Our Nursery

My favorite room in our house is the nursery. When we first moved in, it was #2's before she and her sister wanted to be roomies. Then I turned it into a sewing room...my very own space where my creativity could be unleashed...that was short lived, because #3 was on the way. So in came the changing table - out went my sewing machine, in went the crib - you get the picture.

The room is sort of upside down L shaped, with sage green carpet, butter yellow walls and white trim. The little bed is one of a set from my Great Grandpa's house...I love those beds, I don't know if we'll be able to fit a regular twin bed in there, so #3 may have to sleep on it when she relinquishes the crib to her baby sister. Yes, I know, I know, a baby making machine, don't worry, the machine is down for maintenance for a year or so...

I love this print, it's mounted on a board covered in my mom's old horticulture lessons

#3 has to have her pettiskirt and flower girl dress within reach at all times

The quilt I got at a yard sale for 3 bucks, it's all hand sewn and beautiful.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think that picture was from the same sale...

A growth chart where I can measure my rapidly sprouting flock, and #3's favorite stuffed strawberry she likes to lay on when I read her stories.

Fried Green Tomatoes

My sweet little brother has grown into quite a hard working, responsible family man. He has a cute little wife he's been in love with since he was like 12 years old and they are expecting their first baby in a couple of months. He's fixing up a little farm house for them to live forever in, and works the family business. (He's not all that perfect though, he is my brother, I lived with him for 25 years and know what he smells like, sounds like, and looks like after he's slept for 15 hours.)

But let me tell you something. Something you should definitely know before ever crossing his path.

Don't mess with his Tomatoes. period.

Last night I called to tease him. I told him I picked a couple of nice big, green tomatoes from his garden to slice up and fry. He spoke back to me using extremely foul language. He threatened to mow my garden down if I dared pick any of his green tomatoes.

He doesn't like to eat the green tomatoes, he hates them...and the fact that I pick them before their big red juicy prime just infuriates him.

Luckily I have my own garden with 16 thriving tomato plants heavy with sour green fruits just waiting to be picked.

Yum.

Little girls and their little dolls

I found these little wooden pegs and little paper mache box/house, to make this little play set for little Daisy,

And for the big girls, a little bunk bed for their American Girl Dolls. They were dreaming over the catalog, as they do every month, and saw bunk beds at a lovely $185. I remembered I had these doll beds from when I was little, so we painted them, and made mattresses, pillows and bolsters, aren't the cute?

Vintage hankies as covers...

And this little house is for me, but I'm thinking about putting it in my etsy shop

my last foxglove

The Dealings With General Uncleanliness

Lord knows I try, really I do. I threaten, I scream, I plead, I beg, I demand, I reason, I order, I compromise, I donate.

Our house is being overrun buy children's playthings.

I would like to have just one room, just one free and clear of toys. I clean my room and find Cinderella books & stuffed Zebras. The bathroom has play jewelry, baby dolls & blue nail polish on the tub. Don't even get me started on the kitchen ~ whatever they have in their little hands while coming in to ask me an important question gets deposited on the floor or kitchen table or counter.

So, I sat them down, and discussed the correlation between Mommy's ultimate breakdown and small pink objects underfoot. They promised to keep their things in their rooms or playroom. Amazingly enough, it's working, yet I'm looking at the living room and having a hard time seeing the rug for the sake of lots of "things".

"Girls, take your toys to your playroom."
"But we don't have any toys in here, Mama"

I look closer. A cereal box, a saucepan, a pencil, 2 bed pillows, knee socks, my purse - gutted open and deader than a doornail - contents splattered over a 5 foot radius, a hanger, a box of tissues, an Easter shoe, a burp cloth, a blankie, the coasters, an grocery bag, some goldfish crackers, a wooden spoon. These indeed are not toys.

I put my head in my hands, sigh, and dream of the day I won't have to step over a baby gate into a room or tiptoe, or trip over everything we own.

Then I tell myself what a sad & quiet day it would be to not have children in this house. Because I love turning back my covers to find Barbie dressed in her best clothes left for me by Liv. The nail polish on the tub (the TV, the floor, the table) reminds me how girlie and sweet they are and grown up they want to be. I can't say I love finding a rotten half eaten banana under the couch, but little Daisy loves banana's and I love little Daisy. Maddies bits of paper she's cut up to create a bingo game or a scavenger hunt - soon she will be a teenager and barricade herself in her bedroom, and will never want to play with me.

I'm not going to stop cleaning up after the little messmakers, but it's not the end of the world, and this house will never look more perfect, because it's full of the things I love the most.

The sky that day

One day last week the sky over our little patch of earch

looked like this:

(That's the top of our humble abode)

There were no other clouds in the sky except for this wide strip stretching across from east to west.

Earth Science Lesson of the Day:

It was breathtaking.

The sun was shining so brightly because there wasn't any more clouds around to block it's view.

The weird part was, it was making the dog do this:

And this:

He was herding us all together at top speed, I could barely snap his picture.

On top of that, another dagone chicken escaped.

I just let him be, Mountaineer however tried to eat it's butt off a couple of times. But don't you fret, little Miss Henny Penny is safe and sound and producing eggs in her little chicken condo like there's no tommorow.

Southern Hot Rolls

Hot. Buttery. Chewy. Perfect.

2 heaping Tbsp. yeast

1/2 c. warm water

2 c. warm water

1/2 c. instant potatoes

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. salt

1 egg

7-8 c. flour

Use the biggest bowl you have and mix the dough with your clean hands. Mix yeast and 1/2 cup warm water until dissolved. Add 2 cups warm water, instant potatoes, sugar, oil, egg and salt. Mix well with one hand. Knead in enough flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rise;

punch down and let rise again,

then make into little balls and put 3 into a greased muffin pan. Let rise and bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Take out and butter tops.

I milked a cow yesterday.

This weekend the girls and I went along with Danny to West Virginia. While driving, we're always on pins and needles waiting to see who will puke first. You never now who it will be, or what mile out. Could be 50 miles, could be 249. Could be the baby, could be Maddie, could be a chain reaction, usually ending with Mama. This time it was Daisy, at around 175 miles, 10:30 p.m. Silly me, I forgot to bring garbage bags, usually #1 in our traveling with kids kit. Garbage bags, paper towels, wipes, bucket, clorox spray, lysol, water.... So we had to leave her clothes on the side of the road.

But we made it, Danny went caving & we stayed with family. I love it down there so much, everyone is so layed back, relaxed and calm. People talk to eachother and respect eachother. They say "Mornin Darlin" ~ and I love to be called Darlin' ~ or "Howr you?" with a smile and a wave even if they've never seen you before. The mountains surround you, everything smells fresh and clean...you can see every star in the sky. They really do say "Ya'll come back" and you kow what? They mean it. We were welcomed with open arms at 1:00 a.m. with kisses, hugs, and warm beds.

I milked the cow. They milk the cow every morning and evening...milk to drink, to make ice cream, butter, cottage cheese, sour cream...you name it.

Pretty much everyone around there can cook, but our cousin Lucy is known for miles around for her mouthwatering meals. She cooks for weddings, anniversarys, birthdays, churches, reunions, bakes and decorates beautiful cakes...and saves her best finger licking secret recipes for her family. And Oh. My. Do I mean, fall on the floor and die with a smile on your face cooking.

The amazing thing is, everyone is healthy - no one is overweight and they live long happy lives. They work hard, and everything is in moderation - you have meat, vegetables & fruit, and save the carbs for a piece of dessert. Hot Fudge pudding with real whipped cream, Cherries in a Cloud, Cobblers, Homemade ice cream, German Chocolate Cream Pie, Honey Bun Cake, must I go on? Are you getting the picture here?

So, Saturday, she and her sister were preparing a meal for an anniversary dinner. Dinner meaning your version of Lunch. Just so you know, it's Breakfast, Dinner, Supper. LUNCH is carried in a bag. We cooked in a big kitchen in an old school that was saved from destruction by the community historical society. We made chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, iced tea - real iced tea. Boiled water in big stock pots with teabags, cooled, poured over ice and lots and lots of sugar.

And cake.

I was worried about the cake, Daisy (The Animal) was eyeing it all morning and I knew she wanted to just take her little fist and grab a handfull and shove it into her mouth.

I was right. Luckily she only used two fingers though, and we were able to cover it up.

Then I sent the kids to play in here.

Imagine having an entire gym to your self to tear up.

Not only the gym, but the stage! They sang, danced, had a spelling bee..

And look, Jesus...in their public school.

While I did the dishes in here ~ I had so much fun! If I had one of these in my house, I would do all my dishes, then put each of the kids in a tub, and hose 'em down daily.

Liv helped clean up too...

This is what Lucy made us for DINNER (not to be confused with Supper) It was gooooooood ~ I'll tell you how to make it later..

She made 8 dozen rolls...maybe I'll tell you how to make them too...if you're good.

"Mama, when you wake up - don't come downstairs, OK?

Some days when Danny is out of town, I just don't have the motivation to get out of bed. Even though #1, #2 were down stairs up to something, #3 was smooshing her face against the rails of her crib like a prisoner and #4, happily tearing my hair out of my scalp, screeching and slobbering all over my face ~ I lay still, on my pillow. Mr. Know It All (the rooster) was crowing, there was a Hannah Montana concert going on down in the living room, the sun was shining in my eyes. ~

It was 6:58. A.M.

Welcome to Besserina Land where #1 (Maddie) #2 (Liv) #3 (Daisy) and #4 (The Baby) Rule their loyal subjects, Mama (me) and Daddy (Danny)

"Mama, when you wake up, don't come down stairs OK?" Liv says, I smell her morning breath on my face. I crack an eye, she was wearing a wedding dress.

"OK," I gag. "Please go brush your teeth."

"Me & Maddie have a surprise for you and I can't tell you what it is OK?"

This could mean a number of things. Breakfast, which means the kitchen is trashed. They made a tent, which means the dining room has no chairs, and they've used all their bedsheets to make a giant monstrosity in the living room. They've cleaned their rooms, which means the closet is overflowing with stuff. I'm stumped.

I dress myself & the babies and we head downstairs in anticipation. Hanging from the ceiling above the stairs there are signs "Welcome To Our Library" Good gracious how did they get the signs on the ceiling? I don't ask.
#1 is waiting at the foot of the stairs wearing a dress with crayon drawn brochures in hand.

"Welcome to the library, Ma'am." She says with a big smile. "We have an area over here," she motions to a pile of toys, "for your children, and Liv will help you with your books.

That was Liv's Que. She tugged the corner of a sheet ( I knew sheets were involved!) and revealed a couch covered in a beautiful display of DVDs. Our entire collection I think. She pulled a blanket off the chair, there were the books. Oh my the books. #1 was running checkout, she had a scanner, and all the DVD disks were in the play kitchen freezer. I was to select some movies, present my library card, and only then would she place the disk into my case. Yes, they had taken ALL the disks out of the cases. I was informed the disks were kept in the play kitchen freezer so no one would steal them. How efficient!

I love their imagination.

They've turned against me

Their sweet faces, innocent smiles, pleading eyes, sweet smelling hair: they are the girls in my life, the rulers of our domain, the queens of this castle. How did I go from alpha mom to throwing up my arms and letting the little beastys roam free?

#1 was sweet, responsible, willing to lend a helping hand where ever it was needed. Now that summer vacation is underway, she's restless, moody and complains 24/7. Do 8 year olds get pre-PMS?

#2. I could write a book about. Every time I turn around she is painting her nails, braiding her hair or parading around her flower girl dress eating dry cereal. Where does she even get the nail polish? I've never bought it for her, I don't even have any of my own for Pete's sake. Did she make a trade in the pre-school black market? "Hey Peyton, you know where I can score some good Bratz nail polish? I'm willing to give up some Strawberry Shortcake stickers, and a naked Polly Pocket." In 2 weeks she will have $2,500 worth of dental work
done. The girl brushes her teeth 3+ times a day, eats as much as a bird, but needs 4 caps, a pulpotomy (kid root canal) 7 fillings and 1 extractions.

#3. She's always hungry. She climbs up on the back of the couch and tries to go out the window. She's learned how to take the child safety locks off the cupboards, and how to scramble under the baby gate. She can eat an entire bunch of banana's and 1/2 stick of butter before I even now she's missing. She has STOPPED napping. She eats rocks, dirt, dog food and grass. She's cuter than heck.

#4. Is silently watching them all ~ her 6 month old brain strategically placing all their tricks and antics into her mind for future reference. She may look innocent, but she's taking it all in, pretending to be obsessed with my breasts, all the while watching to see where the scissors and Oreos's are kept, how to flush hair curlers down the toilet, the proper way to empty mommy's purse and wallet all over the living room floor and above all, where the back door is to crawl out of this crazy house.

Go Outside....

and search for wild strawberries

With love, from Germany

A few months ago I got acquainted with a wonderful woman through etsy; her name is Tamera and she and her family live in Germany. Today I received this big box of goodies from her.

Gummy Bears!

How did she know these are my favorite?

A little smoker wooden fat man...how cute is he?! Ha! I love him!

I don't know what Al Gusto Di Cream with Extra Romig means, but it it sure is dang good-melt-in-your-mouth-chocolate, that only lasted about 5 minutes before, ahem, my kids ate it - yeah. uh huh. my kids ate it.

For the princesses of the house, how appropriate!

Thank you so much for everything Tam! ~{{{{Hug}}}}~

This is what I sent her a few days ago...I can't show you what's inside till she opens it!