Nat's News

Funny.

2012-01-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

These gave me a good chuckle today.

I need to photoshop Tim's lovely face in :)

Happy Wednesday all~

Sisters

2012-01-06T12:16:00.001-05:00

I finally see it.

They do look alike :)

Happy Friday all~

A bit of Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T19:26:00.001-05:00

We spent a nice and quiet Christmas Eve at home, celebrating with our own family...opening presents, and concluding with "A Christmas Story" on tv.

Sydney spent some time over at grandma's and embroidered me my own pink towels :)

Stella received her beloved barbies, cinderella, and strawberry shortcakes.

Tim caved and bought me an ipod touch :)

We bought Tim a snowball shooter :)

A few weeks back, Dylan requested that I buy him some white underwear, because apparantly his character underwear was starting to embarass him. And he wouldn't let it go.
Naturally we bought him a 6 pack for Christmas, divided it out, and wrapped each pair individually...put them in different shaped boxes...one with a bunch of bottle caps so he was certain it was legos.
The boy was miffed...but we were amused :) "I didn't want them for Christmas!"

Christmas Day we went to church and then headed out to Chicago. We ate dinner, opened presents, played some euchre and banangrams and had a delightful time.

The cousins.

The family.

This year I got a red coffee pot :)

The Sydney puzzle.

Isn't she cute! 8 months pregnant with twins!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:29:00.000-05:00

Just a few fall pics before Christmas is upon us...

2011-12-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

Cleaning up my computer, I realized that there are a few pics from the fall that I never posted.

And since our paper chain says Christmas will be here in 2 days...I best get on it.

The kids built a new fort in the woods.

We carved pumpkins.

We made applesauce.

The boys spent a weekend up north hunting.

And while they were away hunting bird...we ladies had feathers put in :)

We caught a few more fish.

And this girl asks to paint every.single.day.

Happy Friday all~

It's a Give-Away!

2011-12-16T15:32:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it?
My little shop has stayed afloat for 1 year now!

In honor of this fantastic year of fabric scraps, thread trails, and stepping on pins... head on over to my other blog http://www.dandelionsanddoodles.blogspot.com/ to enter my little give-away!

You may just win yourself a little doodle original in time for the holidays.

And you've got a good chance of winning, as my husband didn't even realize I had this other blog until last week :)

Happy Friday all~

pink and blue

2011-12-14T08:55:00.045-05:00

Last month I headed to Chicago to help throw a baby shower for my little sis Kimmy.

She's expecting twins in about a month. One pink, and one blue.

And we're pretty ecstatic to meet them.

It's been a journey to say the least.

And if you've been driving around town with your radio tuned in to Christian contemporary these past few months....you probably know the song "Blessings" by Laura Story.

Beautiful song.

Beautiful words.

A portion for you today...

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

This song chokes me up every.single.time.

And without getting into the specifics of all of our family details these past several months, I can see glimpses of God's mysterious and perfect timing. His love and provision for us....His children. In the moment we can't always see or understand His "mercies in disguise", but they're there....in ways more beautfiul than we could dream up on our own. His love for us is so great.

And without getting all sappy nat on you, I'm looking forward to watching Kimmy waddle around at Christmas :)

A few pics...

Happy Wednesday all~

Gun Lake 2011

2011-12-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

Since it's December and all, I think it's high time I finally share with you pics from our camping trip to Gun Lake earlier this summer.

Ridiculously overdue, yes?

But worth the memory books, so let's go back in time, shall we? I've discovered a few posts that I started, but never finished...so bear with me :)

Anyhow, now that there is snow on the ground, it's good to remember those tan lines.

A few highlights...

We missed you Birds!

Hands down, the highlight (lowlight) was waking up in the morning and opening the camper door to a flooded campsight!

Happy Friday all~

two

2011-12-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

Ellery is 2!

Hardly a baby anymore, tho we... I, still treat her as one.

While she is still endearlingly strong-willed, knowing exactly what she wants... a happy, funny, little girl is shining through. Her tantrums are declining ever so slightly now that she can communicate through words. She will repeat most any word we say now....not just cookie anymore :),

While still a mama's girl, she will readily jump off my lap to run with the big kids. She loves to play with her babies, read books to herself, and mess with any of my electronic devices. She can usually be found walking around with a tube of toothpaste in one hand, her beloved pig in the other, and a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. She especially delights in playing with my lipstick, sucking on my mascara wand, emptying my pantry, shouting at Stella, unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper, dropping the dog food in the water dish piece by piece, and falling off of all the things she shouldn't have climbed up on in the first place :)

She continues to be adored by all of her siblings. Austin has a real soft spot for her because they are birthday buddies, and she is the female version of him after all:)

Some thoughts on Ellery @ 2....

*Loves her pink pig

*Loves her pacifier

*Lovess playing/fighting with Stella

*Still poops in the tub every single time we try to give her a bath

*Will say Amen, but no please

*Takes one long afternoon nap
*She owns the 4am hour these days

*Her names for her siblings "Bob" (Austin) "Sissy" (Sydney) "Dew-ahh" (Dylan) "YAH-YAH" (Stella) and a very clear and punctual "No Phoebe! Stop it!

Only on your birthday is it acceptable to eat your cereal while standing on the stool.

Happy Birthday Ellery, We love you!

The one benefit of being knocked in the face by your sister...

2011-11-30T21:15:00.001-05:00

...earning some extra cash :)

double digits

2011-11-29T06:22:00.004-05:00

We have been parents for a decade now.

I can still remember the cautious way Tim drove home from the hospital that crisp Thanksgiving Day 10 years ago...careful to ensure our fragile new package arrived home safely.

Our lives had changed in an instant.

A joyful and natural new purpose in life, thanksgiving came easy.

I cherish the memories from those early days.

Our sweet little family of 3, trying to figure it all out.

10 years later, we are still trying to figure it all out :)

And while I won't get all sappy Nat on you, my heart is struggling with the combination of my firstborn achieving double digits, and my now 2 year old baby, who is willingly walking on her own 2 feet... away from me, to keep up with the big kids.

Some birthday pics....

birthday spankings, naturally.

We had a good old fashioned birthday party/sleepover with 4 of his friends.

15 rounds of bingo and Halloween candy prizes was a success!

long time pals :)

musical cushions is always a good time.

birthday buddies.

Some stats @ 10:

*Still loves legos, and will have a kit completed in about an hour.

*Still loves SuperMario Bros

*Math remains his favorite subject

*Enjoys reading, and is currently working his way through 39 Clues
*Enjoys sports- soccer and football are his favorites

*Loves a good game of Risk or Monopoly, as long as he doesn't lose.

*Still loves organizing, trading and playing with his Pokemon cards

*Has a very active imagination

*At 10, he still doesn't like to play on his own. Good thing he has so many siblings :)

Happy Birthday Austin. We love you!

Pillow Pet?

2011-11-19T18:00:00.001-05:00

Project "get it done"

2011-11-11T14:08:00.002-05:00

I keep a pretty exhaustive "to do" list.

Last spring, it felt like we were running everywhere. Soccer practice, homework, field trips, church activies, crying babies...it felt like I was always 1 step forward, 2 steps behind.

I can remember saying over and over again...as soon as summer is here I'll start getting stuff done, and get on top of my game. I figured we'd be home a lot more, and I could stay up into the wee hours of the morning getting things done, since I wouldn't have to be up early to get the kids on the bus.

Ha.

By the first of July, I changed my tune. Keeping a loose schedule, in order to enjoy all that summer had to offer left very little time alone....or energy for that matter. The little girls were notoriously awake... often just after I crawled into bed most nights, and my montra soon became "I will get this stuff done as soon as the big kids go back to school"

Ha to me again.

Now that crazy busy fall is wrapping itself up, I'm starting to get on top of things around here. I still can't manage to get the hot lunch order form right, but I am gaining control nonetheless. I always forget how crazy this time of year is. Like a flip of a switch you go from long lazy summer days, to trying to figure out when dinner will fit in.

Anyhow, one thing on my project list was to paint our bedroom furniture a nice blue color, and hang some wall stickers that have been collecting dust since my birthday last spring.

And aside from sewing up a few new pillows, I think I can succesfully check" bedroom" off my list. I'm pretty happy with the way it came together.

And that's all fine and dandy, but guess what??

While cleaning out my nightstand drawer, I stumbled upon this little piece of paper all folded up in the corner.

Our baby names list from 2001.

Such a treasure to find :)

Happy Friday all~

Swallowing my pride

2011-11-03T09:57:00.003-04:00

Remember that Seinfeld episode....the one where Jerry gets a letter from the libary saying he checked out the "Tropic of Cancer" in 1971, and the book is now 20 years overdue with astronomical fines?

My life is turning into a Seinfeld episode.

And it's been a while since I told you a little story, so it's high time I'd say. Soccer practice and homework...it sucks all the creativity out of me I tell you!

Okay, I suppose it all began tail end of summer vacation.

I was trying to keep the kids happy, so we headed to the local library. We checked out more books than this mom could keep track of, and went on our merry way. I checked a few for myself as well...one in particular from one of my favorite inspirational fiction authors, that I surprisingly had yet to read.

We brought our new books home, and I spouted the "These books need to stay in the living room so we don't lose them!" rules for good measure as I always do.

And I eagerly set out to read my new book.

As summer reading goes.... I would crawl into bed around midnight, grab my book and start reading. I'd get a few pages under my belt...only to wake up an hour later, see the book had dropped to the floor, roll over to turn off the lamp, and continue sleeping.

I need a mindless, easy to pick back up where I left off again kind of read these days.

And I had a real hard time getting into this particular book. I've heard it's good, so I'm pretty sure it'sjust me and this season of life.

Anyhow, on with the story...

I finally gave up trying to read it, and on the way to soccer practice one evening earlier this fall,I grabbed that book, tossed it down the library drive-thu chute, and went on my way.

A few weeks later I recieved notice in the mail that the book was overdue.

And like any good citizen does when they have too many other things to deal with, I ignored that little pink notice. Added to my pile of papers that annoy me, I wished it would just magically disappear.
Phone and cable problems, figuring out if we are getting hosed on medical bills....they suck all the Pollyanna out of my day.

Well, several weeks back, Stella was begging me to take her to the library. She's a pretty persistant/insistant little gal, so I finally obliged.

When she was finally fulfilled with her library time, we gathered up the array of pink princess and Dora books that she wanted, grabbed Ellery off the computer table, and I willed myself over to the check out counter... knowing full well I would have to face my annoyance.

Naturally, there was a hold on my account. I explained to the librarian that I did indeed return the book in question. I know I dropped it down the chute, I told her over and over again. Since I'm a familiar face at this small town library, she told me that she would still let me check books out, and she'd call the branch I returned it to... to see if it was misplaced. I left the library certain my book would turn up, and the problem would go away.

Two days later, she called me at home to tell me that she had called around the other branches, and the book was still missing. And the replacement cost for the book was $25.00.

Which is just crap I tell you.
The book can be purchased brand new on Amazon for $10.51, or used starting @ $.01. It's true, I checked. And most certainly a library book would fall in the used category, right? Even brand new, it's a stretch. Ridiculous.

Anyhow, that's not the part that bothered me. I was so stubbornly sure I returned that book, that I suggested that perhaps the library made a mistake. They're as human as I am, after all. And why should I pay for a book that I was certain I returned? I sounded like my 3 year old, telling her how unfair it all was. The unjustice spewed out of me as I told her I wasn't paying for it. It was a matter of principle, after all.

She then proceeded to tell me about the claims policy the library offers for these types of situations..

As it turns out, the library will issue a cardholder a once in a lifetime exemption on a library book. Library grace, if you will. You just file a claim, and wa-lah! It goes away. I assesed this new info, did the math, and decided at the age of 35, it seemed like a safe option, right? Halfway to 70, I've made it 35 years without problems, surely I can make another 35 without snag, right?

She told me if the book turned up, I could still return it. But I assured her it wouldn't.

And I thought my libary troubles ended that day when I hung up the telephone.

A few weeks later, as I was doing a thorough living room cleanse, or rather, a frantic company is coming over type of cleaning, I found myself staring face to face with my library book.

I quickly dropped the defiled book down on the coffee table, like it was contaminated . A whole range of emotions rolling through me. I was so certain I was right, the book made me instantly angry. I also wondered what book of mine I returned to the library.

And like any good self respecting mom of 5, I decided then and there that there was no way I was going to admit to the library that I had found the book. I was so insistent the library lost it, I would rather eat my once in a lifetime claim than swallow my pride and admit that I was wrong.

Well, the following afternoon I got another phone call from the library. This time telling me I had accidentally returned Sydney's school library book to them...and I could come to the front desk and pick it up.

And I debated taking my new found scandalous book with me, to help clear my conscience... since it's clear I am already branded the library fool.

Back when I was pregnant with Austin, I noticed on my chart at the dr. an A+ written boldly in red pen on the front. "Wow!" I thought, secretly pleased with myself. I knew I was a pretty decent patient, but really, how many patients earn an A+ status I thought. Naturally I bragged to Tim about my good grade. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Sydney, when I noticed I once again earned an A+, that I also learned it was my blood type. I was dashed, to say the least.

I envision a big set of question marks and frowny faces all over my virtual library account.

Well, I made my way to the library to pick up Sydney's book. And I left the book of shame at home. I couldn't do it. I couldn't admitt my failings. With the 2 little girls in tow, we made our way to the counter to retrieve Sydney's book. The librarian asked for my library card...not sure why she needed it, but I handed it over, begrudgingly. And while the librarian was looking up my account, I handed Ellery a dum dum sucker from the huge jar sitting on the edge of the counter beckoning to her, because she was being kind of fussy.

Now is it just me, or when there is a large unmarked jar of dum dum suckers sitting on the edge of a counter for all the world to see, in a place where kids are present...it's safe to assume they're for taking? The drs.office, grocery store, the bank....dum dum suckers were created to keep kids happy while their parents take care of all things they'd rather not be doing. That is the purpose of dum dum suckers. It's there mission in life...to keep kids and moms happy.

Well, the librarian peered at me over her computer, and told me I couldn't have a sucker, unless I filled out a questionaire.

And I was in no mood to fill out a questionaire.

So, I gave her my best "Are you for real, lady?" look, and promptly snatched the sucker back out of Ellery's hand and put it back in the jar.

And if you know my Elle, she didn't take too kindly to this. She lives for candy, and her screams could most likely be heard clear across the parking lot. Unconsolable, I finally had to put her on the ground to roll around for a bit and kick, while she screamed and let her boogers and drool sink into the carpet.

All eyes from every crevice of the libary were on me, I could feel it. But I didn't care. The librarian finally retrieved my account and told me there was a problem. Ha, I smirked. Apparantly the claim had yet to go through, my fine now doubled.

As I stood at the counter, crabby, picking up my eldest daughter's mis-returned book, my 2 year old screaming on the floor, my dishevelled 3 year old with ketchup stains on her shirt dinking with the check out computer, discussing my fine, I thought here's your chance to make it right. Tell her you found the book. After all, they already think you're a misfit. What's there to lose?

But I couldn't dot it. The librarian told me she'd continue to look into my problem, gave me the book I came for, and we were on our way.

Long story short. The claim finally went through, and the $$$'s disappeared from my account. And I officially own my once in a lifetime claim. I've got 5 kids to carry me through my library book reading years if I get revoked, right? :) And the book in question has been sitting on my coffee table since the day I found it. Staring at me.

It's pages now tainted, there's a slim chance I will ever attempt to try to read it again. But never say never, right? I've considered all my options... donating it to a local secondhand shop, keeping it on my bookshelf as a reminder of my delinquency, throwing it in the trash, giving it to a friend, burning it.....

In the end, I finally had the courage and calm yesterday, to do the right thing.
And I dropped that book back down the familiar chute.
I know I am now rightfully it's owner, but sending it back was my way of finally owning up to my faults. And it felt good.

And I think we will be going to a different library branch for awhile.

happy thursday all~

a motley crew

2011-11-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

happy tuesday all~

The fine art of persuasion.

2011-10-27T07:28:00.000-04:00

Fashion Friday- Ruffle Pants

2011-10-21T16:08:00.001-04:00

I'm delighted to share that I learned how to read my very first pattern!

And with a little guidance from a friend, it wasn't too hard.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that when you follow directions, and cut along the lines...you actually end up with real pants...that fit! I'm an eyeball it kind of girl :)

Happy Friday all~

Hair business...

2011-10-18T21:02:00.000-04:00

Thank you for all the hair advice!

One of the reasons for dragging my feet in the hair dept was my determination to have a nice family photo taken this year. Not just a quick snapshot after Thanksgiving dinner to throw on the Christmas cards, or a staged photo with my timer....but some real nice professional photos. And I was a bit nervous to cut my hair, for fear I would wind up hating it. Vanity, yes?

Well, we had our photos taken awhile back, and I am just thrilled with the way they turned out! My pal Cara did an outstanding job, and if you are looking for a photographer, I would highly recommend contacting her.

A few of my favorites...

Oh, and I went with a Meg combo.....

Happy Tuesday all~

help!

2011-10-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

Ok.
I have been talking about getting my hair chopped off.....oh for about 5 months now. I'm a laid back procrastinator, what can I say?. Ask me how long my dishwasher has been disfunctional :)

Well, tommorow is the day.

And I am seeking your advice friends.

Which haircut do you like best for me?

Dharma, Meg, or the lady in orange?
.

Fashion Friday- Vintage Love

2011-10-14T12:38:00.000-04:00

I love antiques.

I love my friends.

So naturally, a day away to the antique fair with the gals ranks right up there with the best of them.

We shopped the local antique fair once again this summer.

You were surely missed Jamie, and I just might have to crop you onto that empty stool...so stay tuned :)

Well, half the fun and charm of the fair (because the first half is leaving our 17 combined kids home with their dads) is that you never leave with what you came for, and you always find something that you never even realized you desired.

My surprise purchase this year was a $4 original 1983 "Great Shape" Ken doll. Have I mentioned I never had a Ken growing up? My barbies had a pathetic dating life. I always wanted a Ken doll....oh and I coveted the motor home too. It's a wonder I turned out ok. Just kidding....kind of. I assure you I gifted Ken to my girls. I actually looked and saw that this same Ken is going for $40 on ebay...so he may just go back in the box.

Ok, I'm really scattered here. Back to the reason for this post.

I also stumbled upon this fabric.

I think it was a bed coverlet in it's former life. And I loved it instantly.

So much so, that I have been swooning over it for 2 months now, not wanting to cut into it's lovliness.

Well, a few weeks back I did a major purge of Ellery's closet. One might say all of this tangible busyness is why my blog has been sucking these days.

Anyhow, I came across this onsie, that I absolutely adored on her last summer. It's size 9 months, and clearly no longer fits, as she is almost 2.

But I still love it.

And upon closer inspection, I realized that due to it's boxy nature, the only thing that Elle really outgrew was the length.

So I salvaged it...combined it with my treasured fabric...and literally 15 minutes later had what is now one of my favorite dresses complete.

Happy Friday all~

Klackles

2011-10-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we made our annual pilgrimage to Klackles Orchards.

The afternoon was brisk and beautiful, and good times were had by all.

On the ride home, the trusty silhouette veered us right into the Ponderosa parking lot, as it always does.

And boy golly, how I do love a buffet once a year.

It's possible I'm worse than the kids with my giddiness of options.

Over dinner, Tim and I were trying to figure out how many years this has been tradition.

So, I dug through the photo archives, and as it turns out, this is year #5.

A pic from 2007....

and 5 years later....

Happy Wednesday all~

Look at me mom, I'm bootiful!

2011-09-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

clearly some things never change.....

2011-09-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

...and you know you want to have burgers at our house :)

Happy Monday all~

Fashion Friday- For the love of Peaches

2011-09-16T08:21:00.001-04:00

I'm not a lavish cook.

And there's a pretty good chance I may never use fresh peeled ginger in the recipes I make.

Or actually sift my flour, as my cookie recipe recommends.

The 2 most frequently used spices in my cupboard are cinnamon and black pepper.

And let's face it, Hamburger Helper carried Tim and I through our entire first year of marriage. Cheeseburger Macaroni still rules. If only I'd collected box tops back in the day ...sigh.

While I've come a long way in the last 13 years, my cooking is still pretty conventional. My kids favorite meal is called "The Big Long Thing". Yeah, try explaining that one to your pre-schoolers teacher.

All that aside however, one thing is unanimous around here.

My peaches rock.

Not only are they tasty, we like to think of them as medicinal. Packed with so much vitamin C, these goodies have been known to fight off the common cold, when eaten within first hint of a sore throat.
A true work horse I tell you.

Well, tis the season for peaches, and today I thought I'd share my little recipe with you all :)

And because I like to make things, naturally we had to whip up a new apron for my helper Stelly Jane.

She'd been asking for one like mine for a long time now.

ok, the recipe....

*peal and slice up a bowl of peaches. I probably do 7 or 8 at a time. Slice them over the bowl, so all the juicy goodness drips in the bowl. When I'm done, I usually give the pit a good squeeze to get every last drop of the juice.

*add a half cup sugar...or more if you have a serious sweet tooth.

*crush up 2 tablets of vitamin C and add to bowl.

*add 1 cup orange juice...ok, I usually just dump some in to cover peaches...but I'd say it's around 1 cup.

Mix it all up, and they should look like this.

*Then scoop them into either freezer containers or bags. I usually fill the containers 3/4 full with peaches, and then top them off with orange juice. The Vitamin C is what prevents them from turning brown, so I like to make sure they are all drowning under the juice.

And that's it! Stock your freezer full of them, to carry you through cold and flu season :)

Happy Friday all~

Cottage, anyone?

2011-09-13T16:19:00.002-04:00

I didn't grow up camping.

We were more of the cottage /hotel/touristy attaction kinda family.
Vacations involved going places, seeing things, and usually riding something. Go-carts were almost always involved.

And then I met Tim.

In the early years of our dating relationship, Tim opened my eyes to the whole camping experience. We camped religously with friends 2x a year. Opening and closing weekend.... the first weekend in April, and last weekend in Oct, we made our way to Silver Lake with our BFF's.

I usually froze, it typically rained...but my oh my, it sure was a good time.

Fastforward 16 years.

It's hard to believe we've been camping together this long. We started out all those years ago sleeping in the bed of Tim's pickup truck under the stars, then a tent, a pop-up, and now 5 kids later, a camper. At the rate we're transitioning, there's no reason to rule out a cottage just yet :)

Labor Day weekend we once again reunited with our longstanding BFF's. And tho the long weekend started off really shaky...really shaky people... I can honestly say we had a good time. Despite the weather and circumstances, it was wonderful to be together as a family, and in the presence of such dear friends. No matter how many years go by, rehashing funny stories from the "good ole' days" around the fire never gets old. There's something so authentic about being with long time friends. Friends that have been doing life with you. Friends that we may not see very regulary, but are comfortable enough that we can pick up right where we left off. Friends that know your struggles and love you just the same.

Ellery's impersination of me the first 24 hours of our trip.

Just kidding, she owns this one :)

Well, our weekend of "fun in the sun" was scheduled to begin on Thursday. I spent the day packing the camper, delighting in the 90 degree, humid and dry weather forcast, and eagerly awaiting the kids arrival off the school bus and Tim from work, so we could hit the open road.

Once home from school, I fed the kids snacks to tide them over, because we always stop at a certain Mc Donalds along the way. It's tradition.   Double cheeseburgers off the dollar menu for all.  Our current order is 13, and I pity the day when the little ones actually start eating LOL.

Well, as the afternoon slowly gave way to evening, I continued to toss snacks at the kids, and finally @ 9:00pm I threw a frozen pizza in the oven, fed them, and put them to bed....disappointed and fuming.

Tim eventually made it home....fuming himself. He too had been really looking forward to getting out of town. Ludington is hands down our favorite campground, and we look forward to it all summer. Long story short, he hadn't been on his own job, had no control over the time, and things didn't go according to plan.

So, after some forced conversation, we decided to put our crabby, tired selves to bed, and hit the road by 8am the next morning. That way we would still have the whole day ahead of us to enjoy.

The next morning we left according to plan, and about 45 minutes into the 2 hour trip, Tim noticed a truck in his rear view mirror frantically waving to get his attention. We pulled over to the side of the highway, and sure enough, one of the back trailer tires had blown. Fortunately we had a spare tire, but sadly no tools to change it with.

So, Tim unhitched the trailer on the side of the highway, we ventured off the next exit in search of an auto parts store, and after success, made our way back around again to the camper. It had been spattering the whole time, and as soon as Tim pulled up to the camper, naturally the rain began to increase. You could almost hear the familiar "dunt dunt" from Law and Order, as he stepped out of the truck into the wetness.

Tim got things under control, and we once again were on our way. However, the clouds began to get more dark and ominous, and we made the rest of the trip in our own tense, cold, silent, "it wasn't supposed to be like this", ominous kind of way.

We made it to the state park.... our 2 hour trip had just turned into 4. Naturally as soon as Tim started backing the trailer into our campsight, the heavens opened up and it began to downpour. The kind of downpour that soaks you down to your underwear just like that, and forces little muddy swamps to pop up all over the dirt encrusted sight.

Like a champ, Tim faithfully set the camper up in the rain, while I waited it out under our friend's canopy with the 2 little girls. The big kids took off in an effort to see how dirty and wet they could get.

The rain died down, and Tim plugged the camper in, only to trip the breaker....hmmm, no power for us.  (We ran into this problem earlier this summer, but assumed it had been the campground we were at, as we had never had a problem with our electrical cord before).

So, Tim took off in the truck to head into town to find a new cord. I huddled in the camper with 5 wet, stinky, crabby kids, who all had a different agenda for the afternoon, none of which included what we were doing....grinding granola bars into the couch, and assuring them we'd eat lunch if dad ever came back.

Tim returned a while later, with the cord and a 6 pack.

Our electric worked, the weather cleared up, and we all began to relax a bit. Our guarded conversation turned pleasant, we enjoyed the outdoors, and by evening it was all water under the bridge.

The next morning, I was almost in tears when we awoke to a thunderstorm. I was done.

After a while it cleared up, and tho it rained off and on, and eventually turned cold and windy...we were still able to hit the beach, hike, bike, fish, eat ice cream, play games, and enjoy our time together.
Some pics from our weekend....

Looking forward to next year :)

Fashion Friday- For the love of vintage sheets

2011-09-02T06:00:00.041-04:00

A few weeks back, the kids and I made a quick trip to Chicago to hang with my family before being bound by the school calendar once again.

And the ride was a trip let me tell you.

Ellery chucked her pacifier and beloved pig in protest before we were even out of the driveway....as if to warn me of her intentions for the next 3 hours.

She screamed and carried on until she was a boogery, choking, drippy, sobbing mess. We finally stopped halfway because a certain few little people couldn't hold their bladders any longer....ok, I had to go too, and everyone was so, so, hungry. While lunching at this McD's truckstop, an employee working the dining room gave Ellery 3 different happy meal smurf toys on the house, in an attempt to make her happy. and keep her quiet. It didn't work, and she continued to carry on.... but the other kids were delighted to inherit the toys since I didn't get them happy meals, and we scooted out as quickly as humanly possible.

We got back in the van, and I was like the little engine that could.

And once we arrived, we all had a lovely time :)

The cousins.

We are eagerly anticipating adding 2 more sweet babies to this picture next summer Kimmy :)

While it's not written in the by-laws or anything, it's pretty much understood that we will make a quick trip to both H & M and Spree while I visit. H & M is purely for me, and Spree is a joint love affair that my mom and I share for thrift shops. We like this one alot. Everything is orderly and color coded. It's like a rainbow of musty smelling thrifty goodness.

While browsing at our thrift shop, I came across this sweet vintage sheet for a mere $2.

I absolutely adore the material.

And and after a good soaking and wash, Stella does too :)

Happy Friday all~

groovy

2011-09-01T13:24:00.001-04:00

I put the headband on, and turned around a minute later to see she had put on my sunglasses.

This one clearly has a strong fashion sense :)

Happy Thursday all~

281 days till summer vacation...

2011-08-30T15:19:00.001-04:00

School is back in session.
And we now have a 4th, 3rd, and 1st grader.

For the first time since my kids entered the school system, it feels kind of tidy. All 3 big kids will go all day...every day. No running back and forth to pre-school, no 2.5 day kindergarten to keep track of, no waking up babies to run to school, or trying to get out between my 2 opposite nappers to get some errand run quickly before the others get home. Just the same schedule, every day. And 2 little gals that are old enough to theoretically both only require a nap in the afternoon.

I now own the morning. And let me tell you, it's pretty liberating.

I'm going to enjoy this quiet year. I am looking forward to getting involved in a regular Bible study again, coffee with friends, chipping away at all the projects on my list, and watching my 2 little gals play together, as Stella will go to pre-school next year.

Naturally, I made Sydney a new skirt and headband for the first day:)

This 4th grader was a bit too cool to let his mom come in and take a picture by his desk, so we settled for his locker :)

Happy Tuesday all~

hmmm, it's a wonder why homeless animals choose our house...

2011-08-23T20:24:00.001-04:00

Happy Tuesday all~

so long, sweet rapunzel

2011-08-21T23:31:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing we know how to grow around here...it's hair.

And I'm not sure what it is, but I have such a hard time cutting it.

Perhaps I'm afraid they will look older, or I will hate how the cut turns out, but most probably, I know that I'm cutting off those sweet baby curls that I so adore.

Remember Dylan?

Well, at 3 and a half, Stella had yet to recieve her first hair cut.

We called her Rapunzel.

It was getting so ridiculously long, that she had to wear it up every single day....and even in pigtails, it still swung around into her cereal bowl :)

Have I mentioned that she screams every time we wash it?

Well this past week, after washing her crusty hair, I finally gave in and cut it.

And I love it.

Simply darling.

13 years

2011-08-17T20:32:00.001-04:00

Tim and I celebrated 13 years of marriage last week.

We were able to get away to a bed and breakfast this past weekend for 24 hours to celebrate our love.

We walked along the beach hand in hand, peeked in all the little shops the quaint downtown had to offer, ate 3 square meals alone with both lighthearted bantor and serious conversation, watched a little cable tv, and confirmed that if I every become a hoarder Tim has permission to send me away and take care of it :),  ate ice cream without any extra licks of drippy bubblegum flavorburst or superman mixed in, sat outside and sipped delightful coffee that I assured Tim must have undoubtedly been shipped directly from South America for the price we paid, played tennis just the 2 of us, and re-connected. It was a positively delightful change of pace.

And unfortunately, my camera never made it out of the van.

So, in honor of our anniversary, I am going to share the squirrel story. A story of a beady eyed little pest, love restored, and a glimpse into our unglued life.

Here goes....

It all began on a hot June evening.
June 30 @ 10pm to be exact.

The previous few weeks had been ridiculously busy, because it's just that time of year after all, leaving very little time for conversation or closeness. Tim and I were in a "funk",  having cordial conversation, but that's about as extensive as it got. I'm a quality time kinda girl:) We were looking forward to a long weekend away camping the following day, to re-connect as a family.

It was 10pm and I was finally heading into the livingroom to sit down for a few minutes, having just completed the task of tucking the children into bed. Have a I mentioned this summer schedule, or lack there of, is kicking my butt?

Well, I was just about to sit down in Tim's trusty old recliner, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something scurry across the livingroom carpet towards the slider door. Naturally I screamed, certain it was a mouse, and cursing our cat Darla for allowing such vermin to sneak into the house.

Well, I followed the creature to the slider, and upon closer look, I realized it wasn't a mouse, but rather it looked more like a chipmunk, or maybe even a baby squirrel. Oddly, this new discovery gave me a bit of ease. I promptly opened the slider in an effort to shoo the little bugger out the door. But, with the speed of Mighty Mouse, the little rodent darted back and forth across our living room in a full speed frenzy. After a bit of this, she dashed over to our sunporch area, behind our green chair.

Phoebe (our dog, that is clearly more looks than brains) promptly perked her ears, and followed chase over to the green chair in the corner. She sniffed, and pawed, and sniffed and pawed, and sniffed and pawed at the chair some more. I grabbed the phone, and promptly perched myself on a bar stool, certain Phoebe had it trapped, and the situation was under control for a bit. I called Tim to let him know that there was a chipmunk in the house, and that he had to come home...now.

For 20 minutes I sat perched on my stool, my eyes, never leaving the chair for long. When I finally heard the sound of the trusty old diesel pulling into the driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Tim walked in and set his lunch box down, and prompty assesed the situation before even taking his boots off. Long story short, our dog is a fool. At some point during those 20 minutes, the chipmunk escaped from behind the chair. After tearing the area apart, dumping toys, books, shaking out the green chair, you name it, it was apparant the little rodent was no longer in the sunporch area...though Phoebe still waited, sniffing and panting and drooling about.

At which point, Tim directed his attention to the kitchen, which is adjacent to the sunporch area. After an extensive search, all that was uncovered was new dust.

About an hour later, after an exhaustive all-inclusive inspection of the kitchen, living room, and sunporch area, we gave up on the sneaky little rodent. Tim had not yet laid eyes on it, and was begining to question what I saw in the first place.

Though I didn't like it one little bit, we went to bed around midnight, with the assumption that the little varmint was more scared of us, and we would figure it all out in the morning.

We climbed into bed, and after about 5 minutes, I heard a noise by our bedroom slider. It was louder than the buzz of bugs hitting the outside of the screen. It sounded like something running.  And I just knew it was the beady eye'd little monster.

I promptly awoke Tim, turned on the light, and caught the slightest movement inside my closet through the open doors.

"It's in my closet!" I shouted to Tim as he bolted awake.

He jumped up, made eye contact with the beady little monster on the top shelf, and grabbed the stick that wedges in our slider door.  And he proceeded to poke around my clothes with the stick.

Nothing.

He then began taking piles of clothes off my shelves, dumping them on the floor, and giving them a thorough beating.

No creature to be found.
He got to the last pile, and the beady eye'd twitchy little rodent jumped down and scurried out of our room towards the living room, faster than we could blink. We followed chase, and caught sight just as it's tail disappeared underneath our couch, at which point Tim confirmed that it was indeed a baby squirrel.....and that I wasn't making this whole ordeal up :)

Upon sneaking up, the squirrel was no longer under the couch. It had disappeared again. After a while of searching the entire area all over again, we gave up and went back to bed. It was well after midnight and we were tired. Surely the rodent would at least stay out of room now, right?

Well, while Tim once again snored logs, I just couldn't sleep. It really bothered me. Why of all places did it choose my closet to hide in? After a bit, I heard the noise again, grabbed the light, and shouted Tim awake.

And while Tim is a pretty laid back guy when it comes to me, he was clearly starting to get annoyed. He was exhausted, and he could sleep just fine with a little noise and rodent running about. He wished I could too.

He looked around for a bit, found nothing, and said we were going back to bed, and promptly turned off the light.

We did, and I willed myself to try to go to sleep. It was well into the morning side of the night by now. I tried to tell myself that the little squirrel wasn't evil. He wasn't trying to taunt us with his beady little eyes and twitchy nose, he was just frightened and trying to find his way out.

After about 5 minutes of laying there willing myself to sleep, Tim bolted straight up and turned the light on.

"It just ran across my face!" he shouted, along with a few other choice words.

At which point, Tim let out his battle cry and declared war on the squirrel.

He may be a laid back guy, but he's also a man of his word. He doesn't give up when he puts his mind to something, and has the patience to stick it out and win. Some people might call him stubborn. So I knew at this point we were in this for the long haul. We would not be going back to bed before this rodent was either outside, or dead.... and I was assuming the latter.

Tim promptly closed both doors to our bedroom, sealing the exits, and once again grabbed his trusty stick.

I sat perched in the middle of our bed for safety, playing eye spy.  I once again saw movement in my closet and began pointing and shreaking, as any good wife does @ 1:30am while looking for a squirrel in her bedroom. Tim told me to keep my eyes on it, while he started poking around my hanging clothes again with the stick.

Nothing.

Tim slowly started grabbing the remaining piles of my folded clothes on my top shelf, and dumping them to the ground.

After this process was complete, he started in on my hanging clothes. He would grab about 5 hangers full, dump them on the ground, and give them a good wallop....to ensure there was no squirrel hiding out in the folds.

Nothing.

Have I ever mentioned to you that I have a lot of clothes? It's ridiculous.

There was a very delicate balance of sanity in our room at this point. It was after 2 am, we were both exhausted, we had been held hostage by the little creature for hours, and watching Tim dump out the contents of my closet made me want to weep. However, I knew better than to say anything, because truthfully, he was doing this for me.

Well, we were almost through my hanging clothes, when I noticed a tiny little mound of movement as Tim was beating my shirts to a pulp.

The squirrel shot out and dove under our bed.

Naturally, I screamed again, and moved back to the center of the bed for safety. Ask Tim to do his impersination of my startled scream sometime...he is spot on.

My cedar chest and end tables were moved to form a blockade, our entire bed was shoved to the side, pillows and laundry baskets were stacked up in an effort to trap the evil little pest.

It truly must have been a sight. Tim running around our bedroom @ 2:30am with a giant stick...piles of dishevelled clothes strewn about as far as the eye could see....and furniture moved, only to display the areas of carpet that embarrassingly hadn't been vaccuumed in years.

Well, the squirrel darted back and forth ....and to shorten this story up, after a long frantic chase, Tim finally won.

There was just no getting the squirrel out the door. He was too quick and nervous, most likely in the same mental state that Tim and I were in at this point in the game.

Tim threw the dead squirrel out on the deck, and climbed in bed. He turned out the lights to what now looked like a battle field, and we both breathed a sigh of relief.

As we lay in bed in the dark, we had a good chuckle over the nights events.

It really is a shame the kids never woke up.

And wouldn't you know, when forced to work together, all communication barriers were broken down:)

One might say that beady eye'd little squirrel was just what we needed.

Happy Wednesday all!

crash course

2011-08-15T17:18:00.006-04:00

What better way to spend a Monday afternoon, than racing matchbox cars down the rockclimbing wall, and watching your dog run off with them every single time.

Happy Monday all~

my kid

2011-08-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

He's pretty certain he'll be the coolest 4th grader in town with these bad boys on his teeth.

And after spending the summer dragging 5 kids to consultation after consultation, this mom couldn't be more thrilled either.

Happy Friday all!

Summer is kicking my butt.

2011-08-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

It is.

It really, really, is.

Don't get me wrong, I am honestly not ready for the kids to go back to school just yet. We are having a great summer, and I'm trying to enjoy every single day.

However, Tim is super busy at work right now, which puts me on my own a fair share of the time. And while I can hold everything together pretty well, it slowly wears on me as the week goes along. By Thursday I usually start to unravel, because I just can't seem to catch a break....and the little things become colassal.

I can't decide if I get more overwhelmed taking my fab five around town with me for every single errand, or staying home all day.... taking Ellery off the counter for the 14th time in an hour, unpealing panty liners opened up and pasted onto the cupboards like stickers, breaking up fights, listening to screaming every time I move, weeping over my unceasing filthy floors and disheveled rooms, just getting lunch cleaned up, only to discover it's time to get dinner rolling, and walking through the woods with a baby on my hip calling Phoebe's name, yet again.

I've tried my best to pack in the fun.
But inevetably, the kids are divided into the "big kids" and the "little girls". Naps are modified, and as sure as the sky is blue....my blood pressure rises, no matter what we do. We leave the library in a hurry because 1 gal is dumping books, and the other crying, I am wanted in 3 different places at the beach....you fill in the activity.

I love my kids with all my heart, but let's face it....kids are hard.

I so badly want to be the best mom I can be for them....to be understanding, patient, firm and loving, a good listening ear, a teacher, a heart nurturer...etc. You know, pretty much all of those darn fruits of the spirit . It is my daily prayer. But life can be so challenging and wearisome sometimes, can't it? It brings me to my knees every single day. I do know someday I will mourn this season of life, because I truly do enjoy it. The saying "The days are long, but the years fly by" rings oh so true to me these days.

And now that I've given you a lengthy explanation as to why I just can't seem to get it together to blog these days, I will leave you with some pictures from our weekend.

What could be more fun than taking 7 people out in a flat bottom boat designed for 5? Where we live, we are fortunate to be within minutes of a lake in every direction. Sunday afternoon we took a nice little boat ride, fished, and chatted over doritos and juice boxes. Good times.

Fashion Friday on Tuesday? The upcycled ruffle dress

2011-07-26T23:13:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back, a good friend of mine had a garage sale.

She said if I had anything to add to the sale, I was more than welcome.

Ha!

After turning the entire house upside down, going through every closet, emptying bin after bin, after bin of baby clothes, hosing off excercausers and riding toys, I decided to take her up on her offer. An entire package of Avery labels, and 2 van loads later, perhaps she regretted asking me ;)

While garage sales are ALOT of work, and every single person I know swears they will never, ever, have one again afterwards...they are kind of fun.

The opportunity to sit and chat with friends for a day in the garage with a little "people watching" mixed in is always a good time. People never fail to both surprise and amuse me. And let's face it, it's always fun to say "No I won't take $2.85...it's a firm $3.00!

Naturally, I always have fun doing a little shopping myself. My friends all have good taste after all.

And for a mere $2.00 credit to my account, I snagged up this darling t-shirt....

It was a bit snug on me, so I decided to liberate my $2 and add a little flair to it....and pass it along to Sydney as a dress.

I added 3 ruffles to the bottom, and made a matching headband

It's a little long, but she was thrilled, and it should fit her for many, many years to come :)
Happy Tuesday all!

Learning to fly.

2011-07-20T16:25:00.000-04:00

Remember Peep?

Don't worry, this isn't where we keep her. Sometimes I make bad decisions :)

Well, she's now 2 months old. Which is actually pretty mature, considering the life expectancy of a wild turkey is 2 years. It's true, I googled it :)

Tim built her a nice little turkey shack out back, and the kids have begrudgingly taken their turn feeding and watering her. We have 3 animals that claim our home as their own, and 3 big kids, so the rotation has been working out perfectly. However, nobody looks forward to "Peep duty", because the stupid bird walks through her food and water dish almost immediately, dumping them both.

The kids have had a grand old time with her these past 2 months. Sydney, parading her around on her shoulder, pretending to have a pet parrot, Ellery squealing with delight every time we let her out, and Phoebe running back and forth, and back and forth, with her tongue flapping in the breeze, trying to get to her. The bird finally wised up and stopped sticking her head outside of the cage. And lets face it, not too many wild turkeys get to go camping :)

However, she continues to grow.... and she is a wild turkey, afterall. So, this past Sunday we decided to let her fly. I was secretly hoping she'd stick around and come back for a visit every now and then...after all, I'm the only mom she knows :) After sticking around the yard for an hour or so, drinking from the hose, sitting in the cozy coup.... you know, typical wild turkey behavior, she disappeared into the woods, and we haven't seen her since. I kind of miss her perpetual peeping.

...and truth be told, any wild turkey that poses in a cozy coup with an 8 year old girl, probably isn't going to make it through her first Thanksgiving:)

Fashion Friday- The ruffle dress

2011-07-08T18:01:00.001-04:00

Like most craft enthusiasts, I heart the fabric store.

While I buy most of my designer fabric online, I do love a good trip to the fabric store.

To see all of the bolts lined up in their kaledioscope of loveliness inspires me.

I usually leave the store with half a dozen projects swirling through my mind.

Well, there is one particular store in town that, tho slightly more expensive, usually dazzle's me just a wee bit more with their fabric choices. I love Amy Butler, and I like to see her beautiful material in person...to see what it really looks like... the entire pattern, and what it all coordinates with. This particular store is the only one in town that carries her sweet textiles.

However, the customer service at this particular favorite store of mine stinks. It's terrible, actually. All of the people employed there are over the age of 65, and do not assume your typical matronly, child loving, sweet sewing, grandma stereotype. To be honest, they are just plain rude. I sometimes wonder if their glasses ever fall off their noses from looking down so far. Rather than a smile and nod greeting when you walk in the door with your ~~loud~~ enthusiastic children, you can literally hear every last one of them sucking in their breath, without so much as a curteous nod in our direction. Perhaps they only act this way for me.

Well, it's this attitude that has forced me to label them the Blue Haired B's. And trust me, I'm not one to use mean words, unless they are absolutely necessary :). Every time I go there, I swear to Tim I will never set foot in that store again.

A few weeks back, my 3 big kids were attending a camp at a local church in the evenings. I was down to 2 kids and 2 hours to kill before I had to pick them back up again. I had just bought this lovely shirt fromTarget for the sweet clearance price of $3.14....

....and my warped brain was scheming up a way to unite it with Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms Joy line. In my mind, they would compliment each other perfectly... but I did want to see all the coordinating fabrics in person, just to make sure it would be an acceptable union.

After much internal debaucle, we headed into the store that I knew would have my fabric.

And the Blue Haired B's didn't disappoint.

As usual, Ellery was in a mood. If I held her, she would kick me until I set her down to run...usually to dismantle the scissors display...and then she would either start crying to be picked up because she realized I wasn't holding her, or run away further into the abyss of fabric. This distraction went on until I made my choices and brought my bolts to the counter.

I made my way to the counter with 3 bolts of fabric tucked under one arm, Ellery in the other, kicking me and screaming because she didn't want to be restrained, and Stella trailing behind, begging for candy, and saying "Ooh MOM! let's get this one!" no less than 32 times on the 15 foot journey to the counter.

Well, we get to the counter, and my bolts drop down in an unmistakable thud, because they were getting rather awkward and heavy under my left arm, and my patience was wearing. There is a BBB on the other side of the counter, literally an arms length away, peering down at some sort of brochure through her glasses.

I wait for her to look up and acknowledge me....say hello, ask me how many yards I would like....you know, typical customer service stuff.

She continues to read her literature, clearly ignoring me. So, I continue standing there....talking to Ellery and Stella. Having conversation with them that "Yes, we are almost done. Mommy's just waiting to check out"...just loud enough, in case the woman was confused by my intentions.

Well, after a bit, the lady still doesn't look up, and I get annoyed. I can't stand there a moment longer, so I leave my fabric on the counter and walk around to look at the fabric in the vicinity of the counter. I pretend to look at buttons, all the while my eyes are trained on the BHB. I should have walked right out of the store...because this isn't the first time I've been ignored....but I really wanted my fabric.

From where I was standing, I see another lady come to the counter with her fabric, and I can see the sales lady push my pile aside, and give a shrug of her shoulders and confused look to the customer.

My patience with my little gals was starting to run thin by this point, so I promptly got in line behind the lady who is now ahead of me. When she is finished, the sales lady peers down her nose at me through her glasses, and with a scowl, asks me how many yards I would like. Not a smile, not a "thanks for waiting" or "how are you today", or a "did you find everything ok, maam" or "I'm sorry, I'm such a snob".

Nope, nothing but rudeness.

So, while she cut my fabric, I unleashed Ellery and let her run amuck. With squeals of delight, she flung every last container of beads at her level off the display by the register. And with great delight, I watched the BHB glower at me with her haughty eyes.

Mark my word blogger friends, I will never go there again!

....and yes, I did pick up all the beads, because I am ridiculously responsible :)

Okay, phew, I got that story off my chest.

On with this post...I loved the Target shirt so much, that I didn't really want to cut it up in any way. So, I made 3 separate ruffles, and sewed them onto the bottom of the shirt to make it a dress! I added white rosette trim (to match the rosettes on the collar) around the now drop waist...and voila! a new dress for Stelly Jane!

Happy Friday all~

a fabulous fourth

2011-07-06T00:04:00.000-04:00

I've had to work really, really, hard on my attitude during our last few camping trips...so as not to let the weather dictate my mood. While I'm a fun-in-the-sun kind of girl, camping is all about the company your with, right?

Last Friday morning, we left for a long weekend of camping fun at Hoffmaster State Park...one of our favorites. After a long night chasing a baby squirrel out of the house...a story I just might have to share with you in a future post... the day began with Stella puking. Never a good start to the weekend that you are really looking forward to.

She recovered quickly and dozed off on Tim's recliner while we finished packing up. We were on the road by mid-morning, looking forward to our time away together.

Well, the closer we got to our destination, the more ominous the sky became. Naturally, a few mere miles from our destination, the skies opened up and it began to downpour, with lightning flashing across the black sky.

And so, the diesel steered it's way into good ole' Bob Evans for some brunch. We sat for awhile, watched the radar on Tim's phone, and finally headed out when the rain slowed down to a drizzle. We made our way to our camping spot, I reluctantly changed into a sweatshirt and pants, and we got settled. By this point, it became clear that Stella's upset stomach had moved to her other end...so we made many really quick trips to the bathroom. Thankfully, by the end of our first day the sun was shining down on us again, it had warmed up, and we put a diaper on Stella.

The next morning we were awakened to Sydney puking. With the exception of Austin, the "bug" seemed to hit every one of us in a different way throughout the weekend :) Thankfully the sun stuck around, it was warm, and we were able to enjoy just being together and relaxing after a really busy month. We enjoyed all of our usuals....we biked, hiked, enjoyed the beach, ate ice cream, explored the nature center, and played many a camping game (I remain the banangram champion :)

summer days

2011-06-30T08:24:00.000-04:00

I've had to implement the "If you come inside, I'm gonna put you to work" rule this summer. And wouldn't you know, they've been having a grand old time building a tunnel system through their sand box.

40th anniversary

2011-06-28T07:14:00.001-04:00

We celebrated my parents 40th anniversary this past weekend.

While we were all together last Christmas, my mom asked us to keep the day open. That was all the information she would give. My parents like surprises, you see.

We all speculated....taking the train downtown to a show, a Cubs game, a waterpark.

As the day drew closer, we were instructed to be to their house by 11am, wearing dress clothes- no tank tops or flip flops. That ruled out the Cubs game :)

We all arrived, and at noon a stretch hummer limo pulled up to their driveway.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the limo ride, and all of it's ammenties. The laser lights were played with by everyone under the age of 9, the window by the driver went up and down no less than 38 times, every seat was tested out, and all of the pop consumed :)

The limo dropped us off downtown at Navy Pier. We followed my parents down the boardwalk and boarded the Oddesy for a delightful 3 course lunch cruise.

After the cruise, we rode the ferris wheel, and walked around Navy Pier until our limo picked us back up again.

It was a great time. Thank you mom and dad! Happy Anniversary.

sharing at it's best...

2011-06-22T16:05:00.000-04:00

father's day fun

2011-06-20T13:18:00.002-04:00

We spent a delightful Father's Day afternoon out at the cottage. Naturally Dylan caught a bunch of fish...

The kids went tubing....

The ladies went tubing...

(I have been either pregnant or holding a newborn for the last 9 summers, so needless to say, I haven't tubed in years.) Good times!

The boys went tubing...and unfortunately I don't have a good picture because they were very wreckless!

We forced Stella out of the boat for a slow ride back in...I don't think she will go again anytime soon.

Pentwater

2011-06-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

Memorial Weekend we packed the camper and hit the road for a weekend of fun in Pentwater.

Tim beat the kids home from school, so we made it there in record time. Everything was set up, and we still had daylight!

And while it wasn't really a "fun in the sun" weekend, we did have a good time together. It's not a good sign when you go to the beach, and the water temp sign simply reads "cold". We still enjoyed all of the things we love about Pentwater tho. We fished, biked, played tennis, shopped, hiked, beached, and ate ice cream of course.

I was so thankful to be camping on beach sand, because it soaked up all of the rain water rather quickly, and also for our heater :)

The day we left for camping was also our first full day with Peep. Naturally we brought her along, and she sat under her heat lamp in the bathroom.....because clearly 7 people in a camper isn't crowded enough :)

may madness

2011-06-13T21:34:00.002-04:00

May certainly was a busy one.

I donned my supermom cape, and tried my very best to make it to all of the kids activities.

Join me, on a pictoral journey of the times I remembered my camera :)

Austin's highly anticipated 3rd grade class trip was to Dutch Village.

Unfortunately, it rained so hard that we were forced inside for the whole trip, and the kids were sent back to school early. No ride on the trusty old swings or music from the outdoor organ. Kind of a bummer, but we did have a good time.

Not really the nice picture I had in mind. While I was looking forward to a quaint picture of Austin and I in front of a beautiful splay of tulips, I will have to settle for looking like a drowned rat in front of a fake chicken? It's all in the memories, right? Good times.

It is becoming very clear I need to buy an umbrella :)

Sydney's class spent the day in a local 124 year old one room school house. Dressed like pioneers, they spent their day learning like they did back in the day.

Tin can lunches, food rolled in cloth and tied with string, feather pens, homeade crushed walnut ink, individual slates, and separate boy/girl games were just a few of their delights.... and clearly, pioneers wore pink converse shoes :)

The boys had a grand old time playing soccer.

...and the girls were top-notch cheerleaders.

The kids ran the 5/3 Junior race.

We went to a few class picnics....

...and Tim and I are now both half way to 70.

More pics coming soon!

Fashion Friday- another dress for the little gal

2011-06-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

Awhile back, I stumbled upon on a sweet little line of fabric by Michael Miller called "Brady Bunch". And while the name alone sucked me in, the fabric was just as groovy as I imagined it would be. I purchased both Alice and Marcia and made a cute little dress for Stella, and I love it!

Happy Friday all!

clearly, not as big as she thinks she is....

2011-06-07T10:52:00.000-04:00

nigel and peep

2011-06-03T18:03:00.000-04:00

Dylan is wrapping up his kindergarten career.

And it makes me a little sad.

Not only because he is getting older, but also b/c I think going to school every day combined with some serious learnin' next year is going to be difficult for him to adjust to. He likes his days off, and his imagination, creativity and exploration skills keep him quite busy and contented. And let's face it, bringing a dead bat to school in a ziploc bag, and a snakeskin in your folder to show your classmates is embraced in kindergarten :) This kid was made for kindergarten.

Last Thursday our eyes and ears were delighted by his end of the year zoophonics program. Dressed as Nigel Nightowl, he did a fantastic job, and we were proud.

It had been a really busy week, and I still needed groceries for camping the following day. Tim and I drove separately to the program so that I could go get groceries alone, and he could pick up Ellery and take the kids home to bed.

That was the plan.

Naturally, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the house @ 10pm to find all the kids still up and about, and a baby turkey sitting on the counter in Sydney's old hampster cage.

Clearly, he steared from the plan somewhere, as I was only gone just over an hour.

"Her name is Peep, and dad says we can keep it! " they all pronounced to me excitedly.

As the story goes, Tim made a "quick stop" at the shop to show the kids the turkey eggs he had stumbled upon earlier in the day...only to find the nest vacated, 2 dead birds, and this abandoned little guy sitting there all alone. At least that's the story they told me.

Naturally, they took it home, put it under a heat lamp, and quickly googled "abandoned baby turkeys".

And a week later, she doing well. Not really sure what we are going to do with her yet.

If the dog doesn't eat her first....you may be looking @ Thanksgiving dinner :)

monkey see. monkey do.

2011-06-01T17:09:00.000-04:00

modern daisy

2011-05-24T17:32:00.082-04:00

I am a middle child.

Growing up, my older sister was your typical book smart, straight A , over-achieving, always pleasing, responsible and logical first born child. My younger sister was equally smart, combined with all of the sweet attributes that go along with being the baby in the family. Both went to college near home, and then on to be nurses. And they are fantastic, might I say.

And then there's me.

In the amount of time my sisters studied for their A's, I earned a B. I always had to work just a little bit harder in school.   I was labeled the "creative one", "the dreamer" and "the funny one" to name a few .....which truthfully, I always thought was a very polite way of saying I wasn't quite as smart.

If you asked me in high school what I was going to be when I grow up, I would have told you very matter of factly that someday I was going to replace Barbara Walters. Naturally that's why I went to a small private college in Michigan that only offered journalism as a minor LOL.

In college, I majored in communications and minored in journalism. I took a class in telecommunications, and learned the in's and out's of teleprompters, sound boards, and video editing. I produced and edited my very own documentary, (quite a contentious one I might add :), and learned the reality of the business. And I realized that if I truly wanted to do this with my life, not only was I at the wrong school, but I would also most likely need to work 3rd shift at a small tv station in Kansas reporting on dustballs and the likes to get my foot in the door.

And quite frankly, I just didn't want it that bad. If I'm honest, it was just a pipe dream.  I wanted to go straight to the top. And lets face it, I really liked Tim at this point in time, and he's just not New York material :)

I changed my focus and concentrated more on writing. After all, I wrote for my high school newspaper and enjoyed it. The summer between my junior and senior year I took the initiative and got a job at a very small town newspaper.  For $5 an hour, I spent my days driving around town "looking" for stories, and my evenings with my reporters notebook in hand, seated in the back row of township meetings- listening to residents discuss/dispute property zoning, tree placement, sewer lines, and everything else in between.   I enjoyed seeing my name in print, and even wrote a controversial article that received many huffy letters to the editor, that I was secretly proud of.

My favorite part of the job tho?  The paper came out every Friday, so Thursday was typically a high stress day. I quickly learned newspaper layout, and photo scanning (a pretty high tech task in 1997). I was also taught basic graphic design skills, which allowed me to help proof ads as well.

There was a police scanner that sat in a place of prominence on the main desk in the center of the office. It was like background music, always spitting out information, and giving leads to many potential news stories.

One warm, sunny, summer afternoon an accident on the local highway came over the scanner. I just happened to be the only reporter in the office. I was given a camera and instructed to go take pictures, and get all the information I could. My stomach immediately went to knots, but I went.

It was a bad accident. A jack-knifed semi, and a really mangled pick up truck. I later learned the accident was fatal. I circled the chaos in my trusty old blue oldsmobile over and over and over again in a daze. I had a really sick feeling in my stomach, and hands that wouldn't stop shaking.

I just couldn't make myself stop. I would get close, slow down, and then speed up and just keep driving. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bother the people on the scene. I couldn't make myself get close enough to take a picture and then ask for id. It seemed so incredibly disrespectful to everyone involved. And so, I went back to the office to tell my boss I was sorry. Thankfully another reporter was back, and happy to head out with such a sweet lead.

On that day, I realized I wasn't cut out for the reporting business. I don't like to bother people or be in the way... clearly not the makings of a good reporter.

Heading into my senior year, I was engaged to Tim, and didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. For about a week I was in love with the idea of becoming a teacher. I looked into it, but I soon realized that I was more in love with the idea of decorating bulletin boards than I was with children.

I remembered the bits of graphic design I learned at the newspaper, and enrolled in the 3 graphic design courses that Calvin had to offer. And I absolutely LOVED it. After college I sent out applications and got my first real job doing graphic design for a local distributing company that sold parts and accesoriees for atv's and watercrafts. I made sales flyers and worked on their parts catalog. A dream job.

Because I loved it so, naturally the company went out of business 4 months after I began. From there, I hastily took the first job that was offered to me. What was presented and packaged as a fantastic public relations job, turned into door to door sales... and I hated it. Remember I don't like to bug people?  Because I was able to set my own start time, I truly had to will myself to go in to work every single day. Sunday nights a sense of dread would wash over me as I thought about the week ahead.

About 1 year in, I convinced Tim to let me quit, and I purchased the best graphic design software money could buy in 1999 . I ran into one of my former co-workers at the atv store who was just happened to be working for the former competitor. He hired me on to do some freelance flyers. Eventually that company went out of business as well. A friend got me a freelance job making a catalog for a local greenhouse. And I learned alot of hard lessons. I made wedding invites, baby announcements, and I also began working part time in the office for Tim's family concrete construction business.

And then Austin came along. I continued to work part time. And soon we were blessed with Sydney, Dylan and Stella. I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home for the most part, and able to take the kids to the office with me when necessary. However, working with 4 kids takes 3 times as long, and I simply had no time or energy for anything extra.

And then came Elle. I ran my last payroll 4 days before she was born, and became a true stay at home mom. I needed a break, and the time to focus soley on taking care of our 5 little blessings.

Staying at home these past 18 months has given me a little extra time to dink around with my graphic design program again. Which finally brings me to the reason for this post. You still with me? I've been all pictures and no words lately, so today I'm chatty natty:)

Tim bought me a new computer for my birthday this year, bless his heart, and my programs now run at lightning speed.

I've been having a grand old time combining my 2 creative loves. Graphic design meets fabric and felt flowers,  to produce my very first digital elements kit now for sale in my etsy shop!

I'm so excited! Stay tuned ....more flower kits coming soon! :)

18 months.

2011-05-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

it's clear we need to get out of the house more....

2011-05-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

...because the "dumpter guy" had their full attention for a solid 10 minutes.

"The guy waved mom!"

Happy Monday all!

Clearly she has my hair...

2011-05-13T16:14:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday all!

Blessed.

2011-05-09T20:19:00.000-04:00

for you mom....

2011-05-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

For the love of owls...

2011-05-04T07:56:00.002-04:00

Several months back, I stumbled upon this fabric at a local store...

...and I absolutely fell in love.

All I can say is the owls and colors sucked me right in.

(The fabric is much cuter in person )

A few days later I was searching online to see if there were any coordinating fabrics to go along with this beauty, and I came across this...

....and my love affair deepened.

So I bought 2 charm packs...84 little squares- 2 of every fabric, because there was just no way I would be able to leave any out. They were made for each other.

My package arrived in the mail and I just stared at my squares for a few days, admiring their loveliness. Not exactly certain what i wanted to do with them....apprehensive of wrecking them.

In the end, I decided to try making a quilt. A quilt for Stella. After all, she shares my love affair with owls, and her room is next on my list to finish up. And the colors fit her personality perfectly.

Since I have zero knowledge on quilting, I just started lining my squares up all pretty, and sewing them together. I'm pretty certain they sell quilt patterns, with special names and styles, but I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't know what to do with a pattern anyway, so I just dove right in my way.

I started sewing the squares in rows of 3, and then sewed 3 rows together- which turned them into squares of 9. After I made a bunch of those, I realized that not only are quilts time consuming, but I would need a lot more of those fetching little squares.

I now know why those intricate quilts are so expensive. Worth.every.penny.

Well, I got stuck and left it lay in a big scrappy heap for a good 2 months. I didn't really know how I wanted to put it together, I didn't want to mess it up, and I was sick of it.

This past Saturday, I finally got sick of seeing that scrappy mess draped over my ironing board...and decided I needed to figure out how to finish it up.

In the end, I pieced it together Natalie style. Nothing lines up, there is no binding along the edge, I backed it with a cozy fleece, and quilted it together along the edges of the squares.

And I absolutely love it, imperfections and all.

Stella loves it too.

And I'm pretty sure I will never make a quilt again :)

Pics of Stella's room coming soon!

just a few pictures...

2011-05-03T08:04:00.000-04:00

Austin participated in his first Pinewood Derby race for Cadets. I grew up with all sisters, so this was pretty new and exciting for me as well :) Tho he was a bit bummed to come in 46th place, I'm pretty sure he had a really good time, AND learned a lesson on the importance of straight wheels. He's already dreaming up next years car.

Easter. Best picture I've got.

Target shooting out back. Clearly the cat was looking for a little excitement :)

and these 2 have already been in the swamp collecting tadpoles :)

Not so Fashionable Friday

2011-04-29T19:24:00.002-04:00

While I absolutely adore all things spring, there is one little aspect of this change of season that strikes up a little animosity in me.

Our drawers are jammed full with all of our winter gear AND flip flops.  Shorts, pants, short sleeves, longsleeves...you name it, it's all in there. Just when I think we're done with winter and wash all the gear, I wake up and there's snow on the ground.

It would also be safe to mention that my kids have way too much clothes.  And cleaning out the drawers and sifting through what fits, and what doesn't x5, overwhelms me more than I should allow it to. I get fired up and delve into the project with great enthusiasm, and then get distracted by one of the kids, or our dingaling of a dog, and lose my momentum... usually leaving me with a bigger mess on my hands than I started with.

And I am particularly overwhelmed by Stella and Ellery's closets. Up until Elle was born, our pattern was boy, girl, boy, girl.  When clothes were outgrown, they were either packed away or tossed. Not a lot of thought went into it. Now, as Stella starts to outgrow clothes, I realize that Elle will fit into them much sooner than later...so in the closet they remain...leaving their closets and drawers an overstuffed ridiculous state of choas.

After getting Elle dressed this morning, I had a good chuckle. I'm not sure why this shirt is even in her drawer. Clearly I need to go through her stuff first.... or put her on a diet :)

Happy Friday all!

reason # 436

2011-04-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

The minute Sydney stepped foot off the bus last Friday, she was a whirlwind of giddiness and pure joy. She waved a handful of papers in my face, all the while telling me that she was FINALLY the "special kid of the week" in her 2nd grade class.  I'm pretty certain all of the details came out in one breath. Clearly a big deal when you're 8, and you've patiently waited all year,....because you're the 2nd to last kid in the class to get their turn.

Well, she eagerly sat down right away and filled in the blanks and colored the poster that was supplied, gathered all of her special treasures that she would show the class, informed me that I needed to print a picture of her, and that I would need to bring her lunch on Tuesday. Easy peasy rice and cheezy. I was proud of how on top of things I was. Usually when I catch wind of these special kid things, I inwardly cringe. Probably because my 2 big kids were born before the age of digital, so it means searching for picture after picture to scan and print. And as Murphey would have it, my printer usually fails me when I am truly counting on it to pull through.

I can still remember going to NYC with good friends in 2007. A quick trip over the weekend, getting us home late Sunday evening, in time to get the kids off to school again Monday morning. Austin was in kindergarten, and wouldn't you know, that was the week he was chosen to be Star of the week. I can still remember coming home really late, tired from our travels and fun, scrounging for baby pictures to put on his display. Going outside as soon as the sun came up so I could take a picture of our house, and have it all ready for school that morning.

Back to Sydney. Monday morning came, treasures were packed, poster complete, pictures printed. Just. like. that. Tuesday came, and like any good mother I made my second trip out for the day with the 3 younger hooligans. My first trip out warrants a story all of it's own :)  I promised Syd that not only would I bring her McDonalds, I would bring along a pet as well. Dog or cat, depending on who was driving me the least nuts that morning. Well, the cat won hands down. Fifteen minutes before we needed to leave, Phoebe managed to grab a poopy diaper out of the garbage, shred it, and scatter it's contents over a large area of carpet.

We made it out the door to McDonalds, and stopped at school. I was in such a hurry to leave, that I never really processed how we were going to contain the cat. On the ride over we had a lengthy discussion, and it was agreed that I would hold Ellery and the drinks, Stella would hold the bags of food, and Dylan was in charge of holding the cat. Ha. Sometimes I wish my brain would process stuff a little more before I do these things. In the end, the cat only got away 4 times, and was petted by no less than 143 eager giddy girls waiting in the hot lunch line. I learned 3 things....cats are very frightened by school bells, trying to hold a cat and baby, when both are squirming to get down, is tricky, and always, always, bring a leash :)

Okay, back to the whole reason for this long winded post. While I was kicking back last night, sitting around waiting for my mother of the year award, Sydney asked me "When are you going to write the note, mom?"
"What note?" I asked, not at all sure what she was getting at.

"It was on the papers I brought home. You're supposed to write a letter about me. It's due tommorow".

I had no idea what she was talking about. I can remember those papers she waved in my face, but that's where the memory ends.  We searched all over for the papers, to give me some idea of my assignment, but came up empty.  I'd bet money that Syd brought them back to school Monday, and they are now safely tucked away in her desk.

So, at 9:30 last night, I found myself sitting at the counter groveling about having to write a note, not really sure of what I was supposed to do. Clearly, not what I had in mind for the few precious quiet minutes left of the evening. Well, Tim the superman that he is, told me he'd take care of it.

And I thought his story was really cute, and wanted to share.....

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away...a little brown eyed, brown haired princess lived. This was no ordinary, sit in a castle, type of princess. This princess had a lot of different hobbies. For instance, she liked to go bone hunting. In fact, she was such a good bone hunter or (archaologist), that she found a whole deer skull with all the teeth. She also found some leg bones and ribs....and displayed her collection in her museum.

This princess also liked to go fisihing. In fact one day she caught a 12” bass and another day she caught 16 bluegills! She also liked to put on her mud boots and go down to the swamp. Yes, the icky, yicky, swamp where the ogre’s live, and catch frogs and tadpoles. She caught frogs by the bucket full... but don’t worry, she didn’t eat them.

After she got done fishing and frogging, she would go inside her castle and bake some cookies with her mom and younger sisters....but mostly she liked to eat the cookie batter and lick the bowl. After she finished baking cookies, she would craft... and leave a trail of buttons, google eyes, paper, fabric scraps, and hot glue gun drippings as far as the eye could see.

After she finished her chores and homework (because sometimes princesses have to do chores and homework) her daddy would come home, and they would dance, and dance, and dance. Until finally her daddy would fall over and say “No more dancing little princess, it’s off to bed with you.”
So the little princess would say her prayers, hop in bed, and quickly fall asleep.
Can you guess who this brown eyed, brown haired princess is?

And that my friends, is reason #436 why I love Tim. And I promise to add some pictures to this blog real soon mom :)

clearly she doesn't get our humor...

2011-04-12T22:19:00.000-04:00

Fashion Friday- For the love of hair clippies

2011-04-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd scale down my large daisy flower, and give hair clippies a whirl. They're pretty scrappy, but I'm happy with the way they turned out.... I'm considering selling them in my little shop :)

Happy Friday all!

good intentions

2011-03-28T22:36:00.001-04:00

We have lived in our house for 8 years now.

We moved here in the fall of 2002, when I was pregnant and on bedrest with Sydney. We bought the house, and then found out we were expecting... so it was a huge blessing, as our first home was quite cozy. By the time we sold our house and moved, Austin was 9 months old. We knew that this house would need some serious updating...as the sweet orange shag carpet in our bedroom, and pealing linoleum in the kitchen would testisfy, but we liked the layout, location, and size. The plan was to work at it slow and steady, as we had recently discovered that we liked doing home remodel projects together. Upon moving in, there were 3 of us. We had an extra bedroom upstairs that was home to my computer for a very few short months, and a bedroom that sat empty in the basement.

Fastforward 8 years...the house has changed a bit. Aside from updating/painting, knocking out walls, re-doing flooring, and adding on to our kitchen...we have certainly done the bedroom shuffle over the years. And our free time to work on house projects shrinks a little bit more every year.

Initially, Austin and Sydney each had their own bedroom upstairs. A crib set up in each room. When Dylan was born, he gained Sydney's room and crib, and the 2 "big kids" shared the other room. It makes me laugh now when I think back....they were 2 and 3 years old and we had them in bunk beds. At the time they seemed so old!

This room scenario worked out really well for a few years. When we found out that we were expecting again, we finished out the bedroom in the basement, and moved the boys and bunks downstairs to share. Austin was 6 and Dylan 3. Sydney gained her original bedroom back. It was painted pink, and the room with bunks was converted back to a nursery. We left it the cute blue and green checkerboard theme I had painted on the wall years earlier when it was just Austin's room.... because we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl.

Stella was born, and the checkerboard was first painted lilac, then yellow, until I finally settled on a pale shade of pink that I was happy with.

And when Stella was 1 years old, we found out the good news about Ellery. I spent the better part of her pregnancy on bedrest, and in a "take it easy" state, so I never really had a chance to do much with rooms, or prepare much at all for that matter.

What to do with Elle? Would she be an Ellery or an Elliot?

On a side note, our baby's don't have a very good track record for sleeping at night. They stay mixed up for a very long time, don't really like their cribs much, don't stand for being put down in those early morning hours....and consequently force us to ignore their cries once in a while. So, I knew I did not want her sharing with one of the kids. I also wasn't ready for Stella to share with Sydney as she was still only 21 months old, and awake @ 3am most nights as well. I didn't really want to put the babies together, because I didn't want them to wake each other up, on the off chance that one of them was actually sleeping.

After much debate, Sydney and Stella each maintained their own rooms, and we set up a pack-n-play in our bedroom. We had never had a baby in our room before this, and we were a bit hesitant to do so.

Well, this scenario worked for a bit, because most nights were spent holding Elle out on the recliner in the living room. She wanted no part of being set down between the hours of 11pm and 7am. After about 4 months, this situation started to get old. I could not let her cry it out in our room, and I was tired of not sharing a bed with Tim. So, we moved Stella's crib into Sydney's room, and moved Elle's cradle into Stella's room.

Are you still with me?

This worked out well for the summer. When fall came around, I realized I didn't want Stella and Sydney sharing once school started, because Stella is a very light sleeper. It was also very clear Elle needed her own room, as she was still awake most nights.

So, we moved Sydney down to the basement, and she currently shares a room with the boys. Both Stella and Ellery have their own room upstairs. We are currently in the process of finishing out a room in the basement that we gained with our kitchen addition for Sydney.

Okay, I apologize about the long-windedness of this post if you are still with me.

Where am I going with all of this? We have moved rooms around a lot. The combination of the whirlwind of getting pregnant with Elle when Stella was 1, being on bedrest and trying to keep up with 4 kids, and the fussiness that defined the first year of Elle's precious life....I feel like I just haven't been on top of all things household for a long while. I hastily dumped our dishes into our new kitchen cabinets 2 years ago while on bedrest, and I still have yet to go back and re-arrange them.

I've also come to realize that I have good intentions....way too many unfinished projects, rooms, ideas, etc. And I've learned that I try to tackle too many things at the same time, only to leave me overwhelmed, and nothing completely finished. I'm learning I need to stick with one project at a time. So far I've stuck to little things...cleaning out the linen closet, the pantry, painting the trim, and sorting through and getting rid of a ton of clothes, etc. Now that our family is complete, I feel like I can move forward with confidence in decorating and re-doing bedrooms.

And so, I've decided to tackle them, one room at a time.

First up, Elle's room. After we moved all of Sydney's junk out, removed all of her pictures from the walls...it was clear that it would need to be re-painted. I chose a lime green color. Sorry, my pictures are pretty poor, and make it look much more yellow than it is. Join me on a journey of "getting it done"....

I have had this sweet old quilt in my closet for several years now, not knowing quite what to do with it, but knowing that I love it. It goes perfect! I made curtains for the window, and some quilted letters to spell her name on the wall.

I saw this idea on another blog, so I bought a bunch of hoops and began filling them with colorful fabric. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out!

I bought this picture from Ikea about 7 years ago, because I loved it so much, but never knew just where to hang it. It goes so perfect!

My helper :)

Next project- Stella's room. Stay tuned :)

finally....

2011-03-25T16:32:00.000-04:00

A truly monumental occasion.

For the past week, this boy has been obsessed with his loose tooth.

And I have heard "MOM! Look at how much my tooth wiggles now!", no less than 48 times every day. Usually to be followed by..."MOM! You're not looking....LOOK!"

And sure enough, the tricks that tooth could do. He could wiggle it, turn it on it's side, and flip it around. Tuesday night while tucking him in, Dylan was giving me one last showing of his famous tooth tricks, when that tiny little piece of white fell out of his mouth.

The tooth fairy paid a visit. And now the greedy little boy keeps asking if I think he should put one of his shark teeth from Florida under his pillow. "Maybe it's worth 2 bucks, mom."

Fashion Friday- A date with dad

2011-03-18T21:05:00.000-04:00

Tim once again escorted Syndey to the local Father/Daughter banquet tonight. Heather Williams is the vocal artist, and based upon the giddiness in Sydney's step before they left, I'm pretty sure they're having a grand ole' time.
Naturally, it was a good excuse to make her a new dress and hairbow...

And I must say, I think I've finally got the hang of it! I would even let you look at the stitching on the inside, that's how proud I am with the way it turned out.
While I still have no use for a pattern, I'm getting pretty good at just cutting the fabric up and piecing it together as I go. My unit of measure on this one? Each side of the hem at the bottom measures 3.5 wine glasses long. Clearly professional seamstress tools.

Happy Friday all!

just for fun on this beautiful spring-like day....

2011-03-16T21:02:00.000-04:00

eight

2011-03-14T08:33:00.000-04:00

Sydney turned 8 a few weeks back. She spent her birthday at home.... a snow day from school. While the news delighted her in the morning, the reality of not being at school to hand out her birthday treats became a bit more disappointing as the day wore on.

At 8, Sydney's favorite past times include crafting, sewing, organizing, and mothering her 3 younger siblings. She is a confident little gal, very tenderhearted, and always strives to please. She can hot glue blindfolded, sew a sweet doll dress, and delights us daily with the thoughtful little creations she makes for all of us. She has a creative mind, and doesn't see the purpose for math in her life. For fun, I give her little sewing projects with specific dimensions, and she is appalled to know that she is using math :)

For fun, I thought I'd interview Sydney as well.....

1. What is your favorite color? yellow
2. What do you want to be when you grow up? a nurse
3. What is your favorite toy? Lexi doll
4. What is your favorite thing to do with dad? dance
5. What is your favorite thing to do with mom? make crafts and sew
6. Who is your favorite princess? Cinderella, because I like her blue dress the best.
7. Favorite subjects in school? Reading, art, computer, library
8. Least Favorite? Math
9. Favorite movie? Ramona and Beezus
10. Favorite food? Big long thing and nutty bars
11. If you could have chosen your name, what would it be? Alyssa
12. What is your favorite sport? dancing
13. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Florida- DisneyWorld
14. Best part of being 8? no more booster seat in the van

Proudly standing by her artwork that was chosen to hang on display at a local college. She was quite proud.

We had a combined birthday party for all of the Jan. and Feb. birthdays on Tim's side of the family. Naturally the gals wanted a Cinderella cake.

Dylan wanted "the claw" from Toy Story.

Happy Birthday Sydney! We love you!

random life

2011-03-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

I cleaned out the cupboard above my desk today.

You know, that cupboard.

The one that hangs directly over the desk. The desk that rolls out the red carpet for school papers, newsletters, bills, junk mail, kids art work, random lists, buttons, memory cards, sticky notes, computer gadgets, coffee cups, candy wrappers, cards, and basically whatever is hastily tossed at it on a daily basis.

Well, that cupboard, is the one that on a moments notice, can safely tuck that heap of junk behind its doors... making the desk feel all neat and tidy again, and me feel like i've got it all together. The intention is to sort through it later, naturally....but thanks to my gift of procrastination, it usually doesn't happen until i'm frantically searching for a permission slip.

Well, while going through a precipice of mostly useless papers today, I stumbled across this little poem that got stuck in the mix. And I thought I'd share it with you, because it made me smile.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

By: Erma Bombeck

If I had my life to live over again, I would have waxed less and listened more.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television, and more while watching real life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later, Now go get washed up for dinner"

There would have been more I love you's, more I'm sorry's, more I'm listenings, bu mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it, look at it and really see it...try it on...live it...exhaust it...and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.

a magical week- days 7 & 8

2011-03-07T08:14:00.001-05:00

Okay, last vacation post. It's starting to feel like homework, but since I started, I must finish.

Saturday morning we were " up and at em" at the crack of dawn . We finished packing, loaded the van, said good-bye to the condo, and headed out to our last magical day of fun ....Disney's Animal Kingdom.

We followed the drove of people into the park, and headed to our first ride, Kilimanjaro Safari. An open air vehicle tour through the savannas of Africa.

We got a few more autorgraphs....

Taking a break, eating "the mix"....clearly a vacation staple :)

The kids enjoyed Dinoland. Digging for bones, and Dinosaur the ride were a few of their favorites.

A quick pic with a palm tree on the way out. Saying good-bye to 84 degrees and sunny was oh so sad.

All in all we had another magical day. We were on the road by 3pm, homeward bound.

We drove north until we were somewhere south of Atlanta, Georgia, where we stopped for dinner at a local Denny's. We drank our pot of coffee, and then drove until 4 am, when neither one of us could keep our eyes open any longer. The drive home sure isn't as exciting as the drive down! We pulled over at a reststop somewhere in northern Kentucky, and slept for about an hour or so. A couple hours later we stopped for breakfast in southern Indiana.

At breakfast, it began to rain, and we were alerted that we would soon be on the trail of a big ice storm the rest of the way north. Thankfully we stayed ahead of the storm, and it didn't get really bad until we got off the highway. We made it home safely, and quickly emptied out the van before heading over to pick up Ellery and Phoebe from Tim's folks. We were all really eager to see our Elles again. It felt really weird not having her along with us, but it was a good decision to leave her. We would have not been able to keep the pace we did with her along, nor would she remember it anyway. Thank you to my MIL and Cara for watching her!

The kids had 2 snow days upon returning home, and then sickness began filtering through our family again. Strep throat, ear infections and the pukies are hard to get on top of when there are 7 people to filter through. Fortunately, we are starting to get on top of our game again over here.

All in all, we had a wonderful week chock full of memories... and we hope to return again someday, when Ellery is no less than 40 inches tall, of course :)

For my own record keeping...

-taking a back pack w/snacks and lunch worked really, really well

-bringing along pre-made casseroles and sub sandwhiches in the cooler made meals a lot easier when we got there.

-Disney seemed to be the slowest on the weekend.

-next time I would take more restaurant gift cards along

-non Disney members can not get into the park early, no matter wha the literature says.

-doing Disney every other day worked well. It was nice to have a day to sleep in and relax in between.

-having a plan of attack before we got to the park really helped

a magical week-day 6

2011-03-04T07:49:00.001-05:00

On Friday, we slept in a bit, had a nice breakfast at our condo, packed a picnic lunch, and then headed out the door to Downtown Disney. The kids wanted to get a few souveniers, so we thought we'd try it again. We were pleasantly surprised to find it more serene by day, and were able to walk the streets unruffled.

A dragon made entirely of legos. You could almost see the wheels turning in the boys heads as they studied the creation.

We left Downtown Disney, and headed back to Cocoa Beach for the afternoon. We had a picnic on the beach, and spent a delightful afternoon soaking in the sun. I'm glad we went back, because it was much warmer this visit. Once the kids had their fill, and my right leg was thorougly sunburned, we headed back to our condo for dinner, and to work on homework and packing.

a magical week- day 5

2011-03-03T06:54:00.002-05:00

Thursday morning we were up bright and early, in line again at the Magic Kingdom before they opened. The night before, Tim and I made a plan of everything we had yet to see, and what we definately wanted to do again. He also made inserts for Stella's shoes out of pieces of rolled up socks, to ensure we could all ride Splash Mountain together. Worked like a charm :)

The park was definately busier on Thursday, and by 10:30am there were lines for most rides. We made sure to grab fastpasses to all our favorites as the times came available. By afternoon it was so busy that we took time to get ice cream and sit down, in an effort to get away from tripping over people for a bit. At one point we were waiting in line to meet Rapunzel, and get her signature. After about 15 minutes, the attendant happened to be walking by, so I asked him how long the wait was. He informed me she wouldn't even be out for another hour, and based on where we were in line it would take another hour to get up to her. Needless to say, our kids never met Rapunzel :)

By the time the fireworks show ended in the evening, our fun meters had been filled to the brim, and we left satisfied customers of all things Magic Kingdom. Another fantastical day of memories.

Dylan LOVED the inter-galactic Buzz Lightyear ride. We rode it no less than 8 times. The kids were also quite impressed that instead of signing their autograph books, Buzz had a name stamp.

We watched a pretty entertaining interactive pirate show. The kids were called up on stage and became honorary pirates. A few certain mates could not stop drooling :)

Waiting in line for Splash Mountain.

Do you see the half smile on the little gals face? From a distance she tolerated the loveable bear, and even gave him a high five.

Favorite rides?

Austin- Space Mountain

Sydney- It's a Small World

Dylan- Buzz Lightyear

Stella- It's a Small World

a magical week- day 4

2011-02-28T22:35:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday we slept in a bit, took a leisurely stroll down the road to good ole' Perkins for breakfast, and then came back and packed up a picnic lunch. We grabbed a map, and headed out the door to our destination. Cocoa Beach.

Dylan was thrilled. After doing so much walking the day before, the boy could not have been more delighted to sit his butt in the warm sand with his shovel and dig. Tim had to coax him to get up and get in the water before we left. Austin and Sydney are more of the wave-jumping type, and ran right in. They both forgot to close their mouths, and started gagging from the go :)

Dylan was thrilled to find a jelly fish washed up on shore

Altho a smidge chilly because the sun kept hiding behind the clouds, a fantastically relaxing day on the beach was had by all. Upon returning to our condo, we got cleaned up and headed to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping and go to LegoLand. It was so insanely busy, that we left shortly after we got there, because we were literally tripping over people. We headed to Applebees for a late dinner, and made a quick stop at the local Publix for some groceries. Oh how I wish we had a Publix around here...a couponers dream I tell you :)

a magical week- day 3

2011-02-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

Tuesday we were up bright and early, our destination Epcot Center. First in line with the common folk (non-disney resort members :), we headed straight to our first ride once the gates were opened. Test Track. A ride that you must be 40" or taller to ride. Stella is exactly 40" in.... well probably more like 39.75 in. The rule is, when your child is standing underneath the measuring bar, if you can even slide a piece of paper between your child's head and the bar, they are not tall enough, and cannot ride. Such was the case with Stella. We told her to stand tall, but a piece of paper could still fit through. Most attendants let her on through, because clearly the width of a piece of paper in added height isn't going to make the ride any safer....however, some attendants were not having such a magical day. And so it became a game. Naturally, this is how I fixed her hair....

...and it's hard to say if it really helped. The attendants that really, really, checked her height were clearly annoyed that her hair was in the way :)

All in all, we had a fantastic day. Tim was on the mend from his strep throat, and feeling a ton better. Spaceship Earth and Test Track were hands down the kids 2 favorites, and we rode them each 5 times. We spent the morning hitting the rides, going to shows, and stacking up our Faspasses. In the afternoon we toured the world showcase while Stella slept in the stroller, and Tim carried a tired Dylan on his shoulders. Mostly, we were on a princess hunt, because it became clear that's where they were all hiding out. We stayed at the park until they closed and enjoyed another fireworks display.

An attraction we frequented was the Cool Spot. You can stop in and get as many free samples as you want of different coke products from around the world. We'd walk through whenever the kids got thirsty :) Did I mention that hamburgers at the park cost $9.00? Yes, I will drink my free sample all day long. Even Mellow Yellow from Hong Kong.

Epcot, the one and only day we splurged on lunch. We had intended to leave the park for a few hours in the afternoon again, so I hadn't packed a lunch in the backpack. But since we were having such a marvelous time, we stuck around and soaked in all the fun.

Stella was asleep in the stroller when we stopped by to see the beast. Apparantly she could sense the danger in her sleep. She awoke from her nap, and was sitting 2 feet in front of this guy. Her reaction was priceless :)

a magical week- day 2

2011-02-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

Monday morning began bright and early with a trip to Osceola Urgent Care. Tim could no longer talk, and spent the night awake in a miserable feverish state. We got to the clinic right as they opened at 8, in hopes we'd beat the "walk-ins welcome" crowd. Unfortunately it didn't go as smooth as we hoped, but we were able to make an apt. to come back in 1.5 hours. We went out for breakfast to pass the time, dropped Tim back off, and I took the kids to a few souvenier shops to pass some more time. By lunchtime we were finally on our way, with the diagnosis we suspected....strepp throat and an infection. The dr. gave Tim a shot of antibiotics to kick start his healing, and we were on our way. After a quick jaunt to Walgreens, we were at our days destination. Gatorland Zoo.

Aside from Tim feeling like junk, we had a great time. The boys enjoyed seeing so many alligators up close. We went to a few entertaining shows, took a long walk through a swamp, and enjoyed the placidity after being @ Disney the day before.

In the evening Tim was already feeling a whole lot better, which was a huge blessing. We ate dinner, swam in the pool, and got the kids to bed @ a decent time, in preparation for another long day @ Disney :)

a magical week

2011-02-23T12:09:00.001-05:00

As I alluded in my last post, our family just returned from an amazing vacation to Florida. After ~~watching,~~ obsessing over, airfare for 6 people for several weeks before our trip, my primitive math skills just couldn't get the price low enough when combined with a rental car. At one point I had all 6 tickets in my cart, and we were one click away from flying the friendly skies, but I just couldn't do it and slammed my computer shut. All of the extra fees tacked on got my dutch blood too riled up.

In the end we made the decision to travel WallyWorld style. At first, I was a bit nervous about traveling 20 hours in the van. But it went really well. Really, really, well. There were no complaints, and I don't think Stella cried once. We left Friday around 6pm, and drove straight through the night, stopping for breakfast just south of Macon, GA. When Tim finally gave me the wheel just north of the Mason-Dixon line, his last words before he dozed off were "Set the cruise, and don't get pulled over". So naturally, I was a bit nervous to wake him up when I noticed the red and blue flashers in my rear view mirror :) Thankfully I only recieved a warning, and that was the extent of the excitement on the way down. The kids were bummed to hear that they slept right through mommy getting pulled over.

We arrived at our condo on Saturday afternoon, and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Tim and I were counting down the hours until we could go to bed, but the kids had way too much energy after being pent up in the car. So, we swam in the pool until Austin puked...ugh, and went to bed early. Thankfully the puking ended there :)

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to our first day of fun at the Magic Kingdom. We did our research ahead of time, got to the park an hour before it opened, bought our passes for the week, and rode the monerail over. We went throught the turn-styles just as the park was opening, and were once again told to have "a magical day". We headed straight to our first ride, Space Mountain. I did a lot of research, so we had a plan of attack on how we were going to get through the park most efficiently, in an effort not to waste one precious minute of our day in long lines. We knew what we wanted to ride, and how we were going to play the FastPass game....which is almost as fun as the coupon game :) We floated from ride to ride all morning and had a magical time, never waiting more than 10 minutes.

We bought the kids autograph books, and I think we waited longer to get character signatures than we did for rides. As you can see by Stella's face, she wanted no part of this. The only way to even get her in the pictures was to have Tim hold her.

We went back to our condo for a couple hours in the afternoon to give Stella a nap, and to get Tim some medicine, because he really wasn't feeling well. We came back to the park late afternoon, watched a parade, went to a few shows, rode our favorite rides again, and stayed for the fireworks show. All in all, a "magical day".

More to come....

three

2011-02-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

Stella is 3! Tho if you ask her, she will probably tell you she is 10, very matter of factly. And what better way to spend your birthday, than on the beach in Florida?

At 3, Stella is absolutely hysterical, and usually our greatest form of entertainment around here. She has a mind of her own, and the mannerisms, facial expressions, and vocabulary to go along with it. She's a smart little gal, and understands way more than we realize. She loves her siblings, and uses her charm to be included in everything they do. She also loves being Ellerys big sister, and refers to her as her honey.

Some thoughts at 3...

* She "wuvs" her Ellery Margaret, and will tell this to just about anyone she meets
* She is a daddy's girl
* She loves her brown bunny
*She WILL keep up with the big kids
* She is fully potty trained, but still wears pull ups at nights.
* She likes to get herself dressed, and picks out some fantastically amazing outfits. Usually backwards, inside out, and both legs crammed into one...but she can do it herself she will tell you.
* She never stops talking, and will continue to repeat herself until you have conversation about what it is she wants.
* She LOVES to help me in the kitchen, and usually takes part in every meal preparation and baking endeavor. If I start working on anything, she will say "Mom, I help you?"
* Loves to play with her dolls, her kitchen, her little people, and must participate in any craft that the kids are doing.
*She is very persistant, and doesn't give up till she gets what she wants.
*She still loves to do chores, and is usually the first to help set the table and empty the dishwasher and garbages.
*She still takes a 2-3 hour nap after lunch.
*The girl loves her t.v. and her sweets.

We love you Stella Jane! Happy Birthday!

Fashion Friday- A scarf for the little gal

2011-02-11T08:40:00.002-05:00

Awhile back, I stumbled upon a tutorial for the cutest scarf, so naturally I had to give it a try. I've been toying with the idea of making/selling them in my etsy store.

Oddly enough, I'm not a huge scarf wearer. I don't think they look very nice on me. I look like I'm choking or something. Perhaps I have a weird neck? Too many chins? Perhaps I just need a lesson in the fine art of scarf tying? A combination of all three?

Sydney however, thoroughly enjoys any accesory she can get her hands on , and looks darling in absolutely everything. She has surely enjoyed "accesorizing" with this one :)

Have a blessed Friday all!

two hands

2011-02-08T07:48:00.001-05:00

Just look at those pathetic eyes. This poor kid once again spent his birthday at home sick on the couch.

And since he hasn't gone to school now in over a week, I blew the dust off my reporters notebook and interviewed him.

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What do you want to be when you grow up? A policeman, so I don't get any tickets.

3. What is your favorite toy? legos

4. What is your favorite thing to do with dad? Hunt for ducks

5. What is your favorite thing to do with mom? Make crafts

6. If you could have any super power what would it be? Be able to shoot fireballs like Mario

7. Favorites at school? Playtime, gym, and recess

8. Favorite tv show? Tom and Jerry

9. If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Kentucky

10. Favorite food? Grilled cheese and jello

11. If you could have picked your name, what would it be? BillyBobJoe

12. Favorite sport? Soccer

13. The best part about being 6? Still staying home, while the kids go to school.

And there you have it. Clearly it would be a dream come true, if Tim took him on a hunting trip to Kentucky, watched Tom and Jerry in the van to pass time, and stopped at a small diner for grilled cheese and jello along the way....on a school day, naturally :)

Happy Birthday Dylan. We love you!

groundhog day

2011-02-03T07:58:00.001-05:00

For most, the flip of the calendar from January to February signifies yet another month of winter. A short one, but usually a cold, snowy one, nonetheless.... just when you're starting to tire of Jack Frost nipping at your toes. We are trained not to set our eyes on spring until at least March.

For our family, the calendar flip is both happy and bittersweet. By the end of this short month, my 3 middle kiddos will all be another year older. "A birthday a week" is the motto around here.

We are blessed....tremendously. Sure there have been some bumps along the way, but in 8 short years, the Lord has graced us with 5 beautiful children. The combination of moving forward into this new decade, and taking measures to ensure that our biological family is complete, has caused me a lot of reflection as of late, and sappy Nat has been sneaking out.

Austin was born in Nov.'01 and Elle Nov. '09. Our children were all born neat and tidy, tucked into the first decade of this century. A decade defined by stretch marks, tremendous joy, diapers, crying, anticipation, Curious George, long days, the park, reading books, seeing 3am come and go on a regular basis, never-ending toys and crumbs, and a longing to get out of the house alone.

As we push forward into this next decade, I realize this new chapter will be defined quite differently. Lord willing, we will see our kids become teenagers, enter high school, drive, and begin to make a life for themselves....and I am quite certain I will long to be back in these simple days. Rather than requesting they all stop talking to me for 5 minutes, I'm sure I will covet what they are willing to share with their still hip and stylish mother :)

Today is a snow day, the kids are home, and I am ejoying them.

As I was walking around the house I started to get a bit disgruntled by all the job-security these little darlings provide me. I realized some day I might miss all of this chaos....and since my camara was already out, I took a few photos that define our home in the present day....

the toothpaste that is always on the counter

the naked barbie that lives in the handles of the entertainment center...to keep Elle out, naturally :)

the matchbox cars in my birdcage

school papers

the stairs

Have a blessed day friends!

for the love...

2011-01-28T15:21:00.002-05:00

Back in the day I used to pity products like baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. They're cheap, you only use them a teaspoon at a time, and I'm pretty sure their shelf life ranks up there with twinkies. My first box of baking soda lasted several years....and I'm pretty sure the pumpkin pie spice in my cupboard dates back to 1998.

While I still pity pumpkin pie spice, I now understand how baking soda stays in business....

...as it turns out, it can do more than create lava, clean toilets, and rise cookies. Combined with vinegar, it can blow up a balloon.

And once again I'm out. It might have been cheaper to send Dylan to every day kindergarten after all :)

Happy Friday all!

oreo

2011-01-27T09:08:00.004-05:00

The year was 1978.
Gas was $.63 a gallon, Jimmy Carter was president, and "Nanu Nanu" was household slang. I was 2 years old.

The year my parents brought a puppy home.

A beagle named Cleo.

I can still remember being terrified. Crawling up the green vinyl chairs onto the trusty brown formica kitchen table crying, because I was so scared of the furry brown thing. This carried on for a bit.... until one day, my dad put that puppy in my lap on my perch on the table.

I held him, he licked me, and in that instant I loved him. Cleo was our pet for 16 years. My parents finally put him down my freshman year at Calvin.

I grew up in a quiet suburb neighborhood where lawns were generous, neighbors were nice, and wildlife was minimal. Over the years I can remember a few animals. The woodchuck named "Morley" that lived in the hole by the garage. The snake that greeted me on the sidewalk, that was eventually run over with the lawnmower by my mother. The turtle that wandered into our yard that we made a habitat for, and eventually let go in the nature preserve.

My parents currently have a squirrel named "Stubby" that lives in the yard. She comes to the slider every morning and peaks through the glass to let them know she is ready for her peanuts. She had babies awhile back that are now scattered throughout the neighborhood, but Stubby remains loyal.

I tell you a smattering of little pet stories to paint a picture.
I was a city girl. Well, a neighborhood girl at least.

I grew up with one loyal dog, and minimal day to day contact with creatures of any kind.

Wildlive was something you drove to....sometimes even paid money to see.

Since marrying my small town cowboy in '98, moving to the sticks, and procreating children that have a love for all things living, no matter how small....I have seen more than my fare share of wildlife.
Sometimes I feel like that movie "Jumanji". No matter where I turn, there's an animal on our doorstep, a varmint in a bug barn, turkey's in the garage, deer in the driveway, snakes lurking under every crevice, a bat in the house, kittens in the barn, wounded birds, tadpoles in buckets on the porch- oh the list could go on and on....and on.

About three weeks ago, I opened the door into the garage to take the trash out, and almost tripped over a pile of black and white fur. Naturally I screamed, slammed the door shut, and called for Tim. It was then that I heard the "meow".

I peaked out again, and sure enough there was a black and white cat on the doorstep. Wearing a collar and no claws, she was clearly somebodys pet. I told her to "go away, we have no vacancy", but the next morning I could hear her meowing before I even got to the door. Clearly she got the memo that if you're looking for a home, ours is the house to visit. She stayed in our garage and Phoebe tormented her all day long. She would sneak in the house every chance she got when I opened the door. The kids played with her, named her, and loved her. After about 2 days, I realized she wasn't going away. We called and stopped by all the neighbors to see if they were missing a cat.

We came up empty.

The next day the neighbor girl came over to play with Syd. I sent her home with the cat and told her to ask her mom if she could keep it.....10 minutes later, the cat was in our garage again :)

This went on and on. Cat living in the garage, Phoebe treating it like a chew toy, me tired of having to break up fights between animals too, and threatening to learn to shoot Tim's gun. "This can't go on" I would tell Tim every night over dinner.

Then one morning, Tim stepped out into the garage and was greeted by a dead mouse on the doorstep. In that very instant, I knew the cat would be ours forever...for how ever many lives she had left. She earned her keep in Tim's eyes.

Last week was really cold. Really, really, cold. Instead of sleeping in her cat shack that Tim built, she sat on the doorstep and meow'ed. A ridiculously, pathetic, cold, sad, meow. And our ridiculously soft hearts took pity on her, and she now lives in the unfinished part of our basement by night, and in the kids arms by day.

She really is a good cat. Naturally her name is Oreo, and she even eats dog food.