A Stitch in time

My husband grew up in small town Missouri as an accident prone child.  On one occasion he felt the need to climb up a bookshelf to attain an object that had been placed on the top shelf.  Needless to say he fell, and so did the bookshelf.  Right on top of him!

He was in second grade at the time and the ER doctor had a son in the same grade as my husband. (The two boys eventually graduated high school together.)  I'm not exactly sure how many stitches he wound up with, but he was a small kid and it was a BIG bookshelf.  The doctor and nurses presented him with a teddy bear that he got to take home w/ him because of the whole event.  The teddy was aptly named Stitches.

I was first introduced to stitches the first time I met my husband's parents.  I was spending the night in the guest bedroom and at the age of 18 I was still afraid of the dark.  (Yes that's right afraid of the dark, don't make fun.) He was trying so hard to make me feel comfortable. I was far away from home, in a small town as a city girl, in the house of the parents of the man I wanted to marry. He was unsure what to do when all of the sudden his eyes lit up.  He left the guest bedroom and returned w/ a soft little brown bear, "Stitches."

 I have been working on a wreath the past week and it has been sitting several days as I have hit "crafting block"  Last night Becky suggested setting a doll in it.  It sounded kinda like something my Grandma would hang in her house, but I went out to a box of jon's and my childhood memories.  In the box lay Stitches the bear.  The wreath below was the final result and is proudly displayed in our living room.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down.

Well, here it goes. I have tried blogging before and it has died off quickly, but I LOVE baking, crafting and photography. I have pictures and crafts filling up my house w/ no purpose other than to say to people..."HEY!! Look at what I did today!!!" Not trying to toot my own horn, just love putting stuff together. I get intense pleasure out of taking the odds and ends I have lying around and making a wreath, or taking a pound of ground beef and a cup of rice and coming up with a unique dining creation to feed 14 people. (Me and my family (4) My best friends and their families (10)) 
I have been known to put my kids in the car and run over to my best friend Becky's house for some much needed "Crafting Therapy." As our kids join together in their bedlam we sit around a large box of ribbon or felt creating/finishing a project and taking deep breaths as we join together in our mommy mantra. "We love our kids, We love our kids." 

Me and Becky and ALL our kids!!

Wreath that I showed up at Becky's house w/ half finished  for Crafting Therapy.

 A cake I decorated for my December Mothers of Preschoolers meeting

 Chocolate covered strawberry cake for my friend Jamie's Surprise party. Even the cake was chocolate strawberry, and I was extra proud because this was my first attempt at Chocolate covered Strawberries. I thought they looked exquisite!

Chocolate Cupcakes filled w/ strawberry mousse. The cup of plain mousse in the middle was for my husband. He is allergic to chocolate. Poor guy!! :P

Nothing brings a smile to  my face more than giving someone one of my creations. Whether it is a craft or a dinner or a baked good.  The fact that making it gave me joy and receiving it gives them joy, makes the process wonderful. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively it is the sugar of my life. I see most of the responsibilities of my adult life like taking my medicine.  We never really want to. We most of the time fight it and put it off, knowing the whole while it is in our best interest. But what I have learned is that Mary Poppins had it right. A spoonful of sugar does help the medicine of my life go down a little smoother.