Sandbox fun

Saturday was a beautiful day. Sunny and in the low 60's. I finally went to Home Depot to get some sand for the new sandbox. The kids all played in it for hours. It will be so awesome to have this summer. Seth has recently found a love for tractors so digging in a sandbox is right up his alley. Anyway, I took quite a few pictures of them playing.

Dump trucks are fun in the sand.

Bury those toes.

Goofy grin. (He has the remnants of a tattoo on his check from his trip.)

She was intent on her work in the sand.

She's beautiful.

Damn my kids are cute.

After my walk this morning (I am doing a half marathon in a month! Yikes!) and a shower we made some banana bread muffins. Yummy! Seth helped me out. The big kids came in looked around and left... but still wanted to lick out the bowl. I let them have it but geez, they didn't earn it. I forgot to get pictures of the big kids licking the spatula.

My babies and another baby

Where do I begin. First off the kids are home safe. Their flight ended up coming in 3 hours later than originally scheduled but they got here and that's all that matters. I heard all day from Seth, "Hannah, airplane. Airplane, Hannah." Their little friends (the hermit crabs) managed to make it through security. Of course in Orlando yesterday, that isn't the only thing that made it through security. Yeah, some guy tried taking bomb making materials on a flight to Jamaica. Does my family attract weird things? Are we prone to being around strange happenings? Do I live in the danger zone? (Who's singing the Top Gun song right now?)

After dinner the doula that I back up called to tell me that two of her clients were in labor. Of course, I jumped at the chance to attend a birth. Well, one of her clients contractions didn't really get going but client A's did. Since we weren't sure what would happen with the other mama we both went with A and her husband J to the hospital. She wasn't a candidate for an epidural due to rods in her back so she had two options, labor naturally or have a c-section under general anesthesia. With the help of her fabulous husband and two wonderful doulas she did it naturally. Woo, hoo! It's never as easy as it sounds for the mama but she was great. (The other client took a shower and went to bed... still haven't heard if she had her baby or not yet.)

I got home at 6:40 am. I took a 30 minute nap and got up to get the kids ready for school. Once they were off to school I stuck Bob the Builder on the TV and managed to nap for about an hour through Seth demanding, "Mommy, up!" We took a shower and made a run to Costco. I knew he'd fall asleep on the way home and was hoping he'd take a good nap today. Luckily for me he slept for almost two hours. I got all the food put away and laid down for a while. Not long after we were up it was time to get the kids from school. Simon was out about on time and Hannah was late... no wait, she wasn't late after all. She had Chorus and once I realized that today was Wednesday I remembered the had Girl Scouts too. I have no brain on a normal amount of sleep, I think I become utterly useless on roughly 4 hours. Such is life.

I made spaghetti for dinner because it's easy and then we took Hannah to Gymnastics for her make up class. Thank god Simon didn't want to to to Tae Kwon Do today. I think I'd have pulled out all my hair.

I am tired. Hopefully I can get some good sleep tonight. It was worth missing sleep to see another beautiful baby come into this world though. It's such a powerful experience and I always feel blessed to be a part of it.

Pin cushion

I made a pin cushion! It's so stinkin' cute. I am not a great photographer but hopefully you get the idea. I am going to use this as one of my Pay It Forward gifts. I had a bit of a hard time with it because I am not used to curve piecing but obviously I got it done. :)

Today is our last day with only one kid. Seth and I haven't done anything supper exciting. We went to the park yesterday and he wanted Hannah. He asks for the kids from time to time. It's pretty adorable how much he loves his older siblings.

Hannah and Simon are having a great time with their grandparents. They spent two days hanging out on the beach and learning how to use a boogie board. Somehow they convinced Gramma they needed hermit crabs! For only once in my life and I hoping that TSA decides something can't be brought on a plane. I truly can see the kids dropping their little cages and spilling the contents all over the inside of the plane! AH!

They also got to spend yesterday at Disney World and they'll be there again today. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to them so I am not sure how their day went yesterday. I assume since the didn't call that they were having way to much fun.

Seth and I will go get them tomorrow. Since I am not anticipating any more hostage situations I think the pick up should be rather smooth, as long as the flight is on time.

Three and a half hours

Ok, so today was supposed to be all about my kids and their big solo flight to see grandma and grandpa in Florida but that turned out to be the mellow uneventful part of my day. You see, after I left the airport, proud to have not shed any tears mind you, I got stuck on a bridge. For 3:30 hours. Why, because of a hostage situation! I shit you not, a hostage situation. Some guy had a woman and a kid in an SUV and after being chased by the NJ cops he finally stopped on the Walt Whitman bridge, halting both directions of traffic. It honestly took me a few minutes to realize something was going on. At first I assumed traffic was just heavy on the bridge and then I realized there were no cars at all on the other side..... and then there were police officers walking on the bridge! Holy crap! I called Dan immediately to find out wtf was going on!!!! Helicopters were circling over head, Homeland security even showed up! As Tiff put it, it's like something out of a movie. Except in movies, they don't have the reality of needing to pee and being hungry!

Nothing but cars in front of me.

And nothing but cars behind me.

The white SUV is what's causing all this mess. I hope he likes jail.

Nosy people and many, many policeman.

After a long, long, long time it was over. The mom and kid were safe and the man was arrested, The best part was we all got to go home! Ok, first I had to hit a Service Center off the Turn Pike and grab a bite to eat and pee.

Unbelievable.

How often does one get to say, "Sorry, I was late, I got held up by a hostage situation."

Well, my wonderful kids made it safe and sound to Florida before I even left the bridge. They were calling me to see if I was ok. :) Here are a couple pictures from the airport.

Waiting for the plane to arrive.

Off they go!

Break time

Well, it's Spring Break this week and I haven't had to much of a break yet. I shouldn't complain, I have been able to sleep in a bit more. Thank you all for the compliments on my purse. I am going to use the No Diamonds in the Sky quilt pattern. (The quilt on the web site isn't all that pretty, sorry.)

So far we've had play dates with friends, a long walk with my mom, and packing to fill up our week. On Monday Hannah and Simon went over the their little friends house for a few hours and the next day after we went to the park in the morning their friends came to our house. While we were at the park some of the grounds keepers were working on a small drainage pipe and boy did that get Seth attention. They had a small tractor so Seth sat down and watched them work. When they shut off the tractor he said, "More." Heck, I even got out the snacks we sat there so long. Why is it that boys are fascinated with tractors?


Any hoo, today mom came over with Paul and after a quick bite to eat we went to explore the Monmouth Battlefield Park. It was so much fun. The kids got to run a muck. We headed for the homestead house and were rather disappointed when we got up close. The windows are all boarded up and the house is in disrepair. Such is life. It was a good walk though especially coming back up that big hill carrying Seth.





This evening has been spent packing up the big kids. They are leaving on an airplane to go meet up with Grandma Stella. They are going to Disney World! I was nervous at first but I am ok now. I am sure tomorrow as I sit there in the airport waiting for their flight to take off, without me, that I will get nervous. I know they will be in good hands once they get to Florida. They will have a fantastic time too. I am not sure how much of a break I'll get while they are gone. Without Sissy here, who will get up early with Seth?

Purse and more fabric

Do you remember when I bought some fabric to make a purse with? Yeah, it was almost a year ago. I finally broke out the cool fabrics and set to work. The pattern wasn't hard to follow. I had to re-read things a few times to make sure I was doing it right but I got it. I started working on it on Thursday and mostly finished it yesterday. I still need to hand stitch the opening closed. Oh, I didn't make the little scarf thing. I don't wear scarves at all so why make one.


Today I got to hang out with my mommy. We went to Starbucks first because what outing is complete without a Chai? Then we went to two different gardening stores for her sake. I felt like I was back in a Tack and Feed Shop in Colorado in one of them. Kinda nice actually. The other one was very nice too. The best part is how close they are to the quilt store! Of course, that was our next stop.

I think I spent about an hour pulling different bolts down, laying them out, tossing half of them aside, and then hunting for more that matched. My mom was very patient and helped a lot. Mostly, she didn't rush me even though I was befuddled and confused. I hate to be picky but the fabrics have to work together whether their for me or for someone else.

What cha think?

Once I was finally done at the quilt store we had a nice lunch close by.

It was a wonderful way to spend part of my day.

Time for a change

I hung up a different quilt in my dining room this week. I felt like I needed to change it to something more spring like. And what could be more spring like than a quilt with butterflies on it? This is an old quilt. I guess you could call it an antique. I never had it appraised or tried to get it dated. I bought it at an antique store while my mom and I were in Kansas for my great uncles funeral. The quilt is machine pieced and hand quilted. It's worn, ripped, and stained. I hope some one loved this quilt a lot. I always hope when I give someone a quilt that they use it and love it. I understand that a quilt can't last forever if it is used daily but then it gets no love just admiration.


Anyway, this quilt won't be up for to long. For one it clashes with the green on the walls and for another pink isn't one of my favorite colors. I just like it though. It makes me smile.

I am hoping this weekend to get a trip to the quilt store. I have to get some fabric. No, really. I don't just want some I need some. How else will I make a king size. Here is my inspiration to begin the search for fabric in the burgundy and forest green family... I hope she likes it...


Since dinner is almost done I better go. To leave on a good note I give you an adorable little boy.

Top done

I got another top pieced. Ah, the satisfaction of another quilt being completed. I still need to get the backing pieced though. That always feels like a chore. Tops are much more satisfying. I really don't think I should be called a quilter though. Maybe a piecer or a binder but I don't actually do much "quilting". I like hand quilting but it takes lots of time and I am impatient. I should do some hand quilting sometime soon.

My next project will be the pay it forward ones. I am not sure what I want to make. I could make table runners, wall hangings, or even cooking aprons. I am at a loss and waiting for inspiration to happen. Once I complete those I want to get crackin' on a long over due wedding quilt for one of my aunts. I am also hoping to get a lap size kid quilt done for a wonderful new blogger who participates in making blankets for Project Linus. How could you go wrong making quilts for sick kids in hospitals!?

All last week

Oops, it's been almost a week since I last posted. Sorry 'bout that. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging.

Let's see, what have we been up too.

Monday was a normal crazy day. Gymboree and Art for Seth. Tae Kwon Do and Gymnastics for Hannah. My brother went back to the city by himself. He was probably able to see a lot more doing it alone than with me in tow. He loved the city. What's not to love if your young in NY?

Tuesday we had our Meet and Greet for the MOMS Club. After school we picked up the Girl Scout Cookies. Hannah didn't sell too much this year. It still has to get sorted and distributed though. It is one of the few fund raisers that I like helping with. Who can resist adorable little girls with yummy cookies anyway? We ended the day dinner with at my moms for my birthday. Which btw was very yummy. I got a few books, one a quilt book (one can never have too many) and the other is the sequel to Pillars of the Earth (which I really enjoyed), and a CD of my brothers.

Weds we took Karl out to the beach. It was cool and windy but it's still great to see the ocean.

Oh how I'd love to live by the water. What is it about water that is so soothing a calming? We ate lunch at a little coffee shop and then browsed in an antique store. Fun, fun, fun.

(I have to take a moment to rant about activities. You know those after school events that kids always want to do. So, Hannah told me she wants to do chorus but it is after school on Weds and she already has girl scouts every other week on Weds and Simon has TKD too. I said, "No way." Well, it turns out that all the girls in GS want to do chorus so the troop leader proposed pushing back the start of GS from 3:30 to 4 for the girls and she'll take them from the school to the meeting place. Great. But Simon gets out of TKD at 5. I can't be two places at once no matter how hard I try. So now, Simon will go to TKD on Thursday instead of Weds! AHHH!!) Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Where was I? Weds, that's right. Once we got Hannah from GS we decided to go out to dinner so I didn't have to cook. Sounds great to me! Oh, I can't forget to share what I got for my bday. I got a small tv with a dvd player in it for my office. Hurray for me! Now I can watch movies and work on projects at the same time. Sweet!

Thurs I went to get our taxes done. I hate taxes. There is always something I forgot or something that needs tweaking. They already take so much of what we make. Ah. Tax time sucks. Lastly, don't forget TKD is on Thursdays now.

Friday, I didn't have a lot I had to do so I did 6 loads of laundry. I should have cleaned the bathrooms too but hey, I was already doing a ton of laundry anyway, right? It's nice to have a down day. We still delivered GS cookies and I made dinner but I didn't have events or activities. I did put my new tv to use last night and watched Lady in the Water while working on this project.

Well, I think that sums up my week. Karl went home yesterday and it was wonderful to have my little brother here for a week.

New York, New York

I have seen this bridge in movies. Haven't you?

We are probably the craziest people alive but we drove into the city today to meet up with my mom and brothers. My brother flew in from Denver yesterday for my birthday, hurray! The drive wasn't bad actually. We went in early enough that most people are either asleep or at church. Leaving was a bit more chaotic since the traffic was heavier but I managed to not get mangled by any taxi drivers or take out any pedestrians. Although it was close a few times. :)

We started at the Natural History Museum. It is huge! We didn't go see all the exhibits or any of the Imax shows either. When we were buying our tickets the gentleman told us the suggested entrance price was 55.50. I said, "Suggested? Does that mean the price is negotiable? I'd like it to be $50 please." He smiled and swiped Dan's credit card. Dan checked his receipt while we were sitting at lunch and we had only been charged $50 after all. If I had known my little comment would have been taken seriously I would have suggested a much lower number!

After we'd all had enough of wandering the museum we headed across the street to Central Park. You know, THE Central Park. There was a playground right there when we walked in. Too perfect. I am such a tourist when it comes to the city seeing as I've only had a chance to explore there once before. It's kind of overwhelming but so cool at the same time. Dan commented that he could live in New York. I don't know if I could handle the stress. I am more laid back than New Yorkers.

Anyway, we had a good time. We left a bit early so Seth wouldn't melt down. Hopefully mom had fun walking around with Karl and Paul after we left. Here a some pictures. Most of the ones inside the museum didn't come out all that well. Low lighting and a bright direct flash don't go well together.

Seth and I in the dinosaur area.

And one more because I liked it.

baby blanket

Here is the latest little quilting endeavor I took on. (Sorry the picture is kind of dark.)


These rag quilts are so easy. The cutting can be a PITA but so worth it in the end.

It looks like I have 3 wonderful participants in the "Pay it Forward" game. Scylla, Country Mouse, and Riality Freak. I will get to work on your little goodies soon... Yay!

In kid news-

Hannah is trying out for a higher level in gymnastics. Apparently she has the strength and talent.She just needs the experience. She'll have a recital in April. Also, she is doing a little play at school today in the class room. I'll have to head out in a few minutes to go see it.

Simon just tested for his green belt last night and got it. I know you are probably thinking, "Didn't he just get his orange belt?" Yes, he got it 2 months ago. I guess they like to keep them moving up quickly. I think they just want the extra cash! Sorry, no pictures. Dan took him while I stayed home with the other two and he forgot to take the camera.

Seth went to the Doctor yesterday for a check up. He is all fine and dandy. He is a small fry (23.9 lbs at 2! Oliver is like 30. Not fair.) but pretty darn cute if you ask me.

Neat idea

One of my dear friends is doing a little "Pay It Forward" thing and I think it is such a fun idea. I had to join in. Maybe you'd like to also. I'm going to borrow the text from her website just like she borrowed it.

"It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works:
I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. Since this should be fun let's give a reasonable amount of time for the handmade item to be made and then sent to the recipients - how about 2 months? I will email each person for their mailing addresses and send a handmade gift and maybe some extra goodies.

What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people. Unfortunately this is only possible for those of who have a blog. So come on.....and see who wants to pay it forward. :)"

What do you think? Want to try it?

Birthday fun

We had a great party yesterday for Seth. I thought it'd be nice to have a little party for him and invite some of his friends over. Well, since I can't seem to add things together we had quite the gathering. When the kids are only 2 ish the moms have to stay! I think we had about 20 people but it went well. I am always amazed at how much work goes into a birhtday party and quickly they are over. That is my main reason for always trying for low key events. No need for a clown or a bouncy castle. Things are crazy enough with a house full of people!


Once the party wound down I had to bake some cookies for our schools basket raffle that evening. (No rest... ever!) I got to the school at 6 to be a volunteer. I was put at the door and man was it busy. After my 45 minute shift at the door I was able to walk around and see what baskets there were. I had a good time even though I didn't win a darn thing. Oh well, all the money raised last night goes to fund field trips for the school and this is our only big fund raising event we do.

After clean up was over I ended up getting home about 10. A long day but fun.

Snowy birthdays

Two.

Two years already.

I can't believe it's been two years since Seth was born.

He's two today.

Happy Birthday little man.


And let us not forget Dan. Instead of a nice hot Starbucks Mocha to wake up to this morning he got a snow day. No going into work. Just a day at home. Happy birthday to my dear sweet husband who will forever have to share his special day.

I had things I was going to do today but I think I'll be hunkering down and enjoying the only snow day we've had this year. I am sure the kids will want to go out and play before long. Hopefully they weather will clear up enough for the birthday party tomorrow. We'll see.

I have been working on a little baby blanket. I'll get some pictures up soon. Maybe I'll even get some good ones today.

Things that make you go, hmm

I was reading a few blogs that I like and I stumbled across some different perspectives. As most of you know I am a crunchy granola kind of gal. Not on all things but on many things. So I was reading a post on this blog and while going through some of the comments I read one from Dr. Amy. I've run across Dr. Amy's hatred before a while back on this blog. She absolutely despises home birthers, home birth advocates, and lay midwives. There is so much venom in her words it is shocking. All the way from how ignorant home birthers are to how uneducated midwives are. I am not sure why she is so angry but she has it out for all of us stupid, ignorant and uneducated people.

Normal low-risk births are safe to have at home with a midwife. There are studies that back it up. Midwives aren't untrained or uneducated. There are national requirements for midwives to become certified that requires schooling through an accredited school, apprenticeship, and a national exam. No they don't tend to have degrees from Yale or Princeton but that doesn't mean that they don't learn everything they can about all things surrounding birth including complications. Just because they don't learn how to do c-sections in a hospital doesn't mean that they aren't educated.

Please know that I think doctors are needed and are necessary for higher risk pregnancies.

Take a read through the links if you so desire.

Finally, snow!

It's finally snowing here. Now it's supposed to turn into rain later so lets not dwell on what that means. For now it's snow and the big kids are outside playing in it even though there isn't much on the ground yet. All our after school activities were canceled and I' not sure if we'll even venture out for Tae Kwon Do if it's gonna get yucky.

Here are some pictures taken from inside.


I wish I had a better camera so I could zoom in more. Sigh. Some day.

Well, the kids just came trampling inside. I am sure Seth's nap is about to end abruptly. Gotta go!

Me day

I had a "me day" today. I got to do things for me. I have to say I really like those kinds of days. Who wouldn't?

I got my nice walk in this morning. We only walked for an hour but it was chilly with the wind blowing and Christina had her kids with her. No sense making them freeze.

After lunch I got the cookies baked for the schools bake sale this week.

My mom and Paul got there right after I finished baking and we went to the quilt store. They were having a sale and a trunk show with Civil War stuff. (Most of you just probably lost interest didn't you?) I needed to take in my big quilt too. So as you all know I am weak around fabric and when it's buy one, get one for a penny.... I could hardly say no!


I happily left feeling like I got a deal. I mean really, I got $45 worth of fabric for 3 cents! So mom and I strolled over to the Antique store down the block for a little look. It was so very odd. It was more of a junk store. There was so much stuff it was hard to take it all in. When we were about to leave I peeked down one of the rows and saw a treadle sewing machine. Sweet, I totally love them. It had a price of $30 on it. Yeah, $30. I was marveling over how cool it was even though it was missing a drawer when a woman told me there was a better one on the next aisle over. Low and behold there was! Oddly enough the nice woman who pointed them out to me said she was going to get them both and had changed her mind.

I got them to take the machines down so I could get a better look at them. The ornate one has a bad top on it. It looks like water damage on one side. The other one was in good shape minus the drawer. What's a girl to do? Which one do you buy? Silly, both of them!

No, Hannah isn't always on the couch. I swear!

Love the decorative drawers.

Don't mind Simon back there. he was cleaning them up for me. Without being asked. I wonder what he wants? JK

Yeah, what am I going to do with two treadle sewing machines? Does anyone know someone who could fix 'em up for me?

Well, to add to my "me day" I went to dinner with the girls (again!) and had some yummy food and fabulous conversation. Followed up with going to see 27 Dresses. It was so cute! I love chic flicks though so I am easy to please.

I got home and helped tuck everyone in. Grabbed a warm cup of coffee and headed to my office. Now that I am done with the blog post should I read, play with fabric, or watch tv...

I like me days.

Just like big brother

I finally got Seth doing Tae Kwon Do on video. He is so stinkin' cute! Oh, you've gotta love Hannah in the back ground talking on the phone to her Aunt Susan.

Playdough

I feel like I've had a busy yet productive day. I started off with walking for an hour and a half! After lunch I got a new pair of walking shoes. I figured I should have something better for my feet for the half marathon coming up than the Payless shoes I have. I was proud that I managed to go to the mall and leave with just one pair of shoes. Shear will power, I tell ya!

I took Hannah around the block to see if she could sell some more girl scout cookies once Seth was done with his nap. We came home and took it easy for a bit. Meaning we snacked and watched the boob tube a bit. Ok, I read while Seth watched finding Nemo and snacked on my apple with yogurt to dip it in!

Well, seeing as Seth has recently discovered a love for playdough I pulled out ours and discovered that it was old and crumbly. What to do. Make a trip to the store? No way. How about make your own! I can do that. You can too. Here's the recipe that I got many years ago at Messy Play Day back in Seattle.

Playdough

You will need:
2 large bowls
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of boiling water
1 tbs of Alum (found in the spice isle of your grocery store)
1 tbs of vegetable oil
food coloring

-In one bowl dissolve Alum in the boiling water and add the oil. Then add your choice of color.

-In the other bowl mix the flour and salt. Add this to the water mixture.

- Mix it with a wooden spoon until it's all together. It will be bumpy and gooey!

When it has cooled enough to handle take it out and kneed it for what seems like ages. It will smooth out and be a wonderful ball of Playdough.

Store in a plastic container with a lid. It will be good for several weeks.

Enjoy!

To finish our evening I had some yummy enchiladas for dinner followed up by coffee with friends.

The only down side to the day is my apparent guilt in not setting the clippers back at their usual setting. My beardless husband is not amused... oops.

DONE!

I finished it! The quilt is so big! It's 100.5 square. It was supposed to be 99.5 but with my fantastic sewing abilities it is larger. When I first started quilting they were always smaller. I blame my new sewing machine for having a more accurate 1/4 inch and I still do a scant 1/4 inch resulting in it being an smidge off. A smidge makes a huge difference over a large area. It sucks. Someday I'll be a perfect quilter... not! Considering I designed this myself I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I even gave myself a pat on the back.


I'll try and get a picture of the whole quilt but my husband can't hold it up for me and my design wall is too small to hold it either. What's a girl to do?

So far (knock on wood) no one else has started yacking. Simon felt all better yesterday after he took a three hour nap. He was back to normal after dinner.

Here is a picture of the kids enjoying their morning snack. I feel like I haven't talked about them to much lately. I'll give a big update soon.


Real quick I have to brag about Hannah. She got straight A's on her report card. Yeah for her! Principals Honor Roll no less and perfect attendance. Yes, I have a teachers pet for a kid.

Sick

We are house bound on a cool and rainy day with a sick kid. Poor Simon spent most of the night over the toilet. I always feel so bad for my kids when the get the stomach flu. I can't make it better and we all know how yucky it feels to be so sick that you don't know which end it's gonna come out of first. The virus has to run its course. I spend most of the time selfishly thinking, "Skip me this time around could ya!" I hate being sick. Barfing is so gross! I never did understand bulimia.

Well, my goal is to keep Seth away from his big brother so he can rest... and maybe he can keep those yucky germs to himself.

I guess I'll sew today. I have made a lot of progress on the borders. I'll show pictures later.