Project Runway

Here's my own version of Project Runway...

I have had a hankerin' to make some summer dresses for Addie. I bought several Simplicity patterns a few months ago (during a $1 sale) but chickened out as soon as I looked at the back of the envelope. Oh well... so I traced a jumper that fits Addie pretty well, made a few modifications (the shoulder ties, ruffle bottom, and front thingy with the buttons), and Ta Da!!! I love this cute little dress! It's almost as cute as the girlie inside it :)

But then...... Patty came! She mentioned the possibility of working on a few patterns that she had brought with her. So I ran to my room and grabbed the ones I had bought months ago, and we got right to work. This is the cutest dress EVER! I love the simplicity of it, while still having a little girly ruffle... and the button is just.... "cute as a button." (that saying makes so much more sense to me now. lol) This one is just a little big for Addie right now, but I couldn't resist a little photo shoot... she's just so stinkin' cute!

Here's the 3rd one completed so far. This is the one we call the "blue marshmallow." This one's not nearly as cute as the previous one, but this little girl can wear just about anything and look like a doll. It's a little big for her as well. She couldn't quite climb the stairs because her little legs kept disappearing into the marshmallow... a serious dilemma for this little one whose favorite activity is stair climbing... and talking on the phone (or truck in this case... whatever's handy!). This was a great learning project, however, because I learned how to work with snap tape and button holes.

I just finished cutting out the next project... another tiered dress, in knit fabric. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Vacation's Over!

We had such a great visit with Gene and Patty. I can't believe all the things we fit in to those few short weeks. Our days were packed full of activity. Here is a little photo journal for you of just a few of the things we were able to do:::

Bowling... not once, but TWICE! I wasn't sure we'd get them to go after the first time, but after a few days of resting (and avoiding the stairs if at all possible) they were ready for another try. I am in awe of Patty... she has mean bowling skills. She wooped us all, every time! I am lucky to get 1 strike or spare per game (I really like those gutter balls)... she gets them every frame! It's insane!

Painting the fence... Patty and I went on a Joann's run and came back to find the boys painting away. It looks so nice!

Tie Dye Party... I loved the vibrant colors! Unfortunately, they didn't really stay too vibrant after washing. We learned the trick for future reference... cotton (the more the better). All of the t-shirts that were 50% cotton faded a ton when washed. Addie's ruffly t-shirt and shorts were 95% cotton and they stayed pretty vibrant after the washing. This was totally fun. Patty and I really enjoyed unwrapping them all later that night to see just what each one looked like... so exciting!

Strawberry Picking... this was my first time ever berry picking. We came home with TONS of yummy strawberries (and several not-so-yummy ones too). They were so good on our ice cream that night... and we have lots more in the freezer.

Campfires... the guys found this awesome firepit on one of their excursions to the hardware store. We are loving it. We've roasted many marshmallows and hot dogs on it already. I know it will be well used over the next few months.

Milwaukee Art Museum... I finally got to see the wings open and close. It wasn't really all that exciting, but it's something I can mark off my list of things to see and do :) I love the art museum and could really spend hours and hours there.... HOWEVER, just moments into our visit Seth was asking to leave. HMMM! Oh well! It was fun despite the all the shhhhshing and dragging we had to do.

Our days really were packed...
Adam and Gene ran a heater/air conditioning vent from the basement all the way up to the boys room, Patty (hopefully) taught me how to read a pattern (we'll see how I do on my next solo one), we had a garage sale for 2 days, Gene spent a night on-call with Adam at the hospital, we had a birthday party, rode bikes, read hundreds of stories, built tents, made art projects, and just totally exhausted ourselves.

Thank you G & P for coming to visit us! We loved every minute!

A Very Good Day....

We have been experiencing several record breaking, very hot days this past week. Today, we woke up to temperatures under 60... whew! It felt so good to be cold. So, we grabbed some cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets and headed to the park. We had it all to ourselves... I guess it was a little chilly for a park day. But the boys had a blast, running wild while Addie and I snuggled up in blankets on the sidelines.

On our way home we spotted several rummage signs and (of course!) had to stop. Boy did we hit the jackpot! Here are just a few of our fabulous finds:

I found this cute little shelf to go right above my stove.

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Sam got a really cool talking Bumble Bee (as well as several new t-shirts and shorts, but how boring is that to post about).

Seffer's got some spiffy new dino jammies (2 pair!) and a dalmation (all of the kids got to pick out a Beanie Baby out of this HUGE tub of Beanies).

I found these adorable dolls!!! I remember having one just like this when I was little... complete with the ice cream cone. I had actually tried finding one of these for Addie not too long ago and couldn't find one anywhere... how awesome was that to find them today for just $1. It will be a little while before Addie can play with them -- they are about the same size as Aaron.

These capris just might be my favorite purchase of the day. I know they might look just a little boring on the outside.... BUT.... when you open the pockets up.... you just might find..... $51!!!

Yep, that's what I call a good garage saling day!!!

We finished off a super day with Chili-dog Pizza, a favorite meal in our house... then Ad headed out to pick up this new toy:::

I have been watching on Craigslist for several months for just the right one, and I finally found it. I knew I was seriously out of shape, but with our last several bowling trips I have become increasingly aware of this. We got this thing in the house and I went right to work... I put it on the lowest settings at the minimum workout time (10 min.)... and I nearly died half way thru. I am gonna be a buff woman in no time!

I wasn't the only one worn out by the events of the day.

Photo Update

I'm here... just been busy. I started watching 24 recently and I've been hooked... no time for blogging :) Adam took a week off work so we did lots of fun stuff... a trip to the zoo, bowling (twice!), shopping, cleaning (ok... some not so fun stuff too), and just playing.

I love our zoo! One of the first things we did when we moved here was purchase a zoo pass (we got it before we even got our house actually). We have been a ton of times, but each time it's such a different experience. We typically let the boys pick 3 or 4 areas they want to visit, and then we always end with the giraffes and big cats. They are our favorites... along with the monkeys, which we somehow missed seeing this time around. Seth is a major Giraffe Lover. This time we were able to get close enough to them that we could actually reach out and touch them... if it were allowed. It was so cool! We are excited for summer and the Sunset Zoofari (they are open several Wednesday evenings during June and July).

Another awesome thing we did was sign up for free bowling... kidsbowlfree.com. You can choose a participating bowling alley and sign your kids up for 2 free games every day until September (you do have to pay for shoe rental). You can also purchase a family pass for 4 adults ($24)... so guess what we are doing with Grandpa and Grandma when they come in a couple weeks! We've been twice now and let me tell you, it is GOOD EXERCISE! I was so sore after our first visit that I could hardly score the second time around... it was quite embarrassing!

Our little porch has residents again. We have enjoyed watching our little "tweety birds" as Seth calls them... I think they are house finches. I love their song. We had a pigeon kick them out for a while and that was not so pleasant a sound. So Adam blocked the nest until she moved on and our little birdies came back. Unfortunately we did lose 1 little guy, but hopefully the rest will make it thru. It's really not an optimal place to raise a family as our back door gets a LOT of traffic, which scares Momma Birdie away.

It's amazing how much the temperature varies here. We had the air conditioner on just a couple days ago, and today we were back to sweatshirts. I am not complaining though... it was perfect! I have learned that Milwaukee cold is way TOO COLD and Milwaukee hot is way TOO HOT. I like this in between stuff. So, we packed a picnic and headed to the park this evening. It was Adalie's first time swinging (besides on my lap) and she absolutely loved it... she just giggled the whole time. There really isn't much that doesn't thrill her, though. She really is such a happy baby! Aaron loves to swing too, but is really afraid of slides... he won't go near one.

Anyway.... that's what we've been up to.

Fun in the SUN!!

We just couldn't resist... the sun was calling for us today. After church and some yummy BBQ Burgers, we shipped Ad of to work (on call) and got down to some serious water fun. We had the sprinklers hooked up to the slide on the playground and the pool set up for the little ones (though they all ended up in the pool eventually). Adalie had a blast... she is definitely a water baby! We played for quite some time and got everything cleaned up and put away just in time for a nasty thunder/hail storm. These kiddos are so exhausted and should sleep quite well tonight.

A Beautiful Weekend

This past weekend got of to a horrible start. Adam woke up very, very early Saturday morning and was sick as a dog. Our plans to go to the Annual Jackson Rummage went right out the door. I was really bummed about this as I had been excited about going. I love rummaging... and now that we have a big family it's rather difficult to go (lots of driving, unloading, reloading... it's quite the process as you can imagine!). But in Jackson, basically the whole village participates so you can park at the end of a street, load up in the stroller and rummage for hours, sending your husband to the car occasionally to unload the purchases :). Anyway, it just wasn't meant to be this year, which was probably a good thing... we don't really need a bunch more junk, right?!?

Thankfully, Ad's illness didn't hang on too long and he was feeling much better by Sunday. We were able to get a lot of things done around the house... just basic clean-up stuff. We bought Sam a slip-n-slide and he was so eager to try it out. It was a bit chilly for it, but after about the bazillionth time of asking me I finally agreed. It's amazing how different their temperature gauges are... it hardly even phased him. Seth, on the other hand, practically turned blue and had enough after just one slide :)

Adam tackled another project... with a little help from the boys. He sanded down his rusty bumper and repainted it. I don't have pictures of the finished product, but it looks so nice. The boys love it when Ad works out in the garage... they are able to ride bikes and roller blade in the alley and build things with the wood scraps in the garage. Adalie, Aaron and I took walks around the block in the wagon and just really enjoyed being out and about.

Another highlight of the weekend was finally making it to the library. Sam, Seth, and I all got library cards and many, many books. When we grabbed our piles of books to head to the checkout, Aaron decided he needed his own as well. So he got 2 little board books and I let him put them on the checkout thingy himself and carry them to the car. He was so proud and walked with a big bounce in his step... it was so adorable and just one of those moments you wish you could remember forever. It's so funny how the little things they do can just melt your heart like that :)

It was really just an ordinary weekend but definitely a beautiful one! It was a bummer to send Ad back to work, but we get to look forward to next week... he's taking the whole week off! We just realized a few days ago that he has 13 days off to take before July so we are going to be seeing a lot of him over the next month.... yay!!!

Photo Update

So, it's been a while... just thought I'd give you a quick little update on the kiddos:

SAM:

~is finished with 1st grade (yahoo. for everyone!).

~finally has a loose tooth... kinda.

~has a permanent tooth coming in behind his baby tooth.

~got homework from the dentist... to wiggle his bottom front teeth out (or he'll take them out at the next appt. in 6 months).

~reached the 50" mark and will be as tall as Mom before we know it (sigh!).

~is perfecting his roller blading skills.

SETH:

~is a very creative swinger (if that's even a word).

~has a sweet tooth that has caused him lots of grief recently (marshmallows and juice boxes keep randomly disappearing from our pantry).

~will eat any nearly any vegetable off my cutting board before dinner, but refuses to eat them served on his plate during dinner.

~is constantly telling me he loves me.

~gives the biggest hugs after a spanking.

AARON:

~is as attached to his "kiki" as ever (blankie... in case you were wondering)

~is really enjoying the outdoors and would spend every waking moment out there if he could.

~is fascinated by all little creatures (squirrels, neighbor's dog, ladybugs, etc.).

~has hair that would make most high school boys jealous.

~learned how to propel himself on the rocket glider.

~loves splashing in water... no matter how nasty or muddy it is, or how cold it will make him afterward.

ADALIE:

~loves to empty everything... the trash, cupboards, toilet paper tubes, recycling bin.

~loves basking in the sun and romping through the grass... if the doors open she's trying to get out there.

~had her first taste of a drumstick, though it was just a little too cold for her liking (didn't stop her though).

~likes to eat wipes (which she must have gotten from her cousin Eden somehow, cuz I have never heard of this before).

~makes the cutest little fishy lips.

~is now drinking some formula from a bottle and absolutely LOVES it.

P.S. I noticed going through my photos that the number of photos increases as we go down the list... this kindof disproves Adam's theory that the 4th born is somehow neglected. It's really based on who I can keep up with the best, obviously Addie wins... for now.