housing update

This is what came home with me today after a day of texturing ceilings..

here is a shot of the kitchen since we painted, but that is getting covered, more on that later....

















here is the dining room, I have to repaint it and get the border up....
















Here is the living room and the start of the sofet (SP?) that mike is building to house some resessed lighting...




















And this is my own Mike the builder....






















THis is the bathroom that Deanne and Michelle bravely conquered....

2008

Let's review, shall we? Cold, cold, cold, wet, wet, HOT, HOT, HOT, wet, warm, cold, cold. Yep that pretty much sums it up. On a personal level, it was a decent year. Well, except for the $4.09 a gallon gas. And the dramatic exit of our foster daughter. And having our little brother go off to play in the desert. And G'ma battling cancer, again. Yep, other then those blemishes, everyone is still alive, healthy, mouthy as ever. So that counts. I am hoping for a smooth move and lots of good times in 2009. I wish the same for all of you too!

Christmas break

The kids weren't supposed to start their break till today (Tuesday) but due to the weather, they got out early Thursday then had Friday and Monday off too. SO I can realistically say we are at day five. It has been ok, I thought I was losing my mind earlier then Mr decided to take a nap so I am ok. Last weekend Chick was sick, yesterday 411 was ill and Mike and Mr have been really fatigued with headaches. Me and Bubba are the last hold outs. I am hoping it skips us cuz we have way too much to do.
My mom is coming down for a couple of hours tomorrow then going up to my brothers on Christmas day. My sister emailed me to get a vacation to Canada planned for next summer. My aunt is spending the holiday season with her daughter in Alabama (or Georgia, I forget where she lives). That is the extent of my side of the family's involvement with each other. It never has been a close knit one. I am really thankful that my kids are growing up with a sense of family. They just don't know how lucky they are, I just hope the closeness continues as they get older and get their own families.
I got to talk to Zach the other day. I knew he was really down cuz he just doesn't chat with me usually. I am not good at small talk so that really limits who I talk to, you have to know me to love me kind of thing. Anyway, he is having a rough time this go round. I feel so bad for him, he has always had this attitude about it. Maybe that is what he needed to get through I don't know but it is gone now. He just wants to come home. And the really cool part is he will be trying to come here when he says home. I think I am going to try to put together some cookies or something when we get this moving thing out of the way. Pesky details ;)

Keni Thomas

As most of you know, my 10 year old is a military freak. He loves anything to do with the military. I had known about Keni Thomas for awhile, he has a couple of songs that just grab you. "Not Me" and "Band of Brothers" are two of the most velcro-ish. I don't know how to embed video's into my blog but here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TAGG0-HHSs

I looked him up on wikipedia because I just think he is really really cool.


Thomas enlisted in the Army in 1991. Prior to joining the Army he attended the University of Florida.[1] He served as a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment, eventually attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. Thomas was a member of Task Force Ranger as a part of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. A main objective of the Task Force was to capture the elusive Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The most well known of their combat missions occurred October 3, 1993, when Thomas and fellow Task Force members were involved in the Battle of Mogadishu that was later immortalized in the book and movie Black Hawk Down, for which he was a consultant. He also served as a consultant for the Mel Gibson film We Were Soldiers. After Somalia, Thomas went on to serve as an assistant team leader on Ranger recon teams. His military decorations and achievements include the Bronze Star for Valor and the Combat Infantryman Badge, as well as successful completion of the Special Forces Combat Diver course and the Belgian Commando course.
Upon leaving active duty service, Thomas worked as a youth counselor. He also became a speaker, giving presentations to various audiences across the United States
Thomas soon formed the band Cornbread and began his career in music by performing with the band in and around Columbus, Georgia. After several album releases, Thomas and Cornbread released the album Flags of Our Fathers, with the artist listed as Keni Thomas. Thomas donates some of the proceeds to the Hero Fund, which directs those funds to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, an organization created to provide college scholarships and financial aid to the children of fallen Special Operations soldiers.
He has a new album that came out in 2008, "Gunslinger" and you can bet as soon as I find it, I am buying it.

another week

Last Friday I got to babysit my great nephew and niece. He played hard!!















Here one of my fave's of lil miss















and look, I won! We tore down the false ceilings and even Mikey likes the way it makes the rooms feel bigger.



















Now, we just have to drywall, texture, paint, sand, stain, replace, clean and MOVE! We are shooting for the first week in January being done and moving in. I have got to get organized!

Double trouble doing their rock star impersonations

Bubba all decked out for the holiday program at school.

Mr. on his way to the program.

411 was so proud!

One year, with all the family at the school program we had at least one kid in each grade, k-6. It is so much fun to watch them perform, they enjoy it. Some more then others (i.e. 411, she really gets into the groove). Fortunately, Whimp had her super camera last night so she got some really cute shots. My gimping camera wasn't going to take that good of pictures so I was happy she did her photographer thing. I totally plan on lifting the pix when she posts them ;)

Monday night stuff

Here is 411 before her recital, I told her to smile and this is what I get!












Here she is looking all cute and stuff. I have to give her the credit, she took this and I LOVE this picture of her. She is going through another phase of 'I am soo neglected' so I thought I would share a couple shots of just her. See, she is getting more attention then the others. That counts right?!? J/K

So there is really nothing new, just kinda waiting for the countdown to Christmas. SO not in the spirit this year, I think all the work to the house and knowing we are moving so soon after is really cramping our mood. I am really grumpy today, fighting with a hormonal teen first thing in the morning tends to do that to me. I finally hit my limit on how much nastiness I was gonna take off of her. I am so not looking forward to the other three going through it.

We got the dining room in the new house painted an interesting shade of red and the living room a warm shade of sage. Right now I am fighting for drywalling the ceiling (over the existing lathe and plaster) and getting rid of the existing false ceiling. I HATE false ceilings. Really really hate them, they look cheap to me. I understand what Mike is saying though, we are running out of time; we wanna get moved the week after Christmas. Still have to rip out the upstairs bathroom vanity, toilet, shower doors and surround. Then replace all that stuff, finish painting the downstairs bathroom, sand the floors, varnish them, finish the plumbing in the kitchen and get the sink base set back up as well as a vanity for the downstairs bathroom. We moved the washer and dryer hookup out of the kitchen and onto the back porch/mudroom, that is why there is plumbing issues in the kitchen. Mike's got a friend who is a plumber that is helping him. Now if he could just befriend an electrician and a carpenter we would be set. LOL

I wrapped all the gifts I had so far today. Boy, knowing what I spent, it sure doesn't seem like much. I am hearing that from a lot of people this year, though, it is a tight one. They keep saying that the economy is just going to get worse, scary times indeed.

I started another stocking, this one is for the newest edition, Aubree. I had made one for her older brother, so her mom came and asked me to make one for her. That made me feel good. I always worry when I make something, that people are just being polite when they say they like it. There's that low self esteem again, ssiiigghhh. It irritates me cuz like when my mom said "it's so beautiful" I hear in my head her telling me "even if it is the most horrendous gift ever, you tell the person you love it so you don't hurt their feelings". Which I understand the lesson she was trying to teach, and it is a good one, BUT now I always wonder.

There are officially 17 days left till Christmas. For me, it is only 11 days till the family grab bag. That is the most fun of the season for me. Mike is one of eight kids (for the one or two of you that don't know and aren't a member of the family) and each of those 8 is married. Most of them have kids, some even have grand kids and kids-in-law. It makes for a HUGE get together. So we reserve the Saturday before Christmas to have our get together. We all bring way too much food, a grab bag gift for each adult and gifts for our kids to open if we have kids. Then, when our bellies are screaming because we ate entirely too much, we play bingo for the gifts. Then we play another round for stealing. There always is a way cool gift that everyone is envious of, and of course, a gift that no one wants. I always shoot for something in the middle. I am chicken, I don't want to give the gift that everyone goes, 'gee, you really shouldn't have. really.' When I was married to my first husband, they did something similar, and my sister in law took a package of Depends as her gift and thought it was hilarious. The recipient didn't but it wasn't me so I didn't care. Anyway, the point to this is, I am more excited for that then I am for the actual Christmas day. Mike and I rarely get each other anything and that is a little disappointing but at least that day I get to enjoy the holiday for me and not just the kids.

I had a friend leave me a message on my myspace a couple a days ago. I hadn't heard from her for quite awhile and out of the blue, she left me a message saying that she misses me and thinks I am a cool person. ( so totally paraphrasing but you get the warm fuzzy intent) That was really nice. I wish I was thoughtful enough to leave random notes of kindness for people. I actually tried it once. Michelle is always giving me compliments for random things completely outta the blue. I was sitting there thinking one day, 'I wish I could do that, just tell someone atta girl kinda thing' so I texted Michelle I thought she was a good person and that I was happy I got to be part of her world. She immediately called me and asked if I was suicidal cuz that text just didn't sound like me.

Odds and ends

my little pilgrim!




















This is what we discovered when we pulled the paneling off a wall in the kitchen, a through to the built in hutch (I am sure there is a name for it, I just don't know it) and some built in cabinets. They got a little dinged with "demo" and I have to find some cool hinges but I think they will be soo cool.




















THe top of the stairs after we pulled all the carpet up

















THe bottom of the stairs before I went through and got all the staples, nails and tack strips pulled up. The entryway floor is in the roughest shape. I am anxioous to get it sanded, stained and sealed.























Danny's stocking I finally got done. It turned out bigger then Riley's but I don't think Whimp cared! She insisted she had to have them before Christmas for some reason ;)

Black Friday

I am missing some brain cells, that is the only reason I can think of that I torture myself every year with getting up wayyyy before dawn and standing in the freezing cold. This year wasn't so bad, we started at Wal-mart where it is open 24 hours and you can at least be in out of the cold. I did manage to get most of my shopping done today. Nothing will beat the deal Chelle got, you'll have to ask her about it. I just have a few little odds and ends to gather up left. I even did half of my mom's shopping for her. We were on the road at 3:45am, finished up and got home around 4:45pm. Makes for a long day, but, on the plus side, I am almost done!
I was really saddened to hear that there were deaths over black Friday shopping around the country. There was a temporary Walmart employee that was trampled to death trying to open the doors. And there was two people SHOT to death in a Toysrus in California. My god, is saving a few $ worth a life? My sister in laws and I were just talking on the way home that this year people seemed to be more polite. Maybe that was just in our corner of the world.

I got it!!

I am SOOO excited, I ordered something for Christmas and it came early! Oh my oh my I can't wait!

Meanwhile, we are steadily working on removing staples and nails from the floors. The kitchen floor got mopped 3 times with ammonia water, then next time is going to be just a regular cleaner with maybe a little scent to it. It smells soo much better. I am really worried about the odor, maybe cuz I know what it was like. We are shooting for moving in the first part of January, and working from there on getting it the rest of the way. It is going to be hard living in a work in progress but so worth it.

My mom called me this morning, they are rearranging her medications because her EKG showed that she had had a heart attack. Since that was news to her, it was kinda surprising. They have been eliminating and adding different meds for a couple of months now, I just hope they get it figured out soon.

I am so excited about Black Friday shopping! I just got to figure out exactly when the ads come out, last year I was lucky that my sister in law had a paper with them in it. And of course, I have to get through Thanksgiving. I am being stubborn and making a feast, even though more then likely it will just be the six of us. I like having the left overs so that is my whole reasoning. I like turkey and butter sandwiches the next day the most because I usually end up stuffing myself on the veggie tray and dessert Thanksgiving day. AHHH I am getting hungry already!

Tuesday boredom

I have been trying new recipes that are less fattening and use more veggies. Trying to be a little more health conscience. I KNOW what I am supposed to be doing (balancing the diet, making a colorful display, varying the menu) all the things that my anal retentive home ec teacher taught us all those years ago. I know that. But here on planet reality, with 5 other members of my family that don't like this, that, those, and everything else, it gets challenging. SO I decided that they were going to eat what I fixed because, hey, what else are they going to eat? With that said, there have been a few shall we say less then thrilling meals around here lately. I did however hit upon one last night that everyone (except Mikey) liked. Dude even asked for seconds, that never happens. I got to thinking, I bet other people would like to try this yumm-o dish too! So here is the recipe




Chicken Alfredo

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, cubed
6 TBN butter or margarine
1/2 C. milk
1/2 tsn garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (about 1 1/2 C)
2 C frozen broccoli, thawed
2 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 C julienned sweet red pepper
6 oz fettuccine, cooked and drained

In a skillet over low heat, melt cream cheese and butter; stir until smooth. Add milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken, broccoli, zucchini and red pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat, cover and cook 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Serve over fettuccine. YIELD: 4-6 servings


I doubled everything except the red pepper, we aren't big pepper fans. It was good and could very easily be adapted to whatever tastes you prefer. Enjoy!

some things

I have been super busy lately. Last week I went and had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and Grandma at the nursing home where G'ma has lived for the last few years. She has extreme dementia, doesn't even remember her name most of them time. It is really sad and very difficult for me to try to converse with her. Anyway, she had a good 45 minutes of at least talking (instead of the usual glazed over stare). One of the things she said to my mom while we were chatting with her is "I like the way she does things" (referring to me of course), my mom replied, 'yeah, mom, you always have'. It kinda made me smile a little. It was so difficult when were getting ready to leave, she was getting tired, and we asked if she was ready to go back to her room, and in this little girl voice she said no. Oh the guilt.
Mike and I have started cleaning the house. For those of you that don't know, we found a house (finally!) but it needed major cleaning. Scratch that, major shoveling. I am not kidding or exaggerating as I tend to do, we removed 9 truck loads of garbage out of this house. I can not even begin to describe the nastiness. The mice had been living there freely for sometime. Even under the carpet on the stairs. OMG! But now, after a couple of days of hard labor (thanks guys!) it is down to the original hard wood floors and they are going to be BEE_YOUT_A_FULL when we get them resanded. Lots of work but the owner is an extremely nice guy that is willing to work with us and give us a really good deal.
On a much, much sadder note, one of my aunts died last week. I wasn't really close to her because we haven't lived close to her for many decades, but she was always very sweet to me when I was a little girl. I don't really remember her well but I do remember that she was nice and made me feel good. It is true what they say, children don't remember the words you say but how it made them feel.

Such disappointment

So I took Dude to the allergist yesterday to get his blood drawn to check his level of allergy. He first tested at 1.4, six months later he tested at 1.2. That is why they told me to come back in November to get tested again because if his level goes below a 1, they will do a challenge on him. That is where they make him eat peanuts and stuff in the office to expose his system to it slowly. Basically, he wouldn't be classified as allergic anymore, so I was UBER excited to take him up there. We checked in and I paid my $25 co-pay, I sat in the waiting room for 10 minutes, then they called us back. They took us and got his weight and height and put us in a room. The doctor came in, filled out a form and told me to come back in January to get his blood tested, he didn't want to do it that day. We were back out in the waiting room on our way out the door less then 2 minutes after we were called back. So we have to take him back in two more months to finally get his blood checked, cross fingers for us. Meanwhile, he can't have peanut butter anything or anything with peanuts still. I am so glad I found soy butter. It tastes like a cheap peanut butter but Dude doesn't know the difference and thinks he is getting a special treat.

A little something

This is a little quilt I threw together and finished up for a gift for my newest niece.





















This is the back, a little easier to see the pattern of the Tink material.

You gotta love Mondays

Nothing catastrophic to report, glorious weather though. Kinda quiet weekend, after the sugar induced bedlam of Friday night. We took the kids out trick or treating, Dude was so excited; he got to go with Riles. They were both vampires, Wendy and I had a good giggle over that one cuz neither of us knew what the other was dressing as.
Let me just say now, I love myspace. It lets me get in touch with people I used to know without being a gold member. That just irritates me, "hey, 3 people wanna get in touch, and for just $25, you can find out who" Argh It is really neat to see the photos of their current lives and trip down memory lane a little.
I am having a hard time with Bubba, we can not make him understand the importance of his education. He understands the material, can do the work, isn't struggling academically with anything they have thrown at him. BUT, he refuses to take his time to make it neat, follow the rules as far as making complete sentences or use punctuation. He has gotten an F on three different papers now, not because he didn't have the right answers but because he refuses to use grammar. I am soo frustrated with it. Then there is Chick, when I tell her I am disappointed with her grades because I know she can do better all she hears is I want her on the honor roll. Yeah, that would be nice but I don't really care about that. I care about my kids living up to their potential. SIGH

phew!

The annual Halloween party is over. It was a HUGE success, between the younger kids party and the older kids party, we had over 150 kids show up! I took some pictures of random things to give ya'll an idea.

>
Our greeter, he's a little stiff


















The redneck tooth fairy and Mesmerelda the witch. See what I have to deal with?
















Our Special guest, Bootylicious






















One of the more popular games for the younger party, the gross out grab. THis year we had frog eyes, entrails and brains to find the tokens in.


















The older kids were happy with just grabbing each other!

















The biggest success of the night was the haunted walk. We wanted to do a hayrack ride but it was too muddy so we did a walk around the yard with several scary scenes. THe little adrenaline junkies LOVED it! It was a great time but oh so tiring,

Call me grumpy

As you all probably know, Nebraska finally adopted a safe haven law. Last year when I was talking about this, they were one of two states in the entire country that had no safe haven law in place. The nitwits that passed this very important piece of legislature left the age limit at 18 years old. People have been taking advantage of this something terrible: there was a man who brought in 9 of his children, a woman drove from Michigan to drop off her teen etc. So, shamefaced and freaking out, the people in charge went back and amended the law to make the age limit up to 3 days old. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081020/ap_on_re_us/safe_haven
Basically, you have to make up your mind before you leave the hospital. It was one of the most lenient and now is one of the strictest. I have a couple of thoughts on this. It pisses me off it took this long for the lawmakers to realize that the law was needed. I mean, seriously, every other state in the union recognizes the need. And what special kind of stupid does it take to make the law up to 18 years with no threat of prosecution and not expect some serious repercussions? Of course there is going to be people taking advantage of the no-prosecution-dumping ground for teens. OBVIOUSLY there are people who can't cope with kids. Should these children be forced to stay where they are abused, neglected or sometimes killed? But then they also are prosecuting the parents that are trying to use the law. When they made the law, they should have made an age limit of like 6 months or something and then came up with a solution for the older children that was still free from prosecution. I think people should be held responsible for the children they make, mothers and fathers, BUT there are situations where people are left feeling overwhelmed and make really poor decisions. I believe there should be something these people can do to make a better situation for everyone concerned that doesn't involve being arrested.

I am recovering

This weekend was my annual birthday breakfast (using the term lightly). We had to have it a little late this year because of my mother in law's massive surgery and health issues. She is all healed up now and it was time to get away. My five sister in laws and I went and stayed overnight in a condo in downtown Omaha. We all met up and had a couple glasses of wine. I have discovered I do not care for red, I prefer a sweeter white. Pretty sad I am coming to this realization at 34 but hey, better late then never. Anyway, Cindy brought sushi for all the girls to try, that was kinda funny. I have had it before (thank you Jen-o) but not with the wasabi/soy mix. The other ladies tried it and were, shall we say, less then impressed. It was fun watching their reactions and I appreciate Cindy broadening our horizons. I got to open all my fabulous gifts, all of it was wonderful, especially the extra cash. HA HA HA
We went out to dinner at a restaurant that was just a block away called JAZZ. It was a little place with a live jazz band playing on a little balcony above the diners. I should have been warned when my stuffed mushroom appetizer cleared my sinuses that they really, Really like their creole seasoning. I doubt I would go back because that isn't my cup of tea but it was so much fun trying something new. And the dessert was AWESOME. And we got some really cool bead necklaces that my girls just thought was the best gift.
After our dinner adventure, we went to a haunted house. I don't like these things but it was the second year in a row that I got roped into going. Dianne, Deanne, Michelle and I went in while Cindy and Wendy waited outside for us. Michelle gets some twisted thrill off of scaring herself spitless. We are always teasing her about it, so it was funny that all the "ghouls" that were wondering around as we were waiting to go in spooked her and left us alone.
Then we went to the store and got some snackys and more wine. On the way back to the condo, Cindy's car died. We think her alternator keeled over, so it wasn't going anywhere. We tried jumpstarting it several times in the middle of the intersection and finally ended up pushing it 1/2 block to a parking lot. That was a picture that would have been worth a thousand words let me tell you!
Finally at 1 in the morning, we got back to the rooms and visited a little more, I took a whirlpool bath and nearly went swimming the thing was so big. Deanne helped me light candles all around it, it was soo wonderful. Micheel and I got to sleep at oh 2:30-3 and were wide awake for some ridiculous reason at 6:45. Deanne had the concierge bring up bagels and fresh fruit for breakfast. Then we started our day shopping for the Halloween bash for the kids in our town. We finally got back to our neck of the woods around 6. We helped Jason, Bob and Ronnie hang the black plastic in the big garage. I finally got home to sit at 8, I was so wiped out. Chick wanted to show me the class ring she picked out, see my gifts, and visit cuz she missed me. I felt bad but I was so tired I went and laid down by 9 and was dozing by 9:05. And I slept hard till 8 this morning, it felt great.
There is lots to be done this week, treat sacks to assemble, olives to slice, hamburger to cook, treats to make, decorations to hang, Kool aid to make, serving trays and bowls to clean, games to set up, garages to clean, a hayrack ride to mapout and stage, and a ton of miscellaneous things that come up. It is so worth it though, the kids are thrilled with it and come away with a good memory. It makes such an impression, the parents are asking if we are having it again because their kids are still talking about how cool the last one was. The really cool part is, the noodles we sold in September paid for everything we needed to pull this off.

So here is the thing

I should be getting combat pay for having to wake a teen and get her off to school. My own little version of Katie Kaboom (it's a cartoon about a sweet all american girl complete with dimples, till she loses her temper and then all you see is a mushroom cloud). I love my daughter and I truly feel for her frustration but DAMN! She was in hysterics this morning (less then 20 minutes of getting out of bed in a great mood) because her shoelace wouldn't tie exactly as she wanted it. I am sitting here going, seriously?
Mike's best friend and his niece are getting married. It's kinda odd, although we do get some good jokes out of it: Uncle Brother being one of my favorites. He is going back to Iraq today for the last 9 months of his tour. The really depressing part is, his unit already has a redeployment date for the next time. Things change so quickly, especially in the military, I only hope that this is one of them. It is really hard being a military spouse, I don't know that I would ever want to do it again. Not that it would ever come up again, I am just saying.
411 is a girl scout nut selling fool. She loves going around talking to people trying to get them to buy stuff. One of my 7 circles of hell, but she grooves on it.
Bubba is bummed now that Lil Zach left. Then we find out his other friend, Jordan, is moving to Missouri. I really like Jordan, he is a very polite kid. You know the kind, the kind you hope your kids are when you aren't around. Figures he is the one moving and not the really obnoxious one.
Mr is loving kindergarten. He trys to say he doesn't want to go for form sake but is the first one out the door every morning.
We went through the re-licensing interview and are just waiting on our new license to come in the mail. Not that we are using it a whole lot. We did get a call for a group, 2 sets of twins, all under the age of 5. There isn't enough Prozac in the northern hemisphere for me to want to take on that many more.

on the calmer side

It is my first solitary day for like 2 weeks now. We had company, which was FABULOUS, and then Chick was ill with a stomach ache for four days. I took her to the doctor yesterday and she said that Chick has excess stomach acid and gave her some medicine. What really seemed to work though was when she didn't have to go work on the big group project that was due today. I think she stressed herself out over it to the point of being ill. She is sensitive like that.
My sister in law Michelle 'boo'd' us, so of course I had to 'boo' others. For those of you that aren't familiar, a 'boo' is like a may basket, a little goody bag with a cute poem on how to pass it on. I ended up 'booing' 4 people and not one of them acknowledged it. That is so frustrating. Just something a little fun and people are such poopers.
I have decided that a diet is in order, there are alot of really cool things happening next year and I don't wanna look like stay-puft for them. And I am making Mikey do it too cuz I am that mean. We will see what we see.
The annual halloween party is in 2 weeks and we haven't even started planning yet. The fundraiser (remember all the noodles?) did really well, so we have plenty of cash for the things we need, we just have to decide what it is we need. We are breaking it up this year, younger kids party first and then a break then the older kids dance/karaoke party. It makes it alot more fun when the kids appreciate what you are doing for them. I am really getting excited about it.

HELP!!!

I was talking to my sister this morning and she would like me to make her an IOWA quilt. What the hell would an IOWA quilt look like?

What a week

Here is the latest quilt, I had to wait till after the wedding because it was their gift and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Stacy and Curtis has a beautiful wedding. Wendy will probably post pictures on her blog. Since my camera took a dive onto concrete off the top of the fridge, I don't use it unless I absolutely have to.













And speaking of have to.. here is my company I have had this week. My stomach hurts from laughing all week. I give HUGE props to their grandparents; after their mom died, G'ma and G'pa stepped up and raised them along with their sister. Zach is 32 , Seth is 23 and Regina is somewhere in the middle. They all still respect and honor their grandparents. They raised them right, even if they are extremely ornery. ;)

Look What I Have Been Up To

These are bags I made for Cindy, didn't turn out too shabby!












And here is one of Wendy's birthday gifts. Kinda not a secret since she picked out the pattern.

















There is another project I have to take a picture of, maybe next time I'll be prepared :)

Chicks First Homecoming

News

We just got a confirmation, Snatch will be here Friday night. I am so excited for Mikey, he loves that goofball.

My nephew and his girlfriend had their baby on Monday, a lil girl they named Aubree.

Homecoming is this weekend, Chick is all excited, I will post pictures when she gets all dolled up!

I am off to finish up a quilt and make some purses ;)

Friday

So since I haven't posted in awhile, I thought I would let everyone know what I am up to. I finished all the noodles, I have 16 bags. I have the next quilt all laid out and realized that I am short about 30 white blocks. I swear my mind is off somewhere having a long island iced tea. I have the stocking for Riley all stitched, I just have to outline (my least favorite part). I am going to make a batch of grape jelly today, I just have to figure out what kind of grapes my son picked. I have 6 loads of laundry done, three more to go for today. We all know that it's never done. That about sums it up. I really should go get a 'real' job; I just don't have anything to do all day. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

The #1 the day I arrived was...

"The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace
Which I had never heard of before. My niece sent me this link, it is kind of fun.

http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

We went and gave G'ma her quilt. She seemed to like it. Thought the "jewels" on the back was funny. I made some cheeseburger soup, oh I had forgotten how yummy that stuff is. And fattening. but dammit, sometimes you just gotta say damn the calories :)

noodlemaker extraordinaire

Here is one of the 5 batches of noodles I made yesterday. I am making these for a fundraiser so we can make money for the annual Halloween party that my sisters in law have for the community kids. I only have 5 more to do, oh yeah!!

Taa Daaa

Backside, very jewely ;)
















Frontside, completed!

potpourri of pix

Here is the quilt all sewed up


















Now this is the clipping I was talking about, doesn't it look like fun?















here is Mr going to bed, about 15 minutes after he was supposed to be laid down















he must get his example from Bubba, who was also supposed to be going to bed















Then there is Chick, what a goofball!

post labor day

My camera did a half-gainer off the top of the fridge unto concrete this weekend at the river. I am totally bummed. I was just getting used to having it at all times to capture those moments in time that get missed. Hopefully I can get a new one soon. It still works a little but I don't wanna push it.
I am done sewing, now moving on to clipping. I HATE this part. The nice thing is I can do it while I watch TV but it takes sooooo long. I have the little seams of all 437 blocks plus the long seams of all 23 rows. I am bitching, I know. I love the effect and the response when I give them, that is why I do it. That doesn't mean I have to like it though :)
My mom has to have surgery in both her eyes, she is a little nervous. It is interesting to me to be in this situation. My mom has always been very self sufficient, one of my better qualities I must say. Now she needs me. And it never crossed my mind not to be there for her. That must say something; like even though I bitch constantly, and get frustrated with my kids all the time, I must be an ok gal. I like that. It is good to know about me. I doubt myself so much, it is really good to know that deep down, when push comes to shove, I can ignore all the reasons that I am disappointed/ pissed and be there for her. Granted, it is just a couple of rides to and from but dammit, I am taking my warm fuzzies!

CINDY----->PROGRESS REPORT

This is the quilt at rox 15 or 16, I don't remember which. I am liking it!

















and what would a picture post be without double trouble?

Another day

I am enjoying another school day. I love school. silence, me time. Oh joy of joys. I am now up to 9 rows done on the quilt. I am really happy with how it is shaping up though. Whimpy called and I now have a deadline (I work better that way as evidenced by the stocking that still isn't done).
Mikey finally got his own myspace page. He was complaining because classmates.com keeps sending him notices that old friends were looking for him but you have to pay to see who (which I think is a crock) so I suggested setting up a myspace. It's free and you'd be surprised who will look you up. Especially for him, having been in the military for 10 years and met so many different people.
The kids got to spend the afternoon with my mom yesterday. They had a ball, looted through an old camper she has on her property. They found a lot of "treasures" and were just sure that they were from my childhood. 411 did find some snapshots of my high school graduation that showed all the graduates. Of course, it was taken from the football stadium bleachers in order to get everyone in but it was kinda neat to see it. I obviously didn't get to see it from that perspective.

I am procastinating

sorta. I have gotten four rows of the quilt sewn together. Each of these rows takes about 45-60 minutes to assemble. There will be twenty-three of them total. So I am taking a break and kind of taking my time to go back to it. I always drag till I get to the half way point and then it is like a switch and I burn through it.
We went to the kids' open house last night for school. Mr had to show us EVERYTHING, including the music room, gym and cafeteria. He doesn't seem to grasp that all three of his siblings have gone to this school for years, and even he has gone to it for 2 years, we've pretty much seen everything the school has to offer. He is so excited to be a kindergartner, it is a hoot. He gets to see Riles every day now and on Wednesdays, she comes over to play.
Chick is liking 9th grade, her art class is all older kids. She was kinda freaked out a little by that, new things scare her terribly. I think she is starting to get they are just kids like her.
Bubba had his first homework assignment of the year. I was really hoping to delay the battle a little longer. Hopefully he doesn't have as much as last year. I had to laugh because it took the teacher less then 2 days to realize that him and his friend needed to be separated. I think she has his number already and am excited to see where he goes this year.
411 loves her new class. She has made a couple of new friends that I am struggling with liking. There is one that is just a bad influence and we told 411 that she isn't allowed to play with her anymore. I feel for the kid, I do, but I want my child to enjoy her last coupla years of just being a kid. And not have peer pressure of seriously bad choices (stealing, lying, playing with fire, running all over town getting into mischief at 11 oclock at night, supposedly smoking). This is a kid I can totally see getting a placement call over. At least then she would have to follow my rules.
Supposedly Snatch will be coming back for mid-tour soon. He will be coming to visit for a few days, so the party will be on. It is really hard to pin down an exact time frame though because it is the government, he probably won't know for sure till he is on the plane. You guys know, hurry up and wait.
Mikey has officially been a shop manager for a year now. It sure doesn't seem like it has been that long.

Quilt update

So here is what I start with, a gathering of materials and a crayola-erized sketch. Things change as I changed the sizing and the shades but basically, this is it.
















Then I cut all the solid blocks (about 700 of 6", 100 or so 6 1/2")















Then I make my 1/2 blocks with the 61/2" blocks. Sew, cut, press, repeat. And repeat. And repeat.















I have to separate them to make sure somewhere I didn't miscount or anything and that I have all the the different ones I need.















I start lining them up according to pattern placement. This part alone took almost 5 solid hours. It is so much harder when I use multi-colors on the back because I am a little OCD and don't want 2 of the same together. It happens every time despite my best efforts. I think it is my guardian angels way of totally messing with me.















So here is a peek at the finished layout, if you use your imagination, you can almost see the pattern in life like color.



















So next I tackled the batting. Remember that fabulous sister in law of mine mentioning that she had some extra batting? This thing is over 5' across, and started out almost 3' diameter. My arms hurt.















So that became 437 of these, 4" blocks. Now I get to sew like the wind, bullseye!