Just Breathe

It is that crazy time of year again. Every year in early November I start getting excited for the holidays. I start planning and making my lists (yes I check them twice), I start looking for new recipes, you know all the things a Domestic Diva should do. Then reality sets in. I feel like I'm living in the scene on "Shrek the Halls" where everybody is all comfy and cozy and then they open the front door and there are people running in all directions screaming "I forgot the eggnog!" I know I do this to myself, I need to force myself to slow down, to enjoy the little things, like making candy with Kennedy today. But it is hard. We live in a crazy world and if you slow down sometimes you get ran over. I wish I could get it through my thick head that if I got ran over, at least I'd get to lay down and rest for a second.

Christmas Creativity

Since Ashley issued her crafting "cage match", I was compelled to add my own "moves". I blogged earlier in the week about the awesome aprons my mom made for us girls at Thanksgiving. I added a close-up picture so you can see how awesome they really are. I love mine so much and I will keep it forever! Dad and John can make fun all they want, but it is truley a Christmas treasure for me. The other two pictures are my projects. I know they pale in comparison, but mom and I have this student/master thing going. One day I will be at master level. The runner idea I got from Family Fun magazine. They used burlap for a turkey day runner. I had this white fabric that is a little stiffer than burlap, mom didn't even know what is was. The red fabric has tiny little snowflakes on it. I had sewed the band of snowflakes on and then lined the entire runner. My only regret is that I didn't make it about 10" longer, but hey I'm learning. These are great projects for me to get used to my machine. I'm having a blast! The picture of the gifts I took because I was playing with my new camera. I love to make my gifts a part of the decorations. My husband thinks I'm crazy that I take so much time wrapping, but I love doing it. Most people think I had them wrapped at the store, but no, I do the gifts especially for the recipient. My mom started this a few years back which then got me started (notice a pattern here). John makes fun, but last year he wrapped my presents and put bows on them for me. They really didn't match and they were a little "off", but I loved every single one, it made me very happy to open a gift that he put extra time into. I wish I had taken a picture of them. Happy Crafting!!

Ho ho aprons!

This year at Thanksgiving mom surprised me, Grandma and Linda with matching Christmas aprons. My dad was so relieved they were for us, he was worried she would make him wear one! The aprons are so cute. She hand pieced them together with sequins, beads, feathers, and even hand-stitched swirls on the beards. We decided we probably can't wash them, but who cares, we'll spot clean them. Kennedy's nose was a little out of joint because she couldn't find a red apron to fit a little girl. As soon as we find one, Kennedy will get an apron too. What fun we had in our matching aprons!

My house smells so gooooood. . . . .

Every Thanksgiving I try to do something for the kid's teachers. I made pumpkin bread a few years ago and thought I would try that again this year. I asked John for a list of people at school that he would like me to make extra loaves for. Before it was done I needed 15 loaves of bread. I can bake 4 at a time so I ended up with 16 mini loaves. Mmmmm the house smelled so good. I started about 8am on Tuesday morning and finished decorating the loaves about 6pm. It was a long day, but totally worth it. John told me I was working way too hard when he saw me stringing the beads on the raffia, but I think he enjoyed passing them out. Being thankful and being gracious is so important to me. I hope I let the people around me know how much I appreciate them and what they do for us. The Obermeiers have a lot to be thankful for this year.

My Sweet Saylor

My poor, sweet, Saylor. She just hates these long boring days when the kids are at school. They are so horribly mean to her. They close their bedroom doors every day when they leave. For some reason the kids (Kennedy especially) doesn't appreciate the fact that Saylor loving gnaws on their toys. We've sent one biddy baby to the American Girl Doll Hospital for limb replacement. The kids don't understand it is out of pure love and contentment that she burrows down in their stuffed animals for a 9 hour nap (we should have named her ET). They don't understand that a dirty sock is just a reminder to Saylor that her peeps will be home soon. Now dirty underwear, that is a treasure to her. They don't even realize that she changes beds several times at night to take turns sleeping with each of them. They never know that in the mornings before I wake them up, she sits outside their doors and sniffs and whines. They never know how many times a day she goes to their bedrooms and looks for them. They never know her excitement when she sees them coming up the sidewalk in the afternoons. They never know the unconditional love she has for them.

Tricks or treats . .. .

Halloween has come and gone again. It seems every year we really hype it up and seem to be disappointed. We had only about 10 trick or treaters. We bought entirely too much candy so now I have a ton left over. We had fun trick or treating ourselves. The Stephanich's came in town and walked with us. We walked around from 5:30 to about 9:00. My dogs were barking at he end of the walking. We could have gone more, but Kennedy got cold. I made her costume this year. I didn't have a pattern so I had to wing it. It was ok, a litle short, but ok. They are shephards at the Christmas program, thats my next sewing challenge.

Nothing like a new baby . . .

We had great news in our family yesterday. John's brother, Tim had another baby. Well obviously Brenda had him, but anyway. . .we now have 3 boys and 3 girls.

Wes is so thrilled that the numbers are equal. Although when Colton was born was told us, "He's cool and all, but by the time he's in T-ball, I'll be in the pros."

I just can't believe it has been 15 years that I have been a part of this family. John and I and Tim and Brenda were in our early 20's, trying to decide if we wanted to grow up or not. Connie and Lee were just little kids. Now here we are 6 kids later. I'm sure there will be a couple of more added before it's all said and done. I'm sure Lee and Jen will add one or two more, and although Connie said last night she's taken herself out of the running, I'm not counting her out just yet.

It was rough to be back at Jasper Hospital last night. I'm sure John's dad was watching us, getting a peek at his namesake. Andrew is named after both of his grandfathers, both of which he lost before he was born. It has been a rough year for everyone. But as my picture shows, there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

The Haunted Gingerbread House

My goal this weekend is to spend some one on one time with the kids. I bought this kit at the craft store today. Kennedy was so excited she exhausted me asking when we would get started. I struggle with things like this because the messes stress me out. I knew the icing would stain anything it would touch, and it did. We put on old T-shirts and she actually wore an apron. I did pretty well with the mess. I really forced myself not to clean as she worked. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. I let her lick her fingers and the spoons. I even pretended I was fooled when she said she couldn't think of another place to put candy, that was her plan to eat the leftovers. Tomorrow night Wesley and I are going to make a fleece, Colts, floor pillow. I'm looking forward to it.

Super Freak Pirate

Casino night was a lot of fun. The crowd was pretty small this year, which is disappointing. I haven't heard yet if the church is coming out ahead or not. John worked most of the night, but gambled with me a little. I would like to say he is a big blackjack dealer or something, but no, he ran the Bingo room. You gotta do what you gotta do. Sunday was nice at our house. We watched the Colts game, which was awesome. They truley are the comback kids. We then all put out the Halloween decorations. I'm the only person in town with a 6' pirate, skeleton that sings Super Freak on their front porch. John says whenever he pulls him out the garage, he feels like the guy pulling a new Corvette out of the garage. The women all roll their eyes and the guys all want one too.

The beginning

Well this is the first time I have tried blogging. I am actually inspired by my friend, Mandy, who uses her blog to chronicle her family. I once was an avid scrapbooker and I vow to one day catch up again, but until that time comes, I thought I could just try something different.

We've had a pretty average week. I worked two days, which was nice. Two seems to be the perfect week for me. I get out of the house and talk to people and see things, but I also still get stuff done around the house. For those of you who know me well, you know I don't do well if I'm behind on housework. I absolutely hate going into the weekend knowing that we will all four be home and I have to clean and do laundry the whole time. That is the beauty of my job right now. I work full time, but some of my week is at home doing paperwork. I can get my laundry moving and then do my paperwork, phone calls, etc. throughout the day. It is perfect for a mom. The flip side is that when I am out in the field, I love what I do. I so thoroughly enjoy going to the daycares and seeing the little ones. I miss my kids at that age, but I know that God had a plan for me when he stopped our family at 4. He knew I'd be back with babies and toddlers on a weekly basis, the best part is I get to come back home and rest at the end of the day.

We have a fun weekend ahead of us. Wesley has a football game Saturday morning. Saturday evening is Casino Night at Holy Cross. Last year was the first year and it was a lot of fun. Last year I bought a picture package in the silent auction and had the kids Xmas pictures done. That was nice. I'll let you know how it goes.