"You Say 'Obsessed' Like It's a BAD thing!"

Does anyone know the significance of Nov. 17th last week?  If you are a fellow "Twi-hard" you'd know that it was the first chance we had to go see the new installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn Pt 1!

Since this blog is called 'CONFESSIONS of a stay home mom', I should probably come clean and tell you all that I really really really enjoy the Twilight books and movies...you could even say I'm a little obsessed.
We (friends and I) have been waiting for over a year to see this movie! (and will have to wait another year to see Part 2.) 
It was such a fun evening out, although it was pretty late and I found it hard to do anything the next day!  The movie started at 10pm, but we left home around 6, got to the theatre around 7 and then waited in line.  Luckily, one friend had snagged tickets online weeks ago, so we were in line for good seats together, but didn't worry about getting one at all.  And we did all manage to sit together with decent seats (there were 4 of us) so it was a  big success.

We got home around 1:30am (gotta love coming home when it's snowing!) and I got to bed around 2:00, but didn't fall asleep until well after 3am (not with all those fresh scenes of Edward, Bella, and Jacob floating around in my mind! ... plus the $5 Coke I had at midnight! ;).  Then I woke with a coughing fit at 5am (I had such a bad cold!) and was up for another hour or so.  The 7:40am alarm was absolutely brutal!
BUT, I'd totally go again in a heartbeat!

The movie was everything we had hoped for, not losing too much of the book, but adding some fun stuff as well.  Personally, I think it's my favorite in the series so far... until the next one comes out, the last half of Breaking Dawn is my favorite in the books - so I have high hopes for the movie!

Dustin was helping me kill time in line by texting with me, and he asked me to send pictures ... so I have a few from the evening.  Enjoy!

Andrea and I, in line killing time...

 My $5 Coke with a collectors cup to keep....totally worth $5!! lol!

Mess the Dress

A while back, like beginning of summer kind of while back, a friend and I decided that we were going to do our own Mess the Dress pictures.  Only we were both too sentimental about our own wedding gowns, and honestly, neither of us had the figure we did back before we were blessed with children.  So, being about the same size, we bought one online for super cheap and split the cost.  We both then wore that dress for our little photo shoot, which finally happened this fall.
Man, what a blast!!  We spent all day laughing and getting creative (and shivering, it was pretty cold!) and both have gorgeous pictures as a result!
Part of me wishes these were my real wedding pictures - I just need Dustin in them!! ;)

Here's a sampling of my favorites from my turn in the dress...

 This is one of my favorites, it's so Twilighty - and I love Twilight!

 My friend makes these headbands - so super cute!

Because I "CAN"

I think I stole the 'Bernardin' sloggan using that title. Oh well. I love their products!! There, hopefully no lawsuits will transpire... ;)

I didn't get to have a garden this year. I know, poor me, right?? Thanks for feeling my pain. Plans are in the works to have a spot prepared and dirt brought in this fall so we can have a large one next year, so I'm pretty excited!

This year, I have been blessed by friends and my Mom for fresh produce, which has left me busy in my kitchen already. I wonder what it'll be like next year when I hopefully have LOTS from our own garden?! Yikes! Good thing we have that big cold storage room in the basement!

Our own yard has supplied us with apples. Lots and Lots of apples!! We have 3 different kinds here. Oh yeah, plus I claimed the unwanted apples at my in-laws place! Half of those I gave to a friend looking for some, and the other half I chopped and prepared for pies and crips throughout the winter, and froze in portion sizes.
So what was I going to do with all the apples from our own yard?! JUICE! I know, I totally feel like Betty Crocker's twin or something. I'm a first year juicer. A total newbie at this. So I picked the brains of my friend's mom and a lady at women's group in church, and then just went for it.
I can't believe it's a simple as it is!

Now, as always, I had great intentions of taking pictures all through the process, just like my friend Sharon does on her blog - I love her blog by the way, she's always inspiring - totally off topic though. Obviously, I didn't get all those pictures since I'm writing this, because once the juice was hot and my jars were ready, the camera was the last thing I was thinking of. Sorry, it sounds like blasphemy saying something like that, because I have such love of photos, but not scalding myself on steam, or pouring boiling liquid on my hand was a little more pressing right that second.
I'm totally sure you'll all forgive me.

So not only did I juice apples, I juiced grapes as well! A friend of mine had too many and offered us some. Concord grapes! WOW! They are DELICIOUS! I'm so planting a vine of my own next year! The grapes themselves look like blueberries, and dye pretty well anything the come into contact with blue (my kids mouths were pretty funny!) but the juice is just so amazing we dont care.

For apple juice, I sliced and boiled them in enough water to cover. Let them sit for 24 hours and then strained the apple mush out. Boil the water (which is now juice!) with a little bit of sugar and can it. VOILA! Seriously, how easy is that?!

The grapes, I cooked down in a bit of water, and then ran through a fruit press that my mom had lent me (what's it actually called Mom?) and then added the strained mixture back to the pot. Add a little sugar, bring it to a boil, and can it. It's almost a joke how simple it is.... but tastes so good!

Our yard also gave us ridiculous amounts of chokecherries, which until now, I had washed and put in the freezer because I didn't know what to do with them! They have pits almost the size of the whole berry, so other than jelly (which we dont care for - we're jam people here) I just had no use for them. BUT, I couldn't just leave them on the tree either! That's a waste. Well, needless to say, I'm going to juice them too! If I add enough sugar, I've hear it's really good.
It's worth trying!

Here's a sample of the apples I juiced. I had about 5 times this amount in the beginning.

Boiling them

Ooooh, new jars! It's going to turn into an addiction yet, I know it! It was like buying new paper! I just love getting new jars!! (new for me, I did a combination of new and from the MCC.) Is that weird?!

Some of the finished product we'll be enjoying for a while. Brad cant' wait for Christmas to make apple cider with this juice!

Live in the Now

I've long wanted to get a tattoo - but the thought of walking around as an 'old lady' with it (when I was 15, that was a 30 year old - now that I'm 30, it's more like 80!) didn't appeal.

I asked a friend who has multiple tattoos over various parts of her body what she thinks about them for when she's older. She simply told me, "live in the now".

For our 12th anniversary, Dustin went with me and kept me company while I got my first tattoo (and I say 1st on purpose, I'm already considering another!). A Gladiolus flower on my foot. It's the August flower, appropriate for our anniversary. I absolutely LOVE it!

I did it!!

I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it!!
I can still hear Zachary's little 2 year old voice exclaim that whenever he accomplished something on his own. I'm stealing his material today.

Since high school, I have dreamt of owning studio lighting and real backdrops for photography. A friend of mine, who also did photography, decided to sell what she had collected - and I was the lucky person who bought it.
I. Am. Beyond. Excited. !!!!
After YEARS of using natural light from windows (and crossing my fingers we'd have enough of it!), there are no words for much I am looking forward to using this stuff with my business!

Shelly brought Harlow over for a quick "try out all this cool stuff" shoot - and they turned out AMAZINGLY! I was sooo excited to give them those pictures! What a massive difference using proper equipment makes!
Anyway, my own kiddos are going to have their share of pictures done this weekend, so I'll post a few of those yet to show off the back drops.

Here's my favorite of Harlow below, or you can check out my JV Photography blog here and see some more of her, and other samples I've put up in the past.

Strike!

I'm debating on going on strike. Dustin thinks I'm over reacting, but I think a good strike would solidify my case.

I really dont enjoy cooking. At least, not lately. No matter what I make, someone complains that he doesn't like at least 2 ingredients in it. And if I try and please that someone, then it's the next guy who complains. I seriously cant win.

Today, despite feeling not nearly my best, I made a pot of soup. Vegetable Beef. You would think it's a pretty safe bet - my kids will eat most veggies if they're in soups, and Dustin swears if he had to live off one food forever he'd pick soup. Sounds safe, right?
Nope. Not one of my 3 actually finished the bowl in front of them. Zachary outright complained that he was starving 5 minutes after he told me he was full (to get out of finishing the soup) and Brad, who's a little wiser, did what Dustin did and just quietly put a half full bowl on the counter to be dumped.
Nice. All that work for nothing.

So what did I do?? I jarred up the rest and took it to a friend who would appreciate my efforts. I kept a few jars for me too since I thought it was really good soup. I mean seriously, who doesn't love a good beef vegetable soup?!
My household apparently.

My thinking with going on strike is after a few weeks a)I would have a glorious time off from cooking b)them fending for themselves come supper time will not go over well c)eating zoodles and mac n cheese for more than 3 days in a row would mean I could make just about anything and not have a single complaint.

I know, I know.... you're all telling me I'm dreaming. Well, a girl can dream can't she??

29 and 364ths

Tomorrow is my 30th Birthday.

Why does that number strike fear into the mind's of so many?
I'll admit, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of it all year, and I'm a little sad to see my 20's go. My 20's were great!! I had my beautiful babies those years, we built and moved (and built and moved, and built and moved and ...), and made some seriously awesome memories. Dustin and I spent those years not only building houses, but the foundation of our marriage and we deepened the amazing relationship we have.
We've grown closer to Christ and have seen first hand his amazing grace, mercy, and faithfulness to prayer.

Does turning 30 mean all that will end now? Does it mean I have to "grow up". No more bar-hopping, no more partying till the wee hours of the night, no more passing out and waking up on someone else's couch, or dating two guys at once?? Because in that case, I was born 'grown up'. I've never done that. Any of it. I married the only guy I've ever held hands with even. And I definitely don't feel I missed anything by not doing it.

What about goofing off with Andrea on scrapbooking days? Stupid pictures with Sharon, shopping with Marlene and Sheri, and plotting to kidnap Robert Pattinson with Shelly? (Ok, FBI Agent reading this, that's a joke! At least from me it is... Shelly on the other hand... she lives at...just kidding)
I'm thinking turning 30 should mean I can do more of all those things because ... well, just because it makes me feel better thinking that. If I can do all that now, why not when I'm 30??
Will God turn his back on me because I'm another decade older? Of course not! If anything, He's rejoicing that I am enjoying the life He's given me, and is encouraging me to keep going.

So I resolve to embrace turning 30 tomorrow. To be honored to join the club of beautiful 30-something women that I spend so much time with.

I mean really, what's the old saying? With age comes maturity?? Well anyone who knows me knows that's not true in my case!

Seriously lack

Of motivation that is!
You would think that a household full of people coming to celebrate 30th birthdays and see our new place would be enough of a kick in the pants to get me moving the day before.
You would think.
Nope- I have done minimal cleaning and cooking so far today. I'm usually pretty organized, so there's just the basics left with the cleaning and such - but I should be doing it ... now.
Yet here I sit at the computer....
I'm not even busy with something else; it's just a puttering around kind of day. I am sore from over doing it a little yesterday (painting, moving furniture, some cleaning) and I seem to have left my motivation with yesterday too.
So if you're heading down this way tomorrow, I am thrilled! You can expect food and a clean house, but it will all be done last minute!

Another creation by Sheri

I LOVE having a hair stylist as a sister-in-law! And a FANTASTIC one at that! I got up Saturday morning thinking I would just have my long locks trimmed at my appointment, but as I was slapping it back into that routine pony-tail (often with a head band so I dont even have to do anything with my bangs) I thought about how much fun a shorter style would be again.

Sheri actually did two cuts for me - one very safe, slightly shorter trim, and then this one after I said it didn't look any different and to do whatever she wanted. That's how my hair turns out the best - just give her permission to do "whatever". Probably close to 8 inches came off the back...

I. Love. It. It's a fun, modern style all done up like in the pics, or it's just a simple bob when I'm not in the mood to spend some time on it.

Thanks Sheri!

"What did you do that for?!"

So, I've had to take a bit of time off from painting and changing stuff around this last week. On Monday (aka laundry day) I was carrying a basket FULL of clothes down the stairs and managed to miss a step along the way. I know, I know, no big surprise, I have about as much grace as a lawn mower in a china store. It was luckily only the last few stairs (four, to be exact), and my ankle cushioned my fall (??).
Really, that was the unlucky part.
Somehow, I managed to get my ankle under my rear and sort of slide down the stairs with my folded leg as the sled. As I sat at the bottom of the stairs holding my ankle, I thought, "I'm gonna be in a cast for Christmas!" and "I wonder how I'll get to the phone to call for help?!" Then I banished those thoughts and declared (between sobs) that I was ok and I prayed for healing.
My. God. Is. Amazing.
All I have is a nasty rug-burn and a bruise on my foot. I was up and walking within a few minutes, and although shaken, I was totally fine.
At some point in the next few minutes, I thought it would be a wise thing to call my dearest husband, whom I knew would have the utmost sympathy for me. He'd tell me to be more careful of course, but I'd get the "Oh no, are you ok?!!" that I was longing for in that moment, and he'd let me shed a tear or two over how much I hate laundry day even more now...

Nice fantasy of mine huh? Reality, here's how it went;
Me (in an overly shaky voice for effect)-"I just fell down the last four stairs with a full load of laundry! I'm ok, but man, I was so scared I broke my ankle at first!"
Dustin- (silence at first, then an angry voice) "J -EEENNN! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!!" (huffs and tisks)
Now, if I was really with it at the time, which unfortunately I wasn't, there are lots of things I could have answered...."I felt like it." "It seemed like fun at the time." "I thought you would hire a maid if I made myself and invalid" etc, because he was totally implying that I had done this on purpose!
Instead, my reaction was more like "Are you actually getting mad at me?!" Because every woman wants their husbands to get angry at them when they're feeling the need to be reassured and babied a bit, right? As if my pride wasnt hurting enough, he had to seem angry that he was married to a clutz.

Now, I'm not so brain dead that I can't see it's all because he felt helpless to help me when it's already happened and it's his frustration talking because he wasn't there, yada yada yada ya...
AND, he did snap out of it pretty quickly and even went as far as to say that I should wait for him to come home and he'd carry the laundry up and down the stairs for me, not even caring how completely stupid it would be that I would only do one load a day because I'd be waiting for him just to carry it.
And he completely babied me the next few days as I went to the chiropractor and put my hip back in place and had the whiplash in my neck worked on (it really was some fall!).

And then when I got the flu two days later (are you seeing what kind of miserable week I've had?) I literally stayed in bed for an entire day. He brough me chicken noodle soup at lunch and he did everything with the kids. He definitely made it up to me, but next time I wipe out, I'll text a friend first. :P

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

The boys very first baseball game was a huge "hit"!!
Dustin was able to use his work's season's tickets, so we had AMAZING seats, right behind the Goldeye's dugout. Our boys caught lots of stuff tossed into the crowd and even got a couple of baseballs that some of the Goldeye's rolled directly to them across the 'roof' off the dugout when switching off for innings (which was directly in front of us acting as a foot rest!).
Brad had brought his Goldie's baseball card and got Goldie to sign it when he was dancing around in front of us (hilarious!) and then I asked him to pose for a picture with the boys.
After the game, Brad and Zach got in line to meet some of the players and had them autograph the balls they gave them, as well as their baseball gloves that they'd toted from home.
I was laughing and telling Dustin that I sure hope they don't think ALL sporting events are like this! Normally there aren't half as many freebies and meet-and-greets!!
They really had a blast!

mmm, they taste better when they're FREE!

After getting a ball from a player!

Ugh! It's raining!

With Goldie!

Autographs please!

Tougher than I look?

When the last time you fell? I mean, like really bit it and wiped out?
For me, it was about 2 hours ago and my inlaws "cabin". The boys were playing outside while us 'grown ups' were inside visiting. All we heard was a ear-piercing scream that we quickly discerned to be Zachary. Dustin rushed out the front door to check what was wrong and a few seconds later, when the screaming hadn't stopped, I ran through the patio door thinking maybe Zach was closer to the back yard.
I completely wiped out running down the deck steps, (and I don't mean stumbled, or tripped, I mean I was eating crushed rock from the walkway below.) BUT, my baby was still screaming around the house, so I scrambled to my feet and kept going. I brushed a little of the dirt off myself before getting to Dustin and the boys, but not enough. Dustin instantly asked "What happened to you?!"
Forget about me! I'm thinking, What's wrong with Zachary??!
I was quickly shown the reason for the horrific screeching just a minute ago - a scraped shin. No joke, the kid was screaming as though he was dying over a small break in the skin. No blood, no broken bones, a scrape. Now I'm not saying it didn't deserve a tear or two, or a 'boo-boo-all-better kiss' from Mom, maybe even a Transformer's bandaid - but it did not deserve the ridiculous cries he let out; most kids couldn't scream like that with a megaphone!

On the drive home, we had a good talk about what is an acceptable decibel level in reaction to a scrape or skinned knee, so as not to strike immeasurable fear into the heart of his mother. I showed off my 'gravel burn' on my hands and the big (which will be massive by tomorrow) bruise on my knee and pointed out that neither of them would have even known I had wiped out if Dad hadn't noticed first.

My hip, knee, and shoulder will surely be in need of some TLC tomorrow, hopefully nothing more than a few Advil will take care of though. And Zach has promised to try and keep his volume of screaming relative to the size of "owie" he has.
We'll see if that actually happens, Zach is not known for his subtlety.

On a positive note, besides the fact that Dustin is completely babying me now and this made for a good blog post, Brad seemed pretty impressed with his dear ol' Mom... he asked what I did after I kissed the pavement, and when I told him I got up, brushed myself off and rushed to see if Zach was ok - he seemed a little awed.
I may not be as wimpy as he thought I was.... what a strange thought that must be for him.

My Makeover

First off, I didn't know I needed one, or would be about to get one! My sister-in-law Sheri (fabulous hairstylist and the only person I trust my locks with) trimmed the front of my hair for me the other week. No biggie. Then, we saw that we could easily take a little more off and I would have bangs, and they were actually pretty cute. Snip Snip - POOF!
I've got a whole new look with bangs!
THEN, I saw my optometrist like two days later. Whaddya know, those headaches I've been having for months ARE a result of my eyesight. And with a more expensive POOF, I am now the "proud" owner of glasses. My mother-in-law helped me pick them out, and I love the dramatic change in how I look - but it definitely needs some getting used to!
The day after I got my glasses, Zachary was wandering around the school yard looking for me (while I was waving madly at him) and when he finally saw me, he told me "You don't look like you anymore!".