So glad for Monday!

"Gray day. Everything is gray. I watch, but nothing moves today." from Many Colorful Days by Dr. Seuss

What a strange weekend...

Not strange in the sense that all kinds of weird things happened, but strange in that it was one of the most unproductive weekends I can remember. Days where you don't know where the time went because you were trapped in some kind of haze of laziness. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good lazy day, full of cuddling with the family, watching movies under blankets, etc. But this was the kind of soul-sucking lazy day where socks sat on the floor in front of the couch for most of the weekend because I couldn't be bothered to reach down and pick them up...because once I pick them up I have to put them somewhere, and goodness knows the bathroom hamper is so far out of my way... One of those days where yes, I technically got dressed (though socks and a bra were too much of a bother), and I think I brushed my hair, but honestly I can't be sure.

And I realized that at the end of my slump I wasn't the only one who felt put off by it all. Hubby stayed in pj's all day, and the kids got dressed mainly because they dressed themselves. We were all a bit more irritable, my body was  more sore and tired than normal, both of the kids were more whiney and bickered with each other more, the cats slept the day away in other rooms. The tv was on all day, but I don't even know what was on. Football I guess.

Looking back, I realized that the best part of the day for me was puttering in the kitchen making a pot pie to use up the leftover turkey and chicken from the weekend. It felt so nice being barefoot in the kitchen, unrolling pie dough, chopping and cooking veggies and mixing in the other ingredients and pinching the top crust over the rest of the milky white vintage Pyrex baking dish. When it was hot and bubbly, with a gorgeous golden crust, it was great to sit at the table and have dinner together. After some complaining from the kids that it looked "gross", a little coaxing and once they took a bite Big D's face lit up and he explaimed "This is exquisite!" lol He loves his new big word. And while I'm not sure it truly ranks as exquisite, I felt cheered that they enjoyed it. I wish I had taken a picture of it.

I really need to remember to take pictures of the little things.

Fast forward through an unproductive evening, and now we arrive at Monday. I woke up in a bit of a panic since I had no idea where Big's backpack was, whether he even had clean clothes, and needed to pack a bag for Lil A with a change of clothes in case she has an accident at Dad's house. But for all the rushing I felt in control for the first time all weekend. We were back in our routine. And we got out the door and to school a bit earlier than we have been the last couple weeks. I dropped Lil off, got to chat with my dad for a few minutes and off to work I went.

It's been so good to be back in my "normal" routine today. I realized that time isn't something to be squandered like we did this weekend. Some things I was grateful for this week:

• Cooking for my family. I really love it.
• Thrift stores. That's where I did my Black Friday shopping and found some great things!
• Hugs. Our family didn't share enough of these this weekend and we all suffered for it.
• Dinner together. It's something that we generally don't negotiate on, unless the house is filled with hubby's friends and there is lots of pizza involved.
• Enclosed shower stall. I dislike just about everything in my bathroom including the shower the size of a phone booth, but for bathing cats it was a godsend.

 How was your weekend? Productive? Lazy (in a good way)?

Wow, this is an amazing giveaway!

I saw this post on Birgit Koopsen's blog this morning and had to share! Check out this box of goodies she is giving away!

WOW!

Are you drooling? I know I am!

If you are interested in a chance to win this stuff, go to her blog and check out how to enter!

You only have until tomorrow, so hurry!

Good luck!

Full and happy!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving feast full of all your favorite yums! We're all stuffed like turkeys here and spent a wonderful day with family. My kitchen is still a mess and my feet ache, but it was well worth it!
And no, Jewel didn't eat the fish for dinner, much as she wanted to!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is in the oven and the house smells amazing! Not quite ready yet, but looking good so far!

Having a few minutes to catch my breath, I just wanted to wish my stateside friends a very Happy Thanksgiving! My family and friends are by far the things I am most thankful for.

Here's wishing you a great start to the holiday season!

Glitterific!

Yesterday I needed to sit at my table and get my craft on. After the craziness of the week it was time to sit down and destress with some crafting. And I know I really need some craft therapy when the first thing I reach for is glitter. lol

I decided to make some ornaments. I used laser cut wood shapes and covered the entire surface in a single color of glitter. It was fabulous and messy. My whole house sparkles! :) But after the worry and focus of the past few days, seeing little sparkles around the house just made me smile.

The colors I used here were silver ("family"), gold (angel), champagne (Eiffle Tower), and a soft blue (snowflake). I also used a clear glitter on the shooting star, but I may redo this one. We'll see. I think the Eiffel Tower is my favorite! Sorry for the lighting in these pictures...the sun set faster than I expected so I lost a lot of my natural light.

I also made glitter filled bulbs. I have a video on YouTube showing how I made them two years ago. So easy, and the effect is just beautiful. And since the glitter is inside, no glitter mess when they are hung up!

I have plans for these bulbs already and have more to make as teacher gifts. I think I will also make a set for our tree at work. So many of the ornaments are breaking and while I love vintage ornaments, some are beyond their shelf life. :)

Are you making ornaments for your tree this year? What do they look like?

p.s. I just ordered a couple more colors of glitter, so look for those colors appearing in projects down the road!

Long week

This has been a very long week.

On Wednesday, my daughter Lil A went in for surgery. When she was 9 months old, she was diagnosed with Vesicuretural Reflus (VUR), which means that urine backs into the ureters and depending on the level of severity, may enter the kidneys. She has grade 4 out of 5, so there is significant reflux into her kidneys. Since then she has been on antibiotics to keep her urine as sterile as possible to minimize the chance of damage to her kidneys. Many children will reduce the grade of VUR as they grow, but at nearly 5, Lil hasn't shown enough improvement to continue the current treatment. So the decision was made to perform a Bilateral Uretural Reimplantation, which will finally stop the reflux. It has a 98% success rate, so we are confident that this will finally take care of the problem and prevent any further scarring to her kidneys.

So we went in on Wednesday morning and after some waiting got her prepped for surgery. She was very cheerful and upbeat as we were waiting to go in. I loved the drawing she did on the Magna Doodle...it was the two of us holding balloons :)

When it was her time, I went into the operating room with her, donned in a lovely yellow robe, hat and mask. She said I looked like a duck. :) We got her onto the table and they started giving her the anesthesia. After a few seconds she was out, and I gave her a kiss and left the room. The surgery took a few hours, and the doctor was happy with the result. After she stabilized in the recovery room, we went to her room. Poor thing, she was so groggy, but did give us a little smile.

The next couple of days were a blur. I stayed with her in the room, and needless to say didn't get much sleep. There was another child in our room when we arrived, but they were discharged a few hours after we got there, so I was looking forward to having the room to ourselves for the night. Unfortunately at about 1:30am another patient was moved down. It took quite a while for them to settle in and sleep, which meant it took a while for Lil to sleep also. And with lots of nurses in the room every couple hours, it was nearly impossible to sleep for long. Early in the morning her catheter was taken out which she was not happy about!

Thursday passed the same way. My husband, son and dad all came to visit when they could. The other child was released late morning and we enjoyed another few hours of relative peace. But we got another child later in the day, a very nice girl and her family who was admitted a few days prior to her surgery. We tried to get Lil A up but she was very sore and scared to move. So we just did the best we could. That night she rested more comfortably, and was able to sleep through the nursing checks most of the time.

On Friday, the doctors came to check her and said that barring any issues she could go home that afternoon. Hurray! She was still very hesitant to get up and walk, and really couldn't go further than the rooms bathroom. Her drain tube was removed and other than the connection in her hand, so was her IV. We took a wheelchair ride downstairs for a change of scene, though she was so miserable the entire team, it seemed more like I was shoving bamboo splinters under nails. lol We also played Bingo in the room, which the hospital offers to the kids on Fridays. She had funw ith that, but was still feeling uncomfortable. The nursing staff were wonderful the entire time and gave her pain medication as needed during the time we were there. After this dose, she fell asleep for over 3 hours! Tired little girl!

We we finally got her ready to go home, despite her claims that "I'm not ready yet!". Very funny concidering she had been going on and on since we arrived saying "I'm not happy, because I want to go home!". But after getting paperwork signed, prescription filled and bags packed, we got a wagon ride downstairs. We needed to switch to a wheelchair to get out to the parking lot and at that moment I regretted not parking in Valet! It took over a half hour to track down a wheelchair! In a hospital! Geez! But finally we tracked one down and got to the car and our escape! We got home at around 8:30pm, and I was never so happy to be home! :)

This weekend has been filled with getting Lil up and walking more and more, and was so happy so see her initate small walks to different rooms, watch her crouch down to pick something up, climb onto chairs and play with quiet toys on her lap. She still has painful urination, which is making her scared to use the toilet so we've had to deal with that occasional mess, but all in all she is doing well and seems to be healing on track. But I think she will still need a little time to recover, so I'm not planning on having her in school tomorrow and I think she'll be out of dance class tomorrow also. No need to push her. Today, she and I are enjoying a peaceful morning. My son is at school, hubby is at work, and I have been doing some cleaning to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. With my mother in Germany right now, I'm in charge of dinner. Wish me luck! :)

Watching my baby go through this has been really hard. She has been so brave! She doesn't like to tell anyone when she is hurting. She and I have been nearly inseperable during all of this and the time with her has made me love her more than ever, which I didnt think could be possible! I can't wait for her to be back to herself, running, jumping, dancing and doing all of the little things that I love about her.

Alright, so that has been our week. How has yours been?

A very kind gift

I work with some wonderful people.

My department has basically every working age group in it; from our youngest who is 17, to the eldest in her mid 80's. It gives us a unique perspective on our guests and provides a great environment where we can learn from each other. As different as we all are, we pull together and help each other when the time arises. I love that.

I recently attended the funeral of the wife of one of my staff. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer. Her husband is a very kind man and I know this loss has been hard for him.

I was visiting the cashier area he and others were working in and as we were chatting I mentioned that I was working on some new craft projects. I have been knitting & crocheting baby hats. He mentioned that his wife used to do the same and wondered if I would be interested in any of her supplies since no one in the family had need for them. I told him I would happily use anything he might want to give me.

Yesterday he came in with a bag. He showed me a few things inside and said I could have everything inside. Wow, what a treat! When I got home I had a chance to really look through it and was amazed at what he had given me!

Dozens of knitting needles in various sizes...regular as well as double pointed!

Lots of crochet hooks, kept in two different zip up bags:

There were also a couple smaller bags filled with other supplies like a tape measure, 3 tiny sewing scissors, pins, needles, counters, rubber tips, etc! And the tube with the red & blue embroidery in the first picture is a holder for all the knitting needles! It's packed full, and that's just with the unpackaged needles! I was overwhelmed by his kindness. I really can't wait to use some of the supplies for my upcoming projects and will think of Nancy and Dave whenever I use them.

I really work with wonderful people.