I actually was able to get some stitching in this past week even though I have been fighting this nasty bug. The headache from a week ago this past weekend turned into the creeping crud. Of course, the kids also have it to an extent because no one will stay out of my face no matter what. Poor little Ryan sounded like a frog yesterday but still wanted to play for a while at least. His pictures were back so yesterday I took Marie and Katie with me to go pick them up.
It was a nice ride with the girls; both fell asleep on the ride so I had some quiet time for a little bit. When I left the house Ryan was just waking up from a short nap so I suggested that hubby pick him up and snuggle with him. It took us two hours from the time we left to the time we got back and little Ryan was still fast asleep in Daddy's arms. Oh what a cute pair they made. Poor Daddy's arm was falling asleep so I rescued him and snuggled with my little man. He woke up enough to say, "Me snuggle?" and promptly put his head on my shoulder and was snoring within a minute. There is nothing like a nice snuggle with your little ones!
Okay, back to the cross stitching now. In one of my previous postings I have a picture of a finish and someone asked who was the designer. I got it off the internet someone from one of the groups I'm in posted a link to her site for freebies. It's from anne-les-petities-croix. It was designed in January 2002 and it's listed as Grille 9" carre's on her site. I changed out a few colors because I didn't have what was listed but tried to get as close as possible to it. I'm now working on a freebie that I got from Michael's but I don't see a title for it. It's a pattern of a starfish with some other underwater things. I just needed something that I could stitch rather quickly so I could have the finish to boost my sad lack of finishes for 2008 (heck, my sad lack of finishes for 2007 for that matter!)
I've also been trying to find something from the Houston Astros to design for hubby and that hasn't been fun at all. I've tried to find a picture of the park to convert with my software but I don't think that's going to work until I get more proficient with it. I've also been trying to get their star logo with the Astros name but that's not converting well either. I know, I know it's the nut behind the computer that is causing that. I've only fooled around with the software a little bit since purchasing it and I know I need to get cracking so I'm comfortable with it. I had him print off the batting roster yesterday and was thinking maybe (please let me be able to at least design this!) designing the field with the names of each player in their appropriate area and if that works somehow get the logo on there too. I'd be happy with the field and names at this point but we shall see!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
This is from the cross stitch group I'm in that has a topic of the week. Hmmmmm, what is my favorite guilty pleasure??? I think I'd have to say sitting in a nice big bathtub full of bubbles with a scented candle burning, reading a good book with a nice cup of coffee or tea sitting on the edge of the tub and maybe a bar of chocolate to dunk into the hot beverage. I know, I know taking a bath shouldn't be a guilty pleasure, but at our house it's a little different. With four kids, two of whom are autistic it makes for little relaxation time. I rarely get to have a nice relaxing bath away from everyone. So when I get to it's absolute heaven; even though I hear the kids (whomever is still awake at that time) screaming for something. All the while Daddy pulls his hair out trying to keep them all happy while I have some nice down time.
I have to admit that when I do get to have a nice bubble bath (Calgon take me away!!! you know those moments) that I make the water as hot as I can stand it. Well, maybe a little hotter than that and then I sit in there until it's almost too cool to stand it. I try to do that but most times life has a way of butting in to my down time. I take these "guilty pleasures" whenever I can as it's my only time away from the kids.
This life also makes it hard to find time to stitch but I've decided that it's my only way to take the stress level down a notch or two. I'm trying to set aside some time each night to stitch whether I do that the entire time or just for a few minutes, as long as I have some time to stitch I'm happy. I had a humdinger of a headache last night (which is still here this morning on a smaller scale thank goodness!) so I knew I couldn't do any stitching especially not my Thomas Kinkade. I decided to find another smaller pattern that would be a quick finish. I had a hard time with that so I have probably four to six patterns to choose from when my head calms down to a duller roar sometime today. Thank goodness it's Sunday!
I have to admit that when I do get to have a nice bubble bath (Calgon take me away!!! you know those moments) that I make the water as hot as I can stand it. Well, maybe a little hotter than that and then I sit in there until it's almost too cool to stand it. I try to do that but most times life has a way of butting in to my down time. I take these "guilty pleasures" whenever I can as it's my only time away from the kids.
This life also makes it hard to find time to stitch but I've decided that it's my only way to take the stress level down a notch or two. I'm trying to set aside some time each night to stitch whether I do that the entire time or just for a few minutes, as long as I have some time to stitch I'm happy. I had a humdinger of a headache last night (which is still here this morning on a smaller scale thank goodness!) so I knew I couldn't do any stitching especially not my Thomas Kinkade. I decided to find another smaller pattern that would be a quick finish. I had a hard time with that so I have probably four to six patterns to choose from when my head calms down to a duller roar sometime today. Thank goodness it's Sunday!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Miracle!!!!!
Finally a finish for 2008!******
Miracles do happen; I finished a project last night!! Okay, the true miracle is that for the past couple of days I've actually sat down and stitched. Finishes aren't hard when you actually do some stitching it's when you don't stitch that it makes finishes miracles. Have I lost you yet?!
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I've made myself take an hour each night to do some stitching. Okay, I will clarify that more. I set aside time later in the evening when I think I should be able to stitch. This week it's just worked out that I've been able to stitch between 20 and 40 minutes per night. Ryan fell out early last night because he didn't get but a five minute nap on the way home yesterday. By 8:30 he was falling asleep in my arms. The others were pretty tired too so I didn't have many major battles and was able to stitch while watching/listening to Forrest Gump. I love that movie but I've seen it so many times that I can stitch and listen and not miss any of it. Know what I mean?
*******
The funny part about this finish is that it took me several minutes before I realized that I was actually done with it. I had to look at it and at the pattern a couple of times before a lightbulb went off in my head. "Helllllooooo, you're done, get up and do a happy dance!" Body replied "Sorry brain too tired for that right now!" It's Friday so I'm off to finish up the laundry, vacuuming and the dreaded bathroom cleaning - YUCK!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
No Housework Day!
On one of the cross stitch groups I am in we are having a "Topic of the week" which I think is pretty cool. Did anyone else know that today is a holiday?? It's No Housework Day and I love it!! Okay, I would if I could actually get away with not doing any housework but in reality anyone with children has no breaks from housework. It's Spring Break here so all the kids are home with me so the housework is twice the normal for the week.
Topic of the week is: What is your least favorite household chore? Hmmm, let me think about this for a little while. I hate most housework so that makes it a little harder to answer but not impossible. I think I'd have to say that I hate cleaning toilets and bathrooms in general. I have a box of hospital type rubber gloves that I use when I do the cleaning in the bathrooms. Even with the gloves, I wash my hands at least five times after I do the toilets and tubs/showers. I still feel like I've touched something and got germs on me. EEWWW!
Coming in a close second would have to be mopping the floors. We use the swifter wetjet and I've heard/read somewhere that the cleaner used is very bad for dogs and cats. (Which kind of tells me people too, don't ya' think?!) I still use the cleaner but then I go one step further. After the floor is dried I take my trusty older mop and a bucket of hot water and wash the floor all over again. I kill the germs first then I kill the germ killer. Some people may think it's a little overkill but I have small children who drop food on the floor and they firmly believe in the 24 hour rule (kind of like the 10 second rule for adults but more in tune with the kids attitudes) I sweep and vacuum twice a day in the areas where the kids are but let's be real, I can't get it all up so here's where the 24 hour rule comes into play!
Are we having fun yet??? I wonder if I will get a chance to sit down and actually get some cross stitching done today. Perhaps tonight when the ball game is on and the kids are somewhat settled for the night. I can only hope!
Topic of the week is: What is your least favorite household chore? Hmmm, let me think about this for a little while. I hate most housework so that makes it a little harder to answer but not impossible. I think I'd have to say that I hate cleaning toilets and bathrooms in general. I have a box of hospital type rubber gloves that I use when I do the cleaning in the bathrooms. Even with the gloves, I wash my hands at least five times after I do the toilets and tubs/showers. I still feel like I've touched something and got germs on me. EEWWW!
Coming in a close second would have to be mopping the floors. We use the swifter wetjet and I've heard/read somewhere that the cleaner used is very bad for dogs and cats. (Which kind of tells me people too, don't ya' think?!) I still use the cleaner but then I go one step further. After the floor is dried I take my trusty older mop and a bucket of hot water and wash the floor all over again. I kill the germs first then I kill the germ killer. Some people may think it's a little overkill but I have small children who drop food on the floor and they firmly believe in the 24 hour rule (kind of like the 10 second rule for adults but more in tune with the kids attitudes) I sweep and vacuum twice a day in the areas where the kids are but let's be real, I can't get it all up so here's where the 24 hour rule comes into play!
Are we having fun yet??? I wonder if I will get a chance to sit down and actually get some cross stitching done today. Perhaps tonight when the ball game is on and the kids are somewhat settled for the night. I can only hope!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Who am I kidding?!?!
The last post on here told you about how I was trying to potty train Katie and finish the curtains and Marie's remote control holder. Well, needless to say none of this has been accomplished and it's beyond frustrating! I had such high hopes that day; had the sewing machine out in the dining room which is right next to the playroom. I started to work on Marie's project and realized that I can't use the sewing machine while the little ones are near me. Ryan kept climbing in the chair and trying to help me sew so I had to put it away. I have found that I can only work on the sewing machine projects when Daddy is home and can distract all the children.
Katie's potty training did not last long because for some reason she has developed a hatred/terror of using the toilet. I had tried to train her and Logan during the summer and she went in the potty for me twice (by accident; it was a case of catching her at the right time on the potty) but now she absolutely refuses to sit on the potty and will scream bloody murder if you attempt to get her to sit down. I have given up (temporarily) getting her to sit on the potty. We have started watching the Elmo Pottytime on the computer several times a day to get her to relax around it. She and Ryan both love to sit in my lap and watch it over and over and over. I keep telling myself that eventually it will sink in and we will have her potty trained. We even bought her some more Dora panties in hopes that this terror will soon pass and she will want to be a big girl soon.
I also haven't had any time to cross stitch but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I have been wanting to sit and stitch on my Thomas Kinkade project so this temporary block has done something for me. When I say temporary block I don't mean that I don't want to stitch just that I don't seem to have the time to do it. I have to get back in the habit of taking a 30 minute break at least once a day to just stitch because it really does a lot to help the stress. I know; being a stay-at-home mom would make you think I don't have much stress but I do just not as much as when I worked and tried to take care of the kids. Things are sooooo much easier now; I can keep (okay I can attempt to keep) my house clean and stay on top of the laundry. (I say this while attempting to get caught back up from not doing it for two days. If I don't do at least two loads a day, I'm behind!!)
Katie's potty training did not last long because for some reason she has developed a hatred/terror of using the toilet. I had tried to train her and Logan during the summer and she went in the potty for me twice (by accident; it was a case of catching her at the right time on the potty) but now she absolutely refuses to sit on the potty and will scream bloody murder if you attempt to get her to sit down. I have given up (temporarily) getting her to sit on the potty. We have started watching the Elmo Pottytime on the computer several times a day to get her to relax around it. She and Ryan both love to sit in my lap and watch it over and over and over. I keep telling myself that eventually it will sink in and we will have her potty trained. We even bought her some more Dora panties in hopes that this terror will soon pass and she will want to be a big girl soon.
I also haven't had any time to cross stitch but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I have been wanting to sit and stitch on my Thomas Kinkade project so this temporary block has done something for me. When I say temporary block I don't mean that I don't want to stitch just that I don't seem to have the time to do it. I have to get back in the habit of taking a 30 minute break at least once a day to just stitch because it really does a lot to help the stress. I know; being a stay-at-home mom would make you think I don't have much stress but I do just not as much as when I worked and tried to take care of the kids. Things are sooooo much easier now; I can keep (okay I can attempt to keep) my house clean and stay on top of the laundry. (I say this while attempting to get caught back up from not doing it for two days. If I don't do at least two loads a day, I'm behind!!)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Marie
Here is the finished stitching for Marie's remote control holder that I still need to put the actual holder on with it. I'm still debating on what color material to use to finish this. I have a dark forest green or a black and am leaning toward the green. I purchased the black to finish the curtains in the playroom when I went to visit Mom on Wednesday and haven't had a chance to do anything with it. If I choose to use the black on this project I will need to finish the curtains first to make sure I have enough material.
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I spent this weekend trying to clean up the bathroom clutter and trying to potty train Katie the three year old. All miss and no hit with the potty training on Saturday so I took yesterday off to just breathe and I start again today and will continue with it until she's done. I hope to get the curtains done today and Marie's project too if all goes well. In between potty breaks and laundry folding I should have time to do that and play with the little ones. Therapy is switched around this week (at least I think it is as we played phone tag with the rescheduling) so I will be extremely busy with therapies tomorrow and nothing again until Saturday. Whew! So whatever I do not get done today I will work on Wednesday. I'm hoping (praying more like it!) that I can get Katie trained sooner rather than later but she seems to hate the potty and I'm not sure why. I'm telling her that all her favorite cartoon characters go pee pee in the potty over and over and over so I hope this will eventually sink into her brain. Wouldn't it be wonderful to only have two in diapers?!?!?!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Finally some stitching time!
Today whenever Katie wasn't in the mood for cuddling I grabbed up the project I have been working for Marie and finally finished the stitching. Curtis had run to Michael's for me two weeks ago to get the thread I needed to complete it. Now all I have to do is finish it into the remote control holder. I attempted to do that this afternoon but kept having to frog it so I pulled it apart and left it for tomorrow or Thursday. I'm determined to get it done by this weekend so she can have it!
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