Vehicle Day

A few weeks ago, my sister and I took the kiddos to Big Vehicle Day at our local shopping center. For those of you in the Twin Cities - we were at Southdale. Apparently, the have a Vehicle Day every year. The drivers of different vehicles arrive at the mall parking lot and set up their rigs in one corner. Macy's provided free water and sugar cookies. There was a trailer for mini donuts in one corner, a port-a-potty in the other. And between all of that? A dump truck. A fire truck. A school bus. A city bus. A zamboni. And everything in between.

I'm already excited for next year. Kid will be a year older, and will (most likely) be even more interested in big trucks!

And the best part? Okay. Two parts.

1. Kid was worn out. Nap time was fabulous that day!

2. This event was FREE!

COUSINS!

Today, Wednesday, is the day my mom babysits my sister's daughter Ava.

Today was also the day I needed to change the oil in my car.

Today was also day 7 of my sister's maternity leave.

So we ll hung out for lunch. Me. Mom. Kate. Ava. Kid. And Jacob. It was a beautiful day of hanging out with my sister, talking about all things motherhood and getting wonderful advice from my mom.

And the little boys? Kid, 7 weeks old. And Jacob. One week old. Such cutie babies. 

Baby No More (sorta)

My little boy has made it to his due date! Hooray!

Technically, his adjusted age is 0. I'd say he's pretty advanced for being so young!

Today, though, his status of "youngest grandchild" got passed on to another. I'm fairly certain I mentioned it early, but my sister has been pregnant. Her due date? Just five days after mine.

But today, five days early, they welcomed the newest member of our family. Jacob was born at 12:25 this afternoon, a mere 4 hours after my sister's water broke.

Apparently she and I do things (well, the whole labor thing, anyway) rather quickly.

Ava has already proven to be a rock star big sister to little Jacob, but sometimes calls him Baby Kid.

Such a beauty that Jacob is. We can't wait to get know him and love him up!

Holy Busy, Batman.

Here's the thing.

I am home right now, and have been for about 15 minutes. I need to leave in 25 minutes. This is my life for the entire week, and next. Needless to say, it is a busy time of year. I feel like the husband and I have been go-go-go for at least a month now. In fact, I don't remember the last time I actually went grocery shopping and bought more than just what was needed for that night's dinner. I don't like that.

I did get the chance to run to the fabric store. Let me admit something quickly. I was crabby Saturday afternoon. Since I was home alone, I decided to head to my local fabric store to learn that it will be moving in a few weeks. SALE!

I bought $110 worth of fabric and paid $23. Totally awesome. I have some awesome plans for the fabric: pillows, a skirt for my niece, pants for my nephew. I can't wait to start creating and show you all the awesome things I make! Wait a minute, though. I don't know how to sew very well (I'd call myself a novice!), so we'll see how these projects actually turn out...

Christmas Stockings!

My favorite wedding present is by far the sewing machine I got from my aunt. I love it, and just completed my third project.

My first project was a quilt for my newest (and only) nephew. Mr. Husband's grandmother started the quilt, but passed away before it was finished. I took the honor of finishing the quilt. While it turned out nicely, I still have a lot of practicing to do. Quilting is not yet a strong suit of mine.

Project number two was our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Halloween costumes. They turned out beautifully! I used store bought green sweatsuits and craft felt for the turtle bellies. Target happened to have green saucer sleds out the day before Halloween. I purchased two of those, added straps and had an instant turtle shell. The costumes were fabulous!

Number three, though, is by far my most successful project. The Christmas stockings! Mr. Husband and I don't have a fireplace, but Christmas decorations cannot be complete without stockings. I made my way to JoAnn and got four Christmas prints (on sale, to boot!). I printed this pattern and got right to work. The stockings are so adorable. As soon as my camera battery charges, I will get pictures up!