It's Picture Time!

What do you wake up to in the morning? :o)


I actually finished something: another pair of Bella mittens for my sister-in-law. Crappy pictures, it was late when they were finally done. Creamy-natural color, decent quality washable wool with tweed flecks.



My baby girl and I. Ah, how I love her, even though she's been awful lately. She's been on a looooong good streak, so I knew it was coming. Whatever, she's still the best little girl I've ever known. And I'm not biased.

And I think this is the first pic I've posted of my pearls - Andrew gave them to my for Christmas. I wear them at least twice a week just because I can. I don't care if they're supposed to be saved for dressy occasions. I'm a firm believer in denim and pearls, and they make me feel like a 1950's housewife.

Cora is the worst eater I've ever seen. She loves a food one day, refuses it the next. She wouldn't even touch her lunch. And then she found a Barbie fork. That's what she's holding there - a Barbie fork with a teeny piece of linguini on it. She ate the whole stinking bowl. With a Barbie fork.


"Daddy put LOCKS on the bathroom CABINET and I can't EMPTY it anymore!!!!!!"

(This happened weeks ago. She just figured it out.)
What do you use a Barbie car for?


Seriously, the kid's a ham. She sees the camera and says "Teese!"
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Andrew called tonight. They're leaving at 5 am and coming HOME. It's a 14 hour drive. I'm not holding my breath. With my luck they'll hit an ice storm in Montana and be stuck for a week. But it would be really great to see him again.

Cora's got impetigo again. I started right away with tea tree oil compresses and some leftover antibacterial ointment from the last time. I wasn't panicking until Ashley mentioned something about "that staph infection that can't be cured with antibiotics." Right - MRSA. So now I'm convinced my baby is dying. Well, not really, but I'm more concerned. I'm off to the health food store first thing tomorrow to invest in some gentian violet and hope we can cure it more naturally this time. Someone in this house is a staph carrier, I'm sure of it.

Chloe's had two melt downs in two days. It's not like her - the melt down phase ended two years ago, I thought. They've been so rare. I'm blaming it on the time she's been spending with Tori, Ashley's five year old daughter. Tori just brings out the worst in Chloe. So Chloe's grounded from seeing Tori for a week (or more) and got two X's on her "attitude chart", which really had an impact on her. I'm proud of myself for not spanking her. It was really, really close, but we made it through. I struggled earlier though with what the best way to handle the situation would be. She was flat out refusing to pick up toys, which isn't her style. I made her sit on the couch until she decided she'd do it. She went to sleep for two hours. When she woke up I gave her two options "I can spank you, and then you can clean up the toys, or you can just go clean up the toys. Which would you prefer?" Thankfully she had the good sense to just go clean up the darn toys. Ugh. That's the kind of time I wish my husband was around to offer advice and suggestions (and maybe just take over. LOL)

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The other day I forced my children to deal with the "grown up" section of the library long enough for me to make a few selections. Two of the books I picked out have proven to be wonderful.

"Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair" by Laurie Perry (aka Crazy Aunt Purl) is the first. I've not laughed so hard in ages, and boy did I need it. It's technically a knitting book, but you don' have to know the first thing about knitting to enjoy the book. Absolutely, hands down, one of the best books I've read in awhile.

The other is "I Am Potential" by Patrick Henry Hughes. You may have seen him - the blind kid, in a wheelchair, that plays piano like nobody's business. I saw him on some TV special or another. Anyway, he wrote a book. Let me tell ya, it's worth reading. I'm the kind of person who will sit around every so often with a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a bottle of wine and spend a night crying out of self pity and "why me" kind of thinking. And no matter what your own personal battles, this book will give you a new perspective on them. I don't care if you're dying of some fatal, incurable illness you never in a million years thought you could have, this book will make you look at everything you have and just be thankful for it.

So yeah, if you read, check 'em out. Both are great.

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Alright, it's off to bed for me. I'm gonna have to go grocery shopping in the morning if I'm to feed this Phantom Husband of mine that's supposed to be returning.