Hello, remember me?

Gosh, it's been over a month since I posted here! Life has been full and very blessed. God really showed up in a big way at the end of last month and put some things in place for us financially that I could have never imagined. I can't go into details here, but suffice it to say we have a bit more breathing room now.

We just got back from a week at church camp, and it was awesome! We had 13 kids saved, and many more make renewed dedications to Christ. One of the girls who got saved is one of Morgan's very best friend, and I couldn't be more pleased with what a change it already seems to have made in her!

Jenni commented a couple of weeks ago and asked if there's been any spanking lately. The short answer is no. There was one kind of threatened before we went to camp, but I think he's probably let it go since he didn't have a chance to deal with it before we left. Also, I've been a bit sick since we got back, which always seems to happen when we go on vacation of any sort.

Right now I've got some catching up to do here at home, as well as work on some photo shoots and make some birthday gifts. Hopefully I'll get a chance to pop back in here before too long. :)

Mother's Day, etc.

Hi, guys. I know I've been really absent here lately. I've not forgotten about the blog - I've just been really busy. Morgan's party went really well. There were tons of crafts, and everybody had a lot of fun. 

Easter was spent at Nick's grandmother's house, which was nice. I made Daisy's Easter dress, which turned out surprisingly well, along with a matching one for a doll, and she loved them both.

At the beginning of the month Kate and Will went to the Kentucky Derby and left Maddox and Kit here with family for the weekend. They actually came in on the 1st, and Kelly went into labor the same day. Kit and Maddox were supposed to stay with my in-laws, but they had Logan at their house while Kelly was in the hospital. Maddox is 4 and can be kind of a handful, and Logan is 19 months old and right in that crazy toddler stage, so they had Maddox stay with us, and Morgan stayed there with Kit and Logan. It was fun to have him stay with us, but exhausting.

The new baby girl is precious and perfect, and I even got to be there when she was born, something I didn't expect.

I've been doing some things to further my crafting, which I won't go into here, but it's keeping me busy.

Mother's Day was...kind of sad. Money is non-existent for us right now, so I didn't expect any gifts from Nick or the kids, and I was really, truly okay with that. But there wasn't much in the way of celebration at all. Morgan was frankly sullen when Nick told her to load the dishwasher so I could fix lunch.  I made Mother's Day gifts for Faith, Kelly, and Melanie, which I do every year, or at least as long as they've been pregnant or mothers, which started two years ago for Kelly and last year for Faith and Melanie. And I don't do that because I expect something back - I really don't. But I had to ask each of them later on if they opened their gifts before I even got a thank you, which made me feel a little...unappreciated. 

To be honest, it wasn't that bad of a day. Even if my sisters-in-law and my friend didn't remember me on Mother's Day, my sweet mom got me a stationary set, and my in-laws got me a geranium, which was precious and unnecessary. And God has blessed me so very much. Right now there is a family on my Facebook feed living the final days of their five-year old son's losing battle with cancer. There's a blog I'm following written by a midwife who just spent her first Mother's Day missing her baby girl who lived 6 hours and died in her arms a few months ago. She's facing a return to her job this month where she will work every day caring for women with healthy pregnancies while she mourns the loss of her own child. We may not have been able to go out for a fancy Mother's Day lunch or dinner, but there was food to put on the table, and it was delicious, even if I had to cook it.

I told Nick tonight that I really think what would help tremendously is for us to have more date nights. We've actually not had one since last year, which is not great considering we're almost halfway through May now. But my parents have been watching Robert and Faith's baby Liam a lot. He's not crawling yet, which makes him an easy baby to watch right now, which my crazy two year old is certainly not. Not that Jack is poorly behaved - he's not. He's just, you know, two. And Morgan of course watches herself but she's not really much help with the other two. Daisy wants my mom to actively play with her, and well, there are three of them in all, and it's just a lot more work.

Nick's dad and stepmom have never really been great about babysitting for us, although they love the kids. But even so, they babysit Logan for Grant and Kelly quite a bit, and with the new baby girl they've been helping even more, which leaves no time for us, should they even by willing. A couple of weeks ago when Nick came home Jack was literally hanging off my neck and Daisy had thrown herself into my lap where she was trying to rock herself like a baby in my arms. He took one look at me and told Morgan she was watching them for a few minutes while we took a walk. We just went around our neighborhood and Morgan complained about it on Facebook while we were gone, but that 20 minutes alone with Nick did me a lot of good. I think we need to try harder to carve out more stolen moments like that.

Anyway, how have you guys been? Anything cool happen for Mother's Day for you?

Happy Easter!

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Happy Easter, everyone! I know I've been absent around here. I've had my hands full, but when I get the chance I'll pop back in. The party went great, and I've got lots of things to report. See you soon!

Answered prayers

Thank you so much for all your prayers. God did indeed come through for us. My mom and dad were able to let us borrow the money we needed, and they even gave us an extra $100 to go on that does not need to be repaid. 

Another item on my prayer list lately was that God would provide a way for us to make it to Texas this year. As I've mentioned, we go every year to spend a week with Kate and Will and their kids. It's always a dear luxury, because gas alone is usually $500-$600. Add in possibly a hotel on the way down (it's about a 15 hour trip), not to mention snacks for the road and a meal or two on the way, and we're in pretty deep financially just getting there and back. One year Kate and Will flew us down, one year we drove down with Grant and Kelly and split the gas, and the last couple of years we've been able to take out a loan from Nick's 401K to make the trip. But this year we're still paying back previous loans, and we're struggling more than ever to just make ends meet. 

We had talked about it, and come to the realization that we were more than likely not going to be able to swing it this year. This was an especially big disappointment, because it was going to be just us this year. Because Kelly's baby is due this month and they will have two babies under two, she and Grant decided to skip the trip this year. We knew we would miss them, but we were also really looking forward to having Kate and Will all to ourselves for the first time ever. 

A couple of days ago Nick was talking to Kate, and he let her know that we would not be able to make it this year. She immediately told him to go ahead and ask for the time off and that they would make sure we were able to come. He told her that it was not a plea for money (and it wasn't! But we did need to let them know sooner rather than later so that they knew they wouldn't be hosting us that week). In the end he left it as planning to go down with the stipulation that we would let her know if we needed the help.

It's been hard for both of us to let go of our pride when it comes to accepting help, whether from my parents or his sister or anyone else. But God has certainly humbled us over the years, and taught us that often when we are in a position to need the help, He's using the situation to also bring blessings to the people who are following His lead to provide that help.

Anyway, I'm headed up to bed soon. Love you guys!

Prayer Request

Hi, guys. Things are good here, just working through my still growing to-do list. :) I do have a favor to ask of you. If you're a praying person, I sure could use your prayers this weekend. Tomorrow I have to go pay a car payment. Monday I have to pay a house payment. I don't have the money for either one, and I have no idea where it's coming from. If I can pull together $300 this weekend (somehow??), it will cover the car payment, but that leaves the (even bigger) house payment, and I am OUT OF TIME on both. Nick's next check also has more than usual that has to come out of it, and it will be short a day through no fault of his own, although that's a story for another day. Please pray with me that God provides for these needs. I know that He can do this, and I have faith that He will. 

We've been here before. I mean right here. Just a few months ago in fact, and God showed up in a big way. I know that He can do it again. I want you guys to know that I appreciate being able to come here to people that really care about me, and it means the world to me that I can ask you guys to pray with me and know that you will! Thank you all! :)

The past couple of weeks...

So just a quick post to catch up on the couple of weeks. Let's see...Kelly's baby shower was the 9th of this month. I had planned all kinds of things to make for her. Unfortunately for my timeline (but not for our church), we had revival at church the week before, which kind of killed any crafting time I had. The revival was over Friday, but I had some errands to run Saturday and Nick was also working, so I didn't get any real time at the sewing machine until that night after the kids were asleep. One thing Kelly had actually requested was one of these:

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I made one for both Faith and Melanie a few months ago, and they loved them, so I did one for Kelly too. Then I started on some burp cloths. A few months ago my trusty iron that I got for my wedding quit on me. I was going to go buy one, but my mom, frequenter of estate auctions, had several, so she just gave me one of her extras. It had been working great, so when I plugged it up that night I was expecting no trouble. But when I took my fabric to the ironing board several minutes later, it was stone cold. No amount of turning it off and on or cord wiggling or new outlet trying could coax the least bit of heat from it. So I found myself heading to Wal-mart at 1 AM to buy a replacement. I went back and forth and finally decided on one of the least expensive models. When I got back home and opened it, I was most irritated to find that the whole tip of the iron plate was broken off! I couldn't see myself making another trip, so I just used it as it was and decided to return it the next day.

I did the carrier handle cushion, two burp cloths, and three skirts. Nick, who had fallen asleep on the couch, woke up about 4:30, just after I finished the first skirt. I told him my whole iron saga, and he didn't seem terribly upset that I was still up. He headed up to bed, and I told him I would be up shortly. Unfortunately, shortly turned into 6:30. 

The next day at lunch Nick asked me what time I'd come to bed, and he wasn't happy with the answer, especially since we had all ended up oversleeping and missed church that morning. (Not entirely my fault I don't think. It was Daylight Saving Time change weekend, and he overslept too!) But I didn't realize I was in trouble until that evening.

Nick runs the sound booth during our church services, so it's rare for us to get to sit together. Occasionally we will shoot each other short texts (generally not during the preaching). This was the conversation we had:

(Me) So sleepy...

(Him) Maybe if you went to bed at 2 instead of 6:30...

(Me) Possibly

(Him) Probably

(Me) I'm unconvinced.

(Him) Later I'll show you.

(Me) Nah, I'm good.

(Him) Too bad. It's already been earned.

(Me) You're no fun.

He didn't get a chance to do it for a couple of days, but finally Wednesday night at bedtime he had me come up with him. There was some lecturing, and I did plenty of assuring him that I was sorry and that I understood why I have a bedtime and why it doesn't work for the family for me to stay up all night, but there was no real question that I would be getting a spanking. He got a new tactical belt for Christmas, and he decided to try it out. It was the first time I've ever been spanked with a nylon belt, but it was very thick and stiff, and every bit as painful as leather. It was also very loud. I don't know how many licks I got, but enough to make me very glad when it was over. 

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The good news is that Kelly loved all her stuff. I was also able to make her a few of the other things on my list (before bedtime!) and take them to her at church Wednesday. All the pictures of the stuff I gave her at her shower include her in them, so I can't post them here, but I did think to snap a picture of the items I made later: another skirt, two pairs of shoes, a nursing scarf (the gray fabric) and a diaper clutch (to keep a few diapers and a small case of wipes in for quick changes on the go).

Friday I got to go to Melanie's house along with Kelly and one of her friends, and Melanie taught us the basics of crochet. It's something I've wanted to learn for ages, and it was a lot of fun having some girl time. 

On Saturday Morgan had her first soccer game. They lost, but only by one point, and her team is quite good this season. Afterwards we went to McDonald's and let the kids play on the play equipment. Jack and Daisy had a blast, and of course Morgan was too cool to play on it, but was gracious enough to climb up in there to keep an eye on Jack for us. Morgan has been struggling lately with some teen angst issues, and they've been manifesting themselves in some unhealthy ways. She's started doing a bit better, but I would really appreciate your prayers for her (and us as we parent her!). 

Saturday afternoon I did three month pictures for Brandon and Melanie's baby boy J, and it was exhausting! Fortunately my sweet husband fixed dinner for me. :)

Sunday night there was huge drama. Daisy...cut her hair! And I don't mean a little bit. She basically butchered it. Nick flipped out. He was furious! I wasn't thrilled about it either, but well, it's kind of something a lot of three and four year olds do at one time or another. I called Nick's stepmom (who does our hair), and she agreed to come and try to fix it the next day. When she saw it, she was kind of taken aback, but I told her we knew it was going to have to be pretty short, so she waded in. There were spots that were less than an inch long, so she ended up with a pixie cut, almost exactly like Maggie Gyllenhaal here, but a little shorter around the ears:

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Guys, I wish I could post a picture here, because she looks so freaking CUTE! I was resigned to it because it was better than the cut she gave herself - I didn't expect to love it! She has these big huge Disney Princess eyes like Katy Perry, so she still looks very girly, and with her dimples she looks like a mischievous woodland sprite, or a miniature Audrey Hepburn (although Audrey didn't have those dimples)! I'm sure we'll let it grow back out, but for now I'm glad we were forced into a cut we would've never had the nerve to get on our own!

Today Elizabeth came over for a while. She had laundry she needed to do and no money to do it (they use a laundromat), and I needed help unburying my kitchen table (which is going to get me spanked again if it's not done by Friday). So I let her use our washer and dryer, and she helped me clean. 

I've got so much stuff to do in the next few weeks! A list:

Skirts (2) for craft exchange

Shoes for craft exchange

Ring for craft exchange

Pillow Cover for craft exchange

Acorn Pillow for craft exchange

Pack gnome figurine and ribbon for craft exchange

10 xl pom poms for cupcake liners/garland

Make cupcake garland

Make 15 makeup bags

String washers for washer necklaces

Make 15 Rosettes for necklaces

String Rosettes

Make 15 Leather Bow Barrettes

Make brush pouch for nail brushes

Make pillowcase shirt for Morgan

Finish J's pictures

Easter bunnies for Logan, A, and J

Make shirts into short sleeves for Maddox

Leather envelope, Knot Bracelet and leather barrette and bracelet for Kit

Mail Easter stuff for Maddox and Kit

Make Daisy's Easter dress

Mother's Day gifts - stitch markers, dish cloths (crocheted)

Order of three pillow covers for Faith.

Anyway, I'm off to bed so I can get some rest and got some of this stuff done!

Answers!

You guys had some fun questions!

Ronnie asked: Who would you want to play the role of you in a movie?

That's a tough one for me. Maybe Emma Stone? Of course she would have to be playing a younger me, lol. But I really love her as an actress, how real and down to earth she is; I love Jennifer Lawrence for the same reason. Of course neither one of them looks like me.

Sunny Girl asked: You're always making or doing something crafty, what is your favorite?

I love this question! I love doing all kinds of crafty things, but I'd have to say sewing is my favorite. I'm far, far from an expert at it, but I do feel like I've come a long way from where I started. Kelly is due with a baby girl next month, and I made her some sweet little fancy skirts that I'm pretty proud of, along with some little baby shoes. It was my first foray into shoes, and while the first pair turned out pretty well, they really kicked my butt in the making. The second pair though was a much easier pattern. They went together like a dream, and they turned out so precious! I want to make a pair for every baby I see!

Anonymous asked: where in the world would you like to go most?

I would really love to go to Ireland, Great Britain, and many of the countries of continental Europe. I'm of Irish Heritage, so Ireland has been on my bucket list for a long time. The most beautiful place I've ever been is Hawaii, and Nick and I dream of going back there someday.

do you have a college degree? if so in what?

I do not. I did attend collage for a little while, but I didn't finish. Do I regret it? Not really, because I'm doing just what I'm meant to be doing right now, no college degree needed. I would love to take a few classes on things that interest me, but that will probably be down the road a few years.

what's your favorite movie of all time? 

The Notebook, hands down.

Princess asked: Do you have a spanking fantasy?

Most of my fantasies are pretty standard spanko fare - principal/student, boss/secretary, doctor/nurse. But in real life there are a few things I'd love to have happen someday. I think being made to stand in the corner would be an incredible turn-on for play. As part of a serious spanking (before, or during the middle of it) I think it would be very hard to submit to, especially if my attitude is not where it needs to be, and it would seriously ratchet up just how disciplined I feel by the end of it, which would probably be a good thing as far as achieving the intended effect of a punishment. Punishment spankings around here are no joke, and the last thing I feel before or during them is aroused. But when they are over and the pain has subsided, I'm often turned on after the fact by the feeling of being both taken care of and made to obey. I would really love, once the serious issue has been taken care of, to have Nick occasionally send me to the corner to "think about what I'd done" then spank me again, quite a long time, this time for play and ending in an orgasm for me.

Violet said: What is the worst job you ever had? What is the best change that has occurred in your life over the past year? What is your biggest pet peeve?

The worst job I ever had was probably a toss-up between the job I had when I got married, which was at a magazine distribution warehouse, and the last couple of years at my last job, in the customer service call center at a bank. The warehouse job was 20 miles from home and started at 6:00 in the morning. The warehouse was not air conditioned, and we actually had a girl pass out from the heat that summer. Add to that, I wasn't very good at it, and it was a pretty miserable few months. My last job I actually loved for the first few years. The pay was good, and they really took care of their employees. After the first six years or so though, there were some changes in management. Raises, which were once very regular, dropped to almost nothing, right as the cost of living shot up via gas and grocery prices. At the same time they greatly increased our workload. By the time I quit after 10 years on the job, morale was in the toilet. There was zero respect for the employees, and no job security either. Just before I left, a well respected department head who had been there for nearly thirty years was let go without warning because they decided they didn't want to pay her position any more. They combined her department with another (that really couldn't handle the extra workload), and when she came in on her day off to pick up something from her office, they told her she was fired and escorted her from the building without even letting her clean out her belongings. In my last three years there we lost 3 people from heart attacks and 1 from a stroke. One heart attack happened at the lady's desk, and the stroke happened in the parking lot. I started my maternity leave with Daisy three weeks before her birth because my blood pressure was through the roof and my doctor's office put me on bed rest. 

The best change that has occurred in my life in the last year...hmmm. There haven't really been any changes in the last year, but just over two years ago I had my sweet Jack, which has been one of the best changes ever!
As far as my biggest pet peeve, I confess to having a few - I'm kind of a grammar freak, I hate when people mispronounce things, and people who ride your bumper while driving make me nuts!

Thank you for all the questions - I had fun answering them! And of course it's still March, so keep 'em coming if you have them!

Question Month

March is Question Month! Anybody have anything they want to know? Put it in the comments and I'll put up answers in a day or two. :)

I should be sewing...

Or at least measuring and cutting fabric. I have an Etsy order that needs to go out tomorrow afternoon, and another that I need to start on this weekend. But I'm so, so tired, and I can do it tomorrow. Right now I just want to hang out for a minute and write. Nick was out of state at school for work this past week. He left straight after work Monday afternoon and got home about 8:00 tonight (or technically last night now, I guess. Thursday.) It's always a mixed bag for me when this happens. Of course I miss him terribly, and having the kids by myself for 4 straight days without a break is always exhausting. (I know, millions of single parents do it every day - I'm just saying it's tough!) But it's good for him at work to get to go and learn new things for his job. And he gets to stay at a nice quiet hotel and have the company pick up the tab for really nice meals every night, and it's just a nice break from his every day responsibilities.

While he was gone my friend Elizabeth came over on Tuesday and Thursday. She has two little girls, one of them 4 weeks older than Jack, and the other about a year older than Daisy. She also has an older son, but he didn't come with her. Tuesday she had both girls, and she came a little while before Morgan got home from school. Daisy was spending the night at my parents' house, but the girls had fun with Morgan anyway. She was very sweet to them both, giving them mani-pedis, and when they got done Jack was anxious to play with them both.

Last month I did a thing in my Etsy shop where if you bought a roll of ribbon at the store of your choosing and gave it to me, I would make you a big bow from it, add an embellishment in the center and put it on a lined clip. There was no charge for me to do that, and in return I got to keep the ribbon on the spool. It was a way for me to get my ribbon restocked for free and for my customers to get bows at a discount since Hobby Lobby's ribbon goes on sale half off every other week. I had a number of participants, and I ended up with probably 25 or 30 new rolls of ribbon for my stash. Elizabeth is one of my very best friends, so that's kind of an ongoing arrangement with her, although really I will make her the bows even if she just brings me enough ribbon for what she needs made. So Tuesday afternoon I spent mostly making hair bows for her.

Thursday she came over pretty early, and we spent the whole day cleaning while Jack, Daisy, and her youngest daughter kept each other entertained. We got a ton done, although not quite everything I wanted. Other than the time with her on Tuesday and then church on Wednesday, I spent pretty much all my waking hours this week cleaning. I got most of my crafting stuff organized and condensed, although I still have some stuff on the table to go through and organize (but not as much!) I also got the rest of the kitchen cleaned, the bedroom and bathroom upstairs cleaned (although this was mostly maintenance), the couches cleaned (vacuumed out, Febrezed, and cushion covers all washed), and the laundry on the big chair in the living room folded and put away (this was a Hurculean task even with Elizabeth and Morgan helping). When Nick got home I had dinner ready and waiting on him. He passed out on the couch not long after eating, but I'm awfully glad to have him back home safe.

A few months ago Hobby Lobby had this gorgeous mustard yellow and charcoal gray rugby striped knit in their fall fabric line. I happened to come across it in the form of a remnant that was all that was left of their stock back in September. I loved it like a small child, but I needed a birthday gift for Kelly, so I made it into an infinity scarf for her. Ever since I've been kind of in love with that color of yellow, and more than a little bummed that I could never find any more of that fabric, even at the other Hobby Lobby in town. Last week Elizabeth came over with some hair bow supplies for me, including a couple of purses she said were stained and I could take apart for the materials. One of them was this purse:

I about died. I loved it! And I told her I was absolutely not taking it apart and I would be happy to make her hair bows from other stuff, but this purse was coming to live with me. There was a very faint, have to look for it, ink pen mark on the back, not at all noticeable, but she's very finicky about her purses. Any flaws at all and she passes them on. She was happy enough to let me keep it and enjoy it, and tonight I finally had the chance to change all my stuff over into it. I keep looking over at it and grinning like an idiot. I'm kind of a nut about purses/handbags, but they have to really catch my eye. I have several that I really, really love, including 3 or 4 that I've not even gotten to carry yet. They're all either gifts or were bought on extreme clearance ages ago, with the exception of two nice ones that were birthday gifts on separate birthdays. I tend to carry a purse for months at a time because I only buy ones that I really love, so once I start using one, it's hard to let go!

And now, because talking about my purses is making me happy, and I know you want to know (or if you don't just skip it), here are my favorites:

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Tyler Rodan Handbag, Simple Satchel

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I've got two more like the last one in different patterns that I haven't yet had a chance to carry. I've had them both for ages, but like I said, I have a hard time giving up what I'm carrying. Anyway. That's my randomness. Hope you all are doing well!

54 Things - The Meme

A few weeks ago Ronnie posted this meme on her blog. I'm a sucker for memes, and when I was younger I actually used to keep a regularly updated list of things that made me happy. So I thought it would be fun to revisit. :) And of course because I'm both wordy and nosy about other people's details, I plan to elaborate on them all. :) In no particular order, 54 things that make me happy:

1. Sleeping in. I don't get to do it often these days because Jack at least and usually Daisy too are up early, but it's awesome when it happens.

2. Naps. Along the same line, and just as rare, although Nick does generally let me take one on Sunday afternoons.

3. Spankings. Sometimes. Mostly after the fact because they make feel safe and loved and taken care of and reset. In the middle of them not so much, but I do love the end effect.

4. Sliding into a freshly made bed. I generally make our bed every day, even if Nick is away.

5. A clean house. I very rarely have one, but it's not from lack of trying.

6. Our church. A good deal of our church family is also our actual family, and I love it. I also love that because of this our kids are growing up close to their cousins.

7. Creating. My crafting is such a vital outlet for me, and on days when I'm crazy stressed it does wonders for me to plug in my glue gun and make one of the girls a hair bow or sit down at my sewing machine and sew up a little zipper pouch. Just creating something new and useful or beautiful is very cathartic for me, even (or especially) if it just takes a few minutes.

8. My children. I love all three of them more and more every day, and I can't believe God picked me to be their mom.

9. My husband. After almost 16 years of marriage he still turns my head, and I'm still head over heels in love with him.

10. The cabin. This is the little cabin on the lake that belongs to Nick's grandmother, and to his grandfather before he passed away. Nick and I honeymooned there, and for years we went back every June for a few days to celebrate our anniversary. For the last couple of years that vacation week has been spent at camp, but Nick gets three weeks vacation this year, and we're looking forward to spending time at the cabin again. Every year I feel like summer magically begins when we drive across the big green bridge on the way up there.

11. Church camp. I grew up going to church camp, and some of the best memories of my youth were formed there. Three years ago when Robert took his first group from our church to camp we sent Morgan and visited there every evening for the evening meal and service. The next year Nick stayed all week to help, and I visited. Last year Nick was a counselor, and I stayed all week in my own cabin with the two littles. This year's camp is just 15 weeks away, and I'm so excited!

12. Getting my nails done. It's been literally years since I've had my nails done (by which I mean getting lovely acrylics put on my short, stubby, square natural nails). I kept them done on a regular basis for years, but after Morgan was born it was only a sometimes thing. I think the last time I had them done was in 2007 for Kelly and Grant's wedding, but if we had the money I would keep them done all the time again.

13. Lists. I'm a list maker from way back. Grocery lists, Christmas gift lists, chore lists, project lists, they all make me feel a little safer and more in control.

14. Nick's voice on the phone. I try to not bother him at work unless I have a good reason because I know he's busy, but if I had my way I'd call him 6 times a day just to talk to him. When he calls me it brightens my whole day!

15. Texts from Nick. On the same theme, I love to get emails from Nick also, and I save them all.

16. Thrift stores. Shopping is a rare luxury for me, but when I do have any extra to play with, I love to go to the Goodwill. There's so much potential for great finds! Last time I went I found a real live genuine American Girl doll for $1! Someone has butchered her hair, but the price to get the head replaced is less than half the cost of a new doll, so it's still a fabulous deal!

17. Hobby Lobby, Joann's Michael's, A.C. Moore. We're very fortunate in my relatively small city to have four different craft stores (and two each of Hobby Lobby and Joann). Going to the craft store is one of my very favorite things to do, and if I have a gift card to spend guilt free it's even better!

18. Road trips with Nick. He kind of hates to travel, and I confess that it's less fun with fussing kids on board, but I absolutely love the rare occasions when it's just me and him in a car. We put Pandora on a 90s station and sing our hearts out.

19. Painted toenails. Mostly because I'm really bad at painting them, so if they get painted, it's because Nick does it for me, and I love it when he does that.

20. Pinterest. Stahp, Pinterest - I need to go to bed!

21. A good book. Nick got me a Kindle Fire HD last year, and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy reading on it like I do a physical book, but I love it just as much.

22. My children's laughter. Is there any sweeter sound in the world?

23. New socks. Something about nice, bright white socks makes me feel capable of conquering the world.

24. Yellow Box flip flops. I wear them every day of the year, even if it's just at home. 

25. Getting something for free. It doesn't happen very often, but I love it when it does.

26. Happy mail. I really, really love getting packages in the mail, whether it's something I ordered or a gift from someone.

27. Holding hands with Nick. Something so sweet and innocent, but it still gives me a thrill.

28. My time in the mornings playing with Daisy and Jack before we get up for the day. Both sleep in their own bed, but often Daisy wakes up when Morgan gets ready for school, and when she does she comes and gets in bed with me. Whether Morgan brings Jack up before she leaves or he sleeps later and I go get him myself, I always spend some times snuggling with both babies.

29. Hanging out with Morgan. She's reached the age where she likes to spend too much time shut in her room with Facebook, but when I can pry her out I enjoy her company.

30. Blue jeans. If there's any category of clothing I have an excess of, it would definitely be jeans, but I love them all.

31. Making someone a gift that they really love. 95% of the gifts I give are handmade, so the recipient's reaction is extra personal for me. And I really love getting gifts myself (especially handmade!), so I know how meaningful it is when someone goes to the trouble to find something that's just perfect for me.

32. Having nothing that I have to do. This NEVER happens, but it has in the not too recent past, and I'd love to have that feeling again sometime.

33. Photography. I really, really love taking pictures, and when I can get just the perfect shot it makes my whole day.

34. Taking my bra off at bedtime - ahh, heaven!

35. Finding out something is cheaper than I thought it was - the best thing ever at the checkout counter!

36. The way I feel after I finish on the treadmill. Unfortunately we didn't have enough left from the income tax return to renew my gym membership after all, but I don't have to pay anything till April 1st, so I'm hoping and praying we can come up with the money before then.

37. Spending time with a girlfriend. I've only got a few, and the days we get together are few and far between, but all the more precious for it.

38. Nick's weekends off. He works every other Friday and Saturday and is off on Sundays, which means that every other weekend we get 3 days together.

39. Seeing my husband proud of something he's accomplished. He's lost about 50 pounds, and though his weight loss has been stalled for a while, he has really changed his whole lifestyle.

40. The beach. I've only been a handful of times in my life, but I sure do love it.

41. Potstickers. Specifically the ones from Sam's Club. Soooo delicious!

42. Clean sheet day. With really soft, worn sheets. A number of years ago Nick and I found several great deals on high thread count sheets, and by now they feel amazing.

43. Squishy down pillows. Nick likes really firm, densely packed feather pillows, but mine have to be really soft.

44. Seeing family that lives out of town, whether they come here or we go there.

45. A fire in the fireplace. We don't do this very often, although we usually try to have one on Christmas morning.

46. Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies. Most recently these Sweet Toffee Milano Slices. Ah-mazing!

47. Frozen Cokes. Probably my favorite treat, and occasionally Nick will bring me one unexpectedly. Just as romantic as flowers in my book. Not that I don't occasionally love flowers too. :)

48. Sweet tea. I'm pretty much awesome at making sweet tea thankyouverymuch.

49. That first really warm day of spring. You know, the one where you roll the windows down in the car and forget you ever saw snow.

50. That first perfectly gorgeous day with the delicious crisp bite of autumn in the air.

51. When Nick walks in the door in the evening. Seriously the highlight of my day, and about 5:30 every day I find myself watching the window.

52. Being a Stay At Home Mom. It has always been my dream, and I can't believe I'm so blessed.

53. On rare occasions Nick has spanked me purely as a reminder to be good, whether it's before I go somewhere or before he has to be away. It always leaves me feeling warm, fuzzy, loved, and taken care of, not to mention kept my mind on him the whole time.

54. This blog. It's not quite as active as it has been in some past years, but I love it, and I'm proud of it. I've met some wonderful people through it, and I'm so glad to know you all.

Chugging along...

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's just been so busy! We were snowed in, oh forever. Well, not really snowed in, but Morgan was out of school for almost a week straight, she had a friend overnight for several of those days, and it got a bit cabin-feverish. We did get our income tax return in on the 7th, which has been nice. We paid my parents back everything we owed them (for Daisy's dental work last year), took care of a few bills, and were able to get some things we needed. I'm planning to have another crafting slumber party for Morgan's birthday this year, so I got pretty much all the crafty supplies I needed for that. I also got to get an external lighting set up and a nice backdrop, which will be great for my photography! Nick had a few things on his list as well, such as his handgun carry permit, his next ASE testing registration, some new running shoes, and a new backpack. God always, always provides for us, but it's always fun when He provides a little extra. ;)

Monday night I got spanked. He told me Saturday night that it was coming. The plan was for it to happen Sunday night, but school was out for President's Day the next day, and Morgan had a friend spend the night. Nick didn't feel comfortable doing it with company in the house (nor did I), so he let me know he would deal with it the next night.

Monday night after all the kids were asleep he asked me to join him upstairs. I followed him up, then went into the bathroom to pee first. When I came out he had the Cane-iac Jr. with holes paddle in his hand.

The issue at hand was, as it always seems to be, the housework. I know it comes back to this time and time again. I've come to accept that it will probably always be somewhat of an issue for me, and though I really do make an effort, there will always come times when I need to be refocused and re-motivated. That was certainly accomplished with this spanking. I have no idea how many I got (well less than 100 I would think, but beyond that I can't guess). I do know that it was really, really hard to take right from the beginning, and I was no good at all at staying put for it. Finally, after telling me to bend over again 4 or 5 times Nick pulled down my jeans and panties. He told me that if I could stay put I would get 5 more, but if I moved again it would get a lot worse. Those last 5 were especially hard, and I've got a pretty bruised and sore bottom still a couple of days later.

But I feel better for having been spanked. I feel reconnected to my husband, and safe within his boundaries, and I've been getting more accomplished around the house. It's still far from perfect, but I'm working on it.

After the paddling we made love, something that doesn't always happen after a punishment, and he took his time making sure it was good for me too. Since then I've felt lighter and happier and just closer to him. 

Well that's been our last few weeks - how about you guys?

Staying Afloat

Guys, this month, and thus this year - it's been HARD. I mean crazy stressful! Let me see, a few of the high(low)lights:

A couple of weeks ago, when pretty much the whole country was frozen, our pipes burst and pretty much flooded the garage. Our washer and dryer are out there, and we have an old playpen out there where I try to keep all the laundry waiting to be washed. Unfortunately, the day before, Morgan and Daisy decided to "clean" Jack's room, and I don't even want to talk about why there were so many clothes on the floor in there, but they took every single piece of clothing, including some of Jack's new stuff from Christmas that had been knocked down from where I had it stacked until I could clear drawer space, and threw it all out into the garage on the floor in front of the washer and dryer. (I know my sentences are too long. I'm seeking help for it.)

So all of that stuff was soaked in extremely frigid water, and I had no idea how to stop the leak. Morgan and I started hauling all the wet laundry into the bathtub downstairs, and since Nick was at work an hour away, I called my dad. He came immediately and went into the scary crawl space under the house and turned the water off. By this time Nick was on his way to Wednesday night church, so my dad had me call him to come home instead. He came on home, and between the four of us (me, Nick, Dad, and Morgan) we got the pipes repaired (Nick and Dad) and all the laundry up and the water shop-vacced out of the garage (me and Morgan). That was the 8th. 

The 11th Daisy's best friend was having a birthday party, so I whipped up a few hair bows for a birthday gift, and we headed out the door to Chuck E. Cheese. It had warmed up drastically by then, so I was wearing flip flops (which I kind of live in) when I stepped out onto our wet front porch. My feet shot out from under me, and the right one jammed up under the bottom of the porch railing. I nearly passed out, but I kept it together, and once I could breathe and manage to stand, I went inside to change so that we could leave.

My foot was actively throbbing all day, and by the end of the night I was concerned that I might have broken the...top...of it (whatever that's called). I don't have health insurance, but I do have several nurse friends who convinced me via Facebook that I really needed to get it x-rayed. The kids were all in bed by then, so someone needed to stay with them. I called my mom to see if she would come sit with them so Nick could drive me in case they gave me something that would prevent me from driving myself home. Instead my dad came down and drove me across town to the hospital. James works there as a surgical tech, and he smoothed the process for me a bit, getting me fast tracked, bringing me a pillow and something to drink, etc. X-rays revealed that it was just badly bruised and swollen, which was good news except for the fact that I could have just stayed home and avoided the ER bill. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

Both the little kids had been sick all weekend, so my dad and I took them both to the pediatrician on the following Monday (the 13th). Can you tell my dad is my hero? He went to 3 different doctor's visits with me this month. This was a horrible visit, both kids feeling terribly bad and violently opposed to any sort of examination. It turned out that they both had double ear infections.

Daisy had gotten her referral to a GI doctor the previous week and seen her on Friday, the day before the birthday party. It was really more of a consult, and the doctor set up an appointment for a lower intestine barium scan the following Friday. She also sent me home with a little plastic vial and instructions to collect a stool sample. This was not something I was looking forward to, but we do what we have to for our kids, right? Unfortunately she was not producing anything to uh, sample. I stalked this kid for 5 days. Finally, this past Wednesday, she yelled at me to let me know she was ready. While I was "collecting" and pretending I was in a happier place, Jack managed to get hold of not just my Macbook, but a cup of tea that I didn't even know was in the room (it was Daisy's).

Morgan came home from school just then to find him sitting on a soaked couch, splashing away in the puddle that surrounded my laptop. The lid on it was closed, so she grabbed it and yelled to me to tell me what happened. I was a little tied up, so I made sure she had gotten it away from him and finished what I was doing. When I got in there it really didn't look like anything had gotten inside it, so I set it aside while I cleaned up the tea. It was a couple of hours before I had a chance to mess with it, and when I tried to turn it on, nothing happened. Opening up the case revealed that tea had definitely gotten inside. That was really just the end of my rope. That day I had dealt with sick kids (Jack had thrown up - on me - more than once), collecting poop, piles of laundry, and fighting siblings. Plus I was supposed to meet a photography client in two days with a CD of her pictures (which I needed my Mac for), and an Etsy client wanted a custom pillow cover (which I also needed my Mac for). To make things worse Nick and I were snapping at each other, because he'd had a crappy day too (not as crappy as mine I daresay). I took it to the computer repair place I use and it's the logic board - $900 to repair.

This past Friday I took Daisy in for her barium test. She had to drink this awful chalky liquid, but she did pretty well. When I woke up that morning my right eye was kind of red and crusty. This is what it looked like then:

Two days later I was in all kinds of agony, and it looked like this:

Sorry the second one looks kind of insane. I was trying to get it as open as I could because I was texting it to my cousin, who is a nurse practitioner and was kind enough to call me in a prescription for some antibiotics. I was finally able to put my contacts back in today.

Today I got thrown up on twice (once yesterday and several times earlier in the week). Yeah, it's been a little rough.

BUT, there have been good things too. Some of them really good. I got a call one day last week from our water company telling me someone had paid our bill for us anonymously. It didn't take too much investigating to figure out it was my parents. :)

James showed up Tuesday and handed me $50 to help offset the cost off all the co-pays and prescriptions.

I called my mom Thursday morning to ask if she could stay with the kids so I could take my computer to the repair shop to see if it could be saved. She showed up a couple of hours later with a relatively inexpensive but brand new and fully functional HP laptop, all for me, courtesy of her and my dad. I was able to use it to fill my Etsy order and get it to the customer on time. They've also bought both food and medicine several times for my little family this week.

The computer repair place said my hard drive is still good, and they can move all my data over for $89. I'll pick it up this Friday and most of that cost will be covered by the CD order.

My photography client was incredibly cool about the whole situation and didn't mind waiting another week for her CD. I still had all of her raw files on my camera as a backup, so I hadn't lost them either way, but I would have had to re-edit all of them, and with the pinkeye I couldn't stand to look at a computer screen for more than a few minutes.

We were able to fix the pipes for less than $1 since my dad had a couple of pipe pieces that fit, and all we had to buy were a couple of copper joints. And we got all the wet laundry washed before it mildewed.

Daisy's lower intestine scan came back clear, and her stomachaches have become fewer and farther apart, so now we're just waiting on her next doctor visit.

So there have definitely been blessings too.

That said, I'm wound a little tight these days, and I'm feeling a little unmoored relationship-wise. We've been a bit in survival mode around here, and my very contagious pinkeye has just been the latest thing to keep us from getting close. The truth is, I miss my husband, and I miss very much feeling the comforting bounds of his authority. The day after my last post he apologized and told me that he'd known what I needed but hadn't felt like dealing with it. I can't say that that didn't hurt a little, but he was trying to stay afloat himself. I guess I've just been doing and taking care of so much at home myself lately that I'm missing a reminder that he's in charge and I actually don't have all the responsibility myself.

He's going to be staying home from work tomorrow because he's gotten sick himself in the last few days, so I don't think there will be any sort of discipline forthcoming, but I will be glad for the time with him, even though I hate that he's not feeling well.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Thank you all for all your thoughts and prayers!

Excuse me while I scream.

Today was a really hard day. This whole last week was bad, but today was especially awful. There was poop and vomit and fighting children and endless messes and a possibly fried Macbook, whch I can't even think about without needing to cry. I could use a stress relief spanking in the worst way, but it's been 18 months since I've gotton one of those, despite hints and outright saying I needed it, so apparently that's not going to be an option. So what I'm saying is, if you could send up a prayer for my heart, my sanity, and my Macbook, I would really appreciate it. I sure do need it.

A super long dear diary post all about the last month.

I've been trying to get here to post for a few days now, and I'm finally getting a moment to sit down and do it. This post will probably be long and filled with details on gifts, so feel free to skip if it doesn't interest you. But I try to get all this stuff down because it serves as a record of our lives for me. :)

December is always busy for me, and this year was no different. I had a couple of different sewing jobs - five different winter skirts with matching hair bows, and a hem on a formal dress for the same customer. It was for a girl I graduated high school with. She has a 13 year old daughter who's pretty severely autistic, and the formal was for a special needs pageant (which she won in two categories I'm pleased to report). The skirts were because, at her physical age, it's hard to find clothes in her size that are appropriate to her developmental age. She's very much into things that most 5 year old girls are interested in, so it was fun to watch her reaction when I delivered the skirts made from material she chose. She was thrilled with them all, and her mom was equally happy.

I also had a couple of photo shoots, one for Brandon and Melanie's new baby boy, and one for a customer I've done several previous shoots for. And I had several Etsy orders too, including one on the 21st that had to be made from scratch and received on the other side of the country by Christmas Eve. 

And of course there were all the Christmas gifts to be made. Probably the most time consuming were the Christmas stockings I made for nearly everyone in our families, and well as Brandon, Melanie, and their new baby. My mom helped with cutting out the pieces since it's hard to spread fabric out to cut with a toddler running around, but I did the sewing, as well as hand painting the names on all of them. I think they turned out fabulous, and everyone loved them. 

Besides the 26 stockings, I also made: 5 shirts (2 applique and 3 stenciled), 5 stuffed whales, 9 corn bags (flannel pouches filled with cracked corn - stick them in the microwave and they make wonderful heat/therapy packs), 7 pairs of earrings, 10 necklaces, 12 wine glass charms, 2 zipper pouches, 1 skirt, 7 scarves, 2 blankets (one for new baby Liam and one for Morgan), 1 bracelet, 24 stamped note cards, a taggie security blankie, a bunch of baby bows/headbands, peanut brittle, candied pecans, 2 paracord bracelets, 4 paracord key fobs, 20 or so wax and cotton fire starters, and 2 pillows. I also ordered 9 personalized photo calendars for the guys and Nick's grandmother, and I think I almost worked harder on them than on the stockings. But they were a huge hit, and I will be doing them every year if I'm able. It will be easier next year, because I already have all the dates saved and can just update with new photos.

Nick and I never do much for each other in the gift category at Christmas just due to time/money constraints. But he did get me a $40 gift card to Joann's (yahoo!), and I got him a sweatshirt, made him a calendar and one of the paracord keyrings, and tracked down Youtube videos of all the songs on an album he wanted, then converted the audio tracks to mp3s for him. 

With my gift card I was able to order a jewelry tool I've had my eye on forever (can't wait till it gets here!) and buy some fabric and other sewing goodies. I made myself two awesome infinity scarves out of some of the material, and I've gotten multiple compliments on both of them. :)

Our Christmas celebrations went as follows: my cousin's house for my extended family on the 21st, my parents' house on the 23rd, Nick's aunt's house for his extended family on the 24th, our house Christmas morning, then his dad and stepmom's house after we were done at our house. 

From us the kids got:

Morgan - a blanket, 2 necklaces, 3 pairs of earrings, a scarf, a corn bag (she and Daisy sleep with them literally every night), a pillow, a Loom Bands set (found on Amazon for about $4 a few months ago!), and several shirts from Aeropostale that my mom bought on Cyber Monday for a great deal and gave to me to give her. Mom also made her a couple of pillows and a set of curtains for her room and sent them to our house for her to open.

Daisy - a skirt, a scarf, a necklace, a corn bag, a toy camera, a stuffed whale, a Foofa shirt (that turned out embarrassingly lame I think, but she loved it anyway), a like new Butterfly's doll that I found at the Goodwill for $1 (total score - they sell these dolls at Cracker Barrel for $20. She wanted one for months before we finally got her one back in August while we were on vacation), two Disney Baby Princess dolls (found for a great price at Aldi of all places), and a toy vacuum cleaner that was actually a hand-me-down from my cousin's little boy.

Jack - a whole bunch of toys handed down from my cousin. She did this for us last year also, going through all her son's toys right before Christmas to get rid of the ones he wasn't playing with and passing them on to us to help fill out Jack's gift list. I also got him a Plex beanie baby, and made him a matching Plex shirt. The beanie baby was a sort of hit, but he went nuts over the shirt, which cracked me up. He's worn it several times since Christmas, and every time he's tried to help put it on and proudly pointed at the applique on the front for anyone who would look. :) He also got a toy camera like Daisy did.

In other places, the kids got lots of clothes and shoes mostly, although my mom did get them all some non-clothing stuff. Morgan got about 6 scarves, which she loved, and Will and Kate sent her just a crazy amount of gorgeous name brand pieces. They also sent shoes and clothes for Daisy and Jack, every single item perfect as always. Nick's dad is also in the process of making a very nice set of bunk beds for Morgan's room. He's a very accomplished carpenter, and they look great so far. Morgan's big Christmas wish was a room makeover, thus the pillows and curtains and blankets. The bed is her grandparents' contribution. They kids also got small gift cards to Walmart (Jack), Old Navy (Morgan), Chick-Fil-A (all three), and Carmike Cinemas (all three). We took them to eat and see Frozen on New Year's Eve, which was very cute.

I couldn't tell you everything Nick got, although I know there were jeans and shirts and socks and a jump box (to jump off a dead car battery), a couple of pocket knives, and a basket full of edible goodies made by Kelly. Also a gift card to Bass Pro Outlet.

I got: from my parents - boots, a shirt, a purse, a recipe organizer, 2 books (one sewing and one on organizing for dummies lol), a pair of scissors, a hair barrette/bun maker thing, pajamas, and a sweater; from Nick's parents - makeup powder, eye liner, lip liner, lip gloss, socks, and an electric can opener; from Kelly and Grant - a ribbon organizer basket with two cute spools of ribbon, a pair of earrings, a gorgeous ornament wreath, and some hair bands; from James - a $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby (the most magical place on earth!); from Robert and Faith - a $25 steakhouse gift certificate (for me and Nick together); and from his cousin who drew my name - a Mary Kay mini Satin Hands set and a $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby (can you tell she knows me?). We also together got a huge bag of meat (steaks, burgers, etc - possibly weird, but so awesome) from my aunt, a huge box of Christmas cookies from my cousin, and a big basket of goodies like bread and hams and blocks of cheese and hot cocoa and chocolates and crackers, etc. from my parents. 

Let me tell you, if you're ever stumped for what to get someone for Christmas, a big basket of hearty snacks for the next day is hard to beat. My mom and dad did this last year too, and it's so awesome when you wake up the next day, with no energy to cook and no money left to eat out, to be able to have something quick and easy and filling to munch on! And if you shop sales and coupon, it doesn't have to be expensive, either!

The biggest Christmas blessing came a few days later from Kate and Will. We're always just crazy tight by the end of the year, and this year was the worst it's ever been. I knew that we would need about $1000 more than Nick's last check of the year was likely to be to just pay the bills, let alone buy gas and groceries. And the check after that (the one coming this Friday) would be particularly short due to the way the holidays fell this year, so we would need to supplement that one by several hundred dollars as well. 

When there's a holiday at most jobs it means full pay for a day off, or maybe even a bonus. At his job they get 8 hours pay, which sounds quite fair, except he works on commission, and being at a car dealership, they get paid for the number of hours an order is supposed to take (which sets the price for a service that the customer pays), not the number it actually takes. Which means that if they are quite good at their job (which Nick is), then an 8 hour ticket might only take them an hour or two of actual labor. This means that on an average day they might clock 12-15 hours in the time they're there, so an 8 hour pay day is actually a loss. Normally it works out that Christmas is on one paycheck and New Year's is on another, but this year they both fell within the same pay period, so his upcoming check will have two short days on it.

A few weeks ago I got particularly down and stressed about our finances. I was praying and searching for God's voice on it, and getting very frustrated with myself for not having more faith. I called Robert and asked him if he could come and talk with me about it. One advantage to having my brother as my pastor. :) So he came by, frozen Coke in hand for me since his wife is a sweetheart and suggested it.  Since my mom had stopped by when he showed up and he knew I wouldn't feel comfortable talking in front of her, he asked if she would watch the kids while I ran to Wal-Mart with him. Then we left, and had a lovely talk and some prayer, and he bought me a strainer I was idly admiring at Walmart and picked up my tab at the post office when I went to mail an order out. I felt much better when he dropped me back off. 

We still had no real prospects in sight, but I felt more at peace and sure that God had a plan. Kate had texted me and let me know that their gift for us was in the mail and to keep an eye out for it. It had not arrived by Christmas, but a few days later it came - a check for $2,000! It was enough to pay our bills, including a few to help out on the upcoming payday, as well as buy gas and groceries. We didn't really do anything out of the ordinary with it, other than to buy a new lunch box for Morgan and a few bottles of deeply discounted lotion for me, and take the family out to eat once. Nick and I also got to go out to eat once by ourselves, our fourth date night of the year. :)

At this point we're back to broke, but the bills are paid, there's a little gas left in the car, and we have food in the house. :) And I know that God is still continuing to provide, as He always does!

A few weeks ago I was in a very minor car accident. More of a hit and run, actually. I was on my way to Wednesday night church and somebody swerved into my lane and clipped my driver's side mirror. It's frustrating, because our insurance will only pay after a $200 deductible which is likely higher than we can replace the mirror for, but it could have been so incredibly much worse that I can't complain too bad. No one was hurt, and nothing but the mirror was damaged at all (although it's pretty much toast).

Daisy and Jack have both been battling some intestinal issues lately. Jack has had a number of vomiting episodes, although they have come with no attending symptoms, and almost always after he's been laughing really hard or crying a lot. So I'm thinking he maybe is triggering them with the laughing/crying. Daisy on the other hand is a little more worrisome. 

A few months ago the kids' insurance plan changed networks to one that their longtime pediatrician won't accept. We picked out a new pediatrician (the same one Faith and Robert use and love), but she was not accepting new patients until the new year. Back in September Daisy had a stomachache that went on all day, along with a fever. That was before the insurance change, but it was a Sunday, so the ped's office was closed, and she was in so much pain that she was actually asking to go to the doctor, so I took her to the ER. 

They ended up doing an xray, telling me she was, er, backed up, and giving her an enema. That seemed to do the trick for a day or two, but soon she was in pain again, so I took her to the pediatrician. They just told me to give her laxatives and sent us home. Unfortunately that didn't do anything for her. By the time it became a serious issue again, we were between peds, so back to the ER we went, for the exact same outcome.

Fast forward to a few days before the end of the year, and she was crying in pain again, and vomiting this time. So I took her back to the ER again. This time the xray showed no blockage, so they gave her something for the vomiting and told us to see her pediatrician for a referral to a GI specialist. She has an appointment this Tuesday to go in and get that referral, so please be in prayer that we will be referred to a good one that takes her insurance, and that it will be something easily fixed and not serious. I'm worried that maybe she's developed a food allergy or intolerance, which we've been blessed enough to have never dealt with before, so I'm hoping it's not that, although that would certainly be preferable to something more serious.

Also of note, Jack turned two on the 2nd. Waaah! My tiny baby is growing up on me! We had cake and ice cream at my parents' house, and he went nuts over all the hand me down toys from my cousin that I saved for his birthday. He's definitely his father's son. He's nuts about anything with wheels, and he can figure out anything mechanical in a flash. He got a little tool kit for Christmas with a toy drill and plastic screws, and he was drilling the screws down into the hole with no help whatsoever. The day Robert came over and Mom kept the kids, she turned her back for a minute and caught him on the kitchen table trying to run a piece of fabric through my sewing machine, which he had managed to turn on and start. :) She about had a heart attack!

The other day Nick and I had a small talk about DD. I started to feel really hurt and frustrated and unimportant because he's backed off on a couple of spankings lately, and we didn't really have any acknowledgment of our 10 year DD anniversary on New Year's Eve. But I recognized that I was letting myself spiral, and after some prayer and reasonable conversation with myself I brought it up at a good time and we had a civil conversation about it. He's agreed to try to be more consistent, as well as to help me with some other things like staying on top of going to the gym. 

Anyway, as promised, this was a super long dear diary post all about the last month, and I'm a bit past my bedtime, so I'm off to bed. Good night all!

Yes, two posts in one night!

I've done this meme 4 years previously, and I always enjoy it, so here it is for this year:

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done 
before? I hosted a crafting slumber party. 

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? One goal for last year for me was to lose some weight and get in better shape. I'm still early on in my journey, but I did make some progress toward that. I want to continue that in the new year. I also have some financial goals that are really more prayer requests, because I know it will take God's hand on us to make them happen.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My sister-in-law Faith and my friend Melanie.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My uncle passed away Saturday. I wasn't super close to him, but his wife is my dad's twin sister, and she was always one of my favorite aunts. 

5. What countries did you visit? Just this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013? A bigger house! And if we're dreaming, a new HE washer and dryer, Photoshop, Lightroom, and a decent lighting setup. Oh, and a new camera bag! :)

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? November 21st, the day Liam was born.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting the Christmas gifts done and delivered on time. And at one point I had Jack's room spotless, although that's no longer the case.

9. What was your biggest failure? Just the general craziness of the housework situation. It wasn't for lack of trying, but I do wish I had been more on top of things, and hope to be much better about it in the coming year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, thank God, since I was without insurance this year. 

11. What was the best thing you bought? Well, I love my Macbook, but I didn't buy it, so that probably doesn't count. I love my Kindle, and I also got a 35MM lens for my Nikon. 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Nick has worked so hard at exercising and losing weight, and I'm so proud of him! Morgan has also struggled some this year with school (please don't get me started on Common Core), but she's worked really hard and is currently passing all her classes. Daisy also (finally) conquered potty training, and Jack started walking back in March and hasn't slowed down since. I'm immensely proud that Morgan became a Christian in June, and Nick has continued to grow tremendously in his spiritual walk.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? 
I try to keep it apolitical on here, but I continue to be disappointed in the attitude and actions of our President. 

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, diapers, gas.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 
Church camp, and our trip to Texas.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013? The Gummy Bear song. This is a silly little song that Morgan and Daisy both liked initially. Now they hate it, but Jack thinks it's the greatest thing he's ever heard, and it gets him happy and dancing when nothing else will.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Probably happier - money is a little better, this week anyway, and I fall more in love with my husband and kids every day. b) thinner or fatter? I'm going to say thinner! c) richer or poorer? A little richer. Kate and Will sent us some Christmas money this year, and although it was considerably less than the last Christmas check they sent two years ago, it was enough to pay the bills this week and buy gas and groceries.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleeping.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Going on too little sleep.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With family, eating, opening gifts.

21. Did you fall in love in 2013? Yes, with my husband, my daughters, and my son!

22. What was your favorite TV program? Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, Glee, Haven, Psych, Law and Order SVU

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nah

24. What was the best book you read? Well, I read PK's book a couple of days ago, and I loved it every bit as much as I knew I would! I can't wait for her next one!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I'm afraid I don't have an answer to this one. 

26. What did you want and get? A better laptop and an external hard drive. Also, a 35mm lens.

27. What did you want and not get? A bigger house, a new washer and dryer

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I think the only movie we saw in the theater this year was Monsters University, and it was really cute.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 36, and I stayed home and watched Jack and Daisy. My mom did come over for a little while and watch them so I could clean, and my in-laws took us out to Chick-Fil-A that night.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More money? More money certainly would have made it easier, but we were inordinately blessed. I would say that more frequent and consistent discipline would have probably been a positive thing for me and our lives in general.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? Same old jeans and cute shirts I'm afraid.

32. What kept you sane? trusting God to take care of us. Also, Nick has shown tremendous spiritual growth over the last year, which has been wonderful for our marriage.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I can't say that I was all that caught up in Hollywood this year.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I'm more than a little irritated with the continuing health care fiasco. Also, I'm not a fan of the Common Core curriculum

35. Who did you miss? My friend Ann

36. Who was the best new person you met? Liam!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013. That God's provisions do not depend upon me constantly updating Nick on our financial status and needs. This year He told me to just shut up about it and trust Him, and He's come through every time.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can't really think of a good answer for this one. 

I can't believe another year has gone by! Jack will be TWO on Thursday, and it's killing me! Today is our 10 year anniversary of the day we started practicing DD, and 16 years since the first time Nick spanked me. It's been a good life with him, and I wouldn't trade him for anyone!