Forget it...I am moving on

Ok, I have officially given up on trying to machine quilt the John Deere quilt. My machine is definitely not capable of it, so I will need to buy a new loop and work on it by hand. With this realization (at 9:30pm last night) I decided to cut out Aiden’s quilt top and begin laying it out. I have some blue plaids from a couple of years that I won from a quilt store in Pendleton, IN and I never could think of anything to do with it. Then, Grandma Annie gave me A LOT of fabric and craft supplies before she passed away (which she had a love of blue fabric. J). So I think I have enough material to create a baby quilt for him. I will post pictures of it once it is completed, which should not take long since it will be totally machine quilted.

Tis the season....to BAKE!

This coming weekend, Josh is flying to San Diego to help his sister. So it is just me and the boys. I have decided that I think we are going to prepare and bake cookies and other holiday treats. Since it is already November and my weekends seem to fly by, I figured that since this weekend was going to be quite, that it is a good time to begin the season. Hey, the commercials have already started and stores are decorated- in Josh’s eyes, I am already late.

I figured that I can take the boys shopping with me on Thursday night to pick up all the supplies that I need and have Jonah help me. Well more like he has his own supplies and just plays. I really need to make an apron for him. This should last about twenty mins. with Thomas and Friends on the TV. J So what are your favorite cookies and when are you going to start baking?

Here is my current list of goodies:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Fudge- maybe pumpkin, chocolate, or peanut butter
Banana nut bread
Pie crust

God's Will

Ok, I am going to stop talking about sewing and talk about my fourth favorite man in my life (after Josh, Jonah, and Aiden), my nephew Will. I went to the hospital today at lunch and spent about 40 mins with him and my sister-in-law. Overall his is doing well, but will have surgery on Wed. 11/12, so pray for him and the rest of us. They are hoping that he will not have to have a liver transplant or liver failure before they can get his bowels repaired and functioning. This has been really hard on them and they need a lot of support.

I am amazed at how much he resembles my brother; it is almost like a mini me. He is still small, but he has some fight in him. So I stole a couple pics off of their web pages.

The Giant Elephant In My Sewing Room

This weekend was wonderful. It was relaxing and no rushing around. Friday night, I decided that since I had nothing planned for the weekend it was a good time to breakout the sewing machine and the quilt I have been “working” on for the past 6, yes I said 6, years. I started working on a John Deere themed quilt for Josh, before we ever got married, and I finally have decided that I really need to get it done, so I can justifiably move on to other projects. It really is my giant elephant in my sewing room. I mean the boys need stockings made, we need a tree skirt, I need to make floor quilts for the boys. There is so much to do and not enough time.

So be careful, you just might be getting something “home-made” this year for Christmas.

This poor quilt is a true sign of my beginner status and my over-ambitious goal of starting with a full size quilt. Somehow I have got to figure out how I am going to machine quilt it on my machine.

When I unfolded (more like un-wadded) the quilt, Jonah’s eyes just light up like he just hit the lottery. He looked at it, then at me and said “OH momma, John Deere!”, of course this was in his speak. I asked him if he wanted it on his bed and he smiled and nodded his head, to which Josh quickly replied “That’s mine, I saw it first.” Jonah just gave him a chester cat grin and pulled the quilt up over him. So we will see who will win this battle.

I worked on it a little bit Saturday, before the boys needed my undivided attention and Sunday, I did not touch it. What a great start, uh? Can someone please fill me in on how you can work on sewing projects, work full-time, be a mom to 2 boys 2 and 7 mths, be a wife, try to organize the house and still have sanity??? But then if you knew the answer to this, you would be rich…

Bapples, Pumpkins, and Car Seats

This past weekend we went on a whirlwind tour of Iowa…so for the boys, this was a long weekend in the car seats. We got to the QCs around 11pm (Indiana time) and made a “quick” pit stop at Frank’s Pizza for Italian beef sandwiches and sausage and mushroom pizza. (yummy, my mouth is starting to water just thinking about it). After that snack J, we decided it was time to get the boys to bed….just Jonah did not want to go to bed and he got a little too noisy at the hotel and we………GOT A CALL from the front desks about the noise. Oooppps! Sorry to whoever was below us. But do you blame the kid, 6 hours in a car seat and a powernap to boot…

Saturday, we went to surprise Aunt Peggy (she did not know we were coming for her birthday) and go to the apple orchard with her and Casey. It was pretty cold and windy, but we had fun. We first went to Thompson, IL to a road side stand (1hr in car seats), then we went to a General Store in Clinton, IA…it was like to largest junk store full of old crap, but it was neat. Jen- It still smelled the same J We then headed back to Hampton, IL to have a chicken and dumplings dinner at Grandma’s old church, but when we got there they had a hour and half wait….Thought going through my head at this point….ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!....Since Josh, the boys and I had to be at Tim and Meghan’s by 6:30, we decided to skip eating there and would stop at Wendy’s on the way. It was really nice to see everyone and get to spend a little time with them…Congrats, Nicole (hope everything is going well).

Saturday night, we met with Tim, Meghan and Crabby Gabby (those she was not really that bad) for the Bettendorf Halloween parade. Which we all had a great time and to watch three grownups chase after candy in the street was pretty funny. Though we have decided that we will always be in that spot, Jonah left with a grocery sack full of candy. We had to dump the pumpkin out twice before the parade was over. The funny thing was Jonah made all assumptions that the bag was his, so every time someone touched it in the van, he would start screaming “MINE!, MINE!, MINE!”. After the parade, we went back to their house and played a little Wii, which Josh and I decided that we want one. Once Jonah started having several meltdowns, we decided it was time to go back to the hotel.

Sunday, was a long day… Aiden decided 4:45am was the perfect time to get Mom up, but we had to leave by 7am to get home. I was able to get everything packed up, the kids changed, and Jonah feed, before Josh even got out of bed. It was a successful morning, we left the hotel at 7, went to Sonic to grab breakfast, and off we went. We made a couple stops on the way home, but we made it back to Indy at 1pm. We went and picked up my mom, then headed to Noblesville to catch the Pumpkin Train which was a part of Jonah’s birthday. The Pumpkin train is a passenger train that goes to a pumpkin patch about 30 mins away. It was really great, though cold and windy. Jonah got to go into the engine and look around, they had a petting zoo, a hay bale maze, and of course…pumpkins. Jonah was so proud to pick out his own pumpkin and carry it around. We spent about an hour at the patch and then got back on the train and head to the station.

Oh…..what a weekend.

A new cousin

Well, this past Wednesday, William Matthew was born at 4:12am weighing in at 5 lbs, 5 oz and 18” long. He will be in the NICU for about 4-6 weeks and then home, so it will be a little while before the boys can see him. But after surgery he is doing very well.

Pics, Pics, and more Pics

Since I have been bad about not posting any new pictures of the boys, I have decided to overwhelm you. :) Happy Looking!

Bubby, you did not tell me that trains were scratch and taste....ummmm, bananas.