Life

 Not as much sewing has been happening around these parts lately.  We've been too busy enjoying the end of summer and loving on a new baby.  A new baby that is almost 3 months old now! I can hardly believe so much time has passed since this little bundle was first placed in my arms.  He's such a happy guy.  He always has a smile for everyone (though he keeps his best smiles for his favorite people).  

At 2 months.  I just love this little guy!

A bit of sewing I managed to do one night while everyone was asleep.  I have it quilted now and am waiting for the binding to arrive in the mail.  I'll post more pics once it's finished.  This one is destined for the shop.

The tiniest of frogs found in our front yard.  We have a lot of frogs around our house and outside in the garden.  I love hearing them croak at all hours of the day and night and the boys sure do love catching them.

A stack of fabric I picked up from JoAnn's a few weeks ago and forgot to share.  Not sure what it will be yet.  I'm thinking the bottom fabric (red poppies on a white text background) will become some placemats with a red border (pictured right above).  I ended up buying the last of the poppy fabric.  Love it!

Playing with a set of new knees just like the ones they put in Jake's moms knees last month.  He was really interested in how the new knees worked and how everything went together.  Benefits of having a grampa that works at the hospital.  He got to see and play with a pair of metal knee joints.

And building.  So much building happening.  With Duplos, legos, wood blocks, stuffed animals, rocks, acorns, old boxes destined for the recycle bin.  These kids love to build.  I am always finding little "creations" (as we refer to them) around the house.  On the floor (and most certainly exactly where you're going to step because why would they be anywhere else?), on counters (right where you just cleaned so you could start making dinner), on the couch (in the very spot that you sit down to nurse the baby every single day, many times a day) and scattered all over their bedroom.

I don't mind so much though.  They're learning and developing skills and it cleans easily enough.  These are the little moments that I cherish.  I love seeing their minds at work and their hands busy.  And really, at such a young tender age, is there anything more important than learning through play? I think not.

And I tell you what, just since this summer this boy has blossomed. He's picked up on writing pretty well all on his own, without any interference, which is exactly how it should be I feel.  His penmanship is great!  He was so proud of himself for reading the sentences and figuring out the word needed all by himself.  And I was too.  He's a pretty amazing little boy.  'Course I think all three of them are and I'm a little biased.

And one more pic of this little sweetheart.  Just because he's so little and smells so sweet and we all can't get enough of him around here.

So that's life these past few weeks for us.  I will hopefully have some more sewing pics to share soon.  I did manage to get a few more small things pieced together last week but no pictures yet.
Hope you're having a great beginning to fall!

Seven

My oldest turned 7 on August 23rd.  I can hardly believe it.  It's such a magical age I think, don't you? Seven is when they start to develop who they really are.  The skin that was just a little too tight sheds away and this beautiful, magnificent little person is there, just waiting to go out and discover what they're made of.  The child disappears - not completely - but too much for this mama to handle just yet.   I look at Aiden and see glimpses of who he is becoming, watch him grow in confidence and knowledge, honing the skills already there and discovering new ones along the way and I'm filled with peace.  He is an amazing person with such a big heart and playful soul and I'm so proud to be his mama.

I tried finding a picture of just him for this post and almost couldn't.  He's such a great big brother that lately any pictures of him are also of another brother or two he's loving on.  

He was so proud to be able to burp Ronan all by himself.  He really is a big help to me and I appreciate all the hard work he puts in (and love that he doesn't think it's work!).

Teaching Odin how to ride his scooter.  Aiden got a scooter for his birthday this year and asked me and Jake if we could get one for Odin since he really loved riding Aiden's.

At the skate park the day after his birthday party.

Looking forward to another wonderful year with you buddy! Love you!

Ronan

We welcomed little Ronan Alexander Joyce into our world on July 2, 2013 at 8:42 am.  He is so very loved by us all.  He has hardly spent any time not being cuddled, loved or held by someone.  

Just a few hours after birth.  He is absolutely perfect.

Just like the two that came before him, I am completely in love with him.  I could just stare at him, hold him and love on him forever.  

Tired mama and baby.  

The four most important people in the world to me.  Trying not to be emotional, but this picture gets me crying every time.  There is so much love and happiness in this one little snapshot.

Well, we are finally home from the hospital and settling back into life.  There won't be much sewing happening around here for awhile.  Recovering from a second c-sec is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Besides, my machine is in the shop getting fixed right now.  Figured this would be the perfect time for a tune-up since I will be otherwise occupied for a little while.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.  We plan on hanging around home and taking it real easy this weekend.

Making Wall Art

Tomorrow I will be without the kids and will be sewing most of the day, so be prepared for lots of pretty quilt pictures.  Today however, I spent the day with the boys crafting and building Lego creations and block towers and following "pretend instructions" for lots of stuff.  It's only a little easier than it sounds.

Here's what we did this afternoon before lunch.

I taped each boys name to the artist canvas and let them paint away.

They had a lot of fun with this since they LOVE to paint.

I had purchased a 10 pack of painters canvas (these are approx. 8x11) from Michaels Craft Store during last years after Christmas sale.  I simply used masking tape to make the letters and then let the kids paint away.  After we had lunch and they played outside for awhile we checked the paint to see if it was dry.  It was, so we carefully peeled the tape off.

Kinda self-explanatory who's is who's.  They each picked a spot in their room where they wanted it to go.  Forgive the pictures.  The lighting is horrible in their room and the sun had disappeared behind rain clouds.

This one lives in the craft/school room.  Seemed to be a fitting place for it.  ;)

Here's the one I did.  It's above one of the bookcases in my room.
I think we'll definitely be doing more of these soon.  We all had fun painting and watching the letters appear as we peeled the tape off.

Now we're off to IHOP for dinner since the kids eat free and I don't feel like cooking something tonite.  Stay tuned tomorrow for some sewing and fabric pictures.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took the kids to the local pumpkin patch at Latin's Cider Mill.  They have tons of pumpkins as well as lots of other types of squash.  The kids love the fresh apple cider and pumpkin spice donuts and I love the warm gooey apple fritters (seriously the best apple fritters I've had in my life).  There's also goats to feed, a petting zoo, a few carnival rides and a super BBQ stand with insanely good pulled pork sandwiches (my personal favorite part of the trip).

checking out the turkeys

this goat really liked him! it followed him around along the fence.

Odin was too scared to get that close to the goats, but he gave Aiden his goat feed and watched him  do it from a safe distance.

it started raining while we were there so i was glad i thought to bring the boys extra clothes and rain coats.  i, on the other hand, got soaked.  i should really get a rain coat.  i do live in a pretty rainy state after all!

 the search for the perfect imperfect pumpkins.  we love to get the ones that are "different" and often over-looked.

they found two long ones which they wanted.  i realize now that i didn't get pictures of the whole wheelbarrow  full of pumpkins.  i'll have to post some pictures after we get them all finished.  we'll start painting them next week.

I'll be back next week with some pictures of painted and decorated pumpkins.  How many of you still carve/decorate pumpkins? Do you do it with your favorite little people or is it something you enjoy doing even without little ones? I'm sure Jake will still be carving pumpkins and decorating our entire house long after our kids are gone! :)

To Odin

This morning has me in a strange state of mind between happiness and confusion.  You see, last nite after putting two very tired little boys to bed, I finished some minor prep for our road trip starting this evening (yay for road trips!), cleaned up a little, and then climbed into bed early for a change.  I was tired, but had accomplished what I needed to and felt content as I drifted off to sleep.

Upon waking this morning, I realized the boys had not woken me and relished in the fact that I got to sleep in until 6:30.  It was heaven.  I got up and made coffee and sat down at the kitchen table and listened to the birds singing outside and the quiet all around me.  It was a peaceful way to greet the morning.  6:38 rolls around and I hear their quiet whispers to each other, giggles, then the creak of their door opening and the soft patter of their little feet coming down the hall.  Aiden called out a greeting and snuggled into the couch with a few (6 or 8) favorite stuffed friends.  Odin climbs onto the couch, smiles at me and says, "Hi Mommy."

I put down my coffee and went to sit with them.  "Do you know what today is?" I asked.

"Our trip!" Aiden yells in excitement.

"What else is today?" I ask.

"Swimming!" Odin calls out.

"Yes.  What else is today? It's special,"  I prompt.

"Daddy comes home!" Odin yells out.

"It's your Birthday Odin!" Aiden says in excitement.

We both look at him, his hands on his cheeks in surprise, his little body shaking in excitement.  Such a look of surprise and delight that only a child can give.  He reaches up for me, wraps his little arms around my neck and whispers, "Thank you Mommy! Thank you for letting me have a birthday!"

I tell him he's 4 now, and not 3 1/2 anymore.  He grins.  After patting my cheek and giving me a kiss, he climbs down from the couch and stands in front of us, hands on his hips, chest thrust out and says, "Look how much bigger I got today! Aiden I'm so big huh?"

Aiden stands in front of him and says, "Yeah, but you're still pretty small.  I'm always bigger than you cause I'm older."

Any other day, the little guy would have slugged him in the gut, but today, because it's his birthday and he's excited, he reached over and patted Aiden's arm.  "I might be bigger someday Aiden."  True story little man, true story.

So... that's why my emotions are warring today.  I'm happy for him.  I'm happy I've been blessed with 4 beautiful years with him, but I'm a little sad too.  My baby is growing up.  He's really not a baby at all anymore.  He's a wonderful little boy full of such strong emotions and feelings.  As fiercely loyal and loving as he is independent (and independent he is).  He has taught me so much in the short time since I first felt him moving in my belly.  I will cherish those memories of him, but also look forward to what the years ahead will bring.  I know they'll be wonderful.

To my little boy

who isn't so little anymore.

My explorer

Map reader

Gardener

lover of nature

whether cold

or warm

Friend to bugs and insects

animals that fly above us

and those that creep among us

Stealer of my coffee

and my heart

Loyal and devoted little brother

and an absolute ham.

I love you so much little big guy.

Happy Birthday.

Quiet Mornings & Muffins

You know, I do love a quiet, relaxed morning with nowhere to be, nothing to do... just us relaxing and doing as we please.  Just being together.  It's wonderful to have those moments in the middle of all the "doing" that happens in life.  Especially life with two boys.

So this is what we did this morning.

Watched the sun rise together from the living room window.  Sorry, yard's a mess.

Made & ate too many Blueberry Oatmeal muffins.  Recipe follows.

Yep.  Absolute Heaven.  Our new favorite recipe.

Watched the boys play while I flipped through old recipe books.

Turned on the sewing machine but never did actually sew anything.

Sat for a minute, coffee mug in hand, and just looked at the beautiful pile of scrap fabric I have.

Indulged myself with not one, but two mugs of coffee! The boys had cocoa.

Since the muffins were so good, and we're not doing anything this morning, here's the recipe.  Just because I'm nice like that.  :)

Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins

1 2/3 C. quick-cook oats

2/3 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. whole-wheat flour

3/4 C. packed light brown sugar

2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon (I do 3 tsp's & use saigon cinnamon, it's sweeter)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C. low-fat buttermilk

1/4 C. canola OR vegetable oil

Grated rind of one small lemon (about 2-3 tsp's)

2 large eggs

1 pint OR 2 cups fresh blueberries**

Preheat your oven to 400*.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, flours and brown sugar until well combined.  Add rest of dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Form a well in bowl.  Combine buttermilk with oil, lemon rind and eggs.  Mix vigorously until emulsified (oil is mixed in and does not sit on top of buttermilk).  Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until combined, don't overmix!

Add blueberries and gently fold in just until berries are incorporated.  Taking care not to squish the berries will insure they don't sink to the bottom & keep the batter from turning purple. 

Spoon about 2 TB's batter into greased muffin tins (I use Pam spray) or use paper liners.  Muffin wells should be only about 1/2 full.  If desired, sprinkle a little granulated sugar over tops of muffins at this point.  We skip this step for our muffins.

Bake in preheated 400* oven for approx. 18-20 minutes.  When done, the muffins should spring back when gently pressed with your finger.  Remove from muffin tins immediately and cool on wire racks until just warm.  They are delicious as is (which is how my boys eat them) or slathered with butter (which is how the hubs and I eat them).

You should get 24 muffins from this recipe if portioned correctly.  The muffins will be a little bit on the small side.  We like them this way since they're just the right size for smaller fingers and mouths to handle.  If you'd like to make your muffins "normal" muffin size, fill muffin tins about 2/3 full instead of 1/2 full.  You'll get about 16 muffins this way instead of 24.

** If you can't find fresh blueberries you can use frozen blueberries instead but don't thaw them first! You can also substitute any other berries in this recipe.  It's also really good made with raspberries & chopped strawberries.
Before placing frozen berries of any kind in the batter, mix them in a small bowl with 2 TB's flour until coated.  This will help the frozen berries to float and not sink to the bottom.

Let me know if you try this recipe! I'd love to hear your take on them.  Enjoy!