Handmade Holidays - Need a little Help Here!**Kids Spoiler Alert!!**

Well, it's final. We are full force having a home made holiday this year. I have to figure out the nice way to send a note to my family and hubby's and say (much nicer than this) "we are some cheep bastards and not buying everyone plastic cards so they can go buy their own gifts.. it's silly, and redundant, and why do I want to give you a plastic card for the same amount that you are going to give me one."
So, I need to say that in a nice way and then figure out how to ask if they still want us in their gift exchanges... hmm..
any ideas?

Don't worry about the gifts, I have those covered, now I need a magic wand, some fairy dust and and insane amount of time to make everything....

Beanpole loves to give people mail at home, and loves purses... so I went over to Craft pad and look at this great idea for a Mail bag! She got the idea from Nothing Fancy who made her own Mail Center. I think I will do this for the Big Bean and the Peanut and make them a few that are open envelopes with things to put in them. I may make them mailboxes... I think it's too hard to go look for metal ones now and I have a thing for that hard plastic canvas to hide under sewing projects, because you can wash them in cold and air dry them... much better than something that can't be cleaned or will rust if left outside. Both the girls like to do this thing on the videos and say "I Love You" by pointing to their eye, heart then point to the camera.. so I am going to make an Eye with cute long lashes, a heart and a big letter U to put in the envelopes... A bunch of fake envelopes with stamps on them, some name signs with Velcro, but what else??

Peanut loves to cook and take care of her babies, I am going to make her some food and diapers with Velcro straps for her babies, they are so easy to make and so cute. Not sure what else there either... Help!?!?!

The above will be made for my cousins little girl too, but I have to figure out a boy gift for her one year old.. hmmm??
remember, hand made...

In other news... Look at my Fabulous new iron!!! Not sure how many of you remember my husband buying me an iron so I would make him his hoodie (coming soon post) but I got this one to help with dolls and crafts so I don't ruin my good one.. oh, it's AMAZING. it's awesome, I love it, and it was FIFTY CENTS!!!!!


The neighbor girls have been begging to sew, they are all now making their own dolls.
Doll 1. Miss M. she's 7 going on 12. While working on her face we have this conversation.
Miss M. "I went to the dentist today"
Me, "oh ya, how did that go?"
Miss M. "Ya, they painted this stuff on our teeth to keep them strong. So the dentist said 'nothing sticky, nothing hard and no alcohol for 4 hours"
Me (without missing a beat) "Oh, so I shouldn't offer you a beer then?"
Miss M. "Uh, no! Not for FOUR HOURS"

Doll 2. Miss TaDa. 12 going on 25, taller than I am already, super smart, greatest kid ever.
Doll making time.
Me "uh, you know that you have to do this all on your own, right?"
Miss TaDa "Why?"
Me "Uh, your 12, you want to know how to sew, your going to sew... so make it as fancy as you want."
Miss TaDA "Good, can she have a belt? and shoes? and 3 quarter sleeves? oh, and a purse that really opens so I can put my ipod in it?"
Me "sure, go ahead and get right on that, I am not kidding about you doing this on your own"
Miss TaDA "I think I am going to need to go home and design this. I wonder if this is how J-Lo got started!"

Dolls 3 and 4 are the twins.... The Funny funny twins.. one with pink hair and one with purple, one has lots on her face and one very little. Outfits are opposite each other just like the girls, and I am sure will go thru stages and swap who's loud and who's quiet.
Doll 3. Miss Banana
Doll 4. Miss Chocolate
More about them on Saturday... tomorrow is their birthday.. :D

And now for something too cute not to share..It will be here way longer than it was in her hair.. Happy Friday Everybody.

Beanpole Elvis and Peanut Simmons....

Not sure if you've seen our new blog... but here is the second set of pj pants that I made -- the beanpole, doing her best Elvis got a whole new set of pj's Tee with a pocket and a purse to carry them in.. and her new tutu..
The one on the right however, did not get hers yet.. the Peanut, doing her best Richard Simmons, bending over to touch her toes while I took the picture is sporting her brand new tutu... (for a future Zoo so Silly Post) these were a huge hit, even when my brother (Unkie of the monkeys) put it on his head and the beanpole told him "you look like a beautiful wedding"...yup, and I didn't snap the photo in time..

Princess fufu's -- FFF

So I talked the Unkie of the monkies yesterday and he asked why there were no pictures of his angel babies on my blog... HA! That was my sign that I have the OKKKEEYY to post um!!

Look at my sweeet swweeett nieces!!
this is Arora at Disney - the one on the left is the Beanpole (in the 900% of height) and the right with the ears is the peanut (but dont' tell her I said that, she's on peanut strike)
Talk about driving people crazy, look at that cute!
Gramma, I'm gettin 9
Yup, I got 9 too..


If you'd like to participate in this week's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, or if you just want to look at more pictures, head on over to Candid Carrie's and check it out!

Sigh.............postcards

Thanks to everyone that's sent postcards to Miss T... We love love love them.. We are still in need of a lot so keep on sending.. This post not void in Rhode Island (Unkie is there now, he should have sent one!!)

A Beanpole, a Peanut, and a Squeaker (this sounds like the begining of a joke)

We got our first visitors today.Aunt Sheri, Uncle Dave, Hannah (Peanut) and Anissa (beanpole) came from out of town and drove all the way out to see us during "fake" Easter weekend. The girls were so cute with Taryn and would hold her hands, and pat her back SOFT and watch her while they ran around the room, played with Domino's, pretended to be Uncle Bob in his chair, and showed us hands free tumbling. I was feeding Taryn when they got to our house so it was a grand entrance when we came in. Everyone was so excited to see us that Hannah could not wait to say "We have presents!", Anissa nodded and pointed to the bags with eyes wide. I wished I would have felt better, I would have had more for them to do while here, they also didn't stay to have lunch/dinner. I was not up to the sitting today but we did have a good visit and they got to see Taryn and we got to see the girls. It was really nice to have them over. Taryn even insisted on wearing her Easter outfit even if it was not the real Easter. The girls LOVED IT.. She even had a onsie on that said "just hatched" that is really cute but was not showing up in the pictures. If you increase the size on the first photo, you can see that there is a tail and ears on the outfit, on the front it has a bunny face and says "My First Easter".












We got home yesterday and There was a big sign on the door, I need to get a picture or two of that but I have not been out there yet. I am slow moving these days and must say I am thankful it's not because of my back finally. But almost 10 lbs later, it's nice to know how worth it she is.
I have my camera back online so here's the last day at the Hospital update:
Here's the room. It was really nice, I wish I wold have taken a picture of the bathroom, it was super awesome and Huge! The first picture is the door, the room is not square so there is an area in the front where the nurses can set up, people can wash their hands, and there is a big curtain so you don't actually walk in and see everything going on, that was nice. I had to call out the whole time when people knocked and walked in "Hello, who's there?" The second photo is Taryn, she's such a camera hog these days. The TV above the dresser, and shelving, that was nice too, there was a lot of room for things. We had most of our stuff in the car by this time but we did use up a lot of this space. The third picture is Bob's area, he slept and worked in this little corner area while we were there and to is right is the big cool bathroom.










Grandma Sally keeps calling Taryn her "Little Irish Lass" which is funny because we hoped she would be here before St. Patty's day and still ended up dressing her in that outfit, because I love it. Someone please thank Christine again for me! The first picture is Taryn's "I'm really pissed off" face, this is the pre-warning that you are getting the squeak soon. We had a slight meltdown and yes she has socks on her hands, her nails are really sharp and I filed them a bit but I still don't want her scratching her face. The second picture is "with hat" but she didn't wear that for any pictures other than this one. She was not a fan.









Daddy's been the hero of the day all day, I got to sleep a bit this afternoon, and rest before everyone came over. He also made lunch, dinner and went to get batteries while Taryn went down for the night. I feel bad that I can't do much and I am feeling a bit lazy with the things I am doing. I know, major surgery, I know 9.4 oz baby, but when you see people cleaning around you, it's hard not to want to start helping out. My feet are still swollen and swelling pretty bad, I can't wait for this to end too. I did get some things done, I got the changing table moved around a bit and organized, got some of the bottle and other supplies cleaned up and Bob helped me get the items together that need to be sterilized. This was a good thing, and a good day. Bob also got spit up on A LOT, peed on and if she were pooping better, I am sure he would have gotten a little of that too.
We are trying to work on getting our days and nights worked out so Taryn went to bed at around 11:30 p.m. and we have all the lights and TV off in our room. This is what everyone says to do too and what worked best.. I am such a new mommy, I have gone in and checked on her at LEAST 4 times from the time I started this blog and checked e-mail. It seems to be working, not the new mom part, the sleeping part. How long does it take for this part to ware off?

**Spoiler Alert!** Happy Birthday (No, theres no baby yet)

Mom - Lisa and Shari - Don't look -- Skip this Entry or ruin your own surprise ---

So, weeks ago I was thinking I needed to get my mother something for her birthday early... I am starting to think that I know where this kid gets it...YIKES! Ok, so I was going to get some Harry and David stuff with the help of my sister and a few funny e-mails back and forth, a few bad days, some pony tail holders and an i-tunes gift card...walks into a bar.. no, seriously.. So then I forget and realize that 1. I have no kid here yet and 2 No dice at the there is a Harry and David in the mall and I need to walk to get this kid movin! mall, time is running short and then I remembered this little thing I saw on a blog. Crayon Roll Cases, they were so cute, Maybe I cold make one of those for her embroidery needles? Ok, seriously $15 for that? It holds like 6.. No way, I can find better..

So, I was online and started thinking where to look and low and behold I loved the Pink Chalk Studio instructions and they were on her birthday last year! It's a sign :O... ok, it's not a sign but what a quinkie dink! No Problem 24 X 10, each holder is 1 1/4". That does not seem like so much, you know me, gotta go bigger! Mine is 36 X 22 double sided, holds on each side and folds together in the center (so they don't fall out one end) Ties and has a handle (seen below)









Yes, Bigger, holds 65 (whatevers) needles.. I don't have any so I used some hem liners that I have that are flat.










First, let me jut say that my Godmother and my father are laughing their ASSES off..
I am not a fan of bias tape, we all know this, and this is why a lot of my stuff does not get done (yes Kate, that is what we are all waiting on!) and I get this whole thing done and Oh, Ouch what the Hell.. Are you kidding me -- An INCH!! So, I yell out "SonofaBitch! All I need is an extra Inch" Bob is in the other room laughing "I've heard that joke but never heard a woman say that before!" Oh that Bob's a funny one...


So, you can roll it or fold it flat and tie it together.. but, this is it.. Thoughts?











**Spoiler** I made some towels for my sister in law for her birthday coming up and we won't make it out to their house this year for the 4th so I thought these would be cute...
**Spoiler 2** I made my sister some tennis towels, I really like the towel, it's microfiber and if you click the picture you can see it says I Heart Tennis all over the ribbon. Cute!

LIMITED TIME ONLY! Van Hannah!

Ok, I sent the girls a card and because Hannah just learned the birthday song last month I made sure to mention that it was my birthday this month and they should have daddy make them special toast and sing me happy birthday. Not sure if they ever got Grandpa Charlie's French toast but here's the song. This will only be out there on the tube for a short amount of time so look quick!

Van Hannah!

Family Shower

So the family shower was this weekend, both sides showed. It was a lot of fun. My sister got he great idea to get a cupcake cake that was a great idea and scary at the same time. Here is the cake. If you click on the image, you will see what I think of every times I see this cuppa cake (as Hannah calls it), the other image going thru my head. (Each word in blue is a link). From what I understand of my husbands childhood, we could end up with the real Baby Buggy Bunny.
(thanks to the site)
We had a great time. Pasta House catered and everyone loved the food. It was so good and so much fun for the kids and adults to get a bit of everything that we don't get everyday. The boys were having a great time hiding out in back looking at cars while the girls were in side with presents (and the Baby-FaceFinster cuppa cake cake). WE got a ton of stuff that we needed, a night light security camera (guess who broke that out as soon as we got home!) and wanted me to shut off all the lights in the kitchen while I was trying to put things away.
We got another great book by another great Hannah and Anissa. Eight Silly Monkeys was a hit.
We also got One Fish, Two Fish, When we Were Young, Now We are Six, Baby Animal Farm, Baby's first Photo Book, and some of Bob's Hardy Boy's Books.
It was a great time had by all, more on it later, I am too tired to keep going tonight but I wanted to get a few things out here before I start my thank you cards.

painting and pillows

I finally gave in and bought myself a pregnancy pillow. It's wonderful so far, I have not used it on a work day yet but I have made it thru 2 nights with more sleep than I have had in a week and a half. This kid is growing now so fast that I can't seem to keep up, I don't know what to do about the next few weeks (10 weeks) but I got a new Yoga dvd on the way to help me stretch or something to make this more uncomfortable on me. I have always joked with friends that you would never actually get the nerve to have a baby (the actual birthing part) if you were not so uncomfortable that you just wanted some pain relief. I guess this is what is going to happen so I get to that point. Either way, this one pillow took the place of 3 (yes 3) king size pillows on my bed. Bob must be happy that he has room again.

On to paint... Bob got the start of the flowers done and North America ( I think one coat) I finished 2 coats on the Pac Rim and a coat on Antarctica. I am going to start South America Tonight, it's been hard on my body to sit on the floor and or sit on an uncomfortable chair trying to paint a wall with a small brush.. It may be time to give in for a massage soon.

All in all, things are going well here, lots of kicks going on around Christmas and thankfully everyone was nice, not saying things about my weight gain and or telling me what I need or should be doing. Except one comment from my mother but we won't get into that.
The nieces came in and we had a nice Christmas, lost of fun and running like mad, I think they were not so happy with me not running as fast or as much and or holding anyone as much this visit, but it was still great.

Either or, pictures to come, I have to keep painting now while the sun and lighting is good, I will take some photos after the sun is not on the wall.

Life is good... Take a look at my world right now...

Snow on Saturday

Wow, that snow was a lot early in the day, we seemed to get it all night long. We ordered in pizza and didn't do much, cought up on reading, a bit of tv and some surfing for Christmas Presents. It was nice to relax a bit and feel accomplished. Tomorrow I finish the girls towel poncho's and get my cards done to mail on Monday.

If you notice in the third picture from the deck you can see our branch that broke from the ice storm, and in the fourth, with all the trees... you can see our new neighbor's house coming up.. where our cows used to be. sigh....

Week 21 ish.. overwhelmed...

I am not sure why I am feeling so overwhelmed these days. It could be the holidays coming up and I have a hard time not being with family and that hits home worse this year with so much else going on. I am having a hard time with the MIL she seems to say things without thinking first and then her only backup to what she says is to insult herself (because that makes things better??).
So it's coming down to another Thanksgiving and Christmas, actually the last for just Bob and I. It's odd... This time next year everything will be different, and I hope the room is actually pained by then.
So, I have to figure out paint colors and make sure we still agree on themes. I started my registry on Amazon, but just of the things I think that I need and some things that I have heard and read great reviews on. We were going to go register this weekend after we found out SHE's a she. But that didn't happen. I started some odd pre-nesting, I think its because I can still sit and bend in ways that I won't be able to soon. I cleaned out under the bathroom cabinet and the kitchen lower shelves and higher items. Also lifted the heavier pots and pans so I can reach them easier later. Pre Nesting? I would say yes but I still didn't mop and I didn't finish up the dishes until tonight.
I am getting a bit more of an urge to sew, I didn't have it for a long time but I need to get some things done for Christmas and want to send over Presents for the Thanksgiving gang in VA.
Mom is going on a long vacation in April, I am really sad about that.. Baby Mc will be less than a month old when she leaves, (depending on birth date and actual leaving date, could be a lot less) and I am sad, I think more because I will still be at home then and thought it would be good bonding time for all of us, I will be able to move and go a bit more by then and she'll be gone. Oh well, I know, get over it.... Things could be worse, some of my friends mothers live out of state...
Today was good, my brother was in with his two girls and they are so cute and so well behaved it just makes everything happy and I can't wait to be there.
TTFN...