Redder Regalement

We were lucky in the neighbor department recently when our old nerighbors retired and headed further south and sold their home to a family of 5....well, nine if you count their animals. The Redder family is a fun loving bunch that we enjoy hanging out with when we can; which is often because....well...they are right next door! They have 3 precious boys and the youngest is Brody's age so he has a partner in crime these days. The other two boys are sweet and a joy to be around. You have Jackson who is the creative artistic one and you have Nolan who is a little dare devil. Hudson the youngest is Brody's bestest "freend".

We had the Redder's over on Sunday to carve our pumpkins for Halloween so here are some pictures of our afternoon. We ended up having some pretty cool pumpkins but I may be a little partial : )

Elation!

The weekend came, went and I am happy to say that I felt pretty darn good for most of it! FINALLY!!! I *think* that the nasty part of this horrible sinus infection that I had plaguing me for 10 long days has moved on it's cruddy little way. I am praying I do not encounter anything like it for a very long time because it ranked pretty high on my "What death feels like" list. 


Friday I ventured away from my bed and went to lunch with Susie. While most of my lunch from the Cookie Shoppe was untouched (I had no appetite) it was still nice to get out of the house and the stale smell of my room that I had barricaded myself in for so long. It was a short trip out but put some fresh air in my lungs, sunlight on my pale skin, good Vegetable soup in my tummy and allowed me to have some good girlfriend time. The lunch was short and sweet but very meaningful.


Saturday was a chaotic afternoon of me running around like a crazy lady trying to make 3 different parties  from 2 o'clock  thru  6 o'clock!! At first I was like any crazy lady thinking that it sounded completely normal and could be done. No worries, right? Um, sorta once I really stepped back and looked at the bigger picture! I made promises and I was keeping them. So that's just what I did even though it was a pretty stressful couple of hours.


Early Saturday I went to my new girlfriend, Laura Register's 1st Mary Kay party. I really wanted to attend this function  because it was he first party and she was really excited about her new venture into the MK world and I wanted to show her that I would support her and her new business.


After spending a little too much time at the party we were delayed to our next stop....a Birthday party for one of Brody's little classmates. It was held at a local gym here in town but we were over an hour late so he missed the jumping so we skipped right to the good stuff --- the Birthday cake, cookies and ice cream. He was happy with that and I was glad we were able to make it and let Brody and Daniel play even if it was only towards the end of the event. I know they had fun so that is all that matters in my book!!


Once we were finished with the last Birthday party we had to rush home because we were having the Fuller's over to grill out for dinner and let the kids swim in the pool. It was a fantastic evening for it because it was cooler and the gnats seemed less bothersome than usual. (Yes, we have gnats here in Georgia.) Everyone had a great time and we spent the night filling our bellies with hamburgers and hot dogs. I am sure all of the kids slept well last night because they played a lot out in the pool and running around the yard.


Today I did my shopping run to Publix to pick up a few items for the week. Even though we do our main shopping every other week I tend to have to back once a week to get more fruits, milk or lunch making stuff. It is always something when it comes to groceries!! I also never walk out of there without spending $100...It's impossible for me. 


All afternoon I worked on getting Victoria's teachers gifts ready for school so she could take them tomorrow. I made each teacher a monogrammed glass filled with candy. I really hope that they like them because Victoria and I thought that turned out perfect! I really should start selling  these types of things on Etsy.com because they are great gifts. 

Momma's Coming Home...

The day is FINALLY here....My Momma is coming to see me!!! I have not seen my parents since Christmas and I have been missing both of them terribly. We traded in some frequent flyer miles so Mom could make the visit for a couple of days and I couldn't be happier. As many of you know my Pappaw has terminal cancer so someone has to stay with him at all times. Sadly, that means I can only see one of my parents at a time unless we go home (which we are next week * super yay*). Like me, my Daddy is the only child so a lot has been put on his shoulders when it comes to my Pappaw's illness. Luckily, he didn't mind letting Mom come to Georgia for a long weekend to visit. I think she needs the break and a Brody fix quiet honestly. 

I have a lot of fun things planned as long as Mother Nature cooperates! We have had rain here all week and I am so.over.it! I can only take grey skies for so long before it starts making me depressed. It is supposed to start clearing up this afternoon and continue to be beautiful throughout the weekend....however, the weather here changes in a minute so I am not betting on it. Last weekend it was in the 80's and then turned to turbulent weather which has lasted 4 looonnnggggg days. 

I know Mom will be perfectly happy sitting in the house all weekend playing with Brody but for my sanity we will need to get out some. I am hoping that tomorrow we can go eat with Susie and Miss Annelise at "The Cookie Shoppe" because it's the most fabulous food I have ever eaten when it comes to a sandwich shoppe. Momma appreciates small town things like that so I am sure she will enjoy it as much as Susie and I do! I also have to go to Mark's Melon Patch because Daddy wants some more chow-chow and I guess he liked the jar he picked up from there the last time they visited. I am not really sure what else is on the agenda for the weekend but I am sure it will be something fun.

I am also so excited about our bedroom getting painted this weekend!! Finally the ugly Pea Green soup color will be covered with a beautiful shade of aqua/green/teal color. Mike and I had some trouble agreeing on a color but we finally chose something we both liked. This is a new color for both of us so I am hoping it turns out as good as it looks in my mind.

I have not had any time to really blog this week but I got a Cricut bundle from my sweetie. He is so, so, so good to me and I really shouldn't complain about him as much as I do at times. He is so thoughtful and loving and I need to be better about showing my appreciation for it. I truly know I am very blessed and have the perfect partner, husband and best friend. He is my everything and I would be so lost without him. 

I better start getting ready so I can make the 3 hour drive to Atlanta with Brody to get our Nannee! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

(Oh, and honey....I am in love with the darling bird necklace above. Click the link to check out the site on Etsy. Hint Hint!) 

Sew, maybe not.

Martha Stewart Bunny

Tonight I had a little time to myself (Thank God) and I wanted to finish a sewing project I had started over a month ago. I had seen the cutest little bunny project in my Martha Stewart bible and it *looked* easy so I thought I would give it a whirl. Needless to say it took me longer than expected and I am not so sure I am cut out for this sewing thing. Even though the project was only a couple pieces of fabric sewn together I felt like I had completed a quilt by the time I was done. It was so much harder than I anticipated and it really has made me a little insecure about future sewing projects. I messed up several times and had to undo some stitches and restitch poor "Miss Bunny"....I am sure she felt like a voodoo doll when I finally finished her!

I think she turned out pretty good (and cute) for my first time sewing something like this. I think I will try a couple more smaller projects before I try my hand at the pillowcase dresses that I have been aspiring to make. I know I can't be Martha Stewart overnight but I am going to get there.....eventually....that's the perfectionist and OCD in me :)

My "Miss Bunny"

Sew Much Fabric, Sew Little Time!

I think know that I am becoming addicted to sewing and I haven't even really started my first real project yet. Yes, I made a set of curtains for Vic's room but that was somewhat easy and I only had to sew one seam across the top of the fabric to finish the curtain....nothing too tricky about that. However, my husband made the mistake of buying the perfect gift for a crafter like myself; "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts" and "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing". 


I am not a huge fan of Martha because I really think she could win the award for "Snobbiest Bitch on the Planet" but she does come up with some really cute things to make. In all honesty and I *hate* to admit this but I love all of her stuff she comes out with...even her lines, cookware, crafting supplies...if her name is on it then I will be the one drooling over it at the local Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Her taste is very chic and tasteful. It's never overdone or tacky; it's very trendy but yet it's timeless. 


Tonight I printed out several patterns from my book that I want to try in the near future so after dinner I told Mike we needed to run to Wal-Mart (big mistake) to get a couple (bigger mistake) of things that I needed  wanted for my upcoming projects that I had chosen from my Martha Stewart Bible. Needless to say we walked out of there with $50 less in our checking account and a few more additional items I thought of while we were there that wasn't on our original list. Ooops. 


I am looking forward to making these new items because they are so cute and make great gifts for newborns or small children. I know we have had some of these given to Brody and he loves them and I do too. It's something about the handmade gifts he receives that pull at my heartstrings. I know someone took the time to put their time, energy and heart into a project that was specifically made for that person. How can it get any better than that? Yes, you can go buy a stuffed bunny, duck, table runner or dress off of the shelf at the store but in my mind it's more interesting and meaningful when someone took the time to make it for you. Maybe that is the "old soul" in me but I am glad I still carry that way of thinking around with me. 

So my new projects will be coming from my Martha Stewart Bible and will hopefully include the Menswear Bunny, The terrycloth Duck, The Leaf Table Runner and a Pillowcase dress. I am really excited about working on them....now if I can only find the time!! 

Compromise, Curtains and Chaos

This week I have been dealing with Compromise, Curtains and Chaos. I know today is only Wednesday but I have been on a roller coaster ride the past 3 days and I am ready to get off (please and thank you). 


Compromise has NEVER been something that I have been good at. I hate compromising because I always want it my way and to *me* that is the only/right way. I know, I know, that is totally narcissistic but it's who I am and changing that part of my personality is an ongoing thing that I deal with daily. I have had to learn that *my* way isn't always the best or right way to do things and you have to meet in the middle. I also can't have my cake and eat it too. Ugh, typing that was like nails.on.a.chalkboard!!! This week I have found that if I want certain luxuries in life then I have to be willing to give up some of my current luxuries (boo, hiss). 


Our house stays in a constant state of disarray because I don't like to clean and I am too busy to deal with it. It may also be that we have a 2.5 year old and a 14 year old who rarely pick up after themselves! What little free time I do have these days shouldn't be used to clean the house. It should be a law for all mothers -- seriously. With that being said, I had mentioned to Mike that we could possibly use a housekeeper to help with the nasty, deep cleaning that neither one of us like to do. I honestly thought he would completely shut my idea down but he didn't...I was floored when he said to look into the cost of having one come every couple of weeks. Excuse me, where is my husband? He needs to be returned immediately (well, maybe not if this version likes the idea of a housekeeper). Now I know my husband and everything comes at a price and this is where compromising comes in on my part! I have to compromise by spending less time & money during my weekly Wal-Mart runs and less money on craft supplies. Easier said than done. I can drop $50 in a minute at Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby so this will be a big learning experience. However, I am willing to do that so I don't have to sweep, mop and clean nasty bathrooms! 


I finally got around to using my sewing machine that my sweet husband bought me months ago but I don't know what in the hell I am doing. I didn't even know what a bobbin was and thankfully being the analytical type my husband is bought one that basically does it all for you. If it didn't, I would be lost and the machine would collect dust. It took me 2 hours to get the thing threaded and a bobbin made even though it's all automatic. Sad. I wasn't going to let the machine intimidate me and I was determined to make something this week.....and I did! My first project was making Victoria some zebra print curtains for her room. I used the dust ruffle of her bed set as fabric because she has a sleigh bed and the ruffle couldn't be used. I know a child probably could have completed this mini project because it basically was just sewing a straight line but I was really proud of the finished product. I definitely need to take some sewing classes because I don't think I can teach myself. Sewing with a machine is so much harder than I remembered and I have a new respect for seamstresses. 


Brody has been crazy this week; he is all about using the "potty" but the problem is that he doesn't *use* it! He thinks it fun to undress from the waist down and sit on the potty only to sing and read the day away. It's really becoming a problem and I don't know what to do about it. I want him to use the potty but he thinks that it's for entertainment purposes so we aren't getting anywhere. The Doctor (and friends) keep telling me it will happen when they are ready and not to stress about it but I can't help it. Nothing is more annoying than being couped up in a small bathroom while your child sits on the potty for an hour singing, giggling and telling you to "sit on the potty". I can only do the "potty dance and song" for so long before my rear starts to hurt! I am sure there is an indention where my butt has been on our poor spare bathroom toilet because that is where I have spent most of my time this week. And if I have to sing "Pee Pee in Potty, Poo Poo in the Potty" one more time I may rip out my own vocal cords. I.AM.OVER.IT.

Up in Stitches

Several months ago I was making out my Christmas list and I added what I thought would be the *perfect* gift to it....a sewing machine! I hadn't used one since I took interior decorating/fashion in highschool but I figured it wouldn't be that hard to figure out. Mike was a little more hesitant about the gift because: 


A.) Good sewing machined aren't cheap  
B.) Would I really use it?


After voicing his concerns I promised him that I would use the machine and it would be a great addition to my craft room. There were a ton of little projects I could use the machine for and I am constantly paying for alterations so this would be a win/win situation. Probably against his better judgement (as usual) he bought my *perfect* gift and I was tickled pink. Christmas has come and gone and I am just NOW getting around to unpacking the box my machine came in and placing it in my craft room. I was so excited about setting it up until I started tacking things out of the box and was overwhelmed with manuals, parts and pieces. My thought was "What in the hell did I get myself into????". 


Being "typical Jamie", I didn't want one of the "Plain Jane" sewing machine models; I wanted the one that was computerized with all the bells and whistles. Someone should have blown a whistle when that thought crossed my mind because that type of thinking was a little unreasonable. I haven't sewed in years and when I did it wasn't something that I was really good at so the basic model probably would have been the best for the situation. In all seriousness, do I really need 60 stitches to choose from?!?


I probably should have paid more attention to my Granny's sewing projects while growing up because she was great at it. She could make anything and she made it look so easy and effortless. I got my craftiness and tackiness from her when it comes to my artistic side. She enjoyed sewing, ceramics, quilting and crocheting. I wish I could have expressed my love for that while she was alive because I think we would have had a great time doing arts & crafts together.


Now back to this machine aka computer...the Brother CS-6000i Computer. Sounds overwhelming enough. I think sewing classes may be in my future because after reading through the manual I have no idea what I am doing.  My dreams of making flowy summer dresses and other projects may be put on hold until I can get a grasp of this machine and how to operate it! I had imagined buying all of these cute little summer patterns and making them in a jiffy but obviously I was smoking something because I can't even figure out how to thread the machine! 


However, I am not a quitter and my husbands money will not be wasted because sooner than later I *am* going to learn to use this machine and I will produce some cute things from it. If not, I will NEVER EVER EVER hear the end of it. With that being said, I better get off this computer and start learning how to use the other one. 


Updates coming soon...I hope. 




Images from amazon.com & thisnext.com

Pitter-Patter

Valentines Day gift bags for Brody's Preschool class

One of my FAVORITE holidays is right around the corner and I am counting down days! I am such a romantic and love anything and everything to do with Valentine's Day. 

I have been busy putting together the gift bags for Brody's class party next week. Luckily, for him, his Momma loves to do arts and crafts so he always has unique personalized bags to share with his class (and eventually his girlfriends).  I try to make all of his gift bags something that is unique to the holiday and personalized for the kids. I typically always use a brown paper lunch bag because they are a blank canvas that you can do practically anything to and their economical! This time around I decided to use the Candy Hearts as flowers; I cut grass out of construction paper and painted it with glitter paint. I used a green sharpie to draw the stems of the "flowers" and I added ladybug stickers to the  "flower garden". Brody and I made the clay hearts last month when we were on our clay crafting kick. I painted those with purple glitter glue and wrote their names on them with a black Sharpie. I really liked the way they turned out because it was exactly how I pictured them in my head! That always feels great!!!

Too Cute & Yummy!

I also got into the baking spirit and baked 90 mini Valentine themed cupcakes last night!! Cupcakes are so much fun because you can make them for almost any occasion and the possibilities are ENDLESS when it comes to decorating them. I took several of these cute little cupcakes over to my friends house this morning for our coffee/play date and they were beyond YUMMY! I'm sure they won't last very long in our house if Victoria, Brody and Mike have anything to do with it.

My Strange Addiction

During this whole Valentines day preparation that I have had going on I've came to the conclusion that I have an addiction.......to Hershey Kisses. I am not kidding; it's a full blown addiction to the wonderful little tin foil wrapped pieces of love. I have been eating a bag a day -- DEAD serious. No joke. I don't know how I have become addicted to something that I used to hate. I was never a chocolate eater; never even ate sweets growing up. Now I can't keep this chocolate candy in stock in our pantry. If they are depleted before I can get a new bag I seriously go into bitch mode and start feeling like a walking talking anxiety attack waiting to happen. It's insanity. My husband doesn't care for it too much either; not because I am gaining weight (that's a good thing) but these candies are $5 a bag and I am buying a bag every other day! Add it up people and you will see his concern. I might have to have an intervention soon because this is getting out.of.control! Maybe I need to be on the show "My Strange Addiction"; I am sure I would fit in just fine because that show has some crazy people with some very strange addictions. Why not add an episode with a Hershey Kiss addict?!?!? 

NOTE TO OLD CLASSMATES: If you see me at any future reunions and I am overweight; don't ask, just know it was the damn Hershey kisses that caught up with my once skinny ass. 

This will be Brody's first year exchanging Valentine's so I am really excited for him. I may be more excited than he is but once he sees all of that candy he will be on cloud nine. 


3 days and counting....

Crafts, Crafts and more "Craps"

My Sidekick (Brody) and I love, love, love doing "craps" together. This is the one time where we can make a mess and Momma (Me) doesn't short circuit. I know all kids need an artistic outlet and most are messy so I have to work on finding "OCD Friendly Craps" we can do :) I hate messes but my 2.5 year old thrives in them! So we compromise.....for now. Our favorite craft right now is painting figures made out of Baker's Clay. This is a bit time consuming but it's so much fun and you can use so many different types of Cookie Cutters to make interesting shapes for your little one to paint and decorate with paint pens, glitter, ribbon, sequins....whatever you want! Recipe is below (Thanks to "The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner"):

BAKER'S CLAY RECIPE

4 cups of Flour

1 cup of Salt

1 teaspoon alum or cream of tartar

Food coloring (optional)

Large mixing bowl

Cookie Cutter (any shape or size)

Baking Sheet

Fine Sandpaper (optional)

Rolling Pin (optional)

Mix flour, salt, alum and water in bowl. If dough is too dry, knead in a tablespoon of water. Dough can be colored by dividing it into several parts and kneading a few drop of food coloring into each part. Once you get the color you desire roll the dough about 1/8 - 1/2 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut the dough with the cookie cutters dipped in flour. You will have enough dough to roll out and cut several times. If you are hanging the shapes make sure you make a hole before you bake. You can do this buy taking a straw and pressing into dough and removing the clay dot. Bake ornaments on an ungreased baking sheet for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. Turn and bake another 90 minutes until hard and dry. Remove from oven when cool. You can smooth the ornaments and sides with fine sandpaper if you wish but this is not necessary. Now you can decorate with Acrylic paint, glitter, markers, etc. I usually spray them afterwards with an Acrylic spray paint. 

Fresh out of the oven!

Try this kid friendly recipe because it's a lot of fun and it will make PLENTY of ornaments to stash away for a rainy day project. Let me know if you have any questions! You can use these as gift tags, necklaces, tokens, bookmarks, etc.....use your imagination! Let me know if you come up with a cute idea for these :) I believe I will be using little clay hearts for the Valentine's Day goody bags for B's preschool classmates!

Happy Crafting!

xoxo