Christmas is over ?! :)

I enjoy the holidays..... really I do. But after this holiday I'm a little happy, sad... and relieved! I managed to finish my Christmas presents... most of them on time... others should be getting mailed out today! Now hopefully I can tell you all about them!

I wanted to be crafty this year and make most of my gifts. I was watching Martha Stewart one day and came across these pet sillouette bags! I try my best to use the "green" reusable bags, so I thought why not make my family some bags! They're cute b/c they have their pets on them, and its green too. Now my husband is a bit morbid... so after I'm buying all the materials and getting to actually making the bags he says "what are you going to do when the pets die?" Well I hope they were beloved pets and you'd still like to remember them even after their gone. But anyway here's how some of them turned out!

Now as you can see.... some bags were a little more detailed than others. Depending on what color the animal was. Charlie, the cat up top, was all black so his was fairly easy to make. Now Boomer in the middle... he was a little more detailed with the white patches of fur and it took some finessing to get it the way I wanted. But all in all it was a fun project! I requested photos of the pets, had them printed off at Copyworks, cut them out, and then traced them on the fabric and cut those out as well. I used suede fabric to kind of mimic fur. Once I had the basic outline of the pet in the most prominent color of fur, I then cut out the more detailed portions and glued the contrasting color of fabric on top!

Along with my bags I also made magnets. I used a heavy duty magnet and adhesive along with those glass beads that are flat on one side and rounded on the other. I cut out various designs or words from magazines or ads. Here's what those turned out like....

I figured you can never have enough magnets for your fridge, and well they're pretty cute too. I made several Iowa State ones for my husband! I like smaller magnets that don't cover your entire fridge too. I have to keep these up high so my lil guy doesn't try to eat them though!

Finally the last present I included were the chocolate covered pretzels!! I wanted to go with the holiday pretzels instead of just regular ones and that proved to be a pain in some situations. Those little trees are hard to get covered! I have a ton of almond bark and pretzels that still need to be done... but at least I had them finished for the presents. I just wanted to eat some myself too!

All in all I'd say it was a successful Christmas present... it was alot of work and very time consuming! I hope everyone enjoys the presents... and realizes how much time and effort I put into them too. I know its not quite like a big screen tv... but it is the thought that counts right?!

tired of being politically correct?

I know I am.... Get ready to listen to a rant... just cause its been one of those days I guess...

Why do people have to be overly sensitive? Why do I find myself walking on eggshells trying not to offend someone? When did we all lose our sense of humor?! Ugh. I get so annoyed sometimes having to censor my reactions or thoughts on a subject. If you ask my opinion of something I would love telling you what I really think! Then again... some people just can't handle it. I'd love to be "House" for a day. For those of you who are wondering what in the world I'm talking about... its Gregory House main character from the Fox TV show HOUSE. He rarely censors himself, almost always telling you what he really thinks on something. Personally I find it refreshing. And it makes me a little jealous. How nice it would be to be able to do that for a day (with no consequences). Ahh but in the real world we can't act like that.

Let me tell you, when I ask your opinion on something, I really truly do want your honest opinion. I rarely fish for compliments (my husband would probably beg to differ). The other day my mom stopped by after being gone for a few days. I'm preggo and feel huge! Its like I've gained 20 lbs in a week. So I said I'm huge now look at me! She responded how I wanted her to... "yea, you are getting kinda big!". I like to know I'm not crazy... I like to know there are other people on the same wave length that I am. Therefor, I wanted to hear that yes, I do look huge, and its not all just in my head. I didn't need the "Oh no you dont... you look great... its your 2nd baby... blah blah". I wanted the exact truth, yep, you're a huge cow. It made me feel better.

Are there people out there like me? Who also like to get peoples honest and real thoughts on something? Cause lately it seems like we have to be all politically correct..... well life's too short. If you didnt want my honest opinion why did you ask me? Maybe I'm too cynical. My mom thinks I'm too young to already be thinking this way in life.

There are exceptions... Like for instance if you have an ugly baby. If someone you know has an ugly baby and they say "isn't he just the cutest?!" you pretty much have to say "yes, yes, he is!". My nurse at the hospital when my son was born once said "if we have a not so cute baby we usually say something like 'that's a fine baby you have there'". So keep that in mind I guess... but yea you better say my baby's cute, cause well I couldnt handle anything else said in that matter. If I ask you if I look ok in an outfit and I dont, feel free to wail on me and tell me what you really think, cause I can handle that! And while I might disagree with you, I usually ask cause in some way I think I don't look ok and I need to hear it from someone else.

You've all seen Tommy Boy right?.....

Tommy: Does this suit make me look fat?


Richard Hayden: No, your face does.

While Tommy Boy was probably hoping it was just the suit... he knew deep down he needed to lose some weight...
 
So all in all I guess I just want to say STOP TRYING TO SPARE MY FEELINGS OR WHATEVER. I'm an adult and I can handle it. If I were back in Jr. High or High School I would probably be thinking differently... but I'm all grown up now. If I ask your opinion of something, please say it like it is!? Life's too short... I dont want to be one of those American Idol rejects who were told sooo many times they could sing when in fact they cannot...

Freecycle

Have you heard of Freecycle?! If not you need to look it up. My sister is the first person to tell me about it. Which if you know my sister... she's like the cheapest person I know so it totally makes sense that she would know about it... anyway....

Freecycle is a group that is trying to reduce garbage in the landfills and help the earth! If you become a part of it you get emails from people in your area trying to get rid of their stuff! Now the name is FREEcycle for a reason. Its not like craigslist where you barter a price for items, it is strictly something you are wanting to gid rid of for free. For example, I have gotten rid of an automatic cat/dog feeder and electric can-opener. While I could have possibly taken these to goodwill, or tried to sell them at Stuff, it was so much easier to just post it online and have the "buyers" come to me. All I had to do was set it on my front porch and tell them where to pick it up and they were gone! In addition to getting rid of some unwanted stuff, I have gotten free stuff as well. (Maternity clothes and a firewood holder). Along with posts offering things you can request items as well... I haven't done this yet, so I'm not sure how well it works.. but you'd be surprised what some people want to give away for free or have if you request it! I've seen things like kids clothes and toys, formula, coupons, christmas decorations, washers and dryers, strollers etc... You also have to post your location to know if its worth it to drive across town or not.

My only let-down is you get tons of email posts with items people want to give away... it can be an overload if you haven't checked your email for a while. But I dont usually give my yahoo account away for regular emails... it's kind of my "junk" email address.

Money

Money is the root of all evil... right? Isn't that how one of the sayings goes? I know its the number one issue/argument most people have in a marriage. We all need it to survive... yet it can cause so much heartache.

I love Ellen Degeneres! I try to watch her show every day. She's always dancing and giving away free stuff. I so wish I could go to a taping one day! Lately with these hard economic times she has been helping those "less fortunate" people out. I have quotes around that for a reason. I know in certain situations people can't help themselves. For whatever reason they aren't able to pay their bills, provide for their children, have a decent car. But I can't help but feel discouraged when she gives away thousands of dollars to these people to help them get out of debt. Everyone has debt. That's just pretty much a fact of life (owning a house, car, school loans... you name it, most people have debt). But it almost seems like she's helping the people who weren't very responsible! I mean anyone can get themselves into debt and not choose wisely. That's the easiest thing to do!? So it kinda makes me mad when I see her give these people $25,000 and a brand new car... along with a chance to go to one of her 12 days of giveaways! I know its selfish. I should just be happy for these people and not jealous. But we live a simple life... we manage just fine, but I can't write her a sappy letter telling her how hard times are b/c I know I'm fortunate. Am I terrible or what? My argument is simply this.... while it is nice to help those in need... isn't it nice to reward those who live simply and more wisely too?

10 things every grandmother should have

Now I don't want all you grandmothers to get mad at me... I know I said "should" have, but really these are just convenient for your children when they bring the little ones over! And of course this is for new grandmothers..... if your grandkids are older these won't really work out.

1. Pack-n-Play: this is so important to have! While they are usually pretty portable and your child could bring them over every time they bring the grandchild over.... It is sooo nice to have one at grandma's already.

2. Sippy cups: Sometimes us mothers are in a hurry and forget things... its nice to know grandma already has a cup there for your child to use just in case she forgot one! This one could be converted to bottle as well depending on the stage of your grandchild.

3. Toys: While most of the time diaper bags will have toys stuffed in them, grandkids get bored easily. Please have some toys there ready to be played with! Even if they're not actual toys (spatulas, wooden spoons, tupperware, monkey statues... whatever works).

4. Snacks: Once again us mothers can be a little flaky on packing if we're in a hurry. We don't want the little ones to starve! Please have some age-appropriate snacks on hand.

5. Baby wipes: I know you might be thinking really?! on this one... but yes they are vitally important. Sometimes our wipes stash in the diaper bag is depleted w/o us realizing. You can get those resealable to-go wipes that would probably work best so they don't dry out in the meantime.

6. High Chair: While this can be a bit on the pricey side... its so much easier to feed grandkids when they're strapped down. Depending on how often you see your grandchild this really is a must! You don't even have to buy a brand new one! You can find some of these items at consignment stores that work just as well.

7. Boo-Boo buddy: If your child/grandchild is anything like mine he is very clumsy. He's still falling into things and bumping his little head. Have a boo-boo bear or buddy in the freezer or fridge for those ouches! My son gets distracted feeling the coolness that he usually forgets he was even hurt in the first place.

8. Pictures of you and the grandkids: My son loves looking at pictures of himself and other family members. It lets them know how much you care! And of course us kids like to see that you're proud of your little grandkids too! He'll spend hours pointing at each person, and it helps him learn names too.

9. Baby monitor: This one isn't necessarily a must... but it is nice if you have a larger house, or if you're planning on being in a room where its hard to hear them when they wake. I have mine on at the house all the time!

10. Patience: If you're with my son you'll need it at times! This one is kind of a no-brainer... but most grandma's are more patient than the mother's themselves!!!

Thanks to all you grandma's out there. I know I have wonderful ones, and I appreciate the grandma's of my lil guy. I always know he's in good hands with them :)