Sunday, March 25, 2012

Lately......

I wake up to this little man every morning. Happy smiling & ready for adventure! He's learning to unzip his pajamas. Very pleased with himself too in case you couldn't tell. This morning I walked in his room & what should I see but a cute little boy sitting & jibbering away when all the sudden he opens up his jammie shirt super fast & shows his chest, lol! I couldn't help but laugh & laugh! He knew he was being funny too! He's such a happy little guy that sometimes he will wake up in the middle of the night & laugh for a few minutes while he babbles about something & then fall back to sleep. I love it & I love him more than I can even put into words.

I had a chance to buy a huge amount of vintage Fisher Price toys this past week. I found them on Craigslist & when I called Tim (the Fisher Price guy) he already had someone coming to look at them. They were a little more than I could afford to spend by myself. So I told my neighbor about the deal & she was interested in splitting them if I could get them. He had some things that I wanted & some things she had been looking for also. However things fell through & I was heartbroken. Tim, the Fisher Price guy, knew I really wanted them but his brother had come over to his house after I called & freaked out when he found out he was selling them. Tim told me he'd try to convince his brother to change his mind & I told him to call me.....even if it was 6 months down the road. We really wanted these toys. I know they are just toys but I've been trying to find some of them for years. Years! So you can imagine my surprise when Tim called me a few days later to ask if we still wanted to come & pick the toys up. I went while the kids were taking naps. Tim ended up being the nicest guy. He works for ADT security, so if you ever are in need of a security system in your home let me know, I'll send you his number. Nicest guy ever & I'm not just saying that because we got they toys :) He was glad the toys were going to a good home.

His mom had taken impeccable care of all of them. She even saved pieces of some of the boxes. The lithographs had come off of the airport but she had saved them & I was able to place them all back on. It looks amazing. Melanie & I had a fun time splitting the toys up. I wanted to make sure she felt everything was fair even though I feel I ended up with a little more than she did. Mostly due to the size of some of the vintage trucks I picked for Oblio. She didn't want the trucks (my Oblio loves them!) I did pout a little over a gurney & the hospital scale, lol, & she let me keep them even though she picked the hospital. I told her I'd make her little E. a baby doll blankie in exchange. It all was so silly & it made me feel like I was a kid again. The girls spent the better part of the weekend playing with all of their "new" toys. I'm already on the lookout for other Fisher Price things to add to our slowly growing town. Right now everything sits in neat little rows on top of our piano & computer desk. Ready to play with whenever they want. Eventually the toys will find a home on our bookshelves when they finally get built (hopefully sooner than later ;). 

Sweet little Sloan is almost off her crutches. She still needs them every once in a while but is trying to walk on her foot as much as she is able. She still has a couple of weeks left before the pain will completely go away but we are thankful she didn't break it. She's growing up so quickly! I've promised to show her how to shave her legs this week. Shhhhhh! Don't tell her I told you ;) I'm in a bittersweet stage with her right now. That in between stage, but we are finding our way. Sometimes she needs me, sometimes she doesn't. So the times that she comes to me to talk or confide I hold on & really try to listen. It's a new path for me as a parent. A road I've never gone down before & I often feel a little out of sorts, but I feel like we are setting the stones on this new path together. Sometimes I trip, sometimes she stumbles but more or less we are figuring it out together. We're paving the way for her sisters & eventually her brother. This path is such an important one. It's what will take her & them to all thier new adventures later on in life. My job is to make sure I help her set the stones properly & then we maintain it together. By doing these things my hope is they will have a smoother journey along the way. I have so much to learn as a parent but I couldn't think of a better preteen to do it with. She is so brave & confident. I'm so blessed to be her momma!

We planted our potatoes! Also planted the onions & peas. Really working hard on getting things going this year in our garden. The greenhouse is full of Kale & spinach, lettuce & onions. We have been able to have fresh salads from it all winter long! 


The girls love helping this year too. They are really starting to understand how things grow & how this all works. We are trying to get everything dialed in so we can get bees this year too. Dean & I spent the better part of Saturday taking down half of the carport near our garden. We never used it & now we have so much more room to get some more beds started. It felt so good to get outside & get my hands dirty. I even got a little sunburn on my shoulders & cheeks. The fresh air did me good this weekend. I'm thinking that I may try to work out in the yard a little each day when Dean is at work. He was so happy that I helped him. I know it motivates him to get things done when I take an interest in the projects he's working on. I've just got to find a way to balance it all. There are so many things I want to do & never enough hours in the day. I'm sure I'll find a way though. Three more weeks til school starts again & I want to fit as much fun in as possible!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Happy Tuesday!


No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Little Oblio & I went to Carson City yesterday. It was a good visit with a specialist. They ruled out any neurological problems. So grateful for that. We were pretty sure that that would be her conclusion but it was comforting hearing it from her. So we'll just keep moving forward with the OT & PT. We all will keep working with him too. It really is making a difference. Sometimes it's as simple as not helping him. Allowing him to try to do things himself. When he starts to get a little frustrated I step in. It's really amazing what happens when you step back & really watch & listen to your children. Some days I'm a little more "in tune" with them than others, but the days that I am our whole house feels more calm & things run more smoothly. When I'm in tune with our kids I feel closer to them. I'm starting to notice a real change in our mommy child relationships to. They come to me more, our talks are more meaningful & real. I feel like I'm gaining their trust. As hard as all of this has been with Oblio having some developmental setbacks I am really trying to take this situation and learn from it. Some real blessings have come from it & for that I am very grateful. We have a long road ahead of us but I know everything is going to be okay.

Basted & ready to quilt

::UPDATE::
This seems to be the most pinned of all my quilts on Pinterest. So if you are visiting for the first time, hello! This is my own pattern but nothing fancy. I took a jellyroll & used it to make a giant log cabin quilt. This is just a pic of the before. You can see the finished quilt ::here:: Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again :)

The kids have officially tracked off! Woohoo! This week I plan on letting the kids sleep in as much as they want, letting them play as late as they like & just kind of unwinding. We've watched more Dora in the last few days than I care to admit. The weather over the last few days has been a little soggy & down right chilly. I don't blame them for wanting to stay inside and snuggle on the sofa. I've got a pile of projects sitting on the table ready to sew. Yesterday I picked up more batting so I could finish the back on my tumbler quilt & get it basted later tonight. I'm getting so close to being caught up on my sewing list. Best feeling ever! Well I'm off to make lunch & then get a little sewing in during nap time. Happy Tuesday!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Hand Quilting & Vintage Finds

Little Oblio playing with our "new" Fisher Price toys


I thought I'd share my AWESOME vintage find that I scored at a yard sale last week. I saw it in a yard sale ad on Craigslist on Thursday night & about had a heart attack. I honestly had a hard time sleeping that night (I'm a total dork) I was worried I wouldn't get there in time to get it! I've been looking for one for YEARS! YEARS!!!! Friday morning I set my alarm early & arrived just a few minutes after the yard sale started. I tried to act like I was looking around but really couldn't help myself. I headed right for the school house. I was so happy that I got it! The lady was kind of laughing at me because I told her how happy I was & reminded her of the lunchbox I had bought from her last year. Yes I love vintage toys & lunchboxes. I told you I was a dork! I've been watching this school house on EBay for a couple years now & the bids always go too high. Finding vintage Fisher Price toys is hard & to find them in good condition is even harder. This one was in really great condition. All of it was pretty dirty but wiped up well & it now sits on top of our piano until the bookshelves are built. The girls can play with it anytime they want. Omri really loves the mini bus. I got everything pictured above for $22! A steal!

I finished basting Omri's quilt & started hand quilting it. My sweet friend Christi let me borrow one of her quilting hoops when my tiny one just wasn't cutting it. I'm on the lookout for a big one (like in the picture above) but haven't found just what I need yet. I'm heading to Carson City next week & hope I can find one while I'm there. If not I'll be buying one online. Hand quilting is such a slow process but I'm really enjoying it.

There is something so calming about the whole process. I'm working on this every night when Dean & I watch TV or a movie. I also take it with me wherever I go. That way I can work on it in any quiet moments that come along during my day. Those quiet moments are rare but do happen & even if I only get a row of stitches in, I'm that much closer to being done :)

I'm linking up to Amy's Sew & Tell Friday. Hop on over & take a look at all the awesome projects people have posted & if you are stopping by for the first time please leave a comment so I can come & say hello :)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Race Car Quilt Top

 I'm overwhelmed at the sweet comments I received on my last post! Thank you so much for all of your kind words about my first quilts. Thank you Amy for sending some bloggy love my way ;) I've been working on this little embroidery project in the evenings & while at Dr.'s offices with Sloan. I finished it up the other night but haven't had a chance to take pictures until today. 

It's super wonky & I'm sure any seasoned embroidery enthusiast would giggle at my attempt but that's okay. It's kinda crooked & honestly only the second time I've ever done something like this. I sketched out my idea with Tailor chalk (it will wash off in the washer) & then picked out floss that I thought would go well with the vintage fabrics. It's totally cheesy but looks pretty close to the little race car drivers in the fabric. Seriously, even his name is crooked but I'm leaving it. It adds character, right?

Here it is all ready to quilt. I've decided to hand quilt this one. I've never hand quilted before so I'm pretty excited to learn. Since this is smaller quilt I think it is the perfect size to learn on too. I'll be working on it in the evenings & also adding a back to the giant log cabin quilt I made months & months ago. I'd love to hear what you are working on too. Please don't be shy.

Monday, March 5, 2012

My First 2 Quilts! (Scottie Dog Quilts)

Here are the fronts & they are both the same size but the wind was blowing like crazy so the right one looks a little smaller.

When I took a picture of the backs this nice young man came by & held it down. You can't see it but my sister & two other girls that were walking by are holding up the quilts up top. I'm glad I got pics of them down town because they are HUGE! It was way too bright for photos but it give you a chance to see just how large they are. 

 Quilting these tops took me FOREVER (to be said in the voice of that kid from the Sand Lot movie) & I'd be lying if halfway through the whole process I wasn't quite sure I'd made the right decision about how I chose to quilt them. 

Once I washed them they came out of the dryer with so much crinkly goodness. I knew I'd made the right choice. I was a little nervous putting them in the wash. I'd put so much sweat & tears into them. What if they fell apart!?!? 

Thankfully they didn't, lol & I am so very happy with how they turned out. I'm hoping that my sweet friend is just as happy.

Even if it did take almost a year to finish them ;)