Yea me!!!

I got an award!  I am very excited about it and I have this lovely, "Crazy Mom" to thank for it!
Thanks Lori at Chronicles of a Crazy Mom!

I don't want to keep it to myself...I am going to pay it forward.  I do this blogging thing because it's a an important connection to my family and friends back home and frankly, it's cheap therapy but when other bloggers acknowledge your work, it feels really good. 

So I want to...

Thank and link back to the person who gave me this award... Crazy Mom Lori 

Share 7 random things about myself...just because...  (check!)

1. I love anything to do with sewing and I taught myself to embroider and crochet this year

2. The library is one of my favorite hangouts...one can never have enough books to read

3. Parenthood (the show) is must-see TV

4. I firmly believe that you can never have too much Chocolate

5. I love to scuba dive w/ my hubby

6. Coffee is a wonderful way to begin the day

7. I dream of opening a yarn/fabric shop

Pay it forward to other great bloggers and let these bloggers know how much I enjoy their blogs!  (check!)

Stylish (lovely) Blogs!

1. Family Secrets 

2. Sit a While 

3. Reinvented 

4. Haute Mom 

5. Queen of our Castle 

6. Crystal Jigsaw 

7. Raising Little Women 

8. Saved By Love 



I so enjoy the company I keep with these and so many other bloggers out there in the WWW.  I just want you to know I appreciate your time spent sharing you life, loves, heartaches, families, etc.  Women are great!  We listen, we share and we support each other any way we can.  When my kiddos (ages 12, 10,7) were little my Mom's club group was an important part of my week.  The kiddos came along and got to play but it was us Mom's who really got the most out of our time together and this is what I get from blogging.    


Now go check out these ladies and their lovely blogs!  

Cheers Bloggy Ladies!   

Fun was had by all!

We have had some visitors the last few weeks.  I so love visitors and it seems FL is a bit more appealing than CO was...especially when the snow is falling up North!

Visit #1: A couple weeks back our great friends from CA came with their 2 girly girls! 

Swimming in the "warm" pool!  S was a good sport.

At the Siesta Key Beach...known for it's amazing white sand.  It was a bit chilly this day but that never slows the kiddos or dampens the fun!

Requisite sand castle building! 

This is sweetie pie #1! 

...and sweetie pie #2!  I loved getting to hang with these little girls.  I miss little girls...my girls are getting so big!

The wind was surprisingly wimpy at the beach so S's kite didn't work this day but we took it to the park a couple other times and LOVED it.  The kiddos all handled it great and I got a turn...so cool.  We definitely need one of these 

All the boys and girls!

C and S have been buds since elementary school and when we all get together it's just hanging out with family.  We are lucky to have many friends that we consider just a part of our family.

Thanks S, M, M and S for making the trek our way...we loved it! 



I am so thankful for our friends and family and we can't wait to see who else will come visit us.  I know of a few visitors already...yea!!!

Wednesday...

It's already Wednesday and I have been a bit absent from the computer world.

I have had a bit of a chest cold...quite annoying!

Not much going on in our world today...I will sew a bit, talk with my hubby, kiddos come home early (every Wednesday!), hang out, make dinner, you know, the normal things but it feels good to be out of my room/bed and feeling more like my normal self.

What are you up to today?  

Glad to be back!
A

Family Secrets...a blog definitely worth checking out!

Today I want to fill you in on a great blog.  The blog is done by my amazing friend who I have been lucky enough to know now for 24 or so years.  She is a lovely woman, an amazing mom and wife, the best friend anyone can ever have,  and a wonderful counselor to families and kiddos in her community and around.  She is opinionated, funny, sarcastic, and loving all at the same time.  Her job can be difficult as she works with families in very hard situations and with kiddos who's parents are not always the best.  But she does it with grace and dignity and really has some amazing insights to share.  She posts little tidbits almost daily to help us all appreciate our kiddos through all their troubles and reminds us all why we wanted those little people in the first place.  I find myself remembering what I read from her blog that morning and it helps me get through the day sometimes.  I am lucky enough to be able to call and chat with her as often as I want but now you can get her wise words yourself.

Family Secrets
...from her blog

Meet Shana
Shana Schmidt ~ ms lpc is the founder and owner of Just Kids & Some Babies, LLC.  and has been serving families and professionals for over 15 years. 
After completing her master’s degree in counseling, Shana found a niche working with families who struggle to manage day-to-day activities and pressures.  Shana has worked in community mental health, addictions counseling, foster care, and early childhood emotional development.
Shana’s passion for work with families brings a unique spin on typical.  Never before have families had the opportunity to share secrets about the children they have both been blessed to nurture.  
Through her own experiences raising children and living life Shana has learned that humor is the best medicine when dealing with typical behaviors, however love is the driving force behind teaching a new skill to replace unwanted behaviors. 


We all need a little support every once and awhile and her blog does that.  Plus, you can email her with questions or thoughts anytime and she is more than happy to give you her opinion.  
So go on...go check her out...you can thank me later!  

A good book...

There are a few things I really enjoy in my little world that are all for me.  I love to sew, I love to embroider, I love to do my blog, I love to bake, and I love a good book.
I don't devote a lot of time to reading...it's mostly at night when I am tired and ready to go to bed.  I usually read for those few minutes before I fall asleep.  Some nights that takes quite a while and some nights I get only about 5 pages read before my eyes are closing.  I seem to fall victim to the tv at night.  I have only a hand full of shows that I really enjoy watching but I can usually find something interesting with all the channels that we have.  Once kiddos are off to bed, I should always just go to my book and start reading but a lot of times I turn on that TV and I am sucked in for at least a couple hours and then too tired to read anything.


I get my books at the library.  I love going to the library and coming home with a bag full of books!

Some of my favorite books...
The Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Beach House by Jane Green
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Some of my favorite authors are also listed above but again...
Elin Hilderbrand
Jane Green
Kristin Hannah
John Jakes
James Patterson
Nancy Thayer
Jennifer Weiner
Luanne Rice
Nicholas Sparks
Elizabeth Berg
Elizabeth Strout

I must say I am not a picky reader...I love whatever is current and popular and like the books to be fun, quick and smart. 

Some of you might want to find me on Goodreads.com  It's a fun website where you list the books you have read or are reading and can comment and rate them and this is shared with you friends.  Here is the link!  Come find me!  Goodreads.com

This is what I am currently reading...
The Lake House by James Patterson

What are you reading?  Who are your favorite authors?  Let me know what books you loved!

Happy Reading!

Now we have crazy kids!

So you might remember just the other day I was talking about the crazy rain we were having...well now the kiddos have lost it.  Seriously. 

Here's the issue...we have friends visiting this week and in preparing for the visit, we made sure the pool was "ready" to go.  You know, cleaned and pretty.  It obviously way too cold to swim...at least that's what I thought.

I was so wrong!

Wahoo!  Yippee!  The pool is ready!

C had been working on the pool for the past few days.  I guess he is a bit more in tune with the child he used to be because he kept saying that they would all love it.  I couldn't imagine wanting to swim.  There are solar panels on the roof that helps warm the pool water but we haven't used them as they needed a bit of attention.  When we started this whole thing the pool was 61 degrees.  It is now 68 degrees and according to kiddos, ready to go! 

Or almost!  

He looks like he's having fun right?! 

They said they were doing water aerobics...I think they were just trying to stay warm.  I think they last about 10-15 minutes.

L-"This is awesome mom!"  Me-"It looks awesome honey!"

I know a lot of you are freezing where you are and I hope this only brings you hope for an early spring!!   That is what Phil predicted!  

Stay Warm!  Stay Safe!  And may we all remember what it's like to be a kid!

For your sweet valentine!

So these are my newest fun stuff!
I absolutely love these.  These are the wall hangings.  I embroider the front, border with some adorable fabric and then hot glue them onto artists canvas bought at the art store.  They are so fun to make and would make such a great gift for Valentine's Day!   

I am doing them for all occasions, not just Valentine's...everyday stuff..."Happy Birthday", "Lots of Laughs", "You Make Me Smile" and I have started doing personalized ones with family member names or a special saying.
I have a family member one ready right now...wish I could show you know but it's for a friend of mine for...um...Christmas and not next Christmas either.  Yes I am a bit behind on that one but I had the idea way too late and now it's Valentines and I have to get the V-Day ones done.
Sorry my friend...you know who you are!
So what do you think?

This one is a creation from my littlest!  She drew this out on paper then I transferred it onto the cloth and embroidered it.  So sweet!

This one was done by my oldest...nice cursive sweetie!  I love choice of colors...I happen to have a lot of pink and bright green...just ask my hubby!

Don't you love them?  Don't you want one too?

I have also done a few pillows! 

This "Mom" pillow is gracing my Mom's home right now and the E, P, L pillow in the back is gracing my Sister's home.  The both love their pillows.  The Peace pillow (middle one) is ready and waiting to come home to you but if you need a Mom or E.P.L. pillow just let me know. 

Also ready and waiting!

So if you want one of these, go to my etsy site and buy it!  Just click HERE!  So simple!
Once I send my friend her pillow I will post a pic of that too.  For now you'll just have to trust me...They're really GREAT!