What to be for Halloween

Abby has had a lot of choices of what to be for Halloween. Her first option was a Halloween Pumpkin Fairy...so cute. Until we tried the outfit on. Not going to work. It was way too small.

Then my friend Ruby loaned us her pumpkin outfit that her son Jack wore when he was about her age. She cried and cried.

So I looked and looked today at the store. I couldn't find anything and didn't want to spend any money....so tonight I made her a little outfit. It is cute and she can wear it without crying. I Hope.

I feel like this is a bit like Goldilocks and the 3 bears. I am definitely hoping that the 3rd time is the charm and just right. (Plus it has little froggies in the pattern and Abby loves frogs right now.)

Red Top Mountain

Last weekend we went to Red Top Mountain. Sheldon did some blacksmithing & Abby and I walked around the trail and hung out in the room alot. It ended up raining & storming most of the time. So the iron poor we were going to watch didn't happen. When Sheldon went last time he brought back a great video and I was so excited. However, we still had a nice time.

Crying Pumpkin

We are getting ready for Abby's first official Halloween....or second, depending on how you look at it. Yesterday, we went to the pumpkin patch and she wasn't very happy. She is still getting over having strep & a chest cold.

However, I think the pictures still turned out cute.

I am so far behind....

That baby is taking up all of my time. But here are some current pics of her...

Crabby Abby & Grumpy Gertie

Abby has started taking an interest in her dolls. Yesterday at FUll Bloom she wanted to play with one of Pat's. So I pulled out Grumpy Gertie for her and she has been playing with her. I put her in one of the cute outfits that Grandma Susan made her.

Which is better....

A cooking spree? Or a shopping spree?

I think they both have their advantages....however; one makes you want to lose weight while the other makes you gain weight. :)

While on vacation at Hilton Head...I went on a shopping spree. Not too much but enough to make me enjoy wearing clothes again and want to look good. Though it is expensive.

Now that I am home. I am trying to do more home cooking and make it fun and exciting. This means we have been doing a lot more baking. Though I am trying to keep it healthy and less caloric.

First, I made some mini muffins. They were yummy, 4 of them were equal to one size muffin…and I went a little overboard in eating them. I had 6 of them. This wouldn’t be so bad, except the muffins had a ton of fiber in them. I used a basic oatmeal applesauce muffin recipe that I found on allrecipes.com. Then I made some creative changes based on what I had around the house. I added some butternut squash, applesauce, carrots & fresh cherries. MMMM…they were yummy!!

Then I made 2 sets of buttermilk pizza dough. One set for us to eat and freeze and one for a friend who has helped me out a lot. I made pepperoni & olive pizza. Not super healthy but better than eating out. Yesterday, I made a nice tomato, cucumber & onion pasta salad from fresh produce I received from Sheldon’s co-worker. The tomatoes were delicious and so ripe. I cheated a bit and added a little bit of pepperoni and cheese and used Italian dressing to marinate the salad. However, to go with the salad and to make a complete supper I made focaccia bread from a recipe on allrecipes.com. It made a ton of it so I ended up freezing over 2/3 of the bread. We will have some more for dinner tonight. I also, ended up making some fresh salsa yesterday. Though I have to finish it….Abby didn’t let me add the cilantro. I am hoping it tastes good. I added a bit of cucumber to it as we had so many of them.

Then today I ended up making a low fat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I modified again quite a bit. Baking Bits, the blog I found them on had such a fantastic picture. Mine didn’t turn out the same way. Probably because I made quite a few changes based on what I had in the house. I reduced the brown & white sugar to half and then added 2 bananas, wheat flour, coconut and butterscotch chips…and a couple of carrots. I figure they were sweet and nobody would notice, however, it would be a nice dose of extra nutrients.

Using scissors instead of a rotary cutter...

well at least for the most part. This morning, Abby decided that 4 am was wake up and stay up time. So after a lot of struggle...daddy & I decided to go shopping and walking. So we did that and came home around 6 am. By this time Abby was asleep, daddy had to get ready for work and I had to fill out insurance paperwork. Not very fun. Then at 10 I had a chiropractor's appointment. So this morning was very busy. Since Abby decided mommy & daddy woke her up really early...she took another nap and I decided to work on a art quilt. I have a few people whom I would like to make something similar for at Christmas time so I wanted to practice. I took a picture I had of Rocky and turned it into my quilt.

I think it turned out cute. I figured too that it would be a go project to work on as I didn't need to use my rotary cutter and I was pretty tired. Here is Abby recovering from her lack of sleep....and right after this was taken we discovered that she had cut her finger. We are not sure how she did it...however, she must have wanted to be like momma. Luckily, we didn't need to get stitches. Though she is wearing a sock on her hand now.

Some Pretties...

Today, Abby and I went out for a few hours so that daddy could take a nap. Unbeknownst to momma...Abby did wake up last night....though mommy didn't. I was very excited this morning thinking she slept through the night. Well daddy quickly informed me that wasn't the case. So to be nice, we went to the Farmer's Market in Watkinsville and bought some yummy bread from my friend Vanessa.

Then we decided to go to the local quilt shop. I wasn't supposed to buy anything...however they were having 60% off and I picked up 2 magazines and some fabric. Well one of the mags had a tutorial on how to make pot holders and I have always wanted to do that....so before going to the 4th of July party...Abby and I made them.

They aren't perfect but they are pretty cute. Abby was sitting so nicely next to Rocky and right at the last stitch...I looked over and his claw was hanging out of her arm. She was more scared of me yelling at him then the actual scratch. Not sure what happened, but I think she tried pulling his tail or something.

Yikes....

Well...I made a decent skirt. Now I have ruined it. :) I accidentially cut it with my scissors yesterday when I was cutting some fabric. So I am going to add some fabric tomorrow and create a new hem on it.

To go with it...I used some of the same fabric to make a reversible purse. It was fun and a bit hard as it took me 3 or 4 tries to figure out what I needed to do to make it reversible. I finally did it. It isn't perfect but I think it turned out cute.

Tomorrow, a couple of the fabric stores has patterns on sale...I might take a peek...especially since I am not a skinny minny, none of the larger sizes are in the economy packs.

What else. Abby has a new summer hat. She looks adorable. She now knows the sound of the camera and stops what she is doing to pose.

Lastly, here is the other project I worked on yesterday. Homemade pretzels. They are yummy. Also, since Abby is eating more solids I have been making my own. We started off with some baked sweet potatoes. Then a banana, and the last couple of days she has been eating homemade applesauce. It hasn't been too hard as I am also trying to use the crock pot for stuff. Tomorrow, I am going to cook up some butternut squash.

Have a great day...

It finally happened...

A semi decent skirt for myself. Last night Abby fell asleep about 10 or so..then she kept waking up. Daddy grabbed her while he was doing some computer stuff and after finishing some cleaning I decided to work on it. It was about 11 pm when I started and midnight or so when I finished. Very quick & easy. I even tried french seams on the sides.
TFL...

PS....She only woke up once...at 4 pm last night. Yeah.


PS2...My friend Vanessa made some yummy bagels today. So I am now trying to make some homemade pretzels. We will see how they come out. My wrists hurt a bit right now from all the hand kneading.

Quick birthday Party Post

On my birthday, Sheldon, Abby & I, went to chinese for dinner and had a yummy Dairy Queen icecreem cake. Plus, we went to the fabric store and picked up some fabric for my present.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday....I am 36. WOW. I am feeling old. But at the same time it is fantastic and great. This is the best birthday ever. It is the first time I am a mommy and I have the best husband. What more can a girl ask for?

The last couple of days, I have been working on a reversible dress for Abigail. I am having quite a few problems with creating it and am being creative in finishing it. Once I figure it out 100% I am going to do a tutorial as it seems all the ones I have read seem to leave out a step.

However, here is my baby girl in her new outfit. It just fits her. Plus she is already reading Mothering Magazine. She is starting early.

Life as we know it...

Yeah...we are back from being sick. 3 weeks is definitely long enough. I think we had a little of everything....cold, pink eye, allergies/sinus, and then bronchitis. I cannot believe how exhausting being sick and having to take care of a baby at the same time. After the first few days Abby was feeling good...so she didn't understand why all mommy and then daddy wanted to do was sleep.

Belowis a predinner photo. Abby wanted to pose with me before I left. I normally don't dress up too much so I dolled myself up.

Nothing much happened these last few weeks. However, now that we are feeling better...life is getting better. I went on a dinner date tonight with my friend T. Sheldon watched Abby but I guess it wasn't a good thing...she cried for 2 hours straight. I guess she is going through the mommy is everything stage. (I have mixed feelings about that...I like being the most important person in her life...but I also like having a few minutes to myself.) Tomorrow, I am going to take a PhotoShop lesson.

Above is a photo of Abby making friends or enemies depending on how you look at it with Oreo. Oreo actually hissed at Abby for the first time. That is probably because Abby has learned how to pull hair...I have a few sore spots on my head from her pulling.

Sheldon has been able to do a little metal detecting. Yesterday, the 3 of us went to the park. Abby and I went walking while Sheldon checked out the ballfields. He found a few quarters, a couple of dimes and some pennies. This is the normal finding load...but every now and then he finds jewelry.

Above is a picture of Abby in the cute dinosaur outfit that Grandma Susan made for her. It is a little big but not too much. I love it. Velcro everything. I actually just finished a rock n roll skull pink/black blanket for Abby. Now I am working on a rubber ducky quilt and I have patterns to make bibs and pinafore. So that is my next projects.

This weekend is my birthday and Mother's Day. We have lots planned. Hopefully it will be fun.

We are home...

Hi

Abby and I are home from visiting cousin Leland and the rest of the gang. He is doing very well. I don't think he likes his shots very much but he is learning to adapt. I think right now it is harder on mom and dad then on him.

I do have to admit though...being around 3 kids for 3 days was way too much for me. Poor Carrie & Dave I was constantly shushing....I like my noise volume a bit lower. But I did try to get some one on one playtime with Caleb as Leland hung out mostly with mommy.

Little Abby watched and watched all the action...she had so much fun. (She is exhausted now.) Though she did get hit in the head twice...once with a remote and then with a ball. She was like what the heck happened. She doesn't get a lot of rowdy play like that at home.

I was supposed to orginally come home on Sunday but I left Saturday instead...I was exhausted too. Abby didn't sleep very well and was up about 4-5 times a night and not napping during the day. Daddy was very happy to see us. We went for a walk on Saturday and went to the library and out to dinner. Here is Abby and Daddy...he is already exhausted from having us back.

Abby in her sweet Easter dress (which is still too big) that grandma Susan and I made.

Then on Easter Sunday we ended up at Memorial Park for a walk. It was very nice and almost relaxing. Abby is off on her sleeping still, so we haven't been getting very much sleep. Plus we both came back with a bit of a cold virus.