happy leap year day!

It's a leap year this year, so we get a February 29th and a chance for the sun and stars and earth to align since the axis spinning is a little slow. I think that's how it works, in a way. Anywho, since leap year is every four years, I tried to remember where we were four years ago....

Been married 1.5 years. Sadie was 1.5 years old. The hub and his dad went to see WVU and OU battle it out in the Fiesta Bowl. The hub and I, plus Jessica and the kids, went to Disney World together over Spring Break. The hub bought a motorcycle. We lived in West Virginia. The hub, me, and Cammy went to the Outer Banks, and I haven't been back since. The hub and I both turned 30. We went on our first Disney cruise. We made Britton. We had Christmas at our house for the first time.

Whew! And now, a much easier time to remember - four days ago...

Memaw and I were pirates. Not really, though I do keep "pirate" on my short list of awesomely incredible career options. We went to The Party in Fort Worth, which raises money for the development of Fort Worth. The theme this year was "Treasure Island" and everyone was strongly encouraged to dress up as pirates. I donated my second charity quilt, and it made $100 in the silent auction!



And Britton was a princess. Anytime Dora goes on some magical fairy tale adventure, Britton immediately wants to put on her princess dress. And wear it to the park, where all of our neighbors get such a kick out of seeing Cinderella walking down the street. I can't blame them, she is absolutely adorable in it.

patchwork pretty quilt

The hub was out of town last week for a conference, so I was left to my own devices for entertainment. I don't usually want to sit the night away in front of the television, so I try to have a project to keep me busy. Last week I was able to finish my Patchwork Pretty Quilt!

It all started with this quilt that Memaw and I saw in our favorite quilt shop over the summer...



I had some hand towels that were embroidered by Granny (Mary, Josh's dad's mom), and of course they were too beautiful to ever use as hand towels. So they sat in the linen drawer, in jeopardy of never being seen, let alone used. I remembered them when I saw that quilt, and thought they would be perfect to include with patchwork blocks.

Then I found some amazing replication flour sack vintage prints on sale, and the quilt just came together from there. And here it is!



When I work on quilts at night I have to use my new HD lamp, because the sewing machine blows out every light bulb I put in it. I was moving the quilt around and noticed how when the light shines through the back of it, the colored blocks look like stained glass. And you can see the criss-cross stitching better.



The embroidery is the days of the week, each with a different fruit.




The colors just let me play, because really no color was off-limits. The patchwork squares are 3.5 inches, and every color in the rainbow. I figured it out and in total there are 378 squares in this quilt. My hand hurts thinking about cutting all of them out! The border is another 7.5 inches wide, so the quilt is pretty big. Squares, squares, and more squares!




Sadie wouldn't get off the quilt, so I guess she likes it too.



The backing was yardage I had from Memaw's stash, and the binding was (no surprise) a stripe.



The only perfect corner I've ever had with binding. I just needed the proof for myself!



I free-motion quilted the border in a loopy pattern, and snuck in one hidden shape. Do you see it below? It's a heart!



Sadie and Britton approve this quilt! And unlike most of my quilts, this one is staying in the family and in my living room. Somewhere I can see it every day. The colors make me happy and the embroidery is the icing on the cake!

pillow talk

I decided that my family room pillows had seen the last drool stain and loose thread, and maybe, just maybe, I could recover them myself. In truth, it all started when I was browsing fabric websites for the backing of a quilt. I spotted this cowgirl pin-up fabric and thought it was cute. Later, I showed it to the hub, and he loved it. So we decided his man room upstairs needed some cowgirl pin-up pillows ("From the Hip" by Alexander Henry).

So while looking around for the best price, I found "June Song" by Alexander Henry, and that's when I decided I absolutely needed that fabric on my family room pillows yesterday. I'm not patient, after all. And I was influenced by Jessica's amazing changes to her house, and dang it all if I want a project in home-improvement too. Not that pillows are the equivalent to painting an entire house, but you do what you can. And my laziness was calling for a project I could do sitting down.

So here's the hub's pillows. I attached interface to them to make the fabric stand up straighter and not become a slouchy pillow.



I like her "come hither" look, all while pointing a gun...with tassels.....



She may be my favorite, if only because when I'm drunk I'm convinced I look this good...



I didn't have enough fabric to do the entire back panel, so I made the top halves of the panels a brown polka dot. They are envelope closures - no way am I messing with zippers!



This is a "before" shot of the family room pillows:



And after!



I LOVE birds. And the family room needed a punch of personality. Right now it feels too "staged." I want it to start reflecting us, not Pottery Barn.



The backs are two different fabrics - one a solid tan and one a blue and brown scroll.

memaw's birthday

Memaw's birthday is today! We did presents when she and PawPaw came over to our house yesterday for Valentine's Day. And we'll all go out to dinner this weekend to celebrate, which tends to happen when a big event occurs during the week.

Britton is attracted to all things tissue paper, so she "helped" Memaw open her gifts. I made the bag, serving double duty as both a gift bag and a present!



I found a cute tutorial online for the heart (click here if you want to check it out) and then added applique letters. I thought the letters would be hard because you have to use two-sided interface and trace the letters on backwards, but once I got into it the whole thing clicked. The fabric has tiny hearts, perfect for the season.




And since Memaw likes sentimental things, especially to do with Britton, I covered Britton's hands in fabric paint and put her handprints on the back of the bag. The perfect finishing touch!



Also, I was so smitten with a photo mug Jessica made for her mother-in-law for Christmas, that I wanted to get Memaw one of her own. I didn't have enough time at Christmas because processing and shipping take about two weeks, so I ordered one right after Christmas for Memaw's birthday! It says "Memaw's Mug" on the bottom and is a travel mug, so she can use it in the car too. Reports have it that she used it all day today!



Happy Birthday, Memaw!

happy valentine's day!

Valentine's Day celebrations have been going on in our house since last Thursday! It all started with Britton's teacher giving her a lollipop last Thursday afternoon.....



Then the school party on Friday. With our pink lemonade cupcakes......



And Britton now associates Valentine's Day with candy and cards! You can imagine her disappoint when I told her this morning that there wasn't another party at school. But that was all cleared up with her heart shirt from Memaw and PawPaw...




And then this afternoon, while waiting for the hub to get home before we exchanged goodies, she found another lollipop in her bag of Valentines from her school buddies.



We got Britton a cute heart basket, filled with a heart ring, heart necklaces, heart bracelets, chapstick (or, as Britton says, "chaps mix"), and stickers. No candy as I knew she'd get enough at school.




And wouldn't you know it the hub shows up with goodies galore! A cookie lollipop for Britton, some yummy strawberry cake balls for your truly. We also got Britton some new red shoes, as you can see below. They are old fashioned and adorable and I love them to bits, even the impractical does-not-go-with-all-the-pink-in-her-wardrobe red!



Memaw and PawPaw came over to celebrate with us too and brought us cupcakes and chocolate-covered strawberries. It's going to be a sugary night for us!

a night away

The hub and I wanted to do something for Valentine's Day, but a date night in the middle of the week isn't ideal. And living in a big metroplex means all restaurants are booked up the weekend before. So we decided to skip town and got to Oklahoma City for the night, staying in a beautiful historic hotel downtown, and eat dinner at our absolute favorite restaurant Cheever's. And since Memaw and PawPaw were available and excited to babysit, we headed out Saturday morning.

And saw this on the back of a truck on the interstate.



It reads, "Hi Ladies. It's my BDay today. Could you please flash me." No, I didn't flash him! Though the thought his flash through my mind (bad pun intended!). But that's just one of those random things that gets you excited to be a road trip.

We arrived in town around noon and our first stop was for pizza at Hideaways. Hideaways is the best pizza I've ever had, and sadly its superiority makes all other pizza taste like Dominoes. And a friend, Mandy, had blogged a picture of her Hideaway pizza fest on her last trip through Oklahoma, and the picture was still in my mind. It was great to get out of the car, stretch our legs, and fill up.

Then we drove around Edmond, our old stomping ground. We of course acted like stalkers and checked out the old neighborhood, and our old house is still being taken care of well. Then we saw the top of this behemoth of a house from a distance and decided to check it out. The size of this mansion is insane! The hub believes part is a gym, so maybe a Thunder player is building it. But I've never seen a house that big, and all I could think was of how expensive that air conditioning is going to be in August!



I checked the internet to see if there are any good quilt shops in OKC, so we stopped by "The Savage Quilter." Mostly because I think the name of the shop is wicked cool. I didn't get any new fabrics, but it was fun nonetheless.



Funny story! We drove by Gigi's Cupcakes, and I was craving something sweet after the pizza. We stopped in to get some, and I ordered the "Wedding Cake" (vanilla cake with heavenly buttercream frosting) and the hub ordered a "Banana Cream Pie." Then he changed his mind and wanted strawberry. The lady asked him which one, because they have two kinds. He wanted the one with strawberry cake and cream cheese icing, which is called "The Princess." They offered to take the pink crown off it, but he told them to leave it on! I took a picture of him with his little girl cupcake, but I forgot to download it. So here's a picture of the cupcake:



We checked into the hotel and got ready for dinner. Then we went to Penn Square Mall and I got two shirts at Ann Taylor Loft, and a wedding gift for a friend from B.C. Clark's. I love going into B.C. Clark's (a jewelry store) even if I'm not buying anything, which is the majority of the time. Then it was off to dinner at Cheever's, where we have never had a bad, or even middle of the road, meal. I could eat there every day and never tire of it.



On our way home Sunday morning, we stopped by the Winstar Casino just before the state line. We'd never been in it, but it's the third largest casino in the world so our curiosity got to us. We walked in, lost $20, then walked out. It was huge inside and amazingly clean. They have a ton of musical acts coming, so we might be back there sooner than later!

fits o'plenty

I went to the local library this morning to track down a book for Britton. Turns out, days after I return this certain book, she wants it back. I can't blame her, and I should have taken advantage of the 21-day loan period! The book has all the makings of a great bedtime story book:

1. It's not wordy
2. The pictures are beautiful
3. Said pictures are of animals
4. It's about going to sleep

Like I say, only people without kids get kids wordy books and toys with sound. Anywho, if you'd like to track down your own copy, it's "How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight?" by Varsha Bajaj. Long way around a short story, I went to the library and it seems some other family is on to how good the book is and snatched the only copy! When I mentioned just going to buy a copy to the clerk, she sent me to another library they share privileges with. And it's actually closer to my house. And they have two copies.

Done and done, and I'm back in the car with the Google maps up, and I go to walk into the other library. And then, the sound. OBNOXIOUS KID CRY.

A lady is standing at the self-checkout, with a stack of books, pretending like she doesn't hear the kid crying 2 feet from her, when I'm actually surprised I didn't hear it in the parking lot. And she's got two other kids with her, who are pretending they don't hear it either.

Hey, I get it. Admittedly, before I had a kid, I wondered why these women (and some men) couldn't just shut the kid up. And why the "we ignore bad behavior" routine was subjected on all of us. I mean, I didn't invite people to visit while Britton was crying it out, so why should I have to hear these screeches? But, now that I have a kid, I don't understand any better than I did before. I don't want to hear my kid scream. I certainly don't want to hear your kid scream. But I no longer give the parent the death stare, so I'm growing!

Britton in hot water....with no screaming....blue coloring courtesy of Aunt Jessica's fab Christmas gift....




Why wouldn't you even try to get the kid to be quiet? I can't grasp this at all - why not even try? Give your kid the candy, the iPhone, the snacks - whatever it is the kid wants that you aren't giving it. Or hey, here's a thought - leave. Because we weren't in Wal-Mart. WE WERE IN A LIBRARY.

Maybe I should have been like the nice old lady library volunteer, who went over to the kid and distracted him enough that he quit screaming (after 20 minutes). Maybe that would have been a nice thing to do - heck, I KNOW it would have been a nice thing to do. I could have looked at the mom, standing there with her three sons under the age of five, with her stack of kid library books, and thought that she needed my help more than my judgment.

But I didn't. Instead I thought back to the time Britton threw a righteous fit in the quilt store, and I scooped her butt up and carried her straight out the car so no one would be inconvenienced (except me). I thought about me going grocery shopping on Friday nights so I don't have to drag Britton down every aisle on Saturday morning, seeing as toddlers aren't known for their patience skills. I thought about how this woman needed to look into preschool or Mommy's Day Out or something to where she wouldn't take three small kids into the library and then be completely incompetent when one starts doing an impersonation of a cat being flogged.

This isn't a "why are women each other's greatest enemies when we should be each other's greatest assets?" rant. Heck, I know I would have had the same thoughts if it was dad instead of mom standing there. It's about a little parenting forethought. Or at least a recognition that it's happening and an increase in the speed of checking out your 100 books. And really, it is about judging, because maybe if we stop being so worried about hurting anyone's feelings, we can judge a little and LEARN from others' mistakes.

And maybe one day become the kind of person who volunteers at a library, with the special gift of shutting up the screaming babies.

30 months old / 2.5 years old

Let me just say, after last month's pictures Britton decided she detested the meerkat (the stuffed animal next to her in every monthly photo) and wanted it away from her. This month she couldn't love it more. That is our life with an official 2.5 year old! She's testing the waters on what she likes/doesn't like, wants to do/never wants to do again and the answers change daily. She told me today she doesn't like my singing (big surprise - my singing can rival a cat being skinned) but then insisted before bed that I sing "Wheels on the Bus" with her.

And all this "trying on" of life is a joy to watch. She now has opinions, and while it can be freeing for us in some respects, like guaranteeing she'll like a flavor of popsicle or a book to read, it reminds me of how it wasn't so long ago that she was my little baby to dress how I wanted, play games with that I liked, and give foods I wanted to eat. But, alas, I just won't send her to school in a Dora pajama shirt and butterfly leggings, even if I'm stifling her creative decision-making!

Britton is doing great with her food this month, eating well and exploring. She has tried and liked Caesar salad, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, soybeans, and mexi-corn. We're keeping the options changing, so she doesn't take after me and become the kid who won't eat anything with flavor. Seriously, my sister and I LOVED Ponderosa growing up, and the fact that every single food item tasted the same might have been the reason.



Britton can count to twenty in English and Spanish, and is really into singing, including her newest "Where Is Pointer Finger?" and the songs on her Dora CD. She can speak clearly, which is amazing considering most of the kids in her class should come with a mommy interpreter! Britton loves reading books, and some mornings we get a late start because she wants a few stories before leaving her room. I can't fault her for this (she comes by it honestly since the hub and I are both big readers) and wouldn't want to because I love that she loves reading.

And today Britton went all day in underwear with no accidents! We had tried previously, but she just wasn't keeping on it when she got home, would have an accident, and her disappoint and sadness was breaking our hearts. So we went back to pull ups. But when I picked her up from daycare this week, she showed me Lena's (a girl in her class) bin with underwear and extra pants, and said she wanted to bring her underwear to school too. She was really excited about it, so I figured she was ready. Well she was, until this evening when she pooped in her pants with no notice to us that she needed to go to the potty! But, there will be accidents, so we're rolling with the underwear and extra loads of laundry!

Speaking of clothes - see those jeans she's wearing? They are from Old Navy and the only pair of size 4T jeans I could find that are stretchy on top, with no snap or zipper. Britton doesn't like pants that are tight across her stomach, and she claimed her old jeans were pinching her. Come to find out after hours scouring the internet that no one makes elastic-waist jeans past size 24 months. Low and behold - the only pair that you may ever see! Britton is now wearing 3T-4T with some size 4 thrown in, and size 9.5 shoes.



Every day Britton and I have been going on walks. Sometimes it's on the tricycle, sometimes it's with the baby stroller, but she just wants to be outside as much as possible. Britton has lately had a love affair with the swings at the playground, though if you push her more than an inch she thinks it's too high and wants to stop! And I've finally convinced her to join me while I make dinner, and she seems really interested in how it all works (and stealing a bit of shredded cheese). She wants to be involved more, wants to be given responsibility. So I ask her to take Sadie outside in the mornings, and ask her to help with cleaning up, and it makes her feel like a contributing part of the family. Granted, she doesn't always want to help out, but she gets such a kick out of "helping" the hub hold a quilt I'm taking a picture of, or picking up spilled crayons, or helping to make my bed.

And art - this girl needs her outlets of art and stickers! Here she is this afternoon, covered in green marker. And when she said she didn't want a bath, there was no backing down on our parts! Luckily only washable markers are allowed within her reach.




Likes: being outside, Sadie, meeting other kids in the neighborhood, salad, breakfast for dinner, being given responsibility, riding the hub like a horsey/jumping on him until he cries "Uncle!", swings and slides, Smarties, closing all doors to unoccupied rooms, opening all doors through which we pass

Dislikes: anyone else opening a door before she gets to, being rushed, getting her hair washed, not being able to do something easily