artsy-crafty babe

potato vine gone wild

This is in the front of my house.  You certainly can't tell from this picture, but there is a big planter under there.  There are also poor little defenseless annuals buried under there as well.  At one point it looked quite civilized, but the vine has gone amuck!

It's so wild that it met its friend across the path.  The two have become one.

Hurry, run for the hills!  It's out to get us!!!  Before long it will be growing under my front door.  See, it's creeping there now!

By the way, how junkie are we with a piece of vinyl siding, a 5 gallon bucket, and an empty sidewalk chalk container all at our front door?  Needless to say, we don't use this door often.  We lovingly refer to this area as "the jungle".

so. tired.

Thank goodness for coffee - I don't think I'd make it through the day without it.  I am seriously tired right now.  Little Miss Chunky Butt has decided that it's fun to be awake from around 10-11 pm until 1-2 am.  Not a good thing when my alarm goes off at 5 am every morning.  At first I thought it was a fluke, and my fault because I had consumed a mocha latte that afternoon, but then she did it again the next night.  And the next.  And the next.  My other two never did anything like this, so I have no idea how to handle it.  At least last night I went to bed at 8 pm when she did so that I'd get a little sleep before she woke up for her midnight play time.  What am I going to do with this kid?  As with most things, this is just a phase that I'm sure (I hope) she'll grow out of.  Until then, just try to ignore the huge dark circles under my eyes, okay?

Since I'm too tired and have no time to actually do anything, I thought I'd share what's been rolling around in my head.  Warning: only read this if you're really bored.

• I'd like to have people over for dinner.  I always say that I want to entertain, but never do.  I need to get it out of my head that my house has to be perfect before we can have company.  I don't know why I focus on that so much because I hardly notice those things at other's houses.  So what if we have sticky finger prints on the wall, no thresh holds, and a hole in the bathroom wall?  Honestly, my house will never be perfect.
• I want to applique some blank onesies I bought before Ava was born.
• Cut out new bags.
• Tame the wild weed infested flower beds.
• Join Weight Watchers.
• Work on some Halloween decorations.
• Make those sofa pillows.
• Have some mother/daughter time with Lily this weekend.  Poor girl gets the short end of the stick, with having two little siblings that always need attention.
• Find a babysitter (or two) to watch the kids so that Matt and I can go out to dinner.  Alone.  It's been since before Ava was born that we've done that.  Gosh, I miss that!  Matt and I are in desperate need of reconnecting.
• Go back through the latest issue of Blueprint.  I enjoyed my first flip through, now it's time to read the articles.  I'll save that for pump time.  One good thing about pumping at work is that I get to catch up on all my magazines.
• What am I going to be when I grow up?  What I'm doing now definitely isn't it.  I'm still searching.  My time spent on LSU's campus last week really got my wheels turning.  It was such a weird feeling being in the building where I had most of my classes.  Never in a million years could I have imagined that I'd be where I am today.  Of course, I don't plan on persuing anything new until I no longer have little kids, so I've got time.
• How can a parent not pick their kid up from football practice on time?  It really pisses me off when they aren't on time because it takes away my family time.  My husband isn't paid to be a babysitter!  I can understand tardiness from time to time, but to be over 30 minutes late?  Come on!

Okay, I think that's enough randomness for now.

fall line up

I got a chance to dig through my fabric stach tonight and came up with these 4 fabrics for my next bags.  They're all pretty different, not really fallish, but definitely not summery.  I still don't know how I'll embelish them, but that's the fun part that comes near the end.  The top center one will be for me - I've been holding on to that fabric for a few years now.  I can't wait to make that one up!  I'm interested to see how the asian toile (one on the right) will turn out.  I think it will make for an interesting bag.  If I'm lukcky, I'll get a "cutting" night soon.  These babies will be made assembly line style.  I shouldn't bore of them because the fabrics are so different.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!

And because I couldn't resist, here are some pictures of Alex rocking his baby sister.  As usual, her little tongue is sticking out.  Gosh, she looks huge sitting in his lap!

New bags

Yay, a finished project!  I love these bags to much!  I only wish I had thought to make them earlier in the season because they seem so summery.  These were made using the same pattern as this one, but this time I interfaced the fabric, included an interior pocket and a magnetic snap.  The pattern for this bag was made specifically for use with the MS dish towel, using almost every square inch of it.  The top band, the lining, and the strap are made from white canvas.  Overall, this is a very sturdy bag.  I am so proud at how these turned out!  Next on the agenda is one for me, in fall colors of course.  If I'm lucky, I may get it cut out tonight.

Now I need to decided what to do with these babies....

More pictures here

back to my old habits

No, I didn't need this, I have no plan for this, but I bought it anyway.

What's the deal with all the gold and yellow?  Those usually aren't my favorite colors.  Now that I'm looking at these, there are a few that I really don't like.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I can be so impulsive at times.

The artsy-crafty baby

Since I have very little to blog about these days, I thought I'd share some pictures of Ava.  Here she is modeling the onesie Angela made for her.  Photographing a wiggly baby is so hard!

Recent accomplishments

It's the little things that make me happy.  This past weekend I pat myself on the back for the following:

• I cut out and started on two bags (the max I can do in one weekend at this point in my life).
• I went grocery shopping with all three kids and no one cried or threw a fit.  Never mind that I forgot to get half the things on my list, I still call it a successful trip.
• I nursed Ava in public. Twice.  Surrounded my LOTS of people while at the Aquarium of the Americas.  I used to nurse Alex in public all the time, but I hadn't gone there with Ava, I guess because she isn't the best nurser.  But we did great - no boobage was shown.  I feel like a burden has been lifted!!

Worth the wait!!!

My backtack 2 package finally arrived from Brazil!  Yes, I said backtack 2, which took place last fall.   Honestly, I had forgotten all about it, so it was a real surprise when I had a slip in the mail yesterday stating that I had to pick up a package from Brazil from the post office.  Woohoo, it was so worth the wait!  Paula did a wonderful job of assembling this package.  It wouldn't do it justice to cram it all into one picture, so I took many.

To refresh your memory, BT2 was about creating a bag for your partner, then filling it with supplies to do a craft that they've been wanting to try.  Paula supplied materials for me to make some jewelry.  But first, here's the tote:

She knew I liked neutrals and fall colors, so that's what she went with.  In her note she says that fall colors are different in Brazil than here, so there are no deep reds or bright oranges.  No matter to me, I think it's beautiful!  I love the flower detail.

And here are the amazing beads.  Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how much I love them!  I love natural things and wooden beads, so this is perfect for me.  I can't wait to make something out of them.

She also included two traditional Brazilian necklaces made with semi-precious stones.  Love them!

Some fabrics in my favorite colors along with a CD of Brazilian music in a cute little handmade case.

And last but not least, Paula made Lily and Alex a little gift - the doll for Lily and a pillow for Alex.  They both love them.  In fact, Alex took his pillow with him to the Dr's office this morning (he's still sick).

Thank you Paula!  It was so worth the wait!!!

Gratitude Friday

Oh my, what a week it's been! This was my first week back at work full time, so I'm glad that today is Friday.  Actually, the work week wasn't so bad considering that I had to take a day off on Wednesday to tend to sick kids.  Having a day off in the middle of the week makes it go by so much faster!  As of now, the kids are mostly better, but I'm still keeping my eye on Alex.  He's the one who gets hit the hardest when these things happen.

Lily finally had her first day of school yesterday.  She was so excited to go.  She sprang out of bed enthusiastically repeating  "I'm going to school today!".  I couldn't wait to hear all about it when she got home.  The first thing she told me was that it was "boooooor-ing".  Okay, I wasn't expecting that.  After much questioning she revealed that her favorite time of the day was quiet time and recess, but recess wasn't long enough because they only let them play for "38 seconds".  This is going to be an interesting year.

With the kids being sick, my first full week back to work, Matt's first week of school and Lily starting school, we've decided to postpone Ava's christening.  I don't feel mentally capable of organizing a party by tomorrow evening.  There is no way we'd pull that off.  This works out for the best because now Matt can fully participate in his Godfather role.  I don't think I've mentioned that Matt is to be Godfather to our friend's baby, who was also getting baptized at the same ceremony.  What an interesting ceremony that would have been with one person being a father and a godfather.  Now we can relax and attend Joseph's celebration after the ceremony.

Now on to what I am grateful for:

• My Mother-in-law - I don't know what we would have done without her this week.  She's been watching my children all week with their various illnesses, taking temperatures and administering medicine when needed.
• My babysitter Mona.  I'm lucky to have someone who cares for my babies so much!  It warmed my heart when she had to "get her kisses in" before I took Ava home early on Wednesday.
• My friends at work, for making the work day interesting.  Oh, how I've missed lunch with the girls!
• My wonderful husband, who is an equal partner in our marriage and in raising our children.  I don't know how single moms do it.
• My breast pump, my new best friend.
• Making it to church this week.  It had been a while since we've been because getting us all ready in time on Sunday morning is a major feat!  When I walked in the door I could feel God's presence.  It felt good to be back.  I felt like we were meant to be there.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Spoiled Rotten!

I know it's been said a million times over, but the craft blogger community is the most generous out there!  Y'all are the best!   I have been so touched and moved by the thoughtful packages that have shown up in my mailbox.  The mail has been very good these past few days.

Mary Ann totally shocked me with this package.  She must love going to the post office because this isn't the first time she has surprised me.  This time I wasn't the only lucky recipient, all my kids got something too.  She sent the cutest books to Lily and Alex, both very appropriate for them.  Lily's is about going to school and Alex's is about a cockroach, which he insists is an ant.  Ava got the cutest little play romper.  I tell ya, I can't get enough pink - I love it!  And last but not least,  I was the lucky recipient of some yummy smelling soap and a soothing eye mask.  Thank you so much for everything Mary Ann!!!

Then yesterday, this lovely package showed up at my house all the way from Hawaii from Tasha.  Oh my goodness, isn't that the cutest little outfit?  Again, I LOVE the pink.  Little girl clothes are the best!  As if that wasn't enough, she also sent some great fabrics.  The blue one with barn yard animals on it and the one with strawberries are both flannels.  The orange one is precious Hawaiian themed fabric with bananas wearing grass skirts with "aloha" written all over it.  Too, too cute.  Thank you, thank you, I love it all!!!

One last little tidbit, can you send some "get well soon" vibes to Lily?  She is sick with a virus and has to miss her first ever day of school tomorrow.  My poor baby is totally bummed out, understandably so.  I wish I had a magic wand to make her better.