Friday Funnies

Last week someone (who shall remain nameless) posted as her facebook status: "FYI: your kids aren't that funny."  Hmm.  Well, my cynical, humorless, single, childless, former-facebook friend, I happen to think my kids are really funny! And I'll prove it.

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A conversation in our house last week while the girls were playing:

Reagan: make sure he has a parachute

Skylar: he does have a carrot suit

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Bailey has been citing her memory verse from Ephesians as "Children, obey your carrots in the Lord..."

Apparently we like carrots here.

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Skylar: Mommy, look! A mow lawner!

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Skylar while playing with stuffed animals:

"Come on scout, cross the river with me! You can do it!"

"I can't walk on water! I'm not Jesus!"

"It's just a river, not a ocean Scout!"

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Bailey came out of my bathroom last week with a Maxi pad and said "Mommy, bandaid?" :D


What do you think about making this a weekly occurrence? Want to link up with your Friday Funnies?

Bigger and Better

There is never a shortage of ways to help others.  Hopefully you don't have to look very far to find folks that are doing something good for others; something bigger than themselves; trying to make the world a better place.

Today you don't have to look very far at all.  A dear friend of mine decided to do something really big to make a difference.  She's walking 60 miles in 3 days to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.  It's a giant responsibility but she has taken it on with perseverance and a determined resolve.  It's getting harder and harder to find someone that has NOT been directly affected or known someone affected by breast cancer. My very own Nana is a survivor.

In order to help raise funds, she has had a few folks offer products for her to auction.  If you can, would you stop by and check out her item of the week? While you're there, leave her a note of encouragement and maybe follow her journey to "Saving Second Base." (How great is that title?!) You can also click her google ads.  Each click earns money toward her fundraising goal.  How easy is that?!




Just click on her button!
Thanks friends!!

I have a Disorder

It's bad.  It's really really bad.
Some might call it an allergy to overpriced items, but I refer to it as the "I could make that for less" Syndrome.  Aka: ICMTFLS

I went shopping on Mother's Day.  Without the girls.  It was wonderful (Thank you for that gift Honey!).  I love shopping with my girls, but I am very focused and on a mission when they are in tow.  When I'm alone, I have the luxury of "browsing".   Unfortunately when I'm alone, my disorder goes into high gear.

I walked through Pottery Barn and found a beautiful quilt for Reagan's bed.  On sale.  For 100 dollars. Plus 40 dollars for the shams.  Plus 60 dollars for the sheets.
Bargain.

Or not.  Not when you have ICMTFLS.  

Thanks to Amy and my newfound love of quilting, I am pretty sure I could make it for less. 

Sometimes my disorder is SO bad that I can even look at something like this:

Or this:

and think "I could make that...for less." 

It only gets worse when I go into the furniture department.  Thanks to one of my favorite new websites:

I'm even convinced that I could make this....for less:

I guess things could be worse.  I could have the "I've just got to have that" disorder where I actually spend the money.  Instead, my disorder is more delusional (and free).  

Anyone else suffer from this? Should we start a support group?

Photos courtesy of potterybarn.com and potterybarnkids.com

A Project!

A few months ago, I tweeted about wanting "a new project."  Amy was quick to jump at my request and asked me to "test" a quilt pattern named Simple Times for her.  (Twist my arm.  Please!)

I was nervous at first because I have NEVER used a quilt pattern before.  I have always done my own pattern.  I also wanted to do her fantastic pattern justice.

I used one layer cake (pre-cut 10 inch squares) and one charm pack (pre-cut 5 inch squares), both from the Moda "Blush" line.  Gorgeous! Three of my favorite colors are Aqua, Chocolate, and Red, so I was drooling when I got the fabric in the mail.

I did choose a coordinating fabric from a different line for the backing (cause I had a coupon), but I think it turned out great!

The cutting and piecing were cake (pun intended), and I love love love the scrappy result.  My girls actually fight over who gets to use the quilt!

Even my doggies love it!

And because I love Amy and she inspires me to try new things, I decided to go ahead and try free motion quilting.  It's not perfect, but I am officially addicted. 

(I know, seasoned professionals are cringing....or snickering).  

It actually turned out better than I thought since my "practice attempts" on scraps had my husband questioning if I was going for the "amoeba" look.  But apparently I have redeemed myself because he has asked that I make a quilt for our bed (a California King size) with a heavier batting.  

Baby steps Honey, baby steps.  

I used 100% bamboo batting on this project if you were wondering. 

I did try to do hand binding, but the process was too long for me (and my end threads kept coming undone) so I seam-ripped the whole side I had done and machine bound it.  Hopefully Amy will do a tutorial on binding soon....(hint hint my friend!). :D

She is offering this FANTASTIC pattern on her blog, so head over there and enter to win a free copy! 

You won't regret it!

Your doggie might thank you too! :D

Thanks for the inspiration and the "project" Amy!!

Word to my mother

I get to blog about being a mom all the time so for mother's day, I thought I would tell you a little about the woman that taught me everything I know and loves my girls as much as I do.  She's my mom.
And she's amazing.

She has always been one of my best friends.  I never went through a phase where I thought she was uncool or I didn't want her around.  On the contrary, I had friends that wanted to come to my house because they loved my mom too.

She's the most selfless person I know (almost to a fault). She has always put everyone else's needs ahead of her own.  She has a wonderful, giving, and loving heart.

She gave birth to me...without an epidural! Of course she had to leave the room when my epidural didn't work with Skylar, but that's a whole other post.  She did manage to be in the room when Bailey was born. (and arrived by plane less than 12 hours after Reagan was born).

She actually picked out Bailey's name.

She works hard at whatever she does and does it right the first time.  She's a peacemaker and doesn't raise her voice (Clearly, I still have much to learn from her).

She's crazy funny! When she and her sister get together, my sides literally hurt from laughing so much.

(She's going to hate this picture!)

She loves to give hugs.

She takes my kids to Disneyland!

She loves her family and God with all her heart.

She's the only woman I know that can come through a nervous breakdown, a brain aneurysm, a stroke, and a TIA (all within a couple years), and come out on the other side with even more beauty, more patience, more grace, and more faith.

I can talk to her multiple times a day and we still do not run out of things to talk about (something our husbands will never understand).

She genuinely loves her grandkids! (and being a grandma).

She has always been my biggest fan!
I'm blessed because she's mine.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you to the moon and back!

I ain't afraid of no ghosts

No really.  I'm not.  Of course, if one were standing face to face with me, I might get a case of the heebie jeebies.  But it's not a fear I have. 

I'm also not afraid of spiders.  Or even most bugs.  

I have no fear of heights, new situations, or flying.  

But reptiles and rodents? Forget it.  I know most people don't like mice, rats, lizards and snakes, but I have an actual fear of them.  I'm working on it though.  Because as you may recall (according to Reagan), Fear is sin.  We are not called to live in fear.  

I have actually been gripped by fear a few times in my life.  It wasn't a good feeling.  

When Reagan was nine weeks old, some friends of ours (that had gone through a parenting class with us), lost their five month old baby to SIDS.  Not only did I feel helpless to support them, but I was gripped by fear every time I put Reagan down.  Through time, and lots of prayer, I was able to get over that fear.  

I've also been gripped by fear when Brian goes away on a trip.  I am convinced that every little noise is someone breaking into the house.  It never is.  (Yet another reason I am not called to be a military wife).  

We have had rodents in two houses now.  The first was rats (and I will spare you details), but it was bad enough to make us move to another house.  Then, we had a few mice work their way into our current home.  Somehow the mice weren't AS scary for me, but I still don't like them.  

I thought we had eradicated our home of the critters (all 4 of them) but when I was cleaning the guest room last week I found more droppings.  Just 3, but still.  I started to get that "feeling" again.  Are these new droppings? Are they old ones that I missed somehow? If they are new, How are they getting in?! Are they in this room right now?! Where else have they been? What is that smell? (turns out 'that smell' was Baileys diaper by the way).  Brian set out traps again, and we went about our daily business.  Of course, secretly I was looking for droppings elsewhere in the house.  I even thought about banning black socks in our house because every little piece of fuzz looked like a dropping to me.  Needless to say, we didn't catch anything.

People have told me "They're just mice." Or "Mickey is a mouse! How can you be afraid of a mouse?!" But that's like telling someone afraid of flying "It's just a giant metal capsule with two tiny engines that have been known to fail occasionally."  Not reassuring really.  

Especially at night.  When I have to go to the bathroom, and I see this:

Yes, it's a harmless stuffed spider that used to be attached to a children's book.  And I'm not afraid of spiders, remember?

But from farther away......

and without glasses or contacts....

It looks more like this.....

You get the idea....

I was reading to the girls from their Children's Bible and in the creation chapter it says very clearly that God gave man "dominion over all the animals." We are not to fear the things we have dominion over.  

Also, the verse in Second Timothy has been popping up in several places lately.

"For I have not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind." 2 Tim. 1:7

With all of that in mind, I walked very carefully over to that rabid mouse in my bathroom, towel in hand, ready to capture him! I threw it over him quickly! I was victorious!! I had conquered my fear!! 

As I scooped up that mouse in the towel, I realized he was not moving.  

I squeezed the towel a bit to see if I could feel him in there.  Of course that was when I realized that I had captured....

a stuffed, 

smiling, 

spider.  

You might be laughing, and I did too.  But then I realized that it was still a major feat for me.  

I may not be afraid of spiders, or heights, or flying, but for today I can also say 

"I ain't afraid of no mouse either!" 

Now....about those lizards....

What are YOU afraid of???

Something about Bailey

I have no idea what this child got in her hair, but this is how she woke up yesterday.  It took more than water and shampoo to get it out.  I had to put a drop of dish soap on her hair to dissolve "whatever" it was.  Today her hair is back to lying flat (and smells lemony fresh).