Birthday presents

And this would be why I haven't blog in a very long time....

I have been creating presents for my kids for their birthday.

This is the blanket I made for Mason. This is Link from Windwaker Zelda game. He has many favorites, but this is the one he told Ashley was his favorite character right now.

This is the blanket I created for Aussie. He made up this character called Cat Link and I copied it from one of his drawings.
This is the planet Saturn. One day Aussie said out of the blue, I wish I had a stuffed Saturn. So I tried my best. It was tremendously hard to make. The ball part was easy, it was the rings that put me over the edge. I broke 5 needles on my sewing machine creating these projects.

This is a Tiger pillow that I created for Ashley, hoping that it would satiate her desire for a tiger blanket. She has been begging for a tiger blanket every 5 minutes for days.And here is the tiger blanket that I FINALLY finished tonight. The sewing on it is absolutely terrible. I had the worst time sewing it. The fabric would slide and move on me. The tension on the sewing machine, I could never get right and it would leave big messes of string on the underside. I think she will love it, I just hope it stays together!

I still have a few things to make. I need to paint the sheilds and possibly make swords. I want to create a few other sewing projects, but I just may not have the time.

Wish me luck!

{{{{{{{SIGH}}}}}}}}

Just when things are looking up....

KERPLUNK!

That would be the exhaust pipe on Greg's car.

Driving home tonight I heard a bonk and metal dragging on the ground. I thought maybe I had a flat tire and I was hearing the rim. I pulled over immediately into the liquor store parking lot. For some reason that seems to be the place I stop when I have a problem. LOL. (Last time was when there was terrible traffic and I had to pee so bad for miles and that was the first place I came to.) I got out and looked and didn't see anything. I got back in the car and drove a couple inches and knew something was wrong. I called Greg, got out of the car again and this time looked under the car. Yep- that big pipe fell down. Greg came to the rescue. He brought wire, got under the car and wired it into place. Of course, that is just a temporary fix. So we dropped it off at the car repair place. I have to get up early and take him to work and that is why I'm going to bed early (ha ha ha) 1:30AM instead of 2:00AM.

OK so now I'm being silly.... Do you know that song...The rythym is gonna get you by Gloria Estefan?

I'm singing The devil is tryin' to get you, the devil is tryin' to get you tonight! Away Away! Away Away! Go away go away!

OK off to bed now.

Stuff

Well recently I've been down a bit, but I think I'm back now. I hate, hate, hate money issues. Everything is breaking and there is just not enough moolah to fix everything. But Greg and I sat down and carefully went over our plan for this month. At first I wasn't allowed to buy the kids birthday presents. That had me more depressed than anything. Now don't get me wrong- they wouldn't be going without. We plan to go to Disney World for their Birthday. That's a pretty awesome present. Everyone gets in FREE on their birthday this year, which makes it really nice when you have multiples. So we would only have to pay for the 2 of us. However, travelling is not cheap, hence the strict budget. But is was SO NICE to have Greg sit down with me and go over the budget. Both of us are on a plan and on the same page- that is such a relief! And by working together we have been able to get our Y membership back and have enough money to buy presents.

Thank you!!!!!

And I need to give a HUGE Thank you to my in-laws who helped us purchase a dryer. And it is a nice one too. I am so excited when the little chime goes off and the clothes are actually dry THE FIRST TIME!!!!! Our other dryer was taking at least 3 times to go through and I wouldn't hear when it went off so many times wet clothes would just sit in the dryer. I LOVE this one! Thank you guys so much!!!!! I did all of my laundry in one day, and even folded and put them away. That is HUGE!!!!

---Catchin' You Up!---

Many good things are going on so I need to catch you up...

My little peanut pulled out her tooth July 4th. She did it! Aussie has had one as loose as hers for weeks and he won't let anyone touch it. She was so excited. She kept going around the house and saying "CHEESE". meaning take my picture, take my picture.

She said, "I wonder if the tooth fairy will bring THREE dollars this time." I said, "I don't think so." And she said, "Oh yah it's not the threeth fairy it's the TWOth fairy."

Many people told me my kids will despise me dressing them a like- not that I cared I did it anyway. But now Mason and Aussie WANT to look alike. And it needs to be EXACT. Aussie even said, "Did you get us the same underwear?"

Sunday Aussie had a fit because it wasn't exact. I had everyone wearing orange, but it wasn't the SAME shirt.

---MY Project---

So I was given a budget of $50 to purchase materials to make the kids something for their birthday. They LOVE blankets. They have several, but they play with them. So I planned to make them blankets with special characters on them. I loaded up with coupons for JoAnn's and was hoping to get everything I needed on sale, etc. I started adding up how much material I would need and all the different colors and I didn't think I could stay within that budget. So I went to a local thrift store. I got just about everything I need for $36. YAY!!!!

Have you ever purchased anything where you were actually embarrassed to put it in your cart? Well I did. Check out this bed spread.... There was even curtains to match, but I only needed the yellow fabric from the bed spread.

Tonight I started making a Saturn plush toy for Aussie. I have a very strange son! One day he said he really wished he had a one. So I thought this fabric was perfect. I saw a bag of fiber fill for $1.50, but I also saw a pillow for $.50. So I thought hey, I'll buy the pillow and pull out the stuffing.

I will try just about any craft, sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. The stuffing....Oh boy! Little teeny tiny balls! Not only are the teeny tiny little balls EVERYWHERE, sticking to my legs, my arms, the floor, my clothes, everything, the ball I started for Saturn looks like a yellow tomato and not a circle. Good thing I have a lot more fabric. It is too small anyway. So here is hoping I make it right tomorrow. This time I'll get the right stuffing!

I'll keep you updated on the process.

I am a macho guy!

So how many people do you know who can break a finger while running in place?

I am such a dork!

Monday I was working out at the Y doing the 30 minute cafe (similar to Curves). The stations are very close together. It has a machine and then a running mat and then another machine all around in a circle. The idea is to go around 3 times for a 30 minute workout. Anyway, on many occasions I have hit my hand on a machine beside where I am running. But on Monday, I was carrying weights. And the tip of my little finger hit the machine next to me and got caught between the machine and the weight. It HURT! WOW! It bruised up immediately.

So this is self diagnosed, but I think my finger is broken. It is at the tip of my finger so it wouldn't need to be reset. I put a splint on it. I just don't want to spend the $$$ to get it x-rayed when all they would do is put a splint on it.

Today I was looking up how long I should wear my splint on the Internet. And I came to a site that said that all finger injuries should be checked out by a doctor. It said, "Yes, there's probably some macho guy in your neighborhood who says to tape the finger up and it'll be fine, because that's what he did. He's an idiot."

hmmmmm....I must be the macho guy who is an idiot. But at least I used medical supplies and not duct tape.

Summer Vacation

Oh my goodness it must be Summer vacation!

I stayed at home today to try and get some stuff done around the house. I ended up doing a whole lot of everything and not getting anything completely done.

Anyway we have kept ourselves busy, busy, busy, with free bowling (except shoe rental for kids), free movies at the theatre, going to the zoo, and swimming at the Y. Who has time to blog?

Be prepared for some blurry pictures, I'm afraid my camera is dying.

The kids are really loving the bowling! We've been 3 times now and I think we will go tomorrow if I can get some stuff done around the house first.

Mason just got a spare. Way to go!

Ashley is super cute when she bowls. I taught them to follow through with their hand (not that they understand). Anyway, she throws her ball and then puts her arm up. It's really sweet.

Aussie has become pretty good. However-look at this picture. THIS is how he throws his ball. I've tried to teach him the right way or even a less scarier way, but he can't hold the ball with his fingers in the holes and he's doing a pretty good job knocking down the pins throwing it like a baseball. I cringe every time the ball hits the floor.

Dalton is allergic to the bowling alley. You think I'm funny? I'm serious. For some reason when he gets there he goes bonkers. They haven't stayed for a full game yet. But he sure is a cutie. Poor little fella though, he has a crush on Ashley, but Ashley has a crush on his brother, Braxton.

Braxton has got the form of bowling down. He does a pretty good job. I love to watch him. He watches that ball seriously and he might squat down with his arm out and follows through.

And here is Ashley flirting. She took Braxton's lucky hat away and put it on herself. Dana and I looked at each other, "UH oh TROUBLE!"

I didn't really like the kids doing this, but when I saw Dana's boys doing it, I knew it would make a good picture. (too bad I'm not getting very good shots!) That is where they keep the bowling balls.

I thought that Aussie had made this up but later learned that their friend Gabriel said it first. One of the days we ate lunch at the restaurant at the bowling alley. When we walked into the BAR and Grill. The kids started saying OH this is HEAVEN! Over and over and over again!!!!! This is Heaven! That's right a stage, a dance floor, gambling machines, darts, pool tables, nasty food and

let's not forget the bar with various kinds of alcohol. Aussie said, make sure to get a picture of the whole area back there with all those bottles. (the bar) BTW...apparently it's a family restaurant by day and over 21 by night.

Interesting! Not my idea of Heaven, but it sure made me laugh!

I got to bowl with Treyton once. I did pretty good too. I knocked 9 down, I don't remember if I picked it up or not. That would have been a funny picture though had someone gotten it.

And what is really cool, is they give the kids 4 free tokens to play the games in the arcade every time we go. It's really a cool place except for the bar and grill.

AND drum roll please......

I got my 2nd highest score yesterday. My highest score was 198- the day/game I broke my finger bowling. And yesterday I got a 192. Wooo hoo! A few days ago I was making a 78 or barely 100. Maybe I'm getting my groove back?

And here are just a few pictures of when we went to the zoo on members night. They got to ride the carousel and play on a jumpy maze race thingy.

Here is Mason and Aussie racing against each other.

Tomorrow should be interesting! Ashley is having a friend spend the night. I wonder how this will play out. I hope the boys leave the girls alone, but I'm not counting on it!

Aunt Chelle

I got a call from my brother! That could only mean 2 things:

1. He is coming to town and wants to spend the night with me tonight.

OR

2. His wife is pregnant.


YAY! I'm going to be an Aunt again!

Congratulations John and Beth!!!!

I wish I could be closer!

My poor baby girl!!!!!

Question: So what do these 3 pictures have in common?














Answer: One little girl who shouldn't have been playing on the outside railing!





Yesterday, while I was cleaning out the car in the driveway the kids were playing nearby.





Ashley climbed up on the railing and couldn't get down.





Aussie said to me Ashley needs help, in a tone much like he would say if she needed help with a craft.





Then Mason said, she needs help getting down. I get out of the car and look up to see Ashley on top of the railing and she says, "I'm OK Mom I got it."





I was mad. What was she doing up there?





I was on my way to help her when she lost her balance. Her legs still on the top rail, she grabbed a hold of the rail with her hands and did a flip much like the gymnast above. Except instead of being on the uneven bars, she was on the railing where her face went smashing into the rails.





It was horrible!





Blood was dripping everywhere. As bad as it was it could have been much worse if she wasn't hanging on. Her head could have hit the cement and well...it couldn't have been much worse.





Greg wasn't home and I wasn't quite sure if I should take her to the emergency room or not. All I saw was blood, she could have had a broken nose or who knows what?





So I tell the kids to get in the car and I text Greg to call now! He was at a play. I feel terrible that he had to leave. I just thought I would meet him somewhere and we would decide if I need to take her in. As I was on the phone with him I saw a policeman at a gas station. I told Greg I was going to ask him. I pulled in and got the police man's attention and asked him to look at her. He said that I probably didn't need to take her in. He flashed his flashlight in her mouth and I could see the big cut up on her gums. She still had all of her teeth. He said that mouth injuries heal fast and they couldn't stitch her up there anyway. So I took her home and put ice on it.





The pictures shown here are from today (the next day). So she actually looks much better than the night before!

We were at church and Ashley was looking at a book of World Animals. She saw this mandrill and pointed to it and then pointed to herself. {{{PITIFUL!!!}}} It's sad but true, I think there is a bit of a resemblance. Poor baby girl!!!!



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I had to apologize to the kids today for saying a bad word last night over and over again when this happened. I told them I had already asked God to forgive me and I hoped they would forgive me too. And of course they did!

Ashley said that yesterday was the worst day ever for her. The beginning of the day was fun, but after knocking off 14 ticks off of her before we even got home and pulling out 6, she may be right. (That story for another day.)

Please pray that she heals quickly!