"Kill Me Now" she cried...

Really, she did. And I should know because, I am that she.

It started last week when Hadji affirmed via, a large amount of pukage that we are, in fact going to be ripping up our carpet this summer. Yes, he had brought home that loveliest of all childhood illnesses, the puking bug. (usually accompanied by the diarrhea bug, but since we talk about poop enough on this here blog, let's suffice to say this bug covered ALL the bases.)

Hadji = good patient 

Hadji was laid up for 4 days. He was pitiful. Poor kid threw up water, sprite, anything he put near his mouth.

 Saturday night, it hit Lincoln. Now, my Lincoln, who broke his arm at age four and cried just a bit... he can be a bit more, eh, dramatic, about sickness, especially when pukage is involved. So when he came down at 130 am freaking out, and I do mean freaking out, and getting all "I just have to lay down, I need to lay down, don't make me go to the bathroom" and on and on and on... then literally tried to lay down on top of Alden, who was already on the couch with a fever, I almost had to pull out the Doc Baker on him. What is the doc Baker you ask? Well, if you are an avid Little House fan like I am, you know that, sometimes, the patient just needs a slap in the face and to be told to calm down. I was almost to that point. Not really, I did have to take him in my arms, and tell him to "Chill out. I already have one puker upstairs, and a fever on the couch. You can puke and be sick, but you cannot, CANNOT be hysterical like this."

Then, Sunday night it got me. Hard. Like, sorority girl done had too much mad-dog, hard.

So, sickness = List time:

 1. Fish and Chips tastes alot better going down than they do coming back up.

Look at me. Sunday night dinner with friends. 

Smiling. Having no idea what was coming in just a few short hours. 

Fool.

2. You can, in fact throw up water.
3. Apparently, my body ran out of bile, because I threw up some blood too. That was special.
4. Hadji and I both lost 6 lbs. I am not gonna lie, that is the upside to the whole tale.
5. At one point, as I lay writhing in pain, my Micah came in and asked what he could do. I begged him to shoot me and put me out of misery. He declined. Today, that decision seems wise.

Alden added a fever to the party. We like to mix things up here at the casa, keeps it lively.

6. I really found it odd that Lincoln laid on the bathroom floor and would whimper and moan in his sleep. Once it hit me, I understood why, and I shant ever call him a drama queen again.
7. Also overheard, "I am crying because yes, I am in pain, but also because I am NOT this WIMPY! I would rather give birth ten times over than keep feeling like this!" Though I see the rashness of asking to be shot, I really would rather give birth than have this bug again.
8. A sweet friend went and got us some groceries. I am always the one who tells other people to ask for help, and you know what... you should, I should, WE all should! That is what friends are for, and it was a huge help!
9. My boys are a lot tougher than I gave them credit for. Neither of them asked to be shot, or give birth... though, the second request would have me worried on a whole different level.

 The Bucket. My friend.

10. My Micah is a patient and wonderful husband, and I am glad he didn't shoot me.
11. This is my self portrait for Monday. Sad, but true. All of them are via the iphone so this will be a stellar week for the Project 365. 

Just look away. It is scary, I know.

Crafty Gal, part DEUX...

 Ok, I am a glutton for photo frustration, so let's try this again. Another way. If this doesn't work, I give up, and this may become a photo free blog. My nerves and temper cannot handle this anymore. I am becoming the reason for gun control laws...

Here is the frame before. A charming shade of pink. I grabbed this off the clearance rack at Michaels. I saved the glass, and when I told Micah we could use it for say, replacing the playhouse windows that Hadji knocked out with a hoe. (oh, yes, tis true.) Micah looked at me funny, because I am pretty sure that neither of us a) knows how to repair a window or b) how to cut glass or c) will ever try to learn.  I am saving that glass... for something, maybe.

Here is the after. I am pretty pleased. OK, I am lying... I LOVE IT! I initially just grabbed some 4x6 photos I had laying on my scrap desk. Then I decided to print off some smaller sized polaroid-ish looking ones, and liked that better. I grabbed a few random shots all from within the same few days in May. I think that is what I will do with this frame. Favorite shots of the month before. 

 This is my helper. He was fired for loafing around on the job, and sniffing paint fumes. Oh, wait... the paint fumes was me, and that was after trying to post these photos drove me to it...

Crafty girl needs staple gun...

So I decided to get crafty last week. I had seen a couple of projects out there on the WWW and wanted to try them. I discovered a couple things...
#1 A stapler and a staple GUN are not the same thing. In a pinch, a stapler will do, but it does bring a certain redneck vibe to the crafting.
#2 If you bring out chicken wire, any and all testosterone bearing beings living in your home want to get involved and help.
#3 I ♥♥♥ spray paint.

Here is the first craft. It started out looking like this:

                   Yes, this is a framed set of photos... of a maestro.

I am not sure who he is, but poor guy, he had a $3 sticker from the Goodwill smack dab across his face.
See? I took it off for him.

Look much happier he is now that he can see!

Next up I removed all the hardware from the frame, and the maestro's photos. Don't worry, I cannot throw out a photo. I will find something to do with our musical friend. After removing the hardware, I broke out one of my BFFs ... the Clorox wipes.  And yes, those hand photos, totally staged. I don't think the hand models of the world need fear though.

Now it is time for the fun part. SPRAY PAINT! There is really no advice or instruction here except that a few thin coats look better than a one thick drippy one. I sprayed, waited an hour or so, and then sprayed again, waited, and then went back for a final touch up. I also sprayed the back side area, since on this particular frame, it is visible.

 Next up the Chicken Wire. Yes, I had to buy this ginormous roll, but I plan on using the rest in my garden, so I didn't mind. You should know, chicken wire is SHARP. The boys held the roll out for me while I cut the appropriate size. You want it large enough to be attached to the back, but not hanging over any edges.
 

Lest you think I was kidding about the stapler... I wasn't it. Micah has promised to upgrade me to a real staple GUN next trip to the hardware store.  You basically just need to wind up the loose ends of the chicken wire and make sure they are not sticking out. Then, break out the stapler staple gun.

And now, for the finished product:

I am not sure if I will actually hang the frame or just sit it on a ledge shelf, but I am leaning toward a ledge shelf so that taking the earrings on and off is easier.

There is another craft, but goodnight I tried uploading photos via flickr this time, and WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT that is! You will notice the photos are not equally aligned and that is about to give me a nervous tick. Bloggers uploads are always pixelated though, so I guess I can offer up two options: properly aligned and blurry photos, or clear and misaligned ones. Either way, I just want to plunk photos where I want them in a post... is that too much to ask?