Just Because I Suck, Doesn't Mean I'll Stop

Last weekend I convinced Adrian to take me to Hobby Lobby, which is like the 9th ring of hell for him, so I could pick out some fabric and ribbon to practice embellishments.

I picked up some cheap tees and pants at Target ($4 for jeans!), but when I got home I felt way too overwhelmed and intimidated to even get started. Adrian gave me some great advice. He encouraged me to start with the project I was least excited about, so that if it didn't turn out well I wouldn't feel so bad.

I started working on a Thanksgiving outfit. And I'm glad I started with Thanksgiving because I was pretty disappointed with how it turned out, and I would have been crushed if I had ruined a Halloween outfit.

It's not so bad that I won't let her wear it, but it's definitely over-busy and not well laid out. I am learning as I go.

Here is the "finished project" before I began stitching things on. Everything was attached mostly through iron on adhesive.



When Isabella saw it, she yelled "CUTE!!" and insisted on wearing it. I had a hard time convincing her to take the outfit off. I guess if she likes it, that's the most important thing!

She is really into clothes now. Funny for a 2 year old.





I think it needs something more near the collar or on the shoulder for a more balanced look. I dunno. At least it's only a Thanksgiving outfit. I will probably try to do a better Turkey Day outfit before then anyways. We usually do hand-print turkey tees with the kids' "thankful list" on the back, so I might just want to do a pair of Thanksgiving jeans.

We also took the kids to Toys 'R Us on Saturday, and it just so happened that Jeffrey was there:



Here's Orian enjoying some new toys:



Yesterday I decorated for Halloween. I was surprised by how much work it felt like, heh. I went through our Halloween box and threw away broken stuff and then put together a freebie box of decor and craft stuff we wouldn't use to post on CL.

I am trying to practice restraint and not buy a lot of new Halloween decorations. I really love Halloween and Target has the coolest stuff. I did buy a tablecloth and some dishtowels a couple weeks ago, but I am going to try not to buy anything else.

I need a string of orange lights to finish up the stair railing, and I will get that since it's only a couple bucks, but other than that, I'm going to use what I have.

Here's the new tablecloth:



Me using what I have, haha:



Cool new dishtowels:



I would love to do more outdoor decorating, but that's $$, so nope. Not happening. Isabella has her costume, Xavier is doing a mad scientist theme that will cost next to nothing, and Orian wants to be Anakin (Annakin?) Skywalker, which is like $40!

I have been watching on ebay but I don't think we're going to find it much cheaper. What is happening to the price of Halloween costumes? Seriously, 40 bucks?!?!

40 bucks times 4 kids = $160! Not happening. We have to nip this trend in the bud! I don't know whether to relent and get him the costume and maybe have him sell some toys to defray the cost or make him pick something else or help him try to make an Anakin costume with cheaper materials. Ugh.

Ok, I've got to get ready for my doctor's appointment. I really, really don't want to know how much I weigh. It's going to be a bad day. But I knew that already when Isabella was unwrapping tampons while I was taking a bath this morning. Awesome.

First Attempt at Embellishment

After seeing some really cute ribbon-embellished toddler and infant jeans on ebay, I have wanted to try to make some myself. I'm not particularly crafty, and I can't sew (even by hand) for anything.

I did a practice outfit before I go out and buy ribbon and other items to start really playing.

I had an old denim 6-12 Gap jumper that Isabella never wore much because it seemed so plain. I figured I wouldn't lose anything by playing around with it.

I don't have a lot of things on hand to use. I had a spool of rainbow ribbon left over from back when I was excited about making hair-bows, LOL. I just used that to play around.

Adrian thinks it's super cute, but I am not thrilled. In my defense, though, it was a) my first time trying, b) I rushed through it, c) Isabella was up my butt most of the time, and d) I escaped to the garage to do the last bit, including painting, and it was DARK in there.

I learned that the no-sew tape works GREAT for putting ribbon accents on denim (left over from when mom no-sewed my curtains), that I need good lighting and patience to paint, and also that I need to work more on layout and plot it out before starting a project.

I also need to work on my hand sewing skills. Or ask someone to teach me. Because I seriously don't know what I'm doing. The enthusiasm is there, but the skill and technique are lacking.

Before:



After:



The ribbon on the side is where the outfit ties together (it's a wrap-around dress). I just cut off the ratty shoe-lace type string that was there and replaced it with the rainbow ribbon. Better would have been a thinner ribbon, but I didn't have that.

Not the cutest thing anyone ever "made", haha, but I'm not discouraged enough to keep me from trying again.

Beating Kids in Public

We were watching Katt Williams' special last night (The Pimp Chronicles, I think?) and I really liked this part:

(Warning, STRONG language.)



Love it!

My Obesity, in Numbers and Photos

I have a t-shirt that reads, "I'm not fat, I'm knocked up". That is only partially true.

I AM knocked up. I'm also fat. But if someone sees me wearing that t-shirt and assumes that it's all pregnancy-related, that's totally cool with me. Unfortunately, I got really fat before I got pregnant.

I was fat before I got pregnant with Isabella, lost weight after having her and was down to a reasonable size, then I shot back up to fatsville before becoming pregnant again.

The whole, "you're not fat, you're pregnant!" thing is nice, but in my case...NOT true.

I lost a few lbs with m/s but rapidly gained it all back when I started feeling better. Since then, I have not bothered weighing myself. It just causes me anxiety.

Unfortunately, I *know* I'm gaining a ton, and I'll tell you how I know this:

PANTIES.

Anything with leg holes that don't have stretch are too tight and feel like they'll cut my legs off if I wear them. I am down to 3 pairs of oh-so-comfortable maternity panties, and inappropriate things made from far too little fabric that are held together by forgivingly stretchy strings.

Even my XL cotton boyshorts are too small. Stretchy lace boyshorts...no go. Everything rolls down below my belly and only covers a small portion of butt, and not in a sexy way. More in a I'm-torturing-my-undergarments sort of way.

Here's why my maternity panties feel so good:



I measured my belly today at my widest point. 45 inches. YES, 45 inches. I'm only 24 weeks (5 months completed, in the middle of my sixth month). I have a loooong way to grow.



I look much fatter from the front, which is why I didn't take a picture of the front-view. My arm circumference is ridiculous. I didn't measure, but a visual inspection tells me I'm not Victoria Beckham.

I've got flabby calves and apparently my thighs are beyond the normal expectations of the manufacturers of XL underwear.

I could try not to gain so much weight, but I don't think I'll be doing that. So I guess I'll be shopping for 1X panties in the near future.

Pics of Xavier's New 7 Billion Dollar Glasses

Xavier's glasses came in yesterday afternoon. I think, despite his initial worries, he is really enjoying them. Of course, that could just be because they are new. He could hate them in a few weeks.

I think they look really nice on him, but they do need to be adjusted a little bit.





He is looking so grown up!

Wonder when Orian's turn for glasses will come?

Flo-wees!

Yesterday Isabella and I made Nature Bracelets.

This was a big hit with her and I highly recommend it as an activity for any toddler. It's practically free, uses things you have on hand, and poses great learning opportunities.

To make the bracelet, you take a long piece of scotch tape and attach it around your toddler's wrist with the sticky side out. The sizing needs to correspond with your toddler's wrist because if it's too loose it will fall off, and if it's too tight it will annoy her.

Next, you take a little nature walk and find interesting leaves, sticks, flower petals, etc. and attach them to the tape.

We just played in the backyard since there aren't leaves falling here yet. We picked some grass, and used a few leaves we did find, and lots of flowers from trees that are right against our fence.

Isabella LOVED it! She played for a long time with her "flo-wees". I think when we visit the panhandle for Thanksgiving we will do this activity again with the fall foliage.







When we finished collecting for our bracelets, Isabella had fun pulling the items off and hiding them in different spots, especially the hidden compartment on her Barbie trike. She would say, "Where flo-wee?" and then open the lid and shout "a-dah!"

In other news, Orian is being tested for TAG today, on the recommendation of his teacher. He started choir yesterday, and if he ends up in TAG, he's going to be a very busy guy this year! Xavier is in a TAG class this year and he has a crazy amount of homework. Fun stuff, but a lot of work!

Markers, Poop, and Glasses...in that order

Friday Isabella and I decided to do a little toddler craft. Well, I decided. But she agreed.

The craft is this: you use markers to draw and scribble on coffee filters, then use paint brushes (or a spray bottle) and water to saturate the coffee filter. The colors will blend and make nice, soft patterns.

The best part is, Isabella LOVES markers, as evidenced by the television set, shelf, UBFunkey toys, clothing, and many other items I've had to clean marker out of (tip: rubbing alcohol will get permanent marker off of almost anything). I was happy to let her indulge her passion for markers.





And the finished product:



We came inside later for a diaper change and so I could get her marked-up clothes in the wash (I did have the foresight to use washable markers!). I took off her clothes and she took that as her signal to whip off her diaper.

It was like slow motion. Before I could get to her, she had taken the diaper off, walked it to the trash can, and tossed it in. Unfortunately, she left a trail of carnage from her departure point all the way to the trash can.

And, *barf*, there were identifiable sun-dried tomato pieces in her...ummm...leavings. I have been having some major cravings for sun-dried tomatoes, and couldn't get enough of them. Yeah, not so much now.

I did manage to get her, her clothes, and her doody trail cleaned up without further incident. I did imagine how horrific that could have been with a newborn in tow. Things are going to get very interesting this Spring.

Yesterday the boys and I had eye exams in the morning. Isabella wore her ON kitty Halloween top and the Guess skirt I got for a steal ($5!) from Macys.com. Didn't she look so cute?



The eye appointments went smoothly, but we found out Xavier is near-sighted and needs glasses. He had an eye exam right before school started as part of his physical but it wasn't nearly as in-depth. He was pretty disappointed.

He's about the same age I was, and the same age Adrian was, when we first started having to wear glasses. I am hoping he will be amazed by how much clearer his vision is with glasses.

I was in the middle of my exam when they took him to look at glasses, which was a disappointment because I knew he needed consoling. Unfortunately, Adrian had taken Isabella to run some errands while we had our exams.

When I was able to join Xavier he had chosen the glasses he liked. He was still unhappy about wearing glasses. He thinks glasses are for "nerds", and he does already have some problems with social-type stuff at school. Poor guy.

The lady who assisted us was c-r-a-z-y. She was a little too syrupy in her pep talk with him and pretty much just assumed that her opinion and thoughts carried more weight than what I could say to him, so she directed the conversation.

She told Xavier that her son had to get glasses at age 11 and that he was very sad about it too. So sad, he had to go to the hospital.

Orian pipes up, "Why did he have to go to the hospital?"

"He was so sad he stopped talking."

Thanks, lady. That's reassuring. Great anecdote.

I had Xavier try on a few more pairs of glasses just to be sure he was getting what he wanted, but in the end, he liked the glasses he had picked out previously best, and they do look really nice on them. He has a good face for glasses and I think he will look really handsome.

I remember my first pair of glasses. They were bargain basement and big and brown and plastic, with big, thick lenses. I remember hoping to accidentally break them. I really thought it would help soften the blow and boost his confidence if Xavier choose the glasses that he liked and that made him feel like he looked good.

Unfortunately, those great-looking, kid-friendly, hard-to-destroy Disney brand glasses come with a nearly $300 price tag. The recommended lenses were the *something* kind that are scratch resistant and nice and thin @ $130. The frames were $140.

I think glasses, like everything else, have gone up in price. But it's worth it if these make him feel more comfortable about wearing glasses.

They won't be ready until Tuesday, but pictures of Xavier in his new eyewear will be forthcoming. He really did pick out a nice looking pair.

Snack Blog

I knew toddlers needed to eat sometimes, but what I didn't know is that I should aim for 2 food groups at each of around 3 snacks a day (we currently just eat when hungry, with more structure for breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I am working on getting us out of our snack rut, and here are some of the ideas I found:

- shake made from yogurt and fruit
- yogurt + some fresh fruit
- cheese cubes + crackers (hopefully whole grain)
- muffin + orange wedges
- banana bread with cream cheese spread on top
- toast topped with peanut butter or fruit spread
- 2 graham crackers + fruit juice
- yogurt + 1/4 muffin
- 1/2 c. canned fruit + 1/2 oz cheese (or 2 or 3 crackers)
- graham crackers + cream cheese (or peanut butter)
- mini bagel + cream cheese
- small pancake + applesauce
- 1/2 waffle + cottage cheese
- sliced deli meat + fruit
- tuna + crackers
- avocado slices
- fruit + cheese cubes
- 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich
- 1/2 banana
- sliced boiled eggs

I didn't see My Little Pony fruit snacks on the list, LOL.

I think it would be cool to have a spinny thing or slide rule of some sort with all the foods so I could match them up. I guess that's over-complicating things, haha.

Anyone have any brilliant easy to do toddler snack ideas? I saw an idea for a cool treat that could be great for all ages, but it's not a healthy snack. Older kids could actually make their own for added fun. You take a fruit roll up and put prepared rice krispie treat in it down the length of the roll up and then lay a fruit vine or twizzler inside. Roll it up like a hand-roll and it's candy sushi!

It could be sliced to make maki, too.

I think you could make nigiri that way, also, with a shaped krispie treat for the rice base, maybe a Swedish fish for the topping, and then a strip of fruit roll up or fruit leather for the nori that wraps around it.

A bit of googling later, I have discovered that many moms have played around with the candy sushi idea, hence the photographic illustration of candy nigiri. I also discovered that someone on photobucket likes to take artsy/sexy pictures of articulated dolls. Weeeeeeiiiiiirrrrrrd.

And now I'M off for a snack!!

I have decided it's Fall even though it's still hot outside and I have big purple and white flowers blooming in my flower bed (surrounded by lush, green grass). I waited as long as I could.

I picked up some cheap-o crap at Wal-Mart (with the help of my SIL, Amanda) and put together my lame idea of Fall decor.



I also put some fake Fall leaves above the door. Adrian happily pointed out that I hung them crooked. Ok, I'm pregnant and I was standing on a chair putting these leaves up. That is as good as it's going to get.



That was last weekend. Yesterday I made a Halloween Chex Mix. It's NOT too early. It's the middle of September. And what comes after September? See!!



While the Chex Mix was drying and I was helping Xavier with some homework, Isabella snagged the container filled with the remaining candy corn. Orian started chasing her, which I told him not to do because if you chase her, she will be hell bent on destroying whatever you were chasing her to get. It's just one of her little quirks, LOL.

Sure enough, she dumped all the candy corn on the floor and then threw it into the air like confetti. She also threw some in my face with spite and glee. Take that, mommy! I wasn't even chasing her! I don't know why I got candy-corn'ed.



Orian was amused by her antics, but Xavier...not so much.



He was trying to finish up his big project for class. He is in a TAG class this year, so he gets fun projects and subject matter. This assignment was creating a working board game. It needed to not too closely resemble a real game, hopefully be laminated, have real game pieces instead of paper ones, etc.



He had planned his game out ahead of time, and originally had about a week and a half to work on it. We finished it last night...the night before it was due. Bad mommy.



We covered an old game board with a couple layers of butcher's paper and he figured out what he wanted for the spaces. His game is a math game, called Freaky/Geeky. The premise is that the players move their game pieces (Hero Scape Zombies, LOL) around the game board by answering math questions. The freaky questions are typical for his math class. The geeky ones, which are fewer in spaces on the board, are more difficult. At the four corners are comic book stores. As a player passes a comic book store, s/he gets a comic book (Tribond pie pieces that fit into the Tribond pie shell) and the goal is to be the first to fill the pie shell with all your comic books. One random square makes you lose a comic book.

Unfortunately, I ran out of laminating paper, so only the top of the board and the game directions are laminated (his choice as to what to laminate).



He also had to have a box, so we took a game box and covered it with butcher's paper as well.



He was really proud of his work and frequently commented that he thought he would have the best game of his entire class and that he thought he would get a 100. The project did make him thing a lot of about logistics and spacing, theme, and of course, the math problems. I did some of the harder ones and made him figure out the answers, haha, instead of just supplying the answers to him.

I can't wait 'til he gets home from school to report back on how his game was received.

What the New Baby Girl will Look Like...

LOL.

Slide Show Time

Just a little slide show. I like slide shows because they are faster to put together and also I don't think weirdos can save your pics that way. Or can they? I should ask Kelly GC. She is the number one weirdo saving your pics on the web. Hehe.

My brother and sister in law came to stay with us for a few days during Ike. They were under mandatory evac and although the circumstances weren't the best, I was super happy to have them visiting. We just don't see each other enough.

They arrived Thursday evening, and the kids were very excited to see them. Isabella took to both Jeremy and Amanda very quickly and renamed them "mommy" and "daddy". I should probably be bothered by that, LOL, but I think it's really sweet.

We did a lot of lazing around but it was nice having company. They watched the kids for me and Adrian so we could go on a date. We went to Barnes and Noble where I got The Pregnancy Book, a chunky toddler book on how fun it is to use the potty, and Adrian picked up a zombie book (which Xavier will comandere...comandeer...comand..."borrow"). We went to see Tropic Thunder, which was absolutely hilarious, and I discovered a wonderful Blue Belle mini ice cream shop in the lobby.

Jeremy and Amanda are really great with the kids, and it was nice knowing the boys and Isabella would have fun and be well taken care of while we were away.

During the course of their stay, Jeremy and Amanda were forced to watch The Business of Being Born and Hot Rod. These two are required viewing for guests in our home. You must be this cool to enter kind of thing.

I was really sad to see Jeremy and Amanda go yesterday (literally, I have weird pregnancy hormone issues, and after they left I felt way sadder than was warranted, haha), but I am happy to know that their home is still standing. They haven't returned home yet, but their area should be ok.

So here are a few pics from the past few days.

The Implications of Having a Large Family

In past generations having many children was an asset, rather than the liability that it seems to be today. Reliable, inexpensive, readily accessible birth control, high levels of education, the many opportunities available for women in the workforce, a shift in societal values, the increased cost of living, and many other factors have contributed to today's trend toward smaller families.

What many couples may not realize is that the same benefits that were created by a large family are still applicable today. Of the many potential bonuses (bonii?) of having a large family (which, apparently, is anything more than 2 children), there are these to consider:

• Naming rights for several human beings...be creative, be indulgent, be classic...the choice is yours!
  
• Increased odds of having a wealthy child to care and provide for you in your old age
• Increased odds of having a child who likes you enough to care and provide for you in your old age
  
• Hand-me-down toys, clothes, potty seats, bikes, and backpacks = it gets cheaper as your family grows! By child number 3, they won't even expect new stuff, ever!
  
• More Mother's Day drawings, Christmas pipe cleaner crafts, and yard weeds presented as lovely floral gifts
  
• Children will play and/or fight with each other, rather than demanding attention from you!
  

The most notable benefit is, of course, an increased capacity for child labor. Many children = many skill sets and much more available elbow grease.

I feel children are often overlooked and under-utilized when it comes to household maintenance. What infants and toddlers lack in thoroughness, they make up for in enthusiasm. They truly believe you when you tell them it's fun to scrub the floor.

Older children, when properly trained, are limited only by your imagination when it comes to chores and household tasks. A mom of older children should never have to vacuum. That's what *kids* are for!

Of course, shoddy workmanship is common with older children and teens who are no longer thrilled to be carrying in groceries or putting away folded clothes, but that is easily remedied. All a mom (or dad) must do is simply stop caring so much that things are done properly. Just don't look in your child's dresser or closet. Even better, don't check his room at all.

You could make them redo the task or continue to guide them in how to do it correctly, but that sounds an awful lot like work to me! And the point is to have children who work for YOU, not you for THEM. Mommyhood is a management position. Remember that!

And sure, this idea of childhood servitude could work for a small family, but to really realize the benefits, you need several children. Children with strong backs and long, wiry little arms that can really reach in behind stuff. That's what you need.