Slacker!!!

Yes that term describes me when it comes to the blog...however, not when it comes to life in general. I've been sewing up a strom. Playing with the new WALKER that I call my Bear, and overall just enjoying our life. In less than 2 weeks the little Bear will be 1. I can't believe I just typed that. It seems that not to long ago i was just posting a 2 months post, or a 5 months post...and I'm fixing to have to type a 12 month post....

She is more amazing every single day. And I am so blessed to have her as my daughter...this is short and sweet I know, but here is a couple of pictures, so you can see how amazing she is for yourself....love to you all...

Happy Tuesday... :)

One of these days I will be able to keep up with this...*sigh* I have so much to write about, but never seem to have much time to get it all out there.

I just posted a post that I had written almost a month ago. I'm sure at the time there was more to say, but hey I got out what I could. Right now the Bear is asleep so I thought I'd see what I could share with everyone now...

My dad is officially moved in. We have found him a place to build his boat. It's only about 5 miles from our house so that's nice. We have moved some of our things out there for storage just so we could have some extra room :) It has been so much fun having my dad around. He is retired, so he doesn't have to go to work. It makes my days seem less lonely at home. We get to do simple things together, like go to Costco, and the grocery store...and he'll run errands with me so I don't have to take the baby out all the time.

It's been a bit different trying to adjust, but we are really getting the hang of it. Dad doesn't take up much space, and he is just using the guest room and the guest bath. Which we weren't using anyways. He does his fair share around the house. We don't expect anything but he does LOVE to cook, so he usually cooks 3-4 meals a week for us, and I cook the rest of the time. It sure has saved on our "going out to eat" bill. He does the dishes most nights which is nice. But most of all it's just nice to have him there. I know he's safe...not like he can't take care of himself, but I worry. He's had a quintuple bypass almost 10 years ago, and several shunts put in in recent years. So it's nice to have him close in case he needs something. He also is suffering from the results of getting red mold...so the breathing isn't the best...but he does really well. He has slowly improved over the years :)

Tori is loving having Grandpa there. He gets down on the floor with her and plays...she pulls on his shorts while he's on the couch to tempt him to "tickle" her. It's so much fun to watch!!! I'm just glad he's here :)

Now on to the Bear...she's getting SOOOOOOOOO BIG!!! She'll be 10 months in 4 days. So hard to believe. She crawls like there is no tomorrow, pulls up on everything, stands by herself, and is cruising around holding on to the wall and the couches. I foresee her walking before she is 1 or by the time she is 1. She's got 2 months to get there. She's got a mouthful of teeth, and knows how to use them. She's eating tiny pieces of meat, all veggies, yogurt (her absolute favorite food), cheese cubes, all fruit that is not citrus, and loves to "share" Grandpa's ice cream. She is self feeding snacks. But I refuse to turn her loose with the spoon just yet. I did once and we had mashed potatoes in her hair, eyelids, my hair, the floor, the wall, you name it, there was potatoes. So for now, we stick with the diced foods... She says "da da", "ma ma", and "hi". She knows who we are and will call to us with her arms up. She waves and says "hi" to people when you ask her too. She's really starting to love books. She loves books with shapes and animals. She can handle "story time" for about 15 mins now. Then she looses her focus...For simple words, we are teaching her the Spanish version has well. Slowly I think I am learning them too. I have my list that Vic has written down for me. And I go by it. We just keep adding to it. And I repeat everything in English then Spanish...or sometimes Spanish then English. Daddy is better at it than me, but I'm trying :)

Other than that, things are really going great. We pulled the carpet out of the living room and hallway. Laid tile down. I bought new curtains that are hung, but I still need to hem them :( In a couple of weeks we will be pulling out the vinyl in the kitchen and putting new tile down in there as well. It's a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work too. I'm still on the prowl for rugs for my living room. I had bought some, but they have since been returned, they just didn't "do it" for me. :( Oh well, such is life.

Well that's all for now...here are a couple of pictures of Bear....

Yes I am a slacker once again...but I have good reason...LACK OF SLEEP!!!! Little Miss Thing is becoming such a big girl. She now has her 2 bottom teeth in. However they are still bothering her. And the top ones are on their way. We can see them, they are on the verge of pushing right on through. Two teeth in less than a week is a lot for a little one to handle. I'm just happy that she hasn't been running a fever. She's just been wanting to gnaw on everything, and a little fussy. Nothing that a little bit of Tylenol/Motrin won't fix. After about 20 mins, she's as good as new again.

It's hard to believe that this month she will be turning 9 months. I don't know where the time has gone at all. My baby is getting so big. She's crawling, pulling up, and starting to "let go" to stand by herself. She can last for about 10-15 seconds, and then she falls down/ or sits down. She cruises around the couch and her crib. It's adorable...

I haven't gotten much sewing done :( I did make her a little skirt last Friday... It was something simple, but yet a lot of work...hrmm that sounds like an oximoron comment. It's a little Knife Pleat Skirt. It has an elastic waistband. I have made her a matching T-Shirt as well. I cut her initial out of the same fabric, and appliqued it to the front. I need to get a picture of the shirt. But for now, here's a picture of the skirt. I also did a French seam on the inside. It is tucked into one of the pleats so it's hidden. I was so proud of it. Here's a picture of the seam. Just and fyi, a french seam is a seam that is incased in itself. So there is no raw edge material showing. The waist was folded over, then I applied single folded bias tape to the raw edge and stitched it down to make a casing for the elastic. It's simple but it did the trick.

My Bear….

Just of the Bear….she amazes me every single day….and she’s getting so big and trying to be independent!!!! 

She’s already scheming against us!!!!

Now we all know that there is absolutely NO reason to SLEEP!!!

This picture is one of my favorites…I know she looks a little washed out, but there’s just something about it…makes my heart just melt…..

Better Late Than Never….

As promised here are a couple of pictures that I took at my cousin Rick’s wedding…..Enjoy….

This is my little sister, Amanda, and her significant other, Nick.

Tori, with her Great Uncle Larry

Tori, with her Great Aunt Karen

This is the groom, my cousin Rick

The groom (far left), and the groomsmen.  The gentleman 3rd from the left is Rick’s brother, TJ

Nicole getting ready to walk the isle

Nicole and her Dad walking in…

  Joy, Rick’s mom, reading a passage…

Mr.. & Mrs.. Rick Dyer, Jr.

This is my favorite picture of all…..I love it!!!

There are more pictures, but blogspot is being a pain, and it’s not letting me upload…grr!!!!

Yes I'm a Slacker :|

Well hello everyone!!! I know long time know update. My apologies. We have all been good. Babybear turned 6 months old on the 12th of this month. I totally can't believe that she is that old. I wonder where the time has gone.

The Bear is doing wonderfully. She now rolls over and over and over...she sits up by herself. She talks like there is no tomorrow (must get that from Nana), she love to play in the water. She now LOVES to be on her tummy, she will spend hours in her Exersaucer and Baby Einstein Jumper, she eats solids twice a day and loves them, she loves all of her vegetables (thank you Lord), she enjoys standing up on her legs and bouncing, overall, she's just AMAZING!!! God has blessed me with an amazing child to call mine....

In other news, my nephew turned 1 on April 23rd, Victor and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on the same day. I can't believe it's been that long, seems just like a couple of months. I'm very fortunate to have a supportive, kind, caring and loving husband/father for my child. I've been working at the sign shop 2 days a week. I take Bear with me, then at lunch time I zoom over to my sister's and drop her off. She likes being with her cousins. And it gives me some time to get other work done that can't be done at the computer. I'm learning the sign program and it is really cool. I've done a couple of quotes, weeded vinyl, designed a door sign, and some other odds & ends. Once again thank God I have a wonderful friend.

Well anyways, here's a couple of pictures to pass the time through

Tori outside in her exersaucer, the 2nd one is what happens when Daddy gets home from work...she's all smiles.

Over at Nana's house....this is a swing that is a hammock. It's AWESOME. And the baby loves it as you can see.

On our way to the mall...I bought her a new umbrella stroller. She really enjoys it...and like the bright colors to boot. :)

And last but not least, this is the Birthday Cake I made for my nephew Brandon... It's all home made, from the cake batter to the butter cream icing, and hand piped by yours truly :)

Happy Monday :)

I hope that everyone had a great Easter.  Our weekend was spent with friends and family.  Good times were had by all.

On Friday the hubby and I didn’t do much.  We stayed at home and just relaxed.  Not to eventful.  But it’s a good way to wind down after a hectic week.

On Saturday, the morning was spent finishing up lose ends.  But that night we went over to Steve & Sandy’s house for dinner.  It was so much fun.  Sandy fixed a wonderful dinner (stuffed chicken breasts with pasta alfredo & brocoli).  I was so glad that they got to see the baby.  They hadn’t seen her in a while.  She got good cuddles from her uncle Steve, and lots of hugs from cousin Summer.  (They are not related to us by blood or marriage, they are just amazing people.  To the point that if something was to ever happen to Vic and I, they are the ones we have asked to take care of Tori.)  It was just so nice to spend time with such wonderful friends.

On Easter, it was up at the crack of dawn and to church.  Then afterwards we went out to brunch, then over to my mom’s house.  It was a really nice time.  Here is a picture of my mom and the girls.

The yellow you see behind them is so beautiful…I thought it was honeysuckle but I’m not sure.  It smells wonderful as well.

Here’s a picture of just the girls together. We tried to get a picture of all 3 of them together, however PB (Brandon) wanted nothing to do with it.  So that was a missed shot.

And here’s a picture of me and my gorgeous Angelbear.  Ugg, I love the picture but goodness I need to start exercising again :(

Well I couldn’t post picture w/o posting one of my PB.  Here he is with his Nana (my mom)  I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Well that was out weekend….but I do have some good news to share, that we (hubby and I) are really excited about.  I am so blessed to have the friends that I do.  God is so good to us.  And this opportunity could not have come at a better time.

On Saturday night, while over at Steve & Sandy’s, they inform us, that one of our friends had left the business.  She answered the phones, did paperwork, invoiced for him, things of that nature.  I was really sad to hear that she had left.  Steve knows my background, and knows what I am capable of doing, and asked if I would be interested in working 2 days a week.  At first I thought he was joking.  But he wasn’t, he was for real.  The best part about it though,  I can take Tori to work with me!!! I will not have to leave her in a daycare.  I can take the swing and pack-n-play and set up shop.  I had been wanting to find a pt job, but did not want to put the baby in daycare.  And I can’t say I wanted to work on the weekends, because that is our family time.  This works out so perfectly.  God is so good.  I am so blessed with the people that I have in my life….

So as of tomorrow, I will be back to work.  I can wear jeans and a t-shirt, tennis shoes, I can take my child with me, what more could I ask for….oh, and the pay is good too :)

I’ll report tomorrow night how it all went….until then….  

Easter Dresses…

They are finished…over and done with.  That’s all she wrote.  I put the final stitch in the dresses this morning.  Yes I know I was procrastinating, but they are done and that is all that matters.  They turned out cute.  I let Ali pick out the fabric.  Not something I would have chosen for an Easter dress but she liked it.  I was hoping she would have picked something softer so I could have made dresses with big white collars and lace.  But it’s just as well that she didn’t.  These were fun to sew. 

Tori’s took me about 4 hours.  That’s cutting and sewing.  And about 30 minutes for the hem.  It was nice not to have to under stitch the bodice.  Hers was a simple finish with single fold bias-tape. 

Ali’s…well hers is a different story all together.  Ali is like a bean pole.  Same measurement all the way down.  Needless to say because she is so tall I have to make a longer skirt.  But then she also need the bigger bodice because she needs the length in that too, but a smaller size for around her bodice.  Needless to say, there were a lot of alterations.  But the finished outcome is simple and pretty.  And it looks cute on her. 

Here a couple of pictures of the dresses.  I’ll post updated ones tomorrow when the girls have them on.

 

 

Ali’s dress.  There’s a zipper in the back and the ribbon ties in a bow in the back.  

 

 

 

 

 

Tori’s Dress has a zipper in the back.  She’ll wear hers with a white sweater.

 

 

 

And just a parting shot.  Here’s a pic of Miss Thing as I surprised her with the camera, and then got down on her level.  Drool and all, she’s an amazing little girl!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Another weekend come and gone….

Happy Monday everyone.  This weekend seemed to fly by for some reason.  Although it seemed short it was packed with much fun. 

Friday I went shopping for food for the baby.  I decided that beings I am able to stay at home, there is no reason why I can’t make Tori’s baby food.  It bothers me when I look at baby food labels and see other things in them.  And when she gets older and I can start mixing a couple of flavors, I want the taste to be true.  I don’t want everything to taste like carrots or sweet potatoes, which unfortunately that’s what baby food seems to always taste like.  I’ve already made her steamed carrots, and she DEVOURED THEM!!!  So on Friday I made the following:  applesauce, pear sauce, green beans, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, and squash.  They all were steamed on the stove, so no microwave used, and the only thing added to them was nursery water.  Which I used to steam them, and to thin them back out.   And just to make sure that I approved of the flavor, I tasted them all too, and they taste pretty darn good :)  It was a little time consuming but my freezer is now stocked full of baby food cubes.

On Saturday, we got up early and it was so beautiful outside, we decided to take the baby to the park for a nice walk.  Off to McAllister Park we went.  We went for a little over 2 hours and she loved it.  We walked almost 6 miles.  My legs are a little sore but it was so much fun.  Here are a couple of pictures of our adventure.This is Daddy with his little girl, we are just getting started on the trek.. We were blessed with the song of the Cardinals…This is a picture of the path that we walk on….it’s so peaceful, you have the birds singing, and several deer actually passed by us.  Not startled by our presence at all, just in their element.The rustic railings to keep us on the path and not go down into the small gulley.    This is what happened at about mile 3…she had seen enough, and fell fast asleep..but we continued on.But when it was all over with, we had a very happy little girl who got to experience the outdoors with her parents!!!

Okay so that was my Saturday morning…that afternoon, the baby and I went over to Nana’s house (my mom) and helped her tear down a shed in her backyard.  Yeah I’m sore, and my arms and legs hurt, but it was a great accomplishment.

Sunday, was up early for church.  Then after church it was time to run errands and then back to the house to relax.  We rented a couple of movies and just enjoyed time together.  I FINALLY got to watch Slumdog Millionaire, what an amazing movie.  We both really enjoyed it….

Now it’s Monday morning/afternoon and it’s time for all the house work to get done.  I’ve already cleaned the kitchen and done the laundry, now I have to just fold a couple of loads and then I’m free for the day.  Life is good…no life is great….

Spring Flowers…

Wow 2 posts in 2 days.  I guess I’m back to my old self again.  Or at least I hope I am.  I actually really missed writing.  It seems like I would sit down to write a post and then get pulled away.  It happens, but still I need to make time for the things that I enjoy doing.

When my dad was visiting he said I needed to brighten up the house.  And I whole heartedly agree, however I do not have a green thumb, more like black.  I am the one who can kill water ivy.  Don’t ask me how, but I can do it….anyways, yesterday Victor and Angelbear and I went to Wal-Mart to see what we could find.  We actually did pretty good.  I bought 2 deck planters, some potting soil, and flowers.  I knew I had to get something that had yellow beings Tori LOVES the color yellow, so I ended up with beautiful Marigolds. 

But this would only be enough to fill up 1 of the planter boxes.  So I was on a mission to find another pretty flower.  I really didn’t know what I wanted.  But lo and behold I found these awesome purple Petunias.  I think they are are really pretty.  Usually purple petunias are solid dark purple, or they are dark purple with white veins.  These and just different.  And I love them.  So here is the finished project.  I really like the way it turned out.

The baby liked being outside while we were planting.  She was just a squealing….she loves the outdoors.  One minute she was just talking away, and the next…….Lights out

While we were out yesterday, we decided it was time to refill our bird feeder.  We’re hoping to be able to sit outside at night and just relax.  The past years we’ve had Cardinals, Sparrows, Blue-Jays, Mockingbirds, Red Robins, Doves, and others that I have no idea what they were.  We haven’t had feed in the feeder in about 9 months, and didn’t know if the birds would return or not.  But we went ahead and bought the feed and were hopeful. When I opened the front door this morning, I had such a nice surprise.  There were birds on the feeder.  I ran back and got my camera, and when I returned there was only one remaining.  It’s a little bit blurry because I was shooting through the glass door.  But overall, it’s really not that bad of a picture.  I’m happy to see that they have found the food. 

Overall, we had a pretty great weekend.  And we got something accomplished.  I’m currently looking into getting some tomato plants and planting them in buckets and setting them on the ground side of the deck.  This way I will be able to stake them to the deck railing.  I’m a tomato person.  Love them with fresh mozza, basil, & olive oil.  There truly is nothing better than a home grown tomato.  Their flavor is AMAZING.  We’ll see if I can make it happen……..

Well that’s all for now.  It’s Monday, and that means house work.  I need to get back to it.  I’ve already gotten laundry done, the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded, and I’ve vacuumed.  Now I just have to pick up a couple of things, and I’m done for the day…talk to you all soon….

It's been way to long!!!

Wow....I've been gone awhile...well not really gone, just not writing much. A lot has been going on these past several weeks.

The baby turned 4 months on March 12. On Easter she'll be 5 months and it blows my mind. I can't believe she is getting so big. She is such a blessing to have and be around. She's changing so much every day.

On March 16, we took her for her 4month shots and check-up. She's growing like a weed!!!! She was 14.5lbs and 25.5 inches. She's perfect in all aspects!!! The doctor was very pleased with her growth and development. Nothing to worry about in the least. She's still a breastfeed baby. No formula, and the doctor was glad for that. We got the go ahead for her rice cereal. Surprisingly she was really good with the spoon. No messiness at all really. Her shots were fine and just a couple of seconds worth of crying. She's so brave!!!!

So after a great appointment, our day turned BAD. My mom needed a ride home from work Monday afternoon 'cause her car was in the shop. We left the house and all was good, then when we were in the exit lane, we got hit by a truck. It scared the baby and she got a bump on her head. Victor got a sprained back. But the worse part was my poor little box...Over 5K worth of damage!!!! I'm just so thankful that the other part will be picking up the tab beings it was his fault. God is good!!!! He saved us from any major hurts and my car is being fixed.

The other awesome thing that happened was my dad came in from Alabama!!!! I hadn't seen him in several years. He stayed with my little sister for a smidge over a week and with me about 4 nights. It was so glad to have him here. I miss him so very much, and wish he was closer. Tori loved seeing her Grandpa. He would make these funny noises (whistling kind of) at her and she would just smile at him. (think CHEEZWHIZ smile). We had fun times while he was here, and so sad to see him have to go back to Alabama. Hopefully he can come back soon.

While my dad was here, we went and visited my grandmother (Dad's mom) up in Austin. It was neat to have 4 generations in the same room. We were able to take some amazing pictures as well. Here are a couple so you can see us all.

Four Generations (Bottom Row: Grandma, Ali, Amanda (my sister), Brandon Top Row: Me, Tori, my Dad)

Family Picture: Everyone from above, plus my Husband (left) Victor, my Aunt Lavon, and Nick (my sister's significant other) (not pictured, my Uncle Lee, he was the photographer)

This is my Grandma, my Aunt Lavon, and my Uncle Lee

Other than that things are pretty much the same....oh Tori has gotten her first real taste of big girl food. On Friday I mashed (read pureed) a banana in my mini chopper, and mixed it with her cereal. OMG I could not get the spoon to her mouth fast enough. SHE LOVED IT. I mixed 1.5T of rice cereal with my milk to make a good consistency, then added about .5T of banana. It was so funny to watch her eat it. Here's a picture for you to see her cuteness!!!

For some reason, she thanks she needs to stare at the spoon all the way to her mouth

Well that's really all for now. Must get to work on some sewing...