Conversation with Cowboy

The Cowboy and I have great conversations on the way to school every morning. Here's a bit of one that took place the other day.

Cowboy: Hey, Mom, why don't buwds get wolectwocuted when they stand on the powuh lines?

Me: Why don't they get what?

Cowboy: Uuumm...Wolectwocuted. That's a weally hawd wuwd to say.

Conversation with Cowboy

Today Cowboy and Rockstar stayed home from school. They were sick over the weekend but went to school yesterday. Then this morning they both said their throats hurt so I let them stay home.

They should have gone to school.

But, they had fun together. Here's a bit of what I overheard...

Rockstar: Do you want to play house?

Cowboy: Yeah, let's pwetend we awe going to Chuck E. Cheese and we have coupons.

I'm rubbing off on him I guess.

Then later while I was sorting laundry...

Cowboy: Hey mom, we awe playing house and we awe in Connecticut and we awe dwiving and the woads awe icy so we awe dwiving cwazy.

Then I came inside from mowing the back yard. The bar stools were lined up in the middle of the kitchen floor and there were play-do creations arranged on each of them.

Me: What are you guys making?

Cowboy: We awe playing that show wewhe you make da food fowh da jugdes den dey tell you to pack yowh knives and go.

Ahh...Top Chef. Got it.

So yeah, they should have been at school. But it was fun having them home. Now, let's see if they're sick again when it's time to clean up all their messes.

A Tutorial

So, someone wanted to know how I made the appliqued pillows. So here's the tutorial. It will probably be long. And there is probably a better way to do them. But this how I did them. Oh, and I just need to say that I have been loving sewing lately. I've been getting a lot done too. I'll have to post some of my little projects soon. And now, lets make an appliqued pillow.


First choose what your going to put on your pillow. I love this fabric. It's so fun. It's from IKEA. On this pillow I am using the lion and the giraffe.





Cut out your shape. It helps to have really sharp scissors.



On the smaller details, like the giraffes tail and horns, I left some of the background fabric.



Next, you need to cut out your pillow. I used a pattern for mine but you don't really have to have one.



If you don't use a pattern you need to make sure that your corners curve in a bit. If you leave perfectly square corners your finished pillow will have pointy corners.



Once you have both sides of your pillow cut out, iron them and arrange your applique on the top piece.



Then you need to pull out your fusible web. I just had the kind that comes on a roll. But I have 5 kids, so it is not longer on the roll.



But it still works. I stretch the fusible web across the longest part of the applique.



Then I cut it (or tear it). Then I fold half of the appleque back, and put the piece of fusible web under it.



Then flip it back down and iron it. Then just keep ironing pieces between the fabric until it's all stuck down. (You can also buy fusible webbing in sheets and cut it to fit your shape. I was just using what I had.)



Then have your cute son hold it up to make sure it's all stuck down good.



Now it's time to sew. You need to set your machine on a small zig zag stitch.



Oh, and you might want to set your laptop behind your sewing machine and listen to your favorite Pandora station too.



I always start in a corner if I can.



You might want to go slow to make sure that you stiches are close together and nice and smooth. The straight parts are easy but eventually you'll have to go around a curve or turn a corner.



When I get to a corner, I lift the foot and turn the fabric. Just make sure you don't leave too much of a gap because it will make the fabric bunch up.



I just go really slow around curves guiding the fabric the direction it needs to go. This fabric is pretty thin and puckered quite a bit in some spots.



So you need to iron.



The iron will smooth it out a lot. I still had a lot a bunching around the curvy parts on this one. Once the pillow if stuffed you'll barely notice though.

Then if you're me, your baby will wake up and you'll have to take a break. You probably already know how, but I'll show you how to put the pillow together later.

5

Yesterday my Cowboy started school. And today he turned 5. I'm not ready for all this.



He has been on a Pre-K waiting list and I was content to wait. And he was too. He wanted to go to school but was fine staying home with me and the baby. But the last couple of weeks we've I've been noticing that he's getting kind of bored. There's no one his age to play with. So I asked him if he wanted to go to school. And he said yes. So I started calling around. Everyone had a waiting list. But I found him a spot. He was so excited yesterday. Couldn't wait to get there. The first thing he told me when I picked him up, "I don't like this school. Nap time is too long." But he liked everything else about it and was excited to go again today. Especially because it was his birthday and he got to take treats.



After dinner tonight, we had cupcakes and ice cream and he opened his presents.



Oh, and for the record, I miss this kid terribly while he's at school. And we're only two days into it. He is such a happy, good natured kid. And so funny. And loving. And helpful. And funny. And handsome. He's a great big brother and a great little brother and a great son. Happy Birthday my Cowboy. Mommy loves you!!!

Let's Share an Apple!

When we got home from the gym the other day Cowboy was hungry. So he grabbed a sour apple (his favorite kind) and sat on the couch to enjoy his snack. It didn't take long for the baby to climb up and partake of the apple as well.



After letting the baby have a bite, Cowboy had his turn. Apples taste better if you lick your hand before you bite.



Then let the baby have another.



Then baby played with his shoe while Cowboy took his turn.



They went back and forth like this until the apple was gone.



Cowboy.


Baby.


They loved it. Ate every bite. And looked really cute doing it!

Cowboy Hair Cut

Cowboy needed a hair cut. Usually Matt does it. Or me. But Matt always wants to give him a buzz. Me...not so much. For several reasons. One being that Cowboy looks just like his dad. And I've seen his dad with a buzz. And, well, it's not my favorite look for him. Another reason, I just don't really like buzzed heads on little boys. And I hope I don't offend anyone here. I mean, you can do whatever you want with your kid, my opinion doesn't (and shouldn't) matter. But when it comes to my boys, I don't like buzzed heads. Once they are older, I think it's fine. But my Cowboy, he's just four. And I want him to look like he's four. So I don't buzz his hair. So anyway, Cowboy needed a haircut and Matt was going to do it. And he wanted to give him a buzz. And I let him. Because really, it's just hair, and it will grow back.





Do you see the size of that kids melon?!? He loves his big ole head. He always talks about how big it is. He knows that having a big head means that you have a big brain. Matt thinks the hair makes it look bigger. I think you can blame the largeness on the hair and not the head so much. By the way, Matt's head is shaped EXACTLY the same.





But anyway, the size and shape of his head isn't the real issue here. Because let's face it, my Cowboy is seriously cute. It's just that now he look like a nine year old to me. And he's just four. And he'll look bigger for the rest of his life. And, well, right now, I just want him to look four. I can't wait for his big, crazy head of hair to grow back out!

For Amber

And her baby boy. This is the crib bedding I volunteered to make. The baby will be sharing a room with his older sister and I think Reed and Amber did a great job choosing something that will work for a boy and a girl. The pillows will go on Georgia's bed that has stripes like the bumper just in pink, red and orange. I can't wait to see it all put together. So Amber, here's your sneak peak.



The detail on the blanket:



And on the pillow:



I'm thinking about making a couple more pillows. A big one out of the big print with the red on the back and an appliqued one with the giraffe. The appliqued pillows are far from perfect but are really fun to make and I think they turned out pretty cute. Hope you like it Amber!

Conversation with Cowboy

This morning Cowboy woke up bright and early. The girls were getting ready for school. He walked into the bathroom and said, "Eww it smells howendous in heewh!"

Sassy ran to tell what he said and Cowboy was on her heels. He said, "Mom, weally. It's howendous."

Crazy, Crazy Baby

Every morning this baby of mine eats yogurt for breakfast. He loves his yogurt. Every flavor. He used to sit nicely while I fed it to him. But one morning I stepped away from him for a second and he picked up his spoon. Turns out he really likes feeding himself yogurt every morning. But he is only one. And his aim isn't great. Neither is his dexterity. But he gets it done without too much of a mess. Nothing a mom armed with a wet wipe can't handle.

Well, this morning I put him in his chair and presented him with his cup of yogurt and he pushed it away. Not softly I might add. So I gave him some cereal and went about my morning routine never more than a few feet from him. And I left his yogurt there just in case he changed his mind. And change his mind he did. I looked over and found this lovely view.


What the? How did that yogurt get in his hair? Well he combed it in there of course.
Apparently the girls left a comb on the table when they were getting ready for school. Got yogurt, got comb, might as well make them work together right?


Right after I snapped this photo that yogurt dripped onto his shoulder. Ewww. Then off we went to the bath tub.

This baby. He is a mess.

The Big Picture

A couple of you have asked how I got the pictures so big. Here's the link with the tutorial. I actually went into flickr and resized the photo because it was a little bit too big. These pics are 900x675. And I'm starting to think that I'll probably size them a bit smaller in the future. What do you guys think? Too big? Like I said, learning as I go. Let me know if you have any more questions. Or advice.

And this won't be my permanent header. Just playing a little bit. I want to get a picture of all the kids for the header. And maybe change it seasonally. I love the sepia in the picture but it's not really working with my gray background and for some reason I really like having a gray background. Seems like it makes the pictures pop. But not sepia pictures. Anyway...I'd love any input!

Renovation

I am trying to figure out how to make my blog look the way I want it to look. Customizing I guess. The only problem is I don't really know what I'm doing. But I'm learning. I've wanted my pictures bigger for a while and finally figured it out. Up next I want a cute header and all of my titles in a better font. So if my blog looks crazy over the next few days, you know why. And, if you have any tips, please send them my way. And wish me luck, I think I'm in way over my head!

Oh, here's something cute to look at while I work this out...

His New Car

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had to get a new car. And we both love it. I think it's cute. And he thinks it's fast. I do to actually. It's really fun to drive.

Remember|9-11-01

I'm still amazed at how vivid the memories of that day are. Even eight years later. How shocked I was. How scared I was. How much my heart hurt. How I wanted my family beside me. We picked up Caveman from preschool. We watched TV. All day. Matt went to work in the afternoon but was home very early. Not much to do at the airport. We talked to our far away family. We told them we loved them. And we were grateful we still had them. We prayed and were comforted. Amazed to be living in such a great country. Amazed by the acts of kindness performed by so many. Amazed at the bravery of so many young soldiers fighting for our freedom.

So today I am grateful. Today I thank God for this free land in which I live. Today I remember.

Labor Day

We took the kids over to Line Creek on Labor Day. Every time we go there I wonder why we don't go more often. It's so close and the kids love it.

When we got there the kids wasted no time finding rocks to skip across the lake and headed straight for the dock.I was a little nervous having the baby on the dock. That chain was the only thing preventing him from taking a swim. Luckily he stayed dry and we set out on the trail.It was a lovely day. Especially in the shade. But when we got to the creek out of the shade of the trees it was pretty warm.I tried getting a picture of all the kids but the baby wouldn't allow it. Crazy baby. After several stops along the creek and lots of hopping from rock to rock, I let the kids take off their shoes and wade in the water.

About the same time that my kids were shedding their shoes and socks another family came to the same spot in the creek and their kids wanted to put their feet in.The mom said they couldn't put their feet anywhere that was brown or green. The whole creek is brown. Because it has rocks on the bottom. But the water was pretty clear. Those poor kids, they were so bummed. Or maybe I should say my poor kids. I let them put their feet in creek water.

Anyway, I got a few more cute shots of the kiddos then we headed home.

On the way home we decided to go to the pool for a couple hours. It was the last day the pool would be open this year. The kids were ready in record time and we headed to the pool. We weren't sure how many of our friends would be there because we knew a lot of them were out of town so we were thrilled to find friends there. I wish I would have taken more pictures throughout the summer. We spent so many days here and had a lot of great times with great friends. We ended up ordering pizza and having dinner with everyone at the pool. It was great farewell to summer.