You can call me the Scrap Queen

Nothing smells quite as wonderful as bed sheets dried on the clothesline.  If they could bottle that scent I'd wear it.  If they could put it in a candle, I'd have a house full of Yankees in that particular scent.  I simply adore it.

Getting the sheets on the line- not so much.

It's kind of a pain in the hindquarters.  Especially when you can't keep track of your clothes pins.


So I picked up this funny looking little thing.  It's basically a (pretending to be) cloth bag with a wire going through the top to keep it open a bit and a metal hook to hang it from your clothesline.  Unfortunately, it has not stood the test of time very well.  In fact, I lose more pins that I transport in it anymore.

 About a week ago I came across Busha's clothes pin apron while QM and I were working in her garage.  "I can make that," I thought....and I did.

 It's made entirely out of scrap fabric I had from other projects (mostly from a kitchen apron I made for Inkling a few years back).  It might look a bit odd on, but that's because it's holding about 150 or more clothes pins.

Maybe this will inspire me to do laundry tomorrow.  Then again, I really like looking at it while it sits on the kitchen table.  Maybe I'll make it our new centerpiece.

How cool am I?

Out of the last 4 nights, Bitsy's spent 3 of them in her own bed. She & BabyGirl have decided Bitsy's bed needs to be moved into "the girls' room" this summer. I'm all for it.

Rain has finally moved into our area. I was beginning to wonder where the April showers were hiding. Not that I adore being trapped inside with 4 children due to massive amounts of rain & mud, but the water in our pond was dropping. That can't be good this time of year.

Thanks to the rain, I'll have time to spend indoors working on some sewing projects I need to finish. Bitsy is determined to help, but she's scared I'm going to hurt myself on pins. That could have something to do with the fact that I keep telling her, "Don't touch those. You'll get an owie."

While my sewing machine is humming away in the farmland of Illinois, the Queen Mother's will be humming away in her "dradge house" in Tennessee. She's working on a Cosplay outfit for Beck to wear to MTAC. I'd say something snarky, but I've been to Ren Fest in costume....more than once. And would love to go again....shhhh.

You didn't know I was so cool, did you?

Three days in & still no end in sight.

My wonderful, loving, overworked husband had a 3 day weekend off work. The weather was fabulous & he got to spend all of his time out of doors.


Building the play house from Hades.


And it's still not done.


Bless his heart.


We both know that once it is finished & the FarmHands can be turned loose on it, it will be worth all the time & effort spent on it, but in the midst of the blood (his), sweat (ours), and tears (the FarmHands') it's tempting to douse the entire thing with lighter fluid & set a match to it.

Yesterday was The Curly Slide Debacle of 2010. 140 or so bolts (my words to QM were "A hundred & a heck of a lot"), twice the number of washers, 18 or so giant yellow pieces of plastic, and around 6 hours of "This isn't right. This can't be right. Let's take it down & do it this way. This doesn't make sense. Check those instructions again. This is too heavy! Wait, no, the other way. Crap, that's wrong. Why won't this work? Gah!!!" and it's almost finished.....the slide that is. There's still monkey bars to assemble & attach and the entire swing set portion to build.

We may be finished before BabyGirl out grows it. But then again, maybe not.

How to build a wooden play structure for your children in a few simple steps.

1. Have a baby & decide to move to the country.


2. Move to the country & have 3 more babies.


3. Clear out a place in the woods next to your house.


4. Put horse in the woods.


5. Wait a few years.


6. Buy goats.


7. Put goat pen in the woods.


8. Wait 3 to 4 years.


9. Move goats.


10. Assemble play structure (*see note).

See, it's really not that hard. It only takes 7 years & your kids will love you for it....if it ever gets finished (*really, you need to read the note). Eventually you can take pictures of it to post to your blog & send to the Queen Mother & Pa who purchased the play structure for their Grandchildren.

Note: I want to know exactly who's job it is to put the time estimates on build-it-yourself play sets. Then I want to show up at their house, bang on the door until they either agree to talk to me or call the police & take out a restraining order.

I want to know a few things. How exactly do you come up with the assembly time for this structure, of 6 to 8 hours for 2 people? Did your 2 people major in play set construction in college? Do they have double doctorates in it? Can they read each other's minds therefore skipping any and all need for communication? Do they each have 2 power drills for their own personal use so they don't have to switch out between the counter sinking drill bit & the phillips head screwdriver? Are there personal assistants for each assembler to hand them things, steady the ladder, and sort parts? Or do they have some kind of telekinetic powers that aid in construction? I know you don't figure in potty breaks or time to eat, but I guess that's far too much to ask.

For the record, we're 2 days in & on step 23 (I think) of 48....not including the slide. I don't even want to know how many steps that's going to take. Grant it, Husband has done 90% of the work himself & following the directions as printed is not difficult, but 6 to 8 hours could only be accomplished by members of the X-Men team or a full work crew from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Tech Free Tuesday

I'm going to attempt something. Something shocking. Wanna' try it with me? I'm going to unplug today. Well, maybe not fully unplug, but cut way the heck back.

Here's the deal....Bitsy got a big Crayola paint thing for Christmas from Uncle Axl & Aunt Princess. This weekend the boys discovered it & were dying to use it. I told them no, it's for me & Bitsy to play with sometime when they're all at school. Husband piped in with, "If we can stay awake long enough."

That's when it hit me...I'm wasting so much time on nothing. I nap a lot. I think it has a lot to do with inactivity. I'm not exercising any more. I spend hours on line & watching satellite (we had it hooked back up after Christmas & I'm beginning to regret it...but it wasn't hooked up for me so that's OK). It only takes a few minutes to fold a load of laundry or load the dish washer, so why do I let these tasks pile up? I baked cookies today. The FarmHands were ecstatic. It's not hard. It doesn't take long. Why not do it more often?

Because I'm too plugged in. I spend most of my time watching TV or messing around on Facebook. So I'm going to take steps to change that. Yesterday I thinned out my Facebook friends a whole lot. Today the TV isn't coming on for me.

This isn't to say I'm going to take up a full on Amish existence. More like Mennonite. I'm going to use my dishwasher if I need to. I plan on doing laundry. If I need to turn on PBS kids or Nick Jr long enough to get lunch cooked or a shower, that's cool too. But I'm not going to spend my day vegged out in front of some flickering screen...and I don't plan on letting the kids do it either.

I'm not giving it up for life, just for today. Tech Free Tuesday. Want to join me? Feel free. Only give it half a day? That's a great start! Want to wait for next week? That's a good goal, too. I plan on making this a weekly thing. What exactly am I planning on giving up? No TV for me (I have DVR now so if I can put that to use if needed). No Internet for me (not even emails). No phone calls unless necessary. No texting. No microwaved/prepackaged meals...maybe not entirely from scratch, but closer to it than normal. More time spent playing with the kids. More time spend on my chores. More time spent with Lilly May & my birds. More time spend on things of value instead of collecting fake money in Mafia Wars. I want to discover what life could be like around here if I'm more plugged in to my kids & my husband & less plugged in to a phone line or satellite dish.

I may even take pictures to post (yeah, I know. That doesn't exactly go with the whole "Tech free" theme. So sue me. It's my blog, I'll do what I want). I'm not even writing this post today. I wrote it last night & scheduled it.

If you join me, please post about your day tomorrow so I can find out how things went for you. If you don't want to join in this week, please give some thought to trying it out next week. You may learn something about yourself.

On the second day of Christmas, My true love gave to me,

A Christmas card from his mother's cousin,
and a 12 pack of Charmin Ultra-Soft.

On the third day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Baby Bitsy's high chair tray,
A Christmas card from his mother's cousin,
and a 12 pack of Charmin Ultra-Soft.

Now we're caught up.

The count down to pain has begun again. I'm hoping & praying that I'll have as easy a time with these three wisdom teeth as I did with the first. It was a breeze. Relatively speaking. I am a bit freaked out by the thought of having my gum cut open & a tooth taken out while I'm wide awake & completely coherent. At least this time I know what to expect...and can skip the gag-me X-rays.

I've been fairly busy today trying to get some sewing projects done before I take to my bed with a bottle of pain killers. I planned on making a diaper bag for Bitsy to pack her babies around in & Busha asked me to make a taggy for her pups a few weeks ago. Yesterday I dug out my fabric scraps & started on the taggy. When I discovered I had two sets of scraps from puppy themed blankets, I decided Pete & Pepper (Busha's tea cup poodle pups) each needed their own taggy.

I finished those up this morning & decided to make Bitsy a blanket for her babies. I didn't have enough fabric to make one out right, so I started piecing scraps from a blanket I made Kork's Captain Chaos when he was born. In the end, I made an accidental pillow instead. I need to pick up some poly-fill at the store & finish it off, then I'll post pictures on Nudge-Nudge. With that done, I made Bitsy's bag with some more scraps. She wanted it right then, but I smuggled it off to wrap for Christmas. Now she won't run out of gifts to unwrap while her siblings are only 1/2 way through theirs. Not that it really matters, but it gave me an excuse to sew for her.

If you want to see pictures of the taggies for the pups & Bitsy's diaper bag, they're on Nudge-Nudge.

Now I need to bake & freeze Chocolate chip/M&M cookies for BabyGirl's class Christmas party. She asked for chocolate chip cookies & I suggested adding red & green M&M's for a little holiday spirit. She got so excited. "Can you really do that? For real, Mom?!" I don't want to leave them for Sunday & risk being too worn out to bake. The party is Monday, so I figure I'll bake them now & freeze them until Sunday.

If only I can stay awake long enough.

Disturbances in the night, my thoughts on earth quakes, violet jelly, & AFW

At 12:38 this morning, Husband threw open the bedroom door & said, "Umm..." That's all there was to say as there was yet ANOTHER aftershock. This one was a 4.5. The 19th quake/aftershock in our area since early Friday morning. Did someone pick Southern Illinois up and plop us in the middle of California when we weren't looking? And if so, where the heck is my beach & constant sunshine? I. Have. Had. It.

Last night's line-up went something like this:

10:45 pm- bed & quickly asleep
11:20 pm- Bitsy wakes up to nurse (will this child EVER sleep through the night...or 4 hours?)
12:13 am- Bubba calls to ask me to pray about some impending gang fight in C-town (?). Luckily Husband was still up & answered the phone or I may have come unglued (note to self: post about my violent reactions to being roused from deep slumber). Went back to sleep within 8 minutes.
12:38 am- 4.5 Earthquake causes major jolt of adrenaline & complete lack of desire to sleep for at least an hour.
2:30 am- #1 Son comes into our room & vomits after puking in the floor of the little bathroom.
From 2:30 am until 4:30 am- Continue to take care of #1 Son while he vomits & runs a fever in between feeding Bitsy who doesn't feel the need to sleep and napping in the recliner.
Shortly before 5 am- FINALLY go back to bed.
6:20 am- Listen to the boys run around the house & raid the fridge. Tell #1 Son that he cannot have a cup of milk (repeatedly) & listen to him cry. Tell B.B. he cannot have the Batman toy that has been the bone of contention in this house since Friday when J gave it to them & listen to him cry.
7 am- Alarm goes off demanding I get my lazy, bon bon eating behind out of bed. Really, woman, all you do is sleep!

I know some of you live with earth quakes as part of your lives....maybe not daily, but not exactly uncommon. I can assure you, I am not cut out for this life. Every time I feel that jolt or hear a rumble, my heart starts pounding, my chest gets tight, I have a hard time breathing, & I feel like puking. It amazes me when people say they nearly slept through the first one (which has been dropped to a 5.2). It seemed so loud & so violent. I was terrified.

It also brought to the forefront one of my biggest fears. Our bedroom is at the opposite end of the house from the kids. When we were looking at layouts for houses, this seemed to be one of the only options for a single level home. I wanted the bedrooms all grouped together, but that wasn't an option. Our house isn't big (almost 1,600 square feet), but the rooms are far enough apart that I worry about getting to them in case of an emergency.

Friday morning proved Husband & I can do just that even when half asleep. It's nice to know we're capable, but I never want to try it again. We had no idea what was going on. Husband thought it was a tornado. I was pretty sure it was an earth quake. We had no idea how long it was going to go on or how bad it was going to get. All we knew was we needed to get to the kids. When it didn't end quickly I began to worry that it was going to get REAL bad. The thought of the kids spread around the house was not a pleasant one.

I know I may be beating a dead horse here, but I need to put all this down. I'm worn out from being jittery & nervous for the past 3 days.

On to things not earth quake related. The violet jelly is good. It has a very mild flavor. It's hard to describe, but I think I'm going to really like it. I may even make more. I was a tad worried as the infusion made with the violets did not smell appealing.

I fully plan on using my new vacuum today. But then I fully planned on using it yesterday. But sunshine, warm temperatures, and violet jelly got in my way.

And finally, today is Monday & you know what that means! It's officially Ask FarmWife Day. So fire away, ya'll!

Wild maybe roses & violet jelly

This is my new...well...to be honest, I'm not sure what it is. Husband and the FarmHands went 4-wheeler riding today. When they came home, Husband said they found an outcropping of wild roses. He asked if I wanted one & I said sure so we all loaded up & went to see. (Bitsy's first ATV ride. She was snugly secured to me in her sling & Husband drove very slowly.)

When we got to the patch of flowers, I realized Husband wasn't kidding when he said it was huge. And I don't really think they're roses. My guess is the patch was bigger than our master suite! Husband dug up one little bush & brought her home. Now she lives in the back yard near BabyGirl's Mr.Lincoln Rose.

If you can tell from the pictures, I'd love to know what it is. There are a few thorns, but only on the new growth. The blooms have little scent & they're out long before any other roses.

After church I decided I was going to attempt to make jelly for the first time. Roosterhen made violet jelly recently & put the link on her blog. It sounded very interesting, so I figured I take a whack at it. We have a profusion of violets in our front flowerbed, so I picked all of the open ones. Then I went & picked all of Uncle E's open violets.

I haven't gotten to try it yet, so the jury is still out on the flavor, but I'm very excited to try it. This was also my first attempt at canning & it was surprisingly easy. I may keep this up!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention...last week the monitor on my computer died. Busha jumped in with an old Dell Trinitron she had in a closet. Today Uncle E gave us a much, much newer Dell monitor. It's bigger & clearer & I'm happy.

Ask FarmWife

I've been busy today. Busy procrastinating. I need to get back on the house cleaning band wagon. Why does my house always look like we had a small militia stationed in the living room over the weekend every Monday morning? Am I missing something? Every Monday it looks like a bomb went off. Ugh.

The links above will lead you first of all to the Taggy Madness that has hit me over at Nudge-Nudge and secondly to the wha'cha got cookin' Recipe Remix. Enjoy as I have no inspiration for a post today.

I am seriously lacking in things to say lately (not that it keeps me from posting, but hey, it is what it is). If you have anything you want to know, please, ask away. That's it....tomorrow will begin the first ever episode of Ask FarmWife. Go ahead, ask me anything you want to know about anything...me...my family...my background...Sweeny Todd...the Pope...gourmet cookies.... mid-centry modern furniture...underwater basket weaving....animal husbandry. If I can answer your query, I will do so happily. If not, oh well. That's what Google's for.

Hit me!

Ease on Down the Gravel Road

I've inadvertently dropped off the revolution train...my hair grew out long enough to put up in a pony tail. My nails are short & stubby. Polish has not touched my toes in months. I've been living in old oversized sweats & 20 year old t-shirts. My skin....lets just say it decided to take a short jaunt back to high school. Things have not been pretty. I have not been pretty.

I'm attempting to slowly but surely get back in my groove. I've dug out the hair styling tools, wishfully make-uped, moved on to a new uniform (a super cute track suit), painted my toes, & worked on my public appearance. I'm not 100% there yet, but I'm also not as grimy & frumpy as I was this time last month.

I have another confession to make while I'm at it. I am horribly out of shape. HORRIBLY. You'd never know it to look at me. I am blessed with a hyper-metabolism. After 4 kids & no dieting whatsoever, I weigh a whopping 100 pounds. So most folks think I'm in great shape (when they aren't worrying that I'm secretly anorexic).

Truth is, I can't jog to my mail box without wearing myself out. When we got the mini-trampoline for BabyGirl's sensory diet, she and I would have jumping contests. They were really a way for me to get her to jump when she didn't want to. I found out very quickly, I cannot bounce very long at all. It's pitiful. BabyGirl bounced for 9 minutes one day. I cannot finish 2 full minutes.

I need to do something. Drastic I'm afraid. Art has taken a vow to get in shape so she can continue her career as a Star Search Dancer. Inkling is running. Ang is exercising daily...sometimes two times a day in an amazing effort to get in shape. UK Sara has been preparing for a marathon (really...a MARATHON!!). Mom Chronicles Sarah works out with regularity, as does Emily. My friend Miss Audie just ran a 5K in Chi-town. Ragged has been known to tango with a treadmill. And all the while, I've sat on the couch watching America's Next Top Model & eating the kids Easter candy. Ugh.

So today, this sorely out of shape FarmWife pulled up her big girl sweats, grabbed her 10 year old portable CD player, popped in The Across the Universe Soundtrack, and walked an entire mile in 45 degree sun shine. And you know what? I feel pretty good. The first half mile seemed about 3 miles long. I felt the burn (shut up, please. I already admitted to being out of shape...plus I was walking into a pretty decent wind & walking in gravel). The walk home was a little easier. Possibly a little faster. Definitely a tad more entertaining....at least for the mail man.

You see, our road is a long gravel road. I walked the path less traveled (headed East for those of you familiar) and therefore was a tad less encumbered by the restraints of polite society. In other words, I danced a bit as I walked 'cause there was no one around. Really, who can listen to Eddie Izzard sing "For the Benefit of Mr.Kite" without shaking it up a bit? Although truth be told, I probably looked more like Topol dancing to "If I Were a Rich Man" than a Solid Gold Dancer.

I had no more than finished my brief jaunt into the world of free form interpretive dance, than the mail man buzzed passed me in his heap of a car. I have no idea how far behind me he was when I was dancing, and no way of knowing if he saw me flailing, but I've decided not to care. I've decided that if I ever get to the point where I can run, truly run, for exercise, I shall run like Phoebe from Friends. Phoebs ran with total abandon. It looked fun. I want to do that.

So I learned a few lessons today. #1. I can do this. I can exercise. It will not kill me. I will feel good afterwards. #2. I can make a fool of myself while exercising & it also will not kill me. #3. Fresh air & sun shine make it all much easier to deal with. #4. I need an MP3 player. Really, the giant CD player slapping my hip as I walk is not comfortable...and I cannot sing "Dear Prudence" unaccompanied.

The crafting must go on.

Today I am ill. Not horribly ill, but my nose is plugged up, my voice is failing, and I'm ready to give up already.

I posted my Bunny in an Egg & Taggy Blanket with instructions on Nudge-Nudge this morning. Enjoy!

How to build a tent by B.B. (almost 3)

Collect the following items:

1 tye-dyed bean bag chair

2 rocking chairs

1 play kitchen chair

1 Boppy

1 box of Kleenex

3-4 shredded Kleenex

2 remote controls

1 Shake & Go Race Track broken into pieces

3 Shake & Go Race Cars

1 Peek-a-Block Wagon

14 Peek-a-Blocks

1 Plastic T-Rex

2 Sippy cups

1 Magna Doodle Pro

1 Potty Chair

1 bath towel

2 playing cards

1 greeting card

5 or 6 teething toys

2 pairs of baby socks

2 yards red gross grain ribbon

4 or 5 golden books and or board books

2 half chewed raw hides

1 pink winter glove

3 dog chew toys

1 small bottle baby powder

5 throw pillows

1 string

1 musical baby gym

1 step stool

1 gallon zip-loc bag full of puzzle pieces

1 empty grape stem

1 view master case

1 Rubbermaid bowl

Pile all items on the couch & yell, "Look, look! I made a tent! See my tent, Mommy?!"

Soldier of the Revolution

If you are very observant (read: bored) you may have noticed the Hot Mama Revolution button in my side bar. You may also have noticed a slight downsizing of said side bar. I was trying to get into the Guinness Book World Records for having the longest side bar known to blogdom, but I got bored with that project, so I've moved on. I've become a soldier of the Revolution thanks to yet another Sarah who came to visit here last week.




Here's the deal. In my 6 + years as Mama to the FarmHands, I've lost some of what made me me. I've traded in movies and make-up for Fisher Price and Spongebob. When I once would have loved a diner out at Olive Garden or The Macaroni Grill, I now swoon at the thought of Pizza Hut or Burger King. When I once would have loved to splurge on a pedicure and 3 inch heels, I now live in Crocs and have heels you could sand wood work with.


In an attempt to get back a little bit of my 'City Gal-ness', I'm trying to focus a small amount of energy on me. While I will always remain FarmWife, I do miss the old me and would like to reacquaint with her at least on some level. I still dream of Manolo Blahniks, but live in the reality of Wal-Mart clearance (note: I have never been in a position to spend $755 on a pair of shoes...my first car didn't cost much more than that! And even if I were in the position, I'd be too scared to wear them anywhere).

Blogging helps me a great deal in this area. It reminds me there is more to life than diapers, homework, sibling rivalry, and livestock. There are other women out there. There are people who can go into public without foreknowledge of the nearest bathroom with a changing table.

My new goal is a simple one. One small step in my return to "hotness." I want to shower. That's it. Just normal, daily, personal hygiene. Something that has been sadly neglected since Bitsy's birth. In fact, as I'm typing I'm about 43 hours from my last shower. Somehow there never seems to be a time when Husband is awake/home/available to wrangle the kids and Bitsy is happy and full long enough for me to escape. And to be honest, right now I stink.

The photo is a prime example of why I cannot leave my children unattended long enough to shower. I was setting 4 feet away when the brownie pan hit the floor. What would they do if unsupervised?! I may have to send B.B. to live with Inkling and Henry David for a while. He could teach Henry David a thing or two about free climbing.

Linda Carter, is that you? No, it's only FarmWife.

"Hers has lid-dle, lid-dle, big baby toes."

"Wake up! Wake up! Her need a wake up!"

"BabyGirl tan't hode Bitsy. Her is gonna' go swimmin' and den her will frow up on Bitsy if her hode her."

Those are all direct quotes from B.B. about his new sister...and all said with in the last 2 minutes. In case you're wondering "hode" is B.B. for hold. He has his very own language.

Allergies + head ache + baby who grunted all night long= one unhappy FarmWife. My throat & ears are itching. Ick!

I wonder if I can convince Husband that the house must be vacuumed today. It really has to be soon or I'll loose the kids in the debris that has collected since I've been out of the game.

I feel rather accomplished for being 3 weeks postpartum.In the past 4 days I've cleaned out my closet (packing up most of the maternity clothes for Princess...not that she needs them yet, packed up old unneeded clothes for GoodWill, rearranged existing wardrobe), washed all the clothes including my pre-pregnancy clothes & put them away (not that I can wear most of them yet), cleaned out my drawers, washed LOTS of dishes, bought most of BabyGirl's school supplies, bought BabyGirl & #1 Son's school clothes, and kept the house fairly picked up. I've even made a real lunch the past three days (not to be confused with the mac & cheese & frozen pizza we've been living on) & am going to make Chicken & Cornbread Casserole today.

Call me Wonder-Woman!

WE ARE READY!!!

Ok, Bitsy....with the exception of buying new nursing bras, this house is prepared for your arrival. I picked up the last of the things I needed Friday at Wal-Mart (2 pacifiers, more diapers, a wipes box, & a touch light for the changing table). QM, Art, & Syd came in Friday night packing one chest of drawers & Daddy came in yesterday morning packing a bureau. It's all done.

I took the kids to Busha & Bucka's yesterday morning so Husband could sleep in (He's worked 3 12 hour days in a row keeping him up until after 3 in the morning each day). The kids ran & played with Syd, climbed Bucka's tree, built with leggos, and had a blast. Art took me to lunch at Ophelia's Cup (a really cool little coffee shop in town)....as we were finishing our wraps (Roubidux...YUMMY), Daddy came in to order a sandwich for QM. He picked up our tab as well (thank you, Daddy). Then Art & I headed to Wal-Mart so she could shop a little for Bitsy. Art picked up baby washrags for us & a tiny stuffed baby doll for Bitsy.

We headed back to Busha's where the kids were playing Dora Dominoes with Grammy, loaded up everyone & headed back to the farm. I got here with all the kids first & much to their delight, Husband had brought two kittens home from Big BIL's house. They are so very precious! I'll try to get pictures later.

Art & I got the last of the baby clothes sorted & washed, then she headed back to Bucka's with QM, Syd, & Daddy. While they were gone, I made dinner, Husband rearranged the kids rooms so we could fit in the new drawers sets, & I put all the big kids clothes in their new homes. After dinner (& getting Syd ready for bed) Art came back, helped me fold & put away all the baby clothes, make the cradle, cover the changing pad, and then we got to sit & visit.

It was so nice to have the help, but more than that, it was wonderful to have my best friend in my living room on a Saturday night. That's what I miss the most about living far from home. I miss my family a good deal, but I see them fairly regularly (not as often as I'd like....but I cope). Art I only see a few times a year & this is only the second time she's made it up here since we moved to the farm. I loved being able to sit and talk to her face to face....to ohh & ahh over all the tiny gowns we were folding...to laugh & joke....to watch her love on my kids...to be totally entertained by Syd's singing & dancing (she's her mom in miniature)...to just be with my best friend. Thank you for all your help, Art...but most of all, for coming all this way to visit your waddling best friend! I love you.

Oh, & Bitsy finally has her own baby book...thank you QM & Daddy! Now if only I can keep up with it!

Ok, I'll admit it....

Maybe I am nesting after all. I kept waiting for the strange desire to weed the entire front yard in 90 degree weather to kick in. Or the need to alphabetize all my DVD's, videos, and CD's at 4 in the morning to rear it's ugly head...or I could have tried to scrap book the last 10 years of our lives at 11 pm on Monday the 25th...but no, I needed to wash car seats. NOW. Maybe I'm a practical nester. I've never really nested before.

All the car seats needed washed. This was brought to my attention as I looked at Bitsy's seat and realized it had 2 years worth of dust collected in it. This is not a fun task, but a necessary one & one I know must be done before Bitsy arrives. I'll never be able to wrangle them all out of the van (and back in) post-surgery. I was going to save the task for this weekend, but realized if I take apart all the car seats, I can't take my children anywhere. We don't have anywhere to go today or tomorrow, so this is the perfect time to do it. Now I think I deserve a Masters degree in engineering for deconstructing them and a Doctorate if I can reassemble them without destroying something.

And the CDC (Center for Disease Control) may want to analyze the half pound of animal crackers I found under B.B.'s seat cover. I think the child was growing a new strain of E.Coli in his cup holder. Ice cream drippings, the afore mentioned animal crackers, goldfish crumbs, Smarties, Dora Stickers from the doctor's office, unidentifiable icky stuff....it was all there. Thank the Lord for Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. I thought about posting a picture, but decided I'd like my readership (all 4 of you) to return sometime.

Well, at least I'm not the only one nesting around here...and I'm not taking the task so literally.

Better Day....please, let this be a better day

As if yesterday didn't suck enough to begin with, lets add a 30+ minute discussion of death with my kids at the dinner table & vomiting to the list. What the heck?! Death isn't an easy topic to deal with when you're on top of your game, but when you're scraping the bottom of the emotional & intellectual barrel to begin with, it's nearly impossible. They understand heaven (to an extent) and they know that their loved ones are there with Jesus, but just how they got there & what they're doing & why they died is still a little murky. Add to that an uncontrollable urge to argue about EVERYTHING and you have really lousy dinner conversation.

Then I got sick. Thank goodness everyone was already in bed, so I didn't have to worry about what havoc they were wreaking while I was worshiping at the porcelain alter....but it was not fun....not at all.

Today I am praying for peace & tranquility. I need peace & tranquility. No (or at least a minimum) of fighting & screaming. Unheard of cooperation from my children. A good attitude for Husband and myself. Enough energy to make it through the day (or at least until 5:30 when Husband gets home from work). And a good time had by all.

I did dig out some of Bitsy's clothes yesterday & get them washed & dried. I can hang some up, and the rest will wait in the cradle for Art & QM's arrival (don't worry Art, there's still plenty more to dig out & get ready). This bag was the easiest to reach & easiest to empty. I have also remembered why I chose to call Bitsy 'Bitsy.' Look at that! How is it possible for something to be so very tiny?

Yeah Me!

I made something. I posted it on Nudge-Nudge. It's for BabyGirl's birthday. Only one question: Why did I decide to make it at 5 o'clock in the evening? Call it hormones...

And for the record, I never got out of my PJ's today. I showered & changed into a new nightgown.

Way to go!

A few months ago Husband bought B.B. a new potty chair. It's a Winnie-the-Pooh potty chair that talks. Silly us, we assumed that meant Pooh would congratulate you on a job well done. Instead a small child says, "All Done!" or "Good Job!" when you 'flush' the pot. The only thing Winnie-the-Pooh about it is a picture molded into the plastic on the back rest. B.B. isn't too impressed with it, but #1 Son loves to use it as a step stool.

For some reason it's begun sounding off at random times through out the day. So now I'm getting occasional positive affirmations from a plastic potty chair hiding in the corner of my living room. It's nice to be appreciated.

Just so you know, at 3:39 in the afternoon, I am still in my night shirt. Yes, I am half way to my goal of not dressing today. I have accomplished other things, but dressing wasn't on my list for today.

I baked BabyGirl's birthday cake (which B.B. has already taken a small chunk out of. It isn't iced yet so I hope I can camouflage the damage enough to make a little girl happy). I washed some dishes, made chicken cornbread casserole for dinner, wrapped birthday presents, bathed 3 very dirty kids who'd been to help their dad with his chores, and gathered up a massive amount of art supplies.

For BabyGirl's second Christmas, Inkling gave her an Art Kit complete with coloring books, finger paints, tempera paints, water colors, crayons, sidewalk chalk (I think), and other goodies. Some of the supplies have been used up, but some of them are still here. Today I realized that their other supplies are taking over my kitchen cabinets. They had markers (lots & lots of markers), crayons (lots & lots of crayons), play-dough (very little of it since I cannot abide the smell), scissors, colored pencils, glue sticks, googly eyes, and other goodies stashed everywhere. Today I hunted them all down, got rid of what was un-needed or used up, packed up what fits in the Art Kit, and cleaned out one cabinet just for paper & crayons that they can get to.

In the midst of all this I discovered my children have 52 coloring books. 52 (and that's after my throwing out a few that were trashed or had never been shown the slightest bit of interest)!! That's 17.3 books per kid (not including Bitsy). And do you know what they most like to color? Plain computer paper. MIL loves to give them coloring books & does so regularly. They get used for a week or so, then stashed away some where. Now I've dug them all out and put them where they can be found. Maybe they'll start coloring with them since the heat is setting in & we'll be stuck indoors for a while once Bitsy's here.

And just so you know, yesterday I dug out all the hooded baby towels, washrags (gotta' add those to my shopping list...after 3 babies, my wash rags are looking a little icky...and no one wants to be bathed with an icky wash rag), burp rags, and some blankets for Bitsy. I washed them, QM, Princess & I folded them, and they are awaiting their baby...and the smell of Dreft has entered my life again! Sigh... This would be a good time for the potty chair to tell me I've done a great job.

Bloomin' Idiot

Blogger hates me. I cannot load pictures today & I took lots! Dumb blogger. Stupid blogger. Poopie head blogger. Stupid, poopie head, idiot blogger. (Ok, I still don't understand why my daughter feels the need to say that...)

I have a brown thumb. I can kill most anything. I am finding a few green things that like me well enough not to die immediately. Aloe's love me...don't know why, but they're the only house plant I have...and I have LOTS. They're all shoots off one MIL brought back from Arizona or Texas when Husband was about 11. I can grow Hostas. Lilly of the Valley are multiplying in my flower bed. My peonies are going to bloom this year (it's only taken 4 years...I was loosing faith).

On the other hand, I kill hydrangeas like nobody's business. I've planted at least 5 since we moved here & have had none survive. BabyGirl's Mr. Lincoln Rose has bit the dust...but that I blame on the goats. It still makes me sad. And don't get me started on Clematis...

Busha could grow anything. Although I don't remember G'Ma M&M ever working on her flowers, she always had a beautiful yard...still does. She must garden under cover of night...her peonies are why I can't give up on mine. QM has my problem. I think our issue is not with a lack of skill in the garden as much as it is a lack of time spent in the garden. We both have big ideas, but they never seem to come to fruition. I can't bring myself to weed. I get hot. I get itchy. I sweat. I'm just too lazy to garden. Martha Stewart I am not...but then I'm pretty sure she has a team of landscape designers at her beck and call. I need a team...

I brought home 3 flats of impatients today (my big plans). I get one every year for Mother's Day from church & every year I'm amazed at how big it gets. And every year I think I should plant more. And every year I forget. Not this year. I don't even have my church flower yet & there are 24 of them lining the walk down the front of my house. Now if only they'll grow...Dark pink, light pink, and white. I can't wait. Is that why they're called Impatients?

I got a $25 dollar off any order cupon from Breck's Bulbs a few weeks ago & have ordered 50 discovery Dutch Irises. I love Irises (which you'd know if stupid blogger would load my stupid pictures). Simple, beautiful, easy. That's the plant for me. Add free & we're really cooking with propane! These are free...I didn't even have to pay shipping & handling. That rocks! They'll be here in the fall.

Until then, I'm waiting for my hostas to bloom, my peonies to bloom, my glads to sprout (I'm not holding my breath on that one), and my Hybrid tiger lillies to flower.

Now stupid, poopie head, idoit blogger won't even spell check for me! Argh!