An Apple a Day...

I was wandering around the new submissions on Splitcoast when I ran across a card that really popped to me. I opened the post up to find that it was part of this challenge:

http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/04/18/stamp-simply-challenge-31-black-accents/

The challenge was simply to use black accents, that's all. And there's no time limit! Woo hoo! So I made this after I put this kidlets to bed.

I used Stampin' Up (SU) products for stamps & paper. Filigree stamp for the background on the Old Olive and Swirls & Blossoms for background on the Real Red, both stamped in VersaMark. The Real Red inked apple is out of the Fresh Fruit set. I used a Brown SU marker for the stem. The double stacked ribbon was a technique challenge from a couple of weeks ago; it is a combo of Michael's ribbon. The SU gingham ribbon in the corner is secured by a Vintage black brad. It was a very simple card to make.

I uploaded my card and stumbled across another challenge from Beate - she's big at splitcoast! http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/04/18/weekend-sketch-challenge-44/ I hope to give this one a shot tomorrow.

I think it is fun to wander around people's blogs and see where you end up. Around the world in 80 pages, ya know?

April showers bring May flowers

Okay, so if April showers bring May flowers what does mid-April snow and hail bring?
We awoke to snow this morning! It started after I went to bed last night. The flakes were the huge ones that would cover the palm of my daughter. The ground wasn't cold enough for it to stick and play in. It made for some happy kids though! Ryan wore her cherry boots with her jammies for breakfast and Cole wandered around, pointing and saying "'no, 'no."
I googled the saying and the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition, 2002. brought me this: Some unpleasant occurrences bring about better things. My personal version of this one: "A little cow manure in the garden to make the flowers grow," although that is not exactly how I say it when I am relating it to someone else.
The weatherman said to expect thunder snow this afternoon. I love thunder, I can't wait!

Mommy, keep your eyes open

I don't want to! I am sick.
Mommy, why are you spitting in the sink? I could hear the concern in my daughter's voice as I dealt with a terrible headache and yes, regurgitating my lunch.
Mommy, just take a deep breath, my daughter tells me. She's such a sweetheart. My son is on a high-fat diet so that he gains some more weight. We even go back to the doctor on Wednesday because he hasn't gained enough since January. He drinks half and half instead of whole milk. He gets toast with lots of butter and breakfast sausages to start his day. Cheese whenever he wants. Steak and pasta Alfredo for lunch. Basically I feed him everything I wish I could eat a lot of. Everything that isn't on his allergy list, which complicates the whole food thing. So yesterday after nap I fed him ice cream (made with only egg yolks) and whipped cream. I also ate some too. (sigh) I have no trouble gaining weight. But that all came back up. The good news is that it tastes okay the second time around. I have learned from experience that Doritos do not taste good again, but peaches are pleasant. The kids had the same thing that I had but they were fine, thank heavens.
The children, of course, can sense that I am ill. Ryan was making sure I was cozy on the couch and sharing the blanket with me so I didn't feel alone. Cole was up close looking in my eyes and giving me pats. I, of course, sleep with one eye open because he has not yet grasped the term gentle. Well, I should have kept an eye open. He bonked me on the head with the house phone and the hand-held music box that once belonged to my sister. (Think sharp object before the idea of baby-proofing and child-safety was invented.) He also thinks it's funny to sit and throw himself back with all his might. It is just not so funny if he is on your lap and you're caught unaware. God, you gotta always be on your A game as a mom.
I make a call to my DH to see what he has got going on. He is at his son's baseball game out of town. After that, the boy is off to batting and then back home to work with the personal trainer. No help there. The last time I was sick, it was January. My son was sick too and lost the weight that I had been able to put on him. He was drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast with half and half which the doctor suggested as a weight-gainer that night. Now he has taste aversion to anything chocolate and grape (Pedialyte). Anyway, the morning that I was first ill I asked my DH to please go to the store to get some 7-Up. My mom always served Fresca during these episodes and to tell you the truth I am not sure they even make it anymore. DH said that he didn't have time. (DH is older than I am - I think that he forgets that someday I am going to be taking care of him. Think slightly evil giggle.) How nice and caring he is - just makes me swoon...no wait, that is the fever. I am not sure I covered this in my Thank God for Girlfriends Post, but my friend Shannon brought some over right away and she and the 7-Up were life-savers. I love my girlfriends.
So I move off the couch and to my bed for maybe a moment's peace for my headache. Soon the little pitter patter of small feet can be heard. And a moment after that, Cole is straddling me and bouncing up and down because this is how we play "Giddy-up Horsey" and Ryan is jumping on the bed. Ahh, peace and quiet.
When my husband comes home I am serving dinner to the little ones. Frozen mini-pizza that I don't have to prepare, or smell much for that matter. When he comes in he says hi, scrapes the little kids off of him and heads to the garage so he can participate in personal training. Are you kidding me? I barfed. I still have a screaming headache. And you're going to do what you always do? He doesn't really like the look on my face but isn't stupid enough to ask "What?" He amends this by taking the baby with him to the garage. Not really helpful because it prolongs the dinner hour for me and puts off bath and bedtime for all of us. But I take advantage of it by finishing the laundry. Yippee.
I get "dinner" fed to the little kids and have them in the bath when DH comes to ask me about dinner plans. If you were a baby bird I could help you quite easily... open wide. Okay, that's gross and evil thinking but I am doing way more than I feel like as it is. There is plenty of stuff in the fridge.
It's fend for yourself night!
I think I heard him heading off to the store as I was putting jammies on. It is always fun when he goes to the store because he buys as if money isn't tight, and even better if he goes hungry because there are all kinds of treats in the house for days.
I put the three of us to bed and was asleep before 10:00 p.m.
I am much better today, thanks!

Live Love Laugh

I think that is such a great motto to live by - the key is to remember to practice it every day. I need to laugh as I reshelve the books again after finishing this post! Friday is Limited Supply challenge day at splitcoast stampers so I made a card. I just got this stamp set last week from Cornish Heritage Farms. The set is called "Primitive Beginnings". I had been visiting with out of town family so I have been out of the house most of this week. It sometimes takes me a couple of days to settle back in. I wanted to participate in Kristina's color challenge on Wednesday but the pile of laundry was more pressing. Hopefully I can catch the next one. Thanks for looking!

Fitted Sheets

Don't they just drive you crazy when you want to fold them as nice as the flat sheets? Sometimes it just really BUGS me when I can't get something to look nice. And yes, I have even resorted to having a mini-temper tantrum (privately, as I should be modeling proper anger management to my young children) and balling up the wad and shoving it on the ridiculously shallow shelf in my bedroom closet. There!

Today I went on line to search folding fitted sheets knowing that Martha has one out there. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/how-to-fold-a-fitted-sheet I wish Martha had done a video; however, I hadn't ironed my sheet before attempting this project anyway. I watched a couple before realizing I wasn't in the mood to follow directions step-by-step. I did it how I usually do it (no, I didn't have a temper tantrum) and it turned out pretty good. I thought this video was the best one of them all: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/384148/fold_a_fitted_sheet_with_perfectly_squared_corners/
I'll try it next time!

Redefine Your Life

Sounds like the title of a self-help book. I think that is what parenting is - a redefinition of your life. Say goodbye to staying up late and sleeping in. Hasta luego to going to the bathroom all by yourself and eating your food while it is hot. Au revoir to impromptu trips out with friends, never mind a quickie with the DH in the middle of the afternoon.
Let's take a moment to redefine picnic.
As you used to know it, is sounds wonderful. A red and white checked blanket spread out on the ground with all kinds of yummies in a wicker basket. Some food. Some beverages. Something sweet. Some chat. Maybe even a little nap under a tree in the heat of the day or quiet time with a book next to your partner.
(sigh)
The other day my friend Wendy and I decided to get together for lunch. She works in the construction industry as I did before I quit my job to be a stay at home mom. Some days she has difficult clients and likes a break from the stress of her day.
I like contact with the outside world. Other adults. I like getting out of my house. Sometimes all you seem to do at home is clean up a mess so they can make it a mess all over again. I have lots of books around so that my kids and I are surrounded in a print-rich environment. The book shelf is open so that I can stack books on both sides and it defines my daughter's "bedroom" area from the rest of the master bedroom. (We have 6 people living in a 3 bedroom house.) My daughter loves to look at books (YEAH!) which I encourage. She just isn't able to reshelve them easily. My son loves to stand in front of one side of the bookshelf and PUSH all the books out the other side. Then he chooses a book from the pile on the floor. I can only stand this chaos for a little while before I have to straighten them back up on the shelf. Mess begets mess. The books are not alphabetical or on the Dewey Decimal Point system but they are grouped in similar sections: Maisy books together top shelf, My First Little House Picture books larger shelf on right, board books on their the middle short shelf; you get the idea. And yes, life would be easier for me if I didn't care about grouping.... Time to get out of the house! Strap the kids in and off we go.
Redefinition: Picnic
We eat in the showroom because there is a play area for the kids to play in which is great because maybe they will self-entertain for a minute while we have a chance to talk. Plus, the room isn't used by others on a regular basis and we can lock the door. I get a box of California rolls which Wendy, Ryan and I will eat but the restaurant forgets Cole's side order of steamed rice which is a bummer. Wendy volunteered some cheese from her stash upstairs which supplemented their meal nicely. I brought along our snack bag so there were graham crackers and Ritz for Cole to eat but it didn't seem very much like lunch for him. We brought the little kids' table and chairs for them over to sit beside our table. I spread out their little feast and they made a huge crumbly mess in just under a minute. There is the normal amount of getting up, cleaning, wiping, reminding and catering as with any meal with my kids.
Then Ryan requested one of the cheeses. Cole was happy with his string cheese so everything was fine. Well sort of. She was gobbling down the cheese like a mouse while Wendy and I were talking. I look over at her when she starts making some distress noises and she is drooling. Unusual since she is three and not teething. She tells me that the cheese is stuck. She is leaning over and spitting little bits of cheese on the floor, the table, her shoes.
Am I a good parent? Ready with a soothing voice to tell her it is okay and we'll get it out right away?
Nope.
I am crackin' up! I can barely tell her it's going to be just fine, but she is laughing too so she is not traumatized (a lot) by this event.
We have been through this once before so I know what is going on. The cheese is stuck on the roof of her mouth. I have her get a sip of water which has no effect at all. She is trying to push it off the roof of her mouth with her tongue. I tell her to scrape the cheese off with her finger. She gets some out but not able to fix it completely. She is gagging a little bit at this whole thing. I stick my finger in there and get some out too. I take a break to wipe the tears from my eyes and grab more paper towels. I sneak a peek at Wendy and she is laughing at this whole episode, too. I thank god she has cats because she is familiar with hairballs. I figure this is just like that. Ryan gets her finger in there for another attempt and a chunk of cheese comes flying out. Projectile vomit made of cheese. Okay, maybe not exactly like hairballs. It hits the floor with a splat and I thank god for industrial grade carpet. I can barely stand up. I am saved because I have to get on the floor to clean it all up.
Ten minutes later, calm is restored. Everyone's hands , shirt, leggings and shoes are washed, the cheese has either been picked up or ground so fine into the berber that you can't see where any of it landed and the crumbs have been hoovered outta there. Wendy and I settle down for the rest of our picnic.
Redefine: picnic.

Melissa's Bridal Shower Card

This is the card I made for Melissa's shower. We had such a great time visiting with family. The theme of her shower was chocolate so the food was yummy too.