the sky is pink

Saturday I decided to rearrange a few things in the house. I came up with this "great" idea in the middle of the night when I couldn't get back to sleep. I could barely wait until daylight so I could get to work and not disturb everyone in the house. First, we took down our Christmas trees and decorations (and I'm still finding some decorations that I forgot to pack up, which really annoys me). I would have taken down the tree earlier, but I wanted help and had to wait until everyone was home. It was the first year I made the boys take their ornaments off the tree and pack them up. They needed help, but they did most of the work themselves. Then I headed into the dining room, where I usually sew. This is the corner before: And here it is after: The table is one that we found earlier this year for free. It's a little wobbly, so I'm sure it will get on my nerves. It looks very neat. In fact, my friend, Kim, said it's not my sewing area, because it...

Here is a picture of our upstairs bathroom when we first bought our house in May 2000: (notice the lovely, matching border around the tub and the walls?) We gutted almost the entire house before we moved in, one year later. To this day, we are still trying to piece it back together. (But that also includes a 2-year move we had to Columbus, OH, during that time.) Our house was built before there was indoor plumbing. I'm sure this old clawfoot tub (which has been moved to our downstairs bathroom) is pretty old, but not as old as our house and was added later. When we started to rip down walls, we realized that the bathroom wall (above) was moved to create a bathroom and enlarge the bedroom behind it (actually in front of it). We decided to put the wall back where it originated. We think they were both bedrooms originally. So, we worked on the bathroom and made it functional. Not pretty, but functional. We rushed to throw the old flooring down one New Year's Eve before a par...

Two wintry Mailorder bonnets. The one on the left is made from chocolate brown corduroy and lined with brown and lime cotton. The one on the right is made from some brown, floral calico that was given to me and lined with chestnut brown corduroy. My sewing machine gave me a real fit sewing through the corduroy. I'm going to the fabric store today to see if I can find some better needles. (I cut these out on Saturday night after the children were sleeping. I sewed a little on Monday and finished them last night.) * * * * * Followup * * * * * Our house is still intact! I think I emailed everyone who inquired about the mystery smoke yesterday, but just in case: My father (via phone) said that it could be an insect or dust bunny in the smoke detector that fried and set off the alarm. When Joe came home from work, he intended to check the house, but had to rush off for an Eagle scout board of review. He returned after 9 p.m. and investigated. He found a dirty air filter on our 2nd floo...

Happy belated New Year! We had a nice, quiet New Year's this year. We had two little overnight guests and all the children had fun together. And what better way to start off the new year than sewing and thrifting ? Especially free thrifting . A tote for my sister's birthday (New Year's Day). Sewn from Alexander Henry's Kleo print in chocolate brown. The bag is lined with chocolate brown corduroy. I am declaring it the official "year of the tote" for my birthday gifts. I think if I make all totes, I can keep my gifts straight. Some times (especially for birthdays and Christmas) I forget from year to year what I give to whom. I'm going to be consistent this year ... I think . (And if I've already gifted a tote bag to that special someone, I will have to do something else.) And here is a dresser that we picked up yesterday at the swap shop. For free! Yes, Joe and I made another trip to our beloved county dump/swap shop and found it. It was j...

Today is Carter's eighth birthday. Eight whole years. I'm not going to lie. Carter has been a handful most of his eight years. But I love him. Carter has been an instigator . He has made messes (i.e., smearing feces all over himself, numerous times -- the old tiff file won't upload). He has gotten into a lot of trouble. I have wanted to send him back many, many times. But ... he's mine and I truly adore him. He is sweet and sensitive. He is smart. He is funny. He is silly. He has his own style of clothing and decorating. He loves all boy things. He is helpful. He is observant. I love you, Carter, and I'm so happy that you're here. I wish you many, many more happy birthdays. (Carter requested the red and blue crown -- his two favorite colors. It is reversible, too. Blue with red sides.)

Thank you to those who sent emails and offered suggestions for my MIL's Christmas present. I ended up calling Joe at work on Friday and gave him a few of the suggestions. This is what we gave her: A basket of goodies, wrapped in cellophane with a red organdy ribbon. We filled it with German cookies, candies, preserves, cake (or whatever that stuff is), tissue pouch, my handmade soap, and Bath & Body Works air freshener (Black Raspberry Vanilla). Joe stopped at the PX and picked up all the German stuff. Joe's father is retired Army and they spent many years in Germany. So the German treats were a nostalgic treat for his mother. And the new bag for my mother (after something went awry with the other bag ): I finally braved it and cut into my Amy Butler fabric stash. I was afraid to do it at first, but I figured "she's my mother ... if I can't cut it for her , who can I cut it for?" I'm so happy that I did. It is lined with chocolate-brown cordu...

From this to this in minutes. Hope everyone is still enjoying the spirit of the season. May your days be merry and bright.

Do you get to a point in your holiday preparations when you finally declare "I am finished!" (and feel good about it?) Last year I vividly remember that it happened on Friday, December 23rd, early afternoon. I remember it so well because we came home, unloaded the final presents and groceries from our car after returning from Jack's preschool Christmas program. I put my jacket and camera on my kitchen island and put a few things in the refrigerator. A few minutes later, when I went to hang up my jacket, our camera came crashing to the floor. It's final and fatal fall. Yes. Two days before Christmas and our camera was broken. So much for being finished shopping. Joe had to immediately turn around and head back into town to buy a new one. Yesterday I had the feeling that I was finished my shopping. It's such a nice feeling. Too bad it didn't last longer than it did. Yesterday morning I had picked up an order of 8x10 photos I had of the children. I should have l...

Spenser all covered in my hand lotion.

Last night Taylor (center, red belt) and Carter (yellow belt) had their karate exams. Taylor was promoted to green belt and Carter to red . Taylor was happy with his promotion until they announced that the girl to his left was promoted to purple. Taylor felt that was unfair. We tried to explain to Taylor that this girl had been a red belt longer than he had been (and maybe more prepared) and that her moves were a little stronger. He felt he did not do his best. (I think this girl likes Taylor and maybe vice versa.) And do you see the man sitting at the table (at the right) with the long hair? That's our mayor . Above are the cookbooks I completed yesterday. Linda so thoughtfully gave me more suggestions for the covers. I had planned to use her quilted cards tutorial , but she suggested just using paper instead (quilted like Kayrn's cards or not quilted). In order to save time, I opted to just do a single paper on each over. Nothing fancy. I used permanent double-sided tape. ...

We have some sick children in the house. I had to pick up Carter from school early because was running a fever of 102. He is coughing and has a sore throat. In the middle of the night, Spenser started with a croopy cough. Oy! Right before the holidays. Please don't let it spread! Joe came home a little early last night. I sewed 10 more tissue pouches (that I cut out while the little ones were napping). I made a tote for my mother. I love the fabric, but the quality of sewing is not the best. I may have to make another one. I wanted to use fabric for the handles, but did not have enough. The fabric's design was running in the wrong direction. I may have enough fabric to make an identical one. I'll have to see. (You probably can't detect the wonkiness in the photo.) No soap or candies were made yesterday. I did not have the energy. Maybe tonight ... We took the children around to see Christmas lights last night as part of our Advent. They had already bathed a...

I survived sleepover #1 for birthday #2. Barely. But I survived. It started at a feverish pace. As soon as all of the boys (4) arrived, we made individual pizzas. We used pita bread for the crust and I had an assortment of toppings for them to choose. While they were baking, they started working on decorating their stockings. Some finished. Some decided to finish later (and then didn't) and some (my youngest children) didn't even start. They played a board game (Zathura). Ran full speed through my house. Watched a movie ( Ice Age II: The Meltdown ). Ate popcorn. One of my nephews took the giant bowl of popcorn upstairs to the bedrooms and started throwing popcorn through the hole . Remember that hole ? It was literally raining popcorn in my family room. A big mess. One that required a visit from Dyson . The boys finally settled down enough and watched a few Christmas shows. Joe and I took the baby upstairs. Very early the next morning (before 7 a.m.) the boys were running madly...

I've returned from 3 excruciating hours of grocery shopping with my three little ones and have now updated with photos. Thank you, Blogger, for cooperating now... (and sorry for the dim photos, they were taken late, late last night). Yesterday I hit panic mode. Christmas is getting very close and my to-do list isn't shrinking as quickly as I would like. Having another new baby has been a challenge this time around. Don't get me wrong. He's a great baby. He sleeps well (all night, in fact). He eats well. He's growing. He's happy. He's perfect in every way. It's really just me. I have been so much busier since he's been here. It has been a big change from 5 children. I was almost in tears yesterday while driving home from preschool as I mentally reivewed my to-do list. Too much to do. Definitely not enough time or energy. And lots of WIP's. Maybe too many. When I arrived home, I found a little package hanging on my front door. It was this way-cool ...

It must be Christmas! On Tuesday I was quite surprised with this lovely set of handmade cards from Karyn . They are truly beautiful. And so well made. Almost too pretty to use! Thank you, Karyn! I love them! On Monday I set up Christmas tree #2 in our formal living room. I only had enough time to put up the lights and the wooden "cranberry" garland. On Tuesday Mason and I decorated it while Spenser and Sawyer napped. I usually decorate this tree by myself because I use sentimental and fragile ornaments on it, but Mason was so sweet that day and really wanted to help. I could not refuse. Our house is 130+ years old and I try to decorate it how trees were decorated in years past. I have a lot of glass and wooden candies on my tree, although back then they would have used real candy. And I use the wooden cranberry garland, instead of the real, messy cranberries. (Have you ever tried to string your own popcorn/cranberry garland? I remember doing that as a child and poking my fin...

Ten years ago today I became a mother. At 12:42 p.m. on Friday the 13th (after 40+ hours of labor and 2 hours & 42 minutes of pushing), an 8 lbs.-13 oz. boy was born. Taylor has been a blessing ever since. Taylor is kind. He is smart. He is funny. He is a born leader. He is loving to his younger siblings. And very helpful. He just received a gold ribbon from school for having straight A's on his 1st quarter report card. (In fact, he also received almost all O's, too, with the exception of one S in Art for creativity.) He was the only one in his homeroom class to get straight A's. Taylor is working hard at his karate. Next week is his advancement exam for green belt. We know he will do well (as long as he takes his time -- he's always tries to do it too fast). It has been a great decade. And an interesting one. Who would have known ten years ago that I would have six children? Certainly not me. I have had a decade's worth of blessings. Or rather, a lifetime...