Summer Mourning

It is the morning---1:24am to be exact. Since the 2nd week of summer vacation (with the exclusion of our trip to Yellowstone), my body has decided to stay awake until the wee hours of the morning even though sleeping in (like I used to in college) is not a reality.

This is the last week of my summer vacation and I am in severe mourning. I promised myself to go to bed earlier this week so I wouldn't be in such shock next week...it didn't happen tonight. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

My oldest child is off to the in laws. For many, that is a good thing. I like for my children to enjoy their grandparents, and I enjoy the fact that my oldest looks forward to his visits...though he never really divulges a lot of detail about what he did while there. It's almost like a juicy little secret he has that I'm not allowed in on. The problem is that I enjoy my children so much, even when they've driven me past the point of insanity. Truth be told, I sometimes secretly wish I could wiggle my nose and magically the guilty child would be transported away where they can reek havoc on some other poor soul. But then...when I give up control and let my usually cherubic six year old go off for a visit, I find myself pining away for some time with him. My mother in law and husband make me laugh (I mean that respectfully)!

She called the other day asking for him to spend the night, encouraging me that I might be able to get some things done. My husband came home last night and asked if I enjoyed my day without my son. I laugh, of course, because neither really have got it right. Don't get me wrong...My Bear can be quite a bear! He can torment me to no end with his "as of lately" whining or his "as of lately" extreme loudness, but my Bear does not keep me from getting things done. And with the exception of the moments he's committing the aforementioned, I enjoy being with him. He's a little quirky with random thoughts,has a great imagination, and the conversations we have are just plain fun! Not to mention that when I am feeling the least bit lazy (as I seem to be feeling A LOT of lately), he is such a great helper! Okay, I confess that I sometimes take advantage of my six year old's willingness to please and have him bring me this or take that.

Yes, they both have it wrong. The one who really keeps me from getting things done or keeps me on my toes so that I am so tired at the end of the day is my very lovable one year old. My Little Bunny...and boy is he quick. I have to stay alert with this one. Bear keeps himself busy doing whatever phases him at the time-Legos, reading, tv, coloring, outside...BUT Bunny...whole different story. This one keeps himself busy too. Only he's being busy in a whole different way. Today he left my sight for five seconds...five seconds and he was tearing down the hall into the bathroom, pulling out every possible washcloth he could find. He scattered them from one end of the house to the next. Later he decided it might be fun to stand on top of his elephant sit and ride. I guess he likes the looks of things from the higher view because he kept doing it over and over. Each time, I pulled him off and told him no. You'd think I would wise up and just take the darn thing away. Problem with that is, he'd just find another thing to climb on. He's become pretty efficient at climbing onto the couch. And when he gets up there, he's ready to climb onto the back of it.

When Little Bunny finally wears down, he does so with grace. I love putting him down for naps-not for my sanity, but because I love the way he takes his stuffed puppy in hand and just rolls over to rest. There's no argument or fuss...he just cuddles right in and drifts to sleep. This is the point where a mother is supposed to get things done around the house. At the beginning of summer I found it didn't work because I too needed a nap. As summer continues, I don't quite need those naps, but I can't quite muster up the energy to complete the list of things I'd like to get done...the fun stuff. Instead, I close his bedroom door, do a quick clean up of the kitchen or living room, and then do one of two things: spend time with Bear or just sit and veg with my laptop or IPad. Before I know it, nap time is all over! It is lunch time and the whole mess starts all over again until dinner.

So, today I sit and enjoy the silence while my Bear is away. Because I know that during nap time, I won't be playing or reading with anyone. Instead, I can enjoy that time being lazy...regaining my energy for the after nap charades...and thinking about all the things I should be doing. If I'm lucky, I just might actually get a project done later today! And I smile...because I know this time to myself is simply a blessing from God. It is a time to renew my energy so that I can enjoy my two children!

Extreme Couponing is Not for ME!

Let me just say first of all that I never aspire to be one of those extreme couponists. I don't want to even learn how to try. I did however take advantage of a few coupons and Wallyworld's policy to accept competitive pricing. So why don't I want to take on the challenge that so many women (and I am guessing a few men) have taken to save some dollars? TIME...it's my number one answer. I don't have the time. And IF I did have the time, I can think of a lot more valuable things to do with it than couponing. If I need to save money, it will have to start with the gluttonous splurge on McD's fries.

Today, though, I decided to see how competitive pricing and couponing worked to my advantage. I bought 13 items and paid a total of $13.17 (I actually bought a lot more, but these 13 items were actually bought using competitive ads, coupons, or a combination. With my Sprouts and Walgreens ads and a few choice coupons in hand, I proved to myself I can save money without being an extreme couponist!

I did discover a few things along the way:

-When using coupons, you'll actually save more by purchasing the smaller amount. The Ivory soap was only 97 cents, but with my 50 cents off-I only paid 47 cents. I don't need more than 3 bars at the moment anyways!

-Look at the competitor's ads for specials they have that also include the use of coupons. I bought the 2 toothbrushes for free this way. Used the competitive pricing and the coupon all thanks to Walgreen's research.

- I love, love , love my Sprouts. BUT it is so hard to get to sometimes. I wish it were at a closer locale, though. I can still take advantage of their pricing! Today, I bought the onions, red and green bell peppers, and celery at Sprouts' pricing. What a deal! Had Wallyworld had their cucumbers stocked, I could have taken advantage there too! Somehow, I missed the peach pricing at the top of the page too. Oh well!

-Wallyworld only accepts pricing item for item. Because the Walgreens' ad shows a picture of a different egg package--though no brand was mentioned, it disqualifies it for competitive pricing. I was lucky and was given the egg discount. I was a bit confused though why they accepted the celery (the Sprouts ad showed a picture of bunch celery) and the one I bought clearly is packaged as the jolly green giant.

While checking out, I offhandedly made the comment that I don't understand how the extreme couponist do it. My clerk said that they cheat the system. Many use more coupons per item than they are supposed to. Well, I didn't cheat the system. I didn't use more coupons than what I was supposed to! And just in case you were wondering, I didn't hold up anyone else just to get a few things cheaper. No one even got in line behind me. I was kind enough not to make my whole purchase based on competitive pricing and coupons!

But I did save a few dollars and even got some things free! Now, that makes me happy!

*Disclaimer: I am not endorsing Wallyworld, nor am I getting paid for this...so today they will remain being called "Wallyworld".

What a Cake Wreck!

Actually, I believe the words that came out of my mouth when my husband came home from work was, "Emergency, I am having a cake disaster...it's falling apart!" And it was! The cake that I had so beautifully baked and stacked and iced to set the crumbs, was bowing out on one side. A dog bowl with a missing top side just won't do for my baby's birthday!

It was my fault, really. I did not take the time to level the bottom layer of the cake as my mom had taught me to do. And why? Because I wanted to take the shortcut and get the darn thing finished. Hindsight is 20/20, and apparently I need to have my patience fixed! Thankfully, hubby took charge of the household-this means watching the two boys and fixing dinner. I dashed off to the store to buy the necessary ingredients to make the cake all over again. While at the store, I had a great conversation with my mom on cell phone. It went something like this:

Me: Hey!

Mom: Hey, how are you?

Me: Good, well except that the birthday cake fell apart.

Mom: Oh, no! Can't you save any of it?

(5 minutes later into the discussion)

Me: Well, can a regular cake mix turn out using an angel food pan?

(after another 5 minutes of suggestions from Mom)

Me: I guess I'll try, but I don't want to have to do another cake.

Mom: Why don't you just bake an angel food cake, then? They have mixes for those.

Me: Oh, okay...let me go see.

Mom: Or, why don't you just get one already made?

Me: Ok, let me go see.

And to make this long story from getting any longer, let me just say that I did indeed find a cake mix for angel food cake. I grabbed the pan, mix, and frosting and headed towards the baked goods section. Low and behold, they had already baked angel food cakes! So, I took everything back with the exception of the frosting and went home to make my second attempt of a DOG BOWL. You know what? It turned out pretty good. Added in my cake balls and the Scooby

Graham Cracker Bones. Viola! I failed to get a picture of the cake by itself, but managed to get one before it was served up.

And here is the poor cake I first attempted. You can't even tell it was once a dog bowl...I managed to save the bottom layer and even had an extra puppy cake ball to put on top!

Cake Balls Are Not For Everyone

God didn't give me any gifted ability to sing, dance, or play sports. I do thank him for the talents he did give me-sewing and crafting. My artistic food abilities are hindered a bit, but at least when my children ask me for a certain theme, I know I can usually do my best to "copy" ideas of others, if not think up and create something on my own.

So, when my second child's birthday came biting at my ankles, I put my thinking cap on and summoned the best of my food craftiness. It didn't hurt that I Googled some ideas along the way. Ultimately, I decided the cake would be in the form of a dog bowl (and I would like to note that I did not see a single dog bowl cake in all my searches). Since the latest fad seems to be cake balls, I incorporated that into the design, thinking that I could make them be the "dog food" in the bowl. Sitting on the back burners of thought, I placed the BOW WOW cake pops I found on Bakerella on a recent Google search. IF you have not visited this website, let me just say WOW!!!! Now, when God was handing out talents, this woman received a hefty share of artistic food ability! She had inspired me to at least think about making these cute little puppy pops, and within 5 days of the party, I had decided to make it a go.

On Tuesday, I baked the red velvet cake according to the box directions. My oldest son and I took turns turning the cooled off cake into crumbs. He complained I wasn't letting him help enough, while I worried about whether or not I was actually making cake balls correctly. I added the cream cheese frosting and did the mixing with my hands(clean, of course). Together we sat at the kitchen table, scooping and forming little red balls of cake. I made 12 of them a little larger than the norm just for the cake pops.

To make this long story shortER, after allowing the cake balls to sit in a closed container for a few days, taste testing one or two each day, and picking up the final things needed to make the BOW WOW puppies, this is what I created.

They don't look at all as nice and clean as Bakerella's, but for some party favors that should be eaten in just a few minutes or less, they will do. Let me just say though, it will be a LONG, LONG time before I ever decide to make anything like this again! For now, they sit as pictured---in the freezer until party day!

One Stitch at a Time

I thank God for the sewing talent he gave me. No one taught me to sew, it was something I taught myself, and rather quickly. I remember being a little envious of a few coworkers who would whip up cute little baby quilts when I worked at Farine. We got settled into our new house back in 2002. That following spring, I bought myself a sewing machine. It was not a fancy thing at all, but it did what I needed to do-sew stitches.

My first sewing machine was a cheap little Brother that sold for $89 or so from good ol' Wallyworld. I took it out of the box and got started immediately on making a sweet little baby quilt. Triangles, lots and lots of triangles...that's what I remember! I moved onto making some outfits for my sweet little nieces and dabbled here and there in a few Halloween costumes. The one I made for hubby hangs in the closet. I told him that he was going to wear his costume every year until it fell apart. A grim reaper made with 6 yards of black fabric that slips when you sew is not a happy memory for me. It turned out great, but what a pain!

Back in 2005 I grew a wild, wild hair. That wild hair turned into a sewing passion. It started with cuddly blankets fashioned after one that was given to my first born. This turned into making bibs and burp clothes and later came the embroidery. Sitting at the computer late at night while I nursed the baby or in the middle of the day cuddling, I found and downloaded design after design for a new embroidery machine I didn't even have. That came during the "Day After Thanksgiving Sale". My first embroidery machine-Huskystar EM10-was quite the gem. It used the current fonts on my computer to generate letters and words. What an awesome program it was!

Since then, I used my spare time to sew and embroider for those who are in need of a some baby gifts. My small little business "Swaddled Blessings" is quite the blessing that the Good Lord has granted me. I've learned quite a bit and have come a long way since my first days of sewing. I have a picture of a bib I made in the beginning. I can't believe that I sold that poor thing to my sister to give to a friend. What was she thinking? I still have quite a bit to learn, and I am willing.

So in an attempt to take my skills a step forward, I tried my hands at sewing a little romper for my little one's birthday. Not a big deal? I sewed it without a pattern, sort of. I made my own pattern based on a romper that I bought. I had found the cutest material with a puppy theme at Joanns. There were some mistakes along the way, but all in all...well, you tell me!