Haw-wee??

My child said that all day yesterday day...to me. I was pretty sure I knew what she was saying, but I didn't want to admit it. So last night my mother, who is staying with us while Brian is out of town, was playing with her and my beautiful daughter turns to me and says, "Haw-wee!" My mother yelled...she just said your name. NO!!!! My name is MOMMY. Not Hollye!!! I keep telling myself she is trying to say Halloween because I've been asking her what she wants to be for Halloween and telling her about all the stuff we are doing for Halloween.

$317.50

That what my inital investment into cloth diapering has cost me. That covers 12 Fuzzi Bunz Diapers, 12 Joey Bunz inserts, one Imse Vimse Nighttime diaper cover, 6 prefolded diapers, a diaper pail liner, some rice paper, and 2 wet bags. We will see how we can get by on just these for awhile. I am going to have to break down tomorrow and fork out $45 for Miss K some shoes. She is a walking machine now. Does not want to ride in the stroller at all. She has gotten a taste of the walking and that is all she wants to do!

Miss K's meemee wanted to babysit today since she hasn't got to see much of her lately, so I went and took a class from Renee Camacho. Loved both of the layouts, but the "Charm" one was by far my favorite. I just need to slap Miss K's photo on there, journal and it will be done. I'll post it as soon as I get a chance.

I wasn't able to make it to my Happy Place today to do Amber's Make & Take. I am really bummed, but my wallet isn't!

So, I went to pick up Miss K's Halloween costume from the Children's Place. I was thinking that she was going to be a duck. Then I happened into the Disney Store and I came across the Heffalump and I couldn't resist! I bought both of them. Which one do you think she should be? Well pooh....I can't find the Heffalump online. I'll have to do some more research or just put her in it and snap a photo!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

***ETA*** I just spent $47.00 on detergent for the diapers. They recommend that you use Allen's Naturally to prevent build up in the diapers.

YEAH!!!!

So, Brian and I were sitting in the living room watching TV with the lights off letting Miss K wind down to get ready for bed. I look up and my child just walks pass me. You saw that right...WALKS. It was AWESOME! And she did it over and over and over again. She laughed about it. She seems to walk better when she is holding her stuff elephant in her hand.

MY BABY IS WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My heart is heavy

The past couple of days have been sort of unhappy for me. I have always thought of myself as a pretty nice and friendly person. I am a people person and love to surround myself with lots of friends. Lately I've felt shut out by a few people and I don't understand why. I've searched my mind, my heart and my soul to figure out what happened. I've shed quite a few tears in the past two days. Maybe I have failed somewhere in being a friend?

I just need to put my "big girl panties" on and get over it I guess. Can anyone say, "Pity Party for One"?

BTW....that whole list thing lasted one day. I've got to come up with a different plan. I would like to do Flylady, but I don't think I can keep up with it.

Spaghetti Monster

She LOVES spaghetti!

Two Words....CLOTH DIAPERS!

Yep...that's right. The dermatologist says that he is 99.9% sure that Miss K is allergic to disposable diapers. Oh Lord...help me! I've spent about the past 5 hours researching and I am just as confused as I was BEFORE I started reading about them. I call my wonderful mommy/scrapbooking friend Sherri this evening to see if she knew of a service or anything like that. She didn't, but she pointed me to the wonderful blog of Traci Turchin. Traci is a CDing mommy how seems to be a wealth of information. I emailed her earlier this evening and she was wonderful and offered to answer any questions that I have.

Okay...it is SUPER late and I need to get some sleep. I will try and blog later this weekend and actually post a photo! I am going to my happy place on Saturday for an all day crop, so I hope to get a couple of things completed. We shall see!

Nothing much....

So, I made the list of 5 things. I did manage a home cooked meal. I cleaned Miss K's room. I changed all the linens on the beds. I ran the dishwasher once, but messed the kitchen up when I was cooking...Brian cleaned the kitchen after Miss K went to bed. Those dang ferns didn't get repotted. In all fairness, it was pouring like crazy here yesterday.

I had planned to do all my errands today since Miss K and I were going to be out for a playdate. We ended up staying longer than I had originally planned, so by the time we left, we came straight home because she was beat. She went down for a nap and when she woke up, she screamed for 45 minutes straight. I can't tell if it the rash coming back, an ear infection or her teeth. I called Brian and told him to get his booty home because I was not feeling well and now I was dealing with a screaming child. 5 minutes before he got home, she stopped crying and was playing with her toys. WHAT?

Okay...I didn't make a list for tomorrow and I'm not going to. I am too tired and I have to go to bed before I drop.

And to my friend Jill....I will be praying for you and Miss Mattie tomorrow. I hope that the delivery goes smoothly and easy for you. I hope to see you soon!

Chicken Pot Pie, Banana Pudding and my list

Well, I've been saying for months now that I was going to really get some DEEP cleaning done on the house. I made this 'to do' list and it got WAY out of control. So, last night (or this morning since it was 2am when I decided this) I decided to toss out my current to do list and start over. I limit myself to FIVE things that must be done today. Here is my list...

1. Get the floor picked up in Miss K's room. (If you read yesterday, I have been working on getting her ready for the fall and that involves cleaning out her chest and her closet. That left a HUGE mess on the floor. I am not an organizer by ANY means!)

2. Change and wash linens on all beds.

3. A clean kitchen.

4. Re-pott front porch ferns.

5. Make a homecooked meal. (chicken pot pie!)

I know those sound easy, but if I put 20 items on my list...nothing gets done. I'll start one project and then get sidetracked and start on another. Before you know it, it is 6 pm and I am trying to decide what to make for dinner! Tomorrow's list will consist of errands since Miss K has a playdate at the mall. We might even end up with a Halloween costume while we are out tomorrow. I will post tomorrow and let you know if I got my 5 items on my list completed!

Here are the recipes for the stuff I made last night. We are actually having our pot pie tonight. My friend Stacy said that pot pie was great, so I am hoping that Miss K will eat this!

CHICKEN (or TURKEY) POT PIE
Filling: 1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 ½ - 3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 package Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts (If you are going to make this for someone and take it to them, I suggest that you get the crusts that are in the pans already. You can invert one of them onto a cookie sheet and then use it to cover the pie. That way you don't have to worry about getting your pie pan back.)

1. Heat oven to 425F. Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for two-crust pie using 9” pie pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk; cook, stirring constantly until bubbly and thickened.
3. Add chicken and mixed vegetables; remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust and flute; cut slits in several places.
4. Bake at 425F for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 6
(I cook a couple of whole chickens every couple of weeks. Then I debone and freeze the cooked chicken. That way I always have cooked chicken on hand. Sometimes I will freeze the broth, but I have limited freezer space, so I haven't lately.)


Hollye's Aunt Nancy's Banana Pudding

Ingreidents:
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub of extra cream cool whip topping
4 bananas - sliced
vanilla wafers

Combine pudding mix, milk and condensed milk. Mix with hand mixer. Slowly fold in cool whip.

In large bowl, layer the bottom with the wafers, then banana slices, then pour pudding in. Keep layering until you are done. Top the pudding mixture with crushed wafers. Chill for at least 1 hour before chilling. **This is the best banana pudding recipe I have ever tasted. It is easy to make and it turns out great. I've been asked the the recipe everytime I take this dish to a function.

Okay...I must go feed my child and work on the kitchen while we are hanging out downstairs.

Getting ready for fall...

Yes, you heard that right. Even though is has been wicked hot, I 've been working on getting stuff ready for fall. Fall is my favorite time of year. And right now it is consignment sale season. Miss K is pretty much ready for fall. Between everything I bought for her at the end of the season last year, what she has received as gifts, what has been handed down to her and what I've gotten at consignment sales, she is set. All I really need is shoes and socks. Shoes are going to be a battle because she will scream until she manages to get them off her feet. I bought her a pair of Nike Shox and I left them on the floor and let her play with them. I caught her earlier trying to put her foot into one. I am hoping that by letting her play with them she will be more open to having them on her feet.

So, today I've been washing clothes and putting them in the bottom drawer of her chest. I am pulling out her old fall stuff and getting it ready to either go to a consignment sale, our community yard sale or donating. I am sorting toys and moving some stuff to her room for her to play with in there. I am also changing batteries in some of the toys. They are starting to sound a little "watery".

Well, I just laid Miss K down for a nap. I've got chicken to finish. I am making homemade pot pie for dinner. I am actually making two of them. My friend Stacy that I mentioned who is having twins has been on bed rest this past week. She told me the other night that she has pretty much been eating soup and nothing else. I don't think her hubby knows how to cook. So, I am making her dinner. I made homemade banana pudding last night and split that so that they will also have dessert. Guess I better get cooking!

Hope that you are enjoying your weekend.

Future Bag Lady?

So, Miss K has a cart that she pushes all over the house. And she picks up stuff that she find on the floor along the way. As I type this, the cart has the following items in it:

*3 dog toys
*DVD case
*memory card case
*Little People Tiger
*2 large plastic coins
*Glo Worm
*head band
*dog nail clippers
*1 piece of play mail
*1 Old Navy hanger
*teething toy
*cup
*Baby Einstein birthday balloon tied to the handle of the cart

Every couple of minutes or so, she will stop the cart and take things out of it. Throw them on the floor and then pick up some of the stuff, put it back in the cart on go about her merry way. Then when she passes by the pile of stuff on her way back, she will pick it up and add it to the cart. This goes on for awhile. It is so fun to watch. She likes to make piles. It can be anything...hangers, clothes. toys...whatever!

My child is freaking me out

Okay...when she learned to crawl up the stairs, I was scared to death. I mean, she did it like a day after she started crawling. I looked up and she was already half way up the stairs. Now, she had taught herself to crawl down the stairs. She will only do it on the 'two stair' case that we have. I won't let her get near the big stair case anymore. But now she has taught herself how to get out of our bed. She will throw her stuff animals on the floor, turn around and then slide to the floor on her belly. As long as she does it on the side of the bed, that's fine. But if she moves to the end of the bed, that could be dangerous. The foot board could possibly trip her on her way down. She is FEARLESS! And it totally freaks me out because I am the biggest chicken in the world. Speaking of chickens...I think Miss K might be a chicken for Halloween. I found the cutest outfit at BRU yesterday.

Okay...here is a photo of my fearless child going down the stairs...backwards.

No big news...

Just to clarify...my mother in law is really wonderful. I love her like she was my own mother. She didn't do or say anything to me. She asked an innocent question, but when I went to answer it, I saw something ugly in myself. No bad mother in law!

I am still SICK, SICK, SICK. I promised Brian that if I wasn't better tomorrow that I would go to the walk-in clinic. I hate being sick. At least Miss K is all better, or so it seems. Going to be a busy week next week, so I hope that I am all better by then.

And, a couple of ladies in the neighborhood are having a yard sale next Saturday, so I have decided to join in. In addition to some household items, I am going to be selling some scrapbook supplies. TONS of Stampin' Up! stamps, monthly kit clubs that I bought, but never got around to using and just about everything else under the sun that you would possibly need to scrapbook!

Oh...if any of you know of anyone in the Franklin area that babysits, please email me. I am looking for someone to watch Miss K one Monday a week from 8:30am - 11:30am for about 8 weeks. I want to take a quilt class and it is in the morning, so I really need a sitter.

Okay...off to eat dinner, put Miss K to bed and finish reading my book for my Monday night book club meeting.

Less is more....

I've got to keep telling myself that because I made a decision tonight. Tomorrow starts the REAL purging. My life and my house have gotten out of control. I am not just purging stuff, I am also purging some "problems" I haven't been able to let go of. I realized about a week ago, I didn't like myself very much. Didn't like the person I was becoming. It got put right in my face this past weekend by my wonderful mother in law. I don't think she even realized that she did it. But there is was...right there in my face and I was shocked at what I saw. I hope to purge my house, my mind and my soul over the next couple of weeks.

Okay....update on Miss K and her visit to Vandy. Okay, first of all...have we descended into the depths of Hades and I missed the memo? Geesh! It was wicked hot. I thought for sure that we were going to have to wait quite awhile since it was the "clinic". The minute the lady checking me in saw "friend of Dr. Robb" on the chart, they were super nice to me and Miss K. I waited...5 minutes for my appointment! FIVE MINUTES. That was like a record. Last time we were at Vandy we had the first appointment of the day and they were 30 minutes late. So, they looked at the MANY tubes of meds that I brought in. 7 different tubes and tubs of stuff that we have been given. That didn't even include any liquid meds that she took orally. They gave me another tube bringing the total to 8. Since the rash was not "active" at the moment, they told me to try this out and if it flarred back up, call them and they would work me in THAT day. She screamed like someone was killing her when we took her diaper off. They even sent a nurse in to help me because she was freaking out so bad. Now...we are in the 'wait and see' mode. Say a prayer that this rash goes away and my little firecracker will be itch free!

Did you say August 4th?

I've got a list (in my head) a mile long of stuff I need to do. Miss K is going to see a specialist tomorrow about a skin rash she has been battling since February. Dr. Hottie finally said that he has no idea what else to try, so it is off to a dermatologist. So, I call the one that they told me to call. I tell them everything and she gives me my appointment. Mind you...we have been dealing with this rash in her diaper area for almost 6 months and it is still on going. Anyway, I was pretty sure that I misunderstood her. Nope...OCTOBER 4th! Hello? Are you crazy? My child will have clawed herself raw by then! Thank God that I have a friend whose husband is a dermatology resident at Vandy and he just happens to work in this VERY office two days a week. Miss K will be seen tomorrow at 1:15pm by the head of the dermatology department at Vandy. I owe my friend and her husband. BIG TIME.

Okay...got to get going. Don't know if Brian will be working all day tomorrow or not because TVA pulled power from the plant this morning at 10am. Don't know when they are going to start back up. So he went golfing with his boss. The thought of a power outage freaks me out. My friend said that she has lived here for 25 years and it has never happen before. But I think we are dealing with a whole different situation. 105 degrees in North Dakota? Those people don't have air conditioning. They don't needed it 11 months out of the year.

I thought I would leave you with another photo of Miss K and her cake. In this one you can actually see the "cake". Okay...I'll put two photos up. One of the cake 'pre Miss K' and one 'post Miss K". Enjoy!

Before Miss K........

After Miss K.....