Where do I start???

I really hope that most of you have subscribed to my posts!  You probably think that I have given up on more poor little blog.  But, no, as usual I have just been busy and haven't upload pictures to this little computer!  And my house is actually clean!  I went into a tailspin in June.  Bryan was away for a month.  As soon as he came home, we all got on a plane to Pennsylvania.  So I was left with the unthinkable. . .  I left the house a mess.  I hate coming home to a messy house.  It's bad enough to have to unpack and clean everything for 5 people, but to have to put my house in order too???  I haven't even been doing much sewing.  We have been swimming a little, reading a lot, and playing with friends.

We participated in the library's summer reading program.  Jack read 30 books over the course of 2 months, many of them.  Audrey has also discovered the love of reading, to a point that she annoys the heck out of me at times!  "Read 1 more book mommy, 1 more book mommy. . ."  all day long, she just wants to read books.  I'm not sure how much Jack actually likes to read right now because he reads for 1 minute and asks "how long have I read?"  This is probably my fault though, because I told him he can play his DS for as many minutes as he reads.  I'm about to throw the stupid machine out!!!!

Ayden is 5 months old now.  He is devouring food!  He dives at your hands when you eat.  He is generally a very happy kid.  He has a great laugh just like Jack and Audrey.  He is sitting up strong, with assistance, he has been rolling around for a while now, and has started moving around like an inchworm.

The Undefeated Crawfish!

Can You See the Determination???

This is what happens when you come between Jack and the goal

I must say, we all enjoyed jack's first soccer season.  He was blessed to have 2 amazing coaches, who really helped all of the kids learn and improve their skills.  The kids were so cute, they named themselves the Crawfish, and the coaches were their "Crawdads."

At the beginning of the season, I was concerned that Jack was being a little lazy with his playing because he was always just on the fringes of all the action, but his coach came up to me one day and told me that Jack has great spacial awareness.  He knows just where to be.  He also told me this was an essential skill for a pilot; a skill that can't really be taught.  Wow!  What a compliment, Jack loves airplanes (his coach is a Coast Guard pilot--flies those orange rescue copters).

GOAL!!!

The coaches gave the kids a pep talk at their last practice, and explained that if they won their last game, they would be undefeated, BUT, for the first time, they would be missing a couple of their players.  The pep talk must have worked b/c, WOW, they were on fire!  Jack was so focused, he was on top of the ball, and aiming really good at the goal.  At one point, Jack was so focused, he literally ran another kid (on the other team) over!  They all did great, and won 5-0!

At the end of the game, the coach kneeled down with them for a congratulations pep talk.  It was so cute, he is really great with the kids.  I hope he is still on base next year, because I would love for him to coach Jack again.  It would also be nice to play with some of the same kids, they all became pretty good friends and Jack really looked forward to playing with them.

New Clothes for kiddos

We are attending a wedding next weekend.  Jack, Audrey, and Bryan are in the wedding so they are covered for clothes.  But Ayden and I had to come up with something.  I've seen lots of people making these cute bow ties, so I made a bow tie out of fabric left over from Jack's tie.  It is just a tube of fabric, pinched together with a smaller tube.  I sewed the bow tie onto the onesie.  I wanted a little more to his attire, so I played around with making it look like a tux with a ruffle of fabric down the middle, but it looked too girly.  I finally came up with these cool buttons.  I think he'll like it :o)

I've also seen people making these simple pinafore dresses for girls.  I just used one of Audie's dresses to make a pattern.  The front is one large piece. The back is two pieces that cross over each other.  The pattern for the back was made by making a copy of the front, and chopping off the outer edge under the shoulder.  If you want a good explanation, click here!

It is reversible, perfect for Little Miss Mess! I used a Robert Kauffman pink and brown toile for one side, and a coordinating brown and pink dot for the other.  This was sooo easy, I will definitely be making more of these.

Making Butter

Recently, I read a post on another blog on how to make butter.  I am slightly wacky, so this was right up my alley!  All I had to buy was a pint of heavy cream, and I ended up with some fresh butter AND butter milk.  It was really easy, and only took about 30 minutes.  And I learned something!  I never really understood why they called buttermilk buttermilk.  It is the milk that comes from making butter!  Now look at that, you all learned something new today.  If you want to make your own butter, just click on the "blog" link above.

The kids had fun making the butter, it was really neat to watch the cream go from a liquid, to a foam, and then all of a sudden, a solid.  Hmmm, mom might have had more fun than the kids, but I am wacky like that!

Next time, we will make the ice cream in a sandwich baggie.

Blue Angels Air Show

A couple weeks ago, the base hosted an air show! I took the kids because both Jack and Audrey love airplanes.  When the F18s flew by really low, Audrey just laughed!  They even startle me when they do that!                                                                         

Future Coast Guard Pilot

Jack's soccer coach flies this helicopter.  He gave Jack a special tour of the helicopter and spent quite a while answering all of Jack's questions.  If you know Jack, you know he can TALK!!!!

I think this was a tank of some sort??  Audrey liked sitting on the seats and finding anything with a steering wheel.

Yes, he is talking this guy's ear off.  So many questions.  Can you see Jack's wheels turning?

Everyone loves a corsair.  Jack is in awe and Poppy wishes he worked on these instead of F18s.  (Yes, that's Bryan)

The Jet Bus.  This would have made my hour ride to school growing up much quicker!

Why yes, he is talking this guy's ear off too!  He spent about 15 minutes with this gentleman.  Earlier in the day, he even got to climb up in this plane and see the cockpit and ask questions there!

Driving. . . mom crazy!  :o)

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!

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!