Amongst Other Things

to be continued...

2010-07-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

It's only taken over a year, but I'm still alive and will actually be blogging again soon.

I've had a crazy year. A really, really crazy year and there is blogging fodder a plenty!

I freecycled it.

2009-04-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm moving in less than two months and have a ton of packing to do. So I've been going through boxes and deciding what gets packed and what gets tossed. This is the story of one box.

Those who know me, know that I've been engaged more than once, and have planned more than one wedding, and have more than one wedding dress. Thirteen years ago I was planning a wedding. At the same time my cousin, from Atlanta, was planning her own wedding. One autumn weekend she and her mother drove up to Missouri and we spent the weekend dress shopping. We tried on a lot of dresses, and we both found the dresses we wanted to be married in. Actually, I had already found this gorgeous Alfred Angelo dress, a few stores down, that I was in love with but as we walked into the last store there was the prettiest Mori Lee on the mannequin in the window. Everyone agreed that I had to try it on. That was how I found my first wedding dress.

In the spring of the following year my cousin had a beautiful wedding. My wedding was cancelled and I had a beautiful dress.

I kept it, in its bag for years and even tried to sell it once or twice. I even offered it to my niece to wear for her wedding and alter it all she wanted.
I just wanted it to go to someone who would love it like I did when I first bought it. So, last week, when I ran across a freecycle listing of somebody looking for wedding things (including attire) I had to ask what it was for, just to make sure it wasn't for a play or costume and that it wasn't going to be torn to shreds. Yesterday, a lovely woman who is getting married in June, came by to take a look at it and fell in love with it. My dress has finally found a home and a wedding to be a part of, and I have one less thing to pack.

It's April?

2009-04-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last night we looked out our back door and saw this.

Not exactly what you'd expect for a Sunday night in April. This morning everything looked like this. Todd went to school dressed for February.

While inside Rose and Jinx looked out of the living room window at the, now snow covered, crab apple tree.

Have I mentioned that I'm moving to Florida in a few months? I'm not sure that I'll miss all of this snow, at least not for the first few winters.

Mother Nature Has a Cruel Sense of Humor

2009-04-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Life was easy with three boys. I always know what to expect. For instance, boys get into mischief, or well most boys do. Mine are actually pretty good, so when I got pregnant a fourth time and found out we were having a girl I was so excited. I mean girls are supposed to be perfect little angels, and every mother's dream come true. Right? Fast forward a few years, or more specifically, last April 1st. Rose is two years old and we are making our first trip to the emergency room together. It's snowing. Nice! Because in April you expect to see snow coming outa the sky, right? What is our emergency? Rose has stuck some zots up her nose.

Do you remember these things? They are great fun, and apparently even more fun to stick up your nose. We ended up going to the emergency room twice and ultimately to see an ENT to have all of them (that's right, more than one) removed the "hard way". Girls are supposed to be easy!

This is what Rose's room should look like. Everything in its place, only taken down to play with and then put away. Rose apparently didn't read the rule book on what girls are supposed to be like, because most days all of this is all over her floor in a great heaping mess. This April Fool's Day mother nature strikes again with Croup. Yep, my sweet little angel Rose, has the barking seal disease. The doctor has her on steroids to reduce the swelling in her air passages. Have you seen what those drugs do to a little girl? Sweet innocent angels, my foot! While I chase around my steroid driven 3yo this April Fool's Day you should all be busy perusing blogs. Why not start with reading, or rather looking, at what Kat from Sunshine and Lemonade has posted today. Very clever photoshop editing or are congratulations in order? Or how about popping on over to read what Chris at Chris Bliss has posted? Is there a theme here or should we be afraid to drink the blogging water?

Favorite places...

2009-03-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to Missouri I decided to take my kids over to one of my favorite state parks. When my older boys were younger we used to go all the time ,and they loved it, but when I took them a few weeks ago they couldn't remember having ever been there.
Elephant Rocks State Park lies in the middle of the middle of nowhere Missouri. That's what I like about Missouri, there are state parks and natural areas all over the places. In fact, just down the road from Elephant Rocks is Johnson Shut-Ins State Park and Fort Davidson State Historic Site (Civil War battleground).
I took my children the way I had always been taken, as a child--we drove J Road. J Road is the roller coasters of back roads, very hilly and curvy and you're never quite sure if there is gonna be anything over the top of the hill you're driving. It's an adventure! Sure there are probably quicker, more interstate ways of arriving at our destination, but where's the fun in that? We arrived in one piece, and saw things you just don't see on the highway.

Here we are starting the trail up to the top, where the "big rocks" are.
Of course once the big kids found out they could climb on these rocks they were having a great time showing off, and letting me photograph the fun.

Todd loves showing off how strong he is.

Oddly enough this was one of the only pictures Rose cooperated in having taken.
By the time we climbed down from the top of the rocks the kids were worn out and ready for a nice long roller coaster ride back home on J Road. It was a great day to be playing on the rocks and now the big kids can't say they don't remember ever going.

Finally..the WINNERS are....

2009-03-20T16:23:00.001-07:00

Happy first day of Spring!

I apologize for having to rush out of town and putting off the announcement of the Spring Fling winners. So without anymore delay the winner of the St.Pat's hair bow is...Jeannie over at Jeannie's Happy World. Congratulations! Since St.Pat's is over I would like to make it up to you by adding another bow to the pot. I feel terrible that I wasn't here to mail you the St.Pat's bow!
The winner of the tutu with flower is Denise from There's Always Room for One More.
Winners please email me so I can get your details!! Thanks so much for entering this contest!!!

and the winners are....

2009-03-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today I had planned on announcing the winners of my Spring Fling Giveaway, that was yesterday. This morning I got up, checked all my entries, made an announcement on the Facebook Fan page that I'd announce the winner today, and then took Rose to dance class.

I will announce by the end of the week, but I've had some unexpected family emergencies today that involve me having to scurry into a hurry to pack myself and four children into the minivan and drive almost 4oo miles first thing in the morning. So I am postponing my announcement until the end of the week.

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway and who fanned my facebook page! Ya'll are so very awesome!

Paper Crane Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is such a gorgeous dress! This woman is so talented! Click the link to find out about the giveaway!
Paper Crane Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

SITS Spring Fling!

2009-03-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

What says spring more than a cute baby in a basket dressed as a bunny?

Today those fabulous SITS girls are at it again. It's Spring Fling! The SITS girls are giving away something every hour over at their blog. The fun is all day and not just on their site, it's happening with SITStas all over the blogosphere today! Even here! To celebrate SITS Spring Fling, I'm having a giveaway today! Want to hear more? Pay close attention because I'm gonna be sneaky and see if you all are paying attention or just skimming today. The first giveaway is easy.. just leave me a comment here. What's up for grabs? This cute St.Pat's korker hairbow!

The big prize today is one of my tutus with a flower.

This is where it gets tricky. Do you want a chance to win one of my tutus from the Flower Girls? Fan the Flower Girls facebook page! You can click the link or you can click my facebook badge on this page. You could win a tutu with flower in the size of your choice.

Good luck to everyone!!

Baggu Grosgrain Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

These bags are both cute and eco-friendly!! Click the link to find out more about this contest!

Baggu Grosgrain Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap..What was in my box?

2009-03-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I got my box! Woohoo! I love getting packages in the mail! Last Wednesday I posted about the flowers I received from my swap partner, Jeri from the Nichols.
Here's a shot of what it all looked like before I opened them up. Aren't the packages pretty and Spring-like? Very cheerful!! I was so excited and so was Rose. Rose helped me open everything!

I got the most wonderful treasures! I loved everything and even shared the candy and popcorn with my kids! I'm also looking forward to trying out the recipes you shared!
Thank you so much, Jeri! I'm so glad we were partners!!!

Flowers!

2009-03-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

When I came in from taking Rose to dance class this morning, I had something waiting for me.
They're from my Mamarazzi's Favorite Thing swap partner! I absolutely love getting flowers! My box arrived today too, and I'll post about that later but I just had to share my beautiful flowers!! Thank you!!!!

Haute Mama [pick of the day]

2009-03-03T12:16:00.001-08:00

I am so excited! Today, Created by Mom launched their Haute Mama [pick of the day]. My tutu with ribbon is the pick today! The gals over at CreatedbyMom.com are so clever, and they have this posted all over the place today.

You can see it >here< at Kirtsy.com,
and you can see it >here< at MomFaves.com .
They even posted a note about it on their Facebook page!

It's Monday, March 2nd

2009-03-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

It's Monday, March 2nd, and it's snowing. Why is today so important? Well, the snow part isn't so important, it's really just an acceptance for living in the Chicago area. What's important is that today is the day I mail my box to my partner from Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap!

I am so excited and really hope my partner loves all the things I've packed into the box for her. Stay tuned, because I'll be posting what I receive when I open my box.

Did you all see all the contests I've posted over the weekend??? They are all perfect for that princess in your life. Here are all the links, in one handy dandy place for you to check out all these awesome contests!
Puss Ann Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sweet Life in the Valley Blog Utah Valley Provo Orem Blog: Fun Free Fridays Giveaway * Bugs 'N' Bees Pillowcase Dresses Tunic Tops

Go check them out!!

Sweet Life in the Valley Blog Utah Valley Provo Orem Blog: Fun Free Fridays Giveaway * Bugs 'N' Bees Pillowcase Dresses Tunic Tops

2009-03-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen all the awesome dresses/tunics that Bugs'n'Bees has you really should check them out and in the mean time you should really take a look at this contest over at Sweet Life in the Valley for a chance to win a dress/tunic from Bugs'n'Bees. Just follow the link!

Sweet Life in the Valley Blog Utah Valley Provo Orem Blog: Fun Free Fridays Giveaway * Bugs 'N' Bees Pillowcase Dresses Tunic Tops

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

If you have a little princess in your life you will love this giveaway. Just click on the link to find out more!

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Puss Ann Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-02-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

She's at it again! Another fabulous giveaway, this time for matching mother-daughter shoes. Seriously cute shoes!!! Follow the link and join in on the fun.

Puss Ann Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Flashback Friday

2009-02-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Since my birthday was this week I thought I'd make my Flashback Friday about, what else..birthdays. So here it goes and if you want to join in the fun just go over and see Tara at Too Much Information and link up with the fun.

My 8th birthday party.

Have I ever mentioned that I really wasn't like other girls my age? This is me turning 13. I loved Gone With The Wind and what 13yo girl doesn't need a Scarlett O'Beara and Rhett Beartler? I still have these!

I swear I did not plan this whole five year in between thing. It's a complete fluke! It's my 18th birthday and I just happen to be getting ready to go to a Mardi Gras dance at school.

This is one of my favorite birthday pictures. I'm 26 and with my two most favorite people (at the time)-- Sam and Chris.

Ready to join in?

Happy Birthday Lambie

2009-02-24T06:19:00.001-08:00

Here is sweet little Lambie ready for his big party and ready to catch some beads in case a impromptu Mardi Gras parade breaks out in front of the house today.

Speaking of Mardi Gras...Zen Cupcake is having a Mardi Gras cupcake giveaway. Go see what the fuss is about ->here<- . The contest ends today!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-02-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

Run, don't walk to enter this giveaway! If you have a little girl she will love this skirt!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Mardi Gras, the Soulard way

2009-02-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the St.Louis Mardi Gras is the 2nd largest, after New Orleans? I grew up going to Mardi Gras parades in Mobile, Alabama (which is the real birth place of Mardi Gras in the United States) and the first time I attended a St.Louis (Soulard) Mardi Gras parade I was a little disappointed. Of course I was. After all I had always known the big, flashy floats and marching bands and moon pies. The "big" parade for the Soulard Mardi Gras is always held the Saturday before Fat Tuesday, and they do have floats, and they throw beads, and there are drunk people a plenty. After a few years it really grows on you, and you look forward to it.

My birthday falls on Fat Tuesday this year, and I was fortunate enough to spend this past weekend in St.Louis attending the Soulard Mardi Gras. I took lots of pictures, got lots of beads, and of course, drank at least one Hurricane in an over sized cup. I, mostly enjoyed the company I kept and had a great time making fun of the overly drunk college kids.

I know you probably can't tell from these pictures but every float has a portapotty on it, which is something I've always found very amusing.

Of course what adult Mardi Gras experience is complete before drinking out of an over sized cup? I filled mine with beads to bring back to the kids. I think they were happier to get their beads than to have their mommy home again. What about any of you? Have you ever attended a Mardi Gras celebration? Do you have one where you live?

Views from the Red section

2009-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday some friends drove in from St.Louis to attend a book signing at the Borders in Schaumburg. Who was signing? Tattoo artist, Kat Von D. I've been to a book signing, or two in my past, but nothing was as crazy as this was. The atmosphere felt more like a rock concert, than a book store. Fortunately, for us, we arrived before 11am and grabbed our wrist bands putting us in the "red" section (aka..the third group). The signing was only eight and a half hours away! While we did not spend the entire time hanging out in the red section (which happened to be amongst the Religion section of the book store), we did arrive back around 5:30. Just in time to get in our line and make some new friends.

Courtney was so excited, she couldn't stop posing with her book.

Matt was standing behind us in line, and while he may have been interviewed he forgot to have someone take his picture when he actually met Kat.

These girls made paper flowers to give to Kat. I thought that was so thoughtful!

We were finally getting close enough to get a real glimpse of Kat, and Courtney was so excited!

Here's Courtney getting her book signed by her favorite person in the world, Kat Von D. This whole day was all about this moment. Courtney was telling her how she drove over 7hours to be there.

Kat giving Courtney a hug for driving so far. Courtney was so relieved at how nice Kat was, and promises to marry her someday.

One last look before being ushered back down stairs so more fans could get their chance.

Yes. These are empty pizza boxes. This is how cool Kat Von D turned out to be. I don't think that Borders was quite expecting this kind of turn out for this event. When we arrived in the morning to get our wrist bands the rules were these. You can stay as long as you want, you can take as many pictures as you want, if she is willing you can pose with pictures with her (and the guy in the morning had talked to another Borders store that said she had posed for pics there). So we spent all day planning on how we were gonna do pictures and how we wanted a group shot with Kat Von D, ect.. Well, like I said, we don't think the Borders there expected so many people. The building was packed to fire code by 6:30pm and so they had to make people stand outside to wait in line (boy were we glad to have our red wrist bands). When Kat Von D arrived at 7:30 (right on time), she stopped and bought the people outside pizza to eat while the waited in line. How cool is that? Unfortunately because of the amount of people the photo rules had changed and we couldn't get pictures taken with her, and the minute you had your book signed the ushered you away to make more room in the building. So Trish and I sacrificed our turns to meet Kat in order to take a ton of pictures of Courtney meeting her hero. It was well worth it.

This is Trish, me and Courtney right at the front of the line. The wait was finally over, we had made new friends, and had a great time.

Last Minute Valentines

2009-02-13T07:18:00.000-08:00

If I was a less procrastinating mother I'd have had these finished and photoed earlier this week. Sorry! Here are some super easy Valentine cards you can make. I originally did them last year for Todd to give out at his preschool but they came home with a note saying, "We don't observe this holiday so we're sending them back. Please read your handbook." Ouch! Todd was so upset because he had really worked hard on them. I put them away and we took them out for this year, but had to add another 15 to the stack.

If you'd like to make these adorable puppy valentine's for next year (or for tomorrow), it's super easy.
You need four shades of construction paper or card stock (I used card stock), cut in heart shapes. A large one for the face, two medium ones for ears, and a small one for the nose. I just used a glue stick to adhere them. You don't have to do them in the colors shown. If I'd thought ahead I would have made these in shades of pink for my daughter to give to her ballet class, but I figured I'd be safe and make Todd's all gender neutral. This is a great project for your kids to actually do themselves, especially if they are good cutters. If they don't have their scissor skills then you can cut the pieces out and they can glue them on. Don't forget to have them sign the backs so friends know who it came from.

and the winner IS.....

2009-02-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

I am soooo excited! This morning as I was sitting down to collect all the entries for my giveaway I noticed that Jen, over at All Things Ribbon, had announced her big winner. How could I resist going to check out who won? I WON! Oh my goodness! I was so excited that I yelped and called my mother. So I got a little distracted from what I sat down to do and it's taken a little bit longer to get this posted. Sorry!

This being my very first giveaway I wanted to do things the old fashioned way. So I typed up all the names and printed them out, and cut them up, and put them into a box.
Then Rose picked one out of the box.
I know you can't see it, but the name on the strip says....

Congratulations Fiery!!!!
Fiery, has a lovely blog called The Fire of Life. Please email me so I can get your info!
Thanks to everyone who entered and be on the lookout, I have a feeling this may turn into a monthly event. :)

Flashback Friday

2009-02-06T06:40:00.001-08:00

Tara, over at Too Much Information is hosting Flashback Fridays. This is only the 2nd week, and it just sounds like so much fun so I thought I'd participate. Go visit her blog to get in on the fun!

Here's my "flashback photo".

Senior Prom 1992. My date was my best friend, David Wickerham. We actually had an argument about the whole prom thing and that's how I ended up going with him. I was on the prom court and thought it'd be way more funny if I didn't show up for the Prom. He didn't agree and told me that I was going, with him, kicking and screaming if need be. David had to be the best friend a gal could have. He knew I did not want to go to another dance without a date, especially the prom. He came home from college for the weekend and took me. Yes, we had a good time and he was very proud of me being on the prom court. *insert rolling of the eyes here*
Want more fun trivia? My mother made my dress and I used it, a second time, as a bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding that summer.
Now go join the fun and share your flashback photos!
Have you entered my tutu giveaway yet?

Lessons from the parking lot.

2009-02-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

Thursday afternoons bring after school activities for my older children. My 12yo (Chris) joined the YearBook Club at his middle school, and my freshman(Sam) joined the Interactive Gaming Club. Interactive Gaming Club is code for Dungeons&Dragons. Yes, I have "one of those" and I couldn't be prouder. So anyway, the routine is to go pick Chris up and then go sit in the parking lane in front of the freshman building to wait for Sam to finish up his round of D&D.

Today Chris and I had a great game of people watching. Maybe I should preface this with the fact that he loves the High School Musical movies and has quite an imagination. We're sure Disney wouldn't make up stories involving kids who spontaneously burst into song, so we've been on the lookout for the high schoolers we're sure who do. Did that make sense to anyone other than me?

Today we're sitting behind a Jaguar (the motorized kind, not the jungle stalker kind) when we notice a girl in a leopard print jacket (umm...cat theme much?), and a Jonas Brother wanna be come out of the building and get into the Jag. Chris and I are pretty sure those are the types who burst into spontaneous song and dance and we'll be keeping our eyes out to see them again.

Next come the jocks. It's basketball season, and everybody knows that basketball players sing and dance. What's this? Why is that player's shirt all ripped? He's gotta be a werewolf (we know from watching too many Joss Whedon shows that this is a definite possibility)--why else would he have a shirt that looks like that? Right? Wait a minute? Why are none of the basketball guys wearing socks? Whoa! Why is THAT basketball guy wearing red tights? We're sure there's some sort of theme going on here but we'll need more time to study it.

We observed the orchestra kids coming and going from the building but we aren't sure if they are really carrying instruments or machine guns. This is Chicago, we've all seen the mobster movies.

Thank goodness! The D&D kids start straggling from the building. They really are the most unassuming of the bunch we've seen all afternoon, which makes us assume they must be the masterminds behind the whole high school organization.

Sam gets in the car and we go through our findings with him, but when we get to our theory on the D&D kids he just clams up. Hmm....we must be getting close to what this high school thing is all about.

In the meantime, keep an eye out on your own high schoolers. Are they of the non-sock wearing basketball playing werewolf society? or do you have a machine gun toting orchestra player? Do your teenagers burst out into spontaneous song and dance?

Have you entered my tutu giveaway yet?

Before, After and Swap.

2009-02-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those girls who isn't afraid of change. Today I had my hair cut and I let my husband document the before and after photos. Just FYI, men don't understand the need of taking a billion pictures. I had less than ten photos to chose from, so these may be a little scary.

What do you think? I was in drastic need of a haircut and have never been afraid to "chop it all off". I'm more afraid of having my picture taken, but I was feeling extra brave today. Must've been the groundhog in the air.
Speaking of feeling brave...I am joining in the fun over at Dandelion Wishes. Mammarazzi is having a favorite things swap. I am so excited because I've been wanting to do one. If you'd like to join in the fun click on her super cute button and learn more.

Have you entered my tutu giveaway yet?

A Giveaway to Celebrate.

2009-02-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the good news? The CPSC granted a one year stay of testing and certification requirements for certain products. You can read about it at their website, which is here. I know that the fight isn't over, but a lot can be accomplished in a year and to celebrate I am having my very first giveaway.

Here's what you need to do to enter. Go visit my tutus at Createdbymom.com, here or visit my gallery at the Flower Girls website, here and then leave me a comment on my blog telling me which tutu you like. For an additional five entries you can also blog about the contest. Make sure you leave separate comments for each so I know how many times to enter you. The winner will get a tutu of their choice. The contest will end on Feb7th so that the winner will receive their tutu in time for Valentine's Day.

Thinking Warm Thoughts

2009-01-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

I have been so out of it this week! I blame the cold. Just because I may not be eating ice cream, doesn't mean I can't claim brain freeze. I'm determined to think of warmer things so I thought I'd share some past vacation photos. We don't go on vacations very often, and as a family we've only been on one in eight years. Since we've lived in Chicago I've taken the kids to the beach (not Lake Michigan) twice. When we first moved here I packed the kids into the car and drove them to visit my sister in D.C. with a side trip to Ocean City, M.D. It was July and very hot.

This was the first trip that my older boys actually remember taking. We had such a great time and I keep promising to take them back someday. Todd doesn't remember any of it and insists that he needs to go again soon before he's "too big".
A trip that Todd does remember is our first family trip to North Topsail Beach, N.C. Everyone had a great time, and even Rose was running fearlessly into the waves by the end of the week.

All the kids agree that if we move anywhere we have to live close to a beach because they all love it. What about all of you? What do you think about to keep warm when it's so very cold outside?

Where did the week go?

2009-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

What a busy week it's been. Short weeks always seem just wrong. Not that I mind having Monday's off, or having the kids home, but I never know what day it is for the rest of the week. I even forgot to put the trash to the curb this week! Days off always mean more work for me at home, and in the end never really seem like a day off (for some reason Rose likes to get up extra early on the days when I can sleep in). So today I am taking a day off. The weather is warm (okay so it's like 20 outside but after last weeks -20 it's like a heat wave), and what do we do when the weather turns warm? We go to the mall, of course! Hey! It's not like it's park weather, but thankfully the mall has a great indoor play area and it's warm enough to walk from the car to the door. I have been looking forward to this all week. A trip to the mall with Rose. We are going to hit the Bath & Body semi-annual sale, and just hang out. Is there anything better than a girl day? Rose is very excited.

What about any of you? Big plans for the weekend?? Have you read Sam's story yet? I've added chapters 2-6. He tells me he's got the next chapter all planned out, too. I can hardly wait to see what he's got planned for his characters.

All About Sam

2009-01-20T07:30:00.001-08:00

As most of you know, by now, I have four children. Yes, I know that mostly you only hear about the youngest (and only girl). Today I'm gonna talk about my oldest, Sam. Sam is 14yo and a freshman in highschool. He's full of imagination and great ideas and sarcasm (as any good teenage boy should be). I may be biased, but he really is an amazing big brother. All of his siblings adore him all the time, and even though he may be at an age that he annoys more easily, he loves his siblings too. He's thoughtful and a big help with cooking, and helping with the youngest of the kids. He's a big reader, loves to draw, watch horror movies (and talk about how fake they look), listen to obscure music, and watch anime. I think it's safe to say that his favorite anime character is one named, simply, L. He's a huge Death Note fan.
In the last year he's become very interested in writing short stories. First he played around with writing horror stories, but lately he's been working on something that resembles fan fiction. Onlne he's often found hanging out at a place called "the World Forum". Last week he started his story and has been adding a chapter almost every day. He asks for people to give him suggestions for characters and story lines and he's been having a ball. He's gotten great support from his online friends. He insisted on asking the permission of the people who've been giving him character ideas before allowing me to post links to his story, on my blog.
Try to ignore spelling and grammar, ect.. I think his story is coming along nicely and he's so very proud of it himself.
Have a read. You can read his story here. As I add more of his chapters I'll let ya'll know.

I hope you enjoy his imagination as much as I do!

A Day Without Snow

2009-01-15T08:34:00.001-08:00

We got the much anticipated 5am phone call this morning! Hooray! We got a snow day, and what was the first order of business? I went downstairs to ask my oldest how to turn his alarm off so he didn't have to get up, of course. Then I went back to bed. I was up most of the night with Rose. She was just having one of those nights. She got up at 1am and didn't go back to sleep until around 5am. It's a good thing I didn't have to get up to get kids to school today, I slept til 9am.

What defines a snow day? Like earlier this week, we found out that a blizzard isn't about the amount of snow that falls, snow days don't require snow. Unlike yesterday, where we woke up to another 4-8 inches of snow, today it was just TOO COLD to go to school. Our high today is going to be -2 but most of the day it's only supposed to be -10. I may have to reconsider wanting to live in a warmer climate. Where else do you get a day off because it's too cold? That would never happen somewhere like Florida. What does a day that is too cold for school look like you ask? Have a look.

Notice how the snow is piled up to keep people from coming to knock on our front door.

I love our icicles!
And, a shot of the top of the back deck. Maybe before the whole system of snow is finished the chair will be completely covered.

How is your Thursday shaping up? Do you have snow where you live, freezing temperatures, or is it warm and sunny?

Blizzard!!!

2009-01-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

We were under a "Blizzard Watch", last night. The kids and I were so excited because we thought it meant a snow day today, for sure. I mean isn't a blizzard a large amount of snow that falls in a short time, or in any time? The school district web pages even reminded parents that there might be a snow day today. How much more anticipatory can ya get?
Well....apparently a blizzard isn't categorized by the amount of snow that falls during it. It's about wind. Wind?!
Here's a little bit about what Wikipedia has to say about blizzards:
A blizzard is a severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow.
My kids were so disappointed not to get that 5:30am phone call saying that there would be no school today. That's right, no watching the news or listening to the radio here. The school makes automated calls at the crack of dawn to say "don't get up and go to school, because we're not gonna be there". So, this being my first experience with blizzards of the meteorological variety (as opposed to the video game kind), I have to say I'm disappointed. No large amounts of snow, and no day off.

It's Monday...and yes, there's snow on the ground.

2009-01-12T09:11:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend we had snow. Okay, okay...I know. I live in Chicago-land and we ALWAYS have snow. Usually when the sky opens up and bird dandruff (that's what my dad always calls it) falls from the sky I stay inside. I mean who wants to play in the freezer after they've been living in the freezer for so long? Saturday morning I woke up to this site (as taken from my living room window).

Notice the sidewalk has already been shoveled? Yes, I have neighbors who were actually up before 8am with their snow blowers. The guy who lives behind us snow blows the sidewalk for the entire cul de sac and all the way down our street. It's actually pretty awesome! Saturday we ended up with 8+ inches of snow. It was so pretty!! I couldn't help it. I bundled Rose up and took her out to play. The older kids were shoveling snow (I even talked my 12yo into shoveling our neighbor's driveway out of the kindness of his heart--and he did), and it was just really nice. Rose found out that she like the taste of snow. I wonder if she'd like sno-cones? What do you think?

Save Handmade

2009-01-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this logo on some body's blog lately? Do you know what it's about? In short it's about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act . Still lost? I'm sure most of you remember the Thomas the Tank Engine fiasco, or the Dora the Explora incident. Lead in the paint, clothes, jewelry, backpacks, ect.... ? Ringing some bells now? If your a parent I'm sure you know about all the past recalls. Do you know that congress has put together a law (the before mentioned Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act or CPSIA) to help make toys and other items meant for children 12 years and younger safe? This new law goes into effect in February 2009. Next month!!!

Still don't know what all of this means or how it effects you? How many of you buy anything from ETSY, or Ebay, CreatedbyMom.com, or a 2nd hand shop (Once Upon a Child is one of my favorite places), a craft fair, ect...? Do you have a favorite small toy company? How about that little boutique in town that sells local made dresses or hair bows that you love going into? The CPSIA will effect all of that. According to the new act all of these sorts of places won't be able to sell their goods without a lot of very expensive, very extensive third party testing and labeling. In short they will have to prove that they aren't selling you anything that contains toxins like phthalates and lead.

Being a part of a great SITStahood like the Secret is in the Sauce I've met some other great moms who craft things and sell them online. Like Kacee, at My Life as a Mom at 22, she's got a great boutique called Prissy Miss that she sells her beautiful hair accessories out of. Another great one is from the gals over at Bugs'n'bees. They have the most adorable clothes for little girls. Then of course there is myself. I am a vendor over at CreatedbyMom.com and have my own little website too. I make fabulous tutus under the name the Flower girls. If the law passed by the CPSIA goes into effect we will all have to stop selling our amazing products, unless we can afford the cost of testing.

What can you do? You can grab the bear button at the top of the post from here. You'll also find a lot of really great resources at that page. It's the Cool Mom Picks site- another great place to hang out online. You'll also see links to places like The Handmade Toy Alliance.

Sign petitions to amend this law, write your congress person. Blog about it. Talk about it. Help save handmade.

spreading the love

2008-12-29T07:03:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when you were little and your parents would tell you, "Eat your peas, there are starving children in Ethiopia", or something like that. My kids can hardly believe that there are places without snow, but would like to move to said places as soon as possible to escape any more shoveling. Today we have no snow outside, just sunshine. I thought it might be nice to share all our snow with all of you in blog land that don't get any. So here are a few pictures from the last two weeks to cheer all you "non-snowy" bloggers (and probably make you even more glad that you don't get any snow).

I know it's a picture of shoes, but it's not just shoes. It's shoes on top of the snow instead of sinking down a few inches (like they should if it was JUST snow).
Here's where Chris learns that his mom has tricked him into shoveling ice, and not snow. After this the jig was up and he came inside.

I told you, before, that I like to measure snow by the back deck. This all appeared in a few short hours.

Okay this wasn't taken last week, but I had to throw a picture of the kids in the snow for good measure.

Sure, snow isn't all about the shoveling and the driving in there are lots of fun things you can do in the snow.

Like building a snowman.

It's obvious my kids haven't really gotten the idea, but I'm working on it.

You can go sledding.

If you're a curious cat you can sniff the snow.

I was so waiting for that bush to dump all it's snow on Jinx, but no such luck. What a lucky little kitty.

And, of course, you can just enjoy the snow. Often it really is very pretty to look at.

Number Four Turns Three

2008-12-22T05:28:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, today, I got the very best Christmas gift I've ever gotten (and I can't imagine it ever being topped). Three years ago after a month of being turned away at the labor and delivery door because my contractions just weren't "good enough", and I'd sworn that I wouldn't go back until my water broke or my doctor would induce me, I got the best contractions ever. And that's really saying something since with the first three, by comparison, I had it way easy. Three years ago my youngest, Roselyn Elizabeth was born. At 9:25 in the morning, weighing 8pounds and 15 ounces, with lots of brown hair and big brown eyes.

Having a girl is so much fun, after having three boys. I really wasn't sure what to do with her sometimes, but I think I figured it out. I love playing dress up with her, and fortunately so does she. :)
Yes, my little princess has definitely gotten bigger (and more menacing) over the years and I can't believe how fast it's passed. Today I started, what I hope becomes a tradition, of spending "girl time" together. I took her to Club Libby Lu and got her hair done (we went last week and got her ears pierced) and then to the Picture People to have birthday portraits done. She looked her fabulous princess self today!

Monster Sighting

2008-12-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

If I compare my afternoons to a National Geographic article I might sound something like this:

I finally got footage of the, not so rare, monstrous 2 year old that inhabits our village. She appears to be sweet until provoked into a game of chase. Here you see one of the elder hunters luring it into a game of "catch me if you can" in attempts to lure her to exhaustion and maybe a nap.

Did you notice how she threatens with a "roar" and he answers with a "roar"? I'm sure it's a game of some sort, but I'm not really sure who is in charge. Will have to document further to determine what really is going on.

This really is a game that happens every afternoon when Sam comes home. My oldest is every body's favorite big brother (which is handy since he is the oldest), and I think he's got it down pretty good. He lets the younger ones get away with a lot. And the above is just the tip of the ice berg. They do love their games of afternoon chase. My kids are all crazy and my house is always a mess and very loud and we're always out of food with four growing children. I can never say I'm bored or lack entertainment.
What about any of you? Do you have a crazy house? Do your kids chase each other around making roaring sounds? Are you ready for the holidays?

How to go to school in the snow and dance like you're being watched

2008-12-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when we got so much snow I had planned on making today's post about the fun of school in the snow. Here, where we live, your child has to come to school in full snow gear-- the hat, gloves, snow pants, snow boots, jacket. You know, they have to be ready to play in the snow. What happens if you come to school without all the marshmallow layers? You get to stay inside and watch all your friends have fun outside. This is Todd's first year of "big" school and so he gets to put all this on in the mornings. This is what he looks like walking back to the car in the afternoons. When he went to school in the morning there wasn't anything on the ground (okay maybe a little ice, but it did not look like this!). It had only been snowing for like 90mins when that was taken! This morning our deck looked like it usually does in the winter here. I always love measuring our snow by looking at the rails of our deck. It just makes it look like we have so much! But I said this post wasn't going to be about all the snow. Nope, today is all about the fact that I finally used the video capture button on my camera. What follows is Rose at dance class doing their little "holiday" dance they learned today. She's the one on the end in the fabulous tutu. After this was shot all the mom's talked about enrolling our girls into a hockey program. But that's a story for another day. Enjoy the Dance Dynamics Rugratz class performing their holiday dance. :)

Oatmeal Jam-Ups with Rose and Sam

2008-12-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we drove to Springfield, IL to meet my parents for lunch. We figure that's about the half way point between the lot of us. We met to exchange presents and just get to hang out for a bit. My parents aren't really able to make it all the way to Chicago often and we aren't able to make it all the way to southeast MO. My father loves my Oatmeal Jam-up cookies. It's a recipe I started making years ago because it just looked so yummy. This year I let my oldest (Sam) and my youngest (Rose) do most of the work.
We got all the ingredients out.

And while I added what we needed to the bowl, Sam and Rose did the mixing. Rose was so excited to be helping, and Sam was very compliant. Now, I'm not going to share my recipe (because then my sister wouldn't have to call me every year and ask me how to do it and what goes in it), but I will share what the finished product looks like. In the book they make these into really cute ravioli shapes, but I'm lazy so I make mine into bars instead. My boys are always so suspicious of anything I make. I think it comes from all the years I've told them that I've secretly been poisoning their food. After I shoved as many bars, as I could, into a container for my father I put the rest aside for us. I was thinking it might be a nice alternative to cereal in the mornings. Unfortunately they didn't last past Sunday.

Have you finished your holiday shopping? Don't want to brave the stores? Looking for one of a kind products? Have a look at CreatedbyMom.com . They sell 100% mom-made products.

Want to win?

2008-12-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! As some of you may know I am a vendor at CreatedbyMom.com. You know, that fabulous 100% mom made chic boutique? Every week they have a give away and this week one of my tutus and wands are up for grabs.
To be specific this tutu is up for grabs.

This is my best seller. A periwinkle/lavender (or blue/purple) tutu. Fifty yards of soft tulle makes for a full and fluffy, twirly skirt of fun for any little girl. The one being given away is sized for 2T-4T. What tutu is complete without a wand?

Would you like to win? Go on over to CreatedbyMom the Blog and enter.

Have you finished your holiday shopping? Have you started? Have you visited all the wonderful mom-vendors at CreatedbyMom.com?

To pierce or not to pierce

2008-12-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been over a week since I've blogged about anything. What can I say, I've been a busy gal. First I want to thank everyone who stopped by to say "Merry SITSmas" to me last week. I will get back to each and every one of you, if I haven't already. My SITSmas ended with me finally sucumbing to the family stomach flu. Speaking of SITSmas, thanks for all the compliments on the baby in the stocking. That was actually a photo I used for a Christmas card 6years ago. That was one of the first portraits done of my, now 6yo, son when he was born.
Alright, so I was sick and then I spent the rest of my week catching up on orders for tutus. So here we are now and my question today is: Should I pierce Rose's ears?
My youngest, and only girl, will be turning 3 in two weeks. My husband has finally agreed to let me put holes in Rose's ears, but now that it comes down to it I just can't decide. I'd love to hear some pros and cons about this in my comments. This summer I went around asking any mother I saw with a pierced eared todler about the experience and I even went around to places that pierce ears asking about their methods. So I feel I'm well informed on the decision.
How old were you when you had your ears pierced? Are they pierced? Have you pierced your daughters ears? What was that experience like? Where did you have it done?

Merry SITSmas!

2008-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Those fabulous gals over at SITS are having a fun filled holiday extravaganza today. It's a whole day of fun and cheer and amazing hourly give aways with the grand prize winner receiving a $200 gift card to Target and being Friday's featured blogger. How totally awesome is that? That's right...a whole day of prizes from all sorts of places.
So what is SITSmas all about? It's not just about all the fantastic prizes, but it's about sharing this holiday season with all our SITStas, of course. So here's me sharing what the holidays mean to me.
Family. Family comes in many shapes and sizes. There's my online friends that I consider family and then there's my actual family.

Okay so it's probably not what you expected. I usually have pictures of my kids, but believe it or not I actually have a mother (I'm not like my 12yo I don't have a problem admitting it), and a father and 5 brothers and a sister --all older than me. Yes, I'm the baby. Last year, for Christmas ,we all got together. This was the first time we were all together in over 25years. Can you imagine not having all your siblings together, at the same time, for so long? Can you imagine being a mom and not having your kids together at the same time for so long? This was our Christmas gift to our mother. We all tried to bring our individual families with us and that's what this looked like. We were only missing four kids and two significant others in this picture. 22 out of 28 isn't so bad, right? Talk about a crazy few days. For some of the kids it was the first time they met any of their cousins, and for some it was just their first time meeting any of us. We commemorated the occasion by having a whole heck of a lot of pictures taken. Now that we've covered my biological family, what about my online friends or SITStas. Some of my favorite places to hang out these days are on the fantastic blogs I find through SITS. Places like Sunshine and Lemonade. Kat is always reading the best books and having fun with the ladies in the "Mommy Blabber Club". Anna at Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder is always there when you're having a grey day. Have you heard about her sleep-tennising problem? If you're looking for a cute tushy then look no further than that sweet Nanny over at Nanny Goats in Panties. If you're nice I bet she'd tell you a story about band camp. When you need some inspiration you need to look no further than Jyll at Never a Dull Moment. She has NINE children!! The woman has to be a saint. Then there is another sort of inspiration that I get from Christie at Pretty Paper Blog. She is so amazingly talented! Of course my day is never complete unless I stop by and see Heather and Tiffany over at The Secret is in the Sauce. They are the real masterminds behind this whole sisterly love thing called SITS. They got together and created an entire army of comment junkies, and without them a lot of us wouldn't have comments on our blogs or have all these amazing SITStas. So today I'm celebrating SITSmas, and my online friends that I've made. Ya'll are awesome and I consider myself lucky to be able to call myself your stalker.
Happy SITSmas!!!

December 1st, 2008

2008-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

This is what I woke up to this morning.

OKay, well actually I woke up at 2am with a sick 2yo, but I didn't think you'd want to see that so I waited until 8:30 and went outside to take those pictures. Aren't you glad I spared you?
ANYway...I thought that snow on the first day of December is actually appropriate. I mean it's actually a month that you expect to see snow in, and maybe even want snow in.
I've spent the last week preparing for today. I grew up using an Advent calendar that was the shape of a Christmas tree and it had 25 pockets, each with something to pin on the tree. I loved doing the Advent calendar as a kid and knew I wanted to do that with my own children. My mother actually made me one for my children to use, after I got married, but we had a very unruly beagle who tore it up so we've been without for many years. This year I decided to make my own.

In each of the pockets is a holiday themed task, like decorating the tree, or making Christmas cards, or making cookies, or reading a holiday book, ect... My 6yo is really excited, and if our unruly 2yo doesn't tear it up this Advent calendar may end up being what my children grow up knowing.
Oh! Did I mention that I received a package in the mail this weekend? I got my prizes from Kat's Wicked give away! Have you gone over to enter in this weeks prize? She's giving away some sex and chocolate, how could you resist? Get on over there and enter!

What about any of you? Do you have any holiday traditions you grew up with that your kids do now? Did you make your own? Did you wake up to snow? or to a sick kid?

Give thanks, Eat turkey, and Shop

2008-11-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

I love when my kids bring home their art projects from school. I'm one of those mother's who keep her kids projects and frame them and turn their office area into an art gallery. I try to make sure that each of the children are represented in the gallery, and sometimes I switch things out for the different holiday seasons. This week I was getting ready to retire these to switch out for Christmas pictures. Sam did this first one in grade school (he's a freshman now), the second is brand new from Todd (I'm so proud of my little kindergartner), the last is from Chris when he was a kindergartner (he's in the 6th grade now). I'm looking forward to adding one for Rose someday.

My in laws are visiting for the holiday and we'll do what most everyone else in this country will do. Eat. A lot. Afterwards we'll try to find something to watch on television, or put a movie in and I'll procrastinate cleaning up after the frenzy of cooking and eating in my extremely small kitchen that lacks counter space.
Tomorrow I will sleep. I will not stay up just to leave the house, shortly after midnight, to go shopping for "Black Friday". Why on earth do they call it Black Friday? It's not dark all day, and I would think that if you leave your house for a 3am sale that you'd surely be home before lunch. I've never really gotten into the whole shopping the day after Thanksgiving thing, I prefer to shop the day before Christmas. It's not crowded and the sales associates are so friendly (probably because they know they get to go home early and not work the next day). I don't have to fight for that last barbie dream house (not that I'd allow a Barbie in my home), or PlayStation game, because the stores have long been out of whatever is way popular. I don't condemn shopping the day after Thanksgiving for all those fabulous deals, on the contrary. Online shopping is a wonderful thing and you can still get those amazing deals without leaving the comfort of your bunny slippers and reindeer pajamas. One place you should definitely check out, from the comfort of your own home, tomorrow is CreatedbyMom.com .It just happens to be where I sell my fabulous custom made tutu creations. I don't know what all the amazing deals will be there tomorrow, but I know they are going to be fantastic. So, instead of shopping all night and sleeping all day tomorrow, stay home and shop from your computer in the comfort of your own bunny slippers and buy "mom made" goodness from CreatedbyMom.com. Of course CreatedbyMom isn't the only site to take a gander at. Have you seen the list of shops over at SITS? Have you seen the fabulous goody up for grabs this week?
Now that we've talked art, turkey and shopping I want to say "thank you".
I want to thank Kaycee over at My Life as a Mom at 22 for this lovely award.
"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

The rules state I need to pick not one, not two, but EIGHT people to pass this on to. So here we go.

Embellishing My Life
Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder
Nanny Goat in Panties
Sweet Bites
This,That and the Other
Cirque du Vivre
Never a Dull Moment
Fleur de Aleta

What are you all doing for the Thanksgiving holiday? Do you celebrate with family and friends? Do you have any special traditions?

Twilight to Big Love in a few easy steps

2008-11-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

How can I go from Twilight to HBO series Big Love? Easy... It's kinda like six degrees of separation but it's not gonna take six, and now you might see how eclectic my mind really is.
Ready?

You had to be living under a rock to not know that Twilight came out this weekend, but then you didn't have to be under a rock to know that it did incredibly well, not that any of it's fans are surprised. Staying along the lines of vampires and even Rob Pattinson, if you want we find ourselves on the steps of HBO. Did you know that our beloved Edward auditioned to be a part of HBO's series TruBlood? I can't even imagine what part he tried out for, but he did, and I bet they are really kicking themselves for not hiring him.
Well, Tru Blood had it's first season finale last night and it's scheduled to come back this summer. Yay! Have ya'll seen TruBlood yet? If you don't have HBO don't worry, I'm sure that it will be on DVD very soon. So now we've made our way to HBO and since we're there let's take a look at another popular HBO series.
Big Love. Have ya'll seen Big Love yet? Okay, just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about I'll give you the quick overview of the series. Big Love is the tale of suburban polygamy in Utah. Okay, I'll admit that is a very short, non descript, overview. How does anyone really describe this show? You have Bill, a businessman living the dream with a beautiful family. A beautiful family with three wives and almost eight children. Yes, there's more to it all but you'll just have to watch the show to learn more and the first two seasons are on DVD. The good news here is that the wait is over. The new season of Big Love starts this January. Can you hear the fans around the world rejoicing at the news? Finally season three is here.
There you have it...Twilight to Big Love in a few easy steps. I told you my brain was eclectic.

They're Watching Me

2008-11-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

When we moved to the Chicago area a few years ago there was something I noticed right away. Not the weather, even though it we had actual snow before Thanksgiving that year.

It was not the lack of house work I'd get done because I'd spend all day at the giant IKEA that I found. Who needs home when you can have breakfast and lunch in there? It was the size of the squirrels. I mean these things are big enough that I'm afraid they'll eat my cat if he's out. I never have to say, "Jinx, don't bother the squirrels", or "Jinx, don't eat the squirrels". No, he prefers to watch them from inside the house where he's safe. I think the squirrels are plotting against me. I think they want to take over my house. They try to assume nonthreatening poses. They try disguising themselves.

But I always catch them coming out of their hiding spots, acting like they are just ordinary squirrels. Uh huh...right, because every squirrel on the block is hiding in a pumpkin on your front door step.
They are even so bold as to not run when I take the pictures to hold as evidence. I know I'm going to come home one day to changed locks and a squirrel answering the door. They are just biding their time til I'm gone long enough to make the switch.
I swear they are watching and waiting.
Do you have animals in your neighborhood who watch you? Maybe it's an uprising? What do you think?

what 12year olds do

2008-11-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

So maybe not ALL 12 year old kids do this, maybe he's just showing off how tall he is, but for some reason my 12yo, Chris, has decided to turn his 6yo brother's birthday balloons into fake helium ones. As ya'll know from my blog, last week, Todd turned 6. He wanted balloons and decorations, ect... We got a bag of regular balloons, had Sam blow them up and we streamed them around the living room. Of course what kids don't love to play with balloons? Soon enough all the balloons were littering my living room floor, and believe me when I say my living room floor has enough liter on it without the help. I asked the kids to clean up. Yes, I asked (okay, really I told) them to clean -- if I'm gonna go through all the trouble of having them the least they can do is provide some free labor. Right? I come back into the room to this:
I couldn't figure out how, on earth they managed to make all these balloons stick to the ceiling. So once they all fell Chris demonstrated what his giant stature is really good for.
Silly me, it's all just static electricity. I'm so happy that public school science is teaching my children something useful. What about you? Do your children like to turn your house into a science experiment?

the ULTIMATE Twilight contest

2008-11-17T09:15:00.001-08:00

I've spent the last week in the mist of Forks, or as I like to refer to it-- Edward and Bella Land. That's right, I just spent all week reading the entire Twilight saga. Of course I did have some pesky breaks, Todd had a birthday and the new expansion for WoW came out so some time was commit ed to those things, otherwise I'd have finished these books a few days earlier. I'm one of those people who submerge myself into a book and if I've discovered a book that happens to be a series of books I submerge myself into the entire series before coming up for air, not that you need it in Edward and Bella Land.
So, what do I do when I finish reading the books? I go see what I've missed in the blogging world. Wouldn't you know that Kat over at Sunshine and Lemonade would be having the ultimate Twilight contest? Go! Run, don't walk, and check it out!!! You will then, of course want to enter and post about it for the extra entries (just like I am). I was the lucky winner of her Wicked contest a few weeks ago. :)I wonder if I can be so lucky as to win two contests from the same blogger or if you win once you get tossed out permanently? Hmm....? To get started just go and click the button below and it will take you over to Kat's page and you can enter her great contests and read her amazing blog.

Today, 6years ago

2008-11-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

Six years ago, the day started out with me looking like this.
I was finally going into labor with baby number three. It was a Monday morning and my doctor was going to induce me on Wednesday if I did'nt have you before then. I had been eating eggplant like crazy trying to get my body to go into labor without the pitosin and even though my water did'nt break, I actually had contractions. Daddy took me to the hospital and it was'nt long before they gave me the best epidural ever. I was in heaven, not being able to feel a thing. It took a while but you were born shortly after 1pm, and daddy almost missed it. You were 9pounds and 1 ounce and 22inches long with the chubbiest cheeks and fullest head of hair ever. Over the year you grew and grew, you met new people who'd be important in your life like your godfather, Dave, and your best friend, Lambie.

You spent a lot of time in your snugli, wearing underwear on your head with your brothers, and learning to share your food with the cat.
Then, like a flash, you were suddenly a big ONE year old boy.
So much happened in your life between the age of 1 and 2. You moved to a new house in a new city (where you enjoyed dancing on the dining room table), you went to the beach for the very first time (and weren't that crazy about it), and just hung out with your big brothers (who you were crazy about).

And just like that you were TWO.
Being 2yo went by in a blur for you and me, and it wasn't long before it was time to turn Three.
It wasn't long after you turned three that you became a big brother yourself.

You also started going to preschool when you turned 3.
Four years old brought another trip to the beach (that you loved, this time), and days where you loved dressing like a Roman soldier. You called yourself a knight.

Five years old brought you your first family reunion, where you got to meet all your mommy's brothers and sisters and their kids. You had your first kiss, with Bailey (it's a good thing her mommy is your mommy's BFF), and your first day of school. And this year you love being Scooby Doo.

Today you turned 6years old. You insisted that you needed balloons and party hats so that's what you got, along with a house full of people who love you so much. You are never without a smile, and always talking, your sweet and a good friend and a wonderful brother. I love you so much, my sweet little Todd. Happy Birthday!

Wanna Bite?

2008-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

After reading the book, Twilight, over the weekend (okay it didn’t even took 24hours, I’m a REALLY fast reader), I decided it might be fun to investigate some other popular vamipres of the screen. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we.
Who could forget Nosferatu,. Ya gotta admit that the silent screen stars had the creepy thing down.

Of course we then have Bela Lugosi’s Dracula.

One of my favorite vampire’s of the screen is Barnabus Collins of Dark Shadow’s. C’mon, when you can turn supernatural into a soap opera you have me. What’s more fun than vampires and ghosts on daytime television?

Skip a few years and we come to a very tan vampire version of Dracula played by George Hamilton in the film, Love at First Bite.

How about the cult favorite, The Lost Boys? You all know you’ve seen it, and loved it, and can’t picture Kiefer Sutherland any other way, and what about the Corey’s?

Who here hasn’t seen the 1992 version of Bram Stocker’s Dracula? Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder? Ring any bells??? This is the first movie that I actually feel bad for the guy and want him to win the girl and live happily ever after.

Two years later brought Anne Rice’s, Interview with a Vampire, to the big screen. Louis and Lestat. What more do I really need to say about them?

When the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, aired we were introduced to our first really “good” vampire with Angel. A vampire with a soul, who’ll turn evil at the first moment of happiness, and of course cute too. We were also introduced to Spike, a not so good vampire who redeems himself in the end and we all love him too.
Finally a female vampire! Another Anne Rice novel brought to the big screen with , Queen of the Damned. We get our first real lead vampire with estrogen.

Then there’s Blade, the hybrid vampire. Another good vampire fighting bad vampires, plus he’s got a really cool sword.

Kate Beckinsale dons a latex outfit to become a hunting vampire in Underworld. Where she’s tormented between staying loyal to her Vampire family or getting to know the truth about their relationship with their mortal enemies, the werewolves.

Finally we have some new blood with the HBO series, True Blood. A series about giving vampires their rights and trying to live with them in your neighborhood. How can you not love a vampire named Bill? He’s got it all down. The inner turmoil trying to find his place, the brooding, the protectiveness, the southern charm.

Last, but not least, and the real reason to even write this post is Edward Cullen. As you may have read in my last post, I finally picked up a copy of Twilight. I had it finished in under 24hours. What can I say? I’m a fast reader, but double fast when I like what I’m reading. I could not put the book down! I’m absolutely in love with the characters, and am cheering for Bella and Edward. So, to all you Twilight cultists (the book ones, not the ones in WoW), you have me and I’ve shaved my head and joined your cult. It’s a good read and will promptly be forcing everyone I know, who hasn’t already, to go read the book (and series).
Have you read any good books with vampires in them lately? Would you let one bite you?

The bloggers made me do it.

2008-11-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

Blog-pressure is the new peer-pressure. EVERYONE and their cousin, have either already read or are reading Twilight. I'm one of those people who have to see what the fuss is all about. I was the same way with the Dan Brown books, and Harry Potter. Of course I ended up loving everything by both authors, but then that's my problem. I love to read, and once I read a book and love it I scour the stacks to find everything that particular author has written. What's worse if it's about to be a movie I have to read it quicker, because I hate to see a movie that is based on a book that is super popular without reading it first. There are always exceptions, but not many.
I'm speaking, of course, of Twilight. I was in WalMart today and just happened to be walking down their book aisle and there it was. How could I pass it by when I've been dying to read it. I've been reading on so many blogs, about how great it is and just had to see what the fuss is about. I've already warned my husband that if I like it (and something tells me I will-- I know Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade has read it and there are so many books she's suggested over the years that I've loved), that we'll have to see the movie. Will I like the movie? I usually like the book better than the movie, case in point is the new series on the WB "Legend of the Seeker". This is based on the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I am a scifi/fantasy gal. I love reading action/adventure mingled in with a fantastical realm where fairies and wizards and dragons live. So, when I heard that they were making Terry Goodkind's book, Wizard's First Rule, into a series I was so excited. The series started last weekend on the WB, and well..it's like so many movies that have come from a book. You have to forget everything you've ever read and treat it as it's own entity. I'm going to continue to watch it, just so I can see how they've translated one of my favorite stories to the screen. I have the same feelings when it came to the second movie in the Narnia series. The book was so much better, but that is often the case in my opinion. Not all movies disappoint me. I absolutely loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy and thought Peter Jackson did an amazing job.
Will I love Twilight, as I much anticipate I will? Will I see the movie? What about any of you? Have you read Twilight? Will you see the movie? Do you prefer movies or the books they are based on? Any that you were disappointed with? Any you think they did great?

What are you waiting for

2008-11-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Have you gone over to visit Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade, yet? She's having this fabulous 10weeks of winners giveaways. You heard me right, 10 whole weeks! She started last weekend and draws the first winner tomorrow. The lucky winner, this week will receive a copy of Wicked, by Gregory Maguire and the soundtrack to the musical version of Wicked. What are you waiting for? Go! Read! Sign up for the contest!!

Crown making on a rainy day.

2008-11-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I attended the ScrapbookExpo when it came through town. I've been going every year, and always love the classes and make and takes and, of course, the shopping. I love all the different products being in one place, and I love the deals you can get (especially at the end of the Expo). You can always find so many cool things at the Expo that you usually can't find in your local scrapbook store-- you know, the things you have to order online. Of course eventually you can buy them at a local store, but you have to have that item NOW. You can't wait, right? You see it demonstrated and you just can't wait to get home to try it out.
One of my favorite things I bought, this year, has been the Lil Sis Sanding Stick from CreekBank Creations, Inc.. It looks like this: . You use it on chipboard to sand the edges when you're covering it with paper. That way you don't get those pesky messy edges, they come out perfect. I saw this demonstrated and knew I could not live without it. I bought one, and came home straight away to use it along with all the other things I could not live without for one reason or another. Of course you know how projects go..sometimes you start one and never get around to finishing it until you have a rainy day. Today was my rainy day, and I finally finished my first try using an acrylic album.

I have never taken a class on making an acrylic album so I was really nervous about really screwing up. I've seen so many amazing acrylic albums and this one doesn't even come close, but I'm proud anyway.

There it is, my finished project. How could I resist buying a crown, for my one and only princess, and filling it up with pictures of her? I did not leave the boys out when I was shopping at the Expo, I bought tons of boy themed things too. I just like showing off the girl ones. Sorry. What about any of you? Do any of you like to scrapbook, digital scrapbook? Do you have any favorite gadgets or gizmo you just can't live without? Do you go to expos or conventions?

the BFGB and Shawn Cassidy

2008-11-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

You may be familar with the Ronald Dahl book, "the BFG" (big friendly giant). I have one of those at my house, except we refer to him as the BFGB (big friendly giant brother). Chris.
Being the tallest of four children, Chris has many interests. He loves to play video games, pokemon, read, and High School Musical, just to name a few. Yep! You read right, Chris is a 12yo boy who loves High School Musical. If you ask him he'll tell you he isn't popular but that it doesn't matter because his friends like him and he likes himself. How cool is that to hear your kid say?

Chris likes to be called the BFGB, it's a title he wears proudly. But there's another name we have for him in our house and that's...Shawn Cassidy.

Chris has no idea who Shawn Cassidy is, and really didn't mind me calling him that until I explained who he is (or was). Yes, I've warped my poor 12yo's mind by refering to him as a 1970's heart throb. So now, when we want to fluster him, we just call him Shawn Cassidy and he turns all red and doesn't know what to say, but tries really hard not to giggle. Have any of you devised ways of torturing your children? Do any of you have children who look like somebody famous, or formerly famous?

the things you find on myspace

2008-11-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

I don't even have a copy of this picture, I'm not really sure how my neice got it. Boy the things that you find online in this day and age. Crazy, eh? What about ya'll??? Ever find something unexpected online? Ever find photos of yourself?

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! The sassy gals at SITS are having a Halloween parade, so to join in the fun here are some of my favorite pictures of Halloween past (and present). So grab a handful of candy (it's all chocolate, so I hope that's okay) and have a look.
First we have a look back at Halloween 2003. I tried to sell the boys at a pumpkin patch, but nobody wanted to buy them. I thought they were a bargain for $2 each.

Since they didn't sell I took them home and dressed them up in silly costumes of their own design. Sam loved dressing up as a Kitty Wizard (long story, but it was all his idea), and Chris is in one of his favorite stand by's-- a knight. Obviously he's bent on trying to get rid of Todd, the dragon.

A year later we were celebrating again. This time Chris dressed as a blue power ranger, and Sam was Sora (from Kingdom Hearts--Sam really likes to be original and do things his own way), Todd was an impromptu superman.

In 2006 Sam and Todd discovered scary masks.

This year we've gone to cute and cuddly with Todd as ScoobyDoo and Rose as a sweet and sassy witch. Not that the big boys are "too old" to do the Halloween thing. Sam has plans to attend his first high school party, and Chris is into going with friends (he's too cool to have parents).

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Fun

2008-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

I do realize that it is the day before Halloween, but it's better late than never to get your pumpkin all jack-o-lanterned out for the holiday. This afternoon I did just that. Okay, I didn't do much, but I forced my children to do it so I could take pictures and share with all of you. :) So here's my version of how to get a pumpkin ready for it's big day.
First you make your three boys go out in public with you.
Aren't they cute? And they didn't give me too much trouble, but then I had them all hopped up on Starbucks. I'm such a bad mommy.
Next you bring home the pumpkins and force your youngest two to take before pictures.
After you take a ton of pictures of the cute kids sitting with pumpkins, you get to take a knife and plunge it into the brains of the pumpkin. Wow, this is really actually violent. Poor pumpkin, what did it ever do to me? Then you take more pictures.

At this point your 5yo will decide that this is way too messy for him and you'll hire a stand-in to do his work.

Your stand-in will bring a little black cat to check out the quality of the pumpkin work being done and generally distract little girls. Then your 5yo decides he's bored and goes inside to play a gameboy leaving you with a 14yo, a 2yo, and the little black cat.

In the end you end up with a cyclops pumpkin, and a stereotypical pumpkin who will be mocked by all the other pumpkins for being so "normal", but hey, that's what he gets for waiting for the last second to get his costume together.

What about any of you? How did your pumpkins turn out? Did you carve any? Did you force your children to do it for sake of photo ops? Does anyone have any little black cats (which are the ultimate Halloween decoration)? Is everyone ready for tomorrow's trick or treaters?

not so wordless Wednesday

2008-10-29T13:50:00.001-07:00

Not so long ago the lovely lady over at Pretty Paper Blog was giving away something over at her etsy shop. I didn't win, but she definitely inspired me to dig into my scrapbook cabinet and do a little creating of my own. This is what I came up with. I just had to do something festive for Halloween. The kids say now we have a "spooky" house. Not really sure how this qualifies me as spooky, but it makes them proud so I'm good. :)

randomness vs. randomness

2008-10-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Is that even a word? Randomness? Okay, so the fabulous Miss. Anna over at Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder has set the challenge of 7 random /weird facts or the 5th picture from the 5th album. Hmmm...This poses many questions for me. For instance, which is my 5th album, and is what I think 5th really the 5th? Can I plead the fifth? In all actuality, the 5th picture in my 5th album is probably a picture of one of the kids or even quite possibly a picture of a wild animal or some sort of nature-like occurrence. Pictures of me are ever elusive and mostly taken by my children after a lot of bribery and threats. That leaves me with the 7 random/weird facts about me. Ha! What don't I have that is totally random or weird when it comes to me? I guess, in the end, there is no contest. You're stuck with the 7random/weird things about me. Here we go:

1. I'm the youngest of 7 (that's probably not so weird, but is it random?)

2. Adenomyosis (go ahead, I dare ya to look it up)

3. I'm a level 70 orc Shaman, baby! That's right, I'm a WoW chic (as opposed to a guy who plays a WoW chic).

4. I have three tattoo's, a pierced navel, and have had several shades of hair (but then who hasn't these days?).

5. Saying I have eclectic tastes would be an understatement.

6. You're looking at a Girl Scout with a Gold Award on her sash (not that I walk around wearing this sash, but if I did you'd see the Gold Award on it.)

7. ABA has nothing to do with Swedish rock stars, but I claim it as a past occupation anyway. Okay, okay...Applied Behavior Analysis. That's what it stands for!

So there ya go, a few more randomly weird things about me..maybe not so weird, but definitely random. They were random right? I was trying to be random! Just smile and nod and back away from the crazy person. It will all be okay...

Now I'm supposed to pick seven lucky people for this honor. I'll try to be random, but it may just be weird...or not. Can you see a common thread in the blogs I chose???

Embellishing My Life

Diamonds, Fur and Laundry

My Life With Four Kids

Mom of 2 Dancers

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

The Petersons Go Public!

Traversal of Life

witches and wands

2008-10-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Rose's dance class is having a Halloween party on Tuesday and the parents are allowed to bring treats for the class. It's been a while since any of my kids have had a party at school that the parents have been allowed to bring anything that isn't already prepackaged, let alone anything period. I deliberated on baking something spooky and yummy, or cute and Halloweeny. In the end baking got ruled out all together and instead I decided I'd make something for the girls to play with. Using Rose's costume as an idea...

This is what I came up with.

Wands!

What little girl doesn't like to play with sticks all dressed up with ribbon and flowers? Eventually wands will be added to my tutu shop. Of course there won't just be Halloween or Autumn wands, I've got some other types in the make too. Birthday wands, Winter wands, Spring wands, Summer wands, color coordinated wands to match any tutu, too. Of course I have to test them out before I can offer them for sale. What better way to test a product than to give it away to a gaggle of dancing little girls? Plus it's just way better than sugar!

2008-10-23T15:09:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! Kaycee at, Life as a Mom at 21, gave me this award!

It's my very first and I'm so proud! Of course, I had to ask her what I needed to do now, and being the sweetheart she is, she let me know I had to tag seven people. Well, I'm not sure I *know* seven people, but I do know seven blogs I love reading. That works too, right?

1. Pretty Paper Blog

2. Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder

3. Musings of a Phenomenal Webmistress

4. Sunshine and Lemonade

5. Embellishing My Life

6. Sweet Bites

7. Nanny Goats in Panties

Thank you so much, Kaycee! I love your blog, too, of course. If ya'll haven't read her blog, go take a gander. She just had a gorgeous baby girl and you can read all about it. OH! And she has great bowtique too, called PrissyMiss, that is absolutely fabulous and definately worth checking out.

Thanks for my award, Kaycee!

Picture day!

2008-10-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

So the fabulous girls over at SITS are giving away a copy of Photoshop Elements 7. I decided, what the heck, I'll enter for a chance to win it. I could, after all, really use it in so many ways. I racked my brain of all the ways I could blog about why I need to win, or want to win, but in the end I thought maybe it'd be better just to show some of my photos and then you can see for yourself why I could use it.

See? if I had a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 these would be so much more clear. I could sharpen it better, just make it jump right off the page. And, as you can see, I am a crafter. Okay, so this cabinet is really for my scrapbook supplies and you're only seeing the top half, so there's even more. Think of all the things a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 could do for my scrapbook photos. Yes, yes, yes, I know I could just go out and buy a copy but the thrill of trying to win something is so much more rewarding. Then again it will really work out either way because then I can whine to my husband and say "but everyone else has one, why can't I?" and he'll just have to say, "go buy one". You too, could go and enter the Photoshop give away at SITS. What are you waiting for???

What about you? Do you own a copy of any of the Photoshops? Do you use any photo editing software? Do you take pictures? Scrapbook?

the things mommies have to do

2008-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Friday is the end of first quarter for all three of my boys. I'm not really so worried about how Todd will do, after all it's only kindergarten. My middle school giant, Chris, has been struggling and working hard to make sure he gets good grades this quarter. Probably because he knows the consequences if he doesn't. *imagine evil laughter and a finger pointing at a spider filled dank, dark, dungeon like room-- oh wait, that's his bedroom*. Sam, as a freshman, already has an ify past when it comes to school work. It's not that he can't do the work, he doesn't want to do the work. Seriously, last year he got an F in English and when I asked him what happend, he said "I didn't want to do the work. I'd rather play video games, read a book, or be on the computer". Well, at least he was honest about it. What did he get for all that honesty? He got video game priviledges, computer time, and television time all taken away until he could get his grades up. That's the running rule here. If you get an F in any subject you lose all priviledges, and this year we've taked on after school clubs. Thankfully they aren't in any sports, but it took me years to get them interested in anything attached to school and this year they are both in lots of activities (Sam does gaming club and anime club, Chris does yearbook club and board game club). I don't want to take those away from them! Today we looked at their grades online. Do ya'll have that where you are? The online grade books? Those are my new best friend and nemesis all rolled into one. I love seeing if they are doing their work (because this thing breaks it down into every tiny detail of each class) and what they are, or aren't missing, and all those great tests grades. I hate seeing missing assignments, especially when I hear, "of course I did all my homework". We decided we'd look today so that we aren't blind sided when report cards come home in a few weeks. Sam has sqeaked by and gets to keep everything! Yay! I was so happy I pulled him on my lap and squeezed him. Chris, on the other hand, ended up in his room crying. It drives me crazy, his tests are all A's but his assignments aren't. I hate taking things away from all the kids, but for some reason those big ones have extra soft spots with me. Maybe it's because they are my oldest babies, and I don't ever want them to forget that, no matter how many siblings they get. ;p

So what about any of you? How do you deal with report card? grades? How do you motivate your kids to do their best?

Here are pictures of my oldest two, way back when they still looked little (they are holding Rose).

Created by moms like me

2008-10-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week the lovely ladies at SITS announced a new sponsor for their fabulous blog, CreatedbyMom.com. As always, they encourage faithful Sitstas to visit sponsors, because after all..they are sponsoring them, right? They also mentioned that CreatedbyMom.com might be looking for vendors. Being the good Sitsta that I'm learning to be I visit their site and then I explore what they are looking for in a vendor. See, some of you may know that I have recently started a small business of creating tutus. I know, it might sound silly, and it's still really weird to hear me say, then again I was an ABA therapist in my last life and people thought that had something to do with playing Swedish music. But there it is. My name is Jennifer and I am the proud creator of the Flower girls-custom made tutus.
ANYway..as I was saying.... (I do get distracted easily, nobody hold up anything shiny, please). Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, I went to the site and explored vendors...ah! I emailed the lovely ladies over at CreatedbyMom to see if they would be interested in my tutus. I waited a day, maybe two and I got an answer. "We have looked at your site and love your products! Very cute. There is already a tutu designer on our site; we are still interested in yours." Of course I wanted to blog about this the minute it happened. I am so excited! I'm one of those, don't wanna jinx anything, kinda gals so I decided to wait to make sure T's were crossed and I's dotted. Today I saw my name on their vendor list: the Flower girls. That's me!
The ladies at CreatedbyMom had a very exciting day today. Today they were highlighted on the national radio show, the Happy Housewives Club with Darla Shine! Needless to say, the lovely ladies at CreatedbyMom.com are VERY excited and there is even more excitement brewing. To celebrate all of this fabulous news (my word of the day-fabulous), I am going to soon be having a give away here on my blog. You'll have to stay tuned to find when and what it will be. Of course you won't want to miss it. In the mean time...What are you waiting for? Go take a gander at what CreatedbyMom.com has to offer, and of course, if you have any special little girls in your life, you should definitely buy a tutu from their fabulous tutu vendor the Flower girls.

lazy or genius?

2008-10-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's finally started looking like autumn around here. The weather has just been unseasonable--we've been wearing shorts for heaven's sake and we live in the Chicago area! Finally, our trees are turning the pretty fall colors and losing their leaves. It was just a few leaves at first, but now we actually have a lot of leafy build up in our yard. Let's get something straight. I like having pretty flowers and a nice looking yard, I do. I don't like the work that goes with it. When it comes to mowing, my oldest does the work and now his brother helps. When it comes to raking leaves, I try to avoid it. They always get taken care of sooner or later, and this year it's been sooner. Oh no, don't think that I actually took time from sitting watching Days and eating bonbons. Don't be silly! It's much better than that (at least for me it's better than taking time out of my bonbon eating, Stephano watching). Apparently my yard is the best source of leaves and I keep catching the neighborhood kids in my yard. At first I was chasing them off, but now I see what they are doing. They are raking my leaves and taking them home to jump in them in their own yards! Okay, they leave some, but they are all in nice piles. It's so cool! So, does that make me really lazy, or just the coolest mom genius in the cul de sac?

wordless wednesday

2008-10-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is the one thing I've seen on countless blogs that I love. Wordless Wednesday. I love seeing the different pictures people have to share, so I'm gonna do it too. :)

Hope you all enjoyed!

a little back tracking

2008-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was SITS big blogathon and I rushed home after Rose's ballet class to post my blog about how cool everyone at SITS is. For anyone who saw my blog before yesterday there were actually a few posts before yesterday. Now there isn't. That's right, I deleted my blog. I didn't mean to! It was an accident! (now I sound like my kids) I wanted to play with the design of my blog so I created an extra account just to play around on and yesterday I decided to delete my second blog and instead ended up deleting this one. So typical! ANYway...I decided to repost one of my old blog posts (yea, old - all of a few days older than yesterday's post).
Did I learn anything from yesterday's mishap? Nope! But I did pick myself up and put it all back together in less than an hour so that I could still participate in SITS blogathon, and made some new friends in the process. :)
Has anybody else ever done something like what happend to me yesterday? Delete an account by accident? or how about delete something and then regret it?

re-post: The Usual Suspects

2008-10-15T08:04:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd take the time to introduce you to all the usual suspects of any stories I may be telling over time. :)

First there's me. Hi! I'm Jenn that’s me below.

Moving on...
Let me introduce my darling husband.

We've been happily married for 7years.

Next we have my, super awesome, oldest child. Sam.

Sam is 14, and a freshman in high school. He loves to read, he's really into anime (he's a big Death Note fan), and is a creative genius when he feels like it. He likes to cook, and draw, and he's a fabulous babysitter and big brother.

Here's number two. Chris.

Chris is 12 and a 6th grader. He likes to read manga books, collect pokemon cards and plays way too much video games.. Chris cracks me up and we lovingly refer to him as "Shawn Cassidy" and "electric smooth". He's grown like a weed and is right around the 6ft mark, which makes him the tallest person in the house. He loves being a big brother, most of the time.

Then there's Todd.

Todd is 5 and a kindergartner this year. He loves everything and has recently discovered the joys of pokemon cards. Todd cracks himself up and always has a smile on his face. He's recently started hanging out wearing a scooby doo costume and almost always carries his infamous cohort, Lambie.

Last, but not least is Rose.

Rose is 2. Being the only girl, she's definitely spoiled and mostly by her older brothers. They were so excited to get a sister, mostly because it meant they didn't have to share stuff with her. Little did they anticipate that she'd be into boy stuff as much as they are. She's fearless and tougher than the boys, but a princess all the same.

Of course I have to mention one other member of my family. Jynx.

He's the coolest cat a gal could ask for.

So there you have it, the main characters of this story of me. I wanted you to meet them all as I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them in the time to come.
See ya next time!

The Secret Really is in the Sauce

2008-10-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

I am really new when it comes to the whole blogging thing. When I say new, I mean this is only my fourth post since I’ve begun. I started a blog to spotlight things I have going on in my little shop. Of course, I’m still working on getting my shop “just right” before I really start sharing it so I just blog about what’s going on in my life. My title, “Amongst Other Things”, definitely reflects what will become a mish mash of topics. My interests are eclectic, which is why SITS has been the perfect place for me. The Secret is in the Sauce blog was introduced to me by my cousin, Kat, over at Sunshine and Lemonade. She told me that it would be the perfect place to link up to other blogs and just really get out there. I haven’t exactly “linked” up with anyone yet, as I am still really new, but I’ve definitely started stalking some of their amazing blogists. SITS offers me a wide array of blogs to peruse through and really wet my eclectic taste buds with. For instance in my short time since I’ve started stalking the SITS I’ve started stalking blogs like Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder - she is so my sense of humor! Or how about the crafty lady over at, Pretty Paper Blog, she’s amazing with paper! Of course I always tune into seeing what Kat has going on at,Sunshine and Lemonade I may not have found her through SITS but she did lead me to it. I like reading “Life as a Mom at 21” because I can relate to it (after all I was a mom at that age too). The Secret is in the Sauce has so many great blogs to read through that I could just list them all, I really haven’t found one that I haven’t just loved or related to in some way. The R Family Diaries is another example – I loved what she did with the ribbon and pumpkins. It’s so cute! These are just a handful of amazing women you’ll find over at SITS, so if you haven’t gone over before now go take a gander and become a SITSA too. When you become a sitsa you get a sweet little badge to put up on your own blog that looks like this and then you’ll be able to recognize all the other sitsa’s . But be careful because you may become a stalker, a comment junkie, and maybe even saucy. In my opinion I think SITS has it right. The secret to this whole blog thing, really is in the sauce.

btw..after I posted this to my blog I was tweaking my site and accidentally deleted my entire blog. Talk about a heart attack! Even my husband feels sorry for me. At least I saved today's post so here I am.