My quilt

A year ago Matt gave me a sewing machine and signed me up for sewing classes. I loved it all and have done little projects but I really wanted to attempt a quilt. So, this year one of my 2013 goals was to make a quilt. I saw a picture of exactly what I wanted to make and then talked to a friend, and quilting genius, and started my adventure.  

I loved watching the quilt come together. The only problem was finding the time to put it together. I experienced much frustration when I would set out all the triangles in my quilt trying to figure out a good color configuration and then a little one would drive his truck across it or drag his feet across it only to cause the whole thing to get all mixed up.  After many attempts I just put them in a random order and started sewing.  Then every time I pulled out my sewing machine it resulted in both kids flocking, pulling on cords pushing buttons and unplugging the machine. I had to give up sewing completely if Porter was awake. Preston would let me work on it only if I allowed him to pull out the pins and press the pedal.  That makes for some really slow sewing. 

After putting all the quilt top together I got distracted with this little number for a friend, and then I just plain ran out of spare time.

And so the quilt sat. And sat.  For about 2 months It just sat in a corner waiting for me to get my act together. making me feel guilty ever time i walked by it. 

Finally I started it up again.  Whew! This quilt took me a whopping 4 months to make.  When you only have 1 hour a week to work on it I had maximize my sewing time.  I had to stop wasting time taking out my sewing machine and putting it away.  that took up valuable sewing time.  So, I found myself huddled in the guest room, on the floor, using my leg/behind to control the pedal.  1 lousy row a week, made me sort of discouraged at this task I had taken on.  But soon I was coming to an end and I started to get excited again.  I just couldn't wait to finish it.  And then it was binding time.  Ugh.  Now I had to hand sew on the binding.  I felt like this was never going to come to an end.  Finally, the quilt was finished. 

 

 

 I am so proud of that quilt. Every time I walk by it I smile and give myself a little pat on the back. It is absolutely beautiful. (just don't look too close because then the mistakes are visible.)

Will I ever do another quilt again?  Most likely. 

Springtime

I always have a list of things I want to list and share on the blog every week, and then at the end of the week I realize I have had zero time to actually sit down at the computer and type.  I usually have a some sort of distraction or terrorizer that starts trying to help me type or unplugs everything.  So instead here is the past 2 months of experiences.

Spring is here and we are loving it!  My mom came in town to spend some time with us and I think the boys had fun seeing their grandma.

While my mom was here I got the chance to finish my quilt that I have been working on. More on that later. And it felt good to finish it.

We took a little trip to Tanyard creek to enjoy a break from the rain and the boys loved throwing rocks into the streams and running like wild animals every chance they got.

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Preston was looking for Indians in this picture.

This bridge shakes when you walk on it and they boys thought that was so awesome.

My mom and I went to Timeout For Woman in Kansas city so the family made it a weekend trip.  We started by going to Silver Dollar City in Branson MO.  It was cold and rainy and not a whole lot of fun.  We were just about the only people in the whole amusement park, so we had every ride to ourselves.  Since we don't live close to a temple my mom let Matt and I take a little break and watched the boys at the hotel while we went to the Kansas City Temple.  It was a beautiful temple similar to Nauvoo but on a much smaller scale.  It felt so great to get a chance to do that.  Later, Matt explored Kansas city while mom and I were at the conference.  I loved Timeout for Women.  It was so inspiring and it was nice to just be able to listen to amazing stories and it really made me want to be a better person.  I loved it!

Spring meant Soccer Time!  I think all 4 of us are glad that is now over.  Even though Preston had maybe 2 or 3 games because of all the rain and snow we have gotten this spring.  Preston didn't really enjoy soccer this time around.  I think our next endeavor is going to be art classes.  He just doesn't have the sports interest.

And a pinterest failure.  What's spring without one of those.  I found this recipe for homemade gummy bears.  They looked awesome in the picture but they turned out to be a glorified jello jiggler that I did not approve of.  thanks Pinterest.

Preston (my little botanist) helped me plant the garden and loves taking care of it. He has always been a plant/nature loving kind of guy. I hope my black thumb does not kill the excitement and his love for gardening. Preston's one request for the garden was blackberries. A little hesitant but I gave in. They grow wild here so that means I shouldn't have too much trouble keeping it alive, fingers crossed.  We already had an herb garden and a little strawberry patch and our peach tree.  Now we planted a wide variety of tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, and sweet peppers.  I probably over did it, but we are having fun.  Hopefully I don't kill it all.

With springtime in Arkansas also comes the big thunderstorms the midnight tornado scares, and the unpredictable weather. However, I do love it here.

Oh Porter Baby

He is just a little quirky that it makes everyday a little bit exciting.  I have to admit that at times he makes me feel like i need to go check myself into the loony bin.  But most of the time I just end up laughing at his big cheesy grin and quirky personality.

Porter Jacob is named after Matt's brother, Jacob. As strange as this may seem, sometimes I see Matt's brother's personality in Porter, he is a very silly, happy little boy with a deep belly laugh and big smile. He has his moments of tantrums where he throws his whole body to the ground and lets out a few fake cries, looks up to see what sort of attention he is getting and then continues his moaning. But for the most part he is a happy, busy little guy.

Porter is my little explorer, adventurer, and most definitely a big mess maker.  The messier the better for this little one.  Every drawer in our house is emptied so he cannot tear through it, and if he is given a few minutes he will have all things out of cupboards and spread all over the house.  He can open bottles, twist jars, and bite into boxes.  If he wants it he takes. He likes to throw dirt in his hair, eat anything he finds whether it be from the ground, bark, or even from the garbage.  If it looks tempting,  it will most definitely find its way into his mouth.  And similar to his Uncle Jake, if he happens to see that I threw out perfectly good cookies, I will find a little one walking around eating that cookie.  That is correct, he looks in the garbage to see if his crazy mother has thrown out anything tempting.

Most recently Porter has started saying a few words.  Although I have 2 kids, this little voice talking to me is very new.  Preston did not say words at this age - a story for another day. Porter has been saying words like MOM, Dad, owey (in a very tiny little mouse voice to get as much attention as possible), hot, hello doggy, hi, and bye.  Pretty good.  And now he has switched mom to the beloved "mommy".  It did not start out all cute and adorable though.  I had to coach him on sweet and adorable but the first time he said "mommy" I was a little stunned.  First of all, to understand you need to understand that Matt and his siblings like exaggerate things from their childhood.  One of those things is the way in which Matt's dad would call out to Matt's mom.  The name Kathleen would be changed to Katleeeeeeeeen (with much emphasis and a high pitched tone on the e's.)  So, now as adults they like to call their mom in this manner (poor lady).  Well to my absolute horror, while I was making dinner a few day's ago Porter was repeatedly trying to get my attention with his usual loud "mom" after several attempts and me responding to him with a "hold on Porter" I hear this cry "momeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"!!  WHAT!!! NO!  That is not what I wanted.  Mommy is supposed to be cute.  It's supposed to melt your heart.  It's supposed to be that memory you have forever.  No, I get "MOMEEEEEEEEEE"! That put dinner on hold and the coaching on how to say mommy began immediately.