I'm baaaaack!

So this post is just to say "I'm baaaaack!"  LOL.  It's been 2 years since I've posted and that's because the last 2 years have been INSANE!  Actually all I need to say is that in November 2012 we bought a restaurant, and in November 2014 we sold that restaurant.  LOL.  You can imagine the chaos over here when you add in four little boys.  For those of you who don't know, we had twin boys in December 2011.  So we now have four boys, ages 3 (twins), 5, and 7.

My life is still pure chaos, but the insanity has disappeared (mostly).  My focus is once again on being a mom and enjoying my kids!  I still have many faults, and I try everyday to be a better mom than I was the day before. That's the one thing I can say, I try really hard to be a good mom. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.  But I try.  If I had to pick just one thing that would make me a better mom, it would be patience.  As in, I don't have any!  LOL.  OK, well maybe I have a little, but I certainly I don't have enough for four boys.  I'm working on it!

Well, that's it.  This really is a post about nothing.  I just felt the need to let you know I have returned.  See you soon!

Blown Away...Literally!

So this is going to be a totally random blog post. Today I realized
that I could barely hear calls on my iPhone 4s.  I actually had this
problem yesterday, but I assumed it was an isolated incident specific
to only that phone call.  When I had the problem again today, I knew
something was wrong with my phone. So I got on Google and did a search
on "iPhone call volume low". I read many posts suggesting a series of
steps that would (sort-of) remedy this problem. Most of these remedies
involved changing the ringer and call volume in a specific order.  I
tried all of these, but none of them worked. I had nearly resigned
myself to taking my phone to the Apple store. In fact, it was only the
realization that I have no repair plan that led me to continue reading
online in the hopes of finding a solution to my problem. I was on my
fourth page of "solutions" (none of which had worked) when I came
across a radical suggestion. This person had gotten an air canister
and simply blew air into the speaker. I looked at the speaker and
there was no evidence of anything blocking the speaker, but I thought
"why not give it a try; you've got nothing to lose." Of course I
didn't have an air canister, so I put my lips to the speaker and blew
hard. I then called my cell phone from my house phone, and lo and
behold, I could hear.  So, to anyone out there that is having the same
problem, please try simply blowing.  You never know, it might just
work.

Original Works of Art by My Little Artists

I decided to frame an original work of art by each of my little artists.  My plan is to change the displayed artwork periodically, as they bring home several new pieces each week.  However, since their pieces vary in size it would be hard to use a traditional frame with a matte.  So I opted for a floating frame which eliminated the need for one.

I decided that just framing the artwork wasn't the best way to display it.  Instead I trimmed around the artwork to make it pop in the frame.  I was hesitant to trim my kids artwork as it seemed wrong to modify it in any way.  But I quickly got over it once I saw how nice the artwork looked with the excess blank canvas removed.

So here it is...

Raymond's Artwork

Raymond's artwork is actually 3 pieces formed into a collage.  The two leaves were one piece of art, and the shapes are from 2 other pieces of art.

Ryan's Artwork

Ryan's artwork was actually much larger than would fit into the frame.  I cut out the main section of the artwork and framed just that instead.

The artwork looks great in their room and the boys were so proud to see their work on display.  Here are some pictures of their room.

One other thing I want to include a picture of is a shadowbox I hung which includes the birth announcements for Raymond and Ryan plus their footprints.  I scanned in their footprints from the hospital and printed it to scale with a coordinating border around it.  I covered the back of the shadowbox with a white-on-white striped wrapping paper to coordinate with the stripe themed room.

Ahoy There Matey!

Lately it seems that every kids TV show has an episode or two or twenty about PIRATES! So it came as no surprise to me that Raymond (4 years old) wanted to be a pirate for Halloween this year. And of course Ryan (2 years old) decided he wanted to be a pirate too.

I had already decided I wouldn't be making costumes this year since I would be 7 1/2 months pregnant with twins at Halloween with little time and even less energy. So I scoured the internet for pirate costumes. Unfortunately, what I found was a little too flimsy for the cost...especially given that it is usually quite cool at Halloween and a flimsy outfit almost always gets covered up by a jacket. So...I decided to make their costumes.

These were the easiest, no sew costumes ever. But my kids loved them! Here's what I needed for each child:

- Sweatshirt (two sizes too big)
- Sweatpants
- Long sleeved white shirt
- Sash
- Rain boots
- Pirate accessories (such as a bandana, eye patch, sword, etc.)

I had white shirts, rain boots, and bandanas in my house. I bought the sweatshirts and sweatpants at Walmart for $3 each. I bought the sashes and a pack of eye patches on Amazon.com for $5 and $4 respectively. Then it was time for the "alterations."

My mom was visiting at the time, so the two of us knocked this out together in no time. She cut the sleeves and neck out of each sweatshirt creating a vest to wear over the white shirts. I cut the bottoms of the sweatpants at mid calf with jagged edges. Then I cut each sweatshirt straight up the middle. Voila! We were done.

Here's a picture of my little pirates getting ready for our neighborhood Halloween Gathering.

I'm a Good Mom

You will have days when others make you feel like a bad mom. Look at the happy, smiling, laughing faces of your children and rest assured that you are not.

Yes, it's been a bad week!

Dreft Powder - A Great Stain Remover

My mother discovered something wonderful. Powdered Dreft is an amazing stain remover. I'm not kidding...the stuff is incredible. Raymond is in preschool and constantly comes home with his shirt covered in paint (and yes, they do wear smocks). Well one day Raymond came home with green paint all over his (fortunately?) all white t-shirt. I hand washed the shirt in regular detergent (we use ALL Free & Clear), then soaked it overnight in a very strong bleach and water mixture. I rinsed the shirt, but could tell before I rinsed it that the stains had only faded slightly. So after rinsing I spot bleached the stains and rinsed again. The stains faded a bit more, but not much. I continued spot bleaching and rinsing the stains four more times before deciding that the stains were there to stay. I accepted that the shirt was ruined, and was glad it was just a plain white t-shirt...after all, what could be easier to replace.

A few days later Raymond came home with the same green paint all over his mostly-but-not-all white shirt. "Great...another ruined shirt," I thought! This time I tried something my mom had done when we were visiting NY. I rinsed the stain in hot water with a pinch of hand soap just to get out whatever part of the stain was not set in already. Then I laid the wet shirt out on the counter and heavily sprinkled Dreft powder onto each of the stains. I then drizzled a pinch of water over the Dreft powder to turn it into a paste, and let the shirt sit overnight. In the morning I rinsed the shirt in the washing machine and found, to my surprise, the stains were completely gone!!!

Since this revelation, I've used Dreft on many stains and it has completely removed all but one. The one stain it didn't completely remove was a blood stain that sat in a white shirt overnight before I remembered it. The stain was so faded I really don't think I would have noticed it if I didn't remember exactly where it was.

So there you have it. Dreft powder is a great stain remover. I'm sure there are other incredible stain removers out there, but I like that this one is made for babies clothing.

Thomas and Toby Were a Hit

This will be a quick post since I am watching the Steelers-Saints game with my sweetie on his birthday. Yesterday, Raymond and Ryan wore their Thomas and Toby costumes for the first time. We attended our neighborhood Halloween Party which was fabulous. Both costumes were a hit and Raymond won Best Costume and a $15 Target Gift Card.

Tonight we went Trick-or-Treating. We received many compliments on the kids' costumes. At some point Raymond decided he wanted to be Toby, so the kids switched costumes. Since Ryan was being pulled in a big wagon, we took Thomas' wheels and straps off and set Thomas over him inside the wagon. He loved it!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!