Easy Earring Holder...

Is this what your earrings currently look like??  Well, I have the same problem.  I like to keep them close to where I get ready in the bathroom but they just end up a jumbled mess that I have to sort through every morning.  I decided to search for earring holders on Amazon (my go to shop for everything).  But, all the reviews were less than stellar and so I began a search on how to make my own.  

I found this old thing at a thrift store for $5.00.  I was pretty happy and had a good idea how to use it.  So, I brought it home and disassembled it.

I took off the back and pulled out the mirror.  That was pretty easy.  

I took it outside and spray painted it white.  I happened to have 2 old frames I bought a while ago that I decided to use to make a few for myself and the other one would be for my daughter (#9).  I wanted mine black to match my bathroom decor so I lightly painted them black.  I like the look of it not being perfectly painted so I went with it.  Besides, it started to rain outside and I had to bring them in anyway.

I ended up painting #9's with a pink glitter paint on top of the white.  She decided she wanted it to be full of sparkle.

I bought some really pretty lace at JoAnn's fabric and cut it to fit the back of the frame and stapled it all around the back.  I also stapled down in the groove where the backing site just to make it pop out a little more.  I made sure it was pretty taught as I didn't want it to be saggy.  I did this with all 3 frames.

The pink frame has a little "planter" in the front.  I took a piece of cork board and cut it to size then wrapped it in lace as well.  I super glued that down to the front of the "planter" to hold her earring that had backings to them.  I am going to store the backings in the little holder so they are easy to get to and hopefully we wont loose as many!

Here they are with earrings all in them.  Since I didn't have a cork board bottom for my stud earrings I did a second small frame for those that I wont attach to a wall so I can have access to the back for easy removal.  Otherwise, I can hang the other 2 since they are full of dangle earrings with no back.  I am happy with the way they turned out and look forward to having an organized earring holder.  Quick and easy!!

The Ring

I have discovered that I am not good at blogging on a weekly basis. My husband demands the house be clean and dinner be made too often!! Feeding them once a week should be just fine. I don’t understand why he complains!

Anyway, I am in the throes of starting to plan a wedding. Oh, and I have 7 weeks to do it. And the bride has decided she wants to do it on the beach in California…we live in Arizona.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s discuss the ring and how it came to be. Close to 3 years ago my oldest daughter was dating a guy in the Air Force. They had a fairly quick romance that lead to them wanting to get married. With the possibility of an engagement looming my daughter and I went to several jewelry stores looking at rings to get an idea of what she liked. We found the “one” at the very first store and she did not waiver from it the rest of the time.
When the time came the next week for him to go get the ring I went with him. I showed him what she liked and he agreed to it. He applied for the loan and didn’t quite get approved for the whole amount. I felt so bad for him so I said I would co-sign. I didn’t think twice about it. I didn’t ask my husband. I didn’t say we should talk about it. I didn’t use my head. I didn’t realize the trouble I would get in!!!!

He asked her to marry him that night…she said yes. We began planning the wedding. It would be a beach wedding in California. We looked at dresses, we picked out colors, we had cake toppers saved on the computer…we were pretty much done with the plans within a week. BTW, I never did tell my husband about the ring situation. Did he really need to know??

Guess what happened next?? Yep, my daughter and said Air Force guy got in a fight and broke off their engagement. No wedding…no planning…no ring. Wait, guess who has to pay for the ring now?? MMMMEEEEEEE!!!!! And guess what came in the mail the very next day?? The bill! And guess who it was addressed to?? MMMMMEEEEE!!!!! So, guess who found out? And guess who was not happy? Yep, my husband.

I did my best to spin it in every direction I could. But, in the end I couldn’t get myself out of the mess I made. I dug a $5,000 hole and I had to face the facts. I turned on the water works and cried like a baby. That helped a little. I played every card I knew I could play. I owed him big time and he cashed in on it a lot for a long time. Guilty does not even begin to describe how horrible I felt. Lesson learned on that one!!

Funny thing is…I put that ring on Craigslist 10 times over the last 3 years and tried to sell it. Although I have had offers and lookers I never sold it. And here we are in the throes of planning a wedding of said daughter and said Air Force guy. They will be married in 7 weeks. He bought the ring back. I even gave him a little discount! They found their way back to each other and realized life together is where they belong.

So, in the end my husband yelled at me for nothing. I think HE owes me a few apologies! I am mad at him now!!! I am not going to cook dinner tonight…I am going to make him take me out. Jerk!! :)

Mother of the Year

I realize that I have had countless opportunities over the years to receive Mother of the Year. I probably should not recap them all in one blog because I don’t want you, my dear readers, to feel less than perfect and stop reading. However, the one that occurred yesterday was quite amazing so I will tell it. Please don’t feel like a crappy Mom…I am, after all, Mother of the Year.

My birthday was the a few days ago. My sweet Mother got me a “Shake Weight”. I think that gift will be a whole blog of its own. A Shake Weight??? I mean, I get that my arms wave an extra minute after I am done saying goodbye but to actually buy me a Shake Weight for my birthday?? Ouch!! And from my Mother! Isn’t she the one who is supposed to lie and tell me I look awesome no matter what?

Anyway, yesterday my sweet 6 year old Jilliann was sitting on the couch with me watching Good Morning America. She said she was going to open the Shake Weight and play with it. “Sure”, I though. “Play with the dumb thing”. I heard her go over to the table and within a minute or so I heard her say “I cut myself”. It was one of those voices that I knew she really cut herself but I just told her to come to me because I like that new Josh guy on GMA so I didn’t want to get up. Of course there was blood everywhere…but she knew not to get it on the carpet!!!

I took her to the sink and washed it off. She was freaking out but I was super calm. I am great in crisis mode! (Mother of the Year). I told her to look in my eyes and take some deep breaths. When she calmed down enough I got a rag …a clean one…and held pressure on it. I took her to the couch. Then shock set in and she was sweating and dizzy and nauseous. I was laughing hysterically. It was so cute how dramatic it was for her.

I finally got around to asking her what happened and she told me she was using a knife to open the box. NICE!!! Yep, told you I am an awesome Mother. I decided it looked like stitches were needed. It wasn’t a big cut at all but it was kinda deep and in a weird spot. Off to the ER. On the way to the ER she begged me not to take pictures and post them on Facebook. She didn’t want anyone to see all the blood…plus she didn’t brush her hair before we left. OMG!! She is sooo my child.

In the ER I told them she was opening a gift that had a “clam shell” package and she cut her hand on that. I gave her a “LOOK” and like the good girl I trained her to be she didn’t say a word. Does the ER really need to know she had a big ole knife??? A cut is a cut, right? Thankfully they were able to use surgical glue and we thwarted the need for stitches. She had a Popsicle and we watched TV for an hour.

When we got home I told her she could cut the hospital band off with the knife she used to cut herself but she screamed "NO" so I think she won't be playing with knives for a little while! She is now milking it for all it is worth. We are heading out to get pedicures. She needs beautiful toes if her hand is messed up!! Oh, and she did give me permission to blog about it as long as there were no pictures!! One of the many reasons why I should be Mother of the Year!!

How do you do it...

People that don't know me well ask me all the time how I do it. How do I raise so many children and keep it all together. I think seeing me out in public gives them an unrealistic view of what real life is. For the most part when we venture out in to the world I make sure my kids look decent. Thankfully my youngest is a girl and she prefers I pick her outfit and do her hair. She is a princess through and through. She is MY child. The boys could care less but do ask my opinion about matching. I force them to let me do their hair ... my house my rules!! LOL

As long as I have enough notice (2 days would be nice) I can make my house presentable. I can do it in one but then the master bedroom is off limits. I cannot seem to ever get the whole house clean including my room. But, for those who know me well (close family and a FEW close friends) they see it like it is. Laundry is a never ending mess I can't seem to get down to a science yet. Popcorn seems to litter every room in the house even though I vacuum daily. Bathrooms...yuck.

First off...I used to dream of having a big house with space for all of us. Be careful what you wish for. I got it and now I have to try to clean it. What a nightmare. I dream of downsizing already. Who in their right mind wants to clean 3 full bathrooms and 6 bedrooms? NOT me!!! Sure, all tile floors sounded great but mopping is a pain in the butt. I have bought every mop, steamer and Swiffer known to man. Still haven’t found my dream one yet. A playroom, an office, a formal living room. Great, more rooms to dust. Ugh. And laundry. Forget it. My Mom says if I do 2 loads a day I will keep up. Sounds great. Anyone want to fold it and put it away. That is where I seem to fall behind.

Yes, I have it all together. Just don’t come over unannounced. You may discover that behind my front door is a woman with 9 kids and a whole lot of laundry that needs to be folded and put away!!

Are you...

Ahhh, the burning questions we get asked on a weekly basis.  They all tend to begin with "Are you" and then proceed to ask us rather personal things.  Thank God I have a funny sense of humor.  I find them all hilarious and often answer with things most people aren't expecting.  I mean, if you are going to ask dumb questions shouldn't you receive a dumb answer??

So, are you ..."Mormon?  Catholic?  Very fertile?  Aware of what causes that?  Against birth control?  Sure they are all yours?  Thinking of trying for #10?  Going to put a TV in your room? "  How many of those were you wondering yourself??  Come on.  Seeing the back of my Suburban makes you wonder, right?  It is ok.  I am not offended.  I have been asked them all and then some.

Yes, we have 9 kids.  The one with the added one on top is married.  She is a PLUS!  The one with the halo and wings has passed away.  She is our angel but we still count her in our 9.  I did give birth to her so she counts in my book.  The others are ours...not matter how they got here.  They range from 1984 to 2006.  Some came to us easy some took years and fertility treatment.  None were a mistake.  We did not have a large family for religious reasons.   I guess we like each other...and kids.  Well, we did until we had them.  Now, I am not so sure!!

Right now one is crying in my ear because she needs me to go to bed with her.  Oh yeah...she is 6 and still sleeps with us.  Ugh!!  My husband is upstairs playing HALO with 2 others and not happy that he is losing to a 9 year old.  My life is crazy.  But, my one big rule...don't bleed on the carpet!!  :)

What is your ONE big house rule??