Hutch x 5

planning stages

2010-08-17T08:25:00.002-05:00

so yesterday I ran across this idea and it has really caught my attention. This lady started a foundation that makes/takes dress up donations and gives them to a local hospital for the kids that are staying there. What a great idea! I know that some days dressing up can totally change my kids' moods just like that. Now I just need to figure out who to contact either here locally or maybe even at St. Jude. I am hoping to make some tutus and capes to donate. I am thinking that others might want to make something too or even donate supplies or other items. Items must be brand new, in packaging or homemade. Boys and girls dress up items.

Here is the link to where i 1st heard about this idea.
And here is someone else who decided to help. Tutu Drive 2010

So i don't know what i am doing but I hope i can brighten someone's day!

Life is busy

2010-07-25T15:10:00.002-05:00

Hence my absence from the blogging world. I just have a quick minute while 2 of the 3 kids are sleeping and a movie is occupying the oldest. Emersyn Lynn joined our family on May 19th. She weighed 8lbs 4 oz. I can honestly say i was surprised she was a girl. I was pretty sure it was a boy. How we can up with her name is a good story and I will tell it when i have a bit more time. She is wonderful and the kids can't get enough of her. The summer is flying by with my sisters' travel softball keeping us busy most every weekend. We are headed to Lake of the Ozarks this week for a little boating and pool time. Now off to enjoy the weather. And my wonderful family!

2010 Here we go!

2010-01-11T09:50:00.008-06:00

All bundled up and ready to play all day!

The Myers Family Christmas

Couldn't wait to get his new tractor out

Does this mean they are spending too much time together

Sporting some Christmas presents and loving it

Getting ready to go downstairs Christmas morning

The birthday princess (Papa picked out the princess dress for her!)

A fitting cake made my Mommy

This year is going to be a busy one and full of love! I am excited to get back into the swing of things after the nonstop birthday/ Christmas season is coming to a close at our house. Santa was a hit this year with all the kids except Dane, he didn't even want to be in the same room as him.

It was wonderful to be with the fam. Mia just turned 4 and i can't believe it. She is princess-Barbie girl all the way. Dane is commonly referred to in our family as 'No-Dane.' And my dad asked why whenever Dane is in trouble we feel the need to use his name along with it (Dane Blair!). Just one of the perks of having a grandson named after you. My parents have completely spoiled my kids. I love seeing my dad follow the every command of a 2 & 4 year old. Even if it makes me a little crazy because they tend to not listen once we get home and mommy has rules again. Guess that is just one of the joys of being a grandparent! Matt and I went out for New Years with some friends and it was nice to do an adult dinner to start the new year.

I am doing well, if by well you mean getting big! My first 2 pregnancies were totally different and this one is totally different than the 1st two times. So i have no idea what we are having! I feel like i eat all the time and sweets are my weakness. I am happy to see the Christmas goodies disappear finally.

I am getting my projects around the house all lined up and ready to go. Painting, organizing, all the stuff that is hard to do now but I know won't happen once the baby arrives. Last week I got a good chunk of toys organized and put away. Even got rid of a few things (Mia didn't seem to mind and is bugging me to get the basement organized too! Sometimes i think she is really 40 and not 4.) I am holding off on getting the sewing machine out since it tends to be addicting. But I will not doubt be making some new dresses for Mia-Mia before too long.

a little behind

2009-10-30T11:09:00.002-05:00

So I am a little behind in updating the blog. I have been busy, the kids are busy, and Matt is really busy. And it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Maybe in January! Anyways, the only really major thing right now is school, sports, and ANOTHER BABY! We are all really excited and i am slowly getting some energy back. Very slowly! I am due mid-May, we aren't going to find out the sex and i am mentally preparing to go past my due date (for a 3rd time!) Mia wants a girl so she can share all her clothes she has outgrown. Dane will tell you there is a baby in Mommy's tummy but that is about all. Other than that I am gearing up for a big Open house at my house, Nov 8th 2-5. Lots of vendors, something for everyone. I will be taking orders for some holiday clothes (working on a few new ideas as we speak). I will add some pics at a later time. 2 small kids would like some lunch now!

And i could use a little sunshine, I am very sick of the rain here.
Happy Halloween

Off to school she goes!

2009-09-09T09:20:00.011-05:00

Mia started preschool yesterday. It is kind of surreal to me actually. that is probably why i managed to hold it together (or maybe the thought of 2 hours to myself 3 days a week helped a little.) It was a very quiet afternoon with Dane napping, I got some sewing done. Might sneak in a nap today. But Mia was really excited to start the day, woke up extra early even though she is in the afternoon class. Matt met us there to walk her into the classroom. There were a few tears when it was time to sit down but it went a lot better then i expected. She was all smiles when we picked her up and I think all in all the first day was a success! I am so proud of her! And i love that she picked out the shirt we made together for her first day.

She is 'texting' her teacher.

Happy birthday tomorrow! I can't believe you are turning 2! LY!

a look back and forward

2009-08-27T10:42:00.010-05:00

5 years ago i had butterflies in my stomach as i walked out into the courtyard at St. Thomas. With my family and friends' faces pressed against the glass, Matt and I saw each other for the first time that day. We have lived in 3 states and have made some great friends. We have 2 great kids who make me crazy, good or bad, every day! 1 dog that Matt tells quite often he "is going to break her neck!" This is our life. I would have never guessed how it would play out(living 2 miles from the ID border?) We love being back near our family and friends. WA friends we miss you! So here's to you Der, I love you! I can't wait to see happens next!

I am happy to keep:

swinging and dancing on the beach

enjoying our busy meals

This didn't scare you away, i don't think anything will

Watching the sunset

And I love you even though you can't dance!

Hard to believe this was 5 years ago.

I love you Der!

Home again, home again

2009-08-03T14:00:00.009-05:00

Kara sitting on 3rd base
Helping carry the helmet

Another day, another nap

Fountain in The Plaza

Cheesecake for lunch, oh so good!

Throwing in pennies

My mom's old house

Their other house, just a couple blocks over

Central IL Vipers (their name is so much better then some others...The Sparklers?)

Sisters!

Swing batter

Nap time

Endless hours of fun

Back home again after a little trip to Kansas. My sisters played in the ASA National tournament there last week. They did awesome! 5th place!!! I think there were about 41 teams. The kids and I made the trek with my mom, sisters, and another mom and daughter on the team. The Burbon 5 was full. I had my usual spot, row 3 seat C. We got to hang out with Summer a couple times but were pretty much at the ballpark all day everyday. They were super nice and the weather was just about perfect. My kids played with Maddie and Blake (other siblings that were there) and thank goodness for them, I actually go to watch the games. We managed to eat late just about every night (late even for the Hartnetts!) PF Changs reservations at 9:45 pm (it took us about 25 minutes to get there from our hotel) and grilling ribs, potatoes, and corn in the park saturday night (i think we ate around 11pm). Needless to say Dane was sound asleep on my lap those meals. Mia was a trooper though or maybe she was just really hungry. We went by my mom's old houses and her old school. It was pretty neat to see where she grew up. So now Mia is going to VBS all week and we are trying to get back into the swing of things. No more vacations planned but Kara does start school softball this weekend. It is a never-ending cycle. Keeps us busy and I love it!

(sorry the pics are out of order, sometimes that's just life)

been a while

2009-07-21T09:41:00.009-05:00

At the hotel in WV. Interesting...

Attempting to get a family pic. It was a little windy

Mia chose not to be in the pic

The whole fam at the Crab Pot. Worst lemonade EVER! and unfriendly bartender!

Sparklers

He has some good pouty faces

Everyday he took a nap on the beach. We just laid him down and told him to take a nap and he did! All that fresh air and sound of the waves

Daddy and Dane

Proof I was actually on the vacation.

So i am really behind with the blog. We just got home from a week long stay in Topsail, NC. It was so nice and relaxing. We didn't do much but sit on the beach during the day and cookout at night. We went with my parents, sisters, John and Vicki, and Terri, Mike and their 3 kids. Everyone got along great and it was a nice change in scenery. The seafood was awesome. If you see She-Crab soup, give it a try. My dad has a knack for ordering whatever the restaurant is out of that night. Makes for a laugh or two. The first day we got there, there was a shark at the beach, not far from where the kids were playing. Thank goodness i didn't see it, or i might never have gotten back in the water. Mom and I were at the local IGA (where they still hand ticket everything and manually enter in prices when you check out) during the shark visit. One day we went to an aquarium just north of us. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. The big kids worked on sandcastles everyday on the beach then my kids played in them. The tide usually destroyed everything by the end of the day which saved us a little work (there was a rule about digging deeper then 12 inches, turtles could fall in the hole and get stuck.) A couple nights we went crabbing which was really fun. After dark we got a bunch of flashlights and went down to the beach. All the crabs were out and running around, of course the kids loved chasing them around.

Tomorrow is tie-dying day at our house. I think we should have a good group to do it. My p's leave Friday for the Brickyard and Matt leaves Saturday for it. He will be back Monday and then I am leaving with the kids tues or wed for Overland Park, KS, for softball Nationals. I am going to get to visit Summs while i am there too! The Burbon 5 is working hard in the month of July! Mia is going to Vacation Bible School when we get back and that should be a good testing of the waters for preschool in the fall. FALL, I can't believe that it is right around the corner.

I am still busy sewing up a storm. So if you have placed your order, I am playing catch up right now and hope to have everything caught up before I leave next week. Thanks!!

R to an F

2009-06-08T13:43:00.003-05:00

Rach got married!! I am happy to have another friend join the married club. The entire weekend was great. The rehearsal dinner was at Rizzi's on State. Ceremony at St. Mary's in Metamora. Reception at the Par-a-Dice. Rach was a stunning bride (not that i didn't expect that). From getting our hair done to the end of the night at Steak n Shake, there wasn't a thing that went wrong. I danced all night long, even got Matt out on the dance floor! Dane was falling asleep out on the dance floor dancing with me and Mia just wanted to jump up and down. She definitely has my love of dancing. Every time i tried to sit down she asked me, "Mom are you ready to go back out and dance?" Of course, I couldn't say no. They went home with my p's. It was so nice to see everyone. We ended the night at Steak n Shake with Matt and Katie. The casino shuttle took us, don't worry. Now Scott and Rach are in Jamaica and I need to get back into the normal routine of things. Ahhh humid IL.
(I didn't have my camera with me b/c I had a bag full of Rach's stuff so once I round up some pics from others I will put them up.)

This saturday

2009-06-02T16:28:00.002-05:00

I am excited to participate in a St. Jude Open house this Saturday. While I am in Rachel's wedding that day, Andrea has been nice enough to be my sales lady! So stop by and say HI. There will be something for everyone.

You Are Invited…
St. Jude Open House

Hosted By Amanda Nauman
715 S. Prairie St. in Metamora
Saturday, June 6th 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Items available from:
Discovery Toys
Lia Sophia
Longaberger
Mary Kay
Signature Home Styles
Simply You Purses,Sunglasses, and Handmade clothes
Tastefully Simple
Tupperware
Uppercase Living
Usborne Books

Proceeds benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate

Bring a friend, or two, or three….

busy as a bee

2009-05-27T12:25:00.002-05:00

Life goes by fast when you are busy. I actually have orders backing up and LOVE IT!! I just got a shipment of material in so i have a bunch of dresses to make this afternoon. I am also experimenting with an apron that is reversible, headbands for kids and adults. As soon as Dane's head hits the bed, off I go! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!

Feel free to add to the order madness...

Graduation and more

2009-05-26T09:32:00.005-05:00

Kaitlyn graduated from 8th grade last week. Hard to believe. Time is flying by! She was 1 of only 3 that got straight A's all year, smarty pants! She is one of those girls that makes you crazy: smart, athletic, and pretty.

I went up to Chicago for Rach's bachelorette party last weekend. I had a blast. It was great to hang out with Rach and Anne and get to know the rest of the girls better. Of course, we ran into some people that we knew or where from Peoria. How is that possible?

We went shopping on Michigan Ave, had dinner at Sangria, then off to Spoon, and finally to Rino. I managed to stay out way past mommy time and danced up a storm. For those of you who have seen me dance, you know I had a blast. Rach wasn't feeling so hot the next day but she was a living it up Saturday night! I will try and get some pics of the weekend. I didn't take my camera because I was in charge of using Rach's camera that night.

I have been whipping up some new sewing projects. I am doing an open house for St. Jude in a couple weeks. My newest creations are a tutu and an apron. I want to make a cape this week or next. Something for the boys out there.

what happened

2009-05-21T06:22:00.003-05:00

I was trying to change my layout. Tried following the directions. Don't have the 'layout' tab everyone keeps saying should be there. So frustrated!

I got it fixed. Not sure how but I am sticking with this layout for a while.

A little of this, not much of that

2009-05-18T16:56:00.002-05:00

As the weather has been getting nicer, the inside of my house is getting less and less attention. The kids want to be outside, I want to be outside and there is the problem. And the messier the house is, the more I want to be outside. See the maddening cycle. I am also in the middle of a few sewing project for a St. Jude fundraiser. So don't be alarmed if the next time you are at my house. While the yard and flowers will hopefully look good, the rest is a different story.

Matt just finished up the new playset. Kids can't get enough of it. Pics soon!

The rest of my day

2009-05-11T11:30:00.002-05:00

We hung out around home and Matt worked on the playset again. Then we went out to my parent's house for the afternoon and evening. On our way out Matt spotted a turtle in the middle of the road. So we stopped and put it in the only thing we had in the car to contain anything, a cloth bag. We put it at my feet and the next thing i know i can hear it scratching around in the bag. Then it starts to crawl out! I was out of my seat and in the backseat between the kids SO FAST! Aren't turtles suppose to stay in their shell? This one was not shy at all. So one we got to my parent's house we let it go in the yard. Of course the darn thing just sat there hiding in its shell. By the end of the day he had wandered away. We helped my p's move some furniture and had a delicious dinner made by my dad and sisters. Mia and Kara made dessert, dirt n worms. I got some very nice gifts and had a great day! The kids fell asleep on the way home and I wasn't far behind them.

My day

2009-05-10T09:20:00.002-05:00

Today is Mother's Day. I woke up to an empty house and laid in bed for a bit. Then took a nice shower with no one running in every couple of minutes because they needed something or wanted to see what Mommy was doing. By then my family had returned with Lester's Donuts (brings back childhood memories)! Not sure what the rest of the day looks like but this morning was great.
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, soon-to-be moms, Grandmas, and great-grandmas out there.

Potty training

2009-04-20T10:02:00.003-05:00

So last week I started potty training with Dane. He has been showing interest for a few months but i was trying to hold him off until we got back from FL. Knowing that being in a car for that long would probably undue all my efforts up to that point. Now we are back and it is going good. Dane is starting to tell me when he has to go pee and will tell me when he is stinky which is going in the right direction. With Mia I was home a lot more so that is making it a little more of a challenage but maybe this way Dane will do better with public toilets. (Mia refused to go on any noisy potties the entire trip to FL. She is not a fan of automatic flushing to say the least!) So Dane has been going 2-3 times a day and I am braving the world of big boy pants today. Mia would sit on the potty just to get the treat (M&Ms) but Dane doesn't seem to want to sit there unless he wants to actually go. But I am fine with doing it on his terms.

Vacation recap

2009-04-14T11:08:00.002-05:00

We just got back from Marathon, FL. Another successful Easter vacation. 18 family members, 1 house, ages 1.5 - 83 years old. 1500 miles. I will post some pics later but here is a recap of how things went.

We left Friday afternoon, 2 suburbans and a van full. We joke every year that we look like the Beverly Hillbillies driving down the road. My parents' burbon 5 had a car top carrier on the roof and a luggage rack that hooks into the hitch. At one rest stop my sister Kaitlyn comes out of the bathroom and tells us that Margaret, a family friend, is in there. Now it is late at night and i am guessing that we are in either KY or TN. What are the chances of that? But Margaret was heading to FL with her daughter and grandkids. The trip was going along rather uneventful and we were making decent time. The GPS said we would be to the house in the Keys by 4 pm Saturday. All that changed when we came to a complete stop on the interstate. And we stayed that way for over 3 hours! We watched Marley & Me and tried to waste some time. I can only imagine how far the traffic backed up behind us. We were pretty close to where the accident happened. We ran into traffic several other places but finally managed to reach Marathon at 11pm! My dad went to sleep right in the front seat of the Burbon 5.
The house was really nice and there was plenty of room. We got our workout each day walking the stairs that lead down to the dock and pool. Iguanas were all over the place and the kids liked watching them. We managed not to go to the store every day, usually we need something from there every day. My mom, Andrea, and I power shopped Sunday morning filling 2 carts in about an hour. Good work girls! To give you an idea of how much food we needed, we went thru 2 loaves of bread for one lunch and 5 racks of ribs for 1 dinner. You get the idea.
The Easter bunny came to our house early since we would be driving on Easter. (I'll post more about that another day.) We all went to Key West on Tuesday and had a nice time. Andrea and I scored the parking spot of the day, right off Duvall St. The men spent most of the day at the Sports Page, a bar with no Key West atmosphere but they were happy. We walked around, did some shopping and watched the sunset festivities in Mallory Square. Then back to the house we went. And for the record, Andrea and I were NOT mad. The kids were just done! We ate dinner at the McD's with the best view in the US. Overlooking the water in Key West.
Boat rides and pool duty filled the rest of the week. We had to be out of the house Saturday morning so we started our journey home to IL. Dropping Aunt Chris and Jacob off at the airport and Grandma Hartnett off at her house we hit the road. It was slow going pulling a boat back but we had plenty of time. Dane did good on the way down but on the way home he was not happy. He was screeching if he was awake. He earned himself the nickname Teradactyl. Thank goodness he is a grandson or my dad might have "ripped his face off!" Ask Kaden about that. We stopped at a nice hotel in GA and then another one in TN. We didn't have any swimsuits available (all packed away in the car top carriers) for the kids so we did it white trash style. Underwear or diapers for the kids. Now we are back home and it is freezing. I am ready to head back to FL already!

Quick one

2009-04-02T15:06:00.003-05:00

Well I am taking a quick break from packing. I managed to get all our clothes into 1 bag. That's pretty good considering that is a family of 4, clothes for a week +. Anyways I am counting down the hours until we hit the road. There are 3 vehicles caravanning down the FL. 2 of us are going all the way to Marathon (half way down the Keys). Matt is in for a new experience, since the only time he has driven to FL was 1 time for spring break in college. I have a feeling this road trip might be a little different. Regardless, we are hoping to get there by late Saturday night. My plan for the week is to sit by the pool, read a book or two and have a few cocktails! Hopefully the kids are good with the plan too! There will be 18 of us staying in 1 house, ages 1.5 to 83! Something for everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break and I will be posting pics as soon as we get back. I hope we bring a little sun and warmth back with us!

new saying

2009-03-23T13:58:00.002-05:00

Well this morning I said something without really thinking and it turns out it was pretty smart. And simple! Mia has a habit of repeating herself over and over. So this morning I said:
You said it. I heard it. No need to repeat it.

I am trying to acknowledge when she says something whether it needs a response or not. So she knows I heard her. We will see how it goes.

life is good

2009-03-19T09:15:00.010-05:00

I get to wake up to this sweet face. How lucky am I?

Hello everyone! I have been loving this weather lately. Mia said the funniest thing this morning to me (she is at that age where she loves to talk and most of it is very funny.)

Mia: Mommy last night when you were bye-bye and it was dark out. I watched a show with Daddy. The ladies had babies in their tummies and they popped them out!

Me: I turn around with a slightly confused look on my face trying to figure out what she is talking about. Then I remember that New Adventures of Old Christine was on and they have a couple ladies on that show that are preggo. So, it makes sense but for a moment I had to wonder what kind of shows they watched when i am not around.

Since we have moved back to IL, Matt has taken over bath time duties. He used to be at work at night so he missed out on the majority of them. (That means I DID the majority of them!) It gives me a little quiet time or time to sit on the couch and just relax for a bit. On Tuesday night just as he was getting ready to get the kids into the bath Harold called and so I took over the routine. I had a great time watching them splash around. Sometimes you need to break out of the routine just to see what happens on the other side. Now I will hand bath time back to Matt and enjoy my 15 minutes of 'me' time.

He just wanted to stay wrapped up in his frog towel. I just wanted to snuggle him!

Dane is currently obsessed with his belly button. He pushes it and says' "Beep Beep!" If he sees someone else's watch out, he now will go after that one. He wakes up in the morning and he's in his crib "Beep Beep." Same thing at nap time. I think he might go into shock in a couple weeks in FL when everyone has their swimsuits on. His favorite belly button, after his, is Papa's.

Mia walks around the house singing all day. Making ups songs, mixing up words to actual songs and singing some just like they were sang to her. I love it. I wish I could bottle it up and save it for 10 years down the road. The Hokey Pokey is a current fave. Kaitlyn and Kara do it with her and you should see her stick her bum in and shake it all around. I am pretty sure she gets that from me.

Here is Mia trying to figure out what to wear. She is such a girl!

Smiles all around

2009-03-10T12:20:00.003-05:00

Some things in life just put a smile on my face. A real wood burning fireplace, a newborn baby, a phone call from a friend you haven't talked to in a while. There are others but you get the idea. Today is a dreary, rainy day but we all had a smile on our face as we finished lunch. Chocolate pudding has that power. Mia and Dane had their first taste of it last night at dinner and the smiles were just as big. So after eating a great lunch I was happy to dish out the chocolate goodness.

I finished another dress for Mia last week and I am putting the final touches on a dress for myself. I made a little headband to match Mia's dress. (It came in handy when she got sick that night at Ohma's house.) Next up so overalls for Dane. I just sew for enjoyment and to use my brain. It's a nice change of pace, sewing machines are pretty quiet! So let me know if you need something. And I am still waiting for the material to arrive for the girls who already told me what they want. Hoping to get the shipment late this week.

Catch up time

2009-02-27T12:11:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that it has been so long since i was on here. Well February was pretty busy. We went to a lot of volleyball games, my sisters stayed with us for a weekend and just life in general kept us moving. I had surgery on my wrist and can't wait for the darn splint to come off (just a few more days). You never realize how many things require 2 hands when you are a mommy. I have taken a little break from sewing but plan on jumping right back into it next week.

We managed to get some fresh air this week and really enjoyed being outside. It was nice to get out a different set of toys for a bit. Mia worked on her new scooter. She must get that from Papa Hartnett. And Dane just wanted to get into everything and get out all the balls he could find in the garage.

Spring yet?

2009-02-09T09:36:00.004-06:00

This past Saturday was so nice! We played outside for a bit then headed over to the Smicks' for a baby shower. The guys stayed outside, safe from all the baby stuff going on inside. They played a little basketball, it was like watching them back in the day. It was a little weird when i realized that I had known the guys the longest out of everyone there. But it was great to see them all again and be able to enjoy a little fresh air. Now the problem is I had a taste of spring and nice weather, I am really done with winter.

Dane has been showing a lot of interest in using the potty. I wasn't planning on working on that until we got back from Easter vacation but I guess if he's interested I should go with it.

I thought up some new things to sew and hopefully will get to a couple this week. Dane might actually get something too! I found this blog that looks full of fun ideas/ crafts that kind of thing. To all you mommies out there: check it out if you are looking for something new to try.

http://www.rookiemoms.com/

Oh and one more thing, I can't find my video camera charger. It is making me crazy. I can remember seeing it and thinking what is this for, then I can't remember what I did with it. Of course there are a bunch of things I want to record before the kids stop doing them! Mommy brain strikes again.

orders backing up

2009-02-04T12:08:00.005-06:00

Ok, well not really but I did finish Mia's dress. It was nice and easy to do and turned out slightly better then expected. I think I will draw up a few other designs/ patterns and see where it gets me.

Dane has a new favorite chore around the house. Just put the pile you want loaded at his feet and in it goes!

Mia always there to supervise

Meanwhile Mia and Dane have been playing in my closet a lot lately. It's fine I am in the bedroom usually cleaning up another toy disaster zone while they play. Today I went in to check on them and this is what I found. Matt had taken the morning off so he was there to see his son all dressed up compliments of his sister. I don't think that Matt thought it was as funny as I did. Dane was happy as a lark strutting around in 2 swimsuit pieces and 1 shoe.

drum roll please

2009-01-26T11:20:00.005-06:00

I have finished up a few sewing projects. I find it very therapeutic and relaxing. So our dining room will probably be setup for sewing projects for a while. I think it's a good thing. I have something to show at the end, it's not too expensive a habit, and I can start and stop pretty quickly if the kids wake up from a nap. So here's what I have made in the last week or so.

Mia saw this fabric and really wanted it. I don't usually buy my kids character clothes but I did.
Mia's dress/swimsuit cover up

Dane's Halloween bag. Pretty simple. I made Mia one last year.

These are the curtains I made for our kitchen. They are made out of burlap. I never knew it was available in so many colors! They are lined with a thermal lining that I can take out in the summer if I want. I really like the idea of the material. It will block out the direct sunlight that sometimes blinds us when we sit down for dinner in the summer. You can see a little of the lining sticking out at the bottem. I left it long to help keep out the drafts we are getting from the slider there.

I have a matching roman shade I made for the window over the sink. It's just not up yet and I have one other project but it is just going into the mail tomorrow for my girls out in WA. Don't know how often they check this but wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

I am still waiting for the material for Mia's other dress. Hopefully it arrives today. I will be sure to put up some pics when it is all done.

Oh well

2009-01-16T09:17:00.003-06:00

Doesn't it just figure! Last night I got everything set up, Mia was going to help me, Matt had Dane upstairs, and then nothing! I was planning on working on a couple sewing projects. Had them all laid out and the patience for Mia to help me. As I plugged the machine it, I noticed that the plug wires were worn. Now they had been needing a little attention since I inherited the machine about 8 years ago from my Grandma. It is a Singer machine from when she was a little girl. I love it. Simple and easy to use. But last night was the night the wires bit the dust. Now I have to take it to be rewired in Peoria (if the people ever answer their phone). I hope it is a easy and quick fix!

Feeling motivated

2009-01-11T17:26:00.002-06:00

So it's Sunday evening and we are just hanging out at home. We got the basement storage in order this morning, the house is relatively picked up (it will be years before it is all picked up), and Mia and I just got home from Elisabeth's 1st birthday party. She had the cutest little dress on and was a trooper throughout the party. Mia fed her some ice cream and promptly fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.
So I am sitting here and feeling motivated. I have a long list of sewing projects. Now I am going to add to the list: dresses for Mia. I found a very simple design and I figure if I start now I could have several done by summer. Once I get one done I'll post some pics. I need to find some good fabric. I'll take any suggestions people have on where look in the Peoria area. I am also hoping to make Dane some overalls for the summer. Here are a few other things on my sewing list:
- Halloween bag for Dane
- Curtains for kitchen door and window
- Christmas placemats
- New bedspread and curtains
- Mnd some of Matt's jeans

I think that my dining room is going to be setup for sewing for a while. I will probably ask my Grandma help on some of it. And my sewing time is pretty much limited to when Dane sleeps. Let's hope he sticks with 2 naps for a while longer!

Matt will probably read this and say to himself "I'll believe it when I see it." So I am hoping this helps me stay motivated.

Now maybe I should get motivate to make some dinner for my fam..

3!

2009-01-06T10:59:00.003-06:00

Our Mia-Mia is officially 3! She's getting so big and smarter by the day. I can hardly wait to see what she accomplishes in the 3 years of her life. But I wouldn't mind if they went a little slower.

Her Tinkerbell cake (decorated by Kara~Thanks!)

We shut off the lights when we brought in the cake. Then everyone started singing. Mia burst into tears. She does not like everyone singing to her and I think the light put her over the edge. She didn't even want to blow out her candles after that!

Her 1st redbird apparel

She didn't want to wait to take it out of the box. Must play with computer NOW!

Keegan, Mia, and Karagan playing with the computer, out of the box.

Where did 2008 go?

2009-01-05T11:07:00.006-06:00

The year few by and it seems a million things happened. I will remember that it was the year we moved back to IL, my baby boy started walking and Mia came out of her shell. Christmas was more like a week long celebration this year ending just in time for Mia's 3rd birthday. Now I am ready for the house to be put back in order and the kids back into their routines.
Here are a few pics to take you thru our Christmas season

The boys

He loved playing in this bag

Only a Grandma would have the patience to decorate cookies with them.

Papa put the train around the tree. Dane loved it!

This was Mia all day long. Pushing her doggie stroller.

I think he likes them!

Standing by her mountain of gifts

Jumping in the pile of wrapping paper like it was a pile of leaves

She started the morning off toting all her new doggie stuff around and finished the same way. Nice hair!

Next big stop, the FL Keys!

2008-12-24T13:20:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope Santa treats you all well!

done, kind of

2008-12-18T21:27:00.003-06:00

Well today was the 1st day of Matt's 2 and a half weeks of vacation. This could be good or bad. Time will tell. He keeps telling me that i will be ready for him to go back to work and I keep telling him that he will be ready to get back to work. Check back after the 1st of the year.
I finished up my shopping today. I started off really good, got a ton of it done the day after Thanksgiving. I don't think I have been back out since. So today I hit a few stores and called it good. I tried to make a list, stick to it and not go overboard. It's just so much easier to say then do. So I may have a few things to return when i actually sit down and look at it all. Our kids are so lucky that we could probably not get them a thing and they would never notice with all the gifts they receive from the rest of the fam. Well, there's always next year to do better. Now I have to start wrapping. Maybe tomorrow while I bake some cookies and stay home with all this ice we are suppose to get tonight.
It is a bit weird this year already being in IL for the holidays. I am so used to staying at my p's house during this time that it is taking some getting used to. We are always together to bake cookies and wrap presents late at night. Now there are a million other things that we have been able to do since we are living and I am not complaining, just saying it is different.
The ice has arrived here but it is nothing compared to what Libery Lake, WA has been hit with this week. They have over 24 inches of snow with more on the way. Hope all the kids back in the 'hood are loving it. Bundle up!

Oh Christmas tree

2008-12-09T16:10:00.003-06:00

We finally got our real Christmas tree. It was a family affair. We went with my p's and sisters. Dad got Big Red out of the shop, we threw the trees in the back and finished in record time. I have never seen my mom pick out a tree so fast. It would have been even faster but some guy walked up and took the tree that we had just looked at. Oh well, you snooze, you lose. The tree smells so good! It was a little frustrating putting the lights on, my mom makes it looks so easy. That coupled with the fact that I had 2 little helpers means I didn't shoot for perfection just basic coverage. We have deems this our gaudy tree. The pretty one is in the front room.

funny girl

2008-12-09T10:47:00.002-06:00

Today Mia informed me that,"This page isn't working." I asked why she said that. Her reply, "Because I don't like any of these clothes." We were looking snow pants online! She just made me laugh. Thought I would share it with you too.

Our 2 kiddos

2008-12-04T11:25:00.003-06:00

Just a few pics from around the house lately.

Miss Blue Eyes
Counting her money

She had a nice pink fleece on but she had a little mishap with hot chocolate this morning. She told me she was hot and didn't want another shirt on.

Dane decided he wanted to bundle up

Coming soon

2008-12-03T13:18:00.001-06:00

The Rockettes & Raccoon balls. 2 separate stories.

a little catch up

2008-12-03T11:09:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I went shopping Friday morning. I go by myself, on a mission and managed to be done by 9 AM. I got some great deals and didn't have to stand in line anywhere for too long. I also managed to make it from Menards in Washington to Grand Prairie Mall in 15 minutes. Got to love no traffic and hitting all green lights!
We were going to cut our tree down on Sunday but it was snowing and the roads weren't great to drive to Talbots Tree farm so we will try again another day. Mia has been showing me what a big girl she is lately. Yesterday she helped me sort the laundry, match up socks and even folded a few towels for me. Dane's black eye is still there, getting light each day.
Now for the snow. I was ready for a good snow. I shoveled the driveway on Sunday and let Mia play in the snow. She had a blast. Then with the wind and such the driveway turned to a sheet of snow/ice and Tuesday I managed to chip that away so the driveway is nice and clear. My back is a bit sore but I think I will consider that my workout for the week. Mia loved the snow piles the plow made in front of our house and climbed up those over and over. She also loved eating the snow. Yes we talked about clean snow and dirty snow. No pics of the snow playing, I was bundled up and the camera was upstairs.
Matt either really wants a new tv or he's buttering me up for something. The last 2 night in a row he has started the tube for me and insisted that I go and read a book or something. SO I actually read a book, in the tub and just relaxed. It was very nice, I could get used to it. I do get one visit from Mia usually, just to check on me and see how the bubbles are doing.

Updated

2008-11-26T09:03:00.004-06:00

OK so I know that bruises get worse before they get better, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

I just took this this morning. He looks so grown up!

We were playing upstairs. Guess he wanted some place quiet to read.

Or maybe he didn't want me to see him reading Nora Roberts!

Mr. Floppy

2008-11-25T10:35:00.004-06:00

Dane falls down, a lot. I am not sure if he realizes that he can just stop walking, not bump into something or fall down. Oh well, he'll learn especially if he continues at this rate. Over the weekend he busted his lip on the coffee table at my p's house. He screamed, there was blood, I had a white shirt... you get the idea. Then last night he was playing and we heard a thud (he was right next to Matt playing). He screamed again but no blood this time. I picked him up and was holding him, didn't really help much. Finally after a couple minutes stopped, I looked at him, black eye! At no time with either injury was he unsupervised he just falls a lot. So here are a couple pics of his injuries.

About 5 minutes after it happened

The next morning (Matt said 'Nice eyeshadow')Mia getting ready to play outside

dinner for 10

2008-11-21T10:59:00.004-06:00

I like to cook, most of the time. I also like to try new things which can go very well or not so good at dinner time. Since Matt is home now for dinner I have been working my way thru all the recipes I have found over the last few years. Most have been ok but a few have made it straight to the 'regulars' list. This week we went to the Rockettes (I'll post about that later) and I had the fam over for dinner before we went. What do you cook for Ohma (an excellent cook who makes everything from scratch, doesn't like too much spice), Ohpa (he'll eat just about anything), my Mom (happy to have someone else cooking), my Dad (tired of the same old stuff & likes spicy), Kaitlyn (she'll try anything and is always polite, even if it isn't great), Kara (who likes everything plain), and Matt and the kids? Well digging thru my recipes I decided on: Chuck Wagon Brisket, Twice Baked Potato Casserole, Caesar Salad, and homemade bread. There was barely a scrap of brisket left! I think everyone had at least 2 helping of potatoes, bread was pretty much gone. It was a success! I felt like I spent the entire day cooking but it was well worth it. And just so you know, brisket is a bit harder to find then I anticipated. Alwan Brothers had it of course and it is fairly inexpensive as far as meat goes. So until the next experiment, enjoy!

Matt was sweet enough to take care of the dirty dishes too!

random thought

2008-11-17T16:00:00.002-06:00

I have had this happen to me and I suppose it happens to others right? I will be driving someplace and see a car, let's say a black Pacifica or a BMW, every time, for a split second, I think, it's Kari or Tiff. As you can imagine, this happen more often then I care to admit. Car makers do make more than 1 car in the same model and color, crazy I know. Anyways, so just wanted to make sure I'm not the only one this happens to.

And for the 1st time in a while, I am actually excited to drive past a gas station to see what gas is today. Instead of hoping it hasn't gone up again. FYI- It's $1.83 here in M-town today

The Day

2008-11-14T14:37:00.003-06:00

The Day has finally come that my daughter wants ribbons in her hair. Last night Kara had pigtails in and then she put Mia's hair in them. Now Mia will not ever let me start to gather her hair for a ponytail but apparently Kara has the magic touch. She wore those things to bed last night! Today she wanted me to redo them b/c they were falling out. Now I am not complaining , I am so happy to be able to put her hair up I will probably by every ribbon known to man! A ponytail was my main hairdo, before I got it all cut off. Maybe that's why she will let me put it up now, she didn't want the same hairstyle as Mom. Anyways I am enjoying it so far, I hope it lasts more then 1 day!

Spelling 101

2008-11-13T11:17:00.002-06:00

So last night we were out to dinner with my family. Mia was singing away in the restaurant as usual. It reminded my mom of how she taught me to spell my name. She said she would sing Bingo but change a few words and spell Megan instead. So I thought that was a pretty good idea so we gave it a try with Mia and her name. So here's our new song!
There was a farmer who had a girl and Mia was her name-o!
M-I-A, M-I-A, M-I-A, and Mia was her name-o!
She has been singing the song all morning long. My little girl can spell her name! I wonder what else we can teach her to spell with this song. Let the creativity begin!

New do!

2008-11-10T11:02:00.002-06:00

Well I finally did it. I got my hair cut. I have been talking about it for a long time, years in fact. Matt has wanted me to do it. I'm pretty sure he was tired of finding it everywhere. So last Friday I got it all cut off. Now I am not one of those people who is really obsessed with my hair or even very particular about it. But even this was a big thing for me. I was back and forth until she started cutting it and once she did. I was fine with it. Guess it was just time for a change. Matt stopped in to have me sign something and was a little surprised to see all my hair on the floor but he recovered nicely. I didn't tell anyone, just did it. Guess that's me. Here's a pic I took on my phone. Not the best but you get the basic look.

A dalmatian & a fire hydrant

2008-11-03T09:55:00.007-06:00

Pumpkin Night!

Mia did not want to stick her hands in to help clean out the pumpkin. She gets that from her Mom.

Helping Papa carry the very heavy pumpkin
Watch and learn

The dog that Mia wanted on her pumpkin. Luckily I found a stencil online that wasn't too intricate.

Carving station

Still at it!

Getting closer to being done.

She decided the Toys R Us toy catalog was more interesting after a while.

My favorite Dalmatian. Completely made from scratch.
Wagging her tail!

My fire hydrant.

Taking himself apart.

Off they go!
Back home all smiles
organizing her candy

2 of our 3 pumpkins

Bonfires Away

2008-11-02T14:59:00.005-06:00

Well, Halloween has come and gone and we have a lot of candy to show for it. Mia did pretty well trick-or-treating. She was selective on which houses she went to, no houses with scary stuff, she didn't want candy that bad. It was so nice that night I sat on the front porch and handed out the candy. We had 125-150 trick-or-treaters. So, overall it was a successful night.

We went to the Divelbiss' house for a bonfire Saturday night. And we will be leaving shortly for another one at the Fehr's house tonight. We have been to so many bonfires since we moved back Mia now knows marshmallows very well. She likes her cold and no brown (straight from the bag.) I apparently am a little more "high maintenance" about mine. Who knew? I prefer mine crispy brown on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. If it has black or been on fire you might as well just throw it away.

The weather has been fabulous. We spent as much time outside as we could this weekend. I know it's short lived but I'll take it while we can get it. A few more days is all that we are going to get this year. Driving down the street today if I didn't know better I would have thought it was late Sept not Nov 2! Well all good things must come to an end. Guess I'll just have to focus on a white Christmas now!

new ways

2008-10-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

As you do something over and over you find a better, more efficient way of doing it. So, as I have been sewing away this week that has happened to me. Of course, I started with the front of the costume, never a good idea. You should do the front last so that by the time you get to it your technique is perfected. Oh well. I am quite happy with how Mia's turned out and can't wait to try it all on and see the finished product. Dane's I made totally off the top of my head, no pattern or picture guidance involved. Having said that, I hope other people can tell what he is. I totally see it, but then I am his mom. The camera battery is charging right now so it will be ready for lots of pictures later. Happy Halloween everyone!

this week

2008-10-26T21:07:00.003-05:00

I am ambitious this week. Or crazy. I am making both kids Halloween costumes, a trick or treat bag (did that today) and my sisters have 4 basketball games. We are also trying to get Mia to stay in her bed all night. Since we moved she has been waking up more and heading down the hall to our bed. Should be interesting. Nothing like waiting until the last minute on the Halloween costumes.

I read this in one of my magazines the other day and thought that's a good train of thought. I am going to approach things this way this week and see how it goes. Here's the idea: Replace "Don't throw your food" with "Keep dinner on the plate."

Pumpkin patch here we come!

2008-10-20T10:41:00.007-05:00

Snack time

Get comfy this could be a long one! Friday night we went to the football game and hung out with Anne, Nolan, and their 2 boys. It was crazy to be there with 4 kids between us but great to see everyone and let the kids run a bit. Afterwards we went out for a drink and then back to the Jackson's house for a bonfire. I haven't been to their house in ages but it still smelled the same and felt like just like it use to. The pine trees we would jump over are now were taller then the house! My sister, Kaitlyn, was kind enough to spend the night at our house and watch the kids. This is what we found when we walked in that night. It was so cute!

Saturday we ran some errands and met Jack and Tyler at the park for some more play time and lunch. Matt and Nolan were reliving their youth! Luckily no one was injured.

Mia has finally decided on being a dog for Halloween. However, she insists on being a dalmatian. So we went to the fabric store and I bought a pattern and the material. Wish me luck!!

Sunday, we went out to a great farm in Morton. Ackerman farms has a huge pumpkin patch and it had some great pumpkins still in it. We walked out pretty far and found some dandies. You can't beat the price, 3 for $10. You should all check it out if you still need a pumpkin or 2! Mia is one of those kids who is always hot. That day she decided she was going to bundle up for some odd reason. She told me, "I don't want to be chilly." I'm pretty sure she wasn't.

We ended the weekend by having Matt's Aunt, Uncle and cousin over for birthday dinner. It was great to see them.

Small town USA

2008-10-16T10:05:00.002-05:00

This week has been a reminder of what a small town we live in. The farmer's are harvesting their crops and Mia was quite interested in that. She watched the tractor harvest the beans in the field behind our house and told Daddy and Grandma all about it.

Today we went to IGA. The local grocery store hasn't changed much over the years, except it's not open 24 hours anymore. Everything in Metamora generally shuts down by 7 it seems like. A few restaurants stay open later. Anyways, back to the IGA story. We did our weekly grocery shopping, which we usually do at Walmart, at IGA this week instead. They had some really good deals. The cashiers are so friendly and there are people all over the store that help you find what you are looking for. I asked a lady in the deli a ? and she said, "Sure, I'll show you right where it's at." Then walked me over, didn't just say in isle 5. We checked out, they called another bagger up to bag our grocery and we walked out. This is when it really hit me, we live in a small town and people are so nice here. They had loaded all our groceries into another cart and told me to pull up. My cart was #40. As soon as I got the kids loaded and pulled up in front of the store a very nice guy came right out with my cart and loaded all my groceries for me. Mia wanted to know where all our food went and who the man was that brought it out. She had never experienced it before. I'm glad she has now and it was nice to experience it again myself!

weekend

2008-10-11T08:06:00.001-05:00

I am just waking up and sitting here while Matt feeds the kiddos some breakfast. I'm looking forward to the beautiful weather we are suppose to have here all weekend. Hope you are all finding a little sunshine too!

2008-10-07T11:11:00.004-05:00

Our friend, Erin, tooks some photos for us. Here is a little taste of her work. Thanks for letting us share your great work with all our friends. You can see more of her work if you click on the EBM Photography link under My Blog List.

hmmm

2008-10-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

I am sitting here, just put the kids to bed, having a little ice cream, watching a football game. Matt is at some bar, in Nashville, enjoying a beer, I'm sure, with a group of guys for a bachlor party. Hmmmm.....

We'll see

2008-10-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

Mia is spending the night at Grandma & Papa's tonight. She was so excited to go. Had to get her new favorite pjs and was running out the door before I could say goodbye. She said "Bye Mommy, you stay here with Dane!"The kicker of the deal, she left with just my dad. The girls were still at the football game and my mom was here waiting for them. We were sure she would change her mind as soon as she realized she was going with Papa. She didn't. I am looking forward to a full report tomorrow.

play time

2008-10-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

Fall is here. The leaves are starting to change colors and it is chilly in the mornings and evenings. Yesterday we spent some time at the park in our neighborhood. Mia and Dane had a blast. Mia wanted to go on the baby swings, she figured out you can go higher on those.

Nothing like homemade

2008-09-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we spent the day making applesauce. It is a family tradition that I love. No store bought applesauce will ever compare. We had 4 generations at work in Ohma's kitchen. We made 2 bushels worth of applesauce. I think that everyone would agree that tasting was the favorite part. Getting the spices just right and enjoying a spoonful of warm applesauce, puts a smile on my face just thinking about it.

Everyone at their stations

Apple peelers hard at work
A quick break to say "Cheese!"

(Mia was right between Kaitlyn & my mom, she ducked down at the last minute)
Kaitlyn chopping away
Mia helping with the sugar & spices

Sign of the times

2008-09-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

I got really excited when I saw gas was $3.59 a gallon. And potatoes are expensive here in IL.

More cider please!

2008-09-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

We spent the morning at Tanners Orchard with Ohma & Ohpa. We took care of business first getting 6 gallons of wonderful cider, carmel apples, cider donuts (these are my favorites), and 2 bushels of apples for making applesauce this weekend. Tanners has tons of samples placed throughout the store. Everything is so yummy. They had a pretty nice selection of decorations too. Plenty of fall and Christmas stuff for everyone. I only had a quick browse, shopping and kiddos don't usually mix well, but I'm sure I'll be back another time. Then it was time to play. We did the petting zoo, fed the billy goats and played by the train and pumpkin. I was very special for me and the kids to be able to share it with the Great-Grandparents. We all had a great time.

Shhh! I ate the treasure.

2008-09-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

You better be up early and if you're not then you might just miss out. No one is going to wake you, in fact they will be extra quiet not to wake you. They take some, look around to see if anyone else is watching and then they scurry to some place to hide and enjoy their treasure.
What is this treasure that the Myers (my mom's side) Hartnett and now Hutchison Families love so much...Butter cake.
My G'ma and G'pa have been smuggling it back from St. Louis for years. I am pretty sure G'ma ate it when she was a little girl, that's how long we have been addicted to it. Every time they make a trip to St. Louis they get a bundle of butter cakes and then freeze them until a special occasion or holiday. When the butter cake comes out, you better believe it doesn't last longer then 1 breakfast meal. It gets opened, inhaled, and the crumbs are eaten too! Now a few years back we were shocked when during their trip to St. Louis my grandparents found out the bakery, Lake Forest Bakery, we had been getting them from closed! So they tried different places each time and each butter cake just wasn't quite right. We finally found one that is extremely close. It doesn't separate into 2 layers like the original but the taste is very close. So if you are ever in St. Louis check out this bakery. And you just might start something new!

Good times

2008-09-22T10:16:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend and it was wonderful to see everyone on Saturday at the party. We had way too much food, as usual. On Saturday afternoon we went and watch K & K play softball. It was a good game, Metamora won, and are on their way to State! So I will be in Normal on Friday for all of you who live around there, give me a call. And if they win, I will be back on Saturday too! I am not sure what to do with all my free time now that I don't have any more parties on the calendar. I should probably tackle some of those boxes around here. Or maybe I'll start that book I've had for a couple months now.

Happy Birthday Brendan
Happy Birthday Anne!!

2 little girls

2008-09-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

Mia had her first sleepover on Friday night. Karagan spent the night and the girls had a great time playing together. In the morning they both climbed into bed with me and were so cute. Here's their conversation, one on each side of me, peeking over at the other when they would talk.
Karagan: Hi Mia
Mia: Hi Karagan
repeat several times.
I tried putting them to bed together but they were being girls and just kept chatting away. Lesson learned, seperate rooms until they fall asleep.

Dinner on the front porch

Even the little girls play football in Metamora on Friday nights

All of them enjoyed watching the new washer.

Breakfast Time

Special pajamas

2008-09-17T14:23:00.000-05:00

The sun is shining again and we have been busy this week. Anne and her boys came over yesterday to play and then we headed up to Family Fountain for lunch. It was strange to be there with our 4 kids. It seems like just yesterday the entire Grebner clan of girls were working there. Today Vicki stopped by for a visit and then out to lunch again. I just might have to break out that eliptical machine if I keeping eatting like this.

Now for reason I was posting today. Mia found a shirt that has been around for a long time. Its history: It used to be my Grandma's workout shirt, then on one of my trips to stay with them I must have inherited it. I used to sleep in it all the time. The purple shirt fit me like a dress and over the years began to fit more like the shirt it is. It used to have a dolphin on the upper right side but it's long gone and only a faded blur remains. I am not sure how it survived all my "wild hair" cleaning moments and all the moves in college and afterwards but the purple shirt now has a new wearer: My little girl! Unknowingly it has become a treasured article of clothing and it puts a smile on my face every time I see her running around the house in it.

I managed to braid her hair while she was eatting ice cream and about half asleep. Too bad she pulled it out first thing the next morning.

Dane's 1!

2008-09-15T14:05:00.000-05:00

We had a small gathering of only 25 or so people! Dane had a great birthday and I think he enjoyed being the center of attention.

Auntie Kaitlyn & Ohpa

Mia helped make the cake and cupcakes

PRESENT TIME

Cake time

Big sister even managed to snag a few gifts herself!

Happy Birthday Mr. Moo

Rain, Rain, drain away

2008-09-14T15:45:00.000-05:00

We had a busy morning. Our basement had water with all the rain we have had in the last couple days. I think that we have had over 8 inches since Friday! Anyways the pump that we have couldn't keep up and so we had to bail water by hand for a bit. We had 2 pumps (borrowed 1 from my dad) going and still weren't making any progress. Then Matt's dad picked up another one. This one is a heavy duty one. So I think we are in the clear with the water situation, for now. We have had more rain since we moved in at this house then we ever saw in WA. And people always think WA is so rainy! Go figure. I'll be watching the news to hear an official rain total. I'll let you know when I hear something. Official rain total for Sept as of Sept 15 is 11.7 inches!

My dad's shop has over 5 ft of water in the basement, makes me thankful we only had what we did!

current obsession

2008-09-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

My Gold Canyon Warm vanilla sugar candle. I can't get enough! What are you obsessed with today?

Kari's house

2008-09-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our last week in Liberty Lake we stayed with our good friend Kari. She was nice enough to let us come a couple days earlier then we planned. Mia was in heaven with all her shoes and purses (Sam & Tucker were good sports!). Pelli had a blast hanging out with Cruiser. And Dane learned how to sleep in a different bed.

Officially ours!

2008-09-08T15:11:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple pics from the day the house was officially ours! Dane is all smiles.

All the grass you see is ours, Matt had fun mowing it all.
The perfect rug for my Purse room. More on my new business venture later!
Hiding under the table. Judy kept her entertained.

I love it

2008-09-03T21:45:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note. I love, love, love our new house. It was so nice to walk into a clean and empty house. Our realtor gave us a couple nice house warming gifts (a purse rug that you will be a little jealous of Tiff!) Once we get everything in I will take some pics and show you all what I fell in love with today! Goodnight...Sweet dreams!

We made it

2008-08-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

Just want to let everyone know that we made it to IL safe and sound. My parents, sisters, and grandparents were all at the airport to greet us and it was so nice to see everyone and give them a big hug. Mia hasn't stopped playing since we got here. She just passed out next to me and I hope she sleeps for about 12 hours. She needs it! We went boating today and of course ran into a bunch of people we knew. We are definitely back in IL. Everywhere I go, I bump into someone familiar. We close on our house this wednesday and the moving truck will be here thursday. I finally got to see our new house yesterday, we drove by it but couldn't go in since the other people are still in it. But I really liked the neighborhood and can't wait to see the inside.

Everyone back in Liberty Lake, we miss you!
Everyone in IL, we can't wait to bump into you!

Up, Up, & Away

2008-08-25T16:54:00.000-05:00

Mia wanted to hold Dane when he woke up from his nap. Then she instructed me to get the camera, told me it was in the closet, and told Dane to smile at the camera. (It's one of the best pics I have of both of them, thanks Mia!)

We had a nice last weekend here in Liberty Lake. We went to a few of our favorite places one last time. The movers are coming tomorrow and it's all starting to sink in that we are leaving. I am trying to get the house in order so the packers have an easy time and things are organized when we get to the new house. So I better get back to it. Here are a couple pics from the last couple of weekends. It has been beautiful outside!

Pet day @ the park. Mia found the puppy she wants!

Using chopsticks with rice is hard work

Flying high with Daddy

The boys!

Thing I will miss

2008-08-22T14:39:00.000-05:00

Just a few things I am going to miss when we leave WA.

- My wonderful, helpful friends!! They are our family out here. I will think of you every time I drink some wine or sit in the driveway and have a cold one
- The weather -No bugs & No humidity
- The view - I look out my backyard and see Mt. Spokane
- The clean, clear water - that one is going to take some getting used to back in IL
- My bunco girls - I officially request that any future ghosts be referred to as Megan
- Stilos & Azteca & Wolf Lodge
-Greenbluff in the fall- picking apples, Hansen's cider, walking out into the field to find the right pumpkin
- Spokane Discount
- Being able to look across the valley and watch the weather roll by. It can be snowing over there and sunny at our house.
- Seeing Mt. Spokane with the 1st snow Liberty Lake has been our home for the last 3 years.

They have been great and we have made some wonderful friends, some very recently. Our kids were born here, we put a lot of work into this house and it is going to be a big change for us. I already miss you!~Love, Megan

Circus pics

2008-08-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

The smell of animals is in the air

Want to ride an elephant or a camel

It's hot under the Big Top!

Here are a few pics from the circus. We are hot and sweaty but had a good time.

not pictured

2008-08-15T10:01:00.001-05:00

Sometimes what is not pictured tells the real story of the picture. I wish you could capture the feeling in the room and the laughing that is going on too. How often is the person holding the camera, or someone standing behind them, making all sorts of crazy faces or saying silly things? Well here are a couple pics that fit that category.

Mia decided that she wanted to get into Dane's crib yesterday with him after his nap. She informed me that she was bigger now so she could get into the crib. She is a little mixed up with bigger and smaller. It all started when she saw a boy climbing a tree. She wanted to climb it too. I told her that when she was bigger she could. Every day now she tells me she's bigger. She has a couple pairs of shoes that are too small now and each day she tells me "I wear them now, I bigger!" Anyways back on track... So I put her in the crib and she was having a blast making Dane laugh. She is getting ready to tickle him and he is already laughing away.

Here is a pic of the kids that went to the circus with us. Not pictured...Mia. She wanted no part of it. She was attached to my leg at this point.

Circus in town

2008-08-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

So the other day we were killing time before taking Matt to work. We had dropped the Jeep off for an oil change. We were driving by the mall and there were elephants in the parking lot. Needless to say, I looked twice. There were a bunch of trailers and it looked like they were setting something up. As soon as we dropped Matt off I headed straight home to investigate what was going on. I read the paper everyday and I had not heard anything. So I figure out that there is a circus in town for 2 days, in the mall parking lot.
This afternoon we went with a couple neighbors and their kids. There was a petting zoo, elephant rides, camel rides, and pony rides. The actual circus performance was about 2 hours. The other families we were with left before intermission. Their kids had had enough and it was pretty warm under the big top. Mia just kept asking when the animals were coming out again. They did a little parade of all the animals and they were less then 6 ft away from us. Elephants and camels are BIG! When it was all over, Mia was thirsty, Dane was tired and I was ready for a little fresh air. I would sum up the trip as successful and interesting. So you just never know what you might find in a mall parking lot.

long weekend

2008-08-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

Well we have had a great long weekend. Matt took Friday and Monday off and it was so nice to have him around those days. I actually feel like we had a weekend. We ran errands, went to a birthday party, hung out at the house and a bunch of other stuff. Mia had her 1st hair cut on Friday and did a very nice job of sitting still. No she didn't get bangs and it was only a trim but we all survived. I had bangs when i was a kid and it apparently left its mark on me b/c I am pretty sure I will never give my child them unless she wants them really bad. (No pics of the actual hair cutting. I am trying hard to enjoy moment and not feel the need to enjoy it thru a camera lens. )

Today we went out to lunch @ Eddies and let the kids play at the beach. There are not a lot of beaches around here even with all the lakes the Inland Northwest has to offer. So we took a nice drive over and of course Mia fell asleep as we were pulling into the restaurant. Dane slept most of the drive over. As we were driving over I was trying to really enjoy the view, they just don't make them like that in IL.

Funny quote: "Mommy, you want to make babies with me?" Mia was making wet piles of sand at the beach and calling them her babies. Matt and I got a good chuckle out of that one.

The old soul

2008-08-04T15:04:00.000-05:00

Mia is just one of those kids with an old soul. My friends up here are always commenting that she is just like a 80 year old lady most of the time. She's just very content and relaxed but don't get me wrong she is stubborn and loves to laugh. But here are a couple of her old soul moments I thought I would share.

- Only Mia would walk up to this and think it was a camera.

- Today she was playing tea party. She walked out to the family room and offered me "a sample." Of course she had the tea cup, spoon to gently stir it, and the saucer. All of which I was required to hold while I tried the "sample." There aren't a ton of grocery stores that still offer free samples and the only place I can think that does around here is Costco on the weekends. But i don't think that we call them samples. We usually just say, "Oh look, there is ____. Want to try it?" So who knows where she came up with it. Just another old soul moment.

funny girl

2008-07-31T21:05:00.001-05:00

Lately Mia is talking nonstop. So in all that talking some pretty funny stuff comes out. Tonight while we were sitting down for dinner she informed me "You hungry Mommy. Those are your choices!" Do you think that i give her a couple of choices a lot. I try and give her choices for what she is going to wear or have for lunch or a snack. Apparently I say, "Those are your choices." A lot! She says something funny about once a day but that is all that is popping into my mind at this moment. Until I think of more...

Moving date

2008-07-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

We just got a call from the moving company and got an official date! The movers will be here Aug 27-29 and we will be flying back to IL that Saturday the 30th. Our stuff should be there the following week. That's all that's new here today. Can't wait to see everyone and finally see our new house in person. The countdown is on!

Dinner for 3

2008-07-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight was a night like most of the rest... except for dinner. I made one dinner and we all sat down together (except Matt, he was at work) and ate the same thing. It might not seem like a big deal but it was really nice. I made spaghetti and some carrots. Not exciting but stuff that I knew Mia and Dane could/ would eat. I am a firm believer in making 1 dinner and that's what there is, if you don't like it you will probably wake up really hungry in the morning. And you won't get any treats later. I try and not cater to Mia's wants, then make myself something else and of course Dane usually eats baby food. He has been fussing a lot about his baby food but put something on his tray that he can pick up and he loves it. So I just decided to see how it would go tonight and it was so nice. Sometimes it really is the simple things that put a smile on my face (and the thought of not having to stock pile baby food is pretty nice on the grocery bill too!)

New house

2008-07-26T08:44:00.001-05:00

Well, Matt had a very busy couple of days house hunting but it was all worth it!! Yesterday we put an offer in and after a bit of back and forth price talking we got the house! We are so excited. I can't wait to see it in person. So now as long as the inspection goes fine and we get all the papers signed it's ours. We still don't have a move date or anything but we have the house. I will try and post some pics later this weekend.
It's such a nice feeling to have one less thing to worry about.

Yummy stuff

2008-07-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

Everyone has a list of websites they look at every time they get on the computer. So I thought i would share one of my finds with you. http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/home.asp Every week they put up a new free recipe. I can't say I have made anything off here yet but maybe someday!

Mia & shoes

2008-07-24T11:57:00.001-05:00

One of my best friends, Kari, has been nice enough to let us use her house whenever we have a showing at our house. She also loaned us tons of stuff to stage our house so we didn't have to go out and by a bunch of stuff. Gotta love friends like that. So this is how my day typically goes: Get the call from the showing agent and go into panic cleaning mode. (I do this every time regardless of how clean my house already is) Load the kids, dog, and anything else we may need in the car, drive 3 houses down and unload everything and everyone. Once we are settled and have made ourselves at home at Kari's, Mia goes straight to Kari's closet. Mia loves to browse the shoe collection! She picks out the highest heals and heads back downstairs to cruise around in them for a while. Mia always picks the alligator skin heels. So here are a couple pics of her yesterday while she was strutting her stuff for Dane and I.

That mom

2008-07-23T14:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am officially "That Mom." I am guilty of using my phone to take pics of my kids. I didn't realize how much I was doing it until today. I went to see what pics I had on my phone and there were a bunch on there. I am usually good about getting the camera out but since we have moved the computer to the basement the camera hasn't been as accessible. Or I can't leave the kids to run and get the camera but I usually have my phone with me, just in case a realtor calls for a showing. So here are my pics off my camera, not great quality but that's what you get when you are "that" mom.

Playing at the park!

Everyone gets a turn in the car

Playing the the park and enjoying a Dilly bar.

See what happens when she does her own hair!

Last week

2008-07-21T17:26:00.000-05:00

Last week my fam came out to visit and we had a great time. We were busy the whole week and ended their stay with 2 days of boating on Lake Couer D'Alene. The adults enjoyed a few buckets of tasty beverages and Mia had a blast playing on the beach at Eddies. We went to Cat Tales Zoological Park, Greenbluff (we didn't pick a single strawberry Dad!), to the beach here in Liberty Lake, and even managed to get all the girls a manicure and pedicure. Mia picked sparkles for her nails, of course. Needless to say, we were sad to say goodbye but not too sad since we will be moving back to IL soon. No official date yet but Matt is heading back to IL on Wednesday to do some house hunting.

The weather has been great here and it is suppose to be another great week. I will add some pics from last week when I get them. My mom took most of the pics and I forgot to transfer them to my computer before she left.

Here are just a couple. K & K are always good for teaching kids how to slide down the steps!

July already!

2008-07-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Wow, time is flying by these days. The weather has been wonderful. We officially put the house on the market yesterday. Things are moving fast with the whole process and hopefully we get some interest in the house just as quickly. My family is getting here on Saturday for a week long stay and we are all excited to see them again. It's been a little while, since March, and it will be nice to get them out here one more time to enjoy the Inland Northwest. It should be interesting though because we have our 1st open house Sunday. I have been cleaning every day and every time our realtor comes by she has just one more thing she would like us to fix. Her last visit added the task of painting part of the front door, garage, & around the window. Really easy stuff considering Matt is working overtime all week and I have 2 small kiddos that require a decent amount of supervision while they are awake. So I have become very productive when Dane takes his naps during this week. Matt is picking up the paint as I type and I am going to do as much as I can today.

I'll add some pics of the kids later. I'm on Matt's laptop right now and my pics are on our computer downstairs.

Busy

2008-06-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

Well, this weekend we worked a lot on the house. Just cleaning and reorganizing room by room. I feel like we made a lot of progress but my list is still pretty long. Some of the things we rearranged we thought, why didn't we do this a long time ago? Other rooms look so empty but big now. I guess it's just the way it goes.

Dane does not stay still for 2 seconds! He is crawling anywhere he can and if there is something he can pull himself up on, he does! Mia is developing quite an imagination. Today the kids were playing sharks! And one of Mia's favorite games is Ring-Around-The-Rosy. My favorite game to watch her play is Hide-n-Seek with Matt. When she hides, Matt counts to 10. Then says, "Ready or not, here I come." This brings Mia laughing and giggling out of her hiding spot and running to Matt. It just never gets old watching it.

teeth

2008-06-26T11:54:00.000-05:00

Dane has 2 new teeth on the top. So that takes the count up to 4! He has the 2 middle ones on the bottom and then the 2 on top are the ones on either side of his front teeth. His smile should be pretty interesting in a few weeks if those front 2 teeth don't come in soon!

Big news

2008-06-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

So we finally got the official word....we are moving back to IL!! Matt will be working in Morton. We are really excited to be closer to the fam. At the same time we are leaving a great place and some wonderful friends. It's hard to believe that we have been here for 3 years already and it is where we call home. So I am going to try and enjoy every last minute we have here with, who I consider, our Washington family. We are looking for houses in the Metamora/ Germantown area so keep your eyes out and we can't wait to be back! We will let you know when we get an official move date.

Dane's Dr appt

2008-06-17T12:50:00.000-05:00

Dane had his 9 month check up today and everything looks great. He weighs 18.9 lbs and is 28 inches long. He is actually on the smaller side of the growth chart (around 31 percentile) but that's OK.

While we were waiting for the Dr to come in, Matt was entertaining Mia. He asked her if the picture was a picture of Oswald ( a cartoon that she loves to watch). Mia informed him that that wasn't Oswald, it was an octopus! Now mind you, Oswald is an octopus but Mia wasn't going to fall for this other one. I didn't even realize she could say octopus!

my big girl!

2008-06-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

Last night, after dinner Mia showed me what a big girl she is getting to be. Over the last week or so we have been trying to teach her a little responsibility around the house. I figure it's never too early to start. So Matt or I will have her clear part of the dishes or help set the table. Matt called right as we were finishing dinner and while I was talking to him Mia cleared all of her dishes and even put her silverware into the dishwasher! Without even being asked!! It was just one of those moments when you realize how much kids are really capable of doing. Mia also likes to get out a spoon for her and a spoon for me each morning. She puts it at my spot on the table and as soon as I come out to eat my cereal she says, "Mommy, I got your spoon for you!" It's such a nice way to start the day.

Quesadilla

2008-06-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

Mia learned a new word today!

She might not say it quite right but it's just too cute... Quesa-daddy!

Pelli

2008-05-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

We finally got Pelli in for a haircut, I think she needed one!

busy girl

2008-05-28T12:11:00.000-05:00

Mia is such a good girl, most of the time. Here she is picking up the neighbor's rocks that spilled out of their landscaping. She will find a random rock in our yard and returns it to the right spot. She puts the river rock in our landscaping and the lava rock goes back to the neighbor's house.

Mia has given up napping but clearly some days she just needs one still!

The simple things

2008-05-12T23:09:00.000-05:00

Sometime it's just the simple stuff that the kids seem to get the most enjoyment out of these days. Mia would be perfectly happy for the entire summer playing with 3 things: rocks, chalk, & bubbles. Of course, we have an endless supply of those here at the house. One of Dane's favorite toys is a toothbrush. Here are a couple of pics of Mia and her rocks.

Father's Day at our house

2008-05-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there. I hope you all had a relaxing day! I had a nice day with very little diaper duty! Matt made me cookies and got me a gift cert for a manicure and pedicure. It was cold here so the weather could have been better but oh well.

Mia and Daddy went out to get a card and this is what Mia came home with. Matt and I were in tears laughing so hard. A lady at the store gave it to her for free, so Matt couldn't really say no. Viva la Mexico!

Here are couple of pics from the morning of Mother's day, or Father's Day from the looks of it. I painted Mia's nails (pink and sparkles) and Dane decided he had had enough and just fell asleep right where he was at.

Bouncing baby

2008-05-07T12:21:00.000-05:00

Just a little video of my bouncing baby boy! I hope it works.

Getting big

2008-05-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Mia and Dane are getting so big so fast! Mia has really started to use her imagination. She is currently putting her caterpillars to bed and tucking them in because they are tired. Of course they get to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed. She takes Farley, her dog, everywhere with us and she even feeds him.

Dane is just such a happy baby. There isn't anything better to see first thing in the morning, granted it's not too early, then a smiling baby! As long as he is getting some attention he content. Dane loves to be up seeing all the action and I think I am in trouble once he starts to move. He might never stop. His feet are always moving, even when he's eatting in his chair.

Sparkles

2008-05-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Mia joined me on a quick trip to the store for our donuts this morning. It's one of those little treats we like to do on the weekends. I guess it started each time I was pregnant and now Mia looks forward to sharing our donuts with us. Dane can already tell he is missing something yummy! So, today I decided to get Mia her own. She picked out the sparkle donut. She was so excited to eat it we couldn't get home fast enough. Here are a couple pics of her and her sparkle donut. She is such a little girl!

Mia likes Dane to sit nice and close to her so she can hold his hand at the table (and maybe steal a couple Cheerios too)!

FINALLY

2008-05-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Well the weather is finally getting nice here. We have spent from breakfast to dinner outside the last 2 days and I love it. Mia has a sweet farmer tan now! She doesn't stop moving for 2 seconds. On Friday, she was standing next to me and just about fell over. I am pretty sure she was sleeping with her eyes open. That was all the rest she needed, she was full of energy the rest of the evening. Needless to say by bedtime she is out in about 5 minutes. Dane's working on a few more teeth on the top and drooling like crazy. I'll try and post some pics later.

Funny line from a commercial that was just on about having gas, it made me laugh!
Your son, Rip, is on line toot!

A Style of her own.

2008-04-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Mia has been showing off her sense of style lately. She picks out her own outfits and accessories. And she accessorizes! I am pretty sure she has more shoes then me and I know she is more picky about her hair then I am. She gets her love of shoes from Matt and we could be in trouble if she keeps it up. As for her style when she gets dressed it's anyone guess. It should be interesting so see where this all leads down the road. So, if you see us out and about, remember she probably picked out the outfit!