Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb.. The Disasters of Seam Ripping.

Mom's aren't suppose to get sick!  I'm just saying.
Thursday night, after years of just sitting in a closet I decided to rip the seams out of a band blanket that I had made for Chugo. It was in the beginning of my "learning to sew" days and now that I am, well, more seasoned, it was time to rip it out and start over. It took a while to do and of course, could i find my seam ripper anywhere? Nope. small sewing scissors? nope. So i resorted to my jewelry nippers, hey, they have a sharp point and truth be told- they worked great! That is, until I got two ripped blisters on my fingers. Curses! But as usual- I persevered until the job was complete.
Fast forward to Saturday morning and I awoke to one of said fingers swollen like a sausage and purple. and man did it HURT! The front of my hand also had red lines tracing my veins up my hand to my wrist. I did the smart thing and drew a line where it ended and told myself that if the redness went beyond that line, I would go see the doctor.
By mid afternoon... it had still not crossed the line but my elbow hurt really bad and had a big red patch on it and my shoulder was sore. Yeah.. I know.. I should have just gone in that morning. (But- isn't there always a but? There was an escaped convict from the hospital that morning and police were everywhere, I was just being diligent and staying away from the area so I didn't put myself into a possible hostage situation! haha)

Cellulitis. (I thought that was just the fat layer in my your skin.) So I was like- seriously.. your calling me fat? But then I realized that was just cellulite and this was an infection in the skin. The doctor assumed it was probably caused from Staph and wrote up some antibiotics and sent me on my way with the instructions that 'it may or may not clear it up depending on if we got meds for the right bacteria- so if it gets worse come back in'.  Lovely- Thanks.

Luckily the meds worked but my arm still feels like its been punched multiple times and my finger is still swollen, while at least less purple.
My weekend of excited quilting turned quickly into resting on the couch and watching the boys play Destiny all weekend. Alas- the quilt will still be there ready and waiting once I'm feeling up to par again, but until then.. drowning my sorrows in massive amounts of water and watching Netflix with BG. Thank goodness for the crock pot!
Happy Monday All!

I'm a Quilter- Who Knew?!

I'm Quilting.

If you had told me that I would enjoy quilting 15 years ago, I would have laughed in your face. (cuz isn't that what old people do?!) My mother is a quilter. She's self taught and she's down right amazing!
My first quilt project, I made a quilt for my best friend's 30th birthday.  It was a big task but I was so proud I did it. The second was a quilt for Chugo. It was the first one I did completely on my own from start to finish, ok.. ok.. with the couple calls to my Mom for advice! (There, I admit it!)
Said quilt, is now worn out from love and multiple bus trips during marching band season.  Then I took a looooong break from quilting. (Birth of the twins, moving to TX.. ya know, just to name a few distractions) Isn't it funny how it seems that certain hobbies are either all or nothing?!

Then I got pregnant and was determined to make a 'girly' quilt for BG. It turned out great, if I do say so myself. (and then another hiatus) Fast forward two years later and I'm back at it again.
I've been bitten by the bug. It truly amazes me to see bits of scraps sewn together to make a blanket. To make something that will be used and loved. Sigh. Its fabulous.

I received a Christmas quilt from my Mom a couple years ago. (we actually use it all year around- believe it or not) The idea struck me a couple weeks ago that it would be neat to have "holiday quilts' for all the holidays. So I set out on a mission. Halloween, Fall (because it could be used longer than say just a thanksgiving quilt), Spring (same reasoning as fall), and then whatever other holidays I decided I wanted to conjure up a quilt for. :)

I chose a pattern, went to the fabric store and got started! I'll post more as the process unfolds but for now.. here's a previews of the fabric!

Aren't the colors Halloween-y and delicious? Did i mention that- I Heart Fabric!

"I Wish I Had Time For That'

"I wish I had time for that."

I hear this often from friends and even strangers who 'work for a living'.
I never understood that term. I mean, yeah maybe I don't work outside of the home to make money, but i sure as heck work pretty dang hard inside the home.  Its all about time management and priorities.

Apparently, it is thought that stay at home moms just have nothing but time on their hands. I mean after all, how hard is it to clean house, cook dinners and tend to the kids? (should I blow a gasket right here?!) So, I just wanted to clear up some misconceptions of 'my free time'. I have none.
I have 5 children, I run a business out of my home, I cook, clean, teach and chauffeur... free time is not something I have much of, if any at all.  I never get a day off or a paid holiday. Heck the holidays, while fun for the rest of the family, always end up being even more work for myself. But I digress.

So my time..
Yeah. I wake up at 4 am everyday (even on the weekends) because that is the the only time I have to 'work' my business, craft or do anything I would like to get accomplished before I have to get kids up and running for the day (like say.. pay bills).

I don't need a pat on the back or a cookie, but I do wish that sometimes people would watch how they say things. I know that they are just wishing that they 'had more time' to do the things that they love too... but like I said, It's all about time management and prioritizing!

The miracle Twins Turn 7

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY MOOSE AND BUS!

Its hard to believe that 7 years ago my miracle twins were born. I know that every year I go into the miracle that is monoamniotic monochorionic twins. And of course this year is no different.

*1 in 47 pregnancies will result in twins. Of those 1 in 250 will be identical twins, of those 1% are monoamniotic monochorionic twins, of those 1 in 3 "momo" pregnancies will survive. 25% of mono/mono pregnancies are boys. *

See what I mean! Truly God's miracle! We celebrated family style, with their favorite- fondue, and as a twist, they decided they wanted to each decorate their own cakes. (I blame this on watching too many episodes of Cake Boss on netflix- I mean, how many other 7 year olds do you know that say they would like some drop lines on their cake- not many!)

Every year all the memories of the hospital stay come back to me. (almost haunt-like) Every year I cry, and can't believe that we all made it through such a stressful time. But mostly I thank God for blessing me with two amazingly wonderful little boys who fill me with excitement and wonder every day!

(I blurred out the front of their cakes because it had their names on them.. just so you know!)

New Beginnings

It's been a while, and thats putting it nicely. 2009? The last post was from then? YEESH...
Deep breath. What has happened since then? Well waaaaaaaay too much.
But, I'll give you a hint..

Yep, If you hadn't already guessed it from the changed title- We added a little lady into the mix! As a total surprise (and I mean like complete and utter surprise) we got pregnant with #5 and God blessed us with a daughter. Like all my children on the blog, they are nicknamed, and this little lady is Bubblegum. (BG for short.)

well else happened over the years, Oh yes, we moved across country and landed ourselves in Texas. The south sure has changed us all, but for the better. I have to say, I Love LOve LOVe LOVE the sunshine. (the heat, well not so much.) We rented a house, bought a house, sold a house, and even started a business! The kids are growing like weeds, and we are all happy!
I am looking forward to getting back into the blogging world, if anything, its cathartic to just sit after a long day and write. (even if no one reads it.. and thats fine with me too! haha)

So, a new adventure begins. I hope you enjoy the ride~ I know I sure will!