I am working on Easter dresses for my girls; well the oldest 3. Not working too hard as I am here, lol. Just on break; I promise!

But I have some dear friends I wanted to show my fabric. So here is a bit of pink:

This is the "slip dress"; just the bottom of it will show under the other dress. But it will also be a great jumper as well!

Here is a closer look at all those pink flowers!

Now here is the fabric that is being used for the "main dress"

Hopefully in about an hour or so, I will be taking a pic of the finished project. Well the first one. Then two to go!!!!!

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Ok, so three girls. Easter dress is basically two dresses. Quick math = 6 dresses. One is done. Ok, I still have to sew a button but well it is done. Next dress is cut out. Tomorrow it is on the top of my to do list. Woo hoo!! My goal is to have 3 dresses done by bedtime Saturday. I'll let you know what that bedtime is later.

I think the dresses are going to be darling. I can't wait to see the girls. I must find a pattern for Peanut. She must match too!!!! And a shirt for the fellas. Something for me. Ugh.

I also have something in mind for a "pink sister" out there. I will take some pictures tomorrow of the dress that is done. I won't forget. Really. I won't. To that one who is rolling her eyes at me; stop it. I'll get it done. I promise.

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not done. Bwahahahaha. 4; I have to make 4 and well one is in progress. Hopefully it may get finished by tonight. And I hope to make myself a matching skirt. I am so optimistic or in denial.

I needed some bias tape and of course had forgotten to purchase it.  Hubby, being the wonderful hubby that he is, stopped by Walmart this morning on his way home from work. He was a man with a mission: single-fold bias tape to match dresses.

It was a hard hunt but he found two packs he thought might work. He was talking to me on his cell phone; has one of those handy ear piece thingies (can you tell he is the technical one of the family?). All of a sudden I hear him say, "Excuse me, does this match?" Then he tells me that an expert says they will match.

I then heard him say, "I just told my wife I got an expert opinion so it would be fine". Ha ha, some lady in Walmart helped my hubby. I guess she was worried he was talking to himself. If by chance, anyone reading this was that lady, thank you!!!!!!

Now to find some time to sew.........

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Yes the vet said said it so there.

Monday we took our kitty, Silver, to the vet to be spayed. Um, Doodlebug's kitty, sorry. We have lots of kitties all around out house and we didn't want to risk our kitty getting out and adding to that number! Doodlebug was very upset to see Silver leave; they are the best of friends. Doodlebug was also not thrilled on the overnight stay that was required.

So yesterday, Doodlebug and daddy went to pick up Silver. While they waited, Doodlebug overwhelmed her daddy with questions like: where is Silver, is she ok, when are they bringing her out, where is Silver etc etc. Over and over and over. Poor guy.

Now in case you think this is a one-sided relationship, well that is just wrong. Daddy said that when they brought Silver out in her crate, she was just lying there. As soon as she heard Doodlebug, she popped right up and started purring.

Doodlebug is now officially Silver's personal nurse. We are having to keep her confined due to Ginger, the dog. (Who has missed the kitty as well and sits at the door to the room Silver is in and just waits; pitiful). Doodlebug is a great nurse. She remembered everything the vet said about her post-op care. She is on the ball.

She informed me just a bit ago that Silver was a Cutie Pie cause the vet said so. Sweetest cat they have seen in a while. Yep. So there you have it. Carry on.

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Yes the Christmas Bug; not a gift, not a game. A tummy virus. So far only 3 have had the little tummy bug. And thankfully it was not so bad that Christmas could not be enjoyed. Unfortunately, it seems to be lingering.  Praying that in the morning all tummies will be right again!!!!

It was a lovely, simple Christmas. A great weekend of time with our little family just enjoying being together. We had some lovely strawberry shortcake for Jesus' birthday. Doodlebug decided that she would love to have that for her birthday as well. No shocker there; she is the strawberry lover.

I had plans to get back to our school today but with the "bug", it has gotten me a bit behind on laundry. Ok. I will be honest. Way behind on laundry, lol. And we are going out of town on Friday so I guess we should just take this week off.

On Friday, I hope we have the opportunity to stop at a Fireman's Musuem and a small Planetarium/Nature center.  I will be sure to share if we do!!

Now back to my laundry and disinfecting the house. Praying I chase that "bug" out of my house!!!!

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Today I had to go grocery shopping. I *had* to go grocery shopping. The cupboard was looking very bare!

Peanut and I headed out this morning to our local Wal-Mart; which honestly I always dread. The crowds. Ugh. This time of year is double the crowds due to the holiday shopping. However, the Tribe must be feed so I must charge ahead.

Well I think Peanut and I have found a new ministry. Of course we will glady include the other four. Here is our ministry:

Wal-Mart was full of elderly people! Every aisle we went down someone spoke to Peanut and then me, lol. We shared lots of smiles and laughs. I heard lots of wonderful comments about how cute she was and several offer to take her off my hands (or out of my wrap).

So I think we may try to hit the Wally World again soon in the morning to share some smiles!!!

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We are moved. But am I done??? I do not think so. Will I ever be done? Is the end in sight??? Where are all these boxes coming from and why do I have so much "stuff"? 

Slowly and steadily, I think we are going to get to the light at the end of the tunnel. It is like when Punkin is eating. She is not rushed. She is sitting back taking tiny bites, observing her siblings and adding to the meal conversation at her leisure. Others have finished and are moving on to seconds or dessert. Punkin is not pressured. She is still working on her meal. When she is done, she gets this huge smile on her face. Those gorgeous blue eyes lit up and she informs us that she cleaned her plate like Daddy. We give her the "bam" she is waiting for. (That is a whole other post, lol) And we tell her slow and steady girl; slow and steady.

So slow and steady is my motto for getting settled in this house. We have been here almost a month and I'm not done. We are having company over on Sunday and I am not ready. But slow and steady. Everyday life, like laundry and meals and bumps and bruises, slow me down. Slow and steady. . . .I'll just keep saying it over and over. . . . .

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Over the past couple of weeks we had to say goodbye to a sweet friend but then got to say hello to a new one.

November 1 our Peppy (daschund) was hit by a car. We were out in the back fenced in yard playing. We were going into the fence and Peppy was jumping all around excited for us to be outside playing. Then he took off out of the fence as we were shutting the gate.

Normally he runs two houses over to play with our neighbor's black lab, but not that day. He headed straight for the road in the front. As I was making sure the kiddos were inside the gate, I turned to go run after him. Then we hear the "bump" of him getting hit.

I call my hubby who had gone into town for a lunch meeting to please return home. I didn't want Peppy to continue being hit. We lived on a very busy road with people speeding and lots of 18 wheelers coming through. He came home quickly and Peppy was buried.

As much as that Peppy aggravated me, I realized I was the most upset of everyone!!! He was a wonderful guard dog. Don't laugh, lol! He was!! He let me know each and every time someone came to our house.  He had a very big dog bark and I loved knowing when someone was there! And he was a sweet little doggy; very loving and very tolerant of our kiddos.

We discussed getting another dog but wanted to wait. Then we decided we would just look to see what was available. So my hubby starts looking around online at humane societies in the area. Well, I have always wanted a mutt. Just a plain old mutt. I truely feel they are the best dogs!

We find one named Benji. An hour away. I wanted that dog! So we go and when we get there they inform us he was adopted already. Boo hoo! But the kiddos were excited about getting a dog so we said we would look at what they had.

Oh so many beautiful dogs!! My Doodlebug, 6, wanted to take home each and every one. She was very sad that so many doggies had no one to love them. We saw several that were very thin and obviously healing and we had several talks about how animals can be mistreated.

We look at two. An overweight Beagle named Happy and a mutt named Muffin. Happy was sweet but not interested in the kiddos at all. Muffin loved the kiddos. Rolled around with them. Got belly rubs from everyone and sat by our feet. Another family, mom and two teenagers, were looking at Muffin as well. They wanted a companion for their doggy. They  were there first. But! they told the workers to let us decided first since we had the little kiddos. Is that not just so sweet and thoughtful????????

So we got Muffin. She is now called Ginger Pie. She has red shaggy hair. I love it! And so does our  3yr old punkin who has red hair as well. She sang the whole way home; "she has red hair like me, like me". How precious!!!!!!!

She is about 7 or 8mths old. I was dreading housebreaking her. She is already housebroken!!!! Whines at the door. Pottys as soon as you take her to "her spot". Gentle with the kiddos. Stays where we are at. Could care less about the cat. Doesn't chew. Has only barked once. She is so sweet!!!!!!!

Even Peanut, who cries at every dog she meets, likes her!!! Amazing!!

We named her Ginger after Ginger in Black Beauty. Then I remembered the book Ginger Pye and so we have Ginger Pie. Want to see her??? Ok!

Isn't she adorable????? A great addition to our family!!!

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Finally starting to get settled in the new house. We have been here just over a week. I must admit it was a bit rocky at first, but we seem to be getting use to the new house we are blessed to stay in!

We have more room and that is taking some getting use to, lol. Very nice problem though!!!!

The kiddos had some time of adjustment; not sleeping really well those first few nights. Those issues seem to have passed as they are up bright and early each day ready to go!

We had a week off from school and Cuddles was asking today when were we ever going to get back to work. So tomorrow is the big day! Back on track with the education!

I am not prepared!!!!! I hope to share what we do if I get prepared here in just a bit!

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In preparation for our move and all the changes coming, we had discussed Joseph in our Bible studies. He had some very difficult times and in the end he gave God all the glory for what he had overcome.

Well, today, in my usual ungraceful fashion, I was dropping everything I picked up. I was behind schedule. Oh wait, I was completely off schedule. Why even kid myself right?  And I verbalized my frustration. You know, the occasional; "this is just not my day", "if I drop one more thing", etc etc. Really  just desiring to find a quiet spot to hide in, lol.

This afternoon after another one of my verbalizations, Cuddles said, "What you think is evil He is turning into good." Thanks for the perspective Cuddles. A very beautiful reminder that my little drops here and there aren't enough to ruin my whole day!

So if you are having a rough day, just remember, He is working it out for good!

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Wednesday night, hubby wasn't at home, so I did our devotion before bed.  We talked about Joseph and what his brothers had done to him. And how in the end it had been a blessing becuase it save his family during the famine.

The Bible says that what men do for evil, God uses for good. This was a very timely devotion in our home. Our kiddos have quite a few shockers in the past few weeks. We will be leaving our church and home of 4 years. Then this week we told them that we may have to find new homes for our 2 cats and dog. Every place we look at to rent say no pets.

Yesterday was tough for Cuddles and Doodles. And I thanked God last night for His always perfect timing! We had a great discussion about it before bed!

So today. Today I woke up running behind. I'm sure you have had that kind of day as well!!  I go to take care of an errand for my hubby and it did not work out. They would not let me handle the situation;so hubby has to do it on Monday. I was not happy and I was running late for speech.

I pull into the bank (another errand for hubby) I comment that it will be the hand of the Lord working if we made it to speech on time. (Now the kiddos saw and heard what happened earlier so Cuddles knew of my frustration.) She commented, "what others do for evil, God uses for His good." Hmm, well that put my frustration into perspective. I thanked her for that reminder. It peirced my heart! I was letting a little bump in my plans ruin my whole day!!

So we leave the bank and head to speech. I pull into my parking spot and without thinking, say, "Wow, we are early." Cuddles replys, "Praise the Lord". Yep, He is working it our for His good. How humbling to have my 7yr old remind me of that!!!

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My hubby and I had many talks about how we needed to work harder at getting the children to take responsiblities around the house. Well on a regular basis. I kept saying that I would get it all worked out but never did. So several weeks ago, my darling hubbyman purchased Manager of Their Chores/ChorePacks for me. Awww, how sweet. Naturally it took me weeks to get it together and ready to use. One reason or another always stopped my from beginning to implement the ChorePacks.

Well today was the first day with the ChorePacks. Last night we went over the chores and they were all excited. I was awakened this morning by Cuddles telling me they were ready to start their chores. I wanted more sleep but decided that it would be foolish to quench their enthusiasm.

It was a great success. Not perfect; but great! They all worked so hard and were so excited! They wanted more chores. I told them not to worry; more chores are on the way, lol.  It was nice to see their excitement and joy in doing a simple task. I have few kinks to work out and a few techniques that need to be directed a bit. I wonder why I waited so long to put this into place. It is going to be a great blessing!

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Does that word strike fear in your heart? Are you running for the plastic tablecloth to contain the mess? Are you thinking, "not in my house!"?

I love Play-doh. It is just a simple pleasure. And if you use Play-doh around little ones, they think you can make the coolest things!

So Sunday afternoon, I got Peanut down for a nap and told the other 4 kiddos that we would get out the Play-doh. Shouts of happiness rang out. Everyone picked a color and began to create.

Usually, I tell them to keep their colors to themselves. Why? I have no clue. I have tons of Play-doh. So when Cuddlebug began creating she asked for some of my red. I said sure and the fun began. Our playtime quickly turned into science as we made all different colors with our Play-doh.

Here is Cuddlebug's creation:

Just for clarification, the red blob is the dog I created. She made it so he could dig a hole in the grass. Bad dog!

Well of course all this creating made them hungry. So Doodlebug lead us in pizza making; hand-tossed no less. Hmmmmm not sure that I will have any though.

Yummy! Hand-tossed Play-doh pizza. I'll pass.Let's just say the pizza hit the floor more than it hit anything else! But it was great fun as I sat in the restuarant watching them toss the pizzas.

What a fun and relaxing afternoon. I think they enjoyed themselves.

Although all that pizza tossing seemed to have some lasting effects:

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Peanut usually goes down at night around 8/8:30pm. Then she gets up anywhere from 11-12:30 to nurse a bit. After that she is asleep until around 5 or 6am. I would love for that 11ish nursing to be gone but it really isn't a problem.

OK, so last night I'm trying to figure some things out on Photoshop and lost track of time. Next thing I know my darling hubby tells me that Peanut is calling me. So I head back to get her.

Now she has been pulling up a bit here and there during the day. So I should have been prepared for this. I walk into the room and scream. My darling superhero hubby thought something was terribly wrong and came running to the rescue. Um, nothing wrong dear. Peanut is just standing in the crib. Yes standing! And I screamed; the girl scared me to death! She was staring at the door and must have thought I was crazy because she just started laughing.

Then this morning around 5 I awoke to her making raspberries on the crib railings. Good morning mommy!

Speaking of mommy; that is what I have heard all day. Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma. . .. on and on. I love it!!! My darling hubbyman keeps going say, "Da da". And she just scrunches up her nose and laughs. Hee hee.

Ok, I have a ton of things I need to get done tonight!!!! Chorepacks for the kiddos; which I will post more on in a bit hopefully. Edu-track loaded back up and start putting in the information needed. Organization, organization. Not my strongest point!

Oh, here I go procrastinating again. . . back to work!

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I have a lovely assortment of scrapbooking supplies. All placed nicely in a box; collecting dust. My intentions were good and honorable. And that is about all they were, lol. It seems I never have the time to take everything out, set it up, use it and then put is all away. Also it is a bit overwhelming to realize that our wedding photos are not in an album and neither are all the pictures of my 5 children.

How could I ever catch up?

Well, digital scrapbooking maybe the anwser I was searching for! At first I was hesistant. I have issues with change sometimes. I was the lady who didn't want a digital camera and of course now I love it.

So this week I hesistantly entered the world of digi-scrapping and I love it!! Here are the layouts I have done tonight:

I can't wait until I learn more about digi-scrapping and the program I am using!!!

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My journey with cloth diapers has been a long and sometimes painful one.

Cuddlebug never experienced an attempt with cloth diapers. I of course had no thoughts of cloth for her. Then Doodlebug came along and money was a bit tight and I thought it made sense to give it a try. Well I got prefold for her and thought, no way!!! I mean look how bulky! That has to be so uncomfortable. And ewwww when she had a "bad" diapers. She was also a tiny little thing and in hindsight, I think I had purchased the wrong size for her.

Then came along Buddy. I had learned a very important lesson. Stay away from prefolds! So I went with a fitted, one size diaper. I really like them. They worked great but again that bulky behind just bothered me for some reason. Thankfully I was a bit smarter this time around and had only purchased one. My hubby was greatly pleased that I did not spend more money than was necessary.

Now I was not going to be defeated! Punkin head made her arrival and a few months down the road I got to thinking about cloth again. My dear hubby got concerned. Hee hee. This time I purchased a one-size pocket dipe. Oh is was wonderful!!! But the price to buy as many as I felt I needed was too steep. My darling hubby felt that I did not need to add to my laundry. (That was his very sweet way of saying that I struggled to keep my laundry caught up. He really did not want to deal with smelly dipes. He is so sweet to me!) So back to disposables.

Then I told myself to forget about cloth. I purchased my 'sposies from Sam's in bulk so it wasn't that bad.

Now we have our delightful little Peanut. Precious little blessing has super sensitive skin. Our normal store-brand, low price diapers break her out. She can only wear the most pricey 'sposies. (Darling hubby says she is a lot like her mommy. I'm going to take that as a compliment.)  Even with those she often was breaking out.

So I secretly began a search on cloth diapers again. I mean we are on a well so water is basically free and I could hang the dipes out to dry. We would save a bundle which would be a blessing right now. Well, I stumbled across the bumGenius diaper. Oh my! I love them!!! I dear, sweet friend let me borrow two to try out. I love them!!!! I thought this I have to have!

My hubby saw them and said OK. One catch. The price. Ouch! Well worth every penny; but when our purpose is to save money, it doesn't quite work out. So I told hubby that I would buy a dozen prefold and make due until I could save enough to get the bumGenius.

Well, you know what. After my 6yr (?) journey with cloth diapers, I kind of like these prefolds. I have used them today and like them. I love my little Snappi fastener. I love the big ole cloth diapered bottom. (Ok there is nothing big about Peanut but anyway. . ) I told my hubby I don't know if I'll go with the bumGenius. I may just order another dozen prefolds.

He said he was very proud of me. Ahhhhh. . . Made my whole day! Wow, for the price of one pack of disposables, I have my Peanut diapered for quite some time. What took me so long?

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Yes, my kiddos keep my humble.

I am sitting at the computer getting ready to install a program. (This is a whole other post!) Doodle is gone with her daddy to make a visit to the hospital. Buddy and Punkin are reading books on the floor. Peanut is napping and Cuddles is counting money.

Beautiful picture. Until conversation comes into play. I'm sitting here singing. Ok, yes I'm playing around; singing dramatically. Thought crosses my mind that, hmmmm, I don't sound to bad.

Then reality, by the name of Cuddles, enters in. She says, "Mom could you stop singing." I was like, "Excuse me??? Why?" (We are playing around; no disrespect). She replies, "It keeps making me laugh and when I laugh I mess up in counting my money." Lovely. Just lovely.

I mean my day started with my son throwing up Cocoa Puffs (hubby's choice of cereal; not mine!) and then having to stay home from church. Then to be told my singing brings people to laughter; when that isn't the goal.

Humble; nothing like a kiddo or two to keep you humble.

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Today he ran some errands for me while he was out. It has rained and rained here so that saved me from having to take 5 children out in the rain. He does it for me all the time. What a guy!!

Then he brought me a dozen, nope not roses, but a dozen chocolate chip cookies from the Tollhouse Store. YUMMY!! And even better he got me a new bookcase!!!!! Did I say I love this guy?

But he did something even more wonderful. Tonight  he held and comforted one daughter in her pain of losing her pet. Then held another daughter as they read together from the Bible. What a beautiful picture he is giving our children of our Heavenly Father.

I am so blessed!!

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Well everyone is in bed and the house is so quiet. It has been a long day for my Doodlebug. She has cried and cried over our cat Sonny dying this morning. I tried my best to comfort her. This evening she didn't even want to eat; she said she was too sad.

My hubby was gone most of the day and I told him if he had been here with her crying she would have had a new kitty before bedtime. He acted as if he didn't know what I was talking about.

Well she went to bed tonight; crying. My hubby and I chatted about it. I said whatever he felt best I would agree to. Well he went to comfort her as she cried herself to sleep. About 30 minutes later he informed me we were picking up a cat tomorrow morning.

He's a big softie. So I'm praying for Doodlebug. That she would be comforted tonight. I pray that the image of her Sonny on the road will be gone from her memory. I'll post pictures of our new kitty tomorrow.

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We had a cat named Sonny; Doodle loved this cat so much! When they would go outside to play, Doodle would push Sonny around in a stroller. So sweet! We discovered a few days ago that Sonny was pregnant. All the children were excited at the thought of kittens.

Well this morning we awoke to another rainy day.  As we were sitting around on the floor I looked out the window and saw something in the road. It looked the same color of Sonny and I was worried. I sent my dh out to check and he came back with a look on his face that showed it was Sonny in the road. And he said it looked as if it had happned this morning.

He disposed of the body and we came to tell the children. Doodle, although we didn't know it until then, had seen Sonny in the road not realizing that is what it was. She was heartbroken and started crying. Bless her heart. She loved that cat!

Then I found out, when talking to her later, that she had seen a truck come by and hit her (after she was dead already). Oh how Doodle cried. Then of course her story for reading today had a cat in it and she starting again.

She is asking for another cat and we are unsure of what to do. It would have to be inside and I'm not sure I want to do that. But my poor Doodlebug. . . .so sad today.

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