Etsy

Hi all-
I discovered this website:
www.etsy.com
It lists all homemade items for purchase and I love it. I bought some very affordable and adorable prints for my kitchen that match my cupcake theme. The stuff I have purchased so far has all been great!

I love that "love" has been put into each piece and the items are so unique. I'll post pics of the things I have purchased on a later date.

Mikey's Open House

After weeks or preparation, we finally celebrated Mikey's graduation. My dad roasted a pig, my mom bought a chocolate fountain and the boys had a bon fire at the end of the night. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

Tate and I came long enough to eat some food and then had to leave because he had a fever. We ended up in the ER by the end of the night, with Tate getting xrays on his throat, a suppository to get his fever down, and shot to reduce the swelling in his throat. He seems to be doing much better, but we didn't get to join in the graduation fun:( Grandma had even bought Tate a new set of Sidewalk Chalk!

We have been eating pig since Saturday, and we had lots of cupcakes left as well. I am going to be so fat by the time we come home...

Paul's Adventures

While Paul is away, he decided to cut his own hair. Yea... a haircut is only 7 DOLLARS where he is located!!!

Here is the room where Paul is staying. He got permission from someone to cut the bunk in half, since he was on the top bunk and was not sleeping well because he was afraid to wake the guy below him. Most people wouldn't care about the normal sleep noise from above, considering the conditions, but his roomie is the same guy who tried to give away the TV the first day Paul got there and then gave him a lecture about always using headphones to watch the TV once Paul saved it.

Here is Paul at a bazaar, looking adorable as ever. Most other pictures of him eating :) I'll post a group of those later.

No new pictures

Sorry for the lack of blog entries, but since Paul took the camera on his deployment, we have been waiting for a new one to arrive that Paul ordered (off Slickdeals, of course). For some reason Dell decided to cancel the order, so we have to reorder it.

Our little place feels more like home every day and it is nice to feel settled in. We walk A LOT, which is nice because my parents' cooking is going to make me fat. I just can't stop eating it! AND they always have treats...lots of them...all the time.

This weekend I plan on scrapping Mikey (my 18 yr old brother) for his graduation party book. I can't wait to create!

Diapers are Expensive!

Since we live in a place without a washer and dryer, I stopped using cloth diapers for the time being. I cannot believe how many diapers you go through...AND THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!

How do less fortunate people do it?

Also, the groceries are more expensive around here, too. I am going be trying to plan meals ahead of time to keep the food budget down. When the Kashi was $4.59 a box, I about flipped.

8:30a!

(one of the few pics I have of Tate sleeping...)

It was a miracle. We slept in until 8:30am! I don't care that Tate woke up at 5:30 and then at 6:30 and then I brought him into my bed (and by bed I mean air mattress...) and then somehow, he actually fell asleep.





I was so overjoyed even if it meant having him fall asleep attached to me, literally, and experiencing a few teeth grazes as he went into deeper sleep. All I know, is 8:30a kicks butt.

Our Temporary Home

This is where Tate and I are living while Paul is gone. We rented this duplex and it is perfect for us right now. We went to the Memorial Day Parade in downtown Eaton Rapids, where EVERYONE comes out for events like these. It is kind of like "Gilmore Girls'" town Stars Hollow http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/kirkstowntours, though not as nice and not as many great restaurants. One of the local places does have Thursday night jazz, though!

Tate has figured out that Daddy is on the other end of the phone when Paul calls. Tate talks to him in this foreign language, complete with hand movements that none of us understand, with the exception of a "Dada" or "Mama" here and there.

In Michigan

So Paul deployed to Afghanistan after getting about 2.5 weeks notice. We scrambled to get everything done for him to leave and barely had enough time. We also decided that I would head to MI with Stinky, rent a place near my parents and have a little adventure.

"Adventure" is not the word I am currently using! Ask me in a few weeks when I have settled in a little more and I get some sleeeeeeep.

Berry Pickin'

Today Amanda, Anna, all the kids and I went Strawberry Picking at Eckert's. It was SO fun! Of course, we hit the bakery and got a "cook-ie" (Tate was pronouncing VERY clearly as we entered) before we even started.

OK, so it was more like "toddler running through fields" than it was "berry picking", but we all had a great time. We ended the morning with lunch at Eckert's restaurant, where we had the most patient waiter ever.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We hosted a Cinco de Mayo Baby Shower for Paul's coworker and wife, Jose and Barb. We had a great time and the weather was sooooooo nice! The kids particularly enjoyed the Cascarones, which are confetti filled eggs that you crack on a friend's head for good luck.

The pinata was fun, too, except when it was another kid's turn to hit it because Tate melted down... Time to learn to share!

Our new Car

"MOM my RIDE"!!!!! (watch video above)

For those of you who don't know, Tate and I got into an accident last month and totalled the Hyundai. Upon returning from MI, USAA called and said "We've decided that car is totalled. You have 3 days to buy a new one." OK, because USAA is the best insurance ever, they actually gave me a few extra days, but STILL!

So I send Paul out to find another Hyundai Santa Fe, and long story short, Chrysler was having their "Mini Van Event". We sadly took the final plunge into suburbia...and bought a mini van.

I wanna go to this school!

Tate and I went to an open house at The Shining Rivers Waldorf School in St. Louis. Wow! We had a great time. I had looked into Waldorf schools in the past on the internet and by asking around, and I learned that you can't form an opinion on a little info--you need to see for yourself.

It was this happy, lavendar smelling, fresh baked muffin kind of place. They have a "Morning Garden" that is part of every kid's day.... The only thing that is conflicting is that they promote NO TV!!! As you all may know, TV is my weakness. As Tate shares 50% of my genes, he too has a passion for the "magical light box". I agree with the philosophy as to why they don't want kids to watch tv, but OMG it is my vice!!!

We'll see...maybe I can wean him off it a bit, but crap, I can't even wean the kid off num-num. I try to do that first!

Mission Statement:"To provide an educational environment for the healthy development of the whole child by strengthening the child's affinity with nature, nourishing the child's sense of awe, wonder and creativity, sharing in the unfolding of each child's innate capabilities - particularly in the arts and sciences, and building a strong foundation for practical life skills."

Happy Earth Day!

Tate's favorite part was the gaggle of kids that were dancing near the stage that featured different performers throughout the day. He danced and danced and danced. His second favorite thing was the solar powered fountain that he went so crazy for, he fell in the bucket of water head first.

Slowly Blogging

I think the reason it is so hard to get back to blogging is because I wrote a lot of stuff specifically for my sister's reaction. Even when we were in an argument, I knew she would be checking it, and somtimes even leave a comment.

In general, I've been doing pretty good considering and everyone "deals" in their own way. Getting on my blog and IMing are the hardest part for me right now.

But, with a huge lump in my throat and a desire to block everything out, I will continue this entry and post some things that make me happy.

Just a quick description of each...

1. Tate holding a babydoll that he jsut discovered in his toy bin. He has been patting its back and cuddling it and it just melts my heart.

2. Tate eating his current favorite food=PANCAKES! He goes into the fridge, and brings us the syrup jug...

3. Ok--our first "real" finger paint project. I let him go hogwild, thinking it says washable on the side of the box. Don't let that stuff dry or you're looking at a good half hour of scrubbin' with the Magic Eraser!

4. My camera obsessed son taking a self portrait. Usually he is not allowed to touch Daddy's camera, but with all that has been going on, my defenses were down. (Just don't tell Paul!) I had to delete about 30 shots off the camera.

Dedicated to my sister, who I know would have had many a comment. My heart breaks in an anticipation of that that will never be filled.

Karen

I'm reposting my mom's blog here about the last few weeks. It says a lot that I can't say right now.


From my mom's blog:

We gathered this week to mourn the loss of our beloved Karen.


Mikey called her BeBe, we all called Karen Jeanne the Jelly Bean, Beaner Butt and my Dad named her Kaye-Kaye like his sister or just Jeanner Beaner.


We will miss so very much about her, from her wild, loud laughter to her gentle touch. Next week will be hard when we wait for her phone calls, just like the other day when Cat realized that we were all together and she was missing. We really needed her to come in a cuss, so we could all yell at her to watch her language. It always brought a good family laugh. You knew when Karen was in the house.


Karen, Karen, Karen.


When she was little, she couldn't sleep without her stuffed dog, Poochie. It became so ratty and nasty that she would throw it at Cathy, just to make Cathy scream. 25 years later, Cat found a brand new Poochie and sent it to her. As she opened the package, she called Cat in anticipation of thanking her for whatever gift was inside. I snapped this picture of her delight. Today, when sorting her things I found the original Poochie. Catie now has them both on her bed to remember her Mom.


There are no words to express the sadness inside. Anyone who has lost a child, a sibling or someone very close to them knows. However, we are so blessed with family and friends who have given of their love this week. As always, they dropped their own lives, traveled great distances and came to comfort and mourn with us.


Hugs, food, flowers, love.
They fed our bodies and our souls.
My aunts mothered me, my cousins held me and cried with me
Friends just kept coming
We felt so loved and comforted and are deeply grateful.
Laura tended to Karen as a loving sister for 4 days, then took care of all of us.
Joey gave a beautiful eulogy and then loving buried his sister.
Cathy held her sister, mothered Catie and took care of us all.
Andy, Mike, Joey, Uncle Jim and Steve carried her with love.
Paul cleaned and carried, worked and worked, just helping and helping
Debbie held me, washed my dishes, clothes and floors
Dave and Maryann created a beautiful photo show that captured Karen. It helped everyone and most especially her children to cope. We got to see that Karen smile over and over.


The whole family has teased me about learning to knit. I love the colors, so I have made ONE single sock of every color yarn....get bored and start a new one. I recently convinced Karen to stop at the yarn shop with me. She told the owner "I am NOT the crafty daughter, she lives in St. Louis.....I am the wild one." He laughed and convinced her to pick out HER sock yarn, so she would like the socks she would definitely get. Of course, she picked out something wild and last weekend, she was delighted to see me finishing the second sock. She asked me to photograph the finished pair, so she could put them on her blog. She said "I can't wait! I am going to make Cathy and Joey crazy. I can't wait to write the article and say....See! HA! HA! Mom loves ME the most, cuz you all have ONE sock and I have the only finished pair!"


As Fr. Ben said, "Karen lived with passion". May she rest in peace.

In Mourning

For the few of you who don't know, my sister died last week very unexpectedly. She is at peace and this I know, but the loss of her still feels like a chunk of me has been taken out.

I am just remaining quiet for now, retreating into my home and reflecting in my solitude. I thank everyone for everything during this time--I really appreciate it.

I may be a bit absent, and please excuse me as I take the time to mourn.
Love-Cat

Springtime Creations!

Yesterday it was 78 here in the St. Louis area. It was so nice! I immediately have more energy and am in a better mood when it is warm.

Here are some cards I have made for fun and a spring centerpiece that I had a vision of and just HAD to create. It has lots of glitter on the branches which you can't see in the photos.



I took a branch I found in my yard, spray painted it white, then covered it in "Diamond Dust" glitter and spray glitter. For the flowers, I took pieces of crepe paper and bunched them, and then adhered them to the branches with floral tape. It is stuck in a stryofoam chunk that I found in the garage and cut to fit in my vase.

Happy St. Pat's Day!

Hola Everyone! I am finally back online after Paul chopped the cable in half with a shovel. The duct tape he tried to repair it with didn't work too well, so the Charter guy was finally out here on Friday.

Here are Tate and I at the local St. Pat's Day parade. It was fun, but cold. Do you see the little kid crouching in the far right? That child was ruthless when it came to scurrying for beads and candy. Poor Tate didn't have a chance! Her dad is in the striped beanie, and he was just as bad as he kept carrying her about a foot in front of the rest of the sideline crowd. The kid looked like Mr. T at Mardi Gras by the time the parade was over. We only had about 4-5 strands of beads and a few tootsie rolls :(

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Iowa Reflections

I am typing from my computer tent, which is my quilt over my head and laptop so Stinky will go to sleep. As I type, Paul is at the local Japanese Steakhouse for a rehearsal dinner of his friends, Weylon and Amber.

Exciting tidbits from today (besides the Super Target trip...)
1. Watching "Arthur"cartoon, the head lice episode.
(I'm still itching my head)

2. Eating at a catmeat, 3rd rate chinese buffet in the middle of Iowa.
(Have to admit, I was just satisfied to be able eat w/ chopsticks. Tate WOLFED down his lo mein. The kid won't eat a burger, but will scarf the lo mein.)

3. This is NOT a cute, new Kenneth Cole shoe kind of place. Should have worn some boots or something.

4. I love Paul, ok even adore him at times, but OH MY GOODNESS HOW DID WE EVER END UP MARRIED????

Back in Iowa...wheeeeeeeeee!

No offense to those of you who love this place, but for me, IOWA SUCKS. I know, I know...last time I was here I got to discover the bright spot about being here and was turning more positive. However, right now I am tired, cranky and cold.

We got in at 8pm, with Tate transforming from crack baby to screamer within moments. When he doesn't get to bed on time, it aint pretty... In fact, sometimes he tells us by putting his little hand on his ear and leaning to one side, saying "night-night" as he was the entire last 45 minutes of driving. Oh, and did I mention the DVD battery had run out by then. NOT FUN.

OK--the bright spot for today? We went to huge Super Target right near the hotel. We were able to put a gift basket together for the bride and groom (we're here for a wedding), get some new makeup and a coloring set for Stinky and had a blast. Tate loves Targe' as well, probably because we go there so often and it feels like a 2nd home.

Email me if you want: PCSchwartz@charter.net

as I am bored and working on the computer is the only thing I can do as Tate naps. Oh yea, Naps are the best....