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 :)

I Missed It!

Okay, so I totally had it in my mind that Endometriosis Awareness month was in April...but it's was in March!  I was so certain that it was April that I went back to March of '11 on my Facebook timeline only to discover how wrong I was...it is March and I missed it!  Dang!

Though I'm quite certain that all my friends with it will forgive me for missing out and since there truly isn't a bad month to promote awareness of any illness or lifelong condition I'm going to stick to my plan and bring awareness in April!

Now, I don't suffer from this condition however I have what seems to me to be and alarming number of friends that do.  To be completely honest I'm not sure why this disease strikes me with such compassion for the inflicted.  Perhaps it's because I have a great number of friends with it.  That it is incurable.  That many people still don't know about it.  Those are all good reasons, but I'm fairly certain the reason is that it afflicts only women, affects them every. single. day.  Just like any disease one has good days and bad days, but these women if they're lucky are Mommas caring for their babies day in and day out and sometimes while in extreme pain for multiple days.

That is what pulls at my heart.  I know how hard it is for me to care for my children while sick but I'm relatively healthy and sick days are few and far between...nothing on a consistent, sometimes monthly basis.

I really don't know a whole bunch about this illness but I do know how to help a hurting friend, how to comfort those in need and how to make life just a little easier for someone in distress.  So this month I've decided to make a quilt...yes, a quilt (see Shannon, you've convinced me).  I haven't decided what to do with it yet but I'm sure the Lord will direct my path in that regard.  Also, I'm going to make the conscious decision to sew mostly with yellow this month...I may even have to buy some fabric.  Yellow is the color associated with the awareness of this disease.

Also I'm going to be posting some ideas for helping our fellow Mommas out when they're sick and need help.  In addition I'll be doing my own research and sharing it with you all here.

Even if you don't know someone afflicted with this disease (which is highly unlikely as it is estimated that 89 million girls and women have this source 1 source 2) you probably do know someone afflicted with a long term illness that doesn't allow them to always enjoy the joys of life with kids...or even the pitfalls of parenting.  The tips I'll be sharing won't be new but will easily translate into caring for others facing long term illness.

Here's to a great week, may my dear friends suffering with this find hope and encouragement this month and may we all strive to see those hurting around us and do something to help.  




If you feel so inclined to do your own research here is a great starting point.

Laundry...

source

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.

source

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.

source

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 :)

source

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!

source

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.

Thaddeus Turns Two!

I can hardly believe it!  My baby Thaddeus turned two on Saturday.  He has been such a great joy to our family.  This year with my new camera I was able to document his day from Breakfast to Cake!

He was very excited to pose and smile for the camera.  All day he went around, putting toys up to his face and saying "Cheese!"

I've decided that what is the point of having fine china if you never use it?  So I got it down for birthday dinner.  I plan on doing this again for other birthdays!

What kind of party would it be without presents.  This was the first year Thaddeus was excited about opening gifts.  Though he had to play with each gift before he opened the next gift.  Good thing he didn't get too much...we might still be opening gifts ;)  Favorite gift?  The notebook and pens that Daddy picked up for him.

Of course there was cake too!  I had been practicing with Thaddeus how to blow out a candle the last month...but he got cake fright!  He saw that big cake and smiled but that was it.  Eventually Lincoln and I had to blow the candle out for him.  To his delight!  He got to eat that yummy cake!

Happy Birthday my precious boy!

Sometimes a Boy is Just a Boy

My older boys!

It is true, sometimes a boy is just a boy I should know I have four.  Still even amidst the copious amounts of testosterone in my house I so often forget it.  Many of you know that my oldest son, Lincoln, was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome the spring before his 6th birthday.  Asperger's falls under the umbrella term of Autism which is just a term used to diagnose kids with certain developmental disabilities and at times behavioral ones to.  Lincoln is a blessing to our family and I wouldn't change him for anything, he has a unique take on life and views the world around him with different lenses that color my world with blessings and trials.

Part of the struggle of parenting a child with any disability, but especially one that deals with both behavior and development is determining whether the behavior and actions you're seeing in your child has to do with the disability or if it is just the child.  I am coming to find out for my son that more often than not it is more a case of "He's an eight-year-old boy" than "He has Asperger's."

This actually makes my life easier.  For when he is simply being a boy I know that there is hope in that this stage won't last forever.  That I can teach him, or Husband can teach him, what he needs to know so he can grow into the man God has destined him to become.

So whether your child is a boy or a girl, disabled or not remember that Sometimes a Boy is Just a Boy...unless she's a girl and that time is the ultimate healer of the struggle you're facing today.

The Medium Goal

On Wednesday I shared my small goals, most of which are one time goals for the month of January.  (I'm still on the prowl for some accountability buddies for some of those goals)  So today I want to share with you my medium goal, To Redecorate the Kids Rooms.

We live in a tiny house and Thaddeus (the baby) is very particular in how he sleeps...meaning he sleeps in his own room.  We only have 3 rooms in our house so this means that the other 4 kids sleep in one room.  Currently this is how they sleep...

As you can see it works but it isn't using the room to the best advantage.  What I want is to have double bunk beds built to go along the long wall with drawers underneath.  I even have a picture that as inspired this goal...

try this via Buffy on Pinterest

My favorite part of this is that the beds are like berths on a ship and have the curtains for each bed.  I imagine that the curtains will be perfect for keeping in the warmth in the cold winters and keeping the light out of early summer hours.  I do love the nautical theme but not sure if we'll go that route.  I will need a theme once we start painting and getting supplies.  Themes and decorating ideas is where you lovely people come in, I kneed your help!  I'm not the best decorator in the world...but I'm pretty good at copying others fantastic ideas.

So I started a pin board on Pinterest that is open to contributors (if you aren't able to contribute email me and I'll add you).  I'm hoping to find a theme that appeals to both boys and princesses alike.  Also it has to be fairly classic too.  I'm not planning on redecorating for 5 years or more at which point Lincoln will be 13.  Other things that I would like ways to make a small space feel big, organization for toys, clothes, bedding, books...pretty much everything 4 kids need in their room.

Also the wardrobe will stay but the red dresser can be repurposed or passed on.  My goal is to be done by the end of June, six months.  My small term goal for January on the project is to get measurements of the room, start pricing the cost for the bunk beds and come up with a reasonable budget for the project.  I'll be looking for the perfect theme too, but I imagine it won't be completely solidified until February or March.

Only one more goal to share and it happens to be the one I'm most excited about too!  How are your new year goal plans coming along?  Have any small goals you'd like to share?  Go ahead jump in and dream big then make the plans to make your dreams a reality!

10 YEARS!!!

we heart it via Buffy on Pinterest

Today is my anniversary.  It seems crazy to me that we've been married for 10 years!  I remember back when we first got engaged and I thought 10 years was a long time, now looking back 10 years is nothing!  I honestly love that man more each and every day.  He has always been my biggest supporter and I know that when everything else goes wrong in life he'll always be there to hold me, draw me a bubble bath or buy me coffee, which says a lot since he hates coffee himself.

In honor of our anniversary I dug out the photos and scanned them in, since everything was on film in those days, and uploaded them just for you.  I must admit that it took a bit of time to get used to what we used to look like.

This has always been my favorite picture...

Just me...

Husband, doesn't he look so young?  Hard to believe he was 22...

Our First Dance, yes I was singing along to the song...

Me and my daddy...

The cake...

I take great pride in the fact that I have never been to a wedding in which there was a car for a cake!  Though who knows I just might be more proud if I did now, knowing that I started the trend ;)

Ten years with the man who stole my heart went by so fast so excited to spend the rest of my life with him.

Christmas Pictures

One thing about having five kids is that you have to find ways to be creative with the budget.  Honestly, it would cost too much in childcare for me to work so not staying home isn't an option, not that I mind it :)  Still the little extra stuff that families do like Christmas cards and professional photo shoots just isn't in our budget.  Besides that it really isn't an priority for us.  That said I do try to get pictures of the kids when I can, yet this year has proven to be the worst year for me for cameras...I'll tell you about it later.

So the other day I had this brilliant idea for a cute Christmas picture for the kiddos.  I planned it out, thought about the time, did all the right stuff so the camera would be more agreeable for being used and then set it up.  Well, it didn't go so well.  The kids were live wires...jumping all over the place, not doing what they were supposed to and well the whole thing ended with the kids going to bed early and me vowing never to try to take pictures again (it was a short lived vow).

Yet I did go back the next day and looked at the pictures and while the picture I was wanting wasn't there, I did find a few cute ones...

Yes, the ornament is hanging from his lip!

I couldn't help myself with this picture as it so perfectly depicts how photo taking happens at my house.  Honestly, if I did send out Christmas Cards I would put this picture on them...

This last one is my favorite.  I love that it is dark, Lincoln's shirt and the exposure so reminiscent of years gone by.  

Merry Christmas!

Buffy

The Holiday Dress

If you're friends with me on facebook you'll know that a few weeks ago I was ranting about the lack of weather appropriate holiday dresses for girls (and women too).  I suppose it is the penny pinching of my husband and my dislike of covering up such a pretty dress with a huge sweater (not that I'm opposed to sweaters mind you) that makes me feel this way.  I guess, what galls me the most is that because I don't live somewhere that is actually warm in December (we're supposed to get snow soon) I'm supposed to buy a dress and a nice sweater or buy a long sleeved t-shirt to go under the dress.  Holiday dress patterns are no better.  They are just as sleeveless as what you can buy.

However, Shannon from luvinthemommyhood reminded me of her adorable Delaney dress and that it would be easy to modify the sleeves to 3/4 length or longer.  So I took a stab at it.  Shannon's patterns and tutorials are always easy and usually fast (you might remember my MODify dresses).  It did take me a little while to make, but that had nothing to do with the pattern but all the extras I added to the pattern.

I love this picture...reminds me of Little House on the Prarie

As you can see it turned out lovely!

Here is what I added to the pattern:

-I lined it, with our cold winters I knew I couldn't skip this.

-I lengthened the sleeves, I had hoped to make long sleeves but I mistakenly used a knit top to base my width measurements.  Instead of cutting out new sleeves (because I didn't discover my mistake until I sewed the sleeve in) I just did a split sleeve just below the elbow.  Personally I love the look more now than if I had just had full, connected long sleeves.

-I added a red fabric tie...love the bow in the back.

-I lined the skirt as well, but cut the lining shorter than the skirt then added some gather netting to it to give it a bit more of a pouf in the skirt.

Because the pattern is for a size 2, I enlarged the pattern pieces by 40% to increase it to a size 4.  I must confess I figured that with the enlarging I would have to fiddle with the sleeve to fit it into the dress but I didn't!  The sleeve was so easy to put in.  Since Shannon only gives the measurements for the skirt (it's a rectangle, no need to print of a pattern piece) I simply multiplied the measurements by 1.4 and rounded to the next whole number.

This is a great pattern and you should definitely check it out.  I know that more are in the future :)

{{hugs}}

Buffy

So what do you think?  Adorable right?  What are your feelings about holiday dress styles?  Have some fabulous dress patterns you know of that are perfect for cold weather?  Link them up, I love to chat fashion :)

Sunday Naps are the Best...

Sunday Naptime

It is a rare moment in our household for two kids to nap at the same time, but that is just what happened this past Sunday.  Football was on the television and these two tired hooligans cuddled up next to Daddy on the couch and soon were fast asleep.  Of course I had to snap a picture and post it for you all!

{{hugs}}

Buffy

Christmas Came Early...

Well, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving Week...yes, I wrote week.  Samuel ended up sick on Monday and school was cancelled for Lincoln Tuesday, so we were home all week.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was a great week.  Vinny got sick on Thanksgiving, so I stayed home from the family dinner to be with him.  While I would have preferred to go and hang out with family, it did give me lots of extra knitting time (Vinny slept the WHOLE time).

Though the best part of the week was that my sister and her boyfriend came up for the weekend.  Oh, my was it fun!  In September my sister and mom came up to visit and before they left I taught my sister how to knit.  So when she arrived we showed off of finished knits...I having been on a cowl kick lately had a few more than she ;)  Still her boyfriend was completely willing to watch the parade of knits and actually showed appreciation for the skill, encouraged me and my sister to continue in our knitterly pursuits and requested hand knits.  Winner!

However, my sister and I are afflicted with a terrible problem, we can't wait to give gifts to loved ones.  We both get so excited about the gift, know it is perfect and so usually we give them early.  The only thing that has helped with this affliction is to wait until the holiday or birthday has passed then go get the gift.  So my sister had to give me my gift when she was here (she mentioned something about wanting to see my expression).  I obliged and with a stiff upper lip allowed her to give me my gift early...

first she gave me these adorable buttons...

 

I wore them all at one time the first couple days, though I'm sure I'll be attaching them to some knitting bags.  Then she gave me this...

Yes that is MADELINETOSH!!!  Oh I just about jumped out of my skin, I was so excited.  You have to understand that I have a very strict yarn budget...Husband says I get $1 a month, $5 if I'm extra good...so this yarn has always been out of reach.  But for Christmas, well that's what gift giving is for.  I can't wait to cast on with it.  However, I will be good (mostly because I have so much left to do for the Christmas) and won't knit with it until Christmas.

I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving.

{{hugs}}
Buffy

I'm working hard at getting to the computer to blog...but honestly I have so much to do!  Still, I love to chat and always have time for a friend.  Tell me how was your holiday?  Are you super excited for the gifts you're giving?  Expecting something wonderful under the tree?  Grab a Christmas cookie and some hot cocoa and let's chat!

Pictures for an Apology

because I have Christmas knitting on the brain...

via pinterest via kristen smith

time to go get some gluten free rice krispies!

via pinterest via from the blue shed

because I have 4 boys and a girl who'd love this

   and I'm getting a little crazy about crochet...

via pinterest via etsy

because I'm hoping to make you smile...if not laugh...

via pinterest via etsy

for my friend Shannon, I'll make you one since you can't right now...

via pinterest via pleasant home

and for my friend Rebecca, who just won an award...you totally need a mug rug to celebrate :)

via pinterest via the wild olive via the split stich

Yup, it's been a while.  I wish I could tell you that it I haven't blogged for so long because I've been too busy crafting...but that isn't the truth.  The simple fact is I was sucked into the everyday busyness of raising 5 kids and well, blogging went by the way side.  You forgive me right?  More so if I tell you this is the first time I've actually been on the computer in 3 days.  Thanks!

I sure do hope to get some major crafting done this afternoon.  The house is nice and clean (well as clean as one can expect with five kids) and Christmas sewing is pretty much all that is on my mind right now.  Still I had a moment where I could pop in and say hi, show off a few pretty pictures from pinterest and enjoy our blogging friendship again.  I promise not to be gone so long again...and maybe if the sewing fates are in my favor (or more to the point it is God's will for my day) I will have some fabulous projects finished up next week, ready to show off :)

{{hugs}}
Buffy

So do you have big crafting plans for today?  This weekend?  Husband is working late tonight, it's Oatmeal Bar is slated for dinner so a crafting I will go :) So go check out the links above, especially for my friend Rebecca and her award.  Happy Weekend to you!