For the love of all things holy....just RSVP!

I love parties. I love to plan them and most of the time I love to throw them.  I would have more parties if I had the money to plan them the way I see them in my head. I'm very convinced that every party I would throw would be a minimum of $1000 to $5000 if that were the case.

 That being said....Parties are nothing without the people that you invite. When I was little and up until a few years ago, primarily, you would send out paper invites about a month in advance to your friends telling them that you were having a party and you wanted them to be there. You asked if they could please give you a call on your house phone and let you know. Sometimes you would even put regrets only so that only the people that knew they couldn't make it had to respond.

Now most of the time we send  "evites" or emails. All anyone has to do is hit a button that says yes or no. They don't have to even call you.  There is no awkward interactions or excuses that need to be made. There really should be no hurt feelings even.

So explain to me why people can't even be bothered to hit one of those little buttons? Say you are trying to get a head count  for a party you are having out and about  that is number sensitive or you are having it at  home and wondering if an extra family of five is coming and you need  another 20 dollar sandwiches. And all they have to do is.....hit......the.....button!

I have certain people in my life that do this quite often and some I know to expect it from. It doesn't make it any less annoying but you kinda live with it.  I just wish I could understand.  I know sometimes it could be because they truly are that busy or they forget but every time, really?  I want to stop inviting them all together but its not that simple. Just hit the button folks. Just pick one and click on it. Make a decision.....Please!

Drawing on the floor

Yes....That is what we did the other day. We drew on the floor.  Well....we really drew on a roll of paper that I taped to our linoleum floor with painter's tape so it wouldn't stick.  we had done this before  but it had been a while and with the cold weather , we are all getting a little stir crazy.  They love being able to lie down and draw and then walk on the paper and then draw on it again. It's hard to think of things to keep a 4 and almost 2 year old busy with all day. Sometimes I wish I had lesson plans like teachers.

The I. B.T.C.

( TAP TAP TAP) I wanted to start today by welcoming all of you to the first monthly meeting of the  I.B.T.C.

Do yours look like these?....

Whaaaaat ?!  You aren't a member?  Gasp!

You mean you haven't heard of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee? Well, I have been a card carrying member since puberty began.  And I'm sorry to say but if you're cup size is more than a B. I'm not sure this is the group for you.  I know everyone has a different idea of what is big/small on themselves and other people but when like me you used to be an A and now have dipped into the AA category. I think that makes me a least the Vice Pres. so to speak.

Or these?

When you can shop for bras with the pre-teens, that makes you a member.

When you can wear a shirt with no bra on and no one can tell, that makes you a member.

When it's not even a handful, that makes you a member.

When you feel like a 14 year old boy in shirts, that makes you a member.

In the age of  B.O.B ( Big Ol' Boobies) us tiny girls feel the pain. Every picture in every ad for every type of clothes shows cleavage.  And if you don't have cleavage,  what does that mean for you?  I kinda gave up on the idea a while ago but  I've started thinking about it more lately.

You see... I breastfed my two girls, K and S. And I loved it. It was hard but I loved it and I don't regret it.  What I do regret is that after ending with S, the youngest, the small girls up top here shrunk even smaller. So much so I don't remember them ever being this small.  I kept thinking " Oh they'll come back."  And it's been five months and nothing, bupkiss, nada. No one tells you about this apparently very normal thing that can happen with breastfeeding. It was news to me that's for sure.

So all my bras are now too big. Yep, my tiny 34As are too small. I could fit another boob  on top of my boob in the bra. So I sucked it up and went looking for a bra that would fit my new girls.  And wouldn't you know it, I can't find a 34AA to save my life except online.  I just want to go into a store, try on a bra and then take it home.  I want to know that it doesn't gap, doesn't pinch, and just feels good against my skin. I want a bra made for  a woman not a girl. I want a bra that fits me right now.  Not for the boobs that I hope come back.  I'll keep my old pre-children bras for that.

I have tried on all kinds of 34A and even 32A bras in hoping that maybe this one will fit and  I don't need some funky size that no stores carry. I've tried Target, Kohls, Dillards, JCP,  Walmart, and Victoria's Secret.  Now Vicki's does carry 34AA online in various sizes and levels of padding but the kicker is you can't return them to the stores. So if you order the bras find out you don't like any, you have to pay the return them. That kinda sucks.

Victoria Secret Total Sweetheart Demi Bra ( not what I will look like in it...at all)

I have also found another website that looks promising Lula Lu. They cater more to us less endowed ladies and the bras are actually pretty, feminine and made for people over the age of 13.

The Eberjey from Lula Lu

I am going to bite the bullet and order some bras from both sites to see which ones fit the way they should on me. I'm excited to have a bra that fits me again. I will discuss the bras and the fit when we meet for the next meeting of the I.B.T.C..

(TAP TAP TAP) Meeting adjourned.

Beans Beans..the musical fruit

Sorry.. I couldn't help myself.

Back on the 13th, It was snowing and  a great day to make a warm comforting Crock pot meal.

J had said he really liked to eat Ham and Beans and I thought... I can do this. And better yet I can do this in a crock pot. So I googled "Ham and Beans and crock pot". I found this recipe and saw that it didn't contain anything that I know for sure that I'm not supposed to eat. Sweet. Game On.

The ingredients were not hard to find and definitely not hard to prepare. Better yet, I didn't have to soak any beans over night.

Recipe used from Food.com

I will have to say that I have a 4qt Crock pot and I think this recipe would have been better in a 5 1/2 or 6 quart. I couldn't fit all the ham hocks in the crock pot. It still tasted  good but more ham would always be better.

Servings : we got  about 8-9

• 1 meaty ham bone or 4 -6 ham hocks
• 1 large yellow onion , chopped ( both of us thought there was TOO much onion  so I am going to add less next time or cut larger pieces to take them out after cooking)
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1 carrot , shredded (optional- I did)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 lb bag of  great northern beans , rinsed and picked over
• 6 -8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1. Add onion and celery to crock pot.
2. Place ham bone or hocks on top of onion and celery.
3. Pour rinsed beans around ham and sprinkle with pepper.
4. Add bay leaves and garlic.
5. Add chicken stock and stir to combine all ingredients cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
6. When ham is tender (6-7 hours) Remove meat from bones (discarding fat and bones) and return meat to the pot. Stir to combine and break up ham pieces.
7. To thicken smash some of the beans on the side of crock pot.
8. Skim off fat and discard bay leaves.
   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
   

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've  been on the lookout for nummy things to eat that maybe won't upset my stomach and that 's hard to accomplish right now. I found this out on Pinterest. The most amazing site that will suck you in for hours.  But it's a wealth of knowledge  that on my own I would never find. That's how I justify it to myself and my husband.

I found this recipe for  Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ( flourless) from Amira at Divine Baking. She says she got it from Epicurious but I couldn't find it there.

  

1 cup super chunky peanut butter (She used Smooth)
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)
 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Mix in chocolate chips. Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 10 - 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Makes 20 cookies.



They tasted so good. I couldn't even tell they didn't have  flour or MILK! Even J liked them. Probably because I used chunky peanut butter and he loves the chunks.

Mommy? Does your tummy hurt again?

I wish my belly was this cute and nice from I heart guts

I'm not sure what to tell her. My tummy always seems to hurt.  And of course it's not just my stomach , it's more like my whole intestinal tract but I'm not going to try and explain that to  my almost 4 year old.  It's been going on everyday since sometime in June/July of 2011.



A cute little small intestine from I heart guts

 At first I though it was due to sad family events, three in three months, or strange hormonal changes from almost stopping and then starting breastfeeding little S.

But no matter what I seem to do.. no matter what I seem to eat... nothing makes me feel better. I usually feel ok while I sleep but then I wake up  have breakfast and the cycle begins again.

Lie down on the  ground on your back and then have someone you know dance a jig on your abdomen. Or better yet, have them continually punch you in the gut  unto you feel bruised from the inside out.  And that's  everyday for me.  All I want to do is lay down with a heating pad everyday but  having two adorable children who need everything from you right now makes that impossible.

I went to see  my primary care and a GI doctor who did the following test:

- Stool sample (I know, gross) looking for bad fungi and weird parasites
- Blood samples to check for
      - Anemia
      - Thyroid conditions
      - Malsorbtion? problems
      - Celiac  Disease
- Upper endoscopy
-Lower Endoscopy
- Small Intestine Biopsy


All of which came back negative for everything they were looking for including cancer, which is a very good thing. But now I kinda wish they had found something treatable something that would make me feel better. I get a little relief from seeing an acupuncturist  here in Maplewood names Christine at WellBody Clinic. Her main focus is fertility  and women's issues but she treats everything. But it still hasn't fixed the problem.

 My GI doc still want to so the test where they make you swallow a camera in a pill and it takes picture all the way down to see every square inch of everything ( apparently the upper and lower gi does NOT reach everywhere). After that  they want to run a fructose/lactose screen , to see if I'm allergic to that and then after that I think they want to do a full food allergy panel on me.  I will do almost any test they want. I will not eat any foods they tell me not to.  I will do almost anything to feel better again.

I want to be a fully functioning mommy.  I don't want to worry about where the bathroom is all the time.  I don't want to worry about where or what I will eat everyday and if  it is hurting me.  I hate being scared of food not knowing if I'm doing this to myself.

 I'd give anything to be able to eat all the good foods I want again and occasionally have a bad one but not be writhing in pain for a week after.

I just want to be me again.

Why can't I find those black undewear?

There a good reason why I can't find anything in my lingerie drawer....

Look at it.....

No really... it's ok. You can. It's just underwear. We all have them and we all have underwear drawers that look like this or I'm hoping you do.

We were at the Container Store the other day picking up stuff for the preservation of the baptismal gowns and the tiny toy art gallery.When I spotted this and it was on sale. (eeeee, the joy)

 32  clear compartment drawer 0rganizer {Container Store}

I was tired of looking at this so now I had something to combat the madness. I'm a simple underwear kinda gal and a stay at home mom so usually it's all about comfort. I just want to find the comfortable ones and occasionally I want a certain color depending on my mood.

I got the dividers out of the box , put them together and then placed it the drawer.

And above us is the pile. What a mess!

So I started by  separating them by color as much as I could. Then I got rid of the ones that are special occasion or special need, you know...the pantyhose, the fancy lacy ones, and spanx-like things. I have a basket in my closet for those. I got rid of the seasonal. Yes, I have some Christmas-ey ones with snowflakes.  I like to celebrate that season everywhere.

Then I started to fold them.

First in half,

then in thirds

And then they fit nicely into the little diamond shaped spaces. I sort of placed them by like color and then by which I wore more often towards the front. I did also fold some of my bras in half and stick them in there.  I'm sure most people would say not to but they really aren't good ones so...does it matter?

Then I started placing them by color,bikini, boyshort, hipster, etc. And then the ones that I  tend to use more often in the front. And Volia!  I can find things again. Yeah!  How long will it stay like this? eh... hopefully a while but we'll see.

All the pretty gowns

I've had the Christening gown(made by my mother) and the Christening gown my girls both wore( made by my mother) hanging up in their closets now for a few years now. It's not that I don't like looking at them but:

1. I don't want anything to happen to them.
2. They are long and are constantly in the way.
3. They are taking up valuable handing space.

My Christening Gown that my mom made

Close up of my Christening gown. So pretty! And look at the cute 1977 pink hanger.

The Christening gown the girls wore ( Grandma made)

Close up of front of girls' dress. Beautiful and Simple.

Close of the back of the dress. I love the little pearl buttons.

The girls were not able to wear my gown because I took too long getting them christened,  they were both about 1 or so.  I  was only about three months old. So you can imagine the difference in the cut of the gowns.  I went to Container Store and got the  medium archival safe garment box. I bought the size up from this box when I packed away my wedding gown a three years ago.  I loved my dress and on the off chance that either of my girls would want to wear it , I wanted it to be ready. But I digress...

Medium Archival Box from Container Store

I decided to put them both in the same box. I know it's not optimal to fold anything you are wanting to preserve but I don't have the space or the cash, to buy the under the bed box that my wedding dress is in for two Christening gowns. I think they'll be fine.

You have to fold the box together so it ends up looking like this with a lid.

My dress on the huge tissue paper

I started with my gown. I laid it flat on a piece of archival safe tissue paper that came with the box. It actually came with 6 huge pieces which is very nice.  Then I took another piece of  tissue paper and placed it over the gown.  I knew I needed to fold it in thirds, so I grabbed the gown with the tissue paper in my hands and folded it so the top of the gown would be on top of the folds.

My dress folded nicely in thirds

Then I got the Christening onesie, lace headband, the cute little shoes that the girls wore, and began to wrap them. I took a piece of the tissue paper,tore it in half, and wrapped each shoe separately so that the tissue paper would be stuffed in the shoe and cause it to  remain puffy and cute. Then I took the rest of that huge pieces of tissue paper and wrapped the onesie and headband together. I placed them on the bottom of the other side.

Christening onesie, shoes and headband for the girls

Everything but the girls' dress ready to go.

I then repeated the process for the gown that my girls wore. It's kinda sad wrapping that one up. My little babies already aren't little babies any more. I laid the gown down  on a piece of tissue paper and then laid another piece on top . Then very carefully folded the gown in thirds with the lacy, pretty top  resting on top of all of the folds.

It's hard to see( sorry) but the dress is in between two sheets of tissue paper and folded up one third at this point

All of the dresses and accessories are in.

It was placed next to my gown and then I stuffed the remaining tissue all around the two gowns and on top so they wouldn't be crushed. I think I'm going to put it either under my bed with my wedding gown or at the the top of one of their closets. I can't put it downstairs in the storage room. I just can't . And I hope some day someone will wear one of those gowns again.

See you later.

K's Artwork

K hard at work on another masterpiece

K, my oldest daughter, started making art a few short years ago.  Mostly just scribbles and doodles that didn't look like anything but then they started to take shape. We enrolled her in the First School at the Magic House. For you that don't' know, the Magic House is the wonderful children's museum here in Saint Louis that has great programs, special events, and just generally fun stuff for kids to do almost every day of the year.

When she started that, the amount of priceless artwork in this house exploded and of course I couldn't bear to give up anything. I had been reading over and over again on the internet about taking photos of the artwork, making a book of it and recycling the originals as to not have it take over her room or the house.  It was a good theory but it had already started to pile up in her closet on the top shelf and of course, I was going to look at it later....right.

Now she is in her first of two years of preschool and every day comes home with a drawing. Some she likes more than others. I told myself that I had to buckle down and only save five a month  or  five a holiday.  I thought it a good goal to start with. I know I'll have to pare down more than that  but come on now people, baby steps.  So I got it all down the other day and started to go through it.

Some of it I was on the ball with and wrote dates on it as soon as I got it  and others I kinda remember when she made it  like the season or time of  year.

I found a piece of foam board I had bought for another project and some pins for sewing. I put in in front of my back door with some decent light and started snapping away.  Here is some of the priceless artwork that we  now have on display.

These are her people. Usually it's me or her.

So what to do with the rest of  the art that isn't recycled? I bought a under  the bed box for the older stuff right now and it will go in there. The most recent artwork will be displayed on our wall gallery in the basement. ( In a blog post to follow). That way S  can start to display her doodles as well.

S and her smock. Notice the watercolor by her mouth, yum.

They can both feel proud of all that they accomplish in crayon and watercolor.