Wooops.... More time than I thought went by...

So, once again, an obscene amount of time has passed since I last posted. So what's new with me? Wow... to begin with... I finally graduated from Nursing School, albeit by the skin of my teeth, and I passed my boards. I graduated and got licensed in  Sept of 2012. I got hired on to a nursing facility as an as-needed/on-call nurse. The hours are not that great, and greatly vary even week to week, but I do love my work. I starting going to On Hooks and Needles (a knitting/crocheting group) on Tuesday Nights for a while, and I was able to completely my "break the fast" from knitting project: a lovely scarf I have been enjoying the use of for some months now. I will post pics later. Been having some random adventures with my Best Friend as well, and was able to enjoy Swing Dancing far more regularly. I tried on and made it onto the All Girls Beginning Charleston Team, the Shoe Shiners,and we had a few performances in December LOL. Great times were had. I also got to start on my first set of hand knit socks... which unfortunately got pulled from the needles by a few of my darlings, and pulled apart that I now must restart them. In January, we started a new project: Hydroponics. which was upset by darling C, who thought more fertilizer would make the plants grow faster... Instead, it killed them.  I also had some fun making birthday cakes for O and RA. Again, pics will come later. And I've restarted the hydroponics. So yea, I've been keeping busy. I hope to post pics in the next few weeks. Add in that Rb just go the next report card, mostly B's I'm very proud of her progress. E and C have Parent-Teacher meetings later this week... Here's hoping for more good news as I continue to home tutor them ! Till Next Time.

Spring Weather

My first sprouts

Well, my first hoop house is nearly finished. That took a long time, because of the fence that ran along side it and was taking up half of the space. We had to wait a week to talk to the project manager and ok us moving it off the garden. He said they would do it. So this past Wednesday, we said enough, and moved it ourselves. We tilled this morning, and I have laid down plastic to keep weeds from growing until the early summer stuff is ready to go in. I have lettuce that is sprouting, and flowers, and some herbs, radishes, beets, turnips, and carrots. I just transplanted my bush peas. Yay for having one hoop house up. The salad bar hoop house I will probably set up on Tuesday, so a week from Tuesday I will be setting stuff out there, with any luck. I'm excited because it's about time to start my main Spring crops. More plant starting.

The dolphin painting

My first Hoop House

I have not had time to work on much of anything crafty since I finished that painting. Maybe March will see more posts and more Crafts. I also have a month and a week left before my next round of finals. Sheesh. The time does fly by. I have taken photos of my sprouts, the painting, and the garden to share with you.

Sprouts round 2

Winter Weather and Computers

Well, Last week was not the most productive as far as study time went. I am to the point in my semester where papers are going to be due, and that is highly distracting somehow. Luckily, My replacement laptop is on its way! I'm so excited about that! I leave home most every day to study for between 2-5 hours, which is when most of my quality work  (typically) is done. My new computer should be here on Tuesday, so Happy Valentine's to Me!


We are having a beautiful snowy day here in Utah today. A soft snowfall has been coming down all day. Which for those that are sad about the low snow year, is a really good thing.  I'm kind of excited too. It Feels like cleaning and spinning weather for the week (Yay) And I am very much looking forward to my projects this week.
Last week, if you recall, I decided to finish a first -attempt painting of a dolphin (go me for finishing it). I  finished it on Thursday night. I will say it's a rather rough first attempt, but since I have extremely minimal experience with painting, I think it turned out OK. I will try and attach a photo later, but my camera seems to be MIA at the moment.

This week, along with the usual brigade of school, housework, and the like, I have a couple of Special projects I will be attempting to complete.

The most new and experimental project will be done on Friday, and that is the construction of my Hoop House so I can have some early cold crops in the two to three months before we put the main garden in. I can't wait!
Along with this I plan to start the early plant seeds that will be placed in the hoop house in about 3-4 weeks.
And finally, I'm going to Spin! Yay! Hopefully pictures will follow. Have a beautiful week!

An Update. After a Long break.

December was rough.I spent a lot of time studying and  a lot of time worrying about passing my semester. I found out I passed my classes and I celebrated. By knitting 3 pairs of mittens :)  In about 4 days.

So. Things are really crazy at the house right now. I'm in my last 2 semesters of Nursing School (YIPPEE!!) and all the headache and craziness that goes along with that. E is in 1st grade, C is in Kindergarten, and Rb goes to school in the Fall. Ra just turned 3 and our duckling, O, just turned 1 in December.

And I am getting really itchy. It's been a really mild winter in my part of Utah, and I'm feeling the gardening itch. So. I am thinking about how to distract myself.  So. I am thinking I want to do some painting, during down time in studying, and maybe some spinning. But I also think I'm going to be naughty and let myself  start a few seeds next week. A couple Flowers, a couple herbs, and some lettuce and spinach. Just so I can play in the soil and use my grow lights. But for tonight, Painting. I have a dolphin painting I was working on in December. I am thinking I'll finish it tonight. But I am also thinking I want to do another figurine. Hm. What ever I decide to do I will try to post a picture later.

Have fun!

Summer Do's

So. I've been wanting to do a post for some time with the various hairstyles I put my girls in on occasion. Ironically I forgot to get a picture of my own hair yesterday, when I had tried a newer style of an old look I do.

These are actually from a couple weekends ago, I kind of got busy with cakes and forgot to put them up.So Without further ado:

My sweet RB, This was inspired, I think, by the blog A princess and her Hair, But I will have to double check that.

RA, with little "Puff Buns". One wouldn't get all of her hair and keep it up for Grandpa's house and the Farmer's Market, so I gave her two, One at the very top of her head  (which you can see) and one directly below it at pony tail height.

And my Oldest, E, with cross braids into two "messy bun pony tails." Again, this was inspired by another blog.

Unfortunately, For the life of me I can't seem to find the blogs that inspired two of these looks. So if this looks like something you posted and I follow your blog, just let me know and I'll edit this to give credit where it's do.
Thanks for reading today!

Happy Father's Day

Before I comment on Fathers, Please forgive this shot. RA couldn't keep her sweet fingers out of the cake before I took a picture LOL. While it has a very rough base icing, the border is the best I have ever done, Yay Me! and the writing is also an improvement. I do hope to do at least 2 cakes a month and post them on here to keep track of my progress, or lack thereof, LOL. (I also took a side shot of the border, if any one is interested.)

But the big topic of the day is Fathers. I have a wonderful father. He and I shared a lot of bonding moments, from him attending ballet recitals and various special nights for the Young Women, a group I was apart of at Church, to taking me to Seminary (another church meeting for the teens) in the unholy hours of the morning, to spending wonderful hours as the sun came up fishing and hunting, and going camping, and working the firing range. To this day, I am not sure that he knows how much my little family and I love him. I highly doubt he will read this, but just in case, We love you Daddy, thank you for being the best!

And now I have a Husband. He is a wonderful man and a down right amazing father to our five special little ones. He does so much that I admire him for, and he makes so many sacrifices to better the family. Thank you darling. For all the late nights you work so I can go to school. For all the nights you stay up with the little ones so I can get some sleep. For reading to the children, and playing and being the silly Papa they adore so much. We wouldn't be our Old Fashioned Loving Family without you!

To fathers everywhere. Remember, even though we may not always tell you when we ought to, we appreciate what you do for us. And that includes those stand-ins: Brothers, Uncles, Family friends, Single moms that do both roles for whatever reason. You are loved, and appreciated, and you make our families, and therefore our societies, a better place to be. Know you are Loved.

Home Schooling

 

      Our family has had an interesting ride because of the twists and turns in our path. One of my goals as a mother has always been to see to it our children have the best education we can give them. This I decided to do by Homeschooling.Unfortunately, Because of being a nursing student, I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to teaching the children. So. My mom has stepped up and is teaching the children, right now in particular, E, how to read, during the summer break via Skype. We are using the Pathway Publishers readers, which is an excellent program, I highly recommend it. E has been reading almost daily for a month and a half or so. She is nearly half way through the first of 3 readers for the first "grade". I am so proud of her. C will be starting soon, once we get the pre-reading workbooks for him. I am hoping to do another few updates this week. I have some hair updates, just need to get the pictures online first, and I'm planning to do some cakes this week as well!

Cake Update!

So. I promised photos. I managed to do a much smoother main icing than I normally do- it almost looks like I used fondant, which I didn't. The writing would have been nicer, but I lost my nice writing tip. But not bad for not having done it in over a year!

So Excited

So I am super excited. I just had to share. My darling just called from work. They want me to make a cake! For a newly called Missionary at his work. They are going to do a party. I'm so excited. I've never  been asked to do a cake outside of the family before! I will update and show pictures as I work on it.

A Mother's Day Rose

Today as I was having a little bit of garden time, in spite of the chilly but wonderful rain, I realized I had yet to trim my rose bush. So I went out and began, and what do you know, but I had a single white rose in full bloom. I was so thrilled I took a picture, so forgive the lack of pruning. But then I got to the pruning, I got to thinking about the simple joys. A single rose in bloom during a rain shower. A baby cooing and exploring the world for the first time. A child learning to share without fussing over a toy. The joys of learning to read for the first time and the new world it opens to explore. The promise of Spring.  The nurturing that it entails.

And I love that I found a White rose during the Rain of spring. What a pure time to find such a symbol of purity. The washing away of the dust, the promise of renewal and growth. I find it truly amazing and symbolic of One's purity, and the process of growing to ones potential. Pruning away that which will not make the whole stronger. Feeding and nurturing and washing down, by study and prayer, and repentance. And Blooming into what our Father had intended for us to be.

Ah Yes. The Joys of Spring

Joys Of Fridays

It has been a glorious Week for me. I've spent a good chunk of time out in the yard, prepping and planting my garden. DH went a little crazy with buying bulbs, and so I've got several coming up now. And he got me 4 rose plants, and 2 Easter lilies, and strawberries. And the apricot tree is in bloom. There is a beautiful blue bird that lives near by and flies near when I'm out and about.
And my vegetable garden is going to be ready to transplant in a couple more weeks.

But the most important garden I'm raising is my sweet, young, not-so-small family. My children. I'm so proud of them. E is learning how to read. C is growing to be a thoughtful young man. You won't find a more loving child than RB, and RA is starting to come into her own personality. And then there is my little Rose bud, O. 5 months old now. She is starting to sit up on her own. She rolls over and can't get enough of her mommy time. I have introduced the House Fairy to them. As much as I try to keep things under control, it can be a touch Chaotic. The House Fairy made her debut this week. Slowly I am starting to see some of the Chaos dissapate. Bed times were really rough. Now they are becoming a pleasure and a joy. Something to look forward to. I am working on myself most of all. Working to allow myself to be molded into a more gentle woman so that I can be a better instrument in the hands of my Father in Heaven. It is a beautiful thing to see that progress.  And that is a short version of why my Friday today was so Joyous.

Fun Friday

We had a lovely Friday evening. We went to Provost's Spring Festival. It was Snowing. And it was a Spring Festival. All the kids had a blast. E, C, and RB all got their faces painted and did the jumping castles and games. Little RA,  poor kid, seemed a little overwhelmed. She dance with the Red Robin character though. Thanks Provost PTA for a fun night. We had a little hotdog dinner before leaving, and the kids went to bed while DH and I FINALLY got to watch the latest Harry Potter Movie. Interesting. Yeah. So. Who all would like me too start posting more Pics? and I'll see what I can do. And this was a little update by One Crazy Lady.

Wow, Time for a Serious Update.

So. Last time I Blogged RB was Turning 2? Sheesh. I'm SO behind. E is now in Kindergarten. I'm attending School again, and We have a new addition. Our newest girl is O, now 4 months old. I just might post some pics soon. We had a beautiful Easter, and E wore a sweet dress, made specially by Grandma G. Right now I'm on break in school, and hopefully I will get some crafts done. I am hoping to make some hair pretties for the girls during this time, and decorate the kids room. Oh. And my very special boy, C, turns 5 today. Happy birthday, Son!
And now, time to assist cleaning. Happy Blogging and I'll see you soon!

A new chain of events.

Wow.

My first post in months. So. It's been way too long to go over everything that's been going on, even if I could remember all of it! So I'll start in August/ September. That is when we decided we could no longer hold out much longer, and I had to get back into the work force. One of my dear friends in RL convinced me it was in our family's best interest for me to become a CNA. And shortly after that... I felt I needed to take it one step further and get an Associates RN degree. While working towards my other educational goals. Ok. You can say it. I'm officially crazy. I know. But it's fun!

So I took the course in September. Oh. Fun side note. Towards the end of the course, we discovered that DS needed a surgery. Which was scheduled for early October, just after my course had ended. I started Job hunting. The day of the surgery was a bit crazy. We left the girls with Grandma, and got up way too early, helped him through the surgery, got back, both exhausted and ready to rest. I checked the answering machine, where there was a message waiting for me from one of the locations I had dropped off an application with. I call them back, and get asked to come in for an interview that day. I accept the job the following day. DS is totally doing great, just so you know. Didn't want you to think I'd forgotten him.

First day on the Job was October 20th. It's going great! As of late November, Early December, I became an Official Certified Nurses Assistant. Note to self: need to do more follow ups soon!

Another Special Post

This is a particularly special post for me. Granted, it's about a week or so overdue, but, hey, better late than never!

My Dearest and I celebrated our wonderful anniversary on the 16th of July. We started off the day (after sleeping in a touch....) by going to the Temple. After that we had a blast tubing down the Provo River. I had never been tubing before, but my Dearest had been. Ironically, I didn't tip out of my tube, but He sure did!

For any of the readers out there in the Provo area, yes, this was the day of the "accident" on the Provo River. We got home 45 minutes before the tragic victim was pulled out. Our hearts go out to her family and loved ones during the hard times they have right now.

I got a rather nice, light, tan too! I haven't had one of those since I was on Swim Team... years ago.. 8 years I believe.

In case my Dearest ever reads this (which most likely will only be if he checks to see if it's updated next month) :

You are my World. Thank You for the Best Years of my life. "God must have Spent a little more time on you". You are my best friend. Thanks for everything.

My Busy Week.

We had a very full week. I spent the early days sewing my pants off for Friday. I, unfortunately, was unable to do much if any cleaning due to my being behind elsewhere.

Wednesday I had the fun opportunity to carpool with my now- new SIL, SL, to pick up my Mom, Dad, and Older brother C from the airport. We had so much fun chatting and visiting. And I hadn't seen C (I'll refer to him as CP for clarity sake) since I was pregnant with now two year old RB. He hadn't met her or RA yet, and it was SO much fun to see him with them. I carpooled with CP, SL, C, RB, and RA, with E went with my parents in their rental car, and we all drove up to the northern part of the state to visit my Great- Grandmother W. That was nice visit, and the kids played in the yard with the aunts and uncle CP while Grandpa (my dad) and Grandma visited with my Great Uncle and Great Grandma (getting confused yet with all the initials?)
We spent about 3-4 hours in the car on Wednesday.

Thursday We went swimming after running a few errands with Grandma, and basically played all day. We had a lot of fun.

Friday was extra Special, CP and SL got married on Friday. I actually ended up finishing some of the outfits as J drove us down to the city where they were getting married, Manti. I swear I packed a needle to finish sewing on buttons.... But I couldn't find it! And once we got into Spanish Fork Canyon, the towns were so little we couldn't FIND a store with a needle until we were only 1 or 2 towns north of Manti! LOL! But I got the buttons Sewed on! I don't think I've mentioned it previously, but We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the couple were to be married in the Manti Temple. It was simply gorgeous! It was a breath taking experience. So wonderful to be included on their special day, Thanks Guys!

Saturday Mom took me shopping, we got several nice outfits, and played most of the day. and then we had to bid our tearful farewell.

And then today we managed to get out the door for 9:00 am Church. What a week! But it was wonderful. And now I'm ready to get back to our schedule and schooling, with a day or so off for a very Special day which I will most likely right about next time. Who ever thought I'd look forward to Cleaning house, washing dishes, and doing Laundry, but I am! Thanks for reading and I'll post again soon!

A Belated Post in Honor of Independence Day

Because of the hectic goings on the last week or two at my house, I've been unable to post before now. But I wanted to be sure I marked this special occasion and do some sort of a remembrance on my blog, although I'm sure no one reads it.

We celebrated the day, although not fully how I would like to in the future, by going to the local Parade, we had a cake, and we took the kids to see fireworks for the first time after J got off of work.

We did try to at least explain to our older kids that it was America's birthday. But there is so much more to it than just that. Yes. It is the Country's birthday, but it's also a remembrance of what was Fought for and won by those that came before us. It is a day to remember and be grateful for those rights and privileges that were so dearly treasured that are often taken for granted.

I find that on Independence day, if I have a chance to ponder at all, I have a desire to be a more patriotic citizen, and to try and let my voice be heard when it's time to fight to keep those values and rights that we fought so long ago to have today. I have a lot of respect for those that protect our country, specifically the military and different branches therein. I don't know that I have what it takes to be one of them, although I won't even attempt to find out with my family. But there are other ways to fight for our country and our freedoms. Maybe that's something I should work on finding opportunities to do- fighting a more quiet, but just as needed, battle here and there for the rights and freedoms that we enjoy as Americans. Fighting for not just the Legal, but the moral and right privileges as well.

God Bless America. Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with a light from above.

A Special Post.

My little girl, "RB", turned 2 yesterday.

She is so wonderful, and although she's reached the 2s, so far it hasn't been too bad. A little fussier than normal, and trying to find out more of her limits and individuality, but I find, either because this is the 3rd time through it, or because she's more mild, it's much easier now than it was for E and C.

We had some family and friends help us celebrate, and I did my normal "thing" for the birthday and made a cake. I made a cupcake-cake. Now, I like my cakes to match the theme, if there is one, either whatever seems to suite the child most or to match the presents for birthdays. For RB, I didn't know what direction to go. She's my, so far, more "girly" daughter. She's never shown interest in princessy stuff, and she didn't seem to have a favorite toy category (like C did for the past 2 birthdays, this year was Thomas the Tank Engine, last year was Lightening McQueen, or E who had her horses this year).

So I went for a "symbol" of what made me think of her. For C, it's boy stuff in general, for E, it is ducks, bunnies (used to be a nickname), and now horses. For RB, I always think of flowers or butterflies. I picked butterflies, and decorated the cupcakes as a single cake with a large purple butterfly. It's not great, but it's not to bad. I'll post a picture(My first Blog Picture) later. And now I find myself thinking "Oh, hey, I could do this (What did you think I would tell my plan for my creation THIS early to Independence Day?). So, Stay tuned for the next posts from One Crazy Lady, as I get knee-deep in schooling, work, sewing, and cake decorating this week. Maybe after that I'll do some fiber-processing and get to post about THAT! Thanks for reading!

Added Note: As you can see, I added the picture! Let me know what you think, and suggestions for improvements!

The Importance of a Schedule.

For those of you that know me, really know me, you know I have struggled with getting the right balanced schedule up and running. This week I have come to realize on a more spiritual and nurturing level just how important scheduling and routines are.

I was reading some blogs on Monday, especially the one I recently started following, too many kids in the bathtub, reading some past posts. I found myself pulled to THAT level of organization, without the aid of a hired hand assisting, and to that level of CALM. I have a lot going on at any given time, and it's hard to keep up if I'm not doing the right balance, and some weeks it seems that the whole balancing act is so teetering that I come very close to breaking a few proverbial dishes. So I read on. I do FLY Lady, and it really has helped TONS, but I found myself trying to do all or nothing, no matter how I tried to pace myself. Her system isn't flawed, it's just my impatience with myself. But anyway, on Monday I wrote up a routine on the white board I used many months ago for the Letter of the Week program (Although I no longer use it, I highly recommend it for new to home schooling mothers with very young children). I'm so proud of myself. I've gone a full 5 days of sticking to my routine and yet still being able to do things like a spontaneous errand in the afternoons.

We are still working on the bed time thing, but I've been waking them up promptly at 7:00 am, with an immediate breakfast (we'll see if that adjusts at all in time). I got them dressed complete with hair and teeth by 8:00, which was morning chores/clean up time. School starts at 9. Before their schooling, I'm sad to admit was hit and miss, and more miss than hit. This week we schooled Tues-Friday, although I am planning on doing it Mon-Saturday, with Saturday only being a light review day. I know, I'm an evil mom. I'm schooling my kids throughout the summer, 6 days a week. And the oldest child is 4 years old.

And how are they handling the summer being "stolen"? They are loving it! I decided today would be a treat, and no school today, so we did our review day yesterday. Tonight at scripture study they told me they "wanted to go to school tonight". E is making sure progress on her phonics, which is really heartening since they really weren't sticking before. Her numbers are getting there, and counting is more accurate. Shapes are better, as are the colors. C is having a bit more of a hard time, as he is resisting bedtime the hardest and he keeps getting timeouts during class time for disruptive behavior. I will be watching to see how/if that improves as the schedule becomes more routine. RB is also doing better with shapes and colors, (not focusing as much on phonics seeing as too how young she is). They are better behaved all around and get more outside time as a result.

The best result: I'm doing a much better job of being a decent Christian, and a decent mother. I am somewhat calmer, and feel more put together. Even though my house isn't too much cleaner, it feels more loving, kind, and tidy in an odd sort of way. Life is good.

My week in which I canned for the first time.

This week has been most interesting for me. A few days ago, I went and ran errands that I normally would have spaced. I actually got a packaged mailed off in time for it to reach my father in time for Father's Day (that was HUGE for me, let me tell you). One of the local grocer's chains in my area, a town south, had a special sale on Strawberries and Raspberries. So I got 2 flats of each, $9.99 a pop. Then I went one town further south to take advantage of a Joann's sale. I was able to finish getting the fabric I needed to finish outfits for myself, my husband, and C for a wedding coming next month. I had so much fun! I bought far more than I had planned on, but I saved more than I spent! Now how often can you say that? My fabric was 50% off, and I got some decorating items for the house, they were almost half price, knitting needles that were clearance, some yarn and pony-tail bands to dress up, some beads for jewelry, and a little tin to temporarily keep the beads in while I'm focused elsewhere.

So my NEW adventure this week has been making Jams! I was so terrified that I would be like Amy March whose jams/jelly's wouldn't Gel! lol. Yeah, no worries there! I made 1 batch of strawberry jam Tuesday night, made a few more and a couple of Raspberry on Wednesday. We did a little sampling on Thursday- yea, the first batch of Strawberry jam we are calling "Strawberry Jam Candy" as its a little too thick to be considered jam.. but it's YUMMY! Both types are really delicious, and I'm super thrilled at the results of my first "Jamming" Session. Which brings us to today. Keep in mind I have not been able to thoroughly finish off the strawberries I bought yet, I'm switching recipes to one with more ingredients and yet simpler. Today, my darling husband bought 3 more flats of Raspberries, and 5 more of Strawberries. Wow.

So tonight I'm spending time getting the house clean so tomorrow I can finish putting away all these berries. They are very tasty and I am enjoying the process but holy cow, talk about volume for a first timer!

But hey, we should have a "Berry" good time of it!... OK, bad pun. I'm done now. Happy Canning!