one shabby chick

Obsessions

Current obsessions in our house:

Calvin and Hobbes (who doesn't love that kid?)

Any and all Legos...every morning I have to pry them away to eat breakfast and do school.

Embroidery....but on her own. It's a cute little Stitchette.

Making noise during school...constantly. Here are the culprits!

Here's mine:

Just can't tear myself away from the screen. There are just too many fun things to read/find/buy. Really need to stop with the third thing though!

Not digging the pillows. Must re-do. They just don't go with our red walls. I really can't wait until this fabric comes out.

Really getting bored by the curtain too. We need one here since the afternoon sun shines right in to the living room. Must wait for fabric.

Have decided (well, maybe) to join....(gulp)....Weight Watchers. I need to do something and maybe if I'm paying to go, I will stick to it.

I'm feeling so unmotivated to sew but at the same time I have a list of crafts I want to do...I told myself if I got the girls' quilts sewn, then we could get some bunk beds and re-arrange their room (I love re-arranging rooms!). And I could sew up some different curtains for their room too. I think they need to be longer. Maybe in this fabric...got my first bundle in the mail the other day.

Oh, and totally unrelated...did you see the Oscar's and this wonderful moment? I just loved that they won and they performed the song wonderfully too...it sounded amazing.

Ughh...and what is up with Mike Myers big movie poster/advertisement thing on Yahoo. It's starting to creep me out...take it down please!! I mean, I love Mike Myers but I don't want his huge face staring at me while I read the news/get my email.

Happy 34th

Today is Hubby's 34th Birthday.

I must say, when I first met him 15 years ago, I never imagined we'd have this life together. I dreamt of him as my "knight in shining armor", but didn't know he'd actually turn into the real thing (or Zorro in this case).

I think when you are young (we were both 21 when we got married) and in love, you don't think about the qualities in your mate that will make the perfect life partner. You think more superficially and not so long term. I don't know - maybe some people do but I mostly just thought he was great and that I was in love with him.

Now I see how lucky I was and am.

He is the most wonderful father. He has taken all the children to the movie BY HIMSELF many times (I have no idea where I was?). He lets me have "girls' night out" whenever I want (this is probably where I was!). He watches the kids every Sunday afternoon while I go play soccer. He is so unselfish, so hard-working, so completely wonderful. Sorry to gush. I just am so lucky.

Not to mention how utterly handsome I think he is.

Kevin, you are the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you. It has been the best 12+ years of my life being married to you. I love you more today then ever. You truly are the love of my life!

Dropping off the radar

Hey there...yes, we did make it back from camping. There aren't any wild bears or snakes here to take us out (as in kill us - not like take out on a date). We are in the process of being eaten alive by mosquitoes from our back yard. The price to pay for living in Paradise.
Oh and Denise - sorry, I didn't see any of these guys!

I've been hobbling around since Tuesday and tomorrow am going to the doctor. I hurt my knee playing soccer. I'm not sure how badly but I definitely did something. I can walk which is good but it's mostly stiff and swollen. I thought it would get better with ice and ibuprofen but nope..so off to the doc I go.

Here's Baby Girl's warm bath at camping.

And a friend got a bucket and joined in....

The kids had SO much fun...3 days of just playing with their friends all day and night long. Roasting marshmallows, hunting for crabs, riding their bikes.....it was kid heaven! When you camp with babies though, going to bed feels like being tortured...especially if you accidently set up your tent next to a big group of teenagers.....who like to stay up all night long.

There's also an island you can walk to when the tide is low..very fun! Hubby took the kids across on Sat., Sun., and Mon. I stayed with Baby Girl since she's allergic to sunscreen and I didn't want to camp with a sunburned baby. It really reminds me of something on Lost only on a much smaller scale.

The bummer part of camping is packing up and all the laundry you wish you could just throw away get to do when you get home. Here's a peek at the pile. I'm still working on it...I'll blame it on the bum knee!

Oops!

Well, my attempt at baking for Valentine's Day has taken a nasty turn. Although I'm sure it will be tasty. Just lop-sided. It's supposed to be a flourless chocolate cake from here. We'll see if I can even get it out of the pan.

We also made these yummy treats. But I didn't have enough corn syrup but had bought some rice syrup for this recipe so I substitued that. I think it changed the flavor a little but nothing drastic. Our marshmallows are looking a little bubbly though. Think we'll take them camping tomorrow.

I see my Valentine has made it home. Just in time to watch the kiddos while I go play some soccer :-)

Oh and every time I get the camera out now..this little person begs to get her picture taken..how can I say no? She's even started saying cheese while I take it!

I'll be back on Tuesday with some pictures of some dirty children!! At least it has stopped raining!

happy heart day

As soon as I wrote the title I thought of the line from this video...A happy heart is a thankful heart. Too true!

I woke up this morning to a card next to my bed.

I must say, I really scored in the husband department. I mean for one thing, he's a handsome foreigner (who doesn't love that - with an accent too!). And he is so kind, patient (has to be to be married to me), and just an awesome hubby and dad. One area where we don't see eye to eye is gift-giving. He was raised in a family of 6 kids. In a third-world country. They weren't a big present-giving family. And I love presents. Giving them and receiving them. And I am known for having big expectations. Like the first year we were dating, I thought he was going to propose. Instead he gave me a tiny pocketknife with a flashlight. We've been married for more than 12 years now so we've grown and adjusted and gotten to know each other better. I know if I really want something for my birthday, I need to tell him exactly where he can get it. And I've also learned, he'd rather I not even buy him a gift! I guess opposites attract! But sometimes it is nice to get surprised!

We never really celebrate Valentines Day..at least not now that we have 4 kids. I bought some steaks to bbq and was thinking it would be fun to get a love note but really thought that was a long shot. But I woke up with a card by my bed, another at the coffee pot and yet another at the computer (man, does he know my morning routine that well!!). And a gift certificate for a facial at this great place near our house! He's definitely a keeper!

One of the cards had this button on it...Our 10 year old wanted to know if I was going to wear it today :-).

Probably not honey, I told him. Of course, he has no idea what a "lover" actually stands for anyways. I'm not sure if anyone is horrified by our 10 year old not knowing about the birds and the bees yet but he just doesn't. He's only 10!

Yesterday we had dentist appointments for myself and our oldest two. B (our eldest daughter) had a tiny cavity on a baby tooth but it needs to get fixed since it won't fall out for a while. She's devastated....can't stop talking about it. We haven't had dental insurance for a while and so it's been 2 years since our last visit. (This will be horrifying to some but I hadn't had my teeth cleaned since before the 10 year old was born! And no cavities - whoo hoo!) She can't believe how she can have a cavity (since she eats fruits and veggies), while her brother who eats nothing but cheese and bread has none. Must be the calcium!

Anyway the whole dentist story was actually to say we bought a vacation home yesterday. Did you know they come in a box? Very convenient!

It's really a tent for our camp out this weekend. I had told hubby this could be our Valentines present for each other. Our old tent is ripping on all the corners and this one is bigger too. I am so excited about a new tent. And we searched EVERYWHERE for one yesterday. Our last stop was Sam's Club and we hit the jackpot! The kids and I were practically jumping up and down in front of it at Sam's. A worker actually turned to see what all the excitement was about :-)

Oh, and when I got home there was FUN mail waiting for me!

Hope all of you have happy hearts that are thankful for everything in your lives. I know I do!

New Pillows

Here's a pic of the new pillows I sewed for the living room couch.

And here's the second set still in progress...not sure yet on the backing but I'll find something.

I am breathing a sigh of relief as my poor mini van has been acting up for a while now (squeaking horribly) and then finally last week, the power steering belt fell off. Hubby didn't want to fix it so I took it in today to our local mechanic (dreading the call). But, they called and had already fixed the belt and wanted to know about replacing another one that was squeaking - only $100!! I almost cried (well, I did a little but I'm pms-ing). *I think the real reason I feel like crying is below -

I just wrote a few paragraphs about some friend issues I'm having but deleted them all. I am just having a hard time with some different relationships..some that have changed into really superficial friendships since I'm tired of getting lied to/manipulated by them.

Another is my best friend since grade school that has slowly phased out (don't know how else to put it...it's weird - you know when you make an effort in a friendship but it isn't reciprocated so you finally just stop calling, trying. That's kinda what it's come to...which hurts so much since we have been friends for so long. It's as if I'm no longer important enough to make an effort for). The one thing about all this is we live in a pretty small town and have all known each other for a long time so we see everyone everywhere - and we all go to the same church. Hubby's advice is to just get new friends...:-)

Sorry to go on about that - I have been struggling with it for a long time - don't know what putting it out in the blog-o-sphere is going to do...just feels good to write it out for once.

Ok on to happier things...this little space of my house makes me happy. It's in a corner of my bedroom (well, Hubby shares it too but he really doesn't care about how I decorate it!) and it's my sewing studio/corner. I really want a new chair but this one is making do until I can find one like this but cheaper.

And this space too...it's our tiny hall. The prints are all from Etsy...mostly here and here. And a few of the kiddos mixed in.

Here's a pic of one of the pin cushions I made this weekend. The other two were delivered to the birthday girls last night (and yes, one of them is the bf I mentioned above). I think that's why I'm thinking about it all a lot right now.

Oh, and this is the fabulous bowl/platter I got at Ross in the same pattern as the cups. I love all the colors. It reminds me of Freshcut.

Not as excited about this new view of the living room. Hubby helped out some friends with some work on their house and they gifted him with this...a 50" projection TV. I did not realize how big it would be. The boys love it since video game playing is almost life-like now and Hubby is pretty excited too. Guess that's his valentine's present...hmm maybe mine should be a new chair?

New-old dresser

A friend called the other day and said she had a dresser I might want. And yes, I did! I need to strip it down since it has quite a few layers of paint. But I think it will be great with some paint and distressing. And new knobs.

I've made some pin cushions from this book..just need to sew up the stuffing hole (don't know what else to call it!). I made them to put in the baskets for the birthday girls. I need to make the purse still but have been side-tracked by my wonderful demanding children. I did make some pillow covers for the couch cushions and have two more to make. I'll post some pics tomorrow along with the pin cushions. I made them all out of this material. I just love it - and the thicker weight is so nice to work with. Can't wait til this line comes out too. Fun!!

too lazy to post

I have just been lazy. Reading everyone else's blogs (my blog roll is way up there again - almost to 100) and just to lazy to post on my own. There hasn't actually been that much going on. Mostly school...soccer again (which I am so pathetically not in shape for)...and after the last quilt, sewing has come to a screeching halt. I do have a couple things I need to sew this weekend. 3 friends, 3 birthdays - the 10th, 11th and 12th. I made up some little crafty baskets for two friends who sew...bundles of fabric and cute-ified 3-ring binders with tutorials inside and a craft book for each.

I think I'll try out an Amy Butler pattern for the other friend..we'll see how that goes - I'm usually completely lost when I look at patterns.

The weather has been really good sewing weather too...rainy and cold, at least it was cold last week (you know, in the 70's - ha ha!). Now it's just rainy. I just need to get motivated!

Found some great buys at Ross today..just a note: we have NO good antique-type stores here and thrift stores aren't that great either so we are left to salvage at Ross.

I love these mugs...it will be my new coffee cup (and with the rain I had to make coffee - and chocolate chip cookies). Guess I can put away the Christmas mug I was using. I got a big bowl/platter thing too in the same pattern.

Got these boots for our eldest daughter since she's been begging for some to take camping.

We go every year in February - it's an annual church campout. I don't know why we don't change it to another month because every year it is rainy - which equals miserable camping! My husband LOVES it and looks forward to it every year.We couldn't go last year since he had his knee operated on (torn miniscus) and the year before Baby girl was a month old so I stayed home. We take all our own camp gear..tents, stoves, ect. There are bathrooms (with cold showers) and big sinks for doing dishes so it's not really roughing it.

And it is right on the beach. You walk like 20 feet and there's the beach. And all our friends and their kids go so it feels safe and the kids love it - and get sooo dirty! So that's where we'll be next weekend..I'm praying for no rain!! And at least a little bit of sleep. At least we live on a small island so if I get tired/sick of it all, it's only about a 45-minute drive home :-) (Can you tell I'm a grouchy camper?)

Baby girl and I got our hair cut today. She was so good and sat still the whole time. The other three have an appointment tomorrow - I like to break it up so we aren't there too long!

Here she is modeling her new do....we didn't cut too much off but she had the makings of a mullet so I thought it was time!