Lame.

Where have I been?

It's really lame...

Like really really lame.

Are you ready?

Ok, so... around the 12th of December or so somebody may or may not have

spilled coffee

on the computer keyboard.

(And lied about it...)

The bottom row of keys may have stopped working.

(It's basically impossible to do anything without the spacebar, FYI)

We may have put off buying another keyboard for no particular reason.

at.

all.

(Other than having to actually go to the store to purchase one... I guess. Lazy, I know.)

And that's about it.

Yup.

Super lame.

I was absent for 3 months because I spilled coffee on my keyboard and didn't buy another one.

My bad.

The good news is that I have been sewing like crazy since the coffee mishap!

I've got lots of projects to share!

I really want to give everything its rightful post... and I made a promise to myself that I won't try to cram the last 3 months into just a few posts.

Which I could totally do because I am SO PUMPED that my hubby brought home a keyboard today!

I could sit here for hours and just write the longest post known to man.

But I will spare you.

And it's kinda more fun to write lots of posts anyway.

More pictures...

And I'm just going to go ahead and claim this post as the

breaking-in-the-new-keyboard-and-getting-back-into-the-blogging-groove post.

Does that work for you?

It works for me...

Thanks for being patient!

I hope I didn't lose any readers because I appreciate every single one of you!

Stay tuned...

Four score and seven years ago...

I'm just kidding.

It was four years ago.

Not four score and seven years ago...

Four years ago I married my hunky husband.

Sure did.

I would have never guessed on that day that 4 years later I would be

a momma

to two beautiful little girls...

amazing.

Thanks to this guy:

I love him. Sure do.

Sometimes, it honestly feels like we've been

together

as far back as I can remember.

And then other times I can't believe that

4 years

managed to fly by so quickly.

It makes me want to savor every single little moment we share together...

Life is a crazy thing, I tell ya...

I always smile whenever I look back through our wedding pictures.

It was such a good day.

Not just a good day, but a goood day.

The kind of good that requires extra 'o's and italics and bold print.

And I will never say it was the best day.

Why?

Because that would be sad.

If the 'best' day of your life is the day you get married, you're totally missing the point.

Because if you do it right, every single day

-from that point forward-

is better than the last.

I should know.

I've have 4 whole years of better-than-yesterdays.

Expecting Baby #1

Hello Baby #1!

And if I said we didn't have some

ups and downs and twists and turns,

you would call me a liar because it would be a line of BS.

So I won't say it.

Because you'd be right.

I'd be a liar and it would be a total line of BS.

But I wouldn't change a thing.

Because it's the ups and downs- and how you handle them- that make you stronger.

And it's good to know that I'll always have my best friend right there with me.

No matter what.

Expecting Baby #2

Hello Baby #2!

I can't wait to see what the next 4 years has to offer.

And then the 4 after that, and the four after that....

Happy Anniversary to US!!

The Truth Is...

I've been writing posts in my head.

You see, according to me, I've been keeping up to date with all this blogging stuff.

I need to remember to actually write those mind-posts down so that I can look back and remember...

I write this blog more for me and for my kids and for my wanting to remember all the little stuff.

Willow the (grumpy) carpenter

I don't write a diary.

Although I do have about 15 really pretty ones with about one entry a piece.

I don't have baby books for the girl- soon to be girls- with an 's'.

I know. Weird.

Yeah, don't judge.

All of our pictures are on the computer,

and even though they are backed up,

there's just something about the possibility of losing them that makes

my heart race and my hands shake for just a split second.

And I'm sure my eyes get all wide and scared-looking.

She's dressing herself now... this is tame.

Back to the point... I'm realizing this is how I will keep memories.

I never thought I would be

or ever really even wanted to be a 'blogger'

- it just sounds so... dumb.

Really, it does.

Please don't ever call me that.

However, this is where I get to write, sound off, dish, express, show off, relate, and be me.

And those things are very important.

So, I think I last left off a while ago.

I was recuperating from my daughter.

Ha, that sounds so awful. But true. I really was.

It's been kind of surreal over here.

I can definitely feel a real change happening.

Winter has turned to Spring, although very briefly, and now we're heading into Summer.

I love Summer.

We are realizing that this family of 3 will become a family of 4 in just a matter of days...

We've known this for 9 months, but now it's just so immediate.

So about-to-happen-any-minute.

Rooms are being rearranged to accommodate a Big Sister and a new baby...

The nursery/big girl room is almost done and I can't wait to show pictures

(and brag about my good deals)

No. But really. I found a brand new crib for $29.99.

Not kidding.

And just wait to see what I did with the rest of the room...

Willow is all of a sudden changing from our baby into a little girl.

A girl.

It's this unexplainable transformation...

our little one is growing up just in time for us to add another little one.

Willow's cousin Peyton took this picture. I love it.

Amazing.

And she has a new morning ritual which seriously melts my heart every. single. time.

When the hubby leaves for work, she's right there, ready and waiting,

to chase him out the door so she can give him a

'car smooch'.

She's very particular about how it must go, and he knows exactly how it's supposed to work.

He has to get in the car,

she gets to shut the door for him,

then he has to start the car,

she bangs on the window,

he opens it,

and then she tippy-toes waaay up and he leans waaay out

and they smooch.

Sometimes once, sometimes 3 times.

It's usually Drew who asks for 'just one more time'.

And I get to watch all the magic from the front porch.

I get to see both their faces.

I'm pretty sure it's the best way to start the day in the whole world.

***

Oh, and there was somewhat of a family reunion this weekend on my hubby's side.

Remember Leesburg?

Well, it was kinda like that- but better.

They get better every time.

They really do.

The reason this time,

not that they really need one,

but we all got together for his Aunt Kris' wedding.

And then some.

It included:

Jammied, coffee-fueled mornings.

Way too many kids (and grown ups) on the 'Boing Boing'. (aka trampoline)

Impromptu dress-up sessions accompanied by mini concerts.

Patio talks.

In-depth, tear-streaked conversations.

"When did that happen?"s and "I can't believe it"s about all the beautiful young women that were just little girls last time around.

Lots of laughter.

Lots of love.

Tons of memories- old being relived and new ones being made.

Babies being passed from person to person.

Sharing birth stories.

Anticipating the arrival of new babies...

Oh, and a wedding!

I can't believe it all got smooshed into one weekend.

And since I barely took any pictures (I know- I'm so bummed)- I can just send you here.

And here.

And even here to check it all out.

Thankfully, Drew's cousin Kelle is an amazing photographer and captured every single little moment.

Every one.

I did manage to snap a few, however.

Willow and Peyton :)

And she got to meet her cousins... Lainey and Nella (above with Uncle Tim) for the first time.

They came all the way from Florida.

Willow asked me today if she could take Lainey and Nella to story time today, wearing tutus.

That girl loves her cousins.

Speaking of cousins, the Virginia family all got to meet Baby Gabey for the first time.

He's also known as Uncle Ferguson, Mr. Grunts, Cornelius, Eduardo Fiesta Montego, Creepy Snakes,

and basically any other name BUT his own.

It's this weird thing my hubby and his brother do.

They don't use anybody's real names.

It's very confusing to others, but I find it absolutely hilarious.

Uncle Graham (or Jan, Kelly, Linda, Remus, Darryl, Rita etc.)

has called Willow 'Edna Jo' since birth.

Pretty, right?

Oh, and Francis! He love to call her Francis as well.

And Drew is fond of calling her Fanny, Lady Fanny, Lady,

Ung Lady

(not to be confused with Young Lady- totally different)

Nugget, Silly, Silly Nugget, Chuchumunga, Chuchy... and the list just goes on and on. And on.

I've learned over the years, especially through family reunions, that it's a genetic disorder.

Everybody has a different name.

Even dogs.

Nobody's safe.

***

And last, but certainly not least, my sister Chloë is about to have her baby boy.

I mean, I don't want to jinx it, but her due date was Sunday, so what's there to lose at this point, right?

She's SO over being pregnant.

And SO ready to go into labor.

And SO hot in the 105 degree heat.

My mom's with her all the way in Texas.

And they're just waiting.

Catching up, having fun and waiting.

All without me.

Because I'm due in 16 days.

In typical Chloë fashion,

my sister warned me that if I had my baby before she had hers she would never let me live it down and would always hold it against me.

Forever.

And I totally believe her.

So I will do my best.

And I am SO tempted to show you a picture of her that she just sent me, 3 days overdue.

But I won't.

Because I'm a good sister and I don't want her to hold that against me either.

I'm Better.

Well, I'm glad I got that out of my system.

There's nothing like a sunny day, a midday nap and a late-night photo-editing session to cure a case of the blahs.

Am I right?

***

Today was great.

I absolutely love this picture. L-O-V-E-love-it.

The hubby took Willow out on the town so I could take a nap.

It was glorious.

(Naps are so underrated. SO.)

Apparently, he took her to Chuck E. Cheese's

- but he said there was a kid there who smelled like poo-

so they left and went to the park.

Daddy time is Daddy time, no matter what you're doing.

And Willow came back glowing... that's what counts.

***

The weather was nice and springy- finally.

So, of course we had to go and officially celebrate.

With ICE CREAM!!

Willow kept saying,

"I want sprinkles. You know, because it's Spring now. Springkles."

Man, I love her.

***

She's just getting so big...

so fast.

***

I got some more work done on the Big Girl Room/Nursery.

I can't wait to show some pictures.

Just to give you an idea of what we started with:

Yup.

Lots of work.

I've got lots and lots of before and after shots to show.

Oh, and I'm still under budget!!

Yaaaaay me!

***

I just went through and edited a bunch of pics from April,

including Easter,

which I just realized I never even posted about.

And to be quite honest, I may never get to an Easter post.

So, how about I just share my favorite pictures?

I think we all know what happened, right?

There were some Easter egg hunts:

Willow would find and egg, inspect its contents, and move on. Not the fastest egg hunter...

Favorite cousins:

Photo ops:

I also happen to adore this picture. It's like Big Version, Little Version.

And photo ops:

Not a fan of how humongous this dress makes me look, (yeah, like it's the dress), but there are hardly any pictures of me and the hubby during this pregnancy... so there you have it.

And more photo ops:

I can't wait to frame this one. We really need to update our photo wall. It's almost like time stopped or something. Creepy...

Basically, life is good... and I'm better.

Also going up on the photo wall.

I'll have some actual sewing things to post later.

Because I do still do that.

You know... sew.

Dealing.

So....I've been dealing with a lot of this lately:

It's very tiring.

Very time consuming.

And, well, it just doesn't leave much time for anything else.

My patience is wearing thin.

And I'm starting to feel like I could quite possibly be the worst parent ever.

I'm serious.

So, I just wanted to tell someone that I am here.

And there is a lot going on over in my neck of the woods.

And I have lots that I would like to show.

There are several projects waiting in the wings...

I just need some time and a bit more of my sanity to return and then I'll be all good.

Right?

You may think I don't love this parenting thing... but you're wrong.

I do.

I really really do.

But, I'm not going to sugarcoat the crappy parts because I know there's someone out there who's having the same kind of shitty day and it feels good to know you're not the only one failing at the moment.

So there.

And yes, there are plenty of happy times and I love them and savor them.

However, today is the day where I get to lament to my computer so that I don't lose it.

I will get to the happy times later.

Promise.

Quilts and Mob Connections. And a Budget.

I don't know why,

but I've decided to join twin fibers' quilt along.

Here's the flickr group if you want to join in the fun too!

I already have a lot of things on my plate, but I just can't pass up making some more quilts for my girls...

And I haven't done a quilt along in a VERY long time

-it's nice to work off of somebody else's ideas, see how they do things, learn new tricks, etc.-

I think it adds to the big ol' bundle of Quilt Knowledge somehow.

And if not, I'll get 2 really cute quilts out of it, right?

I like that Jessica put up some fabric measurements for a scrappy version.

I'm all about using up those scraps!

The only thing I'm not sure about is the fabric for the borders and the background.

I don't want to use white-duh.

To me, white is a no-no.

I was thinking some sort of solid or crossweave for the borders and then a smaller print for the background fabric.

Any suggestions?

I might use this vintage sheet for the backs of the quilts.

You know, the one I picked up for $2?

Willow put the 'ballerina'

(I'm preeetty sure that's a student-she's holding an apple-but whatever)

on top 'for protection'.

Are we in the mob now? Why do we need protection?

And is this ballerina-slash-kindergardener really going to put the smack down if necessary?

We'll see.

I'll let you know how it goes... that is if we make it out alive, of course.

This whole nursery room/big girl room on a budget thing is working out quite nicely.

I took this sad/grumpy little lamp and hooked it up with some spray paint and a new 'do.

It cleans up nice, right?

I used the spray paint that I bought on a whim, and the lamp and shade I already owned.

Then I just recovered the lampshade in some AMH fabric from my stash...

Voila!

Happy Lamp!

And I just bought 16 of these from Anthropologie clearance

to go on 2 cute and adorable matching antique dressers

(thanks Grandma Ruthie and Papa Frank)

that will soon be transformed into pink and wonderful goodness!

I had an anthro gift card, so I don't think that counts against my budget, does it?

I'm saying no.

So far I've dug into my $200 budget by:

spray paint: $3.44

vintage sheet: $2.11

striped twin sheet set for Big Girl Bed: $25.00

shipping for new anthro dresser knobs: $5.95

That's $36.50 spoken for.

I'm happy with that.

The biggest chunk out of the budget is going to be the paint for the walls and ceilings...

and maybe the floor if there's enough left over :)

Oh, and a crib, of course.

You have until midnight tonight to sign up for the

LAZY SUNDAY GIVEAWAY!

(It's an entire quilt kit!)

Anybody can enter to win, just leave a comment and make sure I can reach you (email).

Winner will be announced Saturday!

Good luck!!

Resting and Wandering.

Remember my Hunting Camp Quilt?

Well, you can check it out over at the Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog!

It's being featured as part of the new 'Sewing Trends-What's New?' article.

(you have to scroll down just a bit)

Cool, right?

Anyways, now that the horn-tooting is over...

After the weekend my mind and body needed to rest and wander.

I didn't even move any furniture, but it sure felt like I did.

Weird.

It was probably the painting of the dresser and making of our king size dust ruffle the night before that left me with only 4 1/2 hours of sleep that did it...

Oh well.

Thanks again to Ty and Chelsea (and the Hubby) who did all the heavy lifting for me :)

Basically, our entire upstairs got moved downstairs and into our new bedroom and we had to drive all over to pick up miscellaneous heavy items for the girls' room.

I watched.

I'm so glad all that's finally done and I can continue on with painting and whatnot.

I was stalled there for a minute.

I don't like being stalled....

When I get to feeling creative I like to go ahead and do it.

Or else I get grumpy.

I will show you pictures once I pick up my camera and it's not dead from me leaving it plugged in to the computer.

I'm pretty good at that.

That, and remembering to charge it for some special something and then forgetting to take it to the special something.

So, as excited as I am about all the

bedroom sewing

and

nursery/ big girl room sewing,

I needed a "mindless sewing" project that had nothing to do anything that I should have been doing.

You know, quick and easy with no thinking.

I'm all about no thinking...

This was the ticket:

I already had some leftover squares cut from a long-ago quilt and I just

started grabbing and sewing.

And then I added in a little extra fabric to make it a bit bigger

(and because I had a weird number of Mendocino squares)

It's very scrappy and haphazard.

But that's ok.

Sometimes you just need a quilt like that.

I added a scrappy little mermaid...

...and some random hand-quilting here and there

Oh!

And I tried out a new (sorta) binding technique.

I usually sew the raw edges of the folded binding to the front of my quilt, pin to the back, and then sew on the front.

Well, this time, I sewed the raw edges to the back, pinned to the front, and sewed on the back.

I loved my results!

I don't really know what the difference is, but the end product looks much cleaner

from both sides.

I suggest you switch your binding technique up next time to see what you're missing...

you may find a new favorite quilty tip!

The back was not as scrappy, but still scrappy.

And so is that binding.

I love a scrappy binding, don't you?

And I think I love magenta and yellow together.

Quilt stats:

30x32"

front: Heather Ross Mendocino prints and Anna Maria Horner scraps

back: Heather Ross Mendocino print and Art Gallery Oval Elements

binding: random yellow/pink/purple scraps

hand-quilted

machine stitched binding

warm and natural batting

And if you haven't already,

go leave a comment on this post for your chance to win a quilt kit

as part of the

LAZY SUNDAY GIVEAWAY!

I'm opening the deadline until Friday night midnight.

Anybody can enter to win!

It's a pretty nifty prize, if I do say so myself, so please enter.

Non-complaints and Random Quilt Progress Pictures.

I've been feeling very complainy lately.

I don't like being complainy.

So I thought I'd share some things that aren't complaints :)

Just to make myself feel better... about myself.

(first 4 finished blocks out of 25 needed for this quilt)

Willow calls frisbees 'roast beef'.

Like, "Mom, you wanna play roast beef outside?"

I love it.

I don't ever want to forget that.

(5 completed blocks... it takes a while, so each one is a major accomplishment in my book, bear with me!)

And, if she wants two of something

(i.e. cookies or snacks- basically anything I don't want her to have more than one of)

she asks if whatever it is can have a 'best friend'.

How can you say no to that?

And she says it with the most adorable look on her face.

Like there's actually concern for the cookie without a friend. And its feelings. I love it.

Your cookie wants a best friend?

Damn good reasoning to me for two cookies.

Nobody likes a lonely cookie.

That's what BFFs are for.

(8 finished blocks! That's almost 1/3 of the way done! Oh, and that's Willow's cookie with its best friend...)

I'm making progress on lots of things around the house.

I love house progress.

It's the best kind of progress.

And tomorrow, our BFFs are coming over to help rearrange the whole place.

I'm talking beds being transferred from room to room, picking up random furniture from 86 different places, moving a whole bunch of crap that's been just waiting for some muscle...

Or more than just one muscle-y Hubby and pregnant me :)

I'm excited.

That's also what BFFs are for.

(Just a picture, because I'm loving how these blocks are turning out! Just 17 more to go.)

I will show lots of pictures when it's done, because I've been prepping for months now.

Seriously, months.

I've been collecting furniture, painting rooms and furniture, making things, brain-decorating...

Oh it's going to be fun.

Willow has never had a lovey.

You know, like a favorite blankie or stuffed animal or something like that.

I want her to have one.

So, I asked her what kind of lovey she wanted.

She told me she wanted a zebra-mermaid-monster.

Looks like I'll be making the lovey myself because I'm pretty sure nobody sells one of those.

Yeah, so I'll keep you posted on that.

Ha.

A zebra-mermaid-monster, what have I gotten myself into?

This could either be the cutest or the scariest lovey of all time...

(That fabric there on the right is a sheet from TJMaxx that will eventually be a bedskirt, or part of it, anyway.)

I've decided to give myself a nearly impossible budget for turning the entire upstairs into

Big Girl Room/Nursery.

$200 bucks.

I just decided that about .003 seconds ago.

Basically, I just want to see if I can do it.

I might be setting myself up for failure, but who knows? I may just be able to pull it off.

Maybe.

Wish me luck.

It's a pretty big room.

And it needs to be painted.

And it needs furniture.

And it needs rugs.

And it basically needs every other thing that makes up a Big Girl Room/Nursery.

I'm thrifty.

I've got ideas.

So, we'll see.

You want to be kept up to date on that, too?

Well, too bad, you don't have a choice because I'm going to update you anyway :)

So far I've spent $5.55.

That includes a can of pink spray paint I bought on a whim for some idea I had in my head and a vintage sheet I plan on using for the back of a quilt I haven't made yet.

Yeah, this is going to be interesting...

Changes.

So, I have to share this.

It completely cracks me up.

It appears as if I am getting shorter as my baby 'bump' is growing larger.

Like my body's just taking away

from my height

to make extra room for the baby.

And my hair gets progressively lighter and longer from picture to picture.

It looks like one of those evolution diagrams... but backwards.

I'm taking these progression pics of the 'bump' because I am terrified that I will only have

1 or 2 pics

of me being pregnant with Baby #2.

I'm trying to cover my a**, really.

Purely selfish reasons over here.

And, honestly, I don't want to have to explain why there aren't as many pics of me with her as there were with her big sister.

Because I remember my sister

going on an on about how

"there are so many more pictures of Mom pregnant with you than me"

and

"see, she loves you more than me"

and

blah, blah, blah... typical middle child crap.

(FYI, I'm being totally sarcastic...

I'm trying to get a rise out of my sister and she'll probably be doubly mad after she read the 'middle child' comment and then this italicized part- I hope.)

I love you CJ :)

(did it work?)

Oh, and don't forget to come back tomorrow for another

Lazy Sunday Giveaway.

It's going to be awesome.

So awesome that I probably shouldn't even be doing it...

Weekend Plans.

This weekend is the Hubby's birthday weekend.

He's so anti-birthday it's not even funny.

But, since he married me, we celebrate birthdays anyway!

Whether you like it or not.

Seriously, who doesn't love a reason to celebrate?

Happy Birthday Babe!!

I'm planning on making him some delish homemade brownies to take to work with him on Monday.

Yeah, I'm sure he'll just love that.

Besides all the birthday hullabaloo (or lack thereof), I've actually been getting some quality sewing time in.

I'm really not sure how.

And to top it all off, my house is clean AND I've been making amazing dinners

every. single. night.

I blame it all on the latest Cooking Light magazine.

I picked it up during last week's Story Time at the bookstore.

(I suggest you go out and grab a copy.)

I honestly don't even know why we still go to Story Time.

Willow just turns around the opposite way of all the other kids on the bench and reads her own story.

For real.

She won't sing the songs.

She won't play the games.

I'm pretty sure she's only in it for the craft projects and the blueberry muffin.

That's my girl...

Anyway.

Sewing.

I've been completing projects and that feels good.

Shipping:

Binding:

Basting stitches:

(more on this later...)

And some other stuff that I can't quite show you yet...

And to all the people who helped me out with the String Quilt/9-patch Quilt situation, Thanks!

I'll show you which one I went with tomorrow....

(isn't that sneaky?)

And, speaking of tomorrows...

Tomorrow is Sunday and I think I'm going to do some

Lazy Sunday Giveaways

for the next couple of weeks or so, just to see how it goes.

If you people like it, it might just stick around for a while.

What is Lazy Sunday you ask?

It's a title I made up for Sunday, duh.

So come back tomorrow to see if being lazy wins you anything, k?

Ok.