Halloween Flinstone Costumes

I am quite proud of these.  I made them all by myself.  Well, my Mom sewed BamBam's shorts, but I did the rest.  So much fun.  My Sweet Pea actually understood what we do on Halloween.  It took a couple of houses, but soon she didn't want to stop.  It was a great night.

Employment Changes

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. I'm thinking that I'm in denial about the situation. Or maybe I really am just fine with everything. Maybe I just knew it was time for a change.

I am, of course, talking about our recent increase in bills (thanks to another vehicle, and the new baby bills), the Hubby being laid off, and our moving back into my parents basement. So, between looking for a new job and packing for the move I haven't had time to panic. Maybe that's a good thing. I think it helped me stay out of my Hubby's way while he searched for new employment.

Of which, we are truly blessed to have him be offered a job. It will definitely be an adjustment, but I think it will all be okay. I hope it will all be okay.

Going Green Confessions

I'm all about going green. I would rather pay my bills online. I would rather get all my coupons online. I obviously like to keep up with friends and family online. However, when it comes to shopping, I don't really like to do it online. My sweet Hubby thinks I'm a little funny because he would rather do it online.

I want to go to the store, touch, feel, and smell what I'm buying. And then I want the instant gratification of bringing whatever I just spent money on home. I want it right now! (This is the brat in me) Then to add to it. I would rather spend hours looking at catalogs than staring at my computer screen.

So, here is my Going Green Confession. I get catalogs and LOVE them. I LOVE junk mail too. (my advertising Hubby thinks this is crazy too) I want to read the adds. See the specials and I want it in my hands. Not on my computer screen. It's just not the same joy when it's glowing at me.

I guess, if anyone knows of an easy, cheap way to recycle my catalogs here in Utah, that information would be greatly appreciated. Then maybe I won't feel too terrible about my obsession.

Family Stay-ca-tion Day 2: This Is The Place Heritage Park

Our stay-ca-tion Day #2 started out with us driving up to This is The Place. We got up there by 9:30 am. The park hours are 9-5; however, you do NOT need to be there by 9 am. None of the building tours or activities open until 10 am. (They do not mention this on the website)

Monument just outside the visitor center.
We got there and immediately rode the train around the whole park. Sweet Pea LOVED the train. It was nice to see everything in the park so we could figure out what we wanted to do first. We got off the train back at the front gate and walked up main street. We stopped at one of the houses to take a look and noticed that in the backyard they were doing some chores and playing some games.
Sweet Pea got to scrub some laundry and then go hang it up. She thought it was pretty fun.
She also got to race these wooden bears up the wall with string. (I didn't get a picture) And my pregnant self decided that I could do the stilts.

See, this fat Mamma can get up on stilts WITH a backpack on.

We walked farther up the road and found the craft center. Sweet Pea got to color a boat, a paddle to match, a pin-wheel, and got a coloring book. They only had felt pens, so she learned all about how easy they write and all about the lids. Her favorite part was putting the lids back on the felt pens. (I love that she holds her pen correctly. She is so observant.)
We walked up the street and saw the Mountain Man. He was kind of funny and a lot interesting, but could talk your ear off. The ONLY person in the park who could. NO ONE else seemed to want to tell us anything. They just spent their time talking to the other workers at their station. It was pretty annoying.

We saw the Barber Shop. Maybe would have been cooler if he told us anything. Everywhere we went they would say, "let us know if you have any questions." How am I supposed to have any questions when it just looks like old stuff to me. I don't know if there is anything cool about it. JUST TELL ME!

We went around the corner to the Leather Shop (?). They gave us a piece of leather that we could take outside and pound little prints into. It was fun for Sweet Pea to pretend to use the hammer and she LOVED telling us what the prints were. I did all the pounding. It's harder than it looks. Here they gave us the leather like we should know what to do with it. I just looked at the guy strangely and said, "what am I supposed to do with it?" I was really disappointed with the workers at the park.


There was a little skit they put on later in the morning. They arrested the man selling his fake tonics. It was fun. Sweet Pea kept her attention on what was going on really well. But the gun shots were NOT fun for her.

There was a mini town that we didn't have time to go to. (walking around this park took longer than I thought it would) We also didn't get to see the tour of the cabins. I would really like to do both of those. OH, and the quilt exhibit. I didn't get to see that. Sad day. But it didn't open until the afternoon. (nap time)

The most information we received about pioneers and other things about the park was from the tour of Brigham Young's Farm House and the train ride at the beginning of the day. Brigham Young's house tour is interesting, but NOT for kids. The older couple doing the tour tended to talk a whole lot and the kids don't care. A little too long. We had to cut our tour short and leave the group. Make sure that you ride the train more than once. Make sure you have a different conductor than the first time. You will get different information. That was nice.

You need a whole day to go through the park with kids. We will have to go back to see some of the things we missed.

We finished our stay-ca-tion day #2 with my Hubby's soccer game. It was blasted hot, but we went out to cheer for Daddy anyway. Sweet Pea with her books:
And snacks, bubbles, toys, water, and not enough to keep her entertained for 2 hours. I will have to come up with some other ideas before the next game.

My wonderful Hubby:

Toddler Jean Skirt

I have been having a really hard time finding a cute 4th of July Outfit for my Sweet Pea. You know, one that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg. So, I decided that I would try to make my own. WITHOUT A PATTERN!! I have never sewn clothing in my life. (aside from trying to do my witch costume last year. It's still not finished) AND I used an old pair of my jeans and pajamas to do it.

Here is what I came up with:

A cute little jean skirt with blue and red ruffles on the bottom.


And she loves it. She just wanted to wear it all afternoon.

Eye Spy Book Finished!!

I know it's taken me FOREVER to get this finished! But I have been forbidden by my Hubby to start any more crafty things until everything else is finished. So, I hunted around my house to find things to put into the Eye Spy Bag. I found some great buttons, pompom, stars, and other things. I think it worked out great.

Here it is:
The little tag is there so I can attach a laminated list of what is in the bag to spy. Yea for completing crafts.

Oh, and I made this out of an old shirt that my Hubby absolutely LOVED when we were dating. I LOVE reusing old clothes for new things

Eye Spy Bag Preview

Here is the Eye Spy Bag that I was working on. I have it all put together. I have the filling. I just don't have all the little things to "spy" in the bag.
What would you put in it?

Quiet Book Preview

Since it's taking me so long to get this thing finished and I just haven't been able to get back to it in a few weeks, here is what I've done so far:


Pages 1 & 2:

Page 1 is a beach ball with stars, circles and hearts that you can shake.
Page 2 is a pair of shoes where my little ones can thread the laces (not there yet) and practice tying their shoes.

Pages 3&4:

Page 3 is a set of pockets with snaps. They can practice doing snaps. (I haven't decided what to put in them yet. ideas?)
Page 4 is 4 hearts that flip open. I am going to place a picture of each member of our family in each heart.

Pages 5&6:

Page 5 is an apple tree. The apples velcro to the tree.
Page 6 is a pond with 6 Ducks. (I think it's a little bare, but I didn't know what else to add)

Pages 7&8:

Page 7 is a set of balloons. They all velcro to the sky, but are still attached to the book so they don't get lost. (Sweet Pea HATES that they don't come off the page)
Page 8 is Stars.


Page 9:

Page 9 is a bunch of flowers with buttons as their centers. Three of the flowers come off. They attach by the buttons, so Sweet Pea and Green Bean can practice doing their buttons.


I haven't decided what I'm going to do for the Cover of my book. We'll just have to see. I have also not decided how to bind the book. Ideas?

Embellished Baby Burp Cloths

I have been trying to get through some of my never ending scraps and thought that embellishing some burp rags would be cute for my Green Bean when he gets here. Here are a couple that I did:


Easy-peasy and now they aren't boring.

Sickness and Sewing

There is one good thing about my little Sweet Pea being sick this week. I got to do some sewing!

Now you know about my sewing machine having struggles with its tension, but what you don't know is that the lack of tension in the thread is just rebellion spurting out from my machine. My machine is a jealous machine. I don't have the extra money to go get my machine serviced, so I borrowed my moms machine. We brought it to my house and as I was cleaning up around my machine, I figured that I would try it one more time before I took it down and put up my moms. IT WORKED. Just fine. Like there had never been anything wrong. It didn't want me to use another machine, I just know it.

Anyway, I finished all the pages for my quiet book. Now I just have to bind them. You WILL get pictures soon. I also embellished some burp rags. And I sewed my Eye Spy Bag together. I haven't filled it yet. I don't know what to have her spy.

Any Suggestions?

Sewing Machine Problems

All of a sudden my sewing machine (in the middle of my project) decided to have the tension spaz out. And my thread isn't pulling tight anymore. I didn't move/change one thing. So frustrating. I tried to adjust the tension, but nothing worked.

I'm sure that my lack of sewing knowledge doesn't help my situation. I wish that I knew how to fix it so that I could finish my Amazing Quiet Book.

Anyone know where to go to get it looked at? I have zero idea. HELP.

My Quiet Creation in Progress

I'm not apologizing for not being here. I have been working on something that I think is going spectacularly. I am making a quiet book for my little ones. It is taking longer than I thought and my computer is currently buried under fabric and buttons and scissors and who knows what else. So, I just don't get to it. (not posting from my own computer)

You don't get to see any pictures yet. (mostly because I haven't taken any) But you will when it's all finished. I'm really excited. I designed it myself and am pretty proud of it. Hopefully it will be finished in a couple of days. They are harder to create than I originally thought.

Sorry, you have to wait in suspense. But it will be worth the wait. I promise.

A Pregnant Mother's Biggest Fear

I have decided that Pregnancy is no time to have a toddler around. Let me explain. I always wanted to have kids that ate healthy foods of all sorts and were the ones that were screaming and yelling in the supermarket for the asparagus. However, with pregnancy those dreams get tossed out the window.

Unless I got no cravings through my whole pregnancy, this is NOT possible. When all I want to eat is french fries, potatoe chips, burgers, pies, and cake, there is just no possible way to teach my Sweet Pea to like anything but what I'm eating. I mean, when I crave Wendy's and my Hubby walks in with the bag, she knows exactly what is inside. And she screams and yells for the french fries before I even get the bag opened.

Then I have visions of my child being 18 and on Biggest Loser. Of course, with me by her side. Her blaming me for all her obesity and the many other emotional problems that come along with it.

Is there any light at the end of this fat encrusted tunnel?

Friday Confessional

I do exhaustingly comfess:

• I love Christmas
• which means that I am filling my 10 month old full of carols and Christmas movies.
• yeah, I know. She shouldn't be watching so much television and neither should I
• BUT I just can't help it at Christmas.
  
• I don't want to miss one of my favorite shows. (The American Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Prancer, Once Magic Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol, etc.)
  
• there are just so many.
• my house is still not unpacked from our move 4 weeks ago. (I blame the carpets and the walls)
• I have done NO Christmas shopping.
• I'm not one that has all the Christmas shopping done by June,
• BUT I usually have it don't by this week.
• UH-OH!
• Good thing we are leaving for vacation in a week.
  
• Crap!
• My tree is up.
• I get points for that, Right?
• I'm not enjoying my Christmas as much as I would like to be
• We haven't done any of the things we normally do at Christmas time
• Bake, visit Temple Square, see The Forgotten Carols, walk around the neighborhood to see all the lights. (you put yours up right?)
• The year has gone by so quickly and the Christmas season is no exception.

How has your Christmas been so far?

Friday Confessional with Glamazon

I sleepily confess:

• my Sweet Pea is NOT sleeping through the night
• I HATE teething
• keep in mind, this is teething along with Mama Sickness
• UGH!
• I let her scream for 2.5 hours last night before I finally gave in and put her in bed with us
• which means
• I got NO sleep
• losing weight is non-existent in my house
• this frustrates me more than anything
• all I want is to fit into my clothes again
• is that really too much to ask?
• speaking of too much to ask for,
• a clean house
• one that is simple, clean,
  
• matching furniture,
• smells good,
• cleans itself.
• Wouldn't that be nice?
• A house to clean itself
• Magic
• I think the cold weather is getting to me
• There isn't enough sunshine
• Maybe it's just the basement apartment
• I'm so glad it's Friday
• Friday means,
• help for the next 2 days.
• Halleluia
  

Fabric Ball

I wanted to make a fabric ball to match the fabric block I made for my little Sweet Pea. So, I found some old clothes in colors that I liked and began cutting.
Then I sewed all the pieces together.

And then I stuffed the ball. I stuffed it with pieces of batting. (it took a while to cut it up) It's a little lumpier than I would have liked, but it's soft and she loves it.

Friday Confessional

I do proudly confess:

• I'm addicted to Food Network
• I love it!
• the Challenges especially

• who knew you could make cakes that were over 4 feet tall?
• I secretly pretend to be a master chef in my own kitchen
• playing with this seasoning and that seasoning
• it all tastes good in the end (most of the time)
• what am I talking about?
• I AM a Master Chef in my own kitchen
• no pretending here
• it's been a struggle to find my favorite recipes in dairy free
• finding substitutes for all of the milk ingredients
• really hard
• I'm still looking for a bunch of them
• if you know of any, could you help me out?
• Thanks

Link up, it's fun

Friday Confessional

• this is the first summer that I'm glad to see go.
• I cleaned my bathroom for the first time since I moved in
• I would rather sell everything in my house than clean it
• want any of my stuff?
• I took my 6 month old out into the terrible rain storm yesterday
• And
• She LOVED it!!
  
• I really enjoy making those hair flowers
• do you think I could sell them?
• What did you think about the ones I made.
• I probably needed better pictures
• I crochet, quilt, make bags, and hair flower clippies
• I should probably do a give away
• YES?
• NO?
• I have owned a magic bullet for 7 months and never even pulled it out of the box
• I don't have plans for the weekend
• Isn't it wonderful to have nothing sometimes?
• Now that my confessional is becoming a one-sided conversation
• I'll stop.

Go link up. Join in the confessions. Please leave me a comment letting me know you posted too. I want to come see. Thanks

The Fixer-Upper Fixed

I finished my work in saving my favorite blanket. The BEFORE pictures are HERE.

I did move to using a sewing machine to put the patches on, instead of hand-stitching them. (I don't know what I was thinking. I was on the edge of the big blanket, my machine would work great)


The largest block that was fraying all over.


A little triangle of lost hope, renewed.

It's a Fixer Upper

I have a favorite quilt from when I was a kid. (I still feel like one by the way) This quilt was given to my parents for their wedding. It was hand quilted. However, it is now wearing completely through. It's so sad. So I'm going to patch it up. I have no idea how one should go about this and I'm probably going to be doing it the hard way, but I'm doing it anyway.


All the fabric wearing through.


I'm adding batting under the new pieces of fabric and hand stitching them onto the old blanket.

I will take pictures for you to see how it goes.