Sorry for neglecting my LJ so much.  I created another blog on blogspot, geared more for family and for shop promotions... and this one got pushed to the side. But I've missed you guys too much, so I promise to post more... or at least read/comment more.

Abbie's been in full tantrum mode this past week.  It's been SO hard for me to keep my cool, and remain a calm momma. Several times, I just had to walk away, because she was just too overwhelming for me to deal with.  Last night, I buckled Isaiah into his booster chair for dinner (like I do almost EVERY night), and Abbie started SCREAMING. After 10 minutes (because I don't speak Whinese, and couldn't figure out what she was saying), I finally realized that the reason for her tantrum was because SHE wanted to sit in his chair. So, I switched them.  And then she started screaming that she wanted a "diff poon".  I thought maybe she wanted a plastic spoon like Isaiah, so I gave her one and she threw it down.  This continued on and on... but long story short- she didn't eat any dinner last night, because she wouldn't stop screaming/whining for more that 5 seconds.  ARRRG!!!!!

Isaiah has been having some tummy issues for over a month now. (Let's just say instead of washing diapers every 3 days, I'm doing a load every day).  Talking to a couple people, I'm thinking that it might be related to his diet. So, we're cutting out ALL possible food allergens, and sticking to a really simple diet for a few weeks. (Oats, apples, turkey, rice...).  Hopefully, it'll clear up his issues, and we can start adding things back one at a time to see if we can pinpoint what's causing it. I'm sure it's going to be rough, so cross your fingers!

It hasn't been all bad, though.  Abbie's been on a cleaning kick lately. (Not to say she still doesn't destroy the house every day), but she'll start singing "clean up", and pick up everything in the living room. (Granted, she just piles them on the couch, but it is helpful when I need to vaccuum. LOL.   Isaiah is walking now. He's so cute, toddling around the house.  Still no words yet.   Abbie says "otay", which is the cutest thing ever. LOL. 

I've been busy with my shop. It's been slow the past couple weeks, but hopefully things will pick up as the holidays draw near. I've also signed up to do a craft show in November. And there are a couple others I might look into.  It's been a lot of fun. Definitely a confidence booster. 

Well, the kids are *still* awake and running amuck.  I'm going to try to get them asleep.

First of all, I need to tell you about my mug. Ah, my beautiful mug. I bought it from Alewine Pottery down in Gaitlenburg, TN. It's handthrown and glazed. And I absolutely LOVE it. 




Isn't it gorgeous? Even the inside is lovely.

Although it probably sounds crazy, but everything seems to taste better when I drink from it. You know the story, The Little Prince, and how he was explaining how the water taste sweeter because of all the hard work that went into finding the well, and from his friend's hard work of drawing up the water? I guess it's like that. LOL. At least that's what it reminds me of... simpler times and the beauty of handmade things. (Okay, I guess it DOES sound crazy.)

Anyways, yesterday both kids fell asleep at the SAME time... with nobody on my lap. Wow, I know.  So, instead of doing something constructive like cleaning the house, I decided to enjoy a cup of tea. I made some mint tea with raw wildflower honey... and it was perfect. Seriously, just the right amount of honey, the right temperature. It was SOOO good.  I snuck outside and sat on the picnic table behind the house. The late afternoon sun was filtering through the trees, throwing sunbeams across me and my tea. A bunch of goldfinches were flittering around feeders. The smell of lavender blowing by on the breeze.  I wouldn't have blinked an eye if a faerie fluttered by, because it was just that magical of a moment.  

And then the kids simutaneously woke up and spent the evening alternating between crying and destroying the house. But, also like in The Little Prince, how the desert is beautiful because of the well it hides, life is beautiful because of the special moments like earlier it hides. Just gotta keep living for those. :-)

Hope you have a WONDERFUL day... you definitely deserve it!

I just realized that my last post sounds incredibly bitchy. Hmm, we must be getting close to a full moon. (MY moon cycle is just about on time with the lunar cycle... bet you all wanted to know that, uh?  Sorry again).

We drove down to Roanoke today, and stopped by Joanns. I took Abbie with me and T. sat in the car with Isaiah. I was in happy la-la land, buying a bunch of fabric. (They had the minky fabric for 50% off. It's normally $13/yd, so I stocked up for making the Loopy Loveys. I also got a bunch of cute flannel on sale for $2/yd.) Anyways, as I was checking out, I could see into the parking lot that T. was standing in front of the passenger door. I assumed that he was changing Isaiah.

Which turned out to be a gross under-statement. And I do mean gross! Poor Boo had a massive diarrhea blowout. And poor T. was freaking out. He had several trashbags all over the place, a billion wipes on the ground, pouring bottled water on the carseat to rinse it off.... and Isaiah was stark naked and dripping with water, wrapped in another trashbag. Then I noticed that Isaiah had dirt and gravel all over him. I asked T. and he said he had to lay Isaiah on the ground to wash the carseat. (Yes, he laid the sick baby on the hard, hot pavement to clean the carseat... WTF was he thinking?)

Finally I convinced him that since we are going straight home, to just put a couple prefold dipes in the carseat and let Boo ride home nakkie. I'd clean it all up when we got home. 

On the way, T. stopped by Arby's and got something. I didn't see anything that I could eat, so I asked if we could stop by Wendy's. (BTW, don't you dare roll you eyes at me, Thomas! If I was driving and stopped by McBeansprouts or Tofu King, you know you'd be begging me to stop somewhere else.)  

At the Wendy's drive-through, I ordered (and paid for) a baked potato and a side salad. By the time I realized they had forgotten the side salad, we had already pulled out.  Spent 5 minutes in traffic to get back to Wendy's. Another 10 minutes in line (behind the senior citizen brigade, who took foooorever counting pennies out of their change purses- hey people, it's rush hour, just pay with a freaking quarter and be done with it!) to get my darn salad.  

So, yeah... hectic morning. To end on a good note, Isaiah seems be feeling better. Which, that's all that matters anyways.

For the sake of our marriage and sanity, we've decided to move the kids' bedtime up. Yes, it was SO easy before to just let them go to bed whenever we did. And before you start, it honestly worked for us. No evening stress of putting them to bed, no worrying about what time we got home from outings because the kids' were so flexible. 

But, I think we're going to try something new just to see how it goes. New bedtime for the Littles is between 8 and 9. (I'm so not a schedule person, so there has to be a little wiggle room).  We tested it out last night. Both kids somehow fanagled their way out of naps, so by 8, they were more than ready. 

I tucked Abbie in her makeshift bed in her room, little milk and said good night.  Then Thomas took over reading her her a bedtime story while I got Isaiah to sleep in our bed. 

By 8:30, both kids were asleep. That has NEVER happened before. They don't even nap at the same time, so I was not used to having the house so quiet and munchkin-free.  Thomas and I decided to play some cards (rummy), and eat some cheesecake. (Well, he ate most of it- I ate 2 bites before I happened to read the ingredients... gelatin. Ugh.) 

Of course, a little after 9, both of them woke up. But hopefully after they get used to it, T. and I can enjoy our adults-only time. 

BTW, we're still co-sleeping with Abbie. She doesn't want to 'move out'  yet, and freaks out when she wakes up alone. So, before we go to bed, we'll be taking her back with us. For me, co-sleeping allows me to recharge as a parent. I know for a lot of people, bedtime is the time to get away from the kids (and trust us, that's why we're implementing this new plan). But at night, all snuggled up with everybody, it's the only time when nobody needs anything. I don't have to DO anything, except to enjoy and love them. No matter how hellish the day was, or how monsterous the kids were... at night, when they are peacefully sleeping, I forget about all that.  And lets me start the next day refreshed. 

Anyways, wish us luck!

We stopped by Food Lion last night to pick up some tofu. I ran in just a couple minutes before they closed. The organic tofu was on sale for $0.99- sweet! I picked up 4 packs. I then swung by the frozen vegetarian foods to see if they had any of that on sale. No, except these bags of Morningstar chick'n strips. The tag said something like "closeout sale" or something only $1.99. I grabbed 2. 

All the employees were gathered around registers, and the manager was at the door with the key. Clearly, everyone was waiting on me. So, I quickly paid for my veggie goodies, trying to ignore the evil stares from the people. Shame on me for making them wait a few minutes. *rolls eyes*

However, when I got home I realized that I had paid WAY too much.  The total SHOULD have been around $8.  They charged me $14.50!   None of the sale prices rung up, even though she scanned my card.  When we go to town tomorrow, I'm stopping by and speaking the manager. I want my money back!  Hopefully the sales will still be up, so I can point them out to him. Maybe I'll call today instead just in case. 

ALSO- I bought a pack of string cheese a few days ago. When I opened the bag, there was BLACK MOLD growing inside the individual packs. Nasty, nasty, nasty!  Guess that's another phone call I'll have to make.

I went to make a smoothie this morning... plugged the blender in, and was attacked!

Somehow the ON button was already turned on. And I had the lid, cap, and stirring stick inside the blender. So, when I plugged it in, the stuff shot out across the room.

Scared the pee out of me. Not to mention, I have a big bump on my forehead where the lid hit me.  

Lovely way to start the morning, eh?