Craft Fair

I'm VERY excited! I'm going to be in a craft fair in December. My first one ever! Hopefully it's not a complete flop, but if it is, I'll just continue making crafts for myself and pretend I'm actually good at it...but if it isn't a flop, woohoo..the money from selling could bring us closer to our dream house!

What am I selling you ask? Ah, a very good question. I'll be making ribbon holders, t-shirt dresses, fairy-princess wands, instant soup mix, onesies and tees with cute sayings, photo albums and some eco-friendly book bags. (I threw that eco-friendly in simply for the 'buzz' word.)

The best part is, not only do I get to shop in a craft store for hours at time, but I also get to play with my glue gun. Life is good people.

Daybook

FOR TODAY
September 29, 2009

Outside my window... the wind is blowing for all it's worth, the trees are shaking and leaves are falling...gorgeous
I am thinking... that winter is not too far off..am I prepared?
I am thankful for... an amazing daughter that makes me laugh all the time....oh, and warm muffins
From the kitchen... blueberry raspberry muffins...sigh...
I am wearing... a pink long sleeve tee and jeans...oh and socks now too!
I am creating... a big huge mess in my new craft room/office
I am going... to get to bed early tonight..I swear it!
I am reading... I just finished three books over the weekend...the Horse Dreams series books one and two and Halos...all three are excellent Christian fiction and Halos even has a Peretti-esque quality
I am hoping... that I get everything I need to get done before Reagan wakes up and that I can spend some quality time with her and enjoy it.
I am hearing... the dishwasher, the dryer (the electric company is making a fortune off of me today) and the clicking of the keyboard
Around the house... everything smells nice because of the wonderful fall breeze and my pumpkin candles.
One of my favorite things... is pumpkin ice cream...fall fair is this weekend..I am so getting some!
A few plans for the rest of the week: relaxing, craft shows, cooking

For more great daybook entries, please visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

For more great menu ideas, check out orgjunkie.com!

Monday: Chicken-Vegetable-Rice soup
Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti, green beans
Wednesday: Chicken or Fish with Honey Roasted Red Potatoes
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade pizza-sausage, olives, cheese
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Chicken parmesan with pasta and broccoli

Breakfasts: yogurt, cheesey eggs, fruit, cereal
Lunches: leftovers, food from the freezer (leftovers from various other meals!)
Snacks: Raspberry-Blueberry Muffins, cheese and crackers, honeycrisp apples (these are the absolute best apples money can buy....if they are near you, GET THEM!!!!)
Desserts: Pumpkin Pie, apple crisp

Daybook

I've seen a 'daybook' entry on several blogs I've read and thought it would be nice to start having my own daybook entry every once in a while. So this is my first. If you'd like to learn more about the daybook entries and read what others are saying, please check out this link.

FOR TODAY
Friday, September 25, 2009

Outside my window...is very dark. I can't believe just a few short weeks ago it was still very light outside at this time of night. And I love how the soft glow emanates from the solar lights Josh just installed...great idea, honey.
I am thinking...of how many times in the last few months I've reacted in anger to Reagan. I really feel like I've messed up this past year.
I am thankful for...the fact that she won't remember much about my mess-ups of her first few years.
From the kitchen...Reagan has been practically begging me to make pumpkin pie for her and just tonight Josh called her his 'pumpkin pie' as they cuddled together before she drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow, Reagan and I will make pumpkin pie. I love the scent of the sweet pumpkin and spices and that warm, fluffy first bite. I just use the Libby's recipe..why mess with perfection?
I am wearing...my standard outfit lately: jeans and a black tee shirt
I am creating...lots of new things for the craft show I'll be in December. Ribbon holders, magnets to hold gardening gloves and t-shirt dresses for little ones.
I am going...somewhere. Where I don't know. But I feel like I'm starting on a journey to something. I have so many plans, and I'm trying to organize them and mobilize my little family in the right direction. But some days I just feel adrift.
I am reading...I just finished a great book called Dogwood. It's a Christian fiction book and I enjoyed it so much. I encourage everyone who loves a good thought provoking book to pick this one up from the library.
I am hoping...that I can be a better mother to Reagan...and one day she'll say I played with her enough!
I am hearing...the whirr of the computer, the purr from Porthos' throat, the soft hum of the air conditioning
Around the house...everything feels damp..which is why the air conditioning is on although we DEFINTELY don't need it. It's just that time of year.
One of my favorite things...is fall. I love crunching in the leaves with Reagan.
A few plans for the rest of the week: a must is grocery shopping, a night at the office, storytime with Reagan, making pie, garage sales, just enjoying my family.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

One of my all time favorite pictures of Reagan....I just can't believe she's going to be three soon...where has all the time gone?????? I feel like wailing and gnashing my teeth like some grieving Biblical woman. Why can't she stay little?

Love on screen and in real life?

Could it be that the face of Edward, Robert Pattinson, and the face of Bella, Kristen Stewart, are really truly possibly so in love that they're discussing marriage? I'm swooning. Literally swooning. Seriously, how utterly, devastatingly romantic. Could anything be more perfect for millions of Twilight fans everywhere???

No, really. How amazing is this? It's almost as if the Twilight series is coming to reality right in front of our very eyes. HOWEVER, for the sake of the two young people right at the heart of this matter, I hope they really ARE falling in love WITH EACH OTHER and not just the notion of "Edward" and "Bella" and "being" in love. Without a doubt, I know that would be MY problem if I were Kristen Stewart, but then again, I've always looked at love through rose-tinted glasses.

Remember that scene in Sleepless in Seattle, where Meg Ryan and Rosie O'Donnell are sitting up watching "An Affair to Remember"? Rosie tells Meg: "You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie." My best friend uttered that exact same line to me how many times I can't even tell you.

This is actually the perfect segue into a topic I wanted to post about marriages, and my marriage specifically and especially in relation to a book I've started reading that has already had some positive improvements on my relationship with my husband. Marriages in trouble AND good marriages, both, can really benefit from some of the principles I'll be discussing. Hopefully I'll be able to post more about it either this week or next, but in the meantime, I'm off to daydream about Edward (along with almost every other woman under the age of 40)!

Good luck Rob and Kristen!

New Reaganisms!

The other night Reagan and I were cuddled up together and apparently I was breathing on her neck. She twisted around and said "Mommy, close your nose!"
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Sometimes when I'm nervous I'll chew on the pad of my thumb with my teeth. I was doing this the other day while Reagan was talking to me about something. She stopped mid-sentence and said "Mommy, don't do dat. Babies do dat. You are not a baby!"
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Pritsha (our oldest furbaby) does NOT like to play. She wasn't that playful as a kitten and at ten years old, she's certainly not playful now. Reagan does try however. Yesterday she was dangling soemthing in front of her, trying to get her to bat at it. Pritsha turned up her nose and walked in the other direction...apparently slightly affronted by Reagan's "Here Kitty, kitty, kitty!" I said "Reagan, she's old like mommy. She doesn't like to play!" So Reagan turned around and dangled the toy in front of me saying "Here mommy, mommy, mommy!!!!"

All cash, all month

We're almost at the end of our envelope cash system that we adopted for the month of September per Dave Ramsey's suggestions. I really think it's gone very well and our cash balance is much higher than I realized it could be if we just really evaluated our spending.

The only drawbacks to savings were having a $1200 car repair bill (and another one on the way!!!); a $600 cost for a new computer after the old one crashed; our six month insurance bill and a $250.00 fee for the chicken pox vaccine for ME. But eating out of the pantry, not eating out and really trying to stay home more definitely made an impact on our bottom line for the month. I'm looking forward to seeing what the final balance is at the end of the month (MINUS all the emergency costs that cropped up!)

What I've learned so far:

1. I've learned that I can do without things I think that I absolutely need. I SHOP mostly out of BOREDOM. I need to spend more quality time with my child and less spending money on her and that when I weigh current wants against what I really want in a few years...not spending is much easier.

2. I've also learned that there are things that my family WILL NOT do without. Ice cream and soda are amoung them. I have learned it pays to be prepared and have just a little of those items on hand so that we aren't feeling deprived (and depraved!) enough to run out and buy a huge amount of any of those wants.

3. I've also learned that I can have what I want by making it from scratch. A new dress for Reagan? I have tons of t-shirts and fabric to modify for her. A cheesey pizza? Give me 30 minutes and it's ready. Chinese food? I can cook egg drop soup, fried rice and stir-fry in 30 minutes as well. Even date nights can be super cheap after Reagan is asleep...a movie we own, an iced coffee made at home, good conversation.

4. I've learned there are ALWAYS going to be unexpected expenses that crop up and that's why it's good to build as large of an emergency savings plan as you can. You always have that cushion to fall back on, and quite frankly, it hurts to use that savings, so you learn to really force yourself to choose between wants and needs.

Life doesn't have to be expensive and I have very little that I actually NEED. I'm enjoying learning that lesson. In the next few months I want to focus on spending even less. I'll be posting about it here and there as we make progress towards our ultimate goal (more on that to be posted later too!)

Don't Drink The Green Water!!!!!!

Reagan drinks out of sippy cups, especially at night. Purely for cleaning reasons. And we tend to use those multi-colored packs of semi-disposable sippy cups from Wal-Mart. I'm sure all moms know exactly which cups I mean.

The other night we handed Reagan her cup of water, complete with red cup and green lid. She said "Mommy, look, the water's green!" I proceeded to explain the water wasn't really green, it was just the way it looked through the lid. She said "Oh, Grandma gave me green water."

Me: "Oh did she? When did Grandma give you green water?"
Reagan: "How bout I tell you a story about that?" (which nearly sent me into hysterical fits right there!)
Me: Ok.
Reagan: Well there was a storm and it was raining and lightening and there was a monster. And I drank the green water and it makes you fly through the storm. And then there was a tall and furry moster. And that's the end."

My mother in law thinks it was a variation of her playing in the green lake water with Reagan under an umbrella--regardless, heed my warning: DON'T DRINK THE GREEN WATER!!! ;)

Reaganism!

Reagan and I (ok, mostly ME!) cleaned out the shed for Josh the other day. It was a wreck and I have to say it looked incredible when I finished with it. We took Josh out to show him his newly cleaned shed after dinner and Reagan (completely independent of me!!!) said "Look Daddy! We did all the hard work for you!!!" LOL!!!!

Flowers and Hips

Strange title for a blog post right? Let me explain. Reagan's Grandma gave her this plush flower with a smiley face, that sits in a plush pot. It's electronic and dances and sings (when the batteries work) "You Are My Sunshine." The other day as Reagan sat watching her flower perform, she looked at me and said "Mommy, I didn't know flowers had hips!"

Yes, I nearly died laughing!

Butternut Squash Soup Review

I made this soup this past week and quite frankly, I thought it was really wonderful. The rest of my family, however, didn't have such a high opinion. Reagan refused to touch it after one bite and my husband only managed to choke down a few spoonfuls, all the while saying "No, it's pretty decent, no, really!"

Alas, my family is quite the meat and potatoes type of meal family. If it's not meat, and if it's not red, with as few vegetables as possible, well,they're just not that interested. So don't let my family dissuade you from trying this soup! Again, I found it to be quite tasty and filling! Even without the cream cheese, it would have been great and with it...YUM! (Note: I only used half the cream cheese suggested!)

A Rant About Applesauce

Yes...applesauce. The other day I decided I wanted some applesauce to go with my lunch. I put it in a container, took a big bite...and nearly keeled over from the excruciating sweetness. I thought to myself 'there is no way this is our regular applesauce.' Sure enough, after looking at the container, I realized it was "CLASSIC" applesauce and not "NO SUGAR ADDED".

Now, exactly WHY do manufacturers feel the need to add sugar to our applesauce? I mean, we eat apples every day with no added sugar!!! WHY, oh WHY do we need sugar in our applesauce??? AND FURTHERMORE...WHY call it CLASSIC applesauce, when it it so clearly NOT classic..Classic implies unchanged...adding a small mountain of sugar to the applesauce is CLEARLY changing it!

UGH. Well, at least this explains why Reagan was slurping the stuff down like there was no tomorrow and ignorning all her other food!!

Perceptive...

Today Reagan and I were hanging out petting one of our furbabies. The cat was obviously enjoying herself (which is a rarity!) and I mentioned to Reagan how much the cat loved Reagan loving on her and petting her. Reagan looked at me and said "Yes, and sometimes she loves it when I leave."

LOL! Perceptive child!

Menu Plan Monday (on Sunday!)

For more great menu plans, check out orgjunkie.com!

This week is going to be all about eating from the pantry and freezer. I don't have a vehicle this week (as our second car is being repaired..AGAIN! Um, yes, time to get a new one I think!!!) so no grocery trips for us! Wish us luck using what we have!

Monday: (Prepare a meal for friend that just had a baby: Chicken pot pie and oatmeal cookies) for us: LEFTOVERS!
Tuesday: Butternut squash soup and french bread (homemade!)
Wednesday: Mini BBQ meatloaves (prepare enough extra for the freezer!), mashed potatoes and vegetable NOTE: I don't use stuffing in my recipe..my husband detests it, so instead I use oatmeal. Much more nutritious!
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Sandwiches or leftovers
Sunday: Roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and rolls

Breakfasts: Cereal, cream of wheat or bacon and eggs
Lunches: Leftovers--from this week's dinners or from the freezer, chicken salad, fruit and vegetables
Snacks: Fruit or frozen fruit cocktail loaf, muffins, goldfish

Frozen Fruit Cocktail Loaf:
8 oz of cream cheese
1 16oz can of fruit cocktail

Beat cream cheese til smooth. Drain fruit and mix into cream cheese. Pour into pan. Freeze. Use a warm knife to cut off portions for serving!

I'm BACK!

Well our old computer finally died...a long, slow painful death...and we bought a new one! Which means I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blog posting! YIPPEE! I'll be sharing some GREAT new Reaganisms in the next few days..HILARIOUS child! I can't wait to share!

NEVER FORGET

God Bless America. Please take some time today to remember 9-11 and thank God that we live in such an incredible country.

New Show on PBS!

About dinosaurs and trains!!!! I'm so excited for Reagan to see it today! Two of her favorite things in life! If you have little ones, I bet they'd love it too! Check your local listings for the time!

And for my best friend who asked..

...what veggie chicken nuggets were! I meant the Morningstar Veggie Chicken Nuggets. They taste just like the real thing and are meatless. I get them sometimes for Reagan because they have extra minerals and vitamins added in, but we are in NO way vegetarians of course! Anyone in the US can find them in their freezer section, but Stace, I honestly don't know if they'll have them over in Italy!

So....

I'm rereading Twilight again, because I just wasn't pathetic ENOUGH the first time apparently :) And, as usual, I skipped over at least half, and probably closer to 2/3 of New Moon. Why? Because I'm SO pathetic I can't stand reading about Jacob and have to skip ahead to the part where Edward reenters the picture.

Yes. I'm trying to relive my teenage years. Can anyone really blame me? EDWARD?!!! Sigh...fantasies are so much nicer than real life--well, a good portion of the time anyway.

At any rate, here's my theory. Bella was supposedly in love with Jacob too at least a little anyway. Obviously, no where near as much as she loved Edward. And this only after Edward leaves her for the better part of a year thinking that he doesn't love her (which he does only to protect her)...Good Heavens, I feel like I really AM in high school.

BUT! Here's the kicker. Immediately after having Renesmee and turning into a vampire, she stops having ANY of those emotions for Jabob. And we all know that of course Jacob "imprints" on Renesmee (or maybe I'm the only one reading this blog that does because I'm the only one obsessed with Twilight..at any rate)---SO, here is my theory: I really truly believe that Bella NEVER really loved Jacob in that way..it was all the feelings of Renesmee coming out towards Jacob through her mother Bella and of course Bella thought those were HER feelings, but they weren't! And of course, as soon as Renesmee was born..well those feelings AND the baby were out of Bella.

See? Yes, it's official. I spend WAY too much time reading Twilight. AND I DON"T CARE! Off to finish Breaking Dawn again..with a glass of wine ;)

I think our computer is dying...

a slow, horrible death. Every time I click on something, the thing growls at me. Actually GROWLS. SO if there ever comes a time (very soon) when I don't post for several days, you'll know it's because my computer decided it was his time.

Reaganism!

I had been in the bedroom checking my email and came out looking for Reagan. I walked around the house saying "Where is my baby? Where is my baby?" And then I saw her standing up with a blanket wrapped around her, watching cartoons. I stopped, laughed and said "Oh there she is! Apparently she's cold!"

Reagan (very smartly) said "Apparently, she's warm now!"

LOL! Clever girl!