Ho-hum, winter is dumb

Okay, well, I guess "dumb" isn't quite the right word. Winter is a necessary part of the ecology of our planet.
It still sucks.
Oh, yeah, and those of you who know me are like "who are you and what have you done with Heather?" I used to love winter. Bugs die by the truckload!!!
But it's not the same now. Inversions, ice storms, traffic jams, etc. Can't take babies outside in the snow, not for any length of time. Can't go to the park, have to bundle up just to go ANYWHERE.
It's not the season, it's the hassles. I am so looking forward to spring, when I can take the girls outside to play, I can get down and dig in the dirt and plant things, and it warms up to where my feet aren't so freezing all the time! Winter's like having a pair of ice cubes for feet!
Well, I guess I can wait. For another month. Or two. Mrrrrrr...
In the meantime, what does one do in a tiny little house? Crafts, I guess, if I could get my sewing machine unburied for any length of time. Cleaning, of course. That never stops. Sorting our junk. Working on projects around the house, stuff that has been left undone.
It's just hard to get motivated. If anyone has any great ideas, I'd love to know!

Cooking Escapades

Well, this outta be interesting. I found a recipe online for "Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew". Well...I shoulda read the ingredient list before I tried it. You'd need the biggest slow cooker on the market for it! It's even testing the limits of my big stew pot, and that's after omitting three cans of vegetables!
So since I don't have a pot that big, I am, of course, using the stock pot. And...not being an experienced cook, I didn't realize that I needed to brown the meat before putting the stew together.
This should be an interesting experience. I hope it comes out all right, because this is a LOT of stew. I'd hate to throw it out.
I've been experimenting more with cooking lately. I'm not very good at it, but I'm getting better. At least, more adventurous. Thank goodness I have a hubby that eats practically anything!
Anyone got an easy recipe to share? Please let me know! I'm always looking for stuff to be creative with, just as long as it's not terribly expensive!
Got any cooking tips to share? I'll take those too! I've got pretty much everything I need, tool-and-pot wise.
I'll let you know in my next post how this stew goes! Next up: wontons!

Ah, the thrills of parenthood!

What's up with my world? Well, I'll tell you!
We have a few answers with Esther, finally. She has mucular otitis in one ear. Translation: gunk behind the ear drum. We're treating it with antibiotics, give it a few weeks and get rid of this #$@$ inversion, and hopefully she'll clear up. We don't know if it is causing deafness, but the ear drum isn't moving, so i assume it has some responsibility for her garbled speech.
She was evaluated today for an early intervention program. She may receive tutoring and special classes if they determine she is behind in any areas. Personally, i thought the testing went well except in the speech area, which is what I was expecting. We'll see what happens, they meet tomorrow and I'll hear after that what the results are.
Taea is doing okay, except this inversion has given her a sore throat and bad attitude as well. It has increased my coughing again, sore throat, etc, which isn't good because the steroid they gave me to open my lungs also reduces my immunity. Gonna have to stuff myself full of herbs!
Jeff is doing okay except for his dang jaw, as usual. I found another type of mouth guard for nighttime grinding, this one is much slimmer and hopefully won't gag him through the night.
Other than that, it's pretty much life as usual. Working on some new products for Quilted Bear, trying to keep the girls alive and healthy, and waiting for the other shoe to drop with the Democrats bailout plan. That is an AWFUL lot of money, personally, I think they should just give it to the consumer so we can pay off all our debts, which will bail out the banks, and everything will be fine!
Until we get back into debt, that is.
Human. Such simple, sad fools. Some day, maybe we'll learn.
Till then, or until my next post, whichever comes first...just stay alive!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years to all! I want to thank everyone that came to our party, it was a lot of fun. Exhausting, but fun! Esther is still staying up late as a result, I've GOT to get her naps back on schedule!
Now I get to deal with three months of winter blues. I have a mild case of SAD, though I really don't want to take medication for it. I prefer not to have my moods be a result of chemical intervention.
So instead, I think I'll clean my office out and make room to work on crafts. Making things always cheers me up.
It's a new year, with new possibilities. I'm sure we all agree that 2008 stunk. Economy wise, politically, and in a lot of other ways. I guess we can't really complain. We managed to buy a house, and we're doing well in most respects. I just feel bad for everyone who has lost money or a home in the melee.
Well, Happy New Year again, and lets all pray that this year is better than the last!

Post Christmas Blues

Y'know, this Christmas kinda snuck up and ambushed me. It didn't help that I had to have Catsie help me put up the tree because my living room was such a disaster. Okay, actually, SHE put the thing up while I sat on the couch and coughed my lungs out.
Pneumonia sucks.
Still, even though we did very little for Christmas due to illness, weather, and lack of space, it always makes me sad to see it go. The lights are so pretty, and with a little ingenuity, aka, the "cage", we are able to protect the tree.
But there simply isn't room to keep it up. Once it comes down, then we go into the winter doldrums. Stuck inside all day, only going outside for half an hour at a time because Esther gets too cold to stay out. Depressing. Winter used to be my favorite holiday, but since having kids...it's just too hard on me staying inside all day.
At least I have a hobby now to keep me busy. I had my first sales at the Quilted Bear. Not enough to pay the rent, at least not yet, but it's gratifying to know that people are interested enough in my work to buy it.
And now we're having a New Years party. It think it's the first family party we've hosted that doesn't involve a birthday. Here's hoping everyone is well enough for it!
I had a bunch I was going to say tonight, but my brain is fried. I guess you'll just have to keep reading later and see what else was on my mind!
Oh yeah......Happy New Year!

All moved in! (But not settled)

You know, I think it is some kind of law that you cannot ever be fully unpacked from a move.
Still, I would like my living room to be less than half full of boxes some day.
We're enjoying being in our new house. We've got a big back yard with lots of space for gardening. Jeff has his own office. Sorta. He has to share space with my craft stuff, but still, he doesn't have to share space with the toys anymore!!
It's an older home, built in 1928, and it needs work. The structure is sound, but the plumbing and electrical need a complete overhaul. It suits our needs for now. Nothing is falling down on us, or leaking, or broken, so I'm pretty happy with it! The lot has lots of potential, we have 90 feet to the back fence so we are talking about putting in an addition someday. When we can afford it.
We have a cat now as well. She is black and white, still has claws, and is THOROUGHLY spoiled! She is a very affectionate lap cat, so while I am sitting here typing this, she is nudging me for pats.
Esther and Tae-Tae just continue to get bigger. The living room is a constant mess, but at least Esther is getting better at cleaning it up!
We are getting ready for Christmas. Which basically entails frantically getting out Christmas gifts and cards and trying to unbury a spot in the living room for the tree. Taea has no regard for the word "no", so I am not looking forward to cleaning up all the torn up decorations. Maybe I'll put it in the playpen...
I have been working hard to start a craft business. I have a booth at the Quilted Bear in Provo. So far, not much luck, but with this economy, it's to be expected. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!
Well, I don't have too much time for typing now, I WILL try to be more diligent about posting in the future.

Life changes--duh!

Whee, it's been a while, hasn't it? It's been really busy around here. Trying to get a business going with our family website, www.krazycraft.com, selling stuff at the farmer's market and...drumroll please....
Buying a house!
Yes, we are taking the plunge. We found a home that is older, the decor is very Grandma Chic, and the wiring needs some serious help, but it's a great price. We'll spend about a week before moving in getting everything cleaned up, painted, and the wiring fixed. Then Jeff will be closer to school and work, which will seriously reduce his commute time. That's something he is VERY happy about.
This will mean a lot higher housing payment, but with the reduction in gas costs, we should be able to handle it. We'll have a big back yard for the girls, garden space, room for fruit trees...everything we want.
I'm going to be selling some stuff at a festival at the grade school on Monday. I'm hoping to make a decent amount to pay down my materials costs.
Lessee...the girls are getting so big! Esther is actually two now! My baby girl is now a big girl! Taemarin is crawling all over the place, getting into everything within reach. She is so cute, with her big smile! She's been teething lately. Several at once. It's made her kinda cranky. Still, she is mostly smiley and happy.
Jeff is doing well in computer classes, though he is buried in homework. Two more years, we hope, and he should be done.
As we go into fall, we've got major changes in store for us. That seems to be the way it is, sometimes. Things seem to drag for a while, then shake up in a major way. Like the techtonic plates of the earth. They slide along for a while, quietly, then something gets hung up, breaks loose, and the area around gets shaken apart. We're going into changes somewhere around an 8.5, I think. Wish us luck!