Sunny and Thunder

Yesterday I had both kids. I have to share a cute story. I had framed some x-stitch projects over the weekend and was showing them to Sunny. She asked me where "her stitching" was. I asked her if she wanted me to stitch something for her and of course she replied with a yes. A few hours later she came up to me and said "Where's my stitching?!" I explained to her that I would stitch her something... sometime this year! haha I'm pretty sure her two-year-old brain didn't comprehend that at all. Then on the way home, Katie let her call me back to tell me that she wanted me to stitch her a Minnie Mouse. Now, I'm on the hunt for a good Minnie Mouse pattern. If you know of any, please share with me!

Thunder likes to suck his thumb... to his mother's chagrin!

Sunny and Minnie

Two handsome dudes

This is such a good picture of her, I had to share it!

As soon as I saw the picture below, I remembered that we got a similar one when Sunny was a baby. I've included both of them...

Thunder laughing at Gramps (6 months old)

Sunny laughing at Gramps (almost 5 months old)

Week 4 - Stitching Update

I managed to frame a few pieces this week. I also got some stitching in on one of the stockings I'm making. Not enough for a picture though.

I mentioned at the start of the week that I'm taking part in Daffycat's TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long). This week I looked at the 300+ blogs that signed up for this. It is so cool to see what kind of stitching other people do. Some are into smalls, others are into huge projects that require a color change every few stitches. Some are quilters. Knitters. Crocheters. Some are into sewing. I get so inspired when I see how talented and creative other bloggers are.

I'm hoping to finish Thunder's stocking this week. Then I'm going to move on to one of the small projects I chose for the CJC (crazy January challenge), probably a WIP (work in progress) that I started last year.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

We got an unusual text request from Katie on Saturday morning. She asked if Buster could spend the night at Gramps' and Grammy's. Uhhh, sure?! She and Gabe went out with friends in Scottsdale. (Since Gabe works on that side of town and had to be there early Sunday morning they were staying overnight). Sunny and Thunder were spending the night at Papa and Mama Rossi's house (friends). That left Buster with no where to go. Gramps and Grammy to the rescue!

I was under the impression that Buster sleeps in his carrier at night. When I put him in there for bedtime he started to whine. Then he yelped. Then he howled. I texted Katie "I thought he sleeps in his carrier, why is he howling?" She texted back "he sleeps with us". Great. Fortunately he calmed down and went to sleep after a few minutes. He slept without a peep until midnight when the alarm on the clock in the living room went off. Dan went out to turn it off. Buster saw him and commenced howling. Dan got back up, put him out for a potty break, and then dumped him in bed with us.

No big deal... for Dan. For me, however, it led to a mostly sleepless night. I had Buster under the covers pressed up against me on my left side. Duke was on top of the covers, pressed up against my right side. Summer was on top of the covers pressed up against my feet. All that animal heat made for a hot night. All that pressed up against me felt claustrophobic. Thank goodness Rascal is too big to sleep on the bed!

I got some cute pics of Buster. He loved having the "big boys" to play with. It was cute to see him copy their movements. He loved going outside with them.

Little Buster

Emerging from a nap

Rascal, Buster, and Duke with Gramps

I've mentioned before that Sunny is fascinated by cross-stitching. She loves to get in my lap and watch me stitch. Tia Jessica lets her push and pull the needle through the fabric when she stitches. Sunny constantly tells me that she wants to learn to stitch. Yesterday morning I got out the sewing cards. I "sewed" one to show her how to do it. Then I turned her loose on the elephant by herself. She did it! She was so proud of herself. Last night when Katie picked her up, Sunny was standing at the door calling,"I stitched for you, Mommy! I stitched for you." We got out the elephant to show off to Mommy. I can't wait til I can teach her stitch!

"See what I did?!"

Totally Useless Stitch-a-long (TUSAL)

Last year I kept seeing posts on TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long) accompanied by a photo of a jar with thread clippings. It took me months before I finally saw a post that explained what TUSAL stood for. But I could never figure out what the purpose was. Thankfully, in December, I stumbled upon a blog that explained all! I signed up for this year's TUSAL and this is my first post.

My jar is pretty full this month due to the 15 starts of the Crazy January Challenge. I completed two of those starts and am almost finished with a third one. So, there you have it. My first TUSAL. If you're a stitcher and you want to join in on the fun, check out Sharon's blog to sign up.

Week 3 - Stitching Update

I am too lazy this week to take photos of the small bits of work I got done on several projects. Instead I'm only showing the project I completed and the other one I worked the most on. And, to underscore just how lazy I am, I did not press the hoop marks out of the one, nor did I remove the hoop from the other.

I'm hoping to do some finishing this next week, so maybe I'll have some pretty pictures to share next week...

Four Seasons House complete - 2nd completion in 2012

I should have "Winter Evergreen" done in a day or two...

An Evening with Skye (oh yeah, and her parents!)

We took Jessica and Adam to the airport yesterday. Since we were halfway to Mesa, we drove on down and spent some time with Zach, Ashley, and Skye. She is such a sweetie and I would love to see her more often. I really enjoy the time I do have with her.

She is standing on her own. She lets go and stands steady for quite some time. She can take about a step and a half before she sits down. Then she repeats the process all over again!

getting reacquainted

our official 10 month photo

He says this is a smile.

To me it just looks like "oh my gosh, another picture with mom."

Week 2 - Stitching Update

So, I did the bare minimum on this week's CJC starts. I mainly concentrated on Four Seasons House. I really want to complete this! Actually, I'm just proud of myself that I took some photos. I will share starts 13, 14, 15 next week. Now, I have to warn you that my pictures are not very good. I need to figure out what settings to use to have them come out better. I hope you can get the idea...

This is Easter Egg Patchwork.

Yes, I only put in a few light green stitches which you have to strain to see!

Think Autumn WIP

Again, a minimal re-start.

What Cancer Cannot Do WIP

Think Winter WIP

Winter Scene WIP

Cozy Christmas WIP

Four Seasons House

I hope to finish this one this week

Girl Scout Cookies

It's Girl Scout Cookie time again! What a great way to break up the doldrums of winter. To perk up our spirits from the post-Christmas letdown. To once again justify eating needless calories in the name of helping others.

My husband is a Thin Mint maniac. I placed our personal GS cookie order the other day. I ordered five boxes of Thin Mints for him, two boxes of Do-si-dos for me. He will have his five boxes eaten before the girl scouts can set up their stands in front of Target. I will give in and buy him more boxes from those stands. I can't resist the cute little girl scouts. And I can't resist the deranged look in his eye when he spots a box of Thin Mints. My two boxes will last until summer. I like to savor them.

All children should have the experience of eating GS cookies at least once in their life. Don't you agree? To that end, I'm on a mission to purchase a minimum of 25 boxes for the 20 houses managed by Katie's employer for CPS. If you would like to participate in this goal, please comment on this post. Or you can email me (my email is on my profile). If we can buy more than 25 boxes that would be terrific. GS cookies cost $4 a box this year.

Not only will we enable some kids in tough circumstances to have a treat, we'll satisfy our desire to buy cookies to help the Girl Scouts without having to sacrifice our diets by eating them all!

Thanks for considering this offer...

Week 1 - Stitching Update

I enjoy reading all of the stitching blogs I follow. I'm always envious because they create such beautiful pieces. And I'm really jealous because they take time to photograph their progress and completed projects. I decided that this year I'm going to make an effort to track my progress better. Here are photos from the first six projects I've started this year. They are all part of my Crazy January Challenge. This year instead of beginning 15 new starts, I included some WIPs (works in progress) that have been laying around for the past year. Hopefully this is the first of 52 updates you will see this year...

Four Seasons House WIP - Bent Creek

re-started 1/4/12

Winter Evergreen - Fireside Originals

started 1/3/12

Christmas Procession WIP - Linda Bird

re-started 1/2/12

Bless This Graduate - Lizzie Kate

started 1/1/12 - completed 1/2/12

Signs of Summer WIP - Bent Creek

re-started 1/6/12

Winter Silhouette - Diane Arthur

started 1/5/12

We Had Fun This Week!

Although we only spend two days together each week, Sunny and I always manage to have fun. On Monday we went to the park with our friends, Quinn, Kat, & Brody. Here's a photo their mom took with her I-Phone. See... her pictures are better than mine even with a phone! That's why she's the professional.

On Tuesday, we had fun at my house. We watched lots of Veggie Tales. Listened to lots of music. Read many books. Played with toys. She is such a joy. She has learned to pray before meals "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food." It's so sweet to see her fold her hands.

Even though she's only 2 1/2, she's entered the "why" stage. Fortunately, that stage doesn't get to me too much. I answer each "why" question that she asks in a series. She finally gets frustrated and says "why not?". I just laugh and laugh. I can't wait until Skye and Thunder are at this fun stage.

Duke wants to hear "Go, Dog, Go" too

Rascal prefers "Room for a Little One"

I love how Sunny and Dan are both petting Rascal as they read!

Park Pals

It's always a great day when we meet our friends at the park to play.

getting organized for picture taking

urging Quinn to slide down by everyone else

the final product!

Happy New Year!

2012 is here. 2011 is gone. Done. Never to be repeated.

Let's all revel in the freedom of a new year. A fresh start. At least let's be glad that a new week is beginning.

I finished 2011 on a high note. It was 50% off day at Goodwill. We stopped there once before on 50% off day and vowed never to do it again. But yesterday the parking lot wasn't that full so we took a chance. Am I glad we did! I found this gorgeous table priced at $39.99. Which means I bought it for $19.99. It is made of solid wood. The drawers slide open from either side. The top of it was scratched, so Dan filled the scratches with wood putty and we painted it with some black craft paint I had laying around. It looks marvelous! I'm going to put some of my x-stitch supplies in it. But I can imagine lots of other uses for it in the future.

This morning as I reached for my new calendar I had a poetic thought. "I'm holding the future of this year in my hand." I know, it's also a fanciful thought. But it's kind of exciting. Let's all celebrate this first day of 2012. Celebrate the opportunities, challenges, joys, blessings, and yes, even the struggles we may face this coming year. They all combine to make us the person we are meant to be. Happy New Year!