You Can't Make Me Pay!

So Little Bit has been invited to go watch the new American Girl movie next week. This movie is about the girl of the year--Isabelle--of which Little Bit happens to own the doll. So, it's pretty cool to take your American Girl doll to the movie with you. Doubly cool if your doll is IN the movie! I know Little Bit would really, really like the outfit for girls that matches the doll but, you see, I'm not independently wealthy.

My word the amount that company charges. She was helping me clean out paperwork yesterday (yes, she enjoys that stuff) and we ran across the receipt for Isabelle. She said she wanted to keep it. I told her, "Yes, keep it so you can show your daughters how cheaply you got your doll! They will say, 'No fair Mom! American Girls cost $500 now!'" She cracked up.

Anyway, Mama is not dumb. I have a plan to make Little Bit an outfit that matches her Isabelle. I will share it with you when I'm done. It's going to be awesome.

We have had a pretty busy summer. For the first time ever, I signed the girls up for classes in a nearby town at their rec center. Sweetheart was supposed to take a self-defense class and her friend signed up with her. I was going to count all the hours (10 classes!) towards high school P.E. credit but, she and her friend were the only ones who signed up. Needless to say the class was cancelled.

But Little Bit's "Mini Gourmet" class was great! It lasted 4 mornings and she took it with 2 friends.

She learned to cook quite a few things and even got to help cook one of her meals for everyone at our church a few weeks later. She was very proud. 

Then last week, Little Bit attended VBS in another nearby city. She enjoyed it. I can't get over how brave she has become--this child who wouldn't talk to anyone outside of our home for years. She didn't know anyone at the VBS but just marched on in every day and had a good time. 

The last day of VBS happened to be Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. I promised her we would NOT come in and pick her up from VBS dressed as cows. So, we had our black and white on and then had to do a lot of shuffling around in the van. But we made it and had a completely free lunch for four. 

Mama has no pride. I wanted Free food! I did not wear the ears the whole time.

We also had cow toes but I'll spare you the pics of feet. I hate feet pics. 

And that reminds me that I need to remove said cow nail polish before lunch today. S and I are going to go eat to celebrate 21 years of marriage. And something tells me he'd rather not dine with a bovine wife. 

Because we're classy like that. 

I'm Either a Really Great Crafter or a Great Pinner

Can't take credit for any of the ideas. Every single one was either inspired or copied straight off of Pinterest! How I love Pinterest! In the olden days I would have had to flip through old magazines for inspiration.

Wow there's a lot of pink in this post.

Baby Bee loved passing out Valentines. And getting candy.

Bee's shirt was just 2 hearts put on with Wonder Under. And some heart pants we got somewhere. 

Of course a bird shirt for Little Bit. She loves birds. 

Little Bit's balloon was fragile and fell apart during the party. But it worked well. 

She made her own shirt. It's very light and subtle but it was just a doily used as a stencil. 

Sweetheart's box won a prize. A few years ago she was absolutely heart broken when another robot box beat hers out. She was excited to win yesterday (and to eat the pretzel she got from the snack bar!) but it amazed me the difference in her reaction compared to a few years ago. Sometimes maturing happens very gradually and we don't always notice it's been going on!

We had a great time at the party and no one broke any bones. Success!!

Now tonight we are going to have a special dinner on our china and celebrate Valentine's Day together as a family. I think that's fun. I wish more people just celebrated together instead of making it strictly about couples. It hurts a lot of people.

Having said that, S and I do plan to do something special together. Just not tonight. Restaurants are going to be really crowded tonight! Date nights are important and time as a couple is important too.

Off to wrap up the school week, get the grocery shopping done, and finish cleaning up the house for our special dinner! Busy day!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nobody Blogs on Saturdays

Do they? Well, this happens to be the time I can jump on here. Boy, having one more little kid really throws a kink in your blogging!

Tomorrow REAL FALL will come to Texas! Well, for a couple of days anyway. We decorated for fall at the beginning of September, but I haven't been able to burn my pumpkin spice candles because the ceiling fan keeps blowing them out. Welcome to Texas fall.

But tomorrow, and its already hit most parts of Texas, the cool front will be here and we will go to church in 50 degree weather. Can't wait!

Only...we don't exactly have anything to wear for that weather. Sweetheart especially has grown a bushel and a peck since last year. We just finished pulling all the tubs of clothes out of Little Bit's closet and they tried everything on. Sweetheart has 2 pair of pajamas, 2 sweatshirts, and 2 long sleeved shirts that fit.

I actually did find a dress I think will work for her tomorrow, but the only shoes she has are these.

Ladies Size 9. MY size! Good grief.

And I think we can all agree those are pretty chilly in 50 degree weather.

So we will head out in a bit to find more appropriate shoes for fall church wearing. Little Bit and I both have boots from last year that still fit for now so we're good.

And Bee has tights. OH she is going to look so sweet in those tights. :)

So I'm sneezing from pulling out all the clothes. I don't know why that always sets my allergies off but it does. I guess pulling the tubs out of the closet kicks up enough dust to do me in.

Next week we have to be SUPER DUPER REALLY AND I MEAN IT serious about school. It's our last full week until we go camping later this month and I want to feel a little caught up and further along before we take off on a vacation.

And for those of you who get annoyed when people type in call caps...it's how I talk. Really.

Back on topic, I need to rifle through the school shelf and make copies and get organized for the upcoming week o' education at our house. I must do this now while Bee is sleeping. And we're home.

Anyone else tired of running? (Shut up Suzanne-stay-home-for-2-weeks. I'm not talking to you.) We SO need to stay home more this week. For school to happen. For Mommy to not have a headache. For rest. For sanity.

I'm off to plan. Must have a plan.

Everything Is In Pencil

Every Monday I have my weekly doctor visit and every Monday I come home and realize that I can, indeed, go ahead and plan my week.

Dear Cervix, 


Please go ahead and feel free to change. Really. It's time.


Love, 
Me

I keep writing everything in pencil (figuratively). Well, I'll see you on Tuesday if I don't have the baby before then. Yes, we'll be there on Friday if I'm not in labor. Let's just say I haven't missed an appointment or scheduled event yet.

I have many, many things on my to do list. In fact, I'm not really sure how much school I'll squeeze in this week. This is our last week of school no matter what as that's what I promised the girls. We'll finish up the rest of the year after Mama has a maternity leave. Not sure how long I'll take off and I'm not going to put a date on it--but there will be time this summer to wrap up the year, I know. So...I feel good knowing that no matter what we get done this week, these ARE the last 5 days of school for now. Happy sigh.

I have created a laundry system that is going to work rather nicely, I think. It involves 5 laundry baskets. Yes, five. S and I have one, Little Bit has her own, and Sweetheart has her own. I need to go buy one for towels, rags, napkins, etc. and one small one for baby. Each girl does her own laundry from start to finish when her basket is full. That's a load. I do our laundry and we'll all help get the towels done. I'll cut baby a break this summer and do hers too. Sweetheart's basket is always the first one full because of a method I like to call "cleaning-my-room-by-throwing-everything-in-the-dirty-clothes." She'll soon figure out she's doing twice the work of the rest of us, right?

I've also got to find a place for the girls to hang up their towels. Now that it's getting hot and they are bathing every day, they are going through too many towels. Towels need to be used more than once but I kid you not, there is no place in their bathroom to hang a hook. I think we'll make it the back of their bedroom doors. They both have a 3M hook there that will probably work. I may need to sew loops on the towels to help. Then, we will significantly cut back on laundry.

Bigger family really does = more organization. It's needed!

I mentioned that our dishwasher broke. Well, our awesome home warranty (that I'm so glad we got) is going to replace it. Should be sometime this week. In the meantime, I have to hand-wash the dishes in the sink and all the ones that were loaded in the dishwasher when it decided to die. I think I will have to do that in stages as standing sideways at the sink is not top of the list of my favorite activities right now.

So...I'm just going to plan to go on about my business and do all these things that need doing. Hopefully in the midst of all this, my cervix will decide to cooperate, right?

The New Low and Standing on My Head

I called my mom and asked her if she was itching to do some laundry today.

Yes, I did.

And laundry is her THING. It's what she does. So, even though I really wanted someone to come clean my kitchen, laundry was the best thing I could ask of my mom.

Now S can have clothes to wear tomorrow to work!

AND the girls and I went grocery shopping this morning, so he can have lunch as well!

Of course, when we got home I had to take a nap. In the morning. There may have been drooling involved.

So...I found out yesterday at my appointment (the one where I was waiting to hear, "Wow! Baby has dropped! You are totally making progress! It's going to be any day now! Way to sit on that birthing ball all weekend!") that baby was breech. A double footling breech, no less. She HAD been head down for quite some time.

That was not really what I wanted to hear. I came home and asked for prayers from friends who starting praying up a storm. I also researched and spent a great deal of the day laying and sitting and kneeling in all kinds of crazy positions. We went for a walk. I rubbed my stomach in a downwards direction.

And then, just as I was falling asleep around 11pm, she turned. Somehow. I don't know if she's head-down now, but I do know she flipped and flopped and moved around some way or other. I felt like I needed to hold on to something! Mercy! I really hope she's turned the right way now. I honestly can't tell. I go back to the doctor on Monday--if there is no labor before then.

So, in summary: My daughter was breech, but now she may not be. We have food and soon we will have clean clothes.

I call it "Nesting Through Others."

The Goodness of God

He never ceases to amaze me. I get a little stressed out every season thinking about Sweetheart's clothes. She is just growing so quickly. She's the biggest and oldest girl in our family so there are no hand-me-downs waiting for her. This year when we pulled out the tubs of spring and summer clothes we had stored away, Sweetheart had about 4 things that fit her. Four.

Still, every year we recieve hand-me-downs. I mean it. Every single year. I really and truly thought that at some point they would dry up. I mean, she's 12! Now the Lord provides in other ways too. My husband works so hard and we had money to go buy her some clothes this spring. Here is an outfit we found at Goodwill for $6. Not everything was gotten so cheap, but I'm always glad for cheap!

I got some ribbon from Hobby Lobby to make a belt and she was good to go. The skirt is from Justice. That may not matter to you or me, but it matters to a 12 year old. She's shopped at Justice exactly once--on her birthday last year. And yet she's had a lot of Justice clothes in her closet--all found at Goodwill or consignment sales.

I get that. I really do. I remember when we were in junior high, and "designer jeans" were all the rage, sister and I had exactly ONE pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans to share. (They were given to us.) It was traumatic to have to wear other pants to school. Seriously. I only got teased once or twice that I can remember, but it was rough not feeling confident about what I was wearing.

Do "designer labels" matter? Well, they shouldn't I suppose...but if it makes my 12 year old feel happy about her clothes, then I'm fine with it. It's an age thing. When you're older you don't care where your clothes come from. And honestly, she doesn't turn her nose up at anything. I could outfit her completely from Wal-Mart and as long as she liked the clothes, she would wear them. Ah, homeschool.

I only bring up the "designer labels" to make a point. We have more of a Wal-Mart budget, but my daughter has designer clothes in her closet. Why? Only the goodness of God.

What, Brenda? Are you saying that God cares about labels? No. Just that He loves us so much, He not only supplies hand-me-downs for our daughter, but GOOD ones. And from the craziest sources.

Yesterday we recieved 2 small bags of clothes---5 shirts, 5 bottoms, and a jacket--from a mom of a 10 year old boy. Pretty much the last person I would consider a viable hand-me-down source, you know? Seems their neighbor had sent her son home with all sorts of "treasures" from their garage, including 2 bags of girls clothes. The mom looked at the clothes, thought about Sweetheart, and brought them to us. They are GOOD brand names. Brand names we would not otherwise own. They are clothes that will LAST. (And her size, exactly.)

Along with what we were able to buy for her last week...I'd say she's pretty set for this summer. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:28-34

Wanna Know Why I Didn't Post Yesterday?

Because I was very near comatose. I was so exhausted after 2 nights of waking up at 3am for the day that I fell asleep last night the minute we walked in the door from church. I literally walked to the bedroom, changed clothes, and crawled in bed. It was 8:30pm. So sad. I was so tired I actually felt kind of sick.

But, after 9 hours of sleep---I am a new woman!

Good thing too because this house is falling down around my ears. It's picked up. At least we've kept up with that end. But we have NO groceries, precious few clean clothes, and it's getting old. Today: must actually switch the laundry and get it all the way clean and dry and delivered and must procure food for my family. You know, the basics?

But I have another reason I am glad I slept. Sweetheart and I have a shopping date today. Girlfriend has outgrown just about everything but specifically she needs dresses to wear to church. I've been looking up size charts for various stores and she's all over the place. Best I can tell, it's going to be a toss up between sizes 14-18 in the girls' department and sizes 0-1 in the juniors department. There's really no way to know until we try stuff on.

My main concern is finding dresses that are an appropriate length. Can I get an Amen? Sigh. My other concern is not spending an arm and a leg. The plan is to start at Goodwill and work our way up (Wal-Mart,  Old Navy, Kohl's...). We'll see what we can find for cheap and then move on if we have to.

Oh yeah, and we have some school to do too. But I think food and clothing is more important today.

Signed,

Still not adjusted to Daylight Savings Time

Abundant Blessings and The Room Schizo

First of all, the blessings. A friend said she had some baby clothes to hand down to me. Great! Thanks! We sure need 'em. So I met her at McDonald's for lunch and came home with 3 large garbage bags and a huge tub of clothes. Oh my goodness!

I spent all weekend washing them up. Her house is cleaner than mine but something was making me sneeze. Their dog? The laundry soap? Not sure. Plus I know some had been stored for awhile. AND washing baby clothes and getting them all ready is one of my very favorite things to do! After sorting and washing and weeding out some with stains, (very, very few. These clothes were in GREAT shape!), this is what we were left with:

Wow!! These are mostly 0-18 months!

The striped bag is full of crib sheets and blankets that we already had. The grey tub is full of a few toys, shoes, socks, bibs, burp rags, a baby monitor, etc. Just stuff. What a blessing! This baby won't need a THING in the way of clothing for a really long time. God is good!!

Now, about The Room Schizo. New readers, I am that schizo.

My name is Brenda and I am a room re-arranger. 

But this time I have a really good reason!! 

We aren't really going to have a nursery for this little one. For Christmas I asked S to paint our room (where the baby will be sleeping for a long time). So he's going to do that next week. I can't exactly help with that room too much, so I'm turning my attention to the girls' rooms. Two reasons:

1. To show them that we love them and care about how their rooms look. That we aren't JUST getting things nice for the baby. 

2. Sweetheart asked for her room to "match better" a few weeks ago. 

3. The baby will eventually share a room with Little Bit (our former homeschool room) so some changes need to be made in there to make space. 

So, yesterday I made a plan for each room. It's not going to be an expensive project by any means. The biggest expense will be new rugs for their rooms. The ones they have in there are 5 years old and pretty gross. Other than that, it will just be sewing, hanging things on the walls, and rearranging. Oh, and a dresser for Little Bit. Gotta visit the thrift stores!

Oh, and organizing Little Bit's closet to make room for baby. (And all these tubs that are stacked in the hall!) Her closet is really big so there should be plenty of room. Once I get rid of a lot of crap. 

After I shared the plan with Sweetheart, she immediately got up from her bed where we were sitting and started cleaning her room. Fifteen minutes later she was done. THAT, my friends, is a world record. So...I'm thinking she liked the plan!

I threw supper in the crock pot this morning so I can work uninterrupted in the closet today. 

If I get stuck, I'll send a distress signal or something. 

Running, Lack of School, and Ice Skating

Sometimes there just is no catchy title to pull it all together, you know?

We have been running errands this week every single day and I am SICK of it!! I hate going, going, going. But, the good news is...I found an outfit for the Christmas party!!! I know you are relieved. I went to our Keepers of the Home meeting yesterday and whined about how hard it is to find clothes and the other mom gave me a non-maternity shirt to try. It wasn't my size but it was pretty and I said I would try it on. It fit. And I like it. She's not getting it back. However, it's silky which equals cold in my mind so lucky I found a maternity cardigan to wear over it. So...the whole outfit cost us $16. Thank you Lord!!

Other than running to stores looking for maternity clothes, we've had a doctor's appointment, dry cleaning runs, we have piano today, and need to get gas and go buy hay for the rabbit as it will be freezing tonight.

It was 30 degrees when we woke up this morning and I would really like to just stay home.

And because of all the running, and my friend Kathy said it would make her feel better to hear how other people were not accomplishing a whole lot in school....we aren't. Yesterday I think each girl got 2 subjects done. Needless to say my ambitious plan I outlined, printed, and put on my clipboard is not working out. December is ALWAYS like this and it really is better to just take off this month rather than kill yourself trying, but I feel like I must keep going as we only have 5 months until school will be over for quite some time around here! ACK! At least we are staying home this morning to get things done.

Also, we went ice skating. This was a first for the girls. Our church had a Christmas party for the children  (which included a lesson) at a local ice rink. They really did very well. I was super impressed!

My girls are in pink. 

Ice skates only make Sweetheart look even taller. Ridiculous. 

So, in summary. I'm tired of going places, I have clothes to wear to the party, we need to get more school work done, and my kids can ice skate.

None of which have anything to do with your day. Enjoy!!

P.S. I feel like I should sound more thankful than this post does. 1. I am thankful to have a car to run errands with. 2. I am very thankful for the outfit to wear that did not cost much. 3. I am thankful to be homeschooling my children EVEN when we get behind. 4. Ice skating rinks are really cold.

The Annual Christmas Party Ordeal

Guess what faithful readers??? It's that time of year again! Time for husband's work Christmas party. You guys go through this with me every single year. Haven't we had fun? Let's look back on some of the better memories, shall we?

The Unfortunate Shirt Incident

The Better Living Through Facebook Incident

Facebook Success!

(The Pictures)

So....I'm thinking this year is going to be a bit more traumatic because of the whole maternity clothes kink thrown in there. Mind you, I'm not big yet and honestly could get away with wearing normal clothes but that would mean wearing last year's outfit. Or the year before that. Or some combination of the 2. And how many times can you recycle an outfit? Certain pieces, yes. But really. It's time for something new.

So I THOUGHT this one was in the bag. I looked online and found this:

Cute, right? It's long enough (some of these things hit mid-thigh! are you serious? mid-thigh when you're pregnant???) It's black. It has sleeves. It got great reviews. I liked it.

So after my doctor's appointment this morning (more on that later--and yes I was waiting to shop until I heard that heartbeat to make sure everything was OK!), we swung by Motherhood Maternity and found that they had.....size Small and size Medium. Which are not totally useless to me because I could use those sizes as a scarf in a pinch.

Just trying to be positive. The saleslady said they sell out of Large and Extra large really quickly. You don't say? Why would pregnant women be buying those sizes?

I tried on a few other knit dresses and was not pleased to discover that I look...how shall we say? LUMPY. The models do not look lumpy on the website. I think it may depend on better undergarments. Sigh. Also? It was disturbing to watch the girls trying on the belly pillow in the dressing room and convulsing with laughter. Good times.

So...Target has some nice options but most of them say "not sold in stores." Really Target? What DO you sell in your store?

I'm starting to freak out just a teeny bit. Not sleeveless. Longer than my 8 year old's dresses. Cute. Am I asking too much?

Suggestions? Ideas?

And yes, I CAN still wear that black skirt that I've worn 2 years in a row. I wore it Sunday. I could wear a cute fancy maternity top with it. And Carrie, I'm planning to wear the shoes again. OK?

The Other Part

Yesterday I shared a little about our school schedule. And of course that is totally subject to change as needed. I'm hoping it will work out like I have it. Carrie had some other questions about it which we discussed in the comments section. I just thought that was important to mention as I didn't want anyone to think we were going to do all that every day! But now we have something to shoot for.

However, there is another part--a very important other part--of our schedule. That is our homemaking tasks. This year, with all our curriculum and grade level changes, I was really concerned I wouldn't have time to keep up with the house. This is the first year we will assuredly NOT be done by lunch time. So, I'm going to need some help!

Enter: my children, aka the Junior Homemakers!

SWEETHEART (turning 12 in a few weeks):

Her jobs

1. Wash own breakfast/lunch dishes.

2. Wash "darks" laundry when basket is full. (Wash, dry, fold and deliver to correct rooms.)

3. Take turns setting/clearing table at suppertime.

4. Keep room clean and picked up. 

5. Help tidy house before Daddy gets home. 

LITTLE BIT (7 1/2 years old):

Her jobs
1. Wash own breakfast/lunch dishes.
2. Wash towels when basket is full. (Wash, dry, and fold small towels and washcloths-Mom will help with the others.)
3. Take turns setting/clearing the table at suppertime.
4. Keep room clean/picked up.
5. Help tidy house before Daddy gets home.

They are capable of doing much more, but here at the start of the school year these chores will suffice. Once we hit on a good routine and we see how much of their day is spent on schoolwork, I can adjust the chores. I want them to have time to play.

Oh, my chores are meal planning and prep, washing the "lights" laundry (there is more of that than anything which is why I took it), general keeping up with things around here, and assigning random jobs. For all of us. I work alongside them.

No pictures of me cooking, but look! Yummy food I made!

Also, every Friday we pick up the house very well and on Saturday mornings, we clean. That is the time we scrub, wipe, mop, vacuum, etc. They help with all of those and are very good at doing most chores! So the chores I listed above are more "maintenance" chores to help us keep up with things during the week.

I began slowly implementing the laundry and dish-washing chores a few weeks ago and I have already noticed two things.

1. No more clean clothes are being thrown back into the laundry room by lazy children who don't feel like putting them away. Read: shooting yourself in the foot.
2. Little Bit figured out right quick that many things we eat for breakfast can be eaten on a paper towel thereby leaving her no dishes to wash. She's smart, that one.

So that's my plan for keeping our house from looking like an episode of Hoarders or How Clean Is Your House during the school year. Do your children's chores change during the school year?


I am linking up with A Wise Woman Builds Her House Link up today! Go check out the other links for homemaking encouragement!

Progress, Cleaning Up, and Getting Ready

I want you all to know that I made major progress yesterday! And thank you for those of you who left comments letting me know that I wasn't alone in my..aloneness. It made me feel better. It really did. (And also, I'll try to remember to use small words on this blog because apparently a lot of us need that!)

Here's a look at my beautiful, mostly-crossed-off to do list:

The table is still a mess in the homeschool room, but I got all the piles off the floor and dealt with and got the girls' shelves organized for the year. A major accomplishment!

Wait until you see what we did above those!

Also, we had a little family meeting at lunch (me and the girls) and discussed how I am tired of washing CLEAN clothes that I just recently washed. **sheepish looks** So we will be instituting the new school year laundry plan starting today. The laundry room is all cleaned and ready to go.

Won't you please ignore my undergarments hanging to dry?  LOOK! Colorful laundry baskets!!

The red laundry basket on top of the washer is for towels and rags and napkins. When it is full, Little Bit will wash and dry those. I will fold the big towels and she will fold all the small stuff. The blue laundry basket on the cabinet is for darks and those are Sweetheart's domain, start to finish. I'll wash the lights in the white laundry basket. I used to have them do their clothes separately but we just don't have the room to keep separate laundry hampers so this will help. I predict the number of clean clothes being thrown back in the laundry room will decrease dramatically.

Plus, last night I ordered our school curriculum. Everything has now been ordered and we are just waiting for boxes and packages to roll in! This is the exciting part!!

One more major thing before our summer is over: the girls' room. At our meeting yesterday we discussed the possibility of rearranging or at least switching sides of the room and at the end of the discussion, everyone decided they were happy where they were! Wow! So today will just be spent detailing their room and cleaning it out really good so it's easier to keep up with on a daily basis. They've collected a lot of junk over the last few months and we need to toss some stuff, organize dresser drawers, etc. I'm getting really excited about the school year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still thankful every morning I wake up and don't have to be immediately productive. I am enjoying summer! But I am so thankful to get some stuff done around here.

Also, I've noticed that my second most popular post ever...the one about homeschool organization....has been getting a lot of hits lately. It always does this time of year. I guess later I'll do an update post on that since we aren't even using the same room anymore and I wonder if any of those old links are still good? Anyone want to join in with me?

Something to Guard Against

I read an article on yahoo yesterday that I could not get off of my mind all evening. You may have seen it. It was about some parents who are not revealing the sex of their 4 month old baby. They are attempting to raise the child in a gender neutral (GN) fashion.

I don't know why that article stayed on my mind so much. Are they radical? Yes. Many people would not go so far as to do what they are doing--or to allow their sons (they have 2 other children) to shop from either the boys or girls section in clothing stores and decide if they want their hair long or short. But that doesn't mean that many people do not agree with these parents at some level.

So I kept reading and googling. Apparently, some folks think a GN world would be just about perfect. They can't wait for the day when society stops placing biases and limits on people and when others stop drawing a line and saying "choose." I don't think they just want a "third category".....I think they'd like there to BE no categories.

Anyway, as a Christian this topic gets my attention and it should yours too if you are a Christian. I'll tell you why in a minute.

As I googled and read, I began to see some major categories popping up where GN is becoming main stream. In case you haven't thought much about this, perhaps these links will be eye opening.

Fashion. I already have thought about this several years ago. Children go to school wearing standardized dress of khaki or blue bottoms and a polo style shirt on top all their lives. Then, they get a job at Target, or the bank, or wherever and guess what? They wear khaki pants and a polo style shirt! There is precious little difference in how the men and women look at many places of business. The styles of military uniforms have also changed. I spoke about all this here.

But it seems to be going a step further now. Fashion designers are actually designing clothing that is intentionally GN. This means it is designed to be for EITHER sex to wear. Especially where children are concerned as there isn't as much difference in their bodies.  Check out the store sign on this article. Here is a slide show that was interesting.  If you need help figuring it all out, there is help available.

Dorm rooms. I don't remember which college started it, but it has caught on. Now it is PC to offer GN living arrangements. Many colleges are offering this type of dorm. And if you are going to offer living arrangements that are GN, then of course restrooms will follow suit. High schools are already dealing with this. As well as prom situations, homecoming situations, etc. All this is being done in the name of anti-bullying. These students must have a "safe" place. So, we must offer these arrangements. Oh, and they cannot be discriminated against.

Can you follow this path further down the road in your mind? Where does this lead? What will your local elementary school look like in a few years? What will be taught? It's already being taught in many places.

Which reminds me: children's books. Be careful at the library because there are a lot of children's books being written to address these issues. They are also being read to classes in many elementary schools.

Another major category is GN language. You know, we must say actor instead of actor/actress, etc. This, of course, moves us into GN Bible translations. Oh, don't even get me started. Read. Be aware. Be informed. The version you love may have been edited recently. Research before you buy because this one is serious. Altering the Word of God to be more "inclusive" and PC??? Not good.

So it seems this is the way our world is going. I cannot even imagine how things will be in 20 or 30 years. Obviously, we must teach about this to our children. God's word says:

 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

God created two sexes. Distinct and different from one another. Plain and simple. And because my Lord did this, and said that it was good, I will continue to believe that there should be a distinction. Especially among Christians because if the world is going GN, then we should stand apart from that. What does this mean? It means my girls and I will be wearing a lot more skirts and even when we wear other things, we will make sure to look as feminine as we can. As much NOT GN as possible. It means men should look like men. I know this varies from culture to culture, but there should be a distinction--both in our dress and our behavior!

And I will pray. I do not hate people who are confused about their gender, but I do hate that it is common in our world. Children are hurting, they are committing suicide. They are miserable. They have been lied to and the Liar is deceptively confusing many people. God is not a God of confusion. These people need to know the Lord and Savior. They need prayer.

So as a Christian, I will guard against the rising tide of GN in our world, I will teach my children the truth, and I will continue to speak the truth. God did not mess up. He did not make a mistake.

What do you say about all of it? What should our reaction as Christians be?

Spring Ain't the Only Thing in the Air!

So it's prom time. And banquet time. And formal time. And springdance/endofschoolyear/whatever time.

What I'm saying is, a lot of people are posting pictures on Facebook of young ladies dressed up for these events. Lovely, beautiful young ladies all fancied up.

I have yet to see a dress that I would let my children wear.

They are ALL too short. All of them. I feel like such an old person when I say that. I understand that is what is being sold in the stores right now. I really do. I've been shopping.

I also know what the Bible says about modesty.

You know...side note here...I've thought about this a lot lately. The real definition of modesty is not "covering one's skin" but "not seeking to draw attention to one's self." Some folks dress SO completely different than the rest of the world that they truly are drawing more attention to themselves by their dress. I know that isn't really their intention, but I think their plan is not working. Of course, that doesnt' mean you should wear what everyone else is wearing so you will blend in. No. It doesn't mean that. But neither should we seek to look NOTHING like the rest of the people we are around.

There is a middle ground. Not a compromise....but a middle ground.

There has to be a way to be modest (cover what needs to be covered) while not making yourself look like you came from some other time period. I like this website because they show how you can alter dresses you buy at the store...sometimes very easily. I saw a poor girl at a restaurant this weekend who could have used some of these tricks. I was embarrassed just looking at her.

Of course, this website doesn't have solutions for the current hemlines. I certainly hope they start going back down soon. Are you kidding me? I haven't seen stuff this bad at least! Here's one a little more mainstream. Still not working for me. Have you seen this stuff where you live? These dresses are way too short!

Man, I'm old.

But thanks to the Internet, I believe we can dress for different occasions and still maintain our modesty. It may take more effort and more money...but I think it's worth it. We got our swimsuits in the mail today and I couldn't be more pleased with them. I prayed about finding swimsuits, y'all. I really did. I wanted to honor God and I wanted to swim and have fun this summer. And I wanted my girls to not feel like freaks on the beach. We got these. Mine is SO comfortable.

I wish modesty didn't take so much effort, but it seems that it does. Have you taught your daughters what modesty means AND why we should be modest AND how to go about that? It's a lesson they must learn while they are in our homes. I just might have to interview mine and see what their answers are. I may still have some work to do myself.

Betty

The mom of the little girl I teach sewing lessons to recently brought a book over to show me. She wondered if I already had this book because it contains so many of the things we have done in sewing class. But nope, I got all my ideas off the Internet. Sure enough, this is a GREAT book!

It's called Sewing for Children and I highly recommend it.

Sweetheart immediately fell in love with one of the projects and I finished it in about 3 days. (Having no computer and not being able to do a lot of things because of the workers helped)

Isn't she sweet?

She comes with a sassy jacket.

Sweetheart decided she could make her a hat. "I know how to do it, Mom." And she did. She also picked out all the fabric and colors. I praised her greatly. I hope that ability will carry over into picking out her own clothes!

I told her any additional clothes for Betty would be made by her. Now that I've sewn from this pattern, I know she could do it. And it was all hand sewing (although it wouldn't have to be) and I LOVE to sit on the couch and hand sew things.

I'm also glad my family does not depend on me to sew all of their clothing by hand. I fear we would be naked.

Now I have to make a doll for Little Bit. But she doesn't want one of these dolls. No....she wants a doll made from a drawing she made a few months ago. I think I can adapt this pattern to work.

I guess that remains to be seen.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

The Christmas Party

Well, here we were all dressed to go to the Christmas party. These are the best pics in the world, but they are what we have. I do NOT have a large red bow in my hair! That's from the Christmas tree. Ha!

The lighting in these pictures is horrible.



Last Christmas. Oh look! Same skirt and shirt!



Twenty pounds doesn't show up like I hoped it would, but I am smaller here. Promise.

So I Found an Outfit....Almost

The annual "find something suitable to wear to the Christmas party where I'll be around someone other than my family" is in full swing. Once a year I have to go out amongst my husband's co-workers and try to look to all the world like a sophisticated adult.

So I found this yesterday:

Dress Barn

  I just love it. It will go well with a black skirt I already have, and a red shirt I have underneath. It will also go well later with a denim skirt or even pants. LOVE.

So, to top off the outfit, I need shoes. I usually wear some black flats and I'm getting tired of them and I feel I need something dressier for this event. So, I found these:

Target

But they did not have my size. I was very sad. You must understand, I really don't care about shoes. I know some women really, really love shoes, but I have never been one of them. Shoes? I'm all eh.

For some reason I fell in LOVE with these shoes and am totally convinced that they will make the outfit! I must have them! So last night I went to a different Target. No luck.
 
Via the wonderment of Facebook, I currently have two friends checking their Targets to see if they can find them AND get them to me by tomorrow night!!! We shall see if either of them have success...

Have I mentioned my friends rock? And Facebook is a big help in wardrobe crises?

Now, if I can figure out what to do with my hair, and practice having a real grown up conversation, I'll be fine.

Happiness

I have a few things I am really happy about. That's a good way to start the day, huh?

• I have lost 20 pounds this year. TWENTY! I cannot tell you it was through hard work either. I have not been working out. I have been eating differently and obviously, it has made a difference. I am just so happy every time I look in the mirror. The funny thing is, I'm BACK TO the weight I once lamented over and worried about how big I was getting. Oh well, it feels good to be back. I wore a skirt on Saturday that I haven't fit into in at least 3 years. I am 10 pounds from my goal now. It actually seems possible.
• And by the way, I still wear the same size really. How is that possible? Sure, things are baggier but still. Wouldn't you think 20 pounds would mean at least dropping one size? Oh well. The next 10 will do it. Surely.



Happiness is spraying yourself in the face with the water hose!

• The house has been staying nicer. We've all been helping to get that done, but really I feel great about how the main part of the house has looked. And the girls' room, ever since S has been inspecting at night, has been more than acceptable. That just makes me so happy. Come to think of it, our room has been much improved too. A clean, picked-up house will make anyone feel happier and less stressed. (Let's not discuss the sewing room or laundry room OK?)



Happiness is going to a good friend's birthday party!



Happiness is getting a new fish!

• S is taking vacation tomorrow and we are going to tackle the garage. Yes, we really know how to party. We've been wanting to get my car parked in the garage and since the neighbor's car was broken into the other night, we really want to get that done. We discussed renting a storage facility to store S's lawn trailer (his side business) but I really feel that if we can't fit into a 3 bedroom, 2 car garage house....SOMETHING IS WRONG. Just look at this and tell me we can't do it.
• I am also happy with my plan to set up the sewing machine in the homeschool room. It will be SO NICE to have a place to do my Christmas present sewing and NOT have to set up and break down four hundred times.



Happiness is pretending to be a vet!

• And most of all, I am happy to be home. I am constantly amazed and thankful that I am here. I wish I could go back in time and quit my job about 5 years sooner than I did. Or maybe...what if I had never worked at all but had been a housewife from the start? I can't go back, but I am thankful to be where I belong now. I maybe might possibly be getting my groove around here.

And that makes me really, really happy.

What are you happy about today? It doesn't have to be deep. Found a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry? You can see the laundry room floor peeking through the piles? Celebrating "no one is sick" day? Loving your Christmas decorations? Husband has been working late but got you a chocolate shake on his way home? 

  

What's making you happy today?

What I Accomplished and the Importance of Good Buttonholes

First of all, over the holiday weekend, I turned this:

into this:

It might as well be a mile high.

Now I just have to work my magic and turn that (see above) into 2 quilts.

Concerning Christmas parties. I always go straight to Dress Barn for my outfits. They have never let me down. One year when Little Bit was really little, I had a great pair of black pants that made me look and feel thin. My entire goal that year was to find a shirt beautiful enough to go to a Christmas party in that matched those pants.

Here is what I found. Isn't it lovely?

The bad news about that shirt is that I was seated next to Mike D. all evening. He works with S. He was sitting on the unfortunate (depending on how you look at it I suppose) side of me all evening. It would have been better if S had been on that side because not once, not twice, not even 3 times, but AT LEAST 5 times that evening I would look down and 3-5 of my buttons would be popped open.

I am sorry to say I was not wearing a fancy bra either.

And also, it's difficult to discreetly AND QUICKLY button that many buttons at a dinner table.

Dear me.

You have never seen a shirt be disposed of so quickly upon my arrival home.

Needless to say I am not looking to get that intimate again with my husband's co-workers. Dress Barn, don't fail me this year!!!

The Best

S and I decided to not go out of town for Thanksgiving. We had our first-ever just us family Thanksgiving. It was so nice!! I cooked the entire Thanksgiving meal and I felt no stress. I usually wig out when we have something big like that but no one was coming over...it was just us. No problem. The next day we got our Christmas decorations out and I let the girls decide where most of it went. I was so laid back!

It was just the nicest weekend ever. S was home the whole time and we just had a nice time being home and not running everywhere.

I'm sort of stunned I have to get up in the morning and make a lunch and teach school and do housework type things. 

But, it's only for 2 weeks and then we get another break. I know I should be terribly concerned about Christmas presents but we don't really have the money to shop right now, so why worry? The girls both want dollhouse furniture this year, which does not excite me to purchase, but it's what they want. Other people? I have no idea.

Hey, it's still November, OK? Lay off.

Oh! I did accomplish one important thing this weekend, but sharing that with you requires me to put down the laptop, walk across the room and turn on the other computer, find the camera and cord, upload the pictures I took this weekend, edit them really quickly if needed, and insert them in this blog post.

I think we can all see why THAT'S not going to happen!

But I'll share them with you in the morning. How's that?

Also, in case you aren't full enough of trivia from my so-called life, I typed up our December calendar and it's really full. Already. I am frowning about that, by the way. THREE different times in the next week or so I am signed up to bring stupid food to a stupid event at church. I am way over signing up for things. I am way over cooking food for things.

And, while I've got you all here and I'm on a complaining roll, S and I both have to purchase something suitable to wear to his work Christmas party. This is never a fun thing for me. I always think I'll just run into Dress Barn and walk out victorious.

Incidentally, I have a story about that. I'll share that in the morning too.

See? Now doesn't waking up tomorrow seem a whole lot brighter with all that to look forward to?