Treebaby's Teardrop

Handmade Gift Exchange Part 2

2011-12-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

So my partner received her gift so I can show you what I made. My exchange partner, Emily, is a busy mom with 2 girls and a fiance. I figured she could use some relaxation. Through emails she said she likes bold prints, pinks and greens. Low and behold, I had the fabric to fit the bill. I had a short term gig sewing baby quilts and the lady I was doing it for said I could keep any scraps too small for the quilts. So I have a bunch of black and white zebra print and dots as well as a few pieces of black fleece. Here is what I made....
Sleeping Beauty Eye Pillows...

I found the pattern here.. And then modified it a bit.
Start by enlarging the pattern. It prints smaller than actual size. This is when I realize the cheep printer I purchased doesn't enlarge. Luckily, I have a friend who's printer does.

Next, cut out your two pieces....

Then pin them together wrong sides together...

And baste them together, leave about a 2 inch whole to fill the eye pillow....

Cut a piece of 1/4 in elastic. I found that 15-16 inches usually does it. And attach it to the BACK of the eye pillow. I can't even tell you how many times I put it on the front, grrr.

Then you will start the bias tape. I used double fold bias tape. You'll notice that it has a shorter side. Start with this. You will unfold it and line it up with your fabric, on the right, top side, then stitch along the first fold. Start with a small fold at the beginning. This will be your finished edge in the end.

Once you've gone all the way around ( leave the space with the opening undone) you will fold the bias tape over to the back, and top stitch close to the edge on the front. Stop a few inches before you get to the hole. Be careful not to catch your elastic in the bias tape...

Now your going to add the filling. I used flax seed, lavender and chamomile, but you can get really creative with this part. This book, Making Herbal Dream Pillows, can give you a lot of ideas. I just spoon it in until the pillow is about 1/2 full. You want it to have enough to spread out, but not so much that it is stiff and doesn't drape over the eyes.

Then baste the opening closed...

Then finish the bias tape, tucking the ends into the beginning...

And your all done.

Now you can heat these pillows in the microwave for about 1 minute. Be careful not to go any longer or you could scorch the flax seed. You can also keep them in the freezer and use them cold when you have a headache.

I made little spritzer bottles with essential oils for when the herbs start losing their scent. I put a pinch of epsom salt in the bottom of a spritzer and added a few drops of Serenity EO, then filled the bottle with distilled water.

The second pillow, I filled with Jasmine and Orange and made the spritzer with Elevation EO.

"What did I get?" You ask. My partner made me this darling clutch for my purse and a Christmas coaster for my winter's hot cocoa. I love them!

Just a Little Hole

2011-11-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've expected for a long time that I have a hole in my heart. I thought this because my sister, Andrea, did too. Years ago she had a mini stroke and through investigating that, they found that she had a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). She had hers repaired shortly after. It pretty much resolved her migraine headaches. Apparently, they are common in a lot of people who have migraines with aura. The chances of it are also more common in family members and people born by cesarean. So 3 out of 3 of those apply to me.

A few weeks ago I was tested to see if I had a PFO. The first test was called a Trans-Cranial Doppler. (TCD) is a new test which measures brain artery blood flow by using safe ultrasound echo probes placed on the surface of both sides of the head. If microscopic bubbles injected through an IV shunt past the lungs to the left heart, TCD detects and counts each bubble as it appears in the brain arteries. This showed that a PFO was present.

Then they did TransThoracic Echocardiography ( or TTE). It is a noninvasive, ultrasound test which evaluates heart structures. Microscopic bubbles injected into a vein show a PFO when they cross to the left side. This determined the severity of the PFO.

After all this was confirmed the recommended an MRI on my brain which I did a few days later. They need to see if I have any neurological damage caused by the PFO. You see, it doesn't affect my heart as much as my brain. What happens is when the PFO comes open, unoxygenated blood and possibly small clots flow from one side of my heart into the oxygenated blood on the other side, which then flows to your brain, possibly causing a stroke.

The scariest risk is stroke. A large PFO can increase your stroke risk up to 20%. After evaluating your risk, a panel decides if you qualify for closure.

The closure procedure has its risks, but amazingly, can be done through a catheter put in a vein in your leg that is guided to your heart. They put a little double umbrella device in the heart which is then closed over in time by scar tissue.

So, in this case I found that ignorance is bliss. It has been in the back of my mind for years. But now that I know it is, and I need to do something about it, it is stressing me out. Now it is in the forefront of my mind all the time. ANXIETY! Even though I'm in no more risk than I ever was, the thought of medical procedures is freaking me out. I really dislike Dr.'s offices and everything involved with them. I don't like the idea of sedation. I've never even taken a Valium. Being restrained freaks me out. I guess I'm just a control freak. They idea that I may be a ticking time bomb for a stroke is uncomfortable as well.

The silver lining is, if I get it closed, it will more than likely fix my migraines. They have been plaguing my for years. They totally disable me during the aura period when I loose a good deal of my sight for about 45 minutes. I never know when the are coming on. THAT I will be glad to be rid of.

This week I will get the results of the MRI and get a better idea on what to expect next. I'm not sure what I want.

Anyway, enough babbling. If you want to learn more, here is a link to the medical office I am going to....
http://sorensenmd.com/PFO_BROCHURE_0807_files/frame.htm

Handmade Gift Exchange

2011-11-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I signed up to participate in the Handmade Gift Exchange hosted by http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/ . I've been racking my brain trying to decide what to make. I finally settled on an idea that reflects things I enjoy and I hope my exchange partner will too. I'm not giving hints because I'm mailing her gift off today. Don't want to spoil the surprise.
Meagan was very intrigued by the idea that a total stranger would send you a FREE present. I had to remind her that it isn't really free because you make and send something too. But I tend to agree with her. How cool, presents in the mail! How often do you actually get something good in the mail? For me, rarely, bills, yuk. So I'm super psyched to get my gift out and see what comes in the mail.
Here is a little sneak peak....

If you know me, you know how out of my league I am when it comes to wrapping presents and presentation. Hopefully, my gifts rarely suck, but you may sometimes get them in a grocery bag or nothing at all. I found this wrapping today and just had to get it because it totally matches my present. Hehe, fun. I think I see why people put so much effort into their presentation. I'll show you what I made after I confirm that she got it in the mail. Maybe a tutorial? We'll see.

Canning Craze

2011-11-14T12:01:00.001-07:00

Every year I become increasingly obsessed with canning. This year, with our garden exploding and an introduction to a local fruit grower, I had tons to do. Justin worked with me in the majority of the canning. We spent quiet a few days harvesting and canning. Now how many husbands do that? He's awesome. We tried a lot of new things this year. Here is the low down.

Honey Spiced Peaches
Brandied Peaches
Peach Butter
Peach Salsa
Peach Jam

Tomatoes
Salsa (a LOT of salsa)

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

Applesauce
Apple Pie Filling
Red Hot Cinnamon Apples

Raspberry Jam
Raspberry Pie Filling

Elderberry Jelly (Me and Mom)

Dilly Beans
Armenian Cucumber Pickles

Watermelon Jelly and Pickled Watermelon Rind - I threw out both of these. Gross, Gross, Gross.

We also froze a lot of beans, corn, tomatoes, raspberries and peaches.
I'm already planning my garden and canning for next year. YUM! YUM! Now all I need is a pressure canner so I can do low acid foods like veggies and meats.

Andrew in Alaska

2011-11-05T14:53:00.000-06:00

My parents took Andrew to Alaska this summer. Two of my brothers, Shane and Matt, live there with there families. They made sure Andrew had an amazing adventure.

They flew him out to Minto Flats...


Looks like they got a bit of rain.

My brothers Shane and Matt

Andrew with his pike.

Shane's hand. When a pike bites.

Cabin they stayed in.

Then Shane took Andrew out on the Tanana River...

to Clear Water to catch grayling...

Then Matt, Mom, Dad, and Andrew took a drive to see some landscape....

He also visited Alaskaland and the Museum at UAF.

He had the time of his life.

Andrew in Moab

2011-11-05T10:30:00.000-06:00

Andrew's adventurous trip to Moab with the scouts....

Pics I found on Andrew's camera...

The Big Crash

2011-11-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

At the end of May I recieved the dreaded phone call from a Scout Leader. "Uhm, were bringing Andrew home. He's been in an accident and crashed his bike. Were not sure if he is going to need medical attention." Oh boy. First off, let me say, I would never want to have the responsibility of being a scout leader. No matter how hard you try, boys with almost grown bodies and half grown brains are inherently dangerous.

For months the scouts had been preparing for a biking trip to Moab. Their leaders had been taking them out biking to help build up their endurance. They were coming fast down a steep hill when Andrew lost control of his bike. He swerved to miss crashing into his friend in front of him and tipped over his bike and proceeded to slide down the road with every surface of his body. Luckily, everyone was required to wear helmets Otherwise this story would have been MUCH worse.

I have no idea how he did it, but Andrew played the tough guy. He kept telling them, "I'm fine, I'm fine." He was NOT fine. They loaded him and his mangled bike up and brought him home. Let me tell you, I have never seen one of my children this damaged and bloody before. It was a bit shoking. And he kept telling us, "I'm fine" too. That is until the scout leader left. I said, "Andrew, you're not fine," and the flood gates opened. The thing is, he was more worried about the nice bike his grandma had bought him than himself. We assured him that grandma would not be mad at him and would only be concerned that he was OK. Then we started dealing with the carnage.

After assessing that nothing was broken, or needed stitching, we decided we could torture him just as well as the ER. We watched him for signs of a concussion or shock. I made Justin watch him in the shower, which is very embarrassing when you are 14. After showering we spent a few hours picking out gravel and dirt, dousing him with hydrogen peroxide, spraying him with every germ and infection fighting essential oil I have (meleluca, oregano, Purify, OnGuard, lavender, and clove for the pain), smearing him with neosporin, and bandaging him up. The poor child looked like a mummy when we were done with him. Both his arms we road rashed from the shoulders to his fingertips. His elbows were skinned down to the white fleshy stuff, eww. He had scraped off parts of flesh from the palms of his hands and some of his fingertips. His knees were skinned up like his elbows. Both the front and back of his shoulders were scraped up. He must have rolled to get both sides like that. Luckily he had on his camel pack, which took the brunt of the back injuries.

He was in a lot of pain for a few days and missed some school. It took a few weeks for everything to heal up. It is now six months later and he has scars all up and down his arms. Hopefully they will fade with time. The good news is 1. Helmets save lives. He had a big dent and crack in his helmet. That could have easily been his head. 2. He healed enough in time to go to Moab with the scouts. 3. His bike is OK, after 3 trips to the cycle shop to get it all repaired. The bike mechanics were sure he would be in the hospital when they saw the condition of his bike. Here are a few pics for the unsqueamish. This is just one arm, before and after mother torture.

We asked Meagan to take care of Sienna while we dealt with this. Apparently, they were a bit tired. Too sweet. What a good big sister.

A Day at the Sand Dunes

2011-11-04T23:01:00.000-06:00

We spend a day at the Little Sahara Recreation Area, aka, the sand dunes, this summer. My little brother, Matt, and his wife Jolie were visiting, so the whole Billings clan headed out for a day. The sand dunes are only about an hour away from our house.

My baby, wandering alone in the desert...

Brave Aunt Victoria with Meagan, Quinn, Sienna, Zane and Andrew

OK, so notice in this picture below and the pictures above. Nice, sunny, calm, hot day. Notice behind Meagan you can see our van and Andrea's suburban and the family at the picnic table. You can also see way off into the distance. Right????

Look the other way.... dark skies... withing a matter of seconds, literally seconds, it went from nice a clear and calm to a raging sandstorm. All the grownups except me were down by the picnic table when the wind came roaring in. Andrew, Amanda, Meagan and I grabbed toddlers and ran. In a matter of seconds, we couldn't even open our eyes to find the vehicles. It was really scary with all those kids. Everyone came rushing to help. We lost a bunch of sand toys but got all the kids safely, and some in tears, to the parking lot. I was shocked how fast it all happened. When I go back, I will never let my kids too far from my reach.

Other than its abrupt ending, the day was really fun.

Andrew Runs His First 5K

2011-11-04T22:28:00.000-06:00

Andrew ran his first 5K this Spring at his school.

He did a great job! Andrew's favorite part, the all you can eat breakfast after the race.

Yellowstone NP August 2011

2011-11-04T21:31:00.001-06:00

Justin got a few days off this year for vacation. We were lucky enough to get a condo in Yellowstone for 3 nights. We drove all the way up there in one day. Trust me, not a good idea with a toddler. Then we spent the next three days touring the park and then headed home through Grand Teton NP and drove home in one day. Again, not fun with a toddler. The trip was great in all. None of us had ever been to Yellowstone before. Maybe next time we will have time to do more hikes and see some off the off beat attractions. Here are some pics... As you can see, we strapped Sienna in a backpack for the majority of the excursions. I had horrible fears that she could fall into a giant waterfall....

Meagan spotted this coyote

Breastfeeding in pubic, hehe, in the middle of the street nonetheless.

Ahh, love the man!

I like that boulder, that's a nice boulder.

Completely tuckered out

The most powerful thing I have ever seen.

On a short leash. See above picture of mighty waterfall.

Love

Wait a minute, are they all happy at ONCE!

A little something stuck to my eye.

Yes, that is MY shirt you decided to land on. Geesh, that was one BIG bug.

The hike I sat out with Sienna. Too many stairs for a 2 yr old.

Up close and personal with a Grizzly Bear. Don't worry, this was at the wolf and grizzly rescue just outside the park. If you look really close, you can see the fence in the background.

Grand Prismatic Spring. The prettiest place in YNP if you ask me.

Last, but not least, Old Faithful.

Trying to Catch Up!

2011-11-04T20:31:00.000-06:00

Amanda's play (in April)....
She played the part of the wardrobe in Center Sage Youth Performers production of Beauty and the Beast, Jr. Of course, she totally rocked. She had some major difficult music and really stepped it up. Her costume was insane! Here are a few pics. In her first scene, she doubles as a laundry woman.

Sienna's Second Birthday

2011-04-22T18:08:00.001-06:00

Dear Sienna,

You turned two last month. The fact that it has taken me almost a month to write about your birthday is largely because you are an extreme ball of energy and I am not.

You are such a fun baby. I can’t believe how often you make us smile and laugh. You have learned so much in this last year. You are talking in complete sentences and we like to call you our little ditto machine. You pick up on things we don’t even realize. You’re learning the ropes of being part of this family. Your best friends Amanda, Andrew and Meagan are teaching you everything, good and bad, about being a Hobbs kid. You like to call us “Meanies” when you don’t get your way and you say “Oh fine,” when we ask you to do something you don’t want to do. We will credit these to Meagan. The swear words are dad, ……mostly. You love to get a “sagge” (massage) with lavender before bed. Your favorite foods are peaches and mandarin oranges. You refuse to stop nursing. And you are about 75% potty trained. You hate to go to bed or take naps and you LOVE to take off all your clothes and pee on the floor. You hate nursery and love to hang out with grandma on Sundays instead. Your favorite toys are puzzles, babies and books. You love animals and are not afraid to go pick up a chicken, but you want to eat Red, the chicken who wants to peck you.

Everybody loves you and you are ray of sunshine in our lives. Thanks for being part of who we are.

Love,

Mom

A trip to the Zoo for your birthday....

Your Birthday Party....

A New Trick....

The First Haircut....

A Better Choice. Part 2.

2011-04-03T14:09:00.000-06:00

Thursday of last week I went to a new dentist for a second opinion. Dr. Arnoud Noot in American Fork. I was referred to him by my old dentist, so I googled him. Glad I did! Come to find out he practices only Biomimetic Dentistry. Don’t worry, I had no idea what that meant either. “Biomimetic dentistry treats weak, fractured, and decayed teeth in a way that keeps them strong and seals them from bacterial invasion. Careful sealing against infection removes the need for 60% to 90% of the crowns and root canals of traditional dentistry.” (http://toothconservingdentistry.com/p-about_bd.html).

I scheduled an appointment for a consultation with him. After a few x-rays and discussion, he felt he could save my tooth. I fully anticipated that I would need to schedule another appointment for work to be done. However, he was immediately able to start work on it that day. When I expressed my concerns about epinephrine in the shots, he assured me that he doesn’t use that in his practice. He numbed me just around the tooth that he would be working on. It took longer than a traditional filling but was well worth it. Luckily I had Justin there for emotional support. He was able to sit and rub my feet, (my favorite sedative) and watch the whole procedure on a screen in the room.

He was able to repair my tooth and avoid a root canal. He used a microscope and innovative tools to remove decay. He then properly sealed the tooth and a few days later added an onlay. After the procedure, I had little numbness. It was only right around one tooth and wore off quickly. I had no pain afterwards and was able to eat normally that night.

Talking with him about his methods and philosophy taught me a lot about the problems in traditional dentistry. I was especially impressed with the fact that we weren’t shuffled through like at the other establishment. Dr. Noot took the time to talk with us personally about our concerns. I would highly recommend Dr. Noot and plan to send my whole family to him from now on.

A Better Choice. Part 1.

2011-03-28T23:15:00.000-06:00

My teeth suck. Here are some reasons why…

Milk, blech, I can’t remember when I have ever drank a glass.
The fact that I didn’t eat through Middle and High School, bad, bad, idea.
Four babies equaling 3 years of pregnancy and now a grand total of 8 years of nursing that have sucked any remaining calcium from my system.
Diet Coke
Sugar
Years and years of no dental insurance.
The fact that I’d rather give birth then get a filling.

Anyway, the list could go on and on, but I’ll get to the point. A few weeks ago I had a filling fall out. I didn’t have any pain, just a hole where one shouldn’t be, making it impossible to ignore. I knew if I didn’t address it, it would just get worse. Plus I had a molar with a crown that was zinging me when I brush.

Years ago Justin and I found a great dentist in Pleasant Grove. Unfortunately for us, he decided to become a Wisdom Teeth Only kind of guy and we found ourselves without a dentist, which really was not cool of him. We felt comfortable with him.

As many of you locals know, we have what I call the conveyor belt dentists in our area. You hear their ads on the radio all the time. They are preferred providers. The have same day appointments. These brothers even volunteer their services in many ways. It all sounds so good. My experience was not that however. I found the whole thing very cold and impersonal. The place is huge and the dentists just pop from room to room doing as much as possible. I went to get fillings done last year. The first thing, a technician came and injected my mouth with loads of lidocaine. She numbed ¼ of my mouth with about 5 shots. Apparently, my system doesn’t handle the epinephrine in the shots that most dentists use. My heart felt like it was going to explode. They couldn’t even start work on me until it slowed and calmed down a little. Then they put those blocks in your mouth that force them open. I’m not cool with this. I wasn’t happy with the work either. The dentist, whichever one it was, left a gap between my teeth. After the appointment, I was so numb I couldn’t even talk. It took forever to wear off. I literally couldn’t feel my nose for days. I’m not exaggerating.

After this I figured I’d never go back. But last week I decided to give them a second chance, since I didn’t have a better alternative and my teeth needed immediate attention. So, last Tuesday, a technician came and took a bunch of x-rays of my problem teeth. Next thing you know, I’m being told I need 2 root canals. Wha? According to them, I had no other options. Let me go back and tell you why I loath this idea. I am missing a few teeth, all from root canals gone bad. Did you know that it is the only medical procedure that forces your body to accept dead tissue? Well, apparently, my body revolts, gets abscesses and attempts to rid my mouth of root canals by any means possible. That, and the fact that two teeth would max out my insurance for the year and then cost me a wad of dough out of pocket. Needless to say, I walked out of there without making another appointment.

Baby Houdini

2011-03-26T22:53:00.000-06:00

So this is what Sienna decided to repeatedly do at 5 am this morning. There was no way I was going to keep her in that crib. At one point, around 6:30 this morning, I had had enough. She was NOT going to go back to sleep. I put her back in her crib and shut her door and left her. She promptly freaked out, jumped out again and pounded on her door crying, "Rock-a-Bye Baby Me!!!! Rock-a-Bye Baby Me!!!!" Can you say Heartbreak?!? Needless to say, the night officially ended at 5 am. Boo, on a Saturday?!

So this evening we converted her crib to a toddler bed.

Any bets on how much sleep I'll get tonight?

St. Patrick's Day Fun....

2011-03-17T18:48:00.002-06:00

All dressed in green... Meagan dressed Sienna before we got up this morning. She was saving her from all the pinching. Amanda sported green earrings with her uniform and Andrew went all out with a green t shirt.

We did our hair all shamrocky....

I did Amanda's too, but she ran off with her friends before I could get a picture. :(
Sienna just got pigtails. She's not patient enough for a shamrock yet...

We made leprechaun traps....

Then we ended the day with Beef and Barley Soup and Irish Soda Bread.

What are your family traditions for St. Patrick's Day?

Meagan's 10th Birthday

2011-03-17T18:21:00.000-06:00

These are super late. Meagan's Birthday was in February. But better late than never, right?
We did the traditional family thing of dinner, gifts and cake and ice cream on her birthday with all the family. Then a few days later she had her friend party. I didn't get one picture that day. I guess that's what happens when your house is invaded by insane amount of little boys and girls.
Meagan has changed so much this year. She is growing into a beautiful young lady and we are very proud of her.

For her birthday she really wanted Hawaiian Haystacks. It took a bit of research, apparently I'm the only person on the planet that had never had them. But is you are like me, this is what they are. Rice topped with chicken smothered in cream of chicken soup. Then you add whatever toppings you want along these lines, cheese, chow meain noodles, pineapple, carrots, celery, or whatever else is in the fridge. They are actually quite good.

This is her Fablehaven Birthday Cake....

Opening gifts. Meagan and I made her outfit by reworking a dress we had inherited from someone else and using scraps to make her barrette and necklace....

Quinn and Sienna helping out....

Zane playing cop....

Tag! You're it!

2011-03-04T11:26:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by “LDS Mom to Many”

This is a 4x4 blog meme that reveals some insights about me.

1. Four Places I Go-

* In the car. Back and forth to schools mostly.

* Pleasant Grove. To hang out with my parents, sis and her fam J

* To the grocery store. Drop a pretty penny there every month.

* Nowhere, this subject in my life is horribly boring and I now see how much I need to remedy it.

2. Four Of My Favorite Smells-

* Frankincense. It calms me and does wonders. I love Earthy scents.

* Peppermint. I don’t leave home without it.

* Freshly mown grass. Especially when my dad runs his lawnmower over the mint patches in his field grass.

* Baked cinnamon rolls. No explanation needed there.

3. Four Favorite Shows/Movies-

* Downton Abbey

* The Forsyte Saga

* Big Love

* The Emperor’s New Groove

4. Four Recomendations-

* Take care of your husband and hopefully, he’ll be the only one you’ve got.

* Give people the benefit of the doubt.

* Tell your kids you love them everyday with words and actions.

* Be more physical. Hug someone today. J

I wonder if anyone of my Blog friends will play?

I am tagging these 4 -

Andrea @ Bug World

Teresa @ Teresa’s Mind Spring

Nicole @ Hobbs Happenings

Michelle @ MushBellyBlog

Anyone else who would like to play along….

You're it!

Healthy as a Horse

2011-03-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

   For the most part, my kids are rarely ever sick. We have probably had less than 10 prescriptions for our entire family of 6 in the past 18 yrs. Being without health insurance for about 15 or those years, we learned how to treat our kids at home. Sometimes, with less conventional means than say, over the counter medications.    However, the occasional bug inevitably hits. Sienna caught it this time, poor baby. She started heating up Sunday afternoon and as been going through waves of fever and chills ever since. She isn't horribly ill luckily, just annoyingly ill.
     All our other kids will sleep right through most illnesses. We can quarantine them to their rooms with the special privilege of putting the TV in their room for the day. They get to eat Popsicles and drink 7-up to their hearts content. This makes being sick suck a little less and keeps the germs in one room of the house if possible. Sienna, on the other hand, will have no part of this. She wants to be held all day and sleep in my bed. The worst part is the no sleeping bit. Last night, we finally got her down at 11 pm. This lasted about an hour and she was mostly up all night till 4 am! This is after taking only a 30 minute nap the day before. Finally, her fever broke around 4:45 am, just as Justin's alarm clock went off and the day was set to begin. I helped Justin get off to work, woke Amanda up to get ready for school, then went back to bed and proceeded to sleep through a bunch of stuff that needed to happen, such as driving Andrew to seminary. Ooops. Oh well, I guess missing a day won't kill him.
     Also, Sienna likes to turn blue. She had done this since she was an infant. Andrea came to take pictures of her when she was just a few days old. We took all her clothes off and she was chilly and turned nice and blue. In fact, her feet were so purple that Andrea had to make the pictures Black and White.

As she chills with this bug, she goes purple around her lips and from her hands to her elbows. I know this is harmless, I've had the Dr. check her out. But is still scares me. She pinked right up today after a super warm bath and being wrapped in blankets. She is now rosy red with fever again. Poor Baby. We are using our essential oils in full force. I apply peppermint and lemon to her spine and the bottoms of her feet to reduce the fever. I am also diffusing OnGuard day and night to help reduce any germs from spreading to the rest of the fam. I'm grateful to have the resources to help her be more comfortable and help her body heal.

Green Smoothie Disaster

2011-02-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Imagine a few words more colorful then the mess on the floor......

I guess that puts an end to Green Smoothies at our house for a while. :( Totally my bad.

Toddler Dress Remake - 2

2011-02-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

This one was for my niece, Quinn. Isn't she cute? That is her bestest bud, Doggie. Her dress is made from a flannel shirt my sister bought on clearance for her hubby. He didn't care for it, so we gave it new life. Throw on a ribbon and some flowers made from red scrap jean material and it girled up really well.

What We Do for Entertainment

2011-02-10T09:13:00.001-07:00

Oster vs. Blendtec

This was our "Great Green Smoothie" blender competition. I love Amanda's face. She is like "You've got to be kidding me, I have so many better things to be doing right now. But I'll just smile and watch." Sienna is running around like a crazy woman. Justin is the one doing the "prodding." I'm giving "helpful" advice. And Andrew and Meagan are totally into it. Typical family reactions.

You always see the demos at Costco for the Blendtec, so we wanted to try it before we considered buying it. Luckily, my mom already had a Bledtec for us to borrow. I think we did something wrong, like maybe not enough water of something, because the Blendtecs at Costco go, Whiz, Bang, Boom, Green Smoothie! In our trial, not so much. Our Oster did fairly well once we "encouraged" it a bit. The Blendtec had a bit smoother texture when finished. This recipe was fairly simple for both blenders though.

Green Smootie
about 2 cups spinach
1 banana
2 clementines
about 1/2 cup pineapple, core and all
about 1 cup ice and water

We have made a few since then, but not compared as much. The Blendtec will pulverize things like carrots into the smoothie. I need to check our Oster to see how it does with harder fruits and veggies. The smoothie above is the best recipe we have tried. We've also experimented with mixtures including things like frozen strawberries, grapes, apples, kale, blueberries, yogurt, and kiwi. Most everything is pretty yummy. I can't seem to get over the texture of kale though, which is a bummer. It is one of the healthiest greens to include.

I think adding green smoothies to our diet is going to help us tremendously. We overload on carbs, diet Coke and meat here. Greens aren't as well incorporated as they should be. This makes it easy to get those recommended fruits and veggies into your diet. And they taste great :)

We will run a few more tests and let you know how the blenders compare. But as for now, our Oster works fine to start with, whew. And mom will probably want her Blendtec back eventually.

Romance

2011-02-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

See the pretty flowers I got this morning from my hubby? Justin always gives me flowers on all my kids birthday's. Isn't that romantic? The thing is, I get so busy on those days that it is always a surprise when he gives them to me. I love my faulty memory sometimes. OK, now you can be jealous. :)

Toddler Dress Remake

2011-02-06T13:51:00.001-07:00

So, having a son the size of the Jolly Green Giant and a toddler in need of a dress actually works to my benefit. Andrew goes through growth spurts, which means he outgrows all his clothes without totally wearing them out. A while back he got this shirt from my SIL's BF. He then promptly grew out of it.

So with a little online inspiration, a pair of scissors Simplicity Pattern 2684, and my sewing machine, I set out to transform it into a toddler dress.

First I cut it up....

I used the front for the back and the back for the front. I wanted it to button down the back. Also, the yoke on the back shifted the stripe pattern and added gathering for the front.

Then I used the sleeves for, well, the sleeves of course.

I got so into sewing it that I forgot to take pictures. It was fairly simple. The sleeves were the most difficult, just because the openings are so small. Also, the pattern calls for bias tape for the neck and arm openings. I just used strips I cut from the scraps.

To embellish it a little, I used this tutorial on rolled fabric flowers. I attached two to hair clips for her ponytails and arranged three into a broach for the front of the dress.

Isn't she the cutest model EVER! She loves it and I am super happy about how it turned out. I'm going to try out a few more patterns and shirts this week. I'll try to remember to take more pics. Here are some things I learned. 1. Be careful cutting the shirt up. You never know what you will want to turn the scraps into. I wanted to use the cuffs for a headband but had carelessly cut through one of them. 2. Watch the button placement on the back. I placed my pattern a bit low and had to sew on a button at the top. 3. My pattern called for the back pieces to be sewed together. I just used the button holes as centers and cut the back in one piece, with the buttons done up. However, I forgot to compensate for the seam allowance that would have been down the middle back. So I just added a few tucks in the neckline. It actually turned out cuter that way. So you decide.

Hope you enjoyed it. Now you know how to use up old shirts and give them a new, and cuter, life. :)

Counterproductive

2011-01-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

So today was a bright, sunny, day and I had the brilliant idea to clean up the yard. I trudged outside, broom, garbage bag, dog and children in tow. First, we cleaned and swept the front porch and cleaned up the front yard. All good so far. And since that went quickly, and the side yard is a mess, I transferred us all over there to work. Big mistake. Warm weather and my side yard = gigantic muddy mess. Meagan decided to go back and play with the chickens, who in turn, decided to chase her around and peck at her legs. So she started crying and running away (from chickens) and proceeded to slop through every muddy spot she could manage, with the dog, whom has not been groomed in ages and is therefore VERY hairy, right along with her. So after a few futile minutes of cleaning the garden, we called it quits. All the kids stomped in, tracking mud on my nice clean sidewalks and porch. And then the dog.....I really should have taken a picture. He was a giant mud ball. I had to carry him in, to save my house, and place him in the bathtub, where he proceeded to shake mud all over my clean bathroom, and give him a bath which he protesteth much. Now I have mud prints on my concrete, muddy boots on the front porch, mud on my bathroom walls, a ring of mud around my bathtub, and a wet dog, waiting to dry completely, locked in said bathroom. Not sure that I got very far ahead today. I think I'll take a nap.