Made my decision...

Well, after much consideration (and a little help with my blog friends. Thanks!) I've decided to get little white t-shirts with cap sleeves, leave the ric rac off the dress and add it to the t-shirts. Wouldn't that be cute?! I think it would look better. Maybe I'll do it both ways and you guys can tell me what you think when I post it!
I took the twins to preschool today and was on my way back when my sister Becky called. I think she was having a bad day. I decided to go back to her house and visit with her for a while.(Remember those baby blues, where everything makes you cry?) Anyway, I talked with her a bit and decided she needed a little bit of time without Baby, so I watched him while they went to pick something up. Two and a half hours later, they came home. I think that Becky felt better. Too bad that she didn't catch a movie or something! That sounds like more fun than driving to pick up a remote control for their gate...(Tell me I'm right...)
I'm bushed tonight, and came home to a big wreck. (Not too happy, but I guess it can get cleaned)

Pattern!

Here's the pattern I'm going to be using for Emma's and Brynleigh's dress. It only goes up to a size 4 but Emma's so skinny all I'll have to do to alter it is make it longer at the bodice and skirt. Easy peasy, right? We'll see! It's cute for one of those super simple sundresses. Here's a question for all those LDS moms. Do you think it's o.k. to wear dresses like this when they are little or do you think you should wear a t-shirt under them. I used to be o.k. about it, but now I'm not so sure. I could put a cute little white, small sleeved t-shirt under it. But then I don't think I'd put the ric rac. I think it would look funny. My mom always told us to wear things that we could wear after we were married in the temple. This particular dress isn't too bad, it's just sleeveless and not really just straps. I don't know. What is the protocol? Anyone know?
Here's a funny Jo Jo story. Yesterday we were having the missionaries over for dinner and I decided to make some french bread. I have heard that if you turn on the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and place the dough covered with a cloth in there, it will raise significantly faster. So I did. But, I left the door to the oven open because it seemed awfully hot in there still. I did tell everyone in there to not close the door. Well....they did, of course close the door. I opened it back up and it was like the BLOB! Going everywhere! (Apparently the yeast is fantastic!) So, I took it out and reformed it and hoped it would raise fast enough, to be done in time for the missionaries to eat. I took it out of the oven and placed it on the table to finish raising while I preheated the oven. It looked really good! I thought to myself,"Good, I can still get it done" I came back a few minutes later and it was flat! Someone did a smackdown!! That's right! You heard me! I said a smack down! It looked way too fluffy for this little five year old to walk by without pushing on it. Both loaves were significantly flatter. My first thought was "Oh, I am MAD" Tried to find out who did it. Still mad....found out it was JO Jo. How can I be mad at him, he just had a lot of curiosity. I can't be mad. So.....I just put it in the oven and hoped it wouldn't be pizza bread instead of french bread....
The french bread came out just fine! I couldn't believe it! It still raised up in the oven. I really thought that it wouldn't. The missionaries would've eaten it anyway, but I would've felt bad. Glad I didn't yell at JO Jo. Although I did start yelling and asking who did it. Gotta control my temper a little better...

Fun Projects on the way!!

These are some fun fabrics I picked up at Joann's today to make Emma and Brynleigh a dress with. Actually it's for 3 dresses. I think I'll make Brynleigh an extra one because she loves to wear dresses. She cries everytime we put pants on because she say they're too tight. The contrasting fabric is for a hat that will have both fabrics on it.
I called my sister Melissa today and challenged her to go get some Tutti Fruitti fabric and make her daughter a dress too! I think she will, although she says she's not a person who likes to make clothes. (At least not for herself) She's got such a cute daughter, how can she stand not making something for her!

O.k. my peeps! This wonderful Moda goodness MIGHT be part of the "Pay It Forward" challenge. I know, I know, stop the clamoring for a moment. I DID say "MIGHT"! It's just so lovely, that I don't know if I can part with it! Maybe I should make myself the same thing so I won't miss it so much.(For anyone that knows me well, I'm a collector. I don't want to run out so I get a lot and then don't do anything with it, cuz I love it so much!!!! I just want to look at it and drool...)



Here's the cute Chocolate lollipop holder that I made for the twins preschool teacher for Valentine's Day. I wanted to make one for Kelvin and the kids, but I procrastinated and didn't get it done. Darn it. I got a Template for it on Papertrey Ink website and made a few improvements. It turned out so cute. I love the packaging! Don't you?

Oh my gosh!...

I CAN NOT believe that I didn't remember to blog this story! Here's another funny one. Jo Jo asked me one day (as I caught him doing something naughty) how I know everytime he does something. I said,"Cuz I have eyes in the back of my head!" in a totally cheerful voice. He just says, "Nuh uh..."
Fast forward a couple of days...Jo Jo is behind me on the couch and all of the sudden I feel little hands searching through my hair...I totally realize what he's doing, and ask him,"Are you looking for the eyes in the back of my head?" He says,"Yeah..." I say, "They are closed" He says, "They're sleeping" very matter-of-factly.
Oh my gosh....I died laughing...(just as soon as he was gone, cuz I didn't want him to know that I didn't have eyes in the back of my head and ya know he would've found out if I'd have laughed right then!)

So FUNNY!!!

Today, while I was gone, Brynleigh fell and hit her nose on something. It started bleeding profusely and she panicked! In her little girl voice, she started yelling "I yam dying, I yam dying!" Of course she was crying too. Then Emma (5 years) started crying and trying to comfort. She was saying,"No, Brynleigh, you can't die! You are my favorite sister!....
Brynleigh didn't stop crying and yelling about dying, until after her older sister Beth, finished giving her a bath and there was no more blood to be seen.
Ya, I'm thinking that we watch too much NCIS. What do you think?
I am so glad I'm writing this down, because I am missing soooooo many funny moments because I didn't write them down.

Valentine's Day!

I had the best Valentine's Day! Kelvin had a dozen roses delivered to me along with the dozen he had brought home out of the blue two days before. They are sooooo beautiful! He also put some valentine clings to the mirror in our room for me to wake up to. And then...lots of Ethel M chocolate. He knows I'm picky when it comes to chocolate so he made sure to hand pick the ones with nuts and caramel! And then he picked out a beautiful card that sang to me. It was a song by Tim McGraw and I can't remember the name of it but it was awesome.
My kids got me a valentine also and I made some wonderful chocolate lollipops for each of them! I'll add a pic later cuz I can't do it from this computer. I also made chocolate lollipops for two classes and some preschool friends. I made over 80 of them and they turned out sooooo cute. I can't wait to post the pics of them!
Since this month is also our 17 year anniversary, Kelvin gave me some money to use how I wanted to, and I ordered all sorts of great goodies from Papertrey Ink! I love their stuff! I love that I can use it to package goodies and makes some cards that rock! I can't wait to get started!
I already know what I'm gonna do for my Pay It Forward challenge! I'm really excited. Even if no one signs up for it I'm going to make all three things and just send it on to someone anyway. It'll make someone really feel special and happy. And that's what we're going for right?! I can't wait to show what I'm going to do.
So! Wanna hear what I'm starting this week that means a whole lot to me? Well....I am going to be going on a weight loss journey. More like a trek really. I was never overweight as a child or a young adult. In fact, I was in great shape. I played sports in high school and and never thought I would EVER be overweight. It started after I married. I got married too young, to escape from home where I thought I was really unhappy. (Hello!...dumb teenager!) I was 19 and didn't think I had any other choice. That was my only way out! I had no idea that I could go to school. My parents couldn't afford it and my grades weren't good enough. I literally had NO IDEA that you could get student loans. Anyway, I made a mistake and married the wrong man. In the temple mind you, but still, the wrong man. Although I did think that I was in love with him at the time. Now I know that I had talked myself into thinking that I was in love. Man, can I say stupid! I was sooo naive!
Anyway, I married and moved to Idaho, where I found out that I really missed my family. And my husband, well, let's just say I was very lonely and sad. The pain just kept building and building. I had two children with him when we decided (I insisted) we move back down to CA. On our way, we stopped at my husbands sisters house in Las Vegas, where he was offered a job working for his BIL to be able to get some money to pay for an apartment, and I would take the kids and go the rest of the way and stay with my parents. I didn't like the idea but he wanted to do it. The rest is history. He liked not having a family and got himself a girlfriend, drank and did some other things that weren't part of our convenants. I came back to try and work it out, but it didn't and I was left with 2 children in Las Vegas (the last place that I would EVER want to live in) with no job and a trailer that was disgusting. Ewwww...just thinking about it makes me shudder. We could only stay in the living room. The trailer was a double wide that wasn't even sealed in the middle. There was a two inch gap that I could see all the way to the ground to. There was no air conditioning. Living in a metal box in the middle of summer here in Las Vegas is not fun at all. I was beside myself, I had never lived anywhere but home and with a husband. I had NO IDEA how to provide for myself or my kids. If it wasn't for the church, I don't know how we would've made it. I was able to move into a small apartment, get a job at a bank and a lady in my ward babysat for almost nothing. I used to pray so fervently for someone (a man) to come into my life and be a dad for my kids. (their own paid 500.00 out of the $14,000.00 he owed me before my husband adopted them) I didn't want them to feel like I did growing up (my natural father and my mom divorced when I was 3 and we saw him very little. Once every 5 years or so) As an aside: I have the best Dad in the world and I love him very much. But growing up, I didn't feel loved and I really felt that I was on the outside looking in.(My dad is my step-dad if you're confused)
I prayed and cried and prayed and cried. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Heavenly Father sent me Kelvin. He was EXACTLY what I prayed for. He loved my kids as much as he loves all the other one's. He treats them just the same. I am so lucky that Heavenly Father heard my prayers. That He sent me Kelvin. That He knew Me, and loved me. And poor Kelvin, he paid for all of my ex-husbands sins for about 5 years. I was horrible to him. And when I say horrible, I mean horrible! I was so unkind. It was like I was trying to see if he would be like every other man in my life and leave. So I pushed and pushed and pushed. And many times our marriage almost fell apart.
And during all these tumultuous times, I ate. I destroyed the body I had with my own unhappiness.
Well...to make a long story short, we've survived the pain and unhappiness and we are finally making it good. And since I've let go of all that baggage, I need to get rid of all the extra baggage that I'm carrying on my body. (I really think that I ruined this body to see if my husband would leave if I looked bad. Cuz I was hot when I married him. I lost 50 lbs. when I divorced. Was so sick inside that I couldn't eat. Didn't have the money to either.) Anyway, I love him so much. He didn't leave, he saw the good in me. He knew the pain I was feeling and still...he stayed. So you know a brief little bit about me, I hope that I'm not judged to harshly (I do feel ashamed for my past sometimes. I was raised in the church and divorce is taboo. I'm not going to lie...I was one of those people who thought to themselves,"I wonder what they did...to get divorced" ) Now I know better. Nobody knows who we are or what we've been through and NO ONE has the right to judge. Heavenly Father has that right. And He knows me and everything I've been through. I'll be o.k. with Him doing so. And I'll just love a person for who they are now. I don't have to worry about their past.
Man, where did all of this come from?! I was just gonna tell you that I was going to lose weight! Sorry ya'll!
I'll keep you posted on how much I lose each week. Wish me luck!!

Got a blog award for someone!

So I've finally learned how to get a picture from another blog and since she said to take the picture I am. We have lots of awards for all those wonderful blogs that inspire people by crafting, sewing, photography, etc. But here's a different kind of award...This one is for commenting. I have my blog and very few commentors, but I do have one that ALWAYS comments. AND always makes me feel good. So! This blog award is for Lynn! I would direct you to her blog but it's private. I love that she comments every time I write a post. If I haven't written in a while, she sends a comment telling me she misses my posts and wonders if I'm o.k. I want her to know that I value the time she spends commenting. I want to thank her for ALWAYS commenting! (Now she's gonna feel like she really has to keep commenting! LOL!) So Lynn, why don't you pass this very unique blog award to one or two people who you feel leave wonderful comments. And to those of you who come and don't comment, please do. Even if I don't know you. I would love to hear from you and maybe make some new friends. If Lynn hadn't commented I would've never met a great person that I now consider my friend!

Pay it Forward!

So...here's how it goes...My wonderful friend Lynn is hosting a "Pay it forward" on her blog and in order to enter you need to promise to do the same thing yourself! I love this kind of thing! Hers is something handmade and will come sometime in the year...mine, well....I wasn't sure if I should do something handmade, because that just scares me, but if my hero can do it, then so can I! So the first three people to comment on this post, and promise to "Pay it Forward" themselves will get something in the mail from ME! Totally handmade with LOVE and EXCITEMENT! Make sure you email me with your address...julze11@cox.net. I promise to get it done within 2 months (that way you won't have to wait that long...and I already have an idea on what to do! Hee Hee! I'm sooooooo excited! I feel like it's Christmas!!)

Ever wonder what crud feels like....?

Well let me tell you what crud feels like. Achy bones, sensitive skin, your face feels like someone used it for a punching bag, dizziness, weakness and overall sick!
That's right folks, I have a, hmmmmm.....what do I have? I have no idea! I thought I had a cold...but my nose is just stuffy....but, why does my face hurt? Maybe I have a sinus infection. I don't know. I really don't care...I just want to feel better! I'm glad my 3 year old doesn't mind staying in my room with me. She just get all her toys and brings them in with her. Emma and Joseph are with Daddy getting the oil changed and getting the headlight fixed. I still think something is wrong with the electrical system for the headlights in my car. I've had my Pilot for 3 years and we've had to change headlights at least 5 times, if not 6 times. My sister has one also and they haven't had to change even one headlight. What is up with that?!!
So, with Kelvin having had a cancerous tumor on his kidney, and also having a degenerative disease in his back, I've decided to go back to school and get a degree. Just in case. And it doesn't hurt that my Patriarchal blessing has some words about getting an education. Shoulda listened to that one a long time ago. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, right? Well, it's never too late. And since I don't want to take away for Mommy time, I'm going to do this part time. I'm going to try to find a class for photoshop too. I've been really wanting to learn how to use that program. What's the use of having it if you can't use it?
Well...I think I'll go try and talk Brynleigh into taking a nap. She really needs one. LOL Who am I kidding!...I need one! LOL