Trip to Illinois

When I found out my son was heading up to see my mom in northern Illinois I decided it would be the perfect time to go see mom! I would spend time with her before they arrived and after they left. 

After the trip was planned, we found out my dad's sister was in hospice, so we planned an additional trip down to Indy to visit her. I got to see a bunch of cousins, uncles, aunts and family that I rarely get to see, so it was a very special trip. Besides, my aunt was doing well enough to visit while we were there. 

Here are some of the fun things we did. 

A dramatic lunch

playground fun

Breakfast at the Stockholm Inn

A visit to Nicholas Conservatory & Garden featuring Legos!

KN making a special Father's Day card

Great Grandma with her little girls. 

Me with my precious grand daughters. 

What an extra special treat this trip was. So grateful.

The following are pictures that my sister-in-law took.

She captures memories, I sure love her. 

My little KN, That is who I am inside. I hope she never changes. 

May in North Carolina, 2015

We were able to celebrate two birthdays in NC this year. Since it had been nearly a full year since I had seen our Cowboy, who was turning 12, it was quite wonderful to see how close he is to being a man. You can see that part of him emerging. There is more maturity (although a LONG way to go) and of course he was quite a bit taller than last summer. But still not taller than me yet. 

The pictures I took are still to come . . . will be added later! 

Some of the highlights
Taking care of JR for a while.
Seeing D again so soon after his recent trip to see us at Easter.
Visiting the horse barn and seeing Lulu ride.
Watching the kids at the pool. 
Partying with KN who threw quite the bash in the front yard.
Seeing some old friends from Norway who conveniently live nearby.

Spending time with the kids and grand kids is a joy in and of itself. Nothing has to be done, no where has to be gone to, just being with them is enough. I love those little people. 

One thing I learned is Apple is pretty protective of their photos and makes it nearly impossible to rotate. I did research and found this to be widespread. Ridiculous. I took these selfies and after many steps, are still upside down, but I remember being right side up. 

My mom will have to lock her screen and flip her iPad to see them right side up. Go mom, you can do it. 

Sometimes I find my well behaved, well parented grands are  . . . NORMAL. 

Who doesn't remember horsing around and squishing the little bro? 

Sewing Again!

It has been a wild fall, just not at all what I "planned", funny how that works. But the two younger (not the baby who still wears footies, and the older two who don't wear Nanut jammies any more) are getting GLOW IN THE DARK jammies. SO cool. I saw the fabric when I was buying for Hug-A-Bears and decided to ditch what I had already bought to make them their jammies and use this instead. They are also getting pillow cases along with Lulu. 

Mom (daughter-in-law) is getting towels for the boys, who don't seem capable to keeping a towel on the rack. I have watched D wash his hands, basically #1. get hand wet and #2. MAYBE wipe down on the towel to get SOME of the wet off. Basically transferring any "goop" from hands to towel. I have also found them on the floor when I have visited, totally understandable, which probably gave their mom the TOTALLY BRILLIANT idea of the following picture.  She is getting five more. I think this will be a regular gift over the next few years as youngest boy isn't even 2 yet. 

Been making Hug-A-Bears as well. Since we meet in January and these need to get over to the hospital BEFORE Valentine's Day and the best sewer is getting a new hip, so I decided I would take the time to sew a few (about 75) bears for our next stuffing session. So cute. I think Valentine's Day is a favorite "holiday" of mine. Celebrating LOVE! And we all have someone to LOVE, at least I hope so. Wish it wasn't quite so "Romanticized" as love isn't something so limited, but alas, it is. 

I really need to get back working on my Chanel jacket and make a dress shirt or two for a couple of my guys. I also want to learn how to make hats, sew for my sister-in-law, use some of the fabulous fabrics I have bought for specific projects, and try all the new techniques I am reading about in my Couture Books that I purchased recently. Sigh. Next year? 

Cookies

I have begun to make cookies! Fancy cookies. DELICIOUS cookies, as the recipe is outstanding. SOOOO yummy. The frosting is made with white chocolate, so not the typical royal icing used to decorate most cookies. This one is definitely up a notch in the taste department. A lovely friend from church was generous enough to share her recipe and give me tips. I have also been reading blogs. Amazing some of the things you can learn from others. I am also getting more cutters, colors and equipment to make things easier.

So anyway. . . the grandkids had a BIG day recently with baptisms and first communions. The newest grandson, JR, recently officially adopted, had his baptism, and the three oldest siblings, Cowboy, Lulu, and KN received their First Communion. Oh, how I would have LOVED to have been there. It wasn't to be. So . . . I made cookies to send in the mail along with the little stained glass window that I made for JR. 

These have more of a baptismal theme.

These have more of a communion theme.

And this is how I made the shape using my new multi sized circle cutters. 

And next time I will pick a nicer background to take the pictures! I tried to give the cookies a "stained glass" look. So fun. My son's birthday is next and I hope he enjoys his fun cookies that I thought of. 

Spring time jammies

I just finished up the spring time jammies. Didn't get them done in time for the trip, so they will go in the Easter box along with those cookies my son loves. And new toothbrushes. 

 Cowboy is into camo. Got him a simple gray T-shirt to wear with these. 

Lulu's knit jammies. The girl is all about comfort. 

KN is still into Hello Kitty. Not the best fabric, 

but it's all about the logo right now.  

D's pair.  

Since JR is still a baby and wears baby jammies, 

I made him a "dress shirt" like daddy's instead.

More doll clothes

  This robe will be for Baby K's Christmas gift, 

the jammies will be for her birthday. 

Jammies for Lulu's doll.  

Baby K is turning 7!

Our youngest grand daughter is turning 7 next month, so time to start getting things together for her birthday box. 

She is a fan of Hello Kitty. Thankfully there is plenty of fabric to choose from at the fabric store, so a nice cozy pair of flannel jammies for her. 

She was also given an American Girl doll from friends and her momma suggested matching jammies. Great idea and here they are, being modeled by Molly! My daughter received this one when she was 10, she is 30 now, and has quite a collection of Molly gear, but for now most of that is sitting in a closet. Molly comes out when the granddaughters visit, they have sure enjoyed her. 

I have a robe cut out and am also hoping to make her a sleeping bag and pillow along with another pair of jammies for her sister Lulu's A. G. doll. They will match her Christmas jammies. 

A dozen #7 cookies and a card along with a face painting kit she requested and we're good to go. Happy Birthday Baby K, love you to bits. 

Spring time jammies!

These were fun to make, and thankfully didn't take too long. I wasn't sure I would get them done, but thankfully jammies are fairly simple and don't require fittings. Basically need to be long enough and the pants stay up. Hopefully all will work. We'll know soon! 

Note baseball buttons, this little guy loves any sport that uses a ball.  

For the boys, wild animals and camping. 

For the girls. Cats and dogs!

NC fall 2012 - part 1, the jammies

What a fun, fun, FUN trip to N.C. The best ever!  The weather was gorgeous, we got to see fall colors, the trip there and back was uneventful, no one got sick and it was just five days of smiles and fun with an occasional ruckus or injury to make it REAL!  Yes, my precious grandchildren are CHILDREN after all. My son and daughter-in-law are fabulous parents, not taking short cuts or the easy way out when attention is needed. I am amazed at the patience and humor those two have, certainly two very important attributes for being a good parent. If the grandkids were perfect, I would wonder, and it wouldn't be near as much fun! After all we learn from our mistakes. I, personally, know a LOT! Ha!!

The highlights . . . I made a list. The pinata, opening presents, outside, the gas station incident, the birthday party, the park, the pool, legos and Hey . . . . Tom Sawyer! 

We started with the presents. The kids just can't wait to unwrap their gifts. Funny, cause they always know what they will be, although I try to throw in a surprise now and again. Jammies, toothbrushes and story books. How boring, but they show excitement and gratitude, bless their hearts. Their mom suggested that the jammies are the best gift, so they get two sets at Christmas, two sets in the spring. Works for me. I love the time making them, thinking about them, praying for them, how can grandkids wrap themselves so firmly around you heart? Amazing. 

They were all sweet enough to model one of the pair of jammies for me. 

 Baby D requested LIONS on his jammies. 

 For Baby K, it's all about Hello Kitty! 

Soft and comfy for Lulu.

Camo and John Deere combo, perfect for the cowboy. This guy talked a lot about coming to Texas so he could hunt, do some air rifle/paint gun stuff and go to the trampoline park with his Uncle H. That pretty much describes the boy to a T.