Monday, November 30, 2009
Some projects
I have been doing MORE vinyl projects around the house, so here are a few pics. We also finally wrestled the tree up (that thing is a beast!) and it's looking really nice around here! BLISS!
I couldn't resist decorating hubby's car for the holidays-he is a die-hard Razorbacks fan, can you tell?
I couldn't resist decorating hubby's car for the holidays-he is a die-hard Razorbacks fan, can you tell?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Kanji LOVE
I am going a little crazy with the vinyl in my house, but when I saw the kanji words on my new Cricut Pagoda cart, I knew this would have to go up. Our youngest daughter is from China, so this is a nod to her :) Love you, Makenna!
JOY plates
I got this idea from the Christmas With The Cricut blogsite...those ladies are so clever and talented. Looked simple, so I had to try it! I love it! I am going to dress it up a little more, but hey! I'm getting started!
Christmas Project
My mom recently got remarried and has a new last name. I made this for her and her new hubby. I will give it to them at Thanksgiving dinner so she can use it for the Christmas holiday season. Thanks for looking! This was SO easy and so fun to make! I love the traditional stuff!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
So much to be "Thankful" for-some blog therapy for me
Sometimes I pout and I am stubborn. It often takes alot to get my emotional attention. I tend to fall into "pits". Snares that have been laid for me. I am an easy and sometimes willing target. Let me give you a maybe-not-so brief background. I have 2 marvelous, amazing kids from a previous marriage. They are 18 and 20. I am only 40. A few years ago, when my kids started driving and getting alot more independent, I admit it-I was excited! I could see the light at the end of the "parenting" tunnel. I know you never really reach the end, but you do get to a point where you can start entertaining the idea of pursuing some of your own interests, right? A point where really, honest to God, no one cares what you are doing in the bathroom and why the door is closed.
I was going to start getting back in shape, take some classes, actually figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and start cooking some really delicious gourmet meals for two. Maybe travel. Then my husband-my wonderful, funny, handsome, amazing husband got an itch. To adopt. A baby. My husband came along when my kids were "half-done" (ages 8 & 10). He never really had to go through the baby/toddler stage. No diaper bags, strollers, throwing up in the bed, daycare, snotty noses, tantrums, none of it. He was thirty-two when we got married. He had traveled to Europe, done and seen things, lived his twenties well and had enjoyed being a bachelor. He was ready to settle down when we got married. I was thirty when we got married. I had spent my twenties raising two babies, doing daycare to make ends meet until they were both old enough to go to school. I had never traveled anywhere except to Minot N.D. I was ready to rock n roll, baby! The kids were getting older and I was excited at the prospect of marrying a man that did not have any children and who proclaimed he didn't want any. We could go DO things. FINALLY, I was going to have a life outside of being "just" a mom. Until the whole adoption idea came along a few years into our marriage. But, I adore my man and his enthusiasm was contagious, so we started the adoption process. It took two years. My husband was deployed twice to the middle east. I taught both of the older kids to drive, held down my full time job as a second grade teacher, attended more volleyball and basketball games than I can count. I also ate more booster club nachos and hot dogs then I care to remember. Please don't misunderstand, I was happy about the adoption. My husband was abandoned as a baby and adopted into a loving family and I know what a difference that made in his life. Being able to have that kind of positive influence on someone's life is a gift, a privilege. But while I knew what a blessing this adoption would be, I also knew what kind of sacrifices would have to be made. Any hopes or dreams I had that involved me having a "life" or "me" time would be dashed. My husband's paycheck was more than twice mine. When we brought our new daughter home and she started to exhibit some separation anxiety and attachment problems, it was a pretty cut and dry decision on who would have to quit their job to stay home with her to insure her emotional well being. And it worked. She is well adjusted and happy and extremely ATTACHED. I have had to start doing daycare again to bring in some income. We just recently put our big beautiful home up for sale and moved into a smaller one with a much more manageable mortgage. I own a Volkswagon Beetle convertible...turbo, baby blue, daisy tail lights...it is adorable and I love it. But in order for me to get anywhere I now have to drive a not so cute, not so mini, teal Chrysler Town and Country. I hate it. It's ugly. I thought I was out of that stage too. My 18 y/o sure looks cute in the beetle. I spend 10 1/2 hour days with 6 four year olds. I have a closet full of beautiful career clothes. I am sitting here writing this post in a pair of sweats and a "Life is Crap" t-shirt my husband bought as a joke. He thinks it's funny. On my pouty days, I think its appropriate. He still gets to go to his job, go out to lunch, have friends and co-workers that admire and respect him, have grown up coversations, have his efforts rewarded in tangible ways. He actually knows what is going on out in the "real" world. I can tell you what happened on Dora the Explorer and make Cream of Wheat from memory. You would think that would be a low-stress kind of life, right? Not so, at least not for me. The nagging spirit that drags me down and reminds me everyday of what I have given up eats at me constantly.Sometimes this mundane existence effects my relationships. I live vicariously through my husband's and older children's experiences. There are days when I feel like I have sacrificed so much more, lost so much of my time. My husband only has to let this whole new life affect his routine from around 6-8 each evening, and on weekends. I sometimes get resentful when he wants to go do something by himself or with a friend (like go to a football game for 4-5 hours). I get jealous if he mentions a female co-worker once too often. I feel cheated that I don't have the opportunities to interact with members of the opposite sex just to verify that I still may have some scrap of physical attraction inside of these stretched out sweat pants. Then the mental mind games begin. I start questioning. If I am so bored with myself, maybe he is too? I am certainly not living up to all the expectations and ideals that Oprah and the media in general think I am capable of. I am my own worst enemy with this stuff. I would like Oprah to do what she does with three kids and a husband. No nannies. No housekeepers. I'd like to see how empowered she would feel then. I know alot of the crap spewed out by the media is not relevant or realistic. 99.9% of it. But once in a while that little .1% gets to me.
My husband loves me, and I know it. He tells me many times during the day. He calls, he emails, he is faithful, he is patient and when finances allow, he spoils me.
Yes, I am having a pity party. Or I was.
Then my husband came home in the middle of me making some lame dinner with multiple types of canned beans and told me about his day. A 21 y/o young woman he works with partied too hard and lost her life driving home drunk from a party. That was in the morning. In the afternoon, one of his troops was admitted to mental health unit for PTSD, threatening to kill himself. His wife was supposedly leaving him and he felt his world was falling apart around him. A friend of the family just found out he has a rapidly advancing form of MS. I spent the last hour of my evening watching videos on YouTube of "Gotcha" days. These are the days when family who have been waiting for adoptions to come through finally receive their babies. They are heart-wrenching. We have our own Gotcha day video. Someday I will share it, but as for right now, I am thankful for the reminder of that day and what a precious gift our daughter is. And how fortunate I am to be able to spend this time with her-it is going by so quickly. It is hard to believe she is almost 4 years old. I should be cherishing every single second that I get with her and appreciate the second chance at mommy-dom. It's so fleeting. I will still have opportunities, my car will still be waiting for me, my husband is still in love with me, all the exotic locations I am wanting to visit will still exist. My husband survived his time in Afghanistan. I have a place to call home. I have beans in my pantry to make for dinner. We are healthy. I have people willing to trust me with the care of their children to help provide for my own. My son is in college and has a job and a sweet girlfriend. My oldest daughter is a senior and a gift from God. My baby is a firecracker that keeps me on my toes and puts a smile on my face everyday. My husband is finally retiring after 24 years of service to his country. Because of his excellent work ethic and people-loving personality, he will have no problem finding a new job and it just may be overseas at one of my "exotic" locations.
I was going to start getting back in shape, take some classes, actually figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and start cooking some really delicious gourmet meals for two. Maybe travel. Then my husband-my wonderful, funny, handsome, amazing husband got an itch. To adopt. A baby. My husband came along when my kids were "half-done" (ages 8 & 10). He never really had to go through the baby/toddler stage. No diaper bags, strollers, throwing up in the bed, daycare, snotty noses, tantrums, none of it. He was thirty-two when we got married. He had traveled to Europe, done and seen things, lived his twenties well and had enjoyed being a bachelor. He was ready to settle down when we got married. I was thirty when we got married. I had spent my twenties raising two babies, doing daycare to make ends meet until they were both old enough to go to school. I had never traveled anywhere except to Minot N.D. I was ready to rock n roll, baby! The kids were getting older and I was excited at the prospect of marrying a man that did not have any children and who proclaimed he didn't want any. We could go DO things. FINALLY, I was going to have a life outside of being "just" a mom. Until the whole adoption idea came along a few years into our marriage. But, I adore my man and his enthusiasm was contagious, so we started the adoption process. It took two years. My husband was deployed twice to the middle east. I taught both of the older kids to drive, held down my full time job as a second grade teacher, attended more volleyball and basketball games than I can count. I also ate more booster club nachos and hot dogs then I care to remember. Please don't misunderstand, I was happy about the adoption. My husband was abandoned as a baby and adopted into a loving family and I know what a difference that made in his life. Being able to have that kind of positive influence on someone's life is a gift, a privilege. But while I knew what a blessing this adoption would be, I also knew what kind of sacrifices would have to be made. Any hopes or dreams I had that involved me having a "life" or "me" time would be dashed. My husband's paycheck was more than twice mine. When we brought our new daughter home and she started to exhibit some separation anxiety and attachment problems, it was a pretty cut and dry decision on who would have to quit their job to stay home with her to insure her emotional well being. And it worked. She is well adjusted and happy and extremely ATTACHED. I have had to start doing daycare again to bring in some income. We just recently put our big beautiful home up for sale and moved into a smaller one with a much more manageable mortgage. I own a Volkswagon Beetle convertible...turbo, baby blue, daisy tail lights...it is adorable and I love it. But in order for me to get anywhere I now have to drive a not so cute, not so mini, teal Chrysler Town and Country. I hate it. It's ugly. I thought I was out of that stage too. My 18 y/o sure looks cute in the beetle. I spend 10 1/2 hour days with 6 four year olds. I have a closet full of beautiful career clothes. I am sitting here writing this post in a pair of sweats and a "Life is Crap" t-shirt my husband bought as a joke. He thinks it's funny. On my pouty days, I think its appropriate. He still gets to go to his job, go out to lunch, have friends and co-workers that admire and respect him, have grown up coversations, have his efforts rewarded in tangible ways. He actually knows what is going on out in the "real" world. I can tell you what happened on Dora the Explorer and make Cream of Wheat from memory. You would think that would be a low-stress kind of life, right? Not so, at least not for me. The nagging spirit that drags me down and reminds me everyday of what I have given up eats at me constantly.Sometimes this mundane existence effects my relationships. I live vicariously through my husband's and older children's experiences. There are days when I feel like I have sacrificed so much more, lost so much of my time. My husband only has to let this whole new life affect his routine from around 6-8 each evening, and on weekends. I sometimes get resentful when he wants to go do something by himself or with a friend (like go to a football game for 4-5 hours). I get jealous if he mentions a female co-worker once too often. I feel cheated that I don't have the opportunities to interact with members of the opposite sex just to verify that I still may have some scrap of physical attraction inside of these stretched out sweat pants. Then the mental mind games begin. I start questioning. If I am so bored with myself, maybe he is too? I am certainly not living up to all the expectations and ideals that Oprah and the media in general think I am capable of. I am my own worst enemy with this stuff. I would like Oprah to do what she does with three kids and a husband. No nannies. No housekeepers. I'd like to see how empowered she would feel then. I know alot of the crap spewed out by the media is not relevant or realistic. 99.9% of it. But once in a while that little .1% gets to me.
My husband loves me, and I know it. He tells me many times during the day. He calls, he emails, he is faithful, he is patient and when finances allow, he spoils me.
Yes, I am having a pity party. Or I was.
Then my husband came home in the middle of me making some lame dinner with multiple types of canned beans and told me about his day. A 21 y/o young woman he works with partied too hard and lost her life driving home drunk from a party. That was in the morning. In the afternoon, one of his troops was admitted to mental health unit for PTSD, threatening to kill himself. His wife was supposedly leaving him and he felt his world was falling apart around him. A friend of the family just found out he has a rapidly advancing form of MS. I spent the last hour of my evening watching videos on YouTube of "Gotcha" days. These are the days when family who have been waiting for adoptions to come through finally receive their babies. They are heart-wrenching. We have our own Gotcha day video. Someday I will share it, but as for right now, I am thankful for the reminder of that day and what a precious gift our daughter is. And how fortunate I am to be able to spend this time with her-it is going by so quickly. It is hard to believe she is almost 4 years old. I should be cherishing every single second that I get with her and appreciate the second chance at mommy-dom. It's so fleeting. I will still have opportunities, my car will still be waiting for me, my husband is still in love with me, all the exotic locations I am wanting to visit will still exist. My husband survived his time in Afghanistan. I have a place to call home. I have beans in my pantry to make for dinner. We are healthy. I have people willing to trust me with the care of their children to help provide for my own. My son is in college and has a job and a sweet girlfriend. My oldest daughter is a senior and a gift from God. My baby is a firecracker that keeps me on my toes and puts a smile on my face everyday. My husband is finally retiring after 24 years of service to his country. Because of his excellent work ethic and people-loving personality, he will have no problem finding a new job and it just may be overseas at one of my "exotic" locations.
Friday, November 13, 2009
My Living Room
I painted the living room a blue and sand combination and added the vinyl around the picture. I think it turned out pretty cute! All of my furniture is not in there yet, so it looks a little bare, but it's getting there!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday Night Bliss
Ok, y'all-I know I have not posted in a little bit. It's been crazy with painting, moving, and decorating-all of it around 10 1/2 hour days with 7 daycare kids!!! Yes, I said 7! Kids have been crawling out of the woodwork since we moved into town. I am a little overwhelmed with the juggling this requires and when they are all here, I am housebound (not enough room in the van!). I honestly don't know how Michelle Duggar does it!
Anyway, I had a great day off hanging out with my Veteran! My husband has served for 23 years and done two tours in the Middle East. I am so very, very proud of him! I took the day off from daycare to spend some much needed time with him. We went furniture shopping-bought a new couch, YAY! I will start posting pics of the newly painted and some-what decorated house in the next day or two. I tried a new recipe tonight and it was a HUGE hit! Y'all really need to try it! So good when the weather is chilly. You will need to plan on this simmering for at least an hour and a half. The only thing that would have made it better was some homemade bread to dip in it! Let me know what you think! What could be better than starting off a recipe with bacon fried in butter??? YUMMO!
This is from Gooseberry Patch's Taste of Autumn cookbook.
Corn and Potato Chowder
1 TB butter
8 slices bacon ( I used a lot more...LOVIN that bacon!)
1 C chopped onion
3/4 C chopped green pepper
2 TB garlic, minced (I didn't have any-used garlic salt! HA!)
2 TB flour
5 C chicken broth
8 redskin potatoes, skinned and finely chopped
2 C carrots, chopped
2 C corn (I used a bag of frozen)
1 1/2 C heavy cream
2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
Melt butter in stock pot, and bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Add onion and chopped pepper to the drippings and heat until tender. Add garlic. Remove from heat and sprinkle in flour-blend well. Gradually whisk in all of the broth until smooth. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Simmer on medium heat until vegetables are tender (about an hour). Add corn, salt and pepper then simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir in cream, herbs and crumbled bacon. Simmer for 2 minutes. Then FINALLY you can eat it! It's definitely worth the wait!
Anyway, I had a great day off hanging out with my Veteran! My husband has served for 23 years and done two tours in the Middle East. I am so very, very proud of him! I took the day off from daycare to spend some much needed time with him. We went furniture shopping-bought a new couch, YAY! I will start posting pics of the newly painted and some-what decorated house in the next day or two. I tried a new recipe tonight and it was a HUGE hit! Y'all really need to try it! So good when the weather is chilly. You will need to plan on this simmering for at least an hour and a half. The only thing that would have made it better was some homemade bread to dip in it! Let me know what you think! What could be better than starting off a recipe with bacon fried in butter??? YUMMO!
This is from Gooseberry Patch's Taste of Autumn cookbook.
Corn and Potato Chowder
1 TB butter
8 slices bacon ( I used a lot more...LOVIN that bacon!)
1 C chopped onion
3/4 C chopped green pepper
2 TB garlic, minced (I didn't have any-used garlic salt! HA!)
2 TB flour
5 C chicken broth
8 redskin potatoes, skinned and finely chopped
2 C carrots, chopped
2 C corn (I used a bag of frozen)
1 1/2 C heavy cream
2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
Melt butter in stock pot, and bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Add onion and chopped pepper to the drippings and heat until tender. Add garlic. Remove from heat and sprinkle in flour-blend well. Gradually whisk in all of the broth until smooth. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Simmer on medium heat until vegetables are tender (about an hour). Add corn, salt and pepper then simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir in cream, herbs and crumbled bacon. Simmer for 2 minutes. Then FINALLY you can eat it! It's definitely worth the wait!
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