Creating

 This summer I got a new toy.  This BEAUTIFUL, lovely bright white Sewing Machine!

I've been having SO.MUCH.FUN. ever since. 

It took a little while to get the basics back, but I'm enjoying every second.  It's been YEARS since I've sewn anything, but I'm glad it's like a bike.  It all comes back (and youtube tutorial videos help too) 

I have to say that I love the convenience of being able to buy patterns on Etsy for cute little things for the kids.  I've made SO many fun things, but only have photographed a few...

Here is a couple pictures of the first little dresses I made the girls this summer!

 

 I loved making these strawberry ones, i love the color combos and they helped me get the neck just right.  Even though the pattern didn't call for it, I added elastic to the next batch to make sure they could get them off and on a bit easier!

I have to say that this pear combo was my FAVORITE combo!  Cate had one too, but I can't seem to find a picture of her in her matching dress....

I do have one of her in a onsie dress I made her out of the fabric though.  The girls all got headbands that match their dresses as well!

I even made my niece Zarah a pretty swing top and matching headband when she came to visit this summer!  She was SO excited!

I even made up quick JB tanks for the girls when we decided last minute to take them to the Jonas Brothers concert this summer!!

i made a cute onsie dress with matching headband for a friend's baby this summer...

and this awesome shirt for Maggie:

More recently, I made the kids some fun things for the Fair.  Cate got a John Deere reversible blanket.

and...

 Cate and her friend Hope B. got these great dresses to wear to the fair!!!  Hope gave Cate her great John Deere bow when she was born, and we were so psyched that she could wear it to the fair!!

Fionn even got a little something for the fair:

I appliqued him this great shirt that he LOVED!

I've not had a lot of extra time to sew, but did get a chance to make Maggie these great jammie pants!

This week however, I am caught up on orders and have big plans for a super cute jumper for Cate for Thanksgiving to go with her hat I made for her to wear!

Enjoy, and I'll post again soon!!  

ps.  yes Ang, this post was just for you!

Changing My Perspective

We took our annual trek to Trax Farms, and were excited because this year Mema and Pop-pop came down and went with us.  It was a hot day, even though it was the middle of October.  Mother Nature once again messed with my plans.  I had a perfect fall day mapped out, one where we could wear our sweaters and drink hot apple cider as we searched out those perfect pumpkins...you know just like last year.

So I was ticked as I searched out short sleeve options to wear to pick our pumpkins instead of the awesome outfits I had planned for.  Then there was our jogger.  We have a Phil and Ted's and honestly had to replace the inner tubes in the back tire too many times to count since vacation in August.  This week in particular we went through either 4 or 6 inner tubes just trying to put them in.  And we had to stop on our way there to get MORE inner tubes.  So that was another strike against the day.

It was after noon by the time we got there and don't ya know, those two inner tubes popped trying to put them in.  AND in a matter of minutes I had like FIVE stinkbugs land on me.  I LOATHE stinkbugs.  Seriously, I was ANNOYED.  

Did I happen to mention it was hot,and dust was flying everywhere?

and it was crowded.

See that face?  I was sooo there.  I was ready to go after being there for less than five minutes.  There were people and lines EVERYWHERE.  Pop-pop went off in search of the tickets to the hayride while I bitterly complained about the whole situation to my poor husband.  I was having a minor panic attack over the amount of people, and trying not to just run out crying.  If another line wouldn't have opened up, and if pop-pop wouldn't have gotten those tickets so fast, we would have left.  

And I would have missed this...

and this.

 

It didn't matter that I was having a horrible, not my perfectly planned day, my kids were having a blast!  I can honestly tell you that until I came home and looked, really looked at the pictures I took, I missed it.  I may have been there, but all I saw that day was what was WRONG with my day.  Family days where we're all together are few and far between and I was bitter that it didn't go as planned.    All I saw was that there were people everywhere, getting in my perfect shots, and while it was about more than the perfect shot, it was all I could see that day.  

I pouted ALL day, and to my children and family I apologize.

You deserve more.  

Dear Cate...month 6

 

Dear Cate, you are SIX months now.  

Half a year.  Already.  Amazing.  Mind boggling actually.  You are 17 pounds and 26 inches long.  You love to eat, and still LOVE that bottle.  You roll over, smile, laugh, throw toys, say Mama and....

 Can sit up now....sort of...maybe.  For a few seconds anyway, lol.  You are so stinkin' cute and get SO excited about sitting up and looking around that you forget that your not so great at it(yet).  BUT you gets better everyday.  

Your Daddy loves to harass you that your favorite word is Mama and you say it ALL the time, but you don't seem to care.  Just to show him, you also now say "bubba" no matter how hard he coaches "dada"  You LOVE to annoy Fionn by demanding Daddy time, which he considers all his.  

You are now sleeping in your crib exclusively, and enjoy your saucer (almost as much as the high chair)  You still only have your two bottom teeth, but have been in a foul mood the last few days so I assume the two top are getting ready to make an appearance.  You also still love to babble and sing, and definitely make your voice heard.

It's been quite the month and I can't wait to see what the next one brings.  You are starting to scoot yourself (very slowly) across the floor and it makes me think that you're figuring things out...

Until next month, all my love.

Love, Mommy

Showing Her Off:

We went to the park last weekend for Family Portraits and I brought my camera along as well (imagine that)  These are some of the images that I got of our little lovebug. 

 Daddy's FULL attention, just the way she likes it.

 Oh yeah, she's got him RIGHT where she wants him.

 

And her big sister.  She adores her, but it goes both ways.  Those are the "sister" hats that Maggie commissioned me to make while pregnant for them.  That is Cate's second, and it looks like it's about time for a bigger one AGAIN!

Here are just a few others that we took in the last week.  She had a BUSY week!!  The Steeler ones are personal favorites, while the the bottom one is from our trip to ZooBoo last Saturday.

Giving Back

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Somehow it's THAT time of year again, time for the lists and 3am trips out in the cold to find the PERFECT present for someone!  I'm that mom.  The one with lists, that gets excited about shopping on Black Friday.  I am NOT one of those crazy people that just rush in without a plan though.  I have a plan, and usually know what I'm at THAT store for.  Don't get in my way, I'm not there to browse.  I've been known to split my shopping party up and send someone to one store with a list while I head off to another.  It's just who I am. 

Until I had babies, I hated Christmas, hated everything about it.  It wasn't like I had bad Christmases as a child, I fondly remember my Popple, my Just like Me dolls, and Spud McKenzie dog (don't judge, it was the 80's)  and all the other cool stuff I had.  I had my own tv in my own room, which, if I remember correctly, was the biggest bedroom in the house.  

Until 5th Grade.  

Until January 6th. 

I would have to say 88 or 89.  I had JUST brought all my Christmas toys home from my grandparents.  I had been staying there (just across town) since Christmas, and school started the next day, so off home I was shuffled.  January 6th started off as a fun day.  I went to lunch with a friend at Pizza Hut, then back to her house to play.  I remember the fire whistle starting to sound, and my mom and grandma outside beeping for me to hurry since we had to drive right past the fire department to get home.  I ran outside, and the firemen were just getting into their gear and getting ready to leave as we drove by.  I remember being intrigued at their preparations.  As we drove through the light, we saw the sky aglow in our neighborhood, and my Grandma and Mom started worrying about the family...and then we drove down the steet and saw it.  OUR house.  There was a break between the two houses across from ours, so we could see it plain as day.  FLAMES!

EVERYWHERE.  

Shooting out of my bedroom windows on the 2nd Floor, out of our Living Room windows, out the roof...

I remember wondering who was screaming, only to realize it was me.  

My little brother was with us, my sister at sleep over with a friend.  My dad was a long haul truck driver and was out with a load.  We beat the firetrucks to our house.  My mom ran around back and started trying to get our animals out, and she started frantically pulling laundry baskets out the back of our house that were in the back laundry room.  She continued back and forth until the firemen stopped her and the neighbors had to hold her back.  

Her animals were in that house, and she couldn't get to them....for my mom it might as well have been one of us. (BUT that's another story)

I remember standing there and watching the firemen cut holes in the roof, in the walls of my bedroom from the outside, just trying to get the flames out.  It was horrific, and scarring....

And that's as far as I can go with that story, otherwise this wil be the longest post in the history of blog posts.  

Long story short.  Toys for Tots took us to their warehouse, and let us have anything we could carry out in one load.  I remember how proud I was of the toys I picked, and how lucky I felt that they were there to give us these toys.  

And now as an adult, I want to give back, to make sure other children have that same feeling I did as they gave me my toys. 

And it makes me unbelievably happy to know that there are others who feel the same way.

So what this whole post leads to is this:

Christmas Crazy 
Another blogger here in the Burgh heads this up and it's a GREAT cause!
The tutus at the top of my page can be found on our Etsy page.  There's a link right up there at the top.  FIVE dollars from each tutu will be given to Christmas Crazy.  I'm only making 30 black and gold tutus total to ensure that they can all be made this month.  Yes, they are a little steep, but I use at least DOUBLE the amount of tulle as other tutus I've seen.  They are full and fabulous, and I love them!  Almost as much as I love donating to children!  SO, if you are in the market for a tutu, head over to our Etsy page.  I promise you won't be disappointed!  If you would just like to send a couple bucks to Christmas Crazy, just click the link!!
Either way, it's all for a great cause.
I'll be listing other items on my Etsy site soon that will donate to Christmas Crazy as well, so make sure to come back!!!   

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Stream of Consciousness

**if you're not familiar about what a stream of consciousness post is, it's basically Oops, i've been bad at blogging, here's a catch up post***

SO here goes...

We have been CRAZY busy, and I do mean crazy!!!  I never would have guessed how much work one more baby would be.  I handled two with ease, but three...well most days I feel like I need 10 more hours in a day just to get everything done on my list.  And I mean just my daily lists, not long term lists!!  I'm not sure how women with four or five babies under five do it.  I couldn't imagine!  It goes without saying that I ADORE my children, but wow, this momma needs to find some back up.

When Maggie was two I was still working full time and she was in day-care.  I'm not saying she was a saint, but wow...nothing compared to Fionn.  Everyday I pray he just gets through the day in one piece and I'm still sane at bedtime.  

Almost daily I find this

 or this

 

I've hidden ALL the crayons, markers, colored pencils, pens, paint, chalk, etc...but I have a wall cleaning party weekly.  Just the other day he went up to the 3rd floor, and all I did was turn off the tv and went up behind him and he already had a (washable) purple marker and was making circles on my new windows, UGH!  This kid amazes me at how fast he can find his stash and go to town.  I tried to outsmart him and put the easel in his room so he could just color whenever IN HIS ROOM.  He showed me.  He colored his bed, his bed guard, the carpet, the side of the easel, but never got near his precious train table!  Go figure.  So now we put those crayons up to, and he has to ask for them...or just go find my nail polish....because you know that makes a GREAT alternative to coloring with crayons...I wish that wasn't a true story.

Then he smiles like this...

and does this.  Something as simple as giving his baby sister his "night night" and "bogey" when she is fussing and I forgive him of things like this:

Maggie thought she would like to try soccer this year, so we gave it a go.  Unfortunately we only got to go one week, and Fionn was soooo angry that HE wasn't going to soccer that we never got to go back.  Mag looks like a beast in that picture, but she was playing with the Kindergartners and this guy is just really little!  Fionn had a blast taking Maggie's ball.  He was dancing out in the field because he got away from me. 

On Labor Day, we headed up to Living Treasures Animal Park for a fun family day.   The kiddos loved the animals, and Fionn really seems to be fearless when it comes to them.  He chased the peacock, stared down a bear, and got down on the ground eye to eye with a chicken (who had a baby hiding under it's feathers)  He laughed as the goats and bison licked him, and begged for more carrots.  

Cate is SIX months now (her post is coming soon) and is already eating baby food.  A LOT of baby food at that.  Her check up in Thursday and I can't wait to see how much she's grown!

We have been making bagels...

and tutus...

I LOVE the tutus!  We're doing something special with them in the coming weeks, I promise to post information on it!

Sorry it's been a month between posts, I just can't believe how quickly the month got away from me.  I've yet to post about the Fair, or Trax, or a few other fun things we've been up to!  We even have a treat coming up this weekend, Greg is OFF for the WHOLE weekend and not only are we having a family day on Saturday, but we're getting Family Portraits done this weekend BY ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPHER...I will be IN the pictures, it's true!  I'm so excited!