Yesterday it was still summer

My sister in law was up for a visit from Florida these past two weeks. Yesterday we decided we would spend the morning at a nearby lake to say goodbye to her and the last few days of summer vacation (my two oldest start school next Tuesday, tear). Because much of the world has already returned to school we were the ONLY ones there. That includes the absence of any lifeguards. We let them suit up but they had to stay at the shore and we were all wading with them in jeans and sweatshirts. It was cold! Crazy children!



Can't believe another summer has gone by. That my babies are a year older and that I will now have two kids in school. This was my favorite snapshot from yesterday (and it happens to star my precious #3).

A dream deferred

Chicken update: All but one of the seven barred rock chickens were massacred in July by a possum. I got a call from my friend that morning and she was in tears saying they had mostly been decapitated and that their breasts were ripped from their bodies. Terrible! There was only one who was sitting on the bodies of the dead and crying. The poor traumatized girl. SO needless to say, our chicken dreams are again on hold. Can't say that I mind now that we are getting into fall and I was worried about the little buggers freezing to death outside in the winter...yes, I know it won't actually happen. We're going to make some changes to the coop that is now sitting in our yard and re-look at this chicken dream in the spring. Til then, it's store bought eggs for this family. Cluck it!

Oh and PS, after the chicken massacre of 2011, my gal pal set out a have a heart trap and caught not one but two possums. She also researched chicken predators and felt it was safe to assume they were the culprits. They've since be relocated to go kill elsewhere. Ha.

Happy Fall, y'all!

What came first? The chicken or the egg?

To answer that question as it relates to our household, the chicken! A friend of mine is giving us three of her Barred Rock hens! And after hitting up freecycle and Craigslist I found us a huge coop for free...and it's only 10 minutes down the road. We go to pick it up on Tuesday! We will have to construct a pen for them and paint the coop but once that's done, the girls can come home!! Ruby has already named them Jason, Jillian, and Marshall. Yes, they are ALL girls but Ruby is only almost 5 and thinks those names are perfect :)

Update

The chickpea curry was not good. Just a little FYI. It might be because I added potatoes to it but it really had no flavor. Boring. Now it's time for Tosh.0. Nighty night.

Why?

Why do I find myself writing about food again? Ha ha ha! Tonight's dinner is chickpea curry. I think we're just going to have it over jasmine rice. My two oldest kids love chickpeas so I think this may be a keeper, let you know.

PS Do any of you use this website? Allrecipes.com, if not, you should. Just throwin' it out there.

Din-din

I've been a vegetarian since I was 18 years old. I am (cough, cough) 33 now and sometimes I get pretty bored with the same dinner menu week after week. We tried these enchiladas a couple weeks ago and they are insanely delicious. The potato portion is baking the oven as we speak and I cannot wait to eat them for dinner tonight! I doubt you even have to be vegetarian to find these absolutely delish but if you are and you're bored like me, TRY THEM! Everyone, try them!! haha!

PS I omit the craziness of making my own tomatillo salsa and just buy salsa verde from the grocery store. Yum, seriously yum.

Crazy Love

A little photo diary of the days highlights!
My sister's 10 year anniversary/vow renewal was this past Friday night. My (other) sister and I got to follow these freaks almost the entire way to the ceremony. The girl was dry humping her stud muffin and looking at us while she did it! I wish I had thought to pull out my camera sooner because this photo just looks like two people going for a ride in a car, not the peep show losers they actually were.

The cake. Notice a red, white, & blue theme.

My lovely nieces and nephews.

Vows

Kiss!

Cheese.

Dance.

Jocko...he loved the game. We assume he was there with us in spirit.

The End.

Congrats, Annie & Chris! 10 years of wedded bliss, hope there are many more! xo

Justin Bee-bah

This is my youngest sister Aubrey. Yes she looks like an adorable 10 year old boy. She already knows so keep it to yourself, especially if you are the mail lady, the mini golf attendant, the countless waiters and waitresses, yeah the list goes on and on and will probably make for some funny material later but for now...meet Aubrey (PS she's almost 23 years old)

Now this is my middle daughter Lucy. Precious, pretty as picture and full of personality. Thank you, thank you very much, she certainly is.

And just so we're all clear this is Justin Beiber.


Jeez, this is a lot of work for a simple little story. Fast forward to earlier today little Lucy said to me, "Mama, Auby is not so bee-yoo-full." And I said, "What?! Why isn't she beautiful?" Lucy says, "She doesn't look bee-yoo-full." So I asked her, "What does she look like?" and she says "Her look like Justin Bee-bah."

April 24, 2011

Yesterday we had a surprise party for my sister. She and her husband are renewing their vows next month for their 10 year anniversary. When they got married in 2001, she was 7 months preggo with #2 and they decided to get hitched on a Monday and were walking down the "aisle" that Saturday. There was no time for bridal showers (or bachelorettes seeing her delicate condition). Her wedding was small, about 15 people were there, they got married in the woods at our grandparents house in front of the gazeebo, it was cute and sweet but definitely shotgun. So this renewal of theirs is the big party she's wanted these past 10 years and never got. I figured this was as good a time as any to throw her the bridal shower/bachelorette she never got either...I use the terms loosely because it wasn't a rip roaring affair nor was it a large group. I think there were 12 of us but it ended up being a lot of fun.






my mother and sister


This was the highlight of my day (besides seeing my sister have a great time with her besties.)

Of course this was taken after we polished off bowl #2. Here's how I made it.

White Sangria
1 bottle white wine (plus a little more til all the fruit was covered; this was AFTER adding the other 2 cups of alcohol)
1 cup vodka
1cup triple sec
1/2 cup sugar
1 granny smith apple sliced
1 pear sliced
i lemon sliced
1 lime sliced
1 orange sliced
10 large strawberries cut in half
1/2 can of pineapple chunks
3 slices of watermelon cut into bite size chunks
a fistful of green grapes

I put all the fruit in the bowl, sprinkled it with the sugar and added the wine, stirred, then added the vodka and triple sec, stirred it again. I let it sit together for about 1.5 hours and when the guests arrived I added a little ice to to the bowl. I also put out a bottle of club soda in case someone wanted it to be weaker. It was friggin awesome, I wish I had taken a picture of it BEFORE but I was too busy to even think of it!! Obviously the second bowl didn't have a chance to "sit" but it was gone in about 45 minutes so apparently it isn't a necessary step! ha ha! Can I just say hurray for spring and summer because this is a new family favorite. Yum. Make it.

Oh and Hoppy Easter, All!

April 21, 2011

My weekend includes sangria making, surprises, Easter things, and crafts.
I took my oldest to the store with me while the other two napped today and she was a DOLL! Great listening, no fits, making very profound observations for a 4.5 year old, just great. As we were heading home I asked her why she couldn't try to be more like that when her sisters are with us so they can learn from her good example and she gave me some spiel about worrying about not getting new things when the other girls are with us....so whatever.

Nate Berkus and Design Dilemmas

Yes, this is a photo of the actual television as taken by my husband's aunt and emailed to me. It's also super un-flattering but hysterical because I am waving like it's my show.


So a couple of you already know and may remember that I was on the Nate Berkus show back in October. I wrote to the lovely Mr Berkus in the hopes that he could solve my "design dilemma" (his term, not mine). The dilemma being that there is not a single closet on the first floor of my house. This means no coat closet, broom closet or space to hide a vacuum in a pinch or hide shit when people are coming over. This fact escaped us until we moved in because the guy we bought the house from was crazy neat and there was no clutter or a thing out of place every time we came here before the closing. The six wardrobes in the basement should have been a red flag but I was too busy thinking about the huge backyard and woods for miles and the great school system to give a fart. Fast forward to last October and I am sitting in a pile of shoes, coats, hats and mittens watching the Nate show and think, ya know what I'm gonna write to him, he will come and build me a closet and all will be right with the world. So I did. I sent an email to the show and left to go pick up my daughter from preschool. When I got home half an hour later I had an email from someone saying they wanted to talk to me about my dilemma. Immediately I thought it was spam. I almost deleted it because I thought it was going to blow up my inbox with viruses. I did nothing. Then a few hours later the phone began to ring and people started leaving messages and I was all what the f***? Once my husband got home I told him and he said what are you waiting for, call them back. So I finally did. The producer wanted me to go to the show that Friday. This was Wednesday. It was the morning taping so I had to be on a train the next day and spend the night in NYC so I would be there on time (they arranged all the travel and lodging in case anyone is wondering). My youngest was only 4 months old at that time so she had to come with since she refused bottles and wasn't yet on baby food. So then of course I needed someone else to come to watch her while I was taping (AKA my mother). It was settled and the next day we were off as soon as Mr Man came home from work to watch the other two cherubs. I say watch but they are his children so it's not like he was babysitting or something. The whole thing was started and over in BARELY 48 hours. Long story short I spent more time with Mr T than with Nate (the "celebrity guest" that day), Nate did not offer to come with a construction crew and remodel my lower level to allow for some closet action (WTF?), and I got a huge china cabinet that he said I could use to store boots etc. Really? We joke that we should take a picture of it open with coats and boots spilling out of it with a note that says, "Thanks, Nate". But that would be impossible since it's still in my garage, shrink wrapped and on a palette. So thanks for taking up my whole garage with this ginormous piece of (lovely) furniture while I still have shoes and coats coming out of my ass all over my kitchen. My sister says I am an ungrateful bitch. Obviously she has jealousy issues....
Oh and yes Nate and I hugged it out during taping. I got to watch almost the whole show from the audience (they pulled me out right at the last segment because baby wanted to get her boob on). Mr T was a super lovely man who loved Violet, he held her and laughed his Mr T laugh as she tried to pull off one of his gold chains as he handed her back to me.
I don't know why I chose to write about this now other than the fact that I never did AND when I tried to get the gardening gloves earlier today I couldn't reach them because of that huge friggin thing sitting in the middle of the garage. Let's take bets on when it actually comes INSIDE the house.


My mother checking her bed for bedbugs. Freak.


Waiting for my 15 minutes.


V and the T Man.


Stealing bling.


Stealing Mr T's heart.


Like he couldn't have spared ONE.



The love notes from my little sweethearts I came home to.

Shhh

Having a sister sleepover tonight and working on big secret stuff for a big secret thing! Hopefully these cherubs will keep their lips zipped. As if.

Pay Phones

Does anyone ever see any of these bad boys anymore? As the last survivor on earth without a cell phone I notice these things and can't remember the last time I actually SAW one! WTF? I will not cave, I will not be forced to buy a cell phone, I will just use yours since you know you have one.

Hot Glue and Other Fun Stuff

I have taken a pretty long hiatus from all things crafty. I fill the occasional Etsy order as well as birthday/new baby gifts but no longer do I craft every day or even every month for that matter. I was chatting with a friend yesterday about how having kids has left me little time to do things I want to. Maybe this is what the grandmother at my 4 year olds preschool means when she says to me repeatedly "It won't always be like this." And trust me my kids are very well behaved (in public) and I am usually the one holding the door for OTHERS as I lug my brood to and fro so I've never been quite sure what she meant. BUT maybe I am onto something.
The other day another mother at the school brought her daughter in wearing a big flower clip she had made and my girl was quite green with envy so when we got home I told her I can make you one, Lovey, don't you fret. Then today THREE more girls were wearing clips like it. Oh my, it's a flower clip epidemic and my kid wants in! So here is my chance to oblige and at the same time get a little crafty. Oh joy!
Sidebar: Now the other thing I no longer have any real time for is exercise, is this a bit of an excuse because I hate sweating? Maybe. But I have never been so sedentary in my life, we bust a move all day but it's running errands and doing chores and by the time I know it, it's 8 o'clock and my (growing) ass just wants to sit on the couch and have a cocktail and pass out in the middle of Idol. That's about as much as I want to say on that subject at the moment. Just thinking about making time and doing it gives me a migraine.

I don't want anyone to misunderstand how I started this little rant. Having kids has meant less time for a lot of things I used to do but don't get me wrong, I LOVE these cherubs. They light up my life and fill my nights with song...and screaming matches with a bit of hair pulling...but mostly love.
Now off to make headbands!

Centipedes

No, not the real kind. The nasty Hollywood puke inducing kind. I am still having agita over a movie that my husband decided to watch this past weekend. We were watching TV together when I made the poor decision to get up and leave the room for about 10 minutes. When I return there is a movie on called Human Centipede. Anyone? I am like what the hell is this? He is laughing because he is a doucher (new word we made up to taunt each other, kind of like you're a douche bag but we're too lazy to actually say douche bag). He is a fan of horror movies, I am not. But this movie wasn't even terrifying, it was repulsive. I don't know if there is a word in my vocabulary that could adequately describe just how gross the premise of this movie is. I am NOT going to get into it, feel free to google it. But please have Tums and a barf bag handy. In fact, this is how I even know most of what happens in this gross flick. Thanks, google. I only saw about 10-15 minutes of it but then I just had to go to the net and hit enter. That was my first mistake, my second mistake was reading the summary of the movie. After reading it, I felt an intense need for a bottle of Tums and a lobotomy. I am not sure why it bothers me so much since nothing like that would ever happen. I think I am just disgusted that people can actually think of such revolting things. Sooooo, at this point I'm sure you're off to look up why I have my panties in such a bunch, Godspeed, people.

The Bugs Are Back In Town

It's spring! Welcome back all you repulsive creatures that shouldn't even think twice about stepping one gross little hairy leg in my house. I hate you all.
This little ditty was inspired by a disgusting black spider sauntering around the living room just now as if he owned the place. Obviously he is now in several pieces in a piece of paper towel in the trash.
Good night and good luck (to myself, I am the one that has to sleep here.)

33

I turned 33 yesterday. Yeah, that's old. My grandfather sent me an email the other day (he will be 81 tomorrow so go him) and requested my presence at "the national holiday luncheon" for April 4th. I RSVP'd (via email to keep that geezer on his toes) that I'd go as long as they rolled out the red carpet. Fast forward to yesterday and there was this hideous orange carpet strip circa 1952 all stained and grody lining the stairs to the front door. I had to laugh! Not to mention this was not to be outdone by the plastic Big Bird, Bert & Ernie that were lined up next to it paparazzi style. I then, of course, had to clean it all up since they are 81 (in case I hadn't yet mentioned that). So happy birthday to me!!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Work through it, accept it, move on.

I think a lot of us don't do the last part because the second part can be so difficult. Deep shit.

First Birth

I had my first birth as a doula this past Saturday. The mother had a HUGE support team so at times I felt a bit useless. When I say huge, I am talking about 14 people and that didn't include myself, the other doula, the nurses and the doctor. It was wild! But I am so thankful that they let me share in that special moment in their lives. I feel like there isn't too much else I can say about it but I MEAN IT when I say Life Is Beautiful.

Funny, ha ha

I forgot to mention Ruby's words of wisdom from yesterday morning. I am laying in bed with Violet (my constant companion) and Ruby comes in to join us. Violet is clawing at my shirt like a 14 year old boy who just stole his mother's latest Victoria's Secret catalog and Ruby says, "Mum, she's tryin' to get at your breast food." Love her.

Bread II

Ok so we made bread! It was a little time consuming but totally worth it (AKA hella yummy!) and the girls had so much FUN kneading it and rolling it out. Good times! I followed the basic recipe on breadworld. Sadly, I returned my mother's Kitchenaid to her when we moved, so I actually used my handmixer for the "mixing" part...pain in the ass. But I'd bought the RapidRise yeast without knowing the difference and those were the directions. I follow rules.







You can see the girls loved beating on that doughball! We will definitely make bread again.

Bread

So this isn't funny but I am going to make homemade bread this weekend. Apparently the possibilities are endless. The only thing I like better than making babies is feeding them so this interests me. I'll (maybe) keep you posted.

Let's Do-ula This!

I've begun training as a doula. What's that you ask? In a nutshell, it's a support person, usually female, with no medical or midwifery training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant couple before, during or after childbirth. Now with all those silly HIPPA rules and regs, I won't be able to share much of this experience but here's hoping some funny moments happen along the way that I can share in a super HIPPA respectful way.
I am really excited to help out another mother as I had a doula when I had Violet (AKA #3). My first shift is this Saturday...
From the sticks,
Me

Push-over

Oh.my.god.
I am noticing that I ask nicely the first time, I ask louder the second time, I yell the third time and I LOSE MY MIND the fourth time! In other news, another observation, I stick to my guns the first time, I stick to my guns the second time, I waver the third time and I completely cave the fourth time. It doesn't always get to the second, third and fourth times but I am noticing a pattern....this disturbs me.

My daughter hates Q-Tips

The other day my middle daughter Lucy was playing dolls and saying "oh april, i love you so much. april, i need a snack. april! I like snacks! I love you so much!" The cuteness of this made me slightly less angry about her calling all the men at walmart that morning creepy guys and yelling loudly as we got to the registers that she "hates old people".

Ch-ch-ch-changes

When I started this thing, I had two small children and a budding craft business. I wanted to share with people simple tutorials and how to's and promote my wares of course. But these times they are a-changing. I now have three small children, moved to the country and became less interested in all things martha stewart. Though I still have my little Etsy shop. Feel free to browse, the stuff is lovely.
Instead of starting a NEW blog I chose to edit the original one. So grow with me, people. This format makes me feel less pigeonholed.
Stay tuned.
From the sticks,
Me

Resolutions are for chumps

Taking a minute out of an insanely busy schedule managing three kids and a house to say Happy New Year, people! This year my non-resolution resolution is to be kinder to MYSELF and live a gentler, simpler life. I can get super carried away by all the craziness that is life. I can stress and bitch like nobody's business. I want to live a quieter life with less stuff and create happy memories for those I love most (AKA the fruit of my womb).
So if you made resolutions like getting back to the gym, going on a diet or quitting biting your nails, good luck. I just think mine will be more fun...

From the sticks,
Me