Tuesday, July 29, 2008

On Sisters (cont.)...by april

As the younger sister I have watched, highly admired, and yes-I will admit-copied Misty and Rachel. There are seven years between Misty and I-five with Rachel. I am sure I do not need to tell you that those gaps are huge under the age of 20. I wanted their clothes. I crushed on their boyfriends. I craved their attention. We were in different worlds. My memories are just snapshots of smiles, intermingled with scowls.

Misty became my best friend when I moved in with her and her family for my last year of high school. Rachel became my best friend when I miscarried my first baby. With every cry circle, I felt our bond strengthen. I am eternally grateful for these two women in my life. They are my soulmate sisters-my dearest friends.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Obsession...By Rachel

YOGA......Its amazing and has truly changed the way my body moves and feels. It has only been 2 1/2 months and my body has changed so much. I recommend it to everyone who can walk and breathe. Yes I think its that important.

So if you can find the time and a space to do it. Just do it, its totally worth it!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

a find...by april

I cannot say enough about farmer's markets. The way they draw the community together is so enchanting. Supporting local farmers, buying organic produce: the camaraderie of the whole ordeal is fantastic. As I'm sure you can guess, I highly recommend visiting one in your area. Also, you might get lucky enough to find a purse like this! It is handmade and one of a kind-two of my favorite things.




The vintage button detailing thrills me. As do the birds for some reason. Overall, this is my new favorite find-for now.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

a simple fix...by april

I don't know why they even make baby hats without some kind of staying power; i.e velcro, snap, or bow. And since I am a new mom, I didn't know of this problem until our first outing with the hat. It stayed on for all of about 5 seconds until it became her favorite toy.

Before:




After:



All it took was some ribbon laying around the house and a snap. It took less than 5 minutes to sew it all on and was much cheaper than buying a new sun hat.


And no, she isn't happy that she can't get off her hat *as easily.

On Stains....by Misty



That is Fels Naptha. Only the best stain remover ever. They knew what they were doing back in the day. Rub this stuff on the stain with a little water, let it sit briefly and wash. Voila! No more stain! Seriously works on everything I've tried it on so far. Mixed with hot water and a bit of rubbing, it'll even take out infant poop stains on white onesies!

It's rumored to also be good for poison ivy treatment, making home made laundry detergent, to rid plants of pests and remedy black spot fungus in roses.

Friday, July 25, 2008

On sisters...by Misty

I have a memory of secretly calling a radio station in the 80's because the DJ said to call in for our favorite song between 2 that he had just played. We grabbed the cordless and snuck into our bedroom (I did the calling, because she was too scared to talk to anyone on the phone or in real life). We were being sneaky because our favorite song between the two had the words "shut-up" in the title and those were naughty words at our house. I called the DJ and practically whispered our favorite song so mom wouldn't hear (she was upstairs at the time). We succeeded.

I remember waking up one morning to one of my parent's friends in the house who informed me that I had another sister that was born during the night.

I have another memory of Rach and I dancing around our bedroom singing "I Wanna Be Like You" from The Jungle Book to each other. Just being weirdos and smiling and giggling the whole time.

Then....we hit puberty. And suddenly, we didn't like each other so much. We fought so much that I ended up sharing a room with April (7 years my jr...there's less than 2 years between Rachel and I) so that Rach could have her own room. There was a lot of yelling and a few punches thrown on occasion. We pretty much became strangers. We walked in different circles and when we were home I spent most of my time on the phone and she spent most of her time in her room.

And then I graduated and moved out.

And gradually, things got better. I moved away. She graduated and also moved away. I got married, she moved further away. We started talking on the phone regularly. We became friends. April grew up. I started having babies. April moved in with me and my husband. Rachel moved closer again. April and I had always gotten along, but things got occasionally rocky as we lived together.

April saved my husband's life while she lived with us. (low blood sugar + driving...April was with him and managed to stop the car and move him to the passenger seat and get him home safely.)

April graduated and moved out.

And somewhere along the way we all became best friends. As close as sisters should be. And I wouldn't trade them for anything.