The Importance of Picking Up the Phone

Have you ever had days where you constantly think about one person?  You know you need to call them, but put it off until the thoughts are gone?  I do things like this all the time, but this time, was on the receiving end.

For a little history, I have been feeling incredibly overwhelmed the last few days weeks.  I have my everyday stresses, which include dealing with three boys and one little girl, all 2 and under, along with my oldest.  Cleaning house, diaper changes, cooking supper, and all the mounds of laundry that go with it keep me busy alone.  But now, I am also working on taxes (UGH!), and not just our personal taxes, either.  Throw in the daycare, trucking, and the knitting, and we are talking mounds of receipts that have to be totaled.  (Who would have thought we spent that much on groceries in ONE YEAR!?!)  I am also working on selling 2,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, and knitting in all my spare time to get ready for upcoming craft shows.  Then there are all the mental stresses; finances, staying organized mentally, taking care of myself (HAHA!), etc.

Now for the story.

Yesterday, we sold cookies to an older gentleman down the street.  He has always been incredibly nice...to the point that you almost want to hide when you see him because he won't stop talking.  But, he called me this morning.  He just wanted to compliment Flower on how polite and professional she was, how proud he was that she had so many patches on her uniform, and to remind her that if she puts her mind to something, she will accomplish it.  He went on to tell me that he was grateful for moms who put their lives on hold for their children.  He thanked me for not only being an example to my daughter, but to every little girl I come in contact with.  He reminded me that staying at home caring for children, juggling the house, husband and kids, and not getting a shower every day was no less important than a congresswoman, business woman, or doctor.  He acknowledged that no man could ever pull off what one woman does in a single day.  He asked me to never think for a moment that I did not have an impact on this thing we call life.

The call was cut short as soon as Little Man attempted to use the kitchen drawers as a ladder to the cookies and fell, hitting his head on the refrigerator.

I am so appreciative that he took 30 minutes of his day just to encourage and thank me.  It mean a lot, and it meant even more coming from a man!  He is so right, though.  There are little girls everywhere whose role models consist of half-dressed women who get up on a stage and dance and "sing".  Women who flaunt their sexuality to obtain something, and women who bring home a new man each night.

All women, regardless of whether they have daughters or not, are an example to every little girl they come in contact with.  My mom and all of my grandmothers were extreme role models for me.  I can name at least three of my mom's friends who were wonderful examples for me, and one had only boys. Women I never actually new, but enjoyed studying and reading about were examples for me.

What kind of role model are you?  I know I, for one, want to be the model of grace, inside beauty, love, and determination.  I want my girl to know that if she wants to be the president of the United States, she can.  If she wants to be a doctor, she can.  If she wants to play on the floor with her kids all day, she can!  I also want her to know that she will have set-backs, but that it will be OK, to just keep trying.  I do not ever....ever... want her to think that she isn't pretty enough, or that it even matters.  I don't want her to think that her self-worth lies in whether or not a man loves or finds her attractive, and I certainly don't want her to search for that love in every little boy that says he "loves" her.

Just something to ponder today.  What are your opinions on this?

While Everyone Else is Excited About Cookie Time.....

.....the rest of us need a support group.

"Hi.  My name is Emily, and I am the mother of a Brownie Girl Scout.  That's not the bad part.  I am also the troop leader.  I haven't seen my kitchen table in a week, and won't see it for another 4.  I have 65 cases of Girl Scout Cookies scatter around my house, and that isn't counting the ones in my car that I need to deliver, and the ones I haven't picked up from the council.  My nose is running, and I am coughing from walking up and down the block, listening to the words 'HI!  I am with Girl Scout Troop XXXX, would you like to help me go to camp?"  My daughter's goal is to sell 2,000 boxes of cookies, and I am using $2,000 worth of gas helping her reach her goal.  What does she get?  A stuffed owl and a trip to camp!  What do I get?  A migraine."

All together now..."WELCOME, EMILY!"

Its hard work, but someone has to do it!  The hardest part of it all is keeping Barb Wire Man and Little Man out of the cookies.  I haven't even added up my personal order, yet, because I keep having to add to it.  It is fun, though.  Flower is super excited.  She throws her little sash on, proud of the 20 some-odd patches she has, and goes door to door.  That girl puts Kirby salesmen to shame.

It was unavoidable, I suppose, this life I lead as a Girl Scout Troop Leader.  My mom was mine, her mom was hers.  I come from a long line of women who's houses turn into a cookie distributorship.  I'm thinking about asking my husband how hard it would be to load his semi truck up and drive up and down the streets.

You know how "they" say that childbirth is so rewarding, once you see your child, you forget about birth pains?  Well, Girl Scout Cookie Time must be the same.  Every year, I forget how time consuming, stressful, and overall pain-in-my-butt that it is, and sign up to do it all over again.

Then again, I know how rewarding it is for Flower.  I mean, after all these years, I am still close to some of the girls that were in my troop.  My mom is still close to some of the girls in her troop.  And we are all women who know we can do whatever we put our minds to.

"Come on, girls, let's sell those cookies!  We can go to camp for free if we sell enough!"

Oh crap....I just remembered....I have to take them all to camp too.....

Thankfully, Gunnar won't be in Girl Scouts.

I'm sorry, what did you just say?  Boy Scouts?

My Baby is Growing Up Too Fast!

Someone better get me a brick.

When I was little, my daddy would always tell me he was going to put a brick on my head to keep me from getting big.  Now I am the one wanting to put bricks on my baby's head!

The Little Man turns 2 today.

Hardly seems possible!  I thought today I would share a little bit of Little Man with you!

The date is wrong, but I was about 6 months here.

Proud sissy!

Very first picture!

his feet were, and still are, enormous

Think you got a big enough cup!?

This was his audition picture for baby chipendales.

"If only I could reach the pedals, I could ride into the sunset......"

That Grandpa is silly!

This is what happens when you don't obey mommy and continue jumping on the couch......

One of these days, I'll be big enough to ride!  

Daddy can't drive this big ol' truck by himself!

This day was hilarious!

Contrary to Nan and Grandma opinions, he is not an angel.

Sissy is his favorite person!

I'm ready to go, mom.

Stylin' and profilin'

I'm the boy your momma warned you about.....

Happy Hump Day!

My boys are all asleep, I can smell supper cooking on the stove, and my day has been going just peachy!  Love days like this!

I am SUPER excited because I found a shop on Etsy shop, called TagsandLabels, from where I can order sew-on labels with my business name!  I am super excited!  I can just sew these on to my scarves and what not, and make them look even more professional!  I cannot wait to get them in so I can start sewing!

I also just added several new coaster sets to my Etsy shop.  Because I have an ungodly amount of these things stacking up in my house, I am going to do 20% off on them until Friday!  You heard it here first, folks!  Here is a sample, but check them all out at my shop: 13 Plum Knitting

I guess I better go stir that stew, before we end up having to eat at McDonald's for supper.  ICK!

My Budding Photographer

Miss Flower loves to play with my camera.  Anytime I download my pictures, there are about 200 that I know I didn't take.

"Did you play with mom's camera without asking?"
"Nope.  I know better."
"Are you sure, because there are a lot of pictures on here of you that I know I didn't take."
"Oh yeah, I forgot.  There was that one time I did.  But just once."

I thought I would share with you some of her works of art.  Most of them are pictures of, you guessed it, herself.  Hope you get a chuckle out of a few of these!

Hello.  I'm Flower.

I'm pretty sure this is an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire

Because princesses are the most important things in the world.

Be nice to me or else!

I have no caption for this.

SURPRISE!!!

Can you see me now?

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

This may be her impression of me.....

That's right girl, and don't you ever forget it!

I think I can get my nose with my tongue.

Peace out homie.

It Is the Little Things....

Life changes so much when you have children.  I haven't purchased myself a new outfit in forever.  But get thrilled if someone gives me things they don't wear anymore!  Some of the littlest things make me happy now

My weekend was great, starting on Friday!  It worked out that both my daycare kiddos were going to be gone for the day, so my mom came over to hang out with us.  We surprised Flower by showing up at her school just in time for lunch with a couple of McDonald's bags full of food.  The look on her face when she realized we were there was priceless!  (This is the first time since she has been in school that I have been able to go eat with her!)  My mom and I visited a new shop here in town, and she bought me the prettiest skirt!  Its a little shorter than what I normally wear (hey, I'm a prude).  It comes just to the bottom of my knees, so I guess it isn't really that short.

Not long after we came home, one of my dearest friends and her three little ones came over for a visit.  We drank tea and chatted all afternoon.  It was lovely!  I haven't had so much adult interaction in I don't know how long!  Flower went home with my mom to spend some Nana-Papa-Flower time.  They are the best of friends so I know they all enjoyed that.

Barb Wire Man got to come home that night!  Last week was so busy for him that we had only seen him for two hours since last Sunday.

Saturday was spent just hanging out, doing nothing.  Soaking in as much time with the hubs as possible.

Sunday, I got myself and the kids ready for church, and visited a new church with my bestie.  I will most definitely be going back.  The worship was amazing, and the sermon was written just for me.  The rest of the day was wonderful!

Barb Wire Man was going to convert Little Man's crib into a "big boy bed", since he turns two on Friday.  Rather, he installed a new refrigerator!  Backtrack.....not new.  Actually older than the one I originally had.  But, I have the tiniest kitchen.  I mean, I have seen efficiency apartments with bigger kitchens, and I despise my kitchen.  I couldn't open the door of our cold stacked fridge without hitting the cabinet opposite of the thing!  Our next-door-neighbors just purchased on of those super awesome 3-door refrigerators, and wanted a "beer fridge" for the garage.  So we traded them!  Now, I had a side by side, with ice and water in the door.  More storage space, and the best part?  I can actually open the door completely and it doesn't hit my cabinet!

I am thrilled.

And I woke up with an order from my Etsy store today, so I am thrilled!  Its going to be a wonderful day, and a wonderful week!  Hope yours is great, too!

Is it Friday yet!?

What a busy and productive week this has been!  I love weeks like this, but it feels like it should be the weekend already!!  Today, I want to share a few of the things  I have made in the last few days!

set of four coasters

One of the gazillion preemie hats

infant cap for girls

Infant cap for boys

My favorite!  A little girl's gnome cap with flowers!

I also got 5 t-shirt scarves finished, but for some reason I can't get those pictures to load properly onto the blog!  It keeps rotating them upside down!  Who knows!  As always, you can see what else I have up for sale at my shop, 13 Plum Knitted Creations.

I wanted to share my new favorite picture of my family, too!  It was taken at Christmas and my parents' house.  I love it, because we are all smiling.  My husband isn't flipping the camera off, or trying to hide his face.  Flower isn't making a funny face or sticking her tongue out, and Little man isn't picking his nose.

Oh yes.  And an update on those strawberry banana cookies.  Flower just raved about how wonderful they were!  She acted like they were the best cookies they ever had!  But, I noticed they were staying in the plastic container I put them in.  She never even asked for one, and she is a bottomless pit!  So, last night, she was talking with her best friend, who is planning on coming to our house after school for a play day today.  Her back was to me, and I over heard her say, "My mom even made a ton of cookies....but if she offers you one of those pink things, don't take it.  Or take it and give it to my dog.  They are really gross, but I told her they were good.  Just don't tell her!"  Then, she turned around and realized I had heard everything!  The look on her face was priceless.  I thought I was going to laugh until I quit breathing.  I knew the whole time she didn't like them!  She apologized to me later for lying, but was just so afraid of hurting my feelings.  Was a great lesson, though...in two ways!  One, you never know who is going to hear you say something, so choose your words carefully!  And, even moms make mistakes sometimes.  I mean, I rarely make mistakes, but when I do, they are usually whoppers!