no workign camera, and attempts to potty train

I may have mentioned this, but my camera's not well! I think Hazel "ate" it and did something to the screen. I can still take pictures but I can't see anything so 98% of the shots I have tried to take are blurry. Seriously how did people do it in the age before digital? I am going to go buy a disposable for my trip to my family and get everything on CD so I can store it (and share it with you) but in the meantime, I am sorry!

I don't think I have told you this either, but I have been SO GOOD about keeping up with photo albums thus far in the girls lives. I am sure one day I will say I failed to keep up but at the moment, not only do I have every picture (up until R's birthday) printed, in an album, and I get the albums that have two pics/page with a little space to write something...yuppers there's a story near every picture. True some stories are "oh silly girl" or "another fun bath" but still. Just FYI, Costco, when you print 500+ pictures the price drops by two cents a print (I think to $0.09 instead of $0.11) I tend to go several months, buy 1-2 cute photo albums, print oodles of pictures and take an afternoon to put them in and write, usually while watching chick flicks and make it something special for me instead of a task to do.

Totally unrelated, potty training. Regina will be in preschool in Aug, so she has to be at least well on the path by then. Someone told me that they had their son nakie bum for a week and he was mostly trained. la te da, I go home and give it a shot when I have three days off in a row. Wow, she's not left any accidents all over the house, she sits on the potty, tinkles here and there, no poops but whatever we are making progress...so I think! Turns out she would go, put a diaper (pull up) on when I wasn't looking, do her stuff, and hide the diaper in her closet under her hamper. HAHAHAHA!!! I told my friend this and she said "well, at least she knows when she has to go..." and I said "the best part of this is I can tell this story at her wedding!" I know she will do it in her own time and I can encourage and motivate but I can't force.

H on the other end is not quite strong enough to walk, but her new favorite game is to stand up, find her balance, have you let go and fall (but you catch her before she falls) you should hear the giggles from that one.

I have been sewing like a maniac, but nothing to show for it! How does that happen? Eh, one day it will all come together and I can brag and boast about my stuff!!

junes fnsi

Remind me to get a sitter for at least a few hours on Fridays during Friday Night Sew in! I didn't get any actual SEWING in, but I did work on my counted cross stitch while H ate grass (yes I kept taking it out of her mouth but did I take her out of the lawn? no!) and R ran around with her soccer ball, and I tried to not interfere when she got stuck...ok it was the ball that was technically stuck, but silly little girl couldn't move without her ball, so she was "stuck" too! I can't find the charger to the camera or I would have done before FNSI/after FNSI pics. I have the second bear on my birth announcement for R! cross stitch almost done. I think I have the dress and the flowers totally done, so just the bear's head and hand and hat!

R and I also worked on A's Fathers Day present. We are taking some Simpson's Fleece fabric that he bought himself ages ago and some blue I had on had and doing that tie/knot double fleece blanket thing. I am thinking about doing some quiting of the two layers, maybe in 10" intervals...debating between using the machine and making squares or finding some matching floss and tieing the layers together. We washed the fabrics last night and cleaned up the living room (which has to be done again and vacuumed AGAIN before we lay the fabrics out tonight!

Just over one week until I see my family!! And the Pacific Northwest Historics! WAHOO!!!

little tidbits

I am now the proud mother of a four year old.

Oh my how time goes by! I have been meaning to get a post up about her, all about her and how interesting she is right now, but I decided to write her a letter and put it in her "Special Box" so I've been working on that and will take some things out from there and show you some pictures of her throughout her life so far...so it might be she's 4 and a month before I get it all together!

In the meantime I wanted to let you know my favorite quilt company (patterns) has split into two! I now have TWO favorites! There's Crazy Old Ladies (who if the pictures are correct are neither crazy nor old) and now Ribbon Candy (see I am their first "follower"!) I am excited to see what they each do!

Lastly, I will be going with the girls in a few weeks to see my family, and I am SO EXCITED!!! So excited. We will be going to the Pacific Northwest Historics, where I basically grew up as a kid (both this specific event and the SOVREN race group's other events) and will be able to see people I have not seen in at least four maybe even five years! If anyone is in the Seattle area the weekend of the 4th of July, come on out to Pacific Raceways and check it out. The proceeds all go to Seattle Children's Hospital, and you know how much I love that place.

I am off to read some more before H wakes up and R gets back from a playdate!

no sewing=crabby lisa!

I have not sewn in over a week! Holy smokes no wonder I have been crabby!!

Have I told you I hired someone to take the girls out on adventures once a week for two hours (plus, if the event entails) so I can have some "me" time. Ahhh. Mind you I LOVE my girls (can you tell?) but I need some down time. The great thing about A and my schedules is one of us is ALWAYS home with the girls, the down side is it's usually just one of us. He gets their quieter times, I get the rambunctious time plus the night time battles. After a month or two of getting more and more irritable because I am never alone, not at work, not at home, heck right now not even in my sleep! (Regina's been having nightmares/night terrors/sleep talking so I moved her into my room on the floor for the time being but she somehow ends up in bed with me most night.)

R LOVES her, she cried the first time our gal left, and H warmed right up to her too, since H is going through stranger anxiety right now I took that as a very good sign. H even let our gal carry her! She was sick this week so I couldn't sew any!

That means that a) I didn't get to last months apq blocks (AUGH I KNOW! NAUGHTY NAUGHTY!!!) b) didn't make this months blocks c) I didn't get to quilting R's Dora quilt for her birthday present from me and d) mom is CRABBBBBYYYY!!!

The good news is I have the next three days off to clean and get the house ready for R's birthday and maybe sew.

So please forgive me Karen and Ruth, and hopefully I will not be late again. I can't guarantee I won't cut it close but hey, I have 2 hours (+) a week to sew now!


oh. p.s. At my lunch at work I've been reading, LOVE the Janet Evanovich series! and I just started The 19th Wife, so far I am interested. I might even read in bed tonight when R is sleeping on my floor/bed.

p.ps thanks for the comments about the girls and memorial day! I hope we can do it again next year, and I was so proud of R for using her own allowance AND thinking of her sister!

memorial day

I am on my way to bed, we have been doing some rearranging of furniture (ughhh) and I don't have a chair for my sewing desk now (was sharing the computer chair with my sewing table but it doesn't fit through the bedroom door...I'll have to show you were it is soon)

In the meantime I wanted to show you how we celebrated Memorial Day. At A's Dad's grave (he was in the navy for 8 years I think)

R bought the pinwheels with her allowance ($3/week until next week when it becomes $4! One for spending, one for saving and one for sharing...will be two for saving) The big one's from R and the small one is from H (as clarified by R), the flowers are from A and I, and the Fort did flags for everyone.

I am off to read the rest of my book or as far as I can until I fall asleep and then hit up some second hand stores tomorrow for a chair. I want an old style dining room table chair that I can repaint and recover sort of like this one.