the sky is pink

Today is Carter's eighth birthday. Eight whole years. I'm not going to lie. Carter has been a handful most of his eight years. But I love him. Carter has been an instigator . He has made messes (i.e., smearing feces all over himself, numerous times -- the old tiff file won't upload). He has gotten into a lot of trouble. I have wanted to send him back many, many times. But ... he's mine and I truly adore him. He is sweet and sensitive. He is smart. He is funny. He is silly. He has his own style of clothing and decorating. He loves all boy things. He is helpful. He is observant. I love you, Carter, and I'm so happy that you're here. I wish you many, many more happy birthdays. (Carter requested the red and blue crown -- his two favorite colors. It is reversible, too. Blue with red sides.)

Thank you to those who sent emails and offered suggestions for my MIL's Christmas present. I ended up calling Joe at work on Friday and gave him a few of the suggestions. This is what we gave her: A basket of goodies, wrapped in cellophane with a red organdy ribbon. We filled it with German cookies, candies, preserves, cake (or whatever that stuff is), tissue pouch, my handmade soap, and Bath & Body Works air freshener (Black Raspberry Vanilla). Joe stopped at the PX and picked up all the German stuff. Joe's father is retired Army and they spent many years in Germany. So the German treats were a nostalgic treat for his mother. And the new bag for my mother (after something went awry with the other bag ): I finally braved it and cut into my Amy Butler fabric stash. I was afraid to do it at first, but I figured "she's my mother ... if I can't cut it for her , who can I cut it for?" I'm so happy that I did. It is lined with chocolate-brown cordu

From this to this in minutes. Hope everyone is still enjoying the spirit of the season. May your days be merry and bright.

Do you get to a point in your holiday preparations when you finally declare "I am finished!" (and feel good about it?) Last year I vividly remember that it happened on Friday, December 23rd, early afternoon. I remember it so well because we came home, unloaded the final presents and groceries from our car after returning from Jack's preschool Christmas program. I put my jacket and camera on my kitchen island and put a few things in the refrigerator. A few minutes later, when I went to hang up my jacket, our camera came crashing to the floor. It's final and fatal fall. Yes. Two days before Christmas and our camera was broken. So much for being finished shopping. Joe had to immediately turn around and head back into town to buy a new one. Yesterday I had the feeling that I was finished my shopping. It's such a nice feeling. Too bad it didn't last longer than it did. Yesterday morning I had picked up an order of 8x10 photos I had of the children. I should have l

Spenser all covered in my hand lotion.

Last night Taylor (center, red belt) and Carter (yellow belt) had their karate exams. Taylor was promoted to green belt and Carter to red . Taylor was happy with his promotion until they announced that the girl to his left was promoted to purple. Taylor felt that was unfair. We tried to explain to Taylor that this girl had been a red belt longer than he had been (and maybe more prepared) and that her moves were a little stronger. He felt he did not do his best. (I think this girl likes Taylor and maybe vice versa.) And do you see the man sitting at the table (at the right) with the long hair? That's our mayor . Above are the cookbooks I completed yesterday. Linda so thoughtfully gave me more suggestions for the covers. I had planned to use her quilted cards tutorial , but she suggested just using paper instead (quilted like Kayrn's cards or not quilted). In order to save time, I opted to just do a single paper on each over. Nothing fancy. I used permanent double-sided tape.

We have some sick children in the house. I had to pick up Carter from school early because was running a fever of 102. He is coughing and has a sore throat. In the middle of the night, Spenser started with a croopy cough. Oy! Right before the holidays. Please don't let it spread! Joe came home a little early last night. I sewed 10 more tissue pouches (that I cut out while the little ones were napping). I made a tote for my mother. I love the fabric, but the quality of sewing is not the best. I may have to make another one. I wanted to use fabric for the handles, but did not have enough. The fabric's design was running in the wrong direction. I may have enough fabric to make an identical one. I'll have to see. (You probably can't detect the wonkiness in the photo.) No soap or candies were made yesterday. I did not have the energy. Maybe tonight ... We took the children around to see Christmas lights last night as part of our Advent. They had already bathed a

I survived sleepover #1 for birthday #2. Barely. But I survived. It started at a feverish pace. As soon as all of the boys (4) arrived, we made individual pizzas. We used pita bread for the crust and I had an assortment of toppings for them to choose. While they were baking, they started working on decorating their stockings. Some finished. Some decided to finish later (and then didn't) and some (my youngest children) didn't even start. They played a board game (Zathura). Ran full speed through my house. Watched a movie ( Ice Age II: The Meltdown ). Ate popcorn. One of my nephews took the giant bowl of popcorn upstairs to the bedrooms and started throwing popcorn through the hole . Remember that hole ? It was literally raining popcorn in my family room. A big mess. One that required a visit from Dyson . The boys finally settled down enough and watched a few Christmas shows. Joe and I took the baby upstairs. Very early the next morning (before 7 a.m.) the boys were running madly

I've returned from 3 excruciating hours of grocery shopping with my three little ones and have now updated with photos. Thank you, Blogger, for cooperating now... (and sorry for the dim photos, they were taken late, late last night). Yesterday I hit panic mode. Christmas is getting very close and my to-do list isn't shrinking as quickly as I would like. Having another new baby has been a challenge this time around. Don't get me wrong. He's a great baby. He sleeps well (all night, in fact). He eats well. He's growing. He's happy. He's perfect in every way. It's really just me. I have been so much busier since he's been here. It has been a big change from 5 children. I was almost in tears yesterday while driving home from preschool as I mentally reivewed my to-do list. Too much to do. Definitely not enough time or energy. And lots of WIP's. Maybe too many. When I arrived home, I found a little package hanging on my front door. It was this way-c

It must be Christmas! On Tuesday I was quite surprised with this lovely set of handmade cards from Karyn . They are truly beautiful. And so well made. Almost too pretty to use! Thank you, Karyn! I love them! On Monday I set up Christmas tree #2 in our formal living room. I only had enough time to put up the lights and the wooden "cranberry" garland. On Tuesday Mason and I decorated it while Spenser and Sawyer napped. I usually decorate this tree by myself because I use sentimental and fragile ornaments on it, but Mason was so sweet that day and really wanted to help. I could not refuse. Our house is 130+ years old and I try to decorate it how trees were decorated in years past. I have a lot of glass and wooden candies on my tree, although back then they would have used real candy. And I use the wooden cranberry garland, instead of the real, messy cranberries. (Have you ever tried to string your own popcorn/cranberry garland? I remember doing that as a child and poking m

Ten years ago today I became a mother. At 12:42 p.m. on Friday the 13th (after 40+ hours of labor and 2 hours & 42 minutes of pushing), an 8 lbs.-13 oz. boy was born. Taylor has been a blessing ever since. Taylor is kind. He is smart. He is funny. He is a born leader. He is loving to his younger siblings. And very helpful. He just received a gold ribbon from school for having straight A's on his 1st quarter report card. (In fact, he also received almost all O's, too, with the exception of one S in Art for creativity.) He was the only one in his homeroom class to get straight A's. Taylor is working hard at his karate. Next week is his advancement exam for green belt. We know he will do well (as long as he takes his time -- he's always tries to do it too fast). It has been a great decade. And an interesting one. Who would have known ten years ago that I would have six children? Certainly not me. I have had a decade's worth of blessings. Or rather, a

Yesterday was so unseasonably warm. I think it reached the mid- to high-50's. I hadn't changed over from autumn decorations, so yesterday was the perfect day. It felt really weird to be outside, decorating for Christmas, in pj bottoms, a t-shirt and bare feet! It so did not feel like Christmastime! I know it's hard to see, but last night Santa rode through our town on the top of a fire engine. (I know I've said it before, but I love our small town !) Other fire engines and the ambulance followed behind delivering oranges and candy canes to the children. We live on a dead end, but Santa's helpers found our children anyway. (Although the children were disappointed that Santa didn't "wave" to them. They claimed that he's been here before, so he knows where we live. I explained that things look different when flying in a sleigh than driving on roads ...) And another half-naked shot of Spenser (just for you, Linda !) eating her orange and

Saturday afternoon was Jack's birthday party. His cousins (some of them) and grandparents came. We ate warm brownies with ice cream. (We're not real big fans of cake.) Then on Saturday evening we decorated tree #1 in the family room. Or, I should say that the children decorated the tree. Each child has his/her own container of Christmas ornaments and are allowed to put their own ornaments on the tree. After they were finished, the tree was pretty much covered. I did put one ornament on the tree that I found in the family box. My mother-in-law gave it to us for Christmas in 2004, after Spenser was born. It has everyone's name on it: And one empty space for Sawyer: This ornament brought tears to my eyes when I saw the empty heart. We weren't even planning for Sawyer. I'm so happy he's here. He is definitely supposed to be here! The ornament says so. Our family is complete! On Sunday afternoon we went to a family Christmas party in the basement of

Karyn of Trail Mix Designs tagged me, so here it is! Four Jobs I've Had : Pizza Deliverer (during college) Telephone Operator (for Answering Service, during college) Assistant to President (for a large, local company) Mom of 6 Four Movies I Could Watch Over & Over : Overboard Ever After Just Like Heaven Legally Blonde I & II Four Places I've Lived : Maryland* Maryland* Columbus, Ohio Maryland* *for the safety of my family, I don't want to be specific Four TV Shows I Love to Watch : Desperate Housewives Grey's Anatomy ? ? Four Places I've Been on Vacation : Quebec, Canada Niagra Falls, NY Topsail Island, NC Cancun, Mexico Four Websites I Visit Daily : blogs Google blogs blogs Four Favorite Foods : Only four?!? cheesecake chicken Caesar salad peanut butter cookies (all kinds) Four Places I'd Rather Be : the beach (a warm one) ? ? ? Four People I'd Like to Tag : Hmmm... who should I pick? Or pick on ? Capello Beki

I finished sewing (and filled) the Christmas stocking party favors for Jack's party tomorrow. I did this while Spenser and Sawyer napped simultanueously and Mason busied himself around the house. I used the leftover flannel from the Advent Stocking Garland . Each stocking has a candy cane, some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Candy Cane Hershey Kisses, and a breadstick/cheese dipping thing (my boys call them "dipping things"). I have a nephew that hates candy, so he has a "dipping thing," a bag of Fritos, and a little single serving of applesauce! I also put together 2 "baby" ones for my younger niece and nephew (applesauce, PB cups, and "dipping things"). There are 12 in all, but 5 are for my children. The children have been loving Jack's birthday easel. They are playing school. One side has a chalkboard, the other side has a dry erase board. And there is a roll of paper at the top to draw on. Last night after dinner I sp

Thank you for all of your birthday wishes for my little man. He had a great day. We gave him an art easel for his birthday and he loved it. Joe didn't come home until late, so the children and I decided to go ahead with our Advent Stocking. Last night was chocolate fondue. Or, as Jack kept calling it "chocolate fun due." The boys loved it, as did Spenser. She made quite a mess of herself and had to get right in the bath. After Joe came home from work (8 p.m.), we sang Happy Birthday and ate gingerbread. Then I started on the party favors. My plan is Christmas stockings for the children, filled with some goodies. I'm just at the cutting stage. Hopefully I will get some time today after preschool and be at the "sewing stage" before dinner. Or, better yet, the " finished stage." The party is Saturday and I have to still clean my house and put away my sewing stuff. And, apparently I can't do more than one thing at a time. I was being quite di