Friday, May 25, 2012

Our week in Instagram photos #3

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have fun plans this weekend.  We are headed to the Catfish Festival in Ware Shoals with my brother-in-law and his family tomorrow, then church Sunday, and not sure what on Monday.  Looking forward to a fun family weekend!

Since I was out of town last week I didn't get to do my routine Friday post so this is going to cover 2 weeks worth of photos.  Enjoy!

The boys swinging at my parents house.  We went to my parents house last week and truly enjoyed our little vacation.  Of course, we missed having our Daddy with us but he had to stay and work.  The main reason for the visit was to spend Mother's Day with my Granny whose health is failing quickly. We were able to spend lots of time with her and she truly enjoyed it. 
The boys playing with a bicycle pump at my parents.  One of the things my boys love about their Grandma and Pop's house are the many 'treasures' my parents collect.  My mom loves flowers and potted plants and has the greenest thumb I know...which I did not inherit! lol She loves to collect all kind of little cool knick-knacks from everywhere and just keep them.



The boys playing in the sand at the beach on Sullivan's Island. Also me and my beachy waves. In the summertime when we go down, we always take a beach day! We all love it and it is just so refreshing to go and just escape the loudness of the world.  I would live at the beach if I could! Seriously.  Sullivan's Island is our favorite beach in  Charleston because its not as crowded as the other beaches down there plus we can usually always find easy parking.
One of our other traditions we do while down there is a small bonfire.  My parents have a small little area set up with a outdoor fireplace which is perfect for this.  We roast marshmellows and sometimes hot dogs and just enjoy each other.  It's one of my favorite things to do down there.

Our mother's day craft.  It is a bouquet of 'hand' picked flowers.  I love these kinds of crafts and so do the boys.  Tucker actually cries when we are done cause he loves it so much.  lol.  All of our grandmas and moms loved it.  I love that I can do something as simple as this and they are perfectly happy with it.  I plan to make them something else but haven't had a chance yet.

I finally go to get my sewing machine out and work with it.  I absolutely LOVE it!!! It is so simple to use compared to my older machine and I can do so much more than my old one too.  The 2nd picture above is some of the stitches I can do.  :) I did this little sample piece 10 minutes after I set it up!
I love this picture of my sweet man and boys! lol  Since Jeremy has gotten his motorcycle, he has started a small collection of 'do-rags' or bandannas.  The boys love wearing them so I had to get a picture with all three of them.  These boys love their Daddy!
Monday we were out running errands with my father-in-law, Harry.  Once we came home for something and found a small box turtle in the driveway.  It was such a beautiful design.  It was brown with yellow spots/designs.  The poor thing was so scared though it went all the way back in its shell.  We moved it so it wouldn't be run over.

This is my new cup from Hobby Lobby.  My treat for the week. :) I have been wanting one of these cups but not wanting to pay $5 for a plain looking one.  I was in HL getting some sewing needles and elastic and saw this 40% off so of course I had to get it. :)

Well that was our two weeks.  Nothing too fancy going on but good family fun.
Enjoy your weekend!


life rearranged

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

How to resize a too wide t-shirt

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you all are having a lovely day! I finally got time to get out my new sewing machine that my sweet hubby got me for Mother's day almost 2 weeks ago.  I have been dying to make time to do it but went out of town with my boys all last week unexpectedly to spend time with my Granny and the rest of my family.  Once we got back I have been cleaning and doing laundry and all the other household stuff to play catch-up.  Well I am finally mostly caught up and everything is unpacked.....except Jonah's suitcase.....so today was the day to have fun with my sewing machine!

Here is my new beautiful Singer Sewmate 5400:
Isn't she beautiful??? She is totally amazing and super easy to use.  It came with a quick-start guide that was so helpful that within 10 minutes of opening the box and taking the machine out I had done this:
Some of my stitches above are crooked or messed up due to four little hands that were trying to 'help' Mommy sew.  lol The boys were just as excited as I was to use it.  Jonah was just amazed watching the machine work. 

For my first project I just wanted to start small since I haven't sewn anything since December and since I had just started with my new machine.  My mother-in-law got the boys some shirts from a yardsale a few weeks ago for a quarter a piece.  Most of them were the right fit but 3 Batman shirts were super wide on both boys.  I knew these shirts would get worn a good bit since both my boys love Batman so I reworked them to make them smaller.
Here's the beginning shirts:

Each shirt was about an inch too wide on each side making my boys look like they were swimming in the shirt.  I started by finding two shirts that fit my boys good to use for templates of how much material needed to be cut and sewn off.  I then turned the shirts that were too wide inside out and laid them flat.

Then I laid the right fitting shirt on top of the wide shirt and pinned it in place.  Try to make sure to get both shirts flat as possible to make sure your two side excess areas are even.


Once you have it pinned right, trace the right shirt width onto the wider shirt.  I keep a white crayon in my sewing supplies for dark shirts like these.  If you want to leave a bit more room than the shirt that fits right you can but the shirts I used don't fit my boys snuggly so they already have extra room in them. 
This next step is optional but helps me....Next take your right fitting shirt off and pin the wider shirt right next to the traced line.  I forgot to get a picture of this but it helps keep the shirt together while sewing.  Next sew right on the white line taking the pins out as you go. As you can see below, my line was not straight so I used my sewing machine guides to make it straight.  Don't worry if you get it a bit crooked, its really forgiving when you turn it inside out.

Next you are left with this:

Cut off the excess material close to your sewn line then turn the shirts back to the right side.  Now you have perfectly fitted shirts!

I did all three of these shirts in 30 minutes with a few interuptions. The good thing about this is you can do this for any size t-shirt as long as you have a good fitting t-shirt you like for a template.  So go hit up those thrift stores for some cheap t-shirts! 

Here's my cute Tucker modeling his new fitted t-shirt:


I hope you all enjoy your evening! I am off to find some more projects to sew!

I am linking up to:
Skip To My Lou

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2012/homemaking-link-up-78/ http://www.lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com/search/label/spread%20the%20love%20link%20party

Friday, May 11, 2012

Our week in Instagram photos #2

Happy Friday night everyone!  I hope you all had a great day.  I have had an absolute wonderful day with no sickness at all!!! PTL for zofran.  It has been a great productive day.  It's that time again for our weekly updates in Instagram photos.  This is working out great since I usually take a good many every week anyways. :)


Jonah and Tucker are the sweetest brothers I have ever seen! They do argue and fight but they are pretty inseperable.  Anytime you find one, you usually find the other.  I pray these two stay as close as they are now and grow to be life-long friends.

 
We were at Nona's and Papa's a good bit this week.  One of the boys favorite thing to do there is to ride on Papa's motorized wheelchairs.  They love riding around the wrap-around porch.  Jonah does really well driving it slowly and turning corners.  I love it cause I can just rest while they ride!



Jonah and Tucker also had fun eating popsicles in the back of Papa's truck.  I love Tucker's little pooched lips! lol  And Jonah is always ready with a smile.  We always eat popsicles outside over there so we don't make a mess.


It rained the first few days of the week here but by Thursday it was beautiful so we played outside.  The boys loved just sitting in the shade throwing rocks down our dirt driveway.  Jonah started it by sitting down and Tucker followed.  That's usually the way it goes. lol  Then Tucker tried to pick up a big rock.  He was so funny grunting and getting frustrated cause he couldn't get it.  He finally gave up and moved to smaller ones.


My husband, Jeremy, got a new...to him...motorcycle! We have been a one car family for a while and this will be his work/play vehicle.  It is a 2004 Honda V  1300.  It is an amazing gas saver which is awesome plus the boys and I won't be stuck at home all the time anymore. 


I got my Mother's Day present early....a new Singer sewing machine!!  It's a Singer 5400 Sew Mate 60 stitch electric machine.  I am so super excited since my old machine has been broken for a while.  The cost of this machine is about how much it would have cost to fix my old one! This one is beautiful and I can't wait to use it. 

We had our first ultrasound for the new baby! It is just so amazing seeing that little person...hopefully little girl....on the screen moving around.  The hearbeat was strong and everything looked perfect.  We go back to the doctor next month.  

Well I hope you all enjoyed your week!  Hopefully I can get the sewing machine out and figure it out soon to get some more projects on here.

Have a great night and Happy Mother's Day to all the fellow mother's out there!
life rearranged

First ultrasound

Hello friends and family!  I hope you all had a fabulous week.  I have still been pretty sick feeling this week so haven't had much to share but hopefully will be feeling better soon.  God has truly helped me with the boys lately since I have been sick.  Usually Jonah wants me to play with him the majority of the time which I don't mind but lately he has been happy just playing by himself or Tucker.  It has truly been a blessing!

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon plus our first ultrasound.  I love ultrasounds!  It is just so amazing to see our little blessing on the screen moving around.  My favorite part about it is watching the heartbeat.  It is just so tiny yet so strong and we are so thankful!

Here's our sweet babe's first picture:

The baby is measuring right on track so far and looks perfect.  She did say my uterus felt bigger than 9 weeks which isn't anything to be worried about but it explains why I already have a little belly going! lol  This was me Wednesday night:

With my other two pregnancies, I was all belly and boy was it a big belly! Here's me 8 months pregnant with Jonah back in 2007. Hubby and I were at the Bass Pro Shop in NC.  SO glad I have my blonde hair back. lol

The baby's heartbeat was 150bmp.  Isn't that crazy?! Dr said it was perfect and we are so thankful. 
Here's a picture of the baby and the heartbeat:

Overall, Dr said everything looks great so far! She did give me a prescription for zofran for my sickness and so far it is working awesome.  Hoping I can find some energy now that I feel better. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a fabulous day!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Our week in Instagram pictures

I am on Instagram and love it.  I do not have an iPhone...gasp I know....so had to wait until the android version came out. I downloaded it the first day it was available and totally love it!  It works out great too since I always have my phone with me.  Also my digital camera is on its last leg and has to be charged before every use and I always forget this so unless I have a certain thing I want to photograph and I plan ahead, its never charged. 

I thought I would start sharing some of my Instagram photos one day every week with you.  I hope to keep this up.  This is also a great way for me to remember these times.  Most of these are quickly snapped so they may not be the clearest but you get the picture.  So here goes!

Jonah was playing the PS3 this morning when the wireless controller died making him have to plug it up to continue playing.  So instead of sitting on the floor uncomfortably he got his plush Batman chair.  He also got his dog pillow pet for a foot rest.  This is the life! And of course once Tucker saw him he had to go get his Thomas plush chair and his mini dog pillow pet! lol


Jonah had a dentist appointment this past Wednesday and has no cavities...PTL!!! The last time he went he had 4...one in each of his molars which made me feel like the worst mother ever so we have been brushing alot more trying to keep these teeth healthy.  We are both so excited for the no cavities report.  He got these lovely red vampire teeth as a prize at the dentist and has been wearing them scaring all of us!
Once I turned 5 weeks pregnant, the morning sickness and weakness have been hitting me hard.  There has been alot of cuddling with Momma 'to make her feel better' which this Momma happily enjoys even when she is feeling sick! Thankfully I am now 8 weeks pregnant and it seems like the worst is over, hopefully.  I do still have to make sure I eat as soon as I get up in the mornings and keep something on my stomach at all times but other than that and of course being tired, I am feeling good.
My poor boys have been sick this week with coughs and runnny noses.  Tucker started out with it on Monday night and Jonah woke up with it yesterday morning.  Needless to say, there has been lots of couch time and lazy days but we are surviving.  In the above picture, Tucker fell asleep on me at 6 pm which really made me realize he felt bad since he had just woke up from his nap at 4 pm.  He has gotten better but now Jonah's cough is bad.  Last night Jonah ended up in our bed and pretty much coughed the whole night so we are all out of it this morning.  Thankfully, Tucker slept great.  Hopefully they are on the mend and we hope to have a great weekend!
This has become my afternoon snack.  Usually, Tucker takes a nap from 2-4 so after I know he is asleep I fix Jonah and I a snack.  Since I am eating much more than usual, I am trying to think of healthy snacks instead of sweets.   This fruit and nut plate with iced coffee has become my favorite! I look forward to it every afternoon.
We found this lovely little gem in our front yard under a rock on Monday afternoon.  Thankfully, Daddy was home and of course he had to catch it to see what kind it was.  This picture is while the snake was in a jar with a closed lid.  It was a fiesty little baby snake! It kept lunging itself at the lid trying to get out.  Bleh. The boys loved it and wanted to hold it and touch it but we weren't sure what kind it was so we gave it to my father-in-law who knows alot about snakes.  He said it was a brown earth snake so he is keeping it in an aquarium at his house. 

I took the boys strawberry picking on Monday morning before it got too hot.  Jonah watches a cute show on PBS called Caillou who is 4...just like Jonah...so of course whatever Caillou does Jonah wants to do.  I was going to take them strawberry picking last year but I didn't realize it only lasted a month so we missed it.  :( And I have heard about it for the whole year! lol Crazy how good his little memory is.  Anyways, I wasn't feeling good at all but knew if we didn't go, it would break his little heart.  We had an absolute blast! I was worried Tucker wouldn't like it or be interested in it at all but he really did good.  The berries were pretty small but it didn't take us long to fill up our basket. 
I have been making my own laundry detergent using online directions/recipes for maybe a year now.  I also make my fabric softener and love it.  I haven't been completely happy with the other homemade laundry detergents I have made so I searched again for a new recipe.  Well I found this one....http://www.ourdiydiaries.com/2011/12/lets-talk-laundry_15.html#more...on Pinterest and like how it combined the Purex crystals with the normal stuff used to make detergent.  So I tried it and ABSOLUTELY love it!!! I didn't use the oxiclean because I already use Resolve spray n wash to pretreat stains.  I wash most of my loads in cold water and was worried the detergent wouldn't dissolve but it does completely and my laundry smells great!
I had to include this one of my sweet Tucker's little boy toes just because I love them!  He is truly growing like crazy and I am trying to remember these moments of learning and growing.  I can't believe he will be 2 the end of next month!!!! Seriously, the last two years have flown by.  I seriously can't believe we will be having a new little life....I think a girl...joining our family in December and that Tucker will be a big brother.  I can't wait to see him with the baby.  I am already praying that he will adjust well to having to share Mommy becuase he is a HUGE  Mommy's boy.

Well that was our week! I am hoping to start getting a bit more energy back soon and my creative juices start flowing cause lately there are none. Also my sewing machine is broken and I don't know how to fix it.  :( Big sad face on that one. 

I hope you all have a great weekend!

 
life rearranged