turkey trot down the thanksgiving table

I've always had trouble making things for myself.  I get excited about quilts, know just who would love them, and that's the fire that gets me through the sometimes arduous process of sewing.  I don't have the time or inclination to make holiday quilts other than Christmas quilts, so there aren't any Halloween or Thanksgiving quilts in my future.  However, when pulling out my Halloween/fall decorations, I noticed that I lack any decorations I made!  And I'm seriously lacking in table runners - what better decoration than a quick table runner?  

I decided that it wouldn't just be a quilted table runner, but also a keepsake.  I've always loved using handprints to remember my kids at their young ages, and so the turkey handprint was a no-brainer.  I sewed up the white middle with fall leaf print border, then put panels of the backing fabric on the ends and middle.  Time for some fabric paint!

With fabric paint, you have to be quick, or the paint dries on your hands without ever making it to the fabric.  So Barrett didn't get multiple colors of feathers, though he did a great job letting me paint his hands and getting them pressed down onto the fabric.

Britton wrote both her name and Barrett's names under their turkeys.  She also snagged the pen while I wasn't looking and drew the hearts and added periods to the end of everyone's name!  I added wattles under the turkey chins with a red sharpie, and an eyeball and feet with the black fabric pen.

The backing is made up of small blocks and different pictures - mums, scarecrows, Indian corn, apples.  I liked the variety and colors.  The binding is an orange plaid, which has metallic orange threads running through it.  I quilted it in a 2-inch crosshatch, with orange thread (the hubs's suggestion, and it works well here).

We finished off our decorating with some Halloween Oreos - Barrett's first Oreo!  I think he quite enjoyed it!

kick it!

Britton started up soccer again this fall.  I like for Britton to have a sport each season, and she enjoys running around and getting to play with other kids.  Britton loves soccer, though some of that love may come about because she gets to wear pink knee socks!

The group she plays with doesn't have games, but they scrimmage at the end of every practice.  This prevents me from driving to practices and games all week, and also lets the kids focus on trying out their new skills.  The group she's in this year is 6-8 years old, and the boys are getting to the age of wanting to win at everything.  And while I'm not for this "no score" trend going on, there's really no winning when you're randomly teamed up for a 10 minute game at the end of practice.   It's nice to not have the kids be completely focused on winning, and instead actually play just to have fun.

Wearing her "signature color"

dirty muddy kids

Is your house as obsessed with Peppa Pig as we are?  Peppa's favorite activity is jumping in muddy puddles, and that's what my kids got into today at Memaw and PawPaw's house.  It started with Barrett getting calf-deep into a muddy hole.  And we figured, heck - if they are muddy anyways, let's just let them go to town!

Britton kept her rain boots on, but Barrett abandoned his crocs because "they were dirty."  I didn't bother with the logic talk about how not wearing them would render his feet even more dirty!  Whenever he could run across the gravel next to the mud he'd go "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" until he reached the mud again - Memaw and I couldn't stop laughing!

Up and down, up and down this poor hill.  Britton even "slid" down the hill, which looked downright painful.  

When it got too cold and Barrett's teeth were chattering, Memaw and I wrangled up the kids and threw them into the shower.  Luckily, I know now to bring a change a clothes with me when the kids go over there!  We got them cleaned up and found some cleaner/non-muddy activities for them while they warmed up.  A perfect goodbye to summer!

saxonburg arts festival and quilt show

Last year, after seeing a sign advertising it, we all ventured out to the Saxonburg Arts Festival.  Saxonburg is a tiny, historic-looking town, that is nearby our town.  The festival was fun, filled with the usual trove of food trucks, face-painting, and people hocking primitives and handmade items.  While there last year, we stumbled across a quilt show in the church, and I vowed that this year I would enter. So I did.

I dropped off my Dresden plate beauty last Wednesday, and while the rain kept everyone away yesterday, we were able to get out today.  And we walked into the hall and my quilt was right in the front!  Right after we took some glamour shots with it, a lady asked me if I knew the woman who made the quilt.  I said, "Yes.  Me."  She said she absolutely loved the colors and thought it was amazing - I soon found out she runs the entire quilt show!  Alas, I did not win the show, but it was fun entering a quilt for the first time ever.  And Britton was so proud of me, and immediately started planning her first "real" quilt!

We weren't just there for the quilts - the kids wanted a caramel apple.  And kettle corn.  And lemonade. And Britton got an American Girl doll dress from this lady who makes and sells them - only $18 and the dress was incredible!  There were so many Halloween decorations I wanted, but the storm clouds started moving in and we decided to head out before we got soaked.  

This caramel apple is STICKY!

barrett: 28 months old

Barrett is officially in the "whatever you say has no bearing on my actions" stage, also known as the "I don't care you said no" and "you can't tell me what to do."  Tell this boy no, as in "NO Barrett!  Do NOT run into the street!" and he grins and keeps going.  He's not testing our limits - he just doesn't care what those limits are.  Luckily, these bursts don't appear all that often (knock on wood), and most of the time this kid is laid back and happy. 

Barrett is in love with the Peppa Pig show, and we are honoring that obsession with his Halloween costume - he'll be George!  He also loves his Cozy Coupe, but is quickly outgrowing it.  He has adjusted to being home all day without Britton, and now gets to have the hubs all to himself.  Barrett is a big fan of going over to Memaw and PawPaw's farm, watching the hubs use the tractor, and getting Memaw to spoil him with hunts for rocks and digging up dirt piles.  

Likes:  pretending to fall down and then pop up and say, "I fine!  I ok!", oranges (which he calls peaches, and we go with it because the last three times he had peaches he threw up so no more peaches for him), playing with the hose/water 

Dislikes:  going inside for bath time (going inside for anything, really), wearing shoes

73 months old

Our little jack o'lantern has lost two teeth just this week!  While she refused to let the hubs try and pull them out, she was more than willing to yank them out herself at school.  Her top middle teeth, plus her bottom canines, are gone, leaving Britton with a very funny smile.  The tooth fairy has been busy over here!

Britton has been in her element ever since starting school.  School is just the right dose of the independence she has been craving.  She loves walking to the bus stop, walking home with the kids who live around us, and playing outside with them after dinner.  Britton loves being around these older kids (our neighboring kids are anywhere from 1st to 5th grade), and is a little social butterfly.  

School itself has been great - she's reading, doing art, playing in recess, and in general really enjoying her day.  Having been in full-day kindergarten, she's used to the rigors of full-day school.  

Likes:  playing outside all evening, doing homework, reading books by herself, snuggling with Barrett and Sadie when watching "Peppa Pig", sliced bell peppers in her lunch box, chocolate milk 

Dislikes:  being made to come inside and take a bath and leave her friends