Ball picture

My mom likes this picture, I was unconvinced that it was good. We can call it "okay." I think Frank is cute, holding his beer at the ball! Couldnt even take in in a cup. He is making a silly smile, but hey, he smiling! He is gone at school right now and I miss his silly smile, I have several pictures up of him on my computer screen and he keeps me laughing even when he is gone.

Moosy Lucy

Nathalie left our good company to go play in her room, 10 min later Tad reported that she was sleeping on a bed of seats! She actually has a chair up against a upside down toy box and then her pillows are on that. A stool is next to her, I think by design but I don't know why. Moosy Lucy was obviously also exhausted because he is sacked out on top of her! The ragged sheet she is covered by was my moms when she had kids, and she had 6! So that sheet has now been through the ringer, its Nathalie's piece of sheet or Mr. Sheet, also known as Mr. Sleepy or sleepy sheet. Yes, I hand wash it and flat dry it at this point.

Moosy Lucy was purchased by my mom on vacation, she told Nathalie that this particular moose felt badly that other moose were purchased but he wasn't. He felt it was because he DID have an imperfect antler. He was worried about going to just any old home and was pleased when mom told him about Nathalie. He has no confidence issues concerning the antler at this time, matter of fact I think he may border on vain! He was stolen by a neighbors dog one night as he innocently camped under the trampoline (not forgotten by Nathalie as one may wrongly assume, he is old enough to camp alone!), we saw some trash in a yard down the rd the next day, Nathalie and I, on a walk/bike ride (ride on her part...).Nathalie said, look there is a bear, no that is my dog! And as I went to see, it was her fluffy dog and MOOSY LUCY! We were horrified and stunned, what neighboring mutt would ruthlessly kidnap our dear Moose! Well, he was basically uninjured and knew we would discover him. The dog, needless to say, was taken by his ungracious owners to the pound as they said he was repeatedly badly behaved. We would have been happy to befriend him had he not shown this vendetta against Moosy Lucy.

Christmas loveys!

These are presents for 2 of the babies I know! The first picture is a gift for Sidney, the baby we kept when she was smaller. She is almost 3 now and has a kitchen she really loves so we made her an apron, and one of our octopus loveys. The kids can make the octopus, so the smaller one of those is the most commonly gifted this year. The wooly pants, and the wooly pjs in the next picture are both 100 % wool and are washable and dryable! The pj set are for our neice Briley who lives in Tn.

The kids made a set of octopus for both my mom and dad and are really quite excited about it. When they are grown, they will look back and wonder what Nana and Grandaddy would possibly do with a lovey octopus. The brown reindeer looking creature is supposed to be a ghost, but I do bed to differ. Its a reindeer! The last picture is a LL Bean bag that some pants came in, my mom bought them for Frank. The bag needs a use, I cant see throwing it away! So we are filling it with loveys for My God Baby Willow. The turtle was my own creation, these other patterns came from ottobre. A giraffe and gingerbread man are in the making next!

I am using these as gift alternatives for some babies for 2 reasons. 1, it costs me less and we are trying NOT to go over budget this x mas. 2, I wont buy China on purpose anymore! It will accidently happen I am sure. But I wont buy them on principle and for safety issues. We dont have anything here that falls under recall, but I wont buy it for someone else either.

Fabric

I just bought 4 bales of PUL, waterproof fabric. The supplier no longer sells it in 5 yds per color as they used to. If I want a color I have to buy 50 yds! Thankfully I am selling some it off at this time to buy more colors. If you need some, let me know! Its below retail price...

As if I needed more fabric though, as you can clearly see by my attic picture here, this is a little more than half of my bins and thats all of my bales except whats downstairs!

You would think since all this fabric is upstairs, and I have to go back and forth (my choice in order to get my bedroom back!) that I would clear the stairway. But no, I leave this giant blanket on top of some toys and clothing.(note stool, it nearly killed me!) Its truly a health hazard coming down that with a full bin! We built the stairway ourselves, and we did the attic. It was just fluff, and space. So we did the floor with OSB(after lots of supports), put up wall frame and ceiling, opened one doghouse for a window, put in insulation, and of course Frank did wireing first. Then an airconditioner and heaters. We didnt have the time or money for drywall, but its an amazing space for my fabric! Its a 38 ft long room. The first half is a kids play area and there is built in storage in the low parts of the roof. We will be sad to move away, but ready for something new right?

Fall leaves

These are some leaves the kids found out front, the first picture you can see how the green is all in the center in a really neat shape! The other leaves were just pretty, yellow and orange. We have fewer leaves here in SC, we have a lot of pine needles. We have one particular tree in the front yard, its part of a small group of trees that the kids call "woods." We live in a neighborhood on a decent sized lot, but there are no real woods. Our friend Bridget has some lovely woods and Annas nearly cant be rivaled! But at my house, this one tree is the best!

Thanks and Merry Christmas

Last night my dad sent me an email with a link to a you tube video done by Lizzy Palmer, a 15 yr old girl. She made this video to remind us all that the soldiers are still out there working, and they still need our support. Even if you don't support this cause.

I don't know if I support this cause, I never tried to figure it out. And I never will. My soldier has been deployed, and will be again. Yes, I support it wholeheartedly. I hope that Lizzy has reminded many to do the same, whether you have a soldier there or not.

So here is my Christmas tree, it leans a little. I don't care a huge amount for decorating, but Frank does. He is away at school, not deployed, but away and always a soldier. And he will love to come home to lights and decorations, candles and wrapped gifts. Even though we miss him, and would rather hang lights with him, we do it for him when he is away.

I thank you all, out there fighting for freedom. I dont care what the cause is. In spite of the sand, hot days and cold nights, the worries and the discomfort, you are still there doing what you promised to do.

So thank you to my grandfather (Army), to my father(Navy retired), to my mother (Army reserves), to my brothers (Air Force, Army), to my sister (Natl Guard), to my brother in law (Natl Guard), and most of all my husband, Active Duty Army, my own personal hero and soldier. Thank you, thank for my country, for my freedom, for my rights, for my warm safe home, for your values, for your courage, for your bravery, for your many selfless acts. No matter what the cause, whether its yours or someone else's, you have fought for our homes. Thank you to the spouses and the children, thank you for giving your soldier. Thank you to many others I have met, and many I never will. I support you, forever. Merry Christmas, where ever you are.

Messy House

I was making up packages yesterday morning, and couldnt find the "paper scissors." These scissors were all once sewing scissors that no longer cut fabric. Each child knows that if they use proper fabric scissors, they will be sold as cuban sugar plantation slaves. I remembered leaving the scissors in my room, from cutting plastic away from (more) bales of fabric.

So as I am walking back down the hallway, I am cutting out labels and letting the paper fall as I walk. Adding to my mess... I arrived back in the living room with cut labels and was reminded of the mess! A yr ago, I would have thrown away the paper cut away immediately. Not now, no, now I just kind of let it be. My living room looks this way daily. I clean it daily, and it looks so wonderful and inviting! Right after cleaning up clutter, doing the dishes, vacuuming the floor, I pull out the table and a stack of fabric and cut/sew/clutter. And I love it.

Is it worth it? Yes yes yes! My children drag out books and puzzles, we read and play throughout the day. Their math books are often open on the floor, to the page they finished and wanted me to write A ++ on. They regularly go through the piles of scraps on the floor to find what they can use for crafts, or sew things together and call it baby doll clothes. They know that 4 o'clock means quick clean! Time to spend 10-20 min cleaning all clutter, games, books, school stuff, art, shoes, cast off clothing (nathalie!) and get all of these items into their rightful homes. Then they wait anxiously for daddy to come and see the neat living room! That mommy will once again clutter...

Even when he is away at school (now), or working until 10, 4 is the time to clean. And then mess up. Especially because there will often be more puzzles and games out for daddy to assist with. When I was first married, and we had 1 small baby, everything was immaculate. And I was wishing so that I had something else to do. And I am so pleased now, even with my messy messy living room. Oh, I left out pics of my bedroom, your welcome!

Sewing and hanging out

I dont like blogging without pictures bc I love other peoples pictures! I am disappointed when someone blogs with no visual aids... How juvenile of me!

Yesterday I made nathalie a new outfit, she needed something darker. I end up using more spray n wash than you can imagine every time we are near clay. My best friend in Ga has plenty of this orange junk, and now Nathalie has something that wont be ruined by it! I had the mauve interlock and ribbing that matched, just a leftover pc in my fabric stock. The denim is a soft hand with flower embroidery that my mom bought on sale last winter. I made the pants with mock fly, hidden front pockets, back pockets, ribbed waistband, tons of topstitching (makes them look so store bought, and I mean from a nice store!) and the shirt is just a long sleeve t. I make hers with ribbed bands at the sleeves so they dont get all wet at the sink.

They spent an hr lounging, my mom left yesterday and we were all a bit bummed. They watched a movie in the living room, afterwards when I asked them to clean up, Nathalie obliged by cleaning her brother up from the floor. She pushed him all the way to his room in this fashion! He is wearing his new wooly pants, 100 % washable wool terry that feels amazing! They make great gym pants, pj pants, house pants... Her hair in the first pic looks neat going to one side, I caught her in the picture sitting up fast.

I will blog the pants later, I have had some requests on how to make the ribbed waistband on most of their pants, and also on mock fly.

Another day

Nothing very interesting here, I have a new phone and so finally can stop missing calls... My old cell was needing to be updated as it wouldnt charge anymore. It was a free update so that is nice.

Frank is on leave getting ready for warrant officer school, he leaves next week! I am sad and overall just not looking forward to it. After 2 long years of being a drill sgt, he is having a lot of much needed time off, and I am grateful for this time. He is finishing up the house stuff, working in the yard and catching up on reading. Oh, and seeing us!

Today is bread day, we are completely out and after talking to Franks dad, my bread is rising much better! He is the guru on all things to know, Frank insists his dad has read several different sets of encyclopedias which I can believe. He is one of those people that knows the answers to everything and you have to stop and wonder, why would someone know where grain weevils come from? I mean I know what they eat, and how they multiply. But did you know they come like to inhabit paper bags? Like the paper flour comes in? So just move your flour to plastic bins, thats what we have done.

I have been making clothes for my store now that my children are outfited. So far so good! Wool and hemp are good sellers. More later on life, and pictures as well. Have some good ones of the kids helping out. Must go punch the bread!

Long Johns

These are the long johns I made for the kids. I made 2 pr so far, I have a pr for sale in my store.
The fabric is 100 % washable and dryable wool interlock-t shirt material. It feels really soft, you would never know its is wool! These are great under her dresses or pants.

Sewing and cooking!

These are pictures of some of my day, yesterday and this morning. I have been in a clothes sewing mood, usually its diapers. I have made a lot for the children and some for us, and more cloth for our home of course. Now I have found a good use for my scraps, the green onesie is made from washable wool fabric that was leftover after making long johns for the kids and for my ebay store. The onesie is a sz 56, which I think is a 0-3 mo?

Last night, Tad complained that he had no clean pjs. Well this is twofold, one I cant seem to get them to stop putting them in the hamper after 1 or 2 wears. They bathe before bed! They reuse their towel, and only change sheets once a wk. So I made him a pr of pj pants! I didn't have quite enough for a shirt too but the pants are cute. I cut them from a little girls shorts pattern, and just made it bigger and longer! They were a bit lower than I like, but he loves them! This soft flannel was a pc my grammie gave me that she bought years ago.

Last night we had pork chops, new potatoes boiled and broccoli. The pork chops were a family pack, bc it was cheaper that way. I didn't want the meat to go bad, so I cut it into pcs this morning, put them in the crock pot with cut up new potatoes, some frozen peas and carrots which my family love, 4 cups of beef broth made with bullion cubes, cut up onion, fresh minced garlic, some seasoning and there you go! Homemade provencial stew. I think its pretty in the crock pot. We will eat it tomorrow for dinner and have enough leftovers to freeze for a lunch for Frank. We are buying a freezer, hopefully today. I want to do freezer meals, I have learned that double zip lock bags do great with freezer meals, though I would love a small machine for the freezing job. The freezer comes first obviously! I have read on other peoples blogs lately about having a cooking day and freezing meals. Its a wonderful idea, we have been doing that some but don't have a big enough freezer.

Lastly, I have a great way to not waste veggies! I have a bad habit of buying too many fresh ones and then they go bad. So now, I have been blanching and freezing them, onions, zucchini, yellow squash etc. Then I can take them out later and steam them, its the same as buying frozen veggies. Only they taste better bc they are more fresh and this way they don't rot in the fridge bin before we get to them! This is also a great thing to do when veggies are on sale. Buy fresh fruit like this and freeze it and you have smoothie ingredients. Our grocery bill has gotten lower and lower since we stopped buying junk, disposable items, cleaners and started making homemade foods more. We feel healthier and I am loving cooking days!

Next I have to make banana bread. I bought a lot of bananas on sale and have let them turn brown on purpose!

More pants!

So here is the next pr, I made these for her today. She loves this handmedown shirt but had nothing to wear with it yet, and so was wearing it with her pink flowered pants... So here is a perfect pr! The light blue is a very lightweight denim, with contrast medium blue stitching and the waistband is medium blue. I really like this pattern! I have 1 more pr cut out for her and I will blog the making process next wk. Also, I have a pr of jeans cut out for him and I will blog the zipper.

Nathalie's Winter Wardrobe

Some of these pictures of Nathalie make me laugh, she has such a sense of style! The shirt with purple and white is not one I made, but it looks nicer with the purple jeans than the camo shirt!
The purple jeans are a lightweight denim pc my mom purchased. The ribbed waistband is very comfi and soft, the tan pants have the same waistband in pink. The tan pants are a 3 % lycra stretch cotton twill. They dont wrinkle! They were made from a modified ottobre pattern for an older girl.
The purple denim were made with no pattern and are a bit too big. The long sleeve pink tee with the tan pants is a bamboo blend, its very soft and drapey. She wore this for halloween with a matching pink skirt and white leggings, oh I didnt take a picture with that... I will get to that!
The stripey shirt with the print pink pants is NOT I repeat NOT an appropriated outfit! The shirt was a hand me down and the pants I did make, they are really cute with her blue turtle neck. The blue turtle neck needs to be handwashed now, I think she is probably child number 8 wearing it, except my mom bought it used so it may be even more.
The blue pants are 100 % washable wool, its the most wonderful fabric! Its a terry so its smooth on one side and loopy on the other. I bought another 10 yards after the first 2 its so nice. I want to make pants for my mom, and myself. Oh and Frank wants a pr... She wears these to bed, under dresses, over leotards, Tad wears them to gym and today I cut out his pr!
The long sleeve blue print dress is last years, I saw this type dress in lands end kids for 28 $ so I started making them for her. I made her a green washable wool one this year, but it was too big and was a perfect fit on my God daughter so she is wearing it this year.
The pink wooly gown was cut down from a lands end womens wool henley. Mom bought it and it was too small for both her and me under the arms so we cut it down for Nathalie and made her a "wooly gown." She loves wool, anything wool gets named wooly, wooly dress, wooly gown and just woolies for her pants. Its the one fabric she can detect right away. She will love Kansas winters!
The pink gown is on its 3rd year for her so like the blue dress is a bit short in the sleeves. The wooly gown was mid calf the first year and we had to roll the sleeve!
Thats it so far, new leotards are cut out, 2 more pr pants need to be cut and 2 shirts. And she has chosen a pc of striped fabric for a new long sleeve t shirt dress.

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