A Quiet Night?

Welcome to the new edition of Show & Tell blogger style hosted by wonderful and fabulous Suzy at not a fertile myrtle.  I decided to entertain y'all this week with a bit of the ridiculousness that goes on around here on a regular basis.

If you are a long time reader, you'll probably remember that I told you that my boys are not quiet sleepers. Not only do they talk, argue, sometimes yell, and even sing in their sleep, but they are also physically active in their sleep. You truly never know what position you will find them in when you go in to wake them in the morning. And, one time when Marty and Joey were really little, they were sharing a bed because we had company and one of them pushed the other out of bed while they were sleeping. Gabe seems to have continued that tradition. Yesterday, I stripped his bed because it was time to wash his sheets. I didn't quite get them dry before bedtime so I let him put a sleeping bag on his bed. Not only did he get out of the sleeping bag while he was asleep but he totally changed positions on the bed. This is how I found him when I went in to wake him for school this morning...Head on over to Suzy's to check out the other Show & Tell entries this week.

Craftiness Abounds

Welcome to the new edition of Show & Tell blogger style hosted by wonderful and fabulous Suzy at not a fertile myrtle. I know I already made y 'all look at the crafty goodness of the red ghost costume but I can't resist sharing more craftiness with you.

I recently finished the cutest hat for a friend's preschool aged son. Since her son has a big head (just like my kids), I used Gabe as my test model.  This hat was crocheted using the Divine Hat Pattern from Rheatheylia and I added my own little twist.

I also finished the front of what will be a denim rag quilt tote bag. With this style, you sew pieces with the wrong side (inside) together so the seams fall on the outside of the piece. Then, when you wash it, the edges of the denim fray and give it a really cool look.
Head on over to Suzy's to check out the other Show & Tell entries this week.

In Mummy Trouble

Welcome to the new edition of Show & Tell blogger style hosted by wonderful and fabulous Suzy at not a fertile myrtle.  This week, I finally got off my ass and recorded myself reading one of Gabe's favorite books.  I did a pretty good job managing the camera while I was reading but my aim was a little off when I was filming the opening and closing.  Please forgive the crappy camera work and enjoy the show.

Head on over to Suzy's to check out the other Show & Tell entries this week.

Goodies Galore

Welcome to the new edition of Show&Tell blogger style. The wonderful and fabulous Suzy at not a fertile myrtle recently restarted Show&Tell for all of us who missed it. This week has been a week of goodies. I received three prizes I won in giveaways and bought one nifty little gadget. The first prize I had come in was from the Lawry's Marinade Review and Giveaway from Susan @ She's Becoming DoughMessTic. This giveaway included 2 marinades, a bunch of barbeque skewers, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, and a fab piece of pyrex with a top.
The next prize I got was a personal microderm kit I won from Mel @ Full Circle. I haven't got to use it yet. Maybe one day soon, the kids will let me try it out.I also won a Marcal Paper Goods giveaway from Colette @ Jamerican Spice. I got paper towels, napkins, tissues, and toilet paper. As thrilled as I am to get that stuff for free, I did not take a picture of it. I think we all know what it looks like.

My absolute favorite thing I got this week is my Targus 6" Grypton Tripod. It works for my Flip Video camera and for my digital camera. It can sit on any surface or even wrap around an arm or a light pole or even a tree branch. Why do I have visions of my boys using this tripod to attach a camera to a hat and taping kamikaze runs? There is a quick detach piece that allows you to take the camera on and off the tripod quickly. Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen?


Head on over to Suzy's to check out the other Show&Tell entries this week.

All the Small Things (baby pic included)

Welcome to the new edition of Show&Tell blogger style. The wonderful and fabulous Suzy at not a fertile myrtle recently restarted Show&Tell for all of us who missed it. The two pictures I've gonna show off this week are also my entries into the punk rock mom's latest photo challenge. As always, please click on the pics to see a bigger version of them. The theme of this photo challenge is all the small things. This first picture I took over labor day weekend. I have been trying for ages to get a good shot of a dragonfly and I finally did.and this second shot is actually an old one, taken almost 5 years ago. It is Gabe at 18 days old.Head on over to Suzy's to check out the other Show&Tell entries and head on over to tprm's to see the other photos.

SHOW AND TELL: The Amigurumi Puppy

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

Last year, I made an amigurumi crocheted pig for Joey's friend. When Joey saw it, he asked me to make him a dog. I'm not quite done but I am pretty proud of the way it is turning out.



********************To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: It's A Small World After All

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

I got the coolest email today. I don't know how many of you remember my show and tell post about my Grandpa last year...SHOW AND TELL: my first Marty. Well, today I got an email from the daughter of Salvatore Patrissi, the pilot of the plane my Grandpa flew on. Evidently, her sister was searching the web and stumbled across the pics on my blog. I was so excited about the email that I called my aunt to tell her about it. Not only was she excited about the contact too but she told me a story about my Grandpa that I'd never heard before. My aunt told me that as long as the original crew flew together, none of them got injured. The often limped back with the plane all shot to hell but they were ok. It's like that original crew were each other's good luck charms. Then Mac, the regular co-pilot, got pulled to fill in on a crew that had people out with injuries and Mac got injured during that flight.

England 1944
Celebrating the completion of 30 missions
Patrissi, Swede (my Grandpa, isn't he handsome!),
and replacement copilot (Mac was in the hospital)While Patrissi passed away within 2 yrs of my Grandpa, his wife and kids are still around. I can't wait to exchange pictures and stories with them.
********************To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Cakes R Us

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

Marty has reached an age where he no longer wants a typical birthday party and he doesn't want a typical birthday cake. Over the course of the past year, I've shown him a few different cakes on my friend Susan's bog, She's Becoming DoughMessTic. He fell in love with her Best Birthday Cake Ever but decided he needed it with Chocolate Raspberry Mousse instead of Chocolate Orange Mousse. Mine isn't quite as pretty as Susan's cake because I don't have all the piping tips she has. but I think it turned out pretty damned wonderfully. Even though I made two of these, they were gone by the day after his family birthday gathering.
Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake


I also recently made a cake for the cake contest at the Dr. Seuss birthday party Joey's school held. One of the categories for the cake contest was The King's Stilt Cake for the tallest cake. Of course, that was the category Joey decided we should go after. The cake wasn't much to look at but damn did it taste good. I was running out of time and I could either assemble it all or make one layer of it look pretty and, since he wanted to go for the tallest, I tamped down my perfectionistic tendencies and put the biotch together. We did win and here is what it looked like (thank God they served almost all of it there and I didn't have to bring it home)...

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If anyone wants the recipe I used for the Raspberry Mousse, let me know. Other than that, I followed the recipe and instructions on Susan's site.********************To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Gabe Tells A Joke

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

My older boys are always teaching Gabe something. Sometimes, they teach him things I'd rather he not know. Sometimes, they teach him useful things. And, sometimes the things he learns are downright hilarious. Here's the latest joke Joey taught Gabe...
Hope y'all got a good laugh out of that! If you're not laughing, you're not living.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Knotty by Nature

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

It's been a while since I've showed of any of my crochet work so I thought I'd bring these items to the table. These two pair (almost) of socks are for my Sock It To Me buddy. The blue and white pair are actually slipper socks. They have thicker soles to withstand the wear and tear of being worn without shoes. The second, autumn colored pair of socks are heavy but can be worn with shoes.

And, I know I showed you this other piece ages ago when it was a work in progress. Well, it is finally in transit to the sweet baby it is meant to wrap up. This 6 to 12 point star afghan is made mostly from chenille so it is wonderfully soft.

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Don't forget to check out (and sign up for) my the 18 x 24 Poster Print Giveaway from uPrinting.com. ENTRIES END TONIGHT. Winner will be announced tomorrow.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Fun in the snow

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

We only got about 4 inches of snow last weekend but we had so much fun playing in it.


My three sons

The snow was too powdery for a real snowman
so we made a face on Vic's car

Gabe and me

Jack and Jolie wrestling in the snow********************
To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: the forget-me-nots of the angels

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

Earlier this week, I got a surprise in the mail that made me incredibly happy and made me cry at the same time. My wonderful friends from the cross stitch board, led by the indomitable Velda, started stitching a gorgeous piece called Angel Heart Sampler in memory of all my precious angels. Due to various occurrences, including Velda's illness, the piece isn't quite done...but, that actually thrills me because I will be able to contribute to this memory piece. The first picture is the front of the design leaflet and the second picture is the piece they started for me. Please, please click on the bottom picture so you can actually see the gorgeous work they did for me.

The words on the piece are a quote from Longfellow and they read, “Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels”
Thank you my friends from the bottom of my heart. This means more to me than I can ever express.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Pictures Galore

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

You know that annoying friend or relative who is always ambushing you with a camera? That's me. I take pictures of anything and everything...people, objects, food, artsy shots, EVERYTHING. Y'all would probably go insane if I showed all of them to you. So, I needed an outlet for them and I decided to set up a blog to track my year in pictures. Welcome to the grand premier of
I'd love it if some of you check it out and maybe even follow it. It's almost all pictures and very few if any words. So, it's not like you'll have to read or even comment a lot. Let me know what you think.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: the HaBO edition

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

My favorite Romance book web site, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, has a categories of posts called HaBO or Help a Bitch Out. Welcome to the ALI HaBO edition of Show and Tell.
See that incredibly cool baby blanket above...it was made by a dear member of our ALI community, Ms. BattyNurse herself. She makes the world's cutest baby blanket. I mean, I don't even have a baby girl in my life and I still bought that one. It called my name and begged me to buy it and bring it home, so I did. My hubby had the sheer nerve to suggest I give it to one of my nieces and I flat out refused. IT IS MINE! Ms. BattyNurse is raising money to pay for her FET which is scheduled for January. Go visit her Etsy shop, Batty Nurse Creations, and buy something really cute. BTW, she has been talking about taking custom orders for blankets so ask if you are looking for something special.

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Also, other opportunities for fun and helping people out abound right now. Kym of I'm a Smart One has issued a challenge to all of us in the ALI community. Kym says

As a blogoversary gift, help me continue to help parenthood efforts by helping Parenthood for Me. Many of you know that fellow ALI blogger Erica and her husband A.J. have been working hard to get their non-profit grant program off of the ground. For those who don't know, Erica and A.J. struggled with infertility and spent thousands of dollars in unsuccessful ART procedures. After much soul-searching, they shifted gears and pursued adoption. In 2008, they adopted a son, who is now the light of their lives.

Now, Erica and A.J. are dedicated to helping others find parenthood. Through Parenthood for Me (PFM), couples and individuals can apply for grants to help assist with some of the costly expenses involved with infertility treatments and adoption such as travel fees, attorney fees, medications not covered by insurance, and homestudy fees. They began accepting applications for grants on January 2nd, and the first grants will be awarded in June 2010.

As you can imagine, a rather large endowment must be built. So far, PFM has raised several thousand dollars. In April, Erica and A.J. are hosting the first Annual Family-Building Dinner and Silent Auction in Rochester, New York on April 10. This is the largest fundraiser to date and will really give PFM the wings it needs to fly. The cost is $100 per ticket, with over 50% of the price going directly to the endowment. Sponsors can also donate for various levels of recognition, from $3,000 Gold Sponsorship to donation of an item valued at $100 for the silent auction.

I would like for us, the ALI blogging community, to pull together and raise at least enough money for a $250 Table Sponsorship. A sign representing "us" would be placed on one of the tables at the dinner. What a powerful idea it is for us to be there in spirit, knowing that our efforts would go towards accomplishing someone, possibly one of us, achieve parenthood.

My goal is that by my blogversary of January 26, we'll have raised $250 (or more!) for an ALI Blogger table. To donate using either PayPal or a credit card, click the button below:

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Now for fun, sign up for two fun events is going on right now...Sock It To Me and the 2010 Book Challenge. Check them both out and sign up. You know you want to!

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Good News All Around

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. (Mine is mostly tell with only a teensy bit of show involved)

There have been a number of things that have made me smile or even cheer today.

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Do you remember when I told y'all about Anissa and the terrible stroke she had? Well, today, I read the best update on her so far. She can sense hot and cold on her affected side and she is starting to regain movement on the affected side. She is also feeling good enough that she was able to send out a Tweet. I am so happy to hear of her improvements. It just makes me smile.

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I truly believe that what goes around comes around. I also acknowledge that, sadly, we aren't always there to see people get their karmic retribution. Well, today, Kristin (I like that name, wonder why?) over at Once A Mother finally had something give her a little hope and a reason to smile a bit after having a lot of crap rain down on her recently. The bonus was getting to view an asshat have his date with karmic justice. I really had to cheer when I read about her final phone call with Officer B. Go read about it. You'll cheer too.

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Finally, the lovely Melissa over at Our Full Circle passed on the Happy 101 award to me...

I am fairly new to Melissa's blog but I never fail to enjoy my time over there. She tells an amazing story and always seems to not only persevere but to live life to its fullest despite setbacks in her quest for parenthood. Thanks for the award sweetie. Go check out Melissa's blog (just make sure you come back here when you are done) .

All I have to do for this award is list 10 things that make me happy and pass this award on to 10 bloggers who make me happy.

10 things that make me happy

1. snuggling with my hubby or my kids
2. fondling my stash (both yarn and fabric)
3. uninterrupted reading time
4. chocolate and raspberries
5. a really good meal
6. Monty Python
   
7. creating (crafts, designs, whatever)
8. giving surprise presents
9. spending time with friends or making new friends
10. the pure uninhibited laughter of a young child

10 bloggers who make me happy

1. Lori at Weebles Wobblog
2. Beautiful Mess at Life induces thoughts, mostly random
3. Susan at She's Becoming DoughMessTic
4. Heather at GeekByMarriage
5. Kym at I'm a Smart One
6. Dave at Rolling Around In My Head
7. Calliope at Creating Motherhood
8. Chicklet at Bloorb
9. N and J at Two Hot Mamas
10. Aunt Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka

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So, what has made you smile or cheer today?

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If you really want to make me smile, don't forget to delurk in the official delurking post.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Christmas in Pictures

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

I promise that I won't continue to inundate you with Christmas stuff after today but I just had to share these pictures. Of course, all pics are clickable for closeup viewing.
my 3 crazy boys

Joey, armed and dangerous

from L to R: my BIL John (married to Keri), my dad, my sis Becky

my niece Kayla and her mom, my sis Keri

my Bil Jose (Vic's younger brother)

my niece Brianne (Keri's other daughter) and Gabe

from L to R: my MIL Ruth, my mom, my hubby Vic

my BIL Trevor (married to Becky) and my MIL
She had just told the grandkids to come say Merry Christmas if they wanted their money so Trevor came bouncing up saying Merry Christmas. She nearly fell out of her chair laughing.

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BTW, the decade ends NEXT YEAR...we start counting our years with 1 C.E. (or A.D. as it use to be called) so the first decade ended at 10 C.E. and this decade and millennium started in 2001 C.E. and ends in 2010 C.E.

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All Book Challenge participants, please check the previous post for info.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

SHOW AND TELL: Christmas baking 2009

Welcome to our weekly expedition into the land of Show and Tell. Y'all know Show and Tell is wasted on the elementary schoolers. Join us weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0.

Christmas baking 2009

sugar cookies

chocolate peanut butter fudge
and spritz cookies

Pepparkakor - a Swedish ginger spice cookie
I still have a few Swedish coffee cakes to make tomorrow and one apple pie for Christmas dessert.

We will have 15 people here for Christmas dinner so I have no doubt most of this will be gone. Also, we will be taking a large plate of goodies to the fire station that covers our neighborhood.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.