Out of Touch

I know I have been out of touch lately.. but I have a good excuse! I am visiting my family in Wisconsin... and nobody has wireless internet here! I have been able to get on the last few days, but this afternoon, im off again... until Sunday.

Sunday is the big day! I will be back in phoenix! YAY! I had a good visit, but I miss being at my home. My brothers just don't have enough patience with my kids. They need to learn to realize that 2 and 4 year olds do cry over the littlest thing!

We had quite the scare here with Jeffery. After going to the park he came home and took a nap because he was tired, which is VERY weird. Jeffery doesnt nap. When he woke up from his nap, 3 hours later, he was very disoriented, drooling, and couldn't talk. We rushed him to the emergency room. They did a CT scan of his head. He had a subdural hematoma, and a contusion! That means he had bleeding on his brain. Nobody saw him fall or get hurt, and he didn't even have any bruising! We were rushed by ambulance to a children's hospital, which was 2 hours away. When we got there, they gave him medication and put him in the pediatric intensive care unit for 24 hours. In the 2 days following his injury, he went from bad to back to his normal self. We have been watching him very closely to make sure nothing happens again. But I was so scared. I prayed and prayed that he would be ok, and he would just start being his normal loud hyper self. Since this incident, I have had a different perspective on his behavior. I am grateful for it! If he acts this way, I know he is ok. And thank-you to everyone who prayed for him while he was recovering.

Anyways, I have had alto of fun... last week we were camping. I even went tubing! I went fishing and cough 3 fish.. yay. I'm so proud of myself, haha. And since I have been here, I haven't taken a break from crafting! I will attach a pic my latest craft.... soda/beer koozies/huggies crocheted from plastic bags! My family LOVES them.. and each of them want their own. And now for a bunch of pics!.....

my famous beer koozie



me on the boat with Lorali



me fishin'



the whole fam on the pontoon



me and lorali in our matching bonnets



uncle todd and lorali



lorali with her pink life jacket



logan on the boat



Jeff fishing



jeff driving the boat with grandpa



me tubing



lorali inside the camper.. sitting up!



lorali in her cute jacket, leggings, and pink crocheted bonnet

WOOOOO.. even more crafts

Alright.. so I am still crafting like crazy... and I am loving it!

I made my first hat...



Black Felt on a buckram frame. I think it turned out wonderfully!

I also am working on a braided scrap rug, out of all my fabric scraps I have been holding on to...



Also.. my monopoly necklaces.. check it...







I am also working on learning to make crocheted booties for Lorali. I am also making bags for the kids' car seats for when I fly to Wisconsin on the 30th... I will be in WI from June 30th until July 20th. Its a long vacation... and I am excited to see my family.

Gettin' Creative wit my bad self

So I have been told that you never really give up addiction. You just replace it with another. Since I started my weight loss journey, I have given up my addiction to food... and replaced it with making art, crafting, and sewing. I have stocked my store, and I am just waiting on my first purchase.

I have been going crafting crazy! I bet my mom thinks I have jumped off the deep end. I am doing about 13 different crafts at one time right now... crocheting, fuzed plastic, hair flowers, beaded socks, jewelry, painting, recycled paper journals, shrinky-dinks, reusable bags... and there are more.. haha! Alright.. so lets start with the pics.. I don't have pictures of everything I have done in the last couple days.. but here are a few.. enjoy!



So the above image is one of those towels you can hang on the handle of the stove, fridge, ect. I tried to monogram an 'R' on the towel, and it didn't turn out too great. Maybe if I double up the stitch and make it wider, or outline it. It was my first one.. it can only get better from here.





The 3 pictures are my art. I am a big fan of abstract art, and bright colors. I used neon acrylic paint, some gold paint in the middle one, and some white just for fun. I love these. I plan to paint my recycled paper journals in this style. I think they will look great. I am excited to get the recycled paper started! That will be a process, I have to make the pulp... then mix it with water and let that mixture sit for 2-3 days. Stay tuned to see how my project turns out!

OOOH.. and I bought some buckram. Buckram is a very stiff fabric that hardens when water is added. What do I plan to do with it?? Stay tuned... ooooh... cliff hanger

Reidhead OUT

I made a diaper cover!

And I personally think it is SUPER cute! I wanted the butt to look like the old fashioned underwear with the back panel that opens up. Below are the pictures:

Front View


Back View


Side View.... notice the extension in the butt for the perfect fit


After I lanolize it and it is ready for use, I will take pictures of Lorali wearing it :)

Sewing up a Storm!

I have really been getting my sewing groove back lately. Yesterday I made myself a skirt, and today I made diaper covers for Logan and Lorali. I also made my first pair of leggings for Lorali. My next project will be making myself a petticoat. Followed are pics of my stuff... tell me what you think!

Diaper Covers


Leggings


My skirt... looks better when I'm wearing it

Home Schooling

Because we are moving again in January, I decided to home school Jeff rather than put him in a pre-school. Recently, we went to a home schooling store and got a few things. We started a couple weeks ago and things are going great! Today Jeffery and I worked on the letter E. He had alot of fun coloring and making the projects. So far so good! He can write all the letters up to E.. and some beyond that :)!

Mooooooo

So 2 weeks ago I found out Lorali has a milk sensitivity... so that means I can't have any dairy products. So the search was on for non-dairy treats. I have learned that I can have goat's cheese instead of cow's cheese, so I bought some garlic and herb goat's cheese and some goats cheese parmesan. Surprisingly, they are both very good! The garlic and herb tastes a lot like cream cheese. I have learned that soy cheese is NAS-TEE. Rice cheese however.. yummies!

Ok, next treat... soy milk. I have been skeptical my whole life to try this stuff. And after all the fear.. it really isn't bad. I got light chocolate soy milk at Whole Foods.. and its really good! I also found soy ice cream. Its ok... just ok. I probably won't buy more.

Did you know that there is dairy in margarine? Well there is. So, I found margarine made with soy instead of milk. It tastes just like the real thing. Side by side, you couldn't tell the difference. I am so grateful to live here close to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.. it makes this whole no dairy thing A LOT easier.

Lorali is doing great since I stopped having dairy. She barely spits up at all... and she is gaining weight! Its wonderful to see her happier and more comfortable. She is sleeping better, crying less, and smiling more! :)

Until next time world.... Reidhead out

My Effing Teeth!

So my teeth have been bothering me for a while. I decided to make an appointment with a dentist here. And guess what... my wisdom teeth need to come out. ASAP! 2 of them are impacted and one of those two is also infected. WONDERFUL! I am so thankful for my dental insurance right now. It took a procedure that would be $3000 down to $400. Yay. I mean $400 still sucks but its WAY better than 3 grand!

I am getting knocked completely out. I guess one of them is stuck in the bone or something like that. I go in Wednesday the 27th at 10:30 am. I am very thankful they were able to get me in so fast. I am being seen by Queen Creek Smiles on the corner of Power and Rittenhouse. For anyone in the area.. I highly recommend them!

So below is a pic of wisdom teeth.. where they are, and which ones I am having removed. This is not my x-ray, but it will tell everyone what I am having removed. The green arrows point to the problem teeth...



Mine right bottom one is growing outwards towards my cheek. My left bottom one is growing at a 90 degree angle to the tooth in front of it. My top two have partially erupted. This is very painful.. and I would recommend that anyone that still has their wisdom teeth have them removed before they have pain!

AAAHHH for dental bills.. I just want to scream! Mine will be $400. Jeffery's is going to cost us $1200. He has to be knocked out completely, because the laughing gas had no affect what so ever on him. That appointment is on the 23rd of June I believe. $600 of that is the cost for him to be knocked out! I guess we should receive some of that back from our ins company.. but it really really sucks that we have to pay the cost up front. Grrr... money sucks.. why cant everything just be free?

Awesome Web Site

http://www.modcloth.com/

I saw an add for this website on the side of my screen on facebook I believe. I NEVER click on them, but the outfit they were showing looked awesome. These clothes are great! I am now using these clothes as my weight loss rewards. I will buy my first outfit when I lose 10 more pounds. 10 Pounds after that.. maybe some neat retro style shoes. I totally dig the 50's style clothing.





My reward outfit.. I'm excited.. lets shed these pounds! Oh, and I found the BEST swimsuit!



And a great coat for the chilly New York weather :)



And a great skirt...



And some AWESOME 50's oxfords...



WOW.. these people are going to get A LOT of money from me! I just love the designs! I may be dressed differently than everyone else, but oh well.. at least I will be the coolest person around.. well maybe only in my head, haha!

The First

My first blog!

Where to start... i'm Erin. Mommy to 3 kids, wife to a wonderful husband. Notice how I put mommy first? Makes me think... don't know what about really.

My husband is currently deployed to Afghanistan, and will be coming home in January... or as my son puts it "after sandy comes". Its really hard to do everything that is required in taking care of 3 kids.. one of them being a 2 month old. Some days I get SO stressed. I wish I could just get over the stress and enjoy my kids. It seems that if its not one thing, its another. One kid crying, one kid hungry, and so on.

Well enough of that. Its 10:30 and I should be sleeping. 10:30.. psshh.. I remember when the party didn't start until 10. Oh how times have changed. No more late nights and dance clubs. Now its early mornings and Yo Gabba Gabba (which is a really weird show btw... "don't bite your friends"). That show is like crack to my kids. When it comes on, they come from wherever they are to watch it, and they actually sit for all 20 minutes of it! Jack Black was their 'dancey dance friend of the day' the other day. HILARIOUS!

What else.. oh yeah, Lorali is allergic to milk.. or sensitive to milk. So that means I can't have ANY dairy products, which TOTALLY blows. I bought some rice cheese the other day. It said "gourmet melt"... YAAAA...NO... more like the magical no-melt cheese that holds it shape up to 400 degrees! It looks like cheese... but tastes like what it is.. rice in a costume.

I miss my husband. I can't wait until he is home again and we are a complete family. Well, thats it world.. im off to bed... Reidhead out