No Haunted Leg

I ended up making Jacob come home early from camping with the scouts and spent the day from 9am to 4:30pm shopping. I can say that I am nearly done with my Christmas shopping. The last things I need to get are going to have to be purchased on Black Friday... yay me!
I feel so much relief!
Today Jake and I are going to a Vikings game courtesy of JoAnne. Thanks JoAnne! Hope you are enjoying Chile!
She and her husband were supposed to be joining us, but then she got an offer she couldn't refuse, to go to Chile with her dad for a couple of weeks.
We'll miss her, but enjoy the game the same.
Poor Joel is getting stuck at home because of his new calling. It's tithing settlement time and he has to stick around the church for the bishop. We'll miss you too Joel!
I'm soooooooooo looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner! I love my mother-in-law's cooking. Last year she even made the terducken taste good enough that I didn't mind the strange duck inside my turkey and chicken pieces. Usually the thought makes me gag, but I didn't mind last year. Only took me 18 years. I hope it's as good this year because she's doing it again.
I finished up another purse again this week also. I gave Joy the brown and pink one and made a blue and brown one for myself that I like much better. It goes with more of my clothes. I promised Jaeden I would make her one now, but I have to take her to the store to pick out her material. I love that they love the things I make for them! Here's the one I made for myself.

Got cheese to go with my whine?

I hate being so negative. I really try to be like President Hinckley, looking at the brighter side, finding the silver lining, etc. But I am just at my wits end right now and I'm feeling overwhelmed! I don't know how my mom did it with 6 kids. I feel like there's not enough hours in the day to get done what I need to get done, plus what I'd like to get done, plus what the kids want done.
Jake's wrestling is starting next Monday and I am sooooooooo dreading it. It's so much time and I really rely on him to help me get my things done... like babysitting so I can get grocery shopping done. I have to pick him up every day at 5 at the school because for some reason he can't ride the activity bus home.
I need to look at that "Simplify" sign by my door more often.
I'm so behind in my Christmas shopping. Usually I am done before Thanksgiving. I know what I want to get my kids and I buy it before they fly off the shelves on Black Friday. I hate knowing what I want to get them, and then not being able to find any at the stores.
This year- I have no list, no clue.
I've been meaning to go all week long, but one thing or another has come up that's left me without a babysitter, or my free time was snatched up by something else and still here I sit with only one toy purchased. I bought it 3 weeks ago.

Now, the kids are out of school all next week...one would think I've have plenty of time to go... not so! Jake's wrestling starts on Monday and his coach wants him at the school even TWICE a day. Once in the morning for a few hours, then home for a couple hours for lunch and then back at the school again for a couple of more hours. Don't they know I like to stay out all day and then take it all up to storage before I come home?! I don't want to go out for a couple hours here, come back home, take kids somewhere, hang out at home while kid is gone, go get kid, go out again, etc. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
I know I'm just being a big fat whiner.
I'm ok with that today.
I'm just at the point where I have to say, "Not one more thing!!!!"
I've had to turn down clients now also, because of this crazy schedule. That's not good. We could use the extra cash. But then on the other hand there's times, like today, where I have a client and it gets cancelled due to something or another and boy does it feel great to have that extra time to get something else checked off my "to do list". I'm sorry about her daughter's bangs, but it was great all the stuff I did get done today. I was sad when I was on a roll and it had to come abruptly to a halt because I just remembered that the scouts have a sleep over tonight! UGH! One more evening I won't get a dang thing done... grrrrrrrr!
Excuse me, but I really have to say that the scouts going camping every month is getting freaking annoying. It always seems to be on the worst possible weekend for our family and everything has to get put on hold because we depend on Jake so much to keep our family life going. The scouts need a new goal.

I think tomorrow I will wake up sick. What will I have? A haunted leg.

UGH!

You know what? I wish when I took time to do something for me that everything else wouldn't get backlogged!

Bag it!

I have been in a mood lately. A mood to make crafty, fun, trendy stuff.
The other day when I was looking for a camera strap cover I found this tutorial for a really cute bag.
In all it took me about 7 hours to make but during some of that time JoAnne was over working on her camera strap cover, so it wasn't completely dedicated time to the bag. I really like how it turned out and have plans for a brown and blue bag to make next. Now that I know what I'm doing I'm sure it will take less than 2 hours. lol!








Those are polka-dot pockets inside :)

It's not my birthday

But I got flowers anyway.

Jaeden thinks they aren't roses because, "roses are red" and these are white. They smell sweet just the same.

Today

I did something for me today! :) YAY!
I've been dying to get my hands on a cute cover for my camera strap. Today I decided to spend a little of the money I made doing sessions on one, but as I looked, I couldn't find one I really wanted to plunk 20 bucks down on (well maybe one). But then I remembered one of my friends showing me a link to a tutorial making one. "I can do that!" I thought. So I googled "camera strap tutorial" and found one that looked simple enough for me. I have some material I wanted to use but ended up running to the fabric store for complimentary prints to go with them. I'd also found (while looking for camera straps) a pattern for a super cute purse that I decided to buy material for and try to make. While I was there I saw that a bunch of things I'd been coveting for years were on sale and even some on clearance! Whoopie!!!
So here is my first strap I made. It's made out of flannel that has a pink and green butterfly print with 70's style designs. I love it! It also grips my shoulder better than I thought it would. It also has padding on it so I hope that it will be both comfortable and absorbent on the days I'm working a hot wedding!

Awwww

Little Joy got sick this week. This is her sleep hugging her favorite puppy "Brownie".

Coat: Pink and Brown Size 4

Round trip: 110 miles
Cost of gas: $14.25
Cost of new coat exactly like the old one: $28.72
Time spent: 3 hours
Smile on daughters face: Priceless

Missing:

Cute little brown and pink coat. New. Still has pink jacket lining. Last seen at the YMCA by Northtown Mall. Please call 651-xxx-xxxx to return. Will be a cold winter without it.


Found: Cute little brown and pink coat. Slightly used. Missing pink jacket lining. Contact the YMCA at Northtown mall to exchange cute little pink and brown coats.

Chicken, Airplane, Soldier

Did you know that teaching a child to swim was as easy as teaching them to imitate first a chicken, then an airplane, then a soldier? Well, actually it takes a little more than that, but those are the moves that Joy learned today at her first swimming lesson. I signed her up at the YMCA for the "pike" class, which is the first step of not having mommy in the water with you and they told me for her next class she can just skip "pike2" and go onto "eels".
Her classes are at a YMCA I haven't been to before and wowie, oh wow! are the workout machines ever high tech! You have a code that you put in and the machine keeps track of what you did and emails you a report. Makes it easy to track your progress. The treadmills have their own little fans and televisions and a super cool touch screen. The kids area where I leave Joy is like a huge McDonald's play land, slides and all kinds of stuff to play on, all indoors. The outdoors one is super cool too. The indoor pool has a fun kids swimming area. Our other YMCA's indoor pool is just an Olympic sized pool with no kid's bay. Booooring! I have a new favorite place for "me time".
I met a really cool lady there while I waited for Joy's class. Her youngest son was in the same class. We got to talking about our families and she was telling me about a recent diagnosis in her oldest son's life that might be life threatening. She will know more next monday at an eye doctor's appointment if there is worry about tumors in his brain. Very heartbreaking and so sad to see someone so nice facing something like that.