Calli's awesome week!

It's just amazing how fast time speeds up when they hit this age! :(

4 weeks ago she started reading. For real. And has an incredible handle on it!!
Then, she got her first loose tooth... school was scheduled to start....
she started kindegarten, and got 2 more loose teeth...
this week... she learned how to tie her shoes - in 5 minutes flat!!! (this was amazing enough in itself to me! LOL!! All my other kids took WEEKS!!!) And she's GOOD at it!
Then that night she went and lost that tooth!
Wow... who sped up the clock?

I saw another blog this morning, with the picture of a little neked bebe, playing in the middle of their living room... in the middle of potty training. Shoot. It gave me such joy to see that freedom, and such sadness that those days are now past for me. :( (although calli is a nudey at heart, and if allowed would run around neked ALL the time - unfortunately with two older brothers and her being 5, it was time to insist she keep her clothes on all the time! LOL!!)

Anyway, it just seems like all these milestones are coming faster and faster - and piling up on one another. It makes me want to yell "slow dooowwwwnnn"!!!! (and yes, at the same time i am jumping for joy for her!! She is absolutely THRILLED with all these new accomplishments!!) only you guys get to hear my inner sorrow over these things.

After 4 kids, I really didn't think this would phase me so much. You know .. you kind of desencitize (sp?) to it... but apparently the first AND the last affect you just as hard! :)

Today I am working on that baby quilt, and binding a little rug that I made for my girlfriend. :)

I've got some nasty snotty cold thing, and just planning on doing alot of sitting and nose blowing today!

Have a very blessed monday!! And if you're a mom.... don't forget to stop and enjoy every little moment! :D

hugs,

Bren

HOOKIN!!!!

Woohooo!!! I got my chores done, the kids off to school, the dishes done, and kitchen clean, the laundry going, clean laundry put away, the house vacuumed, and now.......... I GET TO HOOK!!! :D Yep. Doin the happy dance! So why is it I am actually feeling GUILTY because I am going to sit and hook?! Prolly cuz there's always more around the house to do? Maybe because I'm actually home all alone, and there's so many other things i "ought" to do while alone? (like dying up a gob of wool for ebay) hrrmm.... Well, I'm going to have to get over it. I NEED to hook just as much as I NEED to keep the house clean. Hooking is my sanity, and my creative place - and if i don't do those things on a regular basis, I am just not a good person. And I haven't for a couple months now. :( Finally finishing those quilts has opened the ever present creative door... wide and beckoning! So... i need to get off this computer and get to it! Have a blessed day! xo Bren

Finishing UFO's & New projects

Just some fun things today...

I finished my son's quilt this weekend. Finally!! LOL

This was machine sewn and quilted (have i mentioned that i hate machine quilting as my sewing machine just CHUNKS the bobbin thread over and over?!?)

But I'm trying to finish up some UFO's and this was one of them! woohoo!! All homespun, boy colors, with blue and white ticking for the sashing, and navy blue homespun for the borders and backing.

I "doodle quilted" - not quite stippling... as i made lots of loopty loops, and hid words in there... joy, faith, love, Bailey, Jesus loves you,hope, etc... here and there... and since they are done with such dark thread, they are not noticeable unless you are looking... or happen to stumble upon them! He thinks this is pretty darn cool!!!

After I finish my Dog House rug, and Faith rug, this is the next one on the list!! woohoo!! I can't wait!! It is a design by Monika Jones of Folkart Landing. I just love her designs, and the way she color plans her rugs!! She nailed MY two favorite colors in this rug, and i knew I had to do it! Hookers, check out her site!! http://www.folkartlanding.com/ I know.. i iknow... i have to finish those others FIRST!!! LOLOL I keep telling myself that!! :-P

I thought this was a neat old quilt. There's a great little article about preserving your quilts, and taking care of antique quilts.. thought some of you might like to read it, if you like old quilts like i do!!
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/tips/quilts.html

I just love Laurie Simpson's newest book!! There are several quilts in here that I want to do! I have been drooling over them this week. Laurie is such an amazingly inspiring creative woman!! And I can't believe how fast she whips out these hand pieced and hand quilted pieces!!!! Just mind blowing to me!

If you haven't seen all the goodies in this book - it's definitely worth the time to check it out! :)

But first things first,... i have to finish this one! The top is completed, (although not in this picture) and i will be hand quilting it... but haven't even started that process yet. Not much "sit down time" lately!

AND I have to finish a baby quilt for my cousin who is expecting her first baby in September!! oh my!! I need to get biiiizzzzyyy!!!

On an up note....
I'm really excited, as I allowed myself to cave and buy a couple books yesterday! :-) woohoo!

First I got the second Hooked Rugs Today book. These are SUCH GREAT BOOKS!! Talk about eye candy!!

I have the first one, but have been patiently waiting to get the second one! Yay! and it's finally on it's way!!



I also ordered Polly Minick's new book - The Americana Collection. Oohhhh she's been teasing us with the cover for some time now, and it's finally been released!! I can't wait!!

If you've never seen Pollly's rugs or other books, i highly encourage you to find them and get them!!! Check out her website here: www.minickandsimpson.com

Polly and her sister Laurie are so icreative and incredibly talented!!

I'm sure these will be packed full of motivational pictures and commentary!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Happy(very) late birthday to me!! LOLOL (that works, right?)

Have a blessed day!

xo

Bren :)

Thank you! & New Nice Award

One of the sweetest gals I know, Tammy of Skip To My Ewe, awarded me with the "Nice Matters" award!! THANK YOU TAMMY!!! I have been very blessed to have met Tammy 5 or 6 years ago, through rug hooking. She is one incredibly creative, spunky and NICE person!! Go check out her blog if you aren't already reading it regularly! She has this blog thing not only down pat, but mastered!! I love all her funky fun pictures!!

The beauty of this award is to pass it onto others that you feel deserve it, and bless them with the aknowledging their kindness. :)

I am going to pass this onto two different bloggers. One I know very well... and the other not at all!

Jacque Anderson of Doodles of My Mind immediately came to mind, as she is a good friend of mine, and we have grown quite close over the last few years, and especially this last year as we are working on a dye book together!
I am VERY blessed to have her in my life, and call her friend!!The link above is for her blog, and her website is: http://www.browndogprims.com/ She is "dog obsessed" and her hooking and designs take that love to a whole new level! Go check it out!! And of course she is nice, nice, nice!! :)

The other lady I send this award to is Karen Russell. I don't know her at all, and yet I feel like i could know her VERY well!! LOL I don't know if that made any sense at all? I found her blog through Creative Blogs along with several others... and immediately identified with Karen, and her life as a mom, her kids, etc... as well as her sense of humor. Some people blog to journal, some blog for entertainment, some for advertising... Karen somehow captures life and all that it encorporates with her amazing pictures and stories! I look forward to reading her blog everyday!!

So here's a shout out to someone I don't know, that I think deserves this award!! My life... just not on the road i expected (but it's still dang good!) Have fun getting to know Karen a little bit!

Have a blessed Monday!

~Bren :0)

Cinnamon Applesauce & Quilts!

Ok, so I'm somewhat of an "old soul". I tend to lean towards all things handmade. I love old quilts, hooked rugs, samplers etc... and home made food! Although in my busy life, I have been known to break out a box of hamburger helper when nothing else has been planned for dinner! (ok i know.. i know - gag!!! LOL But just bein honest!) But on those days that I have a bit of time, I am more apt to make a dinner from scratch! Yesterday was such a day. Yay!!

This is a simple quilt I finished for Calli's room a week or two ago. (mind you i said finished. LOL The whole quilt has been DONE - except the binding for... oh.... 6-8 months? It only took a weekend to make! And yes this one was machine stitched. Although I prefer the whole process and results of hand stitching versus machine!! This was made for a little girl that is likely going to beat it up!!)

Bailey's quilt is almost done too. I am hoping to work on it a bit today!! woohoo!!

Ok.. so we have an apple tree in the back yard. I am not quite sure what KIND of apples they are?? But in the last few years, the apples have gotten progressively bigger. When we first moved here I thought they were crab apples! But... apparently we are seeing the fruits of someone elses labor finally paying off! :D

Last week I picked about 50 little apples, to try some home made applesauce... and stood in the kitchen peeling, slicing and de-coring. Ugh. Took me ALL day!! The kids gobbled it up, waxing poetic the whole time! LOL!

I mentioned to my girlfriend she ought to come over and pick some apples so she could make some applesauce. She non chalantly says - oh you're welcome to borrow my apple peeler.

APPLE PEELER??

You have an apple peeler???

LOL so needless to say I borrowed it yesterday!! Check out this handy dandy whizamajig!!!! This thing ROCKS!!!!!!!!

Apparently my picture cut off the handle to the left! woops! This thing PEELS, SLICES AND CORES in a matter of seconds!!!!! I did 50 little apples in about 20 minutes yesterday!!!!!!!!! TOOOOOOO COOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!!!! I am definitely needing one of my own now! LOL! This is a pampered chef model - and no matter what the cost, I'm thinking it's worth it when you have an apple tree!!

They are cut into long slinky like spirals. VERY fun! The kids thought this was the neatest thing! (ok.. and so did i !)

At this point you just add a smidge of water (maybe an inch in the bottom of the pan) and cook on low until they start to fall apart. Add a LITTLE sugar if you need to - depending on how sour your apples are. Give em a couple stirs to break them up and you will have chunky applesauce (we like it that way) - or cook a little longer and use your potato masher to make it smoother.

We like Cinnamon applesauce, like my grama used to make. And it's the simplest thing - just throw in two medium sized handfuls of red hots - let them melt and VOILA !! YUMMM!!! :D

Gavin turns 17

My oldest son Gavin turned 17 on Sunday.
Wow.
(yes i'm still having a hard time accepting he's already 17!! LOL)
Here are a few snapshots of my "hairy dude" (that's all the rage right now, donchyaknow?)
But personally I LOVE it when he pulls his hair back!!
He loves anything "ninja" ... so this shirt was appropriate. LOL (not to mention that he calls his little sister Calli "monkey" or his "ninja monkey" or "trouble monkey" !!! So this shirt holds double meaning!! :D Ok... so i've gotta tell you this story!!
Calli was spazzing before Gav's "party" - she went and grabbed her present, and wrapped it all up herself! Then was about to come unglued as he's opening it..... it was a PINK POODLE stuffed animal from mcdonalds! :D
So you can just imagine what's running through Gavin's head. LOL
And here's how the conversation went:
G: "Wow buddy! Thanks!"
C: "You're welcome!! I knew you would LOVE it!"
G: "haha... yah.. it's a pink poodle! What's not to love??"
C: "No Gavin, it's a "Noodle"! "
G: " A noodle???"
C: " Yah!! A NINJA POODLE!! "
G: "Oh really?" - laughing
C: "Yah, he's a ninja and a poodle - get it?"
G: "But Calli.... i don't think it's a boy... it's PINK!?"
C: "No, it's a boy! He just likes to wear pink!
G: "Why?"
C: " Just because.... he LIKES pink! He's a NOODLE!!"
(like that was supposed to explain everything)
G: "Cool!! I think i will wear him right here.. on my necklace, and he can guard me!"
C: "Oh good, I was hoping you would do that!! :D "

(so... in all the following pictures.. you can see... the Noodle around gavin's neck! She wanted to know if he would wear it to school!! LOLOLOL)

Calli's First Day of School!!!

Ok.. it's official! My baby is now a kindergartner!! Holy cow. Where does the time go????
Here she is in front of our front door... watch the expressions on her face as we get closer to going, and then get to school! She was soooooooooooooo excited, i thought her face was going to explode!! LOL!!

Sadly, two mintues before we were about to leave, she sees her little girlfriend out in the back yard, and goes running out to tell her friend that TODAY is the day!! A second later a mean little bee stings her right on the chest!! Sheesh. What a way to start the day off, huh? Poor thing! But.. i told her today is a day for alot of "firsts" !! First day of school... first bee sting... first teacher... etc etc. LOL AND... her two bottom teeth are now soo loose, i wouldn't be surprised if she comes home without them today!! :-o

Below...(the look on her face here is priceless!! "I'm here!! I'm so excited i can't stand it!!") You can enlarge the picture by clicking on it. That blue piece of paper in her hand is a letter she wrote to her teacher, to tell her how happy she is to be in school finally!

Ok... i am smiling ear to ear, so excited for her!! But inside, my heart is also breaking a bit. My baby has left the protective arms of mom! :(

Bye bye baby :(

sick kids..

Here we are the first day of the second week of school. Emily just threw up in class. And Gavin is home with an intense migraine!? I didn't know that teenage boys were even susceptable (sp?) to migraines? This is about the third on in about a month. Now i'm concerned. Guess i'll be making a doctor's appointment! Poor kids! :( One of the worst things about motherhood is feeling so helpless with sick kids. You always wish there was something more you could do!

Well... long time no post! I have been running wildly for the last several weeks, school shopping for the kids. I gave up taking them all at one time. This just leads to disaster, and everyone ending up being VERY cranky at the end of the day, with not much accomplished! So.. i take them out individually now. This way I can focus on just one child, and give them my undivided attention for that whole day or two!! No little Calli's running in and out of the clothes rounders, and me constantly checking to see where she is, and telling her to behave!! (that girl NEVER runs out of energy!!) So, got them all shopped for. New clothes... they feel pretty. :) New school supplies. (ok... this will blow your mind... for the 4 kids, for school supplies ALONE.. just papers, pens, binders etc.. and shopping the sales, and ONLY buying them if they were on sale (yes this is a must!) it was almost $300 !! $289 to be exact! Can you believe that?!?) THEN... they started school last Tuesday... and here they come ... with more school supply lists!! My jaw dropped!! I expect one or two things to not have made it on the master list. Honestly.. that's normal. LOL But... there were individual lists from EACH teacher with MORE needs - above and beyond what they already had. And each teacher wants those items to stay in their class!?!? Another $10-12 PER CLASS, per kid - and they each have 6-7 teachers!!!!!!!! Well. I flipped my lid. I didn't handle it too well. Approximately $75 per kid for school supplies (on massive sale mind you!) is a TON of stuff!! And they are requiring more?? Each teacher requiring the new supplies stay in their individual class, instead of using that highlighter for all classes? :( So... needless to say i'm a wee bit frustrated. I think that's kind of rediculous.. not to mention $$ wise - throws me wayyy out of my budget! So... i've been struggling with a bad attitude all week! On the flip side.. the kids all started school .. except Calli. She starts tomorrow. Ohhh . My baby!! :( goin to kindegarten! She's gotten soo big! My last one. My constant companion. Leaving me! :( :( :( So yup, i'm a little bummed! LOL (quit laughing) Of course i am also looking forward to having 2.5 full days to myself!! I'll actually be able to dye all day, and draw my patterns, make pouches.. all that good stuff and get geared back up! :D So i'm excited about that! Oohh.. and think about the house cleaning possibilities!! :D LOLOL It might actually stay clean for a whole day, since everyone is gone at school!! hahaha! Yesterday was Gavin's 17th birthday! Holy cow. My first baby just about all grown up!! And my youngest going to kindegarten.. all in the same week. sheesh. hormones! lol! We made chocolate chip cookies this week. And home made cinnamon apple sauce from the apples off the tree in the back yard. Yummers!! The garden is producing at a regular rate now - and NORMAL sized veggies!! LOLOL The tomatoes are TO DIE FOR!!!! aaahhh i just love home grown maters!!! :D It's been around 100-104* for the last couple weeks. We're all permanently clammy. lol I've given up wearing makeup, as it just slides off my face within 10 minutes of putting it on!! LOL! FAll will be here soon enough, and i'll try to look more like a girl then! :) Grama's just about settled in. She's replacing her carpet for wood floors this week, and trying to decide what color to paint her living room. But mostly settled in! The kids go over and swim nearly everyday.. but now with school started, i'm guessing the pool won't see as much action. Well today i need to make a wooly pouch and get it sent off. I have one i made... and i can't find the owner!!!?? :( My email account had issues and crashed a couple weeks ago... and lost all the orders... i matched them all up except two! Ack!! So if one of these orders was yours - please pleeeeaaseee call me!!! They're sitting here waiting to find you!!! Ok.. i better scoot. Soo much to get accomplished today!! Unfortunately nothing creative for a couple more days. I keep telling myself "soon! soon!" LOL (going thru withdrawls!!) I hope you have a very blessed day!! I need to go get in the Word and adjust my attitude!! :P xo Bren