It's up and it's so PURTY

Okay, my shop went live last week. And I've been spending this time trying to figure out how this all works. So I've added a few book marks, a few bracelets, and some cell phone charms. Just to see what gets the most attention.

Also, my dear dear friends over at GoddessFish Promotions did my banners for me. They are gorgeous. Judy the Banner Goddess rocks! This is going to go at the top of my blog here so everyone can see. :-D :



The rest of my life has been... interesting. But that is for another day.

HOLY COW!

It's been... FIVE months since I've posted anything to this blog. OY, I'm sorry. It's been a rather insane few months. Between family emergencies and getting the kids back to school it's been hard to remember where I'm supposed to be and when.

On top of that I decided that I didn't have enough to do so I started a home jewelry/do-dad/what-nots business. Pixie's Pretties went live this last week. Basically it's a way to take my love of beads, jewelry making stuff and reading and make money off of it. Needless to say, my hubby is happy that all that craft "stuff" in the other room is being put to use (or put out to pasture).

I just sent almost all of my product off to my sister in Colorado (where she sells it in her booth each weekend) and left almost nothing for myself to post to my Etsy account. *sigh* I do have some stuff, but the big stuff I sent off to her. Guess that means I have to make more... LOL

So how has everyone been? Is anyone still stopping in occasionally? Hopefully, I'll finally get back into the swing of things and be a productive member of society again. LOL. Hope everyone is well. :-D

I'm Here...

I have just been super busy lately. I apologize to anyone who is still following my blog. It has been insane around here lately, and now I have health issues that are making it hard to keep up with everything I've set myself up to do. LOL

I'm trying to get caught back up, so bear with me if you're still around.

Aside from my health stuff, everyone is doing well. The boys are getting bigger and life is still as interesting as ever. The baby is one year old now, and it's just so amazing how different each child can be one from the other. The older boys are all growing like weeds and I can hardly keep them clothed before they grow out of everything. They're eating me out of house and home... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Gah, I have no idea how to get caught up, but I'll try over the next few weeks to do just that. I know, I know, I stink at this... hopefully I'll get better. :-D

Thursday Thirteen ~ Interesting Things I've Learned...

13 Interesting Things I've Learned as the Mother of BOYS!!!

They are in no particular order, only as they came to me. Enjoy!

1. I. Can't. Have. Nice. Things. ~ That's right, nice things can NOT survive in my house for more than several days at a time.

2. A 9-year-old pretending to surf can completely wreck a metal bunkbed. Yes, a METAL bunkbed. Destroyed... no fixing it.

3. It's okay for them to laugh and joke about farts, burps and other bodily functions... but I am not allowed to tell my dance students to smell their toes in order to show how they need to stretch. "Eww, Mommy! That's GROSS!" Go figure.

4. Sour milk or apple juice will not kill them. It does however upset MY stomach when I figure out that they drank it.

5. Even toy power tools can drill a hole in my wall. Apparently, all the child needs is determination... and a mother dealing with a younger sibling.

6. Even kiddie craft scissors can give a child a reverse mohawk.

7. A sugar spoon found in the sugar tub (for cooking) was NOT used to sprinkle sugar over the morning cereal... it was used to eat the sugar directly from the source.

8. Even FOAM pirate swords can break skin if swung hard enough.

9. Yo-yos work much better as a weapon than a toy (You ever seen someone swing one around their head until it clobbers another person? NO? Come to my house, just remember to duck).

10. A laptop is surprisingly resilient when faced with a curious 7-1/2 year-old holding a screwdriver. And in the same vein... I can literally blow steam from my ears.

11. A determined barefoot child can shimmy up a doorjamb with nothing but his fingers and toes to propel him... and THEN proceed to hang from the top of the doorjamb until someone else walks into the room.

12. A two year old can hogtie himself with nothing more than a necklace of beads.

13. A tiny little bouncy-ball can wreak an amazing amount of havoc if bounced hard enough.

So, that is my very first TT, hope y'all enjoyed it.

Yeah, yeah ... It's been a long time...

Okay, I know it's been a really long time since I posted here, but life has been busy. I thought I'd show y'all something that I had great fun doing. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I figure this is the only way I'm gonna get all my boys to dance. I may get one of them to do it, but this was so much fun. As least I'll have video of it.....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

IT looks so real! It makes me laugh, tell me it doesn't make y'all laugh! Okay, last one... maybe! *snicker*

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season. Good will to all and to all a good night... that Santa sure knows what he's talking about. LOL

~Chris

Strangers... Stranger than fiction...

Thought I'd start with a picture from the reunion. This was taken from the back porch of DH's uncle's home.

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Okay, Marianne requested the hitting on strangers story... so here goes.

While at the beach up in Idaho (while my DH rode around in his brother's boat) I had the task of keeping track of three children, participating in the family activities and making sure my children didn't wander or drown. I thought I was doing pretty good until the cousin I was talking to said, "Hey, where'd (3) go?"

PANIC... okay, I could handle this. I stood up, asked the cousin if she could continue to keep an eye on 0 and 6 and stood to look up and down the beach. I let everyone else in the group know he had wandered off and to BOLO then started walking up the beach. I saw a flash of his life jacket ahead of me and started to trot in that direction. As I got a bit closer and saw what he was doing, I broke into a full-out run. 3 had picked up some random water noodle and proceeded to beat some poor guy about the head and shoulders with it (No, I'm not kidding!). By the time I got there, the guy was confused but... amused. He was holding onto one end of the noodle while 3 dancing around on the other end of the noodle like it was a great game...

"(3), you put that down right now!" 3 turned around and just started babbling about how this guy was letting him do it and it was fun. I look at the guy and about swallow my tongue. HOTTIE!!

"I am SOO sorry," I gasp, grabbing 3s arm embarassed as all get out, and then the guy turns to face me fully... WHEW, I told you he was HAWT right? Well, he was built too.. he had that perfect triangle... yum. So, here I am embarassed, and the guy turns to me and grins. He's grinning at me!

He said, "S'alright, hon!" with this REALLY nice british accent... IN IDAHO. How in the hell did he find his way to BFE Idaho? "I just wasn't sure who he belonged to."

"Yes, he belongs to me, I'm sorry! He thinks because he has older brothers who beat on him that it's okay... no matter what I say." No, I'm really not sure how I was still able to talk... but I was.

"I can relate." And that was that...

I smiled, and dragged my 3 back off down the beach to where he was supposed to be and kept a much closer eye on him the rest of the day. So, now you know, my son is shameless when it comes to "hitting" on good-looking strangers on my behalf.

Which story should I tell next? LOL

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It's been a bit insane in our house lately, what with school starting back up, and dance classes and another family trip... *sigh* I guess I can rest when I'm dead.

Today, we had a big deal happen in our little household. 0 had his first tooth break through. YAY. After about a month of fussing and a not-so-happy baby, I'm hoping we'll get a bit of a break from the screaming. Doubt it, but hope springs eternal.

That's the best I can do right now. He wasn't cooperating with me taking pictures of his tooth today. You can sort of see it there on the bottom in the front. NO, I didn't hurt him, he was actually trying to grab the camera. LOL

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9 just learned a rough lesson today. He came home from school and instead of doing what I told him to do (his homework) he ran around in his room in his own world. Now, normally we'd just call him back to task and all would be well. BUT, today was Scouts. The rule is if he doesn't do his homework before Scouts, he doesn't get to go. We went through a really rough patch last year where he almost failed. Considering how smart the kid is it was difficult to get him back on task. We worked it out, and he decided along with us that if he didn't do his homework he lost privileges... starting with Scouts. I hate being the bad guy, but he has a hard enough time focusing without letting him excuse himself from homework.

*sigh* Isn't being a parent so much fun? YES,it is... even when they don't like me very much.

Yes, I'm back...

And I have been for a bit now. I'm sorry... I SUCK at keeping up with my blogging. LOL

Our trip to Idaho went well, aside from disappearing children, hitting on good-looking strangers and 9 year old gastrointestinal showmanship... we had a pretty good time. Yes, there is a story behind each situation named above. I just really don't have time to tell them all right now, plus the post would be a mile long if I did. Let me know which one you want to know the most about and I'll tell that tale in the next posting.

Life has been rather crazy around here. We got back from our trip and the next week I started back teaching dance classes, DH started back taking his Masters courses, we had to prepare for a new school year and everything just went to fast forward. Before I knew it, it was three weeks (four?) later and I hadn't updated my blog. *sigh*

Well, now 9 and 6 are back in school, and I have a bit more time to get things done (I hope). So, here's hoping that I can actually get those things ... well... done!