Elfqueenof5

When we moved into our house, one of the first things I wanted to do was hang something on the wall across from my stairs.  It is such a tall space, it really felt like it needed to be filled.  After painting, I searched online for a tapestry long enough to fill up most of the space.  I was unsucessful.  My father in law suggested I try a rug. 

After looking at hundreds of floor rugs, I found one that fit my color and design scheme. (I am not sure exactly what that is at this point!)  I ordered the carpet runner and it has sat rolled up in my den (music room) for nearly 3 years.  It has been used mainly as a scratch posts by my cats, but fortunately does not seem any worse for the wear! 

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I determined to figure out a way to hang that darn rug.  The real reason it has been sitting around and never has been hung is because we really had no idea how to get it on the wall.  I wanted it to float on the wall, with no visible hanger. 

Well the guy at Home Depot was a genius.  Hello Mr. Obvious!  He suggested we use a carpet strip attached to the wall and hang the carpet from it.  We were able to score a small piece of that cheap wooden carpet strip that was just laying back with the carpet laying supplies.  (No charge!) How lucky was that!  We took it home and with a few screws, a level and a ladder the rug was up in no time! 

What do you think?

This pregnancy was different than the others.  I was consider high risk because of my age and had to get a lot of extra tests that I hadn’t had to do for my previous pregnancies, and they all indicated that everything was going well and the the baby was healthy.  But there was the episodes of spotting, and some minor pain that went along with it. 

And the falling. 

As my pregnancy progressed the falling seemed to increase.  I grew more and more concerned.  Why was I such a klutz.  This couldn’t be healthy for the baby!  It didn’t seem to be causing any harm though, and all of my checkups were normal. 

Five months pregnant with Sierra (1st grade)

Did I mention that I was seeing a new OB/Gyn.  She was pretty nice, but I had been seeing the same doctor previous to her for 10 years.  He had delivered my last three babies.  I trusted him.  Losing him took something away from the whole experience.  That sense of peace and comfort was just not there. 

 The new office was bigger and the wait was always long.  My new OB/Gyn felt more like one of those cattle call offices.  Not a fan of cattle call offices- whether it’s a doctor or a dentist! 

I was well into my pregnancy when I seriously considered changing, but felt it was too far in and probably woudn’t be a good idea.  It wasn’t really that anything was wrong, I just didn’t feel like I was important, or that I was the center of attention, like my previous OB/Gyn had made me feel. 

I decided to stay with the current doctor and that it would probably be fine.  This wasn’t my first time anyhow.  I knew everything to expect and there weren’t any questions or anything, so what did I care who did the delivery.  My last three babies were less than 2-3 hours of labor each with absolutely NO complications.  I was pretty good at having babies by now! 

At 28 weeks, I spotted again.  This time when I called the doctor they told me to go straight to the hospital.  I did, but after several hours was sent home because there was no evidence that I was in labor, and it was not continuing.  My husband and I had been intimate and they figured that had been the cause. 

 I have to tell you – I felt serious concerns regarding my pregancy.  From the beginning, I had felt a strange sense of dread.  I thought to myself with each pregnancy, that the odds of my complicatons or of something being wrong with the baby increased each time I got pregnant. 

I had already had four uneventful pregnancies and four beautiful, healthy babies.  What were the chances of there being no problems in another.  Kind of a sick way of thinking I guess, but in truth, that was my secret anxiety! 

I was sent home amidst my fears and cautioned to rest and take it easy.  Let me remind you I had five kids.  Easier said than done!

Happy To Be Home!

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 

Numbers 6:24-26

Those are the words I spoke to my 15 year old son this morning as I held his face in my hands and blessed him in the name of the Lord.  We were in the car getting ready to drive to the courthouse, where his public defender had warned us he was looking at 45 days incarceration in Juvenile Hall if he accepted the deal in his assault charge.  

My son had told me he didn’t need me to bless him, but I argued otherwise. 

Fighting back tears as I held his face, looking in his eyes, I could see it.  This was just what he needed.  God used me to accomplish something amazing this morning.  I had to step out of my comfort zone-humble myself.  I love that boy and I don’t want him to go to jail. 

I prayed for God’s will this morning and I blessed my son. I know that it was a comfort to him and I told him that God would watch over him no matter what the outcome of the hearing.

Well guess what?  My son did not go to juvenile hall today!  He has been set for trial and they have postponed it for a month.  Giving him an opportunity to show that maybe he can turn things around and doesn’t need incarceration.  He will get formal probation in any case. 

I want him to have probation and be accountable for his crime.  I just don’t know if being locked up away from his family will help him. 

At this time, it must not be in God’s plan for my son to be in juvenile hall and that makes this mother very happy! 

Praise God!

A big thank you to all my friends and family who have been praying for my son and my family!

Dressed for Work (safety orange and boots) Andy at 4 yrs.

 I need to mention something else.  I fell a LOT during this pregnancy.  I don’t really know why.  I would be walking along and then just fall.  Almost as if I had twisted my ankle.  My ankles just gave out I guess.  I hadn’t really gained a lot of weight-about 40 lbs total. Although that was more than I had with my four previous pregnancies. 

I should also point out that this was my most enjoyable pregnancy (aside from the seeming medical issues).  I was approaching 40, and I think that the stress of weight gain, etc. just didn’t bother me this time.  I was fairly financially secure and was able to eat how I liked, dress how I liked, and with my kids being a little older, I was able to rest often as well.  I was happy.  I knew this was my last time and I really enjoyed myself and the growing baby.

It  was my best and worst pregnancy.

So last week, my very funny 13 year old daughter asked me if she could bake a cake.  I told her to go ahead and she pulled a cake mix from the pantry.  We didn’t have frosting in the pantry, because since I have taken cake decorating classes, I always make my frosting from scratch.  I told her she was going to need some frosting and that I would help her make some.  She is so cute; she asked me what she needed frosting for.  I told her she needed it to hold the cake together.  It seemed like such a silly question, I really didn’t how to answer it. 

She mixed up the batter pulled out my giant cupcake cake pan. She assured me that this was the pan she wanted to use and I thought, “what the heck, I’ll just let her have fun!”.  I had a meeting to attend and after helping her divide the batter into the two sides of the giant cupcake, I instructed her to put it in the oven and set the timer.  I hadn’t had time to make the frosting, so I told her we could make it when I returned home from my meeting. 

When I got home, she had already cooled the cake and needed some help leveling it before assembly.  I wish I had taken pictures at this point.  I started the buttercream frosting and showed her how to make it.  We finished the buttercream and she wanted to color it, choosing maroon food coloring. 

Once it was mixed in, we found the frosting spatulas-no small task!.  My kids take turn doing the dishes, emptying the dishwasher, etc. and each one has their own special place for all of my cooking tools!  Of course I NEVER know where that place may be! 

My daughter began frosting the middle layer of the cake which only took a very small portion of the frosting.  Anyhow, after frosting the middle layer, she plopped the top of the giant cupcake on and grabbed a bottle of sprinkles.  She was generously dousing the giant cupcake with sprinkles-sans frosting! 

I held my tongue, it was her cake after all.  I figured she just wanted some extra sugar!  Well after that she grabbed the knife and was about to start cutting into the cake when I grabbed her hand and said, “Hey, wait a minute!  What about the frosting?  Aren’t you gonna finish it?”  She looked at me with disappointment and told me, “I don’t really want frosting on it.”   “What?!”  Well, why the heck didn’t you tell me that before I made all of that buttercream frosting?”  I asked her. 

“Because you said I needed it to hold the cake together!” was her answer. 

Sierra's giant cupcake

So there you have it.  Anybody need some maroon buttercream frosting?

This past Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend an Encaustic Media Demonstration with my daughter, given by Julia Heatherwick at Surface Gallery in Downtown Bakersfield. What a a fun and informative demonstration! 

My daughter in front of Surface Gallery, Downtown Bakersfield

Encaustic Art Demonstrator

It was so inspirational and Julia has so much energy! I am just dying to go out and by the startup kit! You can find it here! It is a little pricey, but comes with everything you need to get your creativity on with Beeswax. 

Hunk of Beeswax

       {photo credit}              

That’s right. Beeswax. 

I always thought of some sticky chemical substance when I saw the word encaustic, but it is comprised of plain old beeswax, “damar resin” and pigment. 

What is “damar resin’? Well, in plain terms it is “tree sap” in a crystal form. At www.about.com it is said to come from maple trees and is dried and mixed in with the wax and pigment. Another website, www.fineartstore.com claims the sap comes from trees in India. 

Damar Resin

                                                          {photo credit} 

 The demo covered the basics of encaustic, the history of the media, as well as its “modern revival”. 

We were able to see some of these modern examples on display right there in the gallery with “Cross Pollination: connection through the art of encaustic” 

Cross Pollination Exhibit

Here are some photos from the exhibit!       {photo credit}       {photo credit}  

      
Surface Gallery offers several wonderful workshops throughout the year. I have taken the oil painting, block printing, nature drawing and improv classes and love, love, LOVED them all! 

Let me just start out by telling you I am NOT an artist. I love art. I have taken art classes in high school, even squeezed by with an A in Art Appreciation in College, but that is the extent of my training. I enrolled in the classes because I have always enjoyed art and they sounded like fun. 

I admit, I was a little intimidated when I first arrived at the workshops. It was pretty clear that there were many experienced artists in the group, but the enthusiasm of the instructors were hard to resist and I couldn’t wait to jump right in and participate Each workshop has been an enriching experience and thanks to the kind and patient instructors, I have come away from each feeling like just maybe, someday, I might be an artist, too!

This is how I make homemade strawberry ice cream:

1ST NIGHT
Buy strawberries from best roadside strawberry stand in Bako. (Snow Rd for those who are not already in the know!)

Go home and look up recipe online. (I picked Emeril’s from Foodnetwork.com.)  I only have cream on hand.  Thought that was what I would need!

Snow Road Strawberries

2ND NIGHT
Go to store and buy half and half, and wash &  slice 4 cups strawberries. (Getting late-go to bed)

Snow Road Strawberries are the bomb!

3RD NIGHT
Too busy with kids, no time for anything!

Strawberry Plant

4TH NIGHT
That’s right it’s a cooking recipe, I’m too tired and I don’t feel like ice cream anyways. Go to bed.

Snow Road Strawberry Field

5TH NIGHT
Better make that ice cream tonite while strawberries are still good!

Call brother in law because he makes homemade ice cream and the recipe I picked out was confusing!  Get advice, cook up ice cream mix. Chill ice cream mix.

Ice Cream Recipe

Freeze ice cream mix in ice cream maker and after an hour get a measly 1 1/2 qts of delicious strawberry ice cream to split between 5 people!

Homemade Ice Cream

Bright side – By the time it is finished, kids are already in bed and I don’t have to share it with anybody!!!

Hahahahahaha! Ok, I shared it with Hubby!

Final Note:  I think that the ice cream could have been creamier.  I am going to try other recipes and compare!

Shortly after the birth of my second son, I met a man. He was a nice man and didn’t really seem to have any hang ups.

Apparently he liked me and he moved in with me when my youngest son was only a couple months old. We lived together for several months and quickly became engaged.

It was at this point that I became pregnant. Unfortunately, this man had a burning desire to join the army, and as he was quickly approaching the upper age limit (27 years old), and his test scores were such, that when the Army offered him a temporary waiver for the test and and a spot in the infantry, he just couldn’t pass up this once in a lifetime chance.

What he didn’t count on was my reluctance to quit my 5 year job with the County and to leave my entire family and move to OKLAHOMA for goodness sakes! For the infantry! Not too smart.

He got the news in December and I dropped him off with the recruiter at the end of February. I did NOT look back. Our daughter was four months old.

I can’t wait to tell you about my daughter. I have had comments asking about her and I will have plenty to say about her, you can count on it. But this is a story about brothers.

At this point in my life I found myself with an 8 year old son from my first marraige, a 2 year old son born out of wedlock, and now, a 4 month old daughter also born out of wedlock. If you hadn’t guessed, the wedding between HER father and I was O-F-F!

I should probably tell you this. My daughter’s father really did believe he would be able to talk me into coming to Oklahoma after he finished his basic training. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

About this time, an old friend from high school starts hanging around. Not just any old friend. It is the same guy I dated after my first son was born.

This is a guy that was my best buddy all through High School. We grew up on the same street. I met him when he moved to our town in 8th grade at the morning bus stop (as mentioned in previous post). That is another story of it’s own!

Long story, but here’s important part-he proposed to me within a couple of months. There is one stipulation. He wants another child. Let me tell you this-He has a seven year old daughter from his first marraige. I have three already – the last two are only 20 months apart. Another baby? Is he crazy? You bet he is.

He wants another son. I agreed. Who’s the crazy one? I will say this-I really, really, really did NOT want to have another baby. I was tired…of being pregnant, of not sleeping through the night, of changing diapers, of making bottles, you get the picture!

Well, I caved.

We were married in August and I got pregnant within the month! Lack of birth control might have been the reason. Ya think?

Another brother?!

Do you like to hike?  My 11 year old son went camping with his boy scout troop this weekend. The troop is fantastic! They are very active and plan campouts regularly.

The last one was at a lighthouse north of San Francisco.

Marin County Lighthouse

This month they are staying at the Boy Scout Camp here in the Mil Portrero Campground on The Sierra Madre in The Los Padres National Forest.

California Poppies In the Los Padres National Forest

For those of you who like to camp or are maybe thinking about maybe taking a hike with this beautiful spring weather upon us, I thought I would include the Boy Scout Ten Essentials for Backpacking. (The list is longer than 10!)

Los Padres Hiker

My son must always pack all of these items in a backpack and include them when packing for his scout campouts. It is really quite useful information and everyone should think about including these items when hiking, backpacking and/or camping.

Have fun!

Andy and his backpack

POCKET KNIFE/TOTIN? CHIP
FIRST AID KIT
EXTRA CLOTHING
RAIN GEAR
SNOW GEAR
WATER BOTTLE
FLASHLIGHT
TRAIL FOOD
MATCHES/FIRESTARTER
SUN PROTECTION
CHAP STICK
MAP
COMPASS
SLEEPING BAG
INSECT REPELLENT

A little sidenote: I know that there are many lists out there that vary somewhat. Feel free to comment and add whatever you feel should be added or that which is important to you and you feel should be included. This is just the basic list I copied from my son’s Boy Scout Camporall packet.

Photos 1 & 4 Jeff Heinle. Photos 2 & 3 fs.usda.gov