BYEs BOOs

Crawlin'

2012-01-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, we entered one of my favorite baby stages...Crawling!

Favorite? you may ask....OH YES! By the time my babies are 9-10 months old, they are aware of so much and they want to be part of it. They get so upset when they are stuck sitting. They are so much happier when they can get to where they want to go. Sure, there's the unloading of bookshelves, the endless sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming, but hey...happy babies are worth it!

Other happy 9-month tricks include clapping (hooray!)

And grabbing whatever she can.

Growing so big, so fast. Here's to a happy Monday!

Sweetpod #3

2011-12-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes inspiration comes when we least expect it, and not always when we think we have time. Time has been of the essence lately as we are trying to get settled and using every extra spare minute doing "house stuff," as I research the best doors, appliances, or a building permit form.

I got my Visiting Teaching route just after we moved in the ward and I was able to see our new sisters soon after that. While we were visiting one of them, she told us how her car had just gotten broken into and the thieves stole her baby carrier.

The thought came..."you could totally make her a SweetPod!" My thoughts came next... "I can't, I don't have time." But that same thought came into my head over and over for a whole week. Along with it were other thoughts: "Never suppress a generous thought." "You have everything to make one." "You just need to do it."

Finally, I got smart, and did as the spirit directed and made her a SweetPod. I went through the stash and found some dec fabric and canvas left over from this pod. I also found some awesome Moda Cross Weave I had in my stash. At first I wasn't sure about the color, but I think the blue really pops out and looks great!

I had all the buckles, webbing, and foam, and even a SweetPod tag from Jessica, so it was all ready to go. I think sewing it up was kind of therapeutic for me as I thought about all of my Denver friends that I miss so much. And it felt great to MAKE something...I needed that. So, as always, service always benefits us more than those we serve.

We tried it on for size (Hazel had to make sure it tasted OK).

And three weeks after my first impressions, I gave away the SweetPod to a very excited and thankful mother. It felt so good.

Halloween

2011-12-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's December...kind of. This Southern California weather has me all confused. I guess people go by the calendar more than the weather here. Having lived in places where the weather significantly changes with the calendar (except for a dozen or so crazy days in Colorado), I'm not quite used to it, but here's our Halloween update (which we did celebrate the end of October).

I've been kind of divided on Halloween the last bit. I found this post awhile back, and I think it summarizes my feelings. I'm glad someone with the same ideas was able to say it better than me.

So, being new to the ward, we planned to go to the ward party. Now just to figure out kids' costumes.... Hazel and David were easy. Bring out the pumpkin sweats that fit and the dino costume I made 2 years ago.

I tried to get the girls to wear their same costumes they had 2 years ago, but the funny thing about kids is that they grow. So I told them they had to choose something simple...preferably with their own clothes. They thought and thought, and they came up with a good plan.

Samuel wanted to be a cowboy...jeans (check), denim shirt (check), cowby hat smashed in the dress-up box (check), all he needs is a vest. I had left-over fabric from Eliza's indian costume, so I cut out 3 pieces, sewed 4 seams--done (gotta love non-fraying faux suede!),

The girls wanted to be pioneers, They had shirts and Eliza had a skirt, we even had a bonnet--with a big purple marker stain in the back. So, just 1 skirt for Sarah, 2 aprons, and ~~1 bonnet~~ ("could you make a new one for me please?") 2 bonnets. I just happened to have a bonnet and apron cut out from Sarah's pioneer costume 3 (or was it 4?) years ago, so half the job was done on that. I had some white muslin that I cut out another set, and I sent Sarah into my stash to find fabric for a skirt. I used this awesome ruffle skirt pattern and sewed up the skirt, bonnets and apron pretty quickly.

Hooray! 5 costumes done and ready for the big trunk or treat!

The candy made it all worth it, I'm sure.

Though, I'm trying to decide, is it a good thing, or a bad thing that I was able to come up with 3 costumes entirely from my fabric stash. I'll say it's good, and try not to buy more stuff. After all, it's a pain to move it!

The craziest 2 months of my life!

2011-11-02T15:02:00.003-06:00

So, I've been a bit under the radar this last bit...Here's my recap of our crazy end of summer.

End of August:
Landlord is crazy. He's threatening us. We don't feel safe. We have to move. Tomorrow. Stay up and pack until 2 a.m., maybe get 1 or 2 hours of sleep...living off adrenaline.
In the morning: Load 2 26-foot Penske trucks in 2 1/2 hours (thank you awesome ward!)
Leave that afternoon for Utah. Arrive 1:30 a.m. (thanks Jared!)
Sleep well for the first time in weeks.
Next day: Unload stuff into Brother-in-law's garage (thanks Joe!).
Day after that: Take Jeff to the airport for him to continue working in Denver (so hard!).

2 weeks later:
San Diego job is coming through (whew!)
Meet Jeff (who is driving a Penske for his brother) in Cove Fort, UT to drive to San Diego.
Next day: Arrive in San Diego, help unload 2 26-foot Penske trucks for Brother and Sister-in law
Next 3 days: Look at rental houses in San Diego. On 3rd day, find the perfect one--it's still available, Hooray! I fly back to Utah, Jeff flies to Denver.

1.5 weeks later:
Got the Job in San Diego.
Load stuff from Brother-in-law's garage into 2 26-foot Penske trucks (do we see a theme here?). (Thank you family!)
Next day: Drive to San Diego! (thanks Mom and Dad!) Arrive just in time to unload a few mattresses and find some sheets. Sleep well
Day after that: Unload the trucks and get moved in!

The next week: Unpack and get organized. Unpack so there are no boxes in sight. We're sick of living out of boxes!

Since then: Family is back together, loving San Diego weather (currently 85 degrees!), using cloth diapers again, school in full-swing, visited the beach twice, started sewing a little bit again, finding my way around, terribly missing Colorado friends, emotionally recovering from the drama.

Next step: Build a house. After these last few months, it shouldn't be too hard, right?

The Nursery

2011-08-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

This post seems a bit anti-climactic as we have already moved and most of the nursery stuff is in boxes. There were a few more items I was going to add to the room: a throw pillow for the rocking chair and a female Jack Rabbit for fun. But the house sold really fast, and these items are on the "to do when I finally settle down and get out my sewing machine again list."

I think most of my decor (except for the quilts) came from this post on the sew 4 home blog. I have most of the links for the tutorials on my nesting list page.

I had a lot of fun making all these and the fabric was awesome. I can honestly say that after sewing all these things with it, I never tired of it.

So, here it is:

The crib is really the focal part. It was fun to do all aspects of the crib. from the bumpers to the skirt to the sheet. I just love how it all looks!

Above the crib, I took scrap fabric and stretched it in wood embroidery hoops I got at Jo-Ann's. Cheapest wall hangings I've ever done and they add so much to the room! The quilt hanging over the crib, I took pictures and blogged about it at the end of this post. I love it more and more every day.

The changing table area turned out great. I would sit and stare at it while I was nursing in my chair. The boxes are really stuffed with cardboard (and are so functional!!). The quilt was so fun to make--and surprisingly easy. I followed a quilt-a-long and the top came together in no time. I quilted it with my walking foot and after it was bound, I sewed little rings in the back for hanging. Perfect!

So there it is. I couldn't be more happy with the way it all came together. It really was amazing.

I also have to share one more thing...I made curtains for the boys' room and they were so hard to leave behind. They were perfect with the animals on the wall. I'll be making some more just like this in the future, I'm sure of it!

Blessing Day

2011-08-09T21:48:00.000-06:00

We took a break from stressing over our housing (which in fact may end up to be a blessing in disguise) to celebrate our sweet Miss Hazel.

She wore the blessing dress both Sarah and Eliza wore. And even though it was a very warm day, I had to put on her bonnet that I made her!

Grandma and Grandpa came (as well as my brother who seemed to evade the pictures, I think he was the photographer in most cases!)

We took pictures with the family. (Wow, there's getting to be a lot of us!)

And pictures with "the girls."

It was definitely a wonderful day for our Hazel Ann. She's already getting so big!

A New Twist

2011-07-28T07:58:00.003-06:00

The last few weeks have been busy. Packing up, moving into the rental, closing on the house, etc. We got it all done just over a week ago and we were just starting to breathe a sigh of relief. We still didn't have an absolute plan (or a job) for San Diego, but we felt like things were OK and that we would live in this Colorado rental house, eat up our food storage and try to relax a little.

Until last night...it's funny how plans can change in an instant.

At about 7:30 last night, two Realtors came to the door offering "assistance" to those whose homes were about to be foreclosed. Through the conversation, we soon found out that this rental we are living in has been in foreclosure proceedings for almost a year and a half and is scheduled to be sold at auction on August 17th. Great.

We talked to our landlord asking him what was going on. Of course, he is trying to "work it out." Whatever that means.

Meanwhile, we feel like we need to move and be gone before August 17th. This last week, Jeff has had some good job contacts for San Diego. After praying and thinking much last night, we have determined to move straight to San Diego just as soon as we can. Jeff booked a flight to find us a good (non-foreclosure) home to rent and I begin packing today.

Our big hope is that Jeff is able to get a job quickly. Splitting up our family has never been something we have ever wanted to do, but we feel like circumstances may dictate a few weeks of him flying back to Denver to work until a job comes through.

We feel pretty confident that all will work out. Maybe this is just the big "leap of faith" we need to take.

Wish us luck (and keep us in your prayers too!)

Better this week

2011-07-03T08:22:00.001-06:00

This last week has been an emotional roller-coaster. With our house going on contract, my biggest worry: Where are we going to live!? Since we are hoping to relocate down to San Diego sooner rather than later, we wanted to find a rental that wouldn't lock us in. Hmm...easier said than done. I probably called or e-mailed at least 50 people asking i f they were willing to do a short-term lease. Almost everyone said, "no way" and some people were downright mean about it. I was just asking.

We did find a 4 bedroom apartment. Seriously though, 5 kids in an apartment for who knows how long? And it wasn't exactly inexpensive either. We would have to sign a year's contract, then pay $2,000 to break the lease, but it was the best we could find! Then add on storage for all our stuff, and if I wasn't able to sell my piano, that was a big worry too.

Enter Craigslist. I put an add on Craigslist asking for a 3-4 bedroom home with a short-term lease. I got 1 or 2 replies offering a sublet room (thanks, but that won't exactly work), then a guy e-mailed me with an offer of a 3 bedroom 2200 square-foot house, basically agreeing to month-to-month rent only $100 more than the apartment. It wasn't exactly in the area we were looking at. It's farther in Aurora, and I was a little worried. Aurora can be really spotty, there are great areas, and really scary areas. But I figured it was worth a look.

The house is about 40 years old and has 3 enormous bedrooms with a big family room and living room. The kitchen is an OK size and was updated about 1 1/2 years ago. The tub is the lovely 60s orange color and I think there is still some original wallpaper on the walls. But, it's on a full acre and the homes around it are amazing with the yards immaculately kept and big, mature trees! This house could be pretty amazing too with some TLC and a big bucket of $, I have a feeling that it's the bucket of $ that's lacking. A friend of ours told us that Mike Coffman, our US Representative used to live right in that area. As I walked through the house, I kept asking myself, "Can I live here?" I'm not buying it, I'm not even decorating it (as my brain has been in the decorating mode lately). The answer was yes, I can live there. The flexibility is worth a lot.

So, as fun as an apartment might be, this situation is better. We can take my piano and other furniture (if they don't sell), the kids will have tons of room to play, I will have room to baste quilts (providing there's time for sewing....I sure hope so, I'm going through withdrawls!), and we can shove all our stuff in the garage and basement.

So, life is better. I haven't broken into tears for about 2 days now. Feeling homeless is not a happy thing. I just hope we can move before winter as the house faces North (ugh, a pain for shoveling the driveway!) and we probably won't have a garage to park in, as it's full of "stuff."

So, as long as the house really sells, we're in good shape. Here's hoping for a job.

(Oh, and this week I was linked on a fun "quilty blog," Pleasant Home. It was like a small moment of "fame!")

Be careful what you wish for...

2011-06-29T13:03:00.001-06:00

So as if a new baby didn't keep me busy enough, over the last several months we have been getting our house ready to sell. With the help of a friend, my fabulous husband, and wonderful kids...it looks gorgeous!!

We put it on the market on Friday the 17th and had our first walk-through the next Wednesday.

So, the old adage, "be careful what you wish for, it might come true." Yah, that's us. We had an offer in our hand... in the amount of high sales in our neighborhood, Sunday night. Of course we accepted it. They want to close July 18. Wow.

We are trying to relocate to San Diego and thought the house would be the slow part. No, it's the job. We "had" a job in February whenever we wanted it, but thanks to Congress, the current administration, and the welfare state, defense spending was cut and the job is "on hold."

We feel so blessed, it is almost surreal, but life just turned into a total whirlwind. My biggest question right now is, where do we live? We're not ready to abandon Colorado as we do HAVE a job here, but do we rent for 1 month, 6 months, 3 years? I have no idea.

We felt so strongly to put our house on the market when we did that I know the Lord has a plan for us...I just wish I had the outline.

Anyone want to buy a piano, it's a good one, and it's for sale!

(why it posted sideways, I really don't know and I don't have time to figure it out. It stands right-side-up in real life)

Little Miss Hazel

2011-04-25T12:19:00.006-06:00

We are happy to announce the arrival of:

Hazel Ann Stoddard
Born April 16, 2011
1:13 p.m.
7 lbs 16 oz
21 inches

She is now almost 10 days old (where did it go!) and we can hardly imagine life without her. She is a very sweet baby and now that we are working through our feeding issues, she is even better!

The kids love having her around. Sarah and Eliza hold her every chance they get. Samuel likes to look at her, and David is pretty oblivious to her other when he points to her and says "baby!" I think he likes having her around. No jealousy issues (yet!).

She still sleeps most of the time, but wakes up a bit to show us that she still needs us.

I may be biased, but I think she's awfully cute...and so part of our family. It is always amazing to me how familiar they are when these little ones get here.

For those interested in all the "details" of her birth (it is a little long), read on... For those who would rather not read it all, there's no more pictures, but thanks for stopping by!

Having 3 of my 4 kids come 10 days early, I figured this baby would come anywhere between April 5th and 9th. Though my bet was either on the 8th or 10th. All of these dates passed without any sign of baby coming. I went to my weekly Dr. visit on the 15th so ready to not be pregnant anymore. I was barely dilated to a 2, but asked my Dr. to strip my membranes hoping that would spur something along.

I was planning on a VBAC delivery, praying that I would not have to have another Cesarean. I didn't think my family could handle the recovery (or me either for that matter!)

The rest of the day went pretty normal, I was just super tired, but that was normal too. That night at about 7:00, we were just getting dinner ready when David was being a bit grumpy. I picked him up and was holding him, talking to Jeff, when all of the sudden...my water broke. Not just a trickle, but a big gush. I grabbed the phone and called the Dr office, only to find out that they had another doctor covering for them that night...urgh!

We headed over to the hospital. I was so nervous. Last time my water broke, I ended up with a C-section. I was praying all would go well. I didn't have any contractions until I got up to the Labor and Delivery room. I hoped it would progress quickly. I was happy though that labor was starting on its own.

All night long, we worked through contractions, nothing really getting any regularity. I felt like I was having transition contractions fairly early on, but I think their intensity was heightened because my water had broken and there was no cushioning.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, baby's heart rate dropped to 90. They came in, put me on oxygen, and moved me around and her tones went back up (phew!). The anesthesiologist came in and talked to us about the possibility of a cesarean...had us sign the form, etc. He said he was superstitious though and if we signed it, chances were we wouldn't end up in the OR again. I prayed that he was right.

After more hours of labor, walking around, bouncing on the ball, working through still-irregular contractions, I had finally progressed to a 7. I was so happy to hear it, as previously
I had gone from a 7 to delivery in less than an hour. But, the cervix was behind baby's head and she still had to descend further.

I had mentioned to the nurses when I arrived, that Dr. Lennon (my awesome and amazing OB) might come in if they called him. They couldn't get a hold of him the night before, but by the morning, they did call again and he said he would come in...hooray! After being in labor all night, I felt revived with new energy, knowing that Dr. Lennon can work miracles.

That morning change of shift, brought more than one miracle. My labor and delivery nurse changed and the one that came in was absolutely amazing. She helped me into positions to get the baby to come down, and suggested so many different laboring techniques and positions.

Dr. Lennon came and assessed everything, determined that the baby was semi-posterior (hence all the horrible pressure and pain in my back during contractions) and figured that I needed a small drip of pitocin to help my exhausted uterus be more effective with contractions. After he checked me though, and tried to turn baby a bit, she rolled onto her cord and her heart rate dropped...dramatically.

Back on oxygen, changing positions, and having medicine pumped into my IV, I was almost sure that I was headed for another C-section. Dr. Lennon and my nurse, however stayed pretty calm. After what seemed like forever, her heart rate regained its normal rhythm and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I think with a different doctor and a different nurse though, they would not have been so patient.

We had to wait for baby to regain a normal rhythm for 30 minutes before we could start pitocin. The nurse told us that babies are really resilient and can handle holding their breath for about 5 minutes at least a couple times. Her heart rate kept taking dips over the next little bit, but my fabulous nurse kept changing my position to keep her heart rate up. She also gave me an amnio transfer to give baby a little more cushioning, which seemed to help.

I had Jeff give me a blessing as every contraction hurt so bad and we were worried about baby's heart rate. After that blessing, her heart rate stayed stable and we were ready to get things really going. I never asked for an epidural, as one of the side effects is lowering blood pressure, which can lead to fetal distress. I think that the epidural was a huge contributing factor to my Cesarean last time, so I was determined to have the baby as naturally as possible to avoid complications.

They administered small amounts of pitocin and within a few minutes I think I might have asked for a less painful way of doing things if I would have had time to think about it. But every ounce of my energy was focused on getting through each contraction. Jeff was an awesome coach and I think I must have at least bruised his hands (though he won't admit it) from squeezing them so hard. My nurse had me up on my hands and knees, sitting on the ball, leaning against the bed, and all kinds of positions to try to alleviate the back labor. I think that hour and a half was the most painful and physically exhausting thing I have ever been through.

I began to feel pressure in the right place and I got back on the bed, ready for delivery, I was finally stretched to a 10 and the baby had dropped into position, at last.

Pushing is always harder than I think it will be, I was already so exhausted, it took all of us...Jeff, my nurse, Dr. Lennon, and part of me (I almost remember it as kind of an 'out of body' experience) to deliver, but 4 pushes later and she was born.

I was so happy to hear that first cry. All the nurses in the room oohed and aahed about how cute she was. I just looked at Jeff and he said, "She's OK." The next thing everyone noticed was that there was a knot, a true knot in her umbilical cord. One of the nurses commented that she was truly a miracle baby. I agree.

Soon, I got to hold her and I just remember how beautiful she is and thinking that every bit of that 18-hour labor was worth it.

The next day I got up and I could walk, I wasn't in much pain, and I was almost normal! So different from my last delivery where it was weeks and weeks before I felt like I would be normal again.

I'm so glad I had my great doctor, my wonderful nurse, and my amazing husband to help me through that labor and to keep me out of the OR. Jeff commented that I probably needed to be in labor all night so that we could get the right team for the hard part and the delivery. I agree.

The horrible labor is starting to fade into somewhat of a bad dream. I'm convinced that the Lord helps us forget how hard it is, so that we will have more kids. That's good though, as I don't think we're done.

Little Miss Hazel is here, she is healthy and happy and so perfect in every way.

Show Off

2011-04-14T11:28:00.013-06:00

The last few months around here have been a bit crazy to say the least. In addition to getting ready for baby (whom we are still waiting for), in the last 2 1/2 months we have:

Finished a Master's Degree. Ok, Jeff did most of the work (his degree, not mine), but still...after 8 years, it's nice to be done!
Put Granite in our kitchen and 2 bathrooms.
Did a tile backsplash in the kitchen.
Refinished the banister...a beastly job that took way longer than it should have.
Put in New Carpet (which felt an awful lot like moving).
Researched and put an offer on a lot in San Diego (and still researching it!).
Continued daily homeschooling, piano lessons, and life in general.

But, I'm writing this post to SHOW OFF some of my nesting list items!!

I was very excited to make the Chenille Blanket. At a rare trip to Fancy Tiger in Denver, I fell in love with the Amy Butler Soule Blossoms Home Dec Fabric and chose this piece. I know, I know, it's for a baby girl, but my favorite color is blue!

The hardest part was sewing the endless lines....ugh. But soon it was done. The Olfa Chenille Cutter is a MUST for this project though.

I'm not sure I absolutely love how the colors I chose for the back flannel look. If I had to do it over again, I think I would have done a more monochromatic scheme, or at least colors next to each other on the color wheel rather than the contrasting pink/green/blue. But, I'm sure it will be loved and I will love it more and more with each wash!

The Diaper pail liners are probably the most boring of the projects, but for those of us who love cloth diapering know that this can be fun too. I made some before out of flannel, but decided to make two more with some PUL fabric. Awesome fabric, but kind of a pain to sew with. I got the fabric at the super-great Denver Fabrics (JoAnn started selling PUL, but it's all thin and weird-feeling, ew).

My newborn cloth diapers just arrived the other day (yippee!) so after I go through those 2 packages of disposables, I should be up on my feet enough to go back to cloth.

The Flannel Tie Blanket is one of those baby basics for me. My awesome aunt taught me how to make them when I was pregnant with Sarah, and I've made one for each of my babies (though some didn't get theirs until after they arrived). I saw this flannel at Denver Fabrics and I thought it was so cute...pink and brown, how could it go wrong!

This blanket is SO easy...For a crib-size, it takes 1 2/3 yards of fabric for the front, back and batting (I used 6 oz polyester batting to make it a little more fluffy). Pre-wash the flannel and then lay the fabrics right sides together, smooth and trim fabric so both pieces are exactly the same size. Lay batting on top of fabrics, trim to fabric size, and pin. Sew all 3 layers together (with batting on the bottom) leaving a 10" opening on one of the ends. Turn inside out and slip-stitch opening closed (sorry, a little hand sewing). Tie blanket with yarn making sure edges are straight...ta da! Soft and cozy for baby.

The blessing day bonnet was really fun to make. It came together really quickly and was a very fun project. I can't wait to try it on the little one, though it may be a little big for awhile, since I made it in 3-6 month size.

And...if you've made it this far hopefully you will be rewarded with this last project...my favorite. I saw this pattern awhile back and bought it (which is something I rarely do since there are so many awesome "freebies" out there). I like it because it is both classic and modern all in one quilt! The pattern has been sitting, but I decided it was the one to use for the baby quilt. I've done the nursery in Amy Butler's Midwest Modern pink and orange fabrics as well as her Okra quilter's solid (the exact match) and had a bit left over. (Nursery post will come soon, when it gets put together).

The front just looks so neat and I added a bit of a "scrappy" back using the 6 fabrics I used in her nursery decor.

I just love this quilt. It has it's mistakes--like a big pucker in the back and a few tension problems--but I kept telling myself that it will look OK when washed, trying to put my perfectionist self to rest (which it does look better). I bound it in this fun fabric, which makes it look almost stripey in places (I love stripey binding!). It was unintended but I love the result.

So, that's what is done of the Nesting List thus far. I'm hoping this baby isn't waiting for me to get all the items done before she gets here, though it has been fun to take afternoons off for projects the last few weeks thinking that she will come "any day."

Come soon little one, mama is ready.

Nesting List

2011-01-31T13:04:00.019-07:00

I'm a list-maker...I don't always get it all done, but I always have high hopes.

There's a bunch of things I want to make for the baby that have been swimming around in my head. I guess it's time to get them "written" down.

1. Nursery Decor
Bumper Pads and Crib Sheet finished Feb. 5, 2011
Dust Ruffle finished Feb. 23, 2011
Storage Boxes finished March 28, 2011
2. Quilt from leftover Nursery fabric (though I might decide to do this pattern)
Crib-Size Quilt finished April 13, 2011
3. Chenille Blanket
finished April 5, 2011
4. Diaper Pail Liners
finished March 31, 2011
5. Flannel tie blanket
finished April 6, 2011
6. Crochet-edge receiving blanket
7. Every-day crochet hat
8. Birth Announcements
9. Thank-You Cards
10. Blessing day bonnet and booties (though I can't decide between these or these--thoughts?)
Bonnet finished Feb. 23, 2011
11. New SweetPod and Saddle Bag

I may add or subtract over time...It doesn't seem SO daunting! I'll try to post photos as I finish and will add links on this master list.

Wish me luck!

Two Quilts, One Week

2011-01-06T12:18:00.009-07:00

Two weeks before Christmas was busy. I had just about everything ready, except for the quilts.

The first one was for Jeff's sister and her new husband. They got married 4 days before Christmas and I so wanted to make them a quilt. I had the idea in my head for months, but just needed the push to get started. I ordered a jelly roll and some yardage of Momo's Freebird (I LOVE precuts...some of every fabric!) and used Kona Bone. I had in my mind a rail fence type pattern, but I was so nervous. I kept going back and forth trying to decide whether I should do what was in my head, or find a pattern online somewhere. The pattern in my head won out, and I LOVE IT!

After the top was done, I spent many pregnancy insomnia hours stressing over how scrappy to make the back (as no one seemed to have enough of ONE fabric for backing) and worrying about my free-motion quilting skills. Oh, and what fabric to do the binding, that was a worry too.

The back ended up pretty scrappy, but again, I LOVE how it turned out and couldn't imagine it any other way.

I did the machine quilting in a swirly pattern (way easier than I thought) that turned out wonderful, got it bound (in the light blue Balls in Sky) and washed (my favorite part...it always looks better all crinkly!) hours before we left for Utah.

I also made some throw pillows, I found this great tutorial for no-hand sewing pillows...totally up my alley. I did that in the red ones and wished I had done it for the brown ones too. Oh well. I was glad they turned out so well, as for some reason pillows have frightened me for a long time!

A 72"x72" cuddle quilt and some throw pillows, what could be better for a newlywed apartment!

So, now looking at this quilt, my only wish is that I would have taken better photos. I totally forgot about taking photos until we were at the wedding luncheon. We were trying to get all the food ready, and everyone was running here and there. I grabbed Sarah and hurriedly took these photos as I set up the quilt on a chair. So Judy and Chris, I hope you love it. Take some better photos and send them my way :)

The Second Quilt was for my mom. She has been requesting a denim patch quilt for YEARS now (and strongly hinting--no telling--that she wants one every time she gave me an old pair of jeans). We made it Queen-size, and it turned out so cozy!

Jeff and I have made several of them over the past 7-8 years. We cut up old jeans into 6-inch (or sometimes 4-inch) squares, sew them up all patch-work-y, usually in a 9-patch pattern, and use a flannel flat sheet to back it. We always use the 10oz polyester batting so it's thick and heavy. We tie it with crochet thread and give the fitted sheet and pillowcase away too.

This was a whole-family effort. Jeff cut the squares, I sewed them together, and Jeff, Sarah, Eliza, and I tied it one night while we watched White Christmas. I bound it the next day (just with fold-over from the back), and done!

Mom loved the quilt, she even cried.

I should have taken better pictures of this one too. I think I was so enthralled with just getting these quilts DONE that I didn't document them very well. That's OK though. Learning for the future :)

Now if I can just get to those other quilts on my list...

Christmas Morning

2011-01-06T11:56:00.003-07:00

Ahhh....the magic of Christmas. Here's a few highlights of Christmas morning at my parent's house.

Just after Santa came:

I try to make something for each of the kids every year. I'm going to say the stockings counted this year.

I did, however get some hats made for the girls (thanks to Ravelry...what a fun site!)

Sarah's was this pattern

And Eliza's was this.

I just wish you could see the cute hat flowers better in the photos :)

And, while we're on headwear, this was one of Samuel's favorite gifts from Papa and Grandma, he has hardly taken it off.

David was more interested in the edibles he got Christmas morning than anything else.

Christmas is always fun with kids. Hope you had a great one too!

Big News

2010-12-10T17:39:00.002-07:00

It's a girl!

Although I'm 22 weeks today (but no one is counting), it still seems kind of weird to be telling people. We've kept it a secret for so long, but it's getting kind of obvious and I'm down to 2 pairs of sweat pants as my total wardrobe of non-maternity clothes that still fit. So, I suppose I can't hide it any longer.

I guess after 3 miscarriages in the past 3 years, I've become a little shy about spreading the news too early.

The good thing is that there are really no problems to report, she is growing right on track and I'm starting to feel like I can live again and that there is life beyond pregnancy.

We are looking at a due date of April 15, but as my babies are usually about 10 days early, maybe we'll shoot for sooner. And hey, this little one might share an April 6 birthday with big sister Sarah!

Another SweetPod AND BAG!

2010-12-08T16:04:00.006-07:00

So, the amazing and talented Miss Jessica has done it again! This time with the SweetPod Saddle Bag. An amazingly cool diaper bag that just hooks on to your SweetPod so that you can take your baby and all the necessary gear totally hands free.

Jessica asked me to test the pattern, and like when I tested the SweetPod, I was flattered, honored, and giddy to get the pattern!

This pattern, like the SweetPod, is easy to follow, with clear instructions, awesome design and really great. It's fully-illustrated, which makes it so easy and it was just fun to make!!!

It took me SOOO long to sew it up (all because of me, not the pattern--more on the reasoning for that soon) but Jessica was patient with me and I actually got it done a bit ago but didn't feel like I could blog about it as it was a gift.

A gift for this wonderful gal. Natalie and I have been friends for ever! OK not ever, but a good 12-13 years now, ever since that horrible Political Science Class at BYU where we were the only two females in the class. We've been through a lot together: dating, breakups, marriages, births, fertility woes, and so much more. We've even been lucky enough to live by each other once or twice in those years!

Getting her last baby here was a challenge. When she told me she was pregnant, I asked what she wanted me to make her. She said she wanted a baby carrier like mine, so I sighed, then gathered all the stuff. And, since the SweetPod is something no mother should live without, (and the pattern is just so awesomely amazing) I made her one...and the Saddle Bag to go with it.

I was able to give it to her last weekend, and she was very excited. Baby is a little small for the Pod yet, but I'm confident he will grow and the SweetPod will be his favorite ride (and Mom's salvation!)

And guess what else? Jessica is giving away 4 patterns today over at BLOOM. Now is your chance to get one of these great patterns for free, so head on over! And even if you don't sew, with Jessica's pattern, you SO can make one of these!

It's Coming...

2010-12-03T08:16:00.005-07:00

Christmas, only 20 days away. I swear it comes faster and faster every year. There is so much I want to do and make, we'll see how far through the list I can get. There is, of course, the "have to dos," then the "really should dos," and the "I really want to, but we'll see how time goes, dos."

Since January of last year, stockings have been on my "really want to do" list. Our poor family has never really had cute stockings. Most of them are made up of those super cheap red (what is that scratchy, ugly fabric anyway?) material, you know the ones that you buy at Wal-Mart for $1. To make it even funnier, I think they were gifts from some of Jeff's old girlfriends (yes, we've been married over 10 years now). Well, since stockings have been on the list for EVER, I decided to break down and do it. While I was at it, I decided to mass-produce and make 12 of them.

The Fabric (except for the red snowflake one) is Moda's 12 days of Christmas by Kate Spain (oh, designer fabric, how I love thee!). I borrowed my sister-in-law's cute pattern and made stockings for our family, one for her baby, and some for my sister and her husband for Christmas and some for Jeff's sister and her finance for her bridal shower. She gets married right before Christmas, so I thought it would be fun. At the last minute, I thought it might be too cheezy and almost changed my mind, but she seemed really excited to get them.

Also, almost a year ago, I ran into this tutorial and thought these little birds were SO cute. And (my favorite part) I quickly saw that it would not require any hand-sewing for closure--hooray!

I whipped up a bunch to give to VT sisters, and whomever else I see fit. My only frustration was that I ran out of polyfill with 3 more birds to go, oh well. I was silly to think I could make it without going to JoAnn's before Christmas!

Hope your holiday preparation is going great!

Backyard Fun

2010-11-10T14:56:00.003-07:00

I have to show this off...I'm not the only creative one around here.

Jeff recently made a play structure in the back for the kids. We've been planning on doing it for only almost 4 years now. But, in less than a week, Jeff made it happen.

We opted to build it from scratch and not buy a kit because (1) it was cheaper and (2) the size we allotted for the play center when we landscaped wouldn't fit any of the pre-made kits we saw.

So, my amazing husband made up a plan, took stick lumber and hardware:

And turned it into this:

He did stain in all that red-woody color, and we're still waiting for the swings. But I can safely say the kids are loving it. Samuel has to go out EVERY day and Sarah insists she has to go across the monkey bars when her math is done (to stretch out). Eliza gets out every chance she gets too! David is (luckily) pretty content in the sandbox.

It's nice to have more entertainment in the backyard :)

Baby Shower Crafting

2010-11-09T08:11:00.003-07:00

I went to a baby shower on Saturday morning. Friday night, I realized that I needed a gift. So, luckily I already had this nursing cover cut out. I whipped it up Friday evening and Saturday morning.

I also hurriedly made this little taggie. I love these taggies, so fun to make and it's a great "toy" for baby when they can't quite grasp toys yet.

The mom-to-be was super excited, which made me feel good :) So I guess it was OK that I was an hour late to her shower.

Wanted: New camera

2010-10-27T11:48:00.004-06:00

I really have liked my camera. I got it for Christmas of 08 and it has been great to start me out on my digital camera experience. We got a great bargain, $99 with the Christmas sales. I figured it would last me until I was able to afford a DSLR camera. I didn't realize until Saturday what a deal we got!

Because on Saturday, a child dropped it...while the lens was out...and it fell right on the lens...making it, well...broken. But, said child immediately told the truth about it and that is always the most important thing.

So, we're back to using film and borrowing Sarah's OK camera for the time being.

The question is though...do I go for another cheap point and shoot (which wouldn't be as good as the camera I had) or try to squeeze the budget for a starter DSLR (which isn't quite the camera I was hoping to eventually get)? The only problem being that we are trying to make a lot of things happen in our family right now and $ is a huge issue...

I would love to hear any reviews you have about the camera you love and advice you have to give!

Meanwhile, I'm sending my camera into Canon for a free evaluation on repair costs (I'm not very optimistic). While it's there, I'll wait and maybe catch an amazing Black Friday deal. If I could buy my camera again for $100, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Maybe the camera faeries will be good to me again this year.

Things that make me happy today

2010-10-16T22:47:00.005-06:00

I'm trying to not TOTALLY disappear from blogland...I thought I would just share a few things that made me happy today.

This apple grew on our tree in our backyard! Isn't it perfect! I had to snap a photo before I cut it up, dipped it in caramel and ate it (all by myself...shhhh, don't tell the kids!).

Next, I found this tutorial for the cutest, easiest Halloween treat bags ever! Even if you don't sew, you could so make these. It's making me wish Halloween wasn't on a Sunday this year!

And...I finished a project today. It seems I finish things too few and far between these days. It felt so good to see it all done! But, I don't feel like I could show it off (yet) though as it's a gift and I think the person I'm giving it to may be one of the 3 people who read this blog. So, if you've had a birthday within the last year or so, it may be for you :) It is way to cool not to show off though, So I will be blogging about it hopefully very soon. When I do, that means that it made it to the person it is intended for.

So, happy Saturday and Sunday for all of you out there!

Eight

2010-09-19T13:39:00.004-06:00

So, I'm still trying to figure out how these kids grow up so quickly!!

Eliza turned Eight in August, and we celebrated the big day in Utah at Grandma and Grandpa's.

I should have taken a picture of EVERYONE who came to her party. We had aunts, uncles, cousins, Great-grandparents, a great family gathering. Eliza's face is all red in these photos from running around with the cousins.

Her dessert request was cheesecake (we made 5 of them).

She had a big birthday chorus and got to open her presents. A few from Mom & Dad,

And a baptism dress from Grandma and Grandpa.

It seems we celebrated Eliza's birthday the entire week. The above party was actually 2 days before her birthday, as Jeff and I took off during Eliza's real birthday (all by ourselves!) to go here for 3 days.

And spent one evening here (seeing Cats!).

We figured Eliza would have a fun "real birthday" with Grandpa and Grandma. (We heard they went to Chuck-E-Cheese).

Eliza had a list of things she wanted to do for her birthday in Utah.

Two of them were fishing up Fairview Canyon

And going miniature golfing.

I think we all had fun with Eliza's requests.

Happy birthday "fluh!"

I've Been...

2010-08-25T18:35:00.002-06:00

On Vacation. Have you ever been gone so long, you forgot what your house looks like? We used to do it regularly (like every year) but this is the first time we've been gone for 15 days in over 5 years. We did a lot. MapQuest said that if we left our house and drove straight to Salmon, Idaho, then to Firth, Idaho, then to Orem, Utah, then St. George, Utah, then back to Orem, and then home again, with no extra places to go, it would be just over 2,000 miles. We went a few extra places and I didn't keep track of the exact mileage. I guess when your car has already turned over 100K miles, it doesn't matter any more :) I'll have to do a post on all we did...it was fun. Especially that Zion NP thing with just Jeff and I...it was great.

Canning. I think today finished it up...165 quarts of apricots, peaches, crabapple sauce, and pears and 25 pints of apricot-pineapple jam. That's just the last 10 days. I'm out of jars (and I bought 36 jars this week!) except for two pint-sized regular-mouth jars. They'll just have to stay empty until next year. I'm so done.

Dealing with a grumpy baby. If anyone has any advice, I'll take anything! Since we got home, David has refused to sleep in his bed. He will fall asleep in his high chair, in the car seat, in the baby carrier, on the living room floor, but he will not nap in his bed. On Monday, I determined that he just needed to wear himself out. I decided he would not leave that crib until he slept. After 4 hours (yes, four hours) of me checking on him every 30-45 minutes, he won. Unfortunately, nighttimes aren't much better. Luckily most nights we can sit next to the crib and rub his back until he calms down and finally falls asleep (this usually takes an hour). Twice this week, he has woken up and refused to go back to sleep. I'm done with the whole "bring the baby into bed with us" thing. Last night after 2 hours of trying to console him (from midnight to 2 a.m.) we gave up and let him cry. I had to get up and go to the bathroom at 4, and he was asleep then, so I guess he did finally give up. Maybe it's teeth, maybe he's sick. I'm about ready to take a trip to the Dr. to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection, but I really don't think so. As long as he is being held, he's happy. Yah, that made canning 165 jars nice and easy! Thank goodness for older girls. Couldn't have done it without them!

July Scrap Exchange

2010-07-21T22:51:00.004-06:00

Every three months I do a scrap exchange...one idea+my page+5 kits=6 new pages ready for photos. Here's the one I did for tonight. And I'm super excited about the ones I got in return.

I have been doing something besides Math with my girls :)

South Dakota

2010-07-10T10:50:00.002-06:00

If you haven't been to Rapid City, SD, you should go. It's a pretty cool place, tourism galore! I could not believe how much there was to see and do there!

Mount Rushmore was our drawing attraction. It's only about 6 hours from here, so we thought we would take a weekend trip.

We went a few days after David's birthday and listened to Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt on the way up and back. I highly recommend the book. I very much recommend books on tape while traveling too.

Mount Rushmore was very fun. From the first peek at the mountain, you knew it was a neat place.

I must admit, it was a little different than I thought. I'm not sure what I was expecting, maybe it being bigger? The more we were there though, the more awe-inspiring it really was.

We took a rager-led tour around the President's trail. After the first couple, the ranger stopped letting me answer the questions. I guess I knew too much. Maybe it was those library books we read the week before we left.

The trail gave us different angles of the mountain and views of the beautiful Black Hills.

I really liked Mount Rushmore.

We stayed that first night in a Rapid City hotel and woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go.

Although there is A TON of stuff to see, we decided on some nice free sightseeing spots to spend our second day. And we were not disapointed.

Our first stop was the Museum at the SD School of Mines. They had dino bones, rocks, fossils, and much more. Samuel was excited to see a Triceratops head (among other things).

David was a pretty good sport hangin' in the stroller.

After the museum we went to downtown Rapid City. It's pretty small, maybe the size of Idaho Falls. They have a fun attraction there, well I guess 39 of them. Presidents on street corners.

We took pictures of almost all of them, but I'll spare you all the pictures. Here's a few highlights:

George Washington (of course!)

Ronald Reagan

Richard Nixon (I love this photo because of the kids' expressions!)

And Thomas Jefferson.

After the "City of Presdients" we headed up to Dinosaur Park. Here they have life-size dinos made out of concrete. All ready for climbing fun.

Bet you can't guess who loved it the most...

Next stop was Storybook Island. I loved this place. How could you not love it when Humpty Dumpty greets you as he is falling off the wall.

It is a park full of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and just plain FUN!! I'll let the photos tell the rest.

Our last stop was at the fish hatchery. They were just about to close up for the day, but gave us a big bucket of fish food. The kids loved throwing in the food and watching the fish jump all over. I have to admit, I enjoyed watching them too!

After all that sightseeng, we got shakes at Sonic and wound our way down the Iron Mountain Road. It was tiwsty, but beautiful!

We also drove through Custer State Park and saw a 400-head heard of buffalo!

We found a campground, set up our tent and cooked dinner (and smores!)

The nighttime was, well...eventful. So that we could all fit in our little tent, Jeff spread out the sleeping bags on the bottom of the tent and we had blankets on top of us. It was a little colder than we anticipated, and super hard to get comfortable. Jeff and I were both a bit worried about David, so we didn't sleep very well.

At about midnight, Samuel started coughing, then I heard the horrible sound of him throwing up. Light showed that he had done it in Eliza's hair, then turned and wiped everything on Sarah. My first thought was, "That's it! Let's just go home!" then I remembered that "home" was 6 hours away. I was so grateful that our campground had showers. Eliza and I tromped up to get her all cleaned up and Sarah changed into her clothes for the next day. We lost about 3 blankets but somehow we managed to sleep a little. Oh, the adventures!

We woke up the next morning and had a little breakfast. We were too tired to do anything big, so we went and saw Mount Rushmore one more time, then drove home. It was definitely a trip to remember!

ONE!

2010-07-09T14:32:00.007-06:00

One is so fun. There's just something about that very first birthday that is so magical. Maybe it's because life is still so new and there is so much to explore.

On June 14, Baby "D" turned one.

We dressed him in his flag shirt (June 14 is flag day...I love that it's his birthday too!),

And went out and got him a birthday balloon.

He wasn't sure what to think of the balloon at first. He was very afraid of it in the car, but he warmed up to it. We tied it to his high chair so he could grab it and "bang" it often!

He got a few presents. A new umbrella stroller was at the top of the list! (who made this birthday list anyway?)

But I think he likes it.

He also got some other stuff: A new hat (that he refuses to keep on) and a boat from his sisters.

My favorite part was the cake. I made him a flag cake (hmm...wonder howmany of these he will get in his lifetime!)

I love the look of pure excitement in his eyes, you can just see him asking, "Wow, what is this!"

Only to be superseded by the joy of eating!

Yea for one! It's going to be a great year!

Creating

2010-07-09T14:16:00.003-06:00

I have to create. It makes me so happy to make something out of a flat piece of fabric or to bring photos to life on a scrap page.

One of the happy things in June is that I got to create a little...not as much as I would have liked, but even something is better than nothing.

Jessica and I got together for a sewing afternoon, and this is what I made:

It's called the Diana Hobo Bag and I love it!! I found this fabulously free pattern from one of the gals who had made a Sweetpod (you'll have to check it out, it's one of the cutest ones I've seen!).

Of course, if I were to do it over I wouldn't have skipped that pocket for the inside and done the handles a little differently...but overall, it's great! It's big enough for one of those "throw-together" outings where you want the essentials (wallet, planner, diapers), or a trip without kids when you want to throw a book in.

The fabric is from Amy Butler's Belle line. I got it at my new favorite fabric store, and it was even on sale (woo hoo!).

It felt so good to make something!

June and July

2010-07-09T14:11:00.003-06:00

June was a hard month. Hard physically at times, emotionally at other times. But looking back on it, June wasn't all hard. Some good things happened too.

So now it's July, and time for a "new start." A new start for counting blessings and remembering happy days. Like today! 11 years ago today I married my best friend. It is neat to see how that friendship has only grown stronger. We've been through a bit, but we're not done yet!

Piano

2010-05-30T13:47:00.004-06:00

I have now played the piano for over 23 years. That really seems like a long time! I should be better than I am, but that's a different story.

It wasn't an option at our house of weather or not to play the piano. My mother's motto was "you can quit playing the piano when you are in college, or when I die." I guess that's a bit better than what my grandma told her kids: "You can quit playing the piano when you decide you don't want to eat anymore." So, just like my dad and his five siblings (one which makes his living by playing the piano!), I played the piano. My parents told me that someday I would be grateful for it. I never believed them, but (like most things) they were right.

Since then I've not only played (for myself, for church, for school, for all kinds of things), I have also taught. I should have kept track of how many students I have taught. I think it's about 100. At one point I taught a lot--23 students. I taught every day after school and twice a week before school. It was kind of crazy. When we moved to Colorado, I said I would limit it...now I have 9, including my two girls, and I am very full. So, twice a week. It's do-able.

Last weekend was our recital. I was so nervous! I'm not sure why. Maybe because I felt like I hadn't given my kids as much time as I should have (May totally snuck up on me this year! Maybe it was the snow every other day!). They were awesome though. Every one of them did so well and I even managed to pull off my song without too many mistakes.

I also performed a duet with my oldest student today in Sacrament Meeting. My prayer all day was, "help those who hear it feel the spirit." Technically, it went really well (other than the fact that my foot was on the wrong pedal for the first half of the song, I hate it when I do that!). I just hope my prayer was answered.

So, teaching piano with 4 kids, and homeschooling seems really crazy sometimes. I often wonder why I teach at all with so many other things to do. The answer keeps coming back to me over and over that I need to teach kids to play the piano so that they can play for church. It is sad to me that pianists are getting more and more rare. It used to be that every good LDS kid played the piano, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. My heart sank when I found out that new LDS chapels were getting digital pianos so that they didn't have to have anyone play, they could just start the recording. I think it is sad.

Every time I think of quitting teaching, I just get the feeling that teaching these kids to play in church is so important! So I will keep teaching until I receive the revelation otherwise. Maybe I can stop buying fabric and save enough for the serger I've been wanting :)

Family of Twelve

2010-05-17T17:11:00.006-06:00

Almost as long as I can remember, I've wanted 10 kids. My mom used to just smile when I told her that. Now I'm starting to feel my biological clock timing out. At this point I will fill absolutely blessed to have just as many as we can.

This last week I got my wish...for 5 days! We watched Jeff's brother's kids while he and his wife went to DC for an "outing." They have 7 kiddos, but took the baby with them. So with our four and their six, we had 10 kids! It was life like it would be if we would have had 3 sets of twins and my youngest two 11 months apart.

The best part of it was...I enjoyed every minute! I know, some of you may question this. I was at the grocery store one night and ran into a gal in my ward, we were talking at the checkout and when I mentioned we had 10 kids under the age of 10 at home, I think the checker just about passed out. But really, I never once counted the days left or the hours until bedtime. It was great! The only issues I had were (of course) with my own children.

We did a lot of fun things. The best part was (and this is the teacher in me) NO SCHOOL! Hooray! We did crafts in the morning and went to the park a couple of times (when it wasn't snowing), and even braved the crowded streets of Denver to go on our Homeschool group field trip to the Molly Brown House. (Jeff helped me with that one, there just weren't enough seat belts). We also watched a movie every day, since movies are rare at both our houses, the kids thought it was a treat. The rest of the time the kids just played and enjoyed each other.

My favorite part of each day was the 30 minutes of personal reading. The first day, I walked into the family room to see this:

Noah read to Samuel every day. I loved it.

Mealtimes were a little crazy,

But with help like this, prep and cleanup were a snap!

I do have to say though, that the fabulous experience was made possible by my amazing sister-in-law. Her kids were so helpful, obedient, happy, never fought (seriously!), ate all their food, went to bed on time, and even the not-quite-two-year-old was as patient as could be. She is doing an amazing job raising her kids. I've said for several years now that I want to be like her when I grow up. Now I want to even more :)

I think through the week, I learned to be a better mom. I learned to be more slow to anger (you think twice about blowing up when other kids are around!), how to delegate, and how to focus more on my prayers (I knew I needed extra help!). I hope I can remember all these things and try to be more organized in every area of life!

On a crafty note...I even got a few scrap pages done, a skirt finished, and a baby quilt started. Woo Hoo!

By midnight Saturday when the extra kids were reclaimed, I felt like I had accomplished a lot and had a wonderful week!

The hardest part? Setting the table for lunch on Sunday with only 5 spots...it seemed a little empty.

Ten

2010-05-09T17:25:00.006-06:00

Happy Mothers' Day to all of you wonderful women!

This post is celebrating the day I became a mother. April 6, 2000. Now that sweet baby is ten years old! She has taught me so much. I just hope I have taught her something too!

Here's some highlights of her special day.

Bacon and Puffy Oven Pancakes for Breakfast (yum...no hot cereal this morning!)

A trip to the Denver temple. When Sarah was little, she loved to visit the Washington DC temple on her birthday. Weather was a little (OK a LOT) warmer in Maryland in April, but we made the most of it!

Isn't she beautiful!

And had to snap this little guy while I had the chance:

For presents she got a new dress (made by me--hope it fits for a little while!)

And some $ to do what she wants (along with a card telling her how awesome she is!).

Her "cake" request was pumpkin pie (which didn't require any decorating--I was kind of relieved!)

Make a wish and take a bite!

Happy Birthday Sarah!

10 things I love about Sarah are:

1. She always tries to do what is right.
2. She is a great help with her siblings. She loves them a lot!
3. She is a fabulous pianist--listening to her is a joy!
4. She is fun to talk to and share my little excitements with, like a gorgeous new fabric or a fun scrap page just finished.
5. She likes to be with her family.
6. She thinks a lot about others.
7. She is a great cook (and makes some meals all by herself!)
8. She sticks with me when I need help.
9. She is a great student.
10. She is beautiful inside and out.

Thanks Sarah, for being patient with me and letting me be your mom!

Scrapbook Challenge!

2010-05-01T11:23:00.002-06:00

Today is National Scrapbooking day and May is National Scrapbooking Month! I know, it seems there is a day/month for everything, but sometimes I just need an excuse to get motivated! My pictures should be in books for my family to look at, not in boxes or stuck on my computer.

The last couple of years, I've issued a challenge to finish 31 scrapbook pages (an average of one per day) during the month of May.

It's been awhile since I sat down to scrapbook other than doing my exchanges. But I hope to change that this month. I have a lot of partially finished pages that need journaling and/or pictures. I hope to finish all those up as well as add many more.

I also hope to finish my 2006 albums. I'm pretty close, but am down to those pictures that haven't quite fit into my exchange pages.

My other goal with this is to use more stuff than I buy, It's part of my New Year's Resolution. I'm not sure I'm ahead for the year, but I'll be keeping track this month. With thousands (yes, thousands) of sheets of paper, yards of ribbon, 100+ stamps, and embellishments galore, I think it's do-able.

I would love you to join me with this challenge. I'll be posting photos (hopefully) every week and I would love to hear how you are doing with it also!

So, here's to scrapping...hopefully I can get a bit done today!

Homeschool Quilt

2010-04-18T20:55:00.003-06:00

March 20 was National Quilt Day. I resisted all the "sales" that came to my junk e-mail account and stayed home to....quilt! I finished up this quilt.

We did this for a homeschool activity. I had over 30 kids and several mothers over one afternoon to tie this quilt and put together higene kits for Church Humanitarian Services. With the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, it seemed appropriate.

I had a lot of faith in the kids tying quilts. I think I went over the quilt for about 2 hours after everyone left to fix all the strange looking ties, and that's after a couple moms had already been over it! It got done though.

It was great walking into the Bishop's Storehouse with 38 Humantiarian kits and 1 full-size quilt. The missionaries there asked if we did it as a church project, they were impressed when I told them it was a homeschool group.

Way to go Southsiders!

Double Hourglass quilt

2010-04-18T20:42:00.005-06:00

All my life I've loved quilts. I grew up playing under my grandma's quilting frames and it's something I've always wanted to do. I pieced one a few years ago and hand quilted the entire huge thing. I'm still not done with the binding. When I do finally get it all done, I'll probably blog about it, but today, here's a quilt I have finished.

This quilt was my first attempt at machine quilting, and I must say I was very happy with the results.

I used this tutorial for the blocks. It came together SO easily and I didn't buy a stitch of fabric for it...all stuff I had on hand.

I quilted it in a swirly pattern, definately not perfect,

But when I washed it, it went into a happy puckery-ness that I love!

Even the back was cute!

And like almost everything I make, I didn't want to part with it, but I gave it to a friend who is expecting her first baby any day. She loved it.

The Dog

2010-04-18T20:25:00.006-06:00

I love this dog! I think he is so cute! I made him in about a day using Fiona's Rufus Dog pattern. When I saw the pattern, I knew I wanted to make one (or five!). So, thanks to a sale in my Etsy Shop, I was able to get it as well as a pattern for Jack Rabbit, whom I fully intended to make for Easter, but didn't quite make it. I wanted to make it out of the wool flannel the pattern called for, but I either had time to drive across town to get the fabric, or make the dog. Creativity won over driving. He got made out of some black Kona I had on hand.

Well, back to my dog. I made him from my awesome brother-in-law for his birthday. His family is really into dogs, all his brothers and his parents have one, but he doesn't, as he and my sister live in a little townhouse, so I thought I would make him one. I worked hard and got it done and sent in time for his birthday.

Rumor has it my Brother-in-Law liked the dog. He said he would take him riding in his truck. So maybe he made it to a good home after all.

Who could resist this little guy though....seriously?

Blessings of Conference

2010-04-05T16:47:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been in a rut...well maybe more a ditch (and not my brother-in-law's!). Sometimes I know there needs to be a big change--in schedules, or maybe just attitudes. I've known this for awhile, but it takes time to figure out the best change and even more time to implement it. I feel like I'm running, with not much time to spare, so we've been doing our same old stuff just trying to stay afloat...

Back in college, I had an awesome Religion professor at BYU named Reed Benson. Every Conference time, he suggested that we make a list of 5 things we had questions about or felt like we needed help with. Over the last 10+ years, I've tried to make these lists. This Conference, I did...

Homeschooling (help!)
Babies
Scripture Study
Preparedness
Family Organization

I was amazed. I think over half the talks at Conference focused on the importance of teaching your children at home! By the end of the first session, my heart was so full! I realized that I can do this! Homeschooling is important! The Lord will provide a way for me to succeed! I think I need to print out Sister Beck's and Elder Ballard's talks and read one of them every day, along with thoroughly studying the Conference Ensign as soon as it arrives!

There were a couple of amazing quotes that I need to print out and post up. They were both from the talk by Elder Bradley D. Foster. The first one, he quoted President James E. Faust: "There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood." This one needs to go in every room of my house. The second is "The distraction doesn't have to be evil to be effective." This one needs to go on my computer!

It was a great weekend, to be able to put everything aside and to listen to our church leaders for two days. Wow, what a spiritual feast! I needed it.

Now I feel like I can be proactive about my day instead of reactive. I even got up before 7:00 this morning. That's a big thing for me, and the day has gone so much better!

Well, I'm walking away from this distraction now and working on some birthday surprises for tomorrow. Sarah turns 10--Where did it go?

I'd love to hear your insights about Conference too!

Four!

2010-03-20T14:40:00.007-06:00

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

2010-03-04T08:26:00.004-07:00

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

2010-03-02T14:49:00.008-07:00

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!

Feelin' The Love

2010-02-27T18:14:00.002-07:00

Grandmas are great. I think this year, I'm not sure we would have had nearly as fun of a Valentine's Day if it wasn't for Grandma. We had a fun dinner and everyone got a candy bar, which was fun. But not nearly as fun as Grandma Becky's package. She sent all kinds of fun stuff for the kids as well as socks for everyone (except Dad).

Thanks Mom!

2 Friday Afternoons

2010-02-09T12:07:00.002-07:00

See this stack? 29 scrapbook pages...done (well, except for journaling). I sat down the last 2 Friday afternoons for about 2 hours each day and assigned photos to my stack of finished exchange pages, then taped them in. Ah, it's a good feeling. This is why I like exchanges.

Now about 30 more to go!

Letters

2010-02-08T18:02:00.004-07:00

Last week my friend, Olivia, did a post about letters. At the end she asked which letters we would write. As I was cleaning my kitchen today, I got to thinking...

Dear Crafty Bloggers,

Why do you have to be so creative? Ok, I won't blame it all on YOU, half of it is all those other crafty blogs you link to. One or two of these ideas is enough to send me to my sewing machine or scrap table, but you soon get very inspirational-overwhelming! I wonder though, do you ever clean, cook, fold laundry, or help your kids with schoolwork or piano practice? With all you get done and post on your blogs, sometimes I wonder!

Sincerely,
Have the ideas, lack the time

Dear Children,

Is it too much to ask to PLEASE eat your food, do your schoolwork, clean your room, make your bed, fold the laundry, practice your music, pick up after yourself and stay on track without having to be reminded 50 million times?

Sincerey,
The Broken Record a.k.a. Mom

Dear Old Navy,

Why, oh WHY did you close your store closest to me!?!?!? I know, I know, it's because Southlands was charging too much rent, but is that any reason to make me drive to a part of town I rarely go to? I won't visit your store nearly as much... or maybe I will anyway. I am still very sad.

Sincerely,
Clearance rack shopper

I'll end with the same one Olivia did:

Dear blog readers,

What letters would you write?

Love,
Me.

Samuel Says

2010-02-05T08:39:00.004-07:00

One of the fun things about kids is that they say really funny things.

When we were in Utah over Christmas, Samuel had an epiphany. We were driving around and he suddenly said, "Did you know that Papa has kids?" We answered that we did and asked him who they were. His reply was very thought-out and earnest, "Jaron, Stacey, and Nick!" He was so happy to have figured it out. I guess marriage brings more kids, but he forgot about his mom, and how he is related to Papa. I love how kids think.

Yesterday, Samuel informed me that he wants to be in Papa's family because our house is boring. Then he proceeded to pack his backpack to go to Utah. By this morning, it was all ready to go!

He packed just the necessities, of course: Starting out with Steg (his Stegosaurus) and a few blocks.

In the next pocket, his trusty parachute guy (the parachute itself has long since disappeared).

And rounding it out in the front pocket with George the Elephant and Spikey the Ankylosaurus.
Now to get there... As of now there's no current plans to go to Utah. We'll have to think of something.

New Sunday Dress

2010-02-04T15:04:00.005-07:00

I love new Sunday dresses. They are just neat.

Sarah was in desperate need of a new Sunday dress. Is it just me, or is it hard to find dresses beyond, oh...size 6x? You know, those ones that are modest; with a high neckline, sleeves, and a hem that is below the knees.

We've been pretty lucky the last few years with some great ones Grandma found and gave to the girls, cute jumpers from Children's Place and some hand-me-downs from my friend, Kim. I even sewed a couple for my sister-in-law's wedding and for Sarah's Baptism.

But, that was then... Now Sarah is in that "pre-teen" sizing that is so hard. I even looked in a few "specialty" stores in Utah hoping to find something that fit my definition of modest. But, no luck. I don't know if I just am looking in the wrong places or what, but I determined that I could probably sew one up in less time than I would take looking for one.

A few weeks ago, we went to Jo-Ann's and found a pattern (Simplicity 5645), a linen-look solid, and some trim. Less than $15 and a bit of time later:

I also can't resist putting a photo of my "helper" while I was laying out the fabric.

Tee Hee!

I got some other fabric for another dress. I hope to get it done soon, but for now Sarah has a new Sunday dress. A modest one. Hooray!

Bread

2010-01-28T17:18:00.004-07:00

I love homemade bread. I remember when my mom made it when we were kids, we would devour at least a loaf or two just after it came out of the oven. It's not too much different now.

I try to make bread every week to ten days. I make it whole wheat, with fresh-ground flour. I have a fabulous wheat grinder that works great. I'm glad I have it: I can imagine lining up my kids with mortars and pestles to grind the wheat...well maybe not. I took a sabbatical from making bread for several months after David was born, as I didn't quite have the stomach muscles to knead it. Funny things, those C-sections.

Yup, this is me, Sarah grabbed the camera and caught me in the act.

I really want one of these. I've been saving money from Birthdays and Christmas in a little jar to someday get this handy-dandy bread maker. I think I'm at about $100. Maybe I can get some $ from our food storage budget too, now that Christmas is over. But for now, it's my 2 hands that make this bread thing possible.

Fresh, hot from the oven. Luckily, I was able to freeze a few.

Is there anything better than fresh-baked bread with homemade strawberry freezer jam? Well, maybe if it's covered in honey instead.

Bread anyone?

A Little Scrappin'

2010-01-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

Scrapbooking is something I love to do. I got started about 11 or so years ago and it's something I keep coming back to. I love the hands on, touch the paper-ness of scrapping. I don't know if I could ever go digital.

For a few years now, I've been doing scrapbook exchanges. Where a bunch of people get together and each makes a kit for everyone in the group, then we exchange our kits. We usually get 8 or so pages with one idea, then all we have to do is put our phtots in it. It has been super great and has helped my albums grow a little quicker.

For my exchange (which happened last night), this is the page I did. The layout idea was from Jeanette Lynton's Cherish book. And I got some way cute pages in return! Our next exchange is in April, we always welcome more people!

A friend of mine does exchanges too. Hers is next week I've got my layout done, but still need to put together 10 more before next weekend.

I used the same paper pack for both exchanges. The paper is from Stampin UP. A retired paper pack called Tea Party.

When I get them all back, I just need to plug my photos in them, along with the 20-something other pages that need photos too.

I did this page a few months ago when I needed a break from sewing. I love how it turned out. My goal was to use the cute flower paper that my friend Natalie (who introduced me to scrapping back in college) gave me years ago. I found the inspiration from one of the Pebbles in My Pocket page kits. At least this one has photos!

Another of my New Year's Resolutions is to use more craft stuff than I buy (Whew! It's going to be tough). I hope I can get through at least some of my thousands of sheets of hoarded paper!

The Journey

2010-01-15T10:01:00.012-07:00

For the last two months I feel like I've been on a journey, exploring a world I didn't even know existed.

I guess my journey started a good thirty some-odd years ago when I was born. I was a cloth diaper wearer. My mom always said she did it out of necessity because they couldn't afford anything else. Her favorite Christmas present when I was a baby was disposable diapers, so I could wear them to church. I grew up with the stigma that cloth diapers was something people used because they were too poor to buy disposables, they used them because they HAD to.

I used to baby-sit for my aunt a lot, she used cloth diapers. Another family I baby-sat also did. I don't remember it being any big deal, they were easy to change and not hard to deal with. But I "knew" deep down that they couldn't afford disposables, and that's why they used cloth.

It's funny how parents sometimes proclaim "truths" through little things they say at different times. Two of these truths come through more than most: (1) College should be finished before you get married and have babies. (I guess that's why I finished my bachelor's degree super fast --less than 3 years-- and wrapped it up just before I got married.) (2) Cloth diapers are horrible, despicable things, so gross and annoying that you must be either crazy or dirt poor to use them.

Well Mom, I must be crazy. I have entered the cloth diapering world. And I love it.

Cloth Baby!

The next phase of my journey happened just before Thanksgiving with a homeschool activity at my house. Just before everyone left, my friend (Jessica) changed her little guy. But this was a diaper I had never seen before...it was cute, stylish, had velcro and snaps...and was cloth--no pins or plastic pants! Wow, I was intrigued. So she showed me how it worked, just unsnap the soaker when it's wet, snap a new soaker in the cover, ta da! Wow. And she used cloth diapers because she wanted to, not because she had to. Now that's a new concept.

Well, I mulled it over for a bit, then did a little internet research. Can you say OVERWHELMING! Just the terminology was enough to make my head spin! I decided this was something I was curious about and wanted to explore further.

When we were seeing Denver with my brother I made a stop at the Giggling Green Bean (formerly Denver Diaper Co.). I didn't have as much time to spend there as I wanted, but walked out of the store with my first cloth diapers. Wow. I got one Gro Baby with 2 extra soakers (like Jessica had), 3 of the old fashoned prefolds, some snappies (which in itself is an amazing thing--no more pins!) and a wool cover. I had heard that wool was great for heavy night soakers (at that time David was soaking through EVERY night. thus changing sheets EVERY morning). My mistake though was that I got the wrong size. Why I thought he was almost 20 lbs at 5 months, I don't know. I'll chalk that one up to being in a hurry and being totally overwhelmed.

So, we tried it. I had 3 changes with the Gro Baby (the wool wasn't working out so great as it was too big!) and I found myself liking it more and more. I told myself I had to try it for 2 months before I got any more. He would wear it until all 3 changes were dirty, then I would wash the cover and soakers, daily. I stayed up at nights and thought about cost comparisons between cloth vs disposable diapers while I was nursing. I was counting days until I could buy more.

We went to Utah for Christmas and spent time with family. One night, the fam watched a movie. After I watched for about two minutes, I remembered I HATE movies like that. So I went in the other room and continued my internet research on cloth diapers.

I was getting good, I was understanding things like "PUL" and "AIO." I knew the difference between a soaker and an insert (soakers are part of the diaper, inserts just lay in them). So now, what diaper to use? I knew I loved my Gro Baby, but what about the other gazillion diapers out there? I ran across a website for a group in New York State. The coolest thing about these guys is that they have a 21-day diaper trial program so you can use new diapers and see what you like, then send back what you don't like. And even if you send them all back, they only charge $10. Waiting for my 2 months...

Through all of this, I wasn't sure how to tell Jeff that I wanted to use Cloth Diapers. I knew he would think I was crazy (after all, we weren't destitutely poor). I had managed to keep my 3 changes a day pretty much a secret. So here's where I thank Nick, my awesome brother-in-law. We went and saw their new place they had just bought. When we got to the laundry room, they have a sweet washer and dryer. Nick was all proud that the washer pre-heats the washer to get stuff super white ("like diapers," he said). I asked him if he was serious, he said he thinks cloth diapers are they way to go. This is almost comical, the thought of my sister changing (and cleaning) cloth diapers is hilarious, she won't even change stinky disposable ones! It's different with your own kids, so I'm sure she will be fine changing diapers when the time comes. I digress... After we got home, Jeff brought up how funny it is that Nick wants to use cloth diapers even though the thought revolts Stacey. I asked him how he felt about cloth diapers. "Fine," he said. Phew! I told him about my wanting to use cloth. "If you want to, I can support you in that." Husband on board--yea!

Meanwhile, I had heard about people sewing diapers. Huh, another aspect. I knew one of the other SweetPod testers ran an online diaper fabric store, so I thought I would check it out. I remembered that Jessica had sewed some diapers once, but I wondered if she ever finished the 12 she planned on making.

So, I sent Jessica an e-mail asking if she had finished her diapers, if she had extra fabric, and mentioned I LOVED the Gro Baby diapers. Her reply came quick: No, she hadn't finished them, and yes, I could try to sew couple up (they were part-way finished), oh and by the way, she had 6 Gro Baby covers and 18 soaker pads that she wasn't using, as her cute baby had grown some adorably chubby legs and they just didn't fit. Would I like to buy them--for half the original price? My reply was swift back: Yes and Yes.

So yesterday (at another homeschool activity at my house) she brought over 3 diapers to sew and enough Gro Baby diapers to warrant washing only every 2-3 days and their own load! I was giddy with excitement (who knew diapers could be this fun!). And David has been in cloth diapers in the daytime ever since.

I still have that night-time thing to figure out. Jessica recommended these ones, two on at night with a cover. They look pretty cool.

I think it's important to note here that I am NOT using cloth to save the world. I DO NOT believe in global warming, the earth movement, or "going green." I believe what the Lord has said in Doctrine and Covenants 104:17 "For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves."

I DO love cloth diapers because they are more comfy for baby, they keep all those poopy messes in (never had a blowout or a leak!), they are cheaper in the long run (though it takes awhile), I feel like I'm wasting less, and it's a great self-reliance thing. Add it to my crazy passion for food storage and being prepared.

I'll still keep disposables on hand, I don't know if I'll ever go FULL cloth, just mostly cloth. I'm working up to taking cloth in the diaper bag, Jessica says it's easy.

So, I'm not sure that the journey of cloth diapering ever ends (maybe when the last kid is potty-trained, but hopefully that's not for many, many more years). It's a fun journey to be on. Thanks Jess!

Christmas---2 weeks later

2010-01-14T16:13:00.010-07:00

I'm one of those ones that believe many Christmas presents should be handmade. I think it just puts a little more "love" into it.

We made a lot of things this Christmas. I told our girls that gifts they gave would have to be made themselves or bought with their own money. They really came through. We made stuff for cousins, grandparents, uncles, aunts, everyone! Things like doll blankets, scarfs, tree ornaments, rice bags, and more! Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of most of it. I was kind of centered on the stuff I made, and helping them get their stuff finished and wrapped. But here's some of the things that kept us busy in the days (and hours!) leading up to Christmas.

The #1 thing on the girls' lists were beds for their Vision Forum Dolls (like American Girl). Jeff came through. He made their beds (out of cherry!) and I did the bedding. They turned out great and the girls REALLY love them.

They can even stack as bunks!

For Each of the kids, I made something for them.

Sarah got a robe. I admit I was intimidated by this project, but it was easier than I thought it would be!

Christmas morning!

I made David a cute taggie blanget. Can I just say I love the internet! I found this great tutorial
and I was able to whip this thing up. The hardest part? Deciding which ribbons to use!

David loves it. He has his favorite ribbons, of course, but he will chew and chew for a long time!

Eliza put in a request months ago for a hooded towel--a purple one. I had some super cute rick-rack I got on clearance forever ago so she got her wish!

You can see by the smile she is excited about it.

I'm finding sewing for boys is a little more tricky. Christmas comes in handy when there are "needs." New pajamas for Samuel was a need. His favorite things right now are dinosaurs and Toy Story. Great!

The mere fact I can't wash them fast enough proves to me they were a hit!

For my dad, I tried something I've never really done--framing. Jeff got me a mat cutter years ago and we've used it just a little. When the USPS came out with their Star Wars stamps a while back, I thought of my dad (he and I are big Star Wars fans) and our trips to the Old Post Office Pavilion in DC. A very cool place where we used to go and by old stamp sets that had been framed. So I thought I would give it a go.

I must admit it was a little tougher than I thought, but I think the overall project looks nice. I'm just glad Dad put it up a little higher so the flaws are hidden.

And, here's my wonderful Grandma with her husband, Bill. They were married a couple years ago and they are such an inspiration to me! I made them matching scarfs for the cold Utah winter (though they are spending the entire month of January in warmer St. George, I'm so glad!). I thought they turned out pretty cute.

So, now that Christmas is over, time to move on to other things. I've got a couple scrapbook exchanges to crank out pages for, and some cloth (yes mom, cloth) diapers to sew for curiosity's sake, thanks to my talented friend Jessica who gave me some of her half-finished ones so that I could try them out. Oh, and some New Year's resolutions to work on...one of which is to organize this mess:

I can report, that after taking these photos, it's looking a little better :)

Silly Samuel

2009-12-22T09:04:00.003-07:00

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

2009-12-17T20:55:00.008-07:00

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

2009-12-14T14:31:00.006-07:00

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

2009-12-14T14:22:00.002-07:00

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

2009-12-14T14:10:00.006-07:00

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

2009-11-21T21:01:00.007-07:00

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

2009-11-18T08:24:00.003-07:00

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

2009-11-17T08:27:00.004-07:00

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

2009-11-03T13:29:00.006-07:00

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

2009-10-28T15:11:00.003-06:00

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!

2009-10-26T12:46:00.002-06:00

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

2009-10-23T12:12:00.004-06:00

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

2009-10-16T18:50:00.008-06:00

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

2009-10-15T18:55:00.001-06:00

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!

2009-10-14T18:47:00.005-06:00

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.

2009-10-14T10:09:00.006-06:00

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?

2009-09-14T13:40:00.000-06:00

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!