Four!

I'm not sure where the last 4 years have gone, but last week, we celebrated this boy:


Check out that smile. He was pretty excited it was his birthday.

He got to open one present at breakfast, so decked out in his party hat Eliza made for him, he excitedly opened it.

Bucket O Soldiers! (from Toy Story) Check them out!


We had to do a little school, but quit early to make a cake. A yellow Triceratops was on order. As I was slapping on the frosting, I wondered if I maybe should have hired my friend Stacey to make it instead. I'm not sure it looks like a Triceratops, maybe more like a friendly mid-evil dragon?

But I guess since the purpose is to please the birthday boy, I think I succeeded. He would run in every 10 minutes and report, "It's a yellow Triceratops!" Plus, who could question this smile?


It was a long wait through piano lessons until dinner, but we finally made it and even had a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard! Pizza was the request, but wouldn't know know it! In typical Samuel fashion, even that was hard to eat.


Finally, after cousins came over, it was time to open the presents.


First one: A tool belt! He wore it for the rest of the night.


And the present he had been staring at all day long! (drum roll please)...LEGOS!



Then came the cake formalities (he ate it pretty quickly!)


And on to more important things.

Happy Birthday buddy! We're glad you are in our family!

Sew Inspring

I guess I better start out by explaining my Friday afternoons. A few years ago, Shelli (the Stampin' Up CEO), talked about taking Friday afternoons to scrapbook in one of her little magazine blurbs. After reading what she wrote about it, I decided that I am so doing that! Since then (golly, it's been about 3 years now!), I have made Friday afternoons MY time. I don't schedule dentist appointments, visiting teaching, or anything else (unless it's an emergency or a super great family bonding experience) from 1-6 p.m. I even make freezer meals in advance so I don't have to cook dinner and have all the time possible until my hubby gets home.

These Friday afternoons are my creative time, to do just what I want to do. My kids can do whatever they want, the rule: Don't bug me, it's my time! I scrap or sew, working on stuff that I have been thinking about all week long. My Friday afternoons are essential to my life and well-being. I look forward to them all week long, and it (usually) motivates me to get done some of the have-tos during the week. It also refreshes me and helps me be a better mom. I highly recommend it to everyone!

This last Friday afternoon was so much fun. Jessica mentioned awhile back that she would love to get together for lunch, as her daughter wanted to play for a bit with my girls. So I finally got my schedule together and had them over last week. I decided though, that lunch was just not enough time to spend with fun friends, so I asked if Jessica wanted to bring her sewing machine and stay for the afternoon. Can I tell you? It was "sew much fun, and sew inspiring!"

So here's some stuff we did:

Jessica worked on her quilt top (isn't it lovely!) I'm guessing she used the Amy Butler Hexagon Quilt pattern, though you'll have to ask Jessica for sure :)

I really should have made her peak over the top of her quilt :)

I also worked on a quilt top (and got it done) but didn't take a picture, so you'll have to hope I get it done soon to show off the whole finished product!

This is me working though,
And this is what I made!


The Sweet Pea Pilot Cap! I love this little hat! Jessica also made some for a co-worker of her husband's who just had twins. The pattern was very easy to follow and these little hats whip up really quickly. And it's knit--this is a big step for me. I always thought I had to wait until I had a serger to successfully sew with knit! Thanks to Meg and this great pattern, I feel pretty confident!

I think David likes it too!


Jessica is so inspiring and it was fun to sew with someone! I haven't done that for years, I think the last time was about 6 years ago when Jenn came over to help me finish up a Relief Society Service project! As a self-taught sewer, it was fun to learn some new tricks.

What are you planning for your next Friday afternoon?

Diaper Update

Well, it's been just over a month since I got more than 3 changes of cloth diapers. And the results are in: I think I love cloth diapers even more today than I did then.

I didn't think I would be a full-time cloth user, but I can't even remember the last time I used disposables! After I got my Gro-Baby diapers, I did need a few things to round out the diapering experience.

The Wet Bag!

I love this little bag, it just makes me happy every time I use it! I got the cute fabric from The Stash, a tiny little store that carries yarn and designer fabric. This fabric is Morning Call's Big Dot Olive. I used this great zipper tutorial and put some PUL (waterproof) fabric on the inside. It's so awesome, I can take cloth anywhere now!

The other necessity was night-time diapers. I got this set from Mother-Ease and I am in love! Since using these diapers, our middle-of-the night diaper/clothing/sheet changes are no more! No more tired, screaming, wiggly baby, no more exhausted, frustrated mama. Just dry jammies, a good nursing, and back to bed for everyone. I use the diaper with 2 inserts every night. I call them the humpty dumpty diapers as Baby D's bottom is about twice as big as his waist when he wears them.

(though the photo doesn't do it justice).

And I also sewed up some diapers! Special thanks to Jessica, who had them cut out and the soaker already sewed it them. All I did was basically put in elastic and sew on velcro. The pattern was the AIO Pattern from Very Baby. It was pretty slick and easy to use!


The cool thing is that David can still wear them! They are supposed to just fit up to 16 lbs, so I don't know for how long, but they've been tested :)





I had someone ask me what I like best about cloth diapers. My quick answer is "They work better!" And the second best thing? I smile all the way though Costco and Sam's Club knowing that I don't have to buy diapers!