Here I go . . . another twirly skirt

I am just going to dive in and ignore the "what if I mess it up" feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am using the same pattern but this time I am making it for E & A. I decided to start with one and just add it to their closet to see if they notice or like it. If they do and it is a success (i.e. they fight over it) then I will make another. I ordered my fabric online with the intention of making two, but being a novice sewer I ordered the incorrect amount and do not have enough material to make two. So, one it is. I can handle one. So far I have the fabric cut (thanks to my handy set of new tools). I am ready to start sewing. In between cutting my fabric pieces I made a cake for some friends that are coming by tomorrow morning. If you ever have a craving for a sweet, sweet, gooey cake then Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake will surely fit the bill. Wow are they sweet, but they are tasty. There are so many variations that you could probably do a different variation once a week for weeks on end. I stuck to vanilla and added caramel pieces to the filling. Well, I hope to make some progress on the skirt this week; I'll post a pic once I have a finished product.

Food Find

If you have any interest in cooking you may like this little gem of a source that I found: http://www.foodandwine.com/. Yep - same site as the magazine. My husband's friend gives me his old mags and I always enjoy looking through them. The food section of the website is great and has many different sections. I took a peek at Quick Meals and decided it was worth bookmarking for further reading and recipe selecting. I hope you take a look. I don't think it will be a waste of time. So, did I mention splash parks in my last blog entry? We made our first visit on Friday. The girls just LOVE them, which is why I love them. If only there was a little more shade so I didn't have to fret over their delicate, fair skin! Can you tell how excited they were? So easy to please! Have a great week!

Sweet

Oh-boy. What happens to a mama when the daddy leaves for two days? The mama gets very tired. TGIF. Thank God the daddy returns today! To keep hands busy (aka: avoid "empty" time which is inevitably filled with arguing & fussing) we have been trying to make cards. There are a lot of birthdays on the horizon, not to mention father's day, so I am trying to create a supply to have on hand. It is working out well. I had a pad of canvas paper in our craft stash and cut the paper into fours so they are more or less postcard size. We are painting/ decorating one side & the other side will be where we write the message. It is a fun project. I also have an idea to do a book to record our summer activities. I am thinking I will make two and have each of the girls fill in what we do. I haven't worked out any details so if anyone has an idea or has done this before let me know. I would love to hear. E & A will be four in August so a written journal is not an option, but if I can do a photo/ drawing journal of some sort we may be able to stick to it.

Our weather has turned warm & the splash parks are open. Time for salads & light meals. It is nice, except there is no turning back now. It will go from warm to boiling in about two months time. Oh - I almost forgot why I titled this "Sweet". Well, I was woken up this morning (6:30 - not bad since I was the only adult here) to E & A whispering. They knew I was asleep and were trying to be quiet while they got up & went potty this morning. I could here: "shhh, Mama's sleeping, whisper, whisper, shhh. " We are making progress. Six months ago they would have just come barrelling in asking for juice & cereal. Sweet.

Meet the new gang

I had to stay home on Friday to wait for a service call, so I took the opportunity and finished up the dolls that I started over a month ago! It is funny that reading one little blog entry can set off a production of sewing & knitting in a house far away. Erin completely spurred this project, by her post and then her encouraging words. Thanks Erin. It was fun, I got to work with my mom on it and the girls love their new dolls. These are from Wee Wonderfuls, doll patterns & sweater patterns. I have an idea to sew some simple dresses for E & A's dolls so that they can change their clothes, but I am not sure when or if that will really happen. Ainslee ended up with the yellow bear:

Erika picked the blue bear simply because it sports a pink bow:

Aidan received the button-free white kitty:

I am so pleased that I started the project AND finished it. I am ready to start sewing some more, but I don't know what to start. I could start on E & A's twirly skirts . . . I bought some fabric and am ready. Just need to find some uninterrupted time. Other than the dolls we had a relaxed & warm weekend. Hope your weekend was great!

This and that

I failed to mention Grandma Great in my last post. She was the whole reason we went to Arkansas. My husband's grandmother turned 90! The photo below is her with six of her nine great grandchildren. She is doing great, she is quick witted, still quilting & sewing, playing bridge. She is a busy lady.
This little guy is making frequent visits to our Loquat tree. He and my husband have a little contest to see who can gather the most from day to day. The squirrel is winning. It is nice to see him pop into my view from time to time. I do love having a window above the kitchen sink. Small blessings.
We had a new family first today. A concert. There were people thrashing around, screaming fans, crying fans. Total hysteria. Did I mention they were toddlers and the show was Sesame Street? My two oldest have never watched much Sesame Street, but they liked the show and were both so happy that there was a princess (fairy godmother-to-be). They also liked the cotton candy. It was fun to see them watch the show. I had a mini and private cry thinking of them going to their first rock concert. I am sure that will be late next week sometime. Seriously though, it hit me that their time with Martin and I is finite. We will only be cool for so long. Sigh. I must be hanging on to some postpartum hormones. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Whiz, bang, whirl

Whiz, whirl; that is the pace I feel things are moving around me, even if I am not keeping up. Do you ever feel like this - I already know the answer is yes, so you don't even have to respond. Wow. My sister, mother of three, always said that after two kids "it" didn't matter. "It" being open to interpretation. I should check back and have her define "it". I think she felt that after two kids the work load for 3, 4, 5 were all the same. WRONG. Or, I am doing something WRONG. Not sure. I love having three children, but it is crazy.

Our trip to Arkansas was great. We all had such a good time and no one wanted to return home as early as we needed to. We were having too much fun. The funny thing is we all just hung out together. There were seven children ages 6 yrs - 5 months, 8 adults, lots of food, talk, catching up. So nice. But, being home is always nice too. I returned home and was promptly thrown back into our routine. As a result I have had two consecutive nights of incredibly good sleep. The daffodils are from my MIL's yard. She orders bulbs from Washington state every year. I just love the color of these. They look like a little audience, so attentive and orderly. Well, I have a few things to post, but pictures are required and I have a lot of photos to upload and sort before I can share. It is all on my list. Catch up more soon!