What is it?

What is it with children and umbrella's? The love them and they are so good at destroying them so quickly when given to them to play with. So for the past year I only buy them at the dollar store since I get sick of spending money on them to have them broken the next week. And after the dollar store version ones got broken, I just told the girls, "Well a little rain never hurt anyone! You are not going to melt!"

Well, I finally decided I was being a bit crazy and we should probably have at least one umbrella in the house, so I decided to "splurge" on a Wal-Mart version. I gave them a long lecture about how this is not a toy, blah, blah, blah... I did let them walk to the mailbox with it while it was raining so they could test it out, and here's the smiles I got. They look like they are just ready to join Mary Poppins for a spin down the lane!

Sewing...

Yep, I'm still managing to get in a bit of sewing here and there, and I know my days are now few until I'll be taking a sewing break for awhile. I still have a list a mile long of what I wanted to have done before buddy arrives, but of course it never gets all done (or even close). These purses were suppose to be Christmas gifts for the girls, but Emelia got a new bible from church and really wanted a nice bible case for it. Well, I happened to know that the bible fits into the small version of the Amy Butler "Frenchy Bag" and it was going to save me about $40 to just finish these and give them to the girls now (cuz of course Hannah would have to have a new bible case too, you know...) Emelia's is the teal and browns and Hannah's the green floral.
And these two quilts were made for two little girls who have never slept on real beds in their whole life until just a week or two ago when they were given a new home and new beds to sleep on. I was asked to be a part of the project and it was truly a joy to sew these blankets for two special girls. The younger one loves purple, pink butterflies and ballerinas.
The older girl likes the brighter, funky colors as she is a pre-teen. I think I must have done ok, since Emelia was in love with the finished product and has been whining about wanting one just like it for herself for the past two weeks. Well, I'll have to find something to make to replace the purses I was going to give them, so we'll have to see...
I've also been making some burp rags but I'm waiting to try them out to see if they work well or not. I made them out of flannel and have a friend who says flannel is great for burp rags. I'll have to keep you posted on that one.

First Day of School!

Well, we've been going for awhile now, but here's some pics from our first day of school! We've decided to start school in the basement this year since we have not been able to complete our window project in the 3 season porch (the original school room) and it starts getting a bit too chilly to do school in the porch around the time I am due to have baby boy! (IE - not a good time to be moving all the school stuff... I'll be busy just trying to keep everyone fed and sleeping!) Looks like some happy students ready to learn, hugh? Emelia is now in 3rd grade, starting her 2nd year homeschooling with Mommy!
And Hannah is super excited to be in Kindergarten this year!
My two sweet girls. Boy am I thankful for them and that I have this opportunity to be their Mommy and teacher.
Emelia loves to read (and is an excellent reader) and is doing a great job working hard in all subjects and being a helper to me when I need it. I think her favorite subject is snack and play/break time, but a close second is art and science! She might grumble about daily handwriting but she has beautiful penmanship already!
Hannah is just so happy to be a part of school, she is happy with most anything we are doing for school. She does seem to really enjoy math (and reminds me when we have not done a math lesson in a few days - WOW) and loves to do the daily calendar (which she reads to us with her long pointer).

12 Dollars!

I've always loved these sweet white canopies that you can put up for your girls rooms... secretly if I ever get to be a little girl again, I want one for my bed for sure! There's something magical about them... it just awakens the princess inside of me... (I guess she's probably been awake for years already...) Anyways, whenever I find them they don't seem particularly inexpensive, and buying two obviously doubles the cost... Until about a year ago I found these sheer netting curtains at Ikea for I think about 5 dollars for a set of two. I bought two sets and planned to surprise the girls by making them into canopies at some time. Well, about a year later and I finally get them done (quick before they don't want a princess room anymore!)All I did was bunch up the top of the curtains in my hand and tied a piece of elastic around the bunch, which created the "poof". I screwed a hook into the ceiling and hooked the elastic onto the hook. I had also found these spools of pretty ribbon in the dollar section at Target and bought two sets. The ribbons were kind of short, but I strung them through the elastic and like the bit of color it adds to the top anyways.
Here are the princesses waiting for their surprise...
I'm thinking they like their new canopies!
The bedding was also a deal... found at TJ Maxx and I made the matching throw blankets by cutting a sheet in half. All is well in princess land, except that Emelia says now she wants a funky green and purple room! Uff Dah! She may have to wait a few years for that wish to come true! So, in all I think this was a 12 dollar project (woo-hoo!) and now I can try to focus on getting buddy's room ready... While laying on the couch, right?! I promise I did not crawl into the attic today, and even am enforcing slave labor, having my children sweep floors and empty garbage cans...

Today Is...

Hannah started Kindergarten (Homeschool) this year and I wanted to make it fun by having a daily chart for her. I had seen one in a catalog that was much smaller than this one and planned to order it. However with shipping it was going to be almost 40 dollars... which is a lot these days, right?

Well, I happened to be perusing the dollar store in August when I came across these sets of cards that had the days of the week, months, etc. and then a sewing idea hit my mind... I wonder if I could make a chart myself for less? I went to JoAnn Fabrics and found red vinyl for the background and also bought clear vinyl to sew on pockets. The ladies there recommended using my widest stitch setting so as to not perforate the vinyl (great idea!) I used heavy upholstery thread and placed the pockets on with masking tape before sewing. I think my total cost was somewhere in the 13 to 15 dollar range and I'm super happy with how it turned out. Hannah loves her chart and is very proud to use change the cards daily and use the pointer to "read" it to me.I even had some vinyl left over for the monthly calendar and the 100's chart too!

Whoa Buddy!

So, I went to the Doctor today (we're down to visits every two weeks) and he thinks baby may have dropped... which might explain why I've been feeling generally cruddier and tireder the last three days. Except that it's just a bit too early for buddy to come. My hospital won't even see me if I go into labor this week, and would have to go to another one about an hour away, which I'd rather not do. I'm not sure if our little man is excited about his sister's upcoming horse show this weekend and thinks he needs to be here to see it in person or what...

Doctor said I should take it easy, so I went right home and crawled up into the garage attic frantically searching for baby blankets and such... I have been planning on getting the room ready and slowly have been doing things here and there, but figure I have 6 weeks left! I know, I know I should not have crawled up there, but I was careful and Emelia did help me get the stuff down. Yes, I did get in trouble with my hubby when he got home too. I promise I won't go up there again until after little man arrives:) But I was happy to find some neutral blankets, the changing pads I thought I had thrown out (which you can't find in stores anymore!) and the sheets for the cradle. So at least I should be able to get the cradle ready in the next day or two in case our little cowboy does decide to arrive soon.

Starting tomorrow I have to take it easy... not sure if I'm so good at this, but will try. The girls say they will help out too... Now watch, I'll go two weeks overdue... Uff Dah!

We got a new car seat and stroller in August and the girls were super excited to try it out with the baby doll. Hannah's torn between excitement and not sure if she wants to give up her position as baby of the family. I guess we are all in for a bit of "rocking our world" coming up really soon since it's been awhile since there's been a real little baby in the house!
And yes, the stroller is definitely BOY... so I hope he still comes out with all his boyness, otherwise SHE will have to settle for a blue and brown stroller and seat! It seems that they do not make much for neutral strollers these days... its either definitely girl or boy.

The Mad Bomber

If you live in Minnesota you should know what the Mad Bomber is... as in the hat you can't live without if you're gonna survive our cold winters... Actually I have never owned one, but about all the men I know do have one, including my hubby. About a week ago Ted took the girls somewhere and this is how Hannah arrived home... filthy dirty face and sound asleep in the Mad Bomber. I'm not sure how she got so dirty so quickly, or why the hat was in the car with this sweltering summer we've been having, but I guess I can say my hubby is one prepared man! And she slept quite a long time with all that sound being muffled out by layers of fur!Here's one of my recently completed projects for a friend who had a baby boy in May. I loved the fabrics and the pattern was very simple and easy to put together. The strips came cut out in the kit and I just arranged them, pieced them and did a bit of "stitch in the ditch" for the quilting part.
I just got our buddy's room painted a light blue and now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the guest bed to make it go with the crib bedding. The current spread is light pink, and I think that just won't do... (Even though I do LOVE light pink!) Stay tuned for first day of school pics coming up real soon:)