Away too long!

Wow, I can't belive it's been over a month since my last post. Life outside the internet just sort of got away from me. I should be posting a bit more regularly now that the kids are on their way back to school next week.

We took the last week to enjoy some time together (also we had some bugger of computer and internet problems.)

We went camping finally! Tim's been working so much he had a really hard time getting away, so we really needed this.

We took a train ride (new to all of us,) to Chicago and did some touristy things there. We visited the Sears Tower (have I mentioned to you all how afraid of heights I am?) We went to Navy Pier (Have I mentioned how deathly afraid of piers, bridges and heights I am?) We went to Shedd Aquarium (Have I mentioned I'm allergic to fish of all kinds and the trainer didn't wash her hand before shaking mine ?? Yep that sucked!) We went to the LEGO store, rode trolleys and took taxis. Lots of these were firsts for the boys, some were firsts for Tim and myself too. Overall it was a lovely trip, but I definitely realized how much I love home. It was far too loud in Chicago for me! The train ride was wonderful and we're trying to plan another one soon. I should have pictures when I find where the boys put their camera.

We are going camping again this weekend for Labor Day, then the kids are back to school.

Oh, I received my GORGEOUS Doll Quilt from the Doll Quilt Swap 4 on Flickr.

Here's my best closeup. SheltonDHW made it for me. She also sent along some yarn and a needle book and a lovely embroidered card. Pics of those are on my flickr, you can see the yarn a bit though.

What else have I been up to? Well, soccer has begun and hit us full force. 3-4 games a week, plus some practices. It's a town over, so that's a bit more running than we'd like, but the kids LOVE it, so that's what matters. And it's only through mid October.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'll have to go through things better, I know I'm forgetting something.

Quilt Giveaway

No, not by me... I have been trying to think of a great giveaway, but I don't have the time to give away a whole quilt.... maybe a doll quilt.... we'll see, stay tuned.

But this is about a real quilt and a real giveaway! Old Red Barn Co, can you believe it? She's brilliant, and a little nuts I'm guessing. So Go Enter, and if you win you must name your first born after me.... or next pet..... or next sewing needle (we all name those right?) or.....

Baseball embroidery

Here's the crayon tinted and embroidered one of Lore. The colors are off because it's early in the morning and hazy. I'll try to take another one later, but once the day starts that just always becomes less likely.

The waterbottle isn't as wonky as it looks on the picture either.

Now to make the rest of the doll quilt. Picking the colors may be difficult for me. I matched his clothes and such to what he actually wore, but those colors won't match my living room at all, so I want it to look nice on it's own, but match my living room. (Pink walls, light blue curtains with red white and pink in them.)

Free Musical Superhero Movie With Neil Patrick Harris

Ok, just in case you are one of the 6 people (or more,) in the world that haven't heard of this, I thought I should post about it, because..... well, it's funny, it's a musical, and it's around for a short time free.

Go, Watch, Enjoy, Pass it on
PS. Not for kids

Clean up is done!

I am so grateful that the flooding clean up is finally finished. The work isn't all done, but the cleanup and sanitizing is done. We didn't have anything too major here, but all of my family and friends within an hour radius had major damage. I'm so thankful that the clean up is done. The furnaces and water heaters have been installed, new washers and dryers are at their houses. People can go back to living fairly normally again. I'm sure it isn't that way for everyone, but around here things are returning to happiness.

Gifts For the Nieces

We made a few gifts and were able to give them to the recipients this weekend.

First, you've seen me working on this, but it is finished. I wanted to keep it simple, and I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Here's the finished front. (I these this crazy early in the morning, so I know the color is a little funny.)

Here's a bit of a close up, and you can see a peak of the corner of the back, and my mild label.

We also made my nieces (the ones in the quilt above) a frog game. The boys had tons of fun making/helping with these. We took the idea from Mama Urchin's Lilypad Game. We also used the same Purl Bee Frogs and they worked excellent.

Just a simple zipper bag to keep it all in. I meant to add handles, but I made it quite late at night, and forgot, so..... ooops.

And also, something I forgot to post a picture of. My Levi was in a musical version of Treasure Island. He played Chief Pigaloo. He spoke Pig-Latin and ROCKED THE PART! I was so proud, and truly impressed!

Sketch #2

Ok, so I fiddled around with the picture, and I took some suggestions, and this is my second try.

I got rid of much of the bench. Put in a bat and ball, and added his water bottle. What do you think?