Alexa in Wonderland - Little Bit of Ranting

As some of you know, my 10 month old pulled an Alice and tried to take a trip to Wonderland yesterday.  We were hanging out in my yard, which is on a mountain in the woods, and she was just crawling around as always.  I was in the middle of the yard helping my son with something and in the 2 minutes I looked away, she made her way to the edge of the trees and had eaten a wild mushroom or two and was about to eat another.  So, I scooped her up, ran in and called poison control, and rushed her to the ER.  After 6  hours of observation, we were released to go home.  We got lucky, and she was perfectly fine.  Other than the thrill of trying to entertain a 10 month old in a small hospital bed for 6 hours, the the hospital stay was uneventful.

Now for the reason I feel I need to share this; I was treated by multiple people like I was a bad mom!!  Really, am I the first person who has turned their head and had their kid get into something they shouldn't have??  I mean, I could have her in the middle of an empty padded room and she would find a way to hurt herself.  If she was in a warehouse filled with cotton candy and chocolate chips, she would find an exposed piece of floor tile and eat it.  The doctor asked me what happened, so I said that I looked away and before I knew it she was across the yard eating something.  The doctor actually said to me, "So, where you hanging out talking to friends and just not paying attention?"  OH MY!!  ARE YOU SERIOUS!  Where the heck did that come from.  Then I was asked what time it happened and I told them 11:20.  Poison control basically called me a liar and rudely told the doctor there was no way it happened at 11:20 because I called them at 11:15.  So, I was 5 minutes off and that means I'm trying to hide something???  So, next time your child cuts a finger, don't pick them up and stop the bleeding.  Run in the house and document the event complete with the exact time while they bleed profusely, then go stop the bleeding (Ok, maybe I'm being dramatic there, but thats how they made me feel).  And on top of these people (not the word I was looking for, but it works), I had non-employees (and thats what I'll call them) tell me that I need to watch my children better.....  Shaking my head....

My children gnawl on bugs, dog food, paper, the furniture, my leg, and anything else they can get in their mouth.  So, all you super-moms out there who never take your eyes off your children and whose children have never gotten hurt or eaten something they shouldn't have, would you please give me lessons??  Ok, I'm over it now!! :)

Hello Mr. Sewing Machine

After monthes of closet time, I finally pulled my sewing machine from the closet and got it all set up.  Its been away partly because I hate dragging it out, setting it it up, and having to keep the kids off of it, then putting it right away (since I have no sewing room, I use my kitchen table) and partly because I lost the cord for awhile. 

I've made the most of this time together with my machine and have kept myself sewing most of my spare minutes the last few days.  Spare minutes with these two rugrats are few and far between, but I've managed to get some time in. 

I have a babyshower to go to this weekend, and I wanted to make a few gifts for the soon-to-be-born little boy.  I went with the kids to the fabric store and let Russ pick all the fabric.  I think my 3 year old has a knack for this because I love all his choices.

So, I figured I would share a little of what I've been working on.

Here is the first set I made.  Russ picked out the animal print and I picked the material for the back.

And of coarse Russ had to get some John Deere material.

I thought this one would be cute for the 4th of July (even thought the baby won't be born until August.  He can wear it next year).

And of coarse I had to make something for Lexi!!

I made a few other things that need a little finishing up.  I made a couple of things for me, a few for my kids, and a few because I don't know why.  Hopefully, I might get some more pictures up soon.

Back from Vacation

I'm back!!  I had a week of two sick babies, a sinus infection for myself, but then it was all better because we went on VACATION!!

We spent a week in Ocean City having lots of family fun.  We did the beach, hit the carshow, saw the wild ponies,

walked the boardwalk, had my favorite ice cream, 

did some crabbing

and had lots of family fun-time!!

We had a great time!  I had soooo many fun ideas pop in my head over the past few weeks that Russ and I will have lots of stuff to keep us busy.  Can't wait to post!!

My Baby turned 3

So, I didn't get to post last week because I was working on stuff for my son's birthday party.  My baby boy turned 3 this weekend.  He's not a baby anymore.... and he reminds me every day. 

I didn't want to have his party at our house since our family is huge and my house isn't.  I wanted to try something different this year, something that would be super fun for Russ and all his little friends.  So, I picked up the phone and started calling all the fire departments in the area, and I found one that you could rent for parties.  The party was actually in the bay with the fire trucks.  There was plenty of room to set up tables and chairs, let the kids play with their toy trucks in the floor, and still have all the fire trucks in there with them.  The fire fighters were awesome!  They gave the kids a tour and told them all about the different parts of the truck.  Then, they pulled a truck outside, hooked it up to a hydrant, and shot water across the sky.  I think this was the highlight of the day. 


Instead of gift bags, we got plastic fireman hats, and I assembled foam fireman badges and wrote each kids name on one.

We kept decorations to a minimum (one of the advantages of a fire department party).  My friend and I did make a super-cute banner out of scrapbooking paper and simple shapes. 

As far as "entertainment", besides the fire engines, we filled the floor with toy trucks, had fire engine tattoos, and made a coloring sheet with a fire truck with the birthday boy's name on it.

If you have a little boy, I highly recommend a fire department party.

I have a surrogate....

for my chicken eggs!  My good friend Mamma Tortilla is currently incubating 8 of my chicken's eggs as a fun project for her little ones.  She is going to keep me, and everyone in the blog world, posted on their progress, so be sure to click on her name to pop over to her blog and check it out.  I'm hoping she can get some good candling pics along the way.  The chicks will stay with her for the beginning of their lives, and then they will come back to us. 

Meet the Daddy

Here is Kevin.  He is the daddy of all the eggs.

And here are the potential Mommies

Froee, Al, Kiki, and Lizzy

 

So, be sure to check back in about 20 days to see pics of our little chicks!!  It will be exciting to see what the babies look like. 

From the Mouth of Russ...

I just wanted to share a few Russ-isms.  He always keeps us laughing!!

Me:  "Don't put that up your nose?"  Russ:  "Ok, I'll put it up your nose".

Grandpa Jim:  "How are your chickens?"  Russ:  "Dead, they froze". (They didn't freeze, they were fine).

Me:  "What do you want for breakfast"?     Russ:  "Lobster and waffles".

Russ (from the bathroom):  "Hey momma, my poop really stinks".

Daddy:  "I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the angel so you can put it on top the tree".  Russ:  "Yea Mommy, its a heiny hole".

Russ (from the bathroom):  "Hey momma, my poop is blue and theres two of them".

Russ at 4:30am:  "I've never seen these cartoons before".  Me:  "Thats because you are never up this early". 
Russ: "Oh, well, I'm going to start getting up early so I can watch them".  Me:  "I don't hardly think soon".

After Russ ran and jumped head first over his Grandmother, landed on his head, and did a flip, I asked him:  "What was that"?  Russ replied, "Touchdown".

I dropped something and said, "Oh my".  Russ: "No Mommy, say D*mn it".

After throwing up, Russ wiped his mouth and said, "Tasty".

Hairbows for my Hairless Child

 My friends and I visit a discount ribbon outlet occasionally, and because prices are soooo cheap, we buy far to much ribbon.  Since we've been stuck in the house for what seems like forever because of this blizzard, I pulled out my ribbon stash.  See, Russ likes to take my ribbon and toss it around and has it all tied up in a knotty mess.  So, my original goal was to sort it all out and roll it all so that its nice and pretty and organized, but that seemed a little boring.  So, instead I started making hair bows. 

I know this is a little early since my daughter is only 6 months old and doesn't really have hair yet, but I couldn't help myself.

And this is my favorite of them all.  When we finally get to take her to Disney World for her first time, she will be ready!!

I'm not posting instructions for these bows because I really don't feel like typing them all out (I know, I'm being lazy).  But, if you want to know how to make any of them, just leave me a comment and I will email you instructions!!

Its been awhile!!

I know its been awhile since I posted.  January was a rough month for us:  I had strep, Lexi was teething, trying to work in some exercise and lose some weight, Russ was being Russ :)  It felt like there was something always going on that kept me from getting stuff done.  When Russ was teething, I never knew it until the teeth broke through.  Lexi on the other hand hasn't slept since mid-December!  It has been rough.  My craftyest time of day has always been the time between kids going to bed and me going to bed, so when she isn't sleeping, well, I have no me time.

But, things are back to normal sleep wise, finally!  So, I plan on getting back into the swing of things very soon!!! 

Adventures in Thanksgiving Travels

This past weekend we went to visit some of my family in southwest Virginia for Thanksgiving.  I love going down to visit everyone and have been making the trip pretty much my whole life (either from Virginia to Maryland or Maryland to Virginia depending on where I lived at the time).  It is 5 hours or so each way and after awhile you get used to it.  However, the trip is a little different than it was before I had a family of my own to travel with.


We took our four-door Silverado because its the only thing we own thats actually big enough for us to travel in.  So, in the front seat its me and my husband.  Between us and in the floor, we have stuff cramed into every bit of open space:  snacks and diapers and cameras and everything that can't go in the bed of the truck.  We do manage to leave just enough space for my feet.  In the back seat we have our two kids in their carseats, our bassett hound, and our big mutt/hound dog.  Its a full truck!!  Luckily, we have a nice large bed for all the luggage.  Oh, and this time we decided to bring home another chicken from my parents farm, so we had a chicken in a box in the back with our luggage (because we didn't look Beverly Hillbilly enough with the loaded down truck). 


Now, traveling with dogs does have its obvious down side, like having to walk them, get them water, and stuff.  But, add to that the fact that everytime we visit the farm they roll in every dead animal they can find before they get in the truck to come home.  So, we had the pleasure of smelling their nasty, dead animal scent the entire confined trip.


Because it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving we, of coarse, hit stop and go traffic several times.  And, if you've traveled with children, you know that everytime you stop the baby cries.  And everytime the baby cried the 2 year old grabs her or pokes her.  And everytime she falls back asleep, the two year old grabs her or pokes her until she cries again.


Finally, we were about 25 minutes or so from home and we got pulled over for only having running lights on (my husband turned the lights down at a traffic light we had just stopped at because they were going straight into the little car in front of us and he didn't turn them on afterwards).  So the cop walks over and comes to the window.  That made the dogs start barking like crazy, which scared the crap out of the sleeping children so they woke up screaming and crying.  The officer is trying to talk to us, but all we hear is screaming and barking.  The dogs are jumping over the baby trying to get to the cop so she is screaming louder.  I'm turned around trying to get her pacifier in her mouth so she can calm down and am trying to keep the dogs off of her.  Russ got excited when he realized what was going on and just started yelling police car, police car! 


I think they felt sorry for us, so they quickly sent us on our way.


Can't wait to make the trip again next year!!

Its Getting Snotty in Here

Both of my beautiful babies have been hit with a yucky cold that is accompanied by viral eye infections.  Its some fun stuff.  They have snot pouring from their noses AND their eyes.  Everytime I catch up to Russ, he has it smeared from his forehead to his chin and from eye to eye.  At least Lexi hasn't figured out how to wipe it yet.  I've never cleaned so much mucus in my life as I have the last 3 days.  Russ' sleeves (and mine) are nice and slimy :)  Want to know what else is a little disgusting?  When you are nursing your baby and there is a string of snot leading from her nose to your boob when she pulls away!!

By the way, if you haven't tried them yet, check out Boogie Wipes.  They are the best thing ever.  They are like diaper wipes for the nose, but they contain a saline solution that breaks up the boogies when you use them.   

So anyway, the doctor gave us eye drops for both of them.  Thats an adventure in itself.  Putting the drops in Lexi isn't so bad; she is too young to fight or run from me.  Russ, however, is nearly impossible.  First, I have to catch him.  Then, I have to wrestle him over my knees.  Then, I have to try to get his eye open with one hand and have the drops ready in the other.  I'm lucky if I get one drop in before he knocks the bottle across the floor, and I'm suppose to get TWO drops in EACH eye??  And, I have to do this 4 times a day??  I've tried bribes and threats and begging and pleading, but seem to work.  Oh well, it will be my daily work out. 

Today, I'm thankful for the fact that my two babies just have colds and nothing more serious.

Man It's Cold!

Each morning Russ and I let out and feed the chickens before we do anything else; this is his daily chore.  Russ loves his chickens more than anything and loves feeding them our leftovers from the night before.  So, I know its getting cold when he stands at the door and says, "No...no... bye-bye mommy," and shuts the door on me.  I think its about time we start wearing shoes and coats when we go out there.  Man did my feet get cold!

Too Many Projects, Too Little Time

Well, I wanted to be able to post pictures of my latest projects this weekend, however, I didn't manage to complete any of them.  With finishing costumes, trick-or-treating, and the church carnival, this weekend was soo busy.  I did actually get a couple of projects started.  I'm in the process of making wall hangings for Lexi's room, a tutu for a friend, and also a bag for myself (or a Christmas gift for someone else depending on how it goes and if they see it on this blog).  I'm happy so far with the progress on all of the above. 

It seems when you have a child who is 2 years and 1 who is 3 months, there is a lot of time left for crafts :)  I am bouncing back and forth between projects whenever I have a little time here and there.  My plan is to have all three finished by Friday.

The biggest project I took on this weekend is potty training Russ!

We started Russ on the potty this weekend, and its going really good so far.  He didn't have any accidents today in his big boy undies & only went once in a diaper (because we were at the store).  Hopefully, tomorrow will go just as good (fingers crossed).  He seems really into it;  its probably just because he likes getting stickers for his board & potty when he goes.  Hey, whatever works for him.

It was really nice today only using a total of 2 disposable diapers between the two kids!!  With Lexi in cloth diapers & Russ in undies, we weren't throwing extra money away.  Yay us!!  I can't wait to only have one kid in diapers again.

Sometimes I think that maybe this is too much to take on all at once, but oh well.  It keeps things interesting!!

~~Update~~

Russ peed on the potty all day yesterday and pooped on it this morning!  He came and got me and told me before he had to go!  My baby is growing up. 

Its amazing how exciting pooping can be when you are a mom!!

Things that make you say Ewwww

Top 10 Reasons I Really Needed My Shower Tonight

10.  The baby spit-up on me

9.  Realized the dutch oven on the stove was actually dirty from dinner 2 nights ago.  Filled it with water to wash it, and because its so darn heavy, dumped the dirty water all over myself.

8.  Because its too cold to bathe in the creek. 

7.  An entire cup of red soda was knocked over on me & the floor by my child.

6.  Baby spit-up on me again.

5.  On my way to let the chickens out this morning (barefoot as usual), walked in some nice steaming fresh dog poop.  Probably walked in some chicken poop while at the coop as well.

4.  Two year old believes that if his nose is running, my hand &/or arm is a good place to wipe it.

3.  The baby spit-up on me again.

2.  My 2 year old had a coughing fit in the truck & threw up on himself & me while in the truck & while I was getting him out of the truck.

And #1:  My much deserved & only alone time of the day!!

CSI: Mommy Edition

The crime scene:
    Three cupcakes hiding in the microwave, black icing missing

The clues:
    1.  The stool was pulled up to the counter.
    2.  The counter, the microwave, and the stool were covered in tiny black handprints.  Main suspect was questioned and told us that they were daddy's handprints.
    3.  The main suspect has a mysterious black substance all over his face. 
    4.  On day 2 of the investigation, the suspect filled his diaper with poop that was a lovely shade of tealish blue.  It looked like playdough.

Russ was booked and charged. 

Case closed.

Anyone wanna be friends with a mommy of a 2 year old??

My two little lovely children and I took a trip today with a friend of ours and her baby.  We rode with them to the ribbon outlet in Hagerstown; its about an hour trip each way.  Well, her child was not feeling well and was trying to sleep on the way home.  Russ decided that she didn't need a nap and decided to keep her awake.  Every time she fell asleep he would yell at her or grab her hand or sing as loud as possible.  He worked very hard to keep her awake the ENTIRE way home.  The poor girl cried almost the whole way home and Russ was so proud of himself for this.

I felt so bad for the little girl!  I felt so embarassed for me.  I tried telling him to stop, I bribed him, I threatened him.  Two year old are very strong willed.  Or maybe they are just hard-headed.  If there is a way to control a two year old in the car, I haven't figured it out yet.  Maybe I'll just need to only be friends with other people with two year olds so they understand that the two year old is really the boss!!

I have a feeling that I won't be invited on too many more trips with them.

My little angels, I mean cowboy & indian!

So, I decided awhile back that Russ and Lexi would be a cowboy and indian for Halloween this year.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted them to look like.  The costumes were totally "make-able" but finding the material would be a little difficult.  I decided I wanted to use real suede, and once I get my mind on something there is no changing it.  Suede is a little pricey, so I searched thrift stores, and second-hand stores, and family members closets and finally found an old men's coat at Good Will that was the perfect color.  I was able to use the coat for both Russ & Lexi's costumes.  I did some creative cutting, lacing, and riveting, and their costumes came out great!!

The vest is made of the front sides of the jacket.  The chaps are made of the back of the jacket.  I took one whole sleeve and turned it into the indian costume.  Finally, I added rivets, hooks, beads, and accessories to finish off the costumes.  I'm very pleased with the end result.

I'm here!

I started this blog awhile ago and I'm finally ready to start using it!!

Since there are so many things that happen during the day that I want share, I decided to start this blog.  I want to be able to write about things that happen, what my children are up to, what we've done together, what projects I'm up to, and everything else in my life, big and small.  I'm sure most of my posts are going to be rather boring to some, but they will all be special to me. 

Added bonus:  When I have no one to talk to during the day, I can type and talk to myself!!

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!!