Turtles

I love turtles. They have a very special meaning to me that I hold close to my heart. About 4 years ago I met 2 wonderful girls with cancer, they came to the hospital around the same time and were diagnosed around the same time also. Naturally they became very good friends. And while we as staff are not supposed to get too close to patients, it was impossible not to. I will call them J and S. J was a prankster from the beginning, always finding a way to gross us out with her skin collection (yes I said skin collection) or squirt us with silly string. It was her nature. S was a bit more soft spoken (until you really got to know her) and she had a smile that would melt anything you had.
They started a "Turtle Club" one time when they were both in the hospital. They selected a few staff members who were "cool enough" to join. Eventually everyone was said to be in it, but only the real members have initiation papers signed by J and S (myself included of course). Every time one of them would be hospitalized we would find some sort of turtle gift to give each other, I have quite the collection at home. They were like my little sisters.
J passed away on Easter and S passed away the following August. I can't even begin to describe the impact these girls had on my life. I will never be the same. Maybe that's why they tell you not to get close to patients, because the pain is like losing a member of your own family. But I wouldn't change that for the world, I am only human. I love you J and S.

Sewing Lessons

Sewing is something I have always wanted to learn how to do but never had the opportunity. My mom failed out of sewing class which doomed me from the beginning, but as funny as it may sound, my mom is going to sewing lessons with me. My grandma is also going with us, so there we will be, three generations of women learning something that none of us know how to do. It will definitely be interesting... not to mention fun. Michael will finally get the magician's cape he has always wanted and I'm sure I will find some cute things to make for Amber. I am so excited!

Oldie But Goodie

Just wanted to share an old picture of the kids that I absolutely love. It was in April a few years ago. It was nice to be able to go outside before it gets too hot out to do anything. Hope this summer isn't too horrible!

Freezer Paper Stencils

Here is my first attempt at freezer paper stencils. I did it on a cute tank that's almost too small for Amber (in case we messed it up) and it came out all right. I also did a dinosaur for Michael on his pajama shirt. The dinosaur came out really cute, but I need to get brighter paints so you can see it better. First I got some freezer paper (in the grocery store) and cut off a piece, then I used a heart shaped cookie cutter and traced it onto the paper. I used an exacto knife to cut it out. I ironed the freezer paper to the shirt, painted it with fabric paint, waited until it dried and peeled it off. Amber decided she wanted an "A" on her heart, so I made one for her. Not too bad, I just hope I did it right... I have seen more intricate things online and I have no clue how it was done. Maybe I just need more practice.

Pampered Chef

For some reason, I'm having trouble uploading pictures, so I thoght I'd talk about something that I didn't need any pictures for. I got into The Pampered Chef a few months ago. I bought my kit and I've had two parties. I like it a lot, and the little bit of extra money is always nice. I think the only problem I have is getting people I don't know to have parties. I told myself when I got into this that I would not be "the annoying Pampered Chef lady". So far all that's done for me is, well, nothing. Hopefully somebody will come to appreciate that and then my little business will get going. In the meantime, I will just have to crawl out of my little hole and start meeting new people. Very scary...

Happy Mother's Day!

I had an especially good Mother's Day... Amber had a ballet recital today and watching her onstage was better than any gift I could ever receive (Scott gave me a combination printer/fax/copier/scanner machine so that wasn't so bad either!) . Oh, and Michael gave me a beautiful purple candle with a stand that is awesome! Although, I had a slight problem slapping tons of makeup on my already beautiful 5 year old. But after seeing herself she decided she looked like a "freak", and somehow, that was comforting. It came off before we got in the car to leave. HOORAY for Amber, good choice! Thank you Grandma Jean for the beautiful flowers, she's carrying them everywhere. Well I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Mission Impossible?

This is my next big project. We loosely call it Michael's room. I know, I know, absolutely filthy. I have no excuses, I just am petrified to tackle the mess. Where do you begin? I keep telling myself that on my days off, I will do it, then I march in there... and turn back around with tail between my legs and flip on the TV. I really need to clean it when Michael's not home though, otherwise he finds toys he had years ago and will suddenly be interested in them. Hopefully I will post pictures of it when it's had an extreme makeover. Sometime soon anyway... yikes.

The Little Ones

This is me with my kiddos... aren't they beautiful?? I love black and white photos, photography is another interest I have yet to pursue. But this post is not about me...

Michael turned 7 in October. While he may be a bit (ok a lot) short tempered, the kid has a heart of gold. He's probably the most forgiving person I know, and the most loving. He lets me kiss him in public and hold his hand whenever I want without dying of embarrassment. He actually likes it. It's just nice to see, the fact that you can love your kids and they can love you back without worrying what other people think. People are so crazy these days about not wanting to seem weak or something, it's just beyond me. Sooner or later, they will grow up and start a family of their own, so I plan on enjoying every second I have with my babies while I can. Anyway, back to Michael. He loves school, yeah, imagine that, a kid who loves school. He is in the second grade at a Catholic school nearby. In first grade, he won his class spirituality award. (That's the heart of gold I mentioned earlier.) He plays soccer, takes swimming lessons, singing lessons, and this summer will start gymnastics and have science camp for a week. He definitely likes to be active. He loves magic, and just today bought his very own magic kit. I hope that when I learn to sew, I can make him a magician's cape with stars on it like he wants. And that's my Michael, well not all of him, I could go on forever. He's not perfect, but hey, who is?

Amber turned 5 in January. It was quite the milestone birthday, I think perhaps she thought she turned into a princess. Not that she's not our little princess, but the new princess came with a bit (ok a lot) of attitude. But she is the sweetest little thing out there, she's my little cuddlebug. She started preschool this year, and it was not her who was crying, but me. She loves it, I mean loves it... she gets along with everyone and everyone is like her best friend. Her teachers are wonderful people, we got really lucky. She starts kindergarten in the fall, and I have faith that she is more than ready. Hopefully she doen't get sick too much this year. I swear, every time I turn around, the poor girl has strep throat or something else awful. But she's definitely not the whiny complainer when she gets sick, so we have fun when she has to stay home. She also takes swimming lessons, is doing ballet, and will take gymnastics and is going to learn how to ice skate. Yeah, ice skate in Arizona. Her taste is definitely random. She gets bored with thing very easily, (she's been through ballet/tumble class, tap dance, regular ballet class, some gymnastics, soccer, the list goes on) so hopefully she will find something soon that she likes and stick with it. Or not, she's that kind of girl. I love her either way.

So there's a little taste of my children, I'm sure I will talk about them more often than not, but hey, what can you do when you're in love with your kids? =0)

First Time

There's a first time for everything...this happens to be my first time blogging. I don't know what to expect, how it will work, who I will meet, but I suppose I will find out. Maybe it will be something I stick with, maybe it won't. But in the meantime, I'll give it a whirl and see what comes of it.
I used the term "au naturel" because I wanted this to be a place where I could be myself. My insecurities, my imperfections, everything, good and bad. I am far from perfect, but I strive daily to become better. It's all you can do I think...become better. I am unorganized, impulsive, afraid of ruffling a few feathers now and then, and my potty mouth gets me in trouble quite a bit. But, overall, I think I have a good heart. I always have good intentions, sometimes they just don't get to where they need to be.
I have a husband (Scott) and two beautiful kids, Michael (7) and Amber (5). They are my world, my reason for being here. (I will elaborate on them another day though, otherwise my blog would go on forever and people will stop reading.) I live in Arizona and work in healthcare. I would love to be a stay at home mom, but unfortunately, our bills don't allow for it. Maybe someday, but right now it's just not an option.
I do have a list of things I would like to modify about myself (change is a strong word, I just need tweeked a bit) and a few thing I would like to try out eventually). I will list some now, and add as needed:

1. I would like to become more organized in daily life.
2. I would like for my house to be cleaner.
3. I would love to be a stay at home mom.
4. I would like to try out being a vegetarian for a month or so.
5. I would like to be craftier.
6. I would like to finish things I start.
7. I would love to become a better parent.
8. I would like to start a business at home someday.
9. I would like to become a more religious person.
10. I would like to lose weight.

Of course those are in no particular order. So I think that's enough about me for now. I mean, it's all I can digest for the moment. Peace...