I'm a little afraid to say things are looking up because that always seems to bring things crashing down around me. Things are good though. GREAT birth yesterday! The kind of birth that makes me wish I had a do over for one of mine. (Not sure which one because I really had awesome births!) Watching how wonderfully prepared this mom was and how beautifully she handled every contraction. Truly awe inspiring and totally the way things were meant to be. I can honestly say that I've never seen a woman walking around during transition and having calm conversations with smiles and laughter. She's my new hero. Beautiful big baby girl, too!
Today was the day that my Tastefully Simple kit arrived. I've already coached my first hostess and gotten her stuff ready for her party next Wednesday. I'm talking to the next one tomorrow night. I can't wait to get started sharing these products with people! A friend came over and bought a box of beer bread tonight and just posted on FB about how great it turned out. I like when people like my stuff!!
And tonight I'm skipping karaoke so my baby girl can come spend the night with me. She has One Act Play competition tomorrow so I'm driving them downtown and hanging out with them until she has to be back at the school to board the bus for the final game of the season. Can't believe she's finishing up the first semester of her junior year soon. This life is rushing past at the speed of sound!! Can't keep them babies forever...
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Halloweens Past (Part 2)
Okay so where were we? Oh yeah... Store bought costumes.
The next year we went back to home made costumes that matched. Being the Star Wars geek that I am, I dressed them as Annakin and Amidala. Spare me the comments about them being married and not being brother and sister. You know we already dealt with that confusion in Empire. I'm just saying...
The last costumes I made them were probably the most complicated and definitely my favorite. Kirin (who had become very familar with the catalogs at the fabric store by this time) had fallen in love with a Genie costume. She wanted to be a Genie so bad that she couldn't stand it. I knew I was about to lose them to the storebought side forever so I went after this one with relish.
But what goes with Genie??? You guessed it... Major Nelson!! Well an Air Force costume was just out of the question but... He was an astronaut! Armed with yards of silver lame and a pattern for a bear suit, I transformed my baby boy into the cutest astronaut ever! And you know the best thing about that costume is you can use it to be a robot, or an alien, or even Elvis!!
They are nearly grown now. I don't have pictures of the years that James spent dressed in a black hooded robe with various creepy masks on. They all looked basically the same. I did MAKE his first black hooded robe and then I figured out that it was way cheaper to just buy that particular item. And I made Kirin's first cheerleader costume. Before they were "uniforms" and made to withstand all her athleticism.
I miss making costumes for them. Justin pretty much got shortchanged on the costume years by the divorce. He is the one who (not by MY doing) got dressed in some flannel and had pine straw stuffed into the sleeves and the neck to make him a scarecrow or (sans the pinestraw) a hobo. That was his daddy's doing.
Last year we took them to Spirit and bought costumes for all of them at the last minute.
I thank you for indulging me as I got lost in a few memories from the old days. Love your babies while you can. They grow up so fast. In the blink of an eye, it seems.
I think what I need now is to go see if anyone has candy corn on sale.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Halloweens Past
Today I was looking through old pictures from Halloweens when the kids were growing up. I used to put so much effort into creating their costumes and we never managed to actually go trick-or-treating in them til they were older. Thought you might enjoy getting a look at some of them though!
In this picture, Kevan was your standard issue 50s teenager and Kirin was a kitten. It was her first Halloween, 1994. I took a sweatshirt and turned it into a romper and created a hat with ears out of part of one of the sleeves that I cut off. I added plastic jewels around the neckline for a collar. I'm pretty sure I did the whole thing with a glue gun and no sewing. I'm also pretty sure I did it in an afternoon.
Halloween 1995 brought us James. This was the first year that my obsession with "twin" costumes took over. These were a black dress and romper (premade) that I used fusible interfacing, Halloween prints, and paint to embellish. I would also like it noted that BOTH my children were wearing socks. I loved these outfits so much! They also had matching ones for Fourth of July and Grandparents Day.
In this picture, Kevan was your standard issue 50s teenager and Kirin was a kitten. It was her first Halloween, 1994. I took a sweatshirt and turned it into a romper and created a hat with ears out of part of one of the sleeves that I cut off. I added plastic jewels around the neckline for a collar. I'm pretty sure I did the whole thing with a glue gun and no sewing. I'm also pretty sure I did it in an afternoon.
Halloween 1995 brought us James. This was the first year that my obsession with "twin" costumes took over. These were a black dress and romper (premade) that I used fusible interfacing, Halloween prints, and paint to embellish. I would also like it noted that BOTH my children were wearing socks. I loved these outfits so much! They also had matching ones for Fourth of July and Grandparents Day.
When Kirin was two and James was one I made Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes for them. Unfortunately, because it rained so hard that year, they didn't get to wear them. Now if you're looking at this picture and thinking "That doesn't look like October" then you'd be right. The costumes were mainly red, white, and blue though, so I made them wear them for their trip to the parade in LaGrange for the Fourth of July. So in reality, she is three and he is two in this picture. Just in case you're keeping track!
Next blog...First store bought costumes!!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sticking to Decaf
I started drinking coffee again recently. More because of the ritual of having it brewing in the morning than for anything else. This is my parents' house and it's supposed to smell like there's a pot of coffee on. But I gave up caffeine as a regular thing several years ago so when I get any in my system, it takes a while for it to go away. I don't like that buzzy feeling that I get when my head is spinning and I can't really focus on anything.
Yesterday I decided to use the grounds that my dad left, premixed, of half caf/half decaf. What could a little bit do, right? Ummm... Lots. When you're not used to it, there's a lot of caffeine in 3 big cups of the stuff. And I know it's not the sugar that I use in abundance because a sugar high is different for me than a caffeine rush. Mainly because the sugar wears off in a couple of hours...the caffeine does NOT.
Oh and I've also almost kicked the need to have my coffee be a color other than dark brown or black. When I was a kid of say 2 or 3 (yeah I know...) they started giving me coffee that had milk and sugar in it, but it was in one of those old Navy (not Old Navy) mugs that has the blue stripes around it. The color of the mug made the white coffee look blue so I called it "Blue Coffee". Until my dear Aunt Dot passed away, she still asked me if I still drank my coffee "blue". And I do. Cept now they charge me $4 and call it a latte. Whatever. I'm down to half a cup of sugar (hyperbole at it's finest) and no cream or milk. That's progress right!?
After trying to go to sleep at 2AM and finding it difficult, and waking up uncomfortably throughout the night, I decided to go back to my decaf. The side effects were just too much. Plus when I woke up this morning I grabbed the Pledge and the Windex and started dusting and cleaning surfaces. Anyone who knows me knows that this is WAY outside my comfort zone!!
So for now...unless I have to drive 12 hours straight to get somewhere...I'm sticking to decaf! (But I DO have fully loaded for when you come to visit me!!!)
(Just for Jennifer: I gave it up when it was a choice between drinking a six pack of Dr. Peppers a day and living on meds for IBS, or just quitting cold turkey. I still drink it now and then but I KNOW when I've had it!! LOL)
Yesterday I decided to use the grounds that my dad left, premixed, of half caf/half decaf. What could a little bit do, right? Ummm... Lots. When you're not used to it, there's a lot of caffeine in 3 big cups of the stuff. And I know it's not the sugar that I use in abundance because a sugar high is different for me than a caffeine rush. Mainly because the sugar wears off in a couple of hours...the caffeine does NOT.
Oh and I've also almost kicked the need to have my coffee be a color other than dark brown or black. When I was a kid of say 2 or 3 (yeah I know...) they started giving me coffee that had milk and sugar in it, but it was in one of those old Navy (not Old Navy) mugs that has the blue stripes around it. The color of the mug made the white coffee look blue so I called it "Blue Coffee". Until my dear Aunt Dot passed away, she still asked me if I still drank my coffee "blue". And I do. Cept now they charge me $4 and call it a latte. Whatever. I'm down to half a cup of sugar (hyperbole at it's finest) and no cream or milk. That's progress right!?
After trying to go to sleep at 2AM and finding it difficult, and waking up uncomfortably throughout the night, I decided to go back to my decaf. The side effects were just too much. Plus when I woke up this morning I grabbed the Pledge and the Windex and started dusting and cleaning surfaces. Anyone who knows me knows that this is WAY outside my comfort zone!!
So for now...unless I have to drive 12 hours straight to get somewhere...I'm sticking to decaf! (But I DO have fully loaded for when you come to visit me!!!)
(Just for Jennifer: I gave it up when it was a choice between drinking a six pack of Dr. Peppers a day and living on meds for IBS, or just quitting cold turkey. I still drink it now and then but I KNOW when I've had it!! LOL)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Yes it was my first time...
I know it's hard to believe that I've never been to the commissary before but it's true! Today was my very first time going to that mythical place that I've heard about my whole life. LOL It was pretty much what I had expected. Sort of somewhere between Frank's Warehouse Foods and Winn Dixie. The prices were pretty good but I'm used to buying stuff at Sam's where the cost per ounce is just so much lower. I think the allure of no sales tax helps a lot, too!
Anyway... it was nice to get out of the house and spend some time with my friend and her sweet babies. I am glad that I have so many younger friends who have kids that I can practice being a grandma with. I think I'll be good at it eventually but I'm seriously in NO rush to get there. I do see the allure of being able to play with them and then hand them back though. I remember being a mom with three young kids and it was TOUGH! I can't even imagine trying to start over at this age with another one. I'm totally cool with moving on to the next phase of my life. And considering what I do for a living, that's a decision that was a long, hard one to get to. At least by helping other people bring their bundles of joy into the world, I will have the opportunity to get some sweet baby loving in now and then!!
Anyway... it was nice to get out of the house and spend some time with my friend and her sweet babies. I am glad that I have so many younger friends who have kids that I can practice being a grandma with. I think I'll be good at it eventually but I'm seriously in NO rush to get there. I do see the allure of being able to play with them and then hand them back though. I remember being a mom with three young kids and it was TOUGH! I can't even imagine trying to start over at this age with another one. I'm totally cool with moving on to the next phase of my life. And considering what I do for a living, that's a decision that was a long, hard one to get to. At least by helping other people bring their bundles of joy into the world, I will have the opportunity to get some sweet baby loving in now and then!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Happy Monday!
How was YOUR day? Mine was pretty good, actually. Thanks for asking! Because I have wonderful friends who care about my mental health (LOL?), I got out of the house for a while today and went to BK to watch my practice grandchild play on the playground while I got some grown up girl time with two of my sweet friends! Because I wrote about it (now), and because I didn't pig out on fries, I'm counting that excursion as a score on Goals 1, 2, 4, and 5!
Got a call today from someone who is due in June. THAT would take care of Goal #3 in and of itself, but I'm also on the verge of committing to a new venture that will get me over the financial humps of not having a bunch of doula clients. It will alsoenable force me to get out of the house on a more regular basis. And that's a good thing, right?
Okay so now for mywhining opportunities to give grace for the day. My ex is seriously just... I am praying for him. And for my kids. AND for the dog. Bless their hearts. Also, I made a phone call today that I've been avoiding for the last 23 years or so. So what if it was the wrong number. Getting up the courage to DIAL it was tough. Because I love my family, I will keep looking for the right number. It's the least I can do.
Dove Chocolate party is on Wednesday night! I need 5 or so people to come so let me know if you're available!!
Got a call today from someone who is due in June. THAT would take care of Goal #3 in and of itself, but I'm also on the verge of committing to a new venture that will get me over the financial humps of not having a bunch of doula clients. It will also
Okay so now for my
Dove Chocolate party is on Wednesday night! I need 5 or so people to come so let me know if you're available!!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
New Goals
I've been a bad bad blogger. I just realized that it has been a YEAR since I posted anything! I went to the trouble of making my site all customized and then quit writing. Blog foul.
So Goal #1 is going to be to post more often! I promise that I will try to get something up here at least twice a week even if it's not one of my 5000 word diatribes about bad service in a restaurant or what my life has come to be.
Goal #2 is to get out of the house EVERY day even if it is only to walk around in the yard for 10 minutes. I've become a hermit and that's not good. Hmmm... Maybe I can just take the laptop out onto the front porch??
Goal #3 is to find more clients for my doula business. Ideally I would like to have 2 paying clients and at least one free client per month. There's $50 in it for you if you find someone who signs a full contract. Seriously.
Goal #4 is to keep working on this getting healthier thing. I'm working with a Growth Group at MyChurch called Spiritually Fit. I've lost about 10 pounds and I have to keep going.
Goal #5 is to enjoy life to the fullest. Okay so I'm already a fan of this one but you have to put some easy goals in there right?
Stay tuned and let's see how things go!!
So Goal #1 is going to be to post more often! I promise that I will try to get something up here at least twice a week even if it's not one of my 5000 word diatribes about bad service in a restaurant or what my life has come to be.
Goal #2 is to get out of the house EVERY day even if it is only to walk around in the yard for 10 minutes. I've become a hermit and that's not good. Hmmm... Maybe I can just take the laptop out onto the front porch??
Goal #3 is to find more clients for my doula business. Ideally I would like to have 2 paying clients and at least one free client per month. There's $50 in it for you if you find someone who signs a full contract. Seriously.
Goal #4 is to keep working on this getting healthier thing. I'm working with a Growth Group at MyChurch called Spiritually Fit. I've lost about 10 pounds and I have to keep going.
Goal #5 is to enjoy life to the fullest. Okay so I'm already a fan of this one but you have to put some easy goals in there right?
Stay tuned and let's see how things go!!
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