Back in the Saddle?

Once again, it's been awhile.  I say that a lot, don't I?  I really don't mean to skip posting as often as I do.  I even sit and think - "Hey, you should post this on your blog!", and alas it never happens.  Things are always too busy. 

I'm going to do better.  I was even thinking about signing up for the SITS girls challenge - 31 Days to a Better Blog.  Surely that would help.  Of course today is the first day of the challenge and their site is getting HAMMERED - so I can't even go check in to see what's happening. 

So, what's been happening around here?  Well, I got the Christmas projects finished.  An alphabet bean bag set (ALL 26 letters!  Go me!) finished for my kids (which I don't have a pic of!), I finished my nephew's name set (which was shown in a previous post), finished the cross stitch project for my Mom that I'd been working on since 1994! (yes, I said 1994! - no one is ever allowed to check the accuracy of this piece, and I don't think I'll ever attempt another one!),

finished the ballerina silhouettes for my daughter, shown here: Ignore the crazed look on her face - she's at that awkward photo stage!  :)

And continuously encouraged (A.K.A. nagged the heck out of) my husband to finish the bean bag board for my nephew.  It turned out pretty cute, don't you think?  I'm so very proud of him, as the project turned out just as we'd planned and it was finished on time!

 

So, anyway that's what I've been up to.  I'm working on some new crafts now, as well as trying to get back in the swing of things after the holiday madness!  Happy January everyone!

It's Been Forever

Once again, I have allowed life to get in the way sticking to something.  I've been in full on Christmas mode since we last spoke.  I've been working on finishing all my shopping (almost done!), getting everything wrapped (almost done!), completing some holiday crafts with my daughter, and finishing some homemade gifts.  I'm almost done with that, too.  So I do have an excuse for my absence. 

I just hate how busy December is.  And this year, I'm way ahead of the game.  I still haven't taken a Christmas card photo, or even thought about cards yet.  And I haven't done any holiday baking/cooking yet. 

It'll all get done, though.  Right?

22 Random Things About Me

 Unfortunately, I didn't get this post finished in time to play at Mama Kat's last week (or the week before - I can't remember!).  So here is my list - it's harder than you think to come up with this many interesting facts!  Better late than never!

1.  I've been deep sea fishing and caught an 8 ft. shark.

2.  I've been to a strip club. 

3.  I got my ears pierced when I was 25.  Only piercing I've ever had.

4.  I read trashy romance novels on occasion.

5.  I've given birth twice - once with and once without pain medicine.

6.  I've been so drunk that I have no memory of how I got home (this was A LONG TIME AGO - in college!).

7.  I've had a one night stand.

8.  I've been kicked out of a bar.

9.  I met my husband in a bar.

10.  I've attempted water and snow skiing.  I'm not good at either.

11.  I've been on a cruise ship.

12.  I've ridden in a helicopter.

13.  I've met the naked cowboy in Times Square.

14.  I've made butter from fresh milk.

15.  I've been with someone when they took their last breath.

16.  I rode Space Mountain with a TV personality.

17.  I've danced on a bar.

18.  I've camped out in a tent for a weekend without access to electricity or running water.

19.  I've eaten bull's testicles - don't ask.  :)

20.  I've fractured my elbow.

21.  I've had kidney stones twice.

22.  I've turned a load of laundry pink. 

Whew - I'm realizing that I'm a pretty boring person.  :)  I swear that I am not an alcoholic!  All of the alcohol related posts were from college, I swear! 

Christmas Present #1

I'm gonna try this one more time!  Blogger and my computer hate me today.  :)

So, I LOVE crafting.  There isn't much that I wouldn't at least try in the crafting world.  I just have a small problem.  I am great at starting projects, not so great at finishing them. I have an entire cabinet of projects in various states of completion.  OOPS.  I have dreams of one day being Martha Stewart (but without the snobbiness or jail time :)

So, you gotta start somewhere right?  I've been working on Christmas presents for the kids in my life for a few months now (I had a baby this year, so I do have a small excuse for this simple project taking awhile to complete). 

Pretend that the beautiful photo above is turned horizontal, please.  Blogger and I are not simpatico today.  :)

Cute, no?  They are bean bags for my nephew.  So, he can practice spelling his name while he throws them around the house breaking things.  My sister will love me.  :)

I found the idea on - wait for it - PINTEREST!  But they were just stuffed little felt ornaments.  Cute, but not as fun as these will be!  Best part?  These are super cheap to make.  A few pieces of felt, a little thread and a few handfuls of dried beans, and boom - you've got yourself a handmade gift!

What about you?  Are you making any handmade gifts for the holidays this year??

10 Best Things About Sick Kids

My kiddos are sick . . . again.  I feel like someone has been sick in our house for the past two months.  Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.  As much as I hate for them to be sick, there are some positives to this!  Definitely not the sleepless nights or mounds of snotty tissues, but there's gotta be something, right?

1. Sick kids like to cuddle  (of course, you are ready to pull your hair out because both kids want to be held ALL.THE.TIME) - but it's the only time my daughter wants to be held anymore.  So, I'll take it.

2.  I don't have to cook!  I've been dealing with sick kids all day, remember?  Pick up some take out on the way home, dear!

3.  My kids ACTUALLY nap!  Ok, so they are sick, and that SUCKS - but my four year old will actually nap when she's sick.  If I'm really lucky, they both nap at the same time, and I get 2 whole seconds to myself!

4.  If everyone in the house is sick, then there's no worry about them contaminating each other!  Go ahead, snot on your sister if you want!  She's got the same cooties!

5.  It's Pajama time - ALL THE TIME!  No reason to get dressed - we aren't leaving our house.  You didn't brush your hair today (or yesterday for that matter) - no worries.  No one's going to see it.  We'll deal with the tangles next week!

6.  Shower?  Who showers when they are sick?  Well, I do, but if there's any time that I *might* skip, it's when everyone is sick, and I'm busy keeping the crying to a minimum.  Crying kids = more snot, so it can be important to keep the crying to a minimum.  The little guy is going through some separation issues, and DOES NOT like me to leave the room, therefore I might not get a shower while he's awake.

7.  No need to clean!  No one will stop by your germ infested house while you are advertising that your kids are sick - so, feel free to ignore that sink full of dishes and overflowing trash can of snotty tissues.

8.  TV is OK - because I mean, really - who wants to have to sanitize the 3,000 pieces of rubber clothes for Polly Pocket?  Just flip that big screen on, and let 'em be sucked into the land of "Word World" and "Super Why".  It's "educational" programming, so it can't be all that bad.

9.  You can eat whatever you want!  Ok, maybe this isn't 100% true, but let's be real, if poor, sickly little Johnny who hasn't really eaten in 3 days asks you for something that you normally would NEVER let him have (at least not in public!  We only eat healthy food, I tell you!) - you are more likely to turn your head as he eats a few ONE chocolate chip cookie.

10.  It's ok to restrict their activities to "appropriate" when sick activities (see #8 above).  "I'm sorry honey, but we can't ride our scooter with the neighborhood kids.  You are sick.  We'll have to color quietly at the table today."

Unfortunately, though if your kids are back to begging to play outdoors, then your sick time is probably coming to a close.  Quickly send that dinner pick-up request to your significant other, and finish that book that you've been skimming while the little ones rested on the couch - cause tomorrow you will be back in the mix and headed back toward the land of the healthy . . . at least until the next cold.  That's one thing about kids and colds, there will always be something going around that they will catch!

Only I . . .

So, today I decided to bake a cake.  Not a cake from cake mix (not that there's anything wrong with that - I eat that kind, too!), but from scratch.  Not just any cake, but a POUND CAKE.  My absolute favorite kind.  I found a recipe on Pinterest (shocking, I know!), and decided to give it a whirl. 

Here's a link to the recipe:http://elizabethsedibleexperience.blogspot.com/2009/03/cake-cravings.html

It's been awhile since I made a cake, but the recipe seemed simple enough, right? 

Recipe?  Check.

Ingredients?  Check.

Napping Baby?  Check.

Bundt Pan?  Hmm.  See I don't have a Bundt Pan, but I have a similar pan.  It's one of those with the removable base.  Still has the center "tube" to help it bake.  Should work just fine, right?

I had taken the time to set the butter and cream cheese out to soften this morning, so I should be ALL set to make the world's best pound cake.  And right here's where things start to go south. 

Butter and cream cheese are mixed together.  Time to measure out the flour.  Oh wait, what's that?  SIFTED flour?  Well, crap.  I don't OWN a sifter.  Hmm.  Time to improvise.  Ok, I have one of these mini-sifter/powdered sugar shaker things.  That should work, right?  Umm, yeah.  25 minutes and 17 puffs of spilled flour later, and the 3 cups are "sifted". 

Moving on.  Get my eggs cracked - with NO shell in the bowl!  Yay me!  This may not be a big deal for you, but for me - THIS.IS.HUGE!  I ALWAYS manage to get at least one or two pieces in there.  :)

And now, the roofing people arrive, dragging out there HUGE, NOISE MAKING ladders and proceed to climb onto our roof, and start hammering away.  Remember that sleeping baby?  Yeah, he's not asleep anymore, as he's now been startled awake and is crying heartily. 

I'm covered in flour from my "sifting" attempts, and have to run and grab the baby and get him settled so I can finish this culinary masterpiece. 

Baby settled.  Momentarily.  Until I start up the mixer again.  He doesn't like loud sounds (mixers, hair dryers, airplanes, vacuum cleaners, etc), so now he's crying OVER the mixer.  Lovely, right? 

Ok, everything is mixed and poured into my pan.  I quickly shove it into the oven, set the timer, wash my hands and go grab Mr. Fussy Pants.  See, I can totally handle this baking thing!

Can't wait until that warm, lovely, heavenly smell starts wafting my way.  Wait, what's that smell?  Is something burning?  Can't be.  The cake has only been in the oven about 20 minutes of the hour and forty its supposed to bake.  Let's just take a quick peek. 

Imagine my surprise when I turn on the oven light and see great big, huge blobs of burning cake batter ON THE BOTTOM OF MY OVEN!  My oh so lovely two piece cake pan LEAKED cake batter onto the bottom of the oven.  So, now my house is being filled with the smell of burning cake, and I have to clean my oven before I can cook dinner tonight.  FREAKING LOVELY.

Only I can start off baking a cake, and end with cleaning an oven. 

10 Best Things About the Monster

As I'm sure most of you don't know, I am NOT a baby person. Sure, I love them and think they are just as cute as can be, but I am not an infant stage person. Give me a terrible two or crazy three year old any day of the week.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my son. I do. He's the epitome of an easy baby. He naps, he sleeps, he's a good eater, he's healthy, etc. But I am just not into the CONSTANT neediness that a baby has. The crying and fussing is like NAILS. ON. A. CHALKBOARD. to my ears.

So sometimes I have to remind myself what I love about him to get me through the rough patches. Here's my list. Feel free to add your list for your kid in the comments!

1. He's just so damn cute! (of course, unless you have the world's ugliest baby, all parents think their kid is cute!)  See Exhibit A below.  :)

2. He is NOT his sister - I hate, hate, hate comparing my kids, but who am I kidding, my daughter was NOT an easy baby, and that has made me appreciate my son even more.

3. His chubby cheeks - my son has some of the most squishy, lovable puffy cheeks on a baby ever! We even saw them on his ultrasound!

4. The way his nose crinkles when he really smiles

5. The way he snuggles in next to me when sleeping

6. How he acts like every single toy is a jumper. He bounces everywhere!

7. He let's me rock him. My daughter wanted no part of the cuddly baby stuff, so this is new to me.

8. The way he just laughs if you just look at him.

9. The way he rubs his eyes with his chubby, baby hands when he's getting sleepy.

10. Last, but not least, I love the fact that he loves us. You can just see it. He's exactly where he belongs and I'm so thankful for that!

I mean, seriously WHO couldn't love this face?