happy halloween!

Britton did a trial run of her Halloween costume yesterday, and decided she needed a "punkin mask."  Since we have no such thing, she wanted her face painted.  Again, no face paint.  So I dug into the craft box for washable paint, and gave her the orange face with brown "punkin stump" she described.

Yes, even I dressed up!  I've worn this poodle skirt close to 20 Halloweens, at least, and even though nobody else at work dressed up, I just wanted to be a part of Britton's excitement for Halloween.  Fine, fine.  Truth be told, I just wanted to wear blue eyeshadow.

Everyone at Britton's school was encouraged to dress in costume today because of their big Halloween parade this afternoon.  She woke me up at midnight last night asking if it was time to get ready.  Suffice it to say, she was excited!  Both the hubs and I made it to her parade this afternoon, which went off without a hitch until the rain moved in and cut the whole thing short.

We made it home in time to make dinner and get ready for some trick-or-treating.  

I had to get at least one picture of Barrett in his costume.  It's a "first Halloween" requirement, and the "My First Halloween" onesie and black kitty socks weren't enough.   I borrowed three costumes from a friend (pumpkin, giraffe, and Nemo), and I figured if I put him in the pumpkin costume then he and Britton would be my "pumpkin patch."  As you can see, he was not happy about the costume, so we took the picture and ditched the costume!

Do-it-yourself Halloween luminaries - easier than carving pumpkins!

After dinner, we start getting the candy ready for trick-or-treaters, with plans to just leave it on the front porch while I take Britton trick-or-treating.  And Britton decides that she needs a costume change, from pumpkin princess to pink Power Ranger!

So we ventured out into the driving rain, hit up about three houses, Britton got scared of the zombie and monster costumes, and we headed back home.  Happy Halloween!!!

happy birthday to us!

A whole THIRTY-FIVE YEARS ago, Jessica and I entered into this world, no doubt screaming and carrying on like newborns are apt to do.  My mom says she was scrubbing the floor that morning when she went into labor.  Our parents were expecting boys, since the ultrasound had said as much.  Turns out that an umbilical cord wrapped between legs can mimic an "It's a Boy!" ultrasound nicely.  As my mom tells it, my dad ate peanut M&Ms the entire time she was in labor.  Jessica got stuck and the doctors had to use the forceps to get her out.  I headed out five minutes later, at 2:59 pm on a Saturday afternoon.

Thirty-five years is a long time.  Want to feel old for a minute?  In 1978, "Animal House" and "Grease" were released.  Post-Its hit the market as "Post and Peel."  Hungry Hungry Hippos and Simon were introduced.  The first Ironman triathlon was held.  The show "Dallas" premiered.

Not surprisingly, since our birthday is so close to Halloween, every birthday party was a costume party.    I loved it.  I never cared about sharing a birthday, or a birthday party, or even birthday presents (most of the time), because I knew no different.  Every year we'd declare that Jessica got to open her presents five minutes before me, blow out her candles five minutes before I did, but we always forgot and just did it all together.

For the past couple of years, I've told you about my life now.  Today, I remember how it all started.  Thirty-five years ago.

the jessica birthday quilt, going coastal style

Tired of quilts yet?  I hope not!

When Jessica was visiting after Barrett was born, she mentioned how much she liked the quilt that I had made my mom.  Specifically, that she liked the "Going Coastal" fabric line I used for it.  That sparked something in me, and with the time I had off this summer I decided to start on a quilt for Jessica.  I quickly figured out the pattern - "Niner" by Bonnie and Camille.  Then I went to order the fabric.  And wouldn't you know, "Going Coastal" wasn't in stock anymore.  So I ended up on Etsy, tracking down all the different fabrics from the line that I could find.

Oh, and every time those crabs showed up at my door, I got excited!  This quilt is lap-sized, great for snuggling on the couch.  I started cutting into the fabrics before I knew what size block they would make, so I ended up altering the pattern to accommodate the larger blocks.  I threw in some solids and small-prints too to go with the fabrics and let the "Going Coastal" fabrics stand out.  

Our birthday isn't until next Monday, but I went ahead and sent this quilt to Jessica when I found out she was mailing my gifts to me.  And she loved it!  Happy 35th birthday, Jessica - you'll always be [five minutes] older than me! :)

the cammy triangle quilt

The minute I saw this quilt I knew I was going to make it.  I saw on a quilt blog that it was featured in a magazine (see it here), and I noticed that it was made out of a jellyroll.  I figured I could make it out of scraps, just cut into 2.5 inch wide strips.  And I wanted it bright and cheery and fun.  And who can resist triangles?

I stitched 1/4 inch on either side of the seams with my walking foot, and used my absolute favorite turquoise for the binding.

Britton helped me pick out the backing - it's usually the hardest decision of the quilt, so I decided to just let someone else make it.  Even if she's only four years old.

It finishes out lap-quilt-sized, and I gave it to my mom for her birthday.  She loved it!

to the pumpkin patch we go

Cammy flew in to visit for the weekend, here for the first time since last January.  We met up with the hubs for lunch at Burgatory (best burgers in the world, hands down) and then went home to drop off her bag before going to pick up the kids from daycare.  Cammy didn't come to visit when I had Barrett, so this was her first time meeting him.  He wooed her with his flirtatious grin and belly laugh.  And, as you can see, he is finally eating baby food!

After dinner on Friday night, we did birthday presents.  Cammy's birthday is November 10th, and I was wary of mailing her gift.  I always fear the post office will lose my packages (everyone has a horror story about this), but my fears are quadrupled when the package contains a quilt I made.  So I decided to give Cammy her gifts early - the triangle quilt and a personalized prayer journal.

We hadn't been to a pumpkin patch this season, and dang it all we needed our autumn fix!  So we went out to Harvest Valley Farms.  The weather did not feel like cooperating, so it was cold and rainy, but we trudged on.  

Me, the hubs, and Britton went on the hayride while Cammy stayed with Barrett near the pumpkins.  It was spitting rain, but the hayride was entertaining.  Did you know that a pumpkin flower has to be visited 10 times by a bee before it will grow into a proper pumpkin?  Me neither!

Britton and I danced while a folk singer played "This Land is Your Land," her twirling in her pirate dress and making strangers smile.  The hubs went to weigh the pumpkins (you pay per pound) and we had a grand total of 5 pumpkins that weighed 68 pounds!

We headed home, certain everyone was tired.  And by the time we pulled into the driveway, Britton and Barrett had checked out!

inspiration

Lately, I've been finding creative inspirations in different places. Normally, I scroll through quilt blogs for quilting ideas, the Pottery Barn catalogue for decorating ideas, and Southern Living for baking ideas. Pretty standard stuff. But then, one Sunday afternoon, when the hubs and I may or may not have been watching "In the Kitchen with David" * on QVC (ok, we were), the QVC screen went to promos and had this triangle background.

And, to me, it was the perfect Christmas tree table runner. So much so, that I took this picture of the picture that I took on the iPad (yes, a picture of a picture) and went to JoAnns for fabric, and have my triangles all cut out.

Then, on Sunday night, Memaw and I were watching "Revenge" on television. Memaw doesn't watch it, and I'm willing to give it one more season before I give up on it, not because it's not good because it is, but seriously it needs some direction and the anti-hero storyline without the predictable redemption swell, but I digress. Memaw spotted a cute painting over the shoulder of one of the more annoying characters "Jack" (only exceeded in annoying behavior by his brother Declan, who was luckily killed off at the end of last season), and we rewound the show and paused it at the painting in order to snap a photo of it.

Will I ever make it? I don't know. I hope so. Will I ever finish the table runner? I hope so on that too. And hopefully before Christmas, so I can use it! It's just funny how things you'd probably never notice will influence your creativity.

* As much as the hubs and I have watched "In the Kitchen with David," we have never ordered anything from QVC. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

i heart you too

You ever have a moment that you need to write down somewhere so that years from now you will read the story and remember and smile? I don't journal, at least not well or consistently, and I barely engage in social media. Heck, I'm not even on Twitter or Instagram, and I don't know what my Pinterest password is.

So here, on this page, I can write it down and remember it. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the hubs takes the kids to daycare in the morning. On those days, I help get Britton into the truck, then always, she asks me to draw a heart. Every morning it seems both our vehicles are covered in dew, or lately rain, and I give Britton a kiss, shut her door, and draw a heart on her window. She loves it. And drawing the heart on her window has become something of a ritual on the mornings I don't take her to daycare.

And on Tuesday morning, walking back to my car as the hubs is pulling out of the driveway, I see this...

Britton drew me a heart too.

barrett: 5 months old

It's hard to believe that Barrett is already five months old now, closing in on half a year.  The changes in the last month have been overwhelming, both good and not so good.  Developmentally, Barrett is right on track - he can roll from his back to his tummy, though once he gets on his tummy he's pretty mad about it!  He can also grab for objects and move them from one hand to the other. And of course get objects into his mouth, as everything he gets near goes directly into that drool-covered mouth!  It feels like he's been teething for a couple of months and we still haven't felt a tooth come through yet.  Barrett has also discovered his voice, and impresses his daycare teachers by yelling loudly, just to hear himself!

At his last doctor's appointment at the end of September, Barrett was 19 pounds, 12 ounces and 28.5 inches long, both measurements following the same percentiles as his previous measurements - over 100%.  He's wearing 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers, and I've already bought his size 12 month fall clothing.  

Previously, Barrett was sleeping from 6:30 pm until 6:00 am, with one feeding usually around 1:30 am.  Well, those days are gone!  We still do his bath around 6:20 pm, then feed him about 7 ounces before putting him down.  But now he's back up at 10:00 pm for another 7-8 ounces, back down until 2:30 am or 3:00 am, then back up for another 7 ounces, then asleep until 6:30 am or so.  Growth spurt maybe?  And it's borderline ridiculous at this point because the minute he wakes up he is howling for a bottle!  Seriously, this kid has no patience, and apparently our track record of always feeding him immediately after the bottle has warmed gives him no peace of mind that we'll keep it up.   

We've started on baby food, and suffice it to say, Barrett is not impressed.  He doesn't much like rice cereal or baby oatmeal, and so far he's only kind of liked Ella's Kitchen's pumpkin/sweet potatoes/apples/blueberries.  He turned his nose up at carrots, squash, green beans, peas, and pears.  I'm not pushing it, just offering baby food about every other day and only as much as he will eat willingly.  I'm just crossing my fingers he gets into food soon so he'll stop with all this night waking!

Barrett's newest discovery (besides the hands he won't take out of his mouth) is Britton.  Man, is he ever smitten with Britton.  And she willingly entertains him while I'm making dinner or driving, just making him smile and laugh.  Barrett is also now enjoying walks in the stroller, and being outside more.    And he has discovered his toes, which provide him endless entertainment, even if it's just trying to grab them.

He's still doing two, sometimes three, naps a day.  On the weekends and most weekdays, he'll nap twice for anywhere from two to three hours per nap.  Sometimes he'll cut his naps to one hour, and then he gets an extra nap tacked on to the end of his day.  

Likes:  bath time, Britton's bean bag chair, Sophie the Giraffe teether, the elephant toy Peggy and Mary got him (his favorite stuffed toy by far), walks, yelling

Dislikes:  baby food, wind (takes his breath away), being tired, being hungry

soccer: a pictoral

I was watching Britton play soccer today, thinking to myself that she just looked so happy.  As much as Britton had wanted to do ballet and tap in the spring, getting her to actually go into her classroom every Saturday morning was a struggle.  There wasn't a Saturday that I didn't want to just stop taking her, call it a day, and end the battle of finishing what you've started versus being miserable.  

But soccer, this is different.  She's having fun. She looks forward to it, dressing in her soccer clothes long before we need to leave.  She runs hard, she sweats, she blocks the goal and dribbles the ball and runs into the boys and they plow right through her and she loves every minute of it.  

I promised myself that today I'd take photographs, and then put away the camera for the rest of the season and just watch her enjoying the game.  

50 months old

Have I mentioned yet how awesome four years old is turning out to be?  Because it really is!  Somehow, at the magical moment Britton turned four, all of the shenanigans and angst and turmoil of being three just vanished.  We have moved beyond the parent as warden/supervisor roles and into the parent as fun conspirator/playmate/partner in good times.  

Soccer is going really well, and Britton enjoys being a part of the team.  There are only eight kids in the group, and every week she is getting more assertive - answering the coach's questions, offering up an opinion or feedback, and participating with glee.  

Britton is more interested in Barrett too, now that he can smile and coo and laugh at her.  She loves being an entertainer for him, and honestly, sometimes she's the only one he wants near him!  She is a huge help to me, not just entertaining Barrett, but also eager to fetch a bottle or blanket or teething toy any time I ask.  

Britton is growing like a weed!  We had her four-year wellness visit, and she is now 51 pounds and 44 inches tall.  Sadly, Britton is growing out of Carters clothing, as all her fall/winter clothes are 6x and 7.  It pains the hubs and I, because Carters was our go-to clothing brand - nothing flashy or too slinky, no words stitched across the bottom of pants, stuff like that.  I find myself actively working to keep Britton protected and innocent and young - she has more than enough time in the future to wear Daisy Dukes!

She is getting her flu shot this Friday, as we all are, because Barrett is too young to get one, and we as the "herd" need to protect him.  Also on Friday, Britton is getting a passport!  Memaw and PawPaw are taking her on a Disney cruise in November, and we figured it was easiest to just go ahead and get her a passport instead of messing with a birth certificate and forms.   

Likes:  riding her bike, soccer, doing crafts and coloring, candy corn, going to the pumpkin patch, "pink skies" (sunrises)

Dislikes:  getting out of her "snuggly bed" on cold dark mornings (that's what she calls her bed when she is all wrapped up in sheets and blankets)