Smart Kitty!

Gemma has the right idea.  On a cold and damp day, cuddle up in a nice warm blanket. :)

Fitting in Some Frugal Doings

I cut my dryer sheets in half because they still do the job and I find that the towels will absorb water better when you use less fabric softener.

Recycled some old sheets to use as drop cloths for painting projects and for rags.

 

 

 

 

 

Made some garlic croutons with leftover homemade bread.

Used up the rest of the deli rotisserie chicken to make a casserole and some homemade chicken and cheese ravioli soup.

Made some more delicious sourdough bread in the breadmaker.

Baked some peanut butter cookies and then proceeded to eat way too many of them. ;)

Mixed up 4 batches of laundry detergent.

Recipe for laundry detergent: For a single batch mix 1/2 cup Borax, 1/2 cup Washing Soda and 1 cup finely grated bar soap (Zote or Bar Keepers Friend work well but you can use Ivory or any other bar soap also).  Use 1 tablespoon for regular loads and 2 for heavily soiled loads.

It Was One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days when you woke up excited and thinking it was going to be a good day only to have one bad or disappointing thing after another happen?  Today was such a day for me.  I experienced heartache for people going through really tough times in their lives through no fault of their own.  I saw children being hurt by unkind remarks from other children.  I experienced, first hand, a verbal attack of a very miserable individual who can't seem to be able to stand to see anyone around them happy so they set out to make everyone around them as miserable as they are. 

All this left me tired, frustrated and very sad.  I don't understand why people, young or old, are so mean to each other.  It really makes me angry to see innocent people hurting due to the bad choices of others.  It saddens me to know that there are people in this world that seem to enjoy inflicting pain on others.  It makes me so tired and all I want to do is retreat for awhile and hold my precious grandson in my arms so that I am reminded of all that is pure and good in the world once more.

Tomorrow is a new day and I pray that I will once again wake up full of hope and that it will prove to be a much better day than today was.

Bradley's Second Sleep Over At Grammie and G-pa's

Bradley came for his second sleep over at Grammie and G-pa's this weekend.  We met Chris and Heather on Saturday morning in a little town that is half way between both our places.  While they took off to go hiking with friends, Jeff, Bradley and I went to a little bakery and shared a huge cinnamon roll for breakfast before heading into the big town to do some shopping.  

We got our essential shopping done, went to some thrift stores, where Bradley had a great time pushing the shopping cart all over and then met Chris and Heather for lunch. They headed out to their home and we took Bradley home with us.  Bradley played for awhile, had a great time rocking in his new rocking chair and then cuddled up and fell asleep in Grammie's arms for a late afternoon nap.  After dinner, Bradley played again, watched "The Wiggles" and danced and sang with them. :)  He then watched part of "Bunny Picnic" before heading to bed.

We were so proud of him, he only woke up once during the night, had a bottle, got a change of diaper and was back down without crying in about 20 minutes time.   He then slept until 7 a.m..  After breakfast, more play time and a nice warm bath, we took him home to his Mommy and Daddy.  He was so tickled to see them and kept going back and forth between them smiling, talking and giggling. :)  I would say it was a very successful second sleep over.

Hey, I see you got that camera out again Grammie.

My feet don't reach the ground.

Rocking it!

Blinded again by the flash on Grammie's camera!

Hey, this helicopter talks!

G-pa, it plays music too!

I got tired and snuggled up with Grammie and fell asleep.

This ball is huge!

Rolling the ball all over the house is lots of fun. :)

He Got Me Bubble Wrap Because He Loves Me!

It has been a very busy month for me with lots and lots of subbing at the school.  I've been filling in for people for longer periods of time and will be continuing to do so for at least another few weeks.  Doing this is great for the bank account but it leaves my husband and I much less time together since I work days and he works nights.  It also makes for less time to get all the things done that need to be done around the house and that makes things a bit stressful at times.

Valentine's Day is not one that we usually go all out for.  This year, I actually planned ahead and got my husband some Bose earbuds for his ipod.  He absolutely loves them!  I gave them to him when they arrived, about a week before Valentine's Day.  Yesterday, I gave him a card and some of his favorite snack cakes.  I wanted him to still get something on the actual Valentine's Day. :)

My husband, being the wonderful and thoughtful man that he is, gave me a very funny card, some new oven mitts and hot pads with Snicker's candy bars in them and a whole roll of Bubble Wrap. ;)  Now some may question his choice of gifts for me but I loved them!  I had been saying for some time now that I really wanted and needed new oven mitts and hot pads because mine were old and the mitts had shrunk in the dryer and were very worn in places.  This had been making for burned fingers and hands in the kitchen.  Since I do a lot of cooking and baking, good tools in the kitchen are essential for me.  The Snickers bars are my favorite candy and I actually prefer getting them to flowers! ;)  Now for the Bubble Wrap...  I am known as the Bubble Wrap Queen by some of my close friends and family.  I am nuts about the stuff!  There is just something so satisfying about popping those little air filled bubbles that brings me such great joy.  It is a great stress reliever and for whatever reason, it bring this childlike delight out in me.  I will horde the stuff!  Parting with it to actually wrap delicate things for shipping is painful and seems like such a waste when it could be used for it's REAL purpose...to play with!  I have always said the perfect gift for me would be a whole roll of bubble wrap that I did not have to share with anyone else.  So that is what my husband, knowing my affection for the stuff, got me!  He gets me and all my quirks and he really listened to me.  So yes, the man got me Bubble Wrap because he loves me!  Oh I love that man of mine!

Bradley is 11 Months Old

Our Bradley turned 11 months old on the 8th. :)  I can't believe that he will be 1 year old in less than a month.  I really did mean to get a new picture and post it but I was just having too much fun with him this weekend to grab the camera.  We were blessed to be able to spend the weekend with our kids that still live near us and Bradley.  Bradley will also be spending the night again this coming weekend and I can't wait!  Jeff and I are loving these sleepovers with our grandson.

My Superb*wl Sunday Treasures

Jaysn sneaking up on Bradley.

Chris and Heather watching the game while Bradley tries to get loose and Jaysn making bets as how long it will take him to do so. ;)

Chris looking oh so intelligent while holding his son Bradley upside down. :)

Chris with Bradley practicing his smoldering eyes look.

Bradley sees that the 49er's are making a comeback in the second half!

Upside down baby!

G-pa being goofy with Bradley. :)

Bradley determined to catch G-pa's tongue that he has just stuck out at him! :D

Totally worn out baby boy having a hard time keeping his eyes open after all the excitement.