A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Blog

OK! I Know what you're going to say. And you're right.
Geeze! What happened?!!! A year and no posts. Really? You promised you'd keep up with it.
Ummmm, what can I say. For some reason the last year has been a CRAZY TRAIN out of control and I've just been hanging on for dear life.
First of all, this happened:

Yes! That is indeed a baby. Shocker! I'm really not sure what I was thinking. My other kids were just becoming independent. Now, I'm back to diaper bags and breast feeding.

But you know what? Even though it's been hard, scheduling is a nightmare, and people think I'm insane. I can't imagine my life without the little guy. He was meant to be a part of our family.

Plus, BABY FEET! There is really nothing like little tiny feet. YUMMY!!!!

I'm not going to cover everything that happened over the last year, but here are a few highlights:
A few days after I found out I was pregnant, we were informed that my husband was going to lose his job. That really rocked my world. Let's just say I was a basket case. So one day happy everything is AWESOME and the next BOOM.
Needless to say, we had some scary months.
It really made the recession real for our family.

Despite the terror, I think we're stronger for it as a family. We have a beautiful, healthy family and that is what is really important.

We did have another sad event. Remember the puppy we adopted.
Ummmm, that ended badly. One night as we were feeding the dogs dinner, she attacked Adger. Ever see wild Kingdom? Imagine that in your living room while your children are sleeping upstairs. We had to have Animal Control come and take her.
Adger lost one of his eyes and nearly died. He's recovered well for an old man (he just turned 13). I keep thinking that it could have been one of the kids.
My guilt is really three fold. I feel bad for the kids. They loved her and they lost their pet. I really feel bad for Adger, he suffered terribly. And I feel bad for Suri. I keep thinking that I really should have done something to prevent it. We got her from a "No Kill" shelter. They came and picked her up from Animal Control and took her back. They are going to try and work with her. Evidently, there were behavioral problems with some of the other puppies in that litter. I wish it would have worked out differently. But, there is definitely one thing that I learned this year. You can't change what happens in your life. You can only change how you react to it.

ANYWAY. . . I've gotta go feed a baby. I'll try this blog thing again and see what happens. I just have to sit down and do it. If you put it off, it just gets harder and harder. I really have enjoyed this outlet. It makes a great journal and forces me to think about what's going on. The last year seems like a fog. I wish I'd blogged my thoughts so I could come back and look at it all now.

Stich in Time

This has been a crazy week. My daughter had a kidney infection and was quite sick. Strange how quickly kids get sick. One minute they are fine and talking your ear off. The next, they have a 103 fever and you have to rush them to the doctor. They have to get sick every once in a while just to make sure you appreciate them.

I finished a knit bunny from Susan B. Anderson's book Itty Bitty Toys. It turned out great. I'm gifting to to a friend's baby. Hope she likes it!

I want to break my sewing machine back out. I had a good setup about a year ago, but we had to change our playroom around and I lost my sewing space. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I think I have a solution. I've rearranged things again and found some space. I've been listening to some sewing podcasts and been inspired. Look at i-Tunes under quilting and sewing. There are so many. I'm really enjoying listening to them.

There are some great podcasts and crafting websites out there. Check out One Pretty Thing. This is an excellent site! They go through thousands of websites and bring together great crafting projects from everywhere. Another site I've fallen in love with is Cluck.Cluck.Sew. Lots of great projects that are actually doable! Also has some great giveaways. This week they are giving away a fat quarter bundle from The Quilt Shoppe. They offer some beautiful fabrics. I can't wait to get some!

I'm loving looking at cute fabrics. I can't wait to sew something cute again. I think I'll make some dresses for my sweet little girl. I guess the kidney infection worked. I really want to spoil her!

Pickled Again and Ooh, La La!

I need to get another refrigerator! This one is packed and I still have a drawer full of cucumbers! So far, I've made 15lbs of strawberries into jam and 30 jars of pickles. On Friday, I had to spread the love. I packed up the car with preserves.  I put together some knit dishcloths, jam and pickles with handwritten notes. I dropped them off with several friends. It was so sweet to see the looks of delight on peoples faces when delivering hand made goods. They all seemed a little confused at first. I could see them wondering if there was a holiday that they'd forgotten about. One person even gave me a hug and teared up. So nice! (and it helped reduce the pressure on my bursting fridge)

It really made me feel great. 

I'll post some recipes as soon as I get the chance.

I can't believe that my baby is 4. What happened to my sweet, pink, cuddly, slobbering baby? She is all grown up! 

 We threw her a Fancy Nancy Tea Party. We based it on the books by Jane O'Connor. OK, so I got carried away. I had so much fun putting it together from the invitations to the food to the cake. We asked for everyone to come dressed up. One family took us very seriously, the dad actually came in a tuxedo! Awesome!!!!

So she is all grown up, but she'll always be my baby!

Let's Jam! - or - I'm in a pickle!

I'm not sure what evil domestic demon has possessed me lately! Frankly, it's a little disturbing. I've had the overwhelming urge to preserve. As in Jams. VERY SCARY! Yet, yummy.
I've sought the help of a physician (luckily, I'm married to one). The problem is he wants pickles. What am I to do?
My kitchen is a wreck. The fridge is full of tiny jars of jam. We can't even find the milk. Now, add the pickles and watch out! Jars and jars of pickles. There are cucumbers everywhere.
Can I do just one variety of pickle? Oh, no. Since everything is out we might as well try a few kinds. We never know when this plague may strike again. After all, I'm 37 and this is the first time I've been afflicted. These canned goods may need to last another 30 years!
I need to take some pictures, but I can't find the camera. Where is it? Is it behind the pickling spice? In the fridge buried among the jars of jam? Am I losing my mind?
The only solution is to hit the streets and see if anyone will take some of this off my hands. Actually, I'm going to gift them to people that have been sweet and spicy in my life. Just a little "Thank You".  I love homemade gifts!
I just realized. It's only spring! What if this condition persists? What happens when the tomatoes ripen?
Zucchini anyone?
HELP ME!!!

The Baby That Never Was

The first mother's day that I considered myself a mother was passed pretending everything was fine. Inside I was experencing wrenching grief that I felt I was not allowed to express. The month before I'd experienced the miscarriage of my first child. Although I was only 12 weeks pregnant, it was a very real child. Being my first pregnancy, I was so excited and wrapped in that was all my hopes and dreams for the perfect little person that I imagined our baby to be.


The loss was truly devistating for me. The fact that society seems to view morning for a lost pregnancy inappropriate made it all the more difficult. The insensitive comments or silence from others was unbearable. Even though I have a wonderful and very supportive husband, who as also greving, I felt so alone.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I was able to hold my child in the palm of my hand during the miscarriage. He/she was this perfect, tiny person with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Beautiful and perfect. Yet, it was all of my hopes and dreams for the future gone.


I still think about my perfect, tiny child. I wonder what he or she would have been like. As I watch my other children grow, I wonder what would have been.

So this weekend, give a little love and attention to Moms that might have been and Moms that want to be. They need a hug!

How does your garden grow?

Growing up, my family always had a garden. Now, with a house and kids of my own, I wanted to share the joy of gardening with my kids. The problem? South Carolina is HOT. VERY, VERY HOT. Also, our yard does not really have an area that would be suitable for a garden. What to do. What to do.

We came up with the solution. A combination of boxes and containers. It  is small enough to weed and take care of without the risk of heat stroke. But large enough to have fun and provide a few veggies. We started planing seeds last week. We are really enjoying watching how fast the plants grow.

It really made me think about my children! It is so much to watch them grow! One day they are little sprouts. Before you know it, they are growing, blossoming andproducing fruity comments! My daughter turns four this month. I can't believe it! It really seems like just last night that I was getting up in the middle of the night. Oh wait, it was last night!

Kid's Love Dogs (I do too!)

The kids are starting to get a little older and so is our dog Adger. He will turn 12 this year. He was our first  "baby". Since we had him before the kids, he has never really been their dog. I thought it was finally time to get a puppy.

We decided to go with a rescued puppy. That way we get a snuggly puppy and do a good deed at the same time. When I saw this picture, I knew she was the one. Who can resist that puppy face!!!!!
She was rescued off the side of the road with her litter mates at about 5 weeks. It was February and freezing outside and someone happened to find them. Thank heaven for Project Pet. They named all the puppies after Tom Cruise characters. Since she was a girl, they called her Suri and it seems to have stuck.
We have no idea what kind of mix she is. I don't care. She is AMAZING! She fits right into our family. I've missed the smell of puppy breath... The softness of little feet that haven't trod a thousand paths... The wet little nose...

I wanted to do something nice for Project Pet and Wendy, the puppy's foster mom. When I thought of little orphaned animals huddled in lonely fright, I decided to make them a gift basket. I knitted and crocheted. Made fleece snugglies. I think it turned out pretty good.
Wendy got some nice washcloths and some soap from a great website Wolfe Farms Herbal Soaps. Wendy says that the puppies and Kitties at Project Pet love the gifts.

I really enjoyed making it. I've decided that I will devote some of my crafting time from now on to charity. It really makes me feel good to see the face of someone when presented with a gift basket filled with handmade/handpicked items.

The kids are crazy about the puppy. They have to hug and kiss her goodnight every night. We've had a lot of fun taking her for walks and introducing her to people. She is so sweet and an excellent foot warmer. In fact, she is sitting on my feet right now. So kid's love dogs. I love Adger, my first "baby". But I think that this puppy was really for me. Don't tell the kids. It will be our little secret!
P.S. All of her siblings were adopted! Hurray!!!