How Crafty Am I ?

When my Grandma passed away a few years ago she left me her sewing machine, and I don't sew (I think she was hinting- she gave my aunt her vacuum cleaner...)It has been gathering dust until I have room to set it up at my house. My mother is a beautiful quilter and I hit her up frequently for "small projects" that I want her to sew. For 26 years this strategy has worked brilliantly and I've gotten quilts, dresses, alterations, you name it just for saying please. But those golden days are over and now that I have my "own" sewing machine I am expected to do my own crafting. So here's my first sewing project, I did have to take it out to mom's house to get some help but I did a lot of my own work. Although if it says something about the success of my sewing career I've already started another knitting project - nap time is too short to waste on crafts I don't enjoy!

By the way: She's supposed to be a little lamb- Ryan said " Oh what a cute alien" boys...

4 Things

Here you go Jess-

A) Four places I go to over and over:
1. WalMart--Not my favorite place but very close and convenient
2. My Parents House
3. Starbucks -- a Grande Iced White Mocha please! (too bad they don't deliever)
4. Barnes and Noble- I love new books!

B) Four people who email me regularly:
1. My mom and dad
2. Friends from where I used to teach
3. Amazon.com
4. hmm.. guess I need more friends- I was a lot better with e-mail at work.

C) Four of my favorite places to eat:
1. Arbys
2. Arbys
3. Red Robin
4. Pizza Hut

D) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Out somewhere doing something with someone- we've been cooped up all weeked with the flu so I'm just tired of my pjs and being inside.
2. On vacation somewhere
3. In my bed taking a nap (but I REALLY need to clean)
4. Seeing my friend Ali who is stuck on bedrest in Seattle and looking for entertainment.


E. Four TV shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Oprah
4. ( Who am I kidding- I watch everything, and I have really bad taste in tv shows)

F.) Four of my favorite books:
1. Peace Like a River
2. Jane Eyre
3. Posionwood Bible
4. Just finished reading Such A Pretty Fat- very funny!

G) Four places I have lived:
1. Connell
2. Pullman
3. Kent
4. Hermiston

H) Four things I wish to do before I die:
1. Travel to Europe
2. Get rid of my baby fat (I'm keeping Jessica's top two)
3. See my kids grow and have babies of their own
4. Sleep ( keeping this one too Jess! :) )

I) Four people I am tagging: I don't know- do it if you're bored

New pictures

Here are some of Delaney's 1-year pictures and a few of us all together...

Another One Bites the Dust...

Lately everyone we know has been getting the stomach flu. It started with Ryan's cousin Kelseys girls, then went to Gracee and the Waters family and to Jessica's baby Emersyn. I was starting to feel like Teflon because we have escaped it everytime... until now.

Yesterday afternoon we all loaded up to go to the fair and rodeo, once we got to Town however I started to get sick. We had to turn back around and go home (I didn't make it all the way home and ended up tossing my lunch in a parking lot about 3 blocks from home- yuck!) Once we got home it really got bad and around 6 I got the worst pain I've ever had in my stomach, it felt like the gallstones I've had only worse (seriously- it compared with childbirth). So after several hours of writhing on my bathroom floor (I REALLY need to clean the bathrooms !) We went to the emergency room. I got in right away and they gave me some anti-nausea medicine, pain killers and muscle relaxers and sent me home (with vicodin- which will explain the disjointed writing and typos). Today I'm feeling ok, I'm pretty out of it from all the meds but hopefully I'll be able to keep food down later this afternoon.

So now, Ryan is starting to feel sick- and I am dreading Delaney starting with this. Yucky- I'm just praying we survive! :)

Looking for a cooking lesson

I have realized that when Ryan starts work on Monday I am once again on cooking duty (something I hate). The last few months I've weaseled out of cooking since Ryan's home and he's a much better cook than I am- so most nights he cooks and I clean up- great deal as far as I'm concerned (good for him too because my cooking REALLY SUCKS!) However, now that I'm a stay at home mommy I have had to accept the fact that I really should be the one shouldering the nutritional burden (chicken strips and toast count, no?). Because of my limited abilities in the kitchen (seriously, last weekend my best friend Bobbie saw me pick up a knife to start chopping an avocado and she actually winced- she was so scared that she eventually took it away from me) we end up eating the same thing (spaghetti) over and over (and over and over)again, so I am reaching out for some new ideas... PLEASE leave me a recipe- even if you're a blog stalker and never leave a comment (don't worry I do it too so I won't judge) give me your favorite recipe so my kid will know there's more to life than canned tomato sauce and boiled spaghetti noodles ( are you crying yet bobbie?)

Some things to keep in mind when you're choosing a recipe:
1. when I say easy- I mean EASY- I don't chop, baste, or tenderize.
2. I have very little patience so if it takes all day I'm probably gonna give up and eat cheerios.
3. I hate pork (No, despite what my husband says I'm not Muslim- I just don't like the taste)

In exchange I'm going to offer up one of our favorite dinners (not spaghetti) because I'm a giver...

Shepherds Pie
* Brown a pound of Hamburger in a frying pan.
*While meat is cooking make mashed potatoes.
* Add 1/3 cup ketchup and 3-6 tbsp of worcheshire sauce (depending on taste, we like a lot of worchestshire)
* Add mixed veggies (I think corn, cauliflower, and broccoli are the best in this and I use frozen veggies- big surprise there)
* let cook until veggies are soft
* Put meat and veggie mixture at the bottom of a 9X12 pan, then layer grated cheese (cheddar or sharp cheddar) and top with mashed potatoes.
* Cook in a 350 degree oven until warmed through (10-15 minutes.)

Piggy Tails

I finally got her hair in pig tails today- and seriously I don't mean to brag (okay maybe a little) but how cute is my kid? I'm glad that her hair has come in some more on top since she and I both suffered from a little male pattern baldness after she was born (for those of you keeping track mine has come back a little too, but now I have crazy chunks that stick straight up). I did have to put her in her high chair and feed her to keep her still long enough for me to get them in, guess I need a little practice because it took me a few tries!

Laney's First Birthday Party

Today was The Laney Bug's first birthday- but we had her party yesterday. We all had a great time and she was spoiled with tons of toys and clothes. I'm having a hard time believing that she is already a year old and not really my little baby any more. It seems like this year has gone by so quickly... anyway here are the pictures- Just to warn you there are a lot...

Playing on her Zebra

Pushing her puppy - second only to the vacuum so far

Checking out her cake

Eating....

Wondering if there's more cake...

Vacuuming with Gracee

With mom and dad Playing balloons with Grammie and Gracee

Playing with her farm magnets from Auntie Bobbie

and hours later... still vacuuming... in her new cowboy boots!

5:45 AM

The last few weeks The Laney Bug has decided that 5:45 is a good time to start the day. I have been struggling with this- I am not a morning person so I spend the morning staring at a wall and drooling while she plays... I'm hoping that she adjusts her schedule really soon, because mommy's not happy... Yesterday morning she decided to take both of her dolls on a walk through the house. She spent a good 30 minutes carrying them all around the house- always ending up outside the door to our room where Ryan was sleeping. She will stand there and bang on the door until he wakes up most mornings- apparently if she's up- everybody needs to be up.

Have You Seen My Cell Phone?

The other day I was at Walmart (which I hate for several reasons...) and Laney was at the end of her rope with my errands and started to cry- at first I pulled a toy off the shelf and let her play with that but when that got old I let her play in my purse. Normally, I would never let her get into my purse but I was desperate and a little embarrassed at her Howler Monkey scream so I gave in. Long story short when I got home I couldn't find my cell phone. I looked EVERYWHERE ( seriously, I even unloaded the freezer and the dryer) no luck. I then proceeded to go back to Walmart to look (I even looked through all the carts in the parking lot- imagine how many germs I was exposed to touching all those carts... GROSS) still..nothing. I called Walmart (okay maybe I phone stalked their customer service department) Nada. At this point I am in a panic- I cancelled the service and went through my car and garage one more time (it was midnight- I tend to obsess about things...) ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH.

So- I am now convinced that some nice, honest person at Walmart (who may or may not have showered in the last decade) found my phone and decided that I was intending to make a charitable donation in their name and took it home for their very own. Not creepy at all that it has all my phone numbers and pictures of my daughter, not creepy at all.

Anywhoo... Now I needed a new phone desperately, and guess what? We're not up for any renewal with AT&T so I get to pay FULL PRICE for a phone.. YIPPEE... so two trips to Tri-Cities (in one day- don't ask) and the monetary equivalent of a car payment later I am back in the communication loop. Fun Times!