Wife, Then Mama

This is actually going to be a running list of prayers that are answered in my life.  Sometimes, because my big prayer (a baby) doesn't get answered, I feel like God isn't listening, so I think this will be a great way to keep track of all the awesome things God DOES do in my life! -My brother had started down an not so great path at the end of high school and his first year out of high school.  I prayed that he would change his behavior before it was either to late, or it bit him in the butt.  He recently joined the Army and called me when he got out of boot camp and said that he had stopped doing one of the unsavory things he was doing and that he had been going to church every Sunday!  Hopefully he continues down his new path. -Michael and I had started watching Weeds on Netflix (yes this one is weird...) and while it started out alright, it quickly got WAY out of hand, since Showtime and HBO seem to think they need to add massive amounts of swearing and some "...

I am currently in the middle of a trial separation from soda.  Except that is a lie, its more like a hiatus, because I know at the end of the month, I am going right back to drinking the poisonous, HFCS laden, GMO laced garbage.  Because it is delicious. But the saddest part of not drinking soda is that I am freaking thirsty ALL the time.  I know supposedly soda dehydrates you, but as someone that drinks more soda than water, I am not sure that is true.  So I have to really make an effort to drink more water. These are my top tips for getting more water into your "diet": Keep it handy.  Yes, buying bottled water can seem wasteful and ridiculously expensive, but its one of the best ways I have found to drink more water.  I reuse one bottle for about a week, but its nice to be able to just grab one sometimes. Keep it cold.  Maybe this doesn't apply to everyone, but I LOVE freezing cold water.  The closer to its solid state the better....

For other Throwback Thursday pictures  click here . Today's picture might just be the most embarrassing picture I have. This picture is from 4th grade, so it was either 1995 or 1996.  There was a talent show at my school.  And somehow my friends and I thought that the Macarena was a talent.  My mom took us shopping for matching shirts, I don't remember why we all picked different colors...  I remember being a little distraught over who should stand in the middle, Charlene because she had a turtleneck under her shirt, or Heidi because her pants were lighter.  Yeah, even then I was weird and bossy.  I have no idea who decided, or why the decision was made.  Looking at it now, I realize that since my shoes were white, I probably could have stood in the middle too.  Yup.  Still crazy. Don't forget to check out our Organic Skin Care by Sincerely Pure giveaway! (closes June 29th 2013) This post may be linked up at one of these won...

I am sure you have seen one of these before.  It might have looked slightly different, or have been worded slightly different, but it was generally the same idea.  I get that they are kind of funny, and in some cases can be quite true.  But not always, and it seems like kind of a cynical take on caring for small children. I have mentioned before that I have been blessed with daycare kids that are very well behaved.  Last summer when I was watching all three kids, I was putting the baby down for a nap while the girls (both two years old at the time) were playing in the playroom.  He was a fussy baby so it took awhile and when I went into check on the girls this is how I found them: Yup, snuggled up in bed reading Dr. Seuss (or at least a not-quite-as-good abridged version) quietly.  I have been able to have them play quietly in their playroom since they were about 20 months old.  I mean every once in a while I would have to break...

I have two pairs of Betty Boop pajama pants.  So when I was given some Betty Boop fabric, I knew I had to make Hadlee some pajama pants.  Plus what else are you going to do with Betty Boop fabric?  I mean its not exactly a classy fabric choice for a dress or something. Anyways.  I used Simplicity 9184, which was made in 1970.  I made a couple of alterations, because it isn't actually a pajama pattern.  The legs on mine are both longer and wider.  Longer because Miss Hadlee is a tall little girl, and wider because who wants tight pajama pants?  I think they turned out pretty cute, and the hem is gigantic, so if her mom wants to re-hem them later she can probably wear them for years. The shirt is actually maybe a dress?  I can't tell, because it is to short to be a dress and to long to be a shirt.  Maybe its a tunic for over leggings?  (I didn't make the shirt, its from a Wittlebee box I once got) But I thought it ...

Welcome back to Magazine Monday!  Today I am adding pictures from the fashion spread in For Teens Only from March 1968.  I have to wonder how indicative of teenage fashion in the late 60's this really is.  I mean lots of magazines have horrible clothes in them, but you never see "real people" wearing those atrocities.  If you click on the pictures you can see them much bigger, and read the full caption.  I left them tiny so it didn't take so long to scroll through. Because I am always hoping that my husband will have one of his eyes forcibly fall out of his head just by looking at my awesome clothes :P The first picture is a pretty wearable dress.  Well except it is purple, yellow, and orange. The next dress is white polka dots on brown, much more subdued.  But that doesn't change that the dress looks like a tent... Oh a nice striped shirt and black pants, nothing abominable there.  Until you realize the shirt is green and ye...

On Wednesday I went strawberry picking with my friend Charlene. Charlene is the queen of good deals, and these strawberries cost: $0!  Yup, since the farm was getting ready to till under the second year plants, they were letting people come glean for free! (If you are in the Salem area, you should check them out.  They still had quite a few yesterday.) There were a lot of good strawberries, and even more not good ones.  That is what gleaning seems to be all about, what you lose in time (looking for the good fruits or veggies) you make up for in money (its all FREE!).  Since I have plenty of time, and not a lot of money, it seems like a great trade to me! Ideally I would use a portion of the berries to make jam.  But since I have never made jam before and don't have any pectin, I think I am just going to continue my plan of freezing them for smoothies and snacking.  I know I could easily look up how to make jam, but I would probably put it off until ...

For other Throwback Thursday posts click here ! Today's pictures are of me with Chicken Pox.  I was two when I had them, so these were taken in either 1988 or 1989. I had a TERRIBLE case, from what my mom tells me they were EVERYWHERE.  In my nose, in my mouth, in my ears, on my eyelids, on my scalp and in the "unmentionable" area.  I still have scars on my face, because at two you don't really know not to scratch them.  Who am I kidding, if I got them now I would probably get more scars because my mom wouldn't be around telling me not to scratch them.  Luckily since I got them so young, I have no memory of them.  Hopefully when I have kids I can get them Chicken Pox while they are old enough its not dangerous, but young enough they can't remember it.  I sense a trip to Idaho (where at least a few years about hardly anyone got the Varicella vaccine) around my (hypothetical) children's second birthdays.  Since we go over there about twice a y...

Hadlee and I were playing with the toy kitchen today.  First we were drinking "delicious" "tea" which supposedly was tea with water, milk, salt, pepper, catsup, steak, onions and various other things.  Then Hadlee brought out the pig and said something along the lines of "We can eat pigs.".  I said "Mmmmmm Bacon!".  Then she proceeded to "cook the pig".  I went and grabbed my camera because the following pictures were to good to not get.  Once she figured out I was taking pictures, she started hamming it up so it got a little crazy.  But before that the pictures were priceless. I think she might need a bigger pan... Baking is healthier than frying One of the Care Bears legs was salt, the other was pepper.  She was using the Care Bear to season the tea earlier too. This post may be linked up at one of these wonderful blog hops:

I really want to be able to sew without patterns.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE patterns.  I look for them every time I go to a fabric store, or even better, a thrift store.  I own dozens of them.  I just really love the idea of someday being able to sell what I make, without worrying about copyright infringement and  lawsuits  and stuff. So I decided to make this reversible baby skirt.  Is it perfect?  Not at all.  Just looking at the pictures you can see the mistakes.  Plus I think its a little to wide for how long it is, but since I plan to make a diaper cover to match I am not to worried about it. I am pretty proud of myself.  I am sure I have seen tutorials for this before, and I know my friend Brittany has made scads of them.  But I didn't ask her for help, or view a tutorial while I was doing it. Next time I make one I think I am going to take photographs while I make it so I can post my first (o...

For the next however long until I forget or run out of vintage magazines, on Mondays I am going to post pictures from vintage magazines.  I am REALLY creative, so I am calling it "Magazine Monday".  Hey if you have a better name, let me know :) A couple of years ago I ordered some vintage magazines off of ebay.  $2.06 with free shipping is less than I pay for a new magazine at the grocery store (well once a year when I buy one anyway) so it seemed like a good deal. One of the magazines I got was For Teens Only from March 1968.  This is what it looks like. What stands out the most to me is the way you can tell all the pictures were literally cut and pasted over the words.  I don't know if you can click and see it bigger, but if you can you should :) I am pretty sure the ads are my favorite part of the magazine.  I am hoping you can click on them to see them bigger.  They are just so random.  No nail polish, no name brands, jus...

Michael and I took the classes required to become foster parents in April.  They were a month long, so by the end of April we were done with them.  Our certifier (social worker that comes and makes sure our home is safe and stuff) had some medical leave so we didn't get a visit from her until the end of May.  At that visit we were told that as soon she got the paperwork filed we would be certified to take emergency placements. We also had to get our fingerprints taken (which doesn't involve ink anymore!), but she said that if our background checks came back clean we would be able to take placements before the fingerprint results came back (our backgrounds are both squeaky clean).  She said we could expect a call anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months.  WHAT?!?!?  We also would need to have a full homestudy done (where they look into your life and home with more detail) sometime in the next six months, sooner if they place a child with us.  My friend tol...

To see a review of some other Sincerely Pure products, click here. My friend Melissa runs Sincerely Pure, a company that makes natural, organic products at affordable prices. Sincerely Pure is an awesome company that you can feel great about buying from.  All of her products are made at home, and she refuses to sell anything that isn't a good deal.  As is that wasn't enough, 10% of all profits are donated to charity. You can purchase from her at the Sincerely Pure Etsy Store or you can contact her on the Sincerely Pure Facebook Page.  I was given a sample of the products I am reviewing, but the fact that I received free product does not change the fact that the review is 100% my own opinion. Peppermint Glisten Lip Gloss: This lip gloss is only $3, which is a pretty amazing price for handmade, organic lip gloss.  It comes in 3 colors (rose, clear and mocha) and 2 flavors (peppermint and orange).  I tried the Peppermint flavor in clear.  It...