Autumn Asks: Have Any Confessions?

I've got nothing. That would be why I'm so quiet over here. I should probably feel guilty....but I don't do guilty very often. I own where I'm at.

So Cassie at This Journey Through My Life did a post on 10 confessions today and asked us to join in. Click on over and visit Cassie...she's having one of those weeks. If you are a mom you know exactly what I mean. A cyber hug would not be remiss.

So Cassie, here's my 10 confessions for the last couple of weeks:

1. I feel like napping every day lately. I know its probably more about allergies than anything since its spring, but it really makes me feel like a slug.

2. I have zero motivation to get anything done. I'm working on a big project and I have the "don't wanna" syndrome. When I try to get started....I go take a nap instead.

3. I haven't really cleaned the house in 3 weeks besides a courtesy swipe at the dust and vacuum runs.

4. My kitchen has been flooded daily for over a month and I'm so sick of calling it in that I just throw towels down and change them out daily. I would never do that if I owned the place. (Of course I would have FIXED it if I owned the place....not played around with housing maintenance.)

5. My meds expired and ran out in Feb and I waited until last week to make an appointment and get it all going again.

6. I hate prom even more now that I'm forking out the money for my daughter than I did when I was a teen and refused to go. What a money hole. For what?

7. I'm so tired of my baby coming home from school with sickness or bugs. Really???? Right now there are several parents that I would like to actually smack for sending their kids to school to infect others. And I'm not talking about the people that didn't even know...I'm talking about the parents that DO know and send their kids anyways. I've acquired an education on how many people do that when chasing down these issues to ensure further contamination doesn't occur. I have no nice words for these people so I shall shut up now. It's almost sent me back to home schooling.

8. We've been here almost 2 years and we still haven't found a church.

9. We've been here almost 2 years and the garage is still not unpacked and organized.

10. By Christmas I bet I have more gray hair than red. It's not gonna be pretty people. And I can't decide if coloring my hair is worth it. After all, we KNOW that hair dye is a serious carcinogenic. Is it worth the increased cancer risk? Look like an old hag or die a painful death. Can't decide.

So how about you? What kind of nasty confessions are you willing to share?

Geesshhhh

New dog

new dog

hubs out of town

new dog

food poisoning?

sick kid

sick kid

back to school

4 hours in the ER

Strep, ear infection, possible pneumonia

sick kid

new dog

Spring break

Rain, rain go away and let us enjoy Spring break

Please

Prom Dress

Underwear for prom dress.....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

When can I get my permit?

sick kid

new dog

No...no...no...

sick mom

Lil' China Love

For those of my readers that also follow Tonggu Momma....you all have heard the fab news that they finally received their referral.

It was like FOUR YEARS in the waiting. Is that not crazy???

A wait like that really deserves some recognition. Way to hang in there guys!!

And this fall or summer (excuse the brain damaged memory) my mother sent me a box full of the left-over material from Mighty Mouses 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I used some of it for a charity quilt, but still had so much left over.

So of course I had the brilliant ideal of making a Referral Gift for TM and Co. out of that stash.

I had one piece that was a decent size and had a scene on it that I really wanted to use for the middle. And I had a decent size dragon piece for the back border. So I started playing with it and this is what I got... Lil China Love:

As there is no absolute guarantee that the baby will be a girl I did not get too girly. Bright yellows and blue and reds are the dominant colors on the front...

With a green waves pattern on most of the back. See the dragon piece in the light blue? It is the coolest fabric.

A close up of the children on the center front. I love this fabric. It came after we had MM's quilt already cut so I didn't get to use it. Then I thought I'd make a dress out of it ... but I never got around to it. So glad!

This was my first serious try at a free motion quilting pattern of Leah Daey's. Its called bamboo forest or something like that. I did it on the outside borders. It was a real good one to start with...not REAL easy but not excessively hard and it is very forgiving.

The green waves backing.

I struggled with the border. Finally I found a bright red with a vine pattern on it that worked well with the other reds....and helped keep the quilt from being too girly "just in case".

And there she is. I am auto posting this on a date they should have the quilt by...so I hope they already do and this is not ruining the surprise. Its been very hard to keep quiet as I LOVE the way it turned out ...and its been done since December!

Congrats friend!

(Better pictures)

Wherein Autumn Earns A Camp Name

This was a crazy weekend of Girl Scouts gone wild. Spring Break had nothin' on us.

Ok. Not really so -- but it was a very full and fun weekend.

Friday we headed to a nearby town with the Juniors and Cadettes for a night of Science fun at a College. We did lots of really cool stuff and ended the night with a bang...literally...in the chemistry lab. College chemistry is way cool. We got to see things set on fire, frozen, shattered -- some really really cool stuff. And girls this age? They LOVE this kind of stuff. I think we really made the professors night. Maybe even year. They all wanted to come back and go to college there.

Saturday. Oh Saturday. I had adult enrichment/training with the leader of all the ages in the troop and another leader that handles the Brownies. We had to meet early as we didn't do the whole overnight 3 day thing...just the all day Saturday. After a rough start where I discovered that Starbucks doesn't open until 7 am in our area, we hit another place for Liquid Awake and off we drove to the campgrounds. I had hiking lost trails, Journeys and then orienteering on my schedule. Hiking I was doing with the Brownie leader and orienteering we were all doing together.

Weather was in the 60's with scattered showers. (And God was smiling on me because those showers/downpours occurred during Journey classroom and lunch -- when I was indoors.)

So off M and I marched to discover a lost trail that used to be used when the camp had horses.

And it had rained the day before.

Where it was true up and down hiking. (With ropes strung at strategic spots to keep us from slipping into a ravine.)

On soggy ground. Here is where I insert the fact that I have never lived anywhere that has such a spongy ground in the spring. Its kinda gross. Its very squishy. And it eats shoes if you aren't careful. Hence my recent purchase of the only pair of rain boots I have ever owned. Which I was not wearing for hiking either.

Now - before I go any further let me explain a very old Girl Scout tradition. Its the "camp name". It is a nickname you earn while at camp that sticks with you for life at any GS camp you attend afterwards. Pretty important stuff if you ask me.

But I never actually earned one as there was never really anything epic, weird or out-of-the ordinary that happened to me at any of the camp-outs.

I don't mind getting dirty or bugs. Rain isn't a problem. I've never set myself on fire or burned up dinner or anything fire related. Its just been camping.

Back to the hike.

It was muddy and wet and steep in places. Many of the women were afraid to fall. We all slipped and slid here and there. There was lots of fear and complaints of how they got stuck in this class and would never hike on their own...etc.

And then it happened.

Oh, I didn't just fall. Oh no. And I didn't just slide....way to boring. No.

I fell AND slid....on my um....chest....like a fat kid on a slip-n-slide.

Oh yes I did.

And I made this FANTASTIC loud ker-splish sound when I hit the ground! Movie sound effects had nothing on me.

And to make it better, the reason I was on my..er, girls...was because I had the hands thrown up and back to keep myself from bracing my fall and hurting a hands or wrists, AND my feet up to keep from injuring a knee. Great, great posture for a full frontal slide.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

And after the stunning discovery that I was COMPLETELY unharmed (but covered in mud) we were all able to relax as I took one for the team and got the required fall out of the way. Totally totally unharmed. (Still in shock over that.)

But you don't have to feel too bad for me. See, we took a couple of steps and then BAM. M's nose blew out in a gusher to beat all gushers. Yes, by the time we reached the top of the ravine we had to get the instructor to pull out the tp to stop that sucker. Kleenex just weren't gonna do it.

Now - another thing you have to realize is that our big boss wasn't with us because she was giving the lodge camping training the first two sessions. Yes. Our leader is not just ANY leader...she's a name at our council. She's been a scout in this council as a child and then became a leader and she knows it all. Really. Not being funny or anything.

So now I'm snickering cause her underlings have just shamed her.

And when we confessed our shame to our fearless leader she did laugh. And I told her I never ever expected to earn a camp nickname of Mudslide. And she shook her head and laughed.

Mud and Blood.

Yep - that's what she called us.

See - so my name really IS Mud!!

And to wrap it all up...on Sunday we had WAGGS day to celebrate the 100th bday of GS.

And I got my first sunburn of the year.

Because it was in the 80's!!!!!!! I am ecstatic!!!!!

Never have I been so happy to have a burn!!! Come on hot weather!!

And so there it is. Can you top it? (I know Andie can because she went to the big quilt show in Cinnci.)

I'd really love to hear how my friends spent their weekends and did things that make me look good -- or at least better.

Anyone?

(crickets)

My Baby Is 7

And I'm feeling it.

This is the last one. No more for me.

And I'm one of the lucky ones as I've stretched this mom thing out for years -- 6 years between the first two, 10 years between the second and third.

And I really did want to adopt one more from China. But hubs said he was done. So, done it is. (Which is even harder when someone else gets their new referral info the day before my baby's birthday. Go TM!!!!! So excited for you!!!!!!)

And this weekend we celebrated Mouses 7th birthday. She eats pizza now and requested Chuck E. Cheese. (I thought I was done with that place!) So off the four of us went to the strange smelling kid mecca of games and noise.

And that was after an overnight with 70 girls at a Children's Museum. Sleeping on a concrete floor. With children that would not go to sleep. Or stop running up and down the stairs. You really never realize just how well your Girl Scout Troop behaves until you combine with others for something. And ear plugs? Worth their weight in gold.

For Mouses cake she wanted Kim Possible. Leave it to my kid to come up with a character that was popular 10 years ago. And all I can say is hat's off to Eba*.
Of course Mouse loved it so much she kept tracing it through the plastic and totally destroyed the top of the cake before pictures or eating. But, being a third child, we just shrugged and moved on. LOL. I would have been so mad with the first child...and maybe even the second. But she saw it was what she wanted and its not like it tastes any different all scraped onto the top instead of pristine. So, whatever. Oh - and Jamie....the jam layer in there? It was great. The teen even commented on it.

And my little 7 year old? She has changed so much in this last year that I don't even think her nickname fits her anymore. She is just like many other kids her age now.

Do you know how shocking and amazing that is?????? I am pinching myself. She talks on the phone to people. She eats more foods and can be convinced to try something without throwing up all over the place or gagging. She interfaces well with other kids and adults as often as not now. She pulled her first card at school. She has put together her own little cheerleading team in our back yard...complete with cheers she made up and taught the other kids. She doesn't listen. She breaks the rules. She yells and gets loud.

She's finally FINALLy....so normal. (Which isn't to say she is totally normal...no kid is...which makes her normal. )

And I think I'm just a little bit shell shocked by it all.

Because I just don't know how I feel about all of this.