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!!

I had too many fitting titles for this post... so this is what you get. Sorry.

I have been working on some pretty fantastic things over here.

You know, other than raising two strong, independent, talented, intelligent, and kind girls.

Or, at least, trying.

I just crack myself up.

I don't know why. That's not even funny.

Maybe I need some adult interaction or something.

My brain's doing weird things.

I love this quilt.

I didn't really want to send it away to its owner.

That's how much I liked it.

ALOT.

I used the

Sexy Hexy "Love" Quilt

pattern from Amy Butler and then modified it a bit.

And I obviously didn't use any of the "Love" prints, although

they are all Amy Butler.

Lots of her older stuff, which I like.

And many of the prints were super hard to find because lots are

discontinued and whatnot.

The Sexy Hexy pattern is for a full/lapish size quilt, but I needed a Queen.

So, instead of just making more hexagons to make a bigger quilt,

(which was my first plan)

I thought that framing in the 'original' quilt pattern would showcase it better.

And I really like it.

So there's the hexagon part,

and then a grey border,

and then a pieced border of all the pretty prints,

and then another grey border.

I pieced together the back, too.

I wasn't a fan of the quilt back from the pattern.

It was kind of boring.

So, pieced backing it is.

And I added a blank label in one of the corners so they could

fill it in

with something perfect.

It looks nice on a bed, right?

(It's the wrong size bed... but whatever.)

Oh, and the matching shams.

I also happen to love those shams.

I think I'm going to make similar shams for my own room.

Shams. Shams. Shams.

And there was some hand-quilting involved in this puppy.

Yup, sure was.

I loved it so much, I added some stitches.

I think the yellow added some extra sunshine to the grey border.

And then I also hand-quilted inside the center of each hexagon.

(I machine-quilted the rest...)

Bye quilt!

Have fun in your new home :)

Funny story about this quilt.

I actually made it for an old friend that I knew pretty well when I was little.

We went to summer camp together and everything.

We grew up/moved apart/lost touch for years and then found each other again on facebook.

Good ol' facebook.

She and her hubby needed some bedding for their new house

(which is supercute, by the way, I know because I facebook stalked...duh.)

and thought of me.

We talked fabrics and ideas and then several* weeks later they got a quilt.

*I say several because I was on schedule until

I completely quilted the whole thing,

went to bind it,

hated the quilting,

ripped it all out,

and

re-quilted it (much better),

which pushed my deadline back quite a bit.

Thank you Heidi and Brian for being so patient.

It looks way better :)

***

And just look at these two:

Willow is so sweet to her little sister

when I'm in her immediate vicinity threatening everything that she holds dear.

So sweet.

Sidenote: Willow just came in and told me she really doesn't like brains.

I mean, what's not to love about this little critter?

She's the happiest baby on the planet.

Really.

I'm convinced of it.

If there was a contest for "Happiest Baby on Earth", Ellie would win.

Hands down.

***

And now I'm going to tell all of you to go buy Chalkboard spray paint.

They have it at Home Depot.

(every single time I say 'Home Depot' I think of Old School, anybody else?)

So anyway, this stuff is amazing.

I turned my 'stupid glass cabinet full of stuff nobody wants or needs to see'

into a fun little chalkboard.

See?

But be careful.

It's addicting.

Because now I have a whole list of things that I want to paint that really have

no business

being a chalkboard.

Adios!

Peace and Mustaches.

I'd like to introduce you to our newest obsession:

The Mustache on a Stick

As you can see, they are quite hilarious.

They are also ridiculously easy to make and supersuper cheap.

Like I-made-fifty-for-three-bucks cheap.

Yeah, I told you.

Why would one ever need to make 50 mustaches on sticks, you say?

Well, because when this little almost-three year old was asked what she would like to give out as favors for her birthday party,

she answered quite confidently with

"Mustaches."

I mean, obviously.

What was I thinking?

Every little girl I know of wants to give people mustaches as party favors.

Duh.

As weird of a request as it was, my only option as a good momma was to oblige this sweet girl.

Yes, Willow gave herself an atrocious haircut. All her beautiful curls are gone. My husband has been calling her Travis...

And I'm SO glad I did.

She knows what she's talking about.

These things are awesome.

It makes the perfect accessory, no?

I highly suggest you make some.

Tonight.

They are fun for the whole family.

And when you do make them, I want pictures.

Seriously.

Send me mustache pictures.

Here's what you need:

Black felt

(I bought 1/4 yd of 72" wide felt at JoAnn's for $1.40

and I could probably make 50 more from my leftover felt)

Scissors

Hot glue gun

Wooden sticks

(I found these in the wooden craft section at JoAnn's for .99 a package)

Here's what you do:

Start cutting out some 'staches!

To make sure mine were even, I cut out a rectangle of felt, folded it in half, and cut one 'side' of the mustache.

Then just unfold to see the real deal.

Make a bunch of different kinds if you feel so inclined.

After all the mustaches are cut out and your glue gun is warmed up,

place a little dab of hot glue halfway between the middle and the edge of the mustache.

(So the stick is not right in front of your mouth when you hold up the 'stache)

Plop down your wooden stick.

There you go.

You now have a mustache on a stick.

Get crazy.

If you're doing it right, chances are your baby will look at you like this:

In other birthday party preparation news, here's Willow's party crown.

I have to say, I am in love with it.

I want one.

And that says 'Sassy', not 'Assy'... that wouldn't be very appropriate for a 3 year-old.

This was also super easy to make.

I was inspired by these crowns.

Believe it or not, I just dug into my stash of scrapbook paper and doodads.

And then I stuck a few fake flowers, buttons and some pretty sweet butterflies I found at Target on it.

This girl deserves a crown:

Ok, that's about all.

I'll show you how to make the Happy Birthday banner next.

I have to go wrap presents and stuff.

And clean.

Yeah, I should probably clean or do the laundry or something.

In the meantime, Peace and Mustaches.

:{)

Jumping Jacks.

I miss my blog.

I miss writing about anything.

And also writing about nothing.

And when it came to writing, I was in a groove there for a minute.

But now I'm in a rut.

Kinda like working out, you know?

You're just killing it for a while, got your exercise schedule down pat, endorphins flowing.

Then something happens and you miss a day.

And then another.

And then another.

And then you eat a brownie or three.

Endorphins are gone.

So is your motivation.

And you say screw it.

I'm so far out of my groove I don't even know where to start.

And I don't know where my sports bra is.

And there's no clean socks.

And all my workout pants are in the laundry.

And it is a little too hot out today.

And the iPod headphones are MIA.

And the list just goes on and on and on until you really start running out of 'reasonable' excuses and start saying things like

"I've gone up and down the stairs more than usual today, so that totally counts as exercise".

And you realize you are being a ridiculous freak and that all you really have to do is get off your butt and just run or something.

Anything.

Hell, do a couple jumping jacks in the kitchen to get the blood pumping again.

Well, that's how I feel.

I've been through a whole list of excuses of why I haven't been 'able' to blog.

(Which is total crap because I have been perfectly able. I just haven't. For no reason.)

First it was that I had a lot of pictures to upload.

(what that has to do with writing I don't know, but pictures are fun to look at)

Then I couldn't find my little USB cord thingy.

Then I didn't have anything to say.

(Lie.)

Then too much time had passed and I didn't know where to start...

4th of July? Mini family vacation? Visit to the Splash Pad? Sewing Projects? Home improvements?

(Like it matters.)

Then I found the USB cord but had a 489 pictures to sift through and edit.

Then I had to have a clean house.

Then I had to blah, blah, BLAH...

So, consider this post my literary attempt at jumping jacks.

There.

I did it.

My foot is back in the door.

And I no longer have any excuses to keep me from writing.

And here's a picture of cute little Ellie toes because,

even though it has nothing to do with this post,

pictures really are fun to look at,

especially when the subject of said picture are the toes of an infant.

Enjoy.

I Don't Know Jack.

It's true.

I don't.

Neither do you.

Nobody does.

And that's because he isn't due until August :)

That's right... I get another nephew in August!

And his name will be Jack.

I know, I know, you're jealous of all the sweet little babies I get to hold, right?

You should be.

I'm lucky.

And babies are cute.

I've been pumping out some custom crib sets over here in my neck of the woods...

and the latest one just happened to be for my sister-in-law Emily and her hubby John.

Yay!

So, Em decided on her

beachy/nautical

color scheme and sent me some pics of fabrics she liked and I went to work:

I think it turned out great!

And I think Jack will be nice and cozy... don't you?

Here are the fabrics used:

bumper: Anna Maria Horner Woodcut in DayDream (home decor weight)

Amy Butler Sunspots in Midnight (home decor weight)

bumper ties: Joel Dewberry Nap Sack in Sunset

crib skirt: Amy Butler Sunspots in Tangerine with a border of Nap Sack in Lake

crib sheet: Leaves in Blue

And for the quilt (40x60") I used all the above fabric

(except for the Leaves in Blue)

and added in a little Amy Butler fabric from my stash.

The binding is a grey/aqua stripe Lacoste flat sheet that I found at TJ Maxx

that matched perfectly.

It is machine quilted, machine stitched binding, and made with LOTS of love :)

front and back of quilt

And here's Emily opening her new bedding (while Willow and Peyton help) at the shower:

Congrats to Emily and John!

They will be amazing parents and I can't wait to meet (read: hold) Baby Jack.

And for those of you who are curious, Jack makes the fourth new nephew in the last 11 months.

It's Babypalooza.

P.S. You can score your own custom bedding set over on the top right-hand side drop down menu!

Back into it.

We're finally back into our groove.

Well, at least I am, anyway.

I was feeling pretty topsy-turvy there for a bit.

Not really comfortably seated in my new-but-still-my-old life.

It wasn't sad. Or bad.

But it just wasn't working for me.

I didn't really fit the right way.

For the past two weeks I've been trying to find my comfy little spot that means I'm good.

And I think I finally found it again.

Let's see...

This morning I found about $60 worth of beauty products in the toilet.

We're going on Day 10 of no (good) food in the house.

I ran out of Gain the exact moment I felt gutsy enough to tackle the laundry.

And yesterday, I got my first taste of projectile spit-up.

Well, I guess it would be my second first taste.

Thank you, Ellie.

And I don't mean literal first taste, because that would be gross.

But I'm sure it's bound to happen at some point.

Let's be real.

And, strangely, those events make me very, very happy.

(Well, except for the food thing. I like options...)

Yes. That's right.

Why?

Because, according to me, that means we're back to real life.

We've got an extra little puddle of baby to love on everyday now,

but life as we know it has resumed.

Willow was a serious booger for a good chunk of those last two weeks.

Like, to the point where I wanted to crawl under the table and just tell her to

leave. me. alone.

And cry.

Bad attitude, misbehaving, massive fits, driving my insane...

Yeah, serious boogerishness.

Willow taking a much-needed nap at the hospital. Being a big sister is hard work!

But now?

Now we're back to her fiesty-but-likeable attitude,

her funny little mischief that makes me laugh,

(but where she can't see me, of course)

her little spats that end with either a hug or big fat smooch on the lips,

and

she has made me fall in love with her all over again.

I'm glad to have her back.

I was starting to worry.

All the hospital craziness is over with.

We got to bring Ellie home.

We've accomplished the New Baby doctor appointments.

We remembered how to change diapers and work as a team.

Ok, pretend Willow is smiling and that the quality of the picture is a thousand times better...

The idea of our little family of four has turned into reality

and

I think we're rockin' it.

Wanna hear something super cute about the blanket Ellie's got?

Willow made it.

She sure did.

I had a small stack of little squares that I couldn't do much with,

so I asked Willow if she wanted to make a present for her little sister.

I gave her the stack of fabric

and told her to make a square without having any matching ones touching each other.

I sewed it all together, quilted, and bound it while she was taking a nap (it's very small)...

And there you go.

Awesome blanket for Ellie.

Willow is super-duper proud of it.

And I discovered that a stack of fabric squares keeps Willow busy for about an hour.

Everybody wins!!

Here She Is...

I'd like all of you to meet the newest member of our family:

Ellie Drew.

We got to meet her little 8 lb, 21.5 inch body at 7:57 am on Friday, May 27th.

Our second daughter...

It was amazing.

When they held her over that little curtain and I got to see her for the first time,

the first thing that popped into my head was,

"She's so pretty!"

And she really is.

She's so petite and girly and... pretty.

So, if you've been wondering why it's been so quiet around the blog lately,

it's because we're quite smitten with this little lovey at the moment:

And I must say,

it's much more fun snuggling your new baby than it is uploading pictures of her....

obviously.

Mom and Dad and Willow and Ellie are all doing great!

I'm finally able to get up and around; recovery has been good!

Thanks to everyone for all the sweet emails and texts and posts and

whatever else technology has to offer...

I'm back to sewing and will be sharing what I've been working on soon...

along with more baby pics, I'm sure!

I've just started catching up on emails, as well, so please have patience and I will get back with you as soon as possible!