OK, Maybe I Am Weird

I honestly couldn't think of anything weird about myself when I was tagged by Esther (thanks, I have learned a lot!), so I called Kim. She had a few things....... at least 10 RIGHT OFF HAND! Wow, I never knew I was so weird! I feel normal, but she says I'm "just artsy and quirky".

So here my friends are my quirks:

1) I see germs. You know those Lysol or Clorox commercials that have those squiggly worm-like germs. When my bathroom has not been cleaned in a day or so I start to see those germs. I don't literally see them when I am in the bathroom, but when I have that nagging feeling telling me to get up and clean the bathroom I see those germs in my mind. Their all over the toilet, sink, my kids hands, I can't take it! I have to go clean it with Lysol, and then I feel better. I don't use Clorox anymore because I still see the germs after Clorox, it has to be Lysol. I am not a germ freak I promise! The bathrooms and kitchen counter tops ( after meat prep) are the only places I care about germs. Oh, and hospitals but you have to admit nobody likes that place! Remember I was a pediatric nurse before kids, I know what's in that place! Is it weird that I see germs?

2) My husband is the oldest of twelve children. I have a 2 year old sister in law. My children are older that some of their aunts and uncles. I have been pregnant with my mother in law three times. My sister is married to #3. This is normal to me but Kim said it is weird, so I guess I'll believe her. Maybe it's not weird to me because everyone I am around has a lot of kids. I have three close families that have 6 children each, one with 8, one with #7 on the way.

The fam at the beach last year.

This is all of us including Rae, me, and my three kidos.

I will answer the most common questions now:

Q: Are you Catholic?

A: We are not Catholic. LOL! We get that a lot!

Q: Are you going to have that many kids? A: Ben and I would love to have more children, we don't have a set number. We decided before we were married, to have as many as God would give us. I wish he would give us one now! LOL!

Q: I bet Christmas is fun. Do you have to buy for all those kids? A: Christmas is so much fun! We don't buy for all of the kids. We draw names, so they will get better gifts.

Q: What does he do for a living?

A: Barry, my father in law owns his own electrical company.

Q: How big is their house?

A: 8 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.

Q: Are they done yet?

A: I don't know- and have no way of knowing- if they are "done" yet. This one probably needs to be at the top!

Q: How many boys, girls, and what is the sequence? A: The sequence goes like this; three boys and a girl, three boys and a girl, three boys and a girl,9 boys and 3 girls. They are all about 2 years apart.

Q: Do they homeschool?

A: Yes, they homeschool. But keep in mind with the oldest being 28 and youngest being 2 1/2 , she is not homeschooling 12 kids, only 5 right now.

Molly and Uncle Adam

3) Every now and then the kids and I pretend it's raining. There are some days we just want to stay in and "snickle up" (this is their way of saying snuggle up), so we just close all the curtains, lay around with quilts and hot chocolate and watch "The Waltons". We pretend it's raining so we don't have to go outside. We love rainy days! If someone goes for the door one of the kids will yell, it's raining! I think this is normal but Kim says it is so weird.

4) Some days we only talk in British accents. We pretend to be other people -think Jane Austen- and play different pretend games. Example: Sometimes we hide under Tim's bed (he has one of those bunk beds with a club underneath instead of another bed) and we pretend we are lost in the forest and have found a cave to stay the night in, but we have to be very quiet because we can hear a bear right outside the cave. Molly will say things like, " Mother I am so frightened! What shall we do?" and I will say," Calm yourself dear, all will be alright. Surely father will miss us and come looking for us on his horse soon. When we get home Hannah (our cook) will have some warm soup waiting for us. There there, rest on Mommy's chest I will keep you warm." But sometimes we are on a ship (the top of Tim's bed) going to America when the ship starts to sink and we have to jump onto pieces of debris (blankets and pillows on the floor) in the water to save ourselves. All this in a British accent. Seems completely normal to me!

Thanksgiving Dresses!

5) I, a nurse who is married to to a paramedic, get medical advice from an old Amish man. When we have common ailments such as poison oak, I ask my Amish friend Daniel for advice. He is always very helpful. He will ask me into his home to look in one of his natural remedy books. He will share with me what has worked for him, raising 16 children. I have several pieces of furniture and other helpful household things made by my Amish friends. He loves for me to bring my children with me when I come. He has also given me very helpful advice on gardening. Kim says the Amish people don't like her because she doesnt have a "ton" of kids, and because she wears too much eyeliner. She is probably right! Kim thinks I am weird, but I think she is gaudy! I guess that's why we have so much fun together, we love to laugh at our differences. We are opposites. She loves to shop, I hate it; she loves sequins, I would not be caught dead in a sequin!; she's gourmet, I'm plain fruits, veggies, and dried beans; she is a cup of hot chocolate; and I'm a cup of coffee; she's store bought, I'm handmade; she's a two karat ring a necklace two bracelets, and a Gucci watch; and I'm a wedding band; she is contemporary and I am vintage.

So Kim you and your weird self are tagged, along with Kuky, Molly, Rae (which will require a lot of effort, so it may not get done for a while!).

He's Perfect.

Ben saved me. I was having the most horrible week. The kind where you feel like you will never get it all done so why even try. I had cleaned out the kids drawers and rooms and found 5 loads of laundry I didn't know I had, on top of the other 6 loads that I was already behind. I had three Thanksgiving dresses to finish, two for my girls and one for a friend, a crochet sweater to finish up for Lily and Iris, cooking to do, a walk I had promised the kids, and I really wanted a bath, and he saved me. He took the day off from work, and took all the clothes and two kids to the laundry mat, while I started sewing. When he came back he helped me fold every stitch of clothing and put them away. He said that the laundry mat is a very scary place, they fight over washers and dryers there! I had no idea, I thought it would be empty except for a few little old ladies or something. I guess I have never really thought about it before now. But WOW! He did all that for me! He said he wanted me to have a stress free Thanksgiving. Oh....did I mention he cleaned the kitchen and brought home dinner? I love him! I had everything done in time for Thanksgiving, stress free. Thanks baby, I love you too!

Happy Birthday My Little Angels

Today is Lily and Iris' due date. Today is the day they should have arrived, but we have had them here for eight weeks now. They're perfect. It is hard to imagine not having them here for all this time. As I write this it is hard to keep from crying. There was only a 50% chance that both our babies would make it here. Rae (my sister) was told at her first ultrasound that the babies (my nieces) shared the same amniotic sac, there was a very high risk of the babies becoming entangled, or one twin getting most of the nourishment. We did not believe the report. We all decided that this pregnancy was in God's hands and there WOULD be two babies in the end. We were all so excited in the waiting room waiting to see our angels, there was no fear present. The doctor came into the waiting room and explained, with tears in his eyes, how shocked he was to find two healthy baby girls, with SIX TRUE KNOTS in their cords! They were so entangled that when the doctors pulled Lily out Iris was right with her, they were born in the same minute! There were three doctors, several nurses, and technicians in the room; when both babies came out screaming, they were all in tears. Our family has been so blessed!

Rae is the best little mama! I am constantly amazed at how well she does with two little ones. Just nursing two babies is a tough job! Jake is always there to help, he is very involved and the best part is HE LETS HER TAKE NAPS!!!! Now that is a good daddy!

Jake and Lily

The nursery. IrisNana and Papa holding our babies for the first time.

Jake, holding his little flowers. Those outfits are for American Girl Bitty Baby dolls. Hehe! First night at home.

First bath!

Doctor Timothy

Some of you have asked about Timothy's arm, so I will tell you "the story". Three weeks after the accident Timothy brought me his cast all in one piece and said, "I take it off mama, I don't wone it." HE TOOK HIS OWN CAST OFF! He was supposed to wear the thing for six weeks! I called the doctor's office and they said to be there the next day and to let him wear his ER splint till then. The receptionist could not believe what I was saying, she asked how old he was, when I said three, "WHAT!" she said. This was a Wednesday so we had church that night, while we were getting ready Tim said, " I take my cast to church mama, I make the boys smew it." He is his daddy's boy! So we go in the next day, ready to be re-casted and Tim was a little celebrity around the office, they all called him Doctor Timothy. He was so proud of himself. "How in the world did he get this cast off?" I told him the story and how he wanted to take it to church to give the boys a "smew". The doctor laughed, stuck out his hand to shake my hand, and said, " Mom, good luck for the next for the next 16 years!" He then turned to Timothy and said, " Buddy, if you want that cast off that bad, you can keep it off." Timothy got this cute little mischievous grin on his face. The doctor told me, " My official advice is to make him take it easy for the next few weeks," he then looked back at Tim and laughingly said, "but I don't think that's going to happen!"

Our Daily Walk

We love our daily walk, so many interesting things to see and learn. We live on 10 acres of gorgeous land with a creek, four beaver dams, plenty of animals and animal tracks, lots of different trees and rocks, and old 4 wheeler trails cut nice and wide which makes for the perfect "adventure". My children start asking around 9:00am " when are we goin on our 'venture' mama?", sometime before lunch I usually give in and off we go! Molly always carries a basket or backpack for all of our little treasures, which are so lovely this time of year. Molly's favorites are the pretty leaves and Tim is always amazed by the rocks- of course! Then there is the never ending search, by all of us, to find the biggest and smallest pine cone in the woods.

Most days we stop and sit in the middle of the trail to tell stories, and look at what we have collected so far. They love to hear stories about when mama was a little girl, and sometimes they have stories of their own. Molly loves to tell about a little mama rabbit that lives in the forest with her babies ( We have the entire collection of Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit. Can you tell?). Timothy tells of a sweet bear and lion that live in the woods and take care of you if you get lost. Maddie just sits there wide eyed listening to every word.

Sometimes Timothy will carry a big rock the entire way so he can fling it in the creek at the end of the trail. Timothy is especially amazed by these huge slate rocks sticking up out of the ground, he always pounds it with another rock and puts all the little pieces in his pocket, so that mama can wash and dry them! I have been doing some serious thinking about a rock tumbling kit for Christmas, but why buy the kit when that's what we have been using the dryer for! There is a part of the trail, on the way to the big beaver dam, where we have to walk over a stream (now dried up) on a little make shift bridge. The bridge feels a little rickety and you have to walk in the middle or you will be dumped over into the water. My boy! He loves the danger! Madeline has been so proud lately, as she has finally mastered walking across the bridge by herself! This is our big beaver dam, and our favorite! We really miss the beavers. For the last few months of this terrible drought our dam has ran dry and all the beavers have left. In the Spring, when we would walk up to the dam we would hear them plop into the water and see them swim off. I hope they are able to return soon. We like to look for these short, pointed, stumps all over, they are so interesting! I am so impressed at how such a small animal can chew a tree down!

All this behind the dam was water in the spring. We miss the water but we have found some very interesting things in the creek bed like fish skeletons, drift wood, and pretty creek rocks. And look at all these animal tracks! We have found dog, raccoon, deer, and fox tracks! Oh, and Timothy will swear to you he has seen bear and lion tracks. Crazy kid! And just so we know we are still in Alabama, we find- and keep- the occasional shot gun shell. Now you just gotta love that! Maybe Uncle bubba has been out here a huntin! You know I had to bring Uncle bubba into this somehow! Oh, and did I mention that most of the way I am pulled along by the tiniest person there, saying "mone mama mone". My very talented little Madeline, pulls me along with one hand while sucking the thumb on her other hand. My sweet girl!

When we are back home we have a basket full of our beautiful findings to keep us busy till our next "venture". Do you have any good kids craft ideas we could do using these things? Stay tuned for Lily and Iris due date celebration, and a funny Tim story!

I Have a Bunch to Say!

To all of you lovely people who think that I am so smart for making my couch a slipcover, I am gunna tell you my secret. All I did was buy a book! I bought it at Hancock Fabrics ( way over priced and before I knew about Amazon), and it was worth every penny! I have made 3 slipcovers with this book, "So Simple Slipcovers" by: Gail Abbott and Kate Burren. There are detailed instructions on how to make the pattern, and how to sew it up.

If you plan to make a slipcover I advise you to WASH YOUR FABRIC FIRST! You will probably have to go to the laundry mat to wash this much fabric (because it will be all one piece) in one of those triple loaders, but I promise it is worth it! If you skip this step, the first time you wash your slipcover the fabric WILL shrink and you WILL cry. Another thing to remember: If you want to be able to dry your slipcover in the dryer, you need to dry the fabric (all the way) in the dryer while you are at the laundry mat.

This is the first slipcover I made with this book. I found this "nursing glider" at Babys R Us on sale for $129 because it was the floor model, it was pink and white gingham. Sorry for such dark pictures, the sun has not wanted to come out today. This is my dad's old office chair that I covered (in about 45min) with a pretty thrifted sheet to spruce up my sewing area.

While we are on the subject of home decor I have to show you my new sofa table ( at least I think that's what they call'em) . OK I'm gunna stop right there and just explain something real quick, I have never said the word sofa in my life! Where I come from we have couches (this is another Uncle Bubba kind of thing!), we don't have sofas. When I say couch I really mean "cow-ch", cause that's how we say it. Is this a southern thing? Please tell me what you call your cowch, I would really love to know. So back to the table ( sofa table or cowch table?.......see now I am really confused!) Kim's mom, whom I have never met or talked to, sent me this "holy grail", an antique sewing machine which I am going to use as a cowch table. I am in love with this table!!!!! I put it in my living room so that people see it as soon as they walk in the door, it is amazing! Kim's mom is the sweetest little lady! She has never seen my face and she sends me the "holy grail"?! Can you believe that? The only way she knows me is through Kim's stories of me, and I think she may have read my blog a few times. Kim's mom, if you read this, I love you(!) and I will be calling you soon to tell you exactly how happy this table has made me.

This is another book I wanted to share with you, "Sew Pretty Homestyle" by: Tone Finnager. There are 35 projects (with patterns) in this book, and I can honestly say I would try every one! My favorites are these sweet lil slippers and bags that I am thinking about making for Christmas gifts.

Next up, I have an announcement to make:

Starting this month I plan to post one tutorial a month and I want your input. What do you want to learn? My first will be piping, how to make it and insert it into a seam. My next tutorial will probably be pintucks. Are you in? I have some others that I have been thinking about too such as, smocking, embroidery, applying lace, lace insertion, rick rack seams, ect......

By the way, if you think you can't leave comments because you do not have a blogger account, you can! You can either sign up with google or blogger with just a couple of clicks, or leave me an anonymous comment (remember to leave your email address if you are asking me a question) it's that easy!

This is what I need from you:

Couch, cowch, or Sofa?

What do you want to learn from me?

Thanks for hanging in there friends, I know this was a long one! Love you all and I can't wait to hear from you!

I Am Back

First up, cuteness!

Lily left and Iris right

This was my latest project, a slipcover, uurrgghhh....... I hate to sew slipcovers! I have sewn a few in the past but I think I hate it more every time! I am so glad to be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have always enjoyed before and after pics so I took some for you.

I needed another couch for my living room cause we couldn't all fit on just one anymore. My living room has always needed another couch anyhow, because it is so big but I never found what I wanted for the right price(CHEAP!). A very dear friend of mine when I mentioned my hunt for a couch offered her couch that had been in storage. Yay! Free, I couldn't pass up that deal, but as you see it was a little out of date. I loved the bones of the couch so I decided a slipcover would be perfect. I waited until I found a good deal on fabric (CHEAP!) and I started the never ending project! Four days later, a slipcovered couch. So what do you think?