Look How Chubby my Boy is Getting :)

My Free-Motion Needs Work

I made this quilted pillow for my rocking chair. Partly because I could use some lumbar support while rocking Kelby, partly because I love these fabrics so much, that they just had to make their way into my living room somehow and partly because I needed to practice free motion on something small. I did get better as I went along, but I have a hard time keeping the stitches even. Not too bad, though and I do really like it a lot.
We had such a good day yesterday. Wednesdays are long, since Casey doesn't come home at all between school and work and he has the car, so some days everyone melts down by the afternoon. But, yesterday was a gift. I made the girls a "picnic snack" in the living room mid-morning, while they watched Tarzan (I love that movie!) and they thought it was super cool. (Quick tip--kids think anything in a muffin tin is cool.) After naptime, the girls played in the back with the leaves until dinner and even after dinner until bedtime. All while Kelby slept the day away and I made a pillow :) and cleaned the house and sorted and changed out the seasons of all the kids' clothes. I tell ya, if I don't stay on top of the clothes, they can easily take over the house. Hope your day was just as great!

Done!

I finished my color wheel quilt!!! Finally. This is the smallest quilt I've made, but it managed to take the longest. I wish I knew how to take better pictures of finished quilts, because they always look so much better in person. Well, it's beautiful and I love it. It's going on my wall, even though it's way huger than I thought it would be. (I do know that "huger" is not actually a word.)

I'm going to give my blog a make over today. New banner and everything, it will be fun. Oh, and the soda-quitting is going great. It's been a week and I really don't miss it as much as I thought I would. The bag of sugar visual really helps. And guess who's quitting with me??? CASEY! Anyone who knows him understands why this is a big deal, since he's been a Pepsi-holic ever since I've known him. It's a little harder for him, since he doesn't like coffee and because he's out all the time and has lots of opportunities to get Pepsi, whereas I'm home and it's less tempting here to put all the kids in the car just for a Dr. Pepper!

Welcome, Fall!

Ah, I'm so happy it's Fall. Fall is my absolute favorite. And I'm happy it came on time this year, since it seemed so short the last couple of years. We live in a very campy-looking neighborhood with a ton of old trees so it looks amazing here in the Fall when all the leaves are all yellow and everywhere. Love it. I made this little pin cushion today. Actually it's not little, it's pretty huge for a pin cushion, but I'm in love with it. I got the pattern from the Spring issue of Quilts & More magazine. It's an Anna Maria Horner pattern and I used Sandi Henderson Fabrics, which I ordered online from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. (VERY fast delivery, a sister in Christ and a fellow Coloradan! I'm happy to support her business when I can.) Whew, was that enough links for you? OK, gotta go change a diaper...or two :)

Ima Dorable

For some reason, I can't manage to take a decent picture today, but OH WELL. This is a dress I made for Natalie a few weeks ago when the weather started to get cooler, but after that it really warmed up again, so she hasn't worn it to church yet. When she does, I'll try to get a better picture of her actually in it. This pic just doesn't do it justice because it's made out of the sweetest, softest brown corduroy with little pink roses. It had a big bow on the front, but when she put it on, it really weighed the whole front down and looked silly, so I had to take it off. My mom also made her some adorable corduroy skirts for Fall so maybe we'll have to stage a little fashion show and post pictures of her wearing them all. She would love that, I'm sure :)
Here's a picture of Kelby in his sling, which I can't seem to say enough good things about. I took him to church in it last Sunday and he was great the whole time. He really hates his car seat, which all my kids have, but he seems to have an even bigger aversion to it than the girls did. Another reason I love the sling!
Finally, this picture may seem a weird thing to post, but it's a really cool visual. This is seventeen teaspoons of sugar--the amount of pure sugar in a 20 oz. soda!!!!!!!! I have had success quitting soda in the past, but it's always been temporary and I would like to give it another shot. I'm drinking some coffee every day, though, because having a newborn, this is not a good time to give up the caffeine altogether, if ya know what I mean! Anyone want to join me?

Note Taker

My mom bought this Note Taker pattern for me from Pink Chalk Studio's online shop and when Julie gave me this amazing Japanese linen as a sort of "baby gift", I knew they were meant to go together :) This went together really quickly--one day for me and I have a newborn! The pattern was super easy to use and although I hate sewing with Peltex, this actually didn't give me any trouble at all. I did find that I didn't need near as much fabric as the pattern recommends, but that's actually a good thing. This made me want to make some more for gifts and maybe try the big size too! It's been a little tough keeping the girls' little paws off it so maybe I'll have to make them their own eventually. Maybe with a divided pocket on the left to hold colored pencils? Hmmmm.

We Miss You Already!

My mom went back home to Mongolia on Sunday, so the kiddos and I are flying solo once again. It's been SO wonderful having her here to help and keep me company. And cook dinner. And do laundry. And on and on :) Thanks for everything, Mom!

Casey is gone all day on Mondays and Wednesdays so those are my longest days--plus he has the car, so I'm sort of stuck here. I do love my sling, but taking long walks with it on eventually makes my back hurt so I can't really walk anywhere close by unless Natalie can walk by herself. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow. Yesterday our power went out, right at what Mom calls, "The Magic Hour," when all the kids tend to be cranky and extra-needy while you're trying to make dinner. Usually that's when we watch some cartoons, but that's not possible with no power and Kelby was so fussy and tired so last night we had fruit smoothies and peanut butter toast for dinner. Classy, huh? I marvel at moms like Soule Mama and Let's Explore because I don't understand how they manage all these cool kid projects with really little kids. I would like to know. Just going outside to sit on a blanket is so much work with the ages my little ones are!

An another subject, did anyone watch the new season of Dancing with the Stars last night? I was surprised, but glad that one of the judges told Susan Lucci (of Soap Opera fame) that she may want to put on some weight because she looked pretty frail out there! Seriously, her ribcage was showing through her back. I think my favorites so far are Lacey and What's-His-Name from N Sync. But I liked her on So You Think You Can Dance a couple of seasons ago too.

Even though Kelby was pretty fussy yesterday, I managed to get something made so I'll share that tomorrow. It's pretty cool. And, tonight, I'm going to try this recipe for White Chicken Chili.
I cooked a bunch of chicken on my crock pot yesterday and shredded it for the freezer to have on hand. I'll let you know how the chili turns out.

More Big Girl Stuff

So Natalie went to Awana tonight! Yay! Aunt Teddi and Uncle Mike called a few weeks ago and asked if they could start picking her up and taking her to Awana at our church on Sunday nights. I was concerned that she wouldn't want to go somewhere without me or Casey or Layla, but I asked her this morning and she seemed excited to go, so off she went. No missing me or anything! She's such a big girl and I was missing her way too much while she was gone! I'm glad we're planning on homeschooling, because you can imagine how I would handle the Kindergarten drop-off. Anyway, she came home quoting her first Bible memory verse and it is just so precious that I had to take a video of it to post here.

Also, just to prove that I have not forgotten about this color wheel quilt, I marked the quilting lines today! It really took all day because I did it in between rocking a baby, changing diapers, building tents, feeding kiddos, etc... This three little one thing sure eats into my sewing time ;) I have to get some batting for it, maybe Tuesday, so again, it's put on hold.

One more thing, totally unrelated. I got this baby sling with a baby gift card from Aunt Teddi and just have to do a little write-up about it because I think it's totally AWESOME. I have had two other slings and two front-pack carriers in the past and hated them all (with the exeption of the Baby Biorn I found at the consignment store, but even that has been tossed across the room once or twice for being such a puzzle to put on.) Anyway, this sling is not bulky like my others, so the baby doesn't drown in fabric, it fits in my diaper bag and doesn't make me sweat. It's easy to use and so comfortable and I just love it and so does Kelby. There ya go.