It Actually Worked!

So....I might have a major shopping addiction like to shop a lot little.  I like finding different pieces to go with other pieces.  I have about 30 or so solid color tank tops, just because you never know when you need that certain color top to go under a shirt...you just NEVER know! 

With my drawers exploding starting to get full, and the fact that I may have started to take over Jacob's side of the closet, I am starting to see that it might be getting out of control.  One of these days I really want and need to downsize, but not quite yet!

Over the last year I have really gone through my drawers and closet to cut back on the number of clothes that I never really wear.  I have successfully cleared out about 4 totes of clothing, that I will sell on a garage sale (if I ever get around to having one...oooof!).  I had a lot of sweaters that I hadn't worn in quite awhile and they were all packed in totes...well last winter I wanted some of those cute little "sweater cuff thingys" that stick out of your tall boots, well I decided to cut off the sleeves of one of the sweaters packed away and put them around my legs to stick out of my boots, if that makes sense?  Well it looked a little like this:

(These are NOT my legs, boots, or sweater sleeves -wish they were)

So...back to my whole too many clothes issue.  I wanted a blue cardigan, I don't know why, I just all of a sudden wanted one.  I knew if I brought home any more clothes, the Mr. would NOT be happy...boo...so...I improvised...I remember having a blue sweater that I loved but just never wore anymore and I knew it was in my garage sale totes...so, I searched for it...and found it...here it is:

Cute and all, but just tired of it...

 

I was really nervous about cutting this sweater because after I tried it on, I was like, "Ok, maybe I DO like this sweater...if I ruin it, then I can't even wear it normally anymore."...Then, I reminded myself, YOU HAVEN'T WORN THIS SWEATER IN YEARS, GET OVER IT!

 

 So, I cut it!

Then, I folded over the ends and pinned it...

Then, I sewed it (after having another struggle with my sewing machine and doing the bobbin crap)...but, here is the final product, the actual sewing only took me about 10 mintues...NICE

 

When I walked out of the bedroom to show Jacob, he got all, "You have how many clothes, why did you buy more?" to which I said, "Oh no, I made this!" He didn't believe me and I had to show him the before picture! 

 

Here is a little side by side....

 

To tell the truth, I was super surprised that this actually worked...and looked decent!  I paired it with a bright green tank and dark jean...love it!  I also, at some point, plan on wearing a mustard tank under it...cute!  AND for the chillier days, I have a green scarf I can wear with it...truly a versatile piece...yay me! 

 

Now THAT is hot!

So to follow up from my previous post, here are all of the pillows I have made...first I made one big one for the middle, but I decided it looked a bit like a bed pillow...boo

See bed pillow...so...I decided to just literally cut the pillow in half and sew it up...

I had a little extra material of the blue stuff, so I just sewed and stuffed it...I showed Jacob's mom and she said that actually you ARE supposed to have an uneven amount of pillows on your couch...so that works awesome!  Here the final product:

OK...now...onto the point of my post...

So a guy at work gave me some jalapeno peppers...I've never worked with peppers before, just jarred ones...I have heard horror stories of people cutting up a pepper then touching their eyes and they were in agony for hours...just didn't seem worth it to me....but, since these peppers were free, I thought I would try it out...

Here are my supplies...jalapenos, Parisian cheese, cream cheese and GLOVES! 

The thing holding up my cheese is a spaghetti squash...I have no idea what that is, or what to do with it...but I'm going to wing it and see how it goes...

Aaaaanyway....

The guy at work, told me to cut them down the center...so...I did...

 

Then I mixed a bit of cheese with cream cheese and stuffed

 

Please excuse the pink thumbnail...I was testing out a fingernail polish at Hyvee...maybe that should have been my first clue...needless to say, I did not buy it...it was like a flat nail polish...not shiny at all...and it would take like 10 coats to make it not be transparent....no thanks...I don't have time for that!  And...I really need to get away from this pink color...I can never seem to go outside the box when it comes to nail polish...I really try, but I always come back to this sort of pink...frustrating....ok...wow...ADD much today! 

 

So...here they are stuffed and in a pan...the guy said to put them in a jelly dish...and I have absolutely no clue as to what in the world that is couldn't find mine so I just put it in this dish

 

Then I waited...

 

In the mean time, Jacob was cooking steaks on the grill...we heard on the radio about the Omaha Steak truck being in the mall parking lot...I thought I would try those out...great deal, the steaks looked pretty good...bad, bad, bad, bad, horrible idea...ugh...we choke those steaks down every time we make them...they are thin and flavorless...I think if you liked your steaks nasty and dry well well well done....you would like them...we are not those people...so please people, don't make the same mistake we did...don't buy meat from a truck...in the mall parking lot...who would have thought...live and learn...Ps....we have steaks for sale if anyone wants to buy them...

 

The timer went ding, and I took out the peppers...





Now, I was told these shouldn't be that hot...so I was excited...I like spicy things...but I still like to taste what I am eating...well...these...were...burn the crap out of your tongue, mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach lining...HOT! Good, but HOT!  If I ever had any sort of sinus issue ever in my life, THIS would have cleared that up!  Holy, holy HOT!  We ate two each and couldn't take anymore...I think I will cut the rest of it up and make a dip of some sorts?  We shall see, they might just end up sitting in the fridge until Sunday when it's time to take out the trash...

 

I really should blog a little more often so I am not all over the place...either that or do it NOT during bedtime when I am putting on about 3 miles walking between the bedroom and the couch 788 times while putting Charlie to bed...

 



It All Works Out In The End

This past winter I bought some fabric to make a valance in our kitchen…I figured…how hard could that be?  Well the thought was easy…it was the part of actually getting to the point to make them that was difficult!  It took me at least 8 months to take the fabric out of the bag again and figure out what/how I was going to go about doing this little project…

Here is what my curtains looked like before

This is the fabric that I bought, the thing that triggered me to do new curtains was the fact that I painted my kitchen cabinets and changed the color scheme…I will do a separate blog about that at some point…anyway….here is the fabric I had for my curtains….

 

So I figured, hmmm this should be easy to make….first, I had to change the color of thread in my lovely sewing machine that my mom and dad got me for Christmas…

 

As you can see, I had a LITTLE issue with the bobbin….but my little friend Wine helped me keep calm about this…

 

Once I had that all figured out, I measured and marked (with sidewalk chalk)

 

Then, it was time sew and hang my new curtains...I was so excited as I had this vision of beautiful curtains in my kitchen and everyone that stopped over would be all, "Hey, are those new curtains, those are really nice!  Where did you get them, I want some!" and I would be all, "Oh those, I just whipped those up on my sewing machine one night, no biggy..." well once I hung the curtains (and Jacob laughed a bit) I realized the before mentioned conversation...would...never...take...place....it looked more like I just hung a pillow case on my window...

 

This, my friends, made me really sad

 But then, thinking to myself...I realized that at some point, my goal was to make new pillows for our couch upstairs!  So, I just used that fabric to make pillows.....I already had the stuffing because a couple of years ago, we bought a very nice couch off of craigslist...however, the previous owners must have wanted to feel like they were getting eaten by the couch because they added so much extra stuffing to the back cushions, it was ridiculous!  So, I wanted the pillows done NOW to be resourceful, so I decided the couch could spare plenty of stuffing!

I cut and sewed my "curtain" and started stuffing...

 

When I was almost finished stuffing my first pillow, I realized that I should PROBABLY turn the pillow back from being inside out...who would have thought....hmmm

I drank half a bottle of wine made a curtain and two pillows in about 2 hours...from start to finish...and here is the finished product...I plan on making another longer pillow to go in between the two pillows...which I will post pictures of that when I have it finished...so exciting!

 

If I had known then, what I know now, I would have bought a bigger pattern...It kind of gets lost...but I am hoping the bigger pillow with a different pattern helps change that! I will be sure to post those pictures once I get that done as well! 

How It All Began....

Sunday was Jacob and my 6^th anniversary!  I can’t believe it has been that long!

Jacob was two years younger than me in high school so I never really got a chance to know him…until…geometry.  Somehow (fate?) in school I took algebra and algebra II without ever taking geometry.  Well I needed that to graduate so there I was….a senior…in class with 10^th and 11^th graders.  It was actually a lot of fun…one of those 10^th graders in my class was Jacob….and I sat by him…and he was muscular....and funny…and cute…maybe THAT is why I liked that class so much? 

Jacob was also a wrestler….I had been cheering for wrestling for a couple years at that point and I loved it!  It was always so much fun hanging with friends almost every weekend while getting to look at cute wrestling boys….who could ask for more?!?!?

Between geometry and wrestling…Jacob caught my attention.  I remember asking him to go to Dairy Queen one day and I didn’t even like ice cream at the time....I was so nervous but so at ease.  Once we started "going out" (April 7, 2000) we would spend hours and hours together!  His parents didn’t have cable so we would just sit in his room, talking for hours every night!  It never ever got old and we never ran out of anything to say to each other! 

We moved in together when I bought our house when I was 21...It was a big commitment, but we were both so excited and ready for it! 

Now, back in our PCD (pre-children days) we used to have candle lit suppers all the time…it was just fun and made us feel “grown up” it was great!  So on October 27, 2005 when Jacob suggested we do one, I didn’t think anything of it!  He came home,  with flowers (still clueless), made a nice meal, candles lit and all.  When we were all finished I was about to get up to put my dishes away and he said, “You can’t waste that steak, eat it” so I tried and before I knew it he was next to me down on one knee, ring in hand…I laughed….and laughed…and laughed and asked “are you serious” about 5 times!  Then it hit me what was really going on, I was in so much shock and so excited!  You see, when Jacob purposed to me, I was in total shock because he had been working at RPU for a while and a couple days earlier, we got news that he was getting laid off; I thought for sure we would NEVER getting married then! (A bit dramatic perhaps….but it sucked!)

Once we got settled in and used to the idea that we were going to be husband and wife...the date was picked, September 9, 2006...I had a lot to do!  I enjoyed planning the wedding and including everyone in on it!  It was a blast!  Now remember, this was BP (before pinterest)...had there been something like Pinterest back in the day….oh my gosh I can’t even THINK of the possibilities!  Seriously!  It would have consumed me!!! 

Here are some pictures from that cold and dreary wonderful happy day!  One of those days I wish I could relive over….and over…..and over….and over again! I loved all the people there, all the people that stood up with us, everyone that just made the day and night so special to us!

 

Every now and then...I think of this moment (that I didn't know happened until months later)...it makes me laugh every time I think of it:

To ensure we captured all the special events that happened and people that attended throughout the day, we hired a videographer (which we paid good money for, he did a great job…but we have only watched the video one time….shame, shame, shame).  At the end of the night he wanted me to say a message to Jacob and Jacob would say a message to me.  The first time I watched the video, I was in shock at Jacob’s message to me….it was a great message and all was going well…then it was time for him to “sign off”….what, you might ask, would be the groom’s parting words to his new bride….well …..”Peace Out”…. what else?  Yes, in his nice thoughtful words to me, he decided to end it all with “Peace Out” and in all honestly…it made me laugh….a lot….and that my friends, is when I knew without a doubt in my soul, that our life together would be full of laughs!  Six years later….we are still laughing (mostly at each other).  Happy 6th Anniversary!  Thank you for the laughs, the children, the wisdom and the love! 

AH....Preschool!

Preschool….preschool….preschool! 

I can’t believe my baby girl is off to preschool already!  I’m so scared and nervous for her, but also, SO excited!  I think it is just scary as a parent knowing your child is off in the world without you!

Jacob’s mom used to do daycare for Paityn full time until she was a year old.  It was so nice knowing that I could just drop her off with someone that loves her as much as I do!  After she was a year old we decided to take her to a daycare a couple times a week, just so she could get used to other kids and get some more exposure to other things throughout the day.

I had no issue at all choosing who I wanted to practically raise care for our first baby!  I used to work at Kids Korner when I was in highschool…I loved this job!  I got to mostly work in the preschool room but every now and then I got to work in the toddler room as the helper.  The main teacher in that room was Amanda…even though I was only 17 and it wasn't totally on my radar, it was impossible to not notice how much she absolutely loved what she was doing! I loved how much she loved the kids, how much she truly loved what she was doing, you could tell it is what she was meant to do!  I noticed this when I was younger and it just hit me after I had my first baby what kind of person I wanted to care for my baby!  I felt so fortunate that she had an opening and Paityn could start right away!

During the first few months you could really see Paityn come out of her shell...she has always been a silly, goofy girl around us, but when we were around others, I could tell she would hold back and become more shy.  This all changed when she started going to daycare...it was so fun to watch the day to day changes! 

Now, she is in PRESCHOOL! Holy cow!  I realize she will go to preschool for two years as I KNOW I will not be ready to send my baby to Kindergarten next year.  I know that this is something parents struggle with a lot...whether to send or to hold them back...everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do and that is wonderful, I full understand.  For me, I know that I that she won't be ready (ok who am I kidding, she would be ready, she is a genius- jk....every parent thinks their kid is a genius right) but here is my theory...Paityn's birthday is July 29th...so...if we sent her to school at the age of 5...she would graduate at 17...meaning when she moved to college, she would be JUST turning 18...I know how things go in college and I know she will need that extra year to mature and get ready for the big world (Ok, who am I kidding, I just want my baby home for at least one more year!). 

Ok, wow, getting a little far off into the future!  Eh hem...sorry...anyway....Paityn really enjoyed school today, she even called me when she got back to daycare!  She got super annoyed at supper when Jacob and I asked a ton of questions...I just wish she could have had a camera following her around all day! 

So, how does THIS beautiful little baby:

Turn into THIS amazing little girl?!?!? 

 

 

Oh how she is changing!  I love it but it makes me sad...however, I know I cannot stop it or slow it down, so I must embrace it!  Every minute of it! 

 

Happy first day of preschool Paityn! 

Now and Then

Ok most of you probably remember the “25 things about me” that was going around on facebook a couple years ago…I loved reading them….It was fun reading about people…and….25 things about yourself is much trickier to think of than you might think! 

Anyway, I thought I would bring it back….when I was finished with my list, I got to thinking that I should go back and look at the one I did on Facebook how many years ago….so here is a little “Now and Then” (great movie by the way!) for you!

NOW (September 7, 2012)

1.       Family and friends are the most important thing to me!

2.       I drive with a “spinner knob” (I think it’s called a suicide knob) on my car…people make fun of me all the time for it, but you’d be surprised how I can whip right into a parking spot with that baby!

3.       I truly have a clothes addiction….I just cannot stop! Jeans are the worst!

4.       I can type really fast....I type really loud as well, but I type fast….

5.       I really love my job, I love the people I work with and the work I do

6.       When trying to figure something out, I hate reading instructions, I would rather just fiddle my way through and figure it out on my own, I feel more accomplished that way

7.       I love, love, love helping people…I hate seeing people struggle or feel down, so if I can make them laugh, put a positive spin on something, or just listen…I am game to do so at any time!

8.       I was Little Miss Sweetheart 1987; I still have my sash, trophy and crown.

9.       I laugh really loud….I’m talking really loud…I try and hold it back, but I just can’t…There are OFTEN times that people come up and are like, “I knew you were here, I could hear you laughing.” Ooooof

10.   I hate how thin and baby fine my hair is

11.   Caffeine has a major (delayed) effect on me!  If I drink anything with caffeine in it after like 1 pm I will be up for most of the night….I have often thought I should wake up at like 3 am and chug a pop or coffee so by the time I have to get up in the morning it has kicked in and I am ready to rock!

12.   I hate being late, however, I usually am

13.   I love taking pictures, but I know I don’t use my camera to its fullest abilities (see number 6 above)

14.   I love being crafty….but I hate when I do something and it isn’t what I pictured in my head.

15.   When I get an idea to do something in my head…I can think of NOTHING but doing said thing.

16.   I have some of the best memories from being younger….I wish I could re-live some of those days.

17.   I am a huge bargain shopper and HATE paying full price for anything!

18.   I would love to have, like 3 more kids!  I love seeing the differences and similarities in my kids, I love seeing them interact with each other, and I love being pregnant!

19.   I wish I were 2 inches taller

20.   I drink A LOT of water, but only if I can put a squeeze of lemon juice in it.

21.   My feet are two different sizes!  That makes it SUPER tricky to buy shoes! I think it’s from having Charlie and they are finally going back to normal (p.s. no one ever told me that your FEET grown when you are pregnant…who knew!)

22.   Every single day, I pray to God that he watches over my family and friends….I couldn’t imagine living a day without any of them!

23.   I often over think a lot of different situations and when plans are made I need to know details!  A girl has to plan what she is going to wear, shoes, hair, etc….some things, you can’t just “wing”

24.   I love people, I love hearing about other people’s lives, their day to day, their dreams, ideas etc. I love to get glimpses into how people live their lives….it intrigues me!

25.   I can’t wait to see who and what my children grow up to be, I know they will be amazing people!

Then (January 28, 2009)

1.       I pray daily asking God to keep my family and friends safe healthy and happy

2.       My biggest fear is losing a child

3.       I listen to KDWB every morning and laugh while driving

4.       I truly do love my in-laws

5.       My husband is in fact my best friend

6.       I used to play the saxophone and sing in choir

7.       I loved high school

8.       I want a lot of children

9.       I love to hang out with my family

10.   I bought my first house all on my own a month after turning 21

11.   I listen to Country music, but I do have a thug side to me every now and then and listen to rap

12.   I am friends with ALMOST all of my work girls

13.   I think facebook is a wonderful thing and I have contacted people that I normally would probably have never seen again in my life

14.   I bought my first car of $25…a week later it died and I sold it to the junk yard for $75

15.   I started my first job when I was 13, I was a dishwasher, THE worst job ever

16.   I hope my children have the same morals, respect and trust that I was raised with

17.   I miss my grandparents so much and vow that my children will have closer relationships with their grandparent’s than I had with mine.

18.    I like beer, not mixed drinks, BEEEEER

19.   My closest friends are the ones I had growing up

20.   I used to live in an old funeral home

21.   I remember my dreams almost to the exact detail every day!

22.   I love, love, love being a mother and I am happy I have a wonderful husband who still lets me be me and not ONLY a mom

23.   I value my sisters opinions and ideas above all other

24.   I am horrible at making decisions

25.   I have been working the same job since I was 20 years old, I believe that I will retire from the same company (I HOPE anyway :0) )

 

Funny thing is, I think that a lot of what I wrote 3 years ago, is still very true !

Waiting for my sheets to dry

I'm sleepy, the sheets are in the dryer, so I have a couple minutes....

Today Paityn had pre-school orientation…she was so excited and when she walked into the classroom she got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Mcnallan, she immediately got nervous and shy….then she saw Piercen (a boy she knows from Sunday School) and was all excited.  She got to put her backpack up on her hook and sit at the table while I filled out about 75 sheets of paper as Jacob handed them to me...teamwork?  I think?

After her orientation I went to a wake with my family to honor a sweet, caring, loving lady…Diane Vincent will be missed by many!

Once we got home, we made some supper then I sat down to read the kids a bedtime story…Jacob was leaving to go look for deer…Izzy wanted to go with....then Paityn wanted to go with, then Charlie wanted to go…go figure…While we were buckling them in, they wanted me to go as well so in I hopped and we made it a family affair.  We didn’t see any deer but plenty of sheep, horses and cows. 

For me, a photo opportunity is NEVER missed…I love taking pictures and putting funny/weird captions on them…my kids are always doing silly things and I like to capture it on camera.

The above mentioned cows, stunk....Charlie just realized Paityn was wearing his Thomas the train jammies....what!

 

Make a funny face!!!!

 

Izzy photbombed the picture...tounge and all

 

 

It was my job to make sure Izzy didn't commit doggy suicide!

Best I could get with a crazy dog looking for deer.

 

Well I'm hoping my sheets are dry now as I am exhausted! 

 

Ok, so that's my blog for the night?  Give me a little time to think of stuff to write about...  :o/

My First Time (blogging that is)

My first blog!  Here’s to hoping that I can keep up with this!  I feel like it is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time now, but haven’t felt like I could commit to it fully!  After reading a couple blogs the last couple days, I really feel like it motivates me to be productive around the house and do fun things with my kids.  I think that sounds weird, but it’s true….and I am hoping that by doing this blog it will motivate me even MORE to do stuff so I can share it all with you! 

Like last night, for example, I felt super motivated to organize and be creative!  So when I got home, I started going through the kids’ clothes to try and make some organization out of that room! Paityn LOVES wearing Charlie’s clothes these days (yes, a 4 year old in 2T pants might look funny, but if you cuff them a bit, they look like pretty stylish capris)…she changes her clothes about 3 times a night and it wreaks havoc on their room!  With her starting preschool on Monday (tear, tear) I feel like I need some sort of organization in that room! It felt great to get everything put where it should and I have high hopes that it might last a month or two a week or two!  While I was doing this organizing the kids were helping (which always works well) and I was making super….multitasking! 

When I was finished with all that and sort of got the kids to sleep, I decided I wanted to try a Pinterest project that fits me perfectly! 

My mom and dad got me a sewing machine for Christmas and I wanted to actually use it (I know, I know it is September and I got it in December…I get it…) I had a t-shirt for my brother-in-laws benefit on Saturday and I just hate how t-shirts fit me (thanks for the child bearing hips mom) so I wanted to make this shirt a little more fitted….so…so….so easy!  If I can figure out how to do it, I will put the pinterest post on here (hey, I figured it out!).  Then Jacob’s aunt wrote about a post she has on pinterest that I so want to try for making a t-shirt into a tank top!  WHAT!  Awesome, I know!  So my first endeavor with my sewing machine went well!  It took me forever to figure out how to thread it and all that jazz, but I got it!  Now, what else can I sew (that requires black thread, because I am not sure I want to go through the process of threading that all again)...

Well those were my adventures for the night....until later!