Everyone Went Back To School Today

Winter Break is over and three of the kids are back in school today! It was so quiet around the house this morning. Anthony left around 10:30 with his dad so after that it was just me and Jace. He has a sore throat though. Otherwise everyone else feels good! Sssshhhhh, we don't want to jinx ourselves!

I got some sewing done and a couple other things. I am making some stuff for my Etsy Shop for Easter. I am making some pretty cute things so far, at least I think so. I can't wait for Spring! I love the warmer weather, the budding flowers, the greenery starting to grow back, the fresh air!! Oh, I can't wait for spring!!

Reality, check! We are suppose to have snow this week and it is cold. I still have a ton of housework and laundry to do. Back to the real world and back to my chores!

Later!

Sherry

Next Year we are All Getting the Flu Shot!!!

Well, today is Friday, day 8 of Mallory's illness. She has a stuffy nose and her cough is still there, though not as bad, BUT she is up and about. She is being a little silly, coloring, and she left the living room. She still isn't quite herself but so much better! Although, today I feel like I am going to die or wish I would. I get sporadic moments and think okay I am going to be better, but they are short lived. I started figuring it out and the ones of us who didn't get the flu shot are the ones that are sick. Mallory and I neither one had it (this is the first year in several that I didn't get it, of course!) and then little Anthony had just gotten his first one when he got the flu the next day or so. Babies have to get an initial shot and then a booster after 1 month. Hopefully Anthony won't get it again now that he has had both of his shots. I asked Ezie today if he was glad that I made him get the flu shot when he had his physical. He said yes (even though I thought he was never going to quit crying after he had the shot). Anyway, next year everyone in this house is getting a flu shot!!

I am going to have Earl bring some Lysol Spray http://www.lysol.com/ home and I am going to spray the carpet and the couch. I am going to use those little Lysol wipes on the keyboard, phone, doorknobs, etc ..... Hopefully this will help to prevent this nasty flu bug from the cycle of going back and forth between Mallory and myself.

Okay, time to go rest so I can do the dishes. Where is the housework fairy????? I need her!!!!!

Later!

Sherry

I Finally Finished My Fused Plastic Bag and We are STILL Sick at our House

This is a Tote Bag I made out of recycled grocery store plastic bags. I got the idea from Etsy Labs. You get the grocery store plastic bags and fuse them together and then cut them out and sew them up. The two pictures are the same bag just the opposite sides.
I love the idea of these bags, but the plastic is very stiff after fusing and I think it would have been easier if I would have made the bag bigger. I had a heck of a time sewing around the top and the bottom. Anyway, I know it's not the prettiest bag, but I think it is pretty cool anyway! http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html

N0w on a more depressing subject:

We are STILL sick at our House

and I'm SICK of it!!

The Worst Bed Head I have ever seen!! My poor little Mallory hasn't been feeling well. She has just been laying around. Bring on the conditioner and Infusium 23!! http://www.infusium.com/us/our_collections/frizzologie/leavein.jsp

Mallory has had a cold and fatigue for going on 7 days now. We are going to call the Doctor tomorrow. I would have called sooner, but my Grandson, Anthony, has had the same thing and the Dr.'s office said it was just a cold and to wait it out. I'm done waiting though. I want my energetic little bundle of sunshine back! I got really sick last night and still feel like s..t! I wanted to get so much done.

I was determined to get up and accomplish something today so I got up this morning and while I did some dishes Ezie and I made pancakes for him, Mallory and Jace. Ezie added cinnamon sugar to his pancake batter and loved the results! Yesterday, Ezie made oatmeal in the microwave for the first time all by himself and of course he added cinnamon sugar to his oatmeal. It really was good!

Afterward breakfast the kids were teaching Jace how to say every one's names. (Jace is delayed in speech and has been in therapy for about 6 months now.) We work on getting him to say the first sounds of the names for now and he did so good! He said dada, mama, Ezie pretty good, said Mal for Mallory and "me" for Jace. He couldn't get Lexie and Anthony out but he was getting pretty silly. He loves when the kids help him.

Jace and I took a nice nap together this afternoon, as usual, but I still don't feel any better. I think a lot of it is my stupid sinus'. I am an addict to 12 Sudafed and have been out of it for over a week. I am going to go buy some tomorrow!

Earl came home from work and made the kids a pot of his famous Chicken Noodle soup and my favorite soup for when I'm sick, Earl's Macaroni Soup. I'll have to get the recipe and post it because when your sick it is ssoooo good! Earl always makes us his special soups when we are sick and he has been making a lot of soups lately!!

Jace just feel asleep on my lap while I am sitting here typing. It is almost midnight, I didn't realize how late it was. Wish us luck on feeling better!!

Sherry

We Got to Open Our Windows Today!!!

Jace's artwork -- on my living room wall -- EVERY wall is Jace's canvas!!

Mallory and Ezie getting the paints ready -- SSHHHh! I didn't see it, but I think they
might have spilled a little white on the floor!

The finished product! I told Ezie that his looks like a blue eye hiding behind a pink glob and Mallory went for the textured effect. She painted red then white over it after it partially

dried and then pressed a piece of bubble wrap over the top.

Today it was around 50 today here in Rensselaer. It was so nice, the kids and Earl went out and played with the bubble machine while I folded socks. I think I lost out on the deal! We opened all the windows and aired the house out for the afternoon. Jace and I took our daily nap with our blankets under the opened window. It felt so good cuddling up with him and breathing in fresh air.

After I woke up, Ezie and Mallory decided to paint. They don't get to do that to much anymore because it's so hard to keep Jace out of it. They had so much fun!! Mallory cleaned up most of the mess by herself and then I joined in. Ezie came down a little later and helped with some other stuff in the kitchen.

Okay, I'll be back in a little bit. It's time to do some mom stuff.

Sherry

It's Sunday

The weekend is almost over. This weekend I made some collage paper and have some pulp ready to make some more handmade paper. I babysat one of the twins overnight on Friday. It was Daniel and Tedi's 3rd Anniversary!! Tedi got her hair cut and streaked and she looks more beautiful then usual!! I also picked up Sabrina and took her back, so I got a chance to talk to her. Mallory had a fever last night and was kind of achey. This is the third weekend in a row that she hasn't felt very good???? I also go some laundry and dishes done.

Everyone is home tomorrow for Presidents Day and the kids will be home all week for winter break. I plan on getting some big time cleaning done this week with the kids home to help me (I can hope, HUH?????)

I want to try to check out some Blogs tonight. I love looking at other people's work! I get so inspired from seeing how talented other people are.

Well, that's it for now. I have to go do some more dishes and laundry. Jace just woke up so I want to spend some time with him too.

Have a wonderful evening!!

Sherry

Easter Basket Swap

I just wanted to let everyone know that their is an Easter Basket Swap going on. I found it through OWOH and was really excited about it. If you would like to join here's how you do it:

Genevieve Olsen at Bella Enchanted is hosting an Easter Basket Swap. So far she has 70 participants, so if you want to join please email her at "Genevieve Olsen" bella-enchanted@hotmail.com. Tell your friends too! The cut off is next week or when we reach 100 players.

If you are artistic please try and add at least one handmade item. Partners will be assigned next week so stay tuned.......If you have any questions, please email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can! Happy Hopping, I mean shopping, hehe! Genevieve

Oh, by the way I did end up winning two wonderful giveaways from OWOH. I won a painting by Laura Kelley from PitterPatterArt. It has lemons on it and the saying about "When Life gives you Lemons ..... I also won a gray crocheted hat from another Blogger that will keep me warm and cozy here in the freezing New York winter. Thank you both!! I'm so excited!!

Sherry

Hearts for OWOH Winners

It's Valentines Day

Good Morning,

It's finally here, Valentines Day! The kids went to school with their valentines gifts for their teachers and principal and cookies. Ezie and Mallory were both so excited! Mallory made up extra little goodie bags all by herself for her class. Mally is such a giving person! Jace just had his speech therapy and give his therapist, Kathy, a little something. He LOVED the gummy hearts that she gave him! Earl and I decided not to buy each other anything for Valentines Day. He did get me a really nice card though with a sweet message written in it. That's really all I wanted.

Today is the giveaway day for ONE World-ONE Heart! I went on and had the kids draw one name for every 25 people who entered mine. Ezie and Mallory each drew three names. They were so excited to be part of the giveaway!! Okay would you guys like to know who won?? My winners are:

Angela ----- http://www.funkycatstudio.com/

Jenn -------- http://noodleandlou.blogspot.com/

Ellen ------- http://turtletrinkets.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Jennifer S. Fowler --- http://fatedfolliesstudio.blogspot.com/

Margo ------ http://margosmemoriesmusings.blogspot.com/

Robyn L. -----yourstrulee@sasktel.net

I have added something extra to my prizes. All six winners will also get a heart that is made out of my handmade paper and my collage paper.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I really enjoyed looking at people Blogs and fully intend to go back and look at the blogs better now that I'm not rushing to enter everyone's giveaways---that I didn't win. Man, I entered everyone and won nothing--except some really nice comments on my stuff and the chance to look at some really great blogs!!! I think everyone who participated came out a winner!! Thank you so much Lisa for putting all this together this year!!

Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!!

Sherry

Changes

Good Afternoon,

I have been going to different peoples Blogs and signing up to win prizes (wish me luck!) through ONE World-ONE Heart. Anyway, I decided that my Blog was so dark with the black background and that it was time for me to have something brighter, cleaner and more refreshing looking. I liked the black, but I want something that feels happier!! So that is why the change if anyone has even noticed it.

I have seen some really neat Blogs and some very talented women through OW-OH. I only heard about this a few days ago and couldn't wait to join. Next year I'll have some better prizes ready!!!

I have added a lot of widgets to my sidebar since I've been Blog hopping. I found some really neat organizations that I could sign up for free of cost and some that just need to be advertised to make other people aware of them. My Blog is going to start to look like a commercial before long, but that's okay as long as it is to help out othe people!

OW-OH has been a great experience for me. It isn't just about signing up for prizes, but seeing how other people from all over the world feel about things and to see how creative people are. I so need to feel like I am a part of a community. Being a SAHM has always been my dream and I really do love it, but it can be a bit lonely.

Have a great day!

Thanks for listening!

Sherry

What IS ONE World-ONE Heart?

It is a blog-wide giveaway event. The original idea behind this was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. Last years event had nearly 100 participants and many connections were made because of it......friendships that are still going strong.

This years host of ONE World-ONE Heart is Lisa Oceandreamer from Heart of the Nest and Imagination Cafe. To get information about this years event the blog with that info is http://oneworldevent.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-years-event-information.html You can also see which bloggers have signed up to participate in the LOVE TRAIN.

How to Sign Up: Please leave a comment AND a back link to your blog, so I'll be able to notify you if you win. If you do not have a blog and would like to enter, please be sure to leave your email address in your comment. I will accept comments up to 11:59 EST February 13th. The winner will be notified February 14th. I will pick a winner by having my kids draw names out of a hat. Winners will be announced on February 14th. After the winners have been announce I will need to get your address so I can mail you your prize.

I have the pictures of my prizes below. There are 4 prizes. I have 4 Sheets of my Handmade Paper (2 Pink and 2 White with a splash of Aqua blue and 4 Sheets of Handmade Paper with Potpourri added). There is a tag with a fairy on it that is made out of my collage paper and my handmade paper. I also have a Cone that you can put on your doorknob or dresser draw knob and fill with pretty things.

Have fun checking out everybody's blog and GOOD LUCK!!

Sherry

Other Items not included -- Only the handmade paper




This paper smells like Anise Roses not included -- Just the Cone

Two Days in a Row

Okay, I never realized how much it cost to ship internationally. I have a picture in a frame that I made and UPS was going to charge me approx. $105.00. The post office was going to charge between $25.00-35.00. Wow! I'm glad I don't have relatives overseas.

I got the nicest compliment from one of my customers on Etsy regarding my handmade paper. It made me feel really good. Plus my sister really likes my art piece that I made for the Valentines Swap. I like it too!

Anyway, we are discussing what to have for dinner since it's the first Friday of Lent. I think we are going restruant style tonight. A couple of us are having shrimp, one haddock and one a bean burrito. Jace is on a no eating spell. Okay, I really need to go get busy.

Thanks for listening!
Sherry

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Hello Everyone,
I have been so busy lately. I have been making handmade paper, collage paper, sewing and still trying to do my mom things. I have sold a few things and I have had quite a few people look at my Etsy site. I get so excited everytime somebody marks my shop as a favorite or when I see I sold something. I hope the people who bought my items enjoy them. I love crafting!!
Everyone in our house picked up some type of stomache virus and we have been taking turns for the last 3 weeks passing it on. I hope we are about done!! I want so bad to open up the windows and air the house out, but the weather isn't going to permit this. I can't wait for spring so I can just open up the house and do a really good cleaning.
My family also went and got family pics taken a couple of weeks ago. I finally got a nice picture of all 8 of my kids, one of my 6 grandkids and then a really nice picture of everyone. My daughter-in-law, Jenn, works at Sears and set the whole thing up. Thanks again Jenn!!
Back to my crafts. I have joined Indiepublic and enjoy looking at other peoples crafts and feeling like I am a part of a community. I also joined a Valentine's Swap on http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/. I have never done a swap before and am a little nervous. I really like what I made for the other person though. I really hope he likes it too. I also got an email today about "One World-One Heart". I want to sign up for it too. I will have the info up in a little bit or tomorrow regarding what OWOH is.
Anyway, I am trying really hard to change my attitude towards life. I hate being depressed and I'm sure you all hate listening to it, but I'm glad you do!
Have a terrific night!

Thanks for listening!
Sherry