Last year I had given up on watching the show ‘Lost’, completely done with the bazillion mini stories that you didn’t even really need to know for anything else to make sense, and sick of the weird plot lines the writers kept throwing in that were so lame, and completely ignoring previous story lines as if that other stuff never happened, it was irritating. It was confusing and painful to try to even sit through, so I just gave up and stopped watching the show entirely. Craig however continued on never missing an episode, so of course he was right there to watch the special replay Wednesday night of last seaons finale to refresh his memory, and I ended up watching by default since I was downstairs rocking Finley before bedtime. This replay had little bits of pop up info on the bottom of the screen the entire time, so I was instantly caught up, and even sucked back into the whole series in this one hour of accidental screening. Hmmm, maybe this series deserves one more chance…. So tonight, Craig and I busied the little ones with their toys in the other room, then sat down to try and watch the season premiere in between the kids wandering in at various cliffhanger moments asking us to solve their most recent disagreement over a toy, or mediate an apology for whatever wrong they felt had been comitted. I have to say, not only was I not disapointed, but it felt like I was once again watching the “old Lost” the one I had loved so very much before. I’m not convinced the goofiness has stopped, but I am willing to give it a shot, I can only hope the writers don’t go back to their crazy, lame ways. So far, so good.

   After seeing a bunch of ads for the new series, ‘Eli Stone’, my interest was piqued and I wanted to see if it was any good, but I couldn’t place the face of the actor. Heidi did me the great favor of letting my in on the fact that it’s ‘Jonny Lee Miller’. Better known to me as “Edmond Bertram”  from the film ‘Mansfield Park’, a version I absoulutely loved and truly enjoyed. One of the few movies where I felt the film was far and away a better version than the book ever was. Sorry Jane, but when I read your book all I wanted to do was punch Fanny in the face all the while telling her to get a spine and to stop being a simpering doormat. Anyways…I stuck around after ‘Lost’ and watched the pilot episode of ‘Eli Stone’, and guess what, I liked it. I liked it a lot. So much so, that I will be making an effort to watch it again next week. I liked the ‘lawyer has a change of heart’ storyline, and I liked J.L. Miller as the main guy Eli. It all seemed to really work, and I can only hope that next weeks episode is as good as this one was.

I have always struggled with my eyelashes, trying every handheld eyelash curler to no avail. Plastic and metal, with heated rubber pads, or without, heating the pads with my hairdryer, crimping my lashes before applying mascara, or crimping after, and all with the same unimpressive, non-results. No matter what I did my eyelashes still pointed downward, refusing to budge. No amount of curling mascara has ever worked for me either, each one as disapointing as the next. I had resigned myself to hating my eyelashes forever when I stumbled across a new heated eyelash curler online a few weeks ago that ‘promised’ results. *sigh*  What did I have left to lose? So I bought it.

   It took me several attempts to get the hang of it, and after some trial and error, it worked, it really worked! Hallelujah!  Not only does it curl my lashes, but they stay  curled the entire day. I love the way it makes my eyes look that much brighter and wide open too. Mine is an “Eyecurl”, and is not the usual crimper but a heated wand used much like your mascara wand. The directions were badly translated, even funny in a few places, but you get the idea after reading it once, it’s not hard at all really. My “Eyecurl” was shipped to my door from Hong Kong in about a week, it takes one AA battery, and it came with a little brush to clean any mascara residue off of the head. Hey, who knew a piece of my happiness would be a new fangled eyelash curler?

   I bought this book a while ago and have been pouring over it, enjoying myself immensely as well as becoming inspired by the beautiful and simple to make projects contained within. Translated from it’s orignal publication in French, it has so many sweet and simple little things to make for a baby.

I loved the classic heirloom look the projects each had, the designs were simple and so timeless as were the fabrics they chose to use. The bell on the pointed top of the hat is my favorite part, that and the fact that you use a felted sweater to make this set. I know I have two wool sweaters stashed away somewhere that would be perfect for this.

 I loved the embellishments and creative stitching on the baby linens, especially the way they used ric rac to spell out the baby’s name on one of them. I can’t help but think it would be so fun to do on the edge of a pillowcase, or even on a little t-shirt.

While I have neither the time nor the tiny baby to make these for, I am still going to try to find a few minutes here and there in the hopes that I might still be able to start one or two of these projects. There seems to be a small baby boom going on among friends and family, and this book offers so many choices to make a lovely gift, it will be hard to decide where to begin.

Why was I agonizing over whether or not I should cut her hair? I was being ridiculous, really. She was unhappy, and I was going nuts constantly trying to keep her hair out of her face. So I went ahead and did the only sensible thing. I cut it. I have no regrets, but I did wonder just what I had started once I actually began cutting. She kept turning her head this way and that and would not hold still. I was terrified of leaving her with a gaping bald spot somewhere, I’m amazed I managed to cut a straight line, she was constantly in motion. Somehow I got it right though, and she suits this sassy little bob, looking cuter than ever with her sweet little face framed by her new do’. I love how easy and low maintenance it is, especially since she won’t let me near her with any kind of hairbrush or comb without putting up a fight, refusing to wear any and all barrettes or adornments in her hair for more than 2 minutes before tearing them out and flinging them as far as she can. As girly-girl as my Princess G can be, Rapunzel she is not!

   Granny is having suregery on one of her knees today (her right knee I believe). It will be a long, hard recovery, and even more hard work afterwards with physical therapy, but she is thrilled to be finally having this surgery done. It has been very painful and difficult for her to get up and down or even walk most days, and she is looking forward to being pain free and mobile once again. So please remember Granny in your prayers that she may have an uneventful surgery, and a swift recovery when all is said and done.

   With so much snow and cold weather, it’s nice to be able to stay home and snuggle up next to the fire wearing a pair of soft, warm, flannel pants. My kids love to change into a pair as soon as they get home from school, they’re so comfotable to lounge and play in. H and G love to be “twinners”, and are especially tickled when I make them matching pants. How cute are those little toes!

I managed to finish these for H and G the other day, much to their delight. I just figured out another way to sew this pattern together, and it was fun to try it out. Although in the end, I still prefer the original method, it works a little better for me and goes together just that much faster.

   An early morning phone call. Chatting with our ever cheerful realtor. More showings, more cleaning, more stress, more thoughts on why we are doing this. Small child pounding on the bathroom door, begging to be let in. One bathroom. Nine of us. Oh yeah, that’s why we’re doing this. Hope the house is ready in time. Hope I have everyone ready to bolt out the door before the showing. Still trying to find a home big enough for us to live in forever. I don’t want to do this again any time soon. My house is semi-clean, I’m still in my pajamas. Little ones are dressed, and I still don’t know where my clean clothes are. Lunchtime, what to make. Mac and cheese, sliced peaches on the side, milk to drink, it’s always popular. Another trip to the school to pick up the kids. It’s a half day, feels like we only just dropped them off. So cold, but not nearly as freezing as yesterday. Still searching online for any new home listings. Miracles happen, new homes are listed every day. One for us? Hmmm, not today. Maybe tomorrow. Another phone call, another showing scheduled. I appreciate our realtor. I’m so glad for her help. Thoughts on how it would be without an agent. Nightmarish. So thankful we have her. More cleaning, now my dishes are done. Hmmm, what to do with three baskets of clean, unfolded laundry. No time, just put them in the back of the van. Bundle the kids up, load them into the van again and drive away slightly crazed. Baskets of laundry fall over in the back seat, children crying and sick of yet another pointless car ride. Finally, it’s been an hour, the showing should be done, we can head back home. Dinnertime. What to make, and fast. Forget it. Dialing for pizza. Toss a salad to assuage guilt. Everyone is fed. Bathtime. Back outside to retrieve clean pajamas from the laundry in the back of the van. Bedtime. Teeth brushed, potty time, prayers said, tucked in, kisses, hugs and love, lights out. Calls for another drink, hug, kiss. Tucked back in, and back in again. Lights out again. One more drink. Another trip to the bathroom, another drink of water. Tucked in once again. Lights out for good. Finally they’re alseep. Just in time for nothing on TV worth watching. Not enough time to drag out my sewing. Try to stay awake, give up, stumble to bed. What a day.

I hate peanut butter cookies. With all of my heart, always have. And a peanut butter cookie with whole peanut pieces in it? Ugh, even MORE reviling!

Even as a small child, I refused to eat them, turning them down even if it meant zero cookies for me. So when I read a caption on a recipe stating that this oatmeal peanut butter cookie recipe was so delicious that the cook’s husband was now a reformed  peanut butter cookie hater, my interest was more than piqued. I wanted to taste it for myself, to really put this “tasty” cookie to the test. So I threw a batch together, following the recipe exactly with only two minor adjustments (I decreased the salt to 3/4 tsp. and added 6 oz. of semi sweet chocolate chips, just enough chocolate to compliment the taste without taking over the whole cookie).

   Well, I’m here to say she was right, and I’m a convert. I loved those cookies! They were more than delicious, they were inspired, divine little pieces of cookie heaven! So I am posting it here for future reference, and will add it to the ‘Recipe Site’ soon. I never ever thought I would ever willingly or happily make peanut butter cookies in my own kitchen, but I have and I will again, they were so much better than I ever thought they would be.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats and choclate chips until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don’t over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

We gave this to M for Christmas this year, and I can say without a doubt it has been one of the best toys we have ever bought, as well as one of the most popular with all  of our younger children. I bought the Mickey Mouse edition as well as all of the available key packs, so we have Mickey Mouse, JoJo, Winnie the Pooh, The Wiggles, Arthur, Thomas the Tank Engine, Barney, Clifford and Bob the Builder character keys.

The Easy Link system hooks right into your PC’s USB port, your child plugs their choice of character keys into the launch pad, and once plugged in, the lauch pad will deliver your child to that character’s official website, and ONLY  their website. No pop-up ads will appear, and they can’t go anywhere else on the Internet. In fact, the only way they can go anywhere else is by putting in a different Easy Link character smart key. The launch pad also blocks access to your PC’s desktop and hard drive so there’s no worry about them accidentally deleting or installing programs. There’s even parental controls that limit how much online time children can have.

M has gone from having minimal computer skills, to now being a master of the mouse and going anywhere he wants, clicking on any of the activities and games of his choosing at each site. N, H and G all love it too, which means they all want to take a turn, so it has been an incredible tool in helping them to better their sharing skills. There is always more than one chair pulled up to the computer desk, and they are very good about taking turns, and playing games together. (and for reference, my children’s ages are 8, 6, 4, and 2 but turning 3 in less than two months)

I was with Heidi when she bought hers (she bought the Elmo edition), and I keep forgetting to ask her how she likes it, but I have read a ton of other mom’s reviews online and they seem to be as thrilled with it as I am. So I’m passing this one along, it was just too good not to!

I love little baby mohawks, especially on my own little guy,

he looks completely adoarble sporting one.

Although, that’s probably because he is  completely adoarble,

with or without the rockin little ‘do.