THE dress

OK, so I have tons of stuff to blog about, but I'll start today with the most important. Samm's baptism!



Samm had to wait almost two months after her birthday to get baptized, because we were waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to come for Thanksgiving. It was worth the wait though, because Grandma brought a very special dress with her.

My mom made Samm's dress out of linens that belonged to both my great grandmother and my grandmother. The top portion of the dress has handmade lace and my great grandmother's initials embroidered onto it. The bottom of the dress has my grandmother's initial's embroidered on it, and my mom hand embroidered her initials on it when she finished making it.

Samm kept telling me that she felt like a princess in her dress, and how she wanted to wear it to church later. Unfortunately for her though it's going somewhere safe so that Macy can wear it when she turns 8.

I still can't believe I'm old enough to have a child get baptized, but I couldn't be more proud of her!

Ribbon necklace

I made this necklace this past weekend with the Holidays in mind. If you want to make one too, I posted instructions here.

If you don't have a Samm, you really should get one!

Sorry though, this one's not for sale!

Have you ever been yelled at in a grocery store?

If you haven't than I must say you are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. I mean standing in public while a complete stranger vents all their anger directly at you while everyone else stares is just awesome! I've been lucky enough to have it happen twice.

The first time was when James was about a year old and we were walking through Wal-Mart together. He decided he didn't want to go where I was taking him so he threw himself on the floor and had a little fit. I decided to just stand there and watch him until he was done instead of making a bigger scene by trying to drag him with me. Some crazy lady (and I really think she was certifiably crazy) walked by and made a very rude and obscene comment about people who let their kids play on the floor. I was so shocked that all I could say was "excuse me" that's when I got the full unleashing of every filthy word you can imagine. A few minutes later we ran into her again in the produce section and she let me have it all over again. I remember being so pumped with adrenaline when we left, but like I said I really think she was not right in the head.

The second time happened this morning when I was grocery shopping with Macy. Keep in mind that I only shop twice a month, so it takes a very long time and my cart is always over flowing. Anyway, I had just finished getting the last of the food when I remembered that I forgot something that I needed from the office supply section. I really didn't want to trek back to the other side of the store, but I really try to stick to my twice a month only shopping, and I knew I would need that item before my next trip in two weeks. So, we went and found what I was looking for and then stopped and the first open check out. It was early in the morning so there weren't many open to begin with and most of them were self check out lines, so I stopped at a line that was closer to the non food items.

When the checker was about half way finished this lady walked up and said " can you tell me why if this is an express lane there are people like this with all their stuff in line?"

When I looked up and saw that it did say express lane I felt really terrible and I apologized to the lady and the cashier and explained that I had not seen that on the other side. Well, this lady did not care how sorry I was, she went on and on about how ridiculous it was that I was in this line. I must have apologized four or five times (way more than the lady deserved) when she finally said "you know what, I want to talk to a manager." Are you kidding me!!

Finally another employee who was not the manager came over and said "The manager is busy right now but this lane is actually open as a grocery isle right now and it does not say express on the other side."

Now, I did not at all expect an apology from this lady for the way she had treated me, but I did expect her to at least let it go and walk away. Oh no. She wasn't finished with me. Finally after another minute of listening to her I kindly said "you know there are about five express lanes open down by the food."

To which she replied "Ya, all the way down there! I'm handicapped, I have a bad hip."

Let me just say, when she finally did storm out, there wasn't even a hint of a limp in her walk. I'm pretty sure the only thing handicapped is her social skills.

Seriously, who are these crazy people and why do I attract them?

Mommy makeover

It seems like everywhere I turn lately there is something or someone reminding me that I am almost 30, almost past my "young" Mom years. Even Samm decided that it was time for me to get an updated look!

Samm: "Mom, do you want to come to my makeup salon?"
Me: "Oh yes, please."
Samm: "OK, it's going to be a lot of fun. It's very mommish!"

Macy went first, and then me, and I have to say, bright pink lipstick and blue eyeshadow just might be making a come back!

And by way of announcement. My sister Jenn asked me to join her over at her blog The best me (permanently) And I'm very excited about it. So make sure you add it to your blog list because we are going to be sharing a lot of fun stuff. Today Jenn is showing you how to decorate with towels, and I promise you it really makes a difference in the way your bathroom looks.

super cute purse than you could win or just make

Last week I stumbled across this amazing blog. Not only is this lady super talented, but she is generous as well. She is always posting tutorials so that every one else can copy her and dream about being as talented as her some day. So, right now she is actually doing a giveaway for this adorable purse that she made, AND she is offering the pattern for free to anyone who becomes a follower of her blog. Seriously, I am now motivated to get our printer working again. Go over and check it out and make yourself something cute!

Next day hair revival

I know a lot of you were familiar with my sister Jenn's blog Not so crafty crafts, and if you haven't heard yet, she has revamped things a little and it is now called The best me. It's all about helping us just do the best we can each day in our roles as Mother's and wives and not get down on ourselves because we aren't doing it as good as our neighbor. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of crafts and recipes to share, and I'm hoping she will share some of her fashion tips with us, because she always looks great. Anyway, today I did a post for her about how to revive your flat limp hair the day after you spent so much time washing and styling it. You can check it out HERE.

Our last outdoors hurrah

Awhile back (a long while back) the weather was gorgeous so a friend and I took our kids to a little cider mill that is really close to our house, and then later that day Josh and I took the kids to the park. Later that night I uploaded all the pictures to my blog and hit save because I was too tired to write any words. Then it sat un-published for over a month. Anyway, as you can tell I was being a bit dramatic with the title, we've gone outdoors several times since then, but now it is officially too cold to play at the park so I'm finally posting the pictures. And pretty much just the pictures, since once again I am too tired to write much more than this. I think that comes from being a Mom and having to constantly talk (give orders) all day. When the kids are finally in bed I just want silence. Even in my own head!

We do our part

When I was in the sixth grade my elementary school became really excited about recycling. Some of the teachers and students even came up with a little song that they would sing at the assemblies. That song happens to be just annoying enough that I have never forgotten it. In fact I think it might be haunting me, because every so often it pops into my head and I CAN'T MAKE IT STOP!

Wanna hear it? Too bad.

"Recycle, recycle, recycle now. There's nothin to it if you just know how. So tell your Momma and your Daddy and your sister too, (dramatic pause) recycling is the thing to do."

I'm not kidding you, that song has been in my head for the last 18 years! Maybe it was my guilty conscience drudging it up all these years that I have not been an avid recycler. It's not that I'm opposed to recycling and doing my part for the earth, it's just that for the 10 years that Josh and I have been married, we've never lived in a town that picked up your recyclable items each week. Until now. Michigan is VERY into recycling. And I'm not at all exaggerating when I make those letters bold. I mean, you don't even put your lawn clippings or leaves in black trash bags. They go in special paper bags that get picked up by a special truck. They even give you 10 cents back for each pop can that you recycle! Anyway, basically what I'm saying is that now we have a little blue bin that gets put out on the curb every Thursday along with the trash can. We are doing our part.

So, last week we had some crazy wind storms that blew through here. One afternoon I was standing in the kitchen and out the back window I happened to see a blue recycle bin blow down the street and stop right behind our house. After several days of laying unclaimed (one of our neighbors is not currently doing their part for the earth) My kids decided to make good use of it. and turned it into a leaf house. Do you see the rake roof?

I know it looks like he is licking the leaves, but I think he was just trying to make a funny face.

So, now that we are doing more than our fair share to reuse and recycle, that song better leave me alone!