Contagious in Columbus

I bet you think I have fallen off the face of the earth, eh?  Almost.  Heavens...all 5 of us in the family got nasty colds and from there all heck broke loose.  I ended up with strep throat and was out, flat out, for 6 days and the twins ended up with pnuemonia.  Even the baby got an ear infection.  All is well now...we are on the mend, thankfully.

So much to write about I don't think I possibly can get it all in!  First, before we all got sick...we played hookey!  Oh yeah!  I decided we needed to do our own little field trip and so I took the little ladies out of school to attend the dress rehearsal of Alice in Wonderland put on by BalletMet.  It was great!  Amazing effects - the girls loved it! 

We walked a bit around downtown.  The girls loved it - they even started yelling when they saw the NBC studios - our own little mini times square kind of affair.  So cool! After, we hopped across the street to our statehouse and wondered around.  How cool is it to just walk in your statehouse and meander any old place you want?  Too fun!  Wait?!  Is that Abe Lincoln?  No...just pea goofin off in the gift shop.  They have a bunch of programs planned for Abe's 200th and of course, what celebration of Abe Lincoln would be complete without the hat?

We had lunch, and ice cream of course!  And the next day a fun day at the waterpark - Coco Key at the Cherry Valley Lodge.  Clean, nice - loads of fun and probably where we picked up our mega germs as we all were sick 2 days later.  Oh well!

Not much sewing or anything going on lately.  Some design work coming along -

a sweet "Little Sophie" bag went to an expectant Mom recently.  I'm still taking individual custom orders if you are interested...let me know.

I'll try to be more current with my postings from now on...send me "good germ" vibes, would ya?

Happy Little Chefs Birthday Party 101

I know it’s taken me awhile to get back to sharing all the details from the girls party. I have had a lot going on. Dealing with a husband who has been in training a lot lately and our crazy schedules. I mean, seriously, he came home with band-aids on his wrists because they got cut up while they were in defensive tactics practicing handcuffing. Playing a bit rough aren’t we boys? I’ve been working like mad on fabric designs and trying to decide on what to present for my first line, planning for Quilt Market including things like little giveaways, booth design, and of course, product! I have an appointment with one of the fabric companies on the first day of Market to present my designs so I’m super excited that truly, this Fall, I may have my very own line! That would be a dream come true! And the baby, well, she finally got up and crawled this week and started to pull herself up to a stand all within days of each other. So, keeping up with her just got a whole lot harder. So, as I do all day while I’m working either on campus or in my studio, I’m usually listening to music on my iphone. Quite frankly, as my husband says, I’m addicted to it. My iphone is never far from my hand – I do love it. And I like to share what I’m listening to because it inspires me and keeps me focused through the day. Lately it’s been Mercy Me and one of my favorites of the week has been a song called “Bring the Rain”.   I love this song, especially when I have had an especially trying week, and it just makes me feel stronger. You’ll love it, check it out.

Little Chefs…oh yes! The twins had a great 8th birthday party. I’ll give you my “Party 101” details on what we did and maybe you’ll find some ideas to use for the next party you host. First, we sent out invitations on little note cards that looked like recipe cards and said something about good food, add friends, mix well for a great birthday celebration. We added 3D cupcake stickers to them.

For each girl, I made them an apron and an apron for their American Girl doll.  (You can find your own on my etsy site).   I just used up scraps from my scrap basket and other old fabrics. I added a pocket for each girl and appliquéd their initial on the front panel. As each girl arrived, my girls gave them their aprons to put on.

Once everyone was here, we got started on making our lunch. I used little Dixie cups to put each serving of ingredient for each girl. We made chicken enchiladas and I just brought out each ingredient one at a time and had them add, mix and then stuff their tortillas. We put them in one big casserole and then left them to bake.

While lunch was cooking, we decorated cupcakes. I had purchased treat boxes that held 4 cupcakes per box. We had mounds of different types of candies and frostings so they could decorate their treats. I must say, a lot of candy did not make it to the cupcakes but got eaten instead! They loved getting to be creative. I gave them a few ideas and they were off and running. I had set the table with 2 sets of tablecloths. The bottom layer was a vinyl tablecloth we keep. The top was a plastic disposable table covering. When they were all done with the baking and cupcake decorating…I left the entire mess on the table and just wrapped it up in the table covering and tossed the whole thing. It was great! Then, underneath, I had a nice clean table ready for lunch. The girls went off and played for about 10 minutes while I set the table and got the rest of the food out.

I had just a simple centerpiece which consisted of wooden spoons with the chicken enchilada recipe attached. This was one of the favors the girls took home. I also had playdough thinking we would make mini treats for the dolls but we ran out of time so they just took that home with them. I had treat bags to pack their aprons in as well that had cupcakes on them and pretty much their favors were their apron sets.

After lunch, we did an egg relay race. They had to balance a plastic easter egg on a spoon and go on a course through our house. They were nuts doing this and had a lot of fun. We opened gifts and then they played out in the girls playhouse for a bit and that was it. 2 ½ hours went by really fast and my girls said they had a great time.

So as I sit here trying to write this I can hear the baby up in her bed, NOT sleeping because she has just learned to stand and so guess what she’s doing besides sleeping…oh yes, standing in bed and talking. I can’t even lay her down, she instantly rolls over and grabs the rails to pull up. Any suggestions? This is short lived right because it’s a new trick? The other two are running around this afternoon avoiding chores. Of course, they are grounded today for being sassy yesterday and so today they have no privileges and have to clean all day. I’ve never seen anyone procrastinate or drag out a task longer than these two – their little “craft” area looks like a bomb went off. And when I told my little pea this, she said to me, “So! SO does your room!” Man! This is why they are in trouble for the sassing! Actually mine is quite clean right now for once…but I do need to get back down there.

Here’s a quilt I made this morning and a purse being sent out tomorrow for orders. I’m working next on one my patterns – cute little kitty cat thing. I’ll show you that sometime soon! Within 3 weeks, I’ll have 3 patterns ready to go out to testers and I have only a few bodies to edit and test for me. If anybody else is interested in being a pattern tester for me, let me know asap! Ciao, Trish

The race is on...American Girl "closet makeover" contest!

So we are off and running on this idea of inspiring you to clean those closets and convert them into a great play space. I had to add new photos of ours. You know my kids didn't have school last week because of the snow and ice...missed 4 days of school. (deep breath. finding my happy place...hot cocoa in hand, ok...I'm there). My girls were hard at work rearranging things. We have new beds (don't ask where all the stuff is that was on the shelves - most of it is in the babies room. They said they don't need those other toys anymore. Shocking, I know.)

We have new bedroom spaces complete with their dog house and cat house

and a new kitchen space. Looks good doesn't it?

Well, I started on making the aprons for their party. These are the doll favors and then the big girls get matching aprons. I'll post those later.

Not only will the super Mom who posts a comment / photo of your makeover get that cute little bag, we are adding in a special little apron with a Valentine theme. Hurry though because the "closet makeover" contest will end on February 7th.  (See our last few posting for our "closet makeover" contest)

I can't believe they are turning 8 years old already...this was taken when they were 2. They are still just as adorable and sweet and the greatest miracle we could have ever wished for. Thank you God for entrusting their lives into my hands and for these days we have to share and delight in all that they are. They bring such much happiness to our lives. (especially when they are in school - I'm just kidding...sort of! :>) !

SO...that's it! Get to work!!! And hey...if you want to buy your own set of party favor aprons, you're in luck! I have a listing on my etsy site. You can buy individual aprons or the whole set for a discounted price! Have fun with your makeovers. The "two peas" can't wait to see the results!

Snowed in, going "snow" crazy!

Ok, seriously. I adore my children. I do. (I mean look at little pea dressed in my coat and hat and purse - what's not to love?) I know it seems like I complain about them here and there but that's just the oh, so tired, me wishing for a break from motherhood jibber jabber.

However, my little ladies have been to school - by my calculations, only like 11 days this month. Early dismissal, late start, holiday, in service, snow, ice, more snow, snow, snow. And our district is half rural so buses just don't operate well out here. Plus, my husband was sick last week with strep throat. Didn't get out of bed for 3 days. He's also been working tons - my little park ranger has been very busy this season and we've not seen a lot of him lately. On top of that, I...oops, wrecked my car in the snow squall last week. Minor damage, very traumatic for the twins - we were all just fine. But, me, Miss "Oh, I'm a professional. I've had over 70 hours of defensive driving training in law enforcement and been involved in high speed pursuits" and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I went left when I should have gone right - the whole steer into the skid thing - and around we went into a ditch. Bummer.

What have the the girls been doing? Well, playing in the snow for one. Eating snow. Knocking down icicles off of their playhouse.

Finding who knows what in the snow and exploring.

We live on 5 acres so there is always something to explore in our woods, etc. Check out this view from my studio window. I could not resist a photo of the sun hitting the ice. Isn't this amazing? Be thankful for the little things God gives us. Simple pleasures.

The girls have also added on to the American Girl "closet" room. Now, it includes "3 floors". They've cleared off shelves and added more beds, a kitchen area AND an elevator. Oh yes, they rigged up a cowboy hat over their closet rod tied off to a knob on their dresser. Dolls can sit in the hat and be raised to the various levels. Their friends love it and have been inspired to clean out their own closets for their very own american girl closet bedroom. (See my last post) If your little one has been so inspired - LET US KNOW! I have a pretty little accessory bag for the super Mom who sends us a comment and photo of your special american girl closet room. I'll let the "Two Peas" pick their fav and we'll mail you out this sweet little bag.

Remember I said I was working on a baby bag set for my MIL who ordered for her niece, my husbands cousin? Well, little Laura Jane is about to receive this uber cool set. A mix of pinks and browns. Yum-o!

A bag, diaper wipes wristlet,

nursing coverand changing pad.

I want to keep it for myself but I can make another...and another! Because I have this whole set on sale on my etsy site right now! You can buy the whole set or pieces of it. I love the birds especially on it...and I can do this whole set in an orange and brown combo too - great for a boy! I added some other fun things to etsy today as well. Almost everything is ready to go so you'll get your goodies super quick!

So, wish me luck! Here's to hoping we have school tomorrow! Momma needs a break...and I have too TOO many projects I want to get to! Look forward to some aprons and matching doll aprons to come soon for thier upcoming birthday party. I'm working on some design samples now. Fun!

Enjoy the snow! I'll be sewing away...

Ciao, TRP

Big Mac Attacks and American Girls

OK…so you know how some days are like a roller coaster? That’s the day I had yesterday. Up. Down. Up. Down. Exhausting because I’m Irish and I typically have a short fuse so I was really tired at the end of the day. Tired anyway because ah…hello?! The baby, still waking a lot at night. Whole other story. Let’s begin. I have a special place in my heart for Big Macs, Big and Tasty’s…burgers and fries in general. And of course, Coca Cola. Fountain. I can do canned drinks but will drive out of my way to get a fountain drink. So, baby(s) #1 and #2, the twins. I gained 36# while pregnant with them. A week after they arrived, I had lost 31#. I thought, THIS is great! Baby #3, the singleton, I gained a “gulp”, 45ish#. Whateva. A week after she arrived I had lost…10#. And gradually I lost 3# here, 2# there…really slow. Mind you, I didn’t lift a finger to exercise. Not watching what I eat so I was content to think that eventually, when I was through this baby stage, I’d get back to my mountain biking and hiking regime. At 16# over prepregnancy weight – I stalled out. Stayed there for months.

Then 7 weeks ago, the baby starts teething and revs up her nursing demands greatly. My appetite goes crazy. I’m eatin’ big macs and whatever other garbage I can find…love cheese, breads…just eating in general. Favorite entertainment. I get on the scale yesterday. GASP! Prepregnancy weight on the nose! Bingo baby! I’m lovin’ this. I can eat whatever I want, do nothing AND lose weight. This may possibly be the greatest moment in my life. Seriously, you’re jealous, aren’t you? (smirk! Wink! Wink!) This was one of the up’s of the day’s roller coaster.

I decide to pop over to campus and work for a few hours. I have an event coming up next week. I wanted to clean off my desk which had a mountain of mail on it and I needed to make 2 phone calls. I decide to take the baby. I have my office all set with nursery stuff so off we go. She does great the first 30 minutes and then decides, um, today, I must be held by Mom or I will scream and annoy everyone in the office. Ugh! She never acts like this. Truly. She’s an angel. This was quite rare. Do you know how hard it is to type on a computer with a baby in your lap? It looks likoljlkjsfdk like thisdkjlkjda. Looks like that. Yep. Then crisis. An invoice unpaid. Who ordered what when where’s the PO? Dang, spent 30+ minutes figuring out the company double billed us and they were at fault. And then, a bank statement for a student organization – they had charged over the course of several years, $560 in “service fees” and we now owed them $4. Seriously?! Theft I cry and call the bank to straighten this out on behalf of our students. Baby still demanding Momma, desk still piled high with mail. Phone calls not yet made. After 2 hours and 40 minutes, I get my phone calls made and leave my desk a mess and leave. This was the down.

Head over to Ann Taylor LOFT. My favorite store. I was meeting up with my friend Jill. Jill had tried on a pair of pants I was going to return to LOFT and she loved them and wanted to buy them. They were more on sale than when I bought them so we were meeting at the store for me to return and Jill to buy them at the reduced price. Ladies, do you love deals?! Ok, brace yourself. I bought them on clearance for like $23. Jill paid…drum roll please…$4.88 PLUS 25% off that price. Oh yes…you heard correctly. We both start digging through the clearance section and doing a happy dance. I find THE deal of the day. A gorgeous deep blue with bell sleeved suit jacket. Originally, $119. On sale for….$7.41. Are you kidding me?! This was the big top of the hill coming down the roller coaster thrill of the day. A little retail therapy does wonders, doesn’t it? Insane good deals over there. This was the Whoo hoo of the day! I know, you are all giving me virtual high fives right now, I feel the vibe. It’s a good thing.

Then, I get home, get an email from my graphic designer with the cover options for my pattern line. An up moment. I heart them. They are perfect. My husband named the line (top secret for now! :>) and we both love the designs. The down side, to get started, the initial run of these will actually put us in the hole. It will take 3 prints before we break even and start to see a profit. Down down down. We decide to stop on the tracks and take a break to figure this one out. Anybody got any good business advice for us? It’s gonna happen…we just need to do a bit more planning.

Problem is, Quilt Market is right around the corner. May. We may not make it. The next market to try and get signed by a distributor is in the Fall in Houston. Way more expensive to go to. Hmmm…we’ve said it before, please pray for us as we figure out where we are being led and what to do with this business. I feel like we’ve hit a wall at full speed. End of roller coaster. That was the “Big Mac attack” of my day.

The “American Girl” part of my day…this is a long post, sorry. I have a lot to get off my chest (heave a sigh). My girls have been saving money from birthdays, first communion and Christmas plus allowance. They decided they wanted to buy themselves a new American Girl doll. Ok, so if you have kids into this you know, this is not cheap. The doll they want is $95. I have a $10 coupon to use. And we offer to give them $10 for their birthday in February. That puts one peas within $2 of having enough money and the other pea within $4. They beg to do laundry. I pay them 50 cents per basket. The dolls they picked out arrived yesterday and I put them in my closet. They are super excited.  The peas share a bedroom and they each have a ton of American Girl stuff already. We talked them into giving up some of the million toys they had outgrown and to clear off the bottom of their closet and they could “build” a “bedroom” for their dolls, hang pictures on the wall, etc. So here’s the result. My husband added some Christmas lights we were going to throw out to light it all up. They LOVE it. And now, several of their friends have decided to do the same. Cool idea, eh? Anyway, the jist is, I’m proud of them for saving their money to buy their own doll. Proud of them for doing such a super job at earning their allowance by working around the house. Proud of them for respecting and taking such good care of what they own. They are really good girls. I don’t know how that happened but they are surely, super special little things. I heart them big time :>)

And now, today…is the first morning in a LONG LONG LONG time I have had no real pressure to do anything. Of course, I have an order to do an entire baby set.  Large bag, nursing cover, diaper wipes case, changing pad. No biggie…I’ll get it done this weekend. It’s for my husbands cousin. I can’t wait to show it off to you later. I picked pretty little pink French wallpaper and stripes print with birds for their brand new Laura Jane. AND I just sent out a few things from some older orders…here’s a peek at one of them. I’ll get the rest loaded over on my portfolio later. Dial up…stinks. Can’t wait until someday we actually get internet service out here “in the country”…ohh, puulease!

Gonna also load a few "ready to go" items over in my etsy shop later. Check it out!

Ciao, TRP

Sock Monkeys

Remember sock monkeys? I love them! My daughter saw a kit for making one and so I gave it to her for Christmas. The box said for 9 and up. She’s 7. So, she asked and asked and asked and asked and asked and asked and asked and asked…you get the picture, asked non-stop on Christmas day for me to make this for her. So, I get it started and have her help. Ahh…9 and up? Hello?! I was ready to gouge my eyes out making this thing! Sock knit is not the easiest thing to sew. Trying to turn the tiny little narrow arms and legs right side out…man! Of course, then he has to have a sleeping cap. And slippers. And his own little teddy bear.

Now that he is made though, we all love him. And want more! We’ll be on the hunt for more to add to our lonely little guy to start a collection. Besides old vintage ones…anybody got any ideas where we could find others?

I mentioned the other day that I was working with a graphic designer to turn my patterns into a marketable product. I’m really excited about this whole process. We discussed the packaging, product photos, and names. My husband and I came up with a great name for our first line…you’ll have to stay tuned in and wait for their debut to find out what it is! Garden theme of course.

I honestly didn’t get much of anything done today. I sketched designs some and painted a few. The hubby has a nasty head cold as does the baby. The baby barely let me put her down today. She just wanted held and cuddled. Even though she was a bit cranky, it sure was nice to cuddle all day and just relax. I so very rarely get to do that. We just enjoyed watching the snow fall most of the day…and listened to my husband blow his nose every few minutes. I sure hope I don’t get it because I am a terrible patient. I hate being sick.

Tomorrow is Friday but I’m not ready for the weekend just yet. Kids home and all. I need a few more uninterrupted days of peace and quiet. I think this whole sleep deprivation thing with the baby is starting to catch up to me. I could sleep for a week in my wonderfully cozy flannel sheets in my big king size bed. Ohhh…can you tell it’s just about bed time. Thinking about sleep already. I seem to think and talk about sleep a lot lately zzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

Ciao, T