Getting There

I am still working on the trip blankets.  I am now down to 10 blocks left to make and then all of the seaming starts.

Here is a pic of 4 of the 5 I have gotten done in the last few days.  I would love to say that I should be caught up by the end of the year but that is not going to happen.

I am still making progress at the organizing thing.  Yesterdays goals were write a journal and limit TV.  I don't watch much TV to begin with and already have a journal so that was an easy one.  Todays goals were taking a 2 minute break 2-3 times a day and practice meditating.  These were a little hard for me but I think that I can do this.  I also figure that with kids and work I am going to just add one goal per a day after this week so I don't get over whelmed.

I plan to hit up the fabric store this weekend to buy a pattern and things to try to make my first actual pattern.  I also think that I might start looking into gathering the supplies so I can start Quilting 101.  It sounds like something that I could do myself and actually learn something as I go along.

As with all of my projects I will share what happens with you all.

Cindy

Organizing

For those that know me know that I am not the most organized person in the world but I try to be.  Most of the time to not much success.  This year I am trying something new but keeping my old habits as well.

In the past I have always had my trusty weekly planner.

This year I bought myself a book for Christmas called Organize now by Jennifer Ford Berry.  It has organizing broken down into weekly goals that should be manageable for me to actually do.  So week 1 is about organizing your mind.  There are 10 goals for this week some I already do like having a to do list and getting a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night.  Others I need to work on like journaling (starting up blogging again), limiting TV, and scheduling more "me time".



Today's goals were 7 hours of sleep per night and making a to do list both of which were completed as well as completing my to do list.  I have one day down and am so far on track lol.

My "me time" was spent meditating while working on trip blanket squares this evening.  I managed to finish 1 square and I now only have 20 more to get done not counting seaming to have 2015 complete.

I did snap a pic of all the ones I have yet to attach so you have a vague idea of exactly how far I am behind lol.  I will catch up again someday.

Resurrection

I am at a better place in my life again and I am going to resurrect my little blog here.  I am into all things parenting and crafting so that is the path that I am going to take from here.

I just got a sewing machine for Christmas and have not sewn anything since jr high so I am going to share my successes and failures with that.

She is a Janome 234 and she is mine all mine hahaha.

I spent the day today hitting up the Walmart twice for supplies but did manage to whip up a few project bags of assorted colors.  I found the free pattern here.

The ugly one on the left was made from scrap fabric that I got yesterday from the mother-in-law.  The peace sign Z picked out, TMNT is G's, and mine is the sweet sugar skull one.

I am not sure what I am going to make next so if you have any suggestions for a beginner I would love to try them.

I also got my very first weaving loom.  I have never done anything more than a loop potholder on the little red loom before so I was super anxious to try it out.

It is a 15" Cricket loom made by Schacht.  I actually tried this out yesterday.  Sorry avid sewers but the loom is way more interesting.

I used the 2 balls of yarn included in the box to make the beginner scarf pattern in the directions.  I am not thrilled with the color combo but it is live with able.

Z already decided it was hers anyways.

So same as with the sewing thing I am now looking for beginner rigid heddle weaving loom patterns or book suggestions.

I am still sticking with knitting as my primary hobby but I am anxious to add other crafts to my list as well.

I hope to have this year's additions to our trip blankets completed and ready to post soon so keep an eye out.  They are starting to become lap blankets instead of doll blankets lol.

I am so glad that life has settled down a bit with my new job so I can get back to sharing my life with everyone out there.

Cindy

Sandals

I know it is a little late in the year to talk about summer footwear but Z has been loving these new sandals of hers.

I got Z's from Amazon but you can get them directly from the website here.

They have adult sizes as well but I have yet to try them so that is up to you.

So Z will be 2 in December and already has a thing for shoes.  These are by far her favorite.  So far she can put them on all by herself.  Z is one of those no shoe kids like as soon as we walk in the house the shoes come off.  She normally has her shoes off before the car is even out of the driveway as well so yes her being able to put these on herself is a good thing.  She also loves that they are pink (her favorite color) and they have a transportation theme that most companies don't put on pink items.

I like that they are durable and feature a magnetic closure not just the standard velcro.

I am looking to purchase a pair for G in the spring I like these so much.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

CowGirl Hat

Z just loves to review things.  Ok so all 3 kids love to review things lol.  

Z got to do this one too because what boy wants a pink cowboy hat lol.

It is $12.99 on Amazon here and comes with a pink bandanna that she refused to wear.

It is a little big for Z but it fits G fairly well.  G refused to let me take a pic of him in it because "it is pink mom and boys don't wear pink".

The quality is about the same as the ones you get at Walmart for half the price.  

So as cheap as it is go to Walmart instead.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pampers Cruisers

So since the day that she was born Z has worn Pampers diapers.  She started out with Swaddlers and as she has gotten bigger she switched to Baby Dry.  Well thanks to Pampers and Influenster she just got to sample Pampers Cruisers.

The fit much the same as other Pampers diapers so not much change there.  The feel and ease of use is the same except for the Swaddlers and Baby Dry have the yellow stripe on them that turns blue when wet.  I do wish these had that feature to them.  

Z does like that the picture of the Sesame Street character is bigger but when she has it on she can't see it.  It also features a big picture on the back which is rather cute.

So long story short I am going to stick with my usual Pampers Baby Dry.


I got 3 Cruisers diapers free and the Baby Dry I paid for.  The views expressed in my review are my own and they did not compensate me for my work.

Chad

I am using this post to write a letter to my former employer.

Chad-

I just wanted to say thank you for giving me that push to leave my dead end job.  I will never understand why you didn't see a problem with giving out my personal number but that's ok.  I am not going to go into details about why I left because we both know what happened.

Anyway I wanted to say thank you for giving me that push because for the first time ever I got to spend a whole summer enjoying time with my kids and that is something that we will always treasure.  You see I didn't have to work because I had saved enough money to not have to find another job right away.  I know you thought that I would be back to save your ass again but I had decided that I was done with that a long time ago.

Crap off subject again.  I do want to let you know that I have gotten a better job than what I had there.  I make more money and work less hours.  My boss actually appreciates me and takes the time to let me know so.  Don't get me wrong my boss there appreciated me as well (which wasn't you as much as you seemed to think that you were.   

So there you have it I am still a little bitter because I miss most of my coworkers but I don't miss the hours and all the BS I had to put up with there.  I do love my bigger paycheck and my 7-3:30 Monday-Friday shift.

Cindy

End?

I am thinking about ending my little blog here.  With my new job I just don't feel like I have much time for it anymore.

I am going to finish up my last few reviews that I have going on but other than that I doubt that I will update more than once a week anymore.

Today's is the update for the last week.

K and G are working hard at school.  G actually got 8/8 on his spelling test last week and 7/8 of the bonus words.  K is doing well and so far likes Spanish the best.

Z is her usual crabby self and today is very upset because dad is not home from work yet.

We made some chocolate chip cookies yesterday.

D bought me some beautiful flowers.

G's football team is 3 - 2 with the next game on Saturday.

Football Pics

Today we had G's football pics taken.

Tomorrow D works the day, night, Thursday day, and Thursday night.  

We also have football at 6 and conformation parents night at 6.  Good thing they are across the street from each other.

Slacking

I have been slacking about updating lately.  So the week in review...

G's football team is now 3-1.  They lost game 2 against the Raiders.  G missed that game because he was sick.

Today is my first day waking up without a Mountain Dew in 5 years.  Going caffeine free is my next healthy goal.

I am officially down 20 pounds this summer and hope to keep up the progress with another 20 pounds.

Z thinks she is still a baby.

We went bowling for the niece's golden birthday.

Grandpa Popsie fell asleep on the couch at the bowling alley with all the noise.

On the way home we saw a motorcycle in a station wagon.

So that was my week in review.  We start the second week of school next week and it just goes on with more homework from there.

First Day

Today was the kid's first day of school.

I give you K starting grade 9

G starting grade 3

And Z going to daycare all day by herself.

Ok so 2 out of 3 excited for school to start isn't bad lol.

On Call

I am so tired of D's job.  I am done with him being on call for a week every 5 weeks.  Ok because of the Holiday tomorrow he is on call for 8 days not just 7.

So Z and I have been on our own because the boys are at their dads for the weekend.  We have kinda kept busy by doing the build at Home Depot.

We went to the mall to visit Grandma.  While we were there we got Z's bangs trimmed and played at the indoor play area.  Yes, I know that this looks like she is hugging a poop tree lol.

D bought us flowers because he felt bad that we were on our own all weekend.

Z learned that if a locked cabinet gets left open it is not a good idea to empty it and crawl in and close the door.  Here she is locked in lol.

Sick

My baby G came home from daycare yesterday so we cuddled for a bit and he passed out missing his football game and everything.

Today he was feeling a little better but decided to spend the day being a bum at Nana's anyways.

He did feel well enough to go meet his new 3rd grade teacher and check out his classroom.

Z stayed home and helped her daddy find snacks in the cupboard.

She has also started picking out her own clothes and she only thinks that she has great fashion sense. 

Free

Today was our only free night of the week so we spent it doing our weekly grocery shopping as well as picking up some last minute school supplies for back to school night on Thursday.

When we decided to leave this was my fight pink dress, purple hat, red sunglasses, and my shoes.  I let her go in everything she had on but my shoes.

As for the bag boy he wasn't as lucky lol.

Bears Win

Today G had his first football game of the season.  He has been looking forward to this day for almost a month now.

None of my pics are very good but he did sack the QB once.

He is super pumped for his Wednesday game already.

I am just glad that he is actually getting to play this year.

He is a tight end incase you were wondering.

Iron Range

This was our last weekend with the boys before school starts so we went on another weekend trip.

This was my first trip to the Iron Range of Minnesota.

We visited the Soudan Mine.

They had a ton of artifacts from the iron mining era.

We paid to do the underground tour.

We got to ride the old miner elevator down to the 27th floor underground.

We got to ride on the miner train 3/4 of a mile.

We now know a bunch of stuff about mining and have been farther under ground than most people that we know.

We also stopped to check out the big mining dump trucks.

Everything that is for mining is bigger than life.

Like the scoop for a digger that all 3 kids could stand in.

With all of that adventure the hotel left some to be desired.  The pool was freezing and the hot tub was too hot.  The view sucked.  Yes those are railroad tracks and yes the train went by about every hour all night.

The hotel provided ear plugs which we discovered in the morning.  UGH I did not sleep well last night and it feels great to be home.