I Can NOT believe it!

I can't believe it! I'm a winner! I actually won something! One blog that I have been reading for quite a while (Rocks In My Dryer) was hosting a giveaway and I was actually chosen to receive one of twenty prizes! Click on over there to see what I won!

Fun Time with friends

Good friends do wonders for a worn gals soul. These ladies and I have been getting together monthly without our kids and we've had a blast doing lots of fun things. We've gone duckpin bowling, painted pottery, sat in a hot tub, and enjoyed some great food together. I know I"ll miss their company when we leave. They have been just what I needed this past year.

Is this possible?

Tonight the realtor comes over to give us his estimate of what we should ask for our house. I spent the majority of this day cleaning and scrubbing this house yet again before he arrives. I feel like that's all I'm ever doing now a days. It's so frustrating! Anyone who has ever moved and who has small children can testify to this I'm sure. I feel like I'm neglecting my children just so that the house can look tidy and spacious. While the house is looking quite nice I can't but help to feel a little bit sad. As I go through each room I can see all of our memories. It starts with us walking through the "not yet our house", before we even bought it. This house holds the memories of our first year of marriage, my first real job, and our life going through medical school, internship, and residency. I remember watching horrific things happen to our nation during this time, Sept. 11, the space shuttle breaking apart over Texas, and the capture of Saddam Hussein - to name a few. Another ongoing memory being built is our life with children. The birth of our boys is something I will treasure in my heart forever. Bringing them both home to this starter home of ours was special. It suited us just fine. And though I know we are outgrowing this space and that we have a fantastic new space waiting for us, I can't help but be sad. This is our home. This is where we have made so many memories that are unique to only us. I see Jonah as an only child, running up and down our hallway. I see him helping Daddy finish the basement. I see Jackson being introduced to Jonah for the first time and Jonah suddenly looking like a very big boy. I see Jackson now doing some of those things that I remember Jonah doing so clearly. Will they even remember this place we have all come to love? Will they remember the blood, sweat, and tears we have all shed while living here? Trying to sell this house is quite bittersweet for me. It's not the biggest house. It's not the most beautiful house ever built. It's not...it's not...but it is our house for now. And for some very strange reason I can't help but want to be anywhere else. I want to cling to the memories we have made and keep them alive and fresh in my heart.
It's kind of funny but Mike and I have said how us looking forward to being in our new home is somewhat like us waiting for the day when we'll be in heaven. While we don't have much space here at our house in Baltimore and we don't always feel safe, we know that there is a day in the near future when those things will be in the past and that the place we are going will be so much better than we could ever hope for. We'll have land! We'll have space to spread out! We'll be in nature and not surrounded by building equipment and Johns Hopkins! It's almost a stretch to compare us moving to being in heaven, but it's as good as I can do for now. So, while I'm sad I'm also trying to keep my eyes focused on what is in store for us. Better things are ahead!

Gee whiz

It's been so long since I've posted anything! And unfortunately it's going to continue for a while...we are trying to put the house together so we can sell it. This means that I haven't touched my sewing machine for a while, or done anything craft related for that matter. It's really hard not doing something. At any rate the house is coming together nicely. Mike added some small pot lights to our bedroom and our closet. I'm so surprised with how large the room feels now that we have lighting in the bedroom! It's awesome. We've also touched up several bathrooms with a fresh coat of paint and we've repainted the trim in the kitchen. We've taken pictures of the house for a flyer and Mike has been on the phone with a few realtors to talk about asking prices. One will be over to size us up on Tuesday. Let's all hope for the best!
I have weighed myself for the past two weeks and nothing has really changed. I'm at a standstill right now. I've got to really buckle down if I want any kind of results!!!
That's about it for now. More will come later!

So, what will you be having tonight?

Today is Valentines Day. Chances are either you love this day or you don't care for it much. I think it might come as a surprise to some people that I fall in the later group. I really don't care much about this day. I think it's a shame that people feel pressure to tell those they love that they love them by showering them with flowers and gifts that they may or may not need. I feel so horrible for the guys during this time of year - to be flooded with all those "romantic" commercials on T.V. telling them that they must get the best diamond ring for their special someone. How awkward for those who don't get those pricey presents and were kind of expecting them to show up because they fell for those commercials on TV? Bleh! I'm tired of all the hoopla and added pressure that comes with this day. That's why this year my husband and I decided to not get each other presents or cards! We know we love each other. But instead of spending our precious money on things we don't really need or care for we have decided to spend more time with each other. That is something we haven't been able to do for quite some time. I think we go on dates about 3 or 4 times a year...isn't that horrible? It's not because we don't want to date each other, it's because of our current situation. That will change soon enough. But for now what we will give each other is our time. This Saturday we'll be doing just that. Just the two of us. I really can't wait! The other thing we do to "commemorate" this day is to have a nice meal. We don't go out to eat much and when we do go out to eat we often leave feeling that we could have done a better job with the meal ourselves! So we fix ourselves a mighty fine meal. Something we wouldn't fix on a day to day basis. Something special. So tonight we'll be having a great meal (See below) with our two boys and just enjoying our time together. So, what will you be having tonight? Here's what we'll be doing:

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb
with some lovely roasted vegetables. For some time I've been interested in doing something with parsnips. I don't recall that I've ever had them and I've heard they taste wonderful - so I"ll be roasting some parsnips along with sweet potatoes, onions, and some cherry tomatoes dressed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

For all of you out there, Happy Valentines Day!

Favorite Things...

...about Fall (in no particular order!)

1. The cool and crisp air you feel against your face when you walk outside in the morning.
2. Hot Apple Cider
3. Making Applesauce
4. Enjoying a pleasant walk with those I love
5. Settling back into a "schedule" after a busy yet fun summer
6. The trees changing colors
7. Drinking the first Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks when the air does turn cooler.
8. Squash. Pumpkins. Harvest Time!

What are some of your favorite things about the fall?

Odds and Ends of every kind

I've had it with the tomato plants. I threw them out a week or so ago...they just weren't doing anything. Besides, who wants to eat an itty bitty tomato the size of a dime (or in some cases, even smaller than that!)? The plants were looking a little sick and I thought that our view out the kitchen window (as if it could get any better...) would look much nicer if we had some actual flowers. With that being said, I took the boys to the Home Depot and we looked and looked and saw some very beautiful mums, but the mums that are being sold now are gigantic and wouldn't fit in my little window. The only other option at that point was to purchase some pansies. We got three - and they look so cheerful! I wasn't quite ready to announce to everyone driving by our house that I was ready for fall yet. These pansies still tell me that it's summer (or perhaps the end of summer) and that's all I need.

I've thrown in the towel with sewing. I suppose that I got out much of my need or desire to sew during the summer. I've lost a lot of my momentum coming up with ideas of what to make, how to make it, cutting and pinning the material, not to mention the actual art of sewing while wiping snotty noses, wiping a 4 year olds rear end after he poops, washing hands, drinking coffee (because we all know I'm not sleeping through the night yet and any bit of caffeine helps me so much!), stepping on toys, watching my son's planes taking off and landing on our carpet "runway", and taking him to school three times a week...gee whiz that just make my head spin! No wonder I can't come up with anything creative to do on my machine.

Speaking of trying to be creative, I have made a few new scrapbook pages but I have no desire whatsoever to try to post the end results. I guess my thinking is that why would anyone want to see my page layouts? They certainly aren't anything to write home about!!! I'm not asking for a pity party. I guess I started off with this blog posting the scrapbook pages as a means of me to get it done. It gave me a goal. But I'm just not feeling it right now. Maybe later.
WOW started back up last week and I'm looking forward to the group I'll be in this year. We'll be reading a book entitled "Every Thought Captive: Battling the Toxic Beliefs That Separate Us from the Life We Crave" and so far it looks really interesting. I think it's really good timing too. The past few days have been a little hard for me. I've been having lots and lots of thought swirling around in my head like "I'm not good enough," "I'm not that great of a friend," "I could be a better mother/wife/person and why am I not trying?" I don't want anyone worrying about me...I'm fine but just a little bit worn out. And I want to be honest and up front about my feelings and not act as if I'm always happy or upbeat all the time. That's not life.

A little over a year ago I stumbled upon a blog of a person I didn't know at all but have come to really admire her. Amy Wilhoite was diagnosed with AML or Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and was blogging about her struggle with day to day life, with treatments, living and even with her own death. She lost her fight against leukemia last week and I felt so bad all week long. She was only married for four years and had a one year old little boy. It made me want to hold onto my little ones a little bit longer. If any of you have the chance to look through her posts, I promise you it will change you. It might take a while if you start from the beginning, but well worth your time. I have to admire her. She always looked to God and was ready to meet her maker. I'm sure she had quite the homecoming last Monday. This is from her very first post:

I wholly believe my journey through leukemia began from the foundations of the earth. The Lord has had this fully written in His plan for my life. Though we will never know the exact moment a single cell of my DNA acquired a problem, the doctors feel my body has been under attack for months. As I look back, I see the many ways God has been preparing us for this -- He has truly gone before, and for that I must be grateful.

And so my day today begins...lots to do around the house - laundry, cleaning, keeping the boys entertained, outings, and whatever we can fit in! Tonight I will be going to Jonah's "Back to School Night" and I'm not sure what all I'll find out since I didn't go for the previous two years, but I'm looking forward to spending time with his teachers and finding out just what he does in class. Whenever I ask him he simply says that he played and he can't remember the other things he did in school! I laugh. I know he is having fun and making new friends.

Happy Thursday!

-14.50

That's the total amount of inches I have lost since joining Curves in the middle of July. Don't be fooled though. I have a few little doubts that I've actually lost that many inches...for instance when I was first measured, I wasn't wearing my sports bra, like I was this morning. So really, add back a few more inches in bust category. Also for some reason when this gal was measuring my waist, the measuring tape rode up higher than I thought it should be...so I'll add another inch and a half in the waist department. The reality is that I probably lost somewhere between 10-14.50 inches in a little over a month. Yay! Go me.
I don't normally talk about my achievements like this but I am so proud of this. Ever since Jackson was born, I've needed to lose that baby weight. And it wasn't coming off. At. All. I tried putting myself back on the weight watchers program without actually rejoining but I really needed the accountability so it wasn't working. After convincing my mother to check Curves out, she did and joined. Then she told me that I would love it - so then I joined. I don't expect the following months to be quite as dramatic as this first month has been, but I'm so excited. Now, my weight hasn't really changed but I'm trying to convince myself that it's muscle that I gained so it's not really that bad. Hopefully. Inches people...think less inches!!!

Back in business

It's been a while since I posted here. My family just got back from SD earlier this week, and we had a great time seeing our family, and house hunting. It's hard to be here in Baltimore when we know what is waiting for us.
While in SD I finished reading The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers, and all I can say is WOW. I loved the first two books, and the third was pretty great too. Thanks to my mother in law for getting me hooked on Francine Rivers writing! Today I ordered two more books by the same author. I can't wait for them to arrive!
I have been pretty frustrated these past few days and I figure it's due to the lack of sleep I'm getting. Last night Jackson woke up three times again (he seems to be doing this very frequently) and sometimes he wants to nurse and other times I think he wakes up from a bad dream. I'm tired of not being able to sleep through the night. I'm tired of feeling like crap the next day. And most of all, I'm tried of being cranky with the kids and my husband! I'm sure a full night's sleep would help me quite a bit. Today I decided that I'm going to wean Jackson...and he is not happy with me one bit. I'm tired of it and ready to move on. He would say otherwise. So wish us luck. Any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated.
Looking back on the summer I can't believe that it's nearly over. I mean, I didn't even take the kids swimming yet! What kind of a mother am I? Anyway, I do feel like I did some neat things to stretch my mind a little. I scrapped a few pages, and made a few purses/totes (5 so far - two I made with my very own made up pattern!), and I also made a skirt. Now I feel like I've lost some sewing momentum so I don't know when I'll get back to the machine. Besides...one of the levers came off last night. The lever that tells you how many stitches per inch, and whether you are going forwards or backwards - it just came off. I managed to put it back on but it came off again. This machine doesn't like me. Oh, how I wish it did! Anyway, I sent off two purses today for my sisters birthdays and once we get past those days, I'll post pictures of the completed items.

Not to be taken lightly

Last night was rather exciting around our house. The weather was nice so we decided to grill for dinner. As Mike was coming and going, in and out of the house, Jonah and I started hearing sirens. This is not unusual. In fact what would be unusual is if we didn't hear any sirens during the day or night. They have become something that I rarely hear anymore. Jonah, on the other hand, will race to the kitchen window to see what kind of vehicle is driving by...every single time we hear a siren. He gets so excited to see them. It's almost a game to him I think. It's hard for him to think that there might be somebody who is hurt inside the ambulance, or that there is a fire that the firetruck is going to. He just sees lights and a fast truck and he's giddy. So last night was really quite extraordinary to say the least. And I say that with all respect to those who keep us safe here in Baltimore. I was cutting up some veggies to put on the grill when it began. Jonah raced into the kitchen when he heard the first siren. Then he ran back out to the living room where he was watching a baseball game. Not a minute later, there was a group of sirens headed our way. In this grouping were several cop cars. Another minute passed and still more sirens were heard. Jonah was in and out of the kitchen just as fast as these cars raced by our house. This spectacular show lasted for nearly ten minutes...and it seemed that with each minute, there were more cop cars, more ambulances, firetrucks, helicopters, armor trucks, you name it, and they passed by our house. I decided that I would try to count the trucks that passed by after the first ten minutes went by. Of course we had no idea what was going on, where it was happening, and the rest of the logistics. I could tell from the beginning that it was probably something very serious. I had never seen that many rescue, cop, and firetrucks zoom by as I did last night. After a slight pause in the action, it began again. This time the trucks were all moving in the opposite direction (towards the hospital.) At that point I realized that someone was hurt and I figured it was somebody in uniform, given all the activity that took place (we probably saw nearly 40-50 cars, vans, armored vehicles, firetrucks, ambulances...all within this time period). We were itching to learn what was going on because the helicopters were right above our house, hovering. I finally was able to see what happened online. Two female police officers were driving in a car, only blocks from our house, when someone opened fire on them. The driver was shot in the arm and the other officer was shot through the abdomen. From what I hear they are both fine but will be needing more surgery. (To see the complete story, click here and check out the video footage.) Pretty crazy, right? I was really starting to feel more comfortable in the city, especially the place where we live but this brings things back into perspective. I can not allow myself at any point to feel safe in my city, my neighborhood, and my home, because this is part of city life. No wonder why I've been keeping my kids inside lately. It's not the humidity, it's not that I'm lazy, it's because I fear for their safety - and mine. As I was trying to figure out what happened last night I came across something else quite scary. This truly makes me afraid. I will be more than happy to walk away from this part of life without any hesitation in less than a year.

Oh Look! I can grow a tomato!

Or two, or three...Oh yes I can! After three failed attempts at growing a beautiful tomato, we have a success story. This evening I picked three tomatoes from my kitchen windowsill. Included in this bountiful harvest was one roma tomato, and two yellow heirloom tomatoes. There are quite a few others that are still green...but I just had to try these three out. They didn't get very big, as you can tell in the photo, but both Mike and I thought that they had a nice taste. The best part? They didn't taste one iota like a cars exhaust or downtown...and the birds didn't even try to eat them! Yay! So we split them between the two of us (woowee! what a lot of tomatoes to split!) and had them in our salad this evening.

Resident Graduation

Last night we hired a sitter for the boys and were able to enjoy an adult evening at the Resident Graduation dinner. Mike and the other residents toasted a fellow resident who will be moving to NYC in a short while. We had an awesome meal of steak, a crabcake, some seasonal vegetables, and of course the chocolate cheesecake...which was oh so yummy! Each table had a really pretty floral centerpiece. We were lucky enough to come home with one!

A little home spa therapy...

A few years ago after I had come back from my music camp in Brevard, NC I had one desire to purchase a spa-like piece of equipment. You see, while we were in the thick of things in music camp, playing...oh...around eight to ten hours of music every day your muscles and joints would sometimes start to hurt. Yes, we all overdid the playing at one point or another. But to remedy the situation, the camp nurse offered free weekly 10 minute massages to the first fifteen people who signed up. You had to act quickly my friends. Those massages were like heaven. I still love them. I didn't go out and purchase a professional masseuse mind you. She turned me on to something else quite lovely. Something called Hot Paraffin Wax Treatment...or something like that. You might think that it sounds ridiculous sticking a body part into hot melted wax...why would anyone do that? Oh people...if you only knew! It is such a treat to the skin. When the wax has melted, you dip your hand (or it could be your elbow, foot whatever) into the hot paraffin six to seven times quickly. After taking your hand out, it is covered in waxy goodness so you must wrap them in bags. In my opinion, the bags help to lock the heat in, and seal in the moisturizing effects this has. After sitting for a few minutes, letting your mind do nothing but wander (because really, what else could you be doing while your hands are covered in wax?) you get to unwrap those bags and take the wax off and deposit it back in the crock. The whole process is so soothing...and that's why I brought it out of the closet yesterday. Yesterday was one of those crazy like days when my mind just couldn't stop the madness! The kids were constantly screaming for attention, if not screaming at each other, and there were a million things that needed to be done. My head was spinning and I was in a foul mood. Yes, it happens on occasion. Please forgive me. I needed something for myself. Something to soothe me. The answer...hot paraffin wax treatment. It's what I call a little piece of serenity in my house. You should try it!

This is the crock with the melted wax inside

The melted wax



Dipping your hand in the wax (yes, I'm odd for taping it, but a girl's gotta show you how to do it!)

Depositing the wax back in the crock

Now let it melt again!

Stop right there!

I saw you for the first time about two weeks ago. It was dark so I couldn't see too clearly. You ran away quickly and hid before I could catch up.
Then just the other night as the lights were being turned off, you mysteriously appeared again, going into my bathroom.
This morning as my son entered my bathroom, you were there again. You tried to run but we fought and I thought I took care of the situation.
How could you? We thought you were long gone! I was sure the words I had spoken to you would ensure us that you would never return under any circumstances.
On my way to the laundry room I saw you again. You looked my way, ran and hid under the cabinet. You dirty little cockroach! And now I'm sure it wasn't just one...


BLEH!


From now on when I go into the boys' room during the night I pray that I won't happen upon you and squish the living daylights out of you. That would just be too gross. My foot would never be the same!

I'm going for it!

I have finally made the decision to teach Jonah the violin. I have thought about this long and hard and after thinking about what little we have to do this summer I decided that I might as well just give it a try. I'm really nervous about it. I don't want this to be all about me wanting my son to be the best little violin player out there. I want to do this because I think he'd like it and might have fun learning something and later he might appreciate the discipline that comes from practicing an instrument. Maybe I'm looking too far ahead but I'm willing to give it a try. I approach this with much trepidation. I've thought about this for several months now...should I do it, or shouldn't I? I've made the decision to go for it! Just a little while ago I ordered a violin online. Hopefully if all goes well we'll have it by next week! Wish us luck!

A story of the Mutant Tomatoes

Over a month ago I had an idea to start a small tomato garden outside of my kitchen window. It would be fun I thought to myself. We'd have delicious tomatoes that we could pick off the vine ourselves. We'd eat them every day! They would be the best tomatoes anyone has ever seen.
I purchased three different tomato plants at the Home Depot ~ Roma tomatoes, Mr. Stripey heirloom tomatoes, and Yellow Pear tomatoes. I thought the variety would be fun. And as they were growing outside I could just glance out the window and marvel at the process happening before my very eyes.
The plants grew very quickly. One plant practically quadrupled in size. I was so excited! Then, the little yellow blossoms starts showing. I thought they were really nice. I have never grown any kind of vegetable before and so anything new here was progress. I waited and waited to see any sign of tomatoes springing forth. When my inlaws were here visiting a week or so ago it finally happened. Two oblong shaped tomatoes popped out overnight. I was thrilled! I watched to see how much they would grow. I watered them. I hoped they would grow and turn out to become beautiful tomatoes, the very first tomatoes that I had ever grown myself. I was so proud of these tomatoes.
When I first decided to place my tomatoes outside of my kitchen window I had a brief thought that the tomatoes, if they chose to grow, would turn out to be some kind of mutant tomatoes, seeing as how they were being grown on the street...literally! I didn't dare plant them in my backyard, seeing as how the rats would probably get to the tomatoes before I ever could. Even thinking that the rats could touch them gives me the goosebumps. Gross! So I planted them in the window box to keep them from large city rats. Mike didn't think that we'd end up with any tomatoes. He assumed that the birds would get to them and eat them before they ripened. I didn't anything or anyone would touch or harm them.
I was wrong.
Shortly after my inlaws left I noticed my two prized tomatoes growing rather nicely. I even thought that they were starting to change colors from green to red! The bottoms of each fruit had turned a color that was like a deep purple - and I just knew that it wouldn't be long before we'd be able to enjoy them. I waited and waited to see if the color would spread to the rest of the fruit, but it didn't.

After talking with my older sister last night I realized that I had a problem on my hands. My tomatoes had blossom end rot...and I needed to get rid of them. So I'm trying something she suggested...and if it doesn't work...older sister, you know who you are!!! She suggested that I try putting banana peels and or pieces of banana in the dirt. So this morning after I took off the rotten tomatoes, I placed a banana peel around my three plants.
I'm waiting and watching carefully and hoping against all odds that my tomatoes will be fruitful!

LOST

I haven't spoken of my obsession with the television show LOST yet but today is as good as ever. Last night was the season finale and I could hardly go to bed, I was so excited. My husband and I have been devoted watchers of the show since it started and I know I'll continue to watch it when it starts back up again...in 8 months! I can hardly stand it. The shows always leave me with a feeling of wonderment. Last night was no exception. I'm scratching my head just thinking about it! Wow. If you haven't joined in on the LOST experience, you have all summer long to catch up. I highly suggest that you do so because it will take you on a trip unlike any other!

Why a Patchwork Quilt?

I've had several people ask me why I've named this blog "My Patchwork Quilt" when it has nothing to do with quilting. I do have an interest in learning how to make quilts, but at this stage in my life I don't have the time of day to spend on quilting! (I'd rather be blogging) So the reason it's called "My Patchwork Quilt" is simply because I'd like to share my thoughts on other areas of my life, not just about my children. It's about the very fibers of my life and what they are made of. It will consist of stories that make me think thoughts other than the motherly ones I express on my other blog. And lastly I will use this blog to share my other experiments ~ my scrapbook pages and other home improvement projects. They all are different parts, or different "squares" in the quilt of my life.

Late night visitor

Last night I was sitting on the couch, veggin' out with the television while Mike was downstairs studying for his test this morning. I was in the "zone" when all of a sudden someone was knocking on our kitchen door. It wasn't a subtle knock, but one of urgency. This knock scared the living daylights out of me. I jumped off the couch and ran halfway down the hallway deliberating on if I should open the door or not. It was close to 9:30 pm and nobody really uses our kitchen door, and we live downtown for petes sake...who would want anything to do with us at that hour? So I froze and yelled down to Mike to come upstairs and answer the door for me. I was just sure it was some kind of an axe murderer or something. Mike came up and looked out the kitchen window when this person knocked on the door again. So he went over to the door and peeped through that peep hole, but didn't recognize the person on the other side. He went back over to the kitchen window and opened it up ever so slightly (and much safer mind you,) and the man outside is pleading us to give him something to do. Anything. Take the trash out, clean the yard, anything to make a few bucks to get him back to the county on a bus. I've heard this line before but have only heard it in the daytime when I have felt relatively safe. Then he said, "I saw that your lights were on. I just had to come and get help. I just got out of prison and I have my papers to prove that I was just discharged..." What oh what were we to do? Mike told him that we couldn't do anything right now because we had two kids upstairs sleeping...(in other words...keep the racket down already!) and we just weren't in any kind of position to help him out at the moment. In all actuality the moment scared me to death. We could have let this man in our house and something horrible could have happened. But we could have also just given him a buck or two and let him be on his way. Being in the inner city has taught me to think twice about what it is that we do with our family and our money... but still there is another voice in my head that says and even thinks...maybe this is someone I could trust and just help out. Isn't that what Jesus would want us to do? Help the stranger, go out of your comfort zone and be a servant? It's a dilemma we often face being here in the city. Sometimes I'd like to think that we are acting like Jesus would want us to. Sometimes I think that I've missed the mark. All I can I can do is try to be better!

Still Here...

I'm still here, just having a bit of a hard time finding some regular time to post and do other fun things. I promise that there are lots of pictures to share...and they will be posted as time allows.