some new creations....

Well, we finally got Austin settled in school....naps rescheduled earlier so we are awake and ready to go pick him up by 2:30 and earlier bedtimes for all. I still think it is hardest for me to wake up before everyone else in the morning, even though it is peaceful when we do. I still hate the chaos school brings of 'having' to get up and trying to get everyone ready and out the door. I just can't seem to adhere to structure...probably a major fault in a lot of eyes....can't say i'm a list-maker - more free-spirited - do as i please when i feel like it - that is what life's about, right?

With Austin going off to school we are trying to spend more time with Tyler to encourage his speech along - this is our day at the park.. he was cracking up at this!

on the other side of the teeter-totter!

me goofing around

so sweet, hmmm......mr. blue eyes

in the fort....could they be more different?

Labor Day visit with my parent's - we had so much fun!

Austin at his new desk at school - first day!

His new 'big' backpack - should last for a few years!

All ready for school - uniform and all - no worries on what to wear.

Now on to some craft things i've been doing. This is a sneak peek at the quilt i'm working on. I've wanted to do this for about 4 years now (ha) but plenty of things kept getting in my way. Now, I seem to have more time and finally got up the nerve to start it. I swear i've read the pattern about 100 times and it seemed rather confusing, but I decided to just jump in and figure it out. While, it is different, it has turned out to come together nicely. I did a few semi-complete blocks at first and now i'm chain piecing the parts together to be more efficient. The blocks will measure 12 x 12" when they are complete and I need 42" of them for a full-size quilt. Each block (like below) will be a different size depending on how it goes together so I'm going to add white around each boat until it reaches 12.5 x 12.5" (with seam allowance) and then create the rows. I ran out of sails and sky fabric yesterday and had to get some more - so i'm back at it today!

the block below is the very first one i did about 4 years ago - i realized now that i had several of the pieces going the wrong way...i was going to throw it out, but decided to add it in - i think it makes the boat look like it is in the high seas moving around. I also like to have one 'non-anticipated' mistake in every quilt - i don't think it has anything to do with being a perfectionist or not - the sewing is perfect - just the pattern is a bit off. It gives you something to find each time you use the quilt. I remember doing this as a little girl with my grandma - we would look at the quilts her mother made (my great-grandma) and find the mistakes - it was always so much fun for me and I'll remember it forever -something i'd like to pass along in my quilts!

A couple of the remaining cards I made that went into that last batch. Some of these stamps are new for the 2009-2010 Stampin Up! Catalog...I really like the robots - they make me smile!

I am getting in some supplies to start making Christmas cards tomorrow. I am hoping to put the quilting aside and do a few samples for my customers to pick from and have them up by tuesday or Wednesday! Have a great Sunday!

hot summer days...

summer feet - gotta love em'

i know many munchkins went back to school this past week...Austin starts a little later here - aug. 24th is his first day. so we have one more week of 'official' summer break. it's so hard to believe...kindergarten - full day, every day, whether you feel like it or not, scheduled breaks, homework, packed lunches...and oh yeah - uniforms. how does this happen...so fast? i know he is more than ready for this daily activity, entertainment, socializing and learning but it just feels like the beginning of the end...succumbing to school schedules, organized breaks, vacationing only when everyone else in the world is able to, the end of spontaneous mid-week trips and late nights....oh so hard....but a neccessary evil. he is ready - and somedays i'm more than ready!

we have been trying to soak up our last pool days but have had some rain the last couple days. we managed to hit the beach on thursday - one of doug's days off - an early morning ocean swim and then i did a hot 4-miler in the heat. i'm learning it takes about 2 days to recover from the hot runs. i'm going to have to start going by 7am or forget it - urgh...

hanging poolside......

i'm almost finished with my last run of cards...tomorrow i should have 2-3 more samples to upload and show you - then i'm shipping them off to their new homes. i have had a lot of fun making them and remembered what a nice quick project they each are - it is like getting quick satisfaction in just 20-30 minutes or less (or more)!

i was also able to finish some pajama pants for austin and another few alterations that were piling up. i'm still sketching the quilt for the boys and can't wait to dice into the rocketship fabric i have. i've been reading up alot about quilting and researching other modern quilters and their designs - i'm feeling very inspired and ready to get a quilt top or two started.

hot days in the water!

more project pics tomorrow!

Projects, projects

i have, for the first time, made a list (unfortunately it's only in my head!) I can never bring myself to write my lists on paper with the sole exception of the grocery store...then I *usually* have such an inept sense of detail that once i've actually written it out i remember it and don't refer to it once in the store....occassionally this system fails me. but, i had to come up with a mental list of project to-do's, yep had to prioritize them into importance or else i would have been doing the one's i fancied most first....so i thought this was a great way of tricking myself into get the 'must-do' stuff done first so that i could do the 'really-fun' stuff later - and in reality i enjoy it all!

this is probably one of my favorites ever, but it took a long time to cut all the pieces - there is a tutorial on the website above! this paper is retired SU! by the way!

I played around quite a bit with this one - it was fun and easy to make, so i switched up the designer (patterned) paper and ribbon a bit on each one. Also, a great way to get rid of some of the million flower embellishments i have hanging around!

I have been making a lot of cards lately for an order I recently got, here are some of the one's i've made...i'll be the first to admit the more difficult ones I snagged the ideas from here, a fabulous site for fresh ideas! Of course, they have my own style and spin put into them!

the inside pulls out for the sentiment and i thought it'd make a lovely bookmark as well!

I spend way too much time hand cutting each image and designing the card itself, but i can't resist the outcome - hopefully they each go to people that appreciate the hand-made card!!

here is a really bad picture *but i was in a hurry to do the post* of the re-usable quart size ziploc bag i designed. Hopefully you can see the very cool pirate print that i'm hoping makes it too cool for austin to resist taking in his lunch this year! It has a fold down flap with velcro securing it and a waterproof liner. This one is great for chips or larger snacks...i'm going to make a *sandwich* size for sandwiches and maybe a couple snack sizes for apples, grapes, etc. I figure that at $2.00 + / box of plastic sandwich bags I should be saving about $80 a year by using these : ) I finally talked doug into 'testing' it with his lunch yesterday....the chips were gone, and he *did* bring it back home to me, but i wonder if he ate lunch by himself in a dark closet so no-one could see what his nerdy wife sent his lunch in....hee hee! it's all part of saving the earth and recession-proofing our lives!

Last, but not least, are these precious babies....they are on the top of my priority list, although I enjoy sewing them as much as anything else. So, I had to get to a certain step in the diapers in order to work on other project. If you haven't checked them out yet, you must do so at OBB diapers - click on hyena cart to check the in-stock diapers, all hand-sewn by yours truly....

**Then of course lots of pool time in this really warm weather - today the pool water was 96-98 degrees - so warm! **

Tyler wearing the finished cloth diaper - i tried to get him to stand up but he wasn't cooperating! aren't they adorable?

Austin practicing moves on his new boogie board!

That is it for now...I'm excited to start on a new quilt design hopefully the end of this week or beginning of next...i'm feeling more motivated to quilt than i have for a long time - better soak it up!

Sara

Ever fallen in love....

with someone you'd never met and didn't really even know? Well, i have, just 2 days ago and now i'm addicted to this 8 month old, sweet little boy. I've added a link to my blog on the left-hand side and it says "pray for stellan". to read about his story and struggle with SVT click here - the blogging mama and photographer has an amazing blog and you will get to read about stellan's condition. He has been in the hospital the last week and for 3 days his heartbeat was racing at over 230 beats per minute. This baby has been through hell the last few days and the family is asking for prayers for wisdom for the doctors and family, for his heart to come out of svt, and hope. They also courageously, in this time of fear, ask you to donate to other causes, pray for all the babies in PICU or NICU ...all of the things we fail to think about when our own families are so healthy. They are currently contemplating a air transport to Boston for a possible ablation which could result in a permenant, 100% pace-maker for this sweet 8-month old baby. All of the details are further explained on her site. You can follow detailed updates on her Twitter account here. The story is very moving - I kept feeling the need to post about and continue stretching the prayer chain.....what can i say - i fell in love.

the Beach!!!

Austin patiently waiting for us as we drag his brother up the beach..

Some major eye candy today! Last week we went to the beach - very early one morning - around 7:00 am - low tide to look for shells. I think we hit the wrong beach because we didn't find anything spectacular, but we got some great pictures - and in the end - that is all that matters!

sandy toes and feet!

Ty-bear is pouting because he is tired and doesn't want to walk anymore so he just plopped down and threw a fit - gotta love those terrible 2's...

mr. determined

hunting for food

Mr. Crabs-- we thought it was a shell and dug this out instead!

running on the beach - low tide is great - everything is packed down!

austin and mommy!

ready to hunt shells!

another foggy picture! the lens fogged up when i took the cap off because of the cool weather so early! it made for a nice mask!

We are going to try shelling again this week (wed. or thurs.) and hit sanibel island - hope to get up and around a little earlier and find some better shells....i'll keep you posted!!

oh no - waterfall in the foyer!

well it was a peaceful afternoon - baby sleeping and I was doing some work on the computer while austin was playing and then I hear this splashing sound coming from the foyer area...i looked at Austin and said "what is that?" and run into the entryway - there is water pouring out of the can lighting and the smoke alarm?!? omg, right? In a slight panic I stand there dumbfounded then throw down a *clean* beach towel and run to the phone to call my husband...

He of course can't comprehend what i'm talking about at first...then he says - don't worry I'll be right home. in the meantime I find a small trash can and start collecting over a gallon of water and put all 4 *clean* beach towels down! Finally, after about 20 minutes the rain, i mean leak, stops.

Now...we are on the first floor of a condo / coach home. There are 4 college boys that live above us...we ring their doorbell (3 times) and they finally answer and act like they cannot even understand the words that are coming out of our mouths!

the conversation went something like this:
"uh, dude, we like just got home, I don't know if anything is leaking....or overflowing....um - do you want us to like go check or something and let you know??" How do you keep from responding something such as "No, you moron, move over and I will come in and check for myself!?" We suggest - did someone just take a shower or did you possibly have a keg, I mean toilet, overflow? their response: "um, i'm not sure, i just got home"

okay this conversation is obviously going nowhere....fyi: we are calling the association and they may be knocking on your door to check your shower drain!

fast forward 40 minutes, the fire / water restoration team is here -- the wall is obviously damp, hence the water spot on the wall as well as the ceiling - so I get 2 drying fans and a dehumidifier...it is yet to be determined if the drywall will need replaced.

Oh yeah and I'm supposed to hang out and wait for the frat boys to take another shower to determine the source of this leak....

fun times for sure!

Going to the Beach!!

Just finished up the new beach bag! I have been using an old diaper bag to take to the pool / beach and it just isn't big enough for 2-3 towels, pool toys, goggles, snacks and drinks. Plus it was a little frumpy looking....thought I would use this awesome bright yellow waterproof fabric for the liner and dress it up a bit on the outside - it is seriously enormous!!

the hanging view!

the side view

the front view!

I took this last picture because i know it's hard to determine dimensions by looking at it on the floor...so I tried to show it in proportion to me - it is HUGE!!! Beach: here we come!!! I can't wait to use it!!!