A wealth of information can be found on the internet...

that's for damn sure. Some of it good, some of it bad, most of it USELESS to the general population.
However, there are some things that deserve to have attention drawn to them. Things that most people do not think about as they wander around in their own lives. This is one of those things...

I was perusing YouTube earlier this evening, looking for a Martina McBride video. And stumbled across the video for a song called "Concrete Angel". Now, I have heard this song in the past, and watched the video several times (bawling each and everytime) as well. But what I clicked on was NOT the video for "Concrete Angel". It was, in fact, a video that someone had made to draw attention to the HORRORS of Child Abuse in America. Some of the images were extremely graphic (nauseatingly so) and upon further "research" I found that there were more of these videos available for viewing ~ all advertising different "Stop the Abuse" websites/organizations.
I was so disgusted with the idea that anyone would do anything remotely close to the images I viewed. I understand that there are lots of cases of abuse that go completely unreported as well. And, I have to tell you, if the cases that are not reported are anything close to the ones that ARE reported ~ then someone is not doing what is their responsibility as a human being. No one with any kind of moral compass at all could possibly see that in/on a child and NOT do something about it.
Hug your children tight, and let them know that you love them. Let them know that they can come to you, and tell you anything. That they can trust you with their hopes, their dreams, and their safety. There are so many children out there that do not know that they have a safe place to fall when life gets rough. And that is something that every child should have.

Tornados and such...

On Monday, a tornado swept through my hometown (I still live there as a matter of fact) It hit about 2 blocks away from my house. Oddly enough, it came with little advanced warning (it had been storming all day, but we were not currently under any kind of watch or warning) The sirens never even went off.

The looting started shortly thereafter.

That is the part that sickens me the most. The fact that human nature automatically goes directly into a "How can I benefit myself?" mindset. It capitalizes on the misery of others w/out regard to the fact that, enclosed in the relics of what were once houses, these are peoples LIVES, their memories, their valuables, everything they have held dear to their hearts.
Children have taken first steps in these houses, said first words in these houses, travelled to their first days of school from these houses. They have went on their first dates from these houses, kissed their first kiss from these houses, earned their first paychecks while living in these houses. Fell in love, married, and brought home families to these houses. These houses, and additionally the belongings they encase, are more than just houses.
They are HOMES. They are all that represents LOVE and DECENCY in this world. SAFETY and WARMTH radiate from their very beings. And NO ONE should ever violate that.
Prayers to you all, that you should never feel that your HOME is no longer the sanctuary it should be.

Looks we LOVE!!!

So, in my original post, I alluded to having "plans for this blog" LOL One of those plans includes what I like to refer to as "Looks we LOVE!!!" Each and every Monday I plan to seek out and post a few specific listings/pieces that we feel are drool worthy here in at our house. Hopefully, you will feel the same :)

The first comes from eBay seller flowers*for*lili (who creates ABSOLUTELY AMAZING clothing for children -- you should check out her About ME page for examples of her previous works of art.)

The second featured item comes from Etsy, and boy is it ADORABLE! Or should I say - Boy are THEY adorable. You decide! LOL onesweetbaby is bringing to you the most wonderful pair of baby booties that feature a SWEET, little Japanese Import - a Wizard of OZ print. And, if you LOVE those as much as we do, you should check out the other super CUTE stuff available in her listings (Can you say "HELLO SWEET HEDGIE HAT!!!"

Well, those are just 2 of the ADORABLE items that we have fallen in LOVE with at our house. Hopefully, you will find something in your searching that you fall in love with as well.

*NOTE* -- I would just like to say that, while we all love to look at items for sale everywhere, I am in no way endorsing these sellers or the items that they are selling. I know nothing of their business practices or the quality of their items. I am simply stating my opinion on the cuteness of the items they have listed. If you happen to fall in love with something on your own, and it doesn't work out (for whatever reason), I cannot (and will not) be held responsible.
This is my little disclaimer so that my a.i.c. Happy Monday!!!

PS - If you have a designer/listing/store that you would like to see on the Monday Looks we LOVE!!!, please send it to me. If we like what we see, and it is drool worthy, we may choose it to be featured (and by we, I mean, me and the girls)

"Welcome to your local discount store...

Please do not purchase anything you intend to return. EVER! Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas. :)"
How in the world to begin this....maybe just by saying GOOD GRIEF!!!!
It started last night, when the girls and I decided to go to our local, loveable, discount store to by Ini some medicine (she is sick.) Well, every single time I go in there I wander into the fabric section. Usually this is due to the fact that the bathrooms are located at the back of the store, as is the fabric section, and the girls ALWAYS have to Go the second we hit the doors. (Pretty common with children, I have found.) Anywho....last night I found a cut of the prettiest purple flannel in the remnant bin, and since Cait's fav colour is currently purple, I purchased it against my better judgement. I don't normally purchase fabric from said discount store, but I figured 2 yrd of flannel for a decent price in a colour she would LOVE would made FAB and comfy PJ pants, so what could it hurt. Right?
WRONG!!!!!!!!
I brought said flannel home, washed it, dried it, removed it from the dryer and sat down to trim the ends only to find that running straight down the middle of my lovely purple flannel was a rather noticeable line in the prettiest shade of LIGHT BLUE!
I just sat there staring at this line, thinking to myself "Now what am I supposed to do with this?" Then it hit me "Take it back, and never buy fabric there again. Simple."
This discount store has been well known in the past for taking back returns on items that are defective, too small, stop working shortly after purchase, etc. (Well, there was the one time my mother returned an alarm clock that she had which stopped working after 5 yrs or so. That was just RIDICULOUS and they never should have taken it back. But whatever!) So I pack up Ini this morning, and haul her back to the store. Immediately, I was met by a woman at the door. (Apparently, due to the current holiday season they are manning the door with people to tag items for return and then you proceed directly to the service desk with your tagged item.) I explained to her that I needed to return the fabric, and she said to me "Well, where is the tag?" I thought, "Tag. Tag? Oh yeah, that thing I threw away last night." So I told her I didn't have it, so she said "Well, we will need to go measure it." Then I informed her that I had washed it so it had shrunk from it's original length, 'cuz -obviously- it is flannel and that is what it does. She informed me that it would still have to be measured, because they would only refund me the money for the fabric that was actually there and not the amount for the yardage that I had actually paid for. WHATEVER!
We trek all the way back to the fabric dept, only to be met by another "associate" that states that they no longer take returns on cut yardage of fabric. Basically, their policy is that if you have it cut, take it home, and find something wrong with it, you are stuck with it. I then explained to her that is was already cut and in the remnant bin when I bought it. And she proceeded to tell me that it would have been marked on the wrapping as to the defect if it was in the remnant bin, and that is probably why it was in there in the first place. I simply asked her why the packaging had no such marking when I purchased it if all the flaws are supposed to be noted before it is put in there for sale? She just shrugged and said she didn't know.
At this point I am thinking to myself "Oh, this is not going well. I am going to be stuck with 2 yrds of fabric that I can't use. This sucks!!" Then she looks at me and says that since it is defective, they will take it back but that she doesn't have any other flannel that is the same colour. I will either have to pick something else (that I would not get enough fabric to make the PJ pants with) or take the money in return.
So, I took the money. I figure I can drive to an actual FABRIC store, and get better flannel with potentially less hassle.
I am guessing that the moral of this story is...Do not buy fabric from a store where the return policy is actually "If you would like to return something, please bring it to the store. If we deem that you do not deserve the refund/exchange, even if the item is clearly defective and can not be used for the reason with which you bought said item, then we will look at you with a smile on our face and simply say Thank you and Have a nice day. But hey, at least you will get screwed with a smile!"

Bahhhhhhhh! ~ AKA ~ Children, sigh!

Okay, so this morning I decided that it was time to tackle the mess that I call my children's room. Ini does not let me sew during the day anyway, so what better time to clean there room than when she is up and awake. Little did I know at the time, that it would literally take me all day to complete said room cleaning. Once I got in there and got started, I could not stop. And it was a HUGE mess, so that made it take that much longer. Anyway, I ended up with 2 3ft tall piles of clothes to auction off in the Spring, a box of shoes to donate to Charity, and 2 13 gal. kitchen trashbags full of "stuff" to throw out (broken toys, McD's toys, etc.) I was exhausted, sweaty, tired, and their room is now CLEAN!
So simply imagine my surprise when I come down the hallway into the Living room only to find out that Ini decided to "redecorate" it with every single toy she owns. Whaaaaa!!!! Here we go again :(