My Last Baby!

Well the day has come and gone. That day that I was longing for for a better part of the summer but ended up dreading when it finally got here - yup I'm talking about the first day of school. As usual when the summer is going full swing it seems like it will never end and the kids mission each day is to come up with new ways to terrorize and maim one another while simultaneously drive me to the loony bin. I had grand plans, really I did! Let's just sum it up with two quotes and spare you all the gory details.
"the road to hell is paved with good intentions" (apparently  St. Bernard of Clairvaux gets the credit for that one)
and
"Man plans, God laughs" (that would be a Yiddish proverb)
Well about now you might be asking yourself what does all that have to do with this entry being titled My Last Baby? Well nothing really - that just summarizes my Summer of 2010 or perhaps Lord of the Flies Revisited?I do tend to ramble when I have a captive audience am talking to myself -apologies!.

Well my littlest girl (aka fire-eating-wild-child) started school and while it all went really well (okay except for the small incident at line up where she made the loser symbol on her forehead to educate her grandparents on it's meaning- more on that later) I looked around at a lot of parents with cameras, camcorders and babies. Mine reluctantly posed for a couple of picture and was practically levitating she was so stoked to be there! Suddenly, and all too quickly, I was waving at my last baby who was unceremoniously telling me to go and I realized that I was done! DONE! No more babies! Five years ago I was in the same spot dragging dropping of  my number 1/Little Man (actually peeling my 'brave' boy off of me, who was bawling like I was never coming back!) all while toting a 14 month old Angel Girl and 5 months pregnant with said Wild Child. Fast forward back to present and I should have been doing a dance like Terrell Owens in the end zone. Instead I was feeling curiously sad.

As a made my way back to the car I consoled myself with the thought that at least she was grabbing life or at least kindergarten by the tail! That and I was about to run some errands with no unscheduled bathroom breaks and no requests for 'a treat' at every stop I was about to make. Now I would get to give the sympathetic smiles to the other adults with children in lines at the grocery store for a change. Strangely I really wasn't as excited about it as I had thought I would be...

Now about that whole loser symbol thing....I guess I will have time to contemplate that over the 2 1/2 hours every afternoon that Wild Child is tearing up the Kindergarten Room....

Words of Wisdom

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don’t.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

Resurrecting Luna Verde (sort of)

Okay - I went through a whole process of starting my own home based jewelry business a while back Luna Verde Jewelry and Design...yup had to do up a business plan and all...however my self promotion sucks and it didn't really go anywhere...(sound of crickets) Now I've decided to start giving up some of my stash and the best way to do that is either Ebay or Etsy - I have a soft spot for Etsy as my buyer feedback shows lol. Also my sister has some goodies to unload as well so I'm getting some help (read kick-in-the-pants) to get going - lol. Anyhow so here it is my our official Etsy shop - currently it is empty however I we will be working diligently to load it up with all kinds of interesting items. Incidentally if you have never been to Etsy you are missing out - take some time and look around...you won't be disappointed!

Fiona and Twig - Giveaway!

Wanna win an awesome new decorating book???!!! Nothing like a little eye candy and inspiration!! Head over to Fiona and Twig and see what I'm talking about! Take some time and browse around - you won't be disappointed! I never am!

To Paint or Not To Paint...That is the question...really

Okay -here it is...I have a behemoth red brick fireplace - floor to ceiling, approx 8 feet in length and 3 feet deep. Sound lovely?? Well maybe if it didn't account for a 1/3 of my living room. I suppose if I'm doing a shout out for opinions I should include a picture (I will get on that). If this was an open concept room with cathedral ceilings it would be fine - I don't even mind the bricks - the colour isn't bad....(deep breath) I think I'm going to paint it...don't think I should paint it white though as it would still end up standing out unless my wall colour is going to be white too.

So I've been looking at greys/taupes/creams until my eyes are crossed and my head is spinning...I like the idea of going neutral - nice clean palette and just add colour with accessories and small furnishings etc. But I don't want it cold either...

So there it is...to paint or not to paint! And I have googled everything I could find on painting brick and have read all the pros and cons.... Picture to come soon - opinions welcomed! (be nice though! I get told I'm crazy enough by the DH lol)

The Mysteries of Digital Photography....

Love my digital cameras...we have 2 - a Nikon D40 and for Christmas my husband bought me a Nikon CoolPix S70. Truthfully the S70 was a little more camera than I was looking for and I have yet to navigate the mysteries of all the little icons on the touch screen - and there are a lot of them!!!!

I've always admired the dreamy quality to art photographs that are gaining popularity and especially envious of the artist/photographers who have taken it to a whole new level with collage. One such artist that caught my eye a couple years ago is Susan Tuttle - she does amazing work and even better she offers affordable (yes I did say affordable) online courses (yup online - you don't have to take out a loan and fly several hours...lol) that teaches you how she works her magic! Susan's Online Course Series is called Visual Poetry - don't you just LOVE it???!!! I have taken one too so I can actually speak from experience. They aren't offered constantly but you can sign up for her newsletter and she notifies you when the next on is up - and they are popular!!! (read if-you-are-interested-don't-put-it-off-or-you-are-out-of-luck! lol)

Good news though! Susan has made it even easier for us - she has just had a book published Digital Expressions: Making Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements and even better you can enter for a chance to win it here! Personally I'm hoping I win it - however my fall back is the book store! lol Believe me it is worth the visit to her site just for the eye candy!

16 Years! I Cross My Heart!

Well today is our 16th wedding anniversary! Who knew time would go so fast and life would throw (and sometimes hurtle!) so much at us! Well it sure has been quite a ride so far and I am proud to say I think we have weathered it all quite well!

This was our wedding song - I think it was well chosen - and better than that I think we've lived pretty true to the words too!

Love you Jeff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVgyfyQv7oY

The DIY Dish

Okay - I am not very good at this blogging thing...I'm trying but adding gadgets and buttons is beyond me - so I will just blog about this new site I've come across via Skip to My Lou (also a great site!)

The DIY Dish

They are doing a great giveaway - that you really must check out! PLUS they have the best looking template for some pillows/cushions (now can you ever really have enough pillows or cushions????) that have those cute little flowers made from felt and ribbons that are turning up on everything these days they are so versatile! (hair accessories, jewelry, shoe clips, belt/sash adornments...you name it!) So even if you don't share my appreciation for pillows/cushions it is still worth a look!

Now I did say something about their giveaway before I got sidetracked over the whole cushion and flower thing...anyhow check out this link to their giveaway it will give you all the details on how to enter. Oh and did I mention it's for an Janome Embroidary machine or a Janome Sewing Machine??? Yup not bad eh? I realize I'm lessening my odds here but if you also check out Skip To My Lou she has a pretty sweet giveaway going on too! (and there go my odds on that one too!) Of course I only have 4 readers so how bad can it be? lol

Good Luck to you all in cyber land but even more good luck to me!!! lol

Dream Job!

How awesome would that be! I would LOVE to be digging in those boxes! {sigh} We are such a disposable society - thank goodness they didn't consider it 'dead stock' and just dump it! My next trip to NYC, usually with my sister who humors me, I will definitely make it to the Tinsel Trading Co.!

For those who aren't familiar with Kaari Meng, check out her website for her store called The French General, you won't be disappointed! Love all the stuff! I've ordered from her site before and was throughly pleased with my purchases!

The Artistic Mother

What a perfect concept for a book! Shona Cole from An Artful Life has just had a book published called The Artistic Mother: A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your Busy Life.

Anyone who has children and any desire to be creative, artist or just plain crafty can't help but feel right at home with this title! So often in the day I am literally craving an opportunity for even an hour of time on my own to try ANYTHING!!! lol Very frustrating as opportunity rarely presents itself and of course if it does I end up with helpers! Then it works out that 'My Wishes' get their craft on instead of me! I know, I know in a few years I will be complaining and blubbering and begging the said 'Wishes' to spend even a few minutes of time interested in what I'm doing {sigh} - it is a Catch 22! So I spend a lot of time lurking on blogs late at night admiring all that others are doing and trying to file away all the great ideas for when opportunity does finally present itself! lol Mean while I may just have to order a copy of this book...(if I don't win the giveaway!!!) lol

Sounds interesting doesn't it??? Anyhow there are a couple of things you can do...

1. Head to Amazon and buy yourself a copy...
2. Check out Shona's blog An Artful Life (she has a giveaway going on!!! ;) )
3. and number 3....ummmm well check out Shona's blog anyhow get some inspiration and some eye candy all at once (great photos and tutorials)

Anyhow happy looking (you won't be sorry!)

btw I'm new to blogging and have no idea how to get rid of this phantom 1. as seen below...lol

Back in the Saddle....figuratively

Well here I am again - finally. I've been putting off posting because I haven't had any interesting photos to add to my posts. After riding that scooter in circles I decided that was my procrastination rearing it's ugly head once again....lol.

What's new...well I have been bitten by the crafting bug badly - stamps are the soup de jour. So far my talent lies in searching them out and buying them lol. Perhaps I will start using them soon sigh. I have to say there are infinite possibilities out there. My tastes run to the vintage/old fashion type illustrations (big surprise!).

My best friend, M., is getting married in New Hope, PA on Easter weekend. Yup Easter weekend - and it is a 7 hour drive too. With kids, who by then will be, 9, 4, and 5. I will be buying one of those dual screen DVD players for certain!!! I do have the honor of being one of her 2 attendants. This will be a second marriage for her. She has 3 beautiful children from her first. The wonderful man she is marrying is her college sweetheart and this is also his second marriage. They are very much in love and although he has no children from his marriage he has whole hearted thrown himself into the role of dad. I have to say he has impressed me, and that is no easy feat. I come from a blended family and life has taught me a surprising amount in my 39 years - I'm pretty much (pardon the expression) bull shit proof. He is definitely doing well - they both are. The kids I have never seen more happy and well adjusted - don't get me wrong there are still hiccups but they finally have the stability they have been missing their whole lives.

Got a call from my doctor - bless her heart - she is amazing! Dr. B. was just checking in with me after receiving an update from my endocrinologist. Aside from some inaccuracies on the report that I rectified - it seems that the blood work suggests that I'm pregnant!!!! Yes folks I didn't stutter - pregnant! Go figure...I will have to wait until Monday to sort it all out. Wooooops doesn't even begin to cover it. Plus dates and numbers etc don't even make sense...however without boring you all with my 11 years of fertility issues - to say I'm not "normal", in that sense at least, doesn't even begin to cut it. So here I am maybe pregnant maybe not.....After my poor husband finished blanching (we had decided that our brood was fine at 3) he got all teary eyed - he is an emotional guy. I guess the thing that surprised me the most, aside from this whole "you're (possibly) pregnant" is that my kids totally ignored our conversation...normally I can't go to the bathroom without an audience of at least one and here they were all within 2 feet of us and didn't jump all over the words "baby", "pregnant", "one more" etc. However knowing them they are saving it for their next visit to my in-laws where the little bugg...err angels will regurgitate it word for word...as they have been known to do from time to time...much to my in-laws delight and my weellllll lets just leave it at annoyance! lol {Update - NOT PREGNANT}