Silly Samuel

Samuel is 3. He looks like he is 5. The kid is already so tall! We figure he grows about an inch every two months. So, we make sure he drinks milk at every meal. Luckily (for us all!) he loves it, so much that he often drinks 2-3 glasses at every meal.

On Sunday, we went to church and the Sacrament trays were going around. After Samuel took the water, he leaned over to Jeff and said, "too bad they don't have milk here."

Christmas Tree

For the first time in our 10+ years of marriage, we went up in the mountains and cut down a tree! We usually get our tree at Home Depot or Lowes (after looking at the Christmas Tree lots and deciding they are too expensive). Last year, Jared and Kaylene cut one down for us, so this year we returned the favor and cut one down for them!

We took the family and went to Woodland Park (by Colo. Springs) and made it a day...a very fun day. I really was there too (though you wouldn't know it by the pictures--I was the one behind the lens).

Photo Tip #1, don't take pictures into the sun...sorry!

It was a big deal for Jeff to find the "perfect" trees, just the right height and as full as we could find. We saw a lot of super nice little trees, but they were a little on the short side.

Meanwhile....we took pictures!

Eliza

Samuel

Sarah

David

David was pretty cozy in my Sweet Pod. Near the end all the kids were complaining about being cold. I told them to be tough and that it wasn't cold at all! Once we got up to the truck and I got David off of me and in his car seat, I changed my mind. Funny how suddenly not having your own personal heater changes the temperature!

We got the tree home, up and decorated, it looked so fun, I just had to take more photos. This time we set the timer, so we all could be in it (except for David, he was too tired).

The only one we got Samuel to hold still in, but glass-glare on the mom.


Most of the others looked like this.


It's a fun tree though. Colorado grown--12 feet high. Nothing like a tree to get us in the Christmas spirit!

Craft Show

So, I'm trying to catch up on this backlog of blogs.

The craft show was about a week ago (Dec. 5) and we went with high expectations.

It didn't go so well. We didn't sell a single car-seat cover (Anyone want one? I have 32!). We only sold a set of burp rags, a diaper strap, and 3 cards--$20 total. If I would have had a nickel for everyone that came by and said, "That is so cute! What a great idea!" I think I could have paid for my booth 3 times over.

I'm (slowly) posting some stuff to my etsy store, so that hopefully all those who took my card will call and say they want one.

So, back to taking care of family and getting ready for Christmas. I can't believe it's only 10 days away!

Thanskgiving

The rest of the family showed up a couple days before Thanksgiving. We cooked, ate turkey, played dominos, and talked and ate again! All of us were there. Eliza, Jeff, Papa, Jaron, Samuel, Nick, RaeLyn, Grandma, David, Sarah, and Stacey! The WHOLE fam!

The kids and the "guys" watched Polar Express while Stacey, Mom, and I made some Christmas Decorations. They are blocks covered with patterned paper/cardstock and vinyl rub-ons from Stampin' Up's Holiday Mini Catalog. Each of the block sides has something different. The 3 sayings are "SNOW, "JOY," and "NOEL." It took us awhile, but I think they turned out really cute!

Jaron

Jaron was the first to arrive for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a day with just him, so we saw a bit of "Denver."

We Went to Casa Bonita for lunch (and survived the food without getting sick!) and headed up I-70 to Lookout Mountain where Buffalo Bill is buried.



Eliza and Sarah were "Annie Oakley" while Jaron and Samuel had their picture taken with Buffalo Bill himself!



We stopped to see the Buffalo before we headed back. Samuel was shivering, he was so cold, but did NOT want to leave!

Sweet Pod

I think this is my favorite project yet! Introducing....the SweetPod, My soft-structured baby carrier.


About 6 weeks ago, Jessica (one of my homeschool friends) asked me if I would test her pattern to make this handy-dandy little thing. I jumped at the chance after oohing and aahing over hers at many a homeschool activity. She sent me the most amazing pattern and I got to make it! The catch...I only had to look for errors or changes. I think I definitely got the best deal in the bargain.

After getting lost on Jessica's blog and seeing what a talented gal she is (and seeing the other tester's blog and seeing her skill!), I'm amazed that she would ask little ol' me to try it out. Thank you! I feel honored.

So, after working on this amidst Halloween costumes and Craft Fairs, I finished it yesterday and haven't looked back. My only wish is that I would have finished it sooner!


You can put the baby in front...or on your back!

David really likes it. I finished it just in time for our carpet-cleaning project...when the house was in upheaval and no place for him to nap (or even set him down for that matter!).


No problem! He enjoyed a nice little snooze on my back, and thanks to this amazing sleeping hood (my personal favorite part of the Sweet Pod) his head didn't roll all over and he kept pretty cozy.



What a cutie!

I've never been much of a carry-my-baby-around type person, but I foresee the Sweet Pod changing all of that! Today, David helped me mop the kitchen floor--by being content. Now that's worth a lot.

Jessica said she is hoping to post her pattern to her Etsy store by December 5, so if any of you are interested, I can give it a VERY high recommendation of a great easy-to-follow pattern, a fun project, and a wonderful final result!

***Update***
Jessica also asked me to test her second pattern, the SweetPod Saddle Bag. I've blogged about that wonderful thing here. Check it out!


And, my third SweetPod can be seen here.

Back to Business

With the daily "shuffle" of things, it's time to re-focus on our "creating."

We've got 2 craft shows coming up, so if you are in the area, we would love to see you! We will have car seat covers, nursing covers, receiving blankets, burp rags, and all sorts of fun stuff!

Wednesday December 2, 2009, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Northrop Grumman Building 17455 E Exposition Drive in Aurora (off Alameda close to the Air Force Base), Classrooms 1004 and 1009. This is a reschedule from our October show.

Saturday December 5, 2009, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Grandview High School 20500 E Arapahoe Road, Aurora. I'll be doing a booth with my friend Kim, who does a lot of Stampin' Up stuff. She has a great blog too!

Hope to see you!

How Embarrasing

Yesterday was one of those days that just didn't go as planned. I did learn one thing very valuable though: My husband is VERY patient with me. I knew it before, but it was nice to have a re-iteration.

I was going to my sister-in-law's yesterday to drop off my kids so I could run errands. They live on a 2.5-acre lot in Parker and have a very long, windy driveway (yesterday it was especially long). It snowed last weekend and their driveway was pretty packed, so I thought I could make it up to their house...I thought wrong. I got almost all the way up and couldn't go any farther. So, I tried to back down. Problem #1: I'm a terrible backer-upper. Problem #2: Everything was white, I couldn't tell the driveway from everything else. So, needless to say, I got off the driveway and encountered Problem #3: I couldn't get traction. Somehow I got turned around and was trying to get back on the driveway and to the covert to go over the ditch. Then I made a really dumb decision and ended up in the ditch...very stuck.

I thought about taking a picture, but I'm not very good at taking photos of "non-happy" moments. I'll use the excuse that I didn't have my camera with me.

I tried to call Jeff, but couldn't get a hold of him. Sweet Kaylene let me take her Suburban to run errands and thought we would figure it out when the guys got home from work. Jeff got my message later that afternoon and wasn't too happy, but (of course) he had school until 9, so he told me to get a ride home and he would figure it out when he got done.

We had dinner at Kaylene's and Jared came home. Jared was pretty patient too. He told me I was the 4th person to "ditch" my car there (I was hoping it would never happen to me!). Neighbors came over offering their tractors to help pull it out, and I was just glad they didn't live on a terribly busy road so that not a lot of people saw it.

We eventually got home and Jeff did too. By that time he wasn't upset, he didn't get mad, didn't over-react, he just went and got the job done.

Jared ended up pulling the van out with the excavator and it's just fine except for a minor dent and some scratches under the bumper, which Jeff said he could fix pretty easily. I'm grateful for a patient brother-in-law too. Jeff said Jared's comment was, "We've done dumber things."

So, none the worse for wear. "It's the family car," Jeff said, "we stopped being sentimental over cars a long time ago."

I'm SO grateful Jeff was patient with me. This is my first "car problem" since we've been married (10 years), so I HAVE tried to be good. So now I have a story to tell at the family get-togethers when we all start talking about "dumb things we've done in vehicles." I'm still not at the top :)

All in a Week's Work

It's been a busy week. The days leading up to the craft show, we were sewing, sewing, sewing! We still have been doing school, church work, and piano lessons...but here's a few things we've done since then!


Finished the Halloween Costumes! I've been working on them off and on over the last few weeks. They went pretty smoothly, except for a few glitches....like running out of thread on Sarah's cloak and having Samuel grow while the costume was in progress. I was able to add a few inches into the Dino's crotch so it would be wearable. He barely squoze into it and I think it was still 5 inches too short (Even with the extended hem). Oh well, he loved it and we will have another dino coming up in a few years :)

Eliza's Indian costume was my favorite You know when the pattern comes with sewing and GLUING instructions that it's an easy one. Sarah's (the mid-evil princess) wasn't too bad either, but I must remind myself that sewing with the costume satin is not my favorite thing. I was singing the praises of my rolled hem presser foot though!


No, I didn't sew David's. It's a great bear costume from Babies R Us.


About a month ago we were at the fabric store and Samuel found this fabric. He picked up the bolt and would not let go of it. I bought a yard and a half, thinking I would do something with it...someday. I think every day since then he has asked if I would make his dinosaur blanket (can you tell he loves dinosaurs?). Two days before the craft show I told him I would make it on Friday.

Friday morning Jeff and I were getting ready and Samuel was laying on our bed. I was talking to Jeff and said, "Aren't you glad today is Friday?" A little voice pipes up in the other room and says, "It's Friday! That means you get to make my dinosaur blanket!"

So, the day went by...even though it was late and all the kids were in bed, it was still Friday and I did promise Samuel I would do it. I had some green fleece left over from Samuel's dinosaur costume, so that became the back. Jeff helped me tie it while we watched a movie, and Saturday morning, we had one happy little guy.



So this one wasn't actually crafting, but it counts for a project! I put up our pumpkin. Every year I take our Jack O Lantern and our pumpkin bowls (a Halloween tradition, soup in cleaned out pumpkins for dinner) and bake them, then puree them to freeze. We make all kinds of pumpkin yummies. The bags don't look as pretty as jars would, but freezing is a whole lot easier!


And, the project we finished up today. My mom commissioned me to make car seat covers for our friend who is having twins (yes, one a boy, one a girl) next month. I found this fabric and couldn't resist--I bought the rest of the bolts. But they turned out so cute! I hope she likes them!

Not bad for a week's work...Now I can get started on the project I WANT to do, my baby carrier.

Our First Craft Show

Today was our first craft show. Nothing big, but something to start us out. It was at Jeff's work, and there were only about 7-10 vendors there. We got up at 5:00 and were there by 6:30. It was kind of dead, but here's why:
Welcome to Denver. Ok, this picture was taken at 3:00 in the afternoon, the view outside my front door. It wasn't too bad this morning, but it's been snowing steadily all day and is not supposed to stop until tomorrow night. Ugh!

We ended up selling 2 receiving blankets and got a special order for a nursing cover, so we paid for our table. The gal in charge also rescheduled it for December 2nd, for no charge, so we'll give it another go.

I think the other problem is that my audience isn't exactly into babies. Corporate, mostly male, Government contractor employees. Oh well...Eliza and I got some time to go over her math.

Botanic Gardens, Here We Come!

In September, we visited the Denver Botanic Gardens with our homeschool group. It's a great place with a lot of fabulous outdoor gardens. On our way out, we stopped at the gift shop to look around, as it is supposed to be one of the best gift shops in Denver. I had David in the stroller with my car-seat cover over him, as he was sleeping. The gift shop manager came up and commented how great the cover is and how it would be perfect for gardening moms to cover up their babies and keep the sun off them while they worked (see how versatile it is!). So, in our conversation, I did mention that I was looking to market them. He gave me his card and took down my number and told me he might be interested in carrying them in the shop.

I tried to call him a couple of times and e-mailed him once over the next few weeks...nothing. I was about to count it as a loss, but figured I might run downtown sometime after these craft shows were over.

Today he called! He said he was very interested still, but would like to wait until spring as business at the Gardens is a little slow right now. That will probably work best for us also. It will give us time to try things out and get a few craft shows under our belt. In March, I give him a call back and we can "pick fabrics and talk business!"

Eliza's Request

Friday is freezer meal day at our house. It's one of those things that keeps me sane, knowing I don't have to cook one day a week! I try to keep a variety of meals in the freezer from when I make "2" of something one night.

I sent Eliza out to pick a meal for tonight. She came in with Lasagna (a favorite at our house, but a meal we don't get too often). My mom makes the world's BEST Lasagna, I've tried to imitate it, but it's just not the same. One of our "Grandma rewards" for having a new baby is that she makes lasagna when she comes. The ones she made after David was born were amazing (as always)...anyway, back to the subject.

When Eliza came in with the frozen Lasagna she says, "Can Grandma make lasagna for Thanksgiving when she comes?" I asked if she would rather have turkey and mashed potatoes like we usually do. Her response was, "no." I'm not sure how that will fly, but I'm sure there will be no objections to lasagna the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. How about it Mom?

Safari

I'm not a decorator. I'll been the first to admit it. Maybe it's because I'd rather be crafting, or maybe it's because I feel like I have to make everything myself. Either way, my kids' beds usually consist of random blankets I've made.

My sweet sister in law offered to give me this cute bed set for Samuel when she moved, I said "yes!"



When we got it on his bed, it made me think of the cute vinyl Decor Elements from Stampin' Up, so I got these:




Kaylene said she got the bedding on Ovestock.com, so I thought I would check it out to see if they had another for when David got bigger and they could match. They did have the twin size set, but I found this, and could not resist.

A Perfect Match!

So with a perfectly matching and (semi) clean room, my boys' room is so fun! Here's some of the "Final results."

I guess I don't have to make everything for it to be cute :) Now for some valances.....

First Craft Show

October 28th will be our first craft show. I'm really excited as it gives us a chance to "get out there" but the show is small (and inexpensive!) enough that I feel like we can get ready for it. It will be at Jeff's work, Northrop Grumman, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you are in the Denver area and would like to drop by, the address is: 17455 E Exposition Drive in Aurora (off Alameda close to the Air Force Base). It will be in the main building (AUC1) classrooms 1004 and 1009. Hope to see you there!

The Fabulous Cover!

The reason I started this blog in the first place was to try to market our products a bit, (and stay in touch with people!). I can't believe I'm so slow posting photos of my carseat covers! Thanks Jenn, for getting me back on track!

So here it is....ta da! My new favorite things for babies! I made mine when David was about 2 months old and there has never been a day in the last two months I haven't LOVED it!

Side view

I love this little thing for SOOOO many reasons, but a few are:

• They keep baby out of rain, sun, snow, and often wind

• Baby-peekers are kept away (and so are their germs)

• Baby stays ASLEEP when you are in the store, or wherever.

• The cover stays over the baby while the handle is free, no blankets slipping off or blowing away!

I make them with heavy-duty home dec fabric, so they are super durable. They tie with ribbon on the underside of the handle and did I say they are fabulous!?

We sell them for $35 and have some already made. I need to post some to my Etsy store (again, link coming soon), but if you are interested, I can send photos or take orders for something specific you have in mind (colors, patterns, etc).

So tell everyone you know who is getting ready to have a baby, thinking about having a baby, is a grandma, or just likes to buy baby things about this great car seat canopy!

The whilrlwind of life.

Ok, so do you ever feel like the world is spinning, that you can't get done what you want to, and (worst of all!) those wants are so many and change almost on a daily basis!

A month ago, I was gung-ho, ready to step out into the world of craft-show selling. Then after the girls and I worked super hard for a week, I realized that the mass of time needed to do craft shows is just not in our schedule!

I even went to a craft store to show off our car-seat covers. The manager said, "yes!" she would love to have us in her store. I was so excited, someone likes my stuff! Then I did the math and after the $25 a month to be there, the 20% cut the store gets, and the 4 hours a month I would have to work there, we would need to sell about 20 a month. But who has time to even make that many? I came to the conclusion that little things like feeding my family, exercising, and enjoying my baby might be a little more important. Besides, I miss scrapbooking!

Oh, we'll still sell things...just online when we can get them done without having to meet a deadline. Watch for an etsy store link soon!

So, I've decided (again) to try to slow down (ha!) and re-focus on life. Besides those Halloween costumes need to be done.

And...the exciting thing for today (and yesterday) is that one of the gals in our homeschool group is an amazing seamstress/artist/crafter, etc. She made up a pattern for the coolest baby carrier you have ever seen and asked me to be one of her testers! You can see it here: http://www.seedpodbooksandart.com/blog/2009/09/01/introducing-the-sweet-pod/ This girl is so inspiring (thanks Jessica!) I am so excited! I swore not to start another project though until those costumes get done!

I've started though! I started Samuel's since it's the hardest and I'm hoping to help the girls sew their own. He is a dinosaur (could you have guessed!). It still needs arms, legs, and a hat, but sometimes getting started is the hardest part!
My favorite part is the tail.

What's in a Name?

We've announced it....we're in business!

My girls and I have started our "sewing" business, named "BYEs BOOs" (kind of like bye-bye and peek-a-boo all rolled up in to one!)

My 3-year-old son kind of came up with the name. Every time his Dad leaves for work he yells at the top of his lungs, "BYES BOOS, watch out for fun babies!" We're not sure what it means, but we changed it to meet our needs..."BYEs Boos, stuff for fun babies!"

So now, we are busily sewing to post all this "stuff for fun babies!" Our main product will be car seat covers but we hope to get to burp rags, blankets, nursing covers, etc. Check back soon for pictures of our stuff!