I Inspire Me Challenge

I Inspire Me (see link on my sidebar) has a textile inspiration this week. The design team has some gorgous work up there!
Here is my inspiration: It s a dish towel and a PILE of lace that was onced used for EVERY SINGLE window treatment in this house when we bought it. I keep it thinking it will make a fabulous bride Halloween costume once I learn to sew(its on the list) At this rate, I should be able to make Summer's actual wedding dress from it. Anyway, I weaved the paper strips to mimic the dishtowels weave and actually chopped off some of the lace for the layout itself.

Thanks for peeking:)

Some more layouts for the month

These are all scans. I make quite lumpy layouts, so usually I photograph them. Its pretty gloomy today so thats not an option. So the photos are darker that they truely are and some of the color is off, but you get the idea...
The one above needs something...



Poor Grady, I did get one of him but its not done yet. I honesty dont try to keep it even for each kid, but when there is not even a single layout of one of them, I start to feel bad!
Thanks for looking!

Red Velvet Challenge

I bought my 1st Red Velvet Kit this month and really loved it. Full of fun and super-new product, aas well as some fabulous vintage-ish stuff.

So here is my layout for their challenge this month using a favorite quote. My quote actually comes from a movie, Steel Magnolias. Shelby says"I would rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." So love that... Thanks for looking!

Down on the Farm

Yesterday, Mandy, my sister and I took all our kids(minus Summer Jaye) to Lewis Farms in New Era. I NEEDED Honey Crisp apples and the kids needed to get out of the house.
Reid was such a gentleman allowing the woman to drive( Madison)!
It was a bit windy....
Grady was stuck up there in the jeep. I concidered leaving him there since it would keep him out of trouble!
It was pretty sunny too. Look at those squinting kids. Forgot the shades!

What a silly gir!l


The cutest of cousins....
Grady is a serious driver.

We had a ton of fun with you guys! Mandy got to see first hand what I've been talking about with Grady being such a handful! As you can imagine, it was a quiet ride home:)

I can debate all day, people

As for comments for and against the flu vaccine- I do not claim to know everything on this, but I have been doing an enormous amout of research on it lately and this is what I know....

Kids vaccinated for FLU will often only get sniffles and such instead of the full blown influenza. It lessens the severity and changes the symptoms. And of course not every case of the sniffles and/or coughing is the flu, every kid out there gets a couple of viruses each year. My experience with the real FLU(we are not talking about the puking bug either, that is NOT flu like a lot of people think) is like the worst cold in the world, and you can be totally out of commission for a couple weeks. It is BAD.

Also I've just read that out of the last 20 years, the flu vaccine has been off only 4 times. Last year was one of those times.I think that is really great odds. We have done it every year so far. I started getting them way back when I worked at the Credit Union. I even got them when I was pregnant. To be honest, I wasn't going to do it this year for no other reason than that its just not fun. But I also read that this years vaccine is expected to be an even better match than ever before. And now they are offering the nasal one for the bigger kids. Don't know if that would be easier or more difficult yet, but I'm game.

In my experience, lots of kids are sent to school and daycare unbelievably ill. Its unavoidable and it sucks. I Seriously have felt the need to shower after attending class parties with a third of the class coughing all over the place. Last year one of Summer's classmates was sleeping at his desk at the Halloween party. Sleeping during a roaring party complete with music and games. This kid was So sick. Labored breathing, and I am certain he had a high fever. his mom was a bus driver and was on the high school route, so he was stuck there. I keep Summer home probably more than need be, but I am in a position right now where I can. I am sure that will change at some point.

I guess my standings on the Flu shot are not too much different than general vaccines. Especially for the youngest ones who would have the hardest time fighting the virus. Its there, its safe, it could in the long run make life much easier and less stressful. I do,however, feel like its completely optional. Since its administered each year, I expect it to keep my kids safe from those who are sick during that flu season and don't rely on others to keep my kids healthy.

I happen to think this discussion is great! I love seeing all the opinions and am so happy to know you all vaccinate(to some degree). But I want everyone to feel safe and not attacked for their passionate decisions. I have so much respect for anyone commenting with their feeling!

So who wants to talk about the HVP vaccine for girls before they reach sexual maturity? Now there's a good one:)

Update

He did it! Went to bed last night, did NOT get up even once. I woke to him YELLING at Summer to get him a pop tart! Nice. Hope it wasn't just a fluke and it continues tonight.

A BIG thank you to you all for support on the big boy bed saga and especially for supporting me on my "thing" that most of you knew nothing about. I cannot tell you how badly I needed my friends on this. I will say one last thing about the entire situation. There is a lot of bad things that can happen to our families. Getting our children vaccinated is an important way to keep them safe, as well as a responsibility to the community that we live in. Anyone not vaccinated is a danger to our kids and our community as a whole. PERIOD. I have taken so called "risks" and have vaccinated all my children, as I am sure most(if not all) of you have. So after making that decision, how can we possibly expose our babies to someone who chooses not to follow Doctors guidelines and refuses to vaccinate? It would be irresponsible. These people are depending on the rest of us to keep their kids safe. I am just putting it out there that even if your kids have all of their shots, they are still at risk of contracting illness from an unvaccinated child. Know who your kids play with, know if these children come into your home or are even accepted at your daycare(usually they are not accepted). And know that it only takes 1 unvaccinated child, exposed to someone who has been out of the country(even at the grocery store, as these are highly contagious diseases) to catch and spread disease that most of us think of as being wiped out. and it only takes one vaccine that was not properly stored to allow OUR children to catch this. This doesn't even bring into account mutations.
So that is it. Longer than I had planned. I felt responsible to share what I have learned on this subject over the last 2 weeks.
I have lost a dear friend over her choice not to vaccinate her son. Its gotten a bit nasty. And that sucks. Many have told me that hers is such a selfish decision that I am better off. We'll see. It just makes me so sad. The support here was overwhelming. And again, thank you. Thanks for listening to more of the story.

We could use a few ZZZZs around here

OK, so against my better(selfish) judgement, we moved Grady to a toddler bed last week. Doctors orders. Its not exactly going flawlessly. He refuses to go to bed and once he goes, he's up at least 5 times before we start to lose our cool. And every night so far he has woken up screaming in the middle of the night a couple times. Please keep in mind that we sleep in the basement. His room is right above ours,so we hear better than if we were next door but the point is that I am sick of going up and down the stair all night. I get cranky and swear a lot. And there is always some furry-kid to trip over. A couple of times he wouldn't go back to bed and I had to sit up with him for a while. This is as bad as breast feeding a newborn. Jason reminded me that it would only take a few minutes to set the crib back up, but I really think its gonna(has to) get better soon and don't want to lose any progress we've made. So due to his lack of sleep, Grady keeps falling asleep all over the house at strange times. Lets all hope I don't start doing this... This kids goes and goes and goes...and crashes. I usually notice that it seems so quiet and realize he is asleep somewhere. The pic with the bus just happened today! I love how Chase decided that it was a nice spot too. He has fallen asleep eating lunch, coloring, watching TV, playing legos...etc,etc!
Since I was posting funny sleeping pics I couldn't resist sharing this very unflattering one from Michigan Adventure. He was eating a soft pretzel!
Its one of those shots you never forgive your parents for taking. I have a few of myself. Just passing it on to the next generation!

Honesty IS the Best Policy

So a bit ago I placed an order with a online scrapbook kit club called The Scarlet Lime. I only spent $15 on a mini kit full of some stuff. Last Saturday my box from the arrived aong with ANOTHER box with the following:
We are talking almost $40 worth of (really fabulous) stuff plus at least another $7 in shipping! There were 4 acrylic stamps and some of the newest papers in the industry. SO I'm like, crap, did I get charged for all this? Nope. I go to the blog to see if I won some RAK or something. Nope. Double crap. I either keep it and live with the guilt or email the company and send it back. I really wanted to keep it. Really, really. But by Monday, I decided I couldnt keep it. I did not pay for it or win it. It wasnt mine. Anything made from it would be tarnished with guilt. I email the company. The Owner email back.

"Hey girl!
No worries...we realized the mistake later that day, sorry!
Please keep the kits and enjoy them!
Thank you for your honesty...you ROCK!
Hugs,
Christy"

I was SO happy! I get to enjoy them and be guilt free! Yippee!

BTW- I am going to Scrapbook 101 next Friday night for their $5 crop. Anyone else wanna go?

So, I have been on this computer too long, I've got to go. I have laundry and dishes and I am meeting Mya and her gang later tonight for some fun. Have a great weekend! Its gonna be BEAUTIFUL!

Life.Is.Good.

I have to admit that I have gone through a "thing" this week. Its been difficult but I have come out the other side proud of myself as a mother. I have stood up for my children and made a sacrifice unlike any I have had to before. I hurt for my loss. It didn't have to be this way, but I am moving on. I know all to well how short life is. We had the Open House at Summers school. Teagen is trying out Summers desk. It was so cute how Summer showed Teagen around and introduce her to her teacher, Mrs. Berry.
Afterwards, Jason and I decided to get in just one more beach day. Actually I was hoping to get a good group shot for Christmas cards this year. That would have been fine if Grady was not part of our family equation. He kept getting up and walking away. Oh well, he's worth it;)

OK, this one is not bad, just not what I had in mind.
September is flying by, Isn't it? I've got a lot I want to do before winters here. Gotta get crackin' on that list. And I basically will barely see Jason for the month of October(hunting) so I am getting him on all the projects around here before he goes all "Fred Bear". But I have to say that this year, we made a deal. Every week(except the one he is in the UP) I get to "escape" and go out on my own for a night. Doesn't sound like a lot, but you would be surprised at how many weeks go by where this does not happen! Plus, I don't have to get a job, so of course that's nice too!

It got me thinking...

I was just on a blog talking about this brand new kit club called Kenner Road. (http://www.kennerroad.com/) They are asking for stories about the road where you grew up and I realized that that is such a loaded question!

I could tell about 2nd Ave. in West Olive where I, at 6 years old, once stepped directly on top of a giant Blue Racer stretched across the drive way. And trying to learn to ride a bike on a dirt road.

Or I could tell stories of Eilers Dr. and all the fun Lisa and I used to have going between each others houses and the time in the 6th or 7th grade when we were almost kidnapped on the way to the bus stop( Lisa, you have to remember that creepy car waiting for us. Yikes!)

Oh and what about all the times I got stuck in the snow once we moved out to Crystal Lake? The giant 1977 Caprice Classic just couldn't make it up some of those hills! I bet Marie remembers some of the trouble we tried to get into back in 95.

From there, when I was 19, Jason and I had our place on Mears, which was such a crack house, but had the best front porch for hanging out. The lousey landloard left a refrigerator on that porch( can you say a little unsafe?) we rewarded him by leaving a full size turkey to rot in there. (Hey, we were really young)

The next house we rented was at the end of a cul-de-sac and was quite quiet, but there is that story of coming home to find a strange dog sitting on the couch that let himself in through the back door!



While we won't be in this same house for too many more years, I know lots of fun and crazy memories will come from this old house on this old street. I am so excited to hear what my kids remember. Its why we do the things we do, isn't it? for the memories?



So go check out Kenner Road. And start reminiscing. And then make some stuff.

Do You Remember When We First Met?

I sure do...
It was some time in early September...
(Jack Johnson) And it was in September of my sophomore year in gym class. A few years of causal flirting...
and bad hair;)...

Led us to September 11th, 1999. One my favorite days forever. I have never had so much fun in my entire life as I did on our wedding day. We were so young and clueless. But we knew love and we knew fun!(still do! Still a bit clueless, just not so young)

Like Mustard and Ketchup(lol!)Better Together.
I have mentioned how difficult Christmas time can be for me. When ever I see this pic of Xmas 03 I see how I am clinging to Jason(I am not a clingy wife by any means) and I see instantly how much I can (and did) rely on him for support. I had miscarried a few days earlier. And of course hated the world for not having my Mom in it. But with him with me, I was able to feel joy.
Like they say, through the good times and the bad, thick and thin... And here is the thick! Me, 8 months preggers for Teagen. More joy!

9 years of marriage, Almost 13 years together. We had a rough start, but got that junk out of the way before we got married.(not that there isn't still tough moments, but now we know how to deal with it). And the kids really make it even more of a challenge to remain connected. We always seem to push through it. The 2 most stubborn people on the planet end up together and make sacrifice for each other and will do just about anything to make the other happy. That's love in my book.

We love to be together, but don't HAVE to be. We have lives outside of this house. We are both very independant people. When we are alone,we would rather be sitting on the pier with a beer than in front of a movie. We NEVER run out of things to talk about. We are always laughing. We are dreamers, lovers, and spenders! It gets us in trouble from time to time, but we come out the other side OK.

NO marriage is perfect. The ones that look perfect are probably falling apart(it keeps happening to people we know and love) Life is real. It is busy. Sometimes what is good and going well gets forgotten and I get all caught up in what sucks. Or sometimes I get angry at something so trivial, its pathetic. I want to always be grateful.

Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart

Why are we here? Where do we go? And how come its so hard?

Its not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving

I'll tell you one thing,it's always better when we're together

Jack Johnson

"Better Together

Jason,

I choose you,

Thanks for picking me.

Love you...

Happy Anniversary

Jenn

Another One Bites The Dust...

My favorite Wheatland ever. I think I say that every year. But this was so good. Drama-free. Perfect temps (a bit cold at night)The best music I have ever caught here(can ya hear my latest Ragbird downloads? Well, its 100 times better live!)
So here is the abbreviated version...but its still pretty long:) Friday morning in line. A traditional feet pic. I'm on the bottom. Notice I have my pant legs rolled and I had to scrap the mud off my feet. I had just returned from a adventure in the woods looking for a safe place to pee. Yikes! I was the 1st, but not the last;)
Leslie hanging on our window.

Lovely wildflowers on the side of the dirt road we wait on.
Mya and Les jammin' to...

Yeah, once we got to the dirt road, we had the luxury of corn fields for bathroom breaks. Less chance of encountering Poison Ivy. I busted Mya on her way out.

Kel and Mya

The only pic I got of the line. We are talking cars for MILES. Lined up 2 different directions. This is the longest we have ever waited. We got there about 10:30am(I think) and didn't roll into camp until 3:30. I felt so bad for the people in front of us and behind us who all had a bunch of little kids. But they all seemed to do OK. We were fine, full coolers and over 70 pudding shots.
This is Paul. Paul camped in the sheep farm overnight with the guys, but needed to get a ticket from Leslie in order to get in. Poor Paul waited on the side of the road near the gate for the whole time! We told him to walk to us and get his ticket, but he just waited. He was pretty happy to see us!
One of many jam sessions...
my baby plays the ukulele-surprisingly sexy...
Dale on top of his "vintage" motor home. "the Green Bean" as we all call it. Dale is removing his shirt for the camera. I am sparing blogland that shot. Melissa, you'll get it in an email soon.

An attempt at the peace sign. I'm on the left, in the back with the wristband and the big ring. We had Paul and Jawall (short for Jason Wall, btw) directing and taking the pictures. You guys would not believe the number of armpit and boob shots Paul took with my camera! Again, I am sparing Blogland...
Down at main stage. This was just a random group musicians playing in front of the food vendors. All food vendors are for good causes, not just typical carnies. Jason did his share and ate 3 pasties. He wanted more, but I had to cut him off.
An artist booth most of us girls look forward to every year. Christine Dobbler creates some of the cutest dresses and accessories ever. Very expensive. Teagen has 2 dresses that came from Mya's little girl. I have bought purses in the past, and this year I got me and each of the girls super-cute headbands.
Another fav of mine and Jason. This guy makes all kinds of art out of trash. If you have been to our house you may have seen our aluminum can fish hanging in the kitchen. We got him last year. I fell in love with this owl. He is made from canning jar lids and his feet are forks. Maybe next year...(If I could fine a place to put such a thing!)

We also bought some hand made soap and candles and a dress for Summer made by a 14 year old girl. So much great art.

Saturday we always have chili night. We had 4 kinds this year. So So good.

We also try to take a lot of pictures because its the only time we have everyone in one place. That's Connie and Randy.

This is my chili plate...

Dale and Melissa. They have 3 little girls but this weekend, the uke was their only baby;)
I am a lover of self portraits. Me and Kel.
Mya and Jason.
Not a couple but both lovers of the floppy hat, Mary and Paul.

Most of our group! I so adore these people. Where is Scott and Amy?
The silliness begins. Paul doing a "keg stand" Not really a keg(its Mya's drink)
Jaywall's got a little Captain in him.
Jason and Paul. You wouldn't believe what Jason went through in order to make that tiny hat fit his head.
The Irish theme is in honor of AK(on the left) her birthday is next week and she was supposed to be in Ireland, so we brought it to her instead(ya know, tacky style) That's her kids, Tara and Jeremiah, with her. Tara lives in Cali, but always comes home for Wheatland.

Mel, Kel, Les, Mya and me...
Still love the self portrait...
This is the "Pines". Tent only camping that we walk through to get to everywhere else. There is always something interesting going on in the Pines. There is even a tiny church. Our friends Mike and Jackie got married there 8 years ago.
Main stage at night.
The Refugees. They were awesome, funny, good. But we were frozen and tired by the end of their show. Went back to camp. Kel went to bed. hung out and jammed a bit and then decided to wander with Dale and Melissa for a while to Cajun Dance. I had already done my annual one-time-around at Cajun dancing and they were packed. Not my favorite thing. Think a giant, rotating mosh pit. Less violent, but still not a comfortable situation. It must have been like 12:30am. Dale and Mel jumped in, but Jason and I went looking for people at 2nd stage. Found the whole group and danced to the Ragbirds until they finished! We all went back to camp and played more music until 2am(?) This was the largest group we have ever had make it that late!

This is "Ma and Pa Wheatland" Actually its Mike and Jackie, but they are the ones who introduced most of us to the festival. They have been coming FOREVER. They are the ones who got married here the 1st year Jason and I attended. Jackie is Kelly's mom.
Melissa brought these sunflowers.
Rows and rows of cars and campers. At least 15,000 people come to this festival.

So another year gone by. Our true end of summer. I'm sad, for sure. But there is lots good to come for the Fall and yes, even the Winter. And I say that its never too early to start planning for next year. We are always looking for a few "Wheaties"(1st time attenders) so if your interested in a good time......:)