Migraines

Well, I am still fighting the migraines. It is hard to look at a computer screen for more than a few minutes, and watching TV or having bright lights on is hopeless!
Yesterday, I finally managed to get in to the doctor's, and she gave me an injection of migraine medicine to help "break the cycle." They also ran a bunch of tests to try to figure out why these migraines keep happening.
I am doing a lot better today - I am able to do more things around the house. I just have to avoid the computer (this is all I'm doing today!) the TV, books, and anything that makes my brain ache! Ha ha. Hopefully this gets resolved soon - I am so bored and extremely tired all the time.
But until I am back regularly posting, enjoy these photos from our Fall Festival:

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Blitz Sale!

. . . these are just a few of the things in the Christmas Blitz Sale at The Framed Frog this week only. . .

I'm just sayin' - save a little money on those Christmas gifts! :)

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom. . .

Everybody Needs Grace

Last night, a Bible conference meeting was being held at my church. My ladies' ensemble was supposed to sing a special for the service. I was still fighting a migraine headache, but decided to go and sing anyway. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to make it through the whole service, but I could at least sing a song!

We gathered before the service on stage to run through the song one last time. All of us were dressed in our Sunday best - in black and pink to match each other. Then we filed into the hallway to await our turn to sing. After the choir sang "Lord, I Believe in You", we walked out on stage to sing. All the bright lights made my head pound even more so, but we began to sing. The song was "Grace in My Hour of Need", and the words of the song intermixed with the words to the traditional "Amazing Grace". I focused on the beautiful and meaningful words of the song.

After we sang, I met my husband in the foyer to drive home so I could rest my aching head. On the way home, he mentioned that the song sounded great and that he couldn't think of a more appropriate song for our group to have sung that night. "What do you mean?" I questioned him. "Well, look at your group." he pointed out. "You are trying to work through a blinding headache right now. Another of the ladies recently went through a devastating miscarriage. Another has been through several miscarriages and has yet to be blessed with a baby of her own. One lady is doing her best to live for God, while her husband rarely attends church. Another struggles with lupus, an ailing mother, and a daughter who has been through more surgeries than any teenager should ever have to. I think it's safe to say that all of you have been given grace in your hour of need."

I thought about what he said, and realized that he was right. Perhaps someone walking into our church for the first time and seeing our group sing would think, "Look at that group of ladies all dressed nice and singing for the Lord. Do they really know what needing God's grace is all about?"

It just goes to show that everyone needs God's grace. Look around you. Who can you reach out to today? Maybe you can be the one that shows His wonderful grace to someone right now.

Catching Up

My life is always busy but is especially so this time of year. I am sitting here typing this with a fever and migraine, so I'll just give you the main details of our past week to catch you up:

Friday night we had a fall festival at our church. The Spud turned out to be a pretty cute Nemo. I giggled every time I saw his fishy tail waggling behind him.

The Beast has always been a huge fan of sharks, and I was fortunate enough to find this costume at a garage sale during the summer. This shark really enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire at the festival. That, and eating a LOT of candy...

The Drama Queen was a "girly" pirate. I got the pirate tutu and leggings from a great etsy shop Mama Runs With Scissors, and the rest we compiled from things we had at home. She loved wearing her tutu and wanted to wear it again the next day. I found out that our local department store was running a costume contest for kids age ten and under, so she got all dressed up for the occasion. And she won! Our little pirate spent her $25 gift card prize on Play-dough kits, because then she could "share them with her brothers." Ah, I have trained her well...

In other news, putting my Etsy shop on vacation for a week and spending the entire week getting my home in order was exactly what I needed. A close friend and organizing aficionado came over EVERY day to help clean and organize every room in the house. She was a powerhouse! I took an entire van-load of boxes to Good Will and another van-load to the dump. Hopefully later this week I will have pictures, but I am just in awe at how clean and uncluttered each room is. I am sitting here in MY living room, with almost no toys in sight. It is glorious!

And now The Framed Frog is back from vacation and running a fabulous Christmas Blitz sale all this week. Thirty-four items are on sale - french memo boards, photo frames, paintings, trains, etc., all of which make great Christmas gifts! And I have a SPECIAL OFFER for my blog followers! Purchase any of the items in the sale section in my shop and tell me in the Notes to Seller box that you follow my blog, and I will give you half-price shipping! Just a little way to say thank you for following my blog. :) (and if this is your first time here, go ahead and follow my blog to get the discount!)

And finally this post is my 200th post! Who would have thunk it? Next week, I will have been blogging faithfully (more or less) for a whole year! I am looking forward to so many things - mainly this migraine and fever to go away. :) Happy Monday, all!

Wordless Wednesday - pumpkin massacre

wearing Daddy's shirts and scraping vigilantly with spoons, the offspring have created a new family out of pumpkins. Meet Goofy Dad, Spider Mom, Angry Beast, Joyful Drama Queen, and "My Life is Crazy" Spud.

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

The Framed Frog Will Be Back

For those who haven't noticed, the Etsy shop button on my sidebar is blank. No, I haven't closed down my shop permanently. I just put it on vacation for a week so that I could get a few other things done, and get ready for the Christmas season for my shop.

It has been a great blessing already. Without the shop to worry about or orders to work on, I can focus on some things that desperately need help around here. With the help of a good friend, I have already completely cleaned and reorganized two rooms in the house, and today we are tackling the next two. It feels good to finally get to the things that have been put off for months!

But be sure to check out The Framed Frog next Monday, November 1st. My shop will be coming back from vacation with a bang, and a Christmas Blitz sale will be running then. Lots of great deals on Christmas gifts such as photo frames, memo boards, and custom name trains will be available.

For now, the closets are calling!

Little Brother

Ever since the Spud started walking (um, I mean running!), he has been working hard to fulfill his duties as pesky little brother. No book, toy, or quiet play is safe from this new master of havoc and destruction! He steals his siblings' food right off the table. He sits on a book when you are trying to read it. He gleefully topples block towers that have taken his sister a long time to build.

It is no wonder then that the Drama Queen gets just a little frustrated with her little brother. "Mom, make him stop!" I often hear her wail. And sometimes she gets a little carried away and tries to discipline the Spud herself. I remind her that her little brother is still just a baby and that we need to be patient with him. I know how she feels, having grown up with a couple of little brothers myself.

So, the other day the Drama Queen was hard at work using every Mega Blok in the box to build the most awesome tower ever. The Spud made a few unsuccessful attempts to destroy the tower, and then he saw his chance. The Drama Queen turned around to check for any extra blocks, and as she did so, the Spud careened into the table and completely demolished her building.

Her response?
"Mo-om!" she wailed. "He's wrecking my future!" :)

Wordless Wednesday - our new neighbor

yeah, we didn't send him the welcome wagon or anything...

Reclaiming Our Living Room

I used to be quite pleased with our living room's decor. It was the only room completely finished and decorated, and I loved sitting in it after the kids had gone to bed, catching up on email or TV shows and drinking some yummy chai tea.

But now the aliens have taken over my favorite room in the house. Three little aliens with a whole LOT of stuff, to be exact. As I sit here on our comfy leather couch, there is not a single direction I can look without seeing all their stuff. I'm tired of it - the little aliens are even overwhelmed by it, and it's time to make a change.

They don't know it yet - although there has certainly been some clues - but over half of their toys are leaving this house. We are taking our living room back! I have filled several large plastic containers with their toys and stuck them in the garage to be sorted through. The toys that survive the cut will be stored in the garage and only brought out for "dollhouse day" or "train day" or building blocks day."

So suddenly, I need to come up with a new solution for the living room. The room basically has been designed around all these toys, and so I am trying to figure out how to best use the space that will be freed up. Last night we hit IKEA in hopes of figuring out the perfect idea for our space. We left with lots of ideas but no concrete ones yet. Basically we are moving out a large toy storage unit and replacing it with. . . an entertainment center? a storage unit with locks that the kiddies can't open? a sofa bed to provide more seating plus a sleeping area for naps/guests? We are still not sure what the best option is yet - I will post pics of the space later and perhaps you all can chip in with your ideas.

Beyond reclaiming our living room as a mostly adult space, we have been talking about getting rid of a lot of the toys for another reason. Our kiddies, especially the Drama Queen, have seemed a little "entitled" lately. Just last week, Grandma brought over some new toys for the kids to enjoy. I was shocked and embarrassed to hear my daughter ask, "What else did you bring me, Grandma?" At Sunday School, she thinks that she deserves to get a special treat every week. I've observed her and the Beast go from one toy to the next, none of which hold their attention span for more than a few minutes. It's time to get this under control. I want my children to realize that you don't just get everything you want - things come with hard work and wise choices.

I expect the Drama Queen will not be pleased with the changes we are about to make. She will probably have a few "moments" but will get with the program fairly quickly. I dare say that the Beast will not even notice. He's usually too busy playing with things that are not toys! And the Spud's too young to really care.


I can't wait to get my room back!