Cleveland, Part 2

While we were visiting the Postons, we had the chance to go to the biggest park my children have ever seen, Preston's Hope. My children were in heaven! I lost Ruger at one point as he was just wondering and enjoying himself. A few of Roni's friends were able to come with their families and it was so great getting to know them all.

Gabbi found the sand to be quite tasty! Yummy!

Gunnar

You know who my hooligans are above and below.

Emma

The Gomer and his wife

Princess Hannah

And well, what can we say...it was a long day. No wait, this pic was before we left. Ha! I just remembered that! Sorry, too lazy to put these in chronological order. :)

Preschool and Cleveland Part 1

Oh wow, I still can't believe this guy is 5! Because of our shocking turn of events last year with the hearing aids, we decided to keep Ruger in pre-school for one more year. So again, we have his "first day of preshool pics. " Isn't he a little stud?

Did I say little? I meant BIG stud! Look how tall he is? I mean, yes, I'm short, but he's still so tall! Dad had to work this day, but we had Grandma W. in town to snap pics for us. Ruger is looooving his new preschool. So much, that I can get him to make his bed, brush his teeth, and do his chores without even a whimper before school. Which makes me love his preschool too!

Ruger attended exactly 3 days of preschool before we headed off to Ronis. We had a blast with the Postons and will do it again in a heart beat (notice I said will)! We woke up every morning, showered, sent the kids off to school, and then sewed or shopped the day away. We spent little time primping, because we felt it was a waste of valuable time...and what's the point in a west-coast girl even trying to fix her hair while visiting the east coast (not to mention the fact that I'm attempting to grow out my hair so I can be Velma for Halloween)?

Between the 2 of us we made 6 pairs of pj bottoms, 4 bags, a camera strap, a diaper savvy, 10 halloween totes, an apron, some flowers, a halloween wreath, 2 wallets, a Thomas costume, and patched a pair of jeans in the two weeks I was there. Sewww worth it! I remember taking about 20 pics while I was there, but when I came home I had 240...some were of leaves and some of feet....I'm assuming that someone was comparing our new cameras (she got a Nikon and I got a Canon...mine's better). haha! Oh yes, this photo is real...sadly! We made this mess over and over again, but what fun it was!

And because you kind of sort of got to see the bag I've carried for three weeks, I am going to do FREE U.S. SHIPPING on everything in my shop for one whole week! So hurry, hurry! Happy Monday!

The wife is BACK!

I have determined that when someone doesn't blog for three whole weeks, that means they're having lots and lots of fun! I have pictures to share and new designs that we hashed out and we even planned out the booth for Spring Market 2011, but all of that has to wait because I haven't seen my hubbie in three looong weeks, I'm still catching up on sleep and jet lag, I owe hours of conversation to my mama, a primary program to finish writing by Sunday, many errands to run, calls to make, OH and mile high packages to mail because my poor shops have been so patient waiting for me! :) But once I'm done with that I will hop right back into the blogging scene.

And I'm sorry about my lack of email responses, but to answer a few questions:

1. I will be posting my halloween tote patterns soon.

2. I will go back to my bag of the week soon (I didn't realize that would be missed).

3. And yes, I am THRILLED with my husband at all for the magnificent work he did on our basement! He is amazing and I'm loving him more than ever for his hard work! I've been living in 2 bedrooms and 1 bath of our house for the past year and I'm so excited to almost be converted back to our 5 bedroom, 2 bath space...I'll keep you posted with pictures!

I came home to a detailed car (thank you nieces and nephews), a stinkin' clean house (thank's Ranee), an advance on the remodel (love ya Jason), and a super cluttered sewing table (thank you self)! I consider myself to be the happiest and luckiest woman in the whole wide world! Now I'm off to finish my to do list, so I can have my Friday night date with Jason! Thanks for putting up with me! I love you all and please let me know what you're up to! I will also be reading blogs again soon....sorry friends!

While the wife is away the husband will play

So as you you might be able to tell, this is not Tiffany. This is her husband having a little fun while she is away. I thought it might be fun to post my activities during this weekend (seeing how it has been the only time I have had off since she has been gone). Tiff, I hope you enjoy.

This is going to be the doorway to the future master closet.

This is the new doorway.

What's next?

I cut open another new door.

I had some hired help and took down another wall and

then I started to put it back together. Pictured above is new wiring for outlets and lights.

Holes in the ceiling for recessed lighting with wires run.

A light (not finished), but you get the idea.

Insulation in the walls to improve energy efficiency.

Then comes the Sheetrock.

And more sheetrock.

Well that was fun. How was your weekend? This is the first time I've ever written on a blog before. Thanks for taking the time to enjoy.

Aren't they adorable?

My Mom, my Dad, and their 95 lb. halibut in Alaska.

How do you do Fabulous?

OK, yes lame title for a post, but I'm dusting off my creative writing skills...not as creative as they used to be. :) So how do you do fabulous? My fabulous looks like this...

I love, love, love these Amy Butler fabrics below! They were discontinued once and then they had to bring them back because people love them so much! I think I have made every single one of my bags out of these fabrics, but none of the bags look as good in this fabric as this one:

I designed this bag for Roni specifically. She requested that I make her a bag with a hidden pocket so she could hide her gum from Gunnar. I thought about it for weeks and weeks, and then when I was visiting my mom, she had on this really funky shirt with some crazy cuffs that I just loved. That's where the idea for the flap came...in fact, I sewed it up that night.

So there you have it...my Fabulous! I will be toting this little number around this week and you can too! Just visit my shop for a fabulous discount. And I will just use my creativity on bags for now.

Happy Monday!

I could use some help on this.

I'm going to fill you in on a little secret...I don't know how to decorate. I don't know maybe I do, but it's more like I'm affraid I'll screw up so I just don't do it. Take for example my Living Room...

This is the view from the front door. It's not too bad right? Aside from the kitchen...we haven't remodeled that yet, so don't look. But the living room, it's not too bad, but maybe I could do a little more? Pretty pillows or something more with the mantle?

Then this is the back of the room...there's nothing behind the couch except a whole lot of floor space and then the top of the cabinets is really bare. Aside from Halloween, it doesn't get much attention. I've stared at it for four years (ever since we finished re-doing this room) and now I don't know what to put there. I thought about maybe some antique bird cages or garland, but I'm not certain I'm that kind of girl. Then I thought about getting a really pretty frame for our family picture and just putting it in the center? I don't know. Tell me what you think. If this were your home what would you use to decorate the cabinets? Oh, and should I have a pretty little entry table for behind the couch or would that be silly? Fill me in, tell me your thoughts...I'm desperate! :)

A Little Less Seamstressed

Because it's Seamstressed week, I decided to offer this bag in my shop at a special 10% discount, ending soon. So hop on over and pick it up for yourself! The patterns and kits are still listed at a special rate as well.

Happy Shopping!

Birthday Wrap-Up!

This year I felt like the birthdays just went on and on and on! I had a little party planned for both of the boys, but it couldn't be done until after their birthdays. So on their birthdays we did things as a family, which now I think we just did too much! Oh well. :)I had planned for a little birthday party in the backyard where the kids could play on the swing set and trampoline. I even made banners...but then it poured rain. Within two minutes the food was being rushed inside and we had to do our little BBQ in the kitchen. Again, oh well. The kids had a great time with their friends. I wasn't able to catch very many pictures amongst all of the excitement, so you'll have to settle with these shots of the boys and their sticky faces. Next year...one party, that's it! I think. We'll see. I'm really indecisive.P.S. Remember that "vacation" I mentioned? It's a go! I purchased the tickets last week for a luxurious two week getaway to Cleveland, Ohio for me and the munchkins...we will be staying at Hotel Roni, where the food is amazing, entertainment is unreal, and the chocolate stash is just fantastic. :) Can't wait!