random pictures...

it feels like there is a lot going on and not much all at the same time...do you ever feel that way? we are getting ready to go on a trip...all the daily stuff still has to be done...don't want to go to the grocery store because we'll be leaving soon so meals are getting interesting...i feel like i want to sew but get way tired at night so the list gets longer...you know the drill...

ethan found part of a bird egg outside one day...i wonder if it was from one of the birds from the nest in our tree...

blake fell asleep in the car today...i thought bringing him in and laying him on the ground might help him wake up...uh...apparently not! bless the third child (and the fourth!)

as a younger person, i collected a lot of things...stickers being one of them. the kids found some of the stickers one day and in the box with them were blank bookmarks...so a decorating of bookmarks party ensued. my favorite part is that blake is sitting right in the middle of it all! cuties.

every time i am having a baby it is during the summer (in AZ people, come on! what bad planning huh?) and every time i say to myself and out loud that THIS pregnancy needs to be a "skirt pregnancy" well this time, it totally is! i found this tutorial and i made one up this last week, i love it! it's comfortable and i think it will be very nice after the un-named baby is here as well! this knit has a silvery thread running through it, i am kind of in love with it! i got the fabric at SAS in Tempe...cheap and good!

it has a soft waistband (i have a skirt from target made in this same vein and i was wanting to make one like it and so i was SO happy when i saw this tutorial! awesome!) don't mind the trashcan...i'm just keeping it real here folks!

this baby has hardly any belly shots so i thought i'd take one at 27 weeks...

more freezer paper stenciling..

it is a sickness!!! i can't seem to stop...although i might stop for a bit now so i can get some other things done:)

here is avery's shirt, i finished ethan and little man's shirt a while ago (didn't realize i hadn't taken a picture of those yet...they all have a "monster" initial on them. i used the font kingthings lupine size about 400 or 500 depending on the size of shirt) and avery reminded me the other day that i hadn't done hers yet...so i did it last night! and she wore it today...how's that for instant gratification?

this pillow used to have pink hearts sewn in lines down the front...and over time the hearts curled in on them selves and i didn't like how it looked anymore. i didn't want to go and sew each heart down individually again so i unpicked the stitching and went to town with the fabric paint again!



and nothing says springy/summery goodness to me like vibrant bunting so i made some for the lockers and i just love it:)


i got to use my new favorite metal eyelets and i used those command removable hooks. i might be in love with those too...depends on if they come off just as easy as the commercials say they do:)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I hope all you wonderful, hard working mothers out there have an awesome day! Happy Mother's Day!

Projects...

per Rachel's request, i believe, here are some of the things i mentioned i was working on before...i figure i'm safe enough to post them now, most of the gifts are given or will be very soon....

For Ethan's teacher, for Teacher Appreciation Week, we made this little sack of goodness...the bag topper was from 30 days, shared on Skip to My Lou i just had to go with a pink bag as well, so bright and fun. inside we put some highlighters (to go with the "bright" theme), a gift card to Dairy Queen (who doesn't love ice cream?), and the wrapped little box is a box of Jiffy mix for chocolate muffins, one of our favorite treats with a handful of chocolate chips mixed in...makes only about 6 which is perfect for not overeating them. The gift card little holder i made, saw some inspiration from Martha and decided to give it a go...turned out well i think.

back (above) front (below)

For my just-turned-one-nephew, Theo, i made some freezer paper stenciled shirts...i can't help it! they are so fun and easy to make and i just love the results! so here are the two i made for him...hope he enjoys them:)

For Mother's Day there were many ideas chasing around in my head, but what i settled on was (a few things); starting with some of this great sugar scrub , my jars are Ikea spice jars (4 for $4), and i got the "flavoring" at hobby lobby. the ones i made for Mother's Day happen to be grapefruit.

i took this picture of the kids and framed it in some great distressed black frames i found at Big Lots.

i wrapped up some more Jiffy muffin mixes (i just can't get enough chocolate muffins).

and i tried making some quilted notecards, to use up some of my endless fabric scraps...it was a fun, quick project and i actually loved the small composition of each card... i will definitely be making more! the idea for those came from MADE ...i just want to make up bunches of them and have them on hand to give as little gifts..i know i would love to use them myself, perhaps others would as well! (don't be surprised if you receive some in the near future!)

is that all? seems like there had to be more...but i think that's it for the projects, for now.....

while i was at Big Lots (love that store!) getting frames, i found this set of notecards and envelopes...

but it had no price tag. so i took it up front and had them try to find a price, they couldn't, apparently it was the last of it's kind, so the guy let me buy it for $.50! awesome! and all the envelopes and cards were there so it was perfect for $.50. i love it when stuff like that happens!

wow...

(unrelated picture...he fell asleep one day like that! so funny!)

i think i was so focused on easter for a while there that mother's day is totally creeping up on me this year! yikes! i have wild half-formed ideas/thoughts in my mind...wonder what will actually get done:)

right now, my kitchen looks like it blew up (i'll spare you the photo...) i have a project for my one year old (today!) nephew, a teacher gift for ethan's preschool teacher that is half done, the remnants of painting by avery and me...half of mother's day presents for some people strewn across another counter...it's a fun day:)

i just need some concentrated time to pull it all together...hmmm...maybe tonight?