Quickie Update....

This is a neat picture that I took last week when the kids had their little sprinkler on. Just thought I'd share!

We have air conditioning in the house again!! Low refrigerant, a leak at the service valve, and ice in the cooling unit were the problems. I ended up with a nice guy who happens to be the stepdad of one of Ashley's friends, so he gave us the "friend's" discount!! I also, went ahead and replaced all four tires on the van, since it really needed to be done. Procrastination is just going to lead me into more problems if I didn't take care of it. So, two problems fixed! Oh, and Caleb is just fine now....still have no clue why he was running a fever this weekend.

Now to show you a few things that I've been doing (well, before the crisis, that is!). First, I finally got the garden ready for planting! Here's what it looked like before I started planting:

I've planted all the seedlings, and just have a few seeds left to plant; and I need to finish up the area where the corn and sunflowers are going to be...just outside the far end of the fence. Here's what the tentative plan is:

And, some time during the week (I don't even remember when!!), I found the time to sew Nicole this beautiful apron! I absolutely love the fabric and may have to go back and get some more to make me one!!

And, now, since it is supposed to be raining for the next 10 days (according to the Weather Channel), I'll be catching up on inside things, like making bridal shower invitations, and other papercrafting projects. And, I'll find time in between rain showers to go finish up those seeds.

Have A Blessed Day!

Ever feel like your world is falling apart?

That's the way I'm feeling right now! It took several days to get the garden ready for planting and now several more to get things planted! Things just keep coming up.

So, our van's air conditioner went out the end of summer last year. Of course, it couldn't be an easy fix. The air compressor went out--that's about a $700 fix! Needless to say, we put it off. Well, here it is April and it went from winter to summer overnight! No warning-just decided to go from 50 degree rainy days to 85 degree sunny, humid days! So, we are stuck with wind blown hair for the time being.

And if being in a hot van isn't enough, I got to come home Saturday to a hot house. Seems the AC here is being stubborn as well. Air blows, it's just not cold. We've got ceiling fans and box fans running everywhere and it's still 80 degrees in here!

And it didn't help Caleb this weekend when he was running high temps for no apparent reason. Saturday afternoon he had a temp of 104!! Gave him some Motrin and within an hour it was down to low grade and would stay that way for about 8 hours when it would shoot up again. Sunday morning at 4:00am was the last day he had that high of a fever, but it stayed around 100 all day. Today he seems fine except for a little neediness.

The next mishap was when I was on my way home from the chiropractor. I tried to pretend it wasn't happening, but I couldn't ignore the clonking--yep, a flat tire!!! What else could go wrong? Oh, wait....how about not having a spare because you're using the spare because the "good" tire got a flat in almost the exact same place a few weeks ago and you just hadn't thought to go get it fixed? Or being in an area that only gives you enough signal to text and not make a call, so you're trying to text your husband who's in NY to try to figure out what do? Thankfully, a nice young man and his daughter stopped to help, and when I say help, I mean help! First, he took me up to the store to get Fix A Flat and try that on the tire. That's when we realized this wasn't just a hole. The whole back of the tire was worn right through! So, then he took me home and offered to take a look at the other tire. He ended up taking that tire with him, plugging it up, going back to the van, changing the tire, and then coming to get me to take me back to the van. You think he'd be through then, right? Nope, he followed me back home just to make sure I made it there alright, put the busted tire in the garage, and then, gave me his phone number in case I ever needed help again! I think he felt sorry for me with my husband in NY, having 4 kids, and all these things to take care of! Anyway, so now, I need to go get that tire fixed more permanently, and get a new/used tire.

And if that's not enough, Ryan is having problems with his Jeep. It's just locked up. Put the key in and try to start and nothing!! It's not a battery problem. It's something with the ignition, but no idea what or how much it might cost. Good news is, since he works with Officers, one let him borrow her car she has for sale til he can get his Jeep working. The for sale sign on the car says $38500 or best offer! Yes, that is 5 numbers! It's a custom, decked out Volvo that originally cost $50,000. She had it for a whole month before she found out she was pregnant(first child) and it wasn't practical, so she bought an SUV instead. OMG!! It must be nice to just have money to throw around!! But it was awfully nice of her to lend the car to Ryan!

So, where are we going to get all this money from to fix everything? NO IDEA!! I'm thinking of starting up a donation page, or better yet, maybe I could take all four kids after they've played in the mud to a busy street corner with a homemade cardboard sign that reads "Please help, we need air!" JUST KIDDING!!! We'll figure it out--we always do. I think that's what keeps our marriage strong--we work together to figure out a solution. None of this is either one's fault, so we don't play the name blame game. What's the purpose in that? You just end up mad at each other and nothing gets fixed.

Okay, I'm exhausted! Good night!

Gardening Time!

It's that time! The temp here right now is 72 and it's nice and sunny! I've been outside the past few days as much as I can getting things ready for the garden. I've already purchase some plants and seeds for planting this weekend. I'm in the process of getting all the root stems from the veggie garden so we don't have grass grow again this year. And, I'm making a flower garden area beside the veggie garden. I've got 3 "plots" designed out ready to dig. I decided to go with an offset kidney pattern rather than squares or rectangles. I can't wait to see flowers growing out there!! I've been looking for some basic plans for an Adironack(sp?) chair. I love the look of those, and I think with the wood, it wouldn't blow away during high winds.

I also made a top for our chick brooder to make it easier to get to them and change out their food and water. I'm pretty proud of having made it all by my self!!

It's supposed to start raining tomorrow afternoon and Sunday, so I'm sure I'll get some sewing and papercrafting done then! I keep thinking I'll make something at night, but by the time I come in (late, mind you, because it doesn't get dark til after 7), make dinner, eat, baths, and then bedtime for the little ones, and then cleaning up inside, I don't have any energy or creativeness left!! But I have been itching to use the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 papers that Bev gave me, and I just got some new inks in from CTMH, and I still have the 2 PTI sets and Copic markers that I haven't gotten to play with yet! There's just not enough time in the day!!

In case I don't get on here for a few days.....

Have a Blessed Weekend!!!

Acrylic Album

I made my first Acrylic Album!!! Beverly had asked me if I ever done one before and I said I hadn't. She was trying to find a project for me to do. I said, I don't mind trying! So, I got the supplies and came home, intimidated! I spent two evenings looking online trying to get ideas, but didn't find much. Finally, I just sat down and started. Once I got going it was very hard to stop!! I think it turned out very cute!! I did add ribbons to the rings once I got back to the store, but I had already taken a picture and left my camera at home.

Supplies: Paper~Baby Safari Baby Girl 8x8 Paper & Punch-Out Tablet (Little Yellow Bicycle); Ribbon~The Paper Studio; Embellishments ~Pearls(The Paper Studio), Purely Pebbles-Grapevine (Scrappers Must Haves), Stickles-Diamond (Ranger), Brads (The Paper Studio). All of these supplies can be purchased through Beverly at Precious Scraps.

Wish me luck!

I am taking my COMPASS test today at Austin Peay State University! This is the last step for me to start registering for class. The COMPASS is like the ACT; it is a college placement test. It only as Math and English on it, so I think I should do fairly well. Then I will be starting classes this summer, and on my way to becoming a nurse! I have a lot of prenursing classes to take before I am officially in the nursing program, but I am so excited!! I can hear you saying now, "what about the kids?" Well, Megan will be starting PreK in the fall, and looking at the fall schedule for school and take 3 classes on 2 days a week and have Caleb in a nearby preschool. So, it works out nicely!



And, now, to share a layout.







This is the Basic Grey January Page of the Month that I completed through a class at Precious Scraps. Everything (paper, buttons, embellishments is from Basic Grey). This year's theme is "All About Me" and I love it as I love the idea of having something the kids can look at and know things about their mom they may not have otherwise known.

Have a Blessed Day!!

Happy Easter!!!

This has been a very busy week with the kids out of school for Spring Break!! I have actually gotten some projects done, just not enough time to post.....so, I'll be posting several over the next few days.

Yesterday, I worked on some little baskets and cupcake toppers for my Sunday School class for this morning. I think they turned out very cute!!! Of course, I didn't have enough baskets. I normally have about 6 kids that attend regularly, and I made 2 extra just in case I had a guest or two (we hardly ever have guests in there). Can you believe I ended up with 10 kids??? After the lesson and cupcakes, I decided to see if they could help. I told them the situation, and asked if there were two volunteers who would be willing to not get a basket today, but they would get a present next week. Two little boys raised their hands right away!!! I couldn't have been more proud!!

Now, just so you know, these are not my creation!! I got this fabulous idea and template from Claire. She is very talented and creative and I love her work!! I can't remember where I found the cupcake toppers, but when I do, I'll let you know.

Supplies: Paper~My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow line; Buttons~Basic Grey, Making Memories; Flowers~Making Memories; Ribbon~Martha Stewart

I'm also adding a few shots of the kids outside today. My older two, Ashley & Jacob, hid the eggs for Megan & Caleb to find. They were all very excited and had lots of fun!!

And, finally, an update on my accident. My neck is still bothering me some. I have been able to see a chiropractor which helps tremendously! If he were open today, I would go because it does hurt today (maybe because I insist on continuing to live life and do the things I normally do). But he did say that the time in between visits would get longer and longer. He's different (and better for me) in that he also has physical therapy training, so he can find not only the points on my spine that hurt, but also the areas around it. I do have a spot in the upper part of my neck on the right side that is still tight--he's not able to adjust it yet. He also leaves how often I go up to me....if it's bothering me, I can go visit. I went twice last week on Monday and Wednesday. I might have went on Friday afternoon just to last me through the weekend, but he's not open on Friday's. But I will be there tomorrow!!

A layout...

Just thought I'd share a layout with you today. The pictures are of Megan and Caleb playing on their trikes (Dora and Diego). We have a little bit of a slope to our driveway that ends in carport. They love to take their trikes to the top and then race down to the carport! It's their favorite outdoor activity!!



Materials used:
Paper, transparency, and cardstock embellishments~My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy 2 "Dazzling"; Words~cut with Cricut George Basic Shapes Font