My Last one for atleast a week I promise. Here is a link to the turorial

http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/11/how-to-make-a-ruffly-felt-rosette-wreath/

 I love how it turned out. I love the dramatic black against my walls. 

I found the pattern for these bird softies at

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf

I think I am going to try and make the mobile. Isn’t it cool.

This is my sewing space. I am really optimistic that this will work out as a sewing space. It is a shared space with my laundry room and the kids bathroom is off of it. It gets a lot of foot traffic. I have wanted a designated sewing space for some time now. I don’t have the time to transform my kitchen into a sewing space every time I get the whim to sew. My sewing space is small but allows me to keep my sewing machine and new serger (my brother) set up at all times. I really hope this will allow me to finish some projects.

I tried to spice up the room a little by put pictures of my kids on the walls. The frames were from the Dollar Store. I painted them black to add more color to the boring cream wall. I also put up a few of my kids drawings from years ago. Tafty’s picture is of a person it is one of his first drawings of people. I am not finished working on the space but feel I am off to a good start. I will take more pictures once it doesn’t look like a bomb went off in the back.

I got this Swiffer mop yesterday. Estee couldn’t wait to get her hands on it and once she did she wouldn’t let go. She danced her heart out with her new dance partner. This partner doesn’t get too shy to do the moves or flop all over the place. He is much more cooperative than her 3 brothers.

Best part is she is cleaning while she dances. It may not be the most thorough job but she is having a great time doing it.

Estee and I went to visit my sister in law for my nieces birthday and while I was there Heather was cleaning the floor with her Swiffer. It looked like it worked a lot better than my Clorox mop, that leaks all over my floor, so I got one on sale yesterday. So far so good.

You need patience. Loads and LOADS of it.

Once you think you have it figured out “LIFE” will show you that you DON’T.

I need to take deep BREATHS the more often the better.

It’s OK to make a mess. They can be cleaned up.

You have to make time for yourself because it will NOT make time for you.

Make yourself a priority. It is a lot harder to take care of your family when you aren’t taking care of yourself.

Play, shop, exercise(yoga), craft, sew, dance, sing. Do what fills you up, and do it OFTEN.

It is OK if the house isn’t spotless because the stress of keeping it spotless isn’t worth it.

Have FUN and make memories, time goes by too fast and you won’t get it back.

Tell them you love them EVERYDAY. I hate it when I am laying in bed at night thinking or regretting a conversation or fight with one of the kids and thinking that I didn’t make it clear that day that they are loved.

We are all learning as we go so I need to lighten up.

Parenting is HARD!!! Harder than I ever imagined. I love it. I REALLY do. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I have learned a lot more than just this. These are the things that stand out most today.

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!! We had a crazy hair contest at the school for lunch. The Cat in the Hat came to play. Hall and Taft did their hair to look like the Grinch. Estee was Cindy Lou Who and I just looked goofy.

Little Smirk.

See Goofy. I went out like this and not just to the school. I had to pick up fliers for the school from The Child and Family Support Center looking like this, April is Child Abuse Prevention month.

It was a fun and crazy day. Adler and his buddies were too cool to participate. Adler saw me and said ” Mom you look crazy”. I achieved my look. It was a fun day. All the kids got a Laffy Taffy for a birthday treat. I think it was a crazy success.

I am counting this as 4 of 54.

………. change your life “for better or worse”. It will lead to good health or divorce, whichever comes first. It is a good thing he loves me and I do the cooking. HA HA HA, Evil Laugh.

I love the doctor shows on T.V. I was not a day time T.V. watcher until the Dr. Oz and The Doctors. I learn something almost everyday. I prefer Dr. Oz to The Doctors, he is more informative, personable and funny.

I am constantly telling my hubby “Dr. Oz said we have to do this, or cut that out of our diet.” He just smiles and goes along with it. I am sure he is hoping that this will pass. I am sorry to tell him that it wont!!! White bread, pasta, white rice, processed food, and high fructose corn syrup are out. I am ONLY buying WHOLE WHEAT BABY. I have already switched to whole wheat products, pasta, rice, pizza crust, and bread and they haven’t noticed, or complained. I already buy fresh fruit and veges and they have always eaten them like champs, THANKFULLY.

I am SHOCKED by the amount of high fructose corn syrup in close to everything you can buy. Now, I look before buying. I am trying to stick with perimeter shopping (shopping in the outer edges of the store and staying away from the processed foods). I want to eat and feel healthy and I want my kids to know the importance of eating healthy. It is funny that if I tell my kids what is in the food they eat and how it helps their bodies they get more into eating that item. I think my healthy talk is working, Estee is constantly asking me ” Is this healthy for my body?”

We are by NO MEANS perfect eaters and I am sure we would still shock the doctors socks off but we are trying and putting in great effort. We still have treats here and there (sometimes I just NEED chocolate). Like last night we went for frozen yogurt for some family time. Frozen yogurt wasn’t my best idea, we were all freezing on the car ride home.

Here is some info on High Fructose Corn Syrup. I am sure that there is way more info out there for and against so decide for yourself.

What is high fructose corn syrup? POSTED BY Dr. Michael Roizen
“One of the biggest evil influences on our diet is the presence of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sugar substitute that itself is a sugar found in soft drinks and many other sweet, processed foods.

The problem is that HFCS inhibits the secretion of the hormone leptin, which tells your brain that you’re full, so you never get the message. And it never shuts off gherlin (the other main hormone that controls appetite, which stimulates your hunger), so even though you have food in your stomach, you constantly get the message that you’re hungry.

This double-whammy on our hormones has contributed enormously to our collective obesity. When you consider that many American women will often obtain as much of 50 percent of their daily calories from salad dressing (which contains HFCS), you can see the problem. Although food manufacturers eliminate fat, they make up for its taste with sugar and HFCS, simply empty calories that serve no nutritional purpose”.

Just a little something to think about. Start looking before you buy. You may be surprised at what you will find.

Confusing title for those of you that know I have 4 wonderful brothers of my own!?! I am getting another one, this week. I am excited. I can’t wait to love him, and LOVE him. This one I hope is peaceful, and knows how to work well with others. I will post all about him once he is here.

My MOST viewed Flickr Pictures. WHY these? I have NO idea. I just hit over 10,000 views.

I went to Somebody’s Attic yesterday (thrift store) and hit the little thingy jackpot. I am not sure what they (little berries/acorns) are but I had to have them, they will make a great wreath or two. How many wreaths are too many? I am afraid I will find out, but until then, I am going to keep going.

Now I need more paint.

 
Scott made this chair for me to sit outside, enjoy watching the kids, while soaking up vitamin D, and reading a good book. That sounds so fun and relaxing, I can hardly wait. I am SO IMPRESSED with his wood working skills. Just before Christmas he got in to wood working and his ideas grew and grew, from rubber band guns to furniture. I LOVE the chair. I am going to go get the paint today. The chair is really comfortable, and will be so nice to spend the hot summers in, watching my kids play the day away.

This is proof that I am not the only obsessive crafty one in this house. He spent SO much time looking for plans for the perfect Adirondack chair. All his time and effort paid off. I LOVE the chair. Thank You!!!

 Once he found the perfect plans it didn’t take long to get it together. I love that he found such a great hobby that makes him so happy. He has taken our boys with him to do small projects too and they LOVE it. They love the time with him and they love learning how to do new things. Hall went with him one night this week and came home with his own tool box that Scott said he made all by himself. Hall is also proud of his work. I can see this being a life long love.

Hall like his dad seems to have a real talent in wood working. If this is what he can do at 8 years old, I can’t wait to see what he will make with a little more experience.