The Myers Family

Getting so big...

2012-01-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Henry Wiatt Myers

2011-10-17T22:55:00.000-04:00

So, I'm only a month late announcing his arrival, but here he is...

This is all of us just about 3 hours after his birth.

9/17/11 - 7:21 am

7 lbs. 1 oz.

19.75"

12 days old.

17 days old

One month old today.

Jackson's 10th Birthday!

2011-02-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe my first little baby is now 10 years old. I'm not sure where the time went or how it happened, but he certainly has become a big guy, but still so sweet and extremely sensitive. We celebrated on Monday with a Mommy-Son breakfast at McDonalds, where he was pleased to find that he is now too tall for the play place (but, thankfully McD isn't too strict in that regard.) Then we headed to Target where I let him choose his own gifts this year. He had so much fun browsing the aisles and trying to get the most bang for his buck. He had a strict budget and made great choices. He even picked out a little something for his sister and brother. We came home and had a little party. On Tuesday his dad took him bowling and they had a great Dad-Son time together!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

Whistle While I Work? I Found Something Better!

2010-12-28T22:26:00.001-05:00

Everyone who knows me, knows what I do. And that I do it a lot. That I've been doing it a lot for a long time now. But, those who don't know... I make bows. Like 12-16 hours; 6 days a week. And while there is a measure of enjoyment in making these little creations - mostly it's work. Tiring work, mostly brainless work.

I am so thankful for my little business for so many reasons. It pays the bills. I'm my own boss. I work from home. I set my own hours. It's actually kind of a dream job, except that it's too much work for one person and I'm not in a position to hire anyone.

So, ever wonder what I do all day long while I'm making bows? Well, for the last 9 months I've been reading. Of course, I can't hold a book since my business is handmade items, so I've been listening to audio books. They have kept me sane through seemingly endless nights of cutting, tying, packaging, etc. I tried to think back over the last year and recall all the books I've read and I think I got most of them on this list. I may have forgotten a few. I certainly started many books that I never finished and they're not on the list. Sometimes I tried to struggle through them and even listened to hours of some books before giving up. But, I stopped feeling guilty about not finishing books. If I'm not enjoying it, then why finish? All the books I've listened to this year are in the public domain and are available for free download at librivox.org.

Here's the list of books I read in 2010. :-)

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss
Saint Bartholomew's Eve by GT Henty
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley
Holidays at Roselands by Martha Finley
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey

Short Stories:
Aspects of Game Captaincy by P.G. Wodehouse
Beyond Pandora by Robert J. Martin
The Boar-Pig by Saki
Closing Number by Will M. Cressy
A Cosmopolite In A Cafe by O. Henry
English as She is Wrote By Advertisers and on Sign Boards by Anonymous
English as She is Wrote For Epitaphs by Anonymous
The Greedy Dog by Lida Brown McMurry
Hard Guy by H. B. Carleton
Journalism in Tennessee by Mark Twain
Life’s Eternal Query by Thomas L. Masson
Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor by B.P. Shillaber
Selections from Mr. Punch Awheel edited by Sir J. A. Hammerton
My Watch by Mark Twain
The New Advertising by P.G. Wodehouse
Noting an Increase in Bigamy from Love Conquers All by Robert Benchley
Ode to my Clothes by William Schwenck Gilbert
On University Snobs by W. M. Thackeray
Poppa Needs Shorts by Walt and Leigh Richmond
A Rash Assumption from Punch 9
Reginald In Russia by Saki
The Steam-Roller Man’s Story by Harry J. Rowland and George Hay
The Two Doves by Lida Brown McMurry
Vaudeville Vs The Legitimate by Will M. Cressy
When Papa Swore in Hindustani by P.G. Wodehouse

Books by P.G. Wodehouse:
The Adventures of Sally
The Clicking of Cuthbert
A Damsel in Distress
Indiscretions of Archie
The Intrusion of Jimmy
Love Among the Chickens
Not George Washington
Three Men and a Maid

Books by LM Montgomery:
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside
Chronicles of Avonlea
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
The Story Girl
The Golden Road
Kilmeny of the Orchard

Books by Jane Austen:
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion

Books by Edgar Rice Burroughs:
Tarzan of the Apes
The Return of Tarzan
The Beasts of Tarzan
The Son of Tarzan
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar

Books by L. Frank Baum:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz
The Sea Fairies

I've never come even close to reading 80+ books in less than a year before so this was definitely a landmark year for me. I have lots of ideas for books for 2011, but would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions for me. I've been going through THIS READING LIST as well as many other "top 100" type lists to narrow down my choices.

So, would you like to know the best book I read this year? It was so far and away the best, and above all the others that it is no trouble at all for me to make the choice. It was Robinson Crusoe. I was familiar with the story, as we all are, I suppose, but I had never read the book before. It profoundly affected me and I hope and pray that the lessons learned will stay with me throughout my life.

Would love to hear from you if you have any book suggestions for me or if you'd like to share what you've been reading lately. :-)

A Day in the Life of... Mr. Mom

2010-12-27T22:03:00.000-05:00

Andrew thought he'd write down all the questions the kids asked him today. He may have missed a few, but I think he got most of them.

Jackson:

Do you know the Teen Titans?
Can I eat Sammy’s food?
What’s the difference between a mayor and a president?
Do you think grown-up pirates can have children pirates?
Can I have a sheet of paper?
Can I borrow one of your pens?
Is it usually pirates who make treasure maps?
Sometime can we turn these pieces of cardboard into a model Mystery Machine?
Am I allowed to go now?
I’m pretty sure they play hockey in Russia – is that correct?
Can I have a dessert?
Can I please watch on TV while Sammy is having his turn [on the computer]?
Do you think they will get a new National Treasure guy for National Treasure 3?
Is it my turn now [on the computer]?
I’m pretty sure that in other countries they write different than we write, like we write right to left, but they write left to right, is that right?
Can sometimes people outgrow their wheelchairs?
How do you tell if a baby is going to be able to walk on its legs or not?
Would it be ok if I got myself a few cups of water?
Do most pirates have pet dogs and parrots?
By the way, when was Scrappy Doo first invented?

Katie:

Is this good enough with my food?
Now is this good enough with my food?
Can I have a sheet of paper?
Is this [“havving”] how you spell “having”?
Can we glue a box to the box that we are using for the Mystery Machine?
Would you like to see my restaurant?
Am I allowed to go upstairs now?
Is this good enough with my food?
Is there a difference between these two verses [Gen. 1.11-12]?
Did you know that Jackson and me made up a game where you play on the couch and have to get to level 1, and then level 2, and then it gets really hard and you have to get to level 3?
Is this good enough with my food?
Now is this good enough with my food?
Now is this good enough with my food?
Would you like to see the Arthur story I wrote?

Sammy:

How him [Silver Surfer] get in outer space?
What time is it on my watch?
Now what time is it on my watch?
What is that kind of baby catechism question?
What’s that kind of city [pointing to a poster of the Berlin Wall]?
What’s Berlin?
I found a new page [website] – can I go to it?
Please can I change into my daytime clothes [asked right before naptime]?
Did you put coins in my piggy bank yet?
What’s that thing [butterfly]?
How come Hulk ate all the Avengers’ food?
Why people can’t see through ice?
Is this good enough with my food?
Why he take blue core out [watching Astro Boy]?
What you think I should pray for?
Why are you exhausted?

Grace

2010-09-06T22:59:00.002-04:00

Locks of Love Donation

2010-08-21T22:44:00.004-04:00

So, this was totally reenacted just for fun, in case you couldn't tell.

"Baby Not a Baby!"

2010-07-01T23:40:00.006-04:00

Did I ever mention that Sammy always talks in the 3rd person and that he thinks his name is Baby? He always calls himself Baby and the words "I" and "me" are not in his vocabulary.

Yesterday I told him he was a cutie. He said,

"Baby not a cutie! Only babies are cutie! Baby not a baby, Baby a big boy!"

Talented and Crafty mother of three: Joyful Jessica tells you why she's joyful.

2010-06-12T00:06:00.002-04:00

Check out this article. I'm famous. ;-)

Katie's Ballet Recital

2010-05-10T02:10:00.001-04:00

Katie's New Dress

2010-05-05T20:38:00.004-04:00

My Sarcastic Baby and My Interpreter

2010-04-27T19:52:00.002-04:00

Sometimes we don't understand what 3 year old Sammy is saying to us. Katie understands EVERY word. Here's a conversation that happened today:

Sammy: Mama, sucker?

Me: You just had one.

Sammy: Ewww?

Katie: He said, 'can I have two?'

Me: No, Sammy, one is enough.

Sammy: eeez, Mama?

Katie: He said, 'please, Mama?'

Me: No.

Sammy: Baby say eeeeeeez, Mama! (Then he grumbled something under his breath.)

Katie: Sammy said, 'I said please, Mama, ever heard of the word please?'

Um, yes I have heard of it.

My Beautiful Children

2010-03-20T16:27:00.002-04:00

I've missed this poor sad old blog. I'll probably never get back into blogging like I used to, but I just love these pictures I took of the children yesterday and I'm so glad that the first day of Spring is here and it inspired me, I guess.

Look how big my baby boy has gotten! He *finally* got a much needed haircut today, but this was yesterday. Andrew said he looked like that old sheepdog from Looney Toones.

My beautiful girl is turning into such a sweet little lady. She's so thoughtful and kind and she was my ray of sunshine through the long winter.

My oldest is still as young at heart as he was when he was Sammy's age. He is caring and sensitive and silly and I love him.

New Website

2010-02-10T23:26:00.001-05:00

I am so thrilled to announce that my new website is up and running!

SugarnSpiceBoutique.com

To celebrate the event I'm offering 15% off your total purchase (use coupon code first15 as you're checking out). Coupon expires 2/28/10

I'm still offering the same amazing prices as always and flat rate $2 shipping! Please check it out and tell your friends...everyone loves a coupon code!

Prairie Day

2009-07-04T08:41:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Jackson

2009-02-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

KTea Party

2009-02-24T11:52:00.003-05:00

I live in a little valley
and I like it too.
There are lots of fun things to do.
Like a trip to the park
Museum or zoo.

But if I could wish
for a wish to come true,
Then I'd wish for a tea party
Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?

So here I am
riding in the car
driving to the city
where the tea houses are.

Click! goes the camera
as she presses the lever
These are the pictures I will keep forever.

A lady with an apron
comes and talks to me
Click! goes the camera
Busily

Hats with flowers or pearls?
Which one should I pick?
Stop and stare
Click! Click! Click!

Ladies in dresses
come to say hello
Click! Click! Click!
Hear the camera go.

Sipping and pouring
Quick! Quick! Quick!
Before I'm finished
Click! Click! Click!

Little tiny foods
and sweet little treats
Click! goes the camera
before we can eat.

So now I'm home
But I've had such fun!
I'll remember every minute
Every single one.

And when I get my pictures,
and I hang them all,
I'll have a tea house of my own
on my bedroom wall.

Baby Sammy

2009-01-23T18:17:00.002-05:00

So, the first two children have several slideshows all about them. But, typical of the 3rd child, Sammy doesn't get his until he is 2.

Field Trip to the Science Museum

2009-01-23T13:06:00.002-05:00

I just realized I put 2008 on the video. All of 2007, I kept thinking it was 2008 and now 2009 is apparently 2008 too. Can we just have 3 years of 2008? My brain could handle that.

I've been tagged

2009-01-23T11:17:00.003-05:00

I've been tagged by a close relative. Okay, well, she's my husband's grandfather's sister's grandson's wife, or my husband's second-cousin-in-law, or the wife of my children's second-cousin-once-removed, or the mother of my children's third-cousins, or (and perhaps most importantly) she's my claim to RPCNA Covenanter Blue-blood fame. And, she's my friend.

Here are the rules (note that everywhere you see the number 5 was supposed to be the number 6, but my sixth picture was of a coupon I sold on ebay (very uninteresting) plus, I don't think I have 6 friends that have blogs, so we'll go with 5.)

Here are the rules:

1. go to your documents/pictures.
2. go to your 5th file.
3. go to your 5th picture.
4. blog about it.
5. tag 5 people …

Okay, I'll blog 5 things about this picture:

1. This collage was made about a year ago, on a very, very warm winter day.
2. Jackson's pants are WAY too short and they're the reason this picture is black and white. Green pants, bright yellow shirt, white socks.
3. This collage poster is framed and hanging in my dining room.
4. I took these pictures with my beloved Kodak Z712IS
5. I got the collage printed for free with a snapfish coupon.

Now, for tagging people. Jenny, Patti, Beth, Matt (if he ever updates his blog), Andrew (this is kind of cheating since we share a home computer, but maybe he'll change the rules to make it interesting.)

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T19:32:00.001-05:00

My Ovenless Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T13:36:00.005-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for this year. Andrew's employment comes to mind especially. Our dear church family, our sweet babies. The Lord is very good to us!

So, our oven broke last week and the control board needs replacing but won't arrive until next week. So, my first thought was that we would go out to dinner for Thanksgiving, which would be a bummer since I already bought the turkey and all the fixings.

But, after much internet research, I managed to pull our meal together, without my oven! Can you imagine? And it was actually really easy and much less time spent in the kitchen this morning.

Of course, there is stove-top stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs...those are easy enough to prepare without an oven. But, what about the pies, the turkey and my favorite, green bean casserole?

I bought a pie from the bakery. Easy fix.

The green bean casserole was made in a little crockpot. It turned out even better than the oven version and I think I'll make it this way every year!!

Now, the turkey, that was very tricky. It's definitely not something I would do if my oven was working well, but I found a great recipe for a crockpot version and the turkey tasted very good. I used a 7 lb. turkey breast and it barely fit. It cooked up pretty fast though. But, it's not something you can bring to the table whole and there isn't a way to brown the top of it. A beige turkey on the table just isn't very attractive at all.

But, we did it, and had a wonderful feast and are feeling very thankful. Jackson said that he was most thankful for animals and that he feels that God gave them to us to enjoy as a special gift. He said that he thinks God had him in mind especially. Katie was thankful for birds (although I don't think she meant the one on the table). She said she thinks they're pretty.

The only thing missing was yummy warm yeast rolls. I could have bought some packaged bread, but having cold regular bread on the table, just didn't seem worth it. But, no one missed them anyway....

Cookie Adventures

2008-10-29T16:46:00.010-04:00

The children and I made some really good chocolate chip cookies recently. It was a new recipe and now one of my favorites and I wanted to share the recipe! But, before I do, I have to tell you about the adventure we had along the way.

I'll start at the end.

The cookies are made. They're out of the oven and we've all had one. I haven't cleaned up the kitchen yet though. I'm not even in the kitchen, but someone is.

Of course, I quickly realized that Sammy is covered in either flour or baking powder that I had left on the counter. So, I go to the kitchen to see how big the mess is, and this is what I find.

Yes, that's the chair he used to get to the counter. And on the floor, that must be the baking powder can.

That's when I started thinking, well, this is a little funny. Maybe I'll blog about it. So, I got my camera and took that picture. But then I had the thought that it would be funny to take a picture of the can itself since it says "No Mess!" on it. Haha. So, I did.

But, then I looked at the can and read "Corn Starch" on it, not "Baking Powder". And that's when I realized that my really great cookies were made with corn starch, not baking powder! And yet, they were really great, so here's the recipe.

1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. oatmeal flour (I just ground up some oats in the blender)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. CORNSTARCH (the recipe calls for baking powder)
1 tsp. baking soda (I guess this is why they turned out okay)
12 oz. chocolate chips

Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together the dry ingredients and then combine with the wet. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 9 minutes.

Two

2008-10-27T01:13:00.008-04:00

Hold him a little longer,
Rock him a little more.
Tell him another story
(You've only told him four.)
Let him sleep on your shoulder,
Rejoice in his happy smile.
He is only two
For such a little while!