Sweet Reminders

Two years ago this week, we were given the news that our referral for Myah was not included in that months batch from China and we were devastated. We were May 31 lid and they cut us off, they stopped at the 30th. That meant we had to wait a whole extra month. We were at the beginning of what is now the long wait, we thought we would get referrals in Novemeber and we didn't end up getting them until the end of April. Looking back we now know that there was a reason, Myah was waiting for us. Our Myah. I have to say I did get a bit depressed and once I got over myself, I re-did the nursery ( my way of coping) and took comfort knowing that we had to be included in the next batch. As I reflect on those months I remember vividly the sights, sounds, songs, etc. that bring me back to those moments of waiting for our precious Myah and the excitement that was abuzz in our household. We were floating.In addition to living on the internet at this time checking Rumor Queen, I had a few other favorites. I remember watching this movie over and over again, I loved it! The Asian women were so beautiful and the scenery was breathtaking.

And while I watched this movie I fell in love even more with cherry blossoms, and when I went into Bath and Body Works they were carrying a whole line of Cherry Blossom fragrances. My favorite was this one, I literally lathered myself in it, the sweet scent still reminds me of my time in China, I wore it the whole time we were there, the first time I held Myah, I was wearing it, it soon became a comforting scent to her, it was the smell of her mommy. I still love it but it is harder to find now. The White Cherry Blossom is my favorite!

I now am addicted to this one: Midnight Pomegrante! This was my favorite last spring. Wonder what it will be this year?

I also became slightly addicted to eating Wasa Cracker with Kaukauna Sharp Cheese spread. It was my comfort food! Yummy!

I also love magnolias! Nothing makes me happier than driving through town and seeing a huge old magnolia tree filled with the beautiful saucer blossoms and the ground beneath them just layered with gorgeous petals! I do have a small, very small magnolia tree in our front yard that our neighbor purchased for us after Mark's dad passed away. Someday I will have a huge tree but for now I just drool at everyone elses! I remember it blossoming right about the same time as we received our referral.

Tutu Tutorial~ Finally!

Ok, I know I promised long long ago to post the very difficult directions for making your very own poofy tutu. Now I should say that these are for children but if you feel the need for poof in your own life, then by all means go for it, just add a few more yards to the recipe. Also, I cannot give you my ancient Chinese secret tutu pattern without also telling you that you cannot screw this up, BELIEVE me, I have no sewing skills at all and you would never know it by looking at the tutus. I am sure if you can sew it would be even quicker for you.

Ok here is goes, first you need to pick up some tulle from your local fabric store, I usually go to Joannes and wait for a sale, you can get it sometimes for 50 cents a yard. For this particular tutu I used 2 yards of pink and 1 yard of lavendar. You can come up with all sorts of color combinations if you wish. You will also need some matching thread, a needle, and a package of elastic for the waistband.

The first step is to measure the waist of the child that will be wearing the tutu. If you need to guess , that is ok too because the elastic will give a little. Cut the elastic and set it aside. You will now need to cut the tulle. I usually fold the tulle to make it easier to cut, I set it on the floor and make a fan fold and I cut the tulle about every 3-4 inches.

Now I simply start tying the tulle in a knot around the elastic until I reach the end, you can move the tulle around a bit once you are finished to fill in any holes you may have. If you are using more than one color, you simply alternate the colors as you wish. Seriously a little bit of tulle goes a long ways once it is fluffed.

When you have finished tying all of your knots, sew the ends together any way you know how to sew, make sure it is good and secure. Give it a good shake, you may need to trim the ends in order for them to be uniform. At this point you can add ribbons, a flower to the waistband etc. Whatever your little heart desires. Here is this particular tutu after it was finished. Your little princess will love it!!

Now there is only one rule for giving away my ancient Chinese secret, if you make one you have to send me a picture!!! Have fun!

I am a Hot Momma, YUK!

WARNING, IF YOU ARE A MAN, YOU PROBABLY WANT TO SKIP THIS POST!!!!!!!

Ok, now that they are out of here, I have to confess, I have had my first hotflashes. I am not one bit happy about it, nope, no way, nadda. But what can I do? Nothing. This is how it happened. At dinner Sat. night, I had just sat down at our dinner table. My hubby was there along with my sister in law Lora and brother in law Scott. As soon as I sat at my seat with my meal, I felt a bit nauseous, then a very warm wave came over me, from my neck to my ears, it was so weird, I lost my appetite, didn't even eat my dinner. I sat there, and I explained what had just happened. Scott, looked at me, in between taking bites of his dinner and said, "it's a hot flash". Just plain as day. I sat there stunned. And then Lora looked at me and shook her head in agreement. I must have had a look of disbelief on my face because Scott said it again, and he elaborated that I needed to trust him because he works with alot of women and they talk about it all the time, and he also lives with Lora who just had a hysterectomy in August. I have to admit I was a bit relieved that my symptoms were "normal" and not the flu again. I had an episode the night before (Friday) and I felt absolutely exhausted afterwards, I was sick to my stomach and could not hardly walk up the stairs to go to bed. I have had a few episodes like this lately, so much so that I actually took a pregnancy test. If you know me, you know that this is almost a joke. It was just a way to rule out the obvious. My whole life I have been extremely irregular if you know what I mean. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism while pregnant with Dayton. My life before Dayton was one where I never had to watch what I ate in order to stay thin, I was always very thin and tiny. Not so much anymore. My energy levels are always low even though I have taken a tiny pill of hormones every day of my life since being diagnosed 13 years ago. I have a hormone imbalance as well. I really don't ever dwell on those two issues, I deal with them and now that I have 2 children to love in my life, I don't worry about them. So why is this bothering me so much? I have dealt with hormone issues my whole life. I was reading on the internet today about hotflashes and menopause. I need to get to my doctor, I know. But many things I read tonight involved alot of my health issues and the term premature menopause kept coming up. If this IS the case, it explains alot. Last year my cycles were very heavy, and for a long duration, this year, not so much, quite the opposite. That too is something that I have always dealt with. But now that the mood swings, hotflashes, and tiredness come into play, I have to believe my body is changing. I am 37 years old, but I feel really young, I dont' feel like I am ready for all of this yet. Especially right now, with all of the stress I have been under with taking care of my family and their illnesses. Maybe that is triggering this, I don't know. If anyone has any tips on going through this I would appreciate it. I have seen my body changing so much lately, my hair is thinning, my nails are brittle, my skin is so itchy and dry the only thing that helps in Gold Bond Medicated Lotion, isn't that sexy! I also have hairs growing out of my chin, I told Mark if something ever happens to me please make sure you shave my beard for me! Ha ha! I also have terrible back troubles, and always have since I was young. Carrying around Myah is so difficult for me. My hair is so gray anymore, I have to color it regularly. Maybe the writing has been on the wall that I would age prematurely, I have always looked forward to growing old with Mark and baking cookies for our little grandbabies, it has never bothered me. Until now. Somehow I feel like I am getting jipped out of my prime. Or maybe it is better to get it over with, I am not sure. I have dealt with horrible cycles for so long, maybe this is God's way of helping me get on with life, now that we aren't going to have any more children. It is just so overwhelming to read about this subject, there is so much confusion and controversy, how do you know what is right for you, how do you keep your sanity throughout it?

I know that this is probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about me but I figured that this was a place where my friends could offer me advice, I am sure I am not the only one going through this. My sister had a hysterectomy when she was 29 years old! I am aware of all that she went through and how difficult it is. I am praying that I won't need anything like that done but I also pray that this won't drag on forever either. I feel bad that my moods can be so up and down lately, especially for my family, I don't want my children to see me like this and have this be the mommy that they remember later in life. I was voted most friendly in high school for crying out loud, I am a nice person darn it! Where is that girl?

Well, I will find her again someday, until then, I will just find a nice little personal misting fan to carry around to all of Dayton's baseball games this summer. Oh gosh, I can't even imagine if these hit while at a super hot game! Like I said I am one hot momma!

My favorite yard sale find EVER!

The Nester posted about her great yard sale finds the other day and I just had to share my favorite yard sale treasure of all time. I bought this gorgeous hall tree at a lovely home, the people were moving and I was there the last day of her sale. I love yard/garage sale-ing, once I get in the groove I really can't wait to see what treasures I might find. I love giving new life to someone elses discards. And at the cheap prices I can afford to re-decorate more often. Although through the years I have developed quite the eye for the "good stuff", and I am becoming much more choosy about what I actually fork money over for. I like to go to subdivision sales the best, you can hit alot of houses and they are ususally really nice neighborhoods and actually the prices are cheaper, go figure. I also love finding those little grandma-type houses off the beaten path, some of my favs have come from little Granny's, their things are usually spotless as well! I have found Pottery Barn in the packages, antique pictures that I paid 50 cents for that are worth about $70 a piece!, I can't seem to find a picture of it but it was a beautiful hutch that had a $475 pricetag on it and I paid $50 and painted it black , it now lives at my sister's house. But my favorite piece of all time is my hall tree. There was a price of $100 on it and because it was the last day of the sale everthing was 1/2 off. So I paid her $50 for it, painted it white-ish and it fits perfectly in our foyer! I actually bought it before we moved out to the new house, I didn't have a place for it, when we toured this house for the first time I saw this perfect little nook for my hall tree and it has been there ever since we moved in. I have seen ones like it at the antique mall for around $800. Yeah for me! I love storing mittens in the bottom of it, gives us a perfect place to sit and put our boots on. I can't wait to see what treasures this year will bring!

Garnish

I found this website a few months ago and I re-visited it this past week because I am trying to plan a few parties for up coming birthdays and needed some ideas. You have to go to Garnish and check out their awesome party ideas. They are very "Martha"ish. They carry all of those really cool little containers that you can never find in stores. They also give you great ideas as to how to use them. The best part is that you only buy what you need, you can order 1 or 1,000! I love to give out goodie bags/favors at parties, now I can get a little bit more creative than a baggie or a Chinese take out box. I think you all will love this site! The website can be reached by the link above or by going to www.thinkgarnish.com

Grandma's Jewelry

I have had a bag of old costume jewelry of my Grandmother's since she passed away almost 6 years ago. I never really knew quite what to do with it. I love the old pearls, the sparkly bracelet, and the silver apples. I remember her wearing quite a few of these pieces and thought it would be pretty displayed on the antique brown transferware tray that I got for $6.00 at a little shop off of the beaten path. I just placed the jewelry in a random way on the tray and I love how it looks! I put an old travel clock of hers in there as well and placed it on a table in my bedroom, such a simple, yet pretty and sentimental accent piece. I love to have meaningful items in our nest. I always say that everything has a story behind it and I love it when someone asks "where did you get that?". I have inherited many pieces over the past few years and they are so special to me. They don't have any monetary value but to me they are priceless. I will have to post about a few of my favorites later!

Love these Magazines!

What would a great magazine about Michigan be without featuring the Grand Hotel!

I discovered the new Michigan Blue magazine last fall and have enjoyed every issue since. It is a wonderful resource for those of us Michigander's who are looking for new ways places to visit in our gorgeous State. Michigan has such beautiful beaches, quaint little towns, city life and country living. This magazine features great places to stay, eat, shop or relax. The pictures are amazing by the way! I also love the Midwest Living magazine as well. It covers the midwest region of the US. Wonderful for finding day or weekend trips. It also features many great recipes and decorating tips. If you see these on your newstand pick them up! You will love them!

PS: Thanks for the sweet messages about my new hair style! You all make me feel so loved! Yes, my eyes are really mine, no I don't wear contacts! You guys crack me up! Oh and the picture of the old house was actually my Great Grandparents farmhouse. I love having their "nest" on my blog, keeps me grounded!