the sky is pink

Well, actually, it's not my very first apron. When I first learned basic sewing (at church) our project was an apron. And it had a pattern (out of brown paper). And I made an apron for Spenser a little while back. But this was my first apron without a pattern for myself. It's sewn from thrifted sheets and pillowcases and has a vintage button on the pocket. After seeing these cute pockets , I decided to try one for myself. And here's a closeup of the pocket: Kim and I went to a baby shower together last night. Kim is a so much fun to hang out with. I think we had the most fun riding in the car together... And eating... And eating while we were helping to clean up... (why do you think we volunteered to help clean up?!? just kidding!) And thanks for the funny comments regarding Mason's shoes . The thing is, when you have a large family, people tend to judge you and think that you are a welfare family or have too many children to properly care for. (Trust me, I grew ...

I was just sitting here with the children enjoying Clifford on PBS when I heard a strange and curious sound. I thought it was Spenser pushing around her shopping cart, but I couldn't figure out what she was driving over. Then I thought it was Mason's feet kicking something. Then I realized the sound is coming from our air-conditioning vent (central air) ! I shut the vent and put a toy over it and called Joe at work. Unfortunately, he said if something is in there, it will have access to the entire first floor of the house because of the duct work, so covering one vent won't do anything. Could it be a mouse? A bird? A squirrel? I don't want to find out. Kim, keep your birds to yourself! (She just had a bird in her boiler pipe a few days ago!) I'm freaking out!

As the mom of this large household, I enacted a new family rule last night at the carnival ... No one is ever allowed to leave the house without matching shoes. Those are the feet of Mason (3 1/2 yrs.). YES ! He actually left the house to go in public looking like this. Even my motherly advice of "wear your tennis shoes or sandals, not flip flops " fell on his (and Jack's) deaf ears. Of course, I didn't realize he was wearing them until we were standing in line for their ride bracelets. (And these flip flops belong to his older brothers and don't even fit his feet properly.)

So yesterday was the last day of school for Taylor and Carter. This is what a happy fourth-grader (Taylor) looks like: And this is my happy second-grader, Carter. Walking so nicely with his arm around Mason, with Jack following. Did you see the background in the above picture how they are hugging each other? How cute is that ?! We celebrated by getting ice cream, popsicles, and slurpees from the 7/11. Last year we went to a local restaurant for ice cream, pie (and I got a salad), but none of us were impressed. I thought 7/11 would be more fun for them ... they are always asking to go (because we don't go there often). Last night we took the boys to the carnival in a neighboring town. We stayed until almost closing time (10:00 p.m.) because they are out of school. Plus it was ride-all-night for $14 (per kid, Kathie, who inquired). Joe's parents give us money every year for their carnival. And Joe's grandparents gave the children $5 each to play games (because at an average ...

I started blogging as a means of "journal keeping." I wanted to remember some important things in my life. However ... At the request of my sister (via my mother) I have deleted the post of the birth of my sister's baby and all information thereof. In the future I will stick to my most immediate family (husband, children and myself). Don't ask.

Two little hankie bonnets one for a gift and my son (to be born later this summer). These are made from small, laced-edged handkerchieves. There are several free patterns online. I cannot find the exact pattern I used online. The link was bad. (I made one for Spenser 18 months ago and still had the pattern.) There are also some poems to go along with the bonnets. They are for the "going home" outfit or for blessing/christening days. Then, with a few snips of threads, they become a "hankie" again and the bride can use it as her "something old" on her wedding day. Here's a working link if you're interested. This is a re-post from May 30th, as I was asked by a family member to delete the original post due to some "personal" information...

This is where I dropped off (some of) my gear after weeding and planting. I don't own crocs (yet), but these gardening clogs work well and were a surprise gift from Joe last summer. Now I must weed my herb garden and get that planted! I'm way behind ...

Taylor and Carter made totem poles in art class. They turned out pretty cute. Taylor's is 3-D (3rd grade version). I was loving the nifty little, old wooden spools on the top. Carter's is a painted totem pole (1st grade version). You can see he loves blue! Today is the last day of school! Oh my! Actually, it's only a half day (as was yesterday ... don't ask me why). We may walk to the convenience store after school for ice cream/popsicles. It will depend upon my walking ability (not good already today) and Spenser's nap. If not, I am supposed to take them to the carnival in Joe's parents' town tonight ... again, depending upon my ability to walk. (Joe's parents gave us money and will help me again with the kids.)

I've been having the "hair blahs" lately. I unintentionally started to let it grow in December. Joe was out of town for 2 weeks. Our three oldest boys had birthdays. And Christmas. I didn't have time to get it cut, and I didn't want to spend money on myself when I have so many other people to spend it on. So my hair grew. It hasn't been cut since October. Right before I had to have my driver's license renewed and I wanted my hair to look good for the photo. It was great to have long hair when I was on bedrest. I wore a ponytail nearly every day (and braids once or twice). And I still am on most days ... I'm in a ponytail slump. I will usually wear my hair down for church ... but not always. I was very happy when I saw a tutorial for headbands . I decided to give them a try yesterday afternoon (while Spenser was napping, and after my weeding, of course). They were so easy, so I made two. I used scraps from pillowcases. (I also made another fabric flower...

After Jack's graduation yesterday, I stopped at the thrift store (because it may be my last for awhile with school ending this week). I found the following sheets. I like buying sheets because I can experiment with new patterns without feeling like I've spent a lot of money on "real" fabric. Then I found these cloth napkins: I found another sheet, but it had a bunch of yellow stains around the edges, so it had to soak. I tried to photograph it this morning, but the lighting was bad. This morning I've been busy this morning. Laundry. Dishes. Cleaning first floor bathroom. Cleaning out "car" diaper bag. Making mint herb iced tea. Blogging. I would still like to weed my front flower beds today, if I am not too sore later today (when Spenser naps).

Today my little Jackson graduated from preschool. Jack will be starting full-day kindergarten next year and will get to ride the bus with big brothers, Taylor and Carter. Here he is in his cap and gown. So sweet! (I'm not sure where the tassel is in the picture. It probably fell around the back of his cap!) PS - Jack's head is really not as long as it looks in this photo! I guess his hat was falling off, too!

I'm a little overwhelmed today. Well. A lot overwhelmed. I don't think it's the fact that the lower half of my body is completely sore (from walking around the carnival last night with the children). Or that my placenta is still parked on top of my cervix. Or that my subchorionic hematoma is still in my uterus (smaller, but still there ). Or that I dropped my mail in the mud twice when I came home. Or that the lid to the cooler fell in the mud. Or that I dropped the same DVD into the mud twice . Or that I dropped the mail on the kitchen floor twice when I came in. Or that I had to carry in loads of groceries. Or that my house looks like a bomb exploded. Or that there was a mysterious midnight pooper who left remnants on the outside of the toilet bowl (and was one of the first things I saw this morning). Or that I'm just plain exhausted. I'm not really sure why I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now. Maybe it's hormonal. Anyway, I sewed a new bag yesterday. ...

An actual corner of our dining room. This little wood stove is not original to our home. It belonged to Joe's grandparents (and probably their families). When they sold their house a few years ago, they gave it to us.

Joe and the boys slept outside in the tent last night. Spenser and I slept inside. While I was hoping for "all the comforts of home," I am quite a scaredy-cat when I'm "alone." I hear all kinds of noises. Last night, I think I had the worst night sleep ever ! There was something in the wall (mouse? bird?) making noises all night long ! It started before I fell asleep and went all night. I considering going out to the tent, but I didn't think this pregnant body could sleep on that hard ground. (Joe went in the attic this afternoon and found 3 birds flying around. They are out for now. I hope they don't return.) What would be Memorial Day without a parade? We went to enjoy the annual parade in my hometown (just 15 minutes away). This is "most" of my family (with the exception of the two men on the far left). This is my mother's side of the family ... or some of it. And a parade without fire engines? No, it couldn't be! And, yes , that wo...

My cousin and her family are down from Vermont for the weekend, so we went to my aunt's house to visit. Taylor got in the pool wearing his shorts. Carter woke up with an earache, so we wouldn't let him in the pool. Jack and Mason are too small to get in without an adult (and none of us took swimsuits). The three little boys were disappointed, but the water was kind of cool ... low 70's. Taylor bobbing in the cold water (with cousin, Ian, in the background). Taylor and cousin, Alejandro, trying to get warm in the sun. *** Jo-Ann's is having a big Memorial Day sale, so I stopped by last night when I took Carter to a birthday party. I bought these fabrics from their "vintage" collection. They were on clearance and then were an additional 40% off, and then an extra 10% off because I had a special weekend coupon. I think they wound up being like $1.50 a yard. I only bought 1 yard of most. 1 1/2 yards for two of them and 2 yards of one. So I got these: And these: (...

"When the cat's away, the mice will play" ?? How about "when the boys are away, the girls will sew" ? Yes, another maternity skirt. This is a new pattern. One I picked up yesterday at Walmart for under $3. The fabric is from a thrifted sheet (from Wednesday). All three bags are from babybug 's tutorial. Excellent tutorial, I must say. The small pink bag was my first attempt. Thrifted sheet and pillowcase were used. Again, thrifted pillowcase was used on the exterior and sheet for the interior. This bag is larger than the pink one. This little blue bag is made from a thrifted sheet and "new" blue with white polka dot lining. This is a donation for a youth "auction" at church. The youth have been earning points at church and are holding an auction on Tuesday. I am donating this with hopes that someone will like it. I will be really bummed if I find out that no one "bid" on it ... ** Update: I forgot to mention that I painted S...

Joe took the boys camping last night (Friday). It was our church's annual "Father and Son Outing." They went fishing and played flashlight tag and went to sleep at midnight. I think they had a blast! (And it only rained a little bit.)

Here's my little guy with his legs above his head. I wasn't able to see much of him because the monitor was turned away from me (and there is only one in the room). He was a cutie. He waved a couple of times and snuggled his head and neck around like newborns do. It was very cute to see it in utero. Well, unfortunately, I learned nothing today. They won't tell you anything at that dumb radiology place. I guess the first time they did because I was having a problem and the radiologist came in to talk to me. At Hopkins last month , they talked to me the entire time during the sonogram and the radiologist came in to speak to me. So today, the girl says, "Okay, we'll have the report to your doctor in 2-3 business days, " which translate to at least Thursday with the holiday. At Johns Hopkins, they faxed the report to my doctor the very same day. Such a difference in care. I much prefer Hopkins (and my insurance covers them). Joe couldn't tell anything from t...

Today is my sonogram appointment. I'm a little rushed right now because Jack had preschool this morning. I have to leave in a little bit, but I will try to post after my appointment. I have to go drink a ton of water now ...

I couldn't resist the clean, thrifted pillowcases and had to dive in last night. I cut out the fabric and interfacing in the afternoon, and prepped everything (ironed on interfacing and pinned everything together) and then it sat. After sitting for an hour or two, I could stand it no more. I finished my dinner and slipped into the dining room while the children finished their dinners in the kitchen (they are slow eaters) to sew it together. I think we finished around the same time ...