for all the parents out there...

My brother-in-law sent me a link to this video and I had to share...enjoy!

Halloween is almost here!

I love Halloween!

This year will be a little less stellar for me.  Since I have a newborn baby just a few weeks old, and people all around with H1N1 flu, I won't be venturing out to any parties.

In an effort to have a little bit of Halloween fun, I spent the morning making

and decorating sugar cookies.

I didn't get super detailed with them, but the kids and I had a lot of fun.

She's here!

Our little baby Marie has arrived!  I blame the pregnancy for my lack of blogging.  It's not that I had nothing to blog about, just that I never felt like sitting down and typing it all out.  Oddly, now that I am more busy, that is all I feel like doing.

Here are a few projects I was working on while awaiting the arrival of our precious little girl...

new girly boppy cover..

tag blankets, burp cloth and washcloths...

Matching winter hats for baby and big sister...

of course, big brother needs a hat too!

I still have a few things I have been working on that I will share later.  We'll see how much I can get done now that I have three little ones to entertain and feed.  My project to-do list gets bigger by the day.  Especially with Halloween coming this month!  Costume creation is in full swing.

Quilt for baby #3

Okay, so it took me awhile to finish this, but I am quite pleased with the result. Trying to decide how to quilt it is what took me the longest. I always worry that I will ruin a perfectly good quilt with the quilting design. I like how this turned out though, so no complaints. Hope you like it too!

Can I just mention how much I like making quilts? There is something about creating it and all the work it takes to put it together that I just love. I wish I had time to do more and explore different techniques. Maybe someday in the future I guess, but for now, these baby quilts will suffice.

Keeping busy...

Alrighty. I've finally been putting my new sewing room to work. I have a couple projects that I have started for the baby (due at the end of Sept.) I'm really hoping that the ultrasound tech was right about it being a girl, because I really don't want to give this quilt away. Anyway, here is a preview...it's not quite finished, so you just get a small feel for it right now, I'll post completed pictures later.

I've also been crocheting a blanket that is gender neutral, just in case. Again, it's not finished yet, I still have about a third of the length to crochet, then a super cute border, so another update is in the future.

My other recent projects are a little more simple, yet fun too. I've been using my new Adobe computer software and just trying to get introduced to the different ways that Illustrator works. I haven't done a whole lot, but here are a couple of images from what I have done.

This is a little sign I made for the kids' bedroom door. I was basically messing around and trying to figure out all the ins and outs of freehand drawing in Illustrator. I had a lot of fun with it and loved that it didn't take me much time at all!

This is the fathers day gift that "the kids" gave to Eric. Obviously, it was more a gift that I created since the kids are still a little too young to comprehend the whole holiday thing. It didn't turn out exactly as I hoped, and I ran out of time, but for the most part I really loved what I was able to do. They printed with full bleeds which made them look really great after they were all cut out and the coupon book was assembled.

So, as you can see, I've been keeping the creative side of my brain busy. It has been fun and I've been learning a lot..

my Adobe

Another super exciting event in my life...

I now have the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium package!!! That means updated versions of Photoshop and Illustrator, plus tons more! I can't wait to get using them, though it might take awhile to figure it all out on my own. I hope to create some pretty awesome things. I'll be sure to share!

Free Time

I've been finding it really hard to get free time lately. Fortunately, I finished unpacking the final room in our new place yesterday, so I have a little more free time now. Must blog.

Random thoughts of the last month or so...

Two days before we were supposed to move to Missouri I ended up getting appendicitis and having my appendix removed. Surgery sucks. I hated it. I don't recommend it, especially while pregnant. My husband moved all our stuff anyway, then flew back here to pick the kids and me up and drive us back out to MO. He did a lot of driving, but thankfully it all turned out okay.

Life with a dishwasher, air conditioning, washer and dryer, and garage is incredibly different than life without all those things. I am getting quite used to having them, and love it.

I've discovered that I hate moving. It used to be so easy before having a couple kids and house full of actual furniture, but now that we do, it is a lot harder than it used to be. Cross your fingers that we will be able to stay in this house until graduation 3 years from now.

Columbia, MO is an awesome place. They have the most fantastic library that has a HUGE kid friendly area. The librarians are all super nice and encouraging to the kids. They also have an impressive collection of all kinds of books. Columbia also has a very cool free park with a huge water fountain area for the kids to run around in, and a great lake with a beach swimming area. We have already spent a couple afternoons there and plan on many, many more.

I'm sure there are other great things about Columbia that I will share in the future, but suffice it to say, I am quite happy here.

I saved the best for last...
We have the kids sharing a room, so there is a spare bedroom, right? Yes. That means I get my own SEWING ROOM!!! I set it all up yesterday and can't wait to get in there and work on some projects. I am seriously in love with this room. Initially, Eric and I were going to share it as a craft room/office, but since our bedroom is gigantic, we are just going to put his desk and stuff in there and I get my own room. Seriously. This is the life.