My Newest Project. . .

With all my free time (I'm being facetious), I thought I'd start a new project. What's one more, right? What do you think of these? Here's the fabric I've chosen to piddle around with. I thought SuperGirl would choose the creamy one, but she actually likes the blue.

Naturally. Anywho. If I can get a small, simple party planned for SuperGirl's birthday, I'd like to make one for each of her little buddies, budget permitting. I thought it would be a fun, practical memory to keep from the party. Thoughts?

I'm working on making the belts for the aprons, too. I have a pale pink, lighter, loden-y green and a darker loden-y green. I'll try to post a picture of those, too.

Now. I'm off to be motherly and break up an argument between sibs. Life is grand.

SuperMom

SuperGirl learns to ride!

Guess what we did yesterday? Yup, we decided to teach SuperGirl to ride her trusty bicycle. So far so good. Of course, she hasn't fallen over on gravel yet, so it's not official that she's learning, lol. In a way, I hope I'm not here when that happens. It won't be pretty, and that I can guarantee!

The snakes are not real. Don't fret.

And then there's snake boy, a.k.a. Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. He's just loving life.

Enjoy your Spring Saturday!

SuperMom

P.S. And speaking of "don't fret", I've thought about that for a personalized license plate. However, we're only allowed 7 spaces on our tags. So........... Would you put DNT FRET or DONT FRT? Personally, I find great humor in the second. Then there's the other one that's available: PLMYFGR.

Hey, I never claimed to be proper. Simple pleasures I have.

Hobbes. . .

I haven't decided if this particular cat is smart or stupid. He's bee sleeping in odd, lumpy places lately, and he has me wondering if he's just trying to blend in with the surroundings so our kids don't bug him as much or what.

I was cutting up old blue jeans for a rag quilt in the basement this morning when I find Sir Hobbes here. I could have thrown a vcr or something like that on him and never known he was in there. Keep in mind, this is a big can.

Smart or stupid?

SuperMom

We took a drive. . .

The kiddos and I took a drive today and drove by the old plantation c. 1778 where SuperDad and I were married almost 9 years ago. It is now an inn and I believe still serves meals with reservations. It truly is beautiful and I will try to get another shot when the weather is sunnier. We were married in the gardens on the rear of the inn, but I didn't go behind there today for fear of trespassing. There were no cars in the circular drive in front, or anywhere for that matter. There was a large white "reception-y" tent behind the inn, so I suppose they're still somewhat busy. Maybe this is their off-season.

Soon,

SuperMom

My Tools. . .

Here's my first tool choice. I love this rolling pin. It's made of rock maple and is so smooth and wonderful.

After researching a little, I found that a lot of baseball bats are also made of rock maple. Looks like my little lovely would also work to repell would be assailents on a long trip by myself. Who would have known this little diddy would be a multi-purpose tool? :)

SuperMom

March of the Tools!

Naturally, I'm a little late on this one, but at Heather Bailey's site, she has a whole theme on favorite tools! Any tool you have that makes your life easier, whether it be kitchen, crafty, whatever! The best part? The pictures you have don't have to be beautiful. Just show off your tool, a-hem, and maybe it will help folks with their Christmas lists. Who knows? It's fun reading about all of the different ones. Egg slicers, cherry-pitters, onion goggles, etc. Pop on over and enjoy yourself!

SuperMom

Prayers. . .

I wasn't asked to do this, but if it helps this family, I'm happy to do it. A young family in Texas welcomed home their new baby girl from the hospital on a recent Tuesday and their 3 year old son accidently drowned 2 or 3 days later. It must be so devastating, I can't even imagine. You can read more here. The community is hoping to pay off their hospital/medical expenses for the family, so there isn't an extra burden to carry on top of the tragic death. I totally trust the folks that have set it up and if it happens you lose the five dollars, it's just five dollars. What's that compared to a precious life? This family really needs the help, and thinking about it, I'd very much appreciate if I was ever in a similar situation.

God Bless this family with healing,
SuperMom

SuperGirl. . .

Our sweet, sweet SuperGirl received a Fairy Catcher Kit for Easter and sat on the edge of her bed waiting for them. She was talking with a friend on the phone here while waiting. SuperGirl had the screen raised and I believe the sign she posted above her head in this picture said "Fairy Party" so all of the fairies would come and gather in her room. She also had a note posted letting them know she wanted to be friends. So sweet.

Blessings,

SuperMom

Photos from Easter. . .

Almost to my in-laws. . .

On the way back to my in-laws from seeing my MOM, I showed SuperGirl the Greenbrier Hotel. She was rather taken. The ladies walking in in full-length fur coats didn't hurt either.

The road to my in-laws. . . I LOVE these trees. Hugaceous! Is that a word? How about ginormous? O.k., they're not redwoods, but they work what they have.

On the way home, I got a little carried away taking pictures. Keep in mind, these are not Pioneer Woman quality photos. I'm going to assume you already knew that. Sometimes we were under clouds, sometimes I left the flash on, hence the dirt dots on the windows from the sprinkles the day before.

Oh, here's the reflection of the lizard that travels on my dash.

Love the mountains.

Can you tell?

I also love this lonely barn. At least it has a tree to keep it company.

The cows were centered when I took the picture, but due to the delay and my husband not slowing down, this is what we end up with.

Great old home and I assume old servants quarters at a busy intersection. Just think what those boxwoods have seen.

Almost home.

Cool barn with mountains behind it.

Side/back view.

Poor river shot.

One last mountain to cross, and then we were home. Whew! Time to rest.

Enjoy your time off, if you have it.

SuperMom

Oatmeal. . .

I just made oatmeal for Super Boy, and apparently, it wasn't watery enough. I make it kind of thick.

I turned my back (BIG MISTAKE), turned back around and he had poured the remainder of his water bottle into his bowl. I asked him why he did it and the answer was, "It made me feel better.".

After he actually finished the whole bowl of watery oatmeal, he tried to refill the water bottle on the front of the refrigerator. I did not get a picture of that, but now I know why three year-olds aren't given jobs. . .

SuperMom

5 Unusual things about me. . .

Hmmm. . . I've been tagged by Julie to list 5 unusual things about me. Just 5?!? Let's see what we have here. . .


1. I've had 6 brain surgeries spanning a decade. The last was in '98. I still have MRIs to every 2-3 years to make sure things are behaving in there. Everything has been benign to date. Woo-Hoo!


2. I love, scratch that, LOVE the sound of diesel engines. Odd, yes, but I do. I roll my window down at stop lights to hear them. The best sounds are fire trucks going through stop lights/intersections with their sirens going full blast.


3. I love planting impatiens and watching them grow.


4. I'd rather do outside work than inside work. There are very few domestic cells in my body. Can I get a transfusion for this?


5. I'm a huge proponent for breastfeeding, the family bed and homeschooling. I have to admit though, I've had my doubts about my capabilities as a teacher for my children.


I hereby tag Summer and Kelly! I don't know if you can do that or not, but I just did! You're it, Chicas. Tell us 5 unusual things about yourselves.

Later Taters,
SuperMom

The Apron Book. . .

Here's my early Mother's Day present I picked out.

Can you tell I don't like waiting? O.k., I suppose you could say I'm impatient, but that sounds so negative. :)

For more info on The Apron Book, click here. I can't wait to peruse the pages with a cup of lemon zinger tea by a rainy window while cuddled under a homemade quilt in a chair I could sink into. In 20 years. For now, I'll grab little tidbits here and there. So far, I've read some wonderful stories. I think you would also enjoy it.

SuperMom

SuperBoy. . .

Earlier this evening SuperDad was cresting some arrows, and SuperBoy wanted a try, too. Here are a few pictures of him emulating his hero using an old arrow. I think this is his first time painting them. We have shots of SuperGirl doing this when she was younger, but none from today.

Sorry about the poor lighting.

Happy Good Friday.

SuperMom

Psst. . . I must confess. I ate meat for dinner. Oops.

We had to get Old Yeller fixed up. . .

Our remaining Lab, Saxton, had to go into the vets this morning for surgery. He had a couple of cysts we knew about removed from his left side and right paw, and one removed from his left shoulder that we didn't know about. He's home resting comfortably now. The 'Ol Fart is 11 (I think), and we're lucky to have him every day we do.

Now. If he just didn't look like Franken-Saxton. . .

Sweet Dreams, buddy,

SuperMom

Another comic. . .

The Transformation. . .

He started out looking so "normal".

Well. I suppose that's relative. The booger has orneriness in his bones. Inherited it from his father.

How does this happen, you ask?

Ask his big sister. You can't really see it, but this is a hand-me-down of a velvety purple. Very pretty in the sunshine. Here SuperBoy is Princess Fuchsia. Their words not mine. I couldn't script this stuff folks.

Hope you've smiled this wonderful Sunday,

SuperMom

P.S. Happy Palm Sunday, too.

It just needs a second coat. . .

117 pictures!

More later,taters. . .

SuperMom

While you wait. . .

with baited breath for me to post about the laundry/quilting table top, I've decided to post a quilting comic that could really speak volumes to many. Enjoy.

SuperMom

Hodge Podge 'O Life. . .

Well, it's a hodge podge of the past seven and a half years. This is the table SuperDad made me last week to fold laundry and cut fabric for quilts on. I wanted to pep it up a little and add some pictures. Um, it turned out to be 104, so far. It's almost done.

This is when I was clueless as to how I would lay out all these pictures! Talk about overwhelmed!

Ahhh. . . Now it's coming to me. Then I start to wonder: will I start Modge-Podging these from the center or shall I start on an edge?

Here's where I am today. I had SuperDad help me mark the vertical and horizontal center and I started placing pictures in the middle. The above pictures are already mounted and waiting on the rest to go down. After that I'll do a second coat and hopefully seal it with something. Polyurethane would surely yellow over time, and I don't know that SuperDad is willing to epoxy the whole top. We'll see. I should have a finished top tomorrow. I'll let you know.

Blessings,
SuperMom


P.S. Every time SuperDad walks by this table, he says, "That sure is a lot of pictures. . ."
I figure there's no sense in doing a half-a** job. Why not do it right?

SuperBoy strikes again!

You'll love this one Mom!

Note: I'm going to try changing our names for safety's sake. Let's see how it goes, lol. We now have SuperBoy (3), SuperGirl (7), SuperMom (ageless) and SuperDad (I haven't gotten written permission to use his age).

Now to the story....... SuperDad was helping me paint a bottom shelf and the top of a new quilting/laundry folding table today. O.k., he did all the sanding and painting.

Well, after we were done and I assumed everything was picked up outside, we started working on things inside the house. SuperBoy went back outside to play on his toy John Deere tractor and all was well.......................we thought.

SuperDad informed me that he had already put the tractor up, so he must be doing something else. After not seeing SuperBoy for several minutes and hearing no shreiks of delight or screams of terror, I decided to go find him. Turns out, he was painting his wooden play set and their teeter-totter/see-saw with a white paint roller that was left in the yard. Hmmmmm, who would have left that? I laugh and call SuperDad to show him the deed in progress. So, SuperDad freaks a little that SuperBoy would think to do such a thing, and I calmly remind him (with a smirk on my face) that SuperBoy was being "big" and helping like his Daddy was earlier. SuperBoy melted into tears at being caught and knowing he did something he wasn't suppose to, but all in all it was resolved rather peacefully. I was able to scrub most of the paint off and actually left a little for SuperDad to see so he can be reminded of our 3 year-old's antics. I thought it was pretty cute myself. As long as noone is hurt or something precious isn't ruined, it's a learning experience. It's not like he painted the foundation of the house.

Oh. Wait. I'll be right back.

J

Hathor. . .

If you haven't read Hathor the Cow Goddess, you really must!

Click to enlarge to read!

Jenny

Here's another one, Rachel!

Click on the picture if you can't read it. That should enlarge it for you.

Too funny. . .

Evan's quilt top. . .

This was suppose to be a 90x100" quilt and I made all the blocks for it. After thinking about things, I've scaled it back to a 60x80" quilt. What 3 year-old needs a king-size quilt?!? I'll use the rest of the blocks on the back and make 2 more to fill it in. It will basically look like it has two fronts.

Now to assemble the back.

Later Taters,

Jen

P.S. I used Alexander Henry fabrics for this one, and naturally, I can't remember the names of them. It's an African theme to go with the two hunting trips my husband has taken there. I'm sure they're the last two. :)

Is this the tree picture

you were talking about Mom? Or was it the foggy backyard picture? Help me out here. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume it wasn't the buzzard tree.

:)

Kiddo

Apple Dumplings!

I made Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings last night, and all I can say is YUM!

Thank you for your help, Rachel!

I may add 1 1/2 sticks of butter next time, instead of the 2 sticks, but it was SO yummy!

No kidding, go try them!

Jen