Around Our House

Taking a cue from Stephanie, I thought I'd share a few of the things that we've been doing around our house.

What we've been making:

push up cake pops

lots of baby food

pine cone bird feeders

christmas decorations

turkey shirts

What we've been reading:

Little Women

Where the Sidewalk Ends

What we've been watching:

Winnie the Pooh

What's going on at your house?

Blue

It has been cold and rainy all week.

We've spent a lot of time inside playing games.

as always, you ca find more pictures of blue at

piecing it together

I have been working so very hard on this puzzle.  It's never ending.  I rearrange the pieces when they don't look right.  I give pieces away.  Sometimes I have to remove a piece permanently or cut away at it to make it fit.  Sometimes I have extra.  Sometimes, not enough. 

So many people focus so hard on their own piece that all they can see are the imperfections.  The blurred lines of the picture, the rough edges.  They will never see where their piece fits into the bigger picture.  They will never appreciate the entire puzzle.  They will, however use that small fraction to judge the whole. 

Only those who watch me work it daily get a glimpse of the finished product.  Even then, there are pieces missing.  As much as I hate to, I can't help looking at the puzzles others are working on.  All I can see are pieces, but I notice their colors are more brilliant than mine, their lines clearer, their edges smoother.  I have to fight the urge to tear up the whole thing and start over.

linking up with heather

My Bug

Corrina turned eight yesterday.  We had a very busy weekend of celebrating. 

Friday night, we made these. 

Saturday, she had a birthday party at the local bowling alley.  Afterward, she got to have a friend spend the night.  It was her first sleepover.

Yesterday, we took her to lunch, then had Steve's family over for cake.

It was a homemade cake.  We had a hard time finding birthday candles. 

We had to settle for 6 mismatched candles and a number 2 candle. 

It was pretty ghetto, but she didn't mind.  She's a trooper.

view from the other side

My stomach is in knots.  I know I'm going to make a mistake.  I know I'm going to talk too loud, too soft or giggle.  I can't.  This isn't like giving a speech in high school.  In fact, this isn't even about me.  It's not my day and I can't mess up. 

The bride comes down the aisle and she looks beautiful.  She also looks like her feet my hurt but she couldn't care less.  She has a goal and he is waiting for her.  They stand in front of me and I begin.  The words come out effortlessly and even "In a world where faith often falls short of our expectation, it is a wonderful tribute to two people to see them joining hands and hearts in perfect faith". 

Most people don't see a wedding from this perspective.  I never have.  It's amazing to see the look on their faces, the love, the hope, the fears and happiness that pass between them as they look into each other's eyes and repeat after me.  I am yours and you are mine."  At that moment, the room could have been filled with thousands or none and they wouldn't know the difference.  That's all that matters. 

I hope to always remember them this way.

Linking up with Heather.

I've Got Nothing

Today, because I'm recuperating from my very lazy weekend, all I have to entertain you with is this list.

Things you may not know about me

1.  My husband is much much older than me.

I will not give you an exact number of years, but I will tell you that it is less than 20.

2.  We are a single car family.

We have been for almost a year and a half.  It works for us, for now.  Unfortunately, though I'm not sure how much longer it will.

3.  I raise money for cystic fibrosis.

A close friend of mine had cystic fibrosis.  Every year I raise money for the Great Strides walk in his memory.

4.  I am an ordained minister.

It is true, you can hire the Drunken Housewife to officiate your wedding or civil union ceremony.

5.  I do not go to church and have never been religious.

I do, however, read the Bible almost every night before bed.

6.  I love going to the movies alone.

I'm comfortable doing most things alone, even eating.

7.  I live in a very small town (almost 8,500 people), less than an hour from St. Louis, MO

I am from a much smaller town, though (pop. 3,400).

8.  We do not have a dishwasher.

It's true.  We wash all the dishes for our family of 6 by hand.  Luckily, my husband helps a lot with that chore.

9.  I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

I had a plan once, but I took my time making it happen. Now, I'm not so sure it's relevant anymore.  Right now, I'm just happy being a wife and mom.

10.  When I was younger, getting married and having kids wasn't an option.

If you had asked me when I was 5, 16 or 21 if I wanted to have children, I would have looked at you like you threw poo at me.  Today?  I can't imagine doing anything else and I have become immune to poo.



Can you help Corrina out with her birthday project this year?

Raking Leaves

We had some gorgeous weather last weekend, a perfect fall day before the rain set in. 

The sky was so blue. Less than a week later, you can't tell we did any yard work and the trees have even less leaves on them.

What did we do with all those leaves?

We jumped in them, of course!

As always, you can find more pictures of fall at

One Proud Mama

Sometimes, I don't think I give Corrina the credit she deserves.  Aside from being a most frustrating child, she really is a most amazing child.

This month, she will turn 8.  EIGHT!

A couple nights ago, she told me that she wants to do more to help other people.  OK.  I almost suggested that she could start with the laundry or the dishes.  Instead, I suggested ways she could help people who really need it.  She loves to read and is amazing at it.  She decided that she wanted to raise money for kids who need books. 

For her birthday this year, she has asked her friends to make a donation to First Book instead of giving her a gift.  She has set her goal at $100.

First Book is an organization that provides new, age appropriate books to children in need.  If you're interested in learning more about First Book, you can read about it here.

Interested in helping Corrina reach her goal?  You can find her fundraising profile here.  Even if you can't give, go ahead and sign her guest book, wish her luck or happy birthday.  She is so excited about this.  I couldn't be more proud of her!

This is Halloween

I didn't pull out a single Halloween decoration this year.  I love Halloween, but this year, Corrina is afraid of everything, including her own shadow, the trees outside and anything I cook for dinner.  So, we went without decorations this year because I couldn't be sure of what might "give her the creeps". 

However, this didn't stop her from dressing as a vampire. 

Her sisters chose Rapunzel and Snow White dresses.

Stella was a kitty cat.  She was a good sport and didn't fuss too much!

You can find more pictures of Halloween at

follow through

Oh my.  This has been one of those weeks that has just been nonstop, go go go, you don't have time to take a breath.  I made it through and I don't think I dropped the ball on anything.  When life gets busy like that, it's so typical for me to make excuses, blow something off and cheat my way out of anything I can.  I hate being like that.  It's something I've been trying to change.

Each of the girls took homemade treats to school for their Halloween parties last week (each one different, of course). I threw a small party for my brother and sister-in-law to announce that they are having a baby girl this spring!  I put together a wedding ceremony for a friend whose wedding I'm performing soon.  I even managed to buy thoughtful gifts for the parties we attended (please note that they were not purchased the day of the party).  I even managed to make sure all homework was done correctly, papers were signed, lunch money was taken on appropriate days and preschool pictures were decorated and returned on time. 

Isn't that cute?  I managed to do what millions of mothers do every day without messing anything up.  So why am I bragging?  Just proud of my tiny bit of progress!