Randomness

I just have some random things I wanted to share.

Here is the little dress I made for my friend. I hope it fits her little girl. I made a size 4T. She is 4, but on the bigger size of 4. I am gonna be really sad if it doesn't. Usually these patterns run a little big though, I know I still make a 2T for Ava because a 3T would be way too big. I think the godets are so cute, and for some reason I found them alot of fun to sew lol They make the skirt nice and twirly, which is very important when you are 4!


I also picked up my knitting again. I want to learn how to knit socks, so I got some cotton sock yarn and size 3 dpn's and started the Yarn Harlot's sock recipe. So far, so good! Of course, I am still just doing the leg, I havn't gotten to the heel yet lol Oh, and I am not showing you where I joined in the round, not very pretty! I should have started over, but I figure these are my first pair, I will probably mess something else up as well. I don't know why I want to knit socks, I NEVER wear socks, but there just seems to be something soothing about knitting socks, like I am doing something necessary and important(yeah right, maybe 100 years ago lol). So, my sock wearing friends will be receiving socks for gifts soon : D


Dh cut all of my baby boy's curls off yesterday : ( I love his big, crazy hair and get so sad everytime we cut it. He was complaining about how hot it was, though and it was getting bozo big, so it was time. Of course, I had to take pictures! LOL

Please ignore the fact that my husband is wearing his boxer shorts : ] At least he still has his shirt on! LOL The short hair makes him look so much older and taller for some reason.

I'm in a funk! and need advice on quilting : )

The last couple of weeks I have been in a creative funk. I have several things that I want to do, but when it comes time to pick a project for the day, I can't decide. So, I end up doing nothing, or piddling, but not really accomplishing much. This is really annoying because I have more time than usual right now to sew. I feel like I am wasting precious time! I did finally finish the dress for my friend's little girl. It has been pretty much finished for a week now, I just needed to insert the zipper and hem it, but I kept putting if off. Yesterday, I finally made myself do it. I think maybe I am burnt out on garment sewing?

I have really been wanting to try quilting, but am having trouble deciding on exactly what I want to do. You know how it is, when you are starting something new, easy things can seem overwhelming. Once you finally do it, you realize you were making a big deal out of nothing lol First, I have to actually pick a quilt pattern and fabric. I tend to want to make something that I know is too difficult for a first project, like this. I want to enjoy this new sewing adventure, not get so frustrated that I never want to do it again! Any recommendations from you quilting veterans out there?

I am thinking of this or this or this. Or even this.
I would also love to do a Dresden Plate quilt, but I think I should probably try something simpler first.

edited to add: Hey, do y'all like my new blog template?! Here is where I got it. Lena is incredibly talented and has lots of beautiful templates to choose from. I found her from a post over on Magnolias and Sunshine, thanks Holly : ) I think they only work if you have blogger, though. Anyway, go over and take a look, Marie mentioned she was going to ; )

Family Weekend

My brother, his wife and their 5 children came in this past weekend. They live in Mississippi and we havn't seen them since Thanksgiving. My children were excited to see their cousins and we enjoyed visiting as well. They stay at my parent's house, but we do everything over here because of the pool. My brother is in the Air Force, so we are really blessed that they are living close enough to easily visit right now. Before Mississippi, they were in Germany! We didn't see them for 3 years! When they left they had 3 children, and when they came back, they had 5 LOL I also gave birth to 2 more children while they were gone : ) Actually, Samuel and Kelsey are 3 1/2 months apart in age and Ava and Quentin are only a week and a half apart. Quentin was born on Christmas Eve and Ava was born January 2. They both missed a major holiday by a day lolol

I find it interesting that my mother and father only had 2 children, but they have 12 grandchildren! They love it, they are wonderful grandparents and are both very involved and proud of their 12 grandchildren. My mother would have actually loved to have had more children, but both my brother and I are basically miracles and she is lucky she was able to have us(especially me lol *just kidding*). It is also interesting that my mother was the baby of 10 and my father was an only child LOL

These pictures are from Saturday. Chad pot roasted 3 big rump roasts(have I said how great it is to have a dh that likes to cook?!) and I made 15 pounds of mashed potatoes, plus field peas, cucumbers, grape tomatoes and bell peppers. We also had watermelon for dessert. This family puts down a whole lot of food! The kids swam and played and had a great time. We watched the Belmont Stakes, Kent Desormeaux (the jockey for Big Brown) is from around here, so we were really hoping for the Triple Crown. Unfortunately, that didn't happen : (

They swam, there sure are a lot of kids in that pool lol

Two of my nieces, Kelsey and Ainsley

My other niece, Ramsey


The little ones had their own pools, the frog one cracks me up lol



Maw maw bought everyone new goggles lol The last two pictures are of my nephew, Quentin.


They played on the swingset and hung upside down like monkeys


They looked for frogs and bugs, this is my nephew, Keegan, holding a cicada.


This picture is just because it was so cute! I wish they got along like this all the time

Creativity

Kelci, at Crafty Mama Creations, did a craft swap recently that I am taking part in. Well, I was surprised to get my gift in the mail yesterday! Heather made a beautiful apron for me, I adore the fabric!!!! Seriously, I have somehow missed these prints, but they are so perfect for me! Thank you Heather so so much! Can y'all believe that she hasn't sewn in 10 years?! She did a fantastic job, look how cute the big brown ric rac is! My 3 older girls are in love with it, they made sure I wore it while cooking dinner tonight : )





I snuck some pictures of my girls today. I love when I see them doing things like reading or sewing instead of watching tv, it makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, they do their share of watching tv and playing computer games LOL



Sydney has been designing dresses for her American Girl doll, I am truly amazed at how good these dresses came out. No pattern at all, just her imagination. Here is the one she made yesterday. This design is so cute, I may have her help me make one up for her and the other girls.



Isabella decided to try making a nightgown for Ava : )
When she says *cheese* she sticks her tongue out lol

Look how much my green beans grew in one day! Seriously, this is one day's growth, I took the first picture yesterday morning and the second one this morning. Amazing!

Laundry Tips

I just finished writing all of this out and realized it isn't a very interesting post LOL I am keeping it though, because it took a long time to type out! I hope it may help some of you, but if you are bored to tears reading about my laundry routine, please feel free to skip this entire post LOLOLOL Just scroll down to the bottom, I am adding some pretty new blooms from my yard, and pictures of the kids ; )




As you can imagine, doing laundry for 9 people is a monumental task. It used to leave me with a sinking feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it. A couple of years ago I had an idea that has made this necessary chore much easier, at least for me. I thought I would share, in case it could help anyone else. I still have times when things get out of hand, but for the most part my laundry has been under control for the last few years, and that is saying a lot! My method is obviously for a large family, but anyone could take elements of it to make it work for them. Also, I have older children, so someone with only young children couldn't use my tip of making them wash their own stuff! LOL

Before my epiphany LOL I used to only separate the towels from the clothes. Everyone's clothing went into a huge pile in the main bathroom. This worked fine when it was just me and dh, but as I kept adding children, it got crazy! I was never good at doing laundry everyday, I have to have days when I don't have to do any, or at least hardly any. First, all the children that were over the age of 8, learned how to wash their own clothing. I showed them how to separate the darks from the whites and how to spray any stains with Shout. Then I showed them how to put the detergent and Downey into the machine and how to set it and turn it on. They each have their own laundry basket in their room and are responsible to put their dirty clothes into it. Since they are only doing laundry for one person, they only have to wash a load of darks and a load of whites about once a week. I used to have a day assigned to everyone, but that didn't work out. So now, I look at their baskets and when I see they are getting full, I tell them to do laundry. The two older teenage boys pretty much keep it up on their own now. I am sure their wives are gonna love me : D I have had some people look at me like I am cruel or something when they hear that I make them wash their own clothes, but I don't really care. I am having them wash THEIR OWN CLOTHES for goodness sakes, I think this hardly amounts to child abuse :::eyeroll:::

So, I am only responsible for dh, Samuel, Ava and of course, myself. I also wash all the towels and sheets. This is still a good bit of laundry, so I have made this easier on myself as well. Samuel shares a room with Savannah. So, I put his clothes with hers. I have found it is so much easier to wash all of the clothes that are stored in the same room together. This way when they come out of the dryer, I bring them to the room they have to be put up in and fold them there, on the bed. I don't know about y'all, but putting the clean folded laundry away is the worst part of this chore! If everything is folded in the room it goes in, you just have to open drawers and stick it in, or open the closet and hang it up. This tip itself has made my life SO MUCH easier! I keep Ava's clothes in my room just so I don't have to bring her clothes somewhere else. I do help Savannah with her laundry because of Samuel's clothes being with hers, but she folds and puts away all of her own stuff.

I am very blessed to have a Whirlpool Cabrio washer and dryer, the washing machine has a 4.5 cubic foot capacity. This means I can fit A LOT of towels and sheets in at one time : ) I still have several loads of towels and sheets a week though. What I do is put a load washing at night before I go to bed, that way they are done in the morning and I can just stick them in the dryer when I wake up. It keeps the washer and dryer open for washing clothes during the day. I do have a load of towels or sheets to fold most days, but folding towels and sheets doesn't bother me as much as a load of clothes for some reason.

With this routine, I am only having to deal with washing clothes two or three times a week, and the older kids can't blame me if something they want to wear isn't clean : ) And in my humble opinion, it is good for children to learn to take care of their own things. I would do this even if I only had two children. I only had one brother, and I was still expected to help with the laundry and housework, and I think I am the better person for it.

Oh, I forgot to add, if there is a really nice outfit or dress that has to be washed on delicate or is just something that I REALLY don't want messed up, I have them put it in my closet. I will do a small load of delicates once a week.

Now, here are some pretty pictures to help with the boredom LOL

My only pink lilies


This is a hibiscus, Chad says it looks like a giant boobie LOL



Every morning, Samuel and Ava follow me out to the yard to see what has bloomed, they are still in their pajamas

Our recently planted green beans are just coming up, yeah we are a little late LOL






Samuel planted something in these cups, he waters them several times a day, I doubt they will grow LOL

I got an award!!!!!

I got my first award, I am so excited!!! Holly from Mommy Holly was so sweet to gift me with the Arte y Pico Award !
Check out her blog and her etsy shop, she sells beautiful handmade cards and tags!


Now for my nominations : )

A thrifty mrs is from England and she has a great sense of humor and lots of beautiful thrift store finds!

Lola....again is the mom of 6 and she is hilarious! I always feel better after reading her blog : ) She is also a very talented seamstress.

One Shabby Chick has 4 beautiful children and makes the most beautiful quilts and other things and is lucky enough to live in Hawaii!

Sodeste Tine is from Denmark and is just the sweetest soul, she has two beautiful children and makes the prettiest things. Check out her I SPY quilt, it is beautiful!

The Villa Family Marie has 3 gorgeous kids and is a talented seamstress, I always enjoy her honest and heartfelt posts. Check out her etsy shop, she has some really cute stuff, I especially love her custom name pillows.

I have so many more great blogs that I could award! I will save them in case I get another meme like this : ) Just check out my side bar, I guarantee, you will enjoy every one of them!


Once you've been selected, please follow these guidelines and pay it forward:

1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.

2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Please post these rules!

MIA

Sorry, I know I have been missing in action. I went from posting everyday, to not posting for almost a week! I guess I got a little burnt out : ( I was a little under the weather this weekend as well, I am feeling much better today, though.

I don't have much to show for my absence LOL I haven't done much sewing. I have a little dress that I still need to finish. I hope to get back in the swing of things this week.

I did go to the flea market/antique store Friday afternoon, and found a few treasures. Some more plates that will eventually go on the wall in my kitchen and this beautiful Dutch wall plaque. I love the colors! I also found a few more vintage patterns.







I forgot to share this beautiful teapot my Mom bought for me from the antique store. I had admired it when we went shopping, but it was too expensive, so she went back and got it for me : )



Dh is painting the house, and we went to Home Depot to pick up the paint yesterday. Our house is red brick and we picked a dark grey for the facial boards. While there, I picked up some more hydrangeas. These are also the Endless Summer, but they are white! They are called Blushing Bride, how fitting is that! LOL This whole flower bed is pretty much hydrangeas now, these are one of my favorite flowers and I love the fact that they come back each year. No replanting.


Here is another one of my Gladiolas, this one is light purple



What is up with Google this morning?! I have had a heck of a time trying to get to my blog or save anything! It must be Monday! LOL

Oh, I just remembered that The Bachelorette comes on tonight!!!! This is my one and only tv show that I look forward to now that LOST is over until FEBRUARY!!!! I don't have many tv shows that I HAVE to watch, but when I get addicted to one, I am VERY loyal LOL I love that it is The Bachelorette this time, lots of cute guys to look at ; )

While I was outside taking pictures of the flowers, I saw this gorgeous butterfly