My 3rd Son Jesse is 27 Today!

Happy Birthday Jesse!!

This is Jesse on His first Birthday

I think he is about 2 here

5th grade?

Jesse and his family in January 2008

I had these in the computer already but didn't mark the ages on them, silly me. Anyway, Happy Birthday Jesse. Jesse is my third son and and he is 27 years old today! My Jesse has always taken the hard road at life, but he has turned into a good husband, father and man. Jesse will always fight for what he believes in where as I would just sit back and be quiet. I admire this quality about Jesse even if I don't always agree with him. I am very proud of you Jesse and I love you so much!

I'll Share Today

I am not so lucky as to find any thrift shops around were I live, so I usually EBay it. When I lived in Wichita, Kansas they had some wonderful thrift shops and my Grandma was the one who got me going to them. Her friends would go and take her and she would get basically clothes for herself and Grandpa. I go for the fun things though, but since I'm here in small town Nowheresville, USA I will share with you what I've been getting on EBay lately.

I am planning on making a valance for my bedroom out of vintage hankies. I have started a collection (here are some of them) and I actually just found a really good deal on EBay this morning bought 22 more hankies. I can't wait to get them. I should have enough after I get those to make my valance.

Irish Linen Hankies with Crochet and I think Tatted Edges

Check out how fine the crochet or tatting is

I also got these really cool Cocktail Napkins on EBay. They are black and gold and have birds and bird cages on them. The box is so pretty with its pink and black. The cocktail napkins kind of remind me of some Michael Miller fabric.

Michael Miller's Escape

I hope you enjoy seeing some of my new treasures.

A Joke for you, A Joke on Me and Terrific Tuesday's Giveaway

Okay, I decided that a joke was appropriate for today. My son's speech therapist, Kathy, sent me this joke, I guess because every Tuesday and Thursday I am apologizing and griping about how dirty my house is and how no one ever helps me to clean it! Sorry Kathy!

Q: How many women with PMS does it take to change a light bulb?

Woman's Answer: One! ONLY ONE!!!!

And do you know WHY?

Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb!

They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!!

They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the #&%!* light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS!

But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!!

AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKING LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!!

BECAUSE NO ONE EVER PICKS UP OR CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!!

IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!!

IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE!

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL !!

I'm sorry. What was the question?

I'm in the middle of cleaning, sorting and throwing away stuff from my craft area. I can't believe how much stuff I can cram into one little closet. It's like one of those teeny cars stuffed full of clowns. They just keep piling out. That is what my bags of fabric, stickers, more fabric, paper, more fabric, ribbon, more fabric, odds and ends of stuff I don't know what I'll ever do with but I can't part with it and yes, more fabric is doing. Piling out and out and out. Know that I'm getting the closet cleaned out and putting stuff in the basement I have to go clean the basement to find room to put all the piles. I think it is a lost cause, but I am woman, and I shall keep trying so that I can make it look like I don't have as much stuff as I really have, so that I can go out and buy more.

It is Terrific Tuesday and I don't know what I'm giving away yet. I need to go rummage through one of my piles real quick and see what I can find that I can part with. I'll be right back after I do that and change a diaper:(

Okay, I found something. I made these cones around Valentines Day to sell in my shop. You can hang them on a doorknob or on a dresser drawer and put little pretties in it. If you would like to win this just leave me a comment today and I'll enter your name.

Cami, Marcia and Pintoo I still have your giveaways sitting here ready to go, I just have to get my butt in the car and go to the post office. Sorry for the tardiness, I will definitely have them out this week!!

The Brown Paper Bag Swap

If you joined The Brown Paper Bag Swap, I did send everyone their partners names today. If you joined and didn't receive a partner please let me know. I had a screaming child at my side while I was trying to get them done and another crawling all over the place. I'm sure some you know what I'm talking about!

Thanks to everyone who voted for my card for the Etsy for Charity. I won!! I can't believe I won and that I got such nice prizes!!

My 100th Post

Well, it is my 100th post and I was going to do a giveaway, but instead I am going to ask for all of you for something. I am asking that everyone keep my niece, Bridget, who attends Fort Hays College in Kansas, in your thoughts and prayers. Bridget, was in an accident today. Bridget was participating in a first aid class for a camp job she was going to have this summer. Somehow, I don't have all the details, she fell 20 feet. She has a broken pelvis and a collapsed lung. Currently they don't think she has any head injuries. My mom, Bridget's Grandma Jo, is on her way to be with her because my brother and his wife are in Chicago at another child's college graduation and they can't get a flight out until tomorrow. Bridget is one of those people who has infectious smile, she is creative, and has a strong desire to help others. Just look at that smile!
So for my 100th post I am asking everyone to please say a little prayer and/or just keep Bridget and my brother and his wife, Mike and Therese, in your thoughts today.

Thanks!
An hour and a half later (11:30ish):
I just got an update.
For some reason the just moved Bridget out of the regular ICU and put her in a Coronary ICU. They told her cousin it was so they could watch her lung better. Mom's there now so she'll find out more.
12:40
Another update - her lung isn't collapsed but bruised. It sounds better but I guess it's worse. It puts more pressure on her heart, thus, the transfer to CIU. Bridget doesn't remember how she fell or what happened. I guess they are going to investigate it in the morning??

Update at 12:25 the Next day:
I guess Bridget had just finished up doing a mock rescue on some ropes when she fell. My mom said it is going to take 6 - 12 months for her to fully recover and be pain free. Bridget's goal though is to be able to walk down the isle at her brother Joe's wedding in August. Bridget is the maid of honor. I hope the best for her!! I'm sure with a lot of determination Bridget will accomplish a lot!

Thanks again for remembering her in your thoughts and prayers!

LunchBox Swap

Yesterday I received the sweetest bag from Regina, the person who sent me a Lunchbox Swap item. Isn't this bag just so pretty and functional! I love the bag and I love the little birdie pocket on the front of the bag. Regina also sent me a cup with the ice thing that goes down the middle (Ezie stole that as soon as he saw it), a sandwich container and a Freez Pak. She also sent some really cute note cards. Check out her blog and her Etsy shop, she has a variety of really nice things. Regina has plaques, jewelry made from yoyo's, potholders, etc.....

Thanks again Regina!!

The Brown Paper Bag Swap

Hurry, Hurry, Come one, come all!!!!

There are only 3 more days left to sign up for The Brown Paper Bag Swap. You can make a paper bag scrapbook, tags, decorate bags for gift giving, envelopes, a collage using some brown paper bags in it, ATC's and anything else your creative mind can think of. You will have almost a whole month to "create" a wonderful item out of a brown paper bag (or white if you choose!) Just click on The Brown Paper Bag and you will get all the information and some samples of what you can make. Then just leave a comment or email me with your info. sherryreneew@hotmail.com

Come on, it's going to be fun!! Come join us!!

A New Picture

I just got this tonight. This is my fourth son, Daniel, my daughter-in-law Tedi and my twin 7 month old grandson's, T.J. (in the green) and Jordan (in the brown). I just thought I would share this wonderful picture with everyone.

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway

This week I am giving away 40 4x4 precut flannel fabric squares that were donated to me by 1 OAK Designs. http://stores.ebay.com/Pockbookity-by-1-OAK-Designs . They are great quality, cut very neatly and stacked perfectly every time. These would make a beautiful baby quilt when mixed with a solid color. Leave a comment under this post about anything that's on your mind and I'll enter your name in the drawing. Have a Terrific Tuesday!!

Pintoo is the winner of the fabric squares!

Etsy for Charity--You could win a prize just for voting!!

This is my entry. Simplicity is Beautiful! Please vote for me!!

EtsyForCharity says:
Etsy for Charity has received 10 lovely entries for EFC May Challenge - Mom Would Love This!The challenge winner will win the following prizes kindly sponsored by EFC members :

1) $10 Shopping Spree (Free Shipping) by UniqueGrabs
2) $15 Gift Certificate by ClaireAndJanae
3) A Pair of Earrings - Blossoming Beauty by ErinToKuuke
4) A Felted Pin - BlueBird by ValeriesGallery
5) 2 Pair of Earrings by Happy Robin

Now, it is time for all of us to pick a Winner for EFC May Challenge - Mom Would Love This!

Voting begins from 11 to 17 May 2008! http://efcmonthlychallenge.blogspot.com/

All Etsy sellers and buyers are welcome to take part in this voting session!

To make the voting more interesting, all voters will get a chance to win a $10 Shopping Spree (Free Shipping) at http://uniquegrabs.etsy.com/ What you need to do is to place your vote and then post in this forum thread that you have voted. Your name will then be entered for the draw on 18 May 2008. One winner will be picked! Cast your votes now! We need your votes! The more the merrier!

If you are interested to be an EFC member so as to be updated on EFC activities, please register at http://etsyforcharity.ning.com/

All donations are voluntary!

Thank you to all who have supported EFC!

One of My Most Memorable Mother's Day Presents

My older 3 boys bought me this card for Mother's day, gosh, I'd say like 20 years ago. I should have put a date on it. There is a sweet story behind this card and one that I will cherish forever.

My ex-husband was terrible about remembering Mother's Day, my birthday, Valentines Day, actually, he pretty much forgot any "day" that was suppose to be special for me. He had excuses like the classic, "Your not my mother" or "I forgot" or "the kids should have got you something, you're their mom". As he got better he would hand me a card while we were in the store and say "read this". I would read it and then he would say something like, "now you've read the card that I would have bought you for Mother's Day, so now I don't have to buy it". Anyway, it honestly was not the getting of a gift or a card that upset me so much, it was the fact that he wouldn't take the time to think of me. I spent many Mother's Days, birthdays and Valentines Days crying non stop. (I used to be one of those people that once I start crying I will go on and on all day long) My boys always felt bad, but it wasn't there fault.

Okay, finally to the sweet part. When my boys were probably 8, 9 and 11, give or take a year or two, they bought me this card with their "own money" and not only did they give me this beautiful card, but they told me this was the house they would buy for me someday. (I have always dreamed of having a house like this with a big porch) I have had this card in my china cabinet for around 20 years now and it is as special to me now as it was then. Even if my ex didn't get the point of Mother's Day at 30 years old I knew my boys did by the time they were 10. It isn't the gift that matters, it's the love and the thoughtfulness that my boys put into buying this card for me. It's the fact that they thought of me and told me how much they loved me. That is all I ever wanted.

So 20 years later, my ex always takes his new wife, of which he has no children with, out for a Mother's Day steak dinner and buys her an expensive gift. I don't know, maybe he's grateful she couldn't have any of his kids and that's why he goes all out on her. Maybe he grew up? Yeah, actually he has grown up a lot. My boys, as far as I know, for the most part are thoughtful to their wives and girlfriends and my daughter and her boyfriend are thoughtful with each other too. You know, the funny thing about my kids is if you ask them if they won the lottery or came into a huge amount of money what they would do with the money, the (the five older kids) first thing they say is "buy a house for momma" and then they list all their own personal items. I thank God for blessing me with 8 wonderful children. I love all of you, Jeremy, Chad, Jesse, Daniel, Alexis, Ezie, Mallory and Jace.

Yes, You Can Do It Too!

Yes, you can do it too! You could join The Brown Paper Bag Swap that I am hosting and have some fun getting creative with paper bags. I previously showed an example of a Paper Bag Scrapbook and now I am showing you 4 different tags that I made out of brown paper bags.The photo definitely does not do this tag justice. It came out so pretty. I used homemade paper for the background and it is really more of a whitish color not so pinkish. The gold and white paper on the dress is a brown paper bag that I crumbled up several times and then decoupaged the white musical note paper to. Then I add some gold paint and blotted it so it wouldn't cover all of the white up. After that dried I added more decoupage glue. I machine stitched the lace on and their is a gold heart button hand sewn on over the heart.

These 3 tags are just pictures I got from on-line shops and printed then I stitched them onto scraps of a brown paper bag. I rubbed the edges on an ink pad and added fibers and either eyelets or letters to them for embellishments.

My Grandson Anthony had his first Haircut Today

The side view before his haircut

My daughter holding Anthony while he gets his haircut

The end result.....A very handsome little man

This is my grandson, Anthony and he is 9 1/2 months old. Isn't he just too cute and so handsome after his first haircut!! He has the MOST beautiful blue eyes that you have ever seen! I think he must get those from his Nana!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway

Here is this weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway. It is a potholder that I made out of 100% cotton crochet thread (the thick stuff). It has 2, yes 2, layers for extra thickness. It can be machine washed and dried on a low setting. I have never been burned using one of these, of course, I don't cook either. Ha!Ha!Ha! Just kidding! With 8 kids I have definitely done my share of cooking!! These are nice and thick though and wash up nice. So just leave me a comment about any old thing at all, but put it under this post and I'll enter your name to win this potholder.
Thanks and have a Terrific Tuesday!!
Cami is this weeks Terrific Tuesday winner!

An Example of What you Could Make (or Receive) from The Brown Paper Bag Swap

I used white paper bags instead of brown for a springier look on this Paper Bag Scrapbook.

This is the cover.

These are some of the inside pages

These are some tags and paperclips that will be included for journaling, embellishing or whatever

A view of the book from the top

I just wanted to show an example of what someone could make for The Brown Paper Bag Swap that I am hosting. I KNOW you want to sign up you've just been to shy. Go ahead, do it, just click on the brown paper bag and leave me a comment or email me and you could be part of the fun!! I'm waiting to here from you!!

Etsy for Charity and Sickness in our House Again

Here is the link to the Etsy for Charity Treasury this month. http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=43084Please be sure and check their shop out! It is 100% donation except for the shipping. This months charity is St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
Thanks!!

We all just finished our antibiotics for strep and then my little guy, Jace, got a high fever on Saturday night and when I took him to the Dr.'s this morning he has a bilateral ear infection and a red throat. He is back on antibiotics again. I didn't get much accomplished over the weekend because Jace just wants his Mama. I did get a lot of cuddling done though!!

We Made it Through Confirmation and First Communion, But Baseball was Rained Out!

Lexie's Confirmation went very nicely! She has turned into such a beautiful young woman and I am so proud of her! We went over to one her friends house afterwards for dessert and I think I finally made a friend around here. Her friends mom is really nice and has a lot of the same interests as I do. Hopefully, we can get together sometime soon. My Lexie is the one in the gray sweater and black pants. Isn't she beautiful! The Cathedral was so dark inside that it was really hard to get good pictures. After the Confirmation and visiting was over I got home around 11:30 p.m. and of course I still had to wash Mallory's dress and finish her veil. It actually all went pretty smooth and I had it done on time this morning. Mallory looked beautiful and she did a wonderful job on her reading at church. Mallory was really nervous but she did a such a good job. What can I say, I have been blessed with 2 of the most gorgeous, thoughtful and kind daughters that anyone could ever ask for. I am so proud of my girls!!!

Here is the back of Mallory's veil

Mallory's veil, jewelery box from Grandma Jo, program and certificate

Earl, Mallory and Me My 2 girls together--I made the dress that Mallory is wearing for Lexie's First Communion 7 years ago. Mallory wanted to wear here sisters dress. Me, Lexie and Mallory on Lexie's First Communion---Look how all of us girls have grown!! Only I grew the wrong direction, damn it!!

So the religious ceremonies went well but we got rained out of baseball. So hopefully next week we will have our first game. Tomorrow Mallory has a second ceremony at the church and then on to baseball pictures.

I Have a Ton to Do Today!

In 4 hours my oldest daughter's Confirmation starts and I still need to hem her pants up. I just got back from buying her a gift, getting cleats and baseball pants for my son for tomorrow's first game of the season, buying the supplies I need to make my youngest daughter a head piece for her first Communion tomorrow and trying to find something for me to wear. Here are my supplies for the headpiece, I anxious to see what I come up with! Wish me luck, I have a busy night and weekend ahead of me!

It's May Day and I Have a Play Date--Check Out My Toys

Go to Scrappy Jessi's Blog and see the list of all the Bloggers who are playing show-n-tell with their Favorite Childhood Toys. Check them out and see what kind of memories they bring back!My most memorable childhood toys are the Pebbles Doll I got when I was 3. My Papa made her a bed out of a whiskey barrel and then my Mom lined the inside of it with a Tiger print fabric. My brother and his wife redid the Pebbles bed and sent it to my daughter a couple of years ago. I also really remember playing with these plastic wigs and wearing high heals when I was about 3. Then of course I had my Barbie's and Skippers. Coloring and paper dolls were always a favorite, especially when we went to visit my grandparents. Speaking of crayons, who doesn't love the smell of a brand new box of crayons? I love that smell! My Nana had an Etch-a-Sketch that we would play with at her house along with I Spy. We would hide a thimble and look for it. My Papa would buy us Mexican Jumping Beans on occasion and I remember thinking they were so neat! I did a lot of jump roping at home and at school and we would play hopscotch too along with freeze tag, t.v. tag, hide-n-seek and other outside games like that.

I had a green banana seat bike until I got to be a little older and then I got a 10 speed. I used to ride my bike all the time by myself and with my friends. My parents also bought a tandem bike that my older brother and I used to ride quite a bit. I played baseball and kickball with my brothers and kickball was the school's favorite game for us to play, on the gravel playground. Ouch!! The nurses office was always full of people with skinned knee's. My mom and grandmothers taught me to embroidery, sew and crochet which I loved to do, especially when we didn't have a t.v. . We all got quite crafty during this couple of years. We played some Chinese Jump Rope and those hand clapping games to silly little songs. My Grandma made Clackers for us. She had the stuff to make Clackers and those grapes that people sat on there coffee tables and other stuff like that. I liked Silly Putty and Spirograph's, until it would slip when you were almost done with the most prettiest perfect design, and then oops! slippage!
My brothers and our friends used to play Crazy Eight, Go Fish, Monopoly and Life. We used to put on little plays in our basement and play church in the living room. I would put a towel on my head and pretend to be a nun and then we had this piece of white glassware that looked like a Chalice (It was from Avon) and we put crackers in it and pretend to be passing out Holy Communion. When I got to be 12 or so I loved Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. I had their posters and records that I would listen to. I read a lot as a kid too. I would sneak my little reading light on and stay up late reading. Why else did they give me the reading light, right??

Thanks Scrappy Jessi for bringing back some wonderful childhood memories! It's fun to go back and remember things like that. I wish my siblings lived closed by me so we could get together and talk about the "good old days" like we used too!