Butter Over Too Much Bread

There are so many things going on in my mind these days, so many ways I feel pulled in too many directions. Its hard to concentrate on anything in particular. I feel, to quote Bilbo Baggins, “like butter spread over too much bread.” I imagine that this is how parents of children with severe illnesses feel, trying to get their loved ones better while keeping the family, finances, job, and daily life still going. I fear that I am failing miserably at it all though, my loved one isn’t getting better and there are days that I just want to curl up in bed and put a pillow over my head.  I keep pushing on though, there is no other option for me.

One of the ways that I have been coping is by concentrating on my 365 Photo Project. It gives me a daily focus, a community to share my photos with, and a constant to look forward to. I have really enjoyed looking at other people’s interpretation of the daily word prompt and allowing others to comment on my own work. If you are doing a photo project I highly encourage you to check out Capture Your 365.

I don’t know how it’s been in your part of the world but here in NE Ohio it has been FREEZING! Single digit temps at night and rarely getting above freezing during the day. There have been moments of beautiful skies though mixed in with the typical grey sky.

 

I’m hoping that as the days get longer (and warmer again) I get my sunny self back. I am trying, truly, to get a handle on this crazy life of mine. It’s so nice to know I am not alone though, many of you know me in real life  and know that I appreciate each and every one of you. It is a hard road that I am on, one I never expected to travel. Thank you for being here with me.

Stomach Bugs

For the last week we were infest (again) with the stomach bug. We all got it in mid December pretty badly so I figured that we were all good for the rest of the winter… wrong! I woke up to poor Miss Moira throwing up on me (again) and also got a text from Klint that we was also getting sick at work. Yuck! A day or so later and poor Amelia was really ill with it, poor thing. And now it seems that I am hit…. ugh!

I am a fan of the TV show The Neighbors, a cute show about a family who moves into a townhouse community of aliens pretending to be people. The latest episode is one where the humans get a cold and explain to the aliens about getting sick. It is funny when the poor mom, who is also sick, is taking care of everyone and yells at her husband for not being helpful in the caring of the sick kids. It is how I, and many other moms, feel- when everyone is sick we are expected to care, attend to, and help our family. But when we are sick, well the world keeps turning and we must soldier on.

We are typically a very healthy family, rarely getting even normal colds. But this stomach bug sucks! Everyone I know has it or has had it recently, most more than once. Hopefully it will die down as the days get warmer… and I am hoping that everyone is better for my birthday on Monday.

So I leave you with this adorable photo of Miss Moira, who sorely needed a bath after getting sick all over me and chasing me around the halls wailing when I went to get new sheets. =) Here’s wishing you all very VERY healthy thoughts!

Randomness

Whew! This has indeed been a week folks… we are at the point in moving where there are just a few random boxes left… with crap that you don’t need or know what to do with. I am ready to just toss the junk out and be done with it lol! We had a heck of a time at the co-op Thursday, people brought their ducks, chickens, and goats!!!! Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe this group of people that are like family to me. Instead of our normal routine of of classes and such we took a quick vote to scratch that and instead have a full day of letting the kids and parents just play, learn where they wanted, and just “be”. It was beautiful and the day was a huge success in my mind.

I have been seeing some really cool recipes and ideas on Pinterest and my fingers have been itching to sew again. I want to give my student teachers a gift in appreciation for all their hard work this dance year and decided to make them each bags for their shoes or something useful like that. Maybe this emergency clutch for Band-aids and hair bands? I like this simple tutorial for a bag to hold their shoes as well… lord knows I have enough fabric! =P

The web and media at large are all talking about the TIME cover showing a mom nursing an almost 4 yr old boy. I cannot express how disappointed I am in the magazine for using something so beautiful to shock people and start controversy- all to sell some magazines. The response to the provocative cover has been mixed from celebration to shock and disgust, women attacking women for doing what they feel is best for their children. I applaud this momma for speaking out again the women of The View who were particularly vicious and uninformed about the benefits and norms of extended nursing. Just because a child can ask to nurse does not mean he or she needs to be be weaned!

Sigh… where was I? Oh yes… I am in love with this song and am currently bopping around the kitchen to it in pure happiness!

Love love love it!

I would love to make these, while wearing this, and living here… I’m just saying…. who’s with me?

Thanks to the move I haven’t crafted in awhile and my project book is growing by the day. (Thanks a lot Pinterest!!) I am itching to make this mirror for my dining room in yellow or green, this pillow for our gazillion remote controls, and these for all my herbs and plants I just started.

I hope that all my fellow moms out there are having a good mother’s day, filled with peace, relaxation, and lots of love. (If not then here are some neat printables that could help you out!) Enjoy and I will be back tomorrow!

free printables from Simple As That

Project Master Bedroom

We are moving in a about 2 weeks and let me tell you how much packing has NOT been done, lol. A friend of mine moved and has a pretty house on a nice, quiet, kid friendly street and asked us if we would be interested in renting it a couple of weeks ago. While I love our current house, there are no kids (only cranky elderly people) and the sidewalks are pretty much in the streets- giving this mama heart attacks daily when my girls are playing outside. The nice part is that the new house is basically the same size as the old house with a cute backyard, complete with a swing set. The ick part is packing, cleaning, and de-cluttering. =P

It seems that when planning for a move and decorating a new house the master bedroom gets put to the bottom of the list. Kid and common spaces are always decorated nice but mom and dad’s room is a pile of mismatched furniture, unpainted walls, and zero style. (This has been the case the last two houses we lived in!) So this time I am determined that our room will not be forgotten, walls will be painted and there WILL be some kind of “look” to it! This is what I am thinking:

I love the color combination found here and just ran with it. Hopefully with just a few simple fixes I will have a bedroom that I spend a little more time in! (All the elements above can be found on my Pinterest Welcome Home board!) Well, that is what is going on with my life… lots of packing, baby wrangling, and planning… all very exciting stuff!

10 Things Making Me Happy

Here are 10 things that are making me pretty happy right now:

10. I got the kids art stuff cleaned out today, bye bye broken crayons and moldy play dough!

9. Yummy homemade French Onion soup.

8. Reading Nicholas Spark’s new book The Best of Me… it is soooooo good!

7.Working on some new products for my Etsy store- covered button bookmarks

6. While I was on a roll I also cleaned and organized the girl’s books…

5. I am loving having Klint home an extra night this week thanks to President’s Day

4. Speaking of Klint, I made him this fun poster to join in on the graphic fun flying around the web:

3.  I am excited to see some sorority sisters tomorrow, that makes me very happy

2. Cozy blankets with sleeping baby underneath

1. Selling 2 fairy doors on Etsy and transferring money from Paypal… that definitely makes me happy!!!