Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful

I finally broke down last week and purchased one of these:


Attractive, huh? I wear it under my scrubs on the days I work. It makes a girl feel special and pretty...kinda like expensive, lacey lingerie.

One night I sent Doug out for a box of these:Ok, so they were more for him than for me!
Who says I snore? I don't snore!

My next purchase was a lovely pair of compression hose:

Only mine are thigh high.
Only the best for us old ladies gorgeous divas!

So if you see me lounging around on my hemorrhoid pillow with my orthopedic shoes propped up and sippin' on my Metamucil and orange juice cocktail...

Don't be Hatin'!



Lilypie Maternity tickers


Monday, May 30, 2011

This is why we don't keep Sharpies in the house!

This is little Danny as I was about to wake him up for Sunday morning Mass.
Artwork courtesy of the little imp who shares a room with him!


Monday, May 23, 2011

Farmer Dan is back in action!

The summer garden is ready to harvest and Farmer Dan is back in action. Every morning he comes with me to check the garden.

"First you have to find the zucchini before it gets too big! Then you grab him by the neck and give him a twist. It comes right off!"

"Hey Mom, doesn't this look like Larry from Veggie Tales?"

"Put it in the basket and find some more.
Mom, don't let Abby get it, o.k.?"

"But don't even think about picking the tomatoes until they are red!"

"And if you see any bugs....SQUISH 'EM with your hands!"

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Breaking news...

I'm 42.
I'm in the worst health of my life.
I'm pregnant.

How's THAT for waking you up this morning?


A year ago I had made peace with myself and God. A year ago I thought I understood that my days of having babies was over and I was entering a new phase of my life. It was quite a struggle to accept this, but I did with God's help. So out went all the baby clothes, all the memories were boxed away for safe keeping, and I was moving on.

Well, you know what they say, if you want to make God laugh...tell him your plans!


Now for a little history lesson:

I have been pregnant nine times. Four beautiful children have been born on this earth, and four precious souls have been born into the arms of the Lord. Losing those babies killed a bit of me on the inside. With each loss *I* became more lost. Losing my faith, losing trust in my body, losing my mind and inner peace. I won't bore you with the details of each pregnancy but just know that they ended in utter devastation for me and Doug. But through it all we always had each other, wonderful friends who supported us, and most importantly ~ God was waiting in the wings. He had lessons to teach me with each child. Hard and painful lessons. I hated Him, I yelled at Him, I questioned His love for me, and most of the time I wondered why He even put me on this earth. But like a Good Father He silently loved me, helped me work it all out, and waited for my return to Him.

In February I got the shock of my life. I had a positive pregnancy test and my world literally turned upside down. Again, I don't want to go into details, but I have lived every.single.day. since then in fear and panic. Every day since then I have waited for the bleeding to come. Every weekly doctor's appointment I waited for him to tell me my baby was dead. I became a heaping mess of tears, panic, and anxiety. I was so consumed that I couldn't even make daily decisions like what to cook for dinner or answer simple questions from the children.

It's been horrific....and we did it all alone because we wanted to spare everyone else grief if/when this pregnancy ended like all the rest. I just couldn't face telling everyone the news that we were expecting and then weeks later telling them that we were not.

It's too much to bear, please understand.


But now I'm 17 weeks (almost half way) and through those dark clouds of fear I'm beginning to see rays of hope. I can feel this little one moving...reassuring me that he is ok for now. Every blood test is coming back normal, every ultrasound (and trust me, there have been tons!) is showing us a strong, healthy baby so far. And I've got to tell you...he is the most beautiful child I have ever beheld even at this tiny stage!
I want so much to fall in love with him completely. I'm so tired of feeling numb and having my defenses up all the time. I'm exhausted of having a fake smile on my face and pretending all is well and fine when inside all I want to do is scream.


This is where you come in.

Doug and I need your prayers and support because all of this is so much bigger than us. I am so weak right now, mentally and physically. Fear and anxiety takes more out of a person than I ever knew. Even Doug, who is ever optimistic and rational, is tired. He not only worries about the baby, he worries about me too. We've both learned to do a lot more praying and trusting, but we realize that we need support from our friends and family.

Please pray for us!


That's been our life for the last four months.

I'm still scared every day.
I still pray, bargain, and plead
for the life of my child every day.
I still cry every day.

But I need these walls to come down and I need to be happy again.
I owe it to my husband, my family, and this precious child that we've been given.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Household tip!

I'm really trying to avoid harsh chemical cleaners in the house and so lately we have been using lots of white vinegar, lemon, baking soda, and borax.


I have a handy little tip for making and dispensing your own cleaner:
Mix one cup of baking soda with the zest of one lemon. Clean out an old shaker container, like the ones from Parmesan cheese or herbs. Pour the baking soda mix into the container and seal. When you need to clean, just pop open the top and shake what you need onto the dirty surface, mix with a little water, scrub and rinse.
Your kitchen and bathroom surfaces will SHINE!


It keeps the baking soda from getting lumpy, it's chemical free, and the smell is absolutely incredible!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Potato Update!

A few months ago we experimented with growing potatoes in tires,
you can read all about it HERE.
We are now up to three tires tall and the plants seem to be thriving.


Below is my little potato patch of red, white, and blue potatoes!

I'm hoping there are LOTS of potatoes in there! We're almost ready for tire #4 and I think I'll stop there. Once the plants flower and then totally die back, we'll begin to harvest. We'll just knock off one tire at a time and harvest as many potatoes as we need. The rest will keep just fine over the winter stored in the tires (granted we don't have a wet winter!).


Here's also a look at the horseradish root we planted at the same time as the potatoes. I'm glad I kept this one in a pot as I can easily see it becoming invasive and taking over the garden!
I usually will pull off a leaf now and then just to smell that pungent fragrance! I didn't think I would like it, but I really do!

I can't wait to slap steaks on the grill and serve them with a homemade horseradish sauce and red, white, and blue potato salad!

Monday, May 16, 2011

More fun with vintage sheets

This weekend I wanted to spruce up my sewing nook a bit and found this great idea to help use up my vintage sheet stash:


I placed the fabric into different sized embroidery hoops and arranged them on the wall like art work!


I really love the display of the sheets!
In my humble opinion, they ARE works of art!


I have LOTS more sheets that I'd love to display and am hoping to get some more hoops from the thrift store to make a whole wall full of beautiful patterns and colors.

It makes the whole nook a more cheerful place,
now if I could just find time to sew!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Meat ~ it's what's for dinner!

It's still Easter season for us Catholics which means no penance on Fridays. So until the 50 days of Easter are finished there will not be any "Meatless Fridays" posts.

You know that Doug, me, and the boys are getting our chow on!


If you'd still like to find some amazing menu ideas then check out one of my favorite sites:

TasteSpotting.com

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
SEE YOU MONDAY!


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The thrifted vase

I have to admit I have developed a little obsession
with thrift store vases lately.


At .25 to .75 cents a piece, it's hard to resist these pretties!

Fresh flowers from the garden make even special areas
just a little more special...


Even these milk glass vases make ugly old garlic chive flowers more attractive!
(maybe even smell better, too!)

And in a house with four boys...

I'll take little bits of 'pretty' where I can get it!

Monday, May 9, 2011

The joys of country life!

I was on my way to water the vegetable garden when I almost tripped over this:

Yup, a rather large snapping turtle!
It's been so dry (literally no rain in 2 months!) that the poor guy had to leave the creek in search of water. Doug and Kyle dug a small pit in the field and filled it with water....then Doug had the brilliant idea to pick up the turtle to move him:

After an attempted snap or two from the turtle, Doug got a better idea and went and got the shovel!


That turtle went right into the water to drink his fill and then wandered off into the field again. The boys had a great time watching him and poking him with sticks...someone even suggested we make turtle soup out of him!

The boys lost interest and went off to play, Doug fired up the grill for dinner, and I finished watering the garden. On my way back into the house, I almost stepped on this:


Yup, dead snake carcass!