The Little Things...

Quiltyness...

2009-03-11T09:52:00.001-07:00

I am soo close to being done with my big quilt project, I thought it deserved a post.. here it is layed out on our bed (King size). Soo, as you can see it is really big. I talked to a lady yesterday about getting it "quilted". I am feeling like it is nice enough to actually pay someone to do that for me since I don't have a machine that will do that... Anyhow, I am excited to get it quilted so I can do the binding and get it done. It took a long time to cut, I think there are 500+ pieces and then quite a while to sew too, so it will feel like quite an accomplishment! Next I am going to make a quilt for Carter because he has been asking for one and then on to Gavin. I have this book that has some really great patterns for quilts and I have found one in there that I am going to do for Carter..

Craft projects..

2009-02-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

I made this cute wreath for Valentine's day. I just bought a round metal wreath base and bent it into a heart shape (couldn't find a heart one anywhere but that would obviously be easier) and then covered it with batting and then a layer of cotton fabric. I then covered it with a bunch of felt flowers that I made. All you do is take a standard piece of felt (they come in 81/2 X 11 size) fold it in half and cut it and then cut both of those pieces in half. So you wind up with 4 pieces the same size. I rounded the edges off and then fold the piece in half long ways and then sort of roll it up to look like a rose and then hot glued them into place. Fun project (i love using hot glue for some reason) and it looks cute on the front porch.

This super easy bag was made yesterday, seriously it took like 30 minutes to make. Here is the link to the directions I followed.. really fun and simple.

Back to Blogging..

2009-01-26T09:21:00.001-08:00

I am back in the blogging world... recovered from the Holidays I think. We had a busy one, with trips to Roseburg and up to Wilsonville also. Lots of fun was had with the boys, I absolutely love their ages right now and want them to stay just as they are (ok maybe Gavin can turn 3, that would be ideal) but Carter, he is soo sweet at 4! When we were in Roseburg over the holiday we went to Diamond Lake and went on the big innertubing hill. Gavin was not into it (you go super fast and snow blows in your face). Carter wasn't into it at first either, but after Grandpa Scott gave him some goggles to wear (think construction worker) he LOVED it. Her is a picture of the guys at the bottom of the hill.

Projects, projects... today is a big day here on Lawrence street, we are finally getting walls and a roof to our shop/sewing room we are building out back. Yes you heard it right, I get a 10X14 sewing room, and I can't wait. Kevin inherited tons of woodworking tools from his Grandpa Bob so we have been planning on building this shop for a while and saying goodbye to our storage unit. Our garage is just not big enough, barely big enough to park in. Anyhow, it is funny to listen to Kevin talking to the construction workers and calling it a shop slash sewing room, they crack up every time. Doesn't sound too manly I guess. :) The picture above is of what it looks like right now a big concrete slab, will keep you posted as we get walls and a roof.

I have been keeping busy with different projects but lately I have been spending most of my crafty time working on this quilt. Here is a picture of some of the panels. I have 5 done out of 9 and then I need to do the sashing and back/binding and all of that. It is going to be bright and colorful, those were my only color requirements, something fun and cheery.

Christmas craftyness, etc.

2008-12-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

The boys and I have done quite a few crafts lately, we seem to have been hanging around the house alot and I won't let them watch tv all the time (they would probably like too) and they get tired of playing, or start fighting so I think up a craft to do. Anyhow here are a couple that we have done lately...

We made these neat cinamon ornaments to hang on your tree or anywhere you want to smell like cinnamon like your closet, pantry, etc. They were fun to do and only consist of cinnamon and applesause that you mix up, roll out, cut with cookie cutters and then let them dry for about two weeks until they get rock hard (seriously).

Then we painted some new ornaments for our tree. The boys both painted two and I painted one for Rusty our new dog. We had fun and Carter said "Santa is going to see these and go ooohhhh their house looks so nice". I thought that was pretty cute.

A friend's baby shower was a few weeks ago and I also made these two baby quilts for her because she is having twin girls. I had the most fun making them and putting together the fabric. I think I have mentioned before my love for the fabric store.

We are in Christmas decoration mode around here now and got our tree today and hope to get it up soon.

A "hideout"

2008-11-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

The boys and I built a really neat fort in their room yesterday. The top picture is from the outside. We put it behind the changing table next to the wall and then added another little card table for entry and to make it bigger.

We then covered the inside with blankets and animals and put some funky lights in there. It is soo cool, I wish I would have had one like that when I was little. A great place to hide and the boys like to just sit in there and have some quiet time (mom likes it too).

Taxi tote..

2008-11-12T08:54:00.001-08:00

I finished my first project from my new sewing book. It turned out pretty cute, I think now I need to make some for people for Christmas presents.. It was pretty easy to make and did not take a ton of time.

Lazy Days...

2008-11-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

It has been raining like crazy here and I have had a bad cold so needless to say we didn't get out much this past week. One of Carter's favorite things to say is "Mom, I just want to be lazy today". Which means he wants to stay home and watch cartoons, play with Rusty, bake cookies, cuddle up and read books, do his paint with water books, put together puzzles, etc. We had mostly lazy days this week and it was great. Really nice to stay home and not go, go, go. I think my cold is finally mostly over and I am really glad. It is hard to take care of kids and do everything else with no energy. Thank you coffee.. Here is a new picture of Carter and his "best dog friend" Rusty. Today I am taking the boys to see Madagascar 2 so it is a big day - we are venturing out of the house for the first time this week. Ha! Back to real life I guess and that also means I have to go grocery shopping.. no fun.

New sewing book...

2008-11-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I got this new sewing book today and it is fabulous. It is by my favorite fabric designer (and she has a blog too). Anyhow, it is filled with cool, funky projects I can't wait to make. If you love to sew or want to learn I recommend it, the beginning is filled with the basic "learn to sew" instructions and it is just fabulous.

I have already gone to the fabric store (this evening) to get some fabric for my first project in the book, the "taxi hand-bag". A smallish purse, that looks really cute and pretty easy. We shall see..

Halloween

2008-11-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween.. the boys and I went shopping at Goodwill in early October for costumes and we got a bunch for like $1.99. We got a new "cooler" batman costume and mask, a darth vader mask, buzz lightyear costume, ronald mcdonald costume, etc. Anyhow, Carter had decided right away that he was going to be batman again this year and Gavin changed his mind about 100 times before Halloween. He mostly said he was going to be darth vader but then at the last minute, insisted on being Robin (old costume from last year). So we had batman and robin. They were both really cute and we had a fun time trick-or-treating.

The boys and I had a small Halloween party here at our house with some friends on Friday morning and then Kevin and I also went to an adult party that night (after trick or treating). It was fun and good to catch up with some old friends. As you can see, I dressed up as minnie mouse.

We also attended some good friends' harvest party on Saturday night so we got some good use out of our costumes this year.. Rusty even came along for trick or treating..

New Addition...

2008-10-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

So, we decided we didn't have enough going on around here with two kids, and two cats so we got a new puppy!! We did some research about what kinds of dogs are really good with kids and we knew we wanted a medium to small sized dog. We ended up leaning towards a Springer Spaniel and we found one in Silverton about 15 miles from Salem. He is 8 weeks old and after much debate we named him "Rusty". He is soo cute and cudly. Wants to be held all the time right now. We brought him home yesterday, introduced him to a crate (he had been in a kennel with his Dad at the breeder) and he is really taking to it great. Kevin and I went out to dinner last night for our 8 year anniversary, which is actually on Wednesday, and Rusty came along with us crate and all. He stayed in his crate in the car and did great. Last night we brought his crate into our room when we went to bed and he whined for about 5 minutes and then gave up and went to sleep and slept the whole night! I couldn't believe he did so good in his crate the first night. I think it helped that he knew we were right there and could hear us breathing (or snoring) Ha!

The boys are just thrilled. Carter told me last night "I love him soo much Mom" and he flew out of bed this morning when I said he could let Rusty out of the crate to take him potty. Fun stuff! We have been wanting to get the boys a dog for a while and I am glad we decided to go ahead with it. I can tell this is going to be a really fun time.

"Warms"

2008-10-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

I made some rice pillows or "warms" as we call them now around here for the boys. They are the neatest thing and I have taken over Gavin's because he doesn't seem to like it much... (I need to make some more) but Carter and I love them.

They are easy to make and then when you are done you heat them up in the microwave for 2 minutes each night before you go to bed and you have this really warm little pillow to cuddle with. They stay warm for 3-4 hours too. Really great for cold feet which I always seem to have. I read on another blog that someone said she was sick with the flu and her "warm" was the only thing that made life worth living.. that cracked me up totally and reminded me of myself. I can totally see myself in that position when I get the flu- I usually get it once a year and I am knocked out for like 5 days (I mean, cannot even get out of bed knocked out).

Anyhow, here are the directions I followed for the litte "warms". Oh, the best part is when you heat them up they totally smell like rice and make your bedroom smell like you are cooking it or something.. Kevin, (again) thinks I am nuts. I have read that you can fill them with other things like corn kernels, etc. but haven't tried that yet. Oh and one other thing is that when you first make them and heat them up they give off quite a bit of steam so they may feel damp when you take them out of the microwave. The more you use them, heat them up and so on that dampness will go away. So.. hello winter and cold toes, we are ready!!

Super easy fall scarf..

2008-10-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

I made this cute fall scarf today. It is raining (pouring) here and I am getting ready for fall & winter. Washing all the coats, etc. This scarf is made with the some Anna Maria Horner (my favorite) fabric for the front, a nice cozy flannel from JoAnn's for the back and lined with some extra cozy fleece. It is a really fun & funky print and I love how it turned out. I used this tutorial, here, but I really think most people could do this without one, super easy. I have the urge to make another one too, with some of the fabric I have laying around.

Fall..

2008-09-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying the start of fall here in Salem. We went on a nature walk and collected a bunch of leaves, nuts, sticks and all sorts of fun stuff and then we made this cool collage. Carter had soo much fun doing this and is really proud of it. He signed his name on it and insisted I sign it too because "you helped Mom". But I had to sign it Stormy and not Mom. He is a pretty funny little guy.

Carter is looking forward to his preschool starting on Oct. 14th and Gavin and I will get to spend some quality time together then too which is fun.

We are in the process of building a new deck in our back yard (our last project around here for a long time!!!, says me anyhow). No, I am of course excited to be getting a new deck, just can't wait for it all to be done so we can relax and enjoy it.

Sunriver..

2008-09-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

We got back Tuesday evening from a really fun trip to Sunriver. Kevin had an Oregon Restaurant Association meeting over there so Kevin, his dad Dave, my Mom, the boys and I all went over on Sunday morning. We stayed in a really cool house with a fun bunk bed/toy room for the boys and nice rooms for all of us adults. I love Sunriver and could see myself retiring there. It is soo relaxing to me. Anyhow, I got to go to all of the fun stuff, the fancy dinners and the casino night/party night as my mom stayed at the house with the boys. We had a great time. It is fun to actually get out and about as an individual and talk to adults. Not that I don't love my kids and cherish the time I get to spend with them. It is just really nice to get a break once in a while too, helps me to be a better mom...

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is on Sunday and I am running.. can't wait. I am now on this kick to beat my time and see if I can do better each time I run a 5k. I am about ready to move on up to a 7k - and eventually up to a half marathon. That would be an ultimate goal for me, we shall see. :)

I love this super cute idea of reading a book to your kiddos and having a special fun snack that coordinates with it. Check this out. I am totally going to have to do this with my boys...

Camping, Garden, etc..

2008-09-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

We got back on Friday from another little camping trip - trying to squeeze as many in as we can before the end of summer. The boys love camping now and want to go all the time. We took our bikes this time and we all went on quite a few rides and basically just hung out at the campground, going on walks, hanging around the campfire and all that fun stuff.

Our garden is winding down now, still waiting on those green tomatoes to ripen. We planted carrots this year and I am loving them. The boys love to eat them raw and we have been putting them in salads and making yummy salad rolls.. my favorite.

I am obsessed with this thing called Letterboxing. I am soo excited to do it with the boys. It is like a scavenger hunt type of thing that you can do and I know the boys would LOVE it. Here is a link and all the details. I want to try and start it this fall, before the weather gets too bad. We need to get a stamp and a journal to get started but that is all you need.

Summer Fun..

2008-08-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

We have had a really busy summer this year. Lots of fun stuff crammed into the hot days and we have been loving it. We went to the Hillsboro Airshow which was tons of fun, both boys love their airplanes. I was too slow to take any good pictures of the planes but here is one from the Monster Truck ride we went on. I think they maybe even liked that even better than the planes...

We have been spending alot of time in the garden and have beans and zucchini's galore. We have had quite a few cherry tomatoes and little pear tomatoes but the big ones are just hanging there green and ready for a few more days of sunshine. But the beans, my goodness. I can't keep up with picking them let alone figuring out new ways to cook them, etc. We mostly eat them raw the boys love them this way and so do I.

Kevin turned 30 yesterday and last weekend I had a little surprise party for some of his friends & family. It was really fun, even though Kevin had sort of figured out something was up on his way down to the restaurant and wasn't like totally blown over with surprise which is what I wanted but it was fun. The theme was James Bond and we had different food stations from all over the world, martini glasses for the candle holders, really neat and fun.

On Wednesday night Kevin and I went to see Jack Johnson up in St. Helens. The show was excellent and we had a great time. It is an outdoor venue and it was a beautiful night, a few sprinkles here and there but no real rain which was great. We hit a huge traffic jam on the way to the concert though and ended up being an hour and a half late but Jack had not even started when we got there so I was soo relieved.

Also happening this week.. Kevin won a four-wheeler. At Cash-n-Carry where he buys alot of his beverages for work (RockStar) they were having a drawing and he won. So we are now the proud owners of a custom RoskStar mini (holds 210 lbs) 4-wheeler. It is too big for Carter to ride, and a little small for Kevin.. guess that means it is mine for now. :) I was cruising around on it in the backyard and the boys are beyond excited. We will have to scope out a good place to go riding around here and take them out someday soon. After helmets are purchased of course..

Camping..

2008-08-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

We got back from our first camping trip of the year yesterday. It was a great trip.. We went to a new (to us) spot called Little Cultus Lake campground. It is about 20 miles from Sunriver in the Deschutes Ntl. Forest. It was just beautiful and had great spots for the kids to swim.

The first night we got there and got all set up only to find that there were TONS of mosquitos. The camp host mentioned to us that the mosquitos were way better in a different part of the campground so we moved everything to a new spot the next morning and it was alot better.

We had a great time swimming, floating in our raft, roasting marshmallows, all the fun camping stuff. There were alot of chipmunks around which the boys loved and there was one that hung around our spot that had one eye poked out. Carter called him "one eyed mater" which has something to do with the movie Cars of course, not sure how the one eye thing figures in. But anyhow he was really cute, here he is...

We camped Sund. - Wed. and had quite a bit of thunder and lightning on Wed afternoon/evening. We kept seeing forest service trucks going up the road past our campground (really, really primitive road, like old logging road, our truck could barely make it up there). Anyhow, the camp host came over later in the evening and told us there were two small fires about 5 miles up the road and that the Forest Service was going to send smoke jumpers up in the morning.. I was like what, in the morning? I didn't know you could just wait when there was a fire... we slept ok, didn't have to high tail it out in the middle of the night or anything. But when we woke up on Thursday the lighting was really really close and it started to rain and even hail at one point so we packed it up and headed for a hotel in Bend. After a shower of course (did I mention, no showers, yikes) we headed to the outlet stores and dinner at the Deschutes Brewery. I think that is Kevin's favorite place on earth. We had a fun time there the next day too, walking around downtown Bend, swimming in the pool, etc. Then we headed for home Friday evening. Good to be back, now it is time to tackle the mountain of laundry..

Chair & Future sewing project...

2008-07-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

I finished my sewing table chair. I posted about it a while back; anhow I repainted it "restful rose" and then recovered the seat. So cute. I really like how it turned out.

I think my next big project is going to be this quilt. The pattern is by Anna Maria Horner who designs fabric (LOVE her stuff) and she has this cool blog as well. This looks like quite the project, it might take me 6 months or more as much time as I get to work on it (only like 1 hour a day maybe).. Anyhow, I love the design of this one and can't wait to start. First I need to go fabric shopping.

I recently ran in the Salem Art Fair 5K and got a pretty good time (my best actually for a 5K). I was stoked, to run the whole thing, which is always my goal - no walking allowed - and the time thing made it even better. I have another race coming up in September, the Komen Race for the Cure.

Craft & Gavin's 1st haircut...

2008-07-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

We did this really cute and easy craft yesterday. You buy simple white t-shirts, sharpie markers and then rubbing alcohol. You use a plastic cup and put it underneath the shirth and tie around it with a rubber band (bottom up to make a flat surface). Then the boys color that little circle and drop it with rubbing alcohol. I did this part mostly. Anyhow, the colors spread out and make a funky pattern. Then you let it dry for 1 minute or so and mover your cup to another part of the shirt and repeat. They turned out really cute and the boys had alot of fun doing them. Gavin lost interest a little about half way through so I finished his up but Carter loved it and is still talking about it today. He wants to make one for his Dad so we will have to do that. :)

Also yesterday, Gavin got his first haircut!! They chopped off a lot of curls (it was getting really out of control) but he still has plenty and it has to feel much better... Here is the before and after.

Remodeling, etc.

2008-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Our siding is all up!! Here are some pictures I took yesterday (we still have to paint). I think it looks soo good. We are still trying to figure out what color we went to paint but I think we have narrowed it down to something in the brown tone family.. We are headed to Sherwin Williams sometime soon to pick for sure. That is such a hard decision, something we will have to live with for years.

The boys have been such great sports with all of the attention we have been putting into the remodeling, they play outside next to us on the grass while we are working and have been really good. I took then to DQ last night for a special treat for being such good boys. Of course I had to try the new Girl Scout thin mint blizzard - not as great as I had hoped. Anyhow, here is Gavin trying to escape down the block when we were working, I just love this picture.

I also made this yummy fruit pizza last week (i think) when we picked berries. I used this recipe from Giada of Everyday Italian. Kevin and I thought it was yummy. The kids could take it or leave it and it didn't all get eaten up but we each had a slice or two..

Garden update..

2008-07-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

In a previous post (like 2 weeks ago) I posted a picture from my garden swing. This is the view now. It is really filling in. The huge things right in front of me around the edge are sunflowers. The beans are growing right up the trellises and we have been eating tons and tons of the lettuce - mostly with wilted lettuce salads. YUM. I have 2 basil plants and both are doing great. Today I am going to make some fresh pesto. We also have been getting use out of our mint plant making some yummy mojitos. Ahh... why can't summer last all year.

Fruit mania - yesterday we went to Olsen Farms to pick fruit and well we got a little carried away. We picked 27 pounds of fruit all together. A combination of mostly blueberries and cherries and a few raspberries. We gave some to family/friends and I have been freezing alot too. I pitted a huge batch of cherries last night to freeze and yesterday we had fresh blueberry muffins for breakfast which were a huge hit with the boys.

Summer fun..

2008-07-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

We have had lots of fun already this summer, visits from my family from Wyoming and Kevin's Mom and family from Roseburg too. We have gone strawberry picking 2 times and the boys loved it. On the 4th of July we went to the Riverfront Park and watched the fireworks - we stayed up waaaayy past bedtime (they didn't get over until like 11:00) and we all had soo much fun. Carter seemed really impressed and said "mom I don't remember ever seeing fireworks like this before". Still to come this summer, Kevin and I are going to see Jack Johnson (can't wait) we are going camping for a week and then to an air show in August as well. I love having so many hours of daylight (and it is warm to boot) to spend with my family.

Garden..

2008-06-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

My garden is doing good, it is my very favorite place to hang out right now. This picture is from my garden swing that I just moved this year to the edge of the garden and I love it. The boys and I sit out there all the time or I sit there when they are playing outside sometimes, or they sit there and watch me weed. Anyhow it is very relaxing.

Our house is coming right along. We have finished one side and worked out all the kinks so now it should go up alot faster. With just Kevin and I doing it all I think we have made good progress. One of Kevin's friends is going to help him with it on Saturday evening too so they should be able to get some done then... We still need to decide what color to paint.

We had some relatives in town so we went to see the Volcanoes play a little baseball. Fun times were had by all especially the boys. Carter got to go out onto the field and sing "Take me out to the ball game" with some other kids.

New pendants..

2008-06-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just got these today in the mail and I love them. I ordered them from Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/). It is an online store for homemade goodies of all kinds, arts, crafts, etc. These pendants are made from scrabble tiles. So cool. I ordered 2 and got one free. They are soo reasonable too, only like $6.00 each and they have lots of different styles. Here is the link for these specifically. http://www.homestudio.etsy.com/

New siding, etc, etc.

2008-06-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of re-siding our house and painting (obviously) and adding some new cedar shake trim. I am soo excited. Here is a picture of our house before (we are taking out all the brick in front too) and then one from today which was demo day 1.

Kevin's younger brothers both came over this morning and I took the boys over to Grandma's house and we went at it. We got all the siding off, and I made about 100 wheelbarrow trips into the big dumpster. We have the guys coming over again tomorrow to finish the cleanup and ripping out the deck out back. We found that we have some termite damage that we have to look into. Hopefully nothing that will cost us too much... i hate those unexpected things that really hurt the wallet, like when your car breaks down, or something like this happens. Anyhow, of course I will be posting about the house when it is finished.. in a week or two.

I heart my new wall art..

2008-06-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

I just got this little piece of wall art yesterday.. is that what it is called? I think so. Anyhow, I just love it. I picked it up at JoAnn Fabric store of all places. I saw it a couple days before and it was 50 percent off and I have been thinking about it since then so I had to go back and get it yesterday. I just love it. I found the perfect spot for it right beside/behind our dining room table. I think it looks good with our wall color which is a sage green.

Gavin is 2...

2008-06-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

My Gavin turned 2 on Wednesday. I still can't believe his is 2 already, it has flown by. On Monday we went to the zoo for his birthday (because the weather was supposed to be nicer, it was still cold but it didn't rain!). We also went to the Rose Festival going on in downtown Portland and the boys got to ride some fun rides - Gavin's first time for that. We also got to see and go aboard a couple of pirate ships that are docked there, one was even used in making Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a fun day, we were all soo tired when we got home.

My garden is coming right along, if we would ever get some sunshine here that would help.. But everything seems to be growing and not dying. This way I don't have to water is one way to look at it I guess, but the soil is so wet I can't weed very good and they are starting to take over.

Silver Creek Falls..

2008-05-30T08:42:00.001-07:00

Kevin had odd days off this week (Tues, Wed & Thurs.) so we got alot of stuff done around the house, mostly in the yard and garden, and then yesterday we went up to Silver Creek Falls. We had not been there yet this year and it is one of our favorite spots. We are not able to walk very far right now with both of the boys but we walked down to the South Falls and on the trail behind it and then back up and then we went to the Lodge for hot chocolate and to sit by the fire.. That was really nice. Then we drove to the North falls and hiked to see it and the Upper North Falls. It was a really fun day and the boys were both wore out from the walk (Gavin got carried some of the way, but he did really good).

Gavin turns 2 next week! We are going to go to the zoo on his birthday and then maybe check out the Rose Festival stuff going on downtown. There are some really cool ships that I think they would love to see, one that was in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Carter is 4!

2008-05-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Carter turned 4 last Saturday.. I can't believe he is is already 4, nonethless he had a great birthday with a little party at Chuck-E-Cheese, and then family over for cake and the unveiling of his big present. All the grandparents and us went in on this little truck for him. He was soo excited to open up the shed and see it there. He said "oh, there is one of those little trucks in here" and kept asking whose it was. Gavin loves to ride along and the truck has a little radio which they turn on and Gavin bobs his head to the music. Too funny!

Vegas baby...

2008-05-15T08:33:00.001-07:00

Kevin and I went to Las Vegas last weekend. It was for his sister's husband's 30th birthday. It was a total surprise to him that we were coming as well as 3 of his other friends. We had a GREAT time. The weather was hot of course so we laid around by the pool in the mornings (we got there at 10:30 on Friday a.m. so we had 3 mornings.. yay!!) Then we would get ready and go out walking around and seeing the sights in the evenings. We went to see Blue Man Group on Saturday night. We didn't do alot of gambling, I played a few nickel slots and lost some and then won some and Kevin ended up winning some on blackjack so that was fun! We stayed at Hooters Hotel and Casino which anyone who knows us may think is hysterical, also considering the fact that I booked it. Ha Ha. We actually got a great deal and it was right next to the Monte Carlo which is where Kevin's sister was staying. But, our room was like 100 cheaper a night. Anyhow, when I told people where we were staying they were mortified.. but I can report back that the girls at our hotel and their little outfits were tame compared to some of them at the other places, and they are EVERYWHERE. Come on people this is the world we live in right. Anyhow, we had fun, glad to be back home and out of the sky (terrified of flying). Especially glad to see my babies.

Dirt Baby...

2008-05-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the Ag Festival here in Salem two weeks or so ago and Carter made this dirt baby. We came home and read the directions and put it on top of a cup of water, etc. I wasn't entirely sure I was doing it right.. so we waited and waited and just finally the other day (Tuesday I think) we noticed he has sprouted his hair! I think I was more excited than Carter. He loves it though but I think it is soo cute for some reason. My brother and his wife were over here the other night and I was showing them and they were looking at me like I was soo weird. I think she said "that is the strangest thing I have ever seen". Maybe I have lost it a little bit - being a stay at home Mom does that to you I think. :)

Garden update ----

This is a photo of our peas sprouting in our garden. The boys and I have been pulling weeds and getting the garden ready to plant all of our other stuff. I think it is almost warm enough to plant everything now. I usually try to have it all planted by Mother's day. We are going to plant beans, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, basil, maybe carrots, and then sunflowers around the outside edge. Soo fun!

Party..

2008-05-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

We had a Birthday Party for my Mom here on Saturday. It was really nice. I had set the table in everything pink I could find (pink fabric, candles, etc.). Then I made a cute pink cake with flower cookies on it. Of course the picture of the cake I took somehow got deleted - it was cute though and yummy. We had about 12 relatives over and our house was pretty full. I had planned on having it somewhat outside but the weather did not cooperate. We had babysitting co-op at the church on Friday night, so we went out to dinner then came home so I could start making all my side dishes, I made potato salad, pasta salad, a layered green salad thing and then a strawberry jello/pretzel salad. Then the cake of course I made on Saturday a.m. It was a fun party and most of all, my Mom loved everything so that was great!

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Fire Pit

My Mom got us this super fun fire pit for watching her dog while she was on vacation. We told her not to get us anything but she insisted so we are not complaining about getting this. Last night we broke it in and the kids roasted marshmellows and everything. It felt like camping but then I got to come inside and sleep in my own bed. Much better. The boys absolutely loved it, Carter was soo excited to be outside that late at night - it was dark by the time we came in and put them to bed at 9:15. I told him that the bats come out about that time (Kevin and I have seen one a bunch of times when we are sitting in the hot tub after the kids are in bed; monitor on of course). Anyhow, he really wanted to see a bat fly by but no luck. Hopefully one of these nights.

Projects, projects....

2008-04-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is an updated photo of the little cabinet that I recently wrote about (purchased at a garage sale for $3. I sanded it down and painted it a nice flat white and then put these cool glass pull knobs on it that I got from Lowe's. I think it turned out pretty cute for $9.00 (I paid $6.00 for the knobs).

This chair is my next project. I bought it this last Sunday at a garage sale for $10 (more than I wanted to spend, but I really like it). I love the lines and shape of it, kind of retro looking, but modern too. Anyow, I plan to sand it down and paint it also. I am not sure what color yet.. And then I am going to recover the seat with this awesome fabric I bought at Hancock Fabric store.

Kevin thinks I am totally silly but I love my new hobby of thrifting stuff and then fixing it up. :)

Little Saxons go to the Zoo...

2008-04-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a field trip day for Carter's preschool. I signed up to chaperone (tag along) and it was a fun day.. a little chaotic and crazy but fun. Gavin and I drove up in our own car (for sanity reasons, don't know if I could handle riding on a bus with all those preschoolers) and met them at the zoo.

Alot of the animals were out, more than I can ever remember being out before. I think it was a nice enough day, but not too hot. Carter really liked riding the big school bus all the way up there and when I ask him he says his favorite animals he saw were the elephants. Gavin did great too, in and out of the stroller all day. I was getting tired of carrying him around (he got to a point where he refused the stroller) and then I can't just let him walk on his own because he takes off. So, needless to say my arms got quite the workout. Carter rode home with us in our car, but of course we hit really bad traffic going home, being a Friday afternoon an all. What is normally a 1.5 hr drive was like 2.25 but we made it home safe.

Kevin is off at the Men's retreat for church this weekend so I wasn't sure if I was going to try and take Carter to soccer or not (with Gavin on my own). But I did, it was just too nice outside to stay home. On the way home we hit a few garage sales but didn't find anything good. I love garage sales, Kevin thinks I am nuts, I mean I really really like them and HAVE to stop if I see one. I need one of those bumper stickers that says "this car stops at all garage sales". Ha!

Bench Seating take 2

2008-04-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

So I made a bunch of throw pillows for the bench seating area. It looks soo cute, I am so excited. Now we have to find a small table that will go in there and not take up to much room, but that we can all 4 sit at for breakfast or whatever...

Bench Seating...

2008-04-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

I finished the cushions for the breakfast nook area in our kitchen. They were not too hard, the first time I have used that "piping" stuff in between the seams (you can see it in the picture) so that was a little adventure. And of course they both have gigantic zippers in the back so I can take them off and wash them when they get peanut butter on them or worse jelly. Anyhow, I am not great at zippers but they turned out ok and are in the back so that is good.

As you can see from the picture we need to finish replacing all the trim work around the windows and doors and then finish up this breakfast nook area and then I think the kitchen is done!!

New Shoes..

2008-04-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Gavin got the cutest new shoes. I ordered him these from SeeKaiRun. More than we usually spend on shoes but I couldn't resist. When we opened the box, Carter said "Mom, those look like bowling shoes". I guess they do hugh? Anyway, he loves them and so do I!

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I made these yummy sticky buns yesterday before we went to soccer practice. They are made from bread dough from the bread book I have been talking about (too much I know). Anyhow, they turned out really good. I love that book!!

Tulip Festival

2008-04-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed up to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. It was really nice outside so of course the tulips were just beautiful! We got to ride a silly "cow" ride and walked around and looked at all the booths. Of course kettle corn was purchased and quickly eaten right before dinner. Oh well.. Fun day!

I also purchased this cabinet this morning at a garage sale for $3. Stay tuned for the "after" picture when I get it repainted, etc. I am going to put it in my sewing/crafting room.

Dollies..

2008-04-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

I have made 3 of these cute little dolls now. I gave one to a friend for her sweet little daughter and then I have two more to give away. There is just something about the short-term project that appeals to me right now. If I can get it done in like 1 or 2 hours it is awesome. Carter wants me to make him one.. I'm not sure if Dad would be ok with that, but I could make it look a little more manly (ha).

Soccer...

2008-04-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

Carter is doing soccer again this spring.. and of course it rained all of the first practice. What fun would it be if it didn't right. He loved it anyhow! Gavin had a good time watching brother, but of course he wanted to play too.

Kitchen re-model..

2008-04-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

So our new kitchen is almost finished! These photos show the new cabinets, countertops, & sink. Kevin still is finishing up with the moldings, etc - but no more cooking out in the garage on the camping stove (boy that was fun). No seriously, everything works now, stove, sink, even brand new dishwasher. Love it..!!!

Other things to note:
Carter can now officially swing on his own (on the two man seat thing). He stands up and uses legs to get it going really good. Yay!

Gavin says 2 word sentences now.. mostly "my crackers" or "my juice". He is soo funny, we love him to pieces.

The Bread..

2008-04-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

I baked my first loaf of bread from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes book. It looks like it turned out pretty good. We will see at dinner tonight if my guys like it. Grandma is coming over for dinner too so it is a good night to try it out. Really if you like to bake bread, this is the book for you. It has lots of recipes that I am excited to try. This is just one, the most basic, recipe... yum!

My little pilot...

2008-04-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

My Carter man had to dress up today for preschool - it is career week. I asked him what he wanted to be and it was an airplane flyer... so sweet. So we headed out to Value Village and put together a pretty cute outfit for him. We got the glasses, tie and shirt. I added a few touches to the shirt and then made him a little pilot hat (glued a design onto one of his hats). Anyhow, here he is.. he is getting so big it kills me. Fun times.

On another note, I got this awesome book the other day called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day that I read about. I have made the master recipe of dough and am going to bake my first loaf tomorrow-- stay tuned. I hope it turns out good. It just seems too easy for some reason.

Latest Project..

2008-03-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I made this funky bulletin board the other day. I needed something above my sewing machine for photos & inspiration. It was super easy and I think it turned out cute. I just took a piece of plywood, had hubby cut it to size and then covered it with batting (using a staple gun to secure on back). Then I covered it with the fabric, and then I used bias tape for the black "rows" that you see. The only thing I would do different next time would be to put some cork or something under the batting (on top of the board) for the pins to stick into something better. But it totally works for what I wanted.

Peas are planted..

2008-03-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today we planted some peas in our garden. Peas are the first thing that I plant each year so it was exciting to think it is that time of year again. Quite a bit of work getting the garden to a plantable state though after all winter. Kevin had to work so I dragged out the rototiller and went to town. Then I added a bail of peatmoss to the soil. The boys and I planted two rows each of Galena shelling peas and Oregon Sugar pod snow peas (both Territorial Seeds http://territorialseed.com ). My kiddos both love peas and they are soo good fresh straight out of the garden.

It is finished!!

2008-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

So I just finished my first big quilt. I have done quite a few baby quilts and blankets but I decided to make one for me. It is sooo great. Mostly pastel colors, quite a few Amy Butler fabrics and then alot from JoAnn's too. The bottom is a great lime green fleece that I found at JoAnn's. I didn't want to do cotton so this was great. I also hand sewed the the binding on (thanks to Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karolhttp://www.angrychicken.typepad.com). That is a great book if you are wanting to learn some "thinking outside of the box" sewing tips. I guess this is the proper way to do a binding on a quilt but I haven't done it in the past. This time I took the time to do it and it does indeed look better.

So it begins..

2008-03-11T21:05:00.001-07:00

So, I have been thinking about starting a blog and here it goes! I have been reading other blogs (mostly crafty people) and I am inspired. Hello to all my friends & family out there. I hope you enjoy a little glimpse inside my wonderful life.

Spring is here.. the first sign of spring at my house is my Daphne in full bloom out front. It has the sweetest scent and is just lovely. The hyacinths are almost up and the tulips are getting soo close. I can't wait for summer - I am so glad to see the signs of spring.