Oh Baby!

We are wonderfully lucky to have had the opportunity to watch our favorite new baby and neighbor, Benjamin. He spent several hours with us last Saturday while his parents took the Infant CPR class. Needless to say, this is how he looked 90% of the time we had him, but that didn't stop us from passing him around the room from loving arms to loving arms. It is funny how light and little he is. We laughed at the fact that he is basically the same size now as Nicholas when he was born. The kids loved his tiny feet.

And notice the change of clothes. That would be because he peed through the first outfit onto Katie no less. She actually giggled and just went and changed her clothes.

2 Things Learned

1. Don't pay bills when tired online. You will accidentally hit the go back button several times instead of the confirm button. Then you get to type in all the information again....and again.....and AGAIN!! You would think I would learn after the first time.

2. When your 4 year old learns to whistle, you will be overjoyed at his new found skill. Then after several days of nonstop whistling, the enjoyment fades.

Ballet Rehearsal

Katie backstage at dress rehearsal. They were busy playing Simon Says with one of the young teachers. What you don't see is the big girls to the left playing along with them. Apparently ballerinas never grow up.

Katie to the left of front in her ballet dance. They do such a marvelous job, and she had such a great teacher this year. Plus I got lucky to have her right up front and center for both dances this year.

Katie in her tap dance. Not that you can tell which one she is. (Towards the middle somewhere)

But I love this picture because it shows just how hard they worked this year. Look at their feet all in unison. They are really remarkable for 6, 7, and 8 year olds.

Katie front right doing her tap again. She has been practicing both her dances every day for the past week since they didn't have class. She told me she wants to be perfect. And then yesterday, she said that she wishes they could do their dance 10 times.

The child loves to perform, and is dying to get into one of those white tutus, and pointe shoes.

Sorry dear, you'll have to wait a few years to have a white tutu, but the pointe shoes will be coming soon I have a feeling.

Little Girl Quilt

I think this is one of my favorite quilts that I have ever made. It uses the Butterfly Fling fabric panel (that I cut into 4 main squares), and a charm pack of the same line.

So cute!

And I got brave enough to finally try stippling an entire project, and it came out beautiful.

And here is the back. A really adorable purple heart print.

I have Katie to thank for that one.

Happy Hurricane Season!

Only here...

Do you have a friend call you on June 1st to wish you a happy hurricane season.

She should have added happy swarming mosquitoes that will suck 8 pints of blood from you, as well as happy screaming children day, since the mosquitoes terrify them until they scream and tremble in terror.

SAD!

Nick Gymnastics Video

Gymnastics video

Sorry it is sideways at first.

Lately

Not much blogging lately. We have been busy, busy, busy.

Did I mention we have been busy??

1st there was this cute little bundle of joy being born to our friends and neighbors.

2nd there was recital rehearsal.

3rd was gymnastics olympic day.

Doesn't he look proud to win his medal?


And she is pretty darn cute too.

Then we had Nick's final t-ball game.


Sitting in the dugout before the game.

This looks more like him.

Nick at bat. The shirt has come out, and he's ready. This hit went all the way out to the outfield. The boy can swing!

And then I spent my weekend making these. The summer t-ball season starts today, and Mike has some plans for using them with the kids.

Until September

I am without my favorite show now until September. I was a mean mama last night who refused to put my children to bed and read to them, instead making Daddy do it. They were not happy!

But I got to mostly enjoy the 2 hour Grey's Anatomy season finale by myself. And mostly I did enjoy. And now for my 2 favorite moments of last night.

For once a show totally surprised me. I had no idea that it was George who was the John Doe. And the way it was revealed, it was even more incredible.

And then I love the Meredith/ Derek wedding on a post-it. Especially the vows.
1. To love each other, even when we hate each other.
2. No running away
3. And to take care of each other even when we are old, smelly, and senile.

Isn't that what marriage is?? To take the good, bad, and ugly and stay together no matter what??

I know that I am very lucky. I have a husband who loves me all the time, or at least 99% of the time. And I love him back. I know he is always going to be there. And as for the old, smelly, and senile part....I'm sure our marriage would stay just as strong. But luckily that is a long way off.

So here is hoping your marriage is as wonderful as mine, and that you too will cherish each moment you have together.

Nicholas Plays T-ball

We first experienced our city t-ball with Katie when she was 3. To this day she is great friends with a girl that she met there. She had a phenomenal coach, and although t-ball wasn't her "thing", she did have fun testing it out.

Now it is Nicholas' turn. We signed him up this past fall to play, but it got cancelled due to the hurricane, and subsequent destruction of the park they were to play their games. So I resigned him up this spring, and so far he is having a good time.


His team is called the Marlins, and he enjoys being part of the guys, with a few girls thrown into the mix.

Here he is playing defense.

And finally getting to catch the ball.

Tablerunner Finished

So pretty, so Soire'e.

No More Training Wheels

Adorable

We drove down to Galveston yesterday to walk the beach and collect seashells and rocks.

As we were driving, Mike and I were talking about places we would like to go see...the Grand Canyon, Boston, Philadelphia...

Katie piped up in the back: I would like to see Boston Market.

Sadly, her favorite restaurant closed here recently, and apparently it must exist in the actual city of Boston...right?

Finally Finished

3 years, 2 moves, 7 hours of stitch ripping and one rotary blade injury later.

I am finally done with the quilt (except for binding) that I have been working on for my niece. Now that she is going to be 3, I guess it will have to be used for a picnic blanket, or doll's blanket or something.

But I am happy with the results.

Being Existential

Nicholas has been talking a lot about God in the car lately. Asking lots of questions and making lots of statements, such as:

God made the Earth.
Where does God live?
Where is heaven?

Today was a moment of pure revelation, as I heard this while driving...

Nicholas: Ohhhh....Workers make the houses, but God made the trees.

I think he's getting it.

Taxes

DONE!!!

Last year I finished them on Valentine's day.

This year 5 days early.

Of course I still have to send in the state one. I figured a 42 cent stamp was better on a $13 return than paying the $19.95 electronic filing fee. Who in their right mind would do that??? I am willing to bet more people than you could possibly believe.

A New Favorite

On-line as well as nearby quilt shop that is.

For those of you nutty people out there who are as obsessed with the beauty of the new lines of fabric coming out take a look here.

Rock Band Anyone??

The children are welcoming the new addition to our dining room. And Katie has discovered the joy of the pedals today.

New Quilt Top

I finished it. Started barely a week ago with one 9 patch block, and finished the top this afternoon. Thanks partly to a little crafting gathering last Friday night with some lovely ladies.

So what do you think??

I Am In Love

With fabric.

What is worse, is so is my daughter, and she can't sew yet. She seems to see the beauty of color and have great visions of what she could do with pieces of material. So it looks like we will be starting some sewing projects of her own soon.

But, I fell in love with this fabric line, Maypole by Moda, back several months ago when I went to the quilt show. So after debating and agonizing what would I do with it, I decided to order 3 charm packs and make a quilt of my own design.


Here is one piece of what I got done last night, before the bobbin ran out of thread AGAIN!!! They seriously need to make bigger bobbins.

I can honestly say that there is not one single piece of fabric in this line that I don't love. They are all so bright and beautiful. Now to try to get some more done this week.

Time Well Spent

I spent most of my weekend evenings working on library bags for the kids. I had a pattern I thought looked easy to follow and was what I wanted, but after trying it the bag came out horribly and a few mistakes were made due to bad directions.

I then went online and looked at several more patterns, and taking what I learned from the first mistake, combined several directions to make these.

They came out really cute, and durable. Today will be our first test run.

Happy New Year to all

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Christmas 2008

We successfully made it through another Christmas.

The battery on my camera, of course, ran out after just a few pictures so this is all there is.

Katie got a new Barbie house made by Daddy, and some calico critters, along with many other favorites.

Nicholas got a doghouse for Scraper made by Daddy, a batman helicopter and batcave, along with some glowsticks from my cousin that he absolutely loves.

We had a delicious dinner of baked ham, cheese potatoes, and salad. While the kids at leftover spaghetti. Since they insist they don't like ham, I figured leftover spaghetti worked just fine.

We have spent a lovely holiday playing outdoors and enjoying lots of games together.

Although no Christmas cards were sent this year, we did have professional portraits of the kids taken and pictures will be arriving in a mailbox near you very soon.

Be on the lookout!

They are so cute that you might fall over!

Ballet Christmas Dance

Since Halloween, Katie's ballet class has been working on a Christmas dance to do for the parents. I think they did an amazing job seeing as half the class was in the Nutcracker this year, which meant that they missed several regular ballet classes for rehearsals. Katie missed the last 2 Thursdays, and then this Tuesday as well, and even with the changes in the dance they all did a great job.

Gingerbread Construction

Every year we help the kids to construct a gingerbread something or other. One year it was a train, and then houses. This year, Katie got a gingerbread house kit as a present, and I bought Nicholas the gingerbread tree at Michael's. They really had a good time making, and tasting their creations.

Katie and her partially finished house. This one was neat since it came with a tray to help build and stabilize the house. But the premixed frosting wasn't as good.

Nicholas and Dad hard at work on his tree. This was super easy. Stacking one star upon the next in order of biggest to smallest. Nick could do most of the work himself. And it was extra tasty too.

Nutcracker 2008

Katie has been practicing for the Nutcracker since the beginning of October. After seeing a school perfomance done by the opposite cast last Thursday, she had her first rehearsal on the actual stage that night. And she thoroughly enjoyed herself.

They practiced once on stage, and then waited for their notes from Ms. Lynnette. Then they practiced a second time, changed out of their costumes and we went and watched most of the second act until after the Gingerchildren were done. By the time we got home, it was very late, but she had really had fun!

The next morning we had to be back at the stage by 7:30 for 2 school performances, which went relatively well. And then another show Saturday night, and another, which we went to see on Sunday afternoon.

Here are a couple pictures of her in costume as a Gingerbread Doll.

Katie and best friend Audrey backstage

Katie and Clara after the show

Katie, the SugarPlum Fairy and her Cavalier after the show

Katie's Birthday #7

The Birthday Girl had a birthday breakfast of homemade waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Then after Nutcracker practice we met one of her friends at the bowling alley, where she showed us all her bowling skills.

Afterwards, we ended the day with a delicious butterfly birthday cake made in her favorite colors.

Little Turkeys

Does it mean something that nearly a week after Thanksgiving, my children are running around yelling gobble, gobble?

May I add that they are doing this while wearing pieces of paper, cut out as feathers, taped to their fingers.

And that they are using no words other than gobble, gobble to express everything they have to say to each other.

Vote Now

It has been a long time since I posted on this topic... but after tonight's show I feel the call.

I encourage all my Dancing with the Stars fanatical friends and family to vote now. Before it is too late. Forget presidents, vice-presidents, bonds, and bills.

Vote for Burke!!! Brooke Burke that is!! She and Derek are cute and fun, and just plain enjoyable to watch. They did so fabulous all season, and then had one bad dance tonight. Everybody has their off day, and hers was just an off moment. I just want to see them dance again, so vote, vote, vote.

Yes, I am a bit obsessed. But how many TV shows these days can actually make you smile??

Quilt Show

I was invited to go with a friend to the Houston Quilt Show last Saturday, so I happily accepted the offer and had a wonderful time. We spent about 7 hours browsing up and down aisles of creativity. I find it absolutely astonishing how many people are so talented.

I ended up purchasing a few things.

First was a set of 5 coordinated flannel prints that I intend to turn into 2 baby rag quilts.

Then there were 2 fabrics that I found to make library bags for my kids. They have both been begging for their own library bags, and I thought these would suit them perfectly.

Then I found this cute quilt pattern that looks very simple. Katie is currently sleeping in a butterfly room with a princess comforter. I have been looking for a cute quilt to make for her room, and this seemed perfect. I am just going to do a little modifying with colors and get rid of the cat.

Then there was the elusive quilt. I saw a quilt that I fell in love with. It was absolutely beautiful and they sold a kit there with the fabrics already in with the pattern, but I wanted to finish walking the aisles to see if there was something I liked more. Not having remembered the aisle that it was in, we wandered up and down all 20 aisles a second and third time looking for the quilt, and couldn't find it. Essentially I went home a little disappointed, until while looking up a design I had liked that I knew the name of, I stumbled upon this. How lucky!!! The quilt I had seen at the show, and the kit at the same price. Of course, I ordered it at once, and can't wait until it arrives.

It was an exhausting but fun day! Now lots of projects to keep me busy.

Better Late Than Never

Seems to be the theme lately. I have been so busy with this, that and the other thing, that I am going to do a catch-all post.

First was Nicholas' birthday. He wanted a letter cake, so this was the final product. It didn't look that great, but tasted delicious. And what 4 year old really cares about the looks of a cake anyway?

Then came Halloween, and my camera must not have had the flash on, since all the cute shots I got were fuzzy. So here is one fuzzy one with Katie as Dorothy and Nicholas as her dog.

And a bonus picture of Katie, since she is so darn cute with all that candy in front of her. Nick couldn't sit still long enough for an after shot.

What To Do??

The question this week is... what do you do with that pesky 4 year old who cannot settle down for a nap, but really, really needs one?

He falls asleep in the car for 2 minutes, but when I try to bring him in asleep and lay him down, he is back up needing to go potty, get a drink, and the usual nonsense. End of nap!!

His behavior is awful in the afternoon and evening with no nap. So now what?

Overheard

Dad to young son carrying nerf dartgun: "Take your toys upstairs to your room."

Young son whining: "It's too dark!!"

Dad: "That's okay. You've got a gun."

Library Book Bags

The kids have wanted their very own library book bags for some time now, but I wanted to make sure that they had something that was uniquely theirs. I thought about getting canvas bags from Michael's or Hobby Lobby and letting them decorate, but those bags are just so YUCK!!

So today when I saw these plans at one of my favorite blogs, I thought AHA! Perfect.

Soon I will be checking out some fitting fabric and hopefully creating bags for my two book lovers that suit them well.

Link To Elizabeth Foss Site

For some reason my link wasn't working to the Elizabeth Foss Serendipity site so try this one instead.

Then click on any of the letters for the stories.

Storytelling

My children have found a new game that they like to play. While bored in the car or while eating meals, they tell stories. Mostly Katie does the storytelling.

The stories are what they have called "Michael stories". Some of you reading this may be thinking that they have to do with Elizabeth Foss' creation of Mrs. Applebee and Michael stories. These are wonderful stories that go through the alphabet and incorporate the flower fairies and the saints all in one.

Nope. Instead their stories revolve around this Michael. For some reason they are absolutely enchanted by him, and have managed to come up with many (at least 15 or more) stories about Michael and his adventures. I am thinking we will have to write them down for Mikey, so that he will know how much his little friends love him.