Free stuff

I'm going to add it as I see it:

A monthly contest from Baby Snazz: http://www.babysnazz.com/contest/
Their other products are beautiful as well.

A free month of Grocery Game: Grocery Game Free Trial Month
Be sure to add my email address as your referral. tte@cebridge.net - I get credits with them for more free months if I refer people.

I'm behind, so here is me trying to catch up...

Okay, first, I have completely fallen behind and didn't talk about our trip to Colorado or anything. I'm so blog-irresponsible!


So here is summing everything up:

We had a weekend trip to Colorado, where we saw mountains, rode on a plane, and did a lot of walking.

Here are photos:




After that followed many un-exciting days. Then we all got the swine flu. Well, Tony barely got it, but the rest of us got it pretty good. Emily - not too much. Me and Christopher - hell. It's the flu, of course it's not fun! By the end of it I said, "If I wake up sick tomorrow, I'll start crying." And whaduyuh know, I woke up sick the following day. I didn't cry, though. So, after days of pork jokes, I decided that we all need T-shirts that say, "I survived the Aporkalypse".
So, we all survived, and it's all good in the hood.


Right after we survived the aporkalypse, Emily started gymnastics. It's a home school class and only costs me $32/month. You can't beat that. She loves it too. I think martial arts and gymnastics go well together. Emily seems to think so as well. Martial arts is her class to be serious and work hard. Gymnastics is her fun class where she can be silly and talk to her friends, jump around, etc. It's a balance. I don't have photos, sorry.

Right after Emily's first day of gymnastics, we went to the state fair with some friends. This was literally right after her hour long class. The poor child was worn out! The fair was great and a good time was had. I have a thing against the rides (maybe because they are $5 each, per person) so we didn't do rides, thankfully. I do have photos:



Now, I can't help but mention the food. Okay, the fair is known for its food. There is something like a huge contest to see what food place can come up with the most bizarre deep fried creation. Just looking at it made my stomach hurt. Here is photo evidence:



See, I wasn't kidding! No, I didn't touch it. I am NOT going to get fat. I worked soooo sooo sooo hard to lose my weight and get healthy again, and I refuse to eat fried stuff that will undo all that hard work. Daily workouts, very little junk food, salad - that was hard! I lost 40lbs, by the way.

And finally, my little girl is growing up. She lost her first tooth.



Isn't she cute? The tooth fairy brought her a Fancy Nancy book instead of money (because the tooth fairy didn't have any cash on her).

So, that about wraps my updates up for the evening. I have to go do my workout - enough finding other things to do and putting it off.

Emily has come a long way

Back in August of 2008, Emily started kindergarten. We were all very excited for her to go to school! Emily may have been more excited than any of us, as she was ready to get out and explore the big wide world of school.

All of her anticipation was shattered when she ended up with a very cruel teacher, who hit her among other things. Very cruel things were said to Emily on a daily basis, and she was punished severely for the most minute things, like answering a question incorrectly. Emily very quickly went from being a very happy, well adjusted, confident little girl to being depressed, anxious, clingy, and eventually suicidal (at the young age of 5!). The affect this had on her was tragic, as she is such a wonderful and interesting little person. No child deserves this treatment. We required the aid of an educational psychologist to help us get through this and get her back on track. She was pulled out of school for the rest of the year.

To make matters worse, in December, she was further traumatized by a grown man. Just as she was starting to do so well, her world crashed again. After this incident, she became very fearful of men and started having fits of rage where she had to be physically restrained. Her reaction was extreme, and she was left feeling completely powerless and fearful.

We have spent the past several months working with her on her extreme anxiety and rage, and fear of men. It was suggested to us that we try putting her in some form of martial arts, in order for her to start feeling empowered again. I called around and checked places out, but decided that the extreme focus on discipline and harshness would not be a good match for her at all, especially in the state she was in. Being that she was resistant to even go in public to the grocery store, etc, I felt that such stress on her would further her anxiety and profound fear of getting in trouble.

I knew that she needed to be put in some sort of class where she would feel safe being more than 3 inches from me for an hour, so I looked into local classes. I found a zoo university class that was fairly close, and it was in a location where I could stay there with her, but venture feet from her, while still being in her view. Oddly enough, the location was a martial arts place, which actually made me a little nervous.

I only had to walk in the door and see how her instructor was talking to the kids to know that I wanted to go ahead and put Emily in martial arts at this location. The home school class was following the zoo university class, so it could work out perfectly - and it did. So this started Emily's adventure into the world of martial arts. I was still a bit hesitant, out of fear that she would fly into a rage while there (maybe part of that is more embarrassment and feeling like a horrible mother for the things that have happened to her). Although I had to ease her into class each day, she began to trust her instructors and willingly go into class. Over the course of months, she grew to love the class and wanted to go daily. I put her in their full time program in March (the home school program started in January). As was suggested to us, taking martial arts has helped her to feel empowered again, and has been key to her healing. We have not had another rage incident since April (which believe me, is a complete relief).

Today, at the end of August, she is like a normal kid again. She still has anxiety in certain situations, but is for the most part just a normal, happy, self confident kid. Not only that, but she has grown to love martial arts so much that she plans to have a black belt, and eventually teach it. I will do everything possible to keep her in this class - including work two jobs if I have to. The tuition is just under $130/month, which can be a bit hard to swallow. -- but it is every bit worth it to see Emily bounce back so quickly. She is a very strong little girl!

I added a paypal button to donate toward her tuition, if anybody wants to. Every dollar counts and will make a huge difference. I am also in the process of re-opening my diaper store (I had to stop working to deal with her trauma and try to get her back on track) so if you know of anybody who wants/needs cloth diapers, send them my way! I am going to use the income from my store to pay her tuition (and hopefully pay some of our debt off so that we can afford things like this).

Thank you so much!

National Geographic in our front yard

It always seems that our yard could be a location for National Geographic. There is always something interesting to see.

Here are some scenes from this weekend:

First off, Tony heard a chirping, so moved his flashlight to the sound. It was unfortunate that what he saw was a hummingbird that had been caught by a orb weaver spider - Yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia).




We tried to save the hummingbird, but the spider had already given it the fatal bite and it died just seconds after we removed it from the web.


We have a lot of these beautiful moths that just hang out all over our plants at night. I haven't figured out what kind of moth it is yet.




And the other night, me and Emily spent over three hours watching a cicada nymph morph into a cicada. The nymphs will spend 13-17 years underground, then all of a sudden they all start crawling out in droves to become cicadas. This appears to be the year for them to come out, as we have shells from them all over every vertical surface.

Here is what unfolded:


This is the nymph who had just crawled up from the ground. He is still covered in dirt, and although he is ugly, we grew to see him as cute in his own special way. He crawled around for a long time looking for just the right place to morph.

After a while, he started splitting open and emerging. It was interesting to be there and watch as he quivered and shook while slowly coming out.

And finally, he emerged as a beautiful cicada! I'm still looking up the species, but it is beautiful. It took until 11am the next morning for the cicada to finally fly for the first time.




And just a few more random photos:

Just a quick one - The Disappearing Brownies

I have an obsession with brownies. I love them. They are one of the greatest things ever invented. The gooier (is that really a word?) the better.

So, I made brownies. But, I was feeling sick on Sunday. You know how you'll get a bug and not really get sick, just feel tired and have sinus crap? Just that sort of thing.

So, when I said that I didn't feel good, Emily thought that the brownies had to be the culprit, and dumped them into the sink of dishwater.

Emily had her first fossil dig!

Me and Tony used to be members of the Dallas Paleontological Society and take Christopher on digs quite often. After Emily was born, we stopped going, and intended to start again sooner. Lately, Emily has been looking through all of our fossils and showing a great deal of interest. We decided it would be a good time to take her on her first dig, so that is what she did today.

The dig went great, and she found her first fossil within the first five minutes of being there!

It's an ammonite, and turned out to be a pretty good one. It's good to find them whole, which this one is.

We all found several nice ammonites and echinoids, and altogether had a great day. I added a link of more photos here: Emily's First Fossil Dig

Making up for being a mean mom

As every "guilty feeling" mother does, I decided to buy my way out of guilt. I feel bad for not being the best mother lately, and wanted to make it up to Emily. She has been so sweet, listening to me well, working very hard at everything she does, and just generally an ideal little kidlet. I, on the other hand, have been less than ideal.

For starters, my insomnia got so bad that by evening when her martial arts class is, I decided that I really wasn't fit to drive. My fear is that I'll drive when I'm overly exhausted and get in an accident. So, she missed just about 3 weeks of martial arts. She was *not* happy about this. Then she has this fear that she'll come back and not remember how to do anything, so doesn't want to go.

Then, she was very excited about the "weapons camp" that they were having, and really wanted to go. I thought it would be awesome for her as well, but decided that I really shouldn't spend the money, since we will be paying off bills from her broken elbow. She cried and cried about not getting to go to this camp. I feel horrible about it. Lately, every party they have that she really wants to go to clashes with our schedule in some way. The latest one is one that she really, really wants to go to, but it will be during the weekend that we are in Colorado.

Then, I assured her that I would clean up her room, because it wasn't her that messed it up. I kept telling her I would clean it, but not doing it. There is just no excuse for that. She gave up on me and started cleaning it all up herself.

The list goes on....

So, what did I do? I got her a hamster. She's just as cute as can be, though. She's white and named Snowball. She is friendly, unlike the demon that I got her last time. She is very active and curious, and pretty funny. I've decided that she is just like the rest of the family: Smart, strange, and a little stinker.

Knowing that hamsters make all kinds of noise on those squeaky little wheels that they love so much, I invested a little extra cash in a "silent wheel". It was so quiet, I would hardly know she was on it! Unfortunately, she heard me mention that and quickly dug through her food for the largest seeds and put them in the wheel. It is now a very noisy wheel with seeds spinning around in it. When I got up at 3am to try to do something about the noise, she got out of her wheel and stood up on her hind legs, looking at me. And I know it sounds odd, but I could swear she was smiling. I think I've paid my dues.

The Perseids meteor shower

We have been going out to watch the Perseids meteor shower the past couple of nights. It's pretty impressive! This meteor shower is the result of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. We are in the path of the debris right now in our orbit, so as we go through it, we get to see the show of debris hitting our atmosphere (or would that be our atmosphere hitting it?) and burning up. We have seen many very impressive meteors the past couple of nights. It was Emily's first meteor shower, so was a bit special to us. We take our beach chairs outside and sit with our heads up for a few hours, watching the show. It beats TV any day!

Link to Nasa: http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/meteor_worldbook.html


This weekend, we are planning Emily's first fossil dig. We haven't been in a while. Now that she is older and will listen to instructions well, we can start taking her. Wish us luck, and hopefully Emily will find her first fossil!

Home schooling and general fun things I've found recently...

Okay, I was looking for a specific thing for me and Emily to do when I stumbled upon this site: The Crafty Crow

I think I just hit a home schoolers jackpot of ideas! How fun!

I was particularly interested in this one:
A melting flowers wishing game from 5 Orange Potatoes

In this activity, you need a muffin tin, flowers, water, yarn, a tree to hang them on, and wishes.

Place flowers in the muffin tin, add a loop of yarn to make a hanger, add water, freeze.
Once frozen, let your child make a wish as they hang their wishing flower on the tree. The object is to catch the flower before it hits the ground. (obviously this is a hot day activity)

As the ice is melting, the kids watch their flowers and try to predict which will fall first. If they catch the flower before it hits the ground, that wish comes true. Brilliant! Me and Emily are going to try it, then I'll have photos.

I just don't understand Emily, no matter how hard I try...

Okay, Emily wanted to go to the store and pick out a prize today. She's acting pretty stressed out lately, so I thought it might be good. For the record, I tried to talk her into getting some ice cream instead, cause I wanted some of that coffee one.... but I digress.

Anyway, to make a short story long...
So, we went to the store and looked around for her surprise. She chose the orange glo spray and mop stuff. I told her I would just buy that stuff and she could pick out a prize. She said that she is the one picking out the prize, and this is really what she wants. So, that's her prize. We got home, and she swept the floor and is now mopping it.

What the heck is wrong with this kid? I seriously just don't get it.

Why are kids so mean?

Emily is a very sociable little person, and will play with anybody of any age, and share anything with anybody. She will let any child join in on her fun with her friends, even though they don't know the kid. I figured this was the norm. Some examples: During the Easter Egg Hunt, she found the prize egg. Not only did she turn around and give it to a kid who had less eggs in his basket (who she had never met before), but she also gave some of her eggs (most of them, really) to a younger kid. She gave a bunch of her webkinz to a set of twins that are friends with her, because they said they didn't have any. She even gave them her favorite ones. When a little girl who didn't know English was playing by herself, Emily went over and played with her. They played for two hours, not understanding what each other was saying. I could go on and on...

Now that Emily is getting older, I'm seeing a lot of very mean girls. I am just baffled as to how children learn to be so mean. I took her to the park, and she tried to join in on a game with three girls, who quickly shunned her. She stood there for a moment, then went on and found somebody else to play with - a little boy. Boys don't seem to carry this mean trait.

Then, the other day, we were at our neighborhood pool. There were two girls, around her age, playing. Emily walked up to them and said, "Hi! I'm Emily. Can I play with you?" and the girls told her "no" and moved away from her. She tried to continue talking to them, telling them her age, etc. They looked at each other, looked at her, and walked away. They even had snotty little looks on their faces. I said, "That was pretty mean of them, wasn't it?" and the mother/grandmother, or whoever, that was sitting there heard me. She said, "sometimes she just likes to be alone." I'm sure she was just trying to make Emily feel less shunned, but it didn't make any sense. She wasn't alone, and she could have been polite about it. Emily was clearly a bit sad. Now, as a side note, if Emily had treated a child like that, we would have a little talk about kindness, manners, feelings, and social norms. I would never make excuses for her and let her just go about her business, hurting others. Thankfully, a very nice boy arrived at the pool and played ball with Emily. Later, a nice girl came as well and joined in. Then, a home schooled crowd of kids came and played very nicely with Emily. They had such good manners and were polite, inclusive, etc. I know that they all knew each other, and she was the odd man out, but they didn't make her feel that way in any way. They made sure she felt like they had always known her. Amazing. I just expect this as the norm.

It's not the first time such a thing has happened to her. It happens all the time. She walks up and introduces herself to some girls, and they quickly shun her. She's friendly, clean, dressed normal (most of the time), smiling, etc. She looks and behaves like a person who others would wan to play with. I thought it was only Emily, but other mothers have told me that they have the same issues with their friendly and social girls trying to play with other girls. So, this seems to be a girl thing - the meanness. Is this something that parents are allowing because they just expect it? Or are they learning this from each other? Why are parents not quickly correcting this socially unacceptable behavior?

Emily's Belt Test for Martial Arts

I have some footage. I wasn't taking the photos, so they aren't super fabulous, like they would be if I took them. (okay, I don't like taking photos, and they wouldn't have been any better if I did, but they would be if the guys would have gone into the actual studio instead of photographing through the window.) Here they are.

Here is the first one - in the car before the test. She was so nervous that she started feeling like she might puke. Poor kid! She really didn't do too well on her belt test either - or at least I didn't think she did (she said things were moving too fast for her).




Sitting by the wall for a little breather while the others were grappling. Obviously, she couldn't do that with the cast on (I would feel horrible for the kid who got hit by that thing!).




A few of her in action. She's the one with short hair, in the light blue t-shirt, of course.





And finally, a group photo. Emily is the one closest to her instructor (for those who don't recognize her for some odd reason). Yes, the hot dude got his head cut off in this photo. Sorry hot dude! I didn't take the photo, or I would have had a little closeup. ;)


And that's it for now. By the end of the day, she had her orange belt and was a happy camper, talking about how much she loves martial arts and wants to work for her black belt. We took her to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate.

Business plans – a huge source of stress

I’m finding myself losing sleep over this, and really wanting to move forward, while afraid to do so. Maybe if I write about it, I can sort things out and start moving ahead.

It all started back in 2000. Every morning, I would stop and get my latte and bring it in to work with me. One day, I was thinking about how much I would love to be the person making the lattes, instead of the one buying them. My job was okay, not terribly fun, but I did just fine. I had no idea why I was thinking about this, but I ended up researching online and really thinking seriously about going into business. For a year, I would just look things up online, but not really make any moves on it or anything. In early 2001, I ended up getting quite sick and my world started crashing down on me. To keep my mind off of everything, I got online and researched opening up a coffee shop. Once I was okay enough to get back to work (I really wasn’t, but needed to get back to the office), I went back in and got to work. Two weeks later, I was laid off. At this point, I started seriously thinking about the coffee gig. I talked to the latte lady and asked for advice, etc. As I was looking seriously and making plans, I found out I was pregnant.

I’ve always wanted to be a stay at home mom, so this put an end to any more planning a coffee business. The hours I would have to put in would be far too great to be able to keep my baby with me at all times. It just wouldn’t work out. So, I changed gears and looked into cloth diapering. This is when my cloth diaper business was born. I started out making diapers for my “bun in the oven” and leaned everything I could about cloth diapers. I had used cloth on Christopher, so already knew enough to get by. I purchased all of the needed stuff for my business using a credit card (don’t do that!). I started out selling on ebay, then opened up an online store, then started selling wholesale to online and physical locations. I’ve been happy with the diaper business, and it quickly became a huge part of my life. I was able to stay at home with Emily, make a small profit, etc. At some point, I started growing tired of doing everything myself, though. It takes up a great deal of time to do every single part of your business on your own, including production. In order to make enough profit, I end up having to spend all day, every day, doing diaper stuff (not that it’s bad, any business takes up a lot of time).

So, lately, I find myself wanting to change gears again and go back to planning and moving forward with the coffee business. My plan is to start up opening in the mall, or similar. This would help limit my hours and keep me in a high traffic area, until I can be profitable enough to hire people. Then, I want to open up a stand-alone physical store. In my store, I would sell the usual coffee shop thing: lattes. I would also sell fresh roasted coffee beans. I would only use organic/fair trade beans, and this would be a huge selling point of my business. Before I can get started, I need to take a barista class, and a business class. The total cost of the classes will run about 2k, but would be essential to opening up such a business. If you’re going to do it, do it right!

But, I run in to a few problems.


I feel like I really need to talk seriously to a few people about this, and get everything figured out and planned, but I don’t seem to have a very positive reaction from many. My mother in law says that it would be so much easier for me to go get a real job and just go to work instead of trying to open up a business. She thinks it’s a bad idea. Tony is worried that it will just mean more debt for us and we will never get ahead. He's not just giving a "less than positive" reaction, he is completely against it. Both think it’s too hard to compete with Starbucks (either of them are really in to coffee, so they don’t understand that Starbucks isn’t really that good and isn’t really fair trade, like it claims. They also don’t realize that I have been selling diapers alongside over a hundred other businesses for the past seven years). They think it would be too hard for me. You know, in other words, I'm completely incapable. Tony uses my migraines as one example of why it could never work (never mind that in the many years that I worked full time - sometimes even having two jobs - I never called in sick and worked through my migraines. I don't even want to discuss it with anybody anymore because the utter lack of confidence in me just pisses me off. While I don’t need pats on my back to get through life, it helps if you have the support of those closest to you. It just helps. I talked a little about this to my son, who is fully supportive and likes the idea. He says, "life is too short not to follow your dreams". He's right. I'm sure he would also be my first employee.

So, I think this is one of the things that is keeping me awake at night. I am getting a few hours of sleep every night. I wake up thinking about all of this. I’m not waking up worried about it, just trying to get everything figured out. I see my goal, I know I can get there, I just need a map.

A little update: I decided to start out by selling fresh roasted coffee beans. I still have the utter lack of support and confidence from my husband, but I need to just keep working at this. People do things every day without kudos - I can do this. My online store is located here: Fair Cup.

Standing up for others

It's amazing how easily it comes to some people. Most of us really struggle and back down, but there are those few people who have no problem at all standing up for the person who can't stand up for themselves. Emily is one of those people. If somebody is doing something that isn't fair, she will stand up for them, no matter who she is standing up to.

Today, she got her cast off, so we took her swimming. She quickly made friends with three girls that were around her age. Together they made up a "corner of the pool club for girls". All was well and they were having a great time, when the little brother wanted to join in. The girls were pushing him back, and the line he wasn't allowed to cross got further and further from them, until he didn't really have a part of the pool to swim in. Emily looked at them and said, "Alright, stop. This isn't right." with her hand out, as though she were directing traffic. She went on to try to explain to them that he was just trying to swim and they weren't letting him have any part of the pool, which wasn't very nice. They argued with her (and anybody should know better) and she stood her ground. There weren't any other kids in the pool, so this poor little boy had nobody to play with. Emily just wasn't going for this at all. One girl continued to push the little boy away, so Emily stood between them, like a pillar. At this point, the girls turned on Emily and decided they were going to push her. She said, "You are being warned, I know Martial Arts." and she continued to stand between the girls and the little boy, who they were pushing. One girl decided to see if she was bluffing and said, "I know martial arts too" and came up to stand against Em. Emily replied, very calmly, "you do? Then lemme see some punches." The little girl nervously, and clumsily tried to show Emily how she could punch. Emily's reply was, "that's not the proper way to punch." At this point, the girls backed down.

For a while, this strong personality was very hard for me to deal with. She was never afraid to stand up for a person, even when it could get her (or me) into a sticky situation. She is bold. Now, as I stand back and watch her, I have to admit to having a bit of admiration. It's not every day you meet a person who will stand up against their friends in the name of fairness.

Just a small Emily funny...

To the typical person, this would appear to be a boogie board. It was purchased in a small surfing town to be used on the beach.



Emily isn't the typical person...


To her, it's a shield to practice Martial Arts on.




She decided to hang it from the top of her loft bed so that she could do Martial Arts in her room. I was washing dishes when I heard "Kia!! Kia! Kia!" coming from her room. I had to look, and sure enough, this is what I saw.

The broken elbow

More adventures in the Eaton family…

As Summer usually does, ours started out very well. Emily started her Martial Arts Camp, which was all day, and Christopher got out of school for the season. Everything was bliss. On Wednesday, I picked Emily and her friend up from the camp, and they wanted to go swimming. One has to wonder where the energy comes from. We came home to get our suits on. As I was changing into my neato (several sizes smaller than last year) suit, Emily and her friend were supposed to be changing into theirs. Only, they weren’t. Instead, they were swinging from the top of the loft bed. And in a second of bad judgment, Em ended up on the floor crying. It knocked the wind out of her, so I was concerned about her back, neck, and head. They seemed okay, and she was able to stand up, but said that her arm hurt. Well, yeah, of course it did… another childhood bruise. Although she was favoring it, she stopped crying quickly and changed into her suit with help.

Once we were at our friend’s house, she suddenly started crying and crying. She wouldn’t let me near her to check it out, and still wanted to go swimming. So, like an idjut, I went ahead and took her swimming. At some point, she was getting out of the pool when we realized that it was quite swollen. She was not using it, nor bending it at all, but wasn’t crying or seeming in pain. I wondered (out loud) if I should take her just to check it out, but decided to see how she was once we got home. She was playing and having a great time at home, though still favoring the arm. (I’ll tell the story of why she seemed fine further below) After a long day, she went to bed early and I got out the alcohol. I don’t do that often at all, but after several nights of insomnia, it just sounded good. A couple of hours later, Emily woke up crying that her arm was hurting. My first thought was that I needed to go ahead and take her in to the ER and have it checked out. My second thought was that I obviously couldn’t drive her there. So, I woke Tony up and had him look at it and tell me what he thought. Then, it dawned on me: I’m going to take my daughter to the ER with a broken arm, and I smell of alcohol. Lovely. Just lovely. Tony didn’t think it was broken, so we decided to wait until morning. I took her in that morning, because the swelling had gotten worse and it was hurting her. It appeared to be hanging funny. The swelling and pain was all around the elbow, but there was swelling in her wrist as well.

I called the pediatrician to let her know, then called my medical insurance to get the “pre-approval” that we have to get. The insurance said that I had to take her to the urgent care clinic, so that’s what I did. Once in the urgent care place, we waited for a long time, (over and hour) even though it seemed that we were the only ones there. Once seen, we had two wonderful and lovely nurses. In conversation, I ended up telling them about the place that Em takes Martial Arts, because one was looking for a place for her sons. They were friendly, and I was happy things were going so well, especially while we were under stress.

Then the doctor came in…. imagine a record scratching at this point. She walked up to Emily and tried to just take her arm. Emily scooted back and whimpered. Keep in mind, the kid’s arm is broken! You can’t just walk up and grab it… not even bothering to say hello or introduce yourself, not bothering to explain to the child, or anything. So, when Em scooted back, the doctor told me to hold her legs because she didn’t want kicked. I was a bit irritated. Then, when Emily put her hand on her hurt arm, the doctor said for Emily to keep her hands away from her because she didn’t want scratched with her “razor sharp nails”. I tried to explain that her arm hurt, and she was guarding it because she was afraid, so the doctor went on to tell me that she would need to refer her to Children’s hospital because they needed to take x-rays and they will be very painful because they have to straighten the arm, yadda yadda. She was talking about sedation, and going on about pain. Thanks bright one! The kid is already scared, and you certainly helped that situation.

Children’s was a breath of fresh air. Everybody was wonderful and kind, friendly, and very helpful to Emily. She got her x-rays done and they let her straighten the arm out very slowly on her own. She did great, despite the pain. By the time we left Children’s, though (about 4 hours), we had missed Emily’s friend’s birthday party. Of course, the most frustrating part of the broken elbow is that I’m supposed to keep her from doing anything active for 10 days. That’s a joke. If you can keep Emily still for a week, I’ll buy ya a coffee!

So, why did she seem fine when her elbow was actually broken, you ask? Welllllllllll. When we were getting this bed, Tony was completely against the idea. There was an argument. He insisted that it was dangerous and a bad idea. I insisted that it would be fine. I generally get my way in the end, so we brought the bed home and assembled it. When Emily broke her elbow, she decided to pretend that she was fine so that Tony wouldn't get rid of her bed. She LOVES this bed. It's a loft bed from Ikea and is probably 7 feet tall. It's taller than Tony, who is 6'2". So there ya have it: The little tank was smiling through a broken bone to keep from losing her bed.

What happens when a six year old is bored?

They use their imaginations! Or, they create spider webs in the restroom and snare unsuspecting moms.

Mind you, this wasn't just any spider web. You see the toilet paper? That's the part that the spider walks on, because it's not sticky. Spiders don't want to get tangled in their own webs. What you don't see is the clear tape, which is what the spider catches bugs (or in this case, mom) with.

It was a great science experiment and demonstrated how "bugs" don't see the sticky web and go right into it, getting it stuck all over them (including their hair, which is painful to remove sticky web from).

I have a new respect for bugs.

Emily is up for adoption...

I know, this was news to me as well.

The other night, Emily drew up a contract, putting herself up for adoption. She wants my friend, Sherry to be her new mother. She brought me this contract and asked me to sign it, then said, "you're not going to like it, but just sign it anyway". She also requested that I add some notes about all of the things that she likes.

I asked her why she wants Sherry to be her new mom, and her reply was, "because you're not normal". What is normal, anyway? It's subjective.

I told Sherry about this new development, of course. She said, "awww, your mom is normal. She's nice." to which Emily replied, "she only acts normal when you're around".

I'm not completely sure that I do, really.

A sweet story about Emily...

I know I never talk about how sweet this kid is, so here goes...

I've been having a rheumatoid arthritis flareup (means I was exposed to an infection, darnit). So, Emily wanted to wrestle. She kept trying, so I sat her down and explained to her that my shoulders are hurting really, really bad right now. There is inflammation, and it makes my cells eat my bones (how do you explain to a six year old?). All of a sudden she became very serious and said, "you stay right there, mom. I'll be right back. Don't move!" So, I waited. She came back in the room with a huge glass of soy milk, handed it to me and said, "Here, I think you need more calcium." Now, who could resist drinking it? So, I opted for the soy milk instead of the alcohol that I was about to drink (it works well mixed with anti-inflammatories). After I finished drinking it, she patted my back and asked if it helped.

There are many awesome things about her, and some that I actually admire. Take for instance, the slide story. She was 3, and we went to a bounce place that had a 25 foot slide. Emily, who had always been completely fearless, suddenly realized that this slide was scary. There are so many other things in the place that I figured this was not a big deal at all. BUT, Emily was not going to let this slide stop her. She started bouncing in the "boxing ring", then stopped and went right back to the slide. She walked about halfway up the ladder/stairs of the slide, then looked back and came back down. Then, she watched the kids for a bit and went back up the ladder, this time going to the top. She continued easing herself into this with such determination, I knew nothing could stop her... she would one day rule the world. At last, she thought she might be ready, but an older kid pushed her on the ladder. She followed him up and pushed him down the slide, then watched him go down (yes, I got after her for pushing a child down the slide). Finally, she decided that she was ready to go down. She slid down! No longer afraid, she went on to play for two more hours. I really admire that amazing determination to conquer fear.

She's also oddly quirky. Every day, she sprays things down and cleans them. She can't use the restroom if the toilet hasn't been scrubbed. She washes her hands and feet before bed every night. But the oddest of all? If we go to a park, etc, she has to pick up the garbage. When we go to our friend's apartment complex, she gets a bag and insists that somebody goes with her to pick up the garbage. We will spend 3 hours scaling the entire complex to pick up every tiny piece of garbage. She is not satisfied until she knows FOR SURE that there is not a single piece anywhere in the complex. She misses nothing. I was smiling smugly when I thought she had passed a bottle cap, but she stopped, turned around, and picked it up. I tell our friends that the complex should be paying her. She picks up garbage at the park, the swim beach, and the lake as well. She will pick up garbage in a parking lot. Equal to her garbage cleaning habit is her need to de-weed any garden that she walks by. ANY. If it's the garden in the grocery store parking lot, and it has some weeds, she will pull them. We purchased a dryer from a lady on Craig's List, and Emily pulled every weed in this lady's garden. And you know the apartment complex I mentioned? They have a weed-free garden.

Then there's dust. She has her own feather duster and has to dust daily. She will dust our ceiling fans. She will dust every inch of any house. When we go to a friend's house and she will ask them for their feather duster, because she spots some dust. And although others can laugh, it's not funny to be in a restaurant when Emily suddenly realizes that the light just above the table is.... gasp.... dusty. She insists on a feather duster. She can't eat with this dust lurking close by.

So, if you ever need somebody to pick up the garbage, dust your office, and weed your gardens, invite Emily over. It *will* get done.

And that concludes our Emily-isms for tonight folks!

Beware of the "d" when reading with children...

Emily was reading to me last night when she came to the word, "ditch". Now, as we all remember, it is very easy to get the "d" and the "b" confused. Why they made it that way, I will never know. So, naturally, she read it as "bitch" and leaped from the couch to run into Christopher's room and tell him, "Chris, Chris, my book has the word, bitch in it! It says bitch!" All the while, I am hollering from the living room, "No, Emily, It's a d. It's a D. It says DITCH! Emily... It is a D!"

She came back to read again, and all was going well until she came across the word "ditch" again. She read it as bitch and looked at me and said, very seriously, "oh, so now we have two bitches".

Ay yay yaaaay

Asparagus Soup

Yummy Asparagus Soup

• 1 pound fresh asparagus (I just assume that a bunch will add up to a pound, it doesn't have to be measured perfectly - ends cut off)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth (once again, don't measure perfectly. If you are using cans, just use a couple of cans) or more if desired.
  
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• seasonings to taste (I use garlic and some chef shake. If I have herbs in the garden, I always pick some to add, usually parsley)
  
• grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In saucepan, saute asparagus in canola oil until bright green. (be sure to remove the hard ends or your soup will turn out stringy)
   
2. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
3. Place vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth (or use your immersion blender, which is what I do).
4. Melt butter in pan. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes.
   
5. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.
6. Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

The last time I ever take Emily for cheap Mexican food...

Being that it was a busy night and at 8pm I didn't have dinner even thought about, I decided to stop at the local taco place. Now, we don't normally eat that sort of food, of course, so it was a once-in-a-very-long-time thing.

Emily didn't know what she wanted, so I ordered her some chips with cheese (frequently called nachos). It seemed like a good enough choice to fill her up and get the hell out of there, anyhow.

We got our food and Emily sat there staring at her "nachos" like they had spiders in them. I asked what was wrong (which was a mistake, of course), and she said (not in her soft voice), "Look at these. They're greasy! Look at all this grease!" she picked a chip up, holding it like it was contaminated, and continued to exclaim how greasy and "nasty" it was. "What did they do, pour grease on them? I can't eat this! I'm huuuuuuunnnnngry, but I don't want to eat GREASE for dinner!" So, I traded her. I gave her my chicken taco for her chips and cheese. Naturally, she picked the chicken taco up and stuff dripped out the other end of it. "Oh nasty, this is greasy too!", to which I replied, "It's not grease, it's SAUCE." She wasn't buying it. Okay, it really was grease, but it has sauce in it too.

People were staring.
We probably won't be going back to that place again.

Dinner...

I am just writing a quick entry to say that for dinner tonight, I ate a dark chocolate bar. YUM.
That's all. I lost 25lbs and have been awesome about eating good and getting my exercise, so I can get away with ONE bad dinner. It was worth it.




I call that "chocolate therapy".

Camp Tonkawa

Today was a good day for an outdoor nature camp! That's exactly what we did. One of the homeschool groups organized this whole deal with Camp Tonkawa, and we got to spend from 9:30am until 3:30pm learning all about native birds.

This place was pretty impressive. First, they start out with a Native American song. Then, they talk a little bit about birds, read a story about nests and how the different birds build their nests, etc. After that, the real fun began...

The kids went on the nature trails to gather nesting materials to build nests.
Emily gathered mostly small twigs.

Em gathering her nesting materials:


Then, they stopped at a clearing and made nests. They needed to think about things like predators, flooding, wind, etc. Emily started out making a nest in a tree, which would have worked wonderfully, had it not been for the wind. The wind blew it all out. So, she started over and made the nest under some brush.

Em making her nest:



The kids did fun activities like measuring their "wing span" and comparing it to different birds, measuring how fast they can run and comparing it to how fast a bird can fly, learning about how a bird's vision works, etc. Then they did an activity where they learned about the different beaks and how they are used to gather food. There were stations set up, and each station had a number. They had a worksheet with different birds on it to take to each station. At each station, there was a "food" that a certain bird would eat. Then, they have tools that might represent the different types of beaks. The kids use the tools to determine what type of beak would work best for gathering the food at that station, and found the bird with that type of beak on their sheet. It was fun, and kept Emily active and occupied. She was really in to this beak thing, being so hands on and all. After this, we all ate our picnic lunch and talked among ourselves (have I ever mentioned how nice it is to have adult conversation?).

After lunch, we went on a nature walk to see how many birds we could see and hear, and what sort of habitat the birds are attracted to. Emily and her friend loved the nature trails more than looking for the birds, of course. They had a blast!

After this, the kids made decals for the window at our house, so that birds don't run into the window and get injured. Then they made eagle paper airplanes, but Emily wasn't so interested in that one. Unless a craft has a very specific purpose, she won't do it. The decal had a purpose... keeping a bird from being injured. The paper airplane had no obvious or specific purpose, so she chose not to do that one.

Between these activities were mini-lectures on birds. They were interesting and informative. They also cut some chicken bones and observed them to see how bird bones are different from our bones, etc.

Of course, I was amazed with the compost toilets. You make your deposit into the little toilet, and there is no water. Instead, there is a bucket beside the toilet with cedar chips in it. After you have made your deposit, you scoop some cedar chips and pour them over your little treasure. It was a clean little deal, and didn't stink like porta potties.

Of course, for those who are unable to make it to the "potty" on time, Emily will explain how her daddy taught her how to pee out in the woods. Lovely.

Altogether, it was a very nice day. I won't mention how I lost my kid on the nature trails. I would say we did a pretty good job of finding each other, though. She wasn't even scared. (Okay, she *was* scared. But, she was also brave.)

It's already March 27th?

How did March 27th already happen? I think I need to check my calendar over and over again, just to make sure.

Well, today is Friday, so here concludes another week. It feels like it's been a busy week. We spent the weekend in Oklahoma visiting my inlaws. We were there for three days, instead of the normal 24 hours. They have a really cool indoor pool near my mother in law, so I took Emily on Saturday. We were there for about 3 minutes when the pool had to be evacuated because somebody did a little poo. Thankfully, they gave us a rain check for Sunday, so we went back. I must admit, I was a bit excited that I didn't feel so self conscious this time in a bathing suit. I've lost 25 pounds, and was sportin' a tankini with skirt. Those things are cool. Sorry, no pictures, though. I'm still too self conscious for that. I've been exercising a lot to try to get in shape and healthy. It feels great! (more energy, etc)

Emily has been doing pretty well, although still having anxieties.
We went to Chuck E Cheese with some moms from the home school group. We were there for about 4 hours, even after others had left. She did pretty well while she had friends to play with, but once her friends had left and she was playing with another girl, she started getting a little nervous. A person in that darned huge rat costume came out waving at all of the kids, and Emily found herself feeling cornered by it. She ran to the other side of the place, and I got up and picked her up and took her home. She had nightmares all night about the big rat attacking her. ugh. I could have predicted this. She is super perceptive to facial expressions and body language, and relies on them a lot. If she knows the person is hiding behind a costume, she doesn't trust them. That's the only thing she ever feared as a young kid too. Now she says that she hates Chuck E Cheese and for me to never take her to that horrible place again. (because of the rat infestation, of course)

Today, we went to The Zone and bounced for 5.5 hours. I'm exhausted. I wrestled with Em a LOT, chased her up the 25 foot slide as fast as we could go, and did a lot of general bouncing. That is a workout! I'm going to pay for it tomorrow. She had a blast, though, so the whole day was worth the future soreness. I've been wrestling with her and letting her throw me down, then going on about how jealous I am that she is stronger than I am. She's pretty proud, so she got together an audience at The Zone, to show them her amazing skills. I made sure to be super dramatic, so everybody was cracking up and Emily felt like quite the hero. Then she told them that she is so strong because she is in Martial Arts. I know what's coming next... she's going to go into her Martial Arts class and tell them that she can beat up her mom. That'll look good, huh?


Adding on here: I've been wrestling with Emily and letting her win, so she feels strong. We were talking about how strong she is over dinner, and she says, "It's like a dream come true.... I can push over a big woman!" Apparently I'm a "big woman" and she has always dreamed of pushing one of us over.

I'm going to wrap it up now.... It hurts to type, and I have a headache from all of the noise in that place (and my asthma that is being a pain now).

The time change, and Emily being a stinker...

I just had to get on here and bitch about the time change. I know, I know... everybody hates it and we all know we all hate it. I still need to bitch, though.

I have major insomnia. It's so bad that there are nights when I have only had an hour and a half of sleep. Messing with the time is BAD. I also have a child who doesn't like to sleep nearly enough. She likes to fall asleep between midnight and 1am. My insomnia kicks in around 3 am. And now I am supposed to get up an hour earlier? I am a zombie and Emily is a hellion. Not a good mix.

Okay, bitch over.

I didn't realize that since I has been so long since I kept up with my blog, my friends were missing some of my best Emily stories. One of the more recent stories is the one that I call, "you kicked me and laughed about it".

It was one of those days when everything needs to be done about 15 minutes faster than is even possible. As luck would have it, we needed groceries desperately. Needless to say, this meant that I had to rush Emily. Emily does not like being rushed.

I got her out of the car and was rushing to the door through the parking lot, when she tripped on my foot. She didn't fall or anything, just a small skip. Then, she proclaimed, "Why did you do that?" I asked her what she was talking about, she just tripped over my foot. She went on to say that I kicked her. I told her that I didn't kick her, she just tripped over my foot, and she barely even tripped. So, she started crying loudly, asking me why I kicked her and laughed about it when she didn't do anything. This went on for about ten minutes of our trip. I was humiliated. People were staring, surely thinking that I was a horrible monster, and wondering why on earth I would kick such a cute little thing.... and laugh about it?!!

Once we were finished and getting back in the car, she started cracking up. "I got you mommy, huh? You were sooooo embarrassed!" Yes, she certainly did!
( I can't help but remember all those times that my mother said when I had kids.....paybacks )

ps - adding on here. I was at my redneck neighbor's house. Her husband said that I've "filled out". Well, to put it more accurately, he said, "Daaaagum, Teri. Me and **** was talkin bout how you've filled out since you started eatin meat. You done filled out!" I'm assuming that in normal English, that means I'm fat. Thanks.

Is it December already?

I haven't done any posts in a while. I am so sorry! I'm terribly busy, though.

Homeschooling Emily is going well. She has done very well. We had our appointment with the educational psychologist, and were very pleased. She gave us some great advice, etc.


In other news, we had Emily's science birthday yesterday! It was fun, and I am completely exhausted today. I was so stressed out and anxious about the party. Thankfully, I know all of the parents, or I would have been double stressed. (social situations stress me out) The kids all made mini-volcanoes and erupted them with vinegar and baking soda. Then, we made green goo, and they got to take it home with them. As luck would have it, many children do not like touching slimy stuff. I had no idea! I don't know why, but I assumed that the goo would be the hit of the party. (it was my idea, afterall) For the most part, though, they liked it. Everybody seemed happy, and Emily had a blast. It was her first birthday party, so she was very excited. It is 10:30 am and she's still sleeping, which is a good sign that she was worn out yesterday. yay! (the kid never sleeps) Emily did have the idea that we would dissect worms as part of our science party, and was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't plan that activity. I can't even imagine most of the kids staying if they had to dissect worms! I think that would be the party killer. Poor Emily.

Christopher was chosen to go on a field trip at school for his great talent in art. Only a select few got to go, and he was the only sophomore. It was more of a thing for seniors. He's so awesome, though, that they chose him to go as well. They got to go to the museum and meet an artist, create some art, and learn about the different techniques, etc. It was a great experience for him, and everybody is very impressed with his talent. Apparently his art teacher says that he is unusually good at drawing things proportionatly. I figured he had some talent with proportions when he kept criticizing my awesome stick figures.

Well, I'm going to wrap it up for now while I clean up after the party. It's a frightening mess.

Emily is indestructible...

I have decided that Emily is indestructible. It's my only explanation.

This is going to be short, cause I'm too tired to make it long.

Last night, Emily wanted to go on a walk with just her and Tony. So, Tony had her on his shoulders and the dog on the leash. Remember that Tony is 6'2", so not a short guy.

The dog suddenly ran (he always thinks he sees an animal to chase and tries to take off) and it jerked Tony, causing Emily to flip off of his shoulders. (she doesn't hold on or anything)

She fell from 6 feet up, right on to her head. She had no scrapes anywhere, which would indicate something breaking her fall a little bit. So, Tony scooped her up and ran her home. The first thing I thought when I saw her was that she was fine. Then, he told me what happened. I checked her over, asked her questions, etc. She had a bump on her head, so I put ice on it right away and gave her motrin. She answered my questions fine, had good eye contact, spoke clearly, and remembered being on a walk on daddy's shoulders and the dog running, then her flipping off of his shoulders and falling. She didn't cry for very long at all. She got up and walked, and walked just fine. She had no signs of serious injury at all. I woke up every hour during the night to check on her, and she was fine. She slept just like she always does, and if I took a heavy blanket and covered her up, she kicked it off, like she always does.

This morning? She has a headache but is otherwise just fine.

She fell from six feet, on to asphalt, with nothing to break her fall, and she is fine. The kid is indestructible.

Teri

Emily has her own style...

I forgot to post this in the blog a while back.

Emily has her own unique style. She has to be dressed up in some way at all times, whether we are going out to dinner with friends or going to the lake. Her style is pretty unique in that she chooses the most off the wall accessories. (for the record, school doesn't allow these accessories, and she takes this as a personal insult)

So, we went out to dinner, and Emily dressed in her usual fairy garb. Only her accessories were, of course, unique. Here is her in the restaurant:



And I don't have a picture, but her Auntie Shannon (my famous sister who is also in her Sr. year of pre-med and in the top 15% of her class) found her a Paul Frank shirt that has the Paul Frank monkey wearing a snorkel. We got a huge kick out of that one!

Until next time...

The Beach

So, for Tony's birthday, a friend surprised us with a trip to the beach. Nice, huh? It was great, and we stayed in a nice hotel. (well, to me it's nice, but it's only a 3 star)

We didn't get any sleep the entire trip, but had a great time. Emily loves the beach, so she was over-excited. The drive there is normally about 5 hours, though with the traffic in Houston, it was 7 hours. One can imagine keeping Emily buckled up in a carseat for 7 hours. Not pretty. By the time we got to the hotel it was 1am and I was ready to call it a day. Tony and Christopher went fishing all night, of course. Well, I didn't get any sleep because Emily was SO excited about being at the beach that she couldn't settle down. Being that she had sat in a car for 7 hours, there wasn't much hope of her settling down anyhow. Our hotel was right across the street from the beach.

In the morning, I got up bright and early so I could make it downstairs for the free breakfast from the hotel. Now, I'm not one to turn down a free breakfast, even if it means I only get 3 hours of sleep. So, I trekked down there for my breakfast. They had waffles, muffins, bagels, eggs (that surprisingly had jalapenos hidden in them), and other things. I was just going to sit and eat all by my lonesome, but decided to be nice and bring enough for everybody else to eat. So, I piled up the plates full of goodies and made my way back to our room. Of course, Tony isn't one to turn down a free breakfast either, even if it means 1 hour of sleep. So, as luck would have it, Tony was down getting breakfast for everyone as well. Because I don't think clearly when I'm tired, I had no idea what room we were in. I tried my key card on several doors to see if it was that room, once even causing somebody to come out of their room while I was standing at their door. I'm not sure what I would have done if Tony hadn't happened to come back to the room with a hand full of plates and food. Finally in our room, we had a feast.

Once we were done eating, we all piled back in the car (beast included) and went to the beach. Fun was had by all. We did end up with horrible sunburns (except for Emily) despite several applications of sunblock. Little warning... Neutrogena spray on sunblock does NOT work. Emily didn't get a hint of pink, thanks to the sunblock Tony put on her before we left the hotel. The one that worked was the kind that has the main ingredient of Zinc Oxide. That's the one to look for, for future reference. Tony, being the smart guy he is, and concerned father, researched sunscreens extensively before deciding on one. Sunscreen Information that everybody needs to know - click here.

I will supply photos as soon as I get them from our friend.

Picture of Christopher

I decided to share a pic of Christopher.
He is turning 15 this summer!!! Woah, how did that happen?



Somebody asked me why I didn't have a "Christopher says" spot too. Well, I can pretty much sum it all up here:

me: How was your day?
him: good
me: Did you have a good day at school?
him: yeah
me: Do you have homework?
him: no
me: hey, what do you want for dinner?
him: sushi
me: we don't have sushi... any other ideas?
him: no
me: is there anything that sounds good?
him: eh
me: Did you like that lentil loaf that I made?
him: eh sure
.....

you can see that he is a man of many words. So, this is our "Christopher Says" section.

eh

A swampy adventure...

I think we need to change our middle names to "adventure". Or maybe to "crazy"?
When I said that we should take a walk this evening, I didn't mean through a swamp. No, really, I didn't.

So, me, Emily, and The Beast accompanied Tony on another adventure. Thankfully, this one was not spider filled. It was actually cool... I have to admit. We went through one of those state areas that are protected... a state park of sorts. It's all wooded, like a mini jungle. So, we followed the first "trail", which is really a river when it's not a gazillion degrees out. There were tons of little frogs, which was a dream come true for Emily. She loves frogs. She tried to catch them, but they were too quick ... even for her. She did manage to catch one, and let it go in a safer spot.

Anyway, we walked and walked .... oh, about 300 miles.... when we came to a swamp. It was all swamp. There were two ways to go... forward, or back. So, we moved forward. Tony asked me if this was too much for me.... for me? No way. So, I walked through the swamp. It stunk, and I wondered what might be lurking... but it wasn't bad. The Beast, on the other hand, decided that he would go no further. If you know anything about Basset Hounds, you konw that when they decide that they aren't going, they aren't. You can tug and pull all you want... they are not moving. By the time we had walked several yards in stinky water up to my knees, we had to turn around.

We turned around and walked back, then took the other "trail". Thankfully, no swamps on this one. We walked along, and it was very pretty. We walked along a river, saw more frogs, saw trees and just a general beauty all around. We got to a part of the lake and walked up on an egret nesting ground. They were huge, and white, and noisy. They are absolutely beautiful. I stood in awe for a bit, just watching them.

We were watching the egrets when Tony asked Emily if she liked this adventure. Her reply was, "When I grow up, I'm going to take better care of my kids. I'll never let them near a place like this." We thought that was pretty funny. As we walked back, the forested areas were getting pretty dark and we could see fireflies. Emily got quite a kick out of that.

At some point, something that sounded huge moved in the brush. It was too dark for me to see, and I have to admit to getting scared. We shined flashlights in the general area, and I imagined a large dog, lion, tiger, panther (well, okay, little exaggeration, but whatever)..... Tony insists it was an armadillo. I still think it could have been a bear or something equally frightening.

I told Tony that we would have to bring the camera next time. Yeah, I actually said, "next time" (proof that I am crazy).

(ps, it wasn't really a swamp, more of a shallow pond, but lets just call it a swamp, shall we?)

A "spider" filled adventure

I generally refuse to accompany Tony on his fishing expeditions. There is a reason for this refusal.

So, I decided to be a nice person and agree to go with him. Tony has a very strong sense of adventure. He doesn't just go to a spot on the lake and fish. He has to find the hardest spot to get to, which is exactly what he did. We had to go through some brush, move some branches aside, then scale rocks on a steep incline. I had the dog's leash in one hand, and Emily's hand in the other, so this was quite a challenge. Being the good sport that I am, I didn't complain.... I just went along with the adventure.

We finally got to the spot that he wanted to fish in. It is under a bridge, and on several large rocks. As he was fishing, I was talking to Emily and just looking around. I looked down to see a "daddy long leg" (I know they aren't really spiders, but they look like them and I'm still scared of them). Being scared of spiders (or anything that looks remotely like them), I moved away from it. When I moved away, another came up. Once again, I moved away, and once again, another came up. A few minutes later they started coming up from the rocks... thousands of them. It was like watching a nightmare. They were everywhere. Apparently, at a certain time in the early evening, they all come up from between the rocks. Me and Emily were screaming and jumping from side to side to try to keep them off of our feet. I dropped the dog's leash, grabbed Emily, and headed back to the car. At some point, me and Emily were running along when a real spider (a very large one, I might add) caught the wind and blew off of the big rock, right on to her face. She screamed and screamed and couldn't move. I picked her up and just kept running toward the car. I ran through the brush, knowing perfectly well that I was running through webs and touching real spiders.

When I got to the car, my hair was covered in spider webs. I got the shivers and they wouldn't go away. I had Emily check me over for spiders, and she didn't see any. Thank goodness! So, we sat on the trunk of the car and waited for Tony. It didn't take him long to show up, because when Emily screamed from the spider being in her face, The Beast took off running toward us. This dog is protective, and the sound of his Emily screaming was enough to bring him running to us. (I love The Beast!) On the drive home, I brushed a spider off of my leg. No big deal, really... though I was finished with spiders. As luck would have it, I ended up with a nice spider bite on my upper thigh. It already has a black center and a rash around it. Yuck. (It is not a brown recluse bite, though. No worries. I've had one of those and they are very painful. This one does not hurt, and is already healing, despite the black middle.)

I think me and Emily are done with adventures for a while (I always say that, and I always go on the next one)...

For more info on the "Daddy Long Leg", click here.

Emily says...

I decided to keep a regular spot here for my "Emily-isms".




We were playing the wii when I said, "Oh man, I suck at this game!" Emily came and whispered in my ear, "Mom, you're supposed to say I CAN DO IT. You get better at it if you just practice. Don't say you suck, just practice."


"I don't want people to look at me and see a girl who loves pink and all that girlie stuff. I want them to see me and think I'm tough and dusty." - I call her Princess Tough and Dusty now.


Before eating her dinner: "Wait a minute. Does this have any hydrogenated oils in it?"


Said to our friend (who isn't fond of exercise): "I call your butt your anchor."


Emily talking to her friend - "don't go in the garage, I have a demon cat living in there." Her friend - "but your mom is in there" Emily - "yeah, my mom is evil, she can go in there"


While we were driving in the car, there was a fly buzzing around. Emily suddenly said, "Somebody needs to Obama that fly!"


"Mom, don't tell daddy this cause he won't want to have another girl, but when I was outside, I was holding a black widow just for fun. I saw a black spider with a big ball for its butt (abdomen), so I was petting it, then I held it and it was a black widow. But don't worry mom, it didn't bite me or anything." --- probably shouldn't let her be outside without me, huh?


"Mommy, I found a way to watch movies even when I'm not allowed to, and I can't even get in trouble for it!" I sat there with a confused look, "how?" Emily: "I just watch them in my head!"


This was completely random: "Mommy, if you have been looking for a mountain made out of candy, where the trees are even candy, you won't be able to find it. You have to make it yourself. If you really want something like that, you have to just make it, because you won't just find it."


Emily: Mom, what is it that makes babies smell so good? Me: Hmmm, I dunno. They do smell good, don't they? Emily: Maybe it's a scent that makes humans not want to eat their babies?


I was taking a shower one day (I do that sometimes). Emily walked in to tell me something, and there was this long pause. All of a sudden, she pipes up and says, "Wow, it's like washing an elephant."


While on an adventure where we walked through a swamp (well, a shallow river or something, anyway) and some wooded areas... "When I grow up, I'm going to take better care of my kids. I'll never let them around a place like this."


I told Christopher that he was being difficult. Emily pipes up with, "I told you to get rid of him, mom!"


"I love you so much mommy! I love you even with short hair and no matter what shirt you're wearing." ~Emily


Emily: "Mom, you know what the grass is?"
Me: "What is the grass?"
Emily: "The Earth's hair"
Emily: "You know what lava is?"
Me: "No, what is lava?"
Emily: "The Earth's blood."
Emily: "You know what mountains are?"
Me: "What are they?"
Emily: "The Earth's goosebumps! I can't believe you don't know that, mommy!"


Emily does this thing... every now and then, just out of the blue, she'll pop up and say, "mom?" and I HAVE to say, "yes Emily?" and she'll say, "I like you." And I've just been all sentimental about it. So, she says to me the other day, "Sometimes I just say I like you because I forgot what I was going to tell you or I don't know what to say."

When she purchased one of those scented car air fresheners for me, she opened it, smelled it, and said, "Mom, do you like the smell of chemically vanilla?"

Of Emily, remodeling, bread pets, and other stuff...

Once again, it's been a while since I wrote in this blog, and I apologize for that. A few friends have asked that I blog more often, so I will try.

So what is going on in our household? Well... too much to even write about, of course! I'm never bored.

At the moment, we are doing a restroom remodel. Tony thinks that we are only replacing the tub, but we will actually replace the flooring and sink, etc as well. We already replaced the toilet. But the tub.... oh, the tub! First off, I picked out one of those bath surrounds to put in there instead of tile. The surrounds they have now look really nice. Had I not seen them at Lowes, I would have never been open to the idea of having plastic panels around my tub instead of nice tile. Really, though... they look nice.

Now, one has to realize that our restroom is tiny. I can sit on the toilet and lean one way to wash my hair in the tub and the other way to wash my hands in the sink. No, I haven't actually done this, but I really think I could if I wanted to.

So, realizing how tiny our restroom is, you can only imagine how fun it was to maneuver a tub out of there. It took us hours.... literally hours. Before we even played with the idea of taking the tub out, we knocked the rest of the tiles down, to take the drywall out and replace it with duralock (isn't that what it's called? It's like drywall, but for places like around a shower). As it turns out, the builders who slapped this place up used drywall instead of something graded for a tub, tile, and water. The result of this wackjob was mold and disintegrated drywall.

As all home repairs go, once we started doing one thing, we found another thing we would have to do. So, we started out with replacing a tub. This seems like something where you would pull a tub out and put another in its place, right? But it's not. Now, we have to replace the plumbing, the drywall, and the flooring. As it turned out, we also had a leak, resulting in standing water under the tub, that seeped under the linoleum on a pretty constant basis, creating a disaster that we didn't know was there. We have an amazing amount of work to do in such a tiny room. We are do-it-yourselfers, so we will be doing it all ourselves. What an adventure!


And, in other news.... Emily is officially registered for kindergarten! She starts this Fall. I'm excited, nervous, and overwhelmed. She is such a free-spirited and strong little chica.... I hope that she isn't forced into a different mold. I love who she is and want her to be "her" forever. She's funny, smart, witty, strong, and so much more. She's the silly little girl who loves to surprise me. For a while, she was having a hard time counting past 15. So, I told her that when she can count to 20, we would go buy another webkinz. She looked at me with that little stinker smile and said, "Okay, okay... 1234......20". She counted to 20 perfectly. So, on the way to pick up a webkinz, I was telling her how happy I was that she can count to 20 so perfectly now and that I would buy her a webkinz for each 10 more that she counts. So, she let out a long sigh, with that smile that I know all too well, and counted to 50. Those things are expensive! I certainly didn't expect to buy 4 in the same day. Later she told me, "Mom, I can't tell you the things that I know because I have to keep it a secret until the right time to tell you." I know what she's getting at.

Being the tricky little mom that I am, I said, "What? nut-uh. Like what? I know everything you can do!" So, she proceeded to count to 100. Ahhhh, so she has that all figured out! Now, she's doing addition, subtraction, and simple multiplication, and being able to get past 20 is very helpful in practicing these skills.

When she was an early 5, we were in the grocery store. She was in the cart sorting the yogurts (we buy a lot of yogurt) into piles. I noticed that she was counting the piles, but just went about my shopping business. After a few minutes, she said, "Mom, I know what two twos is! Four. I know what two threes is! Six. I know what three threes are! Nine." She just went on and on with this. I was completely shocked.

She can read 3 letter words as well. The other day, I told Christopher, "you should come in here and hear how well your sister is reading now!" and Emily responded, "Yeah, Chris.... B-R-A-T brrrrat!". I never thought we would have sibling rivalry here, but apparently there is a little bit of it. Of course, we all got a huge laugh at her new found skills. If you've ever watched the movie, Roger Rabbit, Emily reminds me of a line in that movie.... When Valiant says, "You mean you could've taken your hand out of that cuff at any time?" and Roger responds, "No, not at any time, only when it was funny!"

Speaking of funny, Emily has a new thing. Hopefully this is a normal phase they go through. She likes us to buy baquette (long, hard, thin loaves of bread) for her. She doesn't eat them, they are her pets. She has a toy dog leash that she will put on one and walk it around, take it places with her, and take care of it. We have affectionately named these pets, "Bread Pett". So, when this phase first started, Tony was completely unaware. Who would have ever thought that the bread on the table was actually a pet? So, he came home from work, and a loaf of bread was the only thing on the table. As any person would do, he walked over and tore off part of the bread and started eating it. Emily walked in and completely melted in to tears. As she was sobbing, I was trying to explain to Tony, who had a look of utter confusion. So, I went and got Emily another "Bread Pett". I came in the door with the bag of groceries and set them on the floor while I ran to the restroom. When I came out, Emily was again in tears and sobbing. The Beast had grabbed "Bread Pett" out of the bag and proceeded to take it outside, kill it, and eat it.


I tried to talk her into a stuffed animal, maybe? A pet that is less edible might be a better idea, but it didn't work. So, once again, I picked up a "Bread Pett" and instructed everybody to make sure "Bread Pett" did not get harmed in any way.


And last, but not least, the butterflies. We love science here, so Emily got a cool thing called a butterfly tent from Nonna as a gift. It came with live caterpillars! We followed all instructions, and our caterpillars made their chrysalids, then came out as beautiful Painted Lady butterflies! We kept them for a week, then released them in our garden. It was an amazing experience for all of us, and every time we see a Painted Lady, we say it is one of her butterflies. I managed to get a decent photo of one of the butterflies after it had been "hatched" for about 3 hours. They stay in one spot, with crumpled wings, for about 2 hours, then start flying. We learned a ton of stuff about butterflies that I never knew, and had a great time taking care of them. When we would go in the tent, if we sat still, they would come over and land on us.

The world according to Hurricane Emily:

Happy mother's day to all those mothers out there!

We don't actually tend to celebrate or make a big deal out of the "Hallmark Holidays" but it's always nice to wish people a happy day for whatever reason.

So, for "Mother's day" I decided to share some of my recent Emily-isms. For those who don't know Emily.... you are really missing out. For those who do.... you know how wonderful and comical she is.

So... first off, we have some friends who just cannot seem to grasp the concept that we don't make a big to-do out of the Hallmark holidays. So, we were in the store when the dude told Emily that tomorrow was Mother's day, and asked her what she wanted to get her mom. She thought this out very intensely, and came up with the absolute perfect mother's day gifts..... a flamingo car freshener (those things that have scent on them and you are supposed to hang them up in your car to make it smell... er.... good) and a Littlest Petshop punk bat.

So, on the way home, in the car, Emily asks me, "Mom, do you like the smell of chemically vanilla?" It's good to know she understands the difference between real vanilla and fake, huh?

Then, I got a big hug and was told, "Happy Great Mom day, mom. You're a great mom! I love you sooooooo much!" That, right there, gave me goosebumps.

On Sunday, she woke up and sat in bed contemplating something. She was deep in thought when I walked in and told her "Good morning sunshine!". She looked at me with that ever-so-serious look on her face and said, "Mom, when I start kindergarten, are you going to go to work all the time like daddy does?" I told her that I was undecided and was contemplating it, why? She replied, "I don't want you to. I want you here for me all the days." I guess that pretty much sealed the deal..... I'll be producing a ton of diapers! We had planned for me to go back to work when she starts school, so we could start paying off debt, etc.... and start doing our home repairs, etc. It only makes sense, though, that I'm here for her.... if the school calls because she is sick, I can be there in 3 minutes. When she has a day off, we can spend the day together. I can be there to take her to school and pick her up. When she has a field trip, I can go too and help out... and all this time, she will know that I'm here for her. Plans change, don't they? I sat down and calculated it, and if I can sew (and sell) enough diapers, I shouldn't need to go back to work at all, and we can still start paying off debt, etc. When she grows up, she'll remember that I was always there for her, and that means everything.

So, more Emily-isms....

The other day her and a friend were talking about what they want to be when they grow up. Her friend said he wants to be a scientist. So, she says to him, "You can't be a science test!" Now, every time he says something about being a scientist, she says this. I figured she had misunderstood, but today, she took me aside and said, "Mom, whenever **** says he wants to be a scientist, I tell him he can't be a science test! ha ha ha ha ha"


Emily has a very scientific mind. This can be demonstrated with these words from her...

Emily: "Mom, you know what the grass is?"
Me: "What is the grass?"
Emily: "The Earth's hair"

Emily: "You know what lava is?"
Me: "No, what is lava?"
Emily: "The Earth's blood."

Emily: "You know what mountains are?"
Me: "What are they?"
Emily: "The Earth's goosebumps! I can't believe you don't know that, mommy!"

A wise man once told me that children are our teachers.

Today was a good day

Today was a nice day.
First, I stocked some diapers in my store, and all of them sold out. This is, of course, always a great feeling. So, my day started out good. It was nice and sunny today, but not too hot. It was pretty.

I woke up tired, but feeling fine. Last night, we were invited to a blessing by a Shamen. I've never been a part of this, so was excited to see what it was all about. It was interesting. He starts out burning sage and waving around a collection of owl feathers, while speaking in his native language. Then he does the same thing to each person in the room, and tells them something. It wasn't really explained, and I never quite get what is going on, but I believe that the spirits are supposed to tell him what to say to each person? So, Tony was told that sometimes he should follow his heart instead of following the rules. I have to agree, as Tony is one of those people who always follows the rules. I was told that sometimes I have to be the man. I haven't figured that one out yet. Maybe it's because the lawn needs mowed? Well, I will only do that with a weed wacker (electric) because the smell of the gasoline makes me nausous. We have 1/3 of an acre, so one can imagine how funny it is for me to use a weed wacker..... but I do. It couldn't be that, though. What does the man do that I don't? I hope it's not that I need to go out and get a job outside the home. Naaaaaah. Really, though, it was a very interesting experience. I really felt that he and his wife were very nice people. I kept feeling like I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't place it. I must not. I was happy to have somebody actually appreciate the exuberance of Hurricane Emily, who was excited about everything going on, and meeting new people.

Back to today.... Emily woke up today and announced that it was the Beast's birthday. We don't really know when he was born, as we got him from a rescue. I decided to play along, though. We had to go get him a birthday present. So, on the way to the pet store, I was driving along, when all of a sudden a bird swept down and hit my windshield, right in front of my face. I jumped and let out a "noooo". There was no blood, so I am still hoping that the poor thing lived. As I was still recovering from the very thought that I just hit a bird, Emily says, "It was probably pregnant". I know, I know, isn't it sweet when they rub salt in your wounds? I assured her that it was absolutely not pregnant and that I could tell. So, she replies with, "Oh, it already had its babies", now laying the guilt on me that this was a mama bird and some tiny bird babies were waiting on their food, but mom was hit by a horrible and mean car. The nerve. And it didn't end there. We were in the pet store, and Emily had to stop each person there to tell them about how I hit a mama bird and we don't know if she will make it. The dog did like his "birthday presents" though. Emily wrapped them in a towel and helped him open them. We got him a bag of treats (we have to find treats with no corn, and the Old Mother Hubbard ones fit the bill), and a life jacket for dogs. Bassets are front heavy and can't swim. Living so close to the lake, we feel safer with the idea of him wearing a life jacket too (Emily has to wear hers at the lake).

And so ends another day...

A cloth diapering FAQ...

I'm working on my FAQ today. Here's the link to it on my cart. Please feel free to share the link with others: FAQ Link in my store, click here
It's still under construction, but I think I have it pretty well started. Since Emily pulled an all-nighter last night, I worked on my FAQ until I could actually go to bed. Here is what I have so far:



How many diapers do I need?

How many diapers you need really depends on how often you plan to wash, and how many you want to buy. A newborn baby will pee every 30 minutes toan hour. For a newborn, I tend to either keep them naked on top of a prefold, or keep them in a wool diaper with an absorbent cotton or bamboo liner, so that I only have to change the liner every 30 minutes or so. I try to never, ever leave them in a wet diaper, as their skin is so delicate and sensitive.... and they deserve to be comfortable.

If money is an issue, I recommend purchasing two dozen infant prefolds (unbleached Chinese or Indian prefolds). Do not bother with cheapo prefolds... get the good ones, as they are pretty low cost anyway, and work so much better you'll be happy you got them.

If money is no issue, have fun and purchase as many diapers as you want.When you are done, you can sell them or pass them down.

If money is only a slight issue, I would purchase a dozen fitted diapers and a dozen infant prefolds, a few wool covers, and maybe 2 All In One or Pocket diapers. Really, it depends on how much money you want to spend, what kind of diapers you want, and how often your baby pees and poops.

Many toddlers will wait 2-3 hours between pees. For these children, a dozen diapers is plenty.

Another thing to consider is whether you plan to change during the night. I always changed my children's diapers through the night. I found that they slept better in a clean, dry diaper. For this reason, I had to calculate how often they peed during the day, and how often I changed during the night.

I always keep at least 6 prefold diapers on hand. This is great for times when baby has an upset tummy,or when you aren't able to wash diapers. The more the merrier, I always say.


How do you wash cloth?

There are as many answers to this question as there are cloth diapers. I'll give the basic guidelines:

Rinse poopy diapers off with a sprayer to get rid of the solids. Solids should be flushed whether you are using cloth or paper diapers (read the package of paper diapers and it does say to dispose of poop in the toilet) You can store the cloth diapers in a diaper pail, or you could try my little trick -

After doing laundry for the day, early in the morning, I make sure my washing machine is empty. Through the day, when I change a diaper, I throw it in the washing machine. At the end of the day, I turn the machine on just a rinse cycle on cold, with some baking soda and dawn dish soap in it (just a small squirt). Once the rinse cycle is done, I do a regular wash cycle with my favorite powdered laundry detergent. I use about half the amount called for on the box,and use hot water. Once they are finished, I hang them to dry on my drying rack that I have inside my house. They hang there over night,and go in the dryer for a few minutes in the morning to finish drying, kill any germies that may be lurking, and fluff them up to their regular softness.

Do not use any bleach, unless absolutely necessary, as it will break down your fabric and elastic.
Do not boil your diapers, for the same reason.
It's best to wash your diapers on the gentle cycle of your machine, as this will help the elastic and fabric last longer.
The less time they spend in a dryer, the better for the elastic.
Liquid detergents do tend to leave a buildup, which isn't great on diapers.
Do not use fabric softener, but you can use some vinegar in the rinse cycle in place of fabric softener.
I highly recommend washing your diapers daily. The longer they sit in urine, the more your fabric will break down, and the more your diapers will stink. The more they stink, the harder they are to get clean. For me, throwing a load in every evening is very easy, since I don't have to hand wash them or anything. (and I have done that, by the way)
Although you may find many people online who have huge, complicated washing routines with their diapers, this is not necessary. Using cloth diapers can be simple and fairly easy. You might even find that you prefer it.


I've seen cloth diapering items that are wool. Isn't wool scratchy and itchy?

Some wool is. There is no simple answer to this question. Many cloth diaper makers have worked specially with fabric millers to mill soft wool. Most wool used for cloth diapers is purchased for its softness, and is therefore not scratchy or itchy. Many times, over processed wool will be scratchy, or wool that has been stripped of its lanolin. Sometimes over felted wool is uncomfortable, but sometimes wool that is not felted at all is scratchy. Your professional diaper makers take special care to make sure they felt the wool just right, and find wool that is nice and soft. Wool yarn does not need to be felted, and most knit wool items are not scratchy or itchy. Your professional diaper cover knitters take special care to find wool yarn that is super soft, not over processed, and perfect for cloth diaper covers. In short..... the wool used for cloth diapering should not be itchy or scratchy.


Why do my cloth diapers leak after a few hours?

Many people have gotten used to the idea of a paper diaper that has "super absorbent polymers" These polymers absorb the liquids and keep the diaper from leaking. Although many people have gotten used to keeping a disposable diaper on a child for hours at a time, it can't be comfortable, or healthy. When using cloth, one has to let go of the concept of the diaper lasting for hours, and change the baby when they are wet or soiled. Just as we don't want to have our own urine or feces against our skin for hours, our babies don't either. In short... change more often.


I've heard moms saying that a diaper only lasted 15 minutes? Does that mean that it isn't absorbent?

No. In order to understand why a diaper would be wet and need changed 15 minutes after putting it on, we need to first understand how babies pee and poop. A baby is not like a slow drip faucet. Rather than having urine or feces constantly leaking, they wait until the urge hits, then let it all out at once. When a diaper only lasts 15 minutes, this simply means that the baby peed or pooped 15 minutes after the diaper was changed. This is a good sign that the baby sat in the previous diaper for a while after soiling it, and might be a good sign that he/she needs changed more often. While some babies may hold their urine for 3 hours, then flood the diaper, others may actually urinate every 30 minutes. It's important to check often and get to know your baby's habits. This will help to avoid a diaper rash.


Is it really better for the environment to use cloth diapers?

It is. I would urge you to read this very informative article, in order to save me from having to write a looooong dissertation on this. http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_diaperdrama4.asp



Is it more economical to use cloth?

Well, it can be. This really depends on how you cloth diaper. If you want the super fancy materials, like bamboo and organics, it will only be slightly less money in the short term. In the long term, however, you are able to re-sell those diapers and recoup some of your costs, or pass them down to the next child. There is no simple answer to this question. If you want to cloth diaper for economical reasons, it is easy to do. You can purchase prefolds and a few covers. Nice prefolds do not cost very much. I highly recommend unbleached cotton. They can be found on ebay, or by doing a simple search online. Many people are not cloth diapering for economical reasons, and they prefer the super boutique cloth diapers. This is a good thing, as it keeps the small businesses in business, makes cloth diapering fun, and makes the world a prettier place.


Why are cloth diapers so expensive?

Not *all* cloth diapers are expensive. If you are looking for materials like organic bamboo velour, organic cotton, etc, they are expensive. Let's do a small cost breakdown: I purchase bamboo velour for $11 per yard. Then, I have to wash and dry this bamboo a few times to shrink it and get the stuff off of it that was used to process it, etc. This uses some energy and water, that I have to pay for. It costs me about $6 in fabric to make your diaper, but I have to buy snaps, thread, needles, maintain machinery, pay for web hosting and cart hosting, pay for shipping materials, pay paypal fees in order to accept credit cards, and the list goes on. By the time I add all of this up, it costs me about $11-$15 to make your diaper. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half to make each diaper. I need to make at least minimum wage, right? And since I'm a business owner who has been doing this long enough to be considered a professional, shouldn't I make above minimum wage? And while it might take an hour to an hour and a half to make each diaper, there is still the time spent photographing the diapers, editing the background out of the photos, listing the items, answering at least 30 emails daily, sourcing fabrics, keeping an inventory of fabrics and of finished product, doing the "books", etc.

So, if you purchase hand made diapers, made with high-end materials, they can be expensive. If you go to a boutique and look for hand made clothing that is made out of high-end materials, I would guess you would be paying quite a bit more than shopping at Target for your clothing. You can use prefolds and keep the cost of cloth diapers down, but of course, it won't be quite as fun as enjoying the number of prints and dyes on high-end fabrics.


Why do so many cloth diapers come in pretty prints when you just cover them up with a diaper cover?

In short, because it's fun. If you go to Gymboree, you'll see little girls undies with pretty flowers, or ladybugs, etc. Why? Because it's fun. It is important to have fun with your infant, and enjoy even those tasks that seem so.... not fun. When you change your baby's diaper, they are focused on you, and seeing your reactions. If you open up a diaper and have a look of disgust, they see you looking at them with disgust. Ifyou open up the diaper and are smiling and enjoying your time, talking about the cute diaper you got them, kissing their cute little belly and feet... what a difference! So, if you want to buy the cute little diaper with giraffes all over it, do. Life is short, enjoy it while you're here.


Why do people use cloth diapers?

There are a few reasons why most people use cloth diapers. One of those is because it is SO much better for the environment. We are concerned about the environment and the future of our children. The impact that our choices have on the environment is important, and cloth diapering is a great choice for the environmentally conscious.

Another reason many people cloth diaper is to save money. Because cloth diapers are re-usable, you do not have to keep buying them. As a matter of fact, they can be passed down to the next child. If you spent $1,000 on cloth diapers, and those cloth diapers lasted through potty training, then on to the next kid through potty training, you have saved a great deal of money. Even using the high-end boutique diapers, you can save money in the long run.

Many people use cloth diapers for health reasons. Cloth diapers can be associated with less diaper rashes. Cloth diapers do not contain chemicals or heavy bleaches and perfumes that can irritate sensitive skin. You know those super absorbing gel beads that are in disposable diapers? They are Sodium Polyacrylate Crystals. They used to be used in women's tampons, but had to be removed because they were found to cause Toxic Shock Syndrome. And yet, we put those on our babies? Then there are the super bleaching agents used in disposable diapers. One of the by-products of that bleaching is dioxins. The archives of Disease in Childhood reports that trace amounts of dioxin are present on disposables. Dioxin is a strong carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor.

"Need more information? Not entirely convinced? Here ya go:

Study: Disposable Diapers Could Cause Male Infertility

By Anthony Browne
London Observer Service
September 26, 2000
Disposable diapers could be the cause of the sharp rise in male infertility over the past 25 years, according to an authoritative scientific study to be published this week. It is thought that disposable diapers heat up baby boys' testicles to such a degree that it stops them developing normally. Diapers lined with plastic raise the temperature of the scrotum far above body temperature and can lead to a total breakdown of normal cooling mechanisms, according to the study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. Doctors in Kiel, Germany, started the study after being alarmed at the temperature of the testicles of infant boys who were brought into hospitals with infections. The cells supporting sperm production are laid down in the first two years of life. However, their development and sperm production in later life is very dependent on temperature. Testicles need to be cooler than the rest of the body, which is why they are external.
Boys whose testicles descend too late in adolescence are often infertile because they have been kept warm for too long. In adults, exposure to high temperatures, during a fever or while in a sauna, can dramatically reduce sperm count. Tight jeans can also lead to higher testicular temperatures, possibly causing a reduction in sperm count. Dr. Wolfgang Sippell, professor of pediatrics at the University of Kiel, monitored the scrotal temperature of 48 healthy boys, from birth up to 4 years old, using a tiny thermal probe. His team tested the temperatures when boys wore disposable diapers and when they wore re-usable cotton diapers, both during waking and sleeping hours. The temperature was consistently higher when the disposable diapers were worn, with the highest temperatures recorded in the youngest babies. Scrotal temperatures were the same as rectal temperatures when cotton diapers were worn, but far higher when disposable diapers were worn.

They concluded that the insulation properties of the disposable diapers impaired the normal cooling mechanisms of the testicles. They found that in 13 boys, the cooling mechanism failed altogether. Sippell concluded: "A prolonged increase in scrotal temperature in early childhood may have an important role in subsequent testicular health and function, with implications for male fertility." Repeated studies have shown that average sperm counts have fallen by almost half from 1938 levels, and are continuing to decline as fast as 2 percent a year. The Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association, which represents makers of disposable diapers, said the study had dubious methodology. Association spokesman Peter Stephenson said: "There is no evidence to support the assertions made by this study, which would appear to be implausible. The safety of our products is of paramount importance. Disposable diapers are, and remain, safe."


New Tests Confirm TBT Poison in Proctor & Gamble Pampers

Greenpeace Demands Worldwide Ban of Organotins in All Products
May 15, 2000
HAMBURG -- New tests carried out by Greenpeace found the hormone pollutant TBT (tributyl tin) in "Pampers Baby Dry Mini" babies' nappies (diapers) sold in Germany by the company Procter & Gamble. Last Friday, Greenpeace uncovered that TBT and other organotin compounds were found in Procter & Gamble's Pampers "Baby Dry", in the Paul Hartmann company's "Fixies Ultra Dry", and in Ledysan Spa's "United Colours of Benetton Junior unisex". All tests were proven by scientific analyses made on Greenpeace's behalf.
The new test, during which several parts of "Pampers Baby Dry Mini" were analyzed, found the highest contamination in the belt section of these nappies. "Pampers Baby Dry Mini" contained up to 38.4 micrograms of TBT per kilogram, a much higher level then in the first tests of a pool sample. (1) Furthermore the inner and outer layer were found to be contaminated. Greenpeace also found other organotin compounds in the Pampers, including DBT and MBT. If all discovered organotin compounds were added, a total of 53.2 micrograms per kilogram were found.
Greenpeace'sscientific test results contradict a statement by Procter & Gamble, in which the company denied that its nappies were contaminated with organotin compounds. Greenpeace toxics expert Thilo Maack said: "The reaction of Procter & Gamble is a scandal. The company is downplaying the danger instead of actively searching for the source of TBT in Pampers. It is absolutely irresponsible to expose babies to these extremely toxic substances".

"Fact is that TBT is one of the most toxic substances ever made, and it is being spread through the skin and contaminates the environment as well as people," he noted.
This environmental pollutant, which has been in the headlines for months because of its extremely high toxicity, has a hormone-like effect. The smallest concentrations of TBT can harm people's immune systems and impair their hormonal system. "The German government must ban this toxin in all areas of use immediately," says Thilo Maack. Greenpeace last January found TBT in fish for human consumption, and in March detected TBT in football shirts despite textile manufacturers declaring them safe again. TBT has furthermore recently been found in plastic PVC floorings. Witco, a company in Bergkamen/Germany, produces 80 per cent of the TBT used in the world. The smallest quantities of TBT kill algae and mussels and for that reason it is used in ships' paints to stop their growth on hulls.

Greenpeace has been calling on the chemical and ship industries to ban it production or application. There are less harmful alternatives to TBT in all the spheres in which organotin compounds are used. Greenpeace is at present analyzing other brands of nappies on sale in Germany.



Chemicals In Diapers Cited As Possible Asthma Trigger

Penny Stern, MD
October 6, 1999
NEWYORK, Oct 06 (Reuters Health) -- Childhood respiratory problems, including asthma, may be linked to inhaling the mixture of chemicals emitted from disposable diapers, researchers write in the September/October issue of Archives of Environmental Health.

Lead author Dr. Rosalind C. Anderson, of Anderson Laboratories in West Hartford, Vermont, told Reuters Health that chemical emissions of some disposable diapers have immediate health effects in animals breathingthe diluted chemical mixtures. ''Upon analysis, the diaper emissions were found to include several chemicals with documented respiratory toxicity,'' according to the paper.

"Mice were used in this study because of their general physiological and biochemical similarity to humans", Anderson explained, "adding that both humans and mice develop bronchoconstriction as a response to certain (odors and substances)". Bronchoconstriction refers to a narrowing of air passages in the lungs that is associated with respiratory difficulties.

"Upon exposing the mice to various brands of disposable diapers, a decrease was observed in the ability of the animals to move air during exhalation", Anderson said. Noting that this finding accurately describes asthma or an asthma-like reaction, she added "that if mice and humans respond in a similar manner to diaper emissions, disposable diapers could be important with respect to the worldwide asthma epidemic.''

In contrast to the results obtained with disposables, new cloth diapers produced very little respiratory effects and appeared to be the least toxic choice for a consumer, the researchers write.

"Though the disposable effect was noted even when the emissions of a single diaper are diluted in the air of a small room,'' Anderson said, she cautions that it is too early to indict diaper chemicals. "Whether the diaper chemicals initiate clinical disease, simply trigger an asthma-like response or are not implicated (at all) in human disease will not be known until after a vast amount of human data has been accumulated,'' she commented.

Therefore, Anderson believes that formal epidemiological investigations must be extended to infant products in order to evaluate these items' possible role in triggering or aggravating asthmatic conditions. She and herco-author, Dr. Julius Anderson, have (previously) published similar findings associated with other products used in infants' environments." A number of these manufactured materials -- air fresheners, mattress covers, fabric softeners -- have many rapid-onset toxic effects in common,'' she pointed out.

In Anderson's view, the current epidemic in childhood asthma cannot be explained solely on the basis of what she termed, ''the usual suspects: dust mites, cockroaches, maternal smoking". Maybe child-care products such as plastic diapers... plastic baby bottles, and plastic toys are important factors through the release of chemicals with toxic effects.''

Until such time as this asthma-inducing effect can be confirmed in humans, Anderson reminds parents and healthcare professionals that precaution costs nothing. When you are dealing with a toxic chemical or chemicals, avoidance is the only proper action. ''She suggests that parents and doctors... believe themselves if they think a product is harming the breathing of the mother or the baby.''

SOURCE: Archives of Environmental Medicine September/October 1999.



Disposable Diapers Linked to Asthma

January/February 2000
Harsh perfumes and chemical emissions have long been known to induce asthma-like symptoms in children and adults. Now, researchers have found that disposable diapers might be a trigger for asthma.

A study published in the October, 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers suffered increased eye, nose, and throat irritation, including bronchoconstriction similar to that of an asthma attack. Six leading cotton and disposable diaper brands were tested; cloth diapers were not found to cause respiratory problems among the lab mice.

Dr. Rosalind C. Anderson, lead author of the report, "Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions," explains that the diapers were tested right out of the package, and one at a time. Even in a mid-sized room, the emissions from one diaper were high enough to produce asthma-like symptoms. Solvents and other substances are typically added to products during the manufacturing process in order to affect malleability and other properties, Dr. Anderson explains."Even if you don't want these chemicals in the final product, it's hardto take them out. We are finding chemical off-gasses in all sorts ofbaby products besides diapers, including baby mattresses and mattresscovers," she says.

What chemicals were released from the diapers? Tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene,among others. Dr. Anderson says these, like certain scents, are bronchial irritants. "It's similar to when asthmatics smell perfume and all of a sudden their chests get tight." Although mice are much smaller than humans, they were chosen for the study because their physiology and biochemistry are similar to that of humans. Of the brands tested, three diaper brands were found not to affect the breathing of the lab mice: American Fiber and Finishing Co., Gladrags organic cottondiapers, and Tender Care disposable diapers.

Further study is needed to determine what level of diaper chemical emission triggers infant respiratory distress. In the meantime, Dr. Anderson advises asthmatic mothers to avoid exposure to these chemicals, and to be mindful of the fact that their children may be sensitive to these and other asthma antagonists such as dust mites, roaches, and smoking. Asthma rates are on a sharp incline in the US and worldwide, particularly among poor and inner-city children.

Anderson,Rosalind, and Julius Anderson. Acute Respiratory Effects of Diaper Emissions, Archives of Environmental Health, 54, October 1999.

1)Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1990Update. (1990). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 530SW-90-042. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

2)Lehrburger, C. (1988). Diapers in the Waste Stream: A Review of WasteManagement and Public Issues, P. O. Box 580, Sheffield, MA.

3) Rathje, W. L. (1989). "Rubbish" The Atlantic Monthly, 264 (6), 99-109.

4) Hollis, R. W. (1989). "The ethics of diapering"; Mothering (Fall), 29.

5)Little, A. D. Disposable Versus Reusable (Cloth) Diapers:Environmental, Health and Economic Considerations. Cambridge, MA:Arthur D. Little, Inc.

6) Lyman, F. (1990) "Diaper hype" Garbage: the Practical Journal for the Environment, 2 (1), 36-40.

7)Clark. G.S., et. al. (1974). Incidence of viral infections among wastecollection workers. Institute of Environmental Health, Cincinnati, OH:University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

8) Energy andEnvironmental Profile Analysis of Children's Disposable and ClothDiapers. (1990). Prairie Village, KS: Franklin Associates, Ltd.

9)Dallas, M. J. and Wilson, P. A. (1989). "Diaper performance:maintenance of healthy skin" Proceedings: Association of CollegeProfessors of Textiles and Clothing Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

10)Bartlett, L. K., Moore, M., Gary, W., et. al. (1985). "Diarrhea illnessamong infants and toddlers in daycare centers" Journal of Pediatrics(107), 495.

11) Berg, R. W. (1990). The effect of diaper type onthe potential for fecal contamination in group daycare settings. TheProcter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH.

12) Stone, J.(1990). Groundwater quality: the diaper dilemma. Iowa CooperativeExtension Service Publication No. Pm-1401, Iowa State University, Ames,IA.

13) Joseph, L. E. (1990). "The Bottom Line on Disposables" The New York Times Magazine (September 23), 26 ff.

14)King, L. W. (1990). A Study of Municipal Solid Waste Composting on theImpact of Paper Diapers. The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH.




What other things can I do to help the environment?

Each person/family has their own level of contribution to helping our environment. There are many small steps you can take. A few examples:
Buy energy saving light bulbs.

Change your household cleaners to simple and natural. You can look up online how to make your own cleaners usingmostly baking soda, vinegar, borax, lemon, and salt. It's much better for the air in your house as well.

When you wash your hands, don't sit and wait for the water to get hot... just wash in cold. You are not going to get the water hot enough to kill germs anyway, and it wastes alot of water to run it until the hot comes out.

Don't keep water running while you are brushing your teeth.

Try using your bath water to water the garden.

Turn off the lights when you aren't in the room.

Shut down the computer when it's not in use.

Turn down the water heater, and take shorter showers.

Try hanging your clothes to dry. We purchased a drying rack at Ikea and hang our clothes on it in our bedroom. It takes as much energy to run most clothes dryers as it does to run an air conditioner.

Don't hold the refridgerator open, as this takes an enormous amount of energy.

Try not to drive when you don't have to. Wetry to run all errands in the same day, once a week. Carpool.

If possible, try to use renewable energy, or go with an electric company that supports renewable energy. I use Green Mountain so that I am supporting renewable energy.

Try bringing your own re-usable bags tothe grocery store, instead of using their plastic bags. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0902_030902_plasticbags.html

You can make a HUGE difference in many things by supporting small business whenever possible. Many small businesses are more concious of their impact on the environment, not to mention the focus on quality and customer service.

If you have any further questions that youfeel should be added to this FAQ, please email me. I am happy to spendtime doing research and answering as many questions as possible. This is a work in progress!

Happy bEarthDay

So it's my birthday today. I've always thought it was some kind of special that I was born on Earth Day. How fitting, huh? Who would have thought, 35 years ago, that I would grow up and make cloth diapers for a living? Yes, I did just admit my age. I'm actually not embarrassed about my age. I'm proud of it. I've lived for 35 years, and I still feel great! I think the 30's are a good time in life. I've enjoyed mine so far.

I don't really make a big deal about birthdays. It's strange, really. I had a friend years ago who had survived cancer though many parts of her body. She lost a lung, her reproductive organs, etc. She survived the impossible and was living a healthy life. She was one of the nicest people I've ever known, and she taught me something. I learned that every year should be celebrated. Every year, I look back and remember her and remember to be happy for yet another year.

So what did I do today? Well, I started out stressed out, then disappointed, until I decided to refocus. I'm one of the first licensees for the new Mosaic Moon Diapers. Today was the opening day of the store, and I was still working on finishing up my diapers at the very last moment. Of course, this is nothing unusual... I always wait until the last moment. I worked hard this week, though. Emily was feeling super needy, and I still managed to pull this thing together. I was very stressed out about finishing and getting the items up on time. Every time Emily wanted me to come and see something, I explained again that I was super busy. I finally got my stuff stocked, and watched.... nothing happen. I hit refresh over and over again, feeling the mixture of stress over getting everything done and the disappointment of it not selling. During this moment of stress, Emily brought in a present. It was a cute picture she had painted for me. I realized at that moment that I was putting my energy in the wrong place. So, I shut down the computer and got ready to leave the house.

I got in the car, not knowing where we would go, so me and Emily ended up at the mall. It's air conditioned, it has a playground and a coffee shop.... what more could you ask for, really? We ended up having a good day. We went into Gymboree and found some blankets on sale. I like to find cute blankets and cut them up to make into cute cloth diapers. We looked at stores, just for fun. We smelled every candle in BBW (Emily loves smelling candles). I ran into JC Penny to see if they had something I was looking for, when Emily spotted some Webkinz. Now, a 5 year old thinks that everybody likes what they like. SO, she decided that I just HAD to have a pink poodle Webkinz for my birthday. She was a bit upset that she didn't have the money to buy me one, so I provided the handy dandy debit card. I now have a pink poodle Webkinz! As we were leaving, she said to me, "Mom, this is the best birthday you've ever had!" That really made my day. That's Emily's way of saying that she just had a great day with me. It was a good day. This very moment, while I am typing, she is singing to me.

Life is good.

I'm actually editing this to add a little funny.
Emily has never been taught that boys can't like pink, girls can't play with hotwheels, etc. So, she has this friend in the neighborhood. This friend has been raised with very strong gender education. Dad is a "macho" type who feels that boys should be tough. I think he would probably have a complete brain meltdown if his son's fave color was pink. This family believes that the male runs the house, the wife obeys, etc. (totally not my style) SOOOO, the entire time we were in the mall, Emily kept finding things that she wanted me to buy for this friend of hers. His birthday is this summer, so she's planning ahead. He needed a pink fairy ring with matching neclace, the pink poodle webkinz, and various other things that his dad would never approve of. I tried to explain this to her, but she looked at me like I was talking about quantum physics. She just didn't get it.

Happy Spring!

And it is Spring here! Our plums are blooming with cute white flowers, all trees are budding and ready to leaf out, and my beautiful pink saucer magnolia is in full bloom. I love this time of year.


For our Spring celebration, me and Emily made a bird nesting materials box. Emily is so excited about it! What we did was take a carton from our soy milk, and cut a large opening on one side. Then, Emily decorated it all over for fun. She drew pictures of birds on it. Finally, we filled it with wool scraps (from my serger, they are very thin), and dryer lint. We hung it with some pretty wool yarn, and have watched the birds come and collect nesting materials. We can't wait to see the bright wool scraps in nests throughout the neighborhood.



Tony and Emily went outside and planted the seeds for our veggies this year. It's a surprise, so I don't know what they planted. I'm sure it will be the usual, though. We grow a lot of tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, peas, carrots, cantaloupe, and culinary herbs. The tomatoes are great, because we grow several varieties, including one that is dark purple!


Today, Emily had a friend over, so we made spring colored cupcakes (easy to do... buy white cake mix and the neon colors of food coloring. Mix cake mix, then divide into batches according to how many colors you want, add some food coloring, stir, pour in cupcake wraps, bake according to directions. Take whipped white frosting, divide, add food coloring, stir, and frost cupcakes). After that, the kids decorated them with sprinkles. Then, we had a tea party outside, because it was a lovely day. We ate cupcakes and drank (decaf herbal) tea. After that, we dyed eggs. The neon food colors make beautiful egg colors! Finally, we blew bubbles, then it was time to call it a day. Emily is fast asleep. We will be doing a big egg hunt this weekend (me and my MIL coordinate it). Finally, sometime next week, we will plant some seeds in egg shells.


On a more business note, I am one of the first licensees for the Mosaic Moon pattern. These diapers were known as "Pinheads" and are awesome. I've made a few already, and just love how they turn out. Excuse my crappy photos:

And these are some of my own sized diapers as well:
I haven't made any Night Owls this week, but will get to it. As far as Night Owls go, I'm working on some Day Owls that will be like the Night Owls, but with less wool and made more for daytime use. If a person wanted to save money cloth diapering, while still enjoying good quality diapers and wool, these will be just that. One only needs a few, with several snap-ins, to have a complete stash. To make it even more economical, I am working on a one-size pattern for Night Owls (and Day Owls). The One-Size Night Owls will have a contour snap-in with elasticized legs. This will resolve issues with babies pooping in their wool diapers, while still keeping them trim and economical. These two ideas have been my most common requests by customers, so they are going to be done asap. I hope everybody loves them! Do, always feel free to hit the "email" button on my site and give me suggestions, requests, etc. I do listen.

Stocked my store...

I figure I should probably write in my blog when I stock, right?
I stocked up! I did mostly Night Owls, but also stocked some playdough. It's organic, so the cost is a bit more than some (though quite a bit less than other organic doughs). I like bright, fun colors for kids, so that's what I go for in playdough.



It's hard to get the colors to come out right in the photo, but they are pink, purple, blue, lime green, mint green, yellow, and peach. Making 5 batches takes me an entire day! Sun up to sun down. Of course, I am also taking care of Hurricane Emily.

I have to sanitize everything first, including all pans, bowls, spoons, measuring cups, and surfaces. I have to wear a mask, and wash my hands every few minutes. This is all to avoid any contamination.

While I was making the dough, Emily was playing in the yard, in the mud. The back door was open, and it's about 3 feet from my kitchen, so I am able to keep an eye on her. She ended up finishing and came in the house. This is all good, except that she didn't wash her feet and hands. So, when I was done making dough, I cleaned up my mess and walked into the livingroom, where she was crashed out, to find muddy footprints EVERYWHERE. They were going down the hall, to the restroom, back into the livingroom, the diningroom - everywhere. Oh joy. While she was napping, I cleaned it up. By the time she woke from her nap, I needed one.



I also stocked these Night Owls:
The camera just doesn't capture the color at all. The color of this wool is amazing. It's such a deep turquoise. When I see this color, I usually call it cerulean blue, but it's not. The closest match I can find is the Dharma catalog under Liquid H Series, number 606. It doesn't match that number on the computer at all, though - just the print catalog.

And for the Emily funny of the day...

I was bummed out that my Night Owls didn't all sell right away. They usually almost all sell within 15 minutes of stocking, so I hoped they would this time as well. (especially with the new colors) So, Emily, sensing my bummed outness, said in her most cheerful voice, "I know mom, let's go to the fabric store!" She knows what I like doing. I replied, telling her that I need to get this sewing done for my Necessitae stocking, to which she replied, "Stop being such a whiner." Well said, Emily.


I like cheese with my wine.

Appliqued Night Owl

I was contacted by a very nice customer the other day about some charity raffles she is holding. What a lovely idea! So, I decided that I wanted to make something special. The first thing that came to mind when I read her story was a bluebird. So, I made this Night Owl. It's wool, of course:

The raffles can be found here: Tyler Raffles

If you can spare a few bucks, I would encourage you to find the item/s that you would like to win and purchase some tickets! It's all for a good cause.

Things

There is this psychology in place that we often don't realize. We have a need to feel adequate, and to belong. Many times, we think of success and importance as parallel to obtaining possessions. As a result, we seek out possessions in order to feel that we are important in society. When you break it down, it's a backwards way of thinking, but we rarely ever think about it, yet alone break it down.

When we see others with "better" or "more" possessions, we think they are somehow more important than us, and visa verse. It's such a downward spiral as far as our well being goes, but such a great economic booster as far as capitalism goes. We want want want, and buy buy buy. We feel powerful when we have things and when we feel that we look important. Some people will go as far as to look down upon those who don't have a lot of things. Maybe thinking that they are not as important to society because they do not have as much stuff, or as nice of stuff.

The other day, I started to get sucked into this way of thinking. A friend took me to Ikea, which is always a fun adventure. I love looking at all the neat things and imagining how I could decorate my house with everything. I see a couch that I like, a new entertainment center, cabinets, shelving, etc. I saw a couch that I really liked and wanted. I started thinking about how embarrassing it is that we have an old, ugly couch. We don't have much, as far as furniture goes, and what we do have was given to us. It's not pretty, except for the dining room table set that my MIL purchased for us when we moved into our house. I see the huge flat screen, high definition TVs, and all of the nice gadgets. I want them.

I start feeling inadequate in society, like I'm not as important as those who have nice things. I don't shop at Ikea, like all of the important people do. I don't go to wine sampling parties, drive a nice car, brag about where I ate last night, or the nice school I have my kids in. I start feeling smaller and smaller.

I started thinking about this, and wondering what would bring me to worry about my couch or my car. They work, after all. There is no reason for new ones, as these are just fine. I realize that I've been had. I've fallen for the age old trick.... getting people to want things in order to feel important. Would having a new couch really make me more important in this world? No, of course not. Do I think more highly of a person who has nice furniture than I do of a person who doesn't? Of course not... that would be shallow. So, are there really people who see my ugly couch and think that they are more important than I am? Oh, I'm sure there are. Obviously, I'm not the sort of person they would enjoy being friends with, so we can go our separate ways... happily.

I have to remind myself on a daily basis about just what *is* important. You know, I have a roof over my head, I never have to worry about where my kid's next meals will come from, and I have the luxury of driving a car. I am lucky. There are babies starving in this world. There are people who live on a piece of bread a day. There are people who have no idea where their next meal will come from, or if they will even have one. There are children being abused out there. There are women who are cast out of society because of a birth injury. There are people who work 15 hours or more a day, and can't feed their families. So, how important is a couch, really? Just how important is it in the grand scheme of things? How important is the nice wine, expensive cheese, nice house, etc? Is it really such a great thing? To me, it's not.

So, while the people at Ikea were lining up at the checkout, I left and came home to send some money to Kiva. When I am gone from this world, I don't want people to say, "Oh I really miss her. She had such a nice couch!" I would rather them not even know who I was. In the grand scheme of things, it's not what you have, but what you do for the world... who you are.

I don't have a couch, but a woman is that much closer to starting her own sustainable business that will feed her family. That's pretty important, if you ask me.... or her.

Snooooow, glorious snoooowww!

Here in Texas, it rarely actually snows. Sometimes snow falls, but it doesn't stay, it just melts when it hits the ground and creates gobs and gobs of mud. Last night, however, it stuck!

So, I was packing up the last of my orders to ship, when I realized that I didn't have any freebies to give out. I like to throw a little something in each package. So, I cut out and serged up some wipes, then continued to pack up orders. Not too long into the process, the power suddenly went out. I noticed that the houses across the street from us still had power, but they are on different lines. Worried that it was just our house, and it could be an electrical short, I grabbed a jacket and some shoes and walked down the street to make sure others didn't have power. They didn't, so I came back in and called the electric company to report an outage. Thankfully, they knew of the outage, and un-thankfully, they said it would be back up around 11pm.

Because it was starting to get dark, we started searching for the flashlights. All had dead batteries, because they seem to be a favorite toy of Emily's. We finally found some batteries (we usually use rechargables and didn't have any charged) and put them in the flashlights. Not being one to waste time, I started filling out my thank you cards, then cutting stuff out to sew. Emily read books via flashlight, and Christopher told me about life and computers. (he is in to programming)
Next thing I know, Tony walks in with a car battery and some strange green lights. He hooked them up to the car battery, and we had light! Green light! I went outside in the storm (which was now blowing and snowing hard) just to see what it looked like from outside. Our house was glowing green! I'm sure our neighbors weren't surprised, as we *are* that strange family that uses cloth diapers, breastfeeds, conserves and re-uses water, grows food, etc. Green glow could hardly be a surprise.

Then, once the snow stopped for a while, Tony took Emily outside to build a snowman. She had a blast in the snow, and was worn out by the time she came in. I got everybody to bed, and as a final funny to our evening, I walked into the kitchen to get Emily a drink and the drawer was glowing. The flashlight turned itself on in the drawer.

I have some photos from last night:





This morning, Emily talked me into taking her out in the snow again. We bundled up and headed out. Now, we are not prepared for this sort of weather, as I don't even own a winter coat. It's just not cold enough here. So, I had to dig up what I could find. Emily wore a pair of PJs with my wool sweater over them. Then, she had a wool hat that has a big pompom on top, and a coat that I found in the back closet (a size 7 that is too small?) over everything. The hood on her coat looks funny because her hat has a huge pompom.

She went wild for a while, then came in and crashed.

Of driving and spiders ...

You would think that a 5 hour drive with two adults, two kids and a dog would be pretty uneventful. Right? You would think. For us, it is always a series of events. Let's take the recent trip to Oklahoma as an example. First, getting everybody into the car is always an ordeal. Tony asks me for 2 hours when we will be ready to leave, if I'm almost done, etc. So, when I'm finally done, and the car is packed, etc, he has something to do. I get the kids in the car, talk the dog into getting in (with a good treat), wait for Christopher to get in, then finally get myself in the car and start it up. Then, I wait. I wait and wait for Tony, who was just asking for the past 2 hours if I was almost ready. We have a 5 hour drive ahead of us, so the last thing I want to do is have the kids in the car an extra 10 minutes. I finally honk the horn to a tune, just to get him to hurry. After another 5 minutes, he finally emerges.

Now, one thing that is my saving grace is the "Dog Train" book and CD for Emily. My sister sent it, and I consider it a gift to me more than anything. So, I get her situated with the book, turn on the CD, and start driving. Ahhh, maybe this could be the uneventful trip I've been waiting for. I found this one too, and plan to buy it one day for our trips. Baby Rock Records: The Cure

So, then it all begins. Emily suddenly starts crying that something was crawling on her leg. She flicked it off and swore it was a spider. I assure her that it was probably just a little fly or something, but she is not convinced. She says that she brushed it off really fast, so I figure it's all okay. About 3 minutes later, I feel something crawl across the back of my neck. As a reflex, I swished it off really fast, swirving the car a bit, but not so much that I would be in another lane or anything. Tony starts complaining that I'm going to cause an accident, and I'm explaining that it's a reflex when you feel something crawling on the back of your neck.

Next, Christopher says that there is a big spider on the back of the seat. I could have gone the rest of the trip without knowing this. Panic sets in, and we are all scared (except Tony) that the spider is going to crawl on us. Tony says that I have an unnatural fear of spiders. I disagree.... I think it's completely natural. Finally, I had to just pull over. I pulled into the nearest gas station and got out, got Emily out of her carseat, and Christopher and the dog got out. I went to the back seat and tried to find the spider, that had crawled to some unknown place. I'm sure it was quite a scene, as I pulled the blanket out (holding it like it had the plague) and dropped it on the ground. I picked it up and shook it.. no spider. Darn. Slowly, I take each thing out of the back seat, holding it ever so carefully, so as not to have a spider crawl on me. As luck would have it, this spider is very good at hide-n-seek. I couldn't find it.

Eventually, Tony insisted that we continue on our journey. So, we put everything back in the car, and piled back in. As I was driving down the highway, what should crawl up the windshield, right in front of my face, but a spider? Once again, I swerve, Tony complains, I explain, etc. Finally, he decides that it would be safest if he drove. By the time I could pull over, the spider had found another place to hide. So, the rest of the trip was spent worried about where it would show up next. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn't.

In the meantime, I did hand dye some wool and turn it into some fun Night Owls. I'll admit that it has actually been dyed for a while, as I just didn't get time to turn it into anything..... but I finally did, and stocked them on Necessitae.



There's something oddly satisfying about making front snap serged diapers. It brings back memories of the diapers I made Emily as a baby. I always preferred front snap, serged, so I made her a bunch, with this very pattern of mine. Her favorite was the Care Bear one. Ahh, the memories.

A trip down memory lane ...

Sometimes, as parents, we look back at the things that brought us joy,and we want to share those things with our kids. Remember Paddington bear? We have the music CDs. He's so cute! I love him. Christopher's first bear was a Paddington that my sister got him, and his special blanket was a Paddington blanket. I remember being a kid and trying marmelade just because it's what Paddington ate (I didn't like it, though).

And what about The Bugaloos? Remember those?





I loved Holly Hobby when I was four. I used to play with Lincoln Logs in my preschool. Those were awesome. I built little log cabins, then put my little people in them. Oh, Little People! Who could ever forget those?

And Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down! Bristle blocks and legos are great classics. Remember the McDonalds Hamburgler? Remember Stretch Armstrong? My counsin had him and we played with him all the time. We each grabbed a limb and pulled as far as we could. Rubics cube, Mork and Mindy, Laverne and Shirly, A barral of monkeys, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Simon Says, Atari, Etch a Scetch, Big Wheel, and the list goes on.

I read the Mother Goose nursery rhymes to the kids, among other "classics". Like most 5 year olds, Emily loves music, so I purchased a few CD sets of the nursery rhymes. I love singing along with them, surprised that I still know all of the words.

And that is where my frustration comes in. Old Mother Hubbard no longer gets there to find the cupboard bare. Baa baa black sheep no longer has one for his master, one for his dame, and one for the little boy who cries down the lane. Ring around the rosies has changed as well. Now you have a ring of roses and give one to somebody, one to somebody else, and one to somebody else. Oh yeah, fun. Apparently, these songs ruined all of us as kids, so they had to be changed. Or maybe children can't handle nursery rhymes anymore.

The kicker for me was Humpy Dumpty. Now, when Humpty Dumpty sits on the wall, and has a great fall, a bunch of kids work together to put him back together again, and they all live happily ever after. He's an egg! He can't be put back together. All of the kings horses and all of the kings men tried, and they couldn't do it. It can't be done. If an egg falls off of a wall, it's broken. Trying to put it back together would be messy.
Is nothing sacred?

As a stepping stone to our walk down memory lane, I leave you with this beauty. I could listen to this song all day - and since I introduced it to Emily, I have.

Unchanged in all of it's glory. Wasn't that beautiful?

Mary had a little lamb,It's fleece was white as snow,And everywhere that Mary went,She stepped in lamb poop.

The clean room fairy...

A while back, I started this thing called the "cleaning fairy". It started out as a joke, but turned into one of those things that you keep going forever. The cleaning fairy is a fairy that visits our house and cleans it for us. The reason for the cleaning fairy is that I got tired of bugging and bugging for the kids to clean up after themselves. If I'm too tired to deal with it, I wait until they are asleep and clean in peace. The thing is, the cleaning fairy will only come if there isn't a huge mess. She only likes small messes. It's all in fun, of course.

So, a friend mentioned this cool thing.... She has a fairy that comes sometimes and checks to see if the kid's rooms are clean. If they are clean, she gives them a prize. They never know when she'll come, so it's random. She comes at night while they sleep. I thought this was the perfect idea!

Now, Emily is pretty good about cleaning, and keeping her room clean. It's really just another excuse for me to give her a little treat now and then. yanno? It seems like such fun too, I just had to do it.

So, I told Emily about this fairy. I told Christopher too, but he didn't seem too interested. Maybe the idea of a fairy coming into his room at night while he sleeps isn't so appealing to a 14 year old boy... not sure why.

Anyway, Emily is very excited about this fairy. Her room is spotless, which is no surprise. It's generally kept pretty clean anyway, as she likes things to be in their correct places. Here's the sticky part. Emily isn't so interested in the prizes as she is in meeting this fairy and being friends with her. She is leaving her notes and wants to buy her presents. She plans on pretending to be asleep so that she can catch this fairy in the act and get to know her. Um, yeah, I'm a little concerned about this.

Now I'm scared that one day, Emily will be horribly upset when she finds out that these fairies are just make believe. Santa won't be so bad... but the fairies? I'm in for some serious therapy debt. I've been thinking and thinking, trying to figure out how to make this not so "real" for her. So, I came up with a solution.... I'm just going to have to keep it going through adulthood. I'll have the fairy send her little prizes in the mail when she has moved out (which hopefully won't happen until she's 30). I just can't think of any other solution. So, now I'm wondering about the livingroom fairy, the kitchen fairy, etc. Hmmm.

I do hope she grows out of all of this stuff slowly. I hope I'm not setting her up to be very let down. My plan is for her to, one day, understand how fun this was and want to carry on that fun. One can hope. In the meantime, I need to think of little prizes for the fairy to leave.

More work at home people...

I say "people" instead of moms because one is a dude! I enjoy highlighting work at home/small businesses. I hope that everybody will find some wonderful products to fall in love with, and support our small business owners. I believe that our economy can be helped a great deal by supporting our small businesses.
So here are today's people:

I know I've mentioned Uber Geek Coffee before, but I can't help but mention again. I like good coffee. Lynn (the dude who owns Uber Geek Coffee Roasters) knows everything there is to know about coffee, and all accessories that go with coffee. If you are in the market for a new espresso machine, or a new coffee grinder, he's your guy. If you know what you like, but aren't sure what he has that matches, just tell him what you like and he will help you find the perfect coffee. He has a great selection.







He has set up a FAQ to help answer some of the many questions that come his way.

My favorite is his India Tree Dried Natural, but he is out of that at the moment, and the beans are hard to get. Keep checking back with him if you want to try it. It's worth the time. My second fave is this one.

It has a very crisp, clean flavor, no unpleasant aftertaste at all, and a hint of toffee taste. I had it in full city roast, which is my roast of choice. In my experience, you get the full flavor of the coffee with the Full City roast, but not quite as much with other roasts. That's only my opinion, of course. I also think you need a French press to really enjoy your coffee. Paper filters filter out the good oils, which takes a bit from the flavor. Whatever you do, do NOT put your coffee in the freezer. This is one of my pet peeves. I put the coffee that I have for my garden in the freezer. I figure the plants are okay with stale coffee. I'm not.
Okay, enough about coffee.....

Another small business worth mentioning is Tush Cloth Diapers.
Tush has been selling a night diaper called the "Nocturne" that has gained quite a bit of popularity. She will be doing a newborn stocking soon, so if you are expecting, you might want to check her out. I thought this picture was one of the more well done ones I've seen.






Another to take note of is Whiffy Bean Bags . She makes little scented bean bags that can be used as car air fresheners, drawer sachets, or as scented bean bags for the kids to play "Bean Bag Toss" with. What a neat idea!I would have to keep one in my car, one in my drawer, one in Christopher's shoes, and the list could go on.







In other news, I stocked some Night Owls in my store.

I'll have some pictures as soon as I can kick Tony off of the main computer and finish uploading them.

So you want to be a work at home mom?

So, you want to be a work at home mom? Congratulations!

The first step to starting your own business is to ask yourself two questions.
What am I good at? and What do I enjoy doing?
First, what skills do you have? Do you sew? Do wood work? Knit? What are you good at? What are you good at that you would enjoy doing every day? Write it down. What can you bring to the world? What do you have to offer? Write all of this down. Think on it. Once you think you have found your calling, look around at other stores with similar items. Is yours unique? You will do best offering something that is unique. If you make cloth diapers, for instance, what unique feature or idea do you have to offer? Make sure you are writing everything down. You want to go into this as organized as possible.

Now, my first suggestion is that you find a shrink asap. Make an appointment and get an evaluation. If you are comfortable with your insanity, WAHMing is for you.

Your next step is to go to my cleaning crash course and make your list. Before you have the final list, go to your daily tasks and change at least a third of them to "weekly", then go to about a third of your "weekly" tasks and change them to "monthly". Now complete your list. I would make sure you have your cleaning routine pretty down pat before starting your wahm business. You will not have time to keep your house perfect, and being as organized as you can will help a great deal.

When you are ready to begin, I recommend opening up a business paypal account. Once you have your paypal account opened up and verified, I suggest opening up an etsy shop, and an ebay account. It doesn't hurt to start out selling on one of these areas where you will get good exposure for a minimum price.

It's best to go ahead and have a website, so you will want to come up with a name, then research it to make sure it is a unique name. Many people run into a problem when they open up shop with a name that is too similar to another shop's name. Not only will you most likely have a Cease and Desist letter, but it is also very frowned upon by other small businesses. You want to stay on a friendly level with other wahms. Remember, in small business, there is no competition. You are all business partners.

Once you have your name, you will want to register a domain in your name, and start having your website built. You can start out with a very basic design that you create yourself, or pay somebody to design your site for you. There are many work at home moms who design websites for a living and would be happy to work with you.
You will want to read through as many resources as you can get your hands on. It's best to start your business out right, rather than struggling for years to figure out how to do it. I've found one place that has a lot of resources is Elemental Muse . Her shopping cart on hyena cart is packed with free e-books as well as many great ebooks for purchase. And speaking of carts, one of the more popular shopping carts at the moment is Hyena Cart. When you are ready, and have your website designed, products ready to be sold, etc, I suggest opening up a shopping cart.

If you are sewing diapers, I recommend purchasing small amounts of fabric until your business is experiencing regular sales, then moving on to purchasing your materials wholesale, or via coop.

If you will be knitting, dyeing, etc, I will list what resources I have available. I suggest that you practice your skill for a while and make sure that it is up to par for you to sell. One of the common mistakes that people make going into business is selling sub-par products at a loss. If you are selling products that are sub par, people will remember your products as being sub par. That will be your reputation. This is a great reason to wait until you know that you have a high quality item to offer.

You do not want to sell at a loss. Some people make the mistake of believing that they are just getting their name out there, or that the products should not be priced as high as the market has already dictated. This is, of course, false. When you price your items, you need to take into consideration the costs involved from all sides. Consider your cost of materials, machinery, shipping supplies, web hosting, domain purchase, cart hosting fees, etc. You need to pay yourself for your time as well. It is not acceptable to think that you are having fun doing this, so you do not need paid. This is a business, and a business needs to make money in order to run. Imagine all of the things you could do with your time instead of what you are doing, and realize that your time is worth something. If you want to do volunteer work, there are so many organizations that need your help, so I suggest keeping your business at a level of making some profit and charity work for charities who need you. Charge for your time, materials, and the cost of running your business. You will be putting a lot of work into this business, afterall.

Before you open up shop, have a banner made (or make one if you have those skills), and run it in some areas where your target market is. Your target market is the people who will want to purchase your products. If you are selling cloth diapers, your target market is people who want to cloth diaper their babies. You will want to run your banner on a cloth diapering forum, where people who cloth diaper their babies are all hanging out together. I will share some links to such forums in the resources section. You will be best off having an inventory ready for opening day. People are more likely to come to your store and browse around if they see several interesting items.

How you photograph your items is very important. You should work on your photography skills for a while before you open up shop. With online sales, people are relying on a photograph and description to buy the product. Unlike a physical store, they cannot touch the item and feel it, and see the colors, etc. Your photographs need to show them how beautiful the item is. Taking a photo on your couch or floor doesn't tend to look nice. It's best to invest in a photo box, or make one yourself. To find a photo box, try doing an ebay search for "photo tent". One trick that I have found is to place the item on one of those foam poster boards. They are shiny enough to capture the light just right. Pay attention to your lighting. Pay attention to how you arrange your items. If you just throw it down and photograph it, it might not look even, or it might appear flawed. Arrange it in a way that captures its perfection. Browse around similar stores and look at their photos. Think about what makes the item look high quality and what makes it look "not so great" and go from there.

Finally, know your product. I can't even express how important this is. Imagine you go into a coffee shop. You ask the barista which coffee is a light roast, as you don't like dark roast. The reply is, "I don't know, I don't drink coffee." Your confidence in the product goes down a great deal. You need to know as much as you can about your product. Your customers will consider you an expert and ask a lot of questions. You want to answer them confidently.

I will add to this as I think of more, and eventually, will give it a page for reference.

Just a quick update on The Beast...

As of 12:30pm, The Beast is doing much better again. He got up and started wagging his tail, rolled around on the floor with a smile on his face, went outside to use the restroom, then got a HUGE drink of water. He is now drinking water on his own! He drank more on his own this morning at 7:30. Boy, that down time was scary! It looks like he might be getting better and we are back on track. I got some food in him, and he held it down.

I am one happy mama!



You can do it, Attie!

I'm supposed to be working on my taxes..

But, instead, I just can't sit still. So, I got out my yarn and dyes and started messing around. I've been trying to get a good brown and orange theme going. Browns are so hard. I almost have it. Here is my mini-skein. I do small ones for my experiments.



And I am in the process of working on some Night Owls exclusively for boys. The reason for this is that boys tend to wet in front, while girls wet in back/middle. So, the boys Night Owls will have a lot more wool in front, while my regular ones will have more in the middle/back or be even. I have one almost finished.

I bet you are wondering how I keep Hurricane Emily busy while I am doing this? I do what every insane mother does.... I hand her some paper, glue, and glitter. She's right beside me having all kinds of fun. Glitter is fun. It makes the biggest mess.



And then she hangs the picture up. Doh, should have reminded her to let it dry first.



I'm sure she'll be happy about that when she gets out of the bath.

On a closing note, Tony called me just minutes ago to see if I needed anything from the store. He has a gift card that expires today, so wants to go ahead and use it. I don't need anything at the moment. Thank goodness he is able to find enough stuff to use up that gift card, as it has a whopping $1 on it. He always cracks me up.

Speaking of gift cards, I am always up for a trade for gift cards. If you got a card for Christmas that you will never use, send it my way. Let me know what diaper, or anything else in my store, you want for it. I can use cards to Target, Albertsons, Kroger, and walmart. I might be able to use others as well, just ask.

Good night!

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year to all! Chinese New Year starts on February 7th this year.
At Necessitae, we had a special stocking for the festivities. There were so many beautiful things stocked, and still some left.

I decided to make some skirts this time around. I worked from sun up to sun down on these!

This one was made using an Alexander Henry fabric that I have been in love with since the day it arrived. I was saving it for something special, but never could decide what. It's even more beautiful in person. This is oneof my all time favorite fabrics ever.




This one was made out of a cute fabric that I got a while back. It has chopsticks and fortune cookies all over it! Emily is convinced that if she wears hers to the Chinese restaurant, they will give her extra fortune cookies. We'll see how that works.




I also made two diapers. This first one was hand dyed by me in shades of pink. The dye job is better in person, of course. The fabric is organic bamboo velour.




And then this one that is made with my favorite knit that I'm saving for Emily. She doesn't like pink so much, so I can't seem to talk her into letting me make something out of it for her. I'm still hoping.



But enough about me! There were so many things stocked that I fell in love with!
We all know my love for Naturally Luxe products.
Look at this beauty that had my name written all over it. I didn't even get on the computer before it was gone, though.



Made By Maria made a bag with my name all over it too!



And one with Emily's name all over it.


I think the girl on this one looks like my sister.

I would do just about anything to have these hand knit slippers by Kimberly R


I am completely amazed at this necklace!


Okay, that bead is hand made! By a person! She makes them and sells them. Isn't that incredible?

A hand made journal by Becky's Paper Creations



Yarn from Mosaic Moon



A set by Sweet Mama Small Sugar



Little dolls from Where's Waldorf



And so much more, I don't even have time to write about all of them! Check out for yourself if you like.
http://www.necessitae.com/allstores.php

And a huge thank you to Maria for compiling this fact writeup on Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year Facts

* 2008 is the year of the rat.
* Current year is Year 4706 by the Chinese calendar.
* The holiday usually falls on the second (very rarely third) new moon after the winter solstice.
* People in China believe that as they enter a New Year, they should drop the last year into the silence limbo of the past. Common Chinese New Year Activity includes cleaning the houses from top to bottom, purchasing new clothes, paying off debts, painting their doors and windowpanes, and even getting new haircuts. Traditional Chinese New Year Facts bring forth the essence of new life and new hopes.
* One of the most important characteristics of Chinese New Year Calendar is that it names each of the twelve years after an animal. Tradition says that Lord Buddha had called for all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. But only twelve animals came to offer him farewell and as a token Lord Buddha named a year after each of the twelve animals in the order they arrived. According to the popular Chinese myth the animal ruling the year in which a person is born tremendously influences his or her behavior and traits.
* The Spring Festival ceremoniously commences with the practice of offering a sacrifice to the Kitchen God. Kitchen God is a deity sent from Heaven to each house to take charge of family's affairs and make a report on what the family has done in the past year to Heaven annually on the date of the twenty-third. So with the preparations of feeding the Kitchen God, the celebrations of Chinese New Year gets kicked off.
* Traditionally, the celebrations for the Chinese New Year last up to fifteen days. During these days, the Chinese wish each other by saying "Kung Hei Fat Choy" which means having a great fortune, or "Kung Hall Sun Hei", which implies happy New Year. Married couples give red envelopes with lucky money to their kids or relatives of their younger generations instead of giving presents. The money can be used to buy holiday treats.
* The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to kin, relatives and friends, a practice known as "new-year visits". New clothing is usually worn to signify a New Year. The color red is liberally used in all decorations.
* Traditionally dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, symbolizing prosperity and good wishes. Chinese New Year Dish includes prawns for liveliness and pleasure, dried oysters for all things good in life, raw fish salad to usher in good luck and prosperity, dumplings boiled in water signifying a long-lost good wish for a family and Fai-hai (Angel Hair), edible hair-like seaweed to bring prosperity for the family.
* Chinese love excitement and merriment and New Year gives them an opportunity to do so. Chinese New Year is characterized by street celebrations which include the performance of lion dance and dragon dance with exploding sound of fire crackers. The loud noise made by the fire crackers signifies the getting rid of sadness or bad events of last year and ushering in a good and prosperous coming year.
* Fu - the Chinese character for 'good luck". People paint signs with this character to hang in their homes and in the streets during Chinese New Year. These signs are painted in the traditional red and gold and are hung upside down. The Chinese word for upside down rhymes with the Chinese word for "arrive", so by hanging the sign upside down, good luck will arrive.
* Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the new year containing a new moon (some sources include New Year's Eve)[citation needed] and ends on the Lantern Festival fourteen days later.
* Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.
* According to legend, in ancient China, the Nián (年) was a man-eating beast from the mountains (in other versions from under the sea), which came out every 12 months somewhere close to winter to prey on humans. The people later believed that the Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the color red. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations. Guò nián, which means to celebrate the New Year, literally means the passover of the Nian.
* The period around Chinese New Year is also the time of the largest human migration, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Chinese around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Chinese New Year's eve. More interurban trips are taken in mainland China in this 40-day period than the total population of China.
* The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth. Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
* The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents.
* The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year are generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends due to the following schools of thought. People may subscribe to one or both thoughts.
* The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year are generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends due to the following schools of thought. People may subscribe to one or both thoughts.
1: It is known as "chì kǒu" meaning it is easy to get into arguments, it has been suggested that this is due to the fried food and also visiting family for the first 2 days of New Year.
2: Families who had an immediate kin deceased in the past 3 years will not go house-visiting as a form of respect to the dead. The third day of the New Year is allocated to grave-visiting instead. Some people conclude it is inauspicious to do any house visiting at all.
* On the Fifth day of the New Year in northern China, people eat Jiǎozi (dumplings) on the morning of Po Wu. This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth.
* The seventh day, traditionally known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.
* The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公) in the Taoist Pantheon. This day is especially important to Hokkiens (Min Nan speakers). Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, the Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings will include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from certain extermination generations ago. Tea is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.
* On the fifteenth day of the New Year, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
* Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has eventually evolved into the use of firecrackers during the festive season.
* Clothing mainly featuring the color red is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the New Year.

Good luck
* Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
* Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
* Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
* It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year's Day is frowned upon)
* Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
* Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
* The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.

Bad Luck
* Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.
* Buying a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants"(kù) is a homophone for the word for "bitter"(kŭ) in Cantonese. (Although some perceive it to be positive, as the word 'pants'(fu) in Cantonese is also a homophone for the word for "wealth".)
* Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
* Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
* Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious as well.
* Buying books is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose".
* Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional funeral color.

In other news, I managed to stock my store as well.

I made some Night Owls!



and a couple of fitted diapers out of Emily's favorite fabric that I have right now



These were made as a Chinese New Year thing. The inside is red, and the outside is bright and colorful.

While I was stocking my stuff for Necessitae, Emily found a bag of poly filling for stuffing pillows. It snowed in our house.

For those who have read through all of this stuff just to find an update on The Beast, here is the update. I am sorry to say that he is not doing very well now. We are hoping that he gets better. Yesterday he was throwing up everything, and several times. I kept trying to get the Cerenia in him, but he would throw it up within seconds, and it was still whole. I did finally get it in him around 9pm. I waited an hour, then went to give him his antibiotics. He ran from me, as he does now, and went on my bed. Once on my bed, I found the morning's antibiotic pill setting there. Somehow, he had not swallowed it and had spit it out when I left the room. We think this is why he was doing so bad, so are hopeful that he will get back on track. We are pretty worried now, though. His quality of life is pretty poor right now. I know it's selfish, but I can't let him go just yet. I don't think he wants to go. I am not sure how one knows when it's time, though. If there are signs? If the dog does something? At the moment, he wants to go hide outside. I have to search for him and bring him back in. sigh. Cross your fingers for us.

TTFN
Ta ta for now!

All sorts of things ...

So, by now, who hasn't heard of Webkinz, right? I think I was the last person on the planet to learn of them, just before Christmas. Fortunately, Santa is quite fast on ebay. Santa scored a baby Basset Hound. Obviously, we have a thing for Basset hounds. So, we get to set up an online account with this little stuffed animal. In this online account, Emily has a virtual pet (that never gets sick). In this virtual world, she can play games, take quizzes, or gain employment to earn points, known as Kinzcash, to purchase food, shelter, etc for her pet. It's great. She planted a virtual garden and grows food for her Basset Hound. How cool is that? I've gotten really into this too. I log on to her account to make sure she remembered to water her plants, to earn her some more points, etc. It's a great time suck when I am having insomnia.

I'm finding that Emily is very serious about how to feed her pet, too. I wonder where she gets this? She has to feed him a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. He has to have a breakfast food for breakfast, a lunch food for lunch, a dinner food for dinner, and a dessert food after dinner. If I feed him the wrong food, just for fun, she gets very upset. Her little Basset's name is Fremy. He's a boy, and he's a puppy.




In other news, I have actually been getting some sewing done. Nothing terribly fun, of course, but I'll share pictures anyhow. I've getting into the Valentine colors at the moment. I'm not sure why. Pink was always my least liked color. You will never find pink in my closet. It's just one of those colors that hits me at certain moments, I guess.

Here's what is being made right now. These are Night Owls, of course.



I've been making these between syringe feeding the dog, taking care of Emily, doing laundry, etc.


Speaking of Emily, she actually managed to talk Tony into taking her to the pet store. The pet store is one of about 5 places in the world that Tony would rather never be. It is, of course, Emily's favorite place to go. The animal rescue is there on the weekends, and this is her cup of tea. So, there was a litter of kittens there (in the Winter?) and she fell in love with them. Kittens are so cute, but I like adult cats better. They are less work. Emily, of course, has decided that she will have two baby kittens. They will be named Daisy and Milo. So, they came home from the petstore and Emily came running up to me saying, "mom, look what I got from the pet store!" I was a bit concerned that she had talked Tony into a kitten, but that wasn't it at all. It was this:



If you are thinking that this looks like a huge piece of cow poop, you are correct. It's called a cow frisbee. Why did she want this? Ahhh, as it turns out, I see poop, she sees a nest. It's a nest for her new baby kitten that she wants.


Speaking of pets, The Beast seems to be improving a bit. We are very hopeful. He's such a neat dog, and we really want to have him with us for another 10 years at least. We found that he really likes Emily's quilt, so we keep him covered up and warm under it when he is resting.




Of course, since I'm the bad guy who shoves pills down his throat all day, force feeds him, and squirts that nasty oral electrolyte solution in his mouth, he isn't too fond of me at the moment. He sees me coming and takes off. If he gets better, this will change with a few tiny bits of hot dog. He would jump over the moon for a bite of hot dog. Naturally, discovering this, we trained him with tiny pieces. It worked like a charm. (except for "stay" which he doesn't quite have down)

And now that he is sick, the cats are enjoying taunting him. They keep crossing in front of him over and over again, as though they were laughing at him for not being able to get up and chase them. I think this will be his motivation to get well. Here's another pic, just because I like it.



*** I'm going to put the updates right here for those who wanted to read all in one post. On Wednesday, The Beast seemed like it was time. He crashed and was doing very bad. He started seeming like he was slipping out of consciousness, and was obviously in a great deal of pain. Me and Tony talked (and cried) and decided that it might be time. I was planning to call the vet on Thursday and get him in for his last visit. Heartbroken, I delayed on Thursday. I kept thinking that he might get better, and that he still had a lot of fight in him. Sometime in the morning, he suddenly jumped up and ran to the door to go outside. He appeared agitated. I let him out, and he started pacing in and out. I talked to him and wondered what was going on. He finally ran to the spot where he usually poos and squatted to poo. Before he could get anything out, he jumped and ran from his spot. He did this a couple of times, as I sat there feeling completely helpless. Finally, he squatted to poo and something big shot out, followed by a ton of poo. I ran over there, where he had fallen to the ground afterwards. He seemed exhausted, like he had just ran a marathon, and no wonder! Looking over at the spot, he pooped out a squeaky toy! Within minutes, he jumped up and started sniffing his yard, no doubt to make sure nobody tried to take over while he was so sick. His energy returned within hours. I called the vet and let them know. Apparently, there WAS an obstruction. He had to stay on the antibiotics for another 2 weeks to let the infection clear from his system. After that, he returned to his normal self. He continues to enjoy walks by the lake, rides in the car, treats, and trying to take my spot in the bed. Words can't even describe just how happy we are that he has pulled through this! We also went through and tossed all squeaky toys. Damned toys.




On another completely different topic, my famous sister who is also in pre-med got a job working on a research project! I do not know what they will be researching at the moment, but I am certain it will be fascinating. Kudos to her!!!!

And by the way, the only reason I have time to write all of this is that Emily is asleep in my lap. Awww, the moments. I just can't believe that she is asleep at 8pm.

The Beast is very sick

We're having a rough time now. The Beast is very sick and not expected to make it. :( On Wednesday, he started throwing up and wouldn't eat. We figured he had an upset tummy, so waited the day out. On Thursday, it continued, so I called the vet. The soonest I could get him in was Friday morning. He was still drinking water, so I waited it out a bit more, then started feeding him a little bit of diluted canned pumpkin. I was worried that he hadn't eaten in two days. We got him in on Friday, and he had an intestinal infection. The fecal showed a lot of bacteria, so we were sent home with antibiotics. He stopped drinking water, so I have been giving him oral electrolyte solution diluted half and half. On Monday, we knew he wasn't getting better, and he seems very sick, so called the vet again. He is lying around and quivvering. It's somewhat cold in our house because we don't use heat (we are in Texas), so we have been covering him with a wool blanket. I can reach under and feel that it is very warm under there, but he is still quivvering. The vet did another fecal -- large amounts of bacteria. They did bloodwork -- wbc at 25,000, which is double what it was on Friday. Then, the devistating news.... an X-ray. We expected an obstruction, which would totally suck. We got worse... he has perotinitis. He has it very bad, and it's everywhere. We don't see any obstruction at all in there, and as a matter of fact, his intestines were empty. (from not eating since Tuesday) At this point, we are dosing him up with antibiotics and crossing our fingers. They gave me the Hills prescription diet WD and AD for him to get him eating, but when I got home, Tony read it and it's all corn based. He is very allergic to corn, so we think it would kill him. I fed him more canned pumpkin last night, and I'm going to boil a chicken breast and puree it with canned pumpkin later today.

We're hoping that he pulls through.

I am MIA

I apologize that I have not been around lately. I have a HUGE, awesome blog in the works, but haven't gotten to finish it. This has been a rough winter for us. First, Emily kept getting bronchitis. Then, all of us got bronchitis. The bronchitis caused me and Tony's asthma to act up and we couldn't seem to get it under control. I finally got mine under control (for the most part) when Christopher got sick. I took him to the doctor, and he had bronchitis. We think it started out as the flu, because as luck would have it, I got the flu. Now, if you've ever had influenza, you know what it's like to lie there and beg for mercy. My body hurt so bad, I started crying. I would lie still, then start feeling uncomfortable and need to change positions, but it hurt to move, so I didn't want to. I'm only thankful that Tony was home (he is able to work from home some days every week) and helped me out. Tony is happy that he gets his flu shot and reminds me that I should get one too. I won't, but whatever. Well, Emily was next. She woke up crying at 3am. She was moaning and crying in agony. I felt so bad, but all I could do was give her some motrin, water, and kisses. Now, both of us are in the tail end where we are coughing, have a sore throat, but for the most part are better. And hey, I always thought that the flu only lasted 24 hours? What is up with this week long + deal that we got?

As luck would have it, the beast is very sick now. He isn't eating, is just lying around and trembling, and is just groaning and miserable. His bloodwork came out that his pancreas is okay, which was good news. He did show a bacterial infection, which is treatable. BUT, he does have some symptoms of an obstruction, and it is not being ruled out. On Monday, if he is not doing much better, and eating some, they will run more tests and most likely do surgery. In the meantime, he is on antibiotics for the infection, and anti-nausea meds. We spent pretty much the entire day at the vets today. Crossed fingers are much appreciated.

I hope to finish my very cool blog entry that I have already put several hours into, and will do that as soon as I am able. Right now, I have to spend as much time as possible sewing so I can stock on Monday and pay this vet bill. Yikes. I will also be selling some fabric on ebay, and maybe anything else I can think of to sell off.

Emily, the master

It continues to amaze me how much energy and motivation Emily has. If she wants something done, she doesn’t stop until it’s done. I would be the next president if I had her energy and determination. It’s quite obvious that this isn’t coming from my genetics, nor from my example. I start strong, then fizzle out. Not Emily.

An example: I told her the other day that I was going to get my house cleaning done. This is nothing unusual, of course. Well, I had slacked on it for a few days while trying to finish up all of my half finished projects. So, Emily’s determination took over. She started picking things up and putting them away, then moved to cleaning the dryer off, organizing the silverware drawer…. Soon, on to cleaning Christopher’s room (a job that nobody wants to tackle). Once I was finished with my normal chores, she wasn’t done. She came up with all kinds of things that needed done, including cleaning the windowsills, washing windows, cleaning under the couch cushions…. The list goes on. I could barely keep up with her. It became clear to me that she is a natural born leader when she was telling me what needed done and I did it without even thinking about it. I finally wanted to just sit down with the laptop and a cup of coffee, but how could I while my child is scrubbing windowsills? Finally, at 10pm, I told her I was done. I couldn’t keep going. She was almost okay with this, but she felt that the garbage needed taken out asap. I didn’t feel like taking out the garbage, so I told her that it was too dark to take the garbage out and I would do it in the morning, not to worry about it. Okay, she finally gave in and relaxed for a bit. We logged on to Webkinz and played some games together.

The following morning, bright and early, Emily got up, gave me a look that can only say that I’ve done something wrong and said, “Mom, why haven’t you taken out the garbage? It’s going to stink. It needs taken out.” I told her, “Emily, I will take out the garbage pretty soon, I need my coffee first.” She was horrified. How on earth could a person put off taking the nasty garbage out of their house? All I can tell you is that the garbage is taken out. The house is clean, and I am exhausted. Emily, on the other hand, is ready to tackle something else. I have suggested a nap, but she isn’t going for it. I still need to mop the floor, but I’m not going to mention that until I am in the process of doing it.

On another, completely unrelated note, I continue to highlight small businesses. If we continue to support small businesses, we can pick our economy back up, help a person with determination and a dream to succeed, help families pay their bills, support businesses who really do care about each and every customer, and the list goes on.

So, here are more highlights for today:

I found a business that I hadn’t seen before for some reason. The Felted Sheep . Kelsey lives in Alaska! I’m especially interested in her etsy store. She has roving for those who want to hand spin their yarn, and hand spun yarn for those who want to purchase their yarn. She has finished items as well. Here are a few listings for roving that I found particularly beautiful:

Next up is a store whose name I just couldn’t get over - Toe Jam.

I keep looking at this little frog beanie and thinking of how much Emily would love it.

And if you are in the market for prefolds, she has some pretty dyed ones.

I would also like to point out a friend of mine, Gigi at Natural Home Presents. I know that I’ve pointed her store out before, but I really can’t recommend it enough. Her playsilks are amazing and very well dyed. Children love silks with the rich colors and the way that they flow behind them when they run with them, or wave them up and down. They are lightweight, so easy to take anywhere. When your child falls asleep in a restaurant, they are perfect to throw over their head to keep the lights and noise away from them. Emily sleeps on my lap anywhere this way.

But playsilks aren’t all she has. She dyes clothing and yarn as well.

and who can resist coolishly dyed underwear? Not I.

My cleaning and organizing crash course...

I just dug this up from a few years ago and thought it would be good to post it here. If you are like me and have a hard time keeping the house clean and need a list, this is the crash course for you. If you have any questions, ask away and I will do all I can to help.

I find that if you make a list and check things off, you have a greater sense of accomplishment. You look at this long list and realize that in less than two hours it's done.... and it feels great.

Okay... so, my system.

The first step is to make a list of each room in your house. Then, go around your house from room to room and write down everything that you can think of that would need done in that room at any given time. This would include... pick up the floor, clean the ceiling fan, vacuum, dust, etc. If you were to completely get this room clean, what would you do? Write it down for each room.

Now, with your list, divided by room, you want to decide what needs done daily, weekly, monthly, etc. I write a D, W, M by each task.

Now, you can jump on your computer, or stick to pen and paper... whatever you prefer.

When listing my rooms, I assigned each room a day of the week. Example: Kitchen - Monday, Restroom - Tuesday, Master bedroom - Wednesday, etc etc. On some days, you might need to put two rooms. I combine the two easiest rooms and keep the hardest rooms by themselves. I have a small house, so this is pretty easy.

Next, you want to divide your rooms by month. I divided mine into 6 weeks. This is just easier on me, being the busy person that I am and all. ;)

At this point, you want your list divided by daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Naturally, your daily list will be those things that need done every day. Weekly will be things that are done every week, etc.

Here is an example of my daily..

Daily

Kitchen
Clean off counters
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Wipe down counters
Clean sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher

Dining
Pick up floor
Sweep

Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean off couch
Sweep

Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys
Fold blankets

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters

Wipe down toilets (with boys, this is one of those things you really have to do daily)

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Sweep
Wash clothes
Fold laundry

Master Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets

Once you have your daily stuff typed out (I did it on the computer, so I'm giving instructions that way) you want to save it.

Then, do the weekly... just list everything that you put a W by, and do Monthly... same way, each on a seperate sheet.

At this point, you want to add your weekly and monthly into the list, so that you have a checklist each day. This is how I did mine...

Take your weekly stuff and divide it up by your 7 days (or 6 if you want a day of rest, etc). This way, your work is divided up, and you are not overwhelmed one day a week. Here is an example of mine...

Weekly

Monday –
Kitchen
Wipe front of appliances
Wipe inside of microwave
Mop

Tuesday-
Dining
Clean off table
Wipe table off w/cleaner (it's a wood table, so every now and then I remove the cloth and wipe it with wood cleaner)
Wipe front of pantry off

Wednesday-
Living Room
Clean off entertainment center
Sweep under couch
Clean under couch cushions

Thursday-
Emily’s Room
Vacuum
Make bed
Wash blankets and sheets

Friday-
Restroom
Wash toilet
Scrubbath
Empty garbage
Check TP supply

Hall and Laundry
Check cat food and water

Saturday-
Our Bedroom
Check Air filter
Wash blankets and sheets

Sunday-
Den
Take out garbage (garbage man comes monday morning)
Mop

Okay, so once that is done, you want to divide your monthly. I ended up dividing mine into 6 weeks. I put week one as my kitchen and dining (dining room stays pretty clean), week two den, week 3 livingroom, week 4 restroom and laundry room, week 5 Emily's room, and week 6 master bedroom.

Here is my example...

Monthly

Week 1
Kitchen
Clean inside of fridge
Deep clean stove (burner pans, knobs, etc)

Dining
Organize pantry

Week 2
Den
Organize fabric shelves
Organize book shelves
Organize desk
De-lint sewing machines

Week 3
Living Room
Wash couch cushions
Clean blinds
Clean windows
Clean door

Week 4
Restroom
Organize drawers
Organize cabinet
Wash mirror

Laundry
Clean and wipe off washer and dryer
Clean inside of washer

Week 5
Emily’s room
Clean blinds
Organize drawers

Week 6
Master bedroom
Wash windows

Clean blinds

Clean windowsills

Okay, so now you want to put your lists together. I divided each monthly chore daily, so that on week 6, for example, one day I might wash the windows, the next day clean the blinds, and the next wipe down the windowsills. (you'll notice that each of these tasks takes a few minutes, so not a long time at all)

I forgot to put wash ceiling fans and dust, etc. I write them in on my lists so far, but will go in and update it in word. This is week one. I did 6 weekly lists. If anybody wants to see all 6 of my lists, let me know and I can either post them or email them to you. If this doesn't make sense, but you want to give it a try, let me know... I can explain better. I have a hard time explaining things sometimes. But, your goal is to go through each room and finish its tasks each day. Put a checkmark by each task as it is completed. It is amazing how fast it goes too! Now, what I did, just to get into the routine is spend two weeks just doing your daily list.... then move on to the full thing once you are in the swing of it with just the daily list. The kids can pick some things on the list and complete them too. They actually enjoy picking what they will do, and adding to the checkmarks of completed tasks... it gives them a sense of accomplishment like it does you.

Just for my own fun, I printed my lists on pretty paper and put them in those page protecters that are clear in a pretty binder. I write my checkmarks on the page protecter, so I am not having to print over and over and waste paper. I love having my pretty lists!


Here is week one of my finished product.

Week 1 - Monday

Kitchen
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Clean off counters
Wipe down counters
Clean sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher
Wipe front of appliances
Wipe inside of microwave
Mop

Dining
Pick up floor
Sweep

Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean off couch
Sweep

Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys (she does this with me)

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters (I use those sanitizing wipes because it is so fast and easy)

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Sweep
Wash clothes
Fold laundry

Our Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets


Week 1 - Tuesday

Kitchen
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Clean off counters
Wipe down counters
Clean sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher
Deep clean top of stove (burner pans, knobs, etc)

Dining
Pick up floor
Vacuum
Clean off table
Wipe table off w/cleaner
Wipe front of pantry off


Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean Emily’s table
Clean off couch
Vacuum

Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Vacuum hall
Wash clothes
Fold laundry

Our Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets

Week 1 - Wednesday

Kitchen
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Clean off counters
Wipe down counters
Clean and shine sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher


Dining
Pick up floor
Vacuum

Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean Emily’s table
Clean off couch
Vacuum
Clean off entertainment center
Clean under Emily’s table


Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Vacuum hall
Wash clothes
Fold laundry

Our Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets

Week 1 - Thursday

Kitchen
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Clean off counters
Wipe down counters
Clean and shine sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher

Dining
Pick up floor
Vacuum
Organize pantry

Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean Emily’s table
Clean off couch
Vacuum

Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys
Vacuum
Make bed
Wash sheets

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Vacuum hall
Wash clothes
Fold laundry

Our Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets

Week 1 - Friday

Kitchen
Get new towel
Unload dishwasher
Clean off counters
Wipe down counters
Clean and shine sink
Pick up floor
Sweep
Keep dishes washed and loaded in dishwasher
Clean inside of fridge


Dining
Pick up floor
Vacuum

Living Room
Pick up floor
Clean Emily’s table
Clean off couch
Vacuum

Den
Pick up floor
Sweep

Emily’s Room
Pick up and organize toys

Restroom
Pick up floor
Clean off counters
Wash toilet
Wash bath
Empty garbage
Check TP supply

Hall and Laundry
Pick up hall
Vacuum hall
Wash clothes
Fold laundry
Check cat food and water

Our Bedroom
Pick up floor
Fold blankets
__________________



Here are some of my strange tricks....

I make the bed, then I sleep on top of the made bed and use another blanket. When we get up, I fold that blanket, and my bed is all made. Easy. People have asked how I manage to make the bed every morning... I just chuckle.

I keep a little bottle of dish soap, or cheap shampoo in the shower. While I'm taking a shower, I clean the shower walls and stuff off with the dishsoap and rinse it off while I'm in there.

If you're a stay at home mom, like me, start your "chores" about two hours before hubby arrives home. This way it looks like you worked your ass off all day. (not that we don't)

The gods of coffee hate me

So, we all know that coffee is my staple. I love coffee, and I love good coffee.
So, last week, I ground up a nice fresh batch of Uber Geek coffee beans. I opened up my coffee grinder and savored the fresh aroma of coffee beans. Just as I was entering nirvana, the phone rang. Snapping out of my coffee nirvana, I jumped to grab the phone and knocked my grinder full of fresh ground beans on to the floor. I thought for a moment that I could just scoop it up into my hands and use it anyway, but changed my mind when I saw the dog hairs. So, an entire grinder full of beans was wasted.

Deciding to start over, I ground more beans and went to make my cup of coffee (while swearing to the telemarketers who made my phone ring previously). Ahhhh, fresh coffee. I had to use my one cup coffee pot, because my French press broke in the dishwasher. So, the coffee was done, I went to drink it, and it tasted like an electrical fire. I smelled the area of the coffee part that the water is poured into, and it smelled like an electrical fire. By now, I hadn't had a cup of coffee and was starting to feel just a tad agitated. I called a friend so I could have a good bitch session about my coffee experience, and decided to eat some coffee beans. They're good, especially with a bite of chocolate. My friend told me how to clean the coffee maker, but said that it was most likely that the element shorted and/or broke. Nice. I used all of the lovely tricks to clean it, and it still tastes nasty. Not only that, but the fan doesn't work on it anymore and it isn't coming out as hot.

Being the coffee obsessed individual that I am, I ran to the World Market about 30 minutes from my house, and purchased another French Press. I finally had a good cup of coffee. I was back in nirvana. Unfortunately, my coffee nirvana was short lived, as I went to make some today and my press is broken. Nothing is against it, it hasn't been dropped, and it wasn't broken the last time I used it, which was only 12 hours previously. This morning, I finally came to the conclusion that the coffee gods hate me. I have angered them. I am not sure how, as I recycle all of my beans in the garden and/or the compost bin. I buy fair trade coffee. Somehow, I have done something, though. - I have no other explanation.

More work at home artisans...

Work at home artisans highlights continued…

Of course, there is much more to small business than yarn and knitting. I have plenty of work at home parents to show.

I’ll start out with those who I know and do business with on a regular basis. It is no secret that I have an obsession with Naturally Luxe. Her body care products are unsurpassed. Taking extra care to have products that are the right ph, that are safe, and that her products are all very well made, Whitney has produced a line of soaps, shampoos, etc that will completely amaze you. I highly recommend her body wash/bubble bath for children, as they are made to be non-irritating for sensitive children (and adults). Emily’s favorite scent is Birthday Cake, naturally. There are so many to choose from, including unscented if your child naturally smells good (mine don’t). Christopher loves her shampoo, as do me and Tony.

And don’t forget the pets! Whitney makes a fabulous dog shampoo and paw pad balm.

Don’t forget the wool wash! If you have purchased some of the fabulous wool yarn or knit wool goods from my last blog, you will want to hand wash them in special wool wash. If you have any wool products, you will love this wool wash to clean them. It is all I use on my cashmere sweater that my mother in law got me for Christmas.

Now that you know where to find great body care items, let me point you to some beautiful, handmade jewelry.

Because I am not a jewelry person myself, I have only purchased from one person. I will tell you that her products are beautiful and well made. Pink Lemonade. I purchased this beautiful bracelet for Emily from Santa, along with a lavender and white one:

Emily is very in to diamonds and gemstones (where did she get that?) so I had to find her something very small, pretty, and hand made. I was amazed when it arrived! These bracelets look like family heirlooms, and I hope that this is what they become. I also ordered my mother in law some Christmas tree earrings and had them sent to her. They were just beautiful, and she wore them every day.

I continue to be impressed with just how classy her stuff looks.

Here are some more photos of her pretties:

Are you looking for something to keep a child busy in the car? Or maybe you are looking for a gift for a child who needs something to keep them busy? (Emily, maybe? She needs to be busy at all times, afterall)

Well, look no further than Made By Maria!
When Maria says “Made with style, Made to last” she isn’t kidding.
She makes these adorable busy bags that have chalkboard fabric on the front. This means that little busy children can take their busy bag in the car and draw all over the chalkboard.

Now, this isn’t all Maria makes, it’s just my favorite. Look through her gallery for a killer fun time. And if you are a fabric-aholic like I am, venture into the fabric stash for some nice fabric eye candy.

Although, not a work at home mom, this work at home grandpa has built quite a following with his awesome wooden cars, etc. Cars From Papa brings high quality children’s wooden cars, trucks, trains, etc. These are a guaranteed lead-free toy. Papa uses beeswax as a sealer for the wood, instead of the common varnishes. Beeswax is so safe that you can eat it. Varnish is not safe at all. It seems that papa cares about the safety of the children before the profit, don’t you think? Emily likes to browse the store and tell me exactly what she wants, which is usually everything. Her most recent request is that she wants a tow truck. Of course, this is because our “not so wooden” cars have been breaking more often than I like to admit, and the AAA guys come with their tow trucks to haul the naughty chunk of metal off to the repair shop. Emily likes tow trucks now. (a little hint for anybody who is looking for a gift for her)

Look at these awesome playthings:

Stay tuned for more, I am not finished... (these highlights take forever to finish)

Happy New Year!

To ring in the New Year, I want to look at small businesses. Owning a small business is an interesting experience. You are the creator, the administrator, the shipping department, the accountant, the public relations department, the advertising department, and more. It’s a one-man show. At the same time, you feel very connected to your customers and in many ways get to know them. You enjoy the work that you do and actually miss it if you take a break. You anxiously check your email, hoping for correspondence. You think of every customer as a friend and feel joy when they share good news, sorrow when they share sad news.

Supporting small businesses is also very rewarding. On many occasions, you are able to email or call the owner of the company directly. The owner is happy to hear from you, and happy to answer your questions, no matter how silly you think they are. The business appreciates every order that comes through. The business owner feels connected to every product that is sent out, and therefore genuinely wants you to enjoy it. Each product is carefully hand crafted. There is something you get from a small business that you will never get from a large company.

I would love to highlight some of the small businesses that I have come across through the years. Many are friends of mine.

First is yarn. Now, if you knit or crochet, you know that yarn is not just yarn. You can tell the difference between a cheap yarn and a very nice yarn. You can feel the yarn pass through your fingers, wrap around your needles, and turn into something that means a great deal to you.

If you have never tried hand dyed and/or hand spun yarn, I highly recommend it. You will not be sorry. You can feel the quality. You can imagine the person spinning the yarn by hand, and dyeing the yarn. There is personality and character to it.

The first person I will point out is Julie of Wasatch Handspuns. Julie is a friend of mine. She is always full of ideas. For every problem, Julie has (or finds) a solution. I would rate her as one of the smartest people I have ever known (and I used to know somebody who was a member of mensa). Julie talks about things like quantum physics. I love to browse her yarns when she creates them, and think of what I would make out of each skein. I look at the yarn, and I can imagine her spinning while talking to the kids, laughing with her husband, talking to a friend, or dreaming of what the yarn will look like.

Next, I would like to point out Morwenna of Mosaic Moon. Morwenna is also a friend of mine. She is a person who I think of as being very gentle and loving, nurturing, and friendly. She tends to gravitate to peaceful conversations. Morwenna would probably pass out if she saw how much junk food I ingest. She talks of healthy things, organic, earth friendly. Of course, Morwenna also introduced me to Dagoba Chocolate, which is absolutely devine. She is a very generous person, with a giving and loving nature. When I knit with her yarn, I imagine her dyeing it, and her smiling and talking, or humming. I think of celtic music in the background, or maybe Enya. Dead Can Dance? Possibly. Of course, you will only find humane wool from Morwenna.

Then we have Three Irish Girls. Sharon has an eye for mixing colors just right. Her yarns are all very high quality, nice yarns. My personal favorite is Quinn.
Look at these beauties:

Next, we have those who knit with the yarn.

Let me start with these Java Jumpers by Threebies Knits . What a cool idea, right? Small businesses are so innovative! I purchased three of these, with the intention of sending them as gifts. Well, come on…. If they are in my possession for more than a day, they become mine. One trip to starbucks and I was hooked. Now I want an entire collection. I found a small coffee place up here close to me… a privately owned one… and I have to bring in my Java Jumpers when I have coffee! It sets the mood.

Next we have Blissful Bottoms with her awesome owls! Need I say more? Look at this cuteness! I’ll never forget the look on Hurricane Emily’s face when she opened her owl from Santa. She plays with it every single day. There’s something about a hand knit toy. The wool feels warm in your hands, the colors can’t be beat, and there is personality in each item. Kids don’t need owls that have push buttons to hoot and flap their wings. They need toys with imagination. They need hand made creations.

And now, let’s look at Hudson Hats by Ky Baby Knits. These remind me of the English hats worn by children. Was it long ago? I don’t know, I don’t live in England, I just see the movies. She sells the pattern, and I did purchase it. Buy one, or knit your own…. They’re so cute, who can resist?

Another awesome knitter is Amy of Crankypants. She is known for her knitting of children’s pants that feature a monster on the bum. Isn’t that the cutest thing? She also carries fun things such as children’s book bags, etc. Be sure to go to the free part of her site for some fun monster coloring pages.

Let’s look at Julie of The Cushie Tushie. Julie knit me a pair of what are commonly called “knucks” to keep my hands warm when it’s cold. If you have RA, I highly recommend these. They are basically fingerless gloves, with personality. She knits many other interesting items as well, so don’t forget to check out her gallery.

And who could ever forget Marnie of Curly Purly. Looking at her gallery is an experience to remember. Emily has a small collection of her hand knit snakes and plays with them constantly. They are very special to us. If you prefer to knit things yourself, using the fabulous yarns that I pointed out, she also sells many patterns. Marnie has a knitting blog that is pretty fun to read as well. If you are inclined to get on with your charitable self, look at her link in the blog for Federazione Internazionale di Appoggio Umano.

Then there is Carina of Sweet Mama Small Sugar.
Her knits are spectacular. She does many things from baby pants to children’s purses. She knits sets with an appliquéd cotton t-shirt to match her knit pants, etc. Everything she sells is fun and one of a kind.

And last in the knitting list, but certainly not least, we get to look at Kimberly R.

Kim has been knitting for over 20 years. Her creations are amazing. Her knitting is flawless. I love that Kim supports small artisans as well. This is only one of her many beautiful creations.

Tomorrow we move on to other crafts by small work at home artisans... stay tuned.

Girls are bad

I was talking on the phone to an individual the other day. I was shocked to hear that she is teaching her son not to play with dolls, etc. I asked her just how she keeps him from playing with his sister’s toys. They do share a room, after all. Her response sent a jolt of lightning through me. She punishes him and tells him that the toy is for girls, and does he want to be a girl? I told her that I can’t imagine anything worse than being a girl. I’m sure he will grow up with great respect and admiration for his mother and sister. She went on to tell me that if he plays with dolls, or likes pink, he will grow up to be weak. Is this true? Somehow I missed the memo.

I wonder why people are teaching their sons to stay clear of all things deemed “girly”? What message are we sending our boys? That girls are horrible? That being a boy is much better than being a girl? That girls are below boys? That girls are bad? Are they getting the message that there is something wrong with wanting to nurture? That somehow nurturing makes one weak? I can assure you that I am far from weak. The more nurturing I am, the more power I feel. I know, from the bottom of my heart, that I am a very strong woman. I know that if somebody were to threaten me, I could defend myself and my children. I know. I am a very small person, with a small voice. I have defended myself quite fabulously. I am not weak.

Once a very strong man came up behind me and grabbed me. I felt his arms against me, squeezing the air out of my lungs. I reacted so fast I didn’t even realize I did. Within a few seconds, he was on the floor. I am not weak I am a girl, and I am strong.

Coffee, silly putty, and other things...

About the coffee:
I drink coffee. I drink a lot of coffee. Coffee is my staple. So, I was pretty happy when Uber Geek coffee came to Necessitae. I've been ordering his coffee, and enjoying it immensely. Much to my delight, I found a French press on sale at World Market today. You haven't tasted coffee until you have tasted fresh roasted coffee made in a French press. I am one happy woman today. The french press was only $14, which is quite a bargain. It was a large one, so will make enough coffee to keep me happy. Some friends can expect a coffee delivery sometime after the holidays. Good coffee.

In other news, I have a Hurricane Emily story for your enjoyment.

So, you know that slime that is almost like silly putty, but worse? Yeah. I got some for Emily. I know, I know…. How could I? Believe me, I learned my lesson.

So, I was on the laptop enjoying a great game of scrabble online with my sister, when Emily came over to fix my hair. This is nothing unusual, so I just kept playing my game while she did my hair. She said, “Mommy, I made you a hat” while patting my head. I should have known at this point that something wasn’t right, but I just kept playing my game. As it turned out, the “hat” was the slime. It was so stuck to my hair that it took me two hours to get out, and I lost a nice chunk of hair. Emily was crying because she had no idea that it would get stuck. So, while I was in excruciating pain from pulling half my hair out to get slime putty out of it, I had to comfort her and explain to her that I was okay, etc. Lovely.

I don't have any photos of my projects this week because everything is sitting half finished. This is the way of the procrastinator.

And, as a departing gift, I leave you with a yummy recipe:

Greek Bean Pitas

1 can white beans
1 diced cucumber
2 diced roma tomatoes
1/2 diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup pitted black olives -- chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 whole wheat pita pockets
6 lettuce leaves
salt and pepper to taste
crumbled Feta cheese *optional

Combine all ingredients except pitas and lettuce in a bowl. (May
be made several hours in advance.) Place lettuce leaves inside pita
against the “walls”. Spoon filling in the middle. If you desire, sprinkle
feta cheese on top.

Cleaning day

Today was cleaning day here in the castle, so I thought I would share some of my fun cleaning tips:

• To keep your washing machine clean, run it through a cycle with hot water and a half gallon of vinegar every 3 months.
• To wash silk (like playsilks), use shampoo in warm water.
• To keep your toilet clean, toss a handful of baking soda in the bowl before you go to bed, and give a swish/scrub with your toilet brush. Leave the baking soda in the bowl overnight.
• To brighten the bowl, pour soda (depending on where you live, Pop, Sodee Pop, Coke, Cola, etc) in the bowl, or a third cup of Tang drink powder. Leave for a few hours, then flush.
• To keep "ring around the tub" from happening, throw some baking soda in your tub when you take a bath.
• To clean the shower while you are showering, keep a scrubby in the shower and use shampoo. It smells great and cleans well.
• To keep your shower curtain clean, wash it in salt and white vinegar every few months. Be sure to throw some washcloths in the wash with the shower curtain for scrubbing action.
• To make a natural cleanser, mix 2/3rds baking soda with a third borax. Sprinkle on surface and scrub off with a damp sponge. This works great on the stove.
• To clean the inside of the microwave, boil some water with a little white vinegar for 5 minutes or more in the microwave. This should make it easier to clean.
• To clean the inside of your dishwasher, sprinkle Tang drink mix (about a quarter of a cup) on the inside of the empty dishwasher. Turn it on "light wash" and let it run.
• Instead of regular dishwasher soap, try using a quarter cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon of oxyclean. I always add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. My glasses come out sparkly, and my dishes come out very clean.
• To disinfect your countertops, you don't need bleach. Keep a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a seperate spray bottle of white vinegar. Spray one on the counter, wait 30 seconds, then spray the other. Let sit for a moment, then wipe clean. This disinfects as well as bleach.
• For a cheap general purpose cleaner, add your favorite dishsoap, or some Dr.Bronners liquid to a spray bottle of water. It takes very little, and cleans great.

Until next time....

I'll do that later ...

It's so hard to find time to write lately. I have a bunch of holiday projects to finish, and will get started on those later. (I have mentioned that I’m a procrastinator, right?) Later is as good of a time as any. I was thinking of joining the “die hard procrastinators club”. I’ll do that later.

I was working very diligently on some trades, and my last custom, but just couldn’t stop this cough. I'm afraid my neighbors are going to complain that a dog is barking all night, and it has gone on for weeks now, so I decided to put all of my fabrics back in plastic bags (to keep the dust at bay). I should know not to start a big project. So, as I was working on this project, I packed a pile of fabric neatly into a large bag and set it on the shelves. As I set it there, something made a funny sound, then stuff started sliding to the left of the shelf. Realizing the situation could only get worse, I stepped back for a second, only to see the shelves start to collapse. These shelves go from floor to ceiling, and from one end of the work room to the other. This was not a pretty site. I quickly started throwing stuff off of the shelves to try to prevent any more damage, but it was too late. The domino affect had started. The screws that hold the bars to the wall started pulling out, and the top shelf gave. It crashed to the second shelf, which caused the second shelf to give. I ran under the shelves, trying to hold them up while grabbing stuff off of them as quickly as possible. Crash... crash... crash. Fabric was falling all around me, like a dream. I've always dreamed of being surrounded by fabric, just falling from the sky, but I never planned the dream to work out quite like this. Emily got so excited that she ran over and started throwing the fabric into the air, while I was still trying to hold shelves up and figure out how to let them down slowly. Now, Emily is a natural born problem solver, so in her excitement, she jumped from the office chair to a shelf that I was trying to carefully lower. Everything finished falling to the ground at this point, and the shelves finished falling. I was left with hours of work to do, and a child who was upset that the fun had ended so soon. I have started the tedious task of folding every cut of fabric and organizing it by group (velour, knit print, woven, etc), then placing them in the bags. First, I had to email Tony at work and ask where the stud finder was, find the studs, screw the bars back in (to the studs this time), and put the shelves back up. Between my disaster and coughing every 3 seconds, I didn't get any sewing done, as I had planned.

I did manage to make one thing recently:

Yeah, the logo for my Night Owls. I tried to commission somebody to make it for me, but everybody is either too busy at the moment, or isn’t affordable on my minuscule income. So, I decided to try my hand at it. I also made my banner, but that isn’t so great:

I'm not sure that it will animate on the blog, so you might only see the first "frame" of the banner.

So far, I have had awesome feedback from customers about these Night Owls. I'm so happy to hear people love them! I was very excited about introducing them. When time permits, I plan to sell some hand embroidered ones, and some special dyed ones. How fun will that be? I'm thinking I'll do that in February.

In other news, my baby turned 5! I can’t believe it. We had a small party for her, which was very fun. It just so happened that she had to go to the doctor on her birthday. Poor kid has bronchitis (again?) and an ear infection. This is her second ear infection in her life, so I wasn’t too concerned about that. The bronchitis is concerning me, though. Needless to say, she was a bit on the grumpy side for her birthday. We did take her to ChuckECheese. This one ended up being surprisingly clean. The pizza sucked, as always, but the place was nice. She was very happy to get to go with her friends, and her friends seemed to have a good time as well. After the party, we went to the store. We have some friends who are from El Paso Texas and like to carry on a lot of Mexican traditions, so they purchased a Piñata for Emily, and filled it with tootsie rolls. She beat it with a stick until the candy fell out, which was interesting. I do have video footage and will share as soon as I get it on the computer. At some point, I was afraid that Tony would start losing vital organs. Emily was very serious about getting that candy out. She started out using a broom stick, then Tony went into the garage and got her a boat paddle. This is not the sort of thing that you place in the hands of Hurricane Emily, as Tony would soon find out.

I'm not a perfectionist ...

Ahh, we’re still sick, but I worked on a custom order that I’ve had forever today. It’s a large, organic bamboo velour diaper, hand-dyed green with a green sea turtle on back and a green school of fish on the front. This diaper is a perfect example of how I have to do exactly what is in my head. I made the sea turtle on paper, then traced it on my stencil paper. Once traced on my stencil paper, I took a needle and ever-so-carefully cut the stencil out, poke by poke. This took no less than 2 hours. –Just to cut the stencil. This doesn’t account for the time dyeing, stenciling, putting snaps on, and sewing. Crazy, right? Tony is always bugging me that I am far too meticulous. The entire time I was poking stencil paper with a needle, Emily was chatting and chatting to me about everything from wanting three baby kittens to not understanding why I won't let her turn Christopher's room into a zoo. I don't know what she is talking about, his room is a zoo.

Here is the finished product:

On another note, my friend, Morwenna of Mosaic Moon purchased the bamboo velour outfit that I had listed. It was perfect timing, because I was working on a diaper that I wanted to send her for her son. So, I finished that up today to send. Every time I look at this fabric, I think of her. It has browns, rust, and a touch of blue. It reminds me of the soil, and the sky. Earthy. The fabric is organic cotton fleece that has been space dyed. The inside is organic cotton bamboo velour left in its natural color. The snaps are dark brown to match. I’m hoping she will be delightfully surprised. I want to send the kids some playdough as well…. We will see if I get that done. *A side note that I didn’t do too well on the photo, and I apologize for that. So, here it is:

I did manage to edit out the part where a little girl is trying to grab the diaper to snuggle it. She tried to talk me into saving it for her future children. Of course, she says that she will bring the baby over when he/she is wet, so I can change him/her. Isn't that thoughtful?

Chipping away at my list of things to do ...

The orange dye bath that I had going turned out almost exactly as I wanted it, so I went forward with the diaper. Here is a photo:

I’m working on two more customs today, then I’ll be almost done. How great is that?

I have Christmas gifts to make, though. I would list what they are, but I’ve sent their recipients the link to this blog. ;)

We are planning a small birthday party for Hurricane Emily. I'm afraid to even imagine how that will turn out. I'm not a planner. I am a last minute sort of gal. Some people plan meals months in advance, I plan meals seconds in advance. Some people plan 5th birthdays in advance, I plan the day before the party. Tony reminds me for months, which only annoys me. I still have months (then weeks, then days)! Emily is very excited about turning five, though. She has big plans for five. When she is five, she is going to own a zoo and have all kinds of animals. Daddy is going to quit his job and work for her, cleaning up the animal poop. (somebody has to do it) I get to make the food, which is pretty funny considering I don't like to cook. When she's five, the whole world is going to change. She'll be a grownup and have to make big decisions. When she is five, Christopher will have to move out of his room, because she will need that space for all of her animals. When she is five, I won't make her take her vitamins, brush her teeth, or go to bed before the sun comes up. I don't remember five being so exciting when I turned it.

While packaging up and shipping about 5 batches of organic playdough, it dawned on me that this might make good party favors. The little rubber balls and suckers are no fun anymore. I know that parents are just trying to be nice when they say that I don't have to do that, but I think it would be a great idea.

Tree meets house ...

I didn't get any sewing done this weekend because we are all still sick. Lovely, eh? So, the most interesting thing that happened this weekend:

We were in the living room on the couch. Me and Emily were eating a PB&J and Tony was on the phone with a friend. All of a sudden, we heard a loud rumble, a crash, then saw branches fly down in front of our living room window. This can’t be good. So, we ran outside to see the tree sticking up over the roof from the back yard. Niiiiiice. So, what happened is when the tree hit the roof, a bunch of branches broke off and flew into the front yard. I knew it was pretty windy out, but had no idea it was windy enough to knock down a tree. Sheesh. Naturally, I am trying not to have too much anxiety over it.

To get my mind off of it, I decided to make dinner. So, I made some tortellini soup and croissants. Well, the oven just wouldn’t pre-heat. I looked in there and the element was broken in half. I have no idea how an element inside the oven breaks like that, but it did. At that point, I put in The Nightmare Before Christmas and decided to call it quits on the evening. The soup was good.

Thanksgiving and Flyfishing ...

Well, another day, another blogger.

So, we went to visit family over the Thanksgiving holiday. I think I may have put on weight from all of the good food, but it was worth it. There's nothing like peanut butter pie after a huge meal. I think it was my first time to eat turkey as well. I've been a vegetarian for so long, I forgot what it tasted like. Actually, without gravy or something, it doesn't taste like anything. Of course, my favorite is always sweet potatoes. But enough about food....

We got to see Tony's uncle/godfather and his three daughters. Emily was in heaven with three teenage girls to keep her company and allow her to pleasure of being the center of the universe for a while. Of course, she wants to see them every day. She can't think of anything more fun than being told how cute she is while being held, carried around and played with. These girls are very sweet too, and as smart as can be (they would put the mensa folks to shame). Uncle/Godfather is a doctor part time, and a dad full time. His daughter (jokingly) said he's a "quack doctor" because he's a chiropractor. (no, I didn't get an adjustment, I'm far too shy to ask)

So, what did we do? Well, while we all visited and had a blast, Tony and his uncle went fishing in the front yard. Uncle is an avid fly-fisherman. He teaches others how to fly fish. So, guess what Tony asked him? Yeah.... fly fishing in the front yard. Now, they didn't have much luck catching anything, as there wasn't any water in the front yard, but they tried nonetheless. I have pictures as evidence.


Uncle spent a great deal of time teaching Tony and his brother how to fly fish in the grass, and one can only hope that they will take these new skills and use them in the water. I believe they will have more luck in the water, as that tends to be where the fish are. I will admit to being slightly afraid of seeing Tony practicing in our front yard all Spring and Summer. There is a lake nearby, so certainly he will practice there? One can only hope.

My Mother In Law got the kids each a bike. Emily's is for her birthday, and Christopher's is an early Christmas gift. Now, this is Emily's first EVER two wheel bike. Wow. It has the little handle bar tassles, which is just too cool to me. Then, we had to get her a basket and a horn, because you just have to have a basket and a horn on a bike, right? She loves her bike. We'll have to set some ground rules about stunts and such, though. No, Tony, you can't build her a ramp. Sorry.

And on another note, Tony got Christopher's old battery powered car (from when he was 3) out for Emily and jazzed it up to go faster. Why one would want Emily to go any faster is beyond me, but she loves it. I watched her driving around for a while and said, "You're not getting a license until you are 18". She is a maniac on this thing! Of course, I have to include a photo:




As it turns out, we are all sick. That bites, huh? I think it's some coughing virus... I feel like somebody is sitting on my chest. It better be gone soon. Hmm, I need some bubble tea.

I didn't get any sewing done. My fingers itch to get back on the machine and start creating things. We're stalking on Necessitae daily through the end of the year, so I need to get busy. I wonder what I'll make, though? I need to finish my custom orders up, make some more night owls, make some totes to go with these fabulous playsilks I got from Natural Home Presents, and maybe have time to do an outfit or two.

Until next time.......

Santa, Sewing, and More ...

So, about Santa….

I was at the grocery store when I happened to walk past an interesting conversation. "Lady one" was telling "lady two" that her son wouldn’t sit on Santa’s lap, but she made him and told him to stop crying. Little Sarah had cried and cried and was traumatized by having to sit on Santa’s lap as well. They finally agreed that Sarah and “Son” needed to get used to sitting on Santa’s lap eventually, so they may as well teach them now and not give in to their cries of fear.

Are these people for real? The first thing I thought was, “Oh yeah, if Sarah can’t sit on Santa’s lap, what will she ever do with her life?” Unless Sarah is already in training to work in a “club”, I can’t imagine why she needs to learn to sit on a strange man’s lap against her will. Does any of this make sense? Poor little “son”, at the age of 30, he will have to endure the embarrassment of not sitting on Santa’s lap for a picture. These are life skills people! You have to learn…. You have to learn that when somebody wants you to be nice, even when you are afraid that they will hurt you, just sit there.”

It brings up some other thoughts…. If you feel uncomfortable sitting on a man’s lap, shouldn’t you be able to say, “no”? Why squish caution? I don’t know, maybe I’m just a freak about those things, but I’ve never forced one of my children sit on Santa’s lap. We wave to Santa from a distance and move on. Grandma has never complained about not having a picture of her grandkids sitting on a stranger’s lap. Besides, you don’t know what kind of pervert might be under that suit. Who can be certain? I’ll skip the lap scene, thank you.

I think it’s time to read “Protecting The Gift” by Gavin DeBecker again… I can’t get enough of that book and highly recommend it. Every parent should have it.

On a lighter note….

I have dyed about 50 shades of orange and have what is hopefully the final dye bath for this one custom soaking right now. Cross your fingers for me. I just can’t get a shade that I am happy with. This HAS to be it. I ordered more dyes, mixed them just so, and it just has to be it. So, that has been one of my projects today. I didn’t like one of the shades I did today, so I had to start another. Hopefully this one works the way I want it. It absolutely drives me nuts when I have a vision in my head and can’t seem to get it to work exactly how I am picturing it. If I don’t like it, I can’t send it out. My hands are pretty orange, though. I love going around with dyed hands, and I have no idea why.

The current dye bath:

Some of my shades of orange:

So, besides all of this fun, I have been making some fabric covered buttons. I say that like I’ve been spending hours slaving over the buttons, but it’s not like that. It was actually a case of Emily talking to me for an hour straight while I occupied my hands.

Photo evidence:

And... yes, there is more.... I made a quick hoodie and a kimono set for the 30th stocking on Necessitae

The hoodie is organic bamboo velour, hand dyed in shades of orange (yes, another of the orange attempts). It's a size 5, and made to fit like a tunic. The kimono set is a 18 months and is hand dyed light blue organic bamboo velour.

As a final closing note, I noticed that Crybaby’s stalked today. It just about killed me, as I really can’t justify buying more fabric right now, but I love it so much that I really want to. So, I looked through, just for fun, and had to finally just close the window and get up to clean the kitchen. I got he “ber-ding” sound that says I have email, so came back to the computer, to find an email from ReproDepot that there is a sale going on. So, I went over to Sew Japanese, just to try to get my mind off of Crybaby’s and the sale, but I want everything there. Ugh. Why do I torture myself so? I want this, and this, and this, and this…. It’s bad. I have SO much fabric here to use up, though. I need to use at least a good chunk of this before buying more. It’s so hard, though. I imagine all of the things I could make out of each one. Fabric Nirvana.

**A little update on the orange... it turned out! Yaaayyyy!!! I can get this thing done!!! Wooo Hooo. Let's partay!

The Beast and more...

I had to visit the vet today. It was a new vet, and he seems pretty nice, which is always a plus. So, The Beast is wearing a beautiful E-collar. Hound dogs and E-collars don’t mesh. Bassets walk with their heads to the ground, to sniff out the area. If you can imagine, it almost looks like a vacuum cleaner. He can’t figure out why this thing is in his way, but he doesn’t like it. He runs into things with the edge of it (puts new meaning to chasing the cats), he trips over his own head because of it, it’s just not pretty. If I were cruel, I would submit a video to one of those Pets Funniest Videos deals.

What happened? Well, when we got back from out of town and picked The Beast up from our friend’s house, he had hot spots and diarrhea. This is very unusual for him, as he is on K9 Advantix and shouldn’t have fleas, etc. I usually use Revolution, so I have been blaming myself for using something that is “less”. But, he doesn’t appear to have any fleas. The only thing we could pinpoint is that he either got in something that he is allergic to, like a pesticide or something, or he is allergic to the food that my friend feeds. Well, that wouldn’t surprise me, as that food is Pedigree. Ew. One of the worst foods you could give your dog.

Well, naturally, upon seeing my poor beast and his open wounds, the vet asked what I feed him. And he should ask, as that only makes sense. I’m such a non-confrontational person that I took a split second to try to think of something to say. Before I could stop myself, the words were coming out, “I feed a raw diet” and later the words would come forth, “with no grains”. It’s a funny thing, this vet didn’t give me that shocked look that can only say, “how could you?” like the last vet I told this to. He didn’t seem surprised at all. Maybe I have this, “I feed raw meat to my pets” look about me now? Maybe it’s because I didn’t trail off with my words, showing my obvious fear of admitting that I give my animals raw meat and bones. Yeah, I feed my pets raw meat, and my dog eats raw bones every day. He loves them. I will admit to getting this odd satisfaction out of watching a dog or cat chew up a raw bone. They just seem so … right. It’s something you have to experience. It’s pure nature.