Just a bit stressed about the entire saga

So I know its been a while since I have posted. I have been super busy not only with the kiddos but with house hunting. Forget the sewing because that has been oh so limited that my machines think I hate them right now.
Just to give an update as to the housing saga which has been very long and drawn out. We have looked at so many houses lately that its hard to know and remember which was which but we are trying hard. The first one we looked at that was in Nevada that had all the pretty gardens and the perfect location got an offer on it that was not from us. Not only did it get an offer but it is now pending for more than we were comfortable spending on it.
Today we looked at one that the house honestly needed a lot of work and updating but would have worked great for us...other than an outside air quality issue.....it was right next door to a hog farm. Not exactly how I want my clothes smelling when I hang them on the line.
So we are now back at the beginning trying to figure out what to do. The house in St. Anthony really is an awesome fit for us as a family. 4 bedrooms on the 1st floor, plus the upstairs has a bedroom, a room to make another bathroom, as if 2 in the house is not enough, plus an attic space that could easily be used to make the already large bedroom even bigger. The outside is set up nicely for us as well, but the problem is the entrance to the basement is outside. We are going to go back this weekend and take another look and see about that and be sure we are happy with it. At that point we are going to talk to the mortgage broker and see about a purchase agreement for the end of July or sometime in August and hopefully get our offer in. I am so ready to be done with this process and find a house that we will love and be happy in.

Ok so I promise to try to update more often now, its hard but I will do my best.

Just an update on the housing saga

Well we got ahold of the mortgage broker and got that ball rolling. I went and talked to her and we are doing a bit of credit repair, tho it isn't much it will bring out score up a lot and lower the amount that we will have to spend in the long run, so that is totally worth it to me.
So right now we are basically in a holding pattern. She did tell us that if we found a house we really wanted to put an offer in on, that we could do a long purchase agreement to push it til after the next month or two was up and things were where we needed them to be. Which it is huge since its the difference of 5.5% interest and 2-3000 in closing costs or 6.5% and 5000 in closing costs, so we shall wait it out.
So in the mean time we are looking around, I am going to call the realitor tomorrow and see about looking at a couple more houses and see what we think of those and keep looking, I really hope we can find that PERFECT house, I don't want to have to do this again!
So keep us in your thoughts and we shall make this work!

The house search saga continues

So today we went and looked at another house. This one had a small amount of land more and then the house had some features we were really excited about as well. One of them was a BRAND NEW corn furnace and duct work. Plus there was an addition that housed 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. So at 9:30 this am we went to look at it. This was a very cute and homey house. I loved the way the kitchen was and the fact that it had a very nice open floor plan. Add to that the fact that it was listed at a 4 bedroom when in fact it was more of a 5 bedroom 2 bath house. All of us could have had a bedroom with ease and all on the first floor, a huge plus for me. However, the location was a turn off for us and the buildings outside were not nearly as nice as the first place that we looked at. Add to that the fact that to get into the basement you had to enter from outside and there really was not much space left after after they put in the 2 furnaces and the water heater.
So from there we returned the first house we had looked at to have a better look at the basement and just walk through again. The house by Nevada is one that I really do love. No the kitchen is not perfect, nor is it a huge kitchen as I have always wanted but this house has so much character that I have to look past this. There is plenty of room in the house, the porches are wonderful and we love the location. It is less than 15 minutes for Shane to be to work and it is in our ideal school district for the kids. Those are huge selling points for us. Add to that the buildings are in much better shape, plus you don't have to leave the house to get to the basement.
So tomorrow I am going to give a call to the mortgage broker and try to get that ball rolling and we are going to talk to the realtor and offer them 120,000 with the contingencies of financing and an inspection. We also want to put a rider on there that the yellow garden shed must stay with the house. I want it for a playhouse for the kids to have. So that is where we currently stand on the house sage. It won't be too long before we know more and I will update then.

SWAP stuff

So I have pictures of the patterns and fabrics I am going to use for the SWAP other than the fabrics that I have yet to purchase.
I have been busy tracing patterns today to get this going. The kids have really got to let me get some sewing done soon or I will never have it completed before the deadline of June 12th that is for sure.
But I wanted to share with you all what I would be making
I am making the shirt from this pattern and also a pair of pants that is included but I forgot to photo the other side of the pattern, they are a capri style pants that will be great for early fall

This top is just too cute, I can't wait to see it on Araya

Some stretch trousers for her that should work great, actually going to make her 2 pairs of these, one each of black and blue

These will be made from Bamboo Velour that will be dyed up by me for her. These look so comfy I can't wait to make them up for me as well

A pretty simple long sleeve tshirt pattern but I am going to embellish it for her, she will be thrilled

Its sorta hard to see but this is an adorable long skirt that I will make from cord fabric, hope she likes it as much as I do

A simple hooded jacket (as simple as something with a zipper can be that is) but its the style that she enjoys wearing. Not sure if I will get a sweater knit or a sweatshirt knit to make it from yet

I have loved this outfit since I started getting these magazines and it just is so not the style that Araya likes to wear, but I think that if I add enough bling to the top she will wear it, I am going to make it from Bamboo Velour as well, so she will have a very soft outfit there

This is for the leggings that are very hard to see but they work so well under dress's that I have to make them, plus she can wear them with the shirts as well, so they are very nice to have around, I plan to use lingerie elastic at the bottoms of them to dress them up a bit for her

And then a dress that I have loved for some time as well. Very cute with small details that I think will bring a lot to her wardrobe.

Now you all have to realize that of these patterns there is only one that I have ever done before and that is the leggings pattern. There is lots of things I have not done for techniques here as well but the one that I am most worried about is the zipper so be sure to wish me lots of luck!!!
And now for the fabrics
The wovens

cord

denim

Knits



There are several that are not shown as I don't have them yet and the bamboo velour is still on the roll, I need to get it cut off and dyed up so that its ready to go when I am!

Sewing nightgowns for the girls

So it was that time of year, the weathers getting nicer, fleece is not needed just to stay comfortable and the girls needed nightgowns. So I decided that this year I would make them as they really should be pretty simple. For these I took a t-shirt pattern, added length and some embellishments and there ya go.
First up is one for Araya that I actually made from a nightgown that was 10 sizes too big for me yet still cute and brand new.

Next is one for Nevaeh that is from my favorite fabric ever. I love Toile fabric especially in reds and I wanted to use this for something fun but was scared she was getting too old for a t-shirt from it. So here is what I did, I added lace to the bottom to dress it up and I just love this nighty.

The next one I had a very hard time deciding if it should be a nightgown or a dress. I used flowered rick rack that is so cute, and I added lingerie elastic to the arm holes to keep it sleeveless.

And the last one that I have completed is from another fabric that I just loved but didn't have a lot of it. I added ribbon to the middle to give it some detail and love how it turned out.

The reason for my days

I had to share these photos of my kiddos. They are good at making me smile even when they are into trouble so it is fun to share.
Now what is more fun than playing in the sand? Especially when grandpa brings the dump truck and leaves a ton or two at your house?????
The girls love the sand pile and play in it each day that is not rainy!
Then is that not some adorable sister love? This is Arayas preschool and Nevaehs 2 year picture
And then here is Carter!

About the house....

Well we went to look at the house today and I have to say that the outside and yard areas of this acreage are a dream. It even has a small building that would make the perfect playhouse for the kids and a small fenced in area for the kids to be able to go outside and play when I was trying to sew or whatever. So from that part of it, its perfect. Now for the downer side of it.
The kitchen is smaller than I would like and has close to NO cupboards. There is work that will eventually need to be done but all in all it would be able to walk in and live which is a must in the price range we are looking at. It has gorgeous hardwood floors, original trim work and some gorgeous build-ins. There are technically 4 bedrooms but one would not be able to be used as a bedroom really as you have to walk through it to get to the upstairs bedroom. There is a nice glassed sunporch that would likely become the home of my sewing room until we were able to upgrade a building that I have dubbed the future sewing studio. And man would it ever be an awesome studio. I could have all my machines set up, my fabrics could all have homes and its out by the garden and the apple trees and grape vines. What could be a better place to have a sewing studio. I am sure I would get lots of inspiration from nature out there.
BUT before that could happen there would need to be some work done on the floor and we would have to make sure that it was tight from weather OH and we would need to add a way to heat and cool it. The cooling is easy we have a window a/c but Im not sure what to do for heat as I don't want my fabric to smell terrible either.
We also discovered that even tho this is the home of the highest spot in Iowa there was water in the basement. Now we are not talking about just a wet floor, no Shane stepped in and there was close to 4 inches of water on the floor. Now granted the owners have never put a sump pump in so it should be a rather easy fix, that was still not what we wanted to see when one of the things we DON"T like about where we currently are is the WATER issues. So we shall just have to see on that.
On Sunday we are going to go look at another acreage, it has 2.8 acres of land and a 4 bedroom 2 bath house on it as well. And it is priced about 30,000 less than the other one. So that is a plus but its quite a bit farther from work for Shane too. Right now he can be to work in less than 15 minutes if he needs to be and this would be between 25 and 30 minutes to get to work. That being said we can live with that as its still less distance than he was when we lived in MN.
So that is where we currently stand on the house.
The realtor is going to bring us the name and number of the mortgage broker so that we can get ahold of her and start working on the stuff to see what we can even do as far as a mortgage goes. That will be nice to know even if these houses don't pan out, we will at least we will know what we are getting into when we do find that PERFECT house!!!

Could it possibly be true?

We are seriously considering trying to buy a house. It just really seems like the time to do it. Right now we are living in a rental that we could buy if we so chose to do so. There are issues tho, the bathroom is TINY, anytime there is large amounts of rain we end up an island which is a huge annoyance not to mention I have to worry about my garden flooding out. We end up with water in the basement quite often which sucks and I have to worry about mold etc.
So on Thursday we are going to go look at a different acreage that is not far from where we are currently living. It is a 4 bedroom 2 bath, which is 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom bigger than we currently have. Can you imagine how nice that would be. Plus it would give us a room for each of the children as they get older, no one would have to share a room.
It has 2.5 acres of land which is almost an acre more than we have now and there are TONS of trees. I great windbreak of pine trees to the North and the West which should help with the money we spend on heating in the winter which can I just say would be SUPER nice.
It was build in the late 1800s but it has also had a couple additions. I am excited to go look at it because I am hoping that it doesn't look terrible inside. With where the price is we won't be able to put a ton into it right away, at least not until we are able to get the tax credit that they are offering but if I have my way I would like to put that up into an emergency fund. We never know when we may need a new car or car repairs or something of that sort. So I would like to have the money put away for those reasons.
I did tell Shane tho that we have to stop having kids because every one of our children have moved when they were less than a year if we move this time. Araya and Nevaeh were each 4 months when we moved and I am guessing it would likely be July when we could take possession of this house at the earliest which would put Carter at 9 months. It really is quite strange how we tick.
It will be sad to leave where we are as our landlords have been wonderful to work with and have helped us greatly but we really need to do what is best for us and our family. And if we buy a house this year by the time I am 61 it will be paid off which is a nice feeling.
You can take a look at the listing here
http://www.billjjennings.com/our-listings.asp?listing_id=1107480038

Getting ready for the SWAP

Sewing with a Plan that is. I have decided that I will do this for my oldest daughter Araya for her school clothes this fall. The whole purpose is to have an entire wardrobe that coordinates and can be mixed and matched. I have added pieces to what was required to finish off the wardrobe and I think that Araya will be very happy with what I have in mind. I am hoping that we can get through with what I have in mind with the possible addition of a couple simple knit dress's to finish it off.
So this is my plan tho I will need to get some fabrics to do it, it shouldn't be too many of them really.
The guidelines are:
2 pairs of pants
2 additional long bottoms (pants or long skirts) or 4 pairs of shorts/capris
4 simple tee shirt style tops
2 non tee shirt tops
1 dress
1 simple cardigan, coat, sweater or pull over

Now this is what I have came up with
Bottoms
1 pair of Jalie 2445 pants made from dyed bamboo velour
2 pairs of Jalie 2909 pants (1) from stretch light blue denim and (1) from stretch black denim
1 pair of Oliver + S sail boat pants which are more of a capri length unless I lengthen them made from a pink plaid cord fabric
2 pairs of leggings (1) pink and (1) black from Ottobre 4/2004
1 Long skirt from Ottobre 3/2004 made from a cord fabric but not sure what yet as I have to purchase it
Tops
2 Oliver + S Sailboats tops (1) solid pink interlock (1) unsure possible from a woven or from bamboo velour with an applique
1 Ottobre 5/2006 design 25 from bamboo velour with rhinestone applique
1 Ottobre 1/2009 design 20 from a black and grey monocromatic butterfly knit
1 Ottobre 2/2004 design 36 from black Hannah Montana knit fabric
1 Jalie 2793 top from pink knit with black or white contrast bands

Dress
Ottobre 4/2004 design 12A from stripe and rose cord fabrics

Jacket
Ottobre 4/2006 design 18 from a yet to be determines sweatshirt knit fabric

The main color pallet for this is pink as its Arayas favorite along with butterflies and rockstars and guitars. I am trying to incorporate all things she loves so that when its made she WANTS to wear it and we have no fights. We shall see how it goes.

If this all goes as I am planning I will likely start in and do the same thing for Nevaeh as well.
The timeframe for this is 6 weeks, I need to have it all completed between May 1st and June 12th, which actually works out well because I will then need to make my 2 sisters their birthday gifts at that time, not to mention I have to get a t-shirt for my niece made up in that time to go with a skirt I have already made for her.

I will post pictures as I progress through to show how things are going as I am really excited to see how this goes.

I am disagreeing

I am a huge advocate for our current president but I have to say that to not prosecute those that were involved in waterboarding is heinous. The entire administration, lawyers, judges CIA etc needs to be held accountable for their actions. It would not be tolerated by civilians and I do not believe that our govt is about the rest of the country in what is legal and what is not. And it has already been found to not be legal so that means that something needs to be done about it.
Uggh this makes me so angry!

We need your help

My oldest Daughter is doing a Mini March for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She needs your help in getting donations to make this a hit. The march is on the 22nd of April so time is limited.
A little about this:
The Cystic Fibrosis "mini march" is a mini walk -a-thon designed to raise money for cycstic fibrosis reasearch. Marching to music, children complete laps to earn exciting prices based on the amount of donations they collected.
Nationally recognized children's music artist, RORY is our National Chairperson and has provided a cassette tape entitled "Make Believe Day" to play at the Mini March.
This year the kids will be wearing dress up costumes for their march and having a great time.

So we would love to have as many people as possible help in this cause. My daughter will recieve a t-shirt and possibly other prizes for participating and the children with cystic fibrosis will benefit from the added research that can be done.

If you would like to help, please email me at organicmommy@gmail.com and you can send pp for your donation.
I will post pictures from the day of the March after its completed.

grr

Really this is a vent to say:

If you don't feel you are being represented in Washington then you need to do something about it at the next election, its not the presidents fault your elected officials are not listening to your state!

My passion

My true passion besides raising and spending time with my children is to create things for my children and others. Now this passion can become stressful at times when the kids need something and I don't seem to have enough time to get things done, or when kids are sick and crabby and not really all the fun to spend time with so I would rather be creating. However my list is at a point that seems a bit overwhelming right now.
I have 2 birthdays coming up in July that I MUST create something for, plus I need to make something for each of my 3 kids for my nieces bday in May. On top of that all of my kids need pajamas as they don't have anything that fits right or is the right season and Araya needs new underware in a MAJOR way. Add to that I need to make my niece some unders for when she starts coming here for daycare and that makes for a rather large list. Oh and I forgot to add that I have a pair of knit shorties I am working on that is for a friend of mine online as well. At least those are about half way finished now.
So my goals for the next week include:
Finish these shorties
Finish up the 4 pairs of pajamas that I have started for Carter.
Get some night gowns made for each of the girls.

If I can get through that list I will be doing well. It seems I have not been able to get much done lately since Carter doesn't want to be put down at all anymore and his tummy has been upset so he isn't sleeping all that great either.

Just a short vent

For those that know me well you will know that I agree with a lot of what is being said politically through the democrats. And you will also know that I am very opinionated and don't keep quiet when I have something to say. And the first thing I really need to say is that do the republicans not realize that they LOST the election in November? It really amazes me as the country said that they wanted change. That is what we have. For the last too many years we have let this country run amuck and not have any regulations on wall street and the like. So why would we leave things the way that it was. Our economy is in the dumps because of people being greedy. It really is rather annoying to continue to hear about these tea bagging events that really to me are just pointless. And then the gov. of Texas, well that is all I am going tos ay because I have nothing nice to say about him. Then there is Sarah Palin that in all honestly I think that 99% of what comes out of her mouth is a bunch of junk. She says what the people she is speaking to may want to hear not anything based on principles etc. That to me is nothing but show and god help us if she ever does run for president or become the president. That would be terrible in my opinion.

So all this to say, yes maybe we do need bigger govt, and if you look at the ratings for our current president even in the economic times and the wars that we are fighting, they are really good. He was handed a HUGE mess and now he is trying to clean it up. Give him a chance to do so. And if you make more than 250,000 a year then yes I do think that you should be paying more in taxes than those of us that are not. You have chosen to make the money you make and live the life you live as did we, but there is NO reason that I should pay as much as you do just because you don't think it is FAIR.

Ok now on with your normal life

Words that make me wanna scream

So there are certain things that I hear from the mouths of my children so many times a day that honestly by the time bedtime arrives I am glad that I won't have to hear them for a few hours. Now how sad is that.
The list really is endless as the 4 year olds sassy comments wear me pretty thin and there is a sassy comment for most things I say. But the ones that are repeated the most come from the 2 year old.
"help"
"mom"
"ri ri"
"I Pee"
"cuppie"
"no"
"ahh" (screaming cuz her sis is making her mad)
"cheese"

Now those are the ones that pop into my head and I would say that is because they are the most common ones. And none of them are really bad, just enough to make you go HMMM can you say anything else. No I don't really want to get you cheese right now. Really you didn't know you needed to pee two seconds ago before I sat down to nurse your brother or do you just enjoy making me stand back up and listening to him scream since I have to set him down to help you.
Yes I know you need help dear, but really if you just look at your feet you won't need me to help you find your cuppie cuz its sitting right there.

Now don't think that each of these on their own would not be cute or even enjoyable but after 100 times a day, ya well I get a bit tired of them. And it isn't that we "say" them, no, we SCREAM them. So by 8 at night I can honestly say that its nice to turn out the lights, lay down beside them and be quiet and cuddle where there is NO speaking or screaming.

A way to share my thoughts

It used to be that I would try to journal about my life wants, needs, thoughts and desires but since having my children this simple release has become harder and harder. However, it is something that I greatly enjoy. It is a simple way for me to unwind and let out some of my thoughts that seem to bottle up, whether good or bad they need a place to go. I spend most of my time talking with my kids and there are things that they either don't understand or don't care to hear about. This is my place to let it out. To talk about my creative side, the funny things my kids do, things in the news that about send me over the edge and all the daily ramblings of a mom. And you will see that there really are a lot of them.
I will try to update daily, sometimes it may even be more. I need this place for a way to let my children see what was really in my head as they were growing up, and for them to know of the events that occured in their lifetimes.