I did it!!!

Any mom can tell you that her job is never done.  A mom will always be a mom and be concerned about the well being of her baby no matter if her baby is a newborn or 40 years old, the caring just never stops!  Being a mom of 3 little ones has brought my daytime job to a never ending battle... Endless laundry, endless cooking, endless dishes, endless picking up toys, endless diaper changes- I think you get the point.  Not that I am complaining about my job because I do LOVE it, I just get a little overwhelmed with the endless monotony of the chores that are required.  With that said, I think I figured out why moms start picking up hobbies and crafts...  We need a sense of completion, a project that we can put a check mark next to at the end of the day and not have to worry about it starting over the next day.  I certainly got that smile inside me this weekend when I completed my first real sewing project!  I stayed up way to late and paid for it the next day, but to be able to figure it out and have a finished product (that I can use) was more than enough to recharge my mind.  

With some inspiration from my friend Jessica and a few links that she sent me that had tutorials on how to make things, all I needed was a quick trip to the fabric store & I was ready to begin.

It started with a wallet that I had been eyeing for a while, but didn't act on making it until mine broke about a week ago.  This pattern was so simple and it came out so well- I think it was just what I needed to give me some sewing confidence!  Here is the link if you are interested: wallet pattern.

This really is a practical and cute wallet... It is much trimmer than my previous one, yet holds just as much.  You can't see in the picture, but the back pocket fits change and dollar bills without spilling them.

The wallet was actually completed about a week before the purse, I loved the new wallet but it drove me crazy that it totally clashed with my at the time current purse.  So my next goal was to find a good deal on a new purse or attempt to make one.  I am glad I went with plan B!  The link to this tutorial can be found here: purse.

It is a messenger style bag with a ruffle flap and adjustable strap.

The colors are a bit springy, maybe I will just have to make another for this coming fall :)!

I added a back pocket after a suggestion from Jessica... Perfect for all those loose papers (receipts, coupons, lists, etc) that end up floating in the big part of my purse.

Jessica also suggested an internal pocket system for your wallet and cell phone, so I had to add that too.

I am happy with the end result, I think if I did it over again, I would make the strap a bit wider.  I can't wait to find some more fun stuff to make!

Hannah Banana

Her clown like personality made us laugh all the time, her separation anxiety made her destroy 3 of our couches, our cabinets, our walls, plants, clothes, dishes and many other random things here and there... She was our first baby & boy did she teach us a lot about parenting before having our own real babies!  Whether we called her Ninny Bot, Nonny, Pie Pie, Bernanner or probably a half of dozen other names that we came up with along the way, she would always come and was always wanting to please.  Sadly, we had to put her down a couple of weeks ago because of a cancer tumor.  She was part of our growing family and never resented the fact that she kept getting lower and lower on the totum pole of seniority.  In fact she NEVER once showed an aggressive hair towards any of our crazy boys.  She got pulled at, tackled, used as a aid for walking and even was bit once or twice by our kids and yet she would just wait patiently til they were done and would walk away.  That is what we will always remember about her... She was an awesome family dog :)!

Josh tells us he misses her and that we should go pick her up, Kyle tells everyone that Hannah is in Heaven & Jacob walks around the house panting because that is what Hannah spent most of her last month doing.   The situation is bittersweet, she is no longer suffering & we no longer have the guilt of not being the pet owners that we once were (pre-kids that is!). 

We miss you Hannah and hope you are having a blast running through the green pastures of Doggie Heaven!

Summer Sliding

This summer we have spent most days playing in water... This particular day several weeks ago, we found the slip n slide hiding in the shed and we took it out for a spin (or a slide). They all enjoyed it one way or another :)!  It made me want to get my swim suit out and try it out for good old time's sake, but I was too tired and it probably would not have been the best thing for the baby if I went sliding on my belly... Maybe next summer I won't be pregnant?!  It did bring back memories of attempting to make our own slip n slide out of trash bags.  Those were good times until we all ended up with grass rash because there were gaps in the bags and it was never long enough. 

Josh mastered the technique quickly and tried to slide further and further each time.

Kyle enjoyed drinking the water and crawling down the slide.

He eventually gave the sliding a try, not sure if he LOVED it?!

Each one of them played in their own way...

A good slash meant good fun!

Crawling like a dog.

Little J stayed away from the splashes and resorted to the water table

Thundercats HOOOOO!

One of Mike's favorite TV shows as a kid was a cartoon called Thundercats.  So in the spirit of bringing back his childhood (you see, he feels 'old' lately and was not excited to turn 32), we surprised him with a Thundercats birthday party.  I don't know what people did before the Internet, because we were able to print out images, coloring pages and look up where to buy a themed shirt all from the comfort of our house.  We decorated, made party hats and turned J's 'pirate' swords magically into 'thundercats' swords. 

Everyone was excited to surprise him when he came home from work... And he was very surprised!

Our gift to him was this tee shirt, he loved it and said he felt like a kid again!

Coldstone ice cream cake customized by them... They did a pretty good job, I am sure the teenage worker had no idea who the Thundercats were!

All this excitement called for come together of the swords... "THUNDER, THUNDER, THUNDERCATS----HOOOOOO!", followed by a hero vs. hero practice fight. 

Candle blowout...  It is official he is now 32 :).

After some bites of cake, little J was ready for some warrior fights.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart, I hope you had a great day! 

After cake we enjoyed a date night to hang out, enjoy a decaf and drive around town.

C is for Chocolate

Our summer preschool has been casual, but I think the boys can appreciate that!  Several weeks ago we were focusing on the letter 'C' with a weekly theme of cats.  I think the boys would agree that their favorite part of that weeks was the chocolate pudding finger painting.  I recently read that one good way to practice writing letters out is to have them use their fingers... in sand, rice, finger paint, etc.  It requires less motor skills, yet teaches them the proper way to write the letter.  So that is what we did... What could be more fun than playing with chocolate?

Kyle has a good taste in his mouth for preschool!

How does your garden grow?!

Mine has grown vertical this year...

Our sunflowers are 10-12 ft, here is our 3 ft child in awe of them.

The sunflowers look so happy basking in the sun (or the tiny moon).

They also brighten up the rare cloudy day...

This was the garden a few weeks ago... Those big boys grow fast!

It has been a fruitful garden this year, I can't wait to taste the corn :).

Smile to make your week!

I know it has been awhile since I blogged, I have been in some sort of first trimester hibernation.  Every chance of 'quiet time' has been spent catching some zzz's as the little one in my belly grows faster than he/she ever will in their life!  I am now 12.5 weeks prego and hope that the early prego blahs pass soon.  In the meantime I will leave you with some smile smirks made by little J... He cracks us all up at the dinner table :)!  I have a lot more to post from the past month, I just need to find the time to do so- so good night until the kids wake up from their naps!