mother's day

I wish I could say that Mother's Day was a wonderful day, but it wasn't. My mom is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean heading to Rome, Italy, but I did receive a call from her. We chatted just a bit while she was cruising across the pond. I received some lovely text from friends and family, and I had a great conversation with Aunt Pam.

Oh, yesterday just didn't turn out the way I wished it would or thought it should. Cameron was with his father for the weekend and that was all right with me. I made the choice not to spend it with Cameron AND Jose so that I could spend more quality time with just Jose. But things didn't go so well between us. A waste of a day, actually. Cameron does come home this evening, as I need the comfort of his upbeat sense of humor right now. A sneak peek of the usual dose I get of Cameron.

Yep! Can't wait until he comes home this evening. He's always full of surprises.

Talk soon...

memory

Last Saturday night, Jose and I saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. As a child, my parents took me to see these Jellicle Cats perform when we lived outside Chicago. I was a mere 9-12 years old (wow!). I remember it being just before Christmas - might have been Christmas Eve because I distinctly remember coming home and our Christmas morning was celebrated that night due to a trip back home to Cincinnati the very next morning. That evening with my parents is a fond memory of mine. I remember going into the city, catching a cab ride, seeing the musical, and even losing my blanket on the streets of Chicago. But dad convinced the cab driver to drive around the block to see where I had dropped it. In hopes we'd locate it. Luckily, it was still lying on the cold winter street waiting for my return.

I was engrossed by Cats. I learned that the stage was built at an incline so the performers could jump through the air and achieve their acrobatic maneuvers more easily, and as I remember the most about Cats, the stunning performance of Memory. Such a breathtakingly sad moment of the musical.

Now I have a new memory of Cats. I love musicals and I always enjoy the musicality and performance of such, but this time Cats was, well, kinda boring. I realize now that Cats has no plot. No story. Just a bunch of people dressed in cat-like costumes, pretending to lick and clean themselves and then bust out in song for no aparent reason at all. Albeit there were funny moments and entertaining parts that still caught my attention. The performance of Memory is still to die-for. Once again, it was a beautiful performance and still remains the highlight of the show. It’s still a wonderful memory for me and always will be.

The fondest memory of the evening was spending it with my well-groomed son (he does clean up well) and the company we kept. We all had a lot of much-needed fun!

[And thanks to mom for babysitting Cameron while I made a memory with Jose like the one they made with me – xoxo!]

sick & rotten don't mix

Cameron has been ill since last weekend. Thursday was the first full day he didn't have a fever. So far, we're in our second day of no fever. Thursday was also the turning point for keeping food down, thankfully. He is perking up more and more, but still not fully himself. However, bc of the endless cycle of sickness in this house and the duration of its effects we are overdue of vacation and time away from each other. I'll prove that to you now. Go ahead and play this wonderful video I managed to catch.

Cameron had five, count 'em, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 temper tantrums just like this one in one day. Each lasting around 45 minutes. Think about this for one minute, or how about 5 hours bc that's about what this equates to. Five hours of ear piercing, blood curdling, I'm-going-to-call-the-Catholic-church-and-request-an-exorcism (and we're not even Catholic), two-year old hissy fit this little boy throws when he's been sick for a week. Next time this happens dh can stay home with him and I'll go off to some island with my mom and friends and sit and stitch until this little bugger is well enough to come home to. Thank God tomorrow evening is moonlight stitching! Thank God for 6 hours of time away from Cameron, away from Jose, away from dh, away from this prison house! I am looking forward to just getting away no matter where I end up. At this point, I just don't give a flying-flip!

Are you wondering what calmed Cameron down finally? I showed him video of himself portraying Linda Blair. He didn't like what he saw. He watched the 30 second video, turned his head away from me and 1-minute later this...

That's right sweet baby of mine...you get your rest after all that beautiful screaming you did while mama cradles herself in the corner, knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, crying for her own mommy to come make all the clouds go away. LOL Btw, I am feeling better. Not 100% but improving. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes! Talk soon!

dog dayz of summer r closing & progress elsewhere

Here are some of our last, hot, afternoon, summer dayz…

Don't ask...we don't.

Cameron in the backyard with daddy and the dogs just last weekend. Cameron got such a kick out of the dogs being in the pool with him. The dogs…not so much.

These other lazy-by-the-pool photos were taken by our friend, Dave and his friend Lindsey. We attended Dave’s 10-year old daughter’s birthday and our boys had such a good time. Dave and his daughter Devinee really know how to throw a party.

To end the hot dayz of summer, today marked Jose’s return to school. Today was the beginning of 7th grade. I was a nervous wreck and I’ll tell you why. Ever since Jose was in pre-school/kindergarten we have always driven him to school. We depended on only ourselves to get him there; never having to worry about someone else or anything else to do that job for us. Jose has always attended Montessori and magnet curriculums, therefore, those types of schools do not offer transportation – you have to provide it.

So, for 6-7 years we have driven Jose to and fro. He’s never ridden the cheese wagon (as we call the school bus). Back up several sentences…I was a nervous wreck this morning. Literally pacing around my home waiting to get a glimpse of the passing cheese wagon through the storm door. And before this, watching him walk up our busy road (and I mean busy) to catch the bus for the first time until I could no longer see him. Jose is 12 and for the first time I had that feeling like as if he started school all over again at the age of 5. Why does loving children physically hurt? I’m just glad I made it through this day. And just think, Jose made it through better than I did and he’s the child, but as you can tell Cameron was pretty upset to see big brother go too. :o)

Onto progress…Here’s On Travel with Jane Austen so far. I love the house. It’s just so sweet. I stopped on it for a brief time b/c I wanted to finish-finish some things and I’m glad I got to those. I do feel a little more accomplished, although my mind is starting to wander again. LOL!

Dh is back from out of town today. I am jubilant over some upcoming social outing with my friends Sally and Susan and mom (I love them so). However, right now the boys are screaming for my attention (like they don’t get enough) so I must tend and mend…Talk soon!

heart attack...four times over

After picking Jose up from school, me and the two boys went to Kroger to get a few items and a bag of dog food. When we got home I asked Jose to feed the dogs, but he needed to open the new bag bc we were out. Look at what I caught him using in order to get the bag of dog food open. I had a heart attack! Seriously!!! I couldn't believe this child. I nearly died! I ripped those suckers out of his hands (not really but I felt like it) and told him to get the kitchen scissors, not my embroidery scissors...EVER!!!! Ahhhhhhhh...

Today me and Cameron were at mom's house. We haven't been there in nearly 3 weeks so it was time for a day-long visit. I mentioned awhile back that me and mom are participating in a mother-daughter round robin. This is my first one. We decided to share-stitch Shores from Carriage House Samplings.

We are using 40 ct and I'm really excited! I haven't stitched on that high of count before; mom has though. We're using Needlepoint Silks and I've not used those before either; mom has though. Mom's done everything I think. She's such a precise stitcher. Her work is beautiful! If it weren't, she wouldn't be fortunate enough to work for Hoffman. I learned everything about stitching from her. I get to take my stab at this piece and I'm anxiously waiting until I put my needle to fabric on this one. Since I haven't added it to my current rotation I will add this as a "daily stick." I will stitch on this piece at least 1 hour per day. I have the next block to the right.

My mom recently stitched a birth sampler for Cameron's room. The design is from Sisters and Best Friends. It's so precious! I love it! I love how the frame hugs the piece, and I love, love, love that sweet little verse.

While at mom's I went through her quilting fabric stash and she allowed me to borrow some rather large pieces to cut my own from. She's so nice!

Here's where I had heart attack #2. These are full yards of fabric. The red fab belonged to my grandmother so there is no telling how old it is. My Aunt Pam might know the answer-Pam? The sampler fabric feels so soft ~ almost a sheen cotton or flannel; not sure. They are both so pretty. I can't wait to use a piece. :D

These are fat quarters she had. I was really looking for something similar to the red plaid, but came out with so much more. LOL The printed fab is so unique. I might make a pincushion out of this. The style is sewing so how fitting, ugh?!

And heart attack #3...

These 3 containers of "stuff" belonged to my grandmother. My grandma was quite the creative gal. She did everything besides quilt, but she had a ton of fabric. There is a lot of crochet supplies and a nice little collection of needles. I don't crochet, but I think I'll learn. The far right container is bunches of lace, ribbon and whatever else you can think of. This isn't all my mom has either. My mom will never get rid of this stuff, but my mom won't use it either. However, I will find some use and I too will NEVER give this away or get rid of it. It means too much to us. Anyway, the reason for the 3rd heart attack is that my mom let me have ALL this. I'm touched that she was able to part with it. She is so sentimental and it's difficult for her to part with anything that belonged to those that have passed. I am warmed that I get it!

The 4th and final heart attack (well, the first of four) was yesterday morning. We actually got snow! What the ____?!?!?! (pardon me) I was absolutely floored when we woke to this. We never get snow in March ~ not in Nashville, Tennessee. Anyhoo, it didn't last long enough for anyone to enjoy it though. The snow only stuck around for 2 hours and then puff, it was gone. This is about as much enjoyment as we got. Jose got creative for Cameron's sake.

Just a dusting really.

It's been freezing lately. Tonight's overnight low is 18 F and our high was only 35 F. Stay warm where ever you are and stitch til your heart's content. The kiddos are warmly tucked in and I think I'll head to bed and stitch on Monday's piece and maybe squeeze a little Shores in there too. :D

Gnight!

the day after

It's Sunday night and I've worked on my designated-day rotation project off and on, along with last minute laundry; and since I cannot show off my Sunday piece because it is a gift for an admiring pair of eyes, I can only give you a ~*hint hint*~ peek.

Waterlilies silk ~ floss used in "secret" project

Piece intentionally blurred

Today was a lazy and quiet day. DH went out to a gun show and was nice enough to go Krogering on his way home (he is a fine fine husband, isn't he?). He picked up quite the young bird for us to eat this chilly and cloudy evening. We had rice and buttered bread with our little chicken.

Before

2 hours later ~ yum yum

The boys have been busy playing independently as well as a team. As most 11 year old boys do, Jose had been in his room most of the day playing video games, with a periodic peek into the rest of the house to see what we were up to. He did manage one chore which was to clean up the dogs' business from the yard and afterwards he fed our beasts (dogs). Here were the boys earlier today playing together.

Cameron really isn't playing...but he thinks he is! LOL

Cameron always has a watchful eye on his big brother. Cameron wants to mimic and copy every single step and move Jose makes. He's watching Jose push the buttons and shift the knobs on the controller. What's funny is that when Jose is at school I have to keep his door closed bc Cameron will surely get into trouble in big brother's room. However, there are times I have to get in there for laundry and pick up and Cameron will immediately grab a remote, turn the TV on, and power on the Xbox 360, Wii, Xbox, Playstation II; you name it Cameron turns it on and starts pushing buttons and shifting knobs...just like big brother! He stands way too close to the TV though.

Monday I have a doctor's appointment with a new neck and spine surgeon. To make a really looooooong story short, I've had chronic back pain for 8 years. I've had all medical makeup work I can possibly have and I've undergone all types of procedures and tests. I've had plenty of diagnosis, but nothing anyone can do about it. I've had to learn pain management and adjust my life accordingly. The only thing my body hasn't gone through with respect to neck and spine is surgery. Lately I have been experiencing the same symptoms as in previous years, but also new ones. Maybe THIS doctor will have the cure once and for all. I'm just hoping that maybe one day in my lifetime there will be something that'll help me.

Tuesday is going to be a much better day - hooray!!! Me and my mother, with Cameron in tow, are going to a quilt store that we've never been to called The Quilter's Attic. I am looking soooo forward to this outing. It's going to be so nice to visit a new store. I've lived here since 1993 and never have I been to this place. Sad, yes, I know ~ you can make fun. I won't hate you! LOL

Here is some tub time with Cameron. He loves loves loves taking baths!

Hey...who's down there?!?!

friday so far

Brrrrrrrrrrrr it's so very cold outside! It's a windy 13 degrees here in my neck of the woods. The Metropolitan school district decided to call school off today because they believe it's too cold for kids to go to school. I know people elsewhere in the US and in my home state that are at school today and they have more frigid weather than us. Good grief! This just keeps getting better and better for my children, I suppose. They call off school when the "threat" of snow is upon us, and then we don't even get any snow. Now, we're calling off school bc of temperature??? It wasn't like this when I was a child. Oh well...Jose is home and now watching Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (3rd one). Cameron is napping and I'm getting to some laundry and picking things up around the homestead.

Last night, me and DH stayed up to watch The Brave One with Jodie Foster. It's a movie about being a vigilante and really it's about going off half cocked at anyone who stands in your way. It was a good movie, not great, but good. Naturally I cried at sad parts. The overall plot of the movie is quite sad. Loving boyfriend gets beaten to death and you survive the same type beating. You've come to realize the world around you isn't as beautiful as you once thought and you start taking matters into your own hand. It is sad like I said, but payback can be a witch, if you know what I mean.

While movie watching I did stitch a little. I stitched on the pattern I got out of The Reader's Digest Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs I checked out from the library a couple weeks back. It's called Lovebirds. I'm stitching it to have for Valentine's Day, reflecting me and my honey buns! I think I'll finish it off as a small pinkeep pillow to stow away in a basket. I'll probably keep it out all year though bc it is a nice V-day thing to do :o)

That's all I've stitched this entire week. Yep, I know..very sad! I'm ashamed. I just can't figure out what is wrong with me. Cameron is taking A LOT of my time right now. I can't stop him from finding ways to climb, climb, climb, and the getting into stuff is nuts. I really need advice bc I'm seriously going mad. My house has been so rearranged by his silly little ways that it looks like we're moving. There is so much put away it isn't even funny ~ we can't even have our dining room chairs in the room. We keep them hidden in a closed off part of the house. When we want to sit down we retrieve them. However, the second, and I mean down to the millisecond, we get out of our seat he's at the chair climbing his way on board. I think this is why I've endured so much back pain and pinched nerves in the last few weeks. He's 25 lbs and that is too much for my weak back to handle especially with all the lugging I have to do with him. Oh well...such is life I guess, but something has got to give, right?

Here's Cameron at breakfast. He loves balancing his plate on his head, but mama doesn't like it when he does that after he's had waffles with syrup. He thinks he's pretty funny and he's rotten for it. Just look at his face and his 'do'. He's a bugger alright!

God love him!

Today's Stitching: Lovebirds from "RDBBoCS"

dec 29

Today was a fun-filled day! I just wished I could have blogged about it earlier. My LNS is having an After-Christmas Sale from the 26-31. Great sales are to be had! My Dad was kind enough to watch my boys while me and Mom hit the shop. Besides, we both had gift certificates to spend!!!

All punchneedle charts are buy 1 get 2 FREE. 40% off ALL kits. Vintage/Old charts are 10 for $1.00 ~ can't beat that. There are lots of other knitting and framing sales as well. I was able to find 11 vintage/old charts - tons of primitive, folk art type designs. I got 3 punchneedle charts, but only had to pay for one! Even though the fabric wasn't marked down, I still had to make a purchase ~ I always do! :o) I bought enough fabric for a Stacy Nash design I purchased while there (not on sale though) called 3 Little Pumpkins - Pinkeep Drum ~ so cute! And I believe the little bird pattern is also included, but I'll have to double check. I also purchased a little tote that I plan to embroider, but I have no idea what design that'll be...Maybe one of primitivebettys fabulous freebie designs. :o) I bought a ready-made flip pillow kit, minus the pillow form. All I have to do is stitch it up. It's really cute! The colors of the fabric are wonderful and it'll stitch quick. Me and Mom had a fun time going through everything. We took our time too, which was really nice. Afterwards, we picked up some lunch for all the boys. My parents were headed to Arkansas to visit my Grandparents for a couple days. They were leaving after our lunch.

Cameron took a long, much needed nap: 3 hours to be exact. He was so tired from playing with Papa and Jose. I was able to get some stitching time in. Jose played with his rifle and pistol BB guns and afterwards we played with one of Jose's new toys. Remember those little ovens as a child? Well, they make one for Pokemon. We made Pokemon characters out of mold. It was pretty cool. Jose got the knack fairly quickly. By the end of the evening Jose made 6 of them-all different colors too.

I was able to finish a 2002 Reindeer freebie from The Prairie Schooler, but I don't have photos yet. I'll post them at some point in the near future. DH is leaving town Tuesday to attend a very large New Year's Eve party up in Indiana with his best friend from high school. I could have gone but I just didn't feel like it. Instead, my parents are going to get snacks, movies, games, and sleeping bags together, and me and the boys, plus one of our dogs, are going to spend the night New Year's Eve and welcome in the New Year. It should be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it.

As you can tell I changed my blog background. I am sooo relieved too! I have been tinkering with it for days and I was about to give up until today. Waa-Laa!!! I figured it out. Thankfully, Tanya is always helpful and she lend me her suggestions. She's great! Thank you, Tanya!

I think I'm off to bed. Well...in bed to stitch. Sleeping will come later. I can't wait to get all this Christmas stuff down because I'm soooo ready for my house to look normal again. I'll probably get to the decorations tomorrow. At least most of them anyway. Depending on the weather, I may take the boys out so Jose can cash in some of his gift certificates. But we'll see.

Nighty-night and thanks for stopping by!

the day before...the night before...christmas...when

all my kids were causing me stress and having fun while doing so. Nah!!! I'm just kidding...well sort of (hee-hee). I wanted to share my day with whomever is left STILL blogging so close to Christmas Day.

In the morning I baked banana bread...and it was really really yummy. DH was jealous bc I started baking and making before he scooted off to work. He actually thought me and the boys were going to eat this whole thing. Now mind you, that is a possibility, but we wouldn't do that to dear ole' Daddy. Unfortunately, I'm not Better Crocker so this was from the home of Pillsbury. But we still enjoyed it!

I stitched Jose and Cameron's first initials on their stockings. Turned out kinda primitive and cute. Hard to see the letters in the picture, but they are quite visible in-person. Cameron's is red against the black of Frosty's hat and Jose's is green against the red rim.

The boys playing under the table. Our chairs have to be put down because Cameron climbs in them and won't leave them alone...EVER! So the boys thought it would be cool to play "fort" and then Jose thought it was cool to tickle the spit and snot out of Cameron (literally)...which Cameron had no problem doing.

Jose and Mama enjoyed some stitchin' time together today. We sat on my bed, watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (real Christmasy ugh?), giggled and stitched while Cameron took a nap. He stitched on his Soggy Froggy by Janlynn and I my Primitive Deer by The Prairie Schooler.

I took a photo of my Grandma's Santa head. I have two of these Santa door knob covers. My Grandmother was always crocheting and knitting; always crafting something. She made several of these and I was blessed with owning two.

I found another angel to adorn my tree. So precious indeed!

Cameron still doesn't know what to think of Christmas, Santa or this tree. But what I do know is that he's out to destroy it. Every chance he gets, he shakes the table so ALL the ornaments will make some noise and sometimes fall...and boy do they ever.