Proof Pinterest can be helpful as well as addictive!

     So I'm sure by now, you've heard of Pinterest...although, if you have, I'm not convinced you'll be reading this post since you will have been sucked into the vortex that is Pinterest. This site is wonderful and helpful and a serious problem! I get on Pinterest and I can't seem to do anything else for hours!  One day I stumbled across this interesting idea: A Year-Long Menu binder! It sounded crazy! It sounded impossible! So, naturally, I wanted to try it.  I checked out the blog and jumped right in. It has been the BEST decision I've made all year (so far)!  I mean, think about it! How many times has 4:00 rolled around and someone asks that inevitable question: What's for dinner? Then you decide that by the time you find a recipe, get all the ingredients from the store and get everything made, it's just too late. So what do you do? You eat out. I was getting so tired of doing that. As my parents used to say, "You begin to think it's a right, not a priviledge." Eating fast food is all right every now and then. I LOVE french fries! But all the time? Not so much.  So to MacKenzie of Bold Turqoise, I say thank you! I have saved so much time, so much energy and so much money already! And that's ALWAYS a good thing!  If you want to make a binder of your own, here is the link to her brilliant blog: Bold Turquoise's Menu Binder

Vampire Girl chart

     I have been searching high and low in my house for this chart!  I somehow misplaced it after I made my hat and, for the life of me, couldn't find it!  While I was going through a hat pattern book, I found the chart, tucked in the back!  I am very willing to share this with you little Twi-hards, but if you use my pattern, please give me credit or I'll have to take it down.  :( We don't want that!  Sharing is good!  So!  Here it is! (I had to put it on two different sheets since it's such a long chart.)  Let me know if you have any problems/questions/ideas! I'd love to see your finished work!  :)

Z's Bodice

     My friend Tiff gets a hold of me via facebook (hip, right?) and says that her Mother-in-law is getting married and her two little cutie-pie girls are going to be the Flower Girls. Could I please make her some crocheted bodices? You bet I can!  I seem to keep running in to this problem: I can never find an already-available pattern to use for things!  *sigh* Good thing I come from a long line of crafty women! Not being able to find a dang thing on the internet (shocker), I decided to try out a pattern of my own.  I used my daughter as a guinea pig!  :)  The first picture is of Tiff's girls and her Mother-in-Law! The next picture is a picture of my Z in her bodice:

I know! Hilariously cute, right!?  Ok, in case you were wanting to make a bodice, this will work for any age, any size. It's customizable! Yay!

Yarn: I used one strand each (held together) of Red Heart "Teal" and "Turqua"
Hook: I used an I/9 hook

First step: I took Z's measurements.  For her length, I measured just underneath her armpits to the top of her hip bone. This was 12".  I then added two inches to that for the cuff at the top (which is optional! It's all about what YOU want!).  Then, I took her width measurement, which I also took under her armpits.  I took off a couple inches from this to make sure it would fit nice and snug. Her measurement was 20", so I made the circumference of the bodice 18".

Second step: Get hooking!  I made a chain to correspond with the length measurement (14" for this one). {Add an extra chain for your turning chain (for this and every row), which does not count as a stitch! Just like when you're making a blanket, this chain is purely for heighth.}
     I worked this in single crochet. The bodice is worked flat, in rows, and stitched together later.  I worked in rows until I reached the correct width. Do not fasten off.

Third step: Finishing up.  I single-crocheted down one side, then I folded the piece in half and joined the ends by slip-stitching them together, forming a tube. I single-crocheted around the other end.
     Fasten off.
Front:

Back:

Tiff added some super cute tutu's to the bottom of the bodice's I made for her girls!

Cute, huh!  I hope this helped!!  Let me know if you have any questions/problems/additions!
Oh, and feel free to use this pattern for whatever you like, just give me credit, please! I'd do it for you! :)

X-Men symbol chart

So my sister says to me one day, "Hey, do you think you could make me an X-Men hat?" Sure. No problem.  Only, there was a problem.  I could not find one single solitary X-Men symbol pattern.  I decided I would just have to make my own!  My sister and I used to LOVE watching the '90's cartoon series when we were growing up!  So, for all my fellow comic nerds, here's the chart! Sorry it's not perfect...I'm only human, after all!  :)
This is a picture of my oldest son, modeling the hat for me:

And here is the hat laying flat...That rhymed...how about that?

And here is the chart!  Feel free to use this for whatever geekery you want, but try and give me a little credit, huh?

I'm sorry that it's not great quality but you should be able to save the image and print it with no problem.  I'll have to try it out!  Let me know if you have any questions/problems!  Again, it's not perfect and I've only used it once, so far!

It's Been A Long Time...

Oops...I've been gone a LONG time! So much has happened! Where to start...

Well, Jay got a job at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center. This means I got to quit my job and stay home with my babies! :) Now we have a steady, better income while we wait for the Railroad.

We bought a Suburban because we were tired of the age-old argument that plagues most parents. "MOM! He's touching me!" So now they each have their own space and they couldn't be happier! Jay and I breathe a little easier now too!

I've become addicted to True Blood. I know. I'm so awful! I gave in and read the first book, "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris...and fell in love! Then, while still at work, I started watching Season 3 of True Blood...and fell in love...Luckily my Brother-in-Law, Jason, and his Fiancee, Gina, are into it too! So we're going to have True Blood parties and watch it together! Jay isn't so sure about all this but since his brother likes it, he figured it can't be all that bad...

I have a new crochet obsession too. I love charts. I just think it's so much fun! My husband is definitely benefiting from this new love. He's working in meat and produce at the D.C. and it gets a little chilly there. He asked me one day for a beanie and I thought...well, I can't send my hubby to work in just a plain, old beanie! I gotta make it cool! I searched all my patterns for some cool designs and found these: The Mario Mushroom was designed by April Draven and the Batman Symbol was designed by Merissa R. More to come! He asked me if I was going to make him a beanie for every day of the week! Who does he think I am!? Of course I'm going to do that.

As far as the kids go, there really isn't much going on. They're done with their summer programs. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It was good for them to go to school if only for a couple of hours.

Dane got to go to the Children's Museum with his class, all by himself with his Momma! We had a really hard time leaving! His favorite room was the Theater/Music room! YAY!!!

The heat has been so oppressive! So we really haven't been able to go outside much! Tyson's not doing well with that! He LOVES outside and would probably live out there if I let him!

Princess Zoey turns TWO on Wednesday! I can't believe how fast the time goes! :( Especially since Jay reminded me that next year we'll be able to enroll her at Kids First Pre-school...I didn't appreciate that! We painted her dresser lavender with white drawers and I wrote Princess Zoey on the top two drawers in puffy paint. It turned out super cute! :) We ordered her a Disney Princess toy box. We bought her a Disney Princess Barbie collection. (I've had it in my closet since May!) We're trying to get her room together so her brother's stop ruining her toys and so she has her own space!

I think that's all that's going on for now! I hear a fight going on, so I better go figure out what in the world is going on before someone loses an appendage! :) Ah, the life of a Mom!

Food coloring: My Frenemy

I love to cook. I think it's fun! I like to try out new recipes and add my own things to it. My specialty is my cookies. My family LOVES my cookies! So today, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to use food coloring and make them green. They turned out awesome and the kids thought they were great! They taste the exact same, but apparently the green made them taste better... :) Dane said "Mm! That tastes good!" Dane rarely talks unless it's important, so this was the best compliment of the day! I even took a couple dozen over to my In-Laws! Which I shouldn't do to my Mother-in-law since she's diabetic...sorry! :) The best part was my Hubby helped me make them this time! We normally cook everything together, but the cookies usually are a Mommy project. I was so happy to have that time together! (With three kids in the house, it's rare!)
The cookies were made, everything was put away and we had a generally good morning and early afternoon! Around 2:30 I went to bed. (I work the night shift at a hotel front desk.) I didn't go to bed when I came home that morning. I got Tyson ready for school, Jay took him to school and I stayed up so that I could spend some time with him! I woke up at about 8 to Jay hollering (that's what it was) and then I heard him running a bath for the kids. I couldn't figure out what was going on (still a little groggy) and I fell back asleep. Jay woke me up again at 9:30 so I could start getting ready for work. Before he leaves the room, he turns around and says, "Oh, by the way...you don't have any food coloring left." At first I couldn't figure out what he meant! Did he make something? Then it dawned on me. Oh no. The food coloring was in their outfits, on their dresser and on the floor. THAT'S why he was giving them a bath! Oh no. It wasn't the lighter food coloring either, it was the red and the blue. Horrid. We are NEVER getting our deposit back! We may even owe them money when we move out!
Food coloring is now going to have to go on my list. The list of "Things-I-Can't-Have-In-The-House-Anymore-Because-I-Live-With-Three-Curious-George's" list. Right up there with eggs, syrup and permanent markers. (I do have those things in the house, but I have to hide them really well!) I had to add the Disney movie Tarzan to that list too. I didn't think the closet could take much more Tarzan swinging, so I had to put the movie somewhere far away! Also...I don't think Mommy could take much more of that Tarzan yell.
My oldest made my day today though! When I was leaving for work, he walked up to me, gave me a hug and said, "You be good." I guess your kids do listen to you after all! :)

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."

It's no secret that I love to read. I can remember my favorite book that my Mom used to read to me and Briana. "The Monster at the End of This Book." I still read children's books and not just because I have kids! Reading has always been my first love! :) Lately I feel like I've been ignoring it. I have so many other things going on that I just don't get as much time as I'd like. But thanks to Brenda, a woman who has always been like a mother to me, I have rediscovered my love of books! She introduced me to the website http://www.goodreads.com/ I love it! I have so much fun playing around on there! As I was adding all the books I've read to my "Shelf", I realized how much I wish I was reading! I kept thinking to myself: "Oh, that was a great book" and sometimes: "Blech. I didn't like that book." :) So I started thinking (and Jim from "The Office" made me think of it)...Maybe I should have a Top 5 list. You know: "If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take 5 books with you, what would they be?" I very greatly doubt I could keep myself to 5...but here are some of my all-time favorite books!

I just look at the cover of this book and I want to read it! I've read this about 5 times and I will never get sick of it! The movie is excellent too! That doesn't happen often, where the movie is as good as the book. This is the first novel I can remember reading. I remember coming to my Mom and asking for books that I could read because I was tired of reading "Young Adult" books. :) She went through her shelf and she handed me "Gone with the Wind" and said: "How about this?" I looked at it's monstrous size, handed it back and said: "Maybe another time..." I'm sure my poor mom was going through her books wondering which books would be appropriate for her young daughter to read! (She had a lot of crime novels!) :) She finally selected this book, handed it to me and said: "What about this? I think you'd like it." SOLD! I loved it then, and I love it now. "To Tawanda!"

I picked "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux because it scared the crap out of me. I read "Rosemary's Baby" and didn't flinch. I read this and I actually caught myself breaking out in a cold sweat. It sounds ridiculous, but it's creepy! The book is nothing like the 2004 movie with Gerard Butler. The picture on the cover is almost exactly how Leroux described The Phantom. *shudders* It was a great book and I sincerely couldn't put it down!

This was another book suggested by my Mom! One night I was perusing her bookshelves as I often did. I said, "Mom, do you have anything you've read lately that I should read?" She suggested this. Wally Lamb is one of her favorite authors. It's about two men, who are twins. One is "normal" and the other is a schizophrenic who chops off his right hand in a library because: "if your right hand offends thee, cut it off." That's how it starts and it just spirals down in to a land of crazy that you really wish you hadn't ventured into! But you find that what's crazy to one person, is normalcy to another. It's also a lesson in family bonds. Blood truly can be thicker than water. This is the first book that, when finished, I felt like my friends were gone! Finishing the book was such a bittersweet moment! My sister will actually put off finishing a book because she goes through the same thing!

"The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas. I love this author! "Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Man in the Iron Mask" belong to him also. How can you resist a good swashbuckling adventure! I grew to love these characters and was so very sad when the book ended! I wanted more...which is ridiculous, because the book is already pretty long. Dumas weaves such a complete profile for these men that you feel like you know them! Full of espionage, mystery, court life, sword fights, etc. *sigh* Such a good book.

Every girl needs to read an epic romance. That's why I chose "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. I don't mean those silly harlequin romance novels. (I don't judge anyone for reading them because everyone has their own tastes, but I just hate them.) I mean a real, epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance. Claire, an English nurse, jumps back in time 200 years thanks to some druid stones. Instead of it being 1945, it's 1745. She's in Scotland...and she's English. During this period of time, that's not good for her. England and Scotland are at war. She is rescued from an assault by some Scottish Highlanders (real ones, not Fabio in a skirt) who can't decide if she's a spy. She relocates a young Scot's (Jamie Fraser) shoulder, so they decide to protect her and to do that, she needs to marry Jamie. This will make her a Scot by marriage. But there's a problem...Claire is already married to Frank in 1945. What will she do? Stay with the Highlander? Or return home to her own time and to Frank? I really did like this book and it's absolutely worth reading! It's the first in a series of 6...4 of which I've read.

I know this makes 6, but I just don't care. I wouldn't consider this a book, but a necessity. I grew up with a Bible always near me. I went to a private elementary. I know these stories inside and out. The people in this book aren't characters to me. I've known them, studied them, named my children after them (middle names). It may seem strange to some, but it doesn't to me. It's no stranger than naming your child after an ancestor. When I read this, I feel comfortable. Like your favorite chair or a favorite sweater. This book feels lived-in. I feel at home here. I will never be without at least one Bible in my home. This is a connection to my past as well as to my future. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have so many books that I love. I feel that reading is one of our greatest gifts. My Mom instilled it in me and I will pass it on to my Swarm. :) Nothing makes me happier than to see them flipping the pages of their little Golden Books asking me to read to them. Most of the time, they're incredibly impatient and keep trying to turn the pages so they can see the next picture. That's all right with me. I just like sitting with them.