Odd Dotty Dollymaker

I am Free!

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!! Today, as we celebrate our freedoms this is the song my soul sings;

Have a safe holiday! And celebrate your freedom!

Summer of Love

First I want to thank all of you for all of your prayer and support regarding my last post. It really means the world to me that you would join with me in praying for someone that you may not even know. I especially loved hearing from some of you for the first time telling me that you are praying. How awesome is that?! Pretty awesome! So, thank you and keep 'em coming!

I wish I could tell you that he is doing better, but he's not. What I can tell you, though, is that he is still with us and is getting help. Praise the Lord for that! What we can gather through text messaging, as that is the only way he will communicate with us, is that he saw a professional yesterday who told him that his depression is probably chemical and genetic. So now we wait for him to see a psychiatrist. I am assuming that he will be put on an anti-depressant, and I look forward to having our old friend back.

Outside of that horribly scary turn of events, our summer has been kickin' great! The girl has been making a ton of friends in the neighborhood, we have been spending more play time at the pool as a family than we ever have, we have been to some rockin' good partays...thanks, Jessi!!...and the boy? Well, let's just say that his betrothed that moved to California last year has some serious competition. Serious.

There are so many stories I could tell you about his new love. Like about how when she first saw him she said to herself, "what a handsome man he is"! Or how she is determined to marry him one day. Or even how when she was told that he really likes her, too she replied that she was certain she liked him more because her "heart beats really fast" when he's around. But you know the old saying; a picture is worth a thousand words? I will let these tell the rest of the stories for you.

Help please!

If you are the praying type...or even if you are not the praying type...would you please offer up some prayers with me? I have a dear friend who is suicidal. Never before has he been this low and never before has he been this close to actually doing it. I am worried. I am angry. I am sad. I am all sorts of things right now. And I want this all to be made right. Right now. So, please pray. He NEEDS your prayers and I covet them!

Thank you.

This Song...

...is running through my head right now.

It's very catchy and fun to sing. You have been warned.

Balance

So, clearly I have not met my goal or intention to post every day. It's not for lack of information to share, or desire to share it even. I am trying to find the balance in my life. I seem to be wearing a lot of hats these days. I am just so stinkin' busy, and I don't want to just throw something up here that doesn't mean anything. You deserve better than that.

I have learned so much in these past weeks. So much about life in general and about me in particular. And these are things that I want to put out there in the blogosphere. But I want to make sure that I do them justice, you know? And for some reason I don't feel ready yet. So, please forgive me. I am not trying to hold back or anything, I promise. I think I am still trying to put into words the things that I have been taught. I honestly feel as though I am on the brink of discovering something huge, something that could change my entire life and the way I live it. But it's just not really there yet. Do you ever or have you ever felt that way? I would love to know I am not alone on this.

In the meantime, I want to wish a belated Happy Mother's Day to all my readers who are mothers of one kind or another out there. There is no tougher job than being a mother. And yet, nothing so rewarding. Nothing has made me cry, laugh, worry, hope and pray harder than being a momma. Nothing. And I love every minute of it, even the minutes I hate.

This year for Mother's Day, the husband...who I have to take some time here to say, is the absolute BEST! HUSBAND! EVER!...planned a day of celebration that actually took place last Tuesday. He took the day off of work, and we went as a family to enjoy the sunshine and walk along the river. The weather was gorgeous with a capital GORGEOUS!

And then? Date time! We dropped the kids off and headed to good ol' downtown Chicago where he discovered what he claims to be the best hamburger he has ever eaten. Okay, I don't know if he really thinks that, but I do know that he thought it was up there. See?

And then? And then?

But oh no...not just Wicked. He also got us tickets to the Behind the Emerald Curtain tour. It was so amazing to see some of the costumes up close. Yes, I took pictures...but they really don't do them justice, so you will have to go see the tour yourself. Or ask me real nice like and I might share them with you. But really. They are so much better in person. And the wigs! Each one made with human hair and put together by hand. OUCH! The patience! I believe they said that each wig takes about 40 hours to make. Wow. Just, wow. And then there was the theatre itself. Seriously, words cannot describe the beauty of this theatre. So, I am not even going to try.

My real quick review? And it's real quick, because it's getting late. I'm tired. I need to shower. And I'm tired. So, here it is. I loved the theatrical aspect of the show. The actors were perfectly cast, the costumes were mouth watering, the set was amazing. I just don't agree with the underlying message of the story. At all. I understand it. Oh, I understand it perfectly. And I understand why so many people love this story. I also think it is extremely clever. I just don't agree with it. I know I am in the minority here, but I can handle it. I still really really really enjoyed the show.

**Okay, I have been sitting here trying to figure out a way to wrap this post up. But I cannot come up with a clever segue at all. Sorry. I can only stumble awkwardly out of this one. So, until next time! Until next time.

I can explain!

So, I haven't posted anything all week despite my best intentions. For that, I am really sorry. I have had a great week, a very full but great week. And every day I thought I would have a chance to sit down and post during the evening hours, but the husband and I have started a new regime. The P90X regime to be precise. Have any of you heard of this? Well, the only time that we have had to do this new program is at night. And afterwords? I just want to shower and go to bed.

But, now I am stopping in to say that I am going to be gone until Tuesday. The fam and I are taking a trip to Florida for a long weekend. Until then, I will leave you with some pictures of the flowers the kids and I planted for Earth Day, and part of the worm and dirt pie we had for dessert on said day.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Gov'na gets his specs

So how was that for a week of in-depth posting? Did you like that? Feel like you are more acquainted with my inner psyche? No? Huh.

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to leave for a week. It just kind of happened. All of the sudden I was busier than all get out and I barely had time to keep up with all my favorite blogs, much less write a post on my own. And this week doesn't seem to be slowing down at all, so I am just going to have to plow through it.

I feel like a lot has happened, but mostly I think it is stuff that would be of no interest to you, my lovely readers. In other words, I have been feeling quite boring as of late. At least too boring to blog. At the same time, however, I feel like there is so much that I want to share. Would you like me to share? Well, I am going to anyway.

First up, the biggest change round these parts is as the post title says: The Gov'na got his specs! We took the boy to the eye doctor the week before last because of his left eye turning in. We first had noticed it as a baby, but thought it was just developing the muscle and would eventually not happen anymore...it wasn't always crossed. Then, as he grew older I would notice it a lot more in photos and then just more and more frequently in every day life. So, we thought it was high time to have it checked out. The good news? We were told that his vision in both eyes is remarkably good. The bad? Both of his eyes actually cross in and the short of it is that they are trying glasses first to see if it helps to correct it and if not? Then we talk about surgery. So, please pray with me that the glasses will do the trick.

In the meantime, the Gov'na has been great about it and was really excited to get his specs. I have to admit here, that I was a little on the heart broken side to see my sweet boy child in glasses. It just changes their whole look, you know? It seems as if they are becoming another person. And I know that that is not true and totally irrational, but my feelings wouldn't listen to my head and I mourned for a bit. Just a little bit, though, because if I had mourned any longer I would have had to slap myself silly, because really. We are talking of glasses here, not cancer or heart surgery or a terminal illness. But I just want to be honest with you, because I can do that here, right? Right. So yeah. My heart. It broke a little.

But just look how dapper he is:

And for good measure, the gorgeous girl:

On the crafting front, I haven't made anything since the opening of my Shop. That is so not cool, I can't even tell you. I am ashamed and embarrassed, so I have decided that starting this week, I am going to take some time every day and work on some sort of crafting project. Whether it be another dolly, or the costume for the girl's part in the play, or the costume for the husband's friend for Ren Faire, or my Ren garb, or even just some random ideas and projects that I have been sewing and making in mine head for what feels like months now. And I will photograph my progress and post it every day so as to serve as an accountability. That is my hope anyway...but sometimes life happens, and the blog gets a bit of a back seat. I hope that I can count on your forgiveness if that happens. Can I?

Speaking of photography...??? was I just speaking about photography or was that in my head? Anyway...one of my favorite blogs, hey lucy, has posted some tips on how to take better pictures of your pet. I read them and gave it a go. These are my favorites from the other day. What do you think?

I feel like there is so much more that I wanted to tell you, but it is slipping my mind at the moment. Well, I am sure that I will think of it later, and then I will have fodder for another post. So, yay! It's good to be back, I hope I haven't lost too many of you with my lack of bloggy presence. I still love you!!

Happy Day Part 2!

You know it's going to be a good day when dinner starts with this much garlic:

Stand back everyone I am going to stink pretty good for the next couple of days!

Also, there will be more in-depth posting starting next week. The husband is off work this week and we are taking this time to spend as a family and work on the house...and eat lots of garlic. Mmmmmm.....garlic.

Happy Day!

You know it's going to be a good day when your cereal's smiling at you!

Happy Monday everyone, and thank you all so much for the shop love! You all are the best!

Super Sleepover Secret

Ahhh...the sleepover. That single word that can strike both fear and excitement into both children and parents alike. Well, okay it's mostly fear for the parent(s) and excitement for the child(ren), but still. A rite of passage, almost, the sleepover can mark the transition of your child going from your little baby girl to your growing young woman. The friendships that are formed and solidified at the sleepover can last a lifetime. The bonds of those relationships strengthened with each "truth or dare" question, with each secret told, with each nail polished and with each hair braided.

As a child, I had a love/hate relationship with the sleepover. I suffered from homesickness. Severely. It was a bit embarrassing and I was very often the only one left awake from 2am until around 9am in a home that wasn't my own. Whose middle of the night noises I was not familiar with. And whose shadows I didn't know the owners of. Still. I never turned down an invitation to a sleepover. Never. I knew all too keenly the importance of being part of the ritual that is the sleepover.

As parent, I now get to see the other side of the sleepover. The work part. The cleaning up after everyone goes home part. The constant hushing of the girls in the middle of the night part. The monster that has taken over the body of my lovely daughter the next day part. And I have so much more respect for the parents of my childhood friends. So. Much. More.

And now, as a parent, and a former sleepoverer...we'll just say that's a word...I wanted out to find the secret to hosting "The Best Sleepover Ever!" First, I tried letting the girl have just one friend over. I left the girls to their own devices and let them just have fun. The result? Good. Not great. Next, we had the two girl cousins over one night and, on a whim, I decided we would turn it into a spa themed sleepover. We made homemade masks, sat in a relaxing candle-lit room with ambient music and drank fruit smoothies. This seemed to be a little more successful, but still...not the best. And I wanted the BEST. More one friend at a time sleepovers followed. Good times every time. And yet? Well...I think you can guess.

But! BUT! I think I have found it! I think I may have stumbled onto the recipe for "The Best Sleepover Ever!" It's as easy as 1-2-3, and looks a little sum'n like this:

Step 1: Give birth to an insanely creative girl. Let rise for about 9 1/2 years.

Step 2: Tell the girl that she can have a multi-friend sleepover when we move into the new house.

Step 3: Sit back and relax as she plans everything. This is what she will come up with:

She decided one day to make money for her sleepover. And each friend would get $45.25 with which to spend on the events for the evening.

That's right. Events. There were several events that took place during the evening. And each one had a dollar amount attached if you wanted to participate. The husband was kind enough to make this menu for each girl so they would know what they were in for:

First up; The Marvelous Makeover! I gave each girl a quick makeover and they dressed up to get ready for the Catwalk! I hung some fabric against the wall in the basement and rolled out a runway using a ream of packing paper. We put on some crazy fun music, and the girls each got a turn to model their new look and have pictures taken of themselves.

Next up; The Fabulous Feast! We had pizza, but to make it fabulous, their juice was served in wine glasses. And included in the price of the meal was a make-your-own sundae bar! This is always a hit, and I recommend it for every occasion. Who doesn't like making their own sundae?

Then it was movie time! Sleeping bags were arranged on the floor, stuffed animals or dolls...a requirement for attending...propped up to see the screen and the popcorn was set to pop! The air, it was alive with girly giddy glee.

When the movie ended, it was my time to exit the party. I knew that this was when the real sleepover started. And moms generally create inhibitions. And inhibitions do not a fun "truth or dare" game make. So, I retreated to my bed and was impressed with how quiet they were actually being, all things considered. The morning came and found the girls all tattooed with markers and happily content with chatting with one another while I made chocolate chip pancakes. And I knew. I knew that it had been accomplished. How did I know? I overheard one of the girl's friends exclaim to herself, "This was the best sleepover ever!"

And all was right with the world.

Now, my lovely readers, as a reward for sticking with that long-winded assertation of my sleepover experiences, I give you a sneak peak of Sick and Tired. The brother and sister pair that will be available for adoption in just four more days from my shop!