Pumpkin Patch

Garrett & Gracen got to go on a field trip in October to the Pumpkin Patch. I went along for fun. Here is a sampling of the photos...

Garrett's 2nd grade class...

Gracen's 4-year-old preschool class...

Losing Teeth

Not only is G. losing teeth, but so is the Girlie!

Gracen has had a couple of loose teeth for quite a while now. Finally, one was lying on it's side so she asked Grandma Marsha to pull them for her. (I think they were getting in the way of her sucking her thumb!) I was substitute teaching that day so I didn't get to see it, but apparently she was a VERY brave girl. Only two tiny little tears when Grandma pulled the tooth that wasn't as loose as the other.

Grandma is the only "dentist" I know who PAYS her patients! She gave Gracen $2. Gracen also received $1 from the Tooth Fairy--$0.50 for each tooth. Gracen is so happy to have the loose teeth out of her mouth. I secretly think it's because she now has the perfect slot for her thumb. :o)

The Crappiest Blogger Award Goes to...

ME! Yeah, I suck at blogging. Seriously. There's nothing all that interesting or exciting going on in our lives it seems. That's probably good because I really don't care for a lot of of upheaval. A boring life makes for a boring blog, but oh well! All the daily stuff takes up most of my/our time so there's not much left for other stuff. I'll get you caught up anyway.

Garrett is almost 8 and in 2nd grade. He's doing very well in school and seems to like his teacher. She's a pretty tough cookie and really seems picky about keeping the kids in line. That's good! Garrett is a really good kid.

Gracen just turned 5 last Friday. She's in 4-year-old preschool every afternoon 11 to 3. I take her at 11 for lunch and she's old enough now to ride the bus home from school. Saves Mommy an extra trip to town! Yay! She's so funny. She says she can't recognize certain letters like "r" and "e" even though they are in her name which she can write really well! Doesn't make sense to me, but maybe she's just being stubborn and silly. She loves going to school so that's great! She already has two loose bottom teeth and one of the bottom permanent teeth coming in. Garrett was almost 7 before he started losing teeth. Gracen is a good kid, too, but she sometimes has those "I want what I want when I want it" moments that kids her age often have.

We're in the midst of harvest right now...except it keeps raining so there's not much harvesting going on! Matt has been roaming the house the past few days bored out of his mind (he kept the kids for me yesterday but I think he was bored even though he did stuff with them). Harvest is something he's always excited to tackle and likes to keep the momentum going so it gets done. Hard to do when you don't have control over the weather.

Me, well, I've been so busy with everyday stuff that there's not much time for extras. I don't seem to accomplish much between taking Gracen to school and the kids getting home except for eating lunch, doing Bible study, and showering.

My mom's group is doing a very interesting, intensive Bible study that takes some time every day. It's Beth Moore's A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. It's just...WOW! I definitely recommend it.

I have been completely lax on sewing anything lately! It's so sad! I have a couple of projects I'd like to do, but I just haven't had the time and gumption to start them. It's pitiful. Maybe I'll get back in the swing of sewing later this fall and winter when it'll be more difficult to get outside. Whenever it's been nice out, I've tried to get the kids outside to play and ride their 4-wheelers because I know that time is running short for that stuff.

I've been trying to work on my photography knowledge and skills, but it's slow going. I really should make a better effort at posting my photos here for feedback as I know that would help me. I'm rather lazy about getting my photos onto the computer and getting them processed in a timely fashion. Heck, we went to Maine this summer and I'm still not done editing them! Ugh! I'd really like to have an album made with those photos.

I've done a few casual photo shoots with the kids lately, although Gracen isn't really gung-ho about being my model. My sister and brother-in-law also graciously let me take their portraits last weekend when they were here for Gracen's birthday. I'll show you a few of some of the better ones. Feel free to post your opinions!

I hope your autumn is going wonderfully! Blessing to you!

A Boy & His New Toy

Not much time for blogging lately, so this is a quicky. Check out what Garrett got yesterday...



He LOVES it and has taken to driving it like a duck to water! Gracen is dying to ride with him but we want him to have more practice on it first. I've taken her for several rides so she's gotten her turn. It's a fun little thing!

Can't Live Without It

We are such a TV-watching family. It's ridiculous really. We only have two TVs, but do you think we could live with only one? Nooo. A couple of weeks ago the TV in our living room died on us. We promptly went to Wal-Mart that same night and bought a new one. Kinda of pathetic that we can't even go overnight without a TV in our living room, but it's the truth. We bought a 32" flat screen LCD TV and it's very nice.


The new TV didn't fill up the hole in the entertainment center, so I, of course, felt the need to get something different. We stopped by a local furniture store and lo and behold! The exact thing I was wanting! I love this new console! I need to find some better boxes or baskets for our DVDs, but here's what it looks like. (Please excuse the photo, it's not the greatest, but you get the gist.)

Gauchos!!

The gauchos are finally done! It's about time, huh? Let's have a little parade to celebrate. LOL!

Pattern: Simplicity 4135 Threads Pants

This is a Threads Magazine Collection pattern for boot leg pants in two lengths, city shorts, wide leg pants, and gauchos. The sizes are misses' 6-14 with a petite alteration option. The pattern includes "perfect fit techniques" as well. I liked the waistband of these pants as well as the bootcut look, so I made View D, the gauchos and used the petite length.

Having never made pants before, I agonized over what size to cut. I finally decided to cut a size 12 waistband, a size 12 for the top 3 inches or so of the pants, then tapered to a size 10 at the low hip and legs. In hindsight, I possibly could've pulled off a size 10 or even a 12 may have looked nice. I ended up taking in the waistband quite a bit more than I expected and it is still quite roomy. I wasted too much time trying to decide what size to make when probably either one would've been OK.

I made these gauchos out of some black cotton wrinkle-resistant pant fabric I found at Wal-Mart. I'm sure I'll have to deal with lint, but you almost always do with black pants anyway.

These pants went together surprisingly easy! I was surprised at how good the pattern instructions were. They didn't assume you know everything about sewing pants and were pretty darn good about leading you through step by step. The waistband pieces can be confusing, but if you mark which side is which, etc. you should be OK. (Also, don't take 5 months to make the things and you won't forget where you're at in the process!)

I did have some problems with the fly. The instructions for making the fly and inserting the zipper were pretty good even though I had a hard time seeing how it all fit together before doing it. However, once I was getting toward the end and was sewing the crotch/back seam, I ran into problems with getting the bottom of the zipper to lie flat and not pucker. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly need to draw attention to my crotch with a puckered zipper! So, after many seam-rippings and rebastings, my mom suggested that I take out part of the top-stitching on the front of the fly--basically the curve at the bottom. Then, I resewed the crotch/back seam and voila! A flat fly front! Next time, I'd like to try Sandra Betzina's flat fly front zipper directions, but at this point in the gaucho-making process, it just wasn't possible.

I'm happy with how these came out. I hope they last and I'll get some good use out of them. I have a blouse to make that just might look pretty darn cute with these, so sometime I'll get a good full-body pic of me dressed in them.

Have a great weekend!

Playing with the New Camera

I've been playing a bit with my new camera. Bottom line: I have a LOT to learn! I'll just keep studying, K? In the meantime, this one turned out pretty good...enjoy!

Cardio Coach Rocks!

I've been meaning to give a review of my new fave way to exercise--Cardio Coach! What is Cardio Coach? A quote from the website sums it up best:

Cardio Coach™ is an audio guided workout program designed for anybody, at any fitness level and for any type of exercise machine (running & walking too).

I first read about Cardio Coach on a Yahoo group for Firmies quite some time ago. At the time, it sounded interesting, but I didn't own any type of cardio equipment, no iPod, and just couldn't do that sort of thing while pushing kids in a stroller up and down hills on a gravel road.

As you know, I recently got a treadmill AND bought an iPod Nano, so I took the plunge and bought Cardio Coach's Volume 1. I LOVE having this guy in my ear telling me what to do! It has encouraged me to push myself to see how fast I can run during some of those challenges. It's great to have focus during my treadmill workouts instead of just walking along at whatever pace I choose (and that would be slower than what I do with Cardio Coach). This guy is better at pushing me than I am at pushing myself. I also get a better workout in a shorter amount of time and as a busy mom, you know I'm all about getting my workout over and done!

Click to see specific info on Cardio Coach's Volume 1 workout. This includes time duration, type of music, equipment suggestions, and descriptions of each track (warm up, steady state, challenges, cool down).

The music is OK. It's all instrumental, sometimes inspirational during challenges, but nothing I'm really excited about. That's fine with me because listening to the music isn't really what I'm focused on anyway. It is as it should be--background that goes with what I'm doing at the time.

I'm still Firming, but I've been using Cardio Coach on the treadmill on one of my cardio days instead of doing a Firm DVD. I definitely think there's room for my ole Firm faves and my new Cardio Coach fave!

If you're getting bored with your current workout and would like to try something interesting, check this out! I highly recommend it and I'll definitely be buying some more Cardio Coach, too.

New Camera!

I have wanted a DSLR camera for SO long and I finally got one! I bought a used Canon Rebel XT from someone I know online using the money I earned by substitute teaching. I've had it since Tues. (today being Fri.) and I haven't had much time to play with it, but here are a couple of decent ones I got of my cuties.

Matt and Gracen have been sick again this week. I don't know why we can't shake the sickies, but it's getting really annoying!

I've actually done a bit of sewing! I'm getting ever-closer to finishing those gauchos. I had to have some help on the fly portion, but I think they'll work. Need to finish up the closures, then hem them. Don't you worry! I'll be posting some pics and a review once they are done!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Winter Blahs or Laziness?

We have had ENOUGH of winter here in NW MO! We have hardly seen bare ground since December. It's been so snowy and cold here that no one can accomplish anything outside. Heck, I can't seem to accomplish anything inside either. We're just all seriously lacking motivation. But maybe we're just lazy! LOL!

What's been going on here?

• Illness--We all got the respiratory flu, or something like it, during the first full week of February. I have not been that sick in a very long time. It was awful and lasted a full week for the kids and I. Matt came down with it first on Sat., then the kids and I had it on Mon. Poor Matt had to take care of the rest of us even though he still felt fairly bad, too. Almost 3 weeks later, we're *still* recovering from it. I was even sick on my birthday and we were unable to celebrate. Oh well, I'm probably past the age where birthdays are really necessary to celebrate. LOL! Luckily, Garrett didn't miss much school because we got some snow that week as well.
  
  
• Eyes--I've had a roller coaster month with my eyes. I'm very, very nearsighted and have worn glasses since 2nd grade and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contacts since I was 11. My last pair of contacts were 12 years old and were starting to bother me. I looked into participating in a study for P-IOLs (phakic intra-ocular lens implants). This is similar to cataract surgery, but the natural lens is not removed from the eye and another, corrective lens is implanted to improve vision. I had decided to go for it. Eye surgery requires that contacts not be worn for several weeks prior to surgery. For me, I had to be without my RGPs for 3 weeks, have an initial exam, have a 2nd exam a week later, then plan the surgeries on my eyes--so up to 7 weeks in glasses. The eyes need to go back to their natural shape, esp. when you've worn RGPS for as long as I have.
  
  I spent the week we were sick in my glasses. It was TERRIBLE! I couldn't see worth a darn and felt like my glasses were keeping me sicker than I ordinarily would've been. I gave up on Sat. and put my contacts back in. I decided that it's not worth the torture of wearing glasses I can't see with or drive in. I've gotten along with contacts just fine for most of my life, so they aren't that much of a hardship for me. Plus, I think I was jumping into the surgery too quickly.
  
  I went to the eye doctor the next week and was told that the reason I can't see with my glasses is because they are TOO STRONG! Huh?! I was totally shocked, but it makes sense why it seemed so hard to focus on things far away. Crazy! Currently, I'm trying out some extended wear soft contact lenses and I'm liking them. The first set I wasn't getting great vision with, but this second set that I got this Thurs. are great! Great vision, but I can feel the left one a little bit too much sometimes. Have another appointment next Wed. to see if these are going to work for me and then the eye doc will write me a Rx. Lots o' driving to Chillicothe for this, but I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.
  
  I haven't completely given up on eye surgery for sometime in the future, but I just don't think now is the time. We'll see what technology brings down the road.
  
  
• Substitute Teaching--I've been substitute teaching a bit this month. I'm saving my paychecks to possibly purchase a Canon Rebel DSLR. Since I don't have all the money for a camera yet, I'm trying to learn more about the operation of DSLR cameras and more about photography in general. I'm reading Quick Snap Guide to Digital SLR Photography. Study, study!
  
  
• Visiting Family--We visited my family last weekend and had a lovely time. My parents bought the kids bunk beds so they wouldn't have to share a bed anymore. They are sleeping so much better because they aren't kicking and pulling the covers off of each other. LOL! Gracen's loud thumb-sucking one night ran Matt out of the bedroom (the bunk beds and a double bed are in my old bedroom, so the kids, Matt, & I all sleep in the same room) and to the couch! I thought it was pretty funny!
  
  My parents, sister, & BIL got me some new FIRM workouts that I asked for. I haven't done them all yet, but I like them so far! Thanks, folks!
  
  
• Treadmills & iPods--Since this winter has been so yucky, I have been stuck inside to workout. I love my FIRM workouts, but I do like to walk/jog every now and again. It's been either too cold/snowy/windy or too muddy to get outside for exercise. Plus, the kids together will weigh too much for the double jogger stroller once the weather gets better. Garrett is just too big for it anyway, but he's not yet experienced enough to ride his bike alongside me on our hilly gravel roads around here. Now would be the perfect time to get a treadmill. After much research and looking around, I had decided on a one. The very day I was going to go pick it up, Matt called and said that his aunt and uncle will give us theirs! We're supposed to get it this weekend. How wonderful is that?!
  
  To go along with the treadmill, I've been looking the past couple of weeks at MP3 players. I tell ya, there is a dazzling array of these things available. They also do a lot more than just play music if you spend only a tiny bit more money on them. First, I bought a cheapy ILO brand (or something) at Wal-Mart. It wouldn't even turn on! Returned it. Then, bought a Memorex at Target. Got it home and saw that it got awful reviews on Amazon and Target.com. Gonna return it. After researching and agonizing and agonizing and researching, I bought a 4GB Apple iPod Nano. It's more money than I originally wanted to spend, but I figure the whole family can benefit from it--we can listen to audiobooks in the car on long drives or the kids can watch videos on it. I plan to use it when I'm on the treadmill. I'm going to purchase Cardio Coach to do some training. I haven't tried CC yet, but I've heard good things. I also miss listening to Dr. Laura since she's not on the radio around here anymore, so I'm going to try subscribing to her podcasts. I'm also going to start exploring the wide world of digital media--there are lots of free mommy podcasts on iTunes, podcasts for kids, videos, movies, music--lots of stuff! It'll be fun to play with the iPod.

That's the majority of what we've been doing, I guess. I have a bag order that I need to complete before next Wed. I've had no time to work on my other sewing projects though. Thus we come back to the main question: Is it the winter blahs or laziness?

Photo Bag

Finally! My photo bag is finished. A client requested a photo bag to give as a gift this past Christmas, so I decided the best course of action to investigate the possibility was to make one for myself. I created the outside and was pleased with the results, so I went ahead with my customer's bag, and just recently finished my personal photo bag. I'll be adding the particulars to my Bumblebee Bags website in a bit here. Check out the pics:

In other fun news, we got broadband Internet access! It's fabulous so far! Hope I can post more often here.

Sad Times

The world's worst blogger award goes to me. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've had a chance to blog. I wish I could say that the time has been happy and filled with fun, but it hasn't.

Previously, I asked for prayers for my ailing father-in-law (FIL for those who don't know these abbreviations). As many of you know, unfortunately, his illness was too great for him and he passed away on Monday evening, December 10, 2007. MIL was by his side and DH and his brother had spent the weekend with them. MIL says he went very peacefully just a few hours after being transferred from the hospital to a hospice in Kansas City. Basically, as the doctors were finishing up tests for the transplant, they found cancer at the last minute (Thurs., Dec. 6). They didn't know where it had started, but it was beginning to spread and that meant the transplant would not be possible. FIL refused dialysis on Friday and was gone by Monday. It's very bittersweet--we're glad he's not suffering anymore, but at age 59, he was entirely too young to die.

So followed a whirlwind couple of weeks. The weather was awful--icy, snowy, cold--and all MIL wanted was to get home. DH & her BIL got her home and we began to plan the memorial service. FIL asked to be cremated and his ashes buried in the cemetery, so that's what we did. We picked out a nice wooden box with a deer and mountain scene on it for the ashes and guest book and programs with a farm scene.

I tell ya, I've never helped plan a funeral before and it was a very odd experience. I knew DH needed me there with him and I was happy to go with them to the funeral home. In this particular funeral home, there is a whole area upstairs with urns on display, casket samples, guest book choices, etc. It wasn't too difficult to pick things out and we were pretty open as to how the service would go. Then, MIL had to pay for the memorial service and the other services being provided by the funeral right then and there! I was surprised because I figured that surely they would send you a bill later when everything is over and done with, but that's apparently not how it works. I'm not knocking how they do it--they are a business afterall--but I was just surprised that the bill had to be paid right away.

Once the memorial service was planned, we went to work finding photos to put on large boards. Since there was no body to view, we thought people would like to look at the photos. I thought I was going to have to do most of it, but FIL's sister flew in and did a much better job than I did. She was a lifesaver! We spent the rest of the week before the service visiting with family and friends, receiving TONS of food (and I'm not kidding--TONS of food!), and cleaning the house and garage. We were busy every day and one of those days our electricity was out for the entire day (that was an awful day for me, but I won't go into that)! Like I said the weather was awful and we were really lucky that our power was out only one day.

FIL's memorial service was Sunday afternoon, December 16, 2007. We had lunch at MIL's before the service. DH did pretty well during the service, but DS cried the entire time! Poor kid! I guess it wasn't very real to him until we were actually there. Afterward, we all went back to MIL's and visited with family and friends which was very nice.

We are all doing OK. DH & BIL know they can handle the farm themselves so that's a worry off of them, but it will take some time for it to really sink in that he's gone. I'm sure it's hardest on MIL who took care of him and was with him for almost 24 hours a day. We will all make it through because we have to. There are no other alternatives. And I know that we all will appreciate having MIL around more because she's the guys' right arm, my left arm, the kids' grandma, our babysitter, friend, and general good-sense-giving person!

Our Christmas was pretty subdued. We usually go to my parents' house for Christmas, but we decided to stay home and they and my sis & BIL came here. That was probably more work for me, but it was OK. We had a good time.

Once we got past Christmas, we've been bumps on a log. We haven't accomplished a darn thing really, but I suppose that's OK. We all needed some downtime. We have gotten more snow every few days and we've taken advantage of that when we can. It's been way too cold and windy to play outside the past fews days, although it's going to start warming up tomorrow and into the weekend. I don't think we've seen the ground for almost 3 weeks! The kids go back to school tomorrow and I think we're all anxious to get back to our normal routine.

I'm taking January off from bag-making and I hope to get caught up on some of my personal sewing projects. Still need to finish those gauchos, make a jacket, and I want to make a bag for myself for a change! I'll try to keep you updated.

Our family thanks all of you for your prayers, support, food, and anything else you did for us during the year FIL was ill and after his death. It really means a lot to us. BIG HUGS!!

Oh, So Busy & A Place to Eat

Sigh! I don't know where the day goes. (Oh yeah, stupid time change took some of it!) We've been so busy lately that I sometimes feel like I shouldn't sleep so I can get more stuff done. That's not gonna help, though, so I do sleep, of course. I've had 4-H, a township meeting, Mom's group, friends and hunters visiting, bags to finish, and cows to work. That's along with cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, and substitute teaching two days this week. Whew! It's times like these that I wish I didn't have so much to do. Of course, then I'd be bored, so it's a double-edged sword.

Good news is that my new dining room set arrived amidst the chaos last week! We LOVE it! It's so nice--the table is a little higher than our old one which means that Matt can sit at it more comfortably, and the chairs are very sturdy and comfortable. I no longer have to worry that someone may sit down and fall straight to the floor! The table is 42W x 50L, I think, and we got two leaves for when company comes. I love it's chubby legs! The kids still haven't figured out exactly which is "their seat." ;o) Here are a couple of pics:

Keep your fingers crossed that things are settling down now. I hope to get caught up soon on posting some photos here, too. I hope you all have a blessed week!

A Little Toothless Grin

A visit from the Tooth Fairy is imminent this evening at our house. Garrett lost his first tooth today! I was eating my lunch in the office and he came in holding his little tooth in his hand and said, "Mommy, my tooth came out." He had the weirdest look on his face like he didn't know what to do or think about the whole thing! All I can say is that it's about time that he lost one. He'll be 7 on Dec. 1 and hadn't lost a tooth yet. He looks super-cute with it missing. Such a milestone for our little man!

Long Time, No Blog

Wow! It's been a long time since I blogged. We've been so very busy and have had so little time.


First, I'd like to ask for prayers for my FIL. He has been sick, in the hospital, and needs a liver transplant. Please pray for FIL, MIL who is his primary care giver, DH & his brother, and the rest of our family. This situation is very hard for all of us in so many ways. We all really need strength and understanding in God's will.


I've been busy with 4-H, subbing, a sick kid, all of my SAHM duties, my mom's group, sewing & getting project supplies, etc. I've been planning some projects for myself--gauchos and a jacket--and have several bags to make. You know I'll post pics when I get something finished!

Gracen's 4th birthday was last Wednesday. Gosh! Wasn't it just yesterday that I gave birth to that 9 lb. 4 oz. baby girl with an inch of dark hair on her head?! Time sure does fly! Gracen was sick on Monday & Tuesday, but my parents came to visit so they could be here on her birthday. They can do that since they're both retired, you know. ;o) I think she had a nice day even if we didn't do very much. DH's uncle drove up here from Kansas City to personally deliver a Disney Princesses backpack, sleeping bag, and water bottle to the birthday girl! It was really touching that he did that. My parents gave her a tricycle with all-terrain tires that will go on the gravel. We gave her a dress-up Polly toy where you "paint" her nails and hair with water and they change color. She really likes it--she really likes everything! We'll be having a little family party for her on Sunday, October 28. My whole family will be here and hopefully MIL and her sister can come for the day along with DH's grandma. I'll share some pics when I get the chance.

I hope you all have a blessed day! I'm going to go work on those gauchos!

Pajamas 2.0

Pattern: New Look 6641

My parents were in town for the weekend, so I had some time to finish DS's pajamas. I used the same pattern as DD's pajamas. I've decided that this pattern, though unisex, is shaped rather girlish. Possibly DS could've used a smaller shirt (the skinny kid!), but I just think the shape of the top and the bottom of the pants are a little girlie. It really doesn't matter since these are just pajamas, but it's something worth commenting on.

I used a green & tan camouflage jersey knit from Fashion Fabrics Club with which, frankly, I'm disappointed. This fabric is VERY thin and I'm not very confident that it's going to hold up, particularly in the waistband of the pants. It's my fault for choosing a "jersey knit" instead of something else. Live and learn, right?!

Since these jammies were for DS, I obviously didn't do the lettuce edges and puffy sleeve details. I'm REALLY happy with how well the neck band turned out (although I think the neck opening on this pattern is too wide in general)--no pleats or tucks or anything this time! I even got the sleeves eased in without any puckers! Yay! Everything went together well using both the serger and the sewing machine.

These pajamas were great for practicing sewing with knit fabric as well as practicing with the serger. I've learned quite a bit and hope that my sewing skills continue to grow as I sew!

Pajamas!

The fabric for the kids' pajamas arrived on Saturday as well as a 10 pound box of "mystery" fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club. My sewing process normally goes like this: I find a pattern I like, then I have to search and search to find appropriate fabric. I decided to try the box of mystery fabric to see what happens if I reverse the process. I got a few hopeful yardages, but there are some that I can't imagine using. You never know though!


The magenta knit I ordered for Gracen's pants was supposed to be an interlock knit, but based on the Understanding Knits class I took in June, I think it's actually a french terry. No matter. It's nice fabric--heavier than the fabric for the top--but so nice that I want some pants made out of it, too! OK, probably not magenta pants...


The green camouflage fabric for Garrett's pajamas has some gold in it. I like it, but I wasn't sure if he would. He says he doesn't mind the gold, so I guess we're good to go.


Armed with fabric, I tackled sewing Gracen's pants on Sunday. The fabric was easy to cut out. The directions were easy to follow. I had no problems using the serger and was wondering why anyone would make knit pajama pants WITHOUT a serger! To sew the waistband, I used a small zig-zag stitch--lets it stretch without popping stitches. I ended up cutting off about 2 inches from each leg. I *should've* measured DD before I cut the pattern out, but I didn't and I thought I would sew the extra up into the hem allowance. That was just too much fabric though, so I cut off the excess. Instead of doing a one-inch seam, I decided to just fold the allowance over twice, then did a LARGE zig-zag stitch over the bulk of it. I think it gives it a fun little touch. Feast your eyes...



These pants were *super-easy* to do. I think DD probably could've used a size smaller, but she is SO HARD to fit right now! She's very much between sizes and it appears that she's going to have her daddy's long torso and short(er) legs. Of course, mommy isn't tall, but at least all my parts are in proportion! ;oP I figure that she'll continue to grow into these and if needed, we can let the hem of the legs out as she gets taller. This mission has officially been accomplished!


I'll be starting Garrett's pajamas this afternoon. I won't be able to complete them today as I need more elastic for the waistband, but we'll see what I can get done.

New Dining Set!

A while back, we had a guy who works for a logging company call us to ask if we'd be interested in selling some trees on some land that we own. They were going to be next to our land and they thought it looked like there were some trees there that they could use. We decided to let them have our trees because we figured they would come on our land and get them anyway. (Many loggers are unscrupulous like that.) We figured that we might as well get paid for what they take! We don't use that section anyway because it's all timber. For those of you concerned about the environment, they took only certain trees that were the right size. They did not cut down the entire forest or anything!

So, to make a long story longer, because of the loggers, we now have a little extra money. We have been needing new dining room chairs for YEARS now. I've seriously been worried that someone is going to get hurt when one of those chairs falls apart underneath them! I decided to go ahead and get a new dining room set--table and chairs.

We went to the Amish or Mennonite-owned (don't know which!) Country Heritage Furniture in Jamesport. The set will be custom-made in oak and what they call Seely stain--basically a light oak color, but not as "golden" as what we've got now. We're getting a 42"x50" table, two leaves, and 6 chairs. We'll be able to comfortably sit 6 people at the table without the leaves and at least 8 people with the leaves. I'm so excited! The bad part is that we won't get the set until the second week of November. I guess I can't complain too much since I'm confident that I'm getting good quality furniture custom-made for me. Check out the pics of the floor model below.

Below is our current dining room and dining set. The table and chairs are all pretty old. We will keep the table for future use. I may eventually paint or do *something* with the buffet on the right of the photo just to break up all the brown from about waist-high and down. Or maybe I'll make some cute little slipcovers for my new chairs to bring in more color. We'll see!

This is the set we are getting. Same chairs, table top, and table legs, but it will all be a different color as well as a smaller size. This set is stained a cherry color. It's beautiful, but the color doesn't go with the rest of our house.

Here is a close-up of the chairs. The flash of the camera makes the finish look lighter than it is. There are no or very few LIGHTS in Amish & Mennonite stores!

Finally, this is a close-up of the legs of the table. I LOVE these! We had to make the table a bit longer just to accommodate these legs.

Argh! I can't get things formatted correctly on here. So please excuse the fact that things are lining up.

New Look 6641 Pajamas

Pattern: New Look 6641--Pajamas

Last Thursday, I finally got started sewing the kids the pajamas that I've been saying I would make them all summer! Originally, I was going to make short-sleeved PJs with shorts, but I think it's a little too late for shorts, so I decided to go for pants.

This all started when a friend asked me to make her a bag using some fun fabric from SewBaby.com. Once the fabric arrived, I knew that the knit fabric wouldn't work at all for a bag, so I decided to use it for some pajamas for DD. (The friend did get her bag in a different fabric!) I determined that I wouldn't have enough fabric to make both a top and pants, so I decided to make the top and I ordered a solid knit for the pants.

On to the review:

This pattern is for kids' pajamas. It's a multi-size pattern--sizes 3-8. It features a nighty, short-sleeved & long-sleeved shirts, pants, and shorts. There are cuff and hem options--regular or lettuce edge--as well as puffy or flat sleeve options. This pattern is sized for stretch knits only for the shirts and a variety of fabrics for the bottoms.

After measuring the kids, I determined they both needed size 5. (I'm sure DD will need her pants shortened.) I traced the pattern so I can use the other sizes for future pajamas. So far, I have made view D--the puff-short-sleeved top with lettuce edges.

This top should've been super-easy and in many ways it was. Cutting it out with the rotary cutter was super-fast. It also has only 5 pieces, so it's not a complicated construction. However, since I'm pretty new to sewing with knit fabrics, this top also gave me some problems.

The instructions were thorough and made sense for the most part. One thing I did not like, however, was sewing the elastic in the sleeves directly to the fabric. It was VERY difficult to do! In the future, I will probably make a casing, then thread the elastic through the casing. I think it would be more comfortable that way as well.

Now, onto the sewing errors and problems I had. These are totally and completely MY fault, by the way, not an issue with the pattern:

I had issues sewing the neck band to the top. This was the first time that I have done this, so while it's not perfect, I did pretty well if I do say so myself! If you don't sew, here's what you have to do: You have to stretch the neck band AS YOU SEW it to the neck edge of the top! It's a weird process. I did this on the serger, so when I discovered a pleat in the back of the shirt underneath the neckband, I decided to just leave it since I had no seam allowance left to work with. It's not a big deal since this is just a pajama top for DD.

I also did the lettuce edging on the sleeves and hem. This process gave me some problems as well. For you non-sewers, you can make a lettuce (ruffly) edge on the edges of the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt by using the rolled hem feature on a serger. You stretch the fabric as it goes through the machine so it leaves a cute lettuce edge. This is a pretty simple thing to do, but you have to understand that I'm new to using the serger! It's such a finicky machine! If it's not threaded EXACTLY correctly (and it's difficult to tell without unthreading and starting all over), it will NOT sew correctly! So, it took me a while to get everything set up and threaded correctly. Then, while lettuce edging one of the sleeves, there was trouble. I don't know exactly what happened, but part of the edge didn't come out right, so I had to cut *another* sleeve and do it again. Later, I had BIG problems with being able to tell how much fabric the blade was cutting off while I was lettuce edging the bottom of the shirt. I finally cut off the messed up parts and did the lettuce edging without using the blade. MUCH BETTER! Luckily, the pattern had a huge hem allowance and the shirt ended up just the right length for DD.

While I'm not super-happy with this top, it turned out OK. It was good practice sewing with knits and with the serger. I am not sure that I'll make this top for DD again, but we'll see. I will make her PJ pants next when the fabric arrives. I ordered a camouflage knit to makes DS's PJs and he's very excited. I'll blog about those items as I get them done.

Let me know what you think!

The Busy Life of a SAHM!

I have a lot of stuff to blog about that I'll get to sometime this week. Right now, I am sitting here, having my snack of Weight Watchers Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt mixed with 1/2-cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (highly recommend it), and thinking about the day...

• Got up and helped get the kids off to school
• Started Matt's laundry
• Made & ate breakfast
• Helped Matt move a truck
• Worked out (The FIRM's Hi-Def Sculpt, if you're curious)
• Picked up Gracen from preschool
• Made phone calls
• Switched laundry loads
• Showered
• Got Gracen lunch
• Finished getting ready
• Laundry to dryer
• Made & ate lunch
• Did some stuff online for a while
• Put Gracen in the tub (she had green marker outlining her feet from yesterday's Children's Church project! So funny!)
• Folded towels & Matt's laundry
• Opened ton of mail
• Paid bills
• Started on township work (I'm the township clerk--fun)
• Got Gracen out of tub & dressed
• Trimmed Gracen's fingernails & toenails
• Painted Gracen's toes
• Garrett came home--trimmed his fingernails
• Got kids snack
• Finished township stuff
• Filed papers
• Cleaned litter box
• Got kids more snack & myself a snack

And now I'm blogging after sending my sister an e-mail! Of course, interspersed in all of that is talking to Gracen and helping her with little things. Sadly, my day's not over. Here's the rest of the day's doings:

• Go visit in-laws (Gracen needs to show off her red toenails!)
• Make & eat supper (think it will be Roast Beef Burritos tonight)
• Watch TV and cuddle kids for a bit
• Help kids brush teeth
• Get kids to bed with minimum of strife
• Sit in chair and veg for a bit before heading to bed, too.

Whew! Of course, today's industrious-ness makes up for yesterday's total lack of mobility & accomplishment. We went to church, had lunch at the in-laws', then came home and were complete couch potatoes the rest of the day! It's pretty rare that we do that anymore, but it sure was nice--even if I did feel a little guilty.

I guess the moral of this is that Stay-at-Home Moms do a LOT, too, and never let anyone tell you otherwise!

Alrighty, I'd better jet! A little preview for you on some things I'll be blogging about this week:

• Gracen's pajama top
• New dining room set