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cooking (25) crafts (10) Fitness (1) gardening (3) Home Organization (10) kids (68) school (9) sewing (28)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Before and After

Before: Men's Large T-Shirt.  Jack wanted a River Rattler shirt.  They only had men's large.  I said that wasn't a problem.  All the men thought I was/am crazy.  They thought a medium would be better, but I said it didn't matter since either one would have to be cut down.

As soon as we got home, I butchered the poor shirt.
I cut it open at the sides from the bottom hem up to the arm pits. Then I cut the sleeves off.
Then I folded the shirt in half and laid one of Jack's shirts (also in half) on top of it so that I could cut the body of the shirt to Jack's size.
Lastly, I sewed the sleeves back on, sewed up the sides, and hemmed the bottom.


Yes, he looks a little goofy.  He had his jammies on, and I just had him pull them down so that he could try on his new shirt.


I even managed to keep the logos!  And best of all, Jack loves it!  If anyone cares, I could do a picture tutorial if you want to alter clothing of your own.  It's quick, easy, and made me happy because I accomplished something!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Pictures for Grammies

Grammie Ann made this quilt for Audrey.  The purple and green in the quilt go well with the wall colors.  She also made two matching pillow cases.


The quilt has three "column" panels, which fit perfectly with the bed.  The center panel is on top of the bed and the side panels hang over the sides.


Last night I sewed up a taffeta dress for Audrey that might be used for my sister's wedding.  We'll see.  It didn't take low to sew up and the fabric was pretty cheap.  I am at least improving my sewing skills!


I usually make a colorful sash for this dress, but I think a pretty lace would look nice, while also making the dress fit better.


The purple poof doesn't show unless she's climbing on things.


I am going to try and find a chiffon in a darker purple/plum and add another layer to the bottom so the color matches my sister's color scheme and so that the dress is pouffed a little more.


And yes, this is how they are much of the time.  They are either playing rough (which eventually ends in tears for one or both of them) or they are cuddling/playing together nicely much of the time.  But bring out a camera and this is what you get.  Two hams!

Randomness

Ice Cream Social.

Ayden's first ice cream.  

We didn't have quite enough chairs so grandpa and dad had the bed.

We even had a centerpiece.  Jack painted the dolphin when we visited my parents in Fl.
I finally have a garden!  Flowers here, and a hot pepper plant, rosemary and parsley. Yes, it's small now, but I am expecting this area to fill up with flowers within a month or so.  They are already growing quite a bit.

And vegetables here!  Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, basil,  green beans and thyme. This area, too, will grow like crazy.  I'm quite sure it will look like a jungle by the end of the summer, as long as a hurricane doesn't take it out.
Jack's baseball skills have really improved.  Here he was playing catch with Bryan, and was catching most of them.  His aim when throwing is also improving.

But as you can tell, he is still a little scared of the ball.  He actually caught the ball like that!

After one of his soccer games.  He insisted that Bryan be in the picture.  And of course, the diva insisted that she herself be included.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Family Visits


We were blessed to see my parents a week or so after Easter.  They drove from Florida, on their way to Pennsylvania.  They are quite busy, so the visit was just one day, but it was a wonderful day.  My mom brought Audrey the "bohemian" outfit, well, because Audrey is bohemian :o)  As you can probably tell, Joe is doing great (at least he looks great and that's what they tell me. . .).



Like most grandparents, they are crazy about the kids.  And the kids, of course, love their grandparents.  My mom got a new car, so she gave her old keys to Audrey.  Audrey keeps picking up the keys, walking around the house saying "Grandma keys, Grandma keys."  It seems to bother her that Grandma doesn't have her keys.

3 months old


Ayden is 3 months old today! He is more like Jack was at this age, not at all like Audrey.  He likes to be held by anyone, and he likes to smile and "talk" to people.  He is pretty strong with his head, arms and legs.  He likes to suck his thumb.  Oh, and best of all-- he is a great sleeper!  He sleeps 12 hours at night and takes good naps.  As of yesterday, he is wearing 3-6 month clothes.


Audrey and Jack are both good with him.  Jack likes to hold him and Audrey just enjoys loving him, giving him hugs and kisses all the time.


Goodness, she is really starting to look like a little lady!  Audrey, of course, just had to get in some pictures.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Cheap Entertainment

At least this time Audrey was in bed. . .

Jack has been bugging me every day, to play with Photo Booth. It's a lot of fun for the two of us to play with the program, but I end up with tons of photos and videos that I think are hilarious and must be shared with the world.  Eventually (if not already) you are all going to be tired of watching Jack and me play and cry in front of the computer.

Oh, and all of this is 100% Jack, unscripted and unprompted. . .
You just have to make it to the end of this one.  He is hilarious!

Oh, and you may hear birds chirping in the background.  The kids and I are obsessed with these hummingbirds on the internet.  We have been watching them for the past 2 weeks and even saw one of them hatch!  It's neat to watch the babies change.  Their beaks were really short and wide at first, but they are starting to become more narrow.  Their is also a really nice story about the nest on the site.

Pouffy Skirt


2 yards of fabric!  And it is sooo soft and cuddly.

Here is Audie's pouffy skirt, which will go under a creme taffeta dress.


And every time I open up the photo booth program, Audrey starts making faces.  Such an attractive family!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Once again. . .


Blogging is like the rat race.  Either nothing is going on, I have nothing to say but plenty of time to blog or we are very busy, lots to share but no time to blog.  Right now I am suffering from the latter. I will try and do some update posts as soon as I get the energy to put new batteries in my camera.  The batteries died a couple days ago, maybe I'll get to it tomorrow :o)

Thanks to this handy dandy mac, I can take pictures with the laptop.  So here is my latest project


I made a tie for Jack in about an hour with less than a quarter of a yard of fabric!  Isn't it cute?? I can't wait for him to see it in the morning, he's going to be so happy to have a new tie to wear to church!  Yes, I am serious!  He loves to wear ties, because he looks like Poppy, AND he loves it when I make things for him.  I realize that this will not last forever, so I am cherishing it while I can!

A quick kiddo update.  Jack has had three soccer games so far and his team has won all three!  They are all pretty good.  They all have certain strengths (and weaknesses) which makes the games actually interesting to watch.  

Here are some youtube links of the kids playing with PhotoBooth.  I emailed them to some of you, so you might have already seen them.  They are pretty funny, although Audrey didn't think so.  As one of my wise friends put it, at least she'll have something to discuss with her therapist :o) when she's older.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Jack's First Soccer Game



Jack had his first soccer game today.  I am sure that most of you can imagine how it went. . .  A bunch of 5 and 6 year olds running around and a poor young man blowing a whistle.  A couple of the kids are really good, but most of them are your typical 5 and 6 year olds.  Jack held his own and had a blast.  He was the goalie for the second half, during which the other team didn't score on him.  Let's just say that "the post was his friend."  Jack is all about being the goalie but he admitted that he was bored.  We'll see if he still wants to act as goalie next week.  The other half, he was really aggressive and went after the ball.


His team won by a landslide, but they seemed a little "older" or more focused and gung ho.  Our next game is Monday!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Playing with the Mac


I have completed two more craft projects, and I would love to share them, but unfortunately the benefactors of the gifts actually read my blog!

So you get a goofy picture of me and Jack playing with the Photo Booth program.  This effect is called "cartoon."