Brave Girl

This video I caught this morning with my phone, so it's poor quality and a little hard to see, but it was too cute not to share.

We were up and running early this morning, and had breakfast with Kevin before he goes out of town for the weekend. So after that we hit the play area at the mall so I could drink some coffee. We had it to ourselves since it was early and it was so great.

Adison is just so much more adventurous than Cole was at that age and she is game to try almost anything. So she climbed up the little soft slide structure, and to my surprise, remembered to get herself on her tummy and down she went! She had a blast, they both did and it was a fun way to get our day started.

Christmas Craft #2

In between projects that I need to do, I'm letting myself slip in projects I want to do, like this little fabric christmas tree. I found the tutorial via a link on another crafty site. I'm totally addicted to these places...

Anyway, we were up with the chickens this morning, and so after a trip to the play area at the mall (WAY before it opened...) it ended up being an early quiet time / nap time. I whipped this little cutie up in about 15 minutes. I was going to stack them on the mantle, but now I think I'll thread up through it and maybe hang a few from the celing? Or make a few larger versions and put those on the mantle. Or maybe the fire place. In typical Sarah fashion, I'm ready to make a ton of them.

Christmas Crafts

I have a list a mile long (and thanks to all these amazing craft blogs out there, it keeps getting longer...) of christmas crafts I want to do this year.

Today we started with something very simple and fun. Cole and I picked up pine cones one sunny day in September and put them in a bag for safe keeping. So when he asked to paint today, I thought it'd be the perfect time to go ahead and get them out and paint them. I'll attach ribbon to them and hang them on our tree when it goes up, hopefully tomorrow.


For Cole, half the fun is in cleaning up afterwards.

Something new

My friend Lynn and I had our 2nd babies a few weeks apart. So for Brooke's birthday a few months ago, I made her a little lounge set, only the pants didn't work.

I tried again. It didn't work again. I think I need to switch patterns.

Determined to give this poor girl a present, I tried a skirt I'd seen instructions for online a few months ago. I'd had it bookmarked and set aside to make for Adison sometime. So I decided to make one for Brooke and used it as a guideline and kind whipped it up. It turned out really cute, and I tried it on Adison and I'm so taken with it, I'm ready to make her a batch of skirts. Thanks to Brooke and Lynn who waited almost 2 months for her entire present....

Over the River and Through the woods...

...to Grandaddy's tree farm we go. When Fletcher sold the farm last year, I immediately knew I'd miss the tradition of getting our christmas tree from them on thanksgiving day. But Fletcher always seems to have something up his sleeve, and so it really didn't come as a surprise to me that he had land in the mountains with christmas tree's growing on it.

All of us (Scott, Jenny & fam; David and the boys, Fletcher & Nancy) packed up and drove up there and picked out our trees. It truly was the most fun. What a great memory.

Ryan cutting down their three.

Adam, Leah & Cole

Our tree. Which still isn't up in the house...a rare change in our usual schedule of getting it up fast.

Adison and Nana

Kevin and Cole. I can't remember what was going on here exactly, but Cole got a little tree to put in his room and he was definately excited about it.

Spillman Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in the mountains this year, staying at Kevin's parents mountain home and eating at his uncle Charles's family house there. It was just a great day all around. Beautiful drive -- I'm beginning to catch mountain fever.

Charles & Carolyn had a wonderful place with lots of room for all the kiddies to run around and that's exactly what they did. The weather was mild enough to allow them to do that. But the next day when we left it was snowing....honestly, I think I'd move up there tomorrow just for that.

Cole and Fletcher Allen looking through binoculars.

Adison & Grandaddy

Kids looking at the stream

Mattix Thanksgiving

We celebrated thanksgiving with Mom & Dad and Micah and Carine the saturday before thanksgiving. Mom had told me she was making her famous lasagna, and so I had been fasting the entire day in preparation.

They are making wonderful use of their pretty new home, and she had all the tables lined up and set with the blue dishes. We really enjoyed the night, eating until were stuffed; it was a nice evening together.

Guy Time

This is another picture that's been sitting on the computer for awhile waiting for me to write about it. We decided to have a garage sale, about 6:00 one evening when we saw that our neighbors across the streed were gearing up for one. So we did some quick sorting in the outside storage unit and Kevin really did all of the work.

I caught Kevin and Cole chatting outside. They do this often, after they've finished "the job" (which is basically any task Kevin has to do that requires a tool). And I have to say, sometimes I am a bit jealous. I think in the busy-ness of motherhood I don't often remember or make time to just sit and talk. We're always trying to get somewhere or get home, or get something done and I feel like these moments might be slipping through my fingers. Cole seems to be getting older every day and with his new little hair cut he certainly looks the part too.

She has Good Taste

This picture is a few weeks old, but I was distracted helping Kevin with something and I put my mocha down for a minute. When I came back to the play room, I'd discover that I hadn't put it high enough. She had a good taste of it, it looks like. And it was luke warm (at best....I guess it was a busy morning).

Last Time....

Ok, I promise this is the last time I mention these, but my sweet Kevin let me lock myself in my sewing room saturday afternoon / evening and work away on these. The result are 6 cute options that are up and running at Babes & Mums. It was so so fun to just sit and work on them and be in my little room, looking out the window as I worked. I'm so gratefull for that little space -- as are Bou & Irbe, particularly Irbe who insisted on being in there with me. :)

Christmas Version

I got my coffee this morning (for my brother reading this, we really do make our espresso at home, almost every day, but Kevin left early this morning. What? You want me to make it myself??) Starbuck's had changed to their Christmas cups. Which of course got me to thinking how cute this Christmas fabric I had would look around the cup!

So here it is. A little change, I used a polyester batting instead of cotton. We'll see how it washes up, but so far I like the feel of it better, just a tad more study and it quildted easier. I'll let you know, whether you want to know or not beause I love these little things and I. Can. Not. Stop.

Bye Bye Brown

**Update::Here's a pic of it with my coffee, and I'm even more crazy about it now. It's probably the double shot of espresso talking, but I'm totally itching to make a ton of these. Pending a cycle through the washer to see how it holds up, I think I'm going to try to put a bunch of these on my website in time for Christmas gifts.**

About a year ago I saw this cute little coffee thing made out of cool fabrics that replaces that boring brown thing. Well! Isn't that cute, I thought. I bought them as gifts for family, friends...and I wanted one too but never ordered myself one.

Walking around Joann Fabrics a week ago, I just happened to see a little kit including a pattern for the same thing! So I bought it, threw it on my sewing table and there it sat.

So tonight, after mapping out a plan for the projects I have going sewing and otherwise, I decided to go ahead and whip it up. Of course, every simple project takes me twice as long the first time...but it was so fun to work on and it was a nice departure from things I have to do. I love how it turned out, and I'll have to spend a week testing it out and maybe it will make it into my little website.

I now have something so much prettier to put around my Starbuck's cup tomorrow.

Cold Weather Staple

I was at Wal-Mart this week, and I haven't shopped there for groceries in long time. But I would come to find my absolute favorite cereal was back on the shelves for the winter. Malt-O-Meal hot cereal is one grew up with and I absolutely love it. When I was in Chicago at Moody, hating the cafeteria food I survived on Malt-O-Meal.

It's not carried very often here. It used to be at the Winn Dixie before it shut down. Then I found it at the Wal Mart at the beach a few years ago and stocked up. Last winter I had to order it online from the Malt-O-Meal website. So you can imagine (or many you can't...) my excitement when I saw this staring down on me from the top shelf of the cereal isle. And just when you don't think it can get any better, 25% more, FREE! I had it for lunch that afternoon. Here's my recipe for the perfect bowl:

1. Heat according to instructions in the microwave.

2. Dump in brown sugar until the cereal turns from gold to light brown.

3. Stir in enough milk to make it creamy.

4. Eat with a tall glass a milk.

Adison's First Birthday

A few weeks after her birthday, and we finally had her party. It just so happened the entire family was in town, which is such a treat when that happens, so we were able to have the WHOLE clan in town: 10 adults and 9 kids, it's so much fun to have everyone together.

Kevin put the leaves he just piled up in the back yard, which was a great idea. The kids jumped and played in them. There was hockey and checking, running and screaming, all while the birthday girl napped away. But she finally made her grand entrance, ready to be the special guest. She was dressed in her party dress I bought months ago, complete with a matching bracelet one of my best friends made for her when she was born. It just happened to match the dress perfectly and fit just right.






For birthday cake we had ice cream, as it's one of the few things she'll take more than 6 bites of. :) Then it was off to presents. Her cousins made her all sorts of sweet presents, a little cross, a stick to shake (I suggested at the doggies; turns out I'd find out Cole was paying attention and did just that the next day), and a bundle of sticks tied together like a star -- and painted, with nail polish! They were so excited to share what they'd done for her and it was fun to see their hard work. She also added to her closet stash with some cute outfits and shoes! It was a great party and even more special that everyone could be there.






Look at all these girls!

Finally Fall

While most parts of the country are heading into winter, it finally feels like fall here. Crisp mornings, cool afternoons, plenty of sunshine and the leave are coming down in the bunches.

Kevin got out the blower to round up the leaves in the front yard and Cole was on hand to help -- and by help I mean run through Kevin's pile and do his best to undo whatever Kevin could gather. It's hard to stop him, though. I remember doing it in our back yard when we were growing up and it's one of those memories I think every kid has.

So here he is enjoying himself.




Even Adison got a chance in the leaves (in her new red hat).

Time for Red

Halloween is officially over, and of course all the Christmas stuff is out in the stores. Actually, it was out before Halloween was even over. And while this used to annoy me, I've decided this year to embrace it. I have a list of felt crafts a mile long I want to plow through in November, and the stockings I promised my mom I would finish (last year.....but this year for sure). And it all revolves around one of my favorite colors: red.

I really do love red, even though I don't wear it all the time. It's a happy, cheery color and I do like to get as much use out of it as I can during the holidays. So when I spotted this dress in the Hanna Andersson catalog I just absolutely fell in love with it. I had seen it a few years ago, before I had Adison and thought it was just the perfect winter/christmas dress for a little girl. I think I'll keep my eye on it. I just ordered her winter wardrobe this week since she had nothing and it has lots of red in it...this might just complete it. :)


picture from Hanna Andersson