art class

The beginning of our stampede- I can see how making these horses could be addictive! I really do hope we find time to make more- too bad I did not find this last year when we were studying horses!

random ramblings

Yesterday I spent most of the day holding a fussy baby and wishing I had Mary Poppins cleaning magic. Today she seem to be doing a bit better- but this baby's preferred location is in my arms- with out my mom here we are hearing a bit more crying these days...

Today I have been cutting out cardboard horses to make our own stampede- I have primed one side and they are drying on the kitchen table. I also have this (the second version) simmering on the stove for dinner- smells delish!

I splurged on these the other day at the grocery store- I split the bouquet of 20 up and am totally loving seeing them as I walk into my kitchen, living room and bedroom!

I think Adelaide is going to be a red head- she definitely has the complexion and her hair seems to be looking more and more red all the time.

You know you've been on the computer too long when...

I took these pictures as I've been writing this post- she's finally given up and gone back to sleep :)

I blinked my eyes and...

she's one month already!

look what came in the mail today!

I've got big plans for this fabric- big as in a queen sized quilt! I've made a couple quilts, but none this big. I am a bit nervous- I am not exactly the best at getting all my corners to match up and this is a lot of corners! Wish me luck! (Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points!)

sewing seeds for Haiti

Monday I spent an hour or so sewing together a few skirts for Sewing Seeds for Haiti. These were super simple to make- 2 were from a yard of fabric that I cut in half and sewed the salvage edges together with a french seem and then put a casing in the top and hemmed the bottom. The others were made from pillowcases so all I had to do was put a casing in the top and the opening of the case was the hem.
While I was sewing Tallulah said "Are you sewing something for me, mommy?" She was so sad when I told her that, no, indeed they were not for her. In the end I let her pick 1 of the 6 skirts I made for her own and we talked about how we were sending the rest to little girls in Haiti who did not have lots of pretty skirts like she does. Of course she wanted to model her skirt for me- such a ham!

for my birthday

Look at the fabulous gift Phil and the kids got me for my birthday!
I have been secretly wanting one of these for years now, but knew I would never get one because we just don't have the budget (or space) for such frivolous things. Plus, I had yet to find find one anywhere - I have only seen them in magazines or store displays. And then before Christmas I spotted one at Pier 1 and it was on clearance! I told Phil about it, but he had others plans for my Christmas gift and I just figured that my dress form had certainly been sold by now- So imagine my surprise when I came into to the living room this morning to see this! It is not the one I had seen at Christmas, but I LOVE it! (Consequently- it is quite difficult to take pictures of without the perfect light and a good background, so I apologize for the poor quality of these photos!)

I also got this fabulous fabric in the mail yesterday my friend Erica. She recently visited Japan and was so sweet to think of me! It was not officially a birthday presents, but it did come at just the right time :)
I can't wait to cut into these!

doing school

some of the things I love about homeschooling:

learning together
the freedom to school wherever and whenever
wearing pj's to school :)
Daddy reading to the kids so I can get a (undisturbed) shower
I am also loving how Addie fits right in, like she's always been here... has it really only been 3 1/2 weeks?

remember when...

you went to buy baby wipes and could choose between scented and unscented? When did baby wipes get so fancy?
Here's a closer look... we'll just call these "Baby Spa Wipes"

making valentines

I always hate buying those boxes of valentines with the latest toy or movie fad on them but usually I start some valentine card project with the kids that is WAY over the top and I end up frustrated with the mess and stress of helping 4 kids make valentines for however many kids are in their preschool class or the homeschool coop. (Wow, that was a long sentence, sorry about that!) Anyway, this year I decided to take matters into my own hands, and with the the help of my mom (who did lots of cutting) I sewed up these little felt heart pockets for Max and Lulu's Valentine's Day party tomorrow.
My trial version was hand stitched, but I quickly realized that with less than 24 hours to complete 18 valentines, hand stitching was just not going to work- so after an hour at my faithful machine they were all stitched up and ready to be accessorized...
and stuffed!

While I was busy sewing up the valentines, Regan was busy with her own little sewing project in her room- isn't her little felt family just the cutest?
P.S. For those of you who are wondering how I am finding time to do any sort of sewing/crafting when I just had a baby 3 weeks ago, it is because (due to the 2 blizzards in DC this past week) my mom is still here (and I say, let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!)

pretty in pink

Are these booties not the cutest thing you've ever seen? My friend Kaeli made them for Addie.

Along with this matching hat and bib too- don't you just love the one-eyed pirate look?

baking buttons

My friend Jess posted this link Monday and I knew I had to make these as soon as I saw them- how could I resist the cuteness of button cookies? Here is my conversion for the recipe if you want to try yourself:

3 2/3 C Flour
4 tsp Corn Starch
1 1/3 C Butter
1 1/4 C Powdered Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean

another thing checked off my list

I bought this Anna Maria Horner Fabric almost a year ago because I loved it, but did not know what I was going to do with it.

After I made my quilt I decided that this chair was in need of a new cushion to liven it up a bit.

I forgot to take a "before picture" but here is the fabric I removed from the cushion.

And here is the finished cushion. I still love the fabric and am so happy to have it out of my fabric cabinet and in my living room where I can see it every day! Now I just need to get some scotch guard to protect it from all those little fingers in our house!

a little late night sewing

I have had it on my to do list for the past few weeks to make some sort of bag for the side of the changing table to hold (clean) diapers and old grocery grocery bags for the dirty ones. Last week I pulled out the scraps from the fabric boxes I made for the babies clothes but had not found any time to sit down and sew, let alone come up with a plan for the bag.
Finally last night, when Addie decided to go to sleep at 7:30pm, I pulled out the scraps and started measuring and cutting. I had just enough fabric from the scraps to make the outside of the bag and I lined it with some fabric from my stash that I had used to make dresses for Regan and Lulu two summers ago.
It's not perfect, but it works, and it matches the rest of the changing table accessories :)
Felt good to be back at the sewing machine again- think I might try and tackle another sewing project today!