Update - Hopefully the Last

We are all doing much better. I have a bit of energy to regain but otherwise am pretty much back to normal and it seems the kids are too. Hopefully that means I'll be back to blogging more again and that it will be about something other than sickness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Update Dos

I thought it was really weird yesterday when I felt so good in the morning and started feeling sick again at dinner time. All the same symptoms, fever, chills, aches, nausea only this time I had a clogged duct (that's a breastfeeding thing if you're scratching your head right now) and the pain that went with that. Well it turns out that I have mastitis and all these symptoms are related to that infection. I have picked up a prescription for some whopper antibiotics which I really hope will work quickly. So, if you would, pray for a quick recovery. As is stands, it is very painful to hold or carry things and to raise my left arm. So not conducive to taking care of three young ones. Thanks!

Update

Gabe stopped puking, Zion stopped puking, I was on the verge of puking all day yesterday and was otherwise sick as a dog with body aches and total weakness and Gideon puked once Friday night. God bless my sister for coming despite the puking and staying to help! I felt better this morning and the kids have not puked all day. Zion is back to her zippy self, Gabe is getting hydrated and regaining energy and Gideon acts like nothing happened but as of dinner time I'm sick all over again. Weird. I don't feel like throwing up but I wish I could order an epidural right now - or even a general anesthesia. That would be sweet! Just thought I'd feel better if I complained you'd like to know. Pray for us that we're all healthy for Thanksgiving -especially my sister and her family!

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

If your child had the flu but hadn't vomited in almost 48 hours and you only had a few diapers left would you think it was safe to go to the store to get more? Yeah. I thought so too. Walmart won't soon forget that big mistake on my part as Zion threw up in the middle of the baby section as I was looking for Pedialyte. Completely covered her coat, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, Gabe's pants, my coat, the cart and the floor. There are no cleaning stations in the baby section. I did find one poor staff member though and he was kind enough to bring me garbage bags, gloves, paper towels and a new cart. He didn't bat an eye when I striped my kids down and grabbed new clothes off the rack and he was totally willing to clean up the rest of the mess so I could get out of there. What a guy!

...sorry, I got interrupted, not that you noticed, by a puking boy. Ahhhhh! Gabe just left massive quantities of puke all over himself, his sheets, his comforter, his lovey, his pillows and his bed. Oh Lord, please spare me and Gideon. At least Gideon. Stomach flu in babies just flat out scares me. *sigh* Well, I'd better go. I've got a week's worth of vomit laundry to do.

Miscellany

Yesterday dawned with such promise. My water aerobics class at the Y, Nora bringing Isaac over for the boys' preschool lesson, I had lined up a babysitter so that a friend and I could go take a knitting and crocheting class. Yep, it was going to be great! Going to be until Zion threw up all over my love seat while I was making lunch. SCREEECCCHHH! That's the sound of the brakes being put on my great day. Nora was great and finished making the lunch while I striped Z naked, wrapped her in a towel and scrubbed the couch with a towel and hot water. Wow! How did so much come out of someone so small. I mean, that was ridiculous! I made all the calls to cancel with the babysitter and my friend. Such a bummer! The angel of the day turned out to be my friend Deon who braved the Amazing Puke-Master (or would that be Mistress?) and chose to babysit anyway. What a gal! My class turned out to be loads of fun. Maybe knitting will stick this time, I've tried to learn twice before. Sad, huh? I got home and my kiddos were in bed - sweet! And she said they all went down without a peep and that Zion hadn't been sick again. Whew!

OK, that last part only lasted until I got up this morning and found Zion practically wading in a pool of mostly dried vomit complete with undigested pasta and meatballs. It covered her sheets, bed skirt, P.J.s, and some of the rails and even part of the floor. Too much information? Sorry. I've been stuck at home all day with little interaction with the outside world. I did order pizza though and boy do I hope I don't catch her bug because I ate half a taco pizza (a small one, but still).

So that's what we've been up to and I haven't felt much like posting the last couple of days. I do want to update you on Laura and Joe. To make a long story short he is home, she is taking care of him and his surgery is scheduled for the first week in December. They have a need for seasoned firewood as it is their main source of heat right now. If you live close and know where they can get some let me know.

An Update

I received this e-mail from my friend Laura this morning regarding Joe. His surgery has not occured yet, she'll explain:

Sorry this took so long everyone, life has been on overdrive since this discovery! Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes I truly believe in the power of prayer and ask you to keep forwarding these messages to anyone who will pray for us. I know the lord still has big plans for us and I am so thankful he gave Joe the power to become sober last year, I can't imagine where we would be right now with out that. Joe is doing well. He is at home with me on steroids until H* Hospital (I edited out the hospital name) is ready for him ( it was decided by the neurosurgeon @ TG to have the Surgery performed by the Univ of WA neurosurgical team beacause it is a very complicated surgery that they do not see often but the UW guys do). We are hoping they will have finished reviewing his films and be ready for us by this Tuesday, we are playing the hurry up and wait game now and have been told not to expect a phone call before Monday. Once we are at H* they will conduct their own tests and make final desicions about surgery. Surgery will definitely happen just the type and time could vary. The steroids are helping to regulate his appetite ( he had none since Monday) and sleep schedule (he's like Colton now...if he doesn't get 2 two hour naps and a full nights sleep he gets grumpy!:) ) it is also helping his memory although he is still very confused and only remembers bits and pieces of what is said after it is said ( a good example- the DR said if everything went as planned after the surgery he would go home in 2-3 days for the rest of his recovery. Joe then relayed it to his boss that he was being discharged and would be back to work in 2-3 days!!!:) it's ok guys if we can't laugh we will cry!) HE is in pretty high spirits most of the time and I am glad to have this precious family time.

These are the notes from the TG Neurosurgeon DR N*, once we are at H* I will keep everyone updated through their webpage you will be able to go there, put in his patient ID and read msgs His folks and I will post, both Chrissy and Sharon, Joe's sisters, are driving up to be here for the surgery so between all of us we will be able to keep everyone informed. The growth ( a CRANIOPUARYNGIOMA)is officially a Cyst because it is filled with a fluid the consistency of motor oil. It is the size of a ping pong ball and has a hard ball floating inside of it the size of a grape. It is considered a low grade tumor but will not spread as it would if it were cancer. It is very slow growing and has probably been there many years. Because it is near the pituatary gland it is considered a very complicated surgery and will have some after effects that will be kept in check with medication and maybe a thyroid replacement. They will go in with an ear to ear insicion and remove as much of the cyst (after draining it) as possible without damaging tissue, after they are done they will give a one time radiation treatment to try and destroy any of the cyst wall that had to be left behind. It is probable that the cyst will regrow and so he will have scans every three months after the surgery to monitor it.

Corrick is going bonkers- he wants to email people to so I will go for now- I hope this made some sense- love to all God bless- Laura

Back to me. I hope that you will once again take a moment to pray for this family and the doctors who are caring for Joe. Thank you!

Win a Watercolor Contest

Grosgrain Fabulous is hosting a contest where you can win a commissioned watercolor of one of your kids (or whatever I suppose). Check it out here. :)

Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC)

Oi ve, how is it that I only ever remember that it is Saturday when it nearly isn't Saturday anymore? Here's my family friendly, non-retouched or Photoshopped photo for Straight Out Of The Camera Saturday. You can join in too by clicking on the badge. I took this picture through my sliding glass door while I was enjoying the rain from the warmth of my nice dry living room.

Prayer Request

Good morning folks! I just got an urgent e-mail from a friend and I would ask you to stop for a moment and pray for her and her husband. I've removed the names because I'm not sure if she wants them posted but the rest is intact.

HI all bad news J* has been having headaches and blurred vision, we thought he need glasses then in the last 96 hrs he was really ticking me off (oops) because he wasnt paying attention and sleeping a lot and couldn't remember anything. Well today it scared me enough to force him into the emergency room. He has a growth on the front part of his brain, it has a name but I'm too wound up right now to even try and spell it, it is pushing on his brain making him tired, blurred vision, etc. He was admitted and they have started steroids to reduce the swelling around his brain so they can operate on it. It has a good success rate but if it is too close to important blood vessels they won't be able to take all of it and we will have to go through all of this every few years. I am beside myself, please start praying for us. I have to pack a bag so I can go nurse C* and get back to the hospital, he can't remember anything short term so I need to be there to tell him about every three minutes why he is there. Love L*

Edit 10:41AM - I spoke with Laura (she gave me permission to use their names), they are waiting on the neurosurgeon to give more details but this is what they know: Joe has a golf ball sized mass in his head behind his eyes. It is causing blurry vision, headaches, tiredness, and extreme short-term memory loss. They have him on a steriod treatment and after 24 hours they will operate to remove as much, hopefully all, of the mass as possible. Their two boys are with Laura's mom and Joe's brother and a friend are helping to take care of the household right now so they do have some support in place. Still keep praying about things (and thanks, Rachel for the tips!).

Baby Mia

If you've poked around my blog you may have noticed the badge for baby Mia on the sidebar. This precious little one has been so sick and waiting for a heart. I just checked in on the blog today and she got one, had her surgery and is doing great! Woohoo! Praise God!

If you would, send up some prayers for baby Mia, her family and for the donor's family. As we celebrate for baby Mia's new life ahead there's a family somewhere in mourning. As they say, joy and sorrow flow from the same spring and this is one of those situations that proves it. Thanks!

I Have

I saw this on a couple of blogs today. I can't remember the first one but the second was Queen-Sized Funny Bone. It looked like fun so I thought I'd join in 'cause that's the kinda girl I am. All you do is copy the list and put it in a post on your own blog and BOLD the things that you have actually done. Neat. Oh yeah, and I've added comments of my own because again, that's the kind of girl I am.

I HAVE….
1. Started my own Blog - well, duh!
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii - got to meet Rob's submarine there and spend a week with him during a deployment
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain - I hiked a mountain but I'm not sure that counts
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch - not exactly sure what that means but I at least tried to teach myself watercolor and embroidery
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - 'course this is me we're talking about so I actually told my bosses that I was doing it
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon *snort* yeah, right
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse I have a vague recollection of doing this as a child but I can only remember the preparation part not the actual eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - went repelling once though
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - I'm almost positive that I have but I can't remember the occasion, probably because there wasn't one
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - been on a slow one though
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper - OK, so it was a picture of my dog but I'm pretty sure my leg was in it
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Blue Hors Matine

Can I just say WOW! A friend of mine who knows I love horses sent me a link to this video on You Tube. I don't talk about my love for horses much on my blog. Horses aren't a part of my daily life right now as much as I would like for them to be. I love horses, I love their beauty and strength, their spirit and even their smell. Some day some smart cologne maker will realize that some women, including me, looooove the smell of horses. I would be hard pressed to resist a guy wearing THAT cologne. Probably the only way I would be able to resist would be the fact that I'm married but if Rob were wearing that cologne well, this is a family friendly blog so I'm not going to write about that.

Anyway, back to horses. As I was saying, horses aren't a part of my daily life right now but that doesn't mean that I don't think of them daily. On the contrary, thoughts of horses real and imaginary gallop in and out of my thoughts multiple times per day. I day dream of them still like I'm an 11 year old Velvet Brown (that would be the main character of National Velvet for you non-horsey folks). But I don't think you have to be a horse lover to recognize the beauty and talent of this horse and her rider. Take a few minutes and enjoy!



Wow! I just went to YouTube and searched for Blue Hors Matine and a ton of clips came up, including this one where she "dances" to Zion's song. I was going to take it down but I will leave it up in honor of Blue Hors Matine for a litte while longer.



p.s. You can pause my music at the bottom so that you can hear the music on the video clips.

Works For Me Wednesday

I've been wanting to participate in this Blog Carnival for a while but since most of the time I don't know what day it is it's kind of tough. Today I remember - it's Wednesday! (At least I think it is.) You are welcome to participate too, it's fun! Click on the badge to go to Rocks In My Dryer and read the rules, post on your own blog (not hers), then go back to her blog and add your info to Mr. Linky (I love Mr. Linky).

So my tip today is to help make battery swaps easy. First, get a black sharpie, a large pencil box or plastic shoebox and a Phillips head screw driver. The sharpie is used to write the battery size and number used (e.g. 4D or 3AAA) on the battery door to toys and gadgets. Put your batteries and screw driver in the box you get and you've got your little battery changing "kit". Now battery swaps are easy peasy, you know exactly what size and how many batteries you need and you have all your batteries and a screw driver in one spot.

This I Love - A Study In Pictures

Lacing cards and quiet play with a cuddly girl on my lap.

The beautiful array of colors the Lord gives us in this season.

Little ones who figure out that mouths can hold toys just as easily as hands can (sorry for the blur, when I grabbed my camera it was on a setting that didn't allow the flash to pop up).

Little girls in pink and brown and especially little plaid peacoats.


Rainy days, no better reason for hot cocoa and a cookie - until it starts snowing that is.

Little warriors fighting for good.

Cowgirl pajamas, slippers and "mommies" who take good care of their "babies".

Can't Catch Me!

OK, I so need to go to bed but I wanted to post this before I hit the hay (hopeful that Gideon will actually let me sleep tonight). This is the gingerbread man that I made for Zion's felt food collection. Ben was laying on my lap as I put in the last stitches and that made me remember the part of the story where the gingerbread man was riding the foxes back across the water. We all know how that ended.

Good thing Ben didn't try that, I so would not have wanted to clean up that hairball!

Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC)

Yeah! I actually remembered SOOC - and it's still Saturday! If you want to participate, click on the SOOC badge and you'll go to Slurping Life's site to read that all you need to do is post a family friendly photo on your blog and then go back to her site to sign Mr. Linky. If you visit other blogger's sites, and I hope you do, then please leave a comment on their blog. My entry this week is called "Constant Companion" AKA "That Darn Elephant".

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This post has been a long time coming. I have had parts of it in my mind for it seems like a month now. I just wanted to give credit to some folks and boo hiss some others.

First the good and this is a big good. Kudos to the Armed Services YMCA for recognizing that the families of deployed reservists don't necessarily live close enough to a base/post to utilize the support and programs offered there. They came up with a wonderful solution and worked with the National YMCA and launched the Military Outreach Initiative which provides free or discounted family memberships and nursery to qualifying military families and personnel (and not just Reservists so go check it out if you are military). Yoohoo! Especially since we qualify!

The Bad - my local Safeway for getting rid of their car shopping carts. You know the ones that have the little car in front that the kids can sit in and pretend to drive while mama shops. Safeway used to be where we shopped exclusively but not anymore, not if I can't contain and entertain my kids. There are four other stores in town that either have car carts or have another option that multiple children can sit in so they are getting my business instead. When this happened about 4 months ago I did e-mail the corporate office and the assistant manager at the store and neither one gave hope that they would be replacing the car carts. They've had their chance, now their on my bad list for not responding to the needs of families. I know I can't be the only one who at least partially bases their shopping choices on this type of convenience.

But hey, I'm not as mad at them as I am my local Petco which is brand new. I've found that these chain pets stores leave a lot to be desired in general. Rarely if ever do you actually find an employee that knows anything about pets. Most of the time when I walk in to the fish section I know ten times more about fish than the staff. To give them a little credit sometimes I only know five times more than the staff. Last week, not only did I know more but this girl was so flat out rude that she earned Petco a bump up from merely bad to downright ugly. All I wanted were some whiteclouds. I waited forever for someone to show up in the fish section. When no one came around I finally got the attention of someone at the check out and he sent some one over. When she E.V.E.N.T.U.A.L.L.Y. showed up I asked her if they had any other cold water fish than goldfish. She waved her hand in the general direction of some other tanks and said "Just what we have over there." I told her "Those are tropical fish." and began to explain what I was looking for and in the middle of my question she turned from me and asked a pair of young guys what they needed help with. Wha'?! I didn't even finish my sentence. As in, I was STILL speaking to her. So I said "Fine, I guess I'll go shop somewhere else." and walked away and she did nothing to stop me. Fuming I went to pay for my other purchases since I really did need the dog and cat food in my cart. Conveniently the guy at the register couldn't get his to work and had to call the manager over so I took the opportunity to let her know how unhappy I was at her staff member's rudeness and what happened. Lacy I understand her name was, shrugged, turned and mumbled "Hm, I'll have to go ask her what happened." and walked off. Right. I have so much confidence that you're going to do ANYTHING! Arg! So Petco, there is a Petsmart just about right next to the YMCA where I take the kids three times a week now and not only is their fish selection considerably larger than yours but their staff is a million times friendlier (even if I still probably know more than them). I know. I used to shop their before the Petco went into town, but hey, I can be convinced to drive further for better service and your staff here in town is pretty convincing.

Does This Never Happen To You?

Did you ever get home from the grocery store and start putting things away only to realize that one of the items that you thought you needed you already had two of in the cupboard and you forgot something else that you really did need? Yeah. That never happens to me.

Did you ever decide what you were going to have for dinner and keep forgetting only to find yourself haunting the cupboards and fridge for inspiration when you remember that you already figured it out? Nope, not me. Not even once. We're having pizza for dinner by the way. And I only need to remember to not make something else for another 45 minutes by which time the delivery guy will have come.

Did you ever pull a super cute outfit out of your older child's too small bin and wonder why you don't remember them ever wearing so you put it on your younger child and realize half way through a Walmart shopping trip that the reason you didn't put it on older child much was because the snaps in the crotch won't stay shut (did I just say "crotch"?) and they all pop open making the baby look like their wearing some really funky chaps or something? Yeah. That most definitely didn't happen to me today. I'm sewing those darn pants closed, that outfit is just too cute to not use again.

So, um, am I the only only one that things never happen to? What never happens to you?

Too Cute

Zion just brought me a teeny scrap of paper that she had scribbled on and said "Wook, Mommy. Foo foo (Zaboomafoo)!" Her first "drawing" that was supposed to be something. Awww!

Gabe is busy making a Mario book. He's drawn a red stick figure (Mario), a green stick figure (Luigi) and a yellow stick figure (Wario), each with a rectangle over it's head (their hats) and the letter of their first name on each one.

I guess it's a craft day since I've already been at my sewing again today. I started making a gingerbread man for Zion's felt food last night and am almost done.

Favorite Things Friday

My friend Tiff is hosting her own little "Favorite Things Friday". Hm, a chance to talk about me and things I like? I'm game. So here's a couple for today:

1) Rainy nights. Yep. Just like the song. I like rainy days too when I don't have to go anywhere. Blustery is even better. Remember Pooh's blustery day? I love that. There's very little better than sitting around in a cozy chair, fire, book, hot tea, wind and rain outside the window. Of course, for thorough enjoyment all children must be napping - at the same time. You can guess how many times I get to enjoy this favorite thing. And that leads me to...

2) 7:30PM. Bedtime for the kids. OK, I guess truthfully I like 8 and after a little more because by then they are usually in bed and at least quiet if not asleep and I can, most nights, get a couple hours of me time.

I have many, many favorite things but this will have to do for now.

p.s. another favorite is when I get to the end of a post and hit spell check and the little message "no misspellings found" pops up. I love that!

Jameson

It's been a little more than two years now that my precious nephew has been hanging out with the angels and people still can't stop talking, or blogging, about him. Thanks Kerri, for your beautiful sentiments!

The Scoop

I've spent the last couple of days taking care of sick kids. The last month has been very reminiscent of last winter when 1 or more of us were sick for about six months straight. It was very frustrating then and frustrates me all over again to think that we could face another winter like that. Holed up all day and not even a Daddy to come home for dinner to break up the monotony. Should I pre-order my straight jacket now? A week ago I got us all the flu shot hoping to avoid at least some of what's going around. Still, yesterday Gideon ran a 103 temp for most of the day and Zion's been stuffed up all week and has a wet cough. Grrr!



My fish has been sick too. Poor little guy. I've had this beautiful teal Betta for a couple of months now but haven't been able to find a food he'll eat since I got him. I tried a few different kinds of pellets but he's just gotten skinnier and skinnier and the other day I noticed stress stripes in addition to him being super thin. Finally I bought him some frozen brine shrimp the other day and waddya know, he loves them. Up till now I haven't been able to think of a name for him. What do you name a fish that would rather starve to death than eat a less than superior food? Well, I'd like you to meet my finicky little Betta - Gordon Ramsey. Now I've just got to get him back in condition with the help of those teeny little shrimps. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post a new picture of him in all his fat glory.


I also heard from Rob this morning for the first time in a few days. He reports that he has reached his destination tired after traveling for about a week but in one piece and eager to get to work. Now's when the rubber meets the road. We'll try to keep you up to date but for now I'll just give a little reminder to pray for us. Thanks!

Yum, yuck and Ha Ha!

Yum - I finally got around to making some Cake Pops as seen on Bakerella's blog. I needed something to take to MOPS so I thought I give it a go. I was going to make spice cake pops since that sounded yummy for Fall but I guess I'm not the only one - the spice cake spot was completely empty at the grocery store. But they had cherry chip on sale and that is my absolute favorite cake flavor - woohoo! So I nabbed some cherry frosting and white chocolate chips for dipping and voila! Cherry Chip White Chocolate Cake Pops were born! I gotta say, they were easier than I expected and so much yummier too! It is a good thing the recipe makes so many or there may not have been any left over for my meeting. As it was I ran out of lollipop sticks so some of the ladies just got "cake balls" which doesn't sound nearly as appealing for some reason. I also didn't get a chance to take a picture of the "pops" before they were gone so here's a few "balls" to wet your appetite (gee, that sounds even worse).

Yuck - I'm sitting on the couch. I hear "Mama, wook!" I stand up to see what Zion is pointing to and I see this.

Those are dried cranberries between her toes in case you aren't as versed in the identification of small food bits as I am. Brings new meaning to the term "toe jam".

Ha ha! - Jamie gave me Zion a belated birthday present when we went to visit the other day (this in addition to the cute clothes Z received at her birthday party from my sis and family). This is a personalized Kleenex box. It has a picture of Zion on the front with Kleenex in her nose (she put it there herself of course) and says "Kleenex anyone?" at the top. It's hilarious. I've got it on my end table and chuckle every time I have to blow my nose now.

As Promised (and Other Stuff)

A photo of the felt food that I made Zion for her birthday. A stack of flapjacks, a fried egg, two slices of bacon, a couple slices of bread with peanut butter and jelly or ham, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. I've got aspirations for much, much more. I'm also learning to make them better. I've experimented with different stitches and even glue. I got the inspiration for these at Homemade By Jill (who I would like to congratulate on her new baby boy!) and she got the inspiration at Mahar Dry Goods (a totally cute sight that I'm in love with now) and they are made by Hillary Seabolt. Now theirs are definitely a lot better and more finished looking than mine. I've adapted mine because right now I'm not very practiced at sewing on a machine so I am using embroidery thread and hand sewing in cute chunky colors instead. I'm ready to sign up for a Felt-Anon group, I am so gonna need support to quit this habit. As it is I spend so much time surfing the web for more felt food ideas. I'm surprised at how much I keep finding.

I am also making Zion some felt hair clips. The felt helps the clip to stay in the hair and I can design them to match her outfits (a photo of the clips will come soon).

Zion was bit by the craft bug lately too (and you should SEE all the things Gabe has made and yet he still asks multiple times daily to make something). She hauls Gabe's water colors palate all around the house asking to paint. So today, for a mere .89 cents, I picked up a paint with water book at Target. She loved it.

So cute it's scary. Even though this is obviously a Halloween outfit I think he'll be wearing it more just because it's so darn true. Over the weekend Jamie helped me get the kids out to update their portraits. Gideon got his six-month pics done and Zion her two-year. They turned out so cute, I can't wait to get them back.