Adieu, 2012!

Yeah, I know we said goodbye to 2012 a week ago...but I'm slow to the blogging world as of late.

Hello, 2013!

Here is a roundup of things I did in 2012:

I painted rooms:

I painted things:

I painted shirts:

And made some stuff:

I sewed more aprons!

And I sewed lots of other things:

And somehow, I finished three quilts:

It was probably more fun for me than for you to look back on my 2012 creative endeavors. :-P I like seeing it all in one place!  I really consider this my practice time in preparation to sell things in an Etsy store or something.

Maybe 2013 is the year to get that going...

Yay! A Quilt! Yay! A Blog Post!

Well, hello there.

I have enjoyed a two-month bloggy break. In my absence, I've done tons of fun things and projects and have told no one. :-) I disappeared in November watching seasons one and two of The Walking Dead on Netflix. December was filled with lots of Christmas crafting and running here and there to different Christmasy activities with the kids---AWANA, Cub Scouts, Big Church, the schools....and it snowed. And snowed and snowed! Nick played outside so much with the kids while we were all on Christmas break.

My mother-in-law got me some fabric for Christmas (I'm easy, really...just buy me fabric!) and three of the pieces came with quilting instructions for a Christmas-looking quilt. :-D So, the day after Christmas, I started cutting fabric and finished this puppy on New Year's Eve SPECIFICALLY so I could say that I finished one more quilt in 2012. The kids were so happy and content playing with all of their new toys, I had lots of sewing machine time.

I had a fun photo shoot with my quilt out in the snow. :-P

Work it, baby!  Flow with that wind!

I used some random gray fabric that I had, and a little of the leftover red and green from the front for the backing.

Up close of the quilting:

Peek a-boo!  I see you!  Why am I talking to a quilt?

Nice and warm. :-)

What did I learn while making this quilt?

1) Quilting is a lot easier when you don't have to think too much. I had the fabric all picked out for me and the pattern in my hands.

2) I feel like I've found my favorite speed for free-motion quilting. I just need to turn it down a notch and I feel like I have some control for more even stitches.

3) The gray backing fabric gave me alllllllllll sorts of trouble whilst quilting. I used my seam ripper more on this quilt than any other project I have ever done. Ever. I told my mom this tonight and she said she was sorry...so I must have scared her a little with my frustration that I still haven't let go of.  I used the gray because it's what I had on hand...but I will definitely, definitely, definitely stick to 100% cotton fabric when I can.

4) I tried a new method of binding and I failed miserably. Well, the binding is fine...it's just the corners look terrible. It was supposed to make the corners look better!!!  Arg. Think I'll stick to my normal made-up method.


When I was making this, I thought all along that I'd give it to my mom. Even though the quilt is red and green, I think she can rock this quilt all winter in my parent's family room. :-)  The kids and I took it over to their house while my parents were at work and left it tied with a bow on a chair in the den.

Evander and I were sitting on the chair my mom put it on just tonight...and Evander asked her, "Did you find that blanket that we left for you?" not realizing it was right behind his head! It was cute. :-) Guess you had to be there.

Let's Go to the Hop!

The first grade classes at Evander's school are learning about what life was like before they were born. As part of the unit on the 1950s, the teachers hosted a good old-fashioned sock hop for the students and their parents. How fun is that?

I was so happy that the teachers put this on and wanted to support it 100%...so we all dressed the part. :-)

I made my poodle, errrrr kitty skirt (two yards of felt at JoAnn's for $2.99 a yard? Can't beat it!) and found some Keds at Goodwill for $4. Score!  (So sad I couldn't find my saddle shoes I wore in high school during my swing-kid wannabe phase. :-/)

I found Evander's sweater vest at Goodwill, too, and sewed a felt "K" on it for Keystone. I ended up cutting the vest down the middle in the front to make it look more like a letterman's sweater. We managed to convince him to wear some old 3D movie theater glasses with the lenses punched out by saying it was what a scientist would have worn...but then he got funny about the glasses once we were at the Hop...Nick says he took them off when the girls came around. Ha.

He wanted to dance with Daddy more than me!  Hmmmmph!  Must have had something to do with Daddy swinging him around all of the time and throwing him up in the air...

And these are the kinds of photos that mothers are lucky to get with their sons...

Booooooo!

 That's better...despite the cookie in Evander's mouth and my awkward-looking arm...

Limbo time!

Evander with some of his friends:

 And with his teacher and another classmate:

It was fun to watch all of the kids dance and run around...and it was also quite humorous to watch the adults, too...especially the wall flowers. Too much like junior high!  :-)

Here is a close up of my kitty playing with a ball of yarn:

And "K" for Keystone!

Finally Halloween!

Sooooo...this whole week was really messed up due to Frankenstorm.  Flooded roads, power outages, schools cancelled, postponed Trick-or-Treating...all these things we experienced made our week different, but are piddly compared to the greater devastation that some experienced on the East Coast.

Our Trick-or-Treating was changed to the afternoon today. Afternoon?!?!? It was weird and strange, and not quite the same. There were fewer people passing out candy and fewer Trick-or-Treaters. :-/ But, the kids still enjoyed dressing up and their candy...OBVIOUSLY! :-P

I was very happy to find both Evander and Emory's costumes on eBay for less than $15 each. I got them in July while people weren't thinking about Halloween costumes, so the bidding was stress-free. Thankfully, the boys still wanted to be Optimus Prime and the Red Power Ranger three and a half months later. :-)

Marin wanted to be the purple princess...although, she went back and forth between wanting to be a princess, and Dora. I had to keep reminding her, "Purple princess...purple princess..."

Marin got pulled in her carriage...

...and I guess if you're Nick, you get to ride that way, too. :-P

This dog cracked me up. At first we thought it was dressed up as a cat...but then we saw the acorn!

Funny how much energy they have before we leave...but they tired quickly...I think they just didn't want to carry their candy bags. :-P

The loot!

Now, go brush your teeth!

A Seven Year Old!

Ahhhh...the third and final birthday of the season. May I make a suggestion? If you're into family planning and all that jazz...have your kids in different seasons!  That way, the birthday fun is all nice and spread out throughout the year, and not three children's birthdays in six week's time. :-P

Evander is seven!  And by this time in the birthday season, I can believe he's another year older. Ha.

He chose Transformers for his theme, and as you can see...I tried to bake and decorate a cake for his friend party.  Cake baking/decorating = not something I enjoy...but it turned out well.

He had three friends over and we had a beautifully sunny day, so we were able to do all sorts of games in the back yard.

Work in progress corn hole boards

Cody in action.

We had the family over for pizza and cake. Evander was so very pleased with the gifts everyone gave him.

Apparently seven year olds open presents lying down

One of my favorite things from the day was when he opened a microscope from his Auntie Mere and Uncle Will and hugged it!  Ha.

I made him hug it again for a picture. :-)

And then he ran outside to play with his friends before we even had cake. This is something we are dealing with a lot lately. All Evander wants to do these days is play out front with his friends! It's a little difficult getting him to sit down to do his homework each night...

BIRTHDAY QUESTIONNAIRE

Evander, Age 7

Nicknames: 

Eems

How old are you? 

Seven

What is your favorite color? 

Yellow

What is your favorite animal? 

Rabbit

What is your favorite book? 

Animal, rocks and earth books

What is your favorite TV show? 

Animal Planet and Transformers

What is your favorite movie? 

(whispers to me ) Animal Planet is also a movie

What is your favorite song? 

Transformers Theme Song and Eye of the Tiger

What is your favorite food? 

Noodles with olive oil and garlic salt

What is your favorite drink? 

Milk and chocolate milk

What is your favorite breakfast food? 

My favorite cereal (Frosted Mini-Wheats)

What is your favorite snack? 

Peanut butter crackers

What is your favorite outfit? 

My Transformers T-shirt

What is your favorite game? 

Guess Who?

What is your favorite toy? 

Transformers

Who is your best friend?
Cody and Dale

What is your favorite thing to do?  

Ride my bike and drawing

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Ride my bike

What is your favorite holiday? 

Halloween and Christmas

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 

Favorite blankie

Where is your favorite place to go? 

Dinosaur museum

What is your favorite restaurant? 

Pizza

Where do you want to go on vacation? 

Arizona and Dinosaur National Monument

What do you want to be when you grow up
Museum curator

What did you do on your birthday?
Went to school

I have been so blessed to be your mommy! We joke in our house how you are most like me. Maybe it's your love of animals and nature? Your creative tendencies? Or the fact that you like to collect and keep things? :-) Sometimes, it's hard for me to motivate you, but once your mind is set onto something, you are good to go. I love your thirst for knowledge and your desire to learn. I can't believe the baby I bounced to sleep each night (ha) is so big. I love you, Evander! I am so excited to watch you grow.

Power Ranger Birthday Boy

Emory.  Emory boyyyyyyyyy. Our Emory Hudson turned five last week!  I almost can't believe it.

In a moment of insanity...I decided to have a friend party separate from the family party for Emory (and Evander to come!).  It's just too much (read as "too many people" ha) to have friends at the family party. Plus...the family gets ignored if friends are around!

We've also continued to have the boys' birthday parties separately, even though their birthdays are ten days apart (whose brilliant idea was it to have these boys both in October? :-P). I just really like allowing them to have their special day (or two) and have their own party theme. Because you know...we probably could never agree on just a single party theme.

So, Emory!  Emory boyyyyyyyyyyy chose Power Rangers for his fifth birthday. :-) Did you know that there are 16 different Power Ranger Series? Ummmm...wow. Thank you, Netflix for making us acquaintances with at least seven of those.

Emory and his Power Rangers Jungle Fury cake. 

Emory started his birthday by going to school and then Skyping with his Popper in Arizona when we got home. He waited alllllllll afternoon for his three friends we invited from his preschool class for a little party. The boy was....so....excited. It was so fun to see his reaction when they pulled up to the house.

New this week is a cute little lean when taking photos!

Party happenings were not over the top this year! ;-) With the kids, I had plans to be outside and do a ninja-style obstacle course with them...but it was raining so that didn't happen. We ate pizza and cake and did a small craft and just played for most of the time. They were happy with that.

Emory ditched his training wheels this summer, so he got a new bigger bike for his birthday! He received it early so that he could enjoy it while it was still "warm" outside.

New helmet to match!

Stompeez!

Brothers both need to be in the picture

Cousin Anna's into kissing lately...

Their Power Ranger moves

BIRTHDAY QUESTIONNAIRE

Emory, Age 5

Nicknames: 

Emmer, Emerson, Emory Boy

How old are you? 

Five

What is your favorite color? 

Red and blue

What is your favorite animal? 

Kitty

What is your favorite book? 

Batman

What is your favorite TV show? 

Jake and the Neverland Pirates

What is your favorite movie? 

Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension

What is your favorite song? 

My God Throws Mountains Into the Sea

What is your favorite food? 

Peanut butter and cheese pizza (but not together, ha)

What is your favorite drink? 

New milk (almond milk)

What is your favorite breakfast food? 

Bee cereal or dinosaur sandwich (Honey Nut Cheerios and PBJ)

What is your favorite snack? 

Um, poopy butt.

What is your favorite outfit? 

Power Ranger (Mommy says sweat pants...I can't get jeans on the boy!)

What is your favorite game? 

Mr. Kitty Pants game (whatever that is!)

What is your favorite toy? 

Hero guys

Who is your best friend?
Addison and Donovan and Gus!

What is your favorite thing to do?  

Eat

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Ride my bike

What is your favorite holiday? 

Wednesday

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 

Doggie and kitty and my beepies (one, two, three and four of them!)

Where is your favorite place to go? 

Dairy Queen

What is your favorite restaurant? 

Pizza

Where do you want to go on vacation? 

Maumee Bay

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

Construction worker

What did you do on your birthday? 

Ummm...I went to school and my friends came over

Emory. I am so privileged to be your mommy. You are enthusiastic....passionate....and full of emotion. I love your zeal and your silliness and how you think of others and want to buy them things when we are out shopping. :-) You grew, physically, too fast...but I still love to carry you like a baby to bed and look in your beautiful eyes. (There's a country song I think of every time..."I see them as babies, guess that'll never change.") I love your imagination and your drive....but mostly...I just love you!!!

Jack-O'-Latern Jars

Did you know "jack-o'-lantern" had an apostrophe after the "o?" Hmmmmm...I did not realize this until this day. :-P

This is a fun (and easy!) little thing the boys and I did the other night with tissue paper and olive jars.  I just *knew* those olive jars I was saving would come in handy. ;-) And, since Marin and I eat lots and lots of olives...pretty sure there will be many more jars to come!  Baby food jars would work great, too...but, sadly I dumped my stash a lonnnnng time ago. :-(

Start by cutting orange tissue paper into various small pieces:

Then, Mod Podge away!  It's best to apply the Mod Podge on the jar, not the tissue paper. :-) The boys tended to get some holes in the tissue paper because they were heavy with their brush...but I think that just adds to each jar's character.

After you've Mod Podged your pieces to cover the jar, apply a thick coat of Mod Podge over the whole thing.

Hmmm...looks more like a mummy to me.

Once dry, cut some shapes for your jack-o'-lantern face. We used the Cricut with vinyl, but normal cardstock and scissors would work fine, too!

You can cover your jar lid with fabric by cutting a circle slightly bigger than the lid, and then cutting slits around the circle. Apply Mod Podge to the top of the lid and set down onto the fabric. Press fabric around the lid. 

So easy and so fun!  I remember making a Christmas jar at school with tissue paper when I was in kindergarten. My mom still puts it out each year. :-P