Dec. 9, 2008 - I've had enough snow...thank you very much!
I can't believe it's only mid December and we are completely buried in snow. Not to mention all the below zero temps and windchills. More of those cold temps tomorrow. Yuck!




I should have had Tabitha stand next to this snowbank at the end of the driveway. It's taller than her.

Zandria didn't want me to take her picture while she was shoveling, but I did it anyway.

I thought for sure the snow was going to swallow Victoria up.

My generous online friend Cammie from warm CA sent these snowpants for Tabitha and they came JUST in time for her to get some use today. Thanks again, Cammie!

Last, but not least, if it wasn't for our wonderful next door neighbor snowblowing the end of our driveway, we'd still be out there shoveling tonight. It took us an hour with 3 of us shoveling just to do the rest of it. With as much as the plow dumped at the end of the driveway, we'd have been out there another hour for sure. I think we need to send a bit of a thank you/Christmas gift over her way.

So, after all that, I took a nice hot shower, drank a cup of coffee and put my feet up. Thankfully, all that snow play tired out Victoria and she napped a few hours. We all have colds so being outside getting cold and wet didn't help any of us feel better. Now that Victoria is awake, she's a big old crab! I feel like I could go bathe in Ben Gay. But, I suppose I better toughen up, since this is only December and we have more of this to come until at least March. 
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Nov. 26, 2008 - Some Recent Pictures
I haven't added anything to this blog in months. Who has time to blog? 
Halloween

Victoria had enough Halloween by this point.

My cuddly little moo cow, Liam

Angi's 20th birthday

Victoria went from looking like this:


To this:


My Mom paid for all of us to get haircuts. With all of the head banging and head rubbing, there was no managing that hair. It was always one big mat. With the shorter hair, you can see where it's thinned out from her pulling it out when she tantrums, but overall, it looks so much better and is so much easier to take care of. I got 4" cut off mine! I was going to post a pic, but I'm NOT photogenic!
Finally, here's my little chub chub being fed some nasty green baby food stuff that Angi sent over and told us to feed him.

Here he is without a green face

• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 26, 2008 - Some Music to Share
Jim just got done recording some stuff, so I thought I'd share it with you all.
Aquadust
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 11, 2008 - I think she grew
Last year at this same time...

Today...
Those pjs were made by Janine from ZtoA Baby last year. They used to be capris. :)
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 8, 2008 - Cheesefest Hangover?
Public service announcement....If you eat too much cheese, this may happen to you. :)

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 8, 2008 - Cheesefest
Yesterday, June 7th was the 1 year anniversary of my Dad's passing. I have thought about this for weeks. I came to the conclusion that he would not want any of us sitting here mourning the fact that he's not here on earth with us anymore. I can hear his voice plain as day saying, "You guys go on. I'll be fine." He said that to us in the hospital when we wanted to get something to eat and we weren't sure about leaving him. He was never one to want to go into the hustle and bustle. He was fine with being alone and letting us go have fun. I heard him say that line numerous times in my life and I can hear him saying it now. I decided I'm going to listen to his voice and go on because I know he's fine without me mourning and grieving. It's OK. Doesn't mean I miss him any less. But, it's OK.
This is how I'll always remember my Dad:

Now, onto Cheesefest. Lots of pictures, lots of fun. It was a nice relaxing start to our summer. It was SO hot and SO humid that you can see it in my pictures. It was something like 87 degrees and 100% humidity. It was so bad that it felt like we were melting all day until about 5 pm. Then, it rained on and off and bad thunderstorms came about 8pm. We got home just in time before it got bad.
There is no Cheesefest without cheese. :) Especially cheese that's thrown out at the parade.



There is no parade without candy thats thrown at you that you can put into your own little bag.


My crossing guard corner is by Reynebeau Floral so I had to take a pic of their float.

Little Chute is not Little Chute without little Dutch kids and windmills.

The girls wanted to go into the petting zoo really, really bad. But, once they got in there, Victoria wouldn't touch anything and kept running from everything that came near her. When it was time to get out of there she threw a fun little tantrum. I guess when you're 2, you don't really know what you want.




Cheesefest is no fun without rides.



On stage is a band called Half Empty. The singer, Rocky, used to be a singer in Jim's band quite a few years ago.


All day at Cheesefest makes for tired out children. Take a nice long look at Jim and Victoria. It's rare to get a picture of him. You can't see his face, but it's a precious picture anyway.

That concludes the 2008 version of Cheesefest and the start of my summer.
• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 6, 2008 - How did a month go by?
I can't believe a month went by since I posted last! It seems like yesterday. I guess I need to keep up with this better now that summer is here.
Just some cute pics to post today. Nothing too major.
Angi said I had to post something new, so I guess I'll start with this.
Angi is a housekeeper at the Hilton. She doesn't always dress like that.

I have no idea what she's doing, but she's cute anyway. :)

Some wonderful customer of Gen's decided to donate money for her to make a diaper for someone who needed one. I happened to be the needy person. :) Long story, but Victoria wets through everything and has this thing with wanting to strip off all of her clothes including diapers. So, I was hoping this diaper would help the soaking problem and Prorap covers with the buckles would help the stripping problem. So far so good. Here's Victoria modeling her new Cloth Canoe Twilight.


These must be the cutest pictures I have ever taken. BTW, Liam is wearing a size 12month outfit that I picked up at a rummage sale yesterday. As you can see, it's not all that big on him. In fact, it fits him perfect. I think he may skip the 6-9 month size!



• 4 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
May. 7, 2008 - Helllllloooooo out there
I'm just curious if anyone actually reads this blog besides me.
I've only noticed a few comments here and there and I'm wondering if I'm talking to myself.
It seems that all the blogs I read have tons of comments on them all the time. But, I know for certain that the blogs I read are WAY more interesting than mine. I admit to living a pretty boring life.
I finally got a doctor to listen to me and put Victoria on a very low dose of a medication to help her sleep. I've tried convincing doctors that's all we think she needs to be "normal" for over a year now. So, finally after a bunch of silly tests that just scared me and did nothing positive, we're back to Mom knows best. If anyone knows that a person simply cannot function without getting into deep REM sleep, it's me. I know how she feels. Because I personally know how she feels, I know what she needs. She's been taking this medication for about a week now and the difference in her is remarkable! Her language skills have drastically improved as well as her behavior, fine and gross motor skills. This week we have the OT, Speech Therapist and her Spec Ed Teacher here doing evaluations since they were convinced she may be autistic and needed special ed services provided by the public school next year. The OT was here today and couldn't get over the difference in her. She is only about 3 months behind and fits into the "normal" category. The OT just kept shaking her head and looking wide eyed with disbelief. Victoria did everything that was asked of her and more. Normally the OT deals with a kid who's tired, headbanging, not talking and barely doing anything she asked her to do. I know she will still be behind when the speech Therapist evaluates her, but I'm convinced that if this medication keeps working, she'll be caught up in no time. It's so good to see her happy and playful instead of mad, tired and banging her head all the time.
I just got rid of about 12 lawn and leaf bags FULL of junk. How all of that junk fit into my house in the first place is beyond me. I piled it all out in my driveway and was never more happy to see the thrift store come pick it up. I feel great about it all until I think about all the junk in my basement that I still have to go through. I really don't know how people can collect so much junk. The more junk I get rid of the better I feel. I hate having clutter sitting around. I hate picking it up and I hate cleaning around it. My sewing area is really coming around. It looks a lot better now than it did in that pic I posted awhile back. Pretty soon my desk will be down there with my computer, printer, etc. Then, I want to do some painting.
I've had quite a few knitting customs in the past 2 months. My needles are getting a work out. I have to go finish two of them tonight and pick out yarn for a customer and plan out some rainbow striped shorties for a really nice Mama in the UK. If I'm going to get any knitting done, I better get going and finish up my laundry so I can clear the folded stuff off my couch or I won't be able to sit on it.
• 6 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
May. 4, 2008 - A beautiful day in the neighborhood
What a beautiful day! It's 65 degrees and sunny with a nice gentle breeze. It's been so dreary, rainy and cold lately that this weather today is a blessing and really lightens my spirits. I was going to take both little ones in the bike trailer to the store and get milk and juice. But, Victoria fell asleep, so Tabitha climbed in there and we took a hike to the store. I was able to fit more in there. I think this will be a nice way to go to the store even with both girls. I'll for sure be able to fit a gallon of milk and 2 small bags of groceries in the back. I'm trying to get myself into the mind set to walk if it's decent outside and I'm going somewhere in town. In other words...get off my lazy butt!


I came home to find two teenage girls laying on my front lawn.

I washed a bunch of my wool today. Isn't it pretty on all spread out on the line like that? In the back from left to right...pink peace fleece longies crocheted by me, spruce green crocheted longies crocheted by Essential Elements, peace fleece longies crocheted by me, pink and white recycled longies made by Aliah's Creations ,and black cashmere recyled longies made by KeaXan
The shorties on the left are from Adventure Knits, the last two pair are peace fleece shorties made by me. I used Sheplova Mushroom for the crocheted ones and Baku Black for the knit ones. They are hanging there after their first condition and wash in the machine. In fact all of that wool was washed in the machine on my handwash cycle. Yes, it can be done, but it has to be done carefully and I'm careful about which of my woolies I put in the washer.

BTW, yes, that is my garden in the background. I'll start working on that in the next few weeks. What a mess, huh? If you know me, you know I talk a lot about replacing my fence in the backyard with a privacy fence. The white fence is what I'm talking about. We'll put cheap wire mesh around the rest of the yard.
Now that I had some fun out in the sunshine, I better get back to reality and put all the laundry away and go make supper. Here's one final pic. We were all amazed last night that the little ones were actually playing with TOYS. TOYS of all things! Usually, Victoria is destroying something and Tabitha is in some fantasy world all of her own. I had to snap a pic when I saw this. BTW, Victoria is wearing a pair of crocheted shorties made by me. I have been taking apart the knit longies I made for her that are too small and crocheting shorties with the yarn. I'm loving that! I wish I could make a business off of doing that for other people. It's fun to pull something apart and recreate it.

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
May. 3, 2008 - Lots of WAHM Goodness
I love it when I do a trade with another WAHM and it all turns out beyond my expectations! I did a trade with J Tribe Creations and I can't rave enough about the wonderful items we received! We got patchwork Mei Tai, a tie dyed onesie with a handpainted turtle on the front and a gorgeous patchwork dress. I haven't gotten a pic of the patchwork dress yet, but when I do, I was for sure post it here. It's the most gorgeous piece of clothing in Victoria's wardrobe right now. I cannot believe how well made this stuff is and how reasonable her prices are. For all the hardwork she put into these items, they should have been priced a lot higher.
Liam is so funny when Angi puts him in the Mei Tai. As soon as she straps him in, he puts his head back, opens his mouth and falls asleep. Yes, we know it's not good for him to sit with his head like this, but it's funny and he's happy. No, she doesn't leave his head this way for long. :)

This was taken when Angi was gone watching Johnny Depp film his new movie in Oshkosh, WI.

How cute is this? Notice that Victoria is wearing her Adventure Knits shorties, knit by Sarah last year. I got them out of the summer clothes box, looked at them and assumed they wouldn't fit. I was so sad thinking I was going to have to sell them. But, then I discovered that they work perfect over her night time sposie AND Tabitha can also wear them for night shorts. BTW, yes, she does go shirtless all the time. Well, at night anyway. The reason I tried the shorties on over the sposie was because no matter what diaper I put on her, she'd pull it off. Even her pinned bamboo prefolds from Bagshot Row Bamboo. After the diaper comes off, so does the shirt. So, I discovered I can put the shorties on and knot the tie and she can't get them off. 

Then, there was this awesome purchase from Fancie Fannies @ Caboodlez Congo. I bought these really cool Clothespin Dolls for the girls and they LOVE them. The WAHM sent along a free lovey, which was really generous of her. I gave the lovey to Liam. He looks so cute with it!

I think every single child NEEDS one of these awesome bibs from Arrow Hand Creations. Brandy calls these The Helper. They're perfect for toddlers or older kids to wear while helping out in the kitchen and then eating their creations when they're done. Brandys sewing is flawless.

Finally, here's a pair of acrylic shorties I knit for Liam.

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Apr. 30, 2008 - Win A Free Ergo
Win a Free Ergo Baby Carrier from Along for the Ride
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Apr. 4, 2008 - More Newborn Cuteness
I'm thinking this blog is going to turn into a diary about Liam. Maybe I should just re-name my blog and be done with it. lol
We had a late Easter get together with my Mom and brother. Here's some pics from that.
My brother Mark got to meet Liam for the first time. Aren't they cute together?

Here's a pic of all 4 of my girls together. We weren't sure how to take the picture. For all the years they have been alive, they took a picture like that sitting on my parent's stairs. It's kind of hard to do that now that the stairs are probably pounded to sawdust and in the landfill somewhere. So, this had to do.

Tabitha, Liam and GREAT-Uncle Mark. I get to tease him about being a GREAT-Uncle at the ripe old age of 32.

Victoria has this thing about wanting to climb through OJ's (Mark and my Mom's cat) tunnel.

Now I need to show off all of our WAHM goodness that Liam has worn lately.
Romper from Sunburnt Geoduck

Embroidered bib,PUL side snapping cover and newborn diaper from Z to A Baby



The next two diapers are from The Cloth Canoe


Picture of some really cute kids.

What a weirdo. He always sleeps with his mouth open. Crocheted longies made by me.

Two more pairs of crocheted longies made by me.


A Frugal Fanny Flannel size 1 made by me. Booties knit by me too.


• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 24, 2008 - Easter
We had a pretty nice Easter. We did a lot of ohing and ahing over the baby and that's about it. :)
Liam in the bunny diaper I made him and his bunny hat crocheted by Crochet Funtime

Having babies makes you lose brain cells.

OK...here's a better one.

Auntie Tabitha

Auntie Zandria

Me

Liam in his pirate outfit made by Sunburnt Geoduck

Wearing his PUL diaper cover made by Z to A Baby

Wearing his acrylic longies I made him.

• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 20, 2008 - Visiting Liam
Last night my Mom took Zandria and Tabitha to meet Liam. I stayed home with Victoria. We decided to take her to the hospital to see him and see how she'd react. She was very sweet to him, in my opinion. It took her awhile to realize he was a real baby. She finally came up and touched him a little and then she stroked his hair. When Angi was pregnant, we'd tell her there was a baby in her tummy. She would always try to lift up Angi's shirt and look for the baby. Today we told her that Liam was the baby that was in Angi's tummy and we had her look at Angi's much smaller tummy. I'm not sure how much she understood being that she's 2, but she didn't try to lift up Angi's shirt anymore.
Angi wanted to get home, but Liam's bilirubiin was high so they had to do a blood test. It turned out to be 11.7, so that wasn't too bad. They did end up going home, but later than they wanted. to. They are going to recheck it tomorrow. I made sure to tell her to sit in front of a sunny window with him and nurse him until she couldn't do it much more. :)
Here's pics from today. I don't look quite so dead. lol
Victoria meeting Liam for the first time...


• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 19, 2008 - Liam Vincent David is Here!
I was in a deep sleep at about 1am when Angi called me. I had my cell phone by my bed. I had only been sleeping 2 hours so I was in that sleepy state of confusion and couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was hearing. When it hit me I jumped up FAST. I was so scared that I was dreaming I heard that phone and that she actually called me hours before I figured it out. lol I couldn't figure out how to call Angi's number because I was so out of it and I ended up somehow calling my Mom instead. I ended up calling on the house phone. She said she was having menstrual type cramps since 9pm, but she didn't think they were contractions. I told her since the cramps weren't letting her sleep, mostly likely they were real contractions and she needed to call her doctor. She called me back and told me to bring her to hospital.
We got there and I didn't realize they closed the main entrance until we walked all the way up to the door. So, back to the van we went and drove around to the ER She checked in and up to OB. They put her in a monitoring room to see if she'd be staying. All they had to do was check her cervix and the nurse said, "You're here to stay." She was at 5 cm and her bag was bulgy. She did really well breathing through the contractions, but I could tell when she got to a point where I figured she'd want the epidural. They didn't want to do that right then. They gave her Nubain instead. I talked to her about that the other day and told her to not take that stuff if they offered it, but she wanted it. She slept for a few hours after that, but woke up with a Nubain hangover and ended up being nauseaous and vomiting on and off until the baby was born. She eventually got the epidural and it took 2 tries to get it right. But, overall, she did very well. I'm not sure about the time, but I think she pushed about 45 min before Liam finally made his appearance. He was born at 11:10 am weighing exactly 8# and 21 1/2" long.
It was so neat being on the other end of the labor thing. :) I felt very blessed that the Lord gave me 4 children. I felt like I could look at her face and know what she was feeling and know what to do to help her through labor. I never got to see my own children being born so it was pretty awesome to see my Grandson being born!
BTW, I have to add that Shiloh did very well too. He didn't throw up or pass out. :)
I think Liam is going to be a really good nurser. I helped her get him positioned and he latched on right away.
So, after all that...I bet you all are starting to get antsy wondering when I will ever post the pictures. :)
Liam getting his very first look at his Mommy within seconds of being born.

Before they even weighed him or anything. 
Here's my favorite.

Isn't he cute?

Here's one with me. Big warning...remember, I was woken up after only sleeping 2 hours and I have no makeup on. I look pretty rough. But, it doesn't matter. It's the baby we're looking at anyway. 

I have a feeling this is going to be one spoiled little boy. I don't think he's going to be put down very much and I think his pure cuteness is going to get him pretty much anything he wants. 
I almost forgot to add this...did anyone notice the date? He was born ON his due date! How cool is that?
• 4 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 11, 2008 - Baby Shower and Miscellaneous Fun
Shiloh's Mom threw a really nice baby shower with lots of good food, games and prizes. She didn't even freak out when Victoria spilled a glass of punch on her carpet.
Zandria was taking pics and didn't get up to do it. So, all we have are pics of Angi's belly and the presents. This is the only one we got with faces.

Here's one I got of them last night.

Angi has been spending time here while she's on maternity leave. She watches the girls so I can get some sewing and knitting done. It's nice having Angi here to do artsy things with Tabitha. I don't have an artsy brain like that. They made the dough one day. Then, decorated them all afternoon the next day. I should have a pic of the finished product. They're almost too pretty to eat.

I think Victoria wants to be a Princess when she grows up. :)

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 3, 2008 - *I* Am The New Generation
I got busy and cleaned out a corner of my basement to create a sewing area. I've NEEDED this so bad for far too long. If you don't know the history, my Grandpa built this house in 1946 and lived here until 1999 when we moved him into an assisted care place. He has since passed away. My Grandpa was an organized hoarder. He saved every single thing. He grew up in the depression so I do understand why he was that way. We found 5 hairdryers that were taken apart so he could use the parts to fix one hair dryer...and many other things like that. He was a carpenter. The corner that my sewing area is now in, used to be his woodshop. We have slowly gotten rid of all the tools and much of the junk. Some of that junk is still piled up on shelves and I can say it's NOT organized like he had it. Someday we just might get through it all. When we were filling up 3 dumpsters of my Grandpa's life back in 1999, it was the strangest feeling. That got me started on a reality check that "things" mean nothing. He had almost 60 years worth of stuff that was just plain junk or that he couldn't take with him to the assisted living place. How depressing. You work all your life for stuff and it ends up in the trash. Since then, I live on the philosophy that less is more.
As I was clearing out more junk and cleaning 60 years worth of sawdust and dirt, I came across something that I had completely forgot about. We had cleared all my Grandpa's tools off the wall and we had a monster stereo in front of it. I hadn't seen this in a few years.

I told you he was organized!!! My mind started going crazy about how I can paint over that wood and pound some big nails in there at an angle and hang all my serger thread on it. I was getting more excited about it and then something hit me. I am the next generation. So, how did I come to that conclusion? That board is pretty much all that is left of my Grandpa's woodshop. I'm painting over it. It's going to be gone. My Grandpa is gone. My Dad, his son, is gone. Then, I realized I have NO one left on my Dad's side of the family who I associate with. My Dad's sister is...well, I won't go there. Then, there's my Dad's other sister and her wacko husband who we haven't talked to in years. They saw my brother after my Dad died and he yelled something like, "So, the old man is dead, huh?" and laughed in his psychotic laugh. I have never really known any of the other relatives on my Dad's side. We went to a fancy family reunion when I was about 13 and it was not the most comfortable thing. Let's just say that we are lower middle class and they are NOT.
Then, I got thinking about my Mom's side. We used to have these huge family get togethers just because we could. We didn't really have to have an occasion. We were all very close. I swear I went to a wedding once a week when I was a girl/teen. Graduation time was another big time for lots of parties and fun. Everyone was so loving and fun to be around. I realized that we haven't had a time like that in many years. Everyone is dying. I realized my girls are around the same age as I was when I remember all of that fun stuff. I realize my parents were my age back then. I'm going to be 40 next year! Jim and I are the generation that our children and grandchildren will look back on and remember. That all seems crazy to me! Where did all the past years go! There's a lot of stress and pressure when I realize that I have to make good memories with my girls now so they have something nice to remember when they are 40 and have to start their own generation.
I have no idea if any of that made any sense to any of you, but in my head it makes total sense. 
I suppose I can show off my new sewing area now. I wasn't going to do it until I got it painted. When you look at these pictures please note that the place truly is spotless. I scrubbed and vacuumed until my fingers bled. And that's no exaggeration. You can ask my husband. He's seen my hands. They're not pretty. But, there is only so much a person can do with a 60 year old woodshop without fresh paint. Also, keep in mind that this is temporary. I'm going to be doing a lot more decluttering and moving stuff around. I have a desk on my patio that's going to go in place of that thing that my sewing machines are on. I have to say that is NOT the most ergonomic place to sew. But, I have to make it work until I can get more junk moved out and get the desk down there. I think I'm going to store all my packaging stuff in that thing. I'm going to paint it up as well as the walls. My cutting table was a folding door that Jim decided would make a really nice bar table. I stole it for my cutting table.
He hasn't complained too much. Check out the window! No big deal you say? It was so filthy dirty that I never really noticed we had a window there all these years. I had to scrape the dried on dirt off with a razor blade. I can't believe how much brighter it is down there now.

This is definately an improvement compared to the tiny spot I had at my kitchen table. I feel so blessed to have this right now! I can work so much more efficiently even though I still have a lot of work to do to make it better.
We have a nice junk table...I mean pool table under all of this junk....My Grandpa made it. Someday we just might have all of that junk cleared off of there too. It's coming along slowly. We need to find a place for Jim to put his mixer board and stuff on.

Then, there's this other corner. Jim's band corner. I don't touch that. I won't touch that and I would never even think to touch that. That's ALL his and I respect that.
He can make his pretty music in that corner while I make my pretty diapers on the opposite corner.

Speaking of new generations...I better get moving and get sewing on Liam's diapers. I should start a daily count down. He's going to be here SOON! He's due to arrive March 19th. It seems that when I was pregnant the pregnancy when SO slow. Angi's pregnancy has went way too fast. I can't believe we're going to have a new baby around here soon.
• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Mar. 1, 2008 - I haven't embarrassed any of my daughters lately
Angi was over here not too long ago. She discovered that the heart that was on the chest of her maternity shirt peeled right off. It's the weirdest thing. I've never seen a shirt that did that before. It's almost like a felt board effect. Weird. So, we were sticking the heart all over her...including her butt. lol Yeah, I know, Angi, you're going to kill me the next time you see me. All of a sudden it dawned on me that there were some Dr. Suess characters that had stars on their bellies so Angi needed to have that heart on her big preggy belly. She wasn't too thrilled when I told Zandria to start taking pictures. Can you tell?

I told her that since she looked like a dork on that picture, we needed to take another picture that would be better for my blog. I promised her I wouldn't put that picture on my blog. I lied. So, I guess I better put the better one on too.

What are the names of those Dr. Suess characters, anyway? We can't think of it for the life of us.
• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Feb. 22, 2008 - Be Nice to Crossing Guards and Children Crossing the Street...a rant
So, basically I'm the lamest crossing guard out of all the crossing guards in Little Chute. Seriously. Ask the other crossing guards, they will tell you. I have the farthest corner from the 3 schools in this town. When it's cold, rainy, snowy...whatever, the parents drive the kids to school that live near my corner. Basically, I'm pretty bored from December-February. It picks up a bit in March. Here's my rant...I only cross a few kids during each shift during those slow months. But, it seems that every single time I do, some driver is intent on running me and my kids over! I always get the drivers attention before I attempt to tell a child to go. I have a big red stop sign with blinking lights for everyone to see. I'm dressed like this...
BTW, that sign in that picture was not my new fancy sign with the blinking lights. But, even without the blinking lights, how can you miss me in the middle of the street dressed like that AND with a loud whistle?! How can you acknowledge me by nodding your head like you know I'm going to stop you to cross a child...when you see the child standing there ready to sprint into the road, yet you still go and almost run both of us over? Huh? Am I missing something? Then, there's the drivers who are eating, with one hand, talking on their cell phone with their other hand, and changing the radio station with their elbow and going at least 40 miles an hour in a school zone that is clearly marked with bright yellow sign and bright orange cones on the center line. Not to mention that big, bright orange and yellow person standing on the corner with the blinking stop sign.
I understand that the law in WI states that drivers do NOT have to slow down to 15 mph UNLESS children are present. Who made that silly law? Children can be faster than cars. If you've ever had a child, you know this. I can look and see no children, then look back in a split second and I have a posse of bikes waiting to be crossed. The law should state that a driver should slow to 15 mph in a school zone when there are cones or school zone markers on the center line...or something to that effect. But, what do I know?
I'm sure my crossing guard friend Tammy is reading this and nearly falling off her chair laughing.
She knows exactly what I'm talking about.
Now that I've gotten that off of my chest....if you are driving through a school zone when you know children might be crossing, PLEASE slow down!!! It's better to be late than to have it on your conscience that you hit a crossing guard or a child. Think of your own children when you're driving through a school zone. I'm sure you want them to be safe as well as everyone elses children.
I took a pic of my corner during the lamest time of the day so I wouldn't get any cars in the pic. I bet you're so excited to see this, huh?

I work on a corner where there's a flower shop. I thought I'd take a picture for you people who live in nice warm places like Florida and Arizona so you can see all the wonderful snow we got here this winter so far. If you look in back of that sign and the big snow pile, that's actually the top of a house. That's how high the snow bank is! I can't wait until those green houses are filled with plants for me to plant in my garden! I have a LONG wait. Not until the end of May for sure.

• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Feb. 18, 2008 - Sneak Peek of New FFF and other things
I finally made an FFF out of real fabric, not tester fabric. Here's some pics of the new Size 1's.


Longer Flaps

Size is embroidered on the inner flap.

Liner is now an hour glass shape to fit the diaper.

Liner is sewn in at the top. No more matching them after washing!

I might be listing some of these at Mom's Boardwalk on Friday. I'm trying to regroup after getting a new kitchen table this weekend. My kitchen table is my workspace. Between shoveling snow and rearranging my house, I haven't gotten any sewing done lately.
Here's some pics of my new kitchen table. I'm SO excited to have this! My other table was falling apart and the chairs weren't safe to sit on.
Figures...I finally get a picture of Jim and his eyes are shut! There were a few more boxes than this before he started putting it together. That's Zandria in the background.

The girls made a fort out of the boxes.



Anyone else have a smaller sewing area than this? I have a ton of stuff in the basement too, but this is my actual work area.

If you're sick of snow, you may not want to see the rest of these pictures.
This is from yesterday. I took all of them this morning except for the one out my front door. That was taken yesterday during the blizzard. I just got done scraping all of that ice off of my van and I got everything shoveled this morning and it started snowing again. It snowed all day. I had to shovel again tonight.







• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
<- Last Page • Next Page ->