lovey duvey all the time

My view on lovey-duvey stuff has changed throughout the years. When I was in high school and “everyone else” had a boyfriend, I got annoyed with PDA.
Then I got to college, made new friends, met a nice boy, and found PDA not quite so awful. ;)
Now that I’m happily married with two kids of my own, you couldn’t stop me from hugging and kissing on them and my sweet hubby.

Time has also taught me though that being lovey-duvey is more than just a line from a Steve Miller Band song, and it’s more than PDA.

It’s thoughtful surprises…
My husband’s favorite cookies brought home from the grocery store.
Laundry done before my hubby even runs out of workshirts or underwear.
Remembering a comment from March and turning it into a birthday present in July.
Getting all the garbage and recycle taken out before my hubby even gets home from work. (instead of just piling it by the door!)
Arby’s waiting in the car after I pick up my son from preschool.
Handmade clothes, toys and presents.

And special moments…
The “roll-over” game.
Butterfly kisses.
Songs.
After bathtime.
Dancing “the way Poppa did”.
Playing Candy Land AGAIN.
Sharing the green chair by the fire.

Hope you can find a lovey-duvey moment to celebrate today.

going fishing, finally

OK. So here we go.
I'm gonna do it.
Really I am.
Changing the settings after this post.
I'm going to turn my crazy random ramblings into an internet sensation.

Well...ahem...maybe not an internet sensation - but at least I'm going to join the ranks of NUMEROUS other crafty folks out there sharing their ideas, thoughts, projects and lives.

Let me introduce myself by letting you backtrack a little...
check out my "naming" post and my "loves" post.
and the "fishing" post.

My disclaimers before you bookmark or blog-roll me...
1. I don't take fabulous pictures.
2. I am an erratic blogger. I don't even put pictures with every post. *gasp*
3. Sometimes I'm crabby. And I'm not afraid to vent about it.

However.... I am excited to join your world.
Hi!

fishing

I saw a post about someone making fish and a fishing pole. I made about a dozen funky fabric fish with magnets inside, and will soon be making the pole. One more goody for the soon-to-be-4 yr. old. My husband's out getting a dowel for the pole part, so I decided to sit down at the computer and waste some time. Logical, I know.

And I was sitting here thinking - I do a lot of fishing.

Mind you, I HATE the idea of sticking bait on a hook and sitting there waiting for some slippery nasty-smelling thing to flop in my lap. I like the sitting by the water part, that's about it.

But I do a lot of fishing. Fishing for help, fishing for compliments, fishing for attention... Like today. I said "when you take them to Home Depot to get the dowel..." and he said "Oh, I thought I was only taking Conner." uh. NO - take them both, why don't you? Fishing fishing fishing.

I have also told my husband how sometimes I don't feel appreciated enough (I'm type A control freak first child EXTROVERT) who used to work out of the home at a job that gave me lots of pats on the back. Nature of the beast is that doesn't happen now. So, instead of just finding the inner beauty and joys of parenthood on my own, I have to ask for compliments. All the time. Fishing fishing fishing.

So, I decided to blog to get my thoughts out. But I keep them private, because who'd want to read the ramblings of a stressed-out type-a-control-freak mom who just wants to sew?!!! Then I received a 2nd shout-out today from someone suggesting that I make my blog public, or at least give them an invite so they can read it. Is it fishing if I go public? Cast out my line (or whatever the right term is) and maybe somebody will be nice enough to say... yep, been there. You think two kids is crazy, try 6. Or yeah, your hubby's schedule is crazy - mine's been deployed for a year. (did I mention sarcasm is one of my stronger traits?!)

Or maybe somebody will say... yeah we all have crazy lives... isn't it fun to be crafty... let's just try and enjoy the ride.
Maybe I'll even listen.

listen

check this out

Just a little tidbit I heard from thought-provoking wise man, Keith Olbermann.

yes!!!

Election Day has come and gone. And what a day it was! I was so proud to be able to walk into my polling place with my children and vote for the first black President of the United States. It was important to me that my children be there - that way they can say in their own little way that they helped make history.

So many bloggers don't really want to get into politics at the risk of offending one of their readers. Whatever. Right now this is a private blog anyway. ha. But even if it wasn't, I would be proud to say my thoughts about election day and all the surrounding issues. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Oh well. We're each entitled to our own opinions. There's another blogger I read who is pretty dead set on the other side of the aisle. Good for her. It's America, she's got the right to speak her mind. But she said she felt "dismayed" today. Sorry to be contradictory, but I am EXCITED!!!

Hopefully Obama's Presidency is even half of what it's cracked up to be. Some of my favorite parts of his acceptance speech...

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other...........That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow..........America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; what progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment."

And what a moment.

My thanks for today is thanks for a day filled with the promise of a momentous change, the promise of a perfected union. That and some sunshine, leaves, and 2 kids that will grow up in a better America.

an apple a day

I love sewing. I love crafty stuff. So much so that I sometimes find myself getting resentful when I don't get enough time to do them. I read on Craft Apple that she feels like the old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" applies to her crafting life. I have to agree with her on that. It surprises me to admit that, but it's true. A day without personal creative time is a frustrating day to me. A day with time to be crafty is a day of momentary calm and it usually ends in more of a peaceful state.

My stay-at-home-mom sis-in-law and I were talking recently about kids, hubbies, crafts, and finding time for it all. It's hard to do. It seems like it should be so easy, I mean- my kids DO sleep for heavens sake! When I was younger, my mom told me she would sometimes sew with me on her lap. I thought she was crazy, desperate, and putting my fingers to the test. But yet, I find myself winding bobbins with my son, trying to hem socks while passing out Halloween candy, and staying up late to write a blog and handsew a pillow shut. Most surprisingly of all, I have sewn with my son on my lap. He knows the start/stop button on my embroidery machine. Who'd have guessed???!

Time to go take a bite out of my daily apple. Muncha muncha muncha.

costumes

So I finished my daughter's Halloween costume today. Much more effort than I originally planned, but so it goes. Now the "bloomin' garden" is done (except for a tag on the back). It took me way longer because I decided to follow the pattern (!!!!) and put in a lining. That meant more fabric, more cutting, more piecing and a little ripping out of what I'd already done.
All done while my other family members were going crazy. My son wouldn't nap, my husband wanted to work on our driveway (mudpit!) and my daughter wouldn't eat.
Who's idea was it to make this silly thing? oh yeah, mine.
Who would have noticed or cared if my daughter's first Halloween costume was storebought? Probably only me. (OK - maybe my mom and one friend who knows I can sew and would comment about it.)
Why do I put myself through this? Just to be counter-cultural and not buy it off a rack? Maybe a little. But ultimately, I find joy in creating something. Having a vision in my mind and being able to make it happen.

I may have a vision of married life, parental life, my body, my house, my car... but those are often too hard, time-consuming, or expensive to bring to fruition. But sewing...that's something I can do. usually. Maybe even in the course of one crazy afternoon! It might mean ripping out some threads, but I can make it happen. And what a victory it is. I am so proud that what I envisioned has been accomplished. Hooray for me!

what kind of thread would you be?

My son was helping me wind bobbin thread this morning. He was having so much fun lining up the empty bobbins, pressing the start button, feeling it "tickle" his fingers, and then putting them in my case when they were done. Such a simple easy task and yet so vital to my future sewing projects. We finished off a spool of thread and that empty spool became a new toy. What a fun way to spend my daughter's morning naptime.
It got me to thinking about thread again. Always weaving itself in and out of my life...

I found this website and I was kind of having fun looking at all the different kinds of thread under the microscope. It made me wish I had my own microscope to check out my stash.
What kind of thread would you be? Would you be a sturdy all-purpose white? Rayon embroidery thread? Glow-in-the-dark? Are you a shimmery metallic ready to snap if the tension gets off? Would you be bobbin thread? Stuck in the bottom, wound tightly? But SO important to the final project? Or are you the bargain basket thread, fraying, splitting, and coming apart? But gosh darn it, getting the job done on a budget.

I see my son as a variegated multi-colored thread. There is so much color brilliance and to him! And he is ALWAYS changing. My daughter is still revealing herself to me. I would call her a bright pink embroidery thread. Gorgeous, eye-catching, and "the icing on the cake".
As for myself...today I feel like a nice solid blue all-purpose thread. I got the job done, no fuss or flair, but in my favorite color.

Somedays I feel like a bobbin. Somedays I'm a twisted variegated rayon embroidery thread. Every once in a while I'm that shimmering metallic. Either way I'm trying to weave myself into something special.

why be the thread...

I used to teach and my login was bethteaches. Then I changed internet providers and became a librarian. So I decided to be bethreads. Beth Reads. That has proven to be a discussion point time and time again. When I give my email address over the phone I have to clarify that no my maiden name was not Reeves. I have to explain that I USED to read lots of books - books I could discuss with adults - but now I just read books titled "I Stink", "My Truck is Stuck" and anything starting with "The Very..."
Then a new friend who didn't know I was a librarian in my pre-children-life said, Be Threads? Is that because you like to sew?

And I started thinking how I sometimes feel like I'm hanging by a thread.

So... be the thread. The thread that holds my family together. Sometimes, the communicator between my brother and parents. The one who's "always around" for the kids since my husband works outside the home (in a couple different jobs).

And also how I want to be a thread sometimes - woven into something beautiful, strong, and creative.

hanging by a thread

so. here I am. hanging on by a thread.

Life sometimes seems too overwhelming. Between the impending doom of nuclear holocaust, environmental disasters, and economic crisis, it's hard to find a positive future. Then I wake up the next morning and greet my children.
A 6 month old girl and a 3-1/2 year old boy with an ACTIVE imagination give me a lot to look forward to. Between starting her on rice cereal, sitting her UP to play, and increased waking hours and interest in the world around her, my dear little girl is not nearly the baby she used to be. Then there's my little boy - no longer a toddler, but truly a boy. He is starting preschool, gaining independence (grabbing it by the horns?!) and continually imagining up new adventures that can only be faced with his fire boots pulled on and doggie in hand.
Then my husband comes home from work and I am greeted with a man so in love with me, and so in love with our children. He finds a way to make my evening a little less stressful - a quick run around the block with the kids, a spoon to the food on the stove, whatever it takes.

So, why am I hanging by a thread?! Expectations that are too high. I don't consider myself a perfectionist, but yet here I am - trying to be "that mom", yet buying premade brownie mix. Trying to be "that wife" but hiring a cleaning lady. And trying to be "that business owner" but being terrified of the paperwork and having a product that isn't what my customers want.

Join me on the ride.