Cornsilk Yellow

 I saw, and nearly choked on the price: $6.00 for sunshiny, vintage, enamelware happiness?

I found one for over $50 on ebay, and over $20 on etsy.  (because after I got home, I wondered just how good my bargain was). My sister had to talk me into buying it (it didn't take much. "Bon, you'll kick yourself if you don't." "Okay I'll get it." ) Not sure how it will earn its keep, but I'll figure something out!

Randomly

~ I just ordered my into the garden seeds and am feeling a bit giddy

~ I'm also feeling a bit full from gorging on homemade flat bread and hummus for lunch

~ It's alternating between brilliant sun-shine and flurries. Pick one already.

~ I have chili to start, bread to start and cookies to bake, and yes they all have to be done today

~ Laundry is sky-high right now

~ Tomorrow, we are heading out for a day trip with my parents, siblings, SIL and niece and nephew to the "local" Amish area. CAN NOT WAIT!!!!

~ I made a maternity skirt this week which I love and need to hem and take in, before tomorrow so I can be all "cute" (hack cough wheeze) and pregnant.

~ I also want to whip out a scarf from material I've had for one for almost a year.

~ Its getting increasingly difficult to dress my girls in dresses without looking like home-schoolers. Grr.

~ Here comes the sun again, and there go I.

Because....

I am desperate right now for bouquets and garden eating. I'm just barely restraining myself from licking the pages of the seed catalogs we have, I'm so desperate. I'm not entirely sure why I think posting this picture from last summer will help, but I'm pregnant, and can do what I want.

Hopefully an update Friday. But in the mean time I am still alive and kicking, and sporting quite a bump. Tootles.

Parting Shots

Garage sale craziness starts tomorrow, so I won't be posting again this week, but to tide you all over, some bullets. Yeah, I thought you would be surprised.

~ I ordered red sandals. I really did it . And I'm scared to death I'll hate them. These. But in tomato.

~ Beans is a crawling machine, and looks hilariously surprised when he discovers he can get from room to room on his own. Not to mention that he can pull himself up to tear apart, uh, I mean play with whatever the other kids have.

~ Baking bread today is no longer an option, but a must.

~I have realized that the basement was not trashed in one day, so it won't get clean in one day. Hello summer project.

~ Hello also to the patch of floor that appeared when I got the sale stuff out. Baby steps.

~ Muffins randomly says "Oh My Gwacious!". It cracks us up.

~ Beans hasn't met a food he doesn't like. And as of this moment, that includes dog food.

~ The weeds in the garden are daunting, and mostly grass. Blah.

~ Hard work and determination has kept the house company presentable since Saturday evening. Not that anybody ever comes over (except B.'s parents every Sunday afternoon), but I like to pretend someone might.

~ My hollyhocks will finally bloom this year, if spray happy B. didn't decide they were weeds.

~ Why can my children plow through breakfast if we are staying home, but on the rare occasions we have somewhere to go in the morning, it takes them F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

~ I found the fabric I have been looking for the last month, and I'm trying to figure out how I missed it. If it was a snake it would've bit me. I'm glad my fears that I'd been industrious and tossed it have not come to pass.

~ And lastly, I've been Pinning here, if you didn't already know. I Love that place!

Coffee Break!

After yogurt making, brownies, and granola, I want a wee rest before starting butter and pizza and clean up. Now, what book to read?

Bullets Big and Little

~First off, THANK-YOU a million times over for all your sweet words of encouragement. I appreciate them more than I can say. Ya'll are the best :0)

~Second, according to my husband, I sounded a bit more desperate than I meant to, so I apologize. I'm not particularly dramatic (a bit sarcastic though, ya know, in case you never caught onto that around here), but I guess for me that was, and what might have thrown him was that I did in fact cry about Becca moving to a long distance number. I don't cry, so on the rare occasions I do. Well, you know. He brought me home flowers (see above) and chocolate and a card the next day. Sweet wonderful man, he knows what makes me tick!

I snapped out of it that evening.

Moving on.

~A week ago Monday, we went to the flea market and strawberry picking and brought along my youngest sister Andrea. Everyone should have an Andrea, they are wonderful.

~ We picnicked between times

~ Snapped a picture of the kidlets

~ And one with me since I had a photographer

~ Taking the munchkins strawberry picking did not prove to be one of my smartest moves in my career as a mother of 4 children still in the nap/rest time age.

~There was some weeping and gnashing of teeth

~ And lets just say that the owners should be pleased with the money they made from my children picking over and under ripe berries

~ Honey is now getting "Little House Lessons". Homemaking lessons for a 6 year old sound kinda bazaar so I'm calling them Little House Lessons.

~ Biscuit will have Farmer Boy Lessons from me or daddy, depending on the task

~ Her first one was making strawberry jam. She then drew pictures of the whole process and these and the pictures I took will go into a note book.

~ I liked her strawberry freckles

~ We went to the home school convention last Friday and Saturday. It was great, and curriculum is ordered! No shipping costs! The Abeka rep was an enormous help!

~ Twice on Saturday we heard J. Michael Smith speak (one of the founders of Home School Legal Defense Association). During the second session, he asked if anyone in the room had been home schooled. Myself and one other person raised our hands (B. was also home schooled for a couple years, but declined to put his hand up). He asked us questions about it and afterward, one of the attendees thanked me for speaking up. Turns out she lived in the next township over (though moved several hours away) and we knew some of the same people. Small world.

~ If you ever have the opportunity to hear Michael Smith, you should.

~ Honey was quite pleased with her jam, and if she's old enough, I told her she could enter a jar at the fair.

~ The garden may stand a fighting chance

~ I think its going to rain soon, its thundering and black

~ I bought Homestead Blessings Art of Dairy Delights at the convention, and wish I had picked up the herb one too. They were only $12! (see here for a clip)

~ Beans is just about crawling, and once I charge the camera, I want to tape him, and maybe, just maybe, I'll figure how to post it.

~ I don't think I will ever be caught up on laundry. Ever.

~ I'm having a yard sale with my SIL next week. Nowhere close to ready.

~ Beans is ready for a nap, and iced coffee and letter writing are calling my name

~ Oh yeah and I made ice cream without and ice cream maker and it was AWESOME

~ The rain started - it smells heavenly!

Pass the Tissues

Its been a very good and very crappy weekend all rolled into one. If you need me I'll be catching up on laundry, weeding and blubbering my eyes out.

To Briefly Tell You

That A.

I am feeling 10000 times better. The good thing (really? a good thing?) about the ache all over flu is that once you fell better, you feel FANTASTIC. And that is me right now, fantastic feeling.

And B.

To tell you how much I love PatternReview.com . I love looking up patterns I want and seeing others thoughts on them, and looking up some I already have, and getting re-inspired to use them (photos of others work always inspire me). Or seeing how a really cute pattern can be made hideously awful.

But anyway, it is addicting, and I had to share it.

Toodle-loodle

Bon

Whole Bunch O' Nothin'

And that my friends is why I haven't been posting.

~ No good pictures taken

~ No exciting recipes tried- oh, and that mushroom ravioli I had all planned out for V.day? HA! don't ask.

~ Despite putting off school until after rests/ naps today, because I was in pitch mode and decided to work in the basement, you can't tell I did a thing down there.

~ I did find one of my Hobby Farm Home magazines down there though.

~ Bread and pasta dough need to be made um, like right now, except I'm nursing a baby and typing one handed right now soze I can't.

~ Ground pork was cheaper than sausage, so we'll find out tonight if I made good Italian sausage for the spaghetti or not.

~ There is a gigantic pile of dishes that need washed.

~ I am missing my dishwasher right now. Not usually, but some days, and today is one of those days.

~ All 3 bathrooms were cleaned before small people woke yesterday morning.

~ My kitchen was not cleaned before small people woke this morning.

~ Starting the school day off after breakfast and morning chores with songs, Bible (I was doing it at breakfast) and everyone praying is going beautifully. They each get to pick a song. Muffin goes between "Vegshie Tayols" and "Jinga Bey-ols". Honey, Biscuit and I pick something a bit more reverent.

~ I think I've got my seed order figured out. I'm sure its all wrong and will die a slow and wilty death. (gee aren't I optimistic. Eating your weight in chocolate chip cookies will do that to you...)

~ Be'be is asleep so I oughta do something productive here, maybe another cookie and a fresh pot of coffee....

~ Spencer's Mountain, the original Walton's, is in at the library. Friday night date for me and B.!

~ Something wonderful and pink has come to live at our house. She's very old and staying in the family room for now. Pictures once I get off my duff and figure out what tricks she knows. From the looks of things, really good ones.

~ Oh, and before I go: I AM SICK OF SNOW.

Completely Random Bits and Bobs

* These sweet, fat, kissy baby cheeks, are layers of dimples when my littlest smiles

* Because colds, sinus, and ear infections weren't enough, B. and the kids were treated to the 24 hour stomach flu Sunday night and all day Monday. Boy we know how to have a good time.

* I am coveting a pair of red shoes. Like these, or these, but ideally, Maryjanes, like these, or these. I am afraid however, that with my HUGE feet, they would look like clown shoes. Maybe these would be a better choice. Its a good thing for B. I'm so cheap and a hard shoe to fit. Despite the fact that I am barefoot 99.99% of the time, I LOVE cute shoes.

* That being said, I am on the lookout for cheap M.j,'s at the thrift store to try out this type of thing. Better to see how clownish they are.

* I have recieved 3 seed catalogs already, and a stack of gardening books from the library. After last years garden disaster, I'm brushing up my skills. How come the 7 gardens we had prior to this one did fine, but we move it back 15 feet and the whole thing flopped?

* I ordered 2 hatchery catalogs, which I plan to leave in conspicuous places, to hopefully get B.'s attention.

* I have very specific ideas as to what our potential future chicken coop should look like.

* I finally started an Everything Book. Here, here and here are examples of what they are. I'm not much of a journaler, but I'm having fun with it.

* I have always wanted to smoke meat in a hollowed out log like in Little House in the Big Woods.

* I'm going to try my hand at basket making, hopefully this week.

* I am saving all my coffee grounds for the garden. I fully expect to save a ton, then find out I don't need them.

* My little people are in bed and Beans has been fussing in my arms for the last half hour, no matter what I try so, off I go!

Butterside Down Sort of Day

(Yes, I know, I'm squishing his cute, mushy little face)

This picture, was taken bright and early this morning, before I left Perfect. You know, that place that exists in the delusional spot of mother's minds, thinking about all we have to do, and how quickly we will get it done with the help of our Perfect children, so we can work on our Perfect Projects that are Perfectly fun. In Perfect, I can start a load of laundry, and have it washed dried, folded, and put away in approximately 15 minutes. A days worth of baking takes roughly- oh lets be generous and say an hour, dishes NEVER pile up, and dirt magically disappears off the floor. In Perfect, you never run out of chocolate and consider eating a spoonful of cocoa powder out of desperation, because no one in Perfect needs chocolate to soothe their jangled nerves.

Perfect crashed and burned almost as soon as I turned the camera off.

I decided we were skipping school today, because instead we are getting ready for Thanksgiving. Baking bread and cookies to take for our dinner with my in-laws. Excited children? Check. Excited Mama? Check. Excited baby? Uhhh. No. Have I mentioned he's teething?

A stroke of brilliance (musta happened when I was still in Perfect) prompted me to bring the mixers to the table, instead of trying to reach over everyone at the counter. Bread for tomorrow and 2 loaves for french toast tonight, done.

Cookie dough mixed up and chilling as we speak, done. Really they didn't just stand there, the kidlets did help. This worked well considering I had to keep reminding one child to look with their eyes, not their fingers and mouth, had another who was pretty sure they were not getting to "holp" as much as the other 2, one more trying to help me help the other 2, much to the said 2's consternation, and a screaming baby in my arms.

But, the dump truck loving boy,

The shoe loving littlest girl,

And the helpful biggest girl, are all tucked in for rests/naps. Beans has finally settled down, and I have yet again learned the dangers of trying to live in Perfect. It might be nice to visit, but I would much rather the occasional Butterside Down Days of life here in the reality of Crabapple House.

Happy Thanks Giving!

Thursday

My littlest girl, this one here
She's going to be 2. Sunday. Not Ready.

In true birthday fashion, a party is a must, not for presents, but because I love a good excuse to have a party, and rarely get one.

But I have this problem. I'm blaming it on my Greek roots (though the amount of Greek in me (1/8) would probably fill my big toe, I *can* thank it for a slightly darker skin tone in the winter when everyone else is pasty). I LOVE TO FEED EVERYONE.

Big, completely homemade meals. Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and how they are constantly feeding everyone in sight? That would be me if I didn't reign it in some.

So, the menu for Mufflins birthday?

~Chili- 3 kinds. The chili that placed in the churches cook-0ff, Smoked Chicken and Pumpkin Chili, and a mild Crock pot chili. (recipes to come next weekish)

~Chips, cheese, sour cream, and green onions to garnish.

~French bread, and pumpkin dinner rolls,

~Cranberry orange jello,

~Cupcakes and ice cream. (cupcakes with butter cream and fondant thankyouverymuch).

~ Beverages (TBD) and coffee

The best part is chili is so freezer friendly, which is why I am making a ton. Hooray for go-to meals.

And so, here I sit, typing a totally unnecessary post. The bummer about being sick is that everything falls by the wayside. Gifts I have been trying to get out for a good month are still sitting here (SORRY Ladies!), the upstairs was in apple pie order for 2 weeks, and the downstairs was close to it. Enter round 2 of the cold, and not putting laundry away immediately and it all goes to pot. I am convinced that putting laundry away as soon as it is folded is the secret to a clean house. Really, because when I do, everything stays neater.

So off I go with a hop and a skip, to fold laundry, start pizza dough, school the kidlets, tidy up, and drink some coffee. And maybe finish spreading leaves on the garden.

Tootles!

I Did Not Infact

Fall off the face of the earth, as my siblings, whom I just saw Sunday, seem to think. I also, do not have any photos to post, for said siblings.

-We have just returned from a nearly 4 hour round trip to visit B.'s grandma to introduce the newest great grandchild, before he hits the 2 month mark. Which is tomorrow.

- I brought the camera, and forgot to use it.

- I think, the cold, which I was finally seeming to shake, is making a comeback.

- I feel like I have been run over by a semi, the driver of which, deciding one pass wasn't good enough, decided to back over me a few more times, just for kicks.

- Beans is a very kissable, darling, lovable, smiling baby

- My cousin just had, a very darling kissable, lovable, darling baby

- I should be doing the dishes right now, as Beans is sleeping

- The dishwasher has officially waved the white flag. At least that's how I'm interpreting the burning metal smell.

- I won 2nd place at the churches chili contest last Friday

- It is 6pm.

-The Duggars are on tonight

-M&Ms were on sale dirt cheap at the grocery store last week

- I'm going to try my hand at marshmallow fondant for Muffins birthday cake, because I am crazy, and seem to think homeschooling, laundry, housekeeping, a baby, and various squeezed in crafts/sewing aren't keeping me busy enough.

- I am randomly using periods and comas in my sentences, and don't care

- I am obsessed with pumpkin orange right now, and wish it was a better color on me.

- Yes, there is an undertone of sarcasm in this post, but I happen to think the right kind of sarcasm (ala Bob Newhart) is terribly funny

That's all.

I can't decide....

.... whether to go back up stairs and finish cleaning, or to keep hiding out here in the kitchen and try not to laugh out loud at the little people playing Little House. (oh the dramatics!)

Any Book Suggestions?

I'm hoping to get to the library this evening with the littles. Not sure how long of a trip it will be, but we may just make it upstairs to find some books for me to read while I'm in the hospital.

So, any suggestions? I will admit to finding myself a VERY PICKY book reader. Is it me, or are they suddenly all terrible? I'm talking Christian (or, in some cases as I've found "christian" ) authors. Most seem to not have a clue as to what they are writing about. For example I read a book set in the early years of our state. In this book, you could ride on horseback (or run if you were being chased) from one corner of the state to the other- a trip that takes nearly all day by car- in a matter of hours. Victorian homes were being built along the rivers long before Victorian style homes were around, and my personal favorite, our state was so advanced, we were sending telegrams like most people text, 30+ years BEFORE telegraphs had even been invented. The sense of pride I am feeling for our state right now is overwhelming. Cough.

I know books by a husband /wife team whose last name starts with L. are pretty popular, but They all have the exact same plot and characters: A doctor, a lawyer, an uncommonly pretty in a strange way, very tall, headstrong female character, who is generally the daughter of lots of money, and has everyone in love with her.

Unless they have been written by Amish/former Amish, authors of Amish books always struck me as getting most of their information by reading tourist pamphlets, something just never seemed quite right. After discovering this blog, I found I wasn't to far off the mark thinking that.

And I was all excited to read a book (the name of which I can't remember now) set in Regency times (roughly). It started out great, but then as I went, I kept noticing lines from all the Jane Austen movies. It seemed like whenever the author got stuck, she'd stick one in, and if it had been used already, she would just slightly re-word it. Really, there are only so many ways and times you can say someones hem/ petticoat was "6 inches deep in mud at least!".

So, now that you know what a snob I am, any thoughts? Or maybe I'll just stick with craft books.

On Overload....

The home school conference was great, wading through the ocean of info, not so much.

We have decided for kindergarten, to go with a complete curriculum, in order to gage where Honey is at, and then choose from different companies next year, based on her skill levels, or if it worked well, getting another complete curriculum. (she does like workbooks, I like structure and being told what to do)

Christian Light seems to get glowing reviews across the board, (I forgot to get a catalog though)

and all the other curriculum's are a hopeless muddle of reviews.

ANY advice right now would be appreciated...

Today...

~It is raining. Again.

~ Muffin is not napping, but climbing on kitchen chairs,(getting stuck) and singing "Appay You- Yoouuu"

~ I'm trying to figure out how to bake 4 loaves of bread, can strawberry jam, make a batch of cookies, make dinner, put away groceries, and finishing a skirt and tote bag, that I would *REALLY* like for the homeschooling convention this weekend.

I'm accomplishing a lot right now, sitting at the computer.

12:14 AM- WOO-HOO!!!! I got it all done! Now to clean up, get a shower, and go to bed....

G'night!

"Tater Tots How I Love Thee...."

I pretty much never buy pre-packaged foods, but yesterday, B. and I had to be gone for dinner, so I picked up a treat for the kids to have while my sister watched them. I just snarfed down the last of the package, and besides my scrambled eggs *loaded* withe jalapenos and cheese, this is the best thing I've eaten all week. Thank goodness they are gone now. Back to the jalapenos.

Today I Must:

~ Do the marketing

~ Go to the thrift store for jeans for the boy

~ Dig out any denim I have to make jeans for the boy if the thrift store fails me

~ Post my homemade noodle tutorial

~ Clean the downstairs bathroom

~ Wash 3 loads of laundry

~ Make a new cover for my ironing board

~ Make buns for supper tonight

~ Cut out a maternity skirt

~ Clean out the pantry

~ Get supper in the crockpot

~ Get the children up

~ Get off this thing and get started!

(now, what will actually be accomplished?)

Eeewww

The dog just licked all the play-doh crumbs off the floor. At least that saves me from trying to clean them up.