One BIIIIGGG Weiner!!!

Do you know what this is??

ONE BIIIG WEINER! -Mobile that is!

Granted... not the most flattering shot. LOL But I couldn't pass it up - too fun! :)

The weinermobile was down at our local grocery store today. We sang the Oscar Meyer song and got whistles too!! hee hee

ps... the first shot is INSIDE the weiner mobile

NO WAY!

ALREADY????!!!!

we NEVER have snow before halloween!

holy cow... what does this bode for our winter?

needless to say... babysitting the puppy this morning was tons of muddy fun. she LIKES THE MUD. shoot me now!

Firsts

A week of firsts!

Lexi went on her first (and second and third) walk this week- and learned to listen to commands. She did soooo well!! I am soo proud! LOL!! She learned "with me" (basically walk with me, or heel), she learned "sit", she learned "no" and "no bite" AND "no bark" ! She has been sleeping through the night, with no accidents (well.. there was one night she wasnt able to hold it). AND... now this is a biggie folks... LOL... we hung a strand of bells on the back door. We jingle it every time we go out to go potty saying "outside potty". DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID TONIGHT???? THREE times - so it wasn't a fluke!! LOL She went up and rang those bells and stared at the door! Oh my gosh... i was flippin!! LOLOLOL!!! I asked her if she needed to go potty, and she barked once like YES! (open the door already!) I did... she ran and pottied! :D
And then we came back in. Ten minutes later there go the bells again! LOL And again about 15 minutes later! And yes... kinda funny.. but she DID pee each time! (and then of course had to terrorize her monkey stuffed animal for a while)
Ok... so i may be a total dork... but i am ONE PROUD MAMA!!! :D She is one smaaarrtt cookie!

And yah... she likes toes. LOL

And unfortunately..... she thinks when the cats run across the room, or meow at her, that it's a game of chase!

See below for another first this week....

Pounce is NOT happy being terrorized in HER own home! She is up on the 7 foot shelves, looking down at "that idiot dog"! Think she's high enough up?

And last... but certainly not least!

A BIG week of firsts for our daughter!

Her first Homecoming dance... her first semi formal dance... her first "grown up" dress AND heels!

And.... her first day of being 14 !

Happy Birthday my dear sweet Emily!!

You are beautiful inside and out!

I pray that you stay focused on our Father God, and not let the secular world sway you away from His eternal love in these growing years ahead. You are an incredible young woman!

We love you more than I can put into words!

xo

Mom

(and she received my first quilted quilt that she loved so much as one of her birthday gifts)

Yup.

A darn good week of firsts!

:D

Thank yous and hodgepodge

Ok, this post is going to be all over the board! Just because i am so limited in time with the computer lately, since miss Lexie took over my life! I am absolutely BEAT. LOL It's like having a toddler in the house again! And no.. we're not crate training. I am doing it the "old fashioned way" of taking her out every 15-20 minutes to potty... and watching her with an eagle eye 24 hours a day! She discovered she has a voice, as of 2 days ago... and yup... you guessed it... now she thinks she should be barking at EVERYTHING. OY! So the learning continues!! :)

First of all I want to thank my swap partner Vivian!!! Viv made me the sweetest little quilt for the doll quilt swap, called Love and Chocolate. That brown fabric is such a luscious chocolate color! Isn't it adorable?! She also sent along two darling fat quarters of fabric, and a chocolate bar! The DQS7 has been sooooooo much fun!! I cant wait to do another one!! The anticipation... the "research" (or stalking) of your partner... trying to figure out what they like... all in secret.. and then trying to make a quilt for them - wayyyy fun!! I would reccomend it to anyone wanting to try it! :) Thank you Viv for your sweet package! I will be hanging it in my sewing room!!

Lil miss spaz ... this is her favorite place to take a nap - smack in between the tomato plants! :)

I have been having fun (before Lexie came) making houses... wonky houses for a funky quilt that is! These blocks are for the Bee Addicted 3 online bee. Each month a different person gets to choose what they want for their quilt. Then they send out fabrics they would like you to use, and their chosen design. In this case, Becca requested funky houses. Anything goes. All colors and prints, design and construct! Ok... call me a nerd... we all know the truth! LOL But this was WAYYY TOOO FUN!!! Now i will be sending the blocks to her... and she will put all the blocks she receives into a quilt (i think she's making this for one of her kids?) . Talk about a fun whimsical, totally creative quilt! All made by different people, and their interpretations! Cool huh? You can click on the bee addicted button on my side bar, and see some of the other blocks that have been posted if you want :)

doesn't this look like smurfs should be walking out of this house?? LOL

Since Lexie got here, i have not had any time down in my sewing room. Soooo since i am a babysitting fool, but hate to sit with nothing to do, I started working on my handwork... little prim quilts for Christmas presents. :) My hand quilting is improving... still not great... but definitely getting better!

A while back I won a contest in my online group AAPG, and Kelley's box got here a week or two ago and I haven't had a chance to post and tell you about it! Check out this adorable needlepunched pillow with a big sheepie and strawberries!!!!!!!!!! I saw this a while ago in her unfinished projects picture and i flipped over it!! LOL It was love at first site!! So when I opened the box she sent me and saw those berries I was doing the happy dance in a big way!! How dang cute is that, I ask you?!?!?!?!!! :D I have much love for it! LOL

And because Kelley is the sweetest most awesomest friend ever... she sent me this bunch of homespun squares that were left over from the last quilt her mom made her! OMGosh... well the happy dance just got MUCH bigger at that point!! LOLOL I can't stop petting them! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I started hand piecing them together... i think they will make a perfect border on a quilt i have planned! Hmm... i wonder who it will go to??

And last but not least this is a top i made a couple weeks ago. Really simple, but bright and cheery. I was making this as a Christmas gift... but once I got done, decided it doesn't suit the person I made it for. So will be making a different one... but hoping to get this basted and quilted sometime soon. Maybe this weekend when the kids can watch the puppy??

Oh.. this was the Flea Market Fancy quilt from Crazy Mom Quilts (on sidebar) if you like it and want to make one. I just LOVE her blog, and all those awesome quilts she makes! Great tutes too!

Ok, that's it. Puppy's now awake and nipping at my ankles saying "Pay attention to meeeee!!!"

Please pray for me. LOL Pray i can keep my sense of humor (and patience.. but definitely NOT praying for patience!!) through potty and barking training!

Hope you have a very blessed and creative day!

xo

Bren

Pictures, Puppy, and Cartwheels

Pictures, Puppies, Cartwheels, and a final decision on a name!

LOTS of pictures! Kids were playing out front, trying to do cartwheels. (i never realized they couldn't do a cartwheel!! Oh my gosh!) lots of laughter, camera not keeping up with all the movement, even the puppy never stopped moving - until these three shots! She had soo much fun out there chasing the kids and playing! We are ALL HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE!!!

We have come to a decision about this little butterball's name. It is final. :) Voted in 5 out of 5!

Ladies and Gents... meet Ms. Alexis Thompson - "Lexi" for short. :D

Bailey critiquing cartwheel form... cuz he can do sooo much better donchya know. LOL yah. ok.

The beginning of a DOG PILE - including a dog!

Everyone was moving way too fast for my little camera! Most of the pics turned out blurry like this... LOL... but you can "see the action" happening this way also. :)

haha... such nice form! :D

I think we tuckered the poor girl out! LOL Nigh-nigh bebe Lexi :)

Happy Birthday Danny :)

Happy Birthday Dan!

The love of my life! The one and only thing y0u have asked for, and yearned for ... at least 5 years? This little butterball of happiness, I hope she brings you as much joy as you have always brought me!

Danny is still pondering her name. He's thinking Sassafrass - Sassy for short :) We should know by tomorrow if that is the name that will stick!

The newest member of our family :) she is the sweetest little thing! A light golden (retreiver). So even tempered, so loving and sweet! And CUTE doesn't even TOUCH it! LOL

But since Danny is off working (yay! PTL!!) guess who gets to be consumed with potty training until it's accomplished? LOL

No biggie. :)

The absolute JOY and amazement on his face when he met this little girl.... it's all worth it!

xo

Bren

I got to sew yesterday! :)
Bailey has been realllllyyy sick with the flu, major high fever, severe cough, and then come to find out pneumonia. Poor kid. He had me VERY worried. (I dont usually freak out, having 4 kids, lots of colds and flus... but this was BAD) The dr. said "congratulations, you're now a statistic! How's it feel?" H1N1 flu. Now trying to keep everyone in the family away from him and staying healthy!!! Emily told me today that she has a sore throat and he stomach is upset. Oh Lord... praying.... HARD!!
Bay is feeling immensly better. Many people have been praying for him - thank you to you ALL!! You are such a blessing to me!! xoxoxo And Praise the Lord for His healing!!

That's it for now. Just wanted to give you a sneak peek. If you saw my sewing room right now, you'd be rollin on the floor laughing - it is a MESS again!! Go figure! LOL
Blessings, Bren