The Camera's Been Clickin'

Okay so this'll be a first.  I've been following click it up a notch since we bought our new camera.  I knew that while photography might be in my blood (my dad's a photographer) I learned film photography and not digital and that I wanted some pointers.

I really have no inclinations to go pro with this, I just want to take really nice pictures of my kids, my crafts and life...the stuff that makes me well me.

Still last month (really last week) I took the kids outside for a photo project and I somehow managed to capture this picture of mister Thaddeus:

Are you as amazed as me?  Yeah...it was one of those photos that I wasn't trying to get but got it just the same and with just a little editing with PicMonkey (honestly I'm too poor for PhotoShop) I think that it just captures his pure joy and delight at 1) being the center of attention and 2) swinging. 

Since this is definitely one of my very best photos I've decided that I will enter it in September's I Clicked it Up a Notch photography contest.  My fingers are crossed.



Photo Taken: Sept 24, 2012
Camera: Cannon EOS Rebel T2i, kit lens
F-stop: f/4.5
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
ISO: 400

Smile, My Life is that Interesting...

Okay, so Shannon over at luvinthemommyhood started this and well I'm gonna finish it!  Then go grocery shopping :)

* i'm longing to make "a patchwork quilt slip cover for my couches" right now. And by right now I mean yesterday! I can honestly say that I've thought of doing this before but never have and now that I've seen someone else do it I want it too!  Problem...I have 1 sofa sleeper couch and 2 (yes two) love seats (though not in the same room) and I can't have them feeling left out :)  Mayhaps this will be a goal for 2013?

* i want to try "knitting" with some "quivut" yarn.

* i wish i could sew with "Rockin' Romance" fabric.

* i dream of making "my whole wardrobe".  Really I do.  Jeans, khakis, skirts, tops, sweaters and of course dresses...lifetime goal here. 

* i keep track of my ideas by "thinking about them constantly".  No really, I rarely sketch or write out ideas I just keep them locked away in my cute little brain.  Some of you might think that's crazy or that you'd forget.  I'll be honest I WISH I could forget stuff.  A great memory can be a curse...I mean do I really have to remember that the first time I met my husband he beat me thouroughly at tether ball?  Or that I'm often the first person to notice and comment on the fact that you have lipstick on your teeth?  Yes, all that and more is in my brain (I could even quote to you from memory the due dates, actual arrival dates, birth weights and what they lost in the first couple days of ALL FIVE of my kids)

* i'm inspired by "life".  Not just the everything around me sense but the nitty gritty life as we live it.  I'm inspired when I see people standing in line at the grocery store, when I'm washing the dishes or even when I'm sleeping (I wake up with the greatest ideas sometimes).  I'm inspired to make life not just functional and livable but beautiful as well.  I want others to see the beauty in the messes of life.

* i would love to meet "too many people" in person.  I have made so many friends through the introwebs that I would love to meet them in person, specifically Shannon, Becca, Kristy and then there's friends I've met through facebook and I'd love to meet them too :)

* my favorite fiber is "wool".  Seriously can you go wrong with wool?  I didn't think so :)

* i like to sew with "knits".   Ohmygosh, favorite thing to work with.  I love how everything turns out, how you don't have to hem and well I just love it in general.

* my favorite color is "ORANGE".  Enough said.

* i rock at "baby making".  Let your mind wander if you will but I had to enter in something funny but exessively true :)

* i would like to learn how to make "the most of my photography".

* i like to listen to "classical music" while i "drive the kids places". Don't get me wrong here I listen to all kinds of music but classical (though I know that word incompasses a lot of music) is the most easy flowing music and the kids and I are always calmer when it's on in the suburban

* i bring my "party self" everywhere.  I am a self-proclaimed party in a person.  Go ahead, invite me to a party and I promise you'll see the truth in this statement :)

* my favorite thing to "sew" is "women's dresses".  My dream is to make custom dresses for women.  I'm not into making patterns, sewing for everyone's kids but I love to make dresses and I would love to make dresses for other women.

* my favorite thing to "knit" are "cowls".

* my crafting space is "controlled chaos".  Yet I know where just about everything is.  The moment I can't find something is the moment I start cleaning up.

* if i had my own crafting room it would have "floor to celing walls of fabric so that I can see and feel what I have".  I can't stress it enough when I say I do not live in boxes.  I hate that I have to store my lovely fabric in shelves where I never see them.  If I see something I want to create.  What I would love is to be able to have all of my fabrics out and hanging organized by color :)  Someday!

* i sew with "a kenmore".  It's old, has only one presser foot and works like a dream.  Knits have never had it so good.  I got it from my husband's aunt when my Brother stopped working just before Christmas...she's prolly never going to get it back ;)

* i like to "repeat" "the cute things my kids say".  Yeah, I'm pretty much a sucker for all the adorbsible things my kids say.  Right now on the radar is Vinny's explaination of the alphabet "Momma, Teacher says we have to learn all our letters because it will be in every word we learn to read this year!"  i.die!

* i can never get enough "hugs from my love".  True story.  I love my husband and love it when he takes me in his arms and tells me I'm his whole world :)

* i adore "writing". Yup, I love to write.  I write fiction, non-fiction if two letters make a word then I'm there!

* i also enjoy "letter writing" and "fancy lettering".  Yeah, I'm kinda addicted to making pretty envelopes.  For all my thank you notes I have now started mailing them the old fashioned way and prettifying them up (yes I just made up a word, deal with it).  I love getting cards in the mail and you should too...it sure beats bills ;)

* i like to fill my shelves with "pictures".  I love having pictures on the walls, shelves, cupboards...well maybe not yet.  Pictures of family or cards that I have recieved.  Usually my shelves are full of stuff but if I had my druthers I'd have candles and photographs on every open shelf!

* i create the best when i'm "dressed up like I mean it".  I ABHOR sweat pants, yoga pants are acceptable for short periods of time but to be completely honest if I'm frumpy my thoughts are frumpy and I hit a crazy road block to creativity.  If I really want to make something I dress up, hair, make-up, shoes and usually a dress (though I do have the most adorable pair of jeans I stole for $3).  Really, I hate being frumpy so much that I make myself knit skirts for post partum because I can only handle being in jammies for about 12 hours :)

* i am currently excited for "my little girl to start preschool". Yes it is true, my little princess starts preschool on Monday and I am beyond excited for her and for me.  For 1/2 a day 4 days a week it'll just be me and the beebs (Thaddeus)...I'm already planning quiet time for him and craft time for me.  Can you say HEAVEN?  Plus, it doesn't hurt that she is excited too.  She's filling out pretend forms for school, talking about her teaching and squealing with delight everytime we pass the preschool.  I'm really hoping she makes a best friend in her class this year.  We live in a small town and she could easily meet that bestie that will follow her through high school...maybe even college.  You all remember those friends right?

* right now i am "test pattern".   Hush hush...

* i love to watch "nothing" while creating.  I actually can't create and craft, kinda like chewing gum and walking.  Don't get me wrong I will knit and watch tv and movies (so long as they aren't action thrillers) but I don't usually sew or create much while watching shows.  Mostly because I get too drawn into the shows that I forget to move my hands.  However if you want to know my fave shows right now they are "Once Upon a Time" "Sherlock" "  Downton Abbey" and I am super excited for "Elementary" that starts this week!

* my guilty pleasure when it comes to creating is "thrift store splurges".  Um, yeah I really can't say no in thrift shops, reguardless of how many oversized t-shirts I have at home I really really really need another one at $1!

* my current favorite music crush to listen to while creating is "Sara Barielles Radio on Pandora or Rend Collective Experiment Radio on Pandora".  I ADORE Pandora!!!  I love that I don't have to listen to just one particular artist but can listen to similar artists too.  I get introduced to a ton of new music and my play lists in Spotify keep growing ;)

Well, now you know all about me...I want to know all about you.  Feel free to copy and paste this into your blog and answer the questions as you would (not me, obviously I already know me).

Buffy

Guess What I'm wearing today???

Yes that's right!  My new sweater :)  I'm so excited that the weather has finally cooled off enough for me to put it on...well cooled off enough in the morning that is, I'll prolly have to take it off this afternoon.

Still I'm happy to have it on.

I love that I decided to make my own buttons.  Part of that was because I didn't have money for pretty buttons and the cheap ones wouldn't work.  The other part is that I love fabric covered buttons :)

Well, I promise I'll try and pop in here a little more frequently but currently I am crazy swamped and can barely get what must get done finished each day.  I thought with the kids in school I'd have more time looks like I have less...a connundrum if I ever heard of it!

So I'm in desperate need of some love and need you all to tell me how much you love the sweater.  I still want to do a photo shoot with it but that will have to wait for another day...

New Car, Sweaters, KAL and Sock Yarn...

I know I've been gone from this little corner of blogland for a while.  I've been struggling a lot with some personal and medical issues (nothing serious or life threatening, but a pain nevertheless) so my desire to blog and create has been on the back burner.  Don't get me wrong, I've been making stuff just not as quickly as I usually do ;)  Also, summer is here and well I think it's going to take me the full three months to get into the summer schedule...right about the time I have to get used the new school schedule :)  


There reason for mini-vacation from blogging explained.  Now onto what you're all here for The 2012 Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long hosted by the Fantabulos Shannon of luvinthemommyhood!  I'm excited to join in again this summer.  Do you remember my sweater from last year?  

Pumpkinlicious Cardi
Pattern Reversible Come and Go Sweater by Deborah Newton 

Oh. My. Goodness.  I just discovered that I never posted the finished picture!  Ack!  Well that's okay, I'm planning on tearing apart the fronts and turning the cardigan into a pullover.  I'll show before and after pics when I work on it, you forgive me now I know :)

I have decided to knit myself a pullover.  I really wanted to knit something seamless, preferably a top down (I love top downs).  I fell head-over-heels in love with Umbrellas by Joji Locatelli this spring.

lilalu's umbrellas

 As soon as I heard there was to be another summer sweater KAL I knew I wanted to knit this pattern.  However, I wanted to buy yarn to knit it and was fully intending to do so but then our car died, it wasn't worth fixing and so we took the plunge and bought a new car.  Husband loves it and it is a wonderful car, gets excellent MPGs and came in the perfect color for Husband (it's his commuter car) but it came with a car payment YUCK!  So in a moment of rare responsibility I put off buying yarn for this sweater mostly because I wanted to knit with something new and fresh - when you read the words new and fresh it does the same thing vintage does to the price tag at the thrift store...it goes up.

So I tucked the pattern away in my mind, life moved on and so did my knitting and crafting, well sort of, and I started to look to my stash and see what I had and if there was a pattern in my collection of patterns that would work with yarn that I already have.  Guess what?  I have a lot of sock yarn...no socks...but lots of yarn.  Different colors but most are in the same color family.  Umbrellas is knit with sock yarn, could I make it work with my modge podge of sock yarn?

no, this isn't all the sock yarn I have but these are the yarns I'm going to use

Yesterday I looked through it all and concluded that yes I could but that it would look even better if I were able to find a couple more skeins of a sock yarn that I had the most of.  A quick search on ravelry a few messages back and forth and winner winner chicken dinner I'm getting more yarn at a very reasonable price.  I bought the pattern this morning and while I can't cast on until I finish another project I am very happy.

The color I'm getting more of :)

Stay tuned to see how it turns out.  I'm going to be eternally optimistic about it and see it turning out incredibly well :)  Now to finish my project and get started on this one...it'll take me all summer!

Wildflower Wednesday

On a bright summer day a young girl went for a walk to look for some wildflowers for her Mum's kitchen.  Mum hadn't been feeling well lately and the young girl thought some flowers would cheer her up.  She passed by Farmer O'Neal's pasture and saw these lovely purple flowers and thought they would do nicely for Mum.  

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There were also lovely little mums all over and she plucked those too.  However, the walk had been rather long so she sat under the great tree to rest and make a few flower chains with the flowers.  Flower chains were sure to cheer Mum up.

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Yet as the day grew warmer the young girl grew tired and her eyes began to droop.  The world took on an antique hue and the sky appeared to be filled with flower shaped clouds and the flowers that surrounded her were suddenly taller than she.

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Standing up, the flower chain and bouquet forgotten, the young girl raced to return home for nothing looked the same.  What had been Farmer O'Neal's pasture was now a meadow and where sheep grazed now aged wooden folding chairs stood.  People in their Sunday Frippery filled those chairs as gentle music played from the string quartet that sat where the barn used to be.


The young girl was frightened at the change and yet drawn to The People just the same.  As she drew in closer to them she told herself she would only ask for directions to her home, she needed to return home to Mum.  Suddenly one of The People grabbed her, speaking softly that the ceremony was to begin and she must take her place.


No sooner had she seated herself than a beautiful woman who looked much like her Mum, only much younger, dressed in a gown of white began to walk down the aisle.  It was then that the young girl realized she was at a wedding.  She strained in her seat to see the groom but could not quite make out his face, for he was standing at a great distance from her.


As suddenly as The People had arrived they vanished , the quiet music still ringing in her ears and all that remained of her vision was a bouquet of wildflowers on a dark antique chair.

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The young girl pressed on, Mum would soon realize her absence and would worry.  The sun had now shifted in the sky and late afternoon was upon her.  Yet strangely, as if in a dream, the world around her became bigger or she became smaller she was not sure which.  First it was the trees that no longer looked like trees but grew to the height of mountains.  Grass that had crunched under her feet now was her height, flowers loomed overhead like trees.  


What was this place?  The young girl saw nary a bug but noticed the intricacies of each blade of grass, of the stems of the flowers and the water droplets.  In awe of the great details she saw the young girl stopped, remembering her little sketch pad she kept in her pocket.  She sat and drew in great detail the veins of each blade of grass, the way nutrients of the flowers glittered up the stem to the flower and how the petals of the flower vibrated with each drink the roots took in.


Exhausted from such a task the young girl laid down to rest among the flowers.

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When she awoke she noticed the flowers were of appropriate size but that the sun was now dipping lower in the sky quickly rising to her feet the young girl began walking again hoping to find some sign of where she was, how to get home.  Mum was sure to be worried something fierce about her absence, she had been gone all day.  As the young girl wandered, she noticed that the field began to cede and and a forest began.  Tall evergreen trees stretched tall to the sky, like soldiers on watch over the life of the forest floor.  


Pressing on into the forest the sun's evening rays glimmering in between the trees.  A clearing diverged and the young girl took it and the sight she saw took her breath away.  A cloud capped mountain and the suns lowering rays shining on the valley below showing the trail of a small river.  She sat down upon a fallen tree and simply soaked in the sight.

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Eyes closed she listened to the soft sounds of the end of day.  Birds bustling to settle their chicks, crickets beginning their evening chant.  The soothing sounds turned into vibrations.  Not vibrations, no she was being shaken.  Slowly her eyes opened and before her stood Farmer O'Neal a smile on his weathered faced.  


Standing up the young girl realized she had fallen asleep under the great tree just past Farmer O'Neal's pasture.  The bouquet of wildflowers still in her hands she quickly waved her goodbye to the farmer and ran home.  She not only had beautiful flowers for Mum but a story to share as well.


I hope you enjoyed this short story.  I know it has been a while since I've posted anything here, it is a season for sure.  Life as a mother can be hard and sometimes there are moments when we just don't understand why we're feeling as we do.  That is where I am today, where I'll probably be for a few more days.  At times like these I find it extremely therapeutic to write, many things I write I don't share but today I set out to post a few lovely photos but when it came to writing a snippet about each picture a story came out instead.  Please pay no mind to improper grammar or change in voice, it is but a first draft but as with most things related to therapy it needs no perfecting for it is what it is.  My prayer is that it brightens your day as it has already brightened mine.


Buffy 

31 Days of Pictures

So the other day (alright, last night) I was checking out the new things on Pinterest and found this:

via Fat Mum Slim

Now if you've spent any amount of time searching the blog sphere you've probably run across the challenge Project 365, which has taken many shapes and forms but the general idea is that you take a picture everyday for an entire year.  I'll leave you to research the reasons you might accept a challenge such as that.

Back to the above pic.  I was immediately taken by the fact that instead of just randomly taking a singular picture everyday for a month, the creator had given ideas to what to take each day.  If I'm completely honest if I were to take a picture everyday (I sort of do already) they would almost 100% of the time be of my kids.  Not that they aren't adorable, they are, still if something is going to be challenging it needs to have the ability to step out of your comfort zone.

So today, being May 1st I decided to have a go at this.  Not in the casual, well if it doesn't work out no biggie, but in the I'm going to take a picture everyday for the month of May and share them with the world...or as much of the world as I can.  My reason is namely to get myself in the habit of not just taking pictures for posterity, or for the blog, or for family and friends but to see the meaning behind the picture.  To stretch myself as I learn photography and learn the artistic side of photography too.

With all that in mind I share...

I know, I know it's a picture of my son...but really it isn't.  Let me explain.  Today the goal was to photograph peace.  I have always been of the conviction that while a hot bubble bath, good book and a nice cup of hot cocoa is peaceful, more or less that is restful.  Peace to me isn't the avoidance of conflict, anytime you put two people in the same room conflict arises large or small.  No, peace true and complete peace is the ability to continue with what you were doing a midst the trials and noise of conflict.

So this morning as I sat at the table reading Mean Moms Rule (a fabulous book too) I looked up to catch my son playing with his cars and I was struck by the peace I found in the scene.  My 2-year-old in only his diaper, pen mark on his face, paint chipping on his highchair tray playing most contently with his cars as his older brothers watched a movie, his sister ran around the house as the princess and his mother read a book sipping chai tea.   He found that in spite of his surroundings and the relative chaos he could focus on one thing and do that one thing well.

That my dear friends is peace.  Knowing that no matter what happens, who is doing what, how you're feeling, if the laundry is done or there are groceries in the fridge; that you can still focus on one solitary thing and accomplish it well.

Here's to more pictures about the beauty we find in life!  Hope you find your peaceful moment today too!

It Feels Good to be Thrifty

Well last Friday I woke up and my first thought was, I should go thrifting today.  I did try to talk myself out of it, but the idea had taken such deep root in my mind that not even liquid nitrogen could eradicate it...so I went thrifting, with four kids.  It. was. AWESOME.

I actually only went to one thrift store and found all my little recycling heart desired...and then some.  I found shoes for all the kids with me...two were like brand new, two were name brand...it was a great day.  There was a lot of craftilicious finds but I'll spare you all the deets and just show off the great fabric finds.

First I saw this amazing fabric...

The color is actually more red than pink but is a yummy satin and I'm dying to make something with it.  I paid $1.99 for the piece which measures 4 and 5/8 yards and is 58 inches wide. Score!

Next up is this pretty bit of fabric...

It is a lovely striped organza fabric of several different colors, some of which are sheer.  Elsa proclaimed this fabric as 'mine' when she saw it.  For $.99 how could I say no?  Plus there is 2 yards of it, perfect for adding a little color to a dress or skirt!

I saw this fabric and fell instantly in love...

In fact I loved it so much that Saturday night I made another MODify dress out of it to wear to church on Sunday.  The fabric was $.99 and there was just over 2 yards.  When was the last time you found the best dress ever for $.99?  That's what I thought.

The last bit of fabric that I found was this...

Yup, more organza.  It is so pretty and I love how the green and blue blend into each other.  It set me back $.99 for 2 yards...I know I'm a big spender.

I also picked up a duvet cover and matching pillow shams for a whopping $5.99.  It graces my bed already and I love it!

So what do you think?  Did I make out like a bandit?  I think so, $5 for over 10 yards of fabric is pretty amazing.  Have you been thrifting lately?  Scored some great deals?  I'd love to hear about them :)

A Bit of Randomness

1. Currently I'm uploading 85 pictures to photobucket...it will take a while.
2. I love photobucket...you can save, share, and edit your pictures.  It isn't like Picnik but it works enough for me.
3. The kids and I went to the park today...so much fun.
4. I've decided the housework can wait today, Fun is on the agenda today.
5. Days like this make me excited for summer.
6. I know that this day is fleeting and tomorrow I could be running around like wild banshee.
7. I hope I'm not though.
8. I went thrifting on Friday.
9. Should have pics for you tomorrow.
10.  My secret project is coming along nicely.
11.  When I was little I couldn't keep a secret, now as an adult I love them...anticipation is so highly underrated.
12.  I made three garments on Saturday night.
13.  I need to practice my self-photography.
14.  May is almost here, that's when my Daddy's birthday is.
15. I bought patterns from Magpie Patterns today...you should too.

I hope you enjoyed this small moment of complete randomness.  I'm not ashamed to admit that this is how my mind works most of the time.  I hope someone thinks like this too, otherwise I'm alone in the thought world.  Have a fabulous spring day.


Note:  The patterns I bought was for an infant footie romper to be made out of woven fabric and an embroidery pattern.

Because I'm a Brave Super Mom...

Well, maybe the title is a stretch but I will admit that I had to put on my Super Mom cape for what I did today. I took this adorable little girl...

Stuck her in a chair...

Took lots of before pictures...

The I grabbed a spray bottle, clips, comb and *gasp* scissors and did what needed to be done...

A HAIR CUT!

Personally I think she looks uber adorable with it and I look at it in disbelief that I actually did this myself.

The layers, the shaping around the face, the trimming of the bangs.  The whole shebang!  All me.  Yup, I'm a little prideful here (you'll forgive me later right?).  Though honestly I was certain I'd screw it up so bad that the money I was trying to save by doing it myself I'd end up spending to have it fixed.  I am so grateful that I pay really close attention when my hair stylist cuts my hair, it paid off today.

What do you think?  I know her curls will bounce up with the lightness of her hair now.  Is there something you've done lately that you had to be brave about?  Something you need to do but haven't because you're lacking the courage?  I say do it and reap the benefits! And by benefits I mean cute hair without food stuck in the ends :)

Waiting For The Bus

Well it's been a little while since I've posted some pictures of the kids in real life.  You know, not posing and sporting some new creation of mine.  Today is the day.  We're currently down to one vehicle for a while so I had to take Vinny to the bus and grabbed my camera and grabbed a few (okay a lot) of pics of the kids and scenery.  Here's what I got...

I've been trying really hard to bring my camera along with me wherever I go so that I can practice taking pictures.  I've been adjusting everything from the white balance to the aperture...it is fun practicing and the kids really like being my subjects...for now.

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!

An Encouraging Word

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One of the greatest things that you can do to encourage or lift up a friend that is suffering whether from a long term illness such as endometriosis or just a friend having a hard day is to write a note.  So often I think people don't realize how incredibly uplifting it is to get a card, note, text, or email can be to someone having a really bad day.  Especially if it you're on the 7th bad day in a row!

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While a homemade card is alway lovely, but don't let your lack of cards prevent you from reaching out.  If all you have is email then email, if you only have time to text then text because I guarantee that just the recepient will be grateful!  I know that when I'm having a really hard time I go back and read the cards/letters/emails that I've recieved from friends and they really lift my spirits and make the day that much easier to get through.

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I suppose the next thing that prevents us from writing notes to our friends is not knowing what to write.  However, what to write is really the easy part as it doesn't take much time or need to be eloquent and in our very best penmanship, perfection isn't the point the time we've taken and the words we have to say are.  Here are a few ideas...

     *write about what you admire/respect most about them
     *text an encouraging/inspiring quote/Bible verse
     *write about a good thing you've witnessed about their children
     *remind them about the good character traits they are instilling in their children
     *write about how they inspire you

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A good rule of thumb is to write what you would want to hear when you're having a bad day.  When I'm having a bad day or am really sick I need to hear how I'm not damaging my children permanently by letting them watch Cars 2 twice in one day or perpetually kicking them outside so that I can have some quiet time.  I want to hear that the messy house won't always be messy, that a few bad weeks isn't going to put me on the next episode of Hoarders. 

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I can't tell you how wonderful it is to know that just a few words spoken in kindness and truth can help you as well.  On my bad days I will spend time writing notes to people because making someone else feel better makes me feel better.

Do you have any tips for writing a great note?  Leave in the comments below.  Have you been blessed by a simple note from a friend, or a well timed text?  Share that below as well, we all need to be reminded how the simple things in life truly are the best things.

Laundry...

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Yesterday morning I lost it.  It was probably one of those accumulation of stress things but yesterday as my 8 year old son with tears in his eyes because he couldn't find clean pants...well it was the last straw.  I love to do laundry, really I do.  What I hate is the overwhelming amount I have to do, combined with the fact that even in our small house I still have to hunt down the dirty clothes.  Or that it isn't until they're out of clothes, and we have to leave in 10 minutes that they inform me that they have no clean clothes.

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As for the tearful child above...do not feel sorry for him.  Why?  Because he did have clean pants, he just didn't want to wear them.  Because he knew when he pulled out the last pair of pants that he has to tell me.  Though mostly, because he hardly ever puts his pants away where they should go.

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So I made a decision.  I'm not doing their laundry anymore.  I'm cutting my laundry down to 4 people and household.  Mine, Husband's, Elsa and Thaddeus, but only until the kids turn 5.  Then I'm cutting them loose too!  From here on out Lincoln, Samuel and Vinny will wash their own clothes, fold them and put them away.  If they don't have clean clothes.  Not my fault.  For those who live by us, you are forewarned about boys in dirty clothes, running naked or in just their underoos :)

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I am a woman with a plan just the same.  This weekend I'll be pouring through my fabric stash and making up some laundry bags for them each to keep their clothes separate.  I'm planning on using the pattern from Rae found in 101 One-Yard Wonders.  Then I'm going to give each of the kids a day of the week to wash their laundry...I'll keep you all posted on the progress.  Which to be honest right now isn't going so well.  Lincoln has been folding for almost an hour and isn't even half way done...aiyaya!  Still I'm determined!

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I hope you all have a great weekend and that you too can come to a resolution of the dreaded Mt. Washmore as my friend Shannon calls it.  Has anyone else ever tried this?  Please share your successes or failures with me so we can all learn together.

What Really Gets My Dander Up...

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So I had planned on showing off some fabulous pictures of my princess in her new skirt that I made but taking pictures this weekend proved to be more difficult that I expected (this is where you read in I forgot because my kids were wild).  I have a few things that are in progress and I hope to get one thing finished and posted soon.  Still I have one thing that has been running around in my brain for a while and I guess I just want to put it out there.

My Number One Pet Peeve....

While it is true I hate it when people chew their food or bubble gum with an open mouth and I abhor it when you ask a question and get not only no answer but no response.  Or how it drives me nuts when someone watches the computer screen or book over my shoulder what really gets my dander up is when someone comments on how much harder girls are to raise than boys.

Perhaps it's because I am a girl and I don't like thinking that I was harder to raise than if I had been a boy. Or maybe it's because I have four boys and only one girl so I don't like the assumption that my parental responsibilities is a breeze.  Though I suspect it mostly has to do with the fact that I'm pretty much the lone wolf on this.  I believe whole heartedly, confirmed by my own little girl that neither gender is harder to raise.

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Now, I will freely admit that my daughter is by far the hardest on me for her drama and emotions.  If you are a person that doesn't deal well with that you very well might say that girl's are harder to raise than boys.  I think as a mother dealing with our daughters we see a lot of ourselves in them and we want them to have a better future than we had.  If we were the wallflowers at the dances we want them to be popular, if we were the mean girls at school we want them to be the nice ones.  I don't feel that way about my boys, because well I've never been a man.

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Still my boys frustrate me with their lack of communication or communication about things I could care less about (you know what I'm talking about, guns, guts, lizards and such).  While it is true that boys tend to be more physical in their frustrations they also become sullen, non-communicative and defiant.  At least with girls you know what the problem is even if you can't fix it.

The truth is that boys are hard in their own ways and girls are too.  To say that one is harder than the other leaves the debate open to families of all girls to say "Look at us were working harder than you." to the family of all boys.  While I doubt they'd say that I do wonder if people think that me with my four boys got the long stick in life...which isn't true.  Everyone's life is hard...get this...FOR THEM.  I wouldn't want your life and I know you don't want mine.

Well thanks for tolerating my little rant.  It's been on my mind for a while.  Do you have a rant you just have to share?  Leave it below in the comments I'd love to know what bothers you.  I however have some sewing I must do!