Last Minute Projects

So the baby is due any day now... That being said, I've been in a mad rush to finish all the projects I started. And believe it or not, I did it!!! So I'm going to stand on my soap box and brag about my accomplishments on my blog. What good is a blog if you can't brag on it, right?

Project # 1: The CLOCK
Remember the sad condition of my last clock?
Well, thanks to the help of my husband and his mad jigsaw abilities, and thanks to Amber and her help and talent with vinyl lettering, I was able to whip out a new one. OK, "whip" makes it sound easy. It did take some time, but the results are awesome. The paint was a process (about 7 layers of different colors and crackles). It was fun though and looks even better than the original, don't you think? I haven't decided if I'm going to paint the hands gold or not. Still thinking...

Project #2: A Spring camera strap. Gotta change things up for the seasons. I had some extra fabric so I made one in a synch. This was my easiest project.

Project #3: Nursing Cover with matching draw string bag

This project was super easy too, so I made 4 of them. Some for me, some as gifts. Why not!
Project # 4: A baby Quilt that is Gender Free
I felt a challenge to make a quilt for my sister (who is due two weeks after me). She doesn't know if she's having a boy or a girl, and I saw this idea and loved it. Girl patterns with boy colors. Can't beat that. It has 196 squares!!! All of them were glue sticked... yes, I said Glue Sticked to the fabric, then sewn. Throw it in the wash and it's a rag quilt to die for. So soft. I love it so much, I was tempted to just keep it for myself. The pictures really don't do it justice.
Project # 5: New Car Seat Cover - A.K.A. - "the nightmare"

This baby is said to be a girl, so Luke's car seat cover just wouldn't do. It's in perfect condition, but I just wanted it to look more "girl" since this my last baby. So I decided to make a new one. Easier said than done. Everything went well until my sewing machine decided to go on strike. I guess all the projects made it mad.
But I couldn't give up. The fabric was just too cute. So I switched to my 13 year old machine half way through the project and finished it up.

I'm crazy about brown and red lately. I love the way it turned out. The best part is, I now have a spare cover if I need one.
So I'm officially done with projects for a while. I'm going to park myself and my big belly on the couch and watch TV until this baby arrives. That's all I have energy for.

Easter Egg Hunt

Last Saturday (March 27th) was the annual Easter Egg Hunt... The one time in the year when kids actually WANT to pick up things. Too bad they don't get as excited to pick up toys and laundry at home. Hmmmm....maybe if I gave them an Easter Basket to put it in. Somehow I don't think it would be the same.


Unfortunately Drew couldn't attend the event, so most of the pictures I took were of Luke. Cole and Mia took off and I didn't even see them until the whole thing was over. They were too dedicated to wait for slow Luke.



Donuts and drinks were provided. So yummy!
Mia with her friends Aspen and Hanna


I love my little kiddos!

St. Patricks Day 2010

Every year for St. Patrick's Day we have a "green" dinner. This is our 2010 spread. Spinach tortilla sandwich pinwheels, green jello with banana gold coins, sugar snap peas and green ranch dip, sour cream and onion chips, and some real "Dubliner" cheese from Ireland. I wasn't sure if the kids would eat the sandwiches, but they ended up loving them.



I also added a container of "gold" (pineapple) - halfway through the meal.

American Girl Trip 2010

Mia is the world's most amazing 7 year old. She makes life so much fun. One of her favorite things to do is go to the American Girl Store in Los Angeles, so we do our best to get her there. We started the tradition last year. And since the whole "doll" thing is only a small moment in time, we're hoping to make this a yearly trip at least a few more times, before she gets too old.

This year we went on March 12th and 13th. Since baby # 4 is due in just a few weeks, it was now or never. So my sister Jill (who is also very pregnant) and her daughter Reagan, joined us on the trip. They flew down to Las Vegas, then we drove the 4 1/2 hours to LA.

First stop... THE BEACH!!!


The water was cold but it was so beautiful. Even Jill and I couldn't resist wading in a little bit.


This is what the girls looked like after 30 minutes of beach fun....SOAKED! They walked like ducks back to the car.

After getting cleaned up, we headed to The Grove shopping center and went to Maggiano's Italian Restaurant.
The next morning we got up early and went to the store where we spent hours and hours.
At lunch we dined at the American Girl Cafe.

Warm cinnamon rolls welcomed us.
Our appetizer...

Mia loves getting the mini hamburger and mini hot dog meal. Don't forget the pink lemonade.

And dessert was adorable.
We finished shopping and drove back to Las Vegas. It was such a fun girls weekend. I hope we can do it again next year.

R.I.P. Awesome Clock

My 2 year old loves to leave a trail of destruction. And here's his latest victim. My favorite clock bit the dust yesterday when Luke decided to throw a basketball in the house. It bounced off the 3 foot clock, causing it to fall to the tile below. It's made of particle board, so it's not the most fancy clock, but I've had it for years and it's traveled the country with us.
So my clock stand is sitting empty on the wall. I'm hoping that I can make a new clock to replace it. We'll see if my talents extend that far.
But in the end, it's just a clock and Luke is still my little sweetie. I just have to take a few deep breaths sometimes and remind myself that it's just a phase. Eventually he will no longer have the desire to color on my piano, or break my decorations.... someday.

Incidentally, Drew is convinced that he can fix THIS clock. Does it look bad (symbolically) to have the clock that represents our "Swasey & Co" with a large crack down the middle? I'm just saying!