A homemade gift for my Mom

My Mom's whole house is done with an outdoor theme. She would rather be outdoors than anywhere else. She loves to garden and go fishing. If the sun is out so is she. Well that's not true because if its overcast she will be outside. It doesn't really matter the season as long as its not storming she will be outside. When it comes to buying her gifts its not hard at all. She likes perfume, jewelry, cookbooks, and everything most women do. However if you want to give her something she is going to love....you make it. So over the years I have made her a gifts here and there. A couple of weeks ago I was at a craft store and they had a papermache/cardboard heart ( I am not sure exactly what it was made of) that was on clearance for just a quarter. I bought it not knowing at the time what I would do with it. Till last week. I decided to try and paint my mom something. I had never done birds before but that is what I settled on. I make the same mistake with everything I make my mom. I tell her I am making her something before I get it done...and she is like a kid that you just told you got her a surprise. She drove me nuts for 2 days till I got it finished then she swooped it away. Where it now hangs in her house somewhere. I barely got it finished and got to take a picture before she pounced. Painting really relaxes me and I learn a little more every time I would love to one day take a class and get really good. Till then my Mom still loved it mistakes and all! I will be linking up to the following. Click the links so that you can check out other creations.

Making the World Cuter

Whatever goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts

We came he puked then we left and Mommy had a contraction in Walmart

Last week and so far this week have just been filled with excitement around here...like contraction inducing excitement. My birthday was Sunday...I hit the big 29....I say that its big but it sure doesn't feel it. I don't know how its possible that I have been kicking for 29 years when it feels like I just stepped out of high school. So back to last week. I had contractions. This is nothing new to me at this point...but my doctor is growing more concerned...there is no sign that I am going into labor just contractions no progress...but they get stronger and stronger. So I get the news on Thursday that I have to start coming to the office twice a week for the remainder of my pregnancy. Now I am not complaining about going. I am glad she wants to be safe but I am not looking forward to it because getting up and going to the doctor usually wears me out. I don't sleep well anymore and I always make my appointments as early as possible so I am not in the office for 4 or 5 hours...so I have to get up early. I wrangle a 17 month old also lets not forget that...then add to the equation this super belly that I am dragging around...or its dragging me at this point who knows. I will go every Monday and just get monitored for contractions etc...then go back Thursdays get monitored again, get an ultrasound and then see a doctor for a regular appointment. Were still on Thursday here in this little story just to help you keep up....that same day after the doctors appointment my in-laws want to take us out to dinner to celebrate my upcoming birthday. We go to the place of their choice...yeah they are those kinds of in-laws. We walk in the front door go to the hostess and my son who was born with my timing takes the opportunity and pukes all over my husband and himself...It happened in slow motion. The horrified look on the hostesses' face...the same horrified look on my prim and proper in-laws. I would have laughed out right if my son didn't immediately go into melt down with my husband not far behind him. Hubs immediately turns around and walks out the door. Were working as a team now the Hubs and I we don't have to talk. He heads to the back of the SUV where I have an emergency bag packed for just these situations...why? Because I am good? Nope because it has happened before and with our luck I knew it would happen again. Now I am thinking ahead and know that I am going to need Tylenol....because H was starting to feel warm and we had used the last little bit we had the day or so before when he was fussy with a new tooth coming in. So off we go to the Walmart. Hubs stays in the car because in the emergency bag I packed for us I apparently grabbed a shirt that was one of his old ones and he had outgrown it. I went in to Walmart alone with no argument because he didn't want to go in public showing off his belly button...lol. I totally understand because there is no way I would want to show mine off right now either. So I rush into the Walmart to grab Tylenol and in the middle of the rushing (not so much as rushing as waddling faster than normal) when boom I get hit by a contraction...like knock you down take your breath make you puke, die, and come back again...just so you get the idea of how big it was. I make it back to the car winded and clammy. We spend the next 2 days with H at the doctor's and battling a 104 temp....and a nice little strep throat infection. My birthday rolls around H is better and that's more than enough birthday present for me. Sunday night comes and Hubs gets knocked down...throwing up running a fever and its deja vu. He has the same thing H has...so I single parented from Sunday night till Tuesday...today. I have to hand it to any Mom who does it alone...I don't know if I would survive 365 days single parenting...I barely handled 48 hours. Now its not normal for me to actually be the well one. I am usually the one going to the doctor or catching the plague but not this time...or so we thought. We made it through Sunday night all day and all night Monday... Then about 12 this afternoon my hands started burning...A little blister appears on my finger....and within 30 minutes my hands are covered. So we make the trip to the doctor because after 2 hours and benadryl not helping I had to call and of course they want me to come in. I would expect no less...So here we go. The doctor determines that I got into something I am allergic to ( I can only imagine what it could be now). They go ahead and do a full visit though...then it happens I have a contraction in the middle of talking to her...I tried to act like it was nothing but I certainly won't be getting an Oscar because I was promptly put on a monitor. Within 30 mins I had 2 small contractions and 1 medium...well medium for me anyways but enough for them to be concerned...So I am set to have another test on Thursday (Thursdays are starting to kinda suck for me...what happened to Monday being the bad guy) This test will tell if I am in preterm labor or if I am expected to go into preterm labor....Till then I am supposed to keep my feet up and take it easy....which I try to do as much as possible anyways...On the plus side on the way home from the doctor's I got a pity trip to the bakery...So I am going to go put my feet up now while I eat an Ambrosia cookie....yummy... At least today will have a sweet ending....while I cross my fingers that no one pukes, runs a fever or goes into labor tonight...Mommy needs some real sleep.

Thats not Champagne chilling in my fridge its something far better

How do you like the Cribs view of inside my fridge? Sorry no champagne or caviar...just pepsi, ketchup, milk, and pink liquid gold. What is that pink liquid gold you ask...It's homemade pedialyte. I consider this liquid gold because it has saved me so many times when my son was sick. I don't have to run out and buy pedialyte anymore...and why would I as yucky as it is. Did I mention how expensive it is?...You don't even want to know how much money I have wasted buying it and then my son won't drink it no matter what I do....the yuck taste shines through. I can mix in stuff...but even sick he is smarter than that. There is just no way he will drink it. I have tried everything. One night when he was really sick and on his way to dehydrating I got desperate. I looked up tricks to making your kid drink it. Well it was late and somehow it pulled up a recipe for homemade pedialyte. They gave a few alternates on how you could do it and I have tweaked it until I got something my son will drink. I also checked it out with my son's pediatrician and she was so impressed she wrote the recipe down and now gives it out to all of her patient's parents. She said that the sugar and salt in the recipe are what is really important...thats what pedialyte has anyway.


4 cups of water
1/2 pkg jello any flavor
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all of it in a pitcher and serve it to your sick kidos. I also freeze this into popsicles. Thats homemade pedialyte for less than a buck! You can even sub in a pkg of koolaid..but increase the sugar to half a cup.

Menu Plan Monday

I fell off the Menu Plan Wagon. Although we did ok and ate at home for the most part it would have been better to have a plan. However last weeks unplanned moments were pretty fantastic. I made chocolate covered strawberries one day just because I had the chocolate, strawberries, and a pregnancy induced craving. I also made some really good cheesesteak sandwiches...complete with homemade french bread to serve them on... Which was my first time making bread and my first time actually making a cheesesteak taste like a cheesesteak. I am back on the wagon now so here is what our week looks like. For more ideas head over to The Organizing Junkie.


Monday- Spaghetti, garlic bread, broccoli and pears

Tuesday- BBQ Pork Chops, Au gratin Potatoes, green beans, applesauce

Wednesday- Country ham, biscuits and gravy

Thursday- Chicken Enchiladas

Friday- Creamed Chicken and veggies over biscuits, applesauce

Saturday- Pizza, Corn on the Cob, and fruit salad

Sunday- Steak fingers and brown gravy, Mashed potato, peas, homemade rolls (from dough I froze when I made the cheesesteak buns)

Dessert- Banana Bread( the freezer is full of bananas and more on the counter), Messed up Pineapple upside down cake (my husbands pregnancy craving),

Five question Friday

Because I haven't posted in so long and because I love reading other peoples answers its only fair that I answer them too...

1. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? Ok so Candice Cameron when she was chunkier. I actually used to get told all the time when my hair was lighter and I was too that I looked like her. I even had to correct a few people in New York that wanted an autograph 10 years ago..I think it had something to do with dark sunglasses a fancy outfit and standing outside of a limo waiting on my mom so we could get driven back to the airport.


2. Did you ever go to summer camp? No way. I love to camp but the whole thing about once you get there you are there totally bothered me. I don't like to be stranded anywhere period...I know for a fact if I had went and wanted to come home my mom would have just told me to suck it up!


3. What sends you running and screaming in the other direction? Snakes I hate hate hate snakes.


4. What is something you do that drives your spouse nuts? I never sing the lyrics to any song right...I always make my own up because my version is better...lol.


5. What is currently your favorite song? Shamman Dragonfly is today but yesterday I was listening to the Zack Brown band all day then the day before I was listening to Elvis...so I guess it depends on what day it is.