See, I like to keep things interesting...

I also like to keep my family on their toes. I see it as practice in case there is a real emergency. Today's exercise? Locking my keys in the van we are borrowing, both of them. Yes that's right. I locked both keys that belong to the van in the van today. Several cell phone calls to my mom, husband, dad, van owner and various locksmiths later we were finally able to track down an extra key. Whew, because the cheapest lock smith I could find was someone who was literally two blocks down the street from where I was and he was going to charge me $60.00! One guy I called said and I quote
Guy: "Where is your car?"
Me: "Beavercreek"
Guy: "Yeah, I don't feel like coming out there today."
Me: speechless

Some people are just too nice for words.

Feeling Crafty and Chocolaty!

Today is the Chocolate Festival here in town. This is the only reason I go. To die for! And that's right folks, that's a buckeye on top of there! Could you ask for anything more?

As for the crafty part, I took the kids to see WALL E at the cheap theater yesterday. Afterward I went to Joann's & found these lovely fabrics to make fall clothes for Kate.

This one is by far my favorite. It's a linen blend in a smoky brown with turquoise stripes. The pictures don't do it justice. It was all ready on clearance for $4.00/yd & since there wasn't a full yard (only 35") I got it for the remnant price of 50% off so it was $2.00!

On the way home the van we are borrowing overheated so I had to pull over & wait in a parking lot for about 30 minutes for my dad to bring me some antifreeze. I compiled this long list of things to make for Kate out of the fabric I bought. Guess I should get busy if I want to get any of this done before spring!

As If I Don't Have Enough

My sister & I went to the Fabric Shack this Saturday. I LOVE this store & thankfully it is a good 35 minuted away or I would be DEAD BROKE! At the entrance to the store stool 2 large carts piled with cuts of fabric all $2.98/yd! But you had to take the whole cut. (not a problem!) Inside there was another cart full! In the several years I have been shopping there I have never seen or heard of this sale but boy was I glad I went! I was very good though & only got a few cuts in addition to some Christmas towel fabric and Gasp! some fabric for me! Urban Chicks new line 1974. It is so fun! I plan on making a purse for myself, we'll see if I ever get around to it.
As if my splurge on Saturday was not enough when I was leaving for school Monday afternoon my mailman (who I think has a crush on me, or at least according to my husband) pulls up next to my car & holds up a box full of packages for me! One was from my cousin who was sending me something for a Christmas project but the others were, yep, you guessed it, more fabric!

Loss for Words

Earlier this week we found this grotesque yet beautiful creature climbing on a tree that hurricane Ike had knocked down. We had no idea what it was since none of us had ever seen anything like it before. Seth walks over to it & says "It looks like an ichneumon wasp." I'm like what?! I for one had never heard of such a thing. I asked him how he knew that & he said he saw it in an amazing animals book once. Of course I am thinking yeah right. I'm sure that's really what it was. Well you know what. He was right! It was! What do you say to that?

An Unexpected Visitor

We (and by we I mean much of southeast Ohio & parts of Indian & Illinois) had an unexpected visitor Sunday by the name of Ike. Hurricane Ike to be precise. He swept through Dayton with winds that categorized the storm as a category 1 hurricane. That's right folks a hurricane, in OHIO. Thankfully there was little to no rain but there was plenty of wind. After a good five hours of 60-80mph wind our neighborhood was left with no power and the ground looked like the trees had thrown up. Lots of debris everywhere and numerous LARGE trees blocking several roads, 3 of which were within 1/2 a block from my house.

I got to watch this tree as it fell. It was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen. I keep replaying it in slow motion in my head. We were standing about 4 houses away from it waiting for it to fall. Kate was very freaked out & spent the next hour with her hands covering her ears. When the tree fell it wasn't loud though so I am not sure why she felt the need to cover her ears. The amazing thing about all the trees falling around here, was not one tree fell on a person, house or car. You can't tell me God did not have a hand in that!

We were left without power for a mere 30 hours. My Grandparents still don't have power, 3 days later. The boys didn't have school Monday, Tuesday or today. It is only September and they have already used up 3 of there snow days! They have thoroughly enjoyed it though.

We spent the night at my parents Sunday night because they had power. By Monday evening I had decided I could not live without my bed and would sleep at my house even if we didn't have any power. The lights came back on shortly after I had made the decision to go home. It made me think though. About those who have to go days, weeks, months without power or their own bed, because of the true devastation a hurricane can leave behind. I feel blessed that things were not worse & am left praying for those who are still rebuilding after a hurricane no matter how long ago it was.

The Dish Fairy

The boys don't have school again. I'll explain that in the next post. They were in the kitchen with the door shut this morning, unloading the dishwasher. I was in the dining room & over heard this conversation.

Seth: Elijah, I wish God could do the dishes!

Elijah: Yeah! He could just touch them and they would all be done!

Seth: He could do all the dishes and put them away!

Both Boys: Yeah, that would be cool!

Wouldn't it though! I for one would love to have God as my Dish Fairy!

New In the Shop

I listed a few new designer towels in my shop! This one is my favorite!

Go BUCKS!

Just a funny little something that happened today that I needed to share. My kids and I went to the market this morning with my parents, grandma, niece, nephews. A total of 6 kids. We were all dressed in Ohio State, but that's not the point. Somehow I managed to have all the kids to myself while my parents and grandma were in another part of the market shopping. I am sure you can imagine the scene we created, all in a line, traipsing through the market, supporting our Bucks. After the kids had seen everything we went outside & sat at a picnic table to enjoy our purchases.

Twenty minutes later, with a bunch of restless kids, we were still waiting for the rest of the adults. At this time a woman who was probably in her mid 60's came up & asked me if they were all mine. (I am surprised it took someone this long to ask as I am sure everyone was thinking it). I explained that three were mine & the other three were niece & nephews. She continued to complement me on how well behaved they were! She said she has seen us inside, all following me & just wanted to let me know how good there were. "You don't see that very much these days." She said. I kindly thanked her and waited till she was far away before I burst out laughing. If she only knew :)

Cool Cars

As you may know from this post, we are without our truck. So some good friends of my parents let us use their minivan that they are not using right now. The kids & I went out there tonight to pick it up. Keep in mind my husband & I do not like minivans and have vowed never to own one. However, we are VERY, VERY grateful for their generosity. That being said Seth instigated this conversation with me on the way home.

Seth: Mom, who don't people steal minivans?

Me: Um, probably because they don't want to.

Seth: Do they only want to steal cool cars?

Me: (laughing out loud) Yes, Seth!

I Won't Forget

We all know what today is. September 11. Seven years ago today our nation was attacked and 2,974 died. I remember that morning. I was 6 months pregnant with Seth. I had taken my car to the shop that morning and when my mom dropped me off at home I went to turn on the TV to watch the news. Only it wasn't the news I was expecting. I remember thinking "What movie is this? Isn't it a little early for a movie?" As I sat there trying to figure out what I was watching I saw it. The second plane. I saw it fly right into the second building as if the building was not even there. And then to hear that there were two more planes, who's heroic passengers sacrificed themselves to save thousands of people. There were alot of tears that day. Not only from me but from millions of other people around the world, and lots of questions.
We all claim that we will never forget. But I remember when they used to televise the reading of each name and dedicated the whole morning to remembering that horrific day. Today I turned on the news hoping to see such an event. But I didn't. There was a moment of silence when the first plane hit and a few more minutes of remembering, then nothing. I switched channels hoping at least one of the major channels would be showing a ceremony. Good Morning America had the above mentioned event, CBS was interviewing a family at the Pentagon and the Today Show was making dessert bars. That's right dessert bars. Oh, they mentioned the days events as if it was a small blip in the days happenings. None of the stations even broke in for the 9:03 anniversary of the second plane. I was appalled by the whole thing. Apparently the media can forget. At least when it is part of their liberal agenda to keep this nation forgetting about what we are really fighting for over in Iraq. Not to worry I will never forget and hopefully neither will millions of other Americans. God Bless you all on this sad anniversary of a truly horrific event.

Something New

A new little something for my PH Etc store. Mason Jar Pin Cushions! I just love the way they look. Best of all the cushion itself is made from felted wool & then covered in a piece of fantastic fabric! Take a look. I am sure you will enjoy

Our Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Don't get me wrong. The whole day wasn't horrible. But that pretty much sums up how we felt yesterday. I'll explain why.

The day stared well enough. The usual antics of trying to get everyone ready for church were going on. The kids were soon ready & Duane & I were getting things together & working our way towards the door when I heard screaming. Terrible, Horrible tears pouring down face screaming. I looked out the front door to where the kids were & saw Kate down on all fours at the bottom of the porch stairs crying. Turns out the boys as Seth put it were "Practicing their jumping skills." Kate decided to practice hers too only she didn't land so well. Her finger was covered in blood. I took her inside to clean her up. After washing of most of the blood I noticed the tip of her finger was purple & blood was coming out both sides & the bottom of the tip of her finger. I am not sure what she cut it on but for a few minutes until she would actually let us touch it, we thought she may have sliced the tip of her finger off. It ended up looking bad enough that I felt I had to take her to urgent care, just in case it might need stitches. Duane decided I could take her & he would take the boys to church in the truck. This is the point where the day gets terrible & horrible.

We have recently had numerous break ins to our truck. So tired of having to fork out a deductible every time someone breaks in my husband keeps nothing in the truck & leaves it unlocked. Well, Saturday night not only did someone break in but they hung out. There were at least 2 of them. They leaned the seats back, hung out, smoked & left ashes on our dashboard & worst of all they ripped the steering column & dash to shreds. They were trying REALLY hard to steal it. So hard that they damaged the ignition to the point that we can't even get a key in it to start it. I actually wish they had stolen it. Then maybe they would have totaled it & we could have gotten a new(er) car out of it. Duane ended up staying home to wait for the police & no one went to church.

Kate's finger is ok. She didn't need stitches. It is just a weird cut that goes from one side of her finger tip to the other just under the surface of the skin. She does have a nice goose egg on her forehead though. The truck not so much. And someone else broke in last night! HELP! Anyone want to buy a house?

NOW it is Fall

Fall doesn't truly start around here until the Greek Festival & the Italian Festival. Both of which are going on this weekend! I wait all year for this weekend! To start off the festivities Kate & I walked to the Greek festival (in the rain & it was so worth it) Friday to get a box of yummy pastries & spinach & cheese pies ( Tiropitakia) for lunch. My favorite is the Walnut Rolls although I don't know what their official Greek name is. Kate likes Baklava (who doesn't) as well as the Kadaifi and like her mom, the Walnut Rolls. The boys enjoyed their Baklava too. It was all devoured by Saturday evening!
Saturday morning we joined my family for breakfast at the park. We all met at a local park, including Great Grandma & Grandpa, & cooked breakfast on the grill. We used to do this frequently growing up. It brought back so many memories. New memories were certainly made this time. Including Elijah falling into the lake! Not to worry he was quickly rescued & no worse for the wear although he was quite wet!
My kids & all but one of my nieces & nephews. This picture was not staged. Five of them are watching a train go by on the other side of the lake & the other one (Kate go figure) is just being difficult.

I managed to sneak a rare picture of my elusive husband. Although he still managed to hide his face in the shadows, very sneaky of him.
Sadly between homework and an order to fill I ended up being too busy to go to the Italian festival. However, my parents were kind enough to bring us back some cannolis! Yum! The weekend continued to prove eventful on Sunday but I'll save that for the next post.

Success!

I finally had my garage sale yesterday. I have been planning it & putting it off ALL summer long. Since it was so late in the garage sale season I actually splurged & bought a news paper add in our major news paper & boy did it pay off! I had the sale at my sister's house so she decided to include stuff too so actually we split the cost of the add, which also included an online add for free. I also advertised on Craigslist, again free:)
Of course I had quite a bit of major stuff to get rid of. A huge set of dishes, high chair, swing, double stroller, lots of new clothes still with the tags on them! And tons of frames! I sold everything I really wanted to get rid of except the double stroller. I had one lady that bought $28 worth of kids clothes & then came back with more $ and bought another $34 worth of clothes! So from her alone I made $62! All in all the whole thing was a success, I made $286, but $16 of that goes towards my news paper add. I can't complain! The best part is I have a friend who is having another sale next week. So everything that didn't sell yesterday gets another chance to a whole new group of people! Don't you just love garage sales!

Ready to Ship

There are a couple of cute little outfits in the PH Baby Co store that are ready to ship! Just waiting to be worn by a sweet little girl who has an even sweeter mama for buying them for her.

Dandelions and Polka Dots 2pc Outfit 2T

Flea Market Fancy 3pc Outfit 18-24mo

Both outfits are one offs so your little dear will be the only one wearing them! Both are great transitional pieces as they can easily be layered. The skirt looks adorable with brown leggings underneath!

Finally the Linley Bags!

I know I said I was going to debut these a couple of weeks ago. I am finally getting around to it.

Here is the Linley bag. Quite large and roomy!
And of course for those who don't want such a huge bag, the little Linley.

These two are listed in my Pumpkin Head Etc store. I am still working on the design as I am not 100% in love with this one. So the next bags may be slightly different, we'll see. They are both ready to ship!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the end of summer. The kids and I spent a couple of days in the country visiting my grandma. Oh it was so nice when we got there to open up the car door & smell the clean country air! We had such a fun time. Seth and I went out Saturday night to walk off our ice cream and search for night animals. We didn't find any but Seth had fun chasing the flashlight beam on the road. Cheap entertainment! We did find a dozen or so of these little creatures hanging out by Great Grandma's front door.
Sunday morning was spent walking to the river with Grandpa and doing some more exploring. The dew still covered the ground and there was plenty of flowers and bugs to see. We walked by the fields and found a gourd growing by the road so we picked it and brought it home. I got to go running while I was there. I love running in the country. No obnoxious car stereos and yelling, just the sound of the birds in the trees, dogs barking and the river gurgling.More fun was had throughout the day, including a trip with Grandpa to the lake, cousins coming to visit and more exploring along the train track and river. There was also a makeshift game of football. In the end the excitement was just too much fun for Elijah and Kate. Kate was so exhausted she couldn't even make it the extra two steps to the couch.

Monday was spent getting ready for an upcoming garage sale and swimming! Despite the almost 90 degree temperatures the water was too cold to spend alot of time in it. But we all had fun anyway.

I myself am so ready for fall. Even though the weather hasn't been terrible this summer it is nice to be able to sit comfortably in your house. We don't have A/C and the odd shape & design of our windows keeps us from being able to have window A/Cs too. So we suffer and are thankful for the cool summer days we do get. I'll post more about fall later. I am supposed to be writing a paper right now. But I am having writers block. Obviously. Well, at least about the topic for my paper. As for anything else I could just about write a book right now.