The (not-so) Motherly Blog

Brides, Beware: (not so) Happily Ever After - David's Bridal Disaster

2014-04-17T08:00:00.002-07:00

Disclaimer: This is my story regarding my personal treatment and experiences at David's Bridal. All I can do is comment on my experiences and feelings regarding the company. Feel free to research David's Bridal further via Google. You can read and find several reviews via Facebook, Twitter, and other review pages. Feel free to share my story.

Wedding planning, a time when women experience a wide range of emotions. From happiness, to anger, anxiety, and a little of everything else in between. One of the crowning moments of wedding planning though, is dress shopping. The experience should be magical, emotional, and as stress-free as possible, right?

Well, that is what I thought. You see, my experience had been magical, but that was until I took my dress into David's Bridal to be altered.

I purchased my dress from David's Bridal back in February of 2013. I was pregnant, but it was a gorgeous Vera Wang ball gown that I had to have. I loved everything about the dress. I imagined myself getting married in this dress, walking down the aisle as beautiful as could be. I saw myself standing by the side of the man that I love more than anything and him being totally blown away by me in my dress. I loved my dress.

Now, let us fast forward to January of 2014 when I made my first fitting appointment for March 27th. I was so excited and could not wait to try on my dress, as it had been sitting in the box that it was sent in for a year already. I knew I still had weight to lose and it was my goal to get into that dress. I had joined a gym local to me, enrolled in the Biggest Loser class, and was determined to get into shape. You know the saying, "sweating for the wedding."

The months came and went. March signified the end of the Biggest Loser class at the gym. I lost 12lbs (gym scale) and my measurements decreased a lot from what they were when I started back in January. On March 3rd, I pulled my gown out of the box for the first time to try it on:

It fit. We were not able to zip it up (obviously), but I was able to pull the dress up over my hips. That is the biggest hurdle there is, right? As I stated in my Facebook post, it would've zipped, but he was just too scared (understandably).

I continued on at the gym. March 27th came...I had my first dress fitting at David's Bridal. I was now doing a class called "The Contender" which was a heavy, cardio, boxing-based class. We are weighed weekly and it is tracked.

FIRST FITTING: 3/27/14

I was greeted at the David's Bridal Orland Park store by a wonderful gentleman who works there. He was quite pleasant and very helpful. He took my boxed dress and walked me back to the alterations department. He alerted the women there of my presence. I did state that I needed to find a bra for my dress, as I was willing to purchase one because I did need it with my dress. I stated to the person handling me at David's Bridal that I was unsure of my size since I have lost weight and of course, as you lose weight, you lose it in the boobs as well. I stated my regular size and the David's Bridal store did not carry it, so they brought me a different size, one size up, one cup size smaller (as I believe that is the standard rule).

I was told to go into the dressing room and try on my dress.

20 minutes later, I was still trying to figure out how to put on my bra, as if you have tried on a wedding bra, they aren't your regular 3-4 hook ones. It went all the way down with like a bazillion hooks to attempt to hook up. I had to hold my boobs in (as they were hanging out because the bra wasn't done and did not fit me properly, and walk over to the women chatting away in the alterations room, and ask for help.

The woman came back, helped me with my dress, and then we discussed alterations. I was told that the dress fit, but it did need to be converted to a corset back, which would replace the zipper. This would fix the fitting issue (since it would not zip up completely). At the next planned fitting, we would discuss adding a bustle or hemming the dress if need be.

I restated to the woman who was assisting me at David's Bridal, what our plans were, which was add a corset and ake the dress in some (as it was too big). She said "Yes, that is the plan" I restated then that we would address bustles and such at the next fitting, to which she stated yes. She took my dress, advised me to get dressed, and meet her back in the alterations room.

I did as she asked, feeling confident since my dress went on easier then when I tried it on March 3rd. Additionally, I also was feeling better because the projected alterations cost was only $200. Knowing that I was told there would be no additional alterations size wise needed, was wonderful as well.

Prior to my leaving, the seamstress look my measurements, wearing a pair of yoga pants and my Lewis University hoodie. She wrote them down on the paper, of which I received a copy of. I made my next appointment to try on my dress with the corset added on 4/15/14.

SECOND FITTING: 4/15/14

Tax day, but I did not expect this day to be as taxing as it was. Seeing as I was unable to find an appropriate bra for my dress around here, I decided to leave a little earlier to get to David's Bridal in Orland Park and then find a bra, get sized, and be done. Well, this did not happen. I was given two bras as once again, my normal size was not available. I was told to try them on and see which fit best. I selected the one that was closet to my regular size and when the consultant came back, she said it "looked like it fit." I asked her about the side boob, as it didn't seem right, and she told me that once my dress was on, it would be fitted, so it would be fine and not to worry.

I threw back on my clothes and went on my way over to alterations. It made no sense, so I decided that I would use that bra for now and then just end up hitting somewhere else in "civilization" to find the right bra. I know that David's Bridal is not in the bra business, but I don't want to look like a damn fool and you need a bra for your dress, so you would think that they would know something.

But alas, once again the trip was made to the alterations room. The woman greeted me, retrieved my dress, and took me into the dressing room. She unsheathed my dress from the David's Bridal dress bag, shut the curtains, and walked away. The first thing I noticed on my dress was an orange pin. The corset back was not even completed finished. The one side had three stitches holding it and the other side was completely unattached and just pinned on there. I removed the pin, placed it on my coat as to not lose it or prick myself, or get it lost in the mammoth dress I had. Time to try on the dress.

And here we go again, I am trying to put on a bra (which took me 5 minutes) and then my dress as well, ALONE. I am sorry, David's Bridal, but I am obviously not as talented as the other customers that you have because I am unable to do this.

But this is where the "fun" started... I tried to put my dress, pulling it up as I did for my first fitting...I could not get it up over my hips. I tried to shimmy, I tried to shake and then, the dreaded ripping sound. My dress ripped.

What in the world happened? How was I able to put my dress on 19 days ago and pull it up with ease over my hips, but now, I could not. After the rip noise, it was on. After about 14 minutes elapsed, the seamstress came over and asked if I needed help. Well, she got my bra unattached from the dress, finished hooking up the bra parts I missed (which were a lot), and then she said to me "you have a rip, your dress doesn't fit."

Que my stomach sinking to my feet and feeling the urge to vomit. I said, I could tell, it wouldn't go over my hips. She said, I know, your hips are too big. This is too small and she kept touching my hips. She tried to do up the corset and said that she couldn't because it was too small.

She turned me around and started looking by the breast part of the dress, telling me that it needed to be taken out.

I explained to her that during my first fitting I was able to pull up my dress over my hips without issue. I told her that I was told that the corset was going to fix the problem of the dress not being able to fit. She said, "but you gained weight, your dress no longer fits, do not worry about what happened at the last fitting."

I stared at her with tears in my eyes absolutely enraged and said, "I did not gain weight, I have lost 8lbs since the last time I was here." She told me that wasn't the case because my dress didn't fit and it was because I gained weight.

I stood there crying, tears streaming. She stood there staring at me. "I'm sorry that you gained weight. We can try to take the dress out, but if we do, since it has been taken in so much, there is no guarantee that it will work and fit." She then looked at the paper and told me that it would cost an additional $400 for alterations to attempt to take the dress out and make it fit, but again, no guarantees.

She walked away, coming back with a tape measure and the clipboard. She measured me with my dress on. She walked away, I stand there still crying. About 4 minutes later, she came back telling me that my hips had grew 6 inches from my last measurement on 4/19. All of my measurements were significantly off from what they were to begin with.

I told her that obviously there is an issue with measurements. She told me that I "gained weight a lot" and that the tape measure doesn't lie.

I told her I know for a fact that I have not gained weight, I have proof that I have not gained weight, and that the measurements are nothing even close to my last weight in / measurement check from the Biggest Loser class. She asked me what I wanted to do. I was hysterical, and she said, "I am sorry, but you have gained weight, I want to help, but you gained too much weight."

I told her that I wanted to get out of this dress and get out of here and that I refused to pay for any alterations for an obvious mistake in measuring. I told her I had proof, but she told me that measurements don't lie.

She asked if she could take my dress and put it back in the bag. Of course. I threw my clothes on, hysterical still, and went to get my dress. She said I needed to sign a paper stating that I was taking my dress. I asked for a copy, which had my measurements on it. She stated that she could not give me a copy of the form.

I took my dress and left, hysterical, with people looking at me. Insanity.

Oh, did I mention that my wedding is on May 31st, 2014...which was 45 days away? Yup, 45 days and I did not have a dress to wear.

RESOLUTION:

I posted my story on the David's Bridal Facebook page. I received a response. I did receive a call after Tweeting and further posting on Facebook as of 4/16 at about 11am. I spoke with a very courteous and understanding woman who listened to my plight. She asked me the details of my dress, looked it up and said that there were two in stock. I wondered how this was possible, seeing as how the dress has been discontinued. She told me that I would be receive a call back.

I did not receive a call back. After a gracious offer from my sister, she offered to purchase a new dress for me. I debated back and forth, thinking that things would work out with David's Bridal. At about 4pm, I called up the local bridal store, Bridal Elegance, in Ottawa, Illinois, and they let me come in to browse dresses and try them on.

As I found a new dress, I received a call at 7:00pm from David's Bridal stating that the two dresses that they showed in stock to replace my dress are not there and they are researching if they can send me a dress close to the quality of my dress. I would receive a call back tomorrow with the answer.

What?

As I wait for an answer today...here are pictures of the alterations that I paid for, that were not completed.

Why I Hate Parent-Teacher Conferences & The First Report Card Day of the School Year

2013-11-25T11:19:00.001-08:00

You know it is that time of the year when our motherly & fatherly friends are posting about the upcoming parent-teacher conferences at their child's school. Every year, it is nearly the same thing..."Oh, I'm so nervous."

Really?

As soon as the nail-biting, nerve-wracking event is over, these same parents clog my Facebook feed with these splendid status updates about how great their conferences were, how wonderful their children are, and lets not forget all of the straight A's that their borderline Einstein child got.

I'm not a hater, really, I am not. But why does this bother me so much then? Why is it that I need to devote an entire blog post to this topic? Well, it's really simple. It's because chances are, I will never be able to post anything of the sort.

My daughter, she is 9 years old. We have had issues since she was little. She has Asperger's, bipolar disorder, ADHD, ODD, and when it comes to school, she just doesn't get it. She honestly does not understand the difference between addition and multiplication, her writing is illegible, she cannot spell no matter how many times you make her write her spelling words over and over or how many times to quiz her. I can give her all of the mnemonic devices in the world, and it still won't help her.

As you sit there, celebrating your child's successes, rewarding them for their straight As, I am looking at a report card that is full of F's and D's.

Do you know what it is like to sit outside of that classroom, where all of the children's artwork or projects are on display, but your child's is hidden, placed where no parent can see them. Only the nicest projects are placed where a parent may walk by and can see them. I still never found my daughter's on the board outside of the classroom during parent-teacher conferences.

I long for the day that I can sit in front of a teacher and hear how wonderful my child is. I mean, I get the standard "start off with a good thing about the child, then start with the negatives, but end with another positive", but my "negatives" are a lot more forthcoming and free-flowing than those positives.

I get shown her work, I hear about how she could do better. I get told that she is not on par with her peers, how her work is messy & sloppy. I hear about her behavior, which truly is no surprise to me as I often get emails or phone calls when the day was a total bust for her anyway.

I've debated posting a status to Facebook along the lines of, "Parent-teacher conferences went as expected. She still doesn't turn in her work and if she does, it is sloppy. It's no surprise that she got all F's & D's."

But then I wonder how many people would think I am some heartless mom, mean and ruthless? If I have to read about how wonderful everyone's children are, why can't I post about my child, who isn't perfect and may never be that straight A student?

I have to deal with the fact that every year is going to be challenge, that every year is going to bring up the same issues, over and over. Every year there will be some "plan" for success, and more than likely, every year she will struggle, have her projects hidden away from the "public" view, and every year I will hope that this will be the year, and things will be different.

Like I said, I really am not upset that you want to share your child's successes on Facebook. But just remember, there are parents out there, like myself, who would love to be able to do the same thing, but cannot, for whatever the reason.

Now Here's An Idea, Parent Your Children!

2013-11-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

I fully expect this post to become quite controversial, and probably a bit long as I find myself with a lot to say on this topic If for nobody else, this is for me and quite frankly, if you decide that you would like to argue with me or throw some of the research from the books you read by some cracker jack, please refrain as I will not be humoring your comments.

There is a problem with children and there is a simple solution to it all...Parent your damn children!

Oh wait, that's right, you want to throw in about how special your child is right? About all of the disorders that they have. Well guess what? My daughter has Asperger syndrome, ADHD (or is it ADD nowadays), Bipolar disorder, ODD, and who knows what else. She's a mess, but I will not humor you with the videos of her trashing her bedroom, damaging the walls, scratching her arms, yelling and screaming how much she hates me and everything else in the world and how we all hate
her. Then let me also throw in the other two children in the house that have their own "stuff" as well going on.

I am so tired of the mentality of the children nowadays. I look at the three older ones in this household and cringe. The children here have it made...they don't have chores because they refuse to do them. They won't do anything that you ask them to because they require X,Y,Z in return for doing a simple task that is not even worthy of reward. They expect everything and often compare their own "terrible lives" to that of their friends.

Oh yes, the children have friends that are allowed to do anything they want, whenever they want. They don't have chores, they are allowed to eat and drink what they want, when they want it, they can swear and speak to their parents as they wish, they can run around town when they want, and they are allowed to play video games all day, every day.

I'm not sure who these parents are, but I really would love to punch them in their faces (if they even happen to exist). I can say that the children are the problem, but the truth is, they are but part of the problem is YOU.

Yup, I called you out. What good are you doing by being your child's friend? It's getting you really far isn't it? Oh, your kids feel comfortable talking to you, you say? No, your kids feed into your BS, are calling your bluff, and taking advantage of your "kindness." Thanks for giving your children whatever they want, because what are you teaching them? That's right, that mommy and/or daddy will be there to bail their butts out whenever they need it.

Then we are bombarded with these statements about how kids have no work ethic, or they are lazy, and you have to do everything around the house. On top of that, because you let them run freely, refuse to give them consequences for their actions, they walk all over whomever they want, whenever they want.

Think I am lying? Let me tell you all of the times I am called names, and not nice names, but profane names. Let me tell you about how I get ignored, yelled at, told I am hated, threatened to be killed, a psycho.

And why? All because being your child's friend was more important. Because not instilling respect or any type of work ethic in these children were just not important. Because these children get handed everything they want and then when things change, they rebel. All because YOU have allowed your children to have free roam of your household, of their grandparents household, other family member's households.

You created this mess, a parent, thinking you were doing what was best for your child.

As a child, if I ever threatened to call the police on my parents, I would've gotten my butt spanked. If I was outside and one of the neighbor's saw me doing something that was naughty, I got in trouble by them and then once I got home, I got into trouble by my mother, and if it was really bad, once my dad got home, I was in even more trouble.

I didn't get money freely just because I wanted to get something. I had chores that I was expected to do and I darn well better have had them done. Sit around any play video games all day? I didn't do that either. I had a Nintendo & I had a PS One in my bedroom, at my disposal, 24/7 and you know what? I didn't sit down all day every day and play. In fact, I did my homework and found something else to do, especially when sports wasn't going at school.

I remember one time I called my mom something, it was bad and I don't remember what it was, but she came right after my butt and had me cornered in the bathroom. She went to spank my butt and I ducked and she hit the wall and I took off. Let me tell you, I got it good that time, for both calling her a name and making her hurt her hand.

Now before you get your panties in a twist, listen up, I am not telling you to beat your children or spank them. This is not the point of my message. My point is this, I knew my place as a child, I respected the elders and my parents. I knew what was expected of me and I knew exactly what would happen if I didn't comply with their simple requests (and yes, they were quite simple, such as, do your homework, do your chores, clean your room).

Think about it...and think really hard. What good are you doing your children when you hand them whatever they want. What good are you teaching your children when you allow them to curse at you, call you names, and do as they please. What are you teaching your children when you allow them to treat your spouse, your partner, like a piece of crap, yelling at them in front of you while you sit idly, doing nothing about it.

What are you teaching your children when you give them that cell phone, that video game system, that computer, laptop, ipod, iphone, ipad, and you expect nothing from them in return?

I'll tell you what you are doing, you are setting them up to fail in life. You're preparing yourself to be stuck with them, living in your basement when they are in their 20s, 30s, 40s.

So just think about it.

[Review] Immaculate Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

2013-11-19T13:46:00.003-08:00

[REVIEW]: IMMACULATE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIE DOUGH

What do you do when your daughter's birthday is coming up and she informs you that one of her fellow classmates cannot have gluten? Freak out, as I did? Well, luckily I knew what to do, only through experience. You see, I made these cookies once before with totally incredible results for a bake sale that benefited my favorite organization, Spay it Forward, NFP.

So as my daughter tells me that her classmate gets to eat some cookies from a box as everyone else indulges in delicious cupcake goodness. I decide that I would make a special treat, because if you are going to have cookies, why not have some delicious, ooey, gooey cookies instead of some boxed cookies.

At the store, I head over to the corner, where the gluten free, refrigerated doughs are kept. Initially I purposed making enough cookies for the entire classroom, but the store only had two packages of dough, which would not have been enough (both for the class and for myself to snack on). I pick this brand up instead of the better known brand which is in a tub. You see, I am all for simple, so even just scooping out dough seems tedious to me. The fact that the Immaculate Baking Chocolate Chunk cookie dough is already available and all I need to do is set it on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven is much more appealing!

I am not sure as to why, but as my oven was preheating, I noticed a recommendation on the package to smoosh the cookie dough balls down. The first time that I prepared these cookies, I didn't do that,

so I figured this time, I would try it out. The results? A perfectly baked, but flat cookie, nicely browned. The brown color scared me at first, especially since when you bake cookies normally, the brown colored cookie often equals a hard, crunchy cookie.

Now I don't know about you, but I am not a hard, crunchy cookie fan. I prefer to serve cookies that are soft and gooey. So as the cookies were sitting on the cookie sheet for the 5 minutes as recommended on the package, I felt defeated. I had a diaper change and a hungry baby to tend to, so my cookies ended up sitting a lot longer than five minutes, but as soon as I was done, I scurried over to the cookie sheet and scooped up a cookie for myself and bit into it... The fear, the defeat, it was all negated and left behind, as biting into that cookie led to quite an unexpected surprise. The cookies were soft and oh so gooey. I was dumbfounded, and while I was pleased with my new find, I knew that there was still more testing to be done.

The final test? The approval of my fiance. He often is not one who enjoys or even appreciates anything green, all-natural, organic, you know, things along those lines. To him, it is all just a fad (although he does understand people need to follow specific diet restrictions due to medical conditions). So he came back home and tried a cookie. So there I sat, staring at him, waiting for his comments, the good, bad, or otherwise.

And the verdict you ask? Well, he had another cookie, and another, and another.

Overall, I would recommend these cookies to anyone, whether it be to address a gluten-free need or just to consume because cookies are delicious. When it comes to gluten free food, I don't know much about it as it is not something that we follow in our home. But I will tell you, these cookies were beyond delicious!!!

Ranch Chicken Tenderloin Bites - Crockpot Style

2013-11-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, I removed a package of chicken breasts from the storage freezer. Apparently at that point, I had some huge idea that I was going to assume the reigns of the household and prepare some glorious meal in the crockpot that would leave me as the champion of the household.

Now, let us revisit the beginning of the first sentence..."two days ago."

Yup, that is right, we are now two days into the chicken that has assumed a place on a plate inside of the fridge. Now I know that time is of the utmost importance and that I need to find something to do with said chicken, but what? We've done the crockpot chicken and stuffing, which ended up as a sloppy mess not only in my crockpot, but with the unamused children, so what else was there to do?

I am all about easy. I hate doing extra work, prep work, or anything of the sort. You really need to get me in a great mood to whip out and prepare some elegant meal. Plus, I wasn't about to jump into my car and go down to the grocery store either. It's cold and I hate unloading groceries into my trunk and then bringing them up the stairs only to have to put them away in their appropriate spaces. So instead, I raided the cabinets for things to throw in the crockpot.

THE CHOSEN ONES
So, what did I end up choosing you ask (or maybe you didn't, but whatever, I will tell you anyway).

3lb bag of Tyson all natural chicken breast tenderloin (they are more like little pieces rather than full breast pieces)
Container of sour cream (the large one, not sure of ounces, sorry)
Small container of cream cheese with chives
Two packet of Hidden Valley ranch dips (the kind that you make yourself, the powder)

PREPARATIONS
It's really easy...obviously you are going to set up your crockpot and place your thawed chicken at the bottom (you could use frozen chicken, but I would suggest adjusting cooking time accordingly). I then placed half of my large container of sour cream over the chicken. After I spooned that out over it, I spread it out covering the chicken. I then scooped out 3/4 of my small container of cream cheese with chives and then spread that over the chicken as well. Finally, I sprinkled the two packets of ranch dressing powder over the chicken.

I set my crock pot on high for 4 hours and let it do its job. I checked it at about 3 hours in, and it was perfectly cooked, so for the remaining hour, I set my crockpot over to the warming feature. I do have a newer, digital crockpot that is one of the top picks from Cooks Country, so I would recommend that you check yours sometime during the cooking process. Also, my chicken was smaller pieces (almost chicken strip-like), so if you are using normal sized chicken breasts, you may find yourself cooking it for the entire time!

THE VERDICT
Delicious! So maybe the kids didn't think so, although Lexi thought it was fantastic and had three helpings of it. The chicken was perfectly cooked & tender. The "sauce" was perfect and had the best taste. I will absolutely be making this again and if the kids don't like it, then oh well, too bad for them! See, I'm not into the catering to what the kids want and making sure the food is exactly what they like, otherwise we'd be eating pizza, pizza rolls, hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and other assorted junk food.

Bacon & Egg Toast Cups

2012-05-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

So apparently, it is required for you to feed your children when they are hungry and quite frankly I was tired of the cereal binge that seems to occur in this house. I decided that I probably should assume some type of motherly duties and feed the children, which always can go one of two ways...good or bad. Trying to recollect how well it went last time, I decided to make these bacon, egg, and toast cups for the children, as last time they were gobbled up and there was nothing left for me to consume...(oh the the fruits of my labor). I also was unable to get any pictures of said goodies because my camera was dead.

So I decided to do another trial of these goodies for breakfast. My result...this:

I'm not sure if I was more pleased with the outcome of the food or the picture... But alas, it was quite simple to make and I took the wonderful recipe that came from The Noshery, and adapted it to ~~my own~~ the kids' likings. Plus, I haven't quite seen any pictures of scrambled eggs being used, so I thought it would be nice for everyone trying to figure out what it would look like & if it would work.

So first thing first...my ingredients:

Muffin pan
A glass (that you drink out of)
Basting brush
Pam cooking spray
Bread (I needed 12 slices)
Maple Syrup
Cheddar jack shredded cheese
Eggs (I used 8 eggs)
Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Pieces (not the bits)

Steps to Yummyness.

First things first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, take this time to spray your muffin pan with Pam cooking spray.
Take a glass, or anything circular that you have on hand, and place in the center of the bread. I decided to tear around the glass to get the desired circle shape for my muffin pan. You could certainly cut it with a knife if you would like. For me, this method was just easier. After you get the desired amount of bread that you need, just set them aside.
In a bowl, pour some syrup. I only had about 1/4th of a bottle left. You can eye ball this and use as much as you would like. I took my baster brush and dipped it into the syrup and then I basted it on the top part of the bread (the part that is going to be facing up). I got all of the corners and sides. I didn't soak it, but it was pretty sticky!
Take each of your basted bread circles and press them into the muffin pan. I didn't press them to the sides of the pan or anything, just pushed down enough so that they would stay in place. It may look like you're not going to have any room to build upon, but you will.
Take a small pinch of cheese and place it at the bottom of each cup. You don't want a lot and I didn't use a real standard measurement.
I broke 8 eggs, threw them into a bowl, and scrambled them inside of the bowl. I also placed some more cheese in with the eggs. The kids like it that way, so you could add other things in it if you would like.
I took a ladle and then poured the eggs inside of my toast cups. By the time that I was nearly done, it looked like the bread and soaked up a lot of the egg, so I went back over it and filled them until they were at the very edge of the muffin section.
I then took the Oscar Meyer real bacon pieces and placed them on top of the eggs. In the original recipe from The Noshery, she cooked up real bacon slices ahead of time. For me, I decided to do things the lazy way.
The oven was preheated (see step one), and I popped the bacon & egg toast cups and set my timer for 13 minutes. The results were perfect. I checked the eggs to make sure that they were cooked enough, and they had puffed up, spreading the bacon pieces around. I didn't have any rubbery eggs either. At first I thought it was an epic fail because the tops of the poofy cups seemed juicy, but it was due to the cheese, so if you see this, don't be alarmed.

And with that, the masses were allowed to eat. Only one child decided not to and indulge in some disgusting cereal that smelled terrible, but secretly I delighted...why? Because this meant I was actually going to get to eat them, not just make them and then take pictures of them.

If you have tried this out, please let myself know & once again, if you want to see the original version, check out The Noshery. I am thinking that these would be wonderful pre-made and frozen, I just need to regather some gumption to do so (or at least find some free time).

Welcome Back

2012-05-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a rather long time since I have written and while I had these illusions of grandeur, I realized that trying to complete nursing coursework & maintain this blog throughout was just a silly notion (read: completely stupid idea).

But now, I am done with the semester and I have 3.5 whole months to get to being craftsy (or maybe not so much) and share the awesomeness that is my life. While this all sounded like a fantastic idea as I sat in the garage pondering the wonderful things that I would prepare & indulge, I just do not know where to get started. I am still in this mindset where I feel like I am doing something wrong because I am not at school. (Those scary nursing instructors truly instill the fear of everything in you).

So, I guess that I am going to have to find some sort of craft to do or magnificent dish to prepare. It will come...I hope.

Discpline for Kids Who Refuse to be Discplined

2012-01-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

I am sure that many of you read the title and thought to yourself, there isn't a child who can ever refuse to be disciplined because you're the parent, yada yada yada. Well, you can come and live at my house and your tune will change rather quickly.

Yes, I live in a home where 3 out of the 4 children are bad kids. Bad how you ask? They are rude, ignorant, disrespectful, hurtful, spiteful, mean, lazy, rude, and they lack appropriate manners. Oh wait, I am sure you are once again thinking, "Well, that's your fault, those types of behaviors / attitudes / etc are supposed to be instilled by you because you are the parent." Nice try, but unfortunately it doesn't quite work that way.

Firstly, we are a blended family. It's a his, mine, ours setup. He has his two boys, I have my daughter, and we have a 2-year old together. So of course, there is a lot of opposition already. Secondly, the kids (minus ours), all are "special" and by special, I mean that we have hit the jackpot of mental illnesses / behavioral problems, etc. Thirdly, past experiences and situations while three of the children were young have really shaped them into who they are as well as their behaviors & attitudes. When done at a young age, it is hard to reverse the "damage" that was done.

I don't make excuses, but I will offer a very quick bit of advice, when something happens to your children or they have to go through something terrible & messy, like a divorce for example, the worst thing that you can do for them is spoil them, excuse their behavior as being the result of the divorce, and let them get away with murder. I tell you this now to save you a lot of agony and strife later. Do not spoil your children with material things thinking that this is your way of apologizing for whatever event happened. This is not what children need. Do not be their best friend either, you are not there to be your child's friend, you are there to be their parents. Of course you want them to respect you and to come to you with things, problems, issues, or whatever, but when they think of you as a buddy, then you lose that respect and your life will become miserable.

In this household, the children get crummy grades, they have no responsibility, they have no work ethic, and no respect. I can ask them to do something until I am blue in the face and it is met with hostility, resentment, and laziness. And don't give me that, "you can reward them" nonsense. We've been there, done that, and epically failed. We have encouraged good grades by offering incentives as well, FAIL-DOZER (beep beep).

Nothing works in this house. So you can only imagine that it is filled with stress, lots & lots of it.

So where am I going with this? I don't know, it was all planned out in my head, but it soon took flight. But tonight, there was an incident with one of the children & it involved baby gates getting knocked over and using one's foot instead of their hands to pick it up. I asked once for him not to use his foot, he used his foot anyways, and this repeated for a few minutes until after knocking the gates over and having to pick them up, he finally got it (or was sick of looking at me). Then said ~~heathen~~ child wanted to stomp around like a jerk out of being angry. So he found himself putting on his shoes & coat and then began stomping outside. Of course at first he didn't want to stomp, he wanted to march, so we had to wait until he was stomping like he did in my house in order to start the one minute timer.

Unconventional, surely. But I will tell you this, I have been through plenty of the behavioral management stuff. The 1-2-3 Magic is nonsense, time outs are pointless, taking away privileges, whatever. It does not work in this house. Therapy, medications...been there & do it all, only to end up in the same situation every day.

It's insanity, it really is. It gets tiring & boring & beyond stressful. Oh and please, I don't need to hear "the kids have issues, they need to be dealt with differently" because that is a total crock. The kids have zero when it comes to any type of morality, ethic, etc. I try to enforce it and make them realize that they are making poor choices, lay out what the consequences will be, yet they seem to think I am stupid.

But of course, we are always met with "that isn't fair" & "my friends don't have to do ZYX" & "you treat me like a baby". Of course I treat you like a baby, because you cannot show that you have any sense of responsibility or consideration in attempting tasks/chores/behaviors that prove otherwise.

However, you must be thinking...she didn't mention Pinterest this time, what is going on? Well, never fear. I found this resource that I shall be employing in this household, from Pinterest. It is called 21 Creative Consequences. It it supposed to be directed toward Tweens, however a lot of the methods & suggestions apply to younger children as well.

Like I said, I am not messing around. The disrespect for me is going to stop and not listening to anything I say is going to stop. Now usually this is not an issue for Richie, as the kids will usually do what he says without much of an issue, but for me, pshaw. They need to learn that I am not acting like a psycho because I think it is fun, but because I am trying very hard to instill some important things into them, like taking pride in one's work, some sort of work ethic, respectfulness, and making good choices.

Who knows where this shall lead, but I am glad that I finally stumbled upon some discipline tips that are different from the traditional

My Uberly-Expensive Camera Died

2012-01-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned prior that I ~~have~~ had an uberly expensive, Canon 60D DSLR camera, which brought you some semi-spectacular images about the food & such that you have pondered and ogled. I am sad to say that said camera has died. This is deeply angering, mainly because I have only had the thing since March of 2011. Now before you ask, I did make sure to purchase the extended warranty for it, for an additional 2 years. But this process is rather slow, as I had to take the 60D to Best Buy, show it to them, stand there for about 10 minutes while they looked at it and typed some things into the computer. I then proceeded to get lectured on how it would take 2-3 weeks because it needed to be shipped out, however if I was approved for an exchange, then they would contact me immediately and let me know.

This was pretty disheartening, especially since I have all sorts of fun food & crafts that I want to attempt and post pictures, then pin them on Pinterest so tons of people will swoon over my awesomeness (I mean c'mon, this already happens with everyone I already know anyways, so I might as well continue the trend right?).

But what really made me mad is that I felt as if all was lost. See, I made this amazing breakfast and I thought to myself, "Holy crap Carly, get our your magical camera and take pictures of this", and so I did. I managed to snap 2 pictures without event, but that third picture, which I thought was my gem, killed my camera.

You shall rue the day evil breakfast toast bowls, when you took the life of my Canon 60D DSLR that is more camera than I know what to do with. Now how will I ever make anything awesome or crafty when I do not have a camera to take the pictures with? How will the people swoon when they don't see that blur that really makes a pictures?

What am I to do?

All is not lost because I do have a point & shoot that I can take pictures with, but it isn't the same. You won't be able to see every sprinkle, the small little flaws in my cooking, or anything else exciting. I feel as if that evil breakfast toast bowl has consumed my motivation & desire to become artsy-fartsy.

Apparently The People on Pinterest Need a Bath

2012-01-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't been on Pinterest much, mainly because there was a situation in where my missing cat was found, nearly dead, apparently hit by a car, in someone's yard that lived close by. Needless to say, there hasn't been much that I have wanted to do, as this was rather unexpected and I wasn't fully prepared to grasp the entirety of the situation. That even had made for a rather melancholy and unproductive weekend, which translates into, no Pinterest.

But today, this was my first day back, if you would like to call it that. I looked briefly, and found something that seemed rather interesting. What you ask? Some bath fizzies that are apparently very easy to make. So I happily clicked in deciding then, at that moment, I would like to make some bath fizzies.

But that is as far as I got.

However, I did decide to check my email, and instantly I received the "XYZ has repinned your pin on Pinterest" and so I clicked the email to see what exactly was repinned, and surprisingly, the bath fizzies are a huge hit. This has lead me to form a hypothesis:

The people of Pinterest need a bath.

But then I wonder, how many will actually proceed on following through with said pin? I am also willing to bet that a majority the the people who pinned it have these illusions of grandeur, like myself, and imagine relaxing in a nice bathtub, delighting in the joys of their homemade bath fizzies.

I am not lying when I say that this is a brilliant idea, and I have pinned it for the sake of pinning it. Will I ever make these bath fizzies & delight in their fizz magic? Probably not.

However, this has little to do with my motivation and desire to create something exciting. No, the refusal to create bath time fun comes from the fact that I hate my bathtub. It is tiny, uncomfortable, and there isn't enough leg room. Thus, my once pleasurable enjoyment of a warm bath has been overtaken by hot showers. I have had to learn a lot since being forced to convert, such as shave my legs. I have never been able to force myself to shave my legs in the shower, however facing the dilemma of having hairy legs made me rethink my position.

The boycott of said bathtub was decided upon finding myself suction cupped to the back of my bathtub. You see, instead of giving me a few extra inches of tub space, the ~~idiot~~ creator of my tub decided that they would create this decline, so you would be able to relax and lay back. Obviously in theory this is a wonderful idea, but not when you have to be a midget to enjoy the bathtub.

So maybe when I win the lotto, build my awesomely fantastic farm home that will have a fantastic bathtub, I may be able to enjoy a bath. But it looks that after I age a little bit more and I develop the lunch that elderly women gradually get, I will be able to bust out the good ol' Pinterest and follow the directions for making said bath fizzies.

Pinterest & Weddings

2012-01-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

So really, what is it about weddings that make women go crazy? So, I must admit that I personally don't think that I have ever been this girly girl, into fashion and all of that crap. I mean sure, I like pretty things, I like fashion, but when it comes to gettin' my hair did, or finding something fashionable to wear, you can mount me on the wall of shame.

But you can ask Richie, I still have expensive taste.

Okay, but now back to the real point at hand. I am not engaged, I have no immediate plans (that I know of at least) to get married, but Pinterest as turned me into this psycho about weddings and cute things. It's sick. I keep envisioning this huge soiree and how awesome it is going to be. I can only imagine what Richie has to say or think about any of this, nor do I care, because this is my fictional dream wedding that will never be and will lead to some type of disappointment, probably ending up with me getting married at the courthouse and having my reception at the VFW.

On a side note, there is nothing wrong with having your wedding wherever and your reception at the VFW or Moose Lodge, or those Mason guys, or Elks, or whatever. I'm not just saying, that's not me. I would rather not serve my guests Old Style from a can. (Again, totally a joke).

Oh, I probably offended someone. Really, I don't mean it like that, I just don't want a wedding like that. I mean isn't that what all little girls dream of? Granted I am a big girl now, but I still have that hope in the back of my head. This is rather amusing considering I am also a huge pessimist.

But really...what is it about weddings & Pinterest? I have all of these awesome things pinned on this wedding board and women (I'm assuming they are women), are flocking to them like pigs to a mud puddle on a hot summer day. Hilarious. This makes me envision some wedding, and all of these people getting married on the same day, or around the same day, and these weddings are similar to those fancy townhomes and houses in those gated communities, they all look the same, just the color is different. Hopefully when stumbling your way home from drinking, you find your house, and not your neighbor's though. I can imagine that would be rather awkward passing out drunk on a floor or couch that isn't your own.

I have noticed this a lot more lately though, I browse through Pinterest and it is likely that I will see the same thing pinned, and repinned, and re-repinned 4-5 times.

I guess it fills that void in our lives for desiring all of the things that we want, but probably will never have. One person's motivation serves to completely demoralize the majority of the rest of the population.

Dinner With a Smile

2012-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

I hate to cook. I hate everything about it. I have no real reason for my disdain for cooking, I just don't like it. But every once in a while I do it, mostly out of necessity, but nothing amazing or that involves a lot of work. Once again, I don't get the tingles when I do it.

Maybe it's because the kids always piss and moan about what I am making, someone has to complain, even though they have never tried something ever in their life, they "don't like" whatever it is that they see. It's tedious & I hate it. If I ever acted like that when I was little and my mom made dinner, all holy hell would break loose and I would end up starving. I never got "catered to" in regard to food... but that there is a whole other story, post, whatever.

The thing is, I made dinner and it was fan-freaking-tastic. Of course it was based off of a picture that I saw on Pinterest. Go figure right? It looked good and when Richie & I sat there trying to decide what we were going to have for dinner, we decided to just go to the store and find something.

And that is when the picture pinned onto my virtual pin board popped into my head.

It was pretty darn good. Although, once I got home I realized that I didn't have all of the ingredients that we needed, so we had to improvise. Oh, I also hope that you aren't expecting pictures because I didn't take any. I wasn't quite in the mood to infect my camera with raw meat and let whatever gunk there was develop into some crazy infectious disease that would more than likely turn into some crazy pandemic.

This picture, not mine of course, is what dinner was supposed to look like:

My recipe was modified from Sunshine & Bones

But this is what I did & my recipe re-over

1 package of 6 sub rolls
1 1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 small shallots minced
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (I used the zesty chilli kind)
1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
6 tablespoons ketchup (hot & spicy)
Regular ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Garlic salt and pepper (eye balled)
Steakhouse seasoning grinder (eyeballed)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
shredded cheddar cheese
cheddar jack cheese

Step One:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Step Two:
I took the bread I bought and halved them. The bread was actually pretty soft, so that wasn't much of a problem. I then lined my large cookie sheet with tin foil and placed each of the halves down on it. After it was halved and on the cookie sheet, I popped them into the oven for 5 minutes.

Step Three:
While the bread was toasting, I took a bowl and mixed in the meat, an egg, bread crumbs, the minced shallots, milk, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, diced zesty chilli flavored tomatoes, salt & pepper, and seasonings, and kneaded it all together. Richie made the comment that it looked like we were making meatloaf. I never made meatloaf before, so apparently that is what it is like.

Step Four:
I took the scoop that I purchased for making cake balls, and I scooped out the meat mixture onto the bread, end to end. I then popped it back into the oven and cooked it for 22 minutes (or until the meat reaches a temperature of 160 degrees, which is roughly around 20-25 minutes).

Step Five:
After I took them out of the oven, I took regular ketchup and squirted some on each of the sandwiches. I then topped it with my cheese. Throw it back in the oven for 4 minutes, and viola, dinner is served.

The kids loved it and the bread will be really toasty and hard, but where the meat is sitting on it, you can scoop out the soft bread and eat it with the meat topping. Yumm-O.

And also, you do not have to pre-cook the meat before adding it. Mine cooked perfectly. The hot & spicy ketchup & the diced tomatoes did not make any difference in terms of heat, but when you get a bite with the tomatoes, it was fantastic!

Like I said, the ~~heathens~~ children ate it all and I even got "this is the best meal I ever ate", and coming from them, that is rare.

Cake Ball Improvement

2012-01-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I cannot say that I have completely scored in regard to this cake ball making nonsense, however I can proudly boast that my second go-around wasn't as terrible as the first one. I mean after all, I used sprinkles this time, chocolate sprinkles. So boo-yah, in your face cake balls.

This time I used my Babycakes cake pop maker because I am way too lazy for that handmade, cook the cake, crumble it, freeze in, mix some frosting into it, and then use that scoop that I swear does not work properly, and then dip it. Yes, I am lazy & I have not the time nor the patience to sit there and do all of that.

So whatever. Don't roll your eyes because we have all been in that spot at one time or another, for me it just happens a lot more frequently because I don't find myself getting all giddy, shooting rainbows and sparkles out of my butt over some crafty nonsense that ends up somehow ending up in a huge mess that I will have to eventually clean up.

But none of that is the point. I made some cake balls, frosted them (or whatever you call it) and added some sprinkles for the last few. That right there is crafty.

However, when I do something, I like to do it perfectly. I don't half-ass things and now my new obsession is going to entail making those cake balls look p.e.r.f.e.c.t. You know, just like the ones that you see doing some Google search or browsing through Pinterest. I even Googled "how do you coat cake balls perfectly" and I have yet to find an answer. There's always Wikipedia.

Right now my balls are in the freezer though. I had one ball turn out as a phallic object rich served as a more amusement for me than for Richie. I tried to photograph it, but it was shy.

Me vs Cake Balls - Round 2

2012-01-05T04:03:00.000-08:00

Well, after making a trip to Walmart yesterday to pick up a few "crafty things", I stumbled upon what I thought would make my life wonderful...it is a Wilton Chocolate Melter. I gave the finger to the microwave and decided that now I would be reveling in cake ball success and those owl cake balls will be within my reach and I will be the hero after all.

We shall see though. I am not sure when I will be tackling this cake ball fiasco again, as I really want to avoid creating the Great Cake Ball Debacle of 2012.

Of course I shall document this rematch with photos.

Oh, and if you were asking...this is the perfect I hope to obtain by teacher appreciation week...(whenever that is)

(And yes, I know that those are cupcakes, but making cake balls like that can't be that hard can it?)

Easy Breezy Coupon Insert Organizer

2012-01-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Amongst the other things that I dabble into, couponing was one of those things I ~~did~~ do. With school, I dedicated less time to doing it and eventually got a little of a culture shock when I noticed that I was out of toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry detergent. Of course, Amazon's Subscribe & Save helped out a little bit, but I totally need to get back into the swing of things.

It dawned on me the other day that I had a special spot to store all of my inserts from the papers. I went through it and threw out everything because they were all very expired. I still need to clean out what is left of the binder, which is probably bare bones now, but that is a whole other adventure.

But I have been asked a few times how I stored my coupon inserts. It's quite simple really and there is a variation of different ways to do it. But what I have used is my trusty pink box...

This was a filing storage box that I found at Walmart over the summer. It is pretty large (well, it is really long) and it was drawer-like so that I could keep it away from the crawling baby that was able to get into everything. It also fit very nicely under my desk and wasn't really in my way.

I just purchased some hanging file folders that were on clearance (but make sure that you have the right size, there is a regular size and some sort of legal file size) and viola, I tucked my inserts into each one of the hanging file folders.

I went in chronological order, by date obviously.

So for each folder you could just put all of the inserts from one date together, and then the next week, put all of the other inserts in the next folder, and so on and so on.

Why did I do this? Because when I found a deal, I could just go look it up and cut only the coupon I needed out from the insert instead of having to find time to cut out every single coupon from every single insert weekly. For me, it just worked better that way.

Another DIY Valentine's Craft for the Home

2012-01-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

Alright, here we go again. I had a wonderful idea of making a Valentine's Day mantle. Now, it wouldn't be a mantle just for Valentine's Day, but it would be used to decorate for all holidays. So of course, the next upcoming holiday is Valentine's Day, so this is what I decided to do.

It's rather easy, and I have some ideas to improve it, but here is the jist of it.

Materials:

A picture frame. I personally used a black frame that I picked up at Walmart that was $3. It was an 8x10 frame that was matted to 5x7. Similar to this one here at Walmart.
The printed out Valentine's Day art. I got it at this wonderful site, The Bonjour Family
Some scrapbook paper that I purchased at Walmart for another crafty project.

So what I did was click on the color I wanted. I chose the white / transparent paper and I printed out the awesome artwork on my piece of scrap paper, and then I threw it in the frame. It looks a lot better in person.

I am thinking about going off and using that recipe for the homemade Mod Podge and taking some accessory scrapping paper and putting it over the white matted part. I think that would look pretty darn awesome.

But it is rather funny...I have some "artwork" to go on the mantle but I have yet to get a mantle. Yes, I like to do things backwards.

The Cake Ball Experiment

2012-01-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

So, here I sat the other day, repinning all of these awesome looking cake balls. I did some further research and looked at a few videos on YouTube to see how exactly these all went together and looked so wonderful. Hell, I even made these big plans on how I was going to make these cute owl cake balls for the Teacher Appreciation week at the kid's school and I would be the hero.

So at first, everything was going pretty well. The cake baking was no different than what I was used to. It cooled, I crumbled the cake, added some frosting, froze it. But what was to follow became my nightmare. You see, in the videos I watched this chick threw some chocolate chips in her microwave to melt them and coat the cake balls. Easy enough right? WRONG. The first one went okay, it melted, but obviously not enough because I had a mess. A mess on my hands, a mess on my clothes, the countertop, in the bowl. What a disaster.

Then I thought to myself, Carly, maybe you should make some more melted chocolate chips and then you'll have plenty to dip your balls in.

EPIC FAIL.

Instead I had some glob of globiness.

So for all of you out there who think that making cake balls is easy and nothing could possibly go wrong, think again. I followed those YouTube videos, read the instructions, and did all I was supposed to. I even bought one of those small ice cream scoopers to make perfect balls, you hear me, PERFECT BALLS? And they came out anything but perfect.

Of course I thought this was an appropriate situation to take out my camera. Richie just laughed away at me coming up with the Great Cake Ball Debacle of 2011.

Again, defeat came by way of Pinterest.
For your amusement, here is the pictures of the cake ball incident:

The Tales of a Camera

2012-01-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

So sometime in 2011, I had this other wonderfully, brilliant idea that I needed a DSLR camera. I had my point & shoot with some nifty color options, but that just wasn't doing it for me. I wanted that cool blur (which I think is what they refer to as bokeh or something of the sort (see what having an uberly expensive camera does...well, maybe you do cause I still surely don't).

But anyways, I wanted an awesome camera to take awesome shots. I mean c'mon, there are like four children in this house, one of which is actually cute, so why not spend a bunch of money on a camera. So I have it and I managed to take some pictures with it. Some turned out great, but most of them sucked terribly
Oh I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have no damn clue as to what I am doing with it. It's not like you can just Google, how do I use this awesome DSLR that is way too advanced for me.So instead, I sit around and take pictures of random things around the house, like that pumpkin for instance. It's face is totally peeling off, but whatever. I still like the picture, and the fact that it is a cat is pretty awesome as well.

What's the moral of the story? Hell if I know. But maybe if there had to be one, you should really consider your purchase before buying a DSLR. The pictures look awesome once you know what you are doing, but at other times, well...you'd be better off with a point & shoot.

My Attempt to Be Organized

2012-01-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I know that I went off on a little bit of a tangent about random things, especially the craftiness that exists on Pinterest. However, it doesn't mean that I absolutely shun the site. I mean after all, everyone and everything is so disorganized in this house, I have to do something.

So I decided to start with something that is rather easy. See, I had this dry-erase calendar thing that I purchased from Walmart. It was alright, but the week always started with Monday and to be quite frank, I became too lazy to figure out what was going on. We always had appointments added, if Richie didn't bring in the cards for the boy's appointments, then it was absolutely pointless. Plus, when it comes to hand writing, I am quite anal and the spaces to write in were just too small.

It wasn't until I saw this clever idea on Pinterest, that the wheels began spinning. This was my inspiration:

the original idea came from: Next to Heaven

And basically, I attempted to recreate the same exact thing. It isn't as fancy, but I did it none-the-less.

I purchased this collage frame from Walmart (and although their website said they didn't have it in stores, they lied) and it was cheaper than what was listed on the website. I only paid $10 for it.

Then I purchased some scrapbook pattern packs from Walmart as well. They were only $5 a piece and they have 25 different patterns (2 of each pattern), for a total of 50 pages. I got two different packages of it and I figured that would be enough for whatever craftiness I decided to get myself into.

And it was pretty easy I must say. I just used those picture holders for those insanely happy people that are the placards for where a real photo would go, and was able to cut it out from there. So very high-tech, I know. I also threw my crummy handwriting on it to mark each of the days of the week.

Now, I could get even more creative and write something or do something fancy above the frame thingy, but for now, this will just have to do.

The Problem with Pinterest

2012-01-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

So here I have been sitting for hours upon hours for the past few days, supposedly enjoying what little I have left of my winter break before returning to classes on the 17th of January. I have become immersed in all things Pinterest and quite frankly, this pisses me off.

Why you ask? Because I keep seeing all of these awesome things, all of these fun things that I could do at home, and for once, I feel inspired. After Richie bursts my bubble in the magical way that he only knows how, I get pissed and realize, I am not that person, I am not that mother.

You see, I like crafty things, I like awesome looking things. I enjoy being creative, but everything around me stifles me greatly. From kids, to school, and even my own rather large ass. To me, this is disappointing. And please, if you are sitting there reading this with some holier than thou attitude, you can quietly proceed to clicking the close button on your browser and go back to where you came from.

I am not some alien entity and I am not the only person in the world that feels way. Look at some of those awesome creations on Pinterest that are meant for the home and look at how AWESOME those homes are that have that. Trust me, making some of those fun, crafty things are a lot more than just buying the materials to make the crafts. Some of that involves heavy restoration and remodeling. Yes, you know that is true.

Sorry, unfortunately I do not love the house that I live in that much, plus, I am going to be stuck here for at least 2-3 more years until I finish with school. So what do you do?

Well, I'll tell you what I won't do. I will not sit here and feel guilty about not taking on this awesome-mom role making everything rainbow and cupcakes. Sounds harsh? It's really not, but it's just the way I feel.