Had some problems w/the lower tension and got that straightened out - this a.m. have been ripping out the messed up seam and getting ready to re-sew it....here's a sneak peek....
Stay tuned....after I put the elastic in, the skirt will have to hang for 24 hours for the bias to set and then I'll hem it and see how it looks.....
I've had the "craft bug" the past week or so - just wanting to make something and have found much inspiration on the multitude of blogs out there.
A few that I've visited a lot lately are:
Crafty Daisies
and
Laughing Daisies especially this cute post with a stamped onesie - now to figure out how to do this properly and keep a stock on hand for friends' baby showers!
along with
The Apronista
If you're feeling crafty, stop by and visit these gals - they have a lot of cute ideas!
I worked on my skirt for awhile today (yes, this one that I started off on the wrong foot with), but this fabric is not like what I usually work with for the girls' dresses (cotton blend) - the fabric I'm using is a slippery polyester blend of some sort and is a royal pain - the next time I shop for a skirt I might not be so upset at the price tag because whoever has to work w/this stuff on a regular basis deserves what they're getting paid (and more!).
Ok, gotta run - have a great weekend everyone!
Well, what do you know....
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=65585
Maybe I'll have another tuna sandwich after all..... ;)
Since we school throughout the year, it's nice to be able to take a break when we need and/or want to. We did just that when my parents were here a few weeks ago.
While they were here I got to go shopping - hooray - with Mom, which was a nice treat for me (and I hope she enjoyed herself!) and it wasn't at Wal-mart or Target - yay!
The children also had a lot of good one on one time w/their grandparents. One of my favorite things that the girls did was to have a tea party w/Grandma - I was their "server" and did my best English accent which transformed the girls to giggles immediately -
Miss A helped me make some strawberry scones to go with the tea and it was served in all its splendor. Afterward, Miss E asked if we could get some proper tea things for next time....so I'm enlisting your help - where is a good place to look for a nice tea set? Yes, we need a creamer and sugar bowl too, I suppose :)
Ok, now for some pics....
Grandpa made sure Grandma's "tea hat" was on just right....
Here is the girls' play tea set that we got on a trip to Gatlinburg earlier this year...
Miss E really enjoyed the scones that Miss A made...
Miss A taking a break from her tea...
The whole setup....sigh...we improvised since we were w/o certain necessities...but it all worked out and everyone had fun....
Ok, looking forward to hearing from y'all about the best places to obtain some "proper tea things" - let me know!
I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day yesterday. In years past we have visited a state park for a picnic, but this year we decided to stay home and grill instead. We started the day with a quick trip down to Krispy Kreme for a sugar-laden breakfast - the children were thrilled w/their red/white/blue sprinkle donuts :)
We spent the rest of the day relaxing around the house, playing outside and enjoying some yummy grilled hot dogs for lunch.
Here's our traditional family pic complete w/our flag shirts for this year (we went with the ones from Wal-mart this year instead of the Old Navy flag shirts for a couple of reasons - 1. Last time I drove past Old Navy they didn't have them yet and I couldn't wait forever and 2. Wal-mart beat them on price in a major way - instead of $5 a pop at Old Navy (total of $30 for our family of 6), we got all the shirts for $16 (children's were $2.50 and adult shirts were $3 - nice).
Anyway, Happy Memorial Day!
(can you tell it was a bright, sunshiney day?)
Well, I don't know that I'll be visiting there again....which is a shame since their tuna sandwiches were something I could stomach when pregnant with Miss E a few years back.
Have you heard about their contest? They specifically say that homeschoolers are not wanted - isn't that nice? They even manage to misspell a few words in their contest rules/announcement - how quaint.... (they've since made some corrections to their website)
Here's the deal:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=65217
While we wait for my parents to arrive tonight (Yes, back so soon due to a death in the family - my mom's uncle, my great-uncle - the next to last of 13 siblings to pass on..) I thought I'd take a few moments to share some of Mr. A's Birthday Party Pics.
Mom and Dad were with us so we celebrated Miss A and Mr. A's birthdays, but the cake was for Mr. A since we'd already had one for Miss A.
Got all that?
Anyway, here goes:
Drumroll please...................
The cake!
Triple Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Fudge frosting - YUM! (now, why on earth I made the little tied off part of the balloon in the "string" color frosting instead of the color of the balloons, I do not know, I am not perfect, ok?! )
Mr. Baby likes balloons...a lot! I was so glad to find these cute little candles before his bday....I didn't count on him thinking they looked like lollipops though - after we took them off the cake, he took a lick - it only took one for him to realize they weren't the real deal!
Blowing out the candles.....
And, of course, chocolate ice cream to go with chocolate cake!
And a few goodies for our BIG boy :)
Along the way we've lost most of the pieces to our Mr. Potato Head that a friend gave Mr. E a few years (and a few moves) ago. So, we found this great set and thought Mr. A would like to have a chance at making some fun faces with all the pieces (at least for the first day when all the pieces are still around, that is!)
Mr. A tried on the glasses (funny b/c Miss E did the same thing w/the ones we had from the original Potato Head set! If I run across the pic I have of her w/those on, I'll post it later)
We have some old happy meal toys of Buzz and Woody and Mr. A really likes to play with those so we got him a new Woody of his very own to go with the Buzz he got awhile back. Here he is showing it to his big brother...
Here's Grandpa ready to capture some Kodak moments....
And a present for Miss A from Grandma and Grandpa...
Here's the whole crew....
Ok, time to go for now - drive safely Grandpa and Grandma! We're so glad you were able to be here for the birthday celebration last week and look forward to seeing you tonight!
We recently discussed the scripture below with the children, so the comic this morning was a tad on the amusing side - you just never know what children will come up with and the cartoonist must have some experience with children in order to come up with this one!
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1
My great-uncle passed away yesterday. I'd like to ask for your prayers especially for my great-aunt Mildred. There were 13 children in the family and she is now the only one living. I can only imagine how difficult it has been for her to see all of her brothers and sisters pass on over the years. Please pray for the Lord to give her strength this Friday as she comes to the funeral service. Please also remember his family that remain here. Also, for traveling mercies for all who will come from great and small distances to be with the family.
Well, I thought I'd shake things up a bit and go to an actual grocery store today for my weekly grocery shopping trip (I usually go on Mondays, but we had the zoo day planned so....).
Anyway, it was nice being in a grocery store for a change, but there were some items that I just couldn't find there that I'm used to getting over at Wallyworld, so I'm torn. I was in and out of there in under an hour (which never happens fighting my way through Wal-mart), but I didn't get everything I was looking for. So, instead of going back to my usual Wal-mart, I'm going to drive a tad farther next week and try out Albertson's. It was frustrating in Kroger because I had to really look for everything, whereas I know where all the usual stuff is in Wal-mart, but that was to be expected. And, who could discount the cool "car" shopping cart complete with 2 steering wheels that kept my little guys busy as I shopped (probably the reason I was able to get in and out of there in under an hour - noone walking along beside me).
Speaking of those little guys...I'm innocently looking at something on the shelf when Mr. E belts out "Mama, there's a half naked lady over there!" and as I look up in horror, I see the lady down at the end of the aisle pushing her own car cart, mind you, and yes, from Mr. E's standpoint, she's half naked. Sigh. After shushing him and hoping the woman didn't hear him, I quickly told him we'd talk about it later, but to not yell something like that out so loudly. The woman was wearing a very immodest top, strapless, much skin revealed and not something I would ever dream of wearing, nor would I allow my girls to wear. Sigh. Do people own mirrors? Yes. Do they look into them? Yes. Do they care? I don't think so.
As if that wasn't horror enough for the day, I came home to read and watch the following (see below) - what is the world coming to?
Anyone ever heard that song? Not the one that goes something like "we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo" (I've never heard that one, but ran across it a LOT in my searching for the song I remember), but the one I'm trying to find goes something like this:
We're going to the zoo today
We're going to the zoo
la la la la la la la la (there are supposed to be words here)
explore the zoo with you.
I want to see the lion
And hear his great big roar
We're going to the zoo todayyyyyyyyyyy!
We're going to the zoo.
Ok, so the clock is ticking - this is a challenge - will you help me?
Oh yes, and today we're heading off to the zoo to redeem our reissued tickets from the Homeschool Day fiasco when it rained, snowed and sleeted back in March! We have to use them by Friday, and after a quick call to the zoo this past Friday to ask what day is the "lightest", we decided Monday would be best. Incidentally, this past Friday they were expecting 108 school buses and over 6,000 visitors - yikes!!! Not my idea of a relaxing day at the zoo!
So, Monday is "supposed" to be their lightest day of the week - therefore, we are going to go today. Hoping for the best! We leave momentarily!
Now, start your searching, googling, whatever and see if you can help me out w/that song please!
One tip - I found someone's blog where they quoted the first line or so and said they remembered it from when they were little and that it was on a Gymboree video - I don't know if that's true or not - I remember it from hearing it every Friday night when I was about 13 and babysitting the same children each week - apparently it is burned into my memory, in parts, forever!
While it's fresh in my mind from our shopping excursion today, the children are happily engrossed in a game w/CKB and my stomach is nice and full after grilling hamburgers and hot dogs tonight, I'd like to share with you why I'd rather stick toothpicks under my fingernails than go into a store on the weekend, namely Saturday.
Let's see. Today started as many Saturdays do in our household, sleepy parents, early rising children and a few semi-decent cartoons to choose from. As the children enjoyed a couple of episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I cooked up some oatmeal (which they all wolfed down - strange children - I can't stand the stuff) and poured a few glasses of milk. As on most Saturdays, CKB and I talked about what we wanted to do that day. After taking care of a few things around the house and a few hours sailing by, we decided to just "get out of the house" for awhile. Where to? Well, it was lunchtime so we headed off to pick up some lunch and maybe stop in the pet store to look around for a bit. Mistake #1.
Well, Sonic was crowded, but we got our order pretty quickly and after finishing up a chili cheese coney and tots, I drove on over to Petco. Mind you, just getting across the shopping center parking lot is taking your life in your hands, but we made it and parked the car. Mistake #2 was thinking we'd actually get to walk around together looking at the animals in the store. We went inside, CKB had the cart w/Mr. A and Miss E walking alongside. Mr. E and Miss A were with me. After ooing and aaahing about how cute the ferrets, gerbils, bunnies, etc. were for about 5 seconds before getting looks from other people that seemed to say "you're taking too long, we need to look", we headed back to the fish and attempted to take a look. As usually happens though, if it's semi-crowded and you're pushing a cart you might as well just forget it. So, CKB and Mr. A cruised some of the other aisles while I walked along w/the older 3 children. Exciting event of the day there was to see some new guppies being born! Neat!
We circled around to see where CKB and Mr. A had walked to and saw some turtles - it appeared less crowded over by the fish so we decided to head back over so Mr. A could get a glimpse of the "fishies"....Mistake #3 was thinking there really weren't a bunch of folks over there that were shorter than the not very tall aisle dividers....we got back over to fishland only to see that there was a shorter lady and her child right at the entrance which we hadn't seen over the top of the aisle, and they weren't budging, so we decided to go look at the birds instead.
Now, why on earth can't other people be considerate when we're looking at things and not get right up next to us or push past or walk right in front of us...?????? I don't know. They're rude? And it's not just children! Are we the only people who still value a little personal space? I couldn't tell you the number of times someone has come right up beside me and the children and just stood there getting closer and closer - it's like being tailgated in a store - I guess they figure the closer they get, the more likely I'll move away. They're right, I have to confess. I have no interest in being so close to a stranger that I can feel their breath on my neck - yes, it's happened - ugh. Almost as bad are the folks who look at you like you're insane for bringing your children to the store in the first place, even if they are behaving very nicely....or the ones who try to zip past you and/or "huff" loudly because you stopped for a moment to, dare I say it, get something off the shelf and put it into your basket! But I digress...I think I was reliving some Wal-mart moments.....
Well, after looking at the parakeets and discussing how cute they are, what they were doing, etc. with the children, I looked up to see what CKB was looking at. He was standing between the bird cage and the endcap of the aisle next to it. There might have been a foot between him and the endcap display where he was standing in the aisle. Yep, you guessed it - a child maybe 9/10 years old just barged between CKB and the endcap without the slightest acknowledgment or "excuse me" - nothing - just squeezed by....his mother was right behind him and said nothing - she was too busy looking around on her own I guess.
It was about then that I told the children it was time to go. We walked out of the store and I don't plan to return except maybe on a weekday morning.....maybe. In my insanity, we went into another store while CKB went into Best Buy for a moment (we could've just waited in the car while he was looking around - Best Buy is SOOOOO loud that I don't really like to go in there, but we didn't). And would you believe it, the people in there were no different! Shocking. It's like everyone thinks they are the only people around, that the store is there for them and them alone, that they don't need to watch out for anyone, but to just barge on along without any consideration for others. Common courtesy is all I'm looking for....is it gone forever?
(upside - found two dress shirts for CKB for $3 a piece on clearance - whoo hoo).
Don't get me started on our shopping excursion the other day when a woman in such a hurry trying to get past us ran into Miss E and just kept on going. ARGH.
When I am in a store w/the children, I do not let them run loose pushing past people, getting in front of people, being just plain rude. The whole time we are out is a learning experience as we try to stay to one side of the aisle, watch out for the other guy (because they are NOT looking out for us!) and to say "excuse me" when we need to walk past someone on the aisle and they're stopped looking at something.
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one who still thinks you should be quiet in a library? I have seen some amazing things in the local library during "storytime" in the mornings - 50+ children running, yelling, etc. all over the children's area while the moms gab away in the plush chairs - ack! I shouldn't have to call to find out when story time is so I can avoid the library like the plague....should I? Is it too much to ask for the library to still be the quiet refuge it was in my youth? I want my children to have that same experience - to learn to be quiet and choose some books to take home, not to run like banshees and disturb the other folks in there....wait, those people are all deaf anyway b/c of the story time brigades that were in there previously - nothing to worry about I guess....
Am I the only one who thinks you DO need to wear shoes in Wal-mart? I'm horrified to see barefoot children - little children - walking around Wal-mart. How many people tromp through those stores every day? Yuck!
Am I the only one who thinks you should keep hold of your tiny children in a busy parking lot? It's a wonder some of these children make it to adulthood the way they run out in front of cars. Grownups are almost worse - many just stroll on out there without looking either way - I guess they figure other people will watch out for them....
I suppose I'll end this now before I think of other mind boggling activities I've witnessed of late....someone out there, tell me I'm not alone...
The next time we need to "just get out" I think we'll head for a park instead and save the shopping for weekdays...if at all.
Well, today is the day Mr. Baby was born...2 years ago....where does the time go?!
He is a bundle of energy, sweeter than pie and loved by all who know him.
He is unique and does things that none of the other children ever thought to do - they're all so different! We love him so much!
Here he is through the past 2 years....
just a few days old...
3 mos.
6 mos.
9 mos.
12 mos.
18 months...
and now he's 2 - "official 2 year old picture, coming soon!"
Heretofore, he will be referred to as Mr. A!
We've been studying contractions lately and this comic made me laugh this morning...hope you enjoy!
(If you can't read it clearly, click on the image (comic) and you should get a larger version.)
Well, we've been taking a break for the past week and a half, but things haven't slowed down around here. My parents are visiting and we've been enoying having Grandpa and Grandma with us. Alas, they will head home on Thursday, but we will look forward to seeing them here again in July when they come in town for Mom's (Grandma's) high school reunion.
I won't take time now to post about our doings since my last post - too much to do - but I will ask for your prayers for my mother-in-law. She is suffering with shingles and has been for a few weeks now. We'd hoped to see her this past Sunday, but she is still unable to come to church due to the pain. Please pray for her recovery.
I must run for now - little Mr. Baby's bday is in 2 days and we're going to celebrate w/cake and ice cream tomorrow night before Mom and Dad head home - lots to do, as ever!
- CAB
I haven't done any lapbooks w/the children as of yet, but this newest FREE offering from CurrClick might give us the perfect one to give lapbooking a try and see how we like it!
Grandfather's Wisdom Lapbook
This lapbook is called "Grandfather's Wisdom - Interviewing Series" and since we have my mom and dad visiting this week, I'm printing it out to see what it's all about and see if the children want to give it a go.
I'll let you know how it goes if we persue it!
Well, we all get those emails warning us of new email scams, phone scams, tainted products and the like. Some are true, some aren't. We are probably all familiar by now w/the snopes.com site and if you aren't...check it out sometime. This blog entry is not about scams, but about information. The information many parents probably have never even thought to ask for. Information about all those shots the doctors say our children need, have to have, must have, one even before you leave the hospital in a lot of places. Do they really? What's in those vaccines? Have you asked? Do all the doctors know? Have they ever thought to ask?
Recently I received an update from a site I became familiar with about two years ago. I debated for a little while about posting this here or not, but decided to after all.
For all of us with small children, we have no doubt been to the pediatrician along the way getting vaccine after vaccine that was 'recommended' for all children at certain ages.
Sadly, we found this information after some of the children had had certain vaccines, that in hindsight we would not have allowed.
I highly recommend reading on this site - I'd rather be informed and make decisions in the future based on what I know, than in the dark forever. I hope you take the time to read about these vaccines too. There is a table on the site that shows all of the vaccines that have ethical alternatives - you can find out from your doctor if they carry the ethical vaccines. You may be amazed at what your doctor doesn't know - I have to say I was at the obvious surprise from one pediatrician I discussed this with.
http://cogforlife.org/vaxproof.htm
Just an excerpt:
The fact that the Chickenpox, Hepatitis-A and MMR vaccines were developed using aborted fetal cell lines, MRC-5 and WI-38 has never been hidden from the public. The problem is that when parents go to their family doctors for vaccinations, who asks to see the product insert? Most parents want to know the risks and possible side effects. Like their doctors, parents are mostly concerned with the health of their children. And doctors, who have been administering the vaccines for years have never checked into the ingredients, although it has always been right at their fingertips. And what would happen if they did? They would read that the vaccine contains "residual DNA and proteins" and "components" of "MRC-5", "WI-38" (or both) "human diploid cell lines".
I have asked quite a few questions of the people at this site and always gotten a quick reply with information and proofs to back it up. I would be happy to discuss any of it w/anyone who is interested, just let me know. I would also be happy to share some of my questions/concerns and they're replies as well, just ask!
CAB
Miss A had a good birthday and enjoyed her birthday cake and ice cream very much. Here are a few highlights from our family celebration that evening...please excuse any spaghetti stained clothes and/or faces - we just couldn't wait to get to the good stuff, ie, chocolate!
Here's the cake....a chocolate torte that we found in the Betty Crocker "New Cookbook" - mine wasn't as "perfect" looking as the one in the cookbook, but hey, I didn't have a team of chefs to help make it look "just so"....
Blowing out the candles....
We had chocolate milkshakes (do you see a theme here? CHOCOLATE!). Miss A said we were having "Frosties" (like the ones at Wendy's) and when I asked her how the cake and ice cream/milkshakes were, she replied.....
Present time! Hooray!
Here she is holding a package from her big sister who not only made the wrapping paper, but the gift as well:
The gift was a box she found at Hobby Lobby and then painted in Miss A's favorite colors - the box is intended for Miss A to put her rock collection into.
And, the grand finale, a surprise present that we brought out at the end so she wouldn't see the size of the box and guess its contents....a horse just like her big sister got for Christmas. Miss A had seen this one at Target and said it was the one she wanted. We had already gotten a black horse since she'd talked about a black one for awhile, but on a trip to the store a few days before her birthday she saw this palomino and said she liked it better than the black one.....you guessed it, another "secret" trip to Target to swap horses...good thing I hadn't already wrapped the black one!
The horses are now both stabled happily in the girls' room. Pretty soon the girls will have to move out if any more horses join the family - or we'll have to build an actual stable!
That's all folks!
Today is Miss A's 6th birthday! Sigh. Another of my little girls growing up so fast!
Miss A hopes to have a horseback riding lesson like big sister Miss E did - we're hoping to be able to do that in a few weeks while my parents are in town.
We'll celebrate later with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream, by request. We started off the morning with a special birthday breakfast of donut holes and yogurt - yum :)
Here's a look back through the years at our sweet little girl...I wish I had some of her baby pics uploaded, but we hadn't gone digital yet and I haven't scanned any in...she had a full head of dark curly hair when she was born...
Here she is at 1 year:
2 years....
And at 3 years...
4 years.....
5 years...
6 years...coming soon :)
Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!
I received notice of a free download and wanted to pass along the information in case someone out there is interested. I have NOT reviewed this product myself yet - no time! I hope to soon. Let me know if you do and what you thought!
Here's the link and it's a FREE download! Just click the image below - you can see the cover of the art appreciation in the image.
A few other goodies I saw and looked at BRIEFLY after downloading them - they're printing out now - look like good extra practice/fun for math and a great project for the children w/the family notebook - might have to get Grandpa on board since he's the expert genealogist of the family! ;)
Skip Counting Drill Sheets - FREE download
All About My Family Notebook - FREE download
Look around while you're at the site - they have a ton of neat stuff and a lot of it is very affordable! Enjoy!
What do those two things have in common? I got a notice about both of them in the mail today :)
I got my first ever jury summons and a notice of an exhibit starting in October at the Dallas Museum of Art for King Tut.
The Juror Questionnaire was interesting. I found the exemption that I qualified for to be a bit odd - "I have legal custody of a child/children 9 years old or younger, and this child would be left alone."
Do they think a child 10 years old is old enough to be left alone while the parent goes to be a juror? I don't think so. I don't think I'm alone in that - at least I hope not. Scarey!
On one hand I'm sure it would be interesting to be a juror. On the other hand, I do not have any desire to judge someone else's fate. Who knows what the case might be... I'm thankful for the wonderful reasons I have for not being able to go to be a juror.
Regarding King Tut - I can remember when the exhibit was in TN when I was a child. Ironically we just learned a little about King Tut in our Botany course and will be studying him in history as well - just might have to mark the calendar for a trip the Art Museum later this year! Good timing! Anybody up for a field trip?
Well, the first to sprout were.......the zinnias! We didn't predict what we thought would sprout first - we should have! Now, we're just waiting to see what's next!
Our second experiment is well underway - We just discussed germination at the end of the week.
Our experiment:
We have 3 bean seeds. Each is in its own ziplock w/a wet paper towel.
Bean 1 resides in a sunny window
Bean 2 in the cold refrigerator
Bean 3 in a dark closet
Our crack team of botanists predicted the following:
- Bean 1 would be the first to sprout
- Bean 2 would never sprout (Miss E)
- Bean 2 would be the last to sprout (Miss A and Mr. E)
- Bean 3 would sprout second
Today is Day 3 and so far there haven't been any sprouts. Bean 2 doesn't look to have changed at all. Bean 3's seed coat has swelled slightly. Bean 1's seed coat has swelled ever so slightly more.
Thought you'd want to know.....stay tuned for more exciting news from the world of botany!
Now before you start fretting about which of the children has a head wound, I will tell you - none of them. What, you say? What is this blog post about? Well, it's about me, and about not hurrying so much. Seems every time the children get hurt it's because someone is running and not paying attention and collides with someone else or something else. Well, last night it was my turn. I was in a hurry to get something out of the back of the van. Yes, you guessed it - my head and the rear van door had an unfortunate meeting. Now, if you have a Dodge Caravan you're not likely to have this happen to you - we have one and the rear door is light as a feather compared to the Saturn van - which is the one we drive the most. So, yes, we were in the Saturn. I pretty much have to throw my whole body weight into it to pull down the rear door and I did, except this time I was carrying something in my left hand and I guess I didn't lean back far enough - BOOM! Boy, did that hurt! I started to go back up to the front and get in and realized the door still wasn't shut - it was a bit surreal that I'd just smashed my head w/the rear door - I went back and shut the door w/o incident this time and then touched my forehead and looked at my hand - blood - eek - got in and interrupted CKB who was ordering (we were at Sonic getting dinner after running errands). He heard "blood" and "hit my head", looked at my bloody hand and told the order-taker that we needed a cup of ice right away and to forget the order for now. Thankfully we had some ziploc bags in the car - dumped the ice in and put it on my quickly swelling "goose egg" - yes, I think it was about that size - I didn't look until much later when a lot of the swelling had gone down. As it turned out the "cut" wasn't that big, just seemed that way at first with the notorious head wound gushing routine - by bedtime a great deal of the swelling had gone down and it didn't feel too terrible.
This morning wasn't too bad either - just a bit tender. I'm so thankful that this didn't happen when I was alone w/the children and that CKB was there to keep me calm and would've been able to take me to the hospital if it had been worse.
Lesson Re-learned (the hard way) - SLOW DOWN AND DON'T HURRY SO MUCH!!!!!!
On the upside (before all this), I got the pattern size I need and some more fabric and if my head isn't bothering me too much later I might start on the skirt...
And no, no pictures on this post! (so glad for bangs to cover my quickly bruising forehead/hairline!)
Well, I'm reading The Horse and His Boy right now - trying to get through to the next book (Prince Caspian) before May when the movie comes out....but that's not what I want to write about today.
Yesterday, Miss E finally got to have her riding lesson. This was planned as part of her birthday present...yes, her bday was back in February - kind of chilly then and I've been trying to get something scheduled ever since. I found a stable and really liked the name of it - it was about a 45 mn. drive, but the lady seemed nice when I spoke to her so we decided to go for it; not to mention it would be a private lesson for a good price/hour. I scheduled a day, then the lady had to cancel b/c she had to do something w/a vet, then she had something else planned the rest of the week, etc. We planned for a day the following week. Somehow she got the day wrong and I called to let her know that that was the one day we could not make it. I've never heard from her since. I tried a few more times over the course of the next few weeks to get in touch w/the lady - left messages on her voicemail and sent emails - nothing. I decided it was time to look for another stable.
I asked for recommendations this time from a group of homeschoolers and had about 4-5 emails all recommending the same lady in a nearby town - 15 mn. away - hooray! I gave her a call, told her we wanted to do an "introductory lesson" - this was on Monday, we went yesterday, Wednesday. The only negative is that CKB couldn't come too - sadly, our sitter got sick and wasn't able to come stay w/the other children so Miss E's Daddy could be there too, but I was able to find a blank tape for our camcorder and took it as a surprise for CKB so he *could* see Miss E's lesson after all - he was very glad! We all watched it last night after we got back.
On to the lesson - we arrived a little early and met the lady who would be giving Miss E her lesson, Mrs. Powers - Miss E seemed comfortable with her. Mrs. Powers talked with Miss E about the horse she would be riding, Pokey, then brought Pokey from her stall. Pokey was a paint, but didn't "color up" so is "breeding stock." All interesting to learn. Miss E surprised Mrs. Powers with her knowledge and questions about the halter and bridle.
Mrs. Powers and Miss E proceeded to use the curry comb first to clean up Pokey and then a brush afterward.
Then Mrs. Powers showed Miss E the tack room and where the saddle she would be using was kept. Mrs. Powers saddled Pokey because she hadn't cross-tied her and was concerned she might turn around quickly (which she did) and Miss E is little and might not get out of the way quickly enough. We then walked over to the "round pen" (I think that's what she called it) and Mrs. Powers and Miss E led Pokey in and to the middle of the ring/pen. Mrs. Powers put the bridle on, then released the long lead rope and Pokey took off - I wish I'd had the video camera going at that point - she ran around and around the pen - Mrs. Powers explained that she would do this, then at some point she would turn and go the other way for a bit, then she would come to them in the middle. Pokey had other ideas I guess b/c she didn't seem to want to turn and go back the other way until Mrs. Powers took one step out from the middle toward her on one of her runs by and that was all Pokey needed to get her to turn and start trotting/loping the other direction. It was amazing to watch as Pokey did slowly "close in" to the middle and get closer and closer to Mrs. Powers and Miss E. I have to admit, Miss E looked so small out there in the middle - it was hard to watch from the sidelines and not be right there by her, but Mrs. Powers stayed right w/her the whole time so I wasn't too worried.
Once Pokey came to the middle, Mrs. Powers put a stepstool beside her and helped Miss E climb up and mount - again, she looked so little! Miss E looked so happy to be back on a horse again. She's ridden once before, on a led around ride - 2 years ago - she looked extremely small then!
Miss E learned how to use the reins to turn Pokey and later how to get her to back up and stop.
Here she is working on turning...
Here is where Mrs. Powers moved some landscape timbers apart just wide enough for Pokey to fit and then Miss E had to turn Pokey at the right time to guide her into the area between them. She did well, and got Pokey to turn in on the second try and on the third try to turn in and then was able to get her to stop. Afterward, Miss E told Pokey to back up and out of the area between the landscape timbers and then start to walk around the pen again.
Here Miss E is rewarding Pokey for a job well done with a nice pat on the side of her neck :)
Part of the time Miss E was the only one holding the reins and Mrs. Powers was walking along just ahead of them or close to them in the middle.
Miss E had a great time and talked the whole way home about going back soon. Now to just find a money tree.....know of any?
Here's Miss E on her own!
At the end of her lesson, Miss E took her feet out of the stirrups and Mrs. Powers chatted with her for a few moments before the walk back to the barn - Mrs. Powers led Pokey with Miss E riding.
After Mrs. Powers walked Miss E and Pokey back to the barn, she helped Miss E dismount and then Miss E helped to take the saddle off and carry it (I think Mrs. Powers had most of the weight!) back to the tack room. Miss E carried the saddle blanket and put it away and then helped lead Pokey back to her stall and remove the bridle and halter.
Mrs. Powers said she did great and I hope we can go back sometime soon.
One of these days I might find the right cable and transfer some of the video to the pc and post it - maybe when CKB has a moment or two.....
I decided to finally give skirt-making for myself a try and with much excitement visited Jo-Ann Fabrics last week - Butterick patterns were on sale so I found some patterns that looked promising online, wrote down all the numbers and headed off to the store. Well, one thing I neglected to do was all the fun measurements (waist, hip, etc.) first. So, you guessed it, I bought the wrong sizes on some of them - oops. Silly me thinking the sizes would even be close to what I buy "ready made" in the stores!
I guess if I made a skirt in the same size as what I bought at the stores I'd never hope to fit into it! Maybe it'd fit Miss E.
Anyway, so after I realized my error, I called the store and asked if I could exchange the ones I bought that don't include my gargantuan new "sew for myself size" and they said it was no problem.
My friend over at The Zoo blogged about this very thing recently and boy, it sure sounds like she was right on the money! I can't speak for buying the same sizes as what I wore in high school, I've definitely not been doing that, but I think we are definitely shopping with rose colored glasses on sometimes :)
So, I have a trip back to JoAnn planned for this afternoon to swap sizes. Then, maybe, just maybe, I can start on the skirt. Don't get me started on the fact that I didn't buy enough material for said skirt because I was looking at the "smaller sizes" on the envelope...ahem. Guess I'll need to look for material too....not such a bad thing...except for the wasting money part of things. Ack! Maybe I'll use the material I bought previously to make matching skirts for the girls...maybe.
So, that is the saga of my skirt - one day I hope to update with good news that the skirt is done and was a successful endeavor.....one day.
My learning on this project so far - MEASURE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU BUY YOURSELF A PATTERN!!!!
Ah well.....
Alright, I believe I've mentioned a show I watch now and then called Barefoot Contessa with host, Ina Garten.
Well, she has outdone herself with a recently aired recipe for Peanut Swirl Brownies - I HIGHLY recommend you whip up a batch and soon! They are WONDERFUL - yummy - super fantastically good to the last crumb!
I made a batch last week and the only reason I still had some left to take to church Sunday was pure willpower and fear of gaining 10 lbs. (or more!). These are FANTASTIC!
The recipe can be found http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37343,00.html
I made a few minor changes -
The recipe calls for 1 pound plus 12 oz. semisweet choc. chips (you melt part into the batter and save some for putting into the batter unmelted after coating them in flour to help them not stick to one another). The part you set aside, I halved that amount and did half semisweet choc. and half peanut butter chips - since you're going to be swirling peanut butter on top of the brownies once you pour the batter into the pan, I thought it might be nice to carry the pb taste throughout the brownie and it definitely was!
Oh, and I didn't have "kosher salt" - does anyone? Anyway, I just used regular ol' table salt and everything turned out just fine.
That's it!
One tip - set out your unsalted butter to let it come to room temp. before you even think about starting the recipe - I took mine straight out of the fridge and it took FOREVER to melt whilst the room temp. chocolate and choc. chips melted pretty quickly.
Ok, I want to hear how it goes! And don't let the "fattening" potential worry you - just cut them small and enjoy! Then, take the rest to church on Sunday or share w/friends/family/neighbors, etc. You *can* eat just one, if you really want to! (With a glass of milk or coffee, they are fabulous also!)
My niece, Angela, is a wonderful photographer and I'd like to share her website with y'all. She is looking to expand her senior portrait portfolio at present and has a special offer for you!
Here's the deal:
Angela is offering a free, no-obligation senior session (you must call to schedule by April 30th!). The session is free, and if you decide to purchase portraits, you will receive 50% OFF the creation of your portraits!
If you do schedule a session, please tell her I sent you!
Give her a call at 940-239-7366 or email at mail@angelas-portraits.com, by APRIL 30TH!
Here's a link to her site so you can see some of her wonderful work!
http://www.angelas-portraits.com/
I've had some inquiries regarding the artwork for sale recently by our resident artists, Miss E and Miss A. If you missed that post, check here to catch up!
Since I didn't think about posting the images of their artwork then, here they are for all of those folks who wrote to ask me what their artwork looked like!
Here is Miss E's landscape entitled "The Countryside"
and Miss A's "Snowtime to Play"
Both were titled by the artists :)
And, drumroll please................Both pictures sold on ebay for $1.00 :) What do you know!
We sure hope their new owner is enjoying them!
I even started them their own blog titled by Miss E - Confetti Catastrophe
for future offerings (so please sign up for updates and link to their site on your own blog!) - you never know, they may earn enough to pay for a nursing home for CKB and I down the road ;)
Well, as you have seen, I made a dress for Miss E. It turned out pretty well so I commenced sewing a matching dress for Miss A. I thought I'd get it done before Easter and the girls could wear them last Sunday, but since that didn't happen, I *did* manage to finish the second dress in time for this Sunday, ie, today and the girls wore them this morning and looked so sweet. It's probably been since Mr. E was born that I've sewn any dresses for the girls so this felt like a major accomplishment.
Here are a few pics from this afternoon before they changed into their "day clothes" as Mr. E calls them :)
Twirl-rific!
and lest you forget the boys - they don't have "new duds" from Mama's sewing machine, but how 'bout this ensemble? Black cowboy hat, cool sunglasses and a pop gun!? (and no, those weren't part of his outfit when we left the house!)
and Mr. E during "quiet time" one day this week - "Is quiet time over, Mama?"
until next time...........
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