It's All Gotta Go!

Today I get my hair cut... and, it's all gotta go! Well, maybe not all of it, but a significant amount anyway. I had it cut short when Amanda was about 6 months old - I loved it! Doug didn't. I have tried to deal with this huge, thick mop of hair for awhile, but it is just too cumbersome. Oh, and it is HOT. So, this afternoon, I go and get it taken care of. I'll also be getting some highlights for fun. I am really looking forward to the whole experience. I love to be pampered.

Yesterday, I got a steal... at least I think that it is a steal. The kids and I went to Kittle's Outlet kind of on a whim. I wanted to look for a headboard for Amanda's bed... and I really wanted a white or off-white wrought iron one. Well, they didn't have any... but, I did find one that I think that I can fix up. It is a Vaughan-Bassett full/queen headboard. It is currently black and has one broken spindle, but all of the pieces were there. So, Doug gets to put it back together - LOL. And, I get the fun part of painting it. I have a distressed ivory paint kit for it. It should look fantastic when it is done. Oh, did I mention that it was only $47? It was really fun to get it home on top of our truck, too... 25 m.p.h. the whole way. LOL!

Well, I need to run. James is needing me... Perhaps there will be some new hair and new bed pictures later...

Rain Forest

It feels like we are in a rain forest. It has been so hot and muggy around here lately. The last few days we've had the patented "pop up" thunderstorms in the afternoon. I'm not complaining... no sir. I am very happy that we are finally getting some rain. Our yard has come back to life. We might actually have to mow this weekend... I know that our garden is appreciating the water, too. I'm just looking forward to some fresh tomatoes. I finished one from the grocery yesterday on my salad at lunch. Boy, was it tough. Yuk.

Doug ordered a new GPSr for us. I told him that he could order a new one as part of his Father's Day gift. Kinda stinks for him, as he will have to share it with the rest of us. He doesn't seem to mind though. It is supposed to be here before the weekend. Yeah! Perhaps we'll be able to have a day of caching. Haven't done that around here in a long time. There are several new ones that have popped up in our area.

Amanda is nearly over her cold... and James might be getting it. He's still asleep, so I haven't been able to evaluate him yet this morning. Last night he woke up out of his sleep crying and crying. I was assuming that his throat was hurting... not sure though. I gave him some Tylenol, and he slept through the rest of the night. Boy, it will be easier when he starts talking.

I cut out all the pieces for my LeMoyne quilt patch yesterday. I also was able to start sewing it together. The star is all done. It went together a lot easier than I thought it would. I'm having trouble getting the triangle pieces in place, though. Might be time to use a lifeline...

Mission Accomplished

Ok, we managed to survive our trip to the license branch today. The paperwork says that the duration of our visit was just a bit over 18 minutes. I felt every second of those 18 minutes. Amanda is getting a cold. She would sneeze and need a Kleenex every few minutes. James was very agitated. He would squirm and fuss about as often as Amanda sneezed. Thankfully, since all we needed to do was get our plates renewed, we were in a different queue than the folks that needed other services. So, that is taken care of for another year.

Last night, we all took a little bike ride. It was great to get out and exercise, even if it was pretty minimal. I remember when we first moved out here. We were way out in the country... hardly anyone drove down the roads around us. Now, there are sub-divisions popping up. Cars everywhere. We really need to watch it when we are on the roads. Usually, we go late enough in the evening that not too many people are out and about... but, still, you never now. I think that I am extra-cautious because of what happened to a friend of mine's cousin. He was riding his bike to swim practice very early one morning when a car hit him and paralyzed him from the waist down. This was several years ago when we were all in high school... but still, I think of it whenever I am taking off on my bike.

Here are some pictures from the last few days... James and Amanda before church on Sunday... having some fun at the piano (is this how the Carpenter's started out?)... and getting ready for our ride last night. Enjoy!

Day Out With Thomas

We have returned from our trip to spend a day with Thomas. It was a blast!! There were so many kids and families there... it was so refreshing.

We were running a bit late (as we always do...). We got there with just enough time to get our tickets, hit the potty and get in the queue to board the train. The ride was short... maybe 15 minutes there and 15 minutes back. The kids really enjoyed it. When we got off the train, we went to spend some time in the "animal" area. They had a little petting area with some goats, chickens and ponies that you could feed. They also had two little "kids" (goats) that were 10 days old - very cute! They were running around all over the place.

The kids both got temporary tattoos (or tattoons, as Amanda calls them). Amanda got James, and James got Thomas. We grabbed a small snack and then headed for the line to ride the ponies. While standing in line, we were able to see Thomas leave (and return) on one of his small trips. This was the first time that we got to see Thomas, and we were all excited about that. Amanda enjoyed her very first pony ride. James wasn't as impressed. We walked next to his pony... He had far more fun feeding and petting a pony in the pen.

We spent a lot of time (and subsequently money) in the Thomas store. I don't know what it is with me, but I just go kind of nuts spending on the kids. I don't do it very often, but there are certain things (like Thomas) that I have trouble controlling myself on. I didn't go super-nuts and buy the big expensive sets... but, the kids each got a shirt, a plate/bowl set, a wooden railway car and a book to share. Doesn't sound like much, but it added up. Oh well...

When we were in the store tent, it started raining pretty hard. It had sprinkled most of the time we were there, but this was a big, healthy rain. It was so welcomed. We have been SO dry around here lately. We decided to call it a day... and on the way back to the truck, had to stop for a quick (WET) picture with Thomas. Fun was had by all!

Enjoy the pictures...

Doug and Amanda on the coach:

Suzy and James on the coach:

James enjoying some quality time with Fred:

Amanda on her buddy, Curly:

Amanda peeping through the window of an awesome Lego Thomas:

James playing with one of the many sets:

Posing for a quick picture with Thomas... in the RAIN!:

Pillow Talk

Here are some pictures of my first quilting project... the pillow for Amanda. I got the kit for the project at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Kentucky. We stopped there on the way home from our last visit to Georgia. I might have mentioned that before... not sure. Anyway, here are a few pictures.






On a related note, I got everything that I need for Amanda's wall hanging quilt yesterday. Or so, I thought. After re-reading everything when we got home, I realized that I need some fusible backing for the applique part of the quilt. Oh boy, that is uncharted territory. We'll get it figured out though. I did get all of the fabric for the wall-hanging washed and cut. The rotary cutter and self-healing mat were the BOMB! That is THE way to cut fabric. Very accurate and very quick when compared to cutting with scissors.

I probably won't get to do much in the way of craft activity today. We are loading up the Ford and heading to a "Day Out With Thomas". The kids (big and small) are just going to have a blast there! I'll be sure to get some pictures up of that.

Groovy Start to Summer

Last night, Doug took me to see Euge Groove (pictured above) in concert... Wow! That is all that I can say!! Well, I guess that I can say more... I've never been short with words. He was fantastic in every way imaginable. I especially loved it when he shook his "bunca-dink" (or whatever he called it) for the crowd! This isn't as bad as it sounds... it was just his tush. No need to worry about a Jim Morrison type arrest or anything. The seating was general admission, and we were able to snag seats in the third row in the center. Euge was directly in front of me... a few feet away! Refer back to the above comment about shaking - LOL. It was awesome to be able to see him and the other band members play so closely. The concert was over way too quickly... It definitely was an overdue return to the live music scene for Doug and me. We hadn't been to a live show in over four years!

Mom and Dad came down to stay with the kids while we were out. It sounds like they had a great time, too. They spent some time on the playset, reading books and eating frozen custard. What more could you ask for?

We are headed out to the craft store in a little bit to pick up some fabric for another project. Amanda spotted a wall-quilt in a book that Mom brought down last night. She would like to have it made for her bedroom. I'm going to do just that. It really is time to upgrade her room to a "little girl" room... even though I hate to say goodbye to my baby's Snoopy room...

The natives are getting restless. Time to go and wrangle them into clothes and the car.

#100!

Wow... logged in this morning to create a new blog entry and discovered that this would be my 100th entry. So, I'll save the clever blog title that I had come up with for another time.

It is finally raining here this morning. Everything is SO crunchy - except for our gardens. The yard hasn't grown in weeks... which kind of is good and kind of bad. At least we haven't had to mow it. Our gardens are looking pretty good. I've been watering them very often... We have four little green tomatoes and several of the pretty little yellow blooms that hold promise of more to follow. Our pepper plant has two very large peppers but no blooms. I'm not sure what is wrong with the plant. It has a bit of yellowish hue to it. Need to research that. Amanda's sunflowers are really growing. I can't wait until they bloom. I just love sunflowers. I drove by a garden somewhere the other day, and they had sunflowers in full bloom already.

I go in for another hand therapy session today. I have been absolutely horrible about doing my exercises since we returned from our trip. I think that maybe I've done them once or twice. Oops. I am supposed to be retested today. I pray that I pass. I am ready to move on...

Oh! I finished my first "official" quilting project. On our way back from Georgia last time, I picked up a pillow cover kit to make for Amanda. Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on it. That has to be the fastest "purchase to complete" project that I've ever done!! It turned out really great! She loves it... which makes it all worthwhile. I have all of the supplies I need for my next project - a star wall-hanging for the kitchen. I really want to start in on it... not sure when I will. For some reason I am really fascinated with the notion of making my own full-sized quilt. I know... I'm nuts.

Well, gotta run. I still need to get some pictures out here of WV. We'll see what I can do later today...

We Survived!!

We are back from West Virginia! Actually, we have been back since about 3:30 on Sunday afternoon. The trip was very nice... of course, there were a few "moments", but overall it wasn't too bad. By the time we got home, I think that we were all ready to get out of the car. Poor James nearly revolted when we put him in his car seat the last time. Poor guy...

Mendi and Anzie are here for a visit until Saturday. So, we kind of jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. We've been up in Kokomo the last two evenings... they are coming here today. We're hoping to get some fun outside time. I need to fill up the wading pool and get the sprinkler set so that there is ample opportunity to keep cool.

I need to get a couple of things done... Rest assured, there will be more about our trip later.