Yippee

The tutorial for the ironing board is up and functional. Now my husband can just read it instead of asking me huh? whenever I try to explain it.

Onto other good GREAT news. A friend I made through my sister has just purchased a long arm for quilting. Lucky lucky me!! (The long arm is what makes all the pretty stitching designs on quilts)

Ahhh... Monday

I don't know about anyone else but my weekend went super fast!!

Saturday morning Mason and I loaded up and headed south. My little sister, Cameron, is turning 28 today. I had not planned on going down this weekend. I also remember the last time I skipped one of Cammie's birthdays. She didn't talk to me for like 6 weeks. I think I learned my lesson. So we stopped halfway and rode the rest of the way with my older sister, Marianne.

I don't generally "ride" with anyone preferring to control every situation in which I'm in a moving car. This weekend though I just didn't 'feel' like driving and Marianne is generally a good driver. You will notice I said generally.

So Mason and I get to her house and we get the carseat switched over which was an adventure all in itself. We get headed to the interstate and I always look to see how much gas people have that I am riding with because one of my biggest pet peeves is running out of gas or having to search last minute for a gas station. And that really fairly well sums up my family. They will put in just enough to make it to their destination and it just makes me nervous. So here we are almost to the interstate and I notice that she is already on E. I hint at it and she said 'Alright but just to shut you up but we do have enough to make it all the way to Tabor.' There is not rejoiner for that. None. So she humored me and pulled into the gas station and put in 4 gallons. Yep. I mean really there was no need to fill the tank was there. Then I notice that her front tire was almost flat.

After finally getting the gas in the tank and the tire aired up she decided to wash her car. She put in her $2 worth of quarters and starts washing the car. We were both listening for the beeps of the machine telling us she needed to add more quarters to keep it running and it never beeped it just shut off and there was still soap all over the car. In order to start the machine again she needed to put in another $2 in. Well she only had 7 quarters. Seven as in S-E-V-E-N. You know $1.75. So she searched her car for more quarters and found none. Neither of us had any dollar bills. No that would have been to easy. The only cash either of had on us was a 20 dollar bill. The change machine only gives quarters. So there went my 20 dollar bill for 80 quarters. She only used one.

So there I am stuck with all these quarters. I know how awesome!!

So she finally finishes and pulls out of the car wash and pulls up to a spot in the middle of nowhere in the middle of this parking lot and gets out and gets a bottle of oil out of her trunk. Yep. Not only did we have to get gas and air up a tire and wash the car but we also had to put oil in.

She just totally verified why I always drive.

To top off the rest of the drive she texted and drove with her knee. And somehow I forgot that she hugs that middle line something fierce.

By the time we got to my mom's I'd almost decided that I'd had enough excitement for the weekend but I knew that if I didn't 'go out' that Cammie wouldn't talk to me until Halloween. So I sucked it up knowing it would be me driving home.

We had an awesome time going out in Tabor. We visited both bars and they drank and drank and drank. Oh, and who could forget the smoking and smoking and smoking. I know sounds awesome. We laughed and made fun of each other all night. We even got to see some people we hadn't seen in a long time. Nothing like catching up with old friends.

We got back to mom's around 3 and we couldn't believe she had waited up for us. She didn't even wait up for us in high school. She never knew what time we got home now though she has to know what time we get home and she has us call her when we leave town. Even though it is only 4.5 miles.

Sunday morning came way too early. At 8 am my son and nephew were outside punting a football at the front of the house. Unfortunately for Mare and me we were sleeping in the bedroom at the front of the house. Hard to sleep when you hear the football hitting the front of the house and them yelling at each other through the open windows.

Our wonderful mother made us some oh so yummy pancakes and eggs. No worry of salmonella from these eggs though. They are fresh from the hen house behind the house. We enjoyed a lazy morning with family. My mom's mom and sister came down and we ate water melon for lunch. Really a almost perfect Sunday morning.

We left mom's at one and headed home. You know after the stop at hy-vee for food stuff for camping next weekend. I usually just give my sister money for my part of the groceries because it easier than me finding another cooler to bring meat in. This year though I just paid for my meat at the store and she'll bring it out with the camper. I also picked up all the stuff for my punch. I'm taking 6 bags of it this year. I know we'll go through at least that much.

We got to Mare's about 3 and I finally got home about 7:30. You know after my own stop at the grocery store. I knew Austin hadn't been home all weekend because he was helping a friend with some hay. Yes, he is crazy!! He volunteers to help with hay for free. FREE!! Crazy.

And that brings us to today. So far today I've actually unloaded our bag (and my suitcase from the weekend before) and washed clothes, cleaned the bathroom (including Cometing the tub), washed dishes, vacuumed, swept and mopped, and now blogged. I'd say that makes today a fairly productive day. I think it is now time for a nap. It's going to be a busy week.

Good Day

I'm in a much better mood today!!



I wasn't able to wait until Wednesday to buy some fabric... I just couldn't!! I saw this awesome sale on some pre-order fabric... I love this fabric!! Like in LOVE LOVE LOVE this fabric so I had to. I just couldn't just not get it. Could I? I have grand plans for this stuff... Fandango by Moda Isn't it GORGEOUS!!



I think that is enough !! in one paragraph...



My newborn shoot ended up being yesterday... It went good. New, nervous, mother... When I finally get done editing I will post them.



I also got a chest of drawers from a gal in Boone. I found a tutorial for an ironing board that I can put on the top of it. My current ironing board is looking a little worse for wear... In the drawers I'll be able to 'hide' some of my fabric stash. I know that I would be able to find some thing new for this purpose but why when something used will work just as well. I am nothing if not cheap! I have plans to paint it and make it cute. Okay so maybe not cute as I would like it to be in my dining room but you know, at least, better looking than it does right now. My husband was shocked when I came home with it in the back of the truck. All I have to say is that he should have gone with me to town when I asked him to. One of these days he will learn!

The tutorial I found for the ironing board is not available yet because she is having problems with spam comments on her blog, Pleasant Home. Specifically spam comments on that post. I'm hoping that she will have it up again soon. I think I would be able to 'wing' it but would rather not. I'm just crazy that way.

This week has flown by! Here it is already Thursday and I've got nothing done. I have photos to edit and a baby blanket ensemble to get done and mailed. Two actually if you really want to get technical. I know I'll get the photos done by tomorrow afternoon. The baby things will just have to wait until Monday because I'm going to my little sister's bday party this weekend. I'll be driving down to Mare's on Saturday and then riding with her the rest of the way. We'll be leaving Mom's around noon on Sunday. I should be home by 5 or so hopefully on Sunday. You'll notice I mentioned nothing about having to take Mason with me because he is staying with Dad. Hehe. I will enjoy my 24 hours alone. It isn't often that I get to spend any quality time with my mom and sisters. There are 5 boys between us and we are constantly having to set one of them to rights. Whether that be clothing or actually reading them their rights, which are few by the way...

Now I'm off to do a 4 hour 30 minute tidy. I've got laundry to switch over, some dishes to do, a little light mopping, and some vacuuming that needs done. It might take a little over 30 minutes but no more than an hour I've decided.

Have a great day!!

I ♥ Bullet Points

I think I'll do this post in bullets.... I might elaborate later on some of the bullets but not until I get feeling more like myself... I think my hormones are messing with me again and it sometimes feels like I'm walking around in a cloud... So here are the bullets from the last couple of weeks...

• Austin got back from Indiana a whole day early... Totally messed up my semi-alone time...
• I absolutely love my new sewing machine!!! Here is the link... Brother sq9000
• I've made 6 baby blankets, 6 bibs, and 12 burp cloths over the last 2 weeks. 80 percent of those were done in John Deere prints.
• Mason has only had one accident in his pants.
• Playing in the hose has become an everyday occurrence. A necessary occurrence.
• I have gotten 6 tomatoes off my tomato plant.
• Hyde and Tootsie are driving me nuts...
• We spent a lovely week at my parents house last week.
• We made it to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. I got sunburnt. Only me... We had no food on a stick... A record to be sure....
• Mason won't let me out of his sight... I'm sneaking out of the house this evening!!
• My laundry is almost caught up...
• I have no idea where my husband got all his socks from.
• Little boy undies are so... little boyish... they really should come pre-streaked... so gross!
• I'm out of bleach and my garbage can needs a good scrubbing
• I have a newborn shoot tomorrow
• I still need to post my last newborn shoot... whoops...
• My yard needs mowed...
• My floors need vacuumed but the vacuum is no longer working... um... neither is the smoke alarm anymore...
• The dishes are done... but not put away...
• The lift my husband brought back from Indiana was very heavy but is put away nice and pretty in the garage...
• I have an urge to buy fabric... I think I will on Wednesday... pending toddler behavior...
• Tootsie destroyed my favorite bathroom rug... I'm still not on talking terms with her about it!
• I made a really cute hanging beside organizer... Mason uses it like a rope ladder to get on my bed... a habit that needs broken.

And that fairly well sums up my last two weeks in no certain order. Sorry to have wasted your time... I have my pictures from everyday but no energy or motivation to get them posted. I figure some time before the end of the year I'll get it up to date.

I promise I'll be in a better mood tomorrow!!

My Day

I've discovered that I'm not a huge fan of blogs that the body of the post is a great looking photo and the rest of the post is just links... Rather annoying.

Anyways...

So my husband is in Indiana at the house we still own... You read that right. The. House. We. Still. Own.

Four years is how long it has been sitting empty... Four years!

He went out this weekend with his dad to get the lift and air compressor out of the garage. We originally left them as a selling point of the house but now we want to be able to use them. And they obviously aren't helping to sell the house.

Onto other more pleasant stuff...

I bought a new sewing machine today... I haven't got to take it out of the box yet. Mason was such a handful today that I just didn't have the time. In other words I wouldn't have been able to give my full attention to getting it set up. Even after he went to bed I was cleaning and getting stuff ready for tomorrow so it is still sitting in the box. I'll break it out here in a little bit.

Potty training is going great. I don't dare go to town yet without him having a diaper on but we'll get there. He is getting better about the poop issue. He is a little boy and it is just soooo much fun to pee standing up that he doesn't want to sit down so it... um... falls out while he is peeing. Let me tell you how totally awesome that is on my white bathroom mats. Yep, pretty AWESOME. Oh, and his aim!! Yep. Nuf said there. I have no expectation of my bathroom smelling un-urinal like in the near future... I know that sounds like it should be an easy fix but... it isn't. I clean the bathroom before I go to bed every night because really who wants their bathroom to smell like piss? Not me!! It never fails though that after the first time he goes pee it smells. I know I could clean it up after every time he goes but he goes like every 20 minutes. I would never leave the bathroom!! I have taken to just spraying it down with some vinegar and bleach every couple of hours. Not ideal but better than the old urinal smell.

Overall we have had a pretty good day. Mason went down for bed surprisingly easy. I couldn't believe it. I figured he would cry and cry but he didn't. He did ask for tons of kisses. Melt my heart!! Nothing is better than little boy bedtime kisses. It makes up for him being so naughty. Most days anyways.

The dogs also had an active day. They found a dead toad in the yard and had to roll around on it for awhile so after Mason's last poop and his bath they also got baths. Nothing is worse than trying to give two minpins baths... I was drenched afterwards! I literally wrung out my shirt. I don't know if I'll ever get the wet dog smell out of my bra either... My favorite bra!! I don't know what I was thinking. Well I do... I was thinking they smelled. They smelled bad. There was no way they were getting on my bed smelling like that! Especially Hyde since he seems to think he needs to sleep on my spare pillow above my head. Yes above my head. I am short and like my toes hanging off the end of the bed when I sleep on my stomach so there is room for another pillow above my head. I put a crappy pillow in an old pillowcase and he sleeps there. It was either that or fight him over my pillow. Call me lazy! I tried to train him to sleep on Austin's pillow but he just won't.

So that is how my day has gone. I am ready for some cooler temps and my boy to learn to poop on the potty. After all these hot temps and crazy humidity though it is a toss up as to what one I would choose if presented with the choice of just one.

I'm sure tomorrow will be just as... wonderful so I'm gonna go play with my new machine and then go to bed. My goal is midnight to be in bed... Quit laughing...

um...

So I don't know what happened last week. The post are just gone.

So on to the new week...

This summer has gone way too fast. We have been enjoying our days at home. Mason has been driving me crazy. As in he won't leave me alone crazy. He is constantly under my feet, pulling on my leg, torturing the dogs, getting in the freezer, playing in the sink and destroying my house everyday...

On a good note: Mason is potty trained!!! His aim leaves something to be desired and my bathroom smells like a urinal by the end of the day but at least he is hitting the toilet most of the time anyways. It is so cute walking by the bathroom and seeing his cute little but as he is peeing. It is not so cute when you hear giggling come from the bathroom and when I go to check it out and he is peeing over his shoulder.

I told you his aim left something to be desired!!

Hopefully we are over those kinds of aiming problems... After a couple of times in time out and some well needed baths which he hates in the middle of the day he is at least aiming for the potty.

Mason has also learned how to share.

I realize that most kids at the age of 3 already know how to share. All I have to say is that most of those are in daycare or have siblings. An only child at home with just his mother for most of the time never has to share. It isn't as though I want to play with his toys. He forces me to. Which I don't count as sharing. I count that as torture. It never fails that he will get upset with me because I can't make the car noise just right or I turn the car left when I should have turned it right. I know being an only child is hard work I'm sure.

Well being the mother of an only child is hard work too.

Especially one that so intense... Yes intense is the right word I'm looking for. He is just like his father. You know cute as all get out and spoiled. Which leaves me so outnumbered it isn't even funny.

And now I have to go clean the house that was clean this morning but wasn't to the 3 year-olds liking... I guess it could be worse though... he could have been twins...