No Fainting...but...

I blogged! After a few months off..due to camera problems, hectic life, but most of all, computer problems, I am back to share my lovely pearls of wisdom with you all once again.

In the "off season" we had my daughter's birthday. She got a pair of very fancy jeans with a purple sparkly belt...opened them and said, Mummy, look, a really cool belt with jeans attached (she turned 6).

At the Christmas pageant rehearsal, my son, the shepard, turned his hat around so the back was covering his face and shouted, "Good Lord, I can't see a thing".

Christmas was great, Santa brought Sarah a scooter, which she really wanted, however, she realized the kitchen is a lot smaller on a moving scooter than on her own two feet. And the cabinets are sturdy.

Griffin got the 3 trains he really wanted, Spencer, Bertie the Bus, and Henrietta who is Toby's coach. He also got a freight yard with a tractor trailer so Daddy can play trains, also.

Our New Years wasn't so great. We had the barf bug that week. I think I'm finally caught up on laundry. I did tons of laundry after Christmas (I mentioned Griffin needed new underpants, casually, at Thanksgiving. He got over 40 pairs for Christmas. We did Christmas with my family on the 28th, my mom said she couldn't find any underwear in his size for his stocking. I told her my husband's entire family bought it all out) and then, to top it all off, after yet another load of sheets, blankets and towels, the cat barfed in the laundry basket of clean laundry. What fun.

So, now my computer is working, it's snowing, I've blogged and I think we're all going to go read a Magic Tree House book and snuggle on the couch.

Fall is Gorgeous

Today was a perfect fall day....sunny day, crisp breeze.....we walked to both schools this morning, I raked leaves for a while, walked to get both kids after school...they love fall, too. They dragged their feet through the piles of leaves on the side of the road, enjoyed the breeze...they are so fun to watch.

After the past few weeks of sewing like a mad fool for the craft fair, this week I'm doing whatever my kids want...within reason. Yesterday we played Clifford Bingo, Clue, Jr., Ear Tug, Cootie, Ants in the Pants and Go Fish. We read lots of stories, built great towers out of cardboard blocks to house both Barbie and trains, and just had fun. We also went to the Veteran's Day Parade to pay our respects to those Veteran's who fought for our country's values.

I've also decided that after the kids go to bed, I'll sew for a bit, but I also need to take some time for myself. Read a book, watch TV or knit. Last winter I taught myself how to knit, but stopped over the summer. Now that fall's back, it's dark sooner, the needles are calling my name. So, later tonight, after the dishes have been done, the living room vaccuumed and the kitchen straightened up, I'll be having a cup of tea, watching Bones and working on a scarf for my daughter. It's got dropped stitches and a few mistakes. It's also got so much love in it, the mistakes just don't matter.

Life Thoughts..Random Events or Master Plan?

It's a gray, damp, chilly fall day. Good for staying in bed, curling up on the couch with a good book and a cat. Not in this house! I had my daughter's first parent teacher conference for kindergarten. Some of you may know that the whole kid thing was a foreign concept to me until I had my own. I was a little apprehensive walking in-if there was something lacking in my daughter's school performance, of course I was going to look to myself as the cause.

I sat down and the teacher told me my daughter was intelligent, incredibly creative, very willing to learn, did her work very quickly and tended to wander..so I asked what I needed to be doing to help her in school. Imagine my suprise (and pleasure) when the teacher said, do not change a thing. You are doing an amazing job enriching her in things outside of school. You are keeping her creative spirit alive.

Then, I come home and see that I have had a comment on my blog about George, my "helper" from a woman who used to work at the animal shelter where he and Gracie came from. Yes, I still keep in touch 2 years later. The funny thing? I've never met this woman. We talked on the phone a few times. She and I have a connection. Gracie. She and I both saw Gracie for what she truly is, a very shy, timid yet incredibly loving and friendly cat. I couldn't leave her at the shelter, even though she didn't want to be touched and stayed in the back of the cage. Even though this woman has moved to the other side of the country, we will keep in touch through something as seemingling mundane as a black long haired cat picked off the street.

So, was it fate or was it the Master Plan that me, a somewhat disorganized, creative person had 2 creative, inquisitive children? Was it fate or was it the Master Plan that I walked into the Animal Shelter that day, 2 years ago, and the cat room we were supposed to go in was being cleaned, so we went into the smaller room? Either way, I have been incredibly blessed with 2 amazing children, the friendship of a woman 200 miles away and the love of a stocky little black cat.

Falling Leaves

The leaves have changed color and are now falling gently to the ground. My children have been waiting for this. They dug out their kid sized rakes and look out the window every morning. "Mummy, can we rake yet?" has been a familiar refrain in our house.

Stupid me. Here I thought the kids really were into helping with yard work. Ah, no. We go outside yesterday, with rakes in hand. Sarah runs around, drops her rake on my foot and says, I'm going on the swingset. Let me know when you've gotten a pile of leaves big enough for me to jump in.

The Potluck Brownies

It's 3:30, we are going to 4:00 Mass, they are blessing the Catechists. I'm teaching Little Lambs this year....it's the little kids that go downstairs for age appropriate readings and activities during the readings, gospel and homily. I figure my kids are holy terrors, so I'd be a teacher and have to deal with them myself.

Anyway, I am sewing, Michael comes home and says, what happened to the brownies....I come flying down the stairs and see that my darling daughter, who was angry that I wouldn't let her eat the brownies...poked holes in them with a wooden spoon, as they were cooling. There was no time to do anything about it, so I packaged them up and took them. Holey brownies or holy brownies...they were going to a church function, after all.

Everyone laughed about them, said they were delicious and they were all eaten. She was all smiles..however, I told her if she did it again she was in HUGE trouble.

Ranch Dressing Does Not Make Good Body Paint...

These are the words that came out of my son's mouth as he came down stairs, all red, blotchy and itchy. For some reason, he thought he'd take the ranch dressing up into the bath tub and paint himself. He started to itch, turned on the water to rinse himself off...and it didn't work. On the positive side, the mess was contained to the bathtub. On the negative side, somehow he got the dressing in a spot he shouldn't have.....and it was quite itchy. However, I wasn't going to be scratching in there!

Another lesson learned...bathroom cleaner does not cut through ranch dressing. It sort of clots it up, like curdled milk. Hot water and vinegar does the trick. I guess soap scum and Ranch dressing are 2 totally different entities, when it comes to cleaning........

Catching Up

Wow, what a weekend. We went to a wedding on Saturday...very good family friend got married. Finally. We were due for some nasty thunderstorms during the ceremony, but they went to the south. Good thing, because me and all my "restraint" would not have been able to keep a straight face (read that I'd be laughing out loud) if there were flashes of lightning and claps of thunder during the wedding).

On Sunday, mom, the kids and I visited my grandfather for Father's Day. We all had a good visit. My husband had 2 sailing races and won them both. I had a fever and felt like crap by the time we got home.

Monday I should have been unpacking and getting organized. Oh no. My cold went into my inner ear and I was soooo dizzy I couldn't even stand up. My kids were so good. They raided the fridge and would bring me snacks.

I was a bit better yesterday. Today I feel just about 100%....and the piles of laundry I have to scale to get anywhere in this house is a bit daunting. So, on that note, off to the laundry pit. Hopefully some sewing will occur later! Stay tuned for more creations.