Fire Extinguisher

Several years ago, I was contracted to sew some shirts for someone's daughter. She was involved in rodeos, needed Western shirts, and liked her gear to look flashy. I just sew as I'm told. So after all my work of painstakingly matching flames and perfectly sewing and finishing seams, she never picked up or paid for the shirt, and I was left with it and all the fabric for the other shirts she had ordered.
Here it is, in all its blazing glory. Any bids? Women's size small. Some would think it hot with black jeans.

I had been wanting to sew a pair of pajamas for Owen. I have made pajamas for three nephews so far and nightgowns for two nieces and for Helen. But I couldn't find the right fabric.

Then I remembered the stash I had from the un-sewn Western shirts, and thought maybe the fabric would be cuter with a different interpretation...Owen wasn't terribly enthused. We had to make him wear them, since he likes his tractor pajamas and his dinosaur pajamas. We refer to these new ones as his pimp jammies (not in front of him!) The poor kid might be scarred for life, because we laughed so hard the first time we saw him in them. They're pretty oversized for him, and Jason commented it looked like a zoot suit.

On another, sicker note, we have had what we presume to be the flu. Jason caught it somewhere last week, then brought it home to share with the rest of us. I do not get sick very often, and I was willing my way through this one. But Saturday night, I woke up freezing, feverish and feeling like I had hopped in front of a swinging wrecking ball. Sheer misery. I briefly thought, "Lord, take me home."

Helen woke up Sunday morning looking like I felt. The two of us just sort of pathetically existed yesterday. And now Owen woke up with a fever and a cough this morning, although he still wanted his moatmeal and a peppermint and a cookie. Helen is still sleeping, as of 9:17, so she probably is not back to normal yet.

And to make matters worse, I ran out of coffee this morning. Sheer misery.

First Purchase

I felt the need to get out of the house tonight, so I planned a family trip to Wal-Mart. Big stuff, I know.

Finally, the supper dishes were done and everyone was clean and ready--at 7 pm, an hour before the kids' bedtime.

And then a certain little girl got cranky. And since a certain Mr. had been feeling head-coldish all day and was less than enthused about the impromptu visit to Wally World, the family trip turned into an Owen-and-Mommy date.

Owen went into ecstatic shock the moment I mentioned the change of plans to him. And when I got his bank down and asked him if he wanted to take some of his money to buy gum or a treat, it was like the last day of school in a 4th grade classroom. He couldn't contain himself. Smiles and belly laughs and happy growls, jumps and hops and circles, attempts at throwing his shoes in the air....

He chose to sit in Helen's carseat instead of his own, and we grooved to Eric Clapton all the way to Bay Minette. We then cruised the store, stopping to smell lots of shampoo for Mommy, watch the fish for Owen and try on shoes for Mommy. Owen played with Mommy's Suave shampoo and conditioner and with his new Colgate Diego toothpaste. We bought "mahanoni" and milk. "Mahanoni" and cheese is Owen's favorite lunch right now, one he insists upon if his cousin Blake is at our house, and my pantry was slap out of the box o' goodness.

We pulled up to a cashier and I let Owen choose his treat from the aisle of impulse, since he was using his own money. I wasn't prepared for the choice he made, and I snickered all the way home. I don't know where he learned about Rice Krispie treats, especially the individually packaged ones. I don't make them myself, except for a batch of chocolate-peanut butter ones I did since Christmas. All I know is it was the biggest thing available in that whole selection--this bar was absolutely HUGE.

We stopped at Sonic, a drive in, and shared a coconut cream pie shake. When Owen put down his Rice Krispie treat, stopped slurping on the straw and started playing with the rearview mirror, it was time to go home.

He spent a little time dancing around, loving on his daddy, eating more Krispie treat and taking my picture before going to bed.
We wrapped up the three quarters of the treat he couldn't manage tonight. I guess my plans for his breakfast are made. (HA! That was for you, Mom.)

A few more hours...

Jason is getting home late tonight. It's been a long 9 days.

But I got a lot of stuff done. Mostly boring, nagging stuff, but I know Jason will appreciate it.

I did a lot of touch-up painting. It's amazing--simply living in a house can damage it. There were a lot of knicks and scuffs and a few pencil marks in the hall, kitchen, entry door and kids' rooms that are now covered over. Helen's crown molding is painted (after a year--snort!)

I sewed a simple curtain for one guest bedroom in the basement.

I sewed a (goofy) library bag that didn't turn out like I'd imagined but I'll use it anyway.

I painted my old toy kitchen cupboard and changed the hinges. Unfortunately, I didn't get the pulls changed. Something about a drill....and the wrong kind of screws.

I hung a shelf on a wall in our bedroom. I needed the drill to install sheetrock anchors--yikes, never did that before! I don't think I did it quite right, because the weight of the shelf is pulling the sheetrock anchors back out of the wall. Uhhhhh......sorry honey......but the shelf had been sitting on the floor for, oh, I don't know, months?

I tried to fix Helen's lamp, but I bought the wrong size harp. (That's the part that goes over the light bulb, that you screw the shade onto.)

I baked and decorated Valentine cookies, my favorite cookies in all the world.

And Mom finished sewing the top of Helen's baby quilt. It is cute. It is pink. It is hundreds of tiny squares all sewn together in random order. Just in time for her to move into Owen's green, red and blue room!

One thing I ask

If your spouse were in a different country, and you could only ask him/her one question, what would be burning in your heart?

Here's mine: Baby, where's the drill?

Rest for the weary

Someone is snoring in my ears right now, the well-deserved slumber of a long day's work. Poor Dr. Van. I wonder if I could type that out and bill for it? Zzzzzzzzzzz..... Or maybe I could transcribe the TV program blaring in the background?

Jason is quite out of the country. He is in Belize, with a group from our church. My mom flew down to help with the kids and lend me sanity. He called today, said it was a lot hotter than they expected, he misses us, and there is a cute little 3-year-old boy down there making the missing extra hard. He's got the camera. Belize vs. more pictures of the kids. He won, easily.

Joining the Work Force

Yesterday in the car, Owen saw my loose change and said, "Mommy, I wan' MUNNY!!" He was pretty insistent about it, so I let him borrow a few coins to rub together. When we arrived at our destination, I made him give them back. "Mommy, I WAN' MUNNY!!"

"You have to do some work first. Then Mommy and Daddy will give you money. We work for money."

This morning I reminded him about work and money. He took off like a shot, running for the stairs to go find Daddy. We gave him a rag and a spray bottle of Basic G, my favorite Shaklee cleaner, and assigned him the hall baseboards. Mommy stayed very close to keep him on task, since he got distracted by the chair rail, Helen, the spray bottle, and the occasional stray toy.

He earned two dimes. What bright and shiny eyes he had! We put the earnings in his bank for safe-keeping.

"I wan' MORE munny!!" he said immediately.