A sweet little purse

A friend of mine asked me to make her a purse out of some fabric that I had.
I love how it turned out, all the way down to the cute beaded button.

The sweetest 4 y/o ever

Today Ben is going to a big fundraiser for a skatepark to be built here in town. It starts off with a skate competition that Ben is competing in, there will be a demo given by pro skaters and will wrap up tonight w/ a big concert and some pretty big named bands, Ben is psyched !!
A little after he left, Reagan came out to me looking really concerned, I asked her if something was bothering her and she replied "I hope Ben is careful, I don't want him to get hurt." I told her he'd be fine but still she looked worried and told me "What if he doesn't wear his helmet ?" I told her they won't let him skate w/out his safety gear, to which she responded "But they don't make you wear face masks, what if he lands on his face, it'll get all bloody and hurt." I've told her he'll be fine and is a good skater and so won't be face planting, I just hope that now she can relax until he gets home.. she wasn't looking too convinced when she went outside to help Victoria with her yard chores. Why is Reagan helping Victoria with her yard chores ? "Mommy, Victoria was sick yesterday, if she doesn't get them done today Daddy will be mad at her, she needs my help." Awwwww

Spring has finally arrived

And it's glorious.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens

Another milestone

We've gone from first smiles, first teeth and first steps, today Victoria reached another milestone and acquired her drivers permit, I can't believe my little girl is so grown up and now able to drive, where did those 16 years go ?
She was so excited to get behind the wheel and drive somewhere other than our driveway that I allowed her to drive home from Gymnastics, and I've got to say she did a darn good job.
Sigh.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a wonderful day.
We were blessed w/ a perfect Easter day, it was a little chilly but the sun was shining, the birds were singing and many of the trees were in full blossom, Spring is really here ;-)

Our day started at 2:25am, w/ Ben and Reagan getting up and hunting for their Easter baskets (you'd have thought it was Christmas Eve all over again last night when they went to bed) I heard them running around downstairs and so herded them back to bed, 3 hrs later they were up again, again I sent them back to bed, finally at 7:15 I let them have at it.
The Easter Bunny had left clues as to where to find the baskets and the kids had a blast going from one clue to the next until they finally found their baskets behind the shower curtain in their bathroom.
Ben was thrilled w/ his new skateboard wheels and bearings, he swears his skating has improved dramatically since having them installed.
Reagan has spent just about all day swinging from her new disc swing suspended from a tree branch.
Victoria got a new outfit and immediately put it on.
They hunted eggs all over the yard, my kids are as competitive as heck when it comes to hunting for chocolate eggs and jelly beans, all 3 of them had a blast, it was wonderful to hear all 3 of them running, screeching and laughing together.
The dinner was wonderful, Roast Lamb, Roast Potatoes, Asparagus, Peas, carrots and green beans, served w/ mint jelly, mint sauce, gravy and rolls.. YUM !!!
Dessert was a wonderful chocolate Bundt cake, we all took a nap after that feast.
All in all it was a wonderful, perfect day. I hope you all had a day as nice as ours.

I'm not crazy

Really I'm not.

A couple of my friends apparently have being a little concerned about my emotional well being lately. I've been on a roller coaster ride and I want to get off.
Between Winter just being dreary, the memories that this time of year conjure up and then just the challenges of every day life I haven't been myself.
Marc has being travelling a lot, generally that's not a biggie, but between kids, sickness, broken down vehicles beyond repair, big decisions on what to do in regards the kids education, a house still not sold in MN, 2 children that I knew being killed in MN, being left to deal w/ everything on my own around here, from a broken gate resulting in our dog escaping the yard and running amuck all over the neighborhood, to a cat pee'ing on everything because she's not getting enough attention things get a little overwhelming and I guess I'm just not 'myself'.

Today I was reading a blog "Tales From Pixie Wood" and I LOVE her, the analogy she uses as to how she has being feeling recently, is me all over, giving me the lightbulb moment of knowing I'M NOT CRAZY.

Here's how she described her days and I'm stealing it from her because she sums up my feelings in a nutshell. Some days we feel like Madonna, not because she burns crosses in her videos or has a penchant for simulating masturbation on stage but because we feel powerful, brave, ballsy, carefree and then we have days when we feel like a bubble made by the bubble bath we use. Fragile, ready to be popped and never seen again with the most fragile of touches.
We can look around us and it can appear as if everything is perfect - so why do we want to cry?

So to my friends who have being worried, I've being having 'Bubble bath' days but never fear Madonna is in here waiting to resurface w/ the first blossoms and sun rays of Spring.

My kids are normal

I need to set that as my Mantra.
We live on the side of the neighborhood where the retired folk and the 2 families that would prefer to live in complete solitude on the side of a hill live.

My kids love to play in the pouring rain, play out in the snow and play outside when it's 100+ degrees, they ride bikes, play basketball, soccer and football, Ben and his friends rough house pretending to be Ninjas one minute and Army Men the next, they play Chase around the outside of the house, Reagan and her friend make up obstacles and pretend to be ponies,they blow bubbles and make mudpies, Victoria and her friends build fire pits and sit around them on a warm Summer's night laughing about who knows what, they are normal fun loving kids.
Sometimes they get loud, sometimes they get hurt, sometimes they fight with one another,sometimes they don't make a peep, but they are NORMAL

Freebie

I'd advertise on FreeCycle but I think they might turn me in, so I'll offer her up here.
16 y/o Female on her period..'nuff said.

Comfort Food

So what's yours ?

We were sitting at dinner tonight and each one of us declared our favorite 'Comfort Food' Marc's was Meatloaf, Victoria's was roast chicken w/ mashed potatoes and gravy, Reagan's was Mac and Cheese, mine is Red beans and dirty rice w/ Tabasco sauce, Ben my foody was the last to share, probably because he has more than one..gotta love that kid, LOL. He LOVES my recipe Beef Rigatoni which we ate tonight and sparked the conversation, Shepherds Pie and his ultimate favorite which made Reagan double over and groan "Oh yeah." Crepes, I've started making them every Sunday for desert and the kids look forward to them all weekend long, as their Mom it makes me feel really good knowing that I've started our own little tradition and they are so appreciative.
Ben likes for his to have ice cream inside and sprinkled outside w/ sugar, Reagan and Victoria like theirs with strawberries and cream, Marc likes them covered w/ warm Maple Syrup, me, I'm rather partial to fresh lemon juice and sugar, just like my Mom used to fix ;-)

Can't do it.

Last Summer a neighbor of mine learnt that we were having some financial difficulty, 3 house payments will do that to you, unless you're Oprah. Anyway to 'help' out she asked me if I would make a bib for her husband... huh ? The man is 53 y/o, perfectly with it, is not disabled in any way, why does he need a bib ? Long and the short of it, he's a sloppy eater. I found the whole concept weird so I ignored the request and then she asked me again about 3 times, so I went and bought the fabric she requested and 8 months later it's still sitting in my fabric stash. Is it me or is there something demeaning about tying a bib around an able bodied grown mans neck before he eats his dinner ?
When I was pregnant my belly became a collecting ground, don't know what it is about my pregnant bellies, they're like a magnet for the food that should be going into my mouth, but if Marc had decided to go get me a bib and tie it around my neck each time I sat down to eat I'd have been mortified... I simply can't enable someone to demean a person that way.
Anybody want some blue fabric w/ choppers on it ?

Things to think about

So I really don't feel like I have a whole lot to blog about today, other than Reagan was a trooper at the Dr today when she got her 2 stitches removed and we learnt that there is more rock in her lip, but it will probably stay there forever.
Reagan made sure we bought the stitches home and put them in the test tube along w/ the rock they pulled out of her lip last week.

Anyway, today I found a video and a website that truly touched my heart and I want to share them with you.
The first one is a video of a dying man, if his lecture doesn't touch your heart and make you take a long good look at yourself then nothing will http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

The next is a website www.Goods4girls.org.
Goods 4 Girls was started to seek out donors to sew or purchase new, reusable menstrual pads for donations to areas of Africa where these products are needed most. Providing reusable supplies not only provides a more environmentally friendly alternative for these young women (in areas of adequate water supply for washing), it reduces their dependence on outside aid organizations to continue providing for their monthly needs.
Amazing how something we take for granted can have such a huge impact on a girl in a less fortunate part of the world, take a look at their site and if you're handy w/ fabric and a sewing machine, maybe you'll feel led to make some supplies for these girls, if not maybe you will feel led to make a monetary contribution.