Another Day, Another Playground

Well, we got some pictures of the "BIG" playground. There weren't any other kids there when we got ther, and Michael said "Where did everyone go Mommy?" So cute! After the playground, we got Ice Cream Cones. This was much more for me than for him. Up until two days ago, he wouldn't touchice cream. Well, he has changed his mind and has joined the dark side. Now he asks for it about every five minutes:) A boy after my own heart:)

These are from the ice cream party Michael and I had. It was a beautiful day and they have benches outside the shop.




Look how neat this Sign is. i think I might like the small town thing!


Here's Michael on the big playground. The building you see behind him is the town police department. Do you think this playground is safe?

Daredevil picture.

"This is how you do it mommy!"

Hanging all by himself. he's getting so big!!

The first time he did this I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It's really high!

I swear, one day, he's going to break this thing. he gets it rocking so hard the butterflies wings touch the gravel. I don't think that;s supposed to happen.


This is the veiw from the big playground. Those are our apartments (but ours is on the other side of the complex)

I Don't know why, but I had to show th epolice department. i really do like that it's so close to the playground:)

I'm in the process of making some blackout curtains for Michaels room. They're pretty plain, I'm just using some Khaki fabric (from stuff we already had), so I'm going to applique some felt stars (that bev has been sending to us since he was born) all over the curtains to make them fun. I'll show those when I'm finished. Hopefully by the end of the weekend:)

Wildlife, Wallets and Wacky Afghans

Hello everyone!

Well, we made it to Syracuse (actually Manlius, but a suburb of Syracuse). We're in a townhouse with a basement and a washer & dryer. It's been about 7 years since I've done my own Laundry, and, believe it or not, I LOVE it.

We have a small backyard where Michael is enjoying the running and all the wildlife. Here are some pics of our fine (some feathered) friends:

If you look closely at the pic below. You can see the groundhog, right behind our Mr. and Mrs. Duck. The pile of leaves behind our stone garden girl is his burrow. This is right behind our apartment about 20 feet away from our door

This pic is at our front door. We're pretty sure they are the same two ducks, but not positive.

This is Mama Swan. She's sitting on about five eggs. Evidently she hasn't had any babies hatch for awhile (like five years, per the nice elderly gentleman at the swan pond) This pond is about a 5 minute walk from our apartment, right next to the duck pond and the "BIG" playground.This is Daddy swan. He's in the pond right next to the nest. he followed us around the pond this day(there's a walking path around it and he swam around it with us)These are the huge fish in the swan pond (they're about 20 inches long, I know it's hard to see that)

We spend a lot of time at the playground. The "little" playground is right at the end of our building and Michael rides his Bicycle there almost every day. he's getting very good at peddling and steering and has quite the stamina. He'll be on a two wheeler in no time! I don't know how I haven't gotten a pic yet, but I haven't. Here's a couple of pics of him at the "little" playground though

The goofy grin ( I LOVE this and will never get enough of it!

The slide, I swear he could go down this thing a million times and not get tired of it:)He's almost learned the art of pumping his legs when he swings. Almost.Climbing up the rope ladder. He thinks he's grown!

Now, for the Wallets part of my post. I know not everyone cares about my crafty endeavors, but hey, I love it. I made a checkbook cover. This is very exciting for three reasons.....One, i love the fabric and my sister in law gave it to me. The outside is black vinyl with a floral embossing and the inside is a twill floral cream and white. it's so girly girl. Second: this means I have found my sewing machine, thread and fabric. VERY BIG DEAL. I feel almost normal again:) and third: I now have a new checkbook cover for my new checking account at our new bank in our new city. Pretty exciting stuff!

Inside:Outside:

OK, I think this will be the last and most picture-tastic part of my post:) For Easter, Michael and I (Geoff stayed at home to patch walls and stuff like that) went to Little Rock with the rest of the Clan: Paw-Paw, Maw-Maw, Aunt Tina, Uncle Kyle, Alison, Theresa, Jake, Loddi and Chelsea. We had a great time with the grand parents and their dogs and aunts and uncles and their dogs:) While in Little Rock, we took a little trip to a big river and went fishing (well, everyone except me and Paw Paw. I don't fish and Paw Paw had surgery so he couldn't fish) But Michael had a blast and so did everyone else there. We saw lots of pretty stuff and got lots of pretty pictures. While there Christina and I present Mom (our husbands mother) with our b-day present to her. We had both worked on a lot of crochet squares and our plan is to put them together into a pretty afghan. Alison and Theresa and Mom then helped us decide what order to put them in. I'm still in the middle of blocking (with very little space mind you) and Christina, I'm sure is still in the middle of finishing up some of the squares she was supposed to do. I think that's OK though. I've moved and she's busy finishing graduate school and closing on their first house and packing, so I think we both have good excuses:) I think Mom should get it by Christmas. Below are some pics of fishing, Mom and Dad's house fun, Easter egg hunts, and all of us (including Chelsea the Yorkie) figuring out the afghan layout! What a great family to belong to!

One of Michael's b-day gifts in Little Rock, a great bubble wand and bubbles (and Loddi too)

Maw-Maw, Michael & Chelsea

How many eggs does one boy need? MORE!!!!

Maw-Maw and Michael walking to the river. He loved his life vest! (it has Diego on it!)

Paw-Paw (with a post-surgery shoulder) fishing in the river. I think those are Theresa's legs)

Alison and Michael. That's obviously Alison's pole:)

Alison, Michael and Christina right on the river

Michael resting on the tackle box

The last morning fishing. Michael woke with a fever of 104.9 and felt like being naked. Then he wanted a towel for a blanket. You try arguing with a three year old with a fever that high!

The following pics are all of the squares Christina and I did. The pics didn't turn out great, but that was a wonderful night. I'm so glad everyone else figured out where they should go. I' horrible at that stuff!

The daffodil festival in Little Rock. It was gorgeous. We picked some and took lots of pictures:)

All the girls Christina, Theresa, Alison, and Goofy Me

Paw Paw and Michael in the rocking chairs on the deck. That's Jake's bottom.

For Michael's B-day, he wanted a "Blue" cake. So we got a small cake and put blue cotton candy on it. His birthday was the day we got into Syracuse. So we stopped at wal-mart for his presents and some food and went to I-hop for dinner and came home and had cake and presents. We had a really great time and Michael loved everything. He probably had 4 "birthday's" this year:) Now he thinks everyday is his birthday:)

Daddy wearing Michael's lion visor

Michael with skarloey and the track skarloey came with..

More bubble wands!

And then we found some of his other trains and tracks!

So, this is what we've been doing the past month (it all started March 15th). We've had alot of fun, and we're pretty tired. We're getting used to the area and still unpacking, but getting there. Hope this post finds everyone well!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

OK, I'm moving. To Syracuse New York. The 31st of this month. CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Geoff got a new job, making a lot more money in a city that cost about half as much to live in as Chicago.

I'm scared and excited all at the same time. We will be renting a townhouse until our place sells. But get this....the townhouse will have the same square footage, plus a washer and dryer and a basement to keep all our extra stuff! And the rent there is less than half of our mortgage! This is all so crazy, every time I think about the money part of it I get a little sick....

We will miss everyone here all our friends who mean sooo much to us, but this is such an excellent opportunity, we just can't pass it up.

My office is still going to allow me to work from home. My hours will be cut, but it's still extra income, and since we will have a mortgage and rent for a while, it's needed. We will also need another car soon, but that should be able to wait until we sell the condo.

Michael had his three year checkup today. He's 39 inches tall and 34 1/2 pounds. He's in the 85th percentile for height and 75th for weight. The doctor thinks he's getting ready for a growth spurt since he's so high in the weight department and so low in the height department (compared to what he usually is...)

Right before we left for the appointment, Michael ran into Sebastian's head and banged his eye so bad that he now has a very puffy, very black eye. I'm really shocked nobody has clled the cops on me with some of the injuries this kid gets:( He seems to be taking it all OK.

We leave for Little Rock on Sunday, Geoff is staying home to fix all the picture holes and such, so that we can put the place on the market. So Michael and I are flying to Little Rock then the Mom in Law (I'm sooooooo lucky!!!!) and I will drive back home, going through St. Louis, and be here for the movers. Then the day after the movers come, we'll clean and then head on out to syracuse, we may be going to Virginia, depending on how long the Truck will take to get from here to Syracuse, I'll be without the internet for a couple weeks. I hope everyone is well!!!!

Everything is fine, just fine

I sent my mom a card right after I moved to St. Louis (that was nearly a decade ago). I had had a bad day and had called my mother in tears, sobbing uncontrollably and needed to re-assure here that i was indeed fine, she was a worrier. I was 23. The card had a little girl on it. All it said was "I'm fine, just fine, really, I'm fine".
For the years after that, anytime one of us would break down into tears on the phone, we would end with that statement. That way we knew that we were going to be fine, that we were just having a rough time for now.
She even said it to me a couple weeks before she passed away.She said that to me the last time this week, last year. I thought I would keep hearing it for the reast of my life, at least for a long time. I never imagined that would be the last time she said it. We laughed then and said I love you and said Goodbye. I only talked to her a few times after that, as her health declined and she never said it again. February 24th will mark the one year anniversary of her death and I often find myself thinking I'm fine, just fine.

Look at me, I can follow directions!!!

I got this design from here:http://whipup.net/2007/09/18/cigarette-case-needle-holder/ Thank You!!!!!

Since I haven't smoked for a long long time, and this was a gift from my very best friend, I figured I would do something useful with it. It turned out to be exactly what I wanted:) Enjoy! Since Chicago is now non-smoking everywhere, maybe more people should jump on the craft bandwagon!!!

Sewing for Charity....

Hello, I'm trying to start donating clothes to a charity that sends them to third world countries (I have to get the exact name of it. I'm doing this along with a lady from my church who has been doing it for years:). They sew dresses and book bags and pants and that sort of thing. I don't have a lot of money to spend on fabric, so I'm trying to find someone with a large stash or knowledge of places that will donate. I'm willing to pick up anywhere in Chicago or the surrounding areas! Thanks everyone:) I'll post pics once I get my first article done. I should get the patterns later this week. I can't wait!!!!

my first wallet

This is my very first hand made wallet. it turned out pretty well, but the zipper is funky, thestitching around it at least. It was also my first zipper, so I'm OK with that:) I got a sewing machine for Christmas. I love it. I have so many projects planned in my mind right now!

I totally forgot to mention that I got the pattern off craftster. Here's the link and thank you babyangel!!!!:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=212483.0