The Busy, Busy Bee

I know, I know. I haven’t written on here in forever. I’ve began a lot of entries, but deleted them or left them unfinished. I completed one or two, but never posted it for some reason or another. I’ve really been so busy being a mom to two, or a wife, or a daughter, or a business-owner, or just been busy in general.

When I was a kid, I never imagined my life the way it is now. Do I regret the way it’s turned out? Definitely not! I never thought I’d be living with my husband and our kiddos in his parent’s house. In fact, when I was younger, I didn’t even want kids of my own - let alone to be “tied down” to anybody forever. But life has a funny way of working out in unexpected ways. Well, unexpected for us really, not necessarily unexpected to God.

Since the last time I wrote, a lot has happened. Like I said, we moved in with my in-laws. I thought it was going to be the end of the world and that I would hate it, but I actually quite enjoy it. My MIL and I have become great friends over the last couple of months. My FIL works all day everyday, so I rarely see him, which is okay with me because he’s kind of intimidating.

Mommy’s Sew Clever is officially a registered business! It’s great because I feel professional - with my own business cards and everything. It sucks because now I have to try to keep records and track all of my expenses/income (except there seems to be more expense than income this month).

My little man is 9 months old now! Can you believe it??!! Me neither! He’s the smiley-est kid I’ve even seen in my entire life. He’s so well behaved and rarely cries - only when he’s hungry or really mad. He is crawling all over the place, pulling himself up, and walking around tables while holding on with just one hand. He really wants to just let go and walk, but he isn’t there yet. Thank goodness! I honestly don’t think I’m ready for my baby to start walking yet.

On top of all of that, I am now a home-school mom. Yup, that’s right, I’m officially a crunchy momma. And, I love every bit of it! The Diva is six and is a great learner. She picks stuff up so easily and quickly that it’s almost too easy. She hates writing, but since I’m making it fun (writing letters back and forth to her cousin and her great-grandma, writing stuff in chalk at the park, leaving notes for daddy in his lunchbox, etc.), she doesn't even realize she’s learning! Great, right?

This week we started working on sign language. She has already mastered letters A-F, and basic words such as Mommy, Milk, Cat, Daddy, and Eat. She seems to be doing really good, but she’s likely to hate me in a week or so when we start doing spelling words. I’ll show off my lesson plans whenever I get it officially done, but she’ll be expected to do the following for each vocabulary word:

1) Orally spell each word correctly

2) Correctly write each word - including capitalization where needed

3) Use each word correctly in a sentence

4) Spell each word by signing each letter

5) Sign each word itself

6) Type each word correctly

Yeah, it’s a lot, huh? It’s actually easier than it sounds. I mean, I won’t be doing any hard words, and they’ll all be short words during the first few weeks. I can’t wait to upload a few of my lessons to show off to the world!

Other than that, there isn't anything else new that’s occurring. This, I must admit, I am very thankful for. Thanks, as always, for reading my blog. Please look forward to there actually being regular updates!

Yummy Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Hi! Long time, no write. Sorry. Been busy, blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses. Apparently, I had forgotten how busy a baby can keep you. Holy cow! So much has happened, but I'll skip the boring part and get to the goods...

Who doesn't love chicken? Besides, ya know, vegetarians and crazy people. I could seriously eat chicken every single day and never tire of it. Ever! And, to make chicken breasts even better, stuff them! Here's a simple, quick recipe:
Ingredients:
 -Chicken breasts
 -1 tsp Cayenne pepper, Chili pepper, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, & Garlic Powder (Good amount for 4 breasts)
 -1 Tbsp Oregano, Garlic Salt, & Basil (Good amount for 4 breasts)
 -1 Tbsp per breast of Parmesan Cheese
 -1 Tbsp per breast of softened Cream Cheese
 -2 Tbsp per breast of Spaghetti Sauce
 -Shredded Cheddar Cheese

You'll need aluminum foil for cooking.

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the seasonings, cream cheese, and the spaghetti sauce.

Next, butterfly cut your chicken breast (cut almost all the way in half).

Then, spread the sauce/seasoning mixture across the top. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.

Throw some shredded cheese on top of it all - we like cheese a lot, so I put quite a bit on there.

Then, fold it back together as best as you can. Place your chicken in the foil and inside of a pan. Wrap the foil around your chicken breasts. Cook for twenty minutes, then another ten minutes with the foil open.

Like I said, we like cheese. So, after the thirty minutes were up, I added some more cheese and chopped onion to the tops and cooked for another 5 minutes. Completely optional. I put ours on top of some Alfredo noodles, and it was the BOMB DIGGITY!!!!! So yummy!

Fixed On You Trilogy

Click here to purchase. Kindle edition is currently $0.99 for all 3!!!!

I'm honestly not sure that I can even come up with a review good enough to do this trilogy justice. I was hooked from the first couple chapters. Not to mention the cover. He looks so yummy! This book is, obviously, erotica/romance, which I love now thanks to 50 Shades of Grey. Thankfully, this one is not kinky or dom/sub.

The official summaries can be found here.

I have recommended this book to so many people I can't even keep track anymore. Even though it's been almost a month since I read it, my heart still beats faster and harder and my palms get sweaty when I think or talk about it. Laurelin Paige is definitely the best author I have come across. Ever!!!!!! Hands down.

While reading the third book - chapter 18 to be exact - my stomach overturned, my heart stopped, and I cried. (Don't worry, nobody dies.) I had to reread the pages several times to make sure I read it right and then had to put down the book... er, phone... and walk away for a while. I'm not the only one to do this. My best friend called me and was upset because of it. Like, crying and pissed off, kind of upset.

We went to our local used book store and were talking about the character so animatedly that you would think they were real people. No joke. Yeah... We're kinda nerdy like that. But that's why we are friends.

So, if you are a book lover, please read this book. And then message or comment and tell me your thoughts on it. Or, we can just discuss the book like we personally know the characters. I'm cool with either.

P.S. - I'm buying the SIGNED COPIES of the trilogy and pre-ordering the book from Hudson's point of view - also signed, of course - for me and my nerd friend. That way, I have a copy I can hold and put on the shelf of my future awesome library. =]

This Is What Happens When You Trespass

I've been super busy with orders lately - like, at-least-one-order-put-in-every-single-day-for-three-weeks-straight kind of busy. I know, I know. It's not a whole lot. BUT, when I have set hours I work, I don't do weekends, I have a baby and a husband and a dog that seem to constantly fight for my attention during my 'work hours', and I have to include in my shopping time. For business purposes only, of course. And, everything that I experiment on. He-he.

Yeah, as I'm typing this my phone goes "Cha-Ching!" This awesome sound lets me know when I get a new order in. Perfect timing, person wanting to buy 5 Handmade, All Natural Oatmeal Bath Melts. Hey! I love those things.

Anyway... My poor me point is that I've been busy and am up to my neck in doing things for other people and haven't had any me-moments in a while. So, I went out in the pasture behind our house to go exploring. Stupid me, I forgot my camera and run - uphill, I might add - back to the house to get it. Yay me for being so out of shape my husband thought I was dying. 

I'm glad I did, because I jumped - if you can even call it that - over a fence to some property that definitely is not ours and found the frame of an old Chevrolet - along with some other things. Station Wagon, I would assume. I'm not old enough to really remember those death-traps. (That one was for you, mom. The person who loved laying down in the very back and never thought about what would happen if your dad wrecked.) So, I got some pretty cool shots. Wanna see? Yeah... I kinda thought so. =]

Ahh... Photography is so much fun! I can't wait to go back and take some more photos of the other things around there. Besides, it's not exactly trespassing, because I just happened to be related to the owners of the property and I don't think they will turn me in - right, Grandma? *Fingers crossed*

I'm going to post a new book review later this week, just because the trilogy I just read is freaking amazing. So... Look forward to that, nerds.

Benefits of Sun Drying Cloth Diapers

I love cloth diapering. We don’t do it 24/7, but I try to do it as much as possible. Disposables are used pretty much only overnight sometimes and whenever we go on outings. Mainly just because I’d rather throw a diaper away than have an oozing, stinking mess in a wetbag in my diaper bag or in my car, where it can easily be forgotten. Which, just my luck, happened very recently.

It all started on a beautiful sunny Thursday. The husband, Little Man, and I decided to go to take somethings to grandma’s house while The Diva was at school. I didn’t bother to change Little Man into a disposable diaper because, hey, his poop times are early morning and late afternoon. Plus, we were only going to be gone for around half an hour. No harm done. Except the little stinker decided to have a major blow out while we were there. So, I exchanged his dirty cloth diaper for a spare disposable one (because I’m a mom and keep spares in my purse for moments exactly like this one), and put his dirty diaper and clothes in a bag and sat them in the back seat. Right under his seat area so I would remember to grab it when we got home. Except my husband grabbed him out for me while I checked the mail and the bag of poopy items was forgotten. That is, until Sunday when I was getting groceries out of my car and came upon the bag.

So, four days in the hot car later, the diaper was pretty crusty and dry and just plain disgusting. “The insert is ruined now. You’re never going to be able to get that out,” My husband challenged me. Hahahahaha! Guess who proved him wrong? Yeah, ME. As usual. That’s just what he gets for doubting my housewife abilities.

Monday morning I put my baby-safe detergent in with a load of diaper covers, inserts, and wipes, sprinkled in some Borax and some Washing Soda, filled with cold water, and let soak for an hour. Then, after washing and rinsing, I hung them on the line. Yeah, that’s right! I went old-school on these fools. [Seriously, though, my mother thinks I’m insane because I prefer to line dry. Whatever.] 3 lovely hours spent cleaning floors later, I went and grabbed the diapers off, checking the disaster one first. And guess what? This is how it looks:

Not bad, eh? Especially since the whole diaper insert was that yellow color. The only reason there’s any yellow left is because that’s where the clothespin was. Beautiful, right? Just like new. So, there’s a visual benefit of sun-drying, but here’s a list of five:

1.) The sun actually disinfects clothes as it dries them. I'm a germ freak, so this is benefit amazing to me.
2.) The sun is a natural bleach. Bye, bye, harsh chemicals and vapors!
3.) It's free and low-energy. And it's free. Free!!!
4.) Your diapers will last even longer, so that's less chance of having to purchase more for the next kiddo.
5.) The sun is amazing at removing the stinky scent of poop and pee, and leaving a fresh scent of outdoor air. I just love that smell - yeah, I'm a nerd. I'm aware.

See? Save money and use the sun's natural goodness! Even in the winter when it's negative ten with three foot of snow I still sun my diapers. I just do it in the windowsill on a hanger. Takes all day instead of just a few hours, but my diapers always look amazing!

Things They Don't Tell You About Being A Mom

I was looking at my life tonight and had a revelation: being mom is the most amazingly sucky job ever. I love being a mommy so much, but there's so much they don't tell you. Remember those textbooks you read in high school health class? The ones that talked about how beautiful becoming a parent was? They lied.

10 things they don't tell you about being a mom:
-You will never be able to laugh, sneeze, fart, bend over, kneel, or cough without peeing a little bit.
-Your fingers will become chew toys.
-Your boobs will look exactly like your grandmas.
-Your child will not wait until their teens to start arguing and having a bad attitude.
-You won't remember how to hold a normal conversation - you'll use words like "potty" and talk to everybody like they are idiots.
-You will have to dress somebody and one day they will start telling you what to wear - even if it doesn't match, you will wear it to make them happy.
-You can no longer be afraid of puke down your shirt, poop on your hands, and pee running down your leg - none of which is yours.
-You will share shower/bath time with somebody and it won't be sexy at all.
-You will no longer spend money on yourself. Not because somebody is forcing you, but because you would rather spend it on the little people in your home instead.

Realistically, this list could go on and on. But, at the end of the day, you realize you love being a mom... Usually after the kids have gone to bed and you are soaking in your bath tub - along with the mermaid Barbie and twenty rubber duckies.

Inside the Studio: Fabric Storage

I have had a few people ask me about how I store things in my studio room to make my life easier. So, I'm going to do a mini series on it, including what I paid and how I saved money.

Today, we are going to look at my fabric storage area:

Look at that beauty! I scored this bookshelf from Craigslist for only $20! You can hardly beat that deal. It keeps all of my fabric nice and pretty, easy to see, but also keeps the dust off. So many amazing things all in one. I have my cotton solids, cotton prints, and my fusible fabric on the top; flannels and fleece on the second shelf; knits, special occasion, and home decor on the third shelf; and PUL, felt, and miscellaneous fabric on the bottom shelf.

I must admit, having all of my fabric in view like that shows me how much I have really accumulated over the last year or so. Well, technically this isn't all of my fabric, but it is about 90% of it. I have some upstairs still - much to my husband's dismay.

There's a look at the top of my pretty bookshelf. I paid $1 for each of the clear containers, from Dollar Tree. Sometimes I have seen the clear shoe boxes at Mernards or Walmart for 11/$10. I spray painted the outside of mine to give them more color and wrote in dry erase marker on the outside of them. I love the ease of the boxes and being able to get them down. I really need to buy more to put the rest of my holiday prints in.

I try to keep it all really simple, so that it's easy for me. I'm afraid to get too fancy with it or else I'll get confused and have to go through a hundred things to get one thing. No way - I'm too lazy for that crap. And that is why I have my fabric set up the way it is. How do you organize your fabric? Does it work well for you or do you hate it? I had mine in drawers for a long time and hated it with a passion. It was so difficult to find anything. Glad to be done with that! NEVER. AGIAN.