Keepin him guessing

Sometimes it's good to keep them guessing. Day 6.....Mr. Loud is officially dazed and confused by the niceness I have been showing. Pretty sure he is secretly checking bank accounts and considering putting a tail on me to see what I'm up to with all these little gifts. 

Thank goodness he's all buttered up by these gifts because my sweet little friend who loves me and pretty much only me most days decided she wanted to play at 6:30am the other day ago...unfortunately for Mr. Loud he was trying to sleep...but Coco wanted to play and 'accidently' scratched him trying to wake him up....ok she downright attacked him...but she was only trying to play! Thankfully she hid out under the bed until he cooled down....and later on that day jumped right back in his lap for some attention!

Day 6....he was fixing supper and I told him I had some reading to do and to just bring my plate to me in bed....that got a little bit of a dirty look....but when he brought it I had this little gift hiding under the covers. That one even earned me a refill on my Dr. Pepper 10! 

Day 7....ya know these are really kinda cheesy....and no way do I keep a straight face with these.....because I am no where near one of those sappy sweet girls when it comes to my husband....gotta keep him guessing most day!

Day 9....this one he loved...of course he laughed at the note attached while I was saying "amazing....just amazing"! haha! I read the other day where the word "amazing" was the most over used word of 2011 and they wanted it removed from the English language. I agree....it's pretty amazing how everyone over uses that word.

 Now no way could Mr. Loud be the only one getting special little treats. I bought myself a new toy too! A BIGKick Sizzix! OMG! This thing is sooo stinkin cool!

Just stack the trays together with the die cuts between them and turn the knob.

 It rolls right through it and abracadabra....

You end up with cutouts! 

I made this little St. Patrick's Day wreath out of plumbers wrap covered in felt and the little flowers I cut out tonight. Wendy if you are reading I might make you one since that's your birthday! 

And in case y'all didn't realize it....tomorrow is FRIDAY.....so happy early weekend peeps!

The asthma monster rises again...

     

     So the asthma monster reared its ugly head this past weekend. We heard the slight cough Thursday. Then knew something was up on Friday when big C came home from school and didn't feel well...and had the little throat clearing going on. Then sure enough woke up Saturday morning barking. Needless to say we got the nebulizer fired up and Zopenex loaded. And as a little ‘Momma hopes you feel better’ gesture I made him a sweet little treat….chocolate dipped marshmellows….dipped in red & pink sugars just because I love that boy. 

Thankfully that's all we've had to do this weekend....and we kept him inside and let him just rest and relax. And of course this morning before school he did a treatment, just to loosen him up a little. The cough is now loose, but his nose is runny...hopefully we're past the flare up. 

     But ya know I have never complained about his asthma. Mainly because we can control it. Not that that is easy at times, we have had times that we have done as many as 5 breathing treatments back to back to break an attack, the whole time almost in tears and scared with the pediatrician on the phone just listening and talking us through it and offering support until we could get in to see her 1st thing the following morning. We've sat on the toilet holding him while the shower makes enough steam that WE can't breathe....we've walked outside in the cold night air to try to break it (yes this has helped before!)....we've used the nasal bulb syringe and made him blow his nose over and over again just in case it's post nasal drip triggering it....we've slathered down in Vics.....we've tried it all.....and we've said prayers while trying them all. But....we did it and we always made it until the following morning....free of ER visits and stayed in the comfort of our own beds and usually rocking big C in the recliner so that he can breathe easier. And yes...even though he's 9 we still do it if that helps. Thank goodness me and Mr. Loud are both nurses, God knew we would need that knowledge to take care of big C. We've only had 1 hospital admission, and that was because the oral steroids just weren't cutting it and he was maxed out on the oral dose...so we spent 24 hours inpatient for IV steroids. But that wasn't all bad! He was 1 month short of being 4 years old and still had his bink (pacifier!) that we just couldn't take from him. But...he just couldn't breathe with that bink in his mouth and he chose breathing over that bink! So we told him that he shouldn't use it because he needed to breath out of his mouth...and so thanks to that asthma exacerbation he gave up the binky....and tear-free too might I add! Turns out even to a 4 year old breathing is more important than his binky was! You see...there is always a brighter side to a bad situation. Mr. Loud and I have always been thankful that big C's illness is only asthma. There are so many parents facing such terrible chronic and debilitating illness that they can't control and must spend countless days and nights in hospitals and watch their child suffer with no end in sight. For this we have always been thankful that God has always helped us take care of him, and wake up better the following morning. My hope is that big C grows out of his asthma, but if not then we’ll continue to keep inhalers in all vehicles, purses, backpacks, baseball bags,  grandparent’s house, and schools. We’ll take the nebulizer and a new box of Xopenex on every car trip and airplane that we go on. We’ll continue to rock in that rocking chair until we can no longer fit in it, and when that happens we’ll just get a bigger chair….and I’ll recite our favorite line from our favorite book……I’ll love you for forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be…..because as long as I’m living I’ll always be thankful that God made him just like he is! Now go love your babies…even the big ones….and thank God for making them just like they are.

Weekends are for crafting....who woulda thought it?!

I sooo remember when my whole week used to revolve around what I was going to get into on the weekend! Now....my whole week revolves around just getting through the week in one piece so I can rest and relax on the weekend. 20 years ago who woulda thought it? (Now why is Ice Ice Baby playing in my head?!) But this past week I've been working on a things to do list for this weekend. At the top of the list was reading and cleaning and laundry. I cleaned house Friday evening, laundry NEVER ends, and I just wasn't into reading. So I decided I just had to go to Michael's last night at 7:30pm.....just because I had this wild hair that I needed a Sizzix BigKick or BigShot or whatever they had right then. I NEED some help cutting circles and flower shapes out of felt and fabric...thanks to all of the wreath ideas that Pinterest keeps putting in my head!(Please don't say Cricut..those intimidate me...for now anyway) So while there I found some cute Martha Steward stencil sets with words for kitchen items....of course she would come up with these....i'm sure she was looking around one of her 27 kitchens thinking "ya know Ms. Martha (don't ya just know that's what she calls herself?!!) I bet we could really spruce up those old $2000 canisters sets with some painted letters'!! And then right there in her kitchen I bet that domestic goddess heifer hollered out orders to one of her 16 personal assistants to get to work! Well......I don't have a personal assistant but needless to say my canisters could use some help...since mine has pieces of tape with lettering on them! Don't judge.....it was fairly creative at the time. ;-) And that was just a couple of my purchases from Michael's on Saturday night. 

Oh!! But wait....before coming home from Michael's I stopped by Target to pick up a few goodies for my 14 days of Valentine's for Mr. Loud. Thanks Pinterest for the idea! He got these today....he asked who I was and what I have done with is wife. I like to keep him guessing...it keeps him wondering what I'm up to. (Oh and by the way....I started out strong on Day 1....forgot Day 2-4 so I got some catching up to do....again...don't judge...he's still surprised and wondering what I've done wrong!

So back to the canisters.......I had these visions that this whole stencil idea would go sooo smoothly.....WRONG! Notice the stencil below...that says SUGAR....well when I pulled it off it only said SU and a 1/2 of a G. Cue the cussin....cause yes it started. 

So after I scratched the paint off with my fingernail and replaced the stencil and added more paint I decided to add a little pretty to my splenda container. It worked....and the cussin died down.

Until I took the next one off and 1/2 of the R came with it....so I tried to replace the R of the stencil....which was an epic fail. So I cussed a little more while talking with my BFF, who suggested scratching it off and starting all over again. Oh heck no! I got a little paint brush and free handed that puppy!

 But the SUGAR did get redone....and this time I removed the stencil almost immediately after the 2nd quick layer of pain....and it stuck....thankfully.....cause I was running out of cuss words. (ok so no I wasn't...)

 The COFFEE and splenda containers were perfect! I choose this brick red color because that's close to the colors of my kitchen and dining room walls...and I didn't want a bright red.

 And of course my ADHD kicked in (yes I have diagnosed myself....I have a problem with waiting on paint to dry and doing nothing but watching it....and I sure wasn't going to do anything else productive.) But check out the cute little wire wrapped heart I made! The center red stone came off of my 40th birthday cake and the 2 little blue stones around it represent my 2 little boys. I hear you saying  AWWWW right now. I'll be wearing this until Valentine's Day....it makes me smile. 

 And here is the finished version...I only had to redo 3 of them. The set didn't have a BAKING SODA or BAKING POWDER so my little green and yellow containers are without words. Ms. Martha must not leave hers out on her counter....she must not be a big baker. Oh yeah....probably gets one of her 16 assistants to fetch it for her when she needs it. 

 They all turned out really cute. I did them all a little different. The flour may be my favorite. 

 And look what I made last night....a wire wrapped nest...complete with 2 little blue pearl 'eggs'. This makes me smile too. Can you tell I love my boys and anything that reminds me of them is a good thing?!

 Can you tell what these are? This was another purchase from Michael's...this is silver clay....with their fingerprints that I am going to bake in the oven then hang on a ribbon necklace. SWEET!

 Pure sweetness on a plate right there! 

 Oh...and these really really made me cuss! All over Pinterest is the suggestion of using these plumbing wraps for wreath forms. Ok...good idea...but they won't stay together....they pull free from DUCK TAPE....what in the world?!?! So I tried tying them with ribbon....adhesive....you name it they still pulled apart. If you have any ideas to help a sista out they would be much appreciated....or else I'm gonna throw those other 5 out the door!

Tomorrow I plan on getting my new cutter out of the box. After I go back to Michael's with another 40% coupon so I can buy a die for it! I plan on going every day this week....there are 5 dies that I want and I have 5 40% coupons already printed up! I'll keep ya posted....ya'll have a good Monday. Oh and by the way....was loooooovin me some Eli tonight. If Drew couldn't be there I sure was glad Eli was! 

~I looooove me some Mardi Gras season~

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!! For all you northerners that means LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL! Down here in the South its Mardi Gras season....which means......(drum roll please)......KING CAKES!!! And oh how we love our KING CAKES!!! Cream cheese filled, apple, blueberry, cherry, cinnamon, lemon, raspberry, chocolate, caramel, Bavarian cream, praline filled,  ....heck we ain't picky.....just give us a round yeasty cake with plenty of sugary icing and green, yellow, and purple sugars and we are H-A-P-P-Y. And let me share something with y'all, I L-O-V-E to cook!! Well let me rephrase that....I L-O-V-E to bake. Mr. L&IC likes to cook....I bake....he has his role and I have mine, and we have a happy kitchen that way. One of my staff was saying we needed a King Cake. Last year around this time I spent ALOT of time down in New Orleans. There is a place in Metarie, Randazzo's, where there is a line a wrapped around the block some days....but let me tell you that it is worth the time and money to get one of those Heaven baked King Cakes! They are like the angels themselves baked those things up.....UNBELIEVABLY GOOD! So we decided to go online and see if we could order us up a couple. OMG....those things were around $60....each!!! And that wasn't with shipping! Soooo......being the baker that I am I sent her on an online mission to find a fairly easy King Cake recipe. And she hit the jackpot! Just a few ingredients and 2 packages of crescent rolls and y'all have got y'all a delicious King Cake too! 

So 1st get you about a 1/4 cup of raisins and put them in some warm water to soak and plump up. (I bet you could throw in some good bourbon for a little extra kick!)

Next chop up about a 1/2 cup of pecans. (Guess I better tell y'all that I don't really like to measure....I'm one of those "well that looks like its enough or who are they kiddin....that needs alot more!' kinda cooks.)

 Next, mix 1- 8oz block of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup brown sugar (doesn't matter if it's light or dark...I use whatever I grab 1st), and 1/2-1 tbsp or so of cinnamon until its nice and smooth.

Then scrap down your sides and drain your plumped up raisins and add your chopped up pecans and mix a little.

Now notice my old black edged pizza pan I have my cake on....that thing is old as dirt but I'd rather give you my all my pots and skillets before I gave you this....because NOTHING STICKS ON IT! And it's not even nonstick....it's just good and 'seasoned'! So I don't use any kind of spray or oil on my pizza pan.....now if you usually spray yours when you cook crescents or biscuits then go ahead and spray your pan lightly.Next arrange 2 cans of crescent rolls in a circle shape with the wide ends toward the inside of the circle and the tips spaced equally outward.  Then spoon your mixture around the wide ends of your crescent 'wreath'.

 Now grab the tips and fold them over the filling and tuck them a little on the inside.

 Now bake your easy King Cake at 350' for about 20-30 minutes or until it's golden brown and looks 'done'. In order for the icing to look like this....white and thick...you have to let it COOL. Now I make these with all different kinds of fillings before Sunday School alot of mornings...and sometimes I do not have time to let it cool and I'll just add that glaze and let it melt and puddle all over the place and it is just fine and yummy...not quite as pretty but taste just as good! To make the icing I mixed a bunch of powdered sugar...probably around 1- 1 1/2 cups, about 3 tbsp of butter, some milk (maybe 4-5 tbsp) to thin it down, and some real good vanilla, about 1/2 tsp. Now if all of the words on your bottle of vanilla are in English then you need to throw that stuff in the garbage and get you some good MEXICAN vanilla....with not a word in English!....it will change your baking world....but if you can't get your hands on that then you are going to need to probably double the amount of vanilla you use. I decided I was going to use pink and red sugars for my cake this weekend. (Ok actually I was out of purple sugar and was way too lazy to go to the store!) So this was my early Valentine King Cake, minus the baby. But let me tell you it was some kind of GOOD! So try your hand at an easy King Cake...and Lassiez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Thanks Pinterest...now I'm an addict.....

So thanks to discovering Pinterest, I now have a perfect excuse for not cleaning house, studying, or basically doing anything constructive other than scouring for new crafting ideas....Thanks Pinterest!

This is one of those painted t-shirts that was so popular oh...about 15 years ago! But I looooved this angel and never could throw it away. She lived on a hanger hung on the back of a clothes rack in my washroom!

 I had been wanting to learn to Mod Podge stuff...thanks to tutorials on Pinterest now I know how! And I experimented on a "C", my best friends initial...and gave it to her. I told her I surely wasn't going to mess up on my own initial first! haha...she's the best!

 I am loving the lighted wine bottles! I now have a matching set on either side of my kitchen counters. One of my staff's birthday is this Sunday and he happens to enjoy a good glass (more or less!) of good bourbon. So I told him to bring me an empty bottle and just so happens he just finished one (it is hunting season ya know!!)....so I made him a cute light for his camper. He is gonna so be the envy of the hunting camp!

 Another one of my staff's daughter is having a baby soon and we threw her a baby shower last weekend. She's doing an owl theme. I saw this cute owl fabric at Walmart...on clearance....and knew I could make something out of it....so this is what I came up with....a fabric wrapped wreath with the baby's name on it. She's going to hang it on her hospital door when he's born. We also used it as an impromptu wall decoration behind the gift table at the shower...it worked great!

I learned how to make those cute felt flowers! I am loving these small little fabric wrapped wreathes. They are just cute and sweet hanging on my office door....I think I'm going to make one for every season...they make me smile!

This is the first fabric wrapped wreath I made. Notice the little wrapped flowers....dang near burned my fingers off with the glue gun with those!

And here is what became of that cute painted Christmas angel shirt I just couldn't get rid of! She is sooo pretty now! I'm going to paint the cheap $5 frame I put her in glittery gold later on. She's so going to hang on a wall this Christmas! She makes me smile too!

I had this painted J that I made a couple of years ago (can't remember exactly what my vision was for it!) and saw a framed initial on Pinterest. Well....another $5 frame from Walmart....11x14 I think. I painted the  back of the paper picture that came in the frame (yep you read that right!)with black crafting paint using a sponge brush all going in the same direction. Let it dry then put it back in the frame after cleaning the inside of the glass really well so there was no dirt/lint inside the glass. It looks really cool...the paint is kinda streaky and looks like distressed wood behind the glass! Then I hot glued the J to the glass (which didn't stay!!). Soooo...I wired the J up through the top of the picture, between the glass and the frame, then hot glued it again to the glass to keep it from moving. I should have used fishing line, but I didn't think of that! Then stapled the ribbon to the back of the fram and tied a big ol bow and left the pieces long to cover up the wire! (Wouldn't have had to do that if I would have used fishing line!) It's hanging on a wreath holder in my living room now. I'm thinking about moving it to a wall.....but I really hate committing with nails!

 I made one of these last week to use at the baby shower, out of clear glass dishes from Dollar Tree. The whole thing cost a whopping $5! But the thing fell apart....turns out textured glass doesn't adhere very well. And one of my friends kept laughing at it. I told her it was only because she was envious of my creation and I could sense she had a truely jealous heart....soooo.....I made her this one! It's made out of melamine dishes and glass candle sticks! Cost me a little more....very little more! And she loved it!!! And so did everyone else! I think I'll make some of these for gifts these year. Very cute and comes in handy when you don't want to get all of your big serving dishes out!

This little cutie is made out of wrapped sheets of felt. The little flowers are free handed cut outs. A friend of mine said it looked like a Kindergarten project....but it makes me smile too....a sweet little simple wreath.....pretty sure she's just jealous I didn't make her one too! It's going on my office door for Valentine's Day. HA!

 And all crafting projects always go better with a big ol glass of WINE. I sure hope you are as happy when  you are crafting...and all of your artwork makes you smile! Cheers!

Cell phone blogging?!

Just downloaded a new app and needed to see if it works....let\'s check!

JAN25

It’s January what?!

Posted on January 25, 2012 by happymomma

It’s January what?!

Ok…so I said I was going to start writing again. And I thought the perfect topic would be my “word of the year” and I would begin it on January 1st. I started thinking about “my word” around the middle of December and just waited until a word chose me. I read somewhere that that’s what your really supposed to do (sounds crazy doesn’t it?! but it really happened!). So anyway…I was going through words and words and more words that could possibly be MINE. I like organize…and relish….and enjoy…and limit….and create…..and prioritize…..and organize (I really liked that one!)…and a few more. But for some reason the word JOY kept popping up. I would find my self telling others to have a joyfully attitude, that joy is something we chose to have and should strive to show. Then it finally hit me (yes it was one of those ‘DUH!’ moments) that JOY was the word I have been looking for! Again….well DUH!!! So I have made JOY my mantra. I will joyfully celebrate my family, I will joyfully perform my job duties (may need a little extra wine from time to time to pull that one off), and I will choose JOY over discontent, complacency, and generalized lethargy. I will JOYFULLY tackle my school work (remember I lost my mind a year ago and thought I just wasn’t busy enough and ought to go back to school!) and I will JOYFULLY do things for my family…even if I am tired, stressed, and just plain mentally exhausted! I am making it my mission statement for the year, “To present a joyful attitude in all I do”. We can always find joy, even in the smallest most unexpected areas. Be that work, where we can be joyful we have the opportunity to provide care to our patients in their weakest and most vulnerable conditions. Especially in dealing with our spouses, even when we are tired or annoyed (or both!), a little niceness goes alooooong way.I am making a point to limit the amount of sarcasm and snide remarks I make to my husband this year. I will TRY to think before I speak, and not take for granted the JOY he has brought to me, whether that be from our 2 precious children, who bring JOY to me in all that they do, or Mr. Loud for cooking supper for us, or just taking the trash out because I hate to. There are so many out there whose husbands never returned from war or were never active participants in the family to start with. I will JOYFULLY give thanks for my family!
I’ve actually also been de-cluttering my surroundings lately….you know….to make room for more JOY! LOL!! But as I’m cleaning out closets and throwing away junk I’m doing it JOYFULLY. Have you ever looked around at all of the JUNK you have accumulated?! Whether that be the shirt that looked so cute in the store and it was on sale so of course you bought it but have never ever worn it…..to all the cute “dust collectors” or shelf stuffers you just had to have because they were chickens, or blue, or fleur de lis’s or whatever. Sometimes we have to just clean up and throw out….so that we can JOYFULLY make room for new and better things to come. So this month I am on a mission to clean out and organize and have a JOYFUL spirit about me. I’m going to smile more and talk “things up” and not buy into gloom and doom or those who seek to steal our JOY. So far so good….but somedays it’s a struggle….some days I just want to cuss and fuss and go shopping for more dust collectors! But then again don’t we all. My wish for this year is that we all try to CHOOSE JOY and not only choose it but LIVE JOYFULLY. For we all have choices as to what our attitudes are….and as for me….I’m going to CHOOSE JOY…..and a little more wine in the evenings….that should help when my joy level is low!