I'm steppin' in?) Then again, should I do 2 shorter tote type straps?

Putting on the Cape

This summer I will be Super Mom! We're not sending the 6 & 7 year old boys to daycare or summer school this summer. So I decided that we'd do some summer schooling of our own instead. I want them to continue to learn new things & be exposed to new adventures. So I'm planning on making it fun. Ideas??? Well, thanks to my neighbor, I have the idea to teach them (Oh, & learn myself) Sign Language. I think they'll like this (as they already learned a not so nice sign!) & this is something the 2 year old can learn as well. In fact, I think "Silent Moments" could be part of a daily ritual around here & much appreciated for our sanity.

Other ideas include: basic Spanish, gardening, natural resources, underwater basketweaving. . .OK, maybe not that. We will of course continue reading everyday. I think this is fundamental no matter what. But I think I shall put on the cape &, follow me here, schedule our time! Oh NO! What did I just type?? ME, structured with my "FREE TIME?" Never! I'm going to try it. It just might lead to less stress & more stuff getting done. Maybe. . . I'm willing to try.

The little guy is sleeping. . .so I'm going to work on my bag. Hopefully I'll have an update & pics later today:)

Should I departmentalize???

The blog, that is. . . I've been surfing blog wonderland tonight & have seen many different formats. . . I don't really want to have a bunch of separate blogs to address my eclectic life. but I also realize that certain people don't give a hoot about my new obsession with designing bags & God only knows what & on the same note. . .many people don't care to read about the latest issues I'm having trying to balance my boys, career, health, hobbies & the list goes on. .

So I'm sure I'll ponder this in my sleep (if I get to sleep tonight). The boys have been making nightly rendezvous to our bed. . .they don't usually arrive all at once. And they don't usually get escorted back to their own rooms all at once either. We would never be THAT fortunate. It's one at 1:30 AM cuz he's scared. Then it's another one at 3 AM because he needs his "pup" (a.k.a. cup) & then yet the other one because one of the others woke him up in the process of coming or going or he has to pee & feels the need to inform us of the much needed event before, during or after said event. Gotta love boys! I thought this kind of waking every 2 hours bull$#!t was over after infancy! What to Expect When You're Expecting doesn't share with you all of these joys. . .I skipped the sequel. I truly love being a Mom. . really, I do. I am getting OLDER people! I NEED MY SLEEP!!! And yet, given the opportunity to crash early tonight I sit here typing like a mad woman. What? Am I on a mission to take over the Super Woman throne? Yeah, not gonna happen. I am in no way, shape or form Super Mom, Housewife, fill in any domesticated thing a ma jig here that you want. My house is a catastrophe at present time (which, for those who really do know me, will be of no surprise). I have MT. Laundry errupting from just about every laundry basket known to man(if only clean laundry would fold & put itself away). . .plus a laundry room reaching critical mass. My dishes are not done. Dishwasher. . you guessed it. . . clean & not emptied. Bed, - HA! I'm getting back into it anyway. (YUP, Mom & Dad, you wrecked that one for me. I'm rebelling by NOT making it. The only way dust mites die is by exposure to sunlight. . .so that's my story.) I think we have an island in the kitchen as well as a table. . .but I might have to hire someone to find them. I don't know how SAHM's do it! And Single SAHMs. . .They wear the real capes!

Done whining. . .well, I was just stating facts. I know I have to get my crap in order & do it. So, instead of tackling any of these things tonight, I've worn myself out making the list so now I'll go to bed hoping to awaken when the sun rises (NOT BEFORE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LET ME SLEEP! Well, as long as everyone is OK that is.) Maybe I'm bipolar. . . nah, just PMS.

Progress on Patchwork Raggy Bag

I might have to try my hand on a tutorial after this adventure. I'm taking pics regularly & I'll see. . . but here is some of the progress I made today on my new bag. The first pic is the front side with the bottom/sides just laying together. . .

The other is the front, back & bottom/side attached at just the bottom. Now for the fiddling to get the sides sewn up. . .and then to the lining. I'm impressed thus far. I designed this bag from the workings of my brain. . . so I'm very excited to see it come to life. I need to remember to make the handles yet too! And to sew the pink button onto the flower before putting the lining in.

Stay tuned. . .this has got to be done before Saturday. I'm planning to give it to my 7 year old niece for her birthday.

DAVID COOK!!!! wow

Ok, so I don't normally blog about American Idol. ..but I just watched this on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVAs2zmb0ig&feature=related & if you go watch/listen to it you will most likely agree that this guy is going to do very well in the industry!!!

I'm just in awe. . . go check it out, you know you want to:)

Coming Along

I stayed up LATE last night & went to town on this bag. Wow, Can you say "LINT?" I was covered in white fuzz from the quilting stuff in the middle. I'm recycling for this bag & using a coverlet type quilty thing for the inner fluffy stuff. Did that make ANY sense?
(removed image. . .go so the finished bag:)
I'm excited about this as it takes shape. I still have to figure out how to put it all together & how to do the lining & the zipper. . . maybe I will just do a snap??? We'll see. As it comes together I'm considering this for part of my 7 year old niece's birthday present. I think she'd like it. It's a bit small for an adult sized bag. It will surely be a one of a kind as I'm not following a pattern.
Now to clean up my mess & hopefully get to work on the bag a little more later today.

Buttons, Buttons Everywhere!

Thanks to an idea from Bridget http://bridgetbaxter.blogspot.com/, we now have our own Button System complete with jars & lots of BUTTONS! I still have to make my lists & get them looking cute. I had a blast buying buttons. I got these beauties from Hobby Lobby. While I was there I also found some really cool fabric in the bargain bin & some awesome ribbon (30 yards!) - 16 different pieces (I actually got a bonus yard so it was 31 yards - yay!).

It's AMAZING how motivating this technique has been with my boys. . .especially Spencer who just could not wait to get the jars made. (And I need to add their letters to the jars yet too.) I couldn't get the holes in the lids so I improvised with cut plastic bags & rubberbands for now.

Spencer & Parker are constantly asking, "If I do this. . . does that mean I get more buttons?" For the LOVE, they think they get extra buttons for everything. . .but when they go above & beyond they get more - so that excites the living daylights out of them. Carter, well, he couldn't care less for the most part. . .but he join in anyway.

While I haven't gotten any scrapbooking done, I have done some sewing. Here is my latest endeavor. When finished, it should be a patchwork, raggy edged purse. I do hope it turns out. I plan to try a zipper for the first time too. I know, ambitious. It is once again Winter here in Wisconsin. After one week of Spring, we skipped summer & fall completely & just dove right back into Winter.

So wish me luck with this adventure. I'm not using a pattern so I hope it turns out. I have ideas in this crazy head of mine:) don't you just love the flower & the button? I've been wanting to use that big old flower on something for a long time.

Inspired to Scrap!

I need to get back to my scrapping! My supplies & pictures are just sitting there (many in digital limbo) awaiting my clever hands & mind. Of course, I have a curious & ambitious 2 year old who would love to "help" me create. And I have my lack of motivation lately. . .I think I need to knock that lazy self right off her butt!

I'm reading Body by God right now. . .well, not right this second as I'm typing. But you get the point. . . I will let you know what I think. So far, I've read that there is a difference between inspiration & motivation. I need inspiration first & then will come the motivation. So my inspiration is my kids & wanting to tell our story. Gotta work on the motivation & light that proverbial fire under my butt.

I believe that I need to clear the clutter first! I'm always inspired/motivated when I see those fancy, awesome, cool scrappy spaces like: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1321279&f=n# & http://www.scrapjazz.com/guides/organization/ so maybe if I can just get organized. . . . HA! How many times have I mentioned THAT??? It is true, clutter in the environment indicates clutter in the mind. . . and less productivity. Of course, I cannot life heavy objects today (excuses, excuses) as I wrenched my back (seriously, I have already gone to the chiropractor today & have another visit Wednesday morning). So, I will do what I can to get the other things done so I can get my crap together this week!

OK, enough whining. . .I must to check on the 2 year old. He is eating his "wunch" right now. I should eat too. . .but my appetite is not so good. (perk to the injury? doubt it! The cookie I ate not too long ago was NOT a good choice!) I will Clear My Clutter!!!! And I'll take before & after pics to prove my journey!

Plastic Packaging!!!!

Plastic packaging. . .you know the type. . . with the heat sealed edges??? Not the SOFT packaging, the hard, cannot rip open type. . . it's royally pissing me off lately. I've incurred multiple cuts to my hands & fingers as a result of trying to open these crazies. I can't take it anymore. I might start a petition. . HA! Or maybe I should sue for physical harm & emotional distress. I mean, really. . . how much protection do these things need? Why not just put a lock & key on them or inbed an ink torpedo in them for anti shoplifting protection?

I digress. . . anyway. I opened the Tag-a-long that I thought was such a screamin' deal from Shopko the other day. I really don't see myself using this much - probably as much as the Quickutz that I have. . . which is just about never. It's all good in theory. . but when you have to cut your paper to that small of a width & mess around with all of the parts. . plus you have to purchase different dies to put through it. I just don't see myself using it. I might have to sell it. I should sell my Quickutz too.

Happy Easter. I need to get to bed. I work Monday & Tuesday. . .so I'll get back here soon.

Today

I'm regretting the GS incident last night. Getting out of bed this morning was NOT an easy task. Now whether that is from the aches in my body from the great Wii workout on Monday or the cookies taking their toll. . .I'm not sure. But either way, it's workout day again! I'm being sidelined slightly by my almost 6 year old, Parker, who is home today not feeling so great. I think he may need a little Mom time more than he's ill. . .but that's OK. Right now he & Carter (2) are watching a Pokemon movie in the living room. That's where the Wii is. . .so I need to occupy myself with other "important" duties like blogging.

I also have to fill out my NWTC application online today. I've kind of been hired already to sub for clinicals in OB - just need to officially apply now. Tee hee. Love the backwardness of it all. I'm excited to do this. Scott is excited because he really wants me to get out of the 12 hour shift work & into teaching somewhere with State benefits. What a dreamer! I'd need to get working on my Master's degree. . . not sure I'm ready for that yet. I love being a labor & delivery nurse. And as long as I get my body back in shape I should be able to perform my duties for quite a while yet. Wouldn't want to get too soft!

Maybe I'll get to work on some of my creations today! I have so many pieces of fabric either in jeans/corduroy form or pieces I've collected. . . they need some sewing action! I also need to alter a couple of tops so that I don't need to keep yanking on them to keep my bra from showing! Oh the joys! Maybe I just need bigger boobs! Ha!

STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRLSCOUT COOKIES!!!

I was doing so well!!!! And then I had to open the freezer. . . . Girlscout Cookies!!!! And not just ANY Girlscout Cookies. . . . Thin Mints!! And they're frozen!!!! Isn't that the only way these should ever be consumed? Holy Hell, there goes my "good eating." I've already devoured half a row & I see no end in sight. I'm trying to fend them off. . .but my defenses are low & my hand just keeps reaching over for another & another & another. OMG! I am going to die!
And so I start my little techniques to try to consume less. I take a small bite off the edge of one & set it down. . .take another small bite & put it down. . . WHO AM I TRYING TO KID, PEOPLE???? This is a full blown, highly vicious, cunningly calculated conspiracy. How can I compete with such dastardly design??? (By the way, I have no idea if dastardly actually fits there. . .just sounded good with the "d" sounds.) Oh crap, another thin mint is in my mouth! I'm so WEAK!!!! Somebody save me!!! All of the Wii boxing in the world isn't going to counteract this tomorrow.

And I happened to see a box of those coconut & chocolate cookies. . .I always forget the name now that they've changed it. I think they were Samoas at one time or another. Why did they change it? I don't get it. Again, it's another conspiracy I'm sure of it. But whatever the heck they're called, I'm thinking I might have to try one. . .or two. . Hell, I may as well just eat them all in one sitting. It would be saving the kids from eating them & me from the aftermath of them eating them. . .which is pure agony in & of itself. They go nuts. So if I eat them all right now I might be able to fall asleep fast from the sugar low that follows the probable sugar high (thus leading to a catastrophic collection of fat on my lower regions.. . wish it would collect in the breast tissue only. . .but that isn't my situation!)

It's 10 PM. . .WHAT THE HECK!? Of course the coffee I drank at 4 PM is still working. How is it that at 7 AM I can drink all the coffee in the world & still feel tired? (Nevermind the incessant shaking & heart palpitations & oh, the nonstop urination that occurs secondary to such actions.) But at 4 PM I can drink one blasted cup of diluted coffee & at 10 PM (when the 6 hour half life is OVER!) I still feel wide awake & perky? Of course, DH is able to fall asleep 5 minutes after drinking full strength, thick as molassas, Starbucks. Then again, don't most husbands fall asleep within 5 minutes of most things?? Tee hee, just kidding:) But then again, NOT!
Now to find those other cookies. . . there is still half a row left of the Thin Mints. . .I mean 1 and a half rows!

Yeah, still Samoas. But unless I want to work on breaking another tooth I should use caution with eating these babies frozen. (broken tooth? Yeah, broke a tooth on a frozen cookie at work when I was first working there. Duh, thaw it out first!)

Good! Only ate one of those. Now I had better get my butt ready for bed so I can take advantage of my insulin dump. I need to STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRLSCOUT COOKIES!!!!

Blue Corduroy

Here is my Blue Corduroy Creation. I didn't follow a pattern for this. I just winged it. The lining & belt are made from leftovers that I had from a skirt from last summer. The handles are made from a pant leg. I had some issues with the lining being too big so I had to adjust it. All of the pockets are usable & this comes in handy for keys & my cell phone. Where do you usually put your keys? The front right pocket! I have mine on a carabeener (sp?) so I hook them on the belt loop & put the keys in the pocket. Cell phone goes in the left front pocket & the back pockets I use if I have a coupon or what not that I don't want to go digging for later. Back pockets are also great places for business cards!

I would have liked to bling this up a bit. . .but didn't have anything on hand at the time. It's simple but sometimes that is a good thing. I think my next creation will be a more contrasting for the liner & belt. Let me know what you think:)

Been Busy but I Got Big Plans

I've been surfing through other blogs & see so many amazing artists in the sewing world out there. I still didn't take a pic of my newest bag. . .which isn't very new anymore. . .but I do get some compliments on it. I used light blue corduroys to make a bootie bag. . . and it is cute. I think I need to get adventurous though. I need to get flashy with the colors & the design. I have so much stuff & just need to USE IT! What am I waiting for?

I am going to use my stuff. . . and not wait for a "better project." I need to get my butt in gear & get doing what I have been putting off. I know, it's kind of late for New Year's Resolutions. . .but I don't really do those anyway. It's more like time to kick myself in the @$$ with just about everything. You can read about my weight loss efforts in my other blog: http://jenswellness.blogspot.com/

I will do my best to keep this updated. I will actually post my blog link so others can read it if they want to!!!!

Wish me luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Another year, another birthday. . .what to do today? I am kid free & work free today. . . What should I do? I could sew, scrapbook, shop. . . shop for sewing stuff. . . Hmmm, I think I shall ponder this while I shower to loud music & flat iron my hair. I should get a pic of my new hairdo on here. It's WAY different than my old do.

I was scoping other blogs last night. WOW, can I just say how impressed I am with the talent that is out there? The blogs alone are amazing let alone the work that is showcased on them. My goal is to get my blog to be as cool and worthy as those. I have a lot of learning to do. My journey begins. . .hmm, perhaps something for me to start today??? We'll see. Shopping sounds somewhat nice. Maybe I will ask my dear Mother to join me. We do want to get some purses made for craft fairs. . .

OK, wish me luck with my newly 33 year old self today! (Who am I kidding? Nobody reads this yet!)

This satchel was my 2nd bag ever. . . and it was challenging. I made it from Vogue pattern V8439. It's red quilted material with black faux suede lining. The handles & the snap were a challenge for me as well as the thickness of the material. I am learning so much!

Blue corduroy

Here is the bag I made using this pattern: http://www.tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2006/06/shoulder_bag_tu.html

I modified the way I did the handles because I needed to cut them out seperately anyway. I also added my creation - the cuff pocket - to the inside. I didn't use a closure - and I'm not sure if I should or not. . . let me know what you think!

New Hobby for me!

Like I need a new hobby, right? But this one ties into my scrappy hobby & is a very creative outlet. I've started to SEW! AND I'm ADDICTED!!! I think I have an addictive personality. I find myself daydreaming about ways to design purses, clothing, just about anything. . . I think I get my creativity from my Mother. . . she always has had a knack for the creative.



Here is the 3rd bag I've ever sewn. I really like this design but need to learn how to add zippers. . .

Other things I'm working on: scrub tops - I've actually designed my own pattern for this with inspiration from a top I currently own. I couldn't find a pattern for it so I just guessed & tweaked. I'm very pleased with my creations & will try to get some pics up in the future. I have a ton of corduroy pants from someone on freecycle & plan to use them for sewing. . . patchwork bags, regular bags, maybe a vest. . .we'll see!

Happy Sewing to you!

On a mission

I hesitate to put this in writing. . .but I've worked out 5 out of the last 6 days. I only did the 8 minute Tae Bo workout the first 4 times & today I did the 20 minute one. I am going to be sore later. . . but that is OK. I need to get back in the habit. Scott already said he can see more definition in my arms.

I am also working on not eating late at night. It's common for me to sit down & have a snack before bed. I am curbing this habit. It's not easy though.

We're off to a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend's husband this afternoon & we'll also watch the Packers' Playoff game there. I'm hoping it's not smokey as we will have the boys with us. If it is, we will probably leave right before half time. That way we can get back home without missing much of the 3rd quarter & well before the traffic jams up Hwy 41 South.

Go Pack GO!!!

Jen

Welcome Back to ME!

My last post was about a year ago. Wow! So much has happened. I won't begin to try to list everything that has changed for me & my family.
The highlights:

• settled into new home
• Scott is now the Director of a local college
• I cut down to 2 twelve hour shifts at the hospital
• picked up an educator position there part time
• Spencer started 1st grade
• Parker started kindergarten
• got a cleaning lady!
• started to sew after purchasing my own sewing machine
• Carter had surgery last January on his eye lump - no problems
• I had surgery end of August - no problems

I think that covers the big stuff. I will most likely change the focus of my blog to sewing type materials. I'm getting quite crafty here. Looking forward to sharing lots of ideas!

Jen

2007

Holy cats! It's already January 14th!!! Where have I been? Mostly busy with work & getting this house turned into a home. We still have new house smell going on. This is probably a good thing as the alternatives could be less than desirable.

Speaking of less than desirable. . . .we had to retrain our 8 year old dog. . .as in potty train. Somehow, she got the notion to use our unfinished basement as her personal potty place. Good grief! NOT fun. But she retrained quickly. It was really our fault for assuming she would know which door to go to. She has a few more to choose from than at the old house.

The old house. . . it's not ours anymore. . . that is SO STRANGE! I drive past on purpose from time to time & it just feel so weird. I'm not sad about it. . .maybe I will be in the summer when we still have no stinking grass here. . . but for now I'm not sad about that. Then again, I'm still kind of numb from all of the events around Christmas. I think I'm still in auto pilot.

I didn't get holiday cards out this year. But I just got my order in for our winter greetings. And I did one of those letters to go along with it this year. I know, WAY too much! Now I need to get copies made so I can mail them out. Oh, and we're finally getting snow. . . however, for the dumping that they have predicted for tonight. . . it's not looking very blustery out there right now. Oops, wrong. . .just wasn't looking in the right direction. It's coming down sideways. So we may finally have snow. For the love of Pete. . .it's Wisconsin & it's January! Last week we were wearing spring jackets. IT'S WISCONSIN & IT'S JANUARY!!! All of that dreaming of a white Christmas BS. . . AHHH! I do really like the snow. I like it to freeze. How else are we going to get rid of all of the bugs & the mold? We have to have a good freeze!!! Ok, done with the rant.

So tomorrow is the start of my vacation. Can you say, "VACATION?" Yeah right! Carter has pink eye & unless a little eye fairy comes & sprinkles magical pixie dust over his crusty, swollen little eyes during the night, I'm not going to be able to bring him to daycare as planned. I know, he is worth it. . . I just should have known. . ..and Spencer will most likely have a snow day tomorrow or at least a delay or let out early. And if that's the case, Parker may as well not go to daycare either. I had it all planned out. I have gift certificates. . . Monday was highlight & cut for my hair & Tuesday was a pedicure & manicure (I've never had either). Wednesday is Carter's surgery so I figured the rest of the week would be taken up with me cuddling him. Oh, and I scheduled a Lia Sophia open house for tomorrow night. So of course it would SNOW! Oh well. Such is life.

So now that I've let off some tension. . .I'm going to bed. Let's see, what pic can I post here???
Here's Carter sitting on the steps. . . he's such a stinker!

Updates

Much has occurred over the past few weeks. On a happy note - we moved into our new home. How wonderful to have more space! On a sad note, my Grandmother suffered multiple strokes starting the weekend we moved. She passed away last Thursday evening. She was 91 years old. We miss her dearly but know that she is with Grandpa, in Heaven. Her funeral & burial were yesterday. Oh, so many memories!

I'm exhausted! Christmas was bittersweet this year. The passing of Grandma was sad - but I don't think it will put sadness into every Christmas. 91 years is a long, full life span. While we grieve for our loss right now, we all know that it was her time to go.

I had better get to bed now. I work again tomorrow. Here is a pic of the boys that I must share:

This is the WEEK!

We're moving on Friday! I can't believe it! Yesterday we went furniture shopping. . .our furniture is pretty much shot. We decided to get a new dining room table & chairs as well. . . Our current table is antique & not very stable. We have free financing for a year so that is what we did. So we got a new couch, loveseat & recliner/rocker. . .brown leather & very comfy stuff! Our table is two tone & has 2 leaves that make it huge when we need it for birthday parties & what not. The stools for the island match as well. . . .I'm SO EXCITED!!!

Inspection on the house is Wed or Thursday & then there is probably just clean up/touch up stuff for the contractor to take care of.

I have a ton to pack yet here. . . I can't believe we have this much stuff!!! What I wouldn't give for a magic wand right now!

I may be off line a few days at the end of the week. I'll try to get back ASAP. . . we might just leave the computer hooked up here until all is set up at the new house. We don't have to be out of here until the 14th. . .so that's that!

Still workin' it

I DID work out again last week. . ..on Thursday I did the 8 minute workout. Friday I worked all day & then the weekend had it's own sort of work outs with the cleaning & packing. Scott removed our current home's shingles Saturday along with some help from several other men. He's very sore from all of the work as I'm sure the other guys are.

We went to our new home to see the progress today. Spencer & Parker were at a birthday party so we had Carter along (he slept in the van). I'll get some photos posted soon. It's coming along with tile already installed on the floors & fireplace. It's getting so exciting! Can't wait for it to be finished!

Talk later!

Procrastination Eat my shorts!

So I'm sticking to my plan so far this morning. . . .I did the Basic Tae Bo workout. Parker started to do it along with me but got too tired. . . It was so cute. Let's face it, anything with punching & kicking for a 4 year old is cool.

I feel good right now - all bets are off for later tonight or tomorrow morning though. I forget about some of those muscle groups!

I work tomorrow - so maybe when I get home I'll do the 8 minute workout. . .maybe.

Adios!

Me & My Big (NEW) Ideas

Had to share my cute pic of the boys. We were delinquent on the pumpkin carving until last week. . . and I think I forgot to get a shot of the finished work. . . DUH!

A cyber friend of mine had a topic in her blog that inspired me to write this. . .Thanks Jen!

Life Goals - or otherwise titled "Bullshit & Other things I might want to achieve in my life"

(I add "might" because I don't want to commit myself too much. I change my mind frequently.)

- Marry for money - crap! didn't do that & probably never will. Although, I married smart & for love so I guess I'm further ahead that way, right?
- Live in a big house. That's all relative. I could mark this one off already because I lived in a house for the past 8 years & it is bigger than the apartment that used to live in. We're moving into our newly built house in about 5 weeks. . . so count that as achieved:)
- Seriously now - be published other than this blog which probably nobody reads. I have ideas for what I'd write. I'm not sharing it here just yet. Just in case someone is reading this I don't want my ideas pirated. (Ok, so if you are reading this - you're not a nobody - I'm just being insecure when I say nobody reads this. What do I care? This is my outlet, right?
- Get my teeth whitened & straightened. No kidding. My dentist probably gags when he checks out these babies. They're yellowed from years of drinking highly fluouridated water & I'm sure the years of soda & now coffee don't help either. And they're crowded as well. Oh the joys!
- Not have to live paycheck to paycheck. OK, so if Scott gets offered & accepts the Indiana position this could happen sooner than later. . . .so we'll see what happens.
- Travel out of this state & out of this country. So far I've been to, in order, Michigan (only just across the border so big whoop!), Illinois (again, venturing out big time here), Indiana (passed thru on the way to the next destination & stayed a night), Ohio (yep, big honeymoon destination that was. I know, what the everyloving heck?), Orlando (now we're getting real), Chicago, Illinois, Hawaii (THAT'S more like it baby!) & Orlando again. Have not been out of the country yet. I'm a little freaked about that idea right now with the world in the chaos that it is. I'll get over that sooner or later.
- Get physically fit again. I've let my fitness slip BIG TIME since having children. Yeah, sure, I'm down to my prepregnant weight. . . but that's not exactly fit when I get winded going up a flight or two of steps. Time to stop being lazy & stop procrastinating. I'll get on that tomorrow. . . .

I make a lot of lists. . .so I'm sure I'll revise this frequently. If only I could find all of my lists. . .

Adios!

Halloween

Here are my little Trick or Treaters on Halloween night. Spencer & Parker went out but Carter didn't as it was too cold. Later on, Carter decided to try on Spencer's costume. . .. so cute! Too bad I didn't get Scott on camera. He was Superman this year.

Curve Ball!

Just when you think you have life figured out. . .

Scott got a call from corporate the other day asking him to consider a position there. . .in Indiana. Approximately 6.5 hours away in Carmel, Indiana to be exact. . . . which would be quite a move. We'll find out more info & I really want to see an offer in writing before we get into heavy discussion about this one. Let's not kid anyone, we've already discussed the possibility quite a bit. On one hand I'm bummed because I was so excited about our new house that we are just about done building. . . On the other hand, who am I to be so selfish? This is one heck of an exciting opportunity for Scott & for our family. Salary would increase & possibly quite significantly. That would change our situation. Not that we're hard off right now or anything, but let's face it, a bit more is always a bit nicer. We would not have to worry about meeting our monthly bills & could probably afford to have a few nicer things. Again, money is not the only thing to take into consideration.

I've already decided that IF he does get this job that the boys & I would not relocate until after the school year. I can't see ripping Spencer out of kindergarten half way through the year. I also can't see trying to find somewhere to live there during the winter. And, more importantly, I want to make sure this position is something Scott really wants to keep. It will be a HUGE change for all of us.

This whole thing makes it a bit difficult to be fully excited about the new house now. It's not like we'd settle in the new house & unpack everything if we just have to pack it all up right away in 5-6 short months. My head is spinning just thinking about it. I want to have all of the info NOW instead of waiting. I guess I want too much right now. . . so I'll just have to wait. Maybe we'll hear more tomorrow.

Calgon, take me away!

The update

Here is the house today, November 4, 2006. The garage doors are not quite the right color. . .but we'll get that fixed. We have a driveway & front walk & a patio too already. I couldn't get inside the house but I think the plaster is now done. It's getting pretty exciting! We're planning to move in around December 10th. Better get packing!

Challenging week

I've had a challenging week at work. . .actually, 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago I was the nurse taking care of someone 23 1/2 weeks pregnant with twins for her delivery. It was not the best case scenario. They made it through delivery. . . . update on that later. . .

Later that same week I was the nurse in a delivery that went a bit south. . . poor heart tones with a vacuum delivery (2 vacs to be precise). Baby was perfect at delivery. . . but it was stressful all the same.

The very next day I took care of 3 sets of Moms & their babies - and all was well with that. When I came out of one of their rooms the father from the twins the Monday before asked if I could talk for a minute. His eyes welled up with tears & he told me one of their babies just died. I sat with him for a little bit & then walked down to the NICU with him to pay my respects to the little guy & the mom.. How heartbreaking.

Earlier this week I had a delivery that went well but then the cord broke off & we had to go to the OR to get her placenta out under conscious sedation. That wasn't pleasant. Then she needed a little more help afterwards with bleeding. . . All is well now.

Then on Friday I had a laboring Mother who the doctor wasn't quite sure would be able to delivery this baby vaginally. . . . but they gave it a try. She received an epidural but then when she was 8cm dilated. . .the epidural came out leaving her in excruciating pain that she wasn't prepared to tolerate. The baby wasn't descending so we had to go back for a c-section. THAT was not fun as it took at least 5 tries for them to get her spinal in. That poor mother. It was a big baby too. . . . 9 lb 4 oz. All is well now. But what a week!

I'm just overwhelmed that so much happened in such a short time frame. It makes me feel so insignificant in the world. . . .yet significant because I helped these people through these troubling times. I just always feel like I could do more. When it comes down to it. . . we can only do so much. The rest is up to God.

I pray for the life of the other twin. . . hopefully it will be a healthy life. I pray for his parents. They have been through so much in such a little span of time.

The Brick!

It's been a few days since I've been to the house & today, this is what I saw. I'm just so excited! The inside has insulation now too so no more seeing straight through the walls.

We accepted an offer on our house. The inspection is tomorrow so let's pray all stays well. Closing is for Dec 15th - so we need to be out by midnight on the 14th.

Let the busy season begin!

Doors & Windows Oh My!

Wow! We have doors & windows. . . and a basement floor! We continue to be amazed at the transformation before our eyes. We picked out lighting today. Just flooring & paint to choose & then it's all picked out. . .I think. I'm sure we will have more decisions to make. We still have to decide for sure on reverse osmosis & sound system. I better start working more hours.

OUR HOUSE!

We started building on Sept 5th!!!! The process has been utterly amazing. We started with just the lot & now there is a house sitting there. . .

Expected move in date December 15th, 2006!!! We are so excited!

Starting something new

I'm going to sign up as a Lia Sophia advisor. I've never been really big into jewelry. . . & I wasn't thinking I'd ever have such a desire. . . but I've fallen in love with the beautiful pieces & just need to explore this avenue for a bit.

We meet with our builder tomorrow. Cross your fingers! I'm hoping that Scott agrees that we should break ground soon. I would like to be moving in in December. . .I know, crazy - but December is better than March in my opinion.

Gotta run! I was low censused this morning so the kids are at daycare & I have a day to work on the garage sale! Or maybe I'll get some paint & start that!

8 YEARS

Scott & I have been married 8 years today. Wow! A LOT has happened in 8 years. I am so grateful for having Scott in my life.

We're going to farm the boys out to our parents next Saturday for all day & overnight. We don't have set plans yet. We were going to go to Curly's Pub at Lambeau Field. . .but there is a home Packer game that night. . .so that probably isn't the best plan. I'm thinking of maybe doing the Fox Valley Parade of Homes to get decor ideas for our new home & then maybe doing a wine tasting thing (Scott loves wine) and then maybe take out Pasquales. . . the kids are gone for the evening. . . we may as well stay home!

Pizza is done. Time to feed the boys lunch:)

Jen

Mad dash to the gas!

OMG! Did you hear about the price increase again???? Mom told me it's going up a quarter this week. Is this necessary? I don't think so. But what are we doing to reduce the cost? Are we conserving fuel? Are we walking, carpooling, staying home??? For most it's a big fat NO. But we really need to try to do these things or we'll dig ourselves in deeper.

I did an eensy weentsy bit today by setting the thermostat a bit higher (which I know Scott will decrease when he gets home) and I took my bike to the post office instead of jumping in the van to go. This accomplished 2 things. . . ok, 3 things - saved on gas, got me exercising & got my package mailed. Yeah!

Mini blinds. . . Who the hell invented these things without an easy clean method? UGH! What a P.I.T.A.!!!!! We have many of them, as you might already suspect. They have been cleaned probably just once in the past 8 years that we've lived in this house. I'm totally considering just tearing them all out & replacing them with something else. Or heck, replace them with cheap blinds. It would be worth the money to save the time & hassle. I know, we'll go vertical instead. Those are not nearly as hard to clean. Now I know why people use pull shades yet. I'm probably going to have to look into something new. We're definately not putting mini blinds into our new house.

I need some motivation. Or maybe it's just coffee because I should be motivated as all get out to get this place cleaned up. Seems like I get more motivation when I can't possibly get things done - a.k.a. - when I have small children who need my attention. I love my kids. I just wish they could function independently alongside me. It's great to be needed but I have my breaking point.

I'm on call right now. . . so the kids are at daycare. I will pick them up once I know Scott is on his way home. My luck would be that I'd go to pick them up & immediately upon getting in the door the phone would ring & I'd have to bring them back to daycare because I got called into work. Then Scott would have to waste more gas coming to my work to exchange vehicles before picking them up. Oh the joys! Of course, he could walk to pick them up. Hmm. . . I'll have to suggest this if I do get called in prior to him coming home. We'll see how that flies. I could end up working until 11 PM or so depending - I'm on call until then.

I need to go whip up a brew to pipe some caffeine in. No more procrastination!

Addicted

I'm so addicted to the song on Jen Beal's blog that I can't stop listening to it!!! It's Far Away by Nichelback. I'm trying to figure out what all makes me want to listen to it. . . the song is awesome for one. The lead singer is pretty fine looking. . . . but maybe it's the firemen in the video. . . Scott isn't a fireman. He's pretty fine too. . .
I dated a fireman in the past. I guess you could say it was my only other quite serious relationship. So I can relate to the worry when he would go to a fire call. We didn't live together. . .but I was with him a few times when he would get paged out. Am I still thinking of him??? I guess I can't say I don't think about him. He was a special person in my life & until I met Scott I considered him my biggest love. Things happened out of our control that caused our relationship to be impossible even though we still loved each other. I dated other people after him before Scott. I'm VERY happy that I met Scott & that my life turned out the way it did. I think everyone ponders the what ifs in life. I wouldn't trade my life with Scott & the boys for anything at all. Last I heard my former love has a life that is somewhat parallel to mine. He's now a police officer, married & has at least 2 boys of his own.

Anyway, this song captivates me. It's well written & well sung. Thanks Jen Beals for sharing it!

Time for bed.

Spencer's First KISS!

This picture is from the Porkie & Pancake thing with Scott's family - my 3 boys are the ones on the right: Spencer, Parker & Carter - how cute are they???

It happened today - let it be recorded that on August 4th, 2006, Spencer Borley - being of the ripe age of 5 1/2, was kissed by a 7 year old girl on the nose & the cheek. Parker says, "They're girlfriend & boyfriend because she likes to get along with him." Spencer says, "well, I'm not going to marry her, but I might. I just don't know yet." How cute is that?

My little boy is growing up. But not too quickly. I love it when he says, "Mom, I'm only little for a little while." Of course, he gets this from me. Or at least he did. . . and now he states this so matter of factly when I say no to him. Or he'll say, "But you're the best Mom & I love you." Actually, what he'll do is this: he'll say, "You're the sweetest, best Mom. Can I give you a hug & a kiss? Now, can I play on the computer? Cuz you're the sweetest, best Mom & I'm only little for a little while. . . " OK, so he's learned manipulation at such an early age. How can I say no to that?

Parker, being the younger brother, is a little less tactful. He whines, "Mommy, can I have a snack?" And of course he asks this right before supper. . . and when I say, "we're going to eat supper in 10 minutes so you can wait," he proceeds to whale this ear shattering, high pitched whine/cry that could wake the dead. He needs reminding that this is not the way to go about making me change my mind. . . .of course, I don't change my mind about this anyway. . .but that is just downright obnoxious. He usually ends up in his bedroom until I allow him to come out for supper. Oh the joys of parenting!

Carter - my little tooth cutting, walking sassy pants. He is so into getting into everything! And everything goes in the mouth. He seems especially interested in anything paper. . . he must be craving extra fiber in his diet. The boy can find any piece of paper no matter how discreetly hidden & shove it in his mouth faster than a speeding bullet. It's so fun fishing slimy paper shreds out of his mouth. And he's not afraid to bite either!

OK, so it's clearly way past my bedtime. I'm on call at 7AM & it's already quarter to 1 in the AM. I'd better get motivating to bed now. Scott already so nicely told me that I am getting up with the kids should they cry out tonight. How is that fair? No idea. Oh well. Tomorrow night is mine!

More Adventures

Today I worked on more garage sale labeling. How do we accumulate so much stuff in just 8 years. . . 8 years!!! Wow! I cannot believe that it will be 8 years this October that we've lived in this house. 8 years this August that we've been married!!! So much has taken place:

I graduated from Bellin College & passed my boards
I got a full time nursing job at Manor Care Nursing Home
Scott graduated with a Masters Degree & got a full time job at Howard Suamico Schools
Got Married
Became Home owners
I changed jobs to Interim Healthcare as a Supervisor/Case Manager
Became Dog owners
We had 3 miscarriages:(
I was a Home Interiors demonstrator
I changed jobs again to Prevea Clinic as a phone triage RN
Became proud parents of Spencer
OK, time to abbreviate:
The Pampered Chef, Parker, me at St vincent Hospital, rental unit owners, Scott 2nd Masters degree, Scott ITT Tech associate dean then Dean, Hawaii, bought 1.5 acres of land, me DePere Health Dept, me Medical Staffing Network, Disney World, Carter, me at Aurora Baycare Labor & Delivery, Sold Rental, Building plans (Wow, I've changed jobs quite a bit! Good thing I'm a nurse. I've never been fired or let go. . . I just needed to find my niche.)

HOLY Cow! And that's not even counting all of the events that have taken place in history: 9-11-01 was HUGE. . . still is. The war in Iraq. Tsunami, Katrina. . . . . it's so much in so little time.

I'm pretty proud of what we've accomplished in the past 8 years. A lot of it has been difficult. We really work on our big accomplishments. I think that makes us appreciate them so much more than if they were just handed to us. Isn't that the case with most things? I hope to instill those values into my children. I don't want them to struggle with things. . .but I want them to know that sometimes you just have to knuckle down & work to get the things you want in life.

Time to get the little one to bed.. . yet another thing that is not easy. . .but oh so rewarding:)

He's WALKING!

OK, so I haven't quite captured it in this photo. . .but he IS walking. Today he took 5 steps on his own. It's the cutest thing ever. Look at how cute he is! Today I heard, "Look! He's standing!" from Parker (the toothless, scarred eyelid & now scratched up nose boy). Then Carter proceded to take a few more steps on his own before plopping down in a fit of giggles & drool.

Did I mention he has 4 teeth already? And another on the way? Oh the joys of teething & biting.

Spencer & Parker are now into daredevil tricks on their two wheeled bikes. . .can't wait for that ER visit. Surprisingly, Parker managed to do a "face plant" while riding his scooter yesterday. He had a bloody nose & scrapes across it. Lovely. Here is Spencer demonstrating a trick.

Gotta run. . . .

Funny how the weekend goes

You'd think that I'd get MORE done on the weekend. . .NOT! We met with another builder yesterday AM. Glad we did. We're tweeking our house plans a bit. We're thinking no bonus room. Instead, we'll finish a room in the basement right away. I'm excited for this. It will be the biggest investment of our lives. LOTS of decisions. Good thing we're pretty simple people. I need to control my husband's desire for extravagant/fancy things once in a while. I don't like frilly dilly. I like classic/stand the test of time things that are good quality.

Anyway, when we got back from that, Spencer needed to go get a birthday gift for the party he was going to. He & I did that. Then Scott walked him to it while I fed the other 2 lunch. . . It was 100 degrees! Inside time for us! We got some much needed Parker time as Carter took a nap.

Then Scott was off to golf with my brothers & BIL. So we went to pick up Spence. . . holy hot out! We walked - mind you, it's only 2 blocks away (short blocks!). I was sweating before we reached the first corner.

We made it back home & hung out briefly outside. . . then indoors to the air conditioning. We did go back out later & played with some neighbors in our yard. Who am I kidding? I sat & watched as the kids played:) Too hot for physical acitivity:)

Then back in for baths - which was a fight with my 4 year old. Why is it so difficult to get through one hour without him trying to pick fights with his older brother? Oh the joys! We survived bath time. . .I got all 3 boys clean & in jammies without blood being drawn. Then we had a snack - ice cream - rather befitting given the weather. Then they actually settled down quite well for night night. Of course, by this time, I'm exhausted. I showered, snacked again & sat on the couch watching whatever was on until Scott arrived home around 10:15. He was not really in the talkative mood due to being exhausted himself. . .and a bit over extended on the alcohol consumption. So we went to sleep.

I always make a short story long. . . so, in summary, I didn't get to scrap!!! And my house is still trashed!

So this morning we attempted to clean up the kitchen. . .this is a sore spot with me. Scott's idea of cleaning up after breakfast is throwing the dishes in the sink & pushing the chairs in. I put a kabosh to that & insisted that before we run outside to entertain our children the kitchen actually gets cleaned! UGH! This is just not going to be easy.

I'll snap a shot of our house plans soon & post them. I need to go make sure Carter is being supervised properly as I think I just heard Scott go outside. He thinks our 4 year old can watch our 10 month old. . . Scott has 2 Masters Degrees. . ..but he is just not the brightest when it comes to common sense.

2 down - many to go!

I've decluttered the Living Room & Boys' Bedroom so far. Holy Cow! My boys have WAY too many toys. I've relocated many toys from those locations to the basement. . .which needs its own decluttering done. . .another day for that one. I've also removed things that will be sold or donated. I need to find a spot to hide this box or my work will be for naught. Toys that are removed from the others have this interesting trait of being much more interesting than anything else - thus being thrust back into the general collection.

As parents we should really take advantage of this during the holidays & birthdays. Do you think it would work to just repackage what we already have? I'm so glad we decided to do the 3 gift rule for Christmas. Each child gets 3 gifts from Santa/us for Christmas. That way they still have things to open Christmas morning & we're not overwhelmed with WAY too much stuff. OK, maybe we still are because nobody else follows these rules. In fact, they get WAY more from Scott's parents than they do here. We need to implement rules for them this year. I'm sure they'll love that! They're not all to fond of us setting limits for them when it comes to grandparenting. But I guess I understand that. . .we just need to train them on quality vs quantity. . . enough said there.

OK, back to work. I've got my groove going & I don't want to lose it!

CAPTURING MY CLUTTER

And so it begins. I have started to attack the clutter that encases my house. OK, it more like encases, entraps, devours, etc. . .my house. You get the point. I have clutter! So far this morning I have gone through the living room. I'm just now working on putting the "put away" box stuff away. The only problem I run into (OK, not the only problem. Who am I kidding?) is that the places I need to put this stuff away are cluttered as well. THAT is a big problem.

So, anyway, I've conquered the living room. Well, almost. I have a box of give away/sell items. I have a laundry basket of put away items that is half put away already - yay! I have a throw away bag & a recycle bag. I also decided that the give away stuff had to be divided a little so I have a Pampered Chef to give away bag as well. . .you know, all of the paperwork stuff that you think you will use someday. I also subdivided the put away stuff into a general basket & then the Leggos & the Bionicles got their own receptacles to ease the later task of going through that!

See, this gets complicated even at this early stage!

OK, I've got to quit procrastinating now. . . maybe I'll get the chance to take a shot of my clutter progress. . .nah, that would be even more reason to procrastinate!

I'll update later!

My Fleet Farm Finds

I found all of these scrappy items at Fleet Farm of all places! Can you believe that???
And it was all clearanced out. . .the most expensive
item was $1.50. . .and I think that was something
metal. . .I forget. Anyway, most of these items
were 70 & 90 cents! I love bargain shopping!

I have to get scrapping!

We're going to build!!! We plan to break ground in November of this year! I have to get my house in order for selling. That means I have to really get going on my 12 step program for being a packrat! Garage sale here I come!

9-11 pics

I just watched pics from 9-11-01 set to Enya's Only Time. Amazing! I am still so full of emotion about that day. As most everyone who has memory from that day - I know exactly where I was standing as the 2nd plane hit the World Trade Center. I watched in shock & horror as I realized that the first impact was not an accident after all. I shook with fear as I thought of how fragile our lives are & how vulnerable we are to acts of terror. My heart sank as I realized the lives that were lost & the children who would never again see the face of a parent. . .and I shivered with anxiety because my own young son was sleeping soundly in the next room. What kind of future would lay ahead? And I didn't know it at the time, but a 2nd son would be coming within just one year of that day.
Here is the link to what I viewed:
http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/movies/attack.html
I encourage you to check it out. Be ready. You will feel many emotions.

Peace!

Hi there

Wow, me again! Back so soon! Let's see, . . . . I went to Fleet Farm yesterday to pick up dog food. . .and I ventured down the scrappy aisle. . . whoa! Clearance!!!!!!!! I made a haul at great prices. . . now I need to decide whether to keep it for me - ruining my string of no personal buying - or to give it away. Hmmm. . . I'll have to ponder on that one:)

Anyway - worked today. Got done early. We have an adult Easter Egg hunt tonight at our friends' house. It's always fun & quite interesting.

I need to go shower now. Carter is sleeping in my arms - very fun to type one handed! Here's a pic of Parker on the evening of his 4th birthday party. What a sweetie!

Back in the GAME

Holy Moses! It's been WAY too long. I will try to keep updating. . .try:)

New things:
I'm doing well with my full time job as a labor & delivery nurse. LOVE IT!
Spencer is in soccer & he is really good at it. Scores goals every game. 5 year olds are so cute.
Parker, the one with his 2 front teeth missing, now has a little scar on his right eye lid from a burn. . . campfire, stick, 4 year old, ambulance. . . need I say more? He's OK.
Carter has 4 teeth! He's still happy as ever, wants to walk. . .is so silly as he giggles at everything.
We meet with a builder tomorrow to see the sketches he came up with for our new home! I'm super duper excited!!! We plan to build starting next spring. Lots to do to get this house ready to sell.
I'm going to let my Pampered Chef business go completely as soon as 2 months pass that I have no orders. I just want my chance to get the newest products at 50% off & then I'm going to let it go. Tough decision. . .but necessary.
We sold our rental property finally! This is such a good thing let me tell you.
WE bought bicycles for Scott & I. Now I have no excuse not to get back into shape. I'm still breastfeeding. . .so I have about 10 pounds still on compared to my prepregnancy weight. I'm so OK with that. I just need to get back into shape exercise wise. And I might be able to get my wellness blog going again. . .but let's not push it too much:)

I'm starting myself on a 12 step program. . . I'm admitting I have a problem with being a pack rat. That's the first step. . . I'm on my way.

I'm off to scrapbook. The two older boys & Scott are gone to the fireworks & Carter is sleeping. Time for me to put in some tunes & scrap. I'm almost done with our wedding candids. . .hey, it's only been 8 years!