Rollercoaster ride of life...

Today has definitely been a rollercoaster ride of emotions for me.  Yesterday I was all upset because the place for rent that we had been looking at wasn't going to be ready in time, and that REALLY bummed me out, because we NEED a place to live that's close enough to the school for my kids to be able to go.  That sent me to bed unusually early for me (before 11pm!) which in turn had me awake at about 6:30 this morning.  I don't usually answer my phone before 10am, but then almost everyone knows not to try to call me before then, so it's generally not an issue.  But then about 9:15, I got a phone call from the man who owns the house I was looking at.  I didn't hear the phone ring, thanks to my phone being in "Do Not Disturb" mode until 10am, but I saw it shortly after that, and immediately called the man back.  He has another house for rent, and is willing to lower the rent so that we can afford it.  It's still $50 more a month than the other house, but it's bigger, way bigger from what I was told, didn't need nearly the amount of work the other place did, and this one has a FIREPLACE!!!  Ooh, I just LOOOVE fireplaces in houses, almost as much as I love two-story homes with beautiful stairway railings.  :D  So I found out all the information I could about the new place, including how much he wants down on it and all the rest, that there's no dishwasher (though there really is plenty of counterspace to install one, the kitchen is simply HUGE!), and several other things I needed to know about it, including the address, because that is a fairly crucial piece of information when you're trying to get utilities hooked up!  lol  Anyway, then, all of a sudden, completely out of the black, I was in a bad mood.  The worst part is, I don't even know WHY I was in such a bad mood, but I was.  And I still kind of am, which sucks, because I was in such a GOOD mood earlier!  But alas, such is life, yes?

Well, I have ONE more finger puppet to sew up and stuff tonight, and then I can package everything.  That's gonna be fun, since I have no boxes and no wrapping paper, but more importantly, no money to go out and BUY either!  So I guess I'll just have to make do with what I have on hand, little though that may be.  Eh, it's not so bad, I've done so before, and will very likely have to do so again.  I predict that this is not the end to the lean and scarce birthdays for my little Brood.  Not that I care very much, but...  Sometimes I wonder if the kids will look back on all the years that I made them birthday and Christmas gifts and say, "Gee, we must've been really poor back then.  Mom couldn't even buy us gifts, she had to MAKE them!"  I just hope, when they look back, that they see the love with which each piece was made instead.  And I hope, I truly hope, that my children will also develop and keep a sense of love for handcrafted items, enough so that not only do they buy them when they see them, but that they also want to make them, either for their own children and friends children, but also just because, and maybe to donate places as well.  And now, though I am not in quite such a bad mood anymore, I am still not feeling quite...  Right yet, either.  Ah well.  Likely I will soon enough.  I promise that I will post pictures of the things that I made for my sweet girl after she has opened all of her gifts tomorrow.  And what a day it's going to be, too!  :)

O.o

Tomorrow is my little girl's 10th birthday.  I am rather boggled at this.  Ten years, really?  WOW!  I can't believe it's been 10 years already.  I've made her a few presents (pics will follow after she has opened all of her presents) and I am just finishing up on one today.  I know I have to be insane though, because I am honestly thinking about trying to make her a skirt for tomorrow, despite the fact that I really do have no time to do so.  But I know me, and now that the idea is in my head, I'll be hard pressed to get it out.  I will do my best to post pictures once either she goes to bed tonight or after she has opened everything tomorrow.  This is going to be a fun day though, rest assured!  :)

Memories...

Growing up, I would hear stories of the things my mother made for my sisters and my brother. But for me? I have vague memories of a bathing suit that my mother made me, and that's about it. I have an afghan my grandmother made for me, complete with a crocheted monogram, but really, that's all. I guess that's just what happens when you're the youngest in a family of 6, and your parents first grandchild is born just a scant 10 months after you. I am not upset or bitter about this, not at all. I'm the youngest of six children for heaven's sake, and not just that, but also the last of four girls! To say my parents had their hands full would be an extreme understatement! But sometimes... Sometimes I find myself wishing I had had that closeness with my parents; that bond that just seems to be missing from my entire family...

So I am doing everything I can to make those good memories with my kids, so that they will remember them, hopefully fondly, when they're older and have children of their own. Crafting is wonderful, and I do enjoy it to be sure, but I need to constantly remind myself not to let it take over my life! It seems I have somewhat forgotten this in recent days, and now all I can to is strive to make it up to them. So please, don't be like me. Don't forget to play and have FUN with your children while they're still young enough to enjoy it and actually want you there with them. I'm not saying don't make them clothes or toys if doing so is something you enjoy, by all means do those things if they make you happy, but don't let doing those things make you lose sight of what really is more important, making memories with your child. You don't want your son or daughter to look back at their childhood and think, "I remember my mother/ father being there, but s/he was always tired, crabby, and just not fun to be around. S/he was always stressed out about finishing a project, meeting a deadline, or something else. Yeah, s/he made stuff for me, but... I think I'd rather not talk about that anymore. So, what's going I with..." Yeah, that's not exactly how I want to be remembered by my kids. I want my kids to remember the time we made Oobleck and they got to feel the liquid, yet solid properties of it. I want them to remember when we made play dough on the stovetop and they got to help kneed the different colours in. I want them to remember that trip to the Springs, when in the middle of the summer the water was so cold we could barely make it in past our hips, and our lips were almost purple when we finally got out to go home. Or that trip to the beach that took forever to get ready for, much less find, but that we enjoyed so much. I want them to remember the hand-crafted toys and gifts I have given them, certainly, but I think I would rather be remembered for the fun we shared together, I would rather they remember me actually being there, and not just remembering that I made things for them.

This whole post came about because I was talking to a friend today and I realized that I don't really have many pleasant memories of my parents from when I was growing up. I have plenty of memories of them being there, just sort of off in the background, but not really THERE there.  I have memories of bad things, like when my parents got into an argument or I got in particularly bad trouble for something, as I'm sure most people do, but yeah, there really aren't many FOND memories in there. I don't want that for my kids. I don't want them to look back and only see the fights, the arguments, all the terrible things. I want them to look back with fondness, and to try to give their children the same fun times, plus more if they can, and maybe a few handmade gifts here and there as well.

Birthday presents

The problem with having children with birthdays in August and September is that it's too far away from tax time, and too close to the winter holidays.  Money is always short, and there's a great deal of stress involved in trying to make sure your child(ren) have a good time for their birthdays.  To be honest, it really SUCKS when their birthdays come around and you're perpetually broke from trying to make ends meet, never mind trying to save up for Christmas/ Hanukkah/ whatever holiday you happen to celebrate at that time of the year.

This is why I have taken to trying to make gifts for my kids.  No, they don't always appreciate the work I put into their things, and they also don't always entirely LIKE the games/ toys they're given, but that never seems to make me stop trying.  This year, I am making my daughter a "doll-making kit", but I'm having difficulty thinking of what else I should give her.  I know birthdays shouldn't be all about gifts, and I do try to teach my kids that they're really not, but sometimes I feel like that is the best I can do for them when it comes to their birthdays, and since we may be away from their father when their birthdays roll around yet again, I feel like I really need to make sure that they get something really special from me, and hopefully Daddy will be able to move with us by Christmas.

Oh, before you ask, no my husband is NOT military.  He works for a local grocery store and is trying to get transferred to a store in our target area, but so far isn't really having much luck.  He's on the list for management, which is a good thing, but honestly, who knows how long that could take to actually get?  But since he doesn't want me homeschooling the Littles, and I refuse to put them back into the school system in the county where he lives (they did not help my younger son in the entire 5 years of school that they had him, in fact they did him more harm than good) it looks like we will have to find a home and move back to the area we were in for all of last year, provided we can find one that's in our target price range and size.  THAT is where we will likely run into some problems, as my budget for housing is EXTREMELY small, but I'll manage, I always do!  :)

Birthdays

Have you ever forgotten about a loved one's birthday? I almost did this year, and I feel TERRIBLE about it!  See, this is my daughter.  She is every ounce of spunk and determination you see in this picture.  She is my youngest, and my only girl.

And she turns TEN in just over two weeks!!!  Here I was, thinking I still had over a month to plan everything, and now I'm kinda totally freaking out about it!  I haven't made any party plans ( though I have an idea in my head for one, I don't even know where we may be living in two weeks!), I haven't been telling my husband every ten minutes that we need to figure out what we're giving her, since 10 is what I consider to be a milestone birthday, and OMG NOW I'M TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!!!  Last year my parents gave her some toys, I made her a felt crown that she wore all day, and I made a few gifts for her, specifically the aforementioned crown, a "jumping pixies" game (tutorial can be found here), and  a rainbow ribbon wand (simple tutorial found here, though mine didn't look even 1/4 as lovely as theirs did!, but my little Lovey loved it anyway), the ideas for which were all obtained thanks to Pinterest and some of my absolute favourite blogs.  So now I have 2 weeks and 2 days to come up with gifts for her, and not only am I running out of time, but I'm out of money as well!  But no fear, I will definitely come up with ideas for things to make her, I always do!  And when I do, you can be sure there will be pictures posted.  :D

Dolls

Have you ever made a toy for one of your kids? Over the years I've made so many toys for my kids, it's not funny. And the past few days, when I couldn't sleep, or when the Littles were otherwise occupied, I've been able to sit down and make things. Specifically, I've been making little (and by little, I mean like 3-inches-tall, little) dollies for my Girl. I've been making them for years, but recently discovered a blog that gave me a great idea on how to make their feet and hands work so much better than I had been making them! And oh BOY have I been making them a LOT! lol Here are some of the ones made over the past few days. :)

These three are the very first ones we made, and by me I do mean me and the Littles. My sweet 11yo made the one on the left, and he was too impatient to sea her dress together, so he used glue instead. lol The middle one is my first try, and I rather like her. The third mg daughter started, got angry at when she couldn't get something to work right, and threw at me to finish, which I did, and now of course, V loves her. lol

(Please ignore the messy workspace, I have very limited room for my crafting, unfortunately) this little lady is my first attempt a fins on a bendy doll. I definitely need t tweak my fin pattern (too thick in the middle, too thin at the waist) but other than that I think she went fairly well. 

Now, this little beauty actually does have a face, though she didn't when I took this picture. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to leave her as-is, or if I want to add little leaf wings to her back. And though you can't tell because they're covered, she has lime and green striped "tights" on her little legs, which make me think of a flower stem. And that works, since her dress is made up of disassembled faux flowers! :)

I don't have any single pictures of the doll on the left yet, but as you can see I made another with a flower dress. I and truly rather enamoured of these types, and foresee several more being made in the future. Also, I need to fix the eyes and mouth on the right-hand doll, as her eyes are too light and her mouth is too dark. But for now, at least, I have decided to leave her wing-less, though I may well make a removable pair that can be shared amongst the bendies. Oh, and I have SOOO many other ideas for bendies, just wait! I need to make a few improvements to the ones already made, and I have at least two dozen more ideas running about in my head for others, so I'll be sure to post pictures of them as I go. I'm truly having fun with these types of dolls, and I'm very glad I rediscovered their simple construction! :)  The tutorial for these little lovelies can be found here, at The Enchanted Tree.  I love these little things, and I think my daughter will enjoy playing with them as much as I have (so far!  lol) enjoyed making them.  :)

Teenagers

What is with them, anyway?  I mean, I've met some of the best, most well-adjusted, sweetest, kindest, amazing teenagers ever, and then...  Then there's my kid.  16 years old, constantly talking back, giving attitude, causing trouble...  I swear, he is just such a jerk it's not funny!  And I was the total POLAR FREAKING OPPOSITE when I was his age!  I just about never talked back to my mother, I did as I was told, usually when I was told to do it, though sometimes it would wait 10-20 minutes if I was already in the middle of something else, and he is...  I need an antidote for the boorish, anti-social, self-centered, egomaniacal teenage male, and I need it fast...  >.<