Thursday, October 30, 2008

I write like I talk....fast!

I just re-read a few of my recent posts and realized that I write just like I talk....FAST!!! I sound like I am on speed!! Which I am not....just a little Espresso.....or maybe a LOT of espresso! Heehee! I was getting worn out just reading them! I promise to slooooow dooooowwwwn a bit!!!

I always get in trouble when I read at Church because they say nobody can keep up with me! I think I get it!

Check in tomorrow for some Fabulous Finds under $5!!!

Good Night!!

MMMMMM Chalk-yette

Do you like "Chalk-yette"????? I bet you do!!! I know a little Princess who LOVES it!!! Loves it with CAPITAL letters!!! I have my very own little sugar baby!! As much limitation as we put on sugar in my house, this Princess finds a way to make the most of it!

We made cupcakes recently and I made this homemade chocolate icing to go with them. At first glance the Princess snubbed her nose at it, .....she actually said..."ewww"...then as if she realized what she had just said, she looked at me and said. "Chalk-yette??? I yike Chalk-yette!!!"

It was all I could do at that point to finish mixing it and put a blob on the cupcakes!!! Clean-up process was a breeze!! She looks like she is in a Chocolate coma!!!






ALL GONE!!!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Who Loves Ya Baby??



Alright...I am going to try and not post something too sappy tonight....the last post was a little sappy....sorry, was having a Mom moment! I thought I would show you what a good little wife I had been lately!!


Now, I confess that there is still a PILE of laundry threatening to take over our house - a BARE minimum of Halloween decorations throughout our house (one of my husbands favorite holidays) - and the biggest confession.....neither one of the two previous confessions are keeping me up at night! Sorry honey, but I do love you!!


BUT....what I have done is.....be very "supportive" of my husband who works like dog for our family.....has recently QUIT "dipping" aka, snuff (you know that disgusting stuff they put in their mouth and then spit out the nasty spit...) AND...my biggest act of Love....

Eating this..... look at that lovely bowl! Even though it resembles a doggie bowl, it isn't...so close though!!


He really enjoys making bread, an obsession of his I haven't yet figured out.....this one was a complete failure, but I (and those poor little children of ours) choked it down...literally. He blamed the failure on the new organic yeast I bought for him. I don't buy it!


I love ya baby, but please don't make us eat those bread sticks again!!!



Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I am raising a bunch of Warriors!!!

(yes, that is a little clip hiding over there in his hair....we had been joking around about how much he looked like me with a clip in his hair right before I took this picture....lol)
Maybe that is not such a bad thing? Keep reading and you'll understand what I am saying... It took me a couple of days to see this myself.....

Over the past couple of days there have been quite a few ups and downs...you know the ones that make you think that this "Mom Gig is not quite as fun as I thought it would be".... My idea of being a Mommy was a little more along the lines of June Cleaver, not that of a NHL referee.
Some days I feel like all I am doing is breaking up fights and or dealing with a stubborn two year old...O YEAH...that's because I am!!
Yesterday I was thinking to myself..."I am raising a bunch of warriors! What is going on??!?! All they do is fight with each other...I didn't raise them this way" I even made them write 100 times that they would treat each other with respect!

Included in these past couple of days have been a few moments where The Brawn has been "hurt", not in the physical but in the emotional/spiritual sense. Sadly enough I must say, by adults....two examples for you; A customer refused to take a spoon from him because of his feeding tube, and then tonight which started off on a bad foot because, me - the "not" mom of the year forgot that it was Trick or Treat night at the Cub scouts meeting - SO...no costumes and I didn't make prior arrangements for there to be NON CANDY items available for him at each of the stations, which I would have if I had remembered....But I didn't so lets move on....FOCUS......An ADULT says to him at one of the stations..."Hey, what's that? Is it part of your costume??" As he kinda picks at it on his face. Uhhh, no idiot, it's not! But thanks for bringing some more attention to the tube running up his nose, we almost forgot it was there!! Ok...I didn't say that, but I did think it....and that is not nice on my part, but it hurts to see your little people hurt!!! I am better now...sorry.

Where is this going you ask???

My little warriors Rallied around their brother - silently - delicately - lovingly - they made their brother feel better about who he is and stood up strong for him when he wasn't feeling his inner strength. They didn't make a big deal out of the situations, they just did it....a hand on the shoulder, a simple conversation on the way home, just simple love for each other.
And Then.....There it was.....

I didn't see it at first, I didn't hear the voice telling me - there it is....look at them....they are fighting for "EACH OTHER". Thank you God, Thank you for my little warriors. I love them, each of them individually, all of them together....Thank you God.


I am not sure, but I think that I might have Created a few Loving, Compassionate little Warriors to live in this Crazy Place we Call Life!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fun Finds and Thrift Store Love

I have been waiting - very impatiently - to show you some of the Fun Finds that my husband and I found last week. I thought I would share them with you on this Talk about Tuesday! I have wanted to participate in this for a while, but by the time I get myself together it is like Thursday! Anyhoooo.... We were on a "date" of sorts....we had the Princess with us but she was being REALLLY good....It was a very nice day!! We had lunch at one of my favorites, and then we went to about a half dozen Antique, Consignment, and Thrift Stores. And surprisingly, he seemed to enjoy it as much as I did!! He said it was the company....isn't he sweet....I think he was just trying to get lucky if you know what I mean! Some of my fabulous finds are going to the shop, and some have come home with me to live in chaos like the rest of us!

OK, enough talk...let me show you what I found!! It makes me excited just remembering what I found...I am pathetic I tell ya!!! This is not everything....I don't want to overwhelm you!

First were these Lovely Linens!!! One of the many things that gets me really excited is finding Vintage Linens!!! I got all three of these for less than $20!! I have no intentions of parting with these!!! One has a little hole and one has a pretty interesting stain on it but I am sure I can get it out. The bottom one is in really good condition - just a little faded. I personally don't care what they look like at this point because I LOVE THEM!!!

Next up...this lovely little collection of mugs! I really liked the brown ones for my house, even the hubby was eyeing them up, but we parted with them already and they reside nicely above the Espresso Machine! They are a nice size - pretty vintage - and in PERFECT condition. Notice that there are only 5 of them? That is because I DROPPED one and broke it on the way to the register!!! The lady tells me that she has more and will bring one down to the shop for me. Then those sweet little tea cups next to the brown ones, well they are just sweet and I really liked them!! The blue willow mugs in the bag are great for Cappuccino's. They also are in really good condition!!! In fact I served to Cap's in them yesterday! They were all such a great price that it made them even prettier!!

NOW...Seriously.....do you see these SWEET little tea cups!!! I saw these and almost jumped out of my skin! This is only one of them, it is a set of four and man are they beautiful. One of them has a pretty significant crack in the plate but the rest are really nice! They are all hand painted with this little Asian scene, the insides are this beautiful iridescent white and all in all they are just beautiful!!! Have I mentioned that they are beautiful?? These, much to my chagrin are being sold at the shop. I can't keep everything.....I have to keep telling myself that!





I had picked up these three little pins a little while back and not gotten around to post them, but I really like them too!! The little pansies are made from ceramic and the black one is hand painted on wood. Very pretty!! The white one is just fun! I thought it would make a cool ring. OK, that is it for this trip. But....I have more from this past weekend!! You have to wait a bit longer for those!! They might just include a lovely white pitcher, a mint condition vintage jewelry box....and some really, really fun jewelry finds!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Seriously....

Do you think anyone at the Board of Education actually has children? And on top of that, do you think that they have ever tried to work with their children?? Like actually "work" with them - by their side - you know take them to work??? OK, in case you haven't guessed, the kids were out of school today and it was a rough day of "work" with the kids! The concept that people come to the shop to relax and enjoy their coffee while they browse was CLEARLY missed by my children today!!! I actually called my husband and told him it was a matter of "National Security" for him to leave work! Apparently the people he works for don't get it either because they didn't let him off early to go rescue his wife from the kids at the Coffee Shop...or was it the other way around...rescue the kids from his wife?!?! OK, rant over..... But really, it was a tough day!! However, looking on the bright side....everyone is healthy and no injuries took place!

And then....because all Mama's need a night out, we had Knitting 101 at the Shop tonight. That was a lot of fun...NOOOO I didn't come home with a sweater, or a scarf, or even 10 complete stitches...wait are they called stitches?? Whatever - I will be starting over tomorrow, or maybe the next day! It was fun. I really enjoyed the company, there was some potty talk - but none of it really had to do with the potty! We will definitely be having Knitting 101 again. Nobody is really ready to advance to 102 yet!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Dig Deep

Can we dig deep for a minute?? ....... I have been totally entranced with this story - every bit of the story!! I am in LOVE with her - in fact I want to whisper Happy Bird-day in her ear - every day for the rest of her life. I have been praying for her family, her, her kids, her husband....every day...do you think that God has passed along my whispers to them?

This story has made me think, it has made me cry and it has made me look at moments in my life and wonder....what if? It has also made me want to "BE" better in my every day life!

If something happened to me or my husband, who would take care of my children. Not just put a roof over their head or food in their bellies, but who would fill their souls with the love and nurturing that they need?

I have no sisters, only a brother - and we don't seem to be able to spend too much time together without there being a difference of opinions, plus he is 13 years younger than me and doesn't have his life together enough to take on 4 little peoples lives! I want a sister like her....I have actually always wanted a sister like her! I would even take a neighbor like her! I want friends like these. When this sleeping beauty wakes up she is going to be blown away by the amount of people who seriously LOVE for her and her family! I wonder if she will be able to take it all in?

If something happened to me, who would be there to take care of my husband and kids. Not just physically, but emotionally? Would anyone rally for them and help with the school, life and medical bills?? I really don't have that many "girlfriends", would anyone step in and coordinate this. Last year our son went through a pretty serious medical ordeal and we were out of state for 11 days and no one even made a single dinner for my husband! Our church is pretty small and quite frankly - there are not that many young families there!

How exceptional it is to read of her love for her husband, her strength and pride. I love that she is so open about her love of her husband. I wish I could be more like that. I wish that tomorrow we could start our marriage over again and not let every day "life" jade us of our love for one another. Because lets face it, most of us let the bills, the laundry and the sleep deprivation take over and tarnish the sparkle that used to be in our eye when we looked at our loved one - dare I say our Lover!

There are so many ways that this story has effected me, it has made me remember how precious every day is. Even on days where being a Mom really STINKS! We all have them - even when we pretend that life is perfect - those moments where the baby won't get in the car seat, the dog is in heat, the older kids miss the bus and give YOU an attitude about it, the husband wants dinner and you forgot to take plan something!! You know, one of those days.....just remember how lucky we are to have beautiful, strong willed children and a husband who cares enough to come home to us!

To remember to love deeply, and love honestly. Even ourselves....I love that she was so candid about taking pictures of herself (no pun intended). I love that her children can still see her beautiful face looking back at them even though she isn't there with them. This story has made me put myself back into "the" story of my kids life - how many pictures do you have of yourself or of you and your kids together - right now??

Most importantly, I think about how important it is to be honest to ourselves. If we want to be a something that is different that what other people "think" we should be - remember to be honest to ourselves. Be the parent we want to be, the wife we want to be, and the person that we want to be. Be open about our religion, our beliefs - whatever it is - just be honest to ourselves!

I have never met this beautiful creature, but I will hold a piece of her in my heart everyday, even when the hype is over and everyone is going back to their every day lives. I will remember her.

Happy Bird-day Mom....


No - I didn't misspell it, No - it is not my birthday, but ever since August when it was my birthday that is what my little princess says as her "I love you". She won't say "I love you"....and if you say, "I love you....do you love me", she says "NO....Happy Bird-day". It is really sweet and it makes me a little weepy when she says it, she is my last baby and the last one that I will hear talking to me in her cryptic little language. I really love it when she whispers it in my ear like it is a secret - that is my favorite! Some days we need somebody to whisper in our ear because the world is so busy SCREAMING at us about everything else.


So from me to you....."Happy Bird-day"

Monday, October 13, 2008

This weekend was absolutely BEAUTIFUL around here!! Perfect weather for a Fall Festival...little face painting, hair painting..hay ride and lets just throw in a corn maze to top it off. We were down one kid due to the opening of the NEW Target. It is HUGE and definitely had The Brains attention! He had made a date with my mother about two months ago when they announced the Opening date. So any-who....after my morning of serving Hot Beverages we headed off to the Fall Festival at our local and FAVORITE nursery. It was a lot of fun....except for the Princess who says that she "..no like Hay-o-ween, yit scare me". This being one of her few poses for the day......This pose being the reason why I won't have any cute pictures of her finding an adorable little pumpkin or riding on the Hayride...I think I am going to try and photoshop her in...as soon as I figure out how to do that! LOL!

Mind you there was NOTHING scary going on at this fun little festival - although she did find her daddy getting his hair painted Hot Pink totally terrifying! The poor girl doing the spraying found his look terrifying!! He forgot to ask how long the paint stays in the hair before she started spraying...."Couple of Days Sir?!?!"

THIS....was Hysterical in her opinion!!! A BIG Daddy trying to get into a LITTLE Cow car named "Bubba"...


He Made it.....

Good day - Beautiful Sunshine - Happy Family!!




Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ahhh....I love my family...today..

Just kidding, I love them every day, but today I am feeling a little extra lovey!!They are a cute little bunch, have you ever met them?? They are my greatest accomplishment - my favorite Creation in this Crazy Place called Life. Before The Princess was born we used to laugh and say that we had the perfect combo...The Beauty, The Brains and The Brawn. Now we have the cute little Princess to complete our circle!

First we have The Beauty...

The Brains.....

The Brawn.....








And, lastly The Princess....




Pretty cute bunch, huh?? They each are so unique in their little personalities. The Princess is truly the boss and The Brains wants to be President, and I am pretty sure that it is going to happen. The Beauty is such a hard worker and awesome athlete...The Brawn, well he is stronger than any of us combined, and for as much of a fighter as he is, he is just as big of a lover.
They are all destined for greatness....
I know, I know, I am a little biased, but they are my story!!!
And my Great Big husband, well he is always working so there are not any pictures of him for you, at least none that I have on my camera! I have recently seen him on Utube and on CNN, but in the house...nope, lol. As important as that makes him sound...we really aren't! Just a hard working man in uniform! And, no....I never get tired of looking at him in his uniform!
Love to you all!!