Guess Who's Here?!

That's right, Sister Lee! Some of you may not know who that is, so let me tell you. Sister Lee is my cousin, and she is currently serving a mission for the LDS church. She was originally assigned to serve in Mongolia, but because of visa issues has been temporarily assigned to the Baltimore, MD mission, and now is in the Walkersville area. We are so excited she's here! She came by to see me today. And, yes, I did call her mom as soon as she left. (Missionaries can call home twice -- on Christmas and Mother's Day.)

2-hour Delay

I want to know what the difference is between below freezing at 8:15 and below freezing at 10:15. To me, they seem the same. So if you can go to school when it's below freezing and there is ice at 10:15, why can't you go at 8:15? It does not make a lot of sense to me. What did I do with my extra two hours? I forgot to make Flower's lunch. She reminded me when we were about 10 minutes away from her school. She got to order today, which made her happy.

Our house is very close to our next-door neighbors'. Our living room windows look at each other. Sometimes, the 5 year-olds look through them, too. Mini-me saw that her bff is home from day care today, and just about had a fit. I explained that if she's home, that means that she might be sick. Then I saw on her mom's facebook page that she is indeed home sick. Mini-me doesn't care. She just wants to go and play and throw caution to the wind. After all, just because Ro is sick, doesn't mean that she can't play.

Patch is watching Diego. He always answers when asked a question. I think he believes that Diego can hear him. He is also turning into a rude little guy. He burps without saying "Excuse me." He also spits out his food if he's tired of eating it, regardless of where he is. Thank goodness for the dog.

Weight Loss Wednesday

I know I haven't had my meeting yet, but the meeting might get cancelled due to the snow and ice. I'll know in a couple of hours. I think I did pretty well this week -- my home scale says I lost 2 pounds, so we'll see. There is often a slight difference in the scales, and I'm not sure why.

I'm a little at a loss today. I don't normally talk about The Ex here, mainly because it's not worth talking about. But last night I was the recipient of two separate emails, telling me to "remember my place." It is so infuriating. I know she would prefer it if when Flower is at our house, I would go away and not have any interaction with her. Really, I am just so tired of it. I am supposed to pick Flower up today. Since school is cancelled, I will have to pick her up from her mom. I just don't want to do it. I know it's a bad attitude to have, but like I said, I am just so tired of it.

No More Blubber

It's a snow day. Schools are closed. The sky is grey. I am so cold. Losing 25+ pounds is a great thing -- but I have been so cold lately. On Sunday, I found some summery fabric and made this table topper:


Obviously, it's not finished yet. There are threads hanging out and it needs to be quilted. I have time. We have at least 2 more months of cold yet to go.

Dreams

Last night, Patch woke up crying. He had a scary dream. About butterflies. I guess to a 2-year old with a Lightning McQueen obsession, things like butterflies, princesses, and unicorns are pretty scary stuff.

I dreamt that my parents were taking me to London. It was a surprise trip, and they only gave me about an hours notice. I had no passport or clean underwear. I woke up thinking I needed to do the laundry. I have these kind of dreams every once in a while. Dreams where I am unprepared for what is going on. It's either my guilty conscience that I am behind on things, or it's the Spirit warning me to get ready. I'm not taking any chances and am getting caught up on household chores today. Dreams are potent things.

Oh, and my sewing machine is in the shop today.

Our Dinner

Well, dinner for Curly and the girls. Giant Eagle had a seafood extravaganza today. Crab legs were only $4.99 a pound. This is what's left of the 3 bunches. They inhaled them. By the time I am done with this post, this meager offering will also be gone. Since I despise eating things that grow in water, I had chicken. Patch had a temper tantrum.

Curly is the ultimate cracker.


A dainty bite.

Delish!

My Lunch

Photo Friday

Weight Loss Wednesday

This week I redeemed myself. I lost all the holiday weight and then some and am now down a grand total of 25 pounds. I don't mind saying it, Hooray for Me! Tonight we had an FtP night at Wendy's here in Frederick. The Towne Singers were the entertainment, and there were a lot of people who had not seen me since we finished Once Upon a Mattress in August. Judging by their faces, the change is noticeable. My goal for the next 11 weeks is to lose another 25, which is about 2 pounds a week. I think I can, I think I can. Yes I can!

Keeping Calm and Carrying On

In order to help with my quest to "Keep Calm and Carry On," I found a fabulous necklace from etsy. It's made out of a scrabble tile and is to die for cute. Which shop, you ask? Where can I get such a fabulous necklace? From Home Studio. They have such a diverse selection and really great prices.

Here's another fabulous necklace. If you're a crafty pirate, it's a must have!

I got these photos off their etsy shop. I tried to take a good one with my camera, but it wouldn't focus. Crafty arrrrgh!

I'm a Winner

Go on over to the Jolly Jabber. I won! I wonder which darling set I'll get. I'm hoping it's Hartfield or Nature's Chorus. Either way, it made my day!

Another One Bites the Dust

Last night Mini-me succumbed to the illness. She's home from school today and her fever is on the high side. It's much higher than Patch's ever got. So our modified plan for the day is to sit on the couch in our pjs and try not to throw up. And, if our tummies feel like it, eat cinnamon toast.

Say What?

Today we woke up to a very cold morning. There was a dusting of snow. There was an email in my inbox that Mini-me's school would go 2 hours late. There was no news of Flower's school, which is about 3o miles west of here. I had asked Colleen to come this morning to help me get Mini-me to school, and unfortunately she got here before I got the email. I got the kids in the car and was on my way. Curly called about 15 minutes into my trip that the county where Flower's school sits was closed for the day. Still no word about Flower's school. Then, he called again to say that Mini-me was cancelled. I got to Flower's school, which had an unplowed and slippery parking lot and dropped her off.

Now, here's my issue with all of that. If the county is closed, I think the private schools in the area should follow suit. Also, if you are going to be open, you need to plow your parking lot. My car slid and my tires locked as I was turning into her school. Now, I agree that the weather was not that bad. I am not sure why the counties are closed today. When I say "dusting," I mean there was maybe 1/16th of an inch out there. There was more out in Hagerstown, but not by much. You could still see the grass. That being said, I still think that if the county closes, private schools should do the same.

Yesterday was supposed to be my "Weight Loss Wednesday" post. I got too busy last night and didn't get it done. So sorry! I had gained a couple of pounds over the holidays, but that's okay. They'll be gone by next Wednesday. Weight Watchers has a new program, called Momentum. There's not a whole lot new about it, but their materials are very fancy looking now. We have a big group -- nearly 20 people, and are in a very small room at the YMCA. I am looking forward to getting to know these people over the next few months.

Family Portrait

We don't have many all family pictures. This is the only one taken at Christmas. It was after a very long day of presents and food. I was exhausted, and from the look on Curly's face, it looks like he was, too. We are a way cute family, if I do say so myself, and I am looking forward to a real-life family photo shoot as soon as the weather gets nice. That may take a few months, but that's okay. A few more months of Weight Watchers will have me looking smokin'.

No Way!

At church this morning, Patch was on one. Everything was met with a loud "No way!" I would show him a picture of Jesus, he would shout: No way! I would ask him to whisper, he would yell: No way! It was a shot heard loud and clear all around the chapel. I was very much looking forward to putting him in nursery for the rest of the time.

I also had to teach Relief Society this morning. I felt really good about it. I felt like we had a good discussion going. I felt less nervous. Then, I heard it. It was in the hall. Like the tell-tale heart, or Poe's Raven, it's message was unmistakable: NO WAY! Patch had a rough time in nursery. The well meaning leader (whose first time as leader was today), thought Patch might do better if he could just see mommy. As soon as he walked into the room, he pointed, his face crumpled, and he let out a cry: There she is! I spent the last 12 minutes expounding the mysteries of the kingdom with Patch on my hip.

Keep calm, and carry on.

Photo Friday

How a dog rings in the new year.

Happy Birthday

To Dad!

Sick Day

Today it is my turn to be sick. I really hate being sick. I convinced Mini-me to watch a movie in my bed while Patch takes a nap. Hopefully Curly will be home on time tonight and will be willing to make dinner. None for me, thanks. I hope you feel better than I do!

New Look

I decided on a new look for 2009. What do you think? I got it from this blog. Hopefully everything is showing up okay on your respective computers!


Although the weather called for ice, all we've had is rain. It made the kids sleepy, but aided in my productivity. I got all the Christmas houses put away, and the tree has been taken down. We still have a few random things here and there that I'll have to round up, but the house is getting back to normal. Hooray!



Tomorrow is the first day of the new Weight Watchers session. Although I tried to stay exactly the same over the holiday season, I fear I am up just a tad. My goal for the next 12 weeks is another 25 pounds. The group is meeting at a new time -- 4:45 -- so it will be interesting to see how an afternoon time affects me. Hopefully it will mean good things!

Tonight after the kids go to bed, I'm going to head down and work on Patch's quilt. We hope to move him into his big boy bed in about a month, and I want him to have his Lightning McQueen quilt for that momentous occasion.

And now, I will leave you with a picture from New Years Eve. Curly brought home crab legs and shrimp from the store. The girls were in heaven. Patch and I both thought the smell was more than we could handle.

Back to Life

Today I had high hopes to hit the studio and get going on some Valentine's Day projects. But, when Patch woke up throwing up with a fever, those hopes were diminished a tad. When he goes down for his nap, I'll try to make up some time. Curly is off today, and hopefully we'll also take down the Christmas tree. It's so pretty, but it's time to move on.

Tomorrow, the weather man is calling for some ice and freezing rain. After 2 weeks of no school, I'm not sure I can do a snow day. But, we have plenty of milk and toilet paper, so if it does come, we are ready.

Patch is now asleep (I started this post about 45 minutes ago and while writing it, Patch had an urgent need for a bath and change of clothes, so now he is asleep with his clean blankie and jammies), so I'm going to eat lunch and then go down to sew a bit. Today I hope to make some Valentine pillowcases. Check my Molly Patch blog later today and see if I did it!

Photos for Friday

My Resolution

I only have one for this year. I know many of you could think up a long list for me, but I have found that long lists never get accomplished. So, I have just one resolution, and it's really more like a theme. This year, I am going to "Keep Calm and Carry On." It's a British slogan from World War II, and I think it's appropriate for me, the freak out queen. Life has thrown us some curve balls. That's just what Life does. Now, when things happen, I can just think "keep calm and carry on," and hopefully get through trials with a little more grace and dignity than I have in the past.

Have a wonderful start to 2009. Curly is at work today, and I have a sitter coming in a couple of hours so I can visit my quilt shop's anniversary party. It should be so much fun. I have a corned beef in the crock pot (thanks, Aunt Lisa), which the kids have already made faces at, so dinner is already taken care of. I just need to make a batch of bread and spend some time in my studio, and the day will be great.