My goal from now on...

These things are amazing!

My child was sent to the office at school AGAIN today!!!  Ahhhhh if he is already getting into this much trouble at 4 I am not sure how we are going to survive the teenage years! I feel like I need to buy a paper bag to wear over my head at parent teacher conferences next week...

Enough said...

I want a vintage sewing box!!!  Sooo cute!!!

Puppy Cut

Stark Pre-grooming

Post fancy do...It always makes me really sad the first time we groom a puppy. They lose that uneven hair length puppy look. They look like different dogs to me afterwards.

The Design

I picked the design for my first applique art quilt!

The Next Thing To Conquer...

Can you believe that this is a quilt?! I have been researching art quilts lately and I think I am ready to try a very basic one!

I would like to think of myself as more of a geek but today I felt like a dork. 

Applique

I saw this cute little applique online and was thinking it would be fun to do a quilt like this.

Finished Quilt 2 - Vintage Farm Baby Quilt

I just finished the farm baby quilt. I did something a little different and I quilted this one using lines instead if stippling it. I am happy with how it looks and how it mirrors the picket fence look but I will say that all the starting and stopping threads is quite time consuming. A vintage farm quilt...who knew I would love it so much!

PS. I found another reason that I love precut fabrics...when you have quilt rows layed out on the floor and your puppy pees all over them (ahhhh it was not a good moment) you can wash the fabric without it fraying because they use pinking shears on precuts.

The F***ing Fours

I was talking to Chase's teacher briefly the other day about some of the parenting struggles I have been having and she laughed and said "my pediatrician told me once that they shouldn't call it the terrible 2s and 3s they should call it the F***ing 4s". I feel that accurately describes how I feel about this age!

Somehow we made it up to this point without a "bad age" but we are making up for it all now. The bad words, the hitting, the defiance, the getting in trouble at school - it makes me want to rip my hair out. I will admit we are partially to blame because as parents we haven't been on top of everything lately but unfortunately, I think some of this is just a natural thing that all kiddos go through at some point...

So at the same time I have been trying to "take back the house" from my child (as my mom calls it) I have also been working hard at training Stark. Our trainer's philosophy is to reward good behavior (with a treat) and punish bad behavior to start...then once the dog knows what it is suppose to do you acknowledge good behavior (with a "good dog") and still punish bad behavior. Last week at our session the trainer basically told me I need to be more firm with the dog and more immediate with my correction. I took this advice to heart and in the last week Stark has made remarkable improvements! He will now go to his dog bed and lay there while we eat our dinner and he does the entire sit, heel, come, down, etc routine with pretty much no correction from him training collar - just because I asked him to.

The puppy training experience certainly has parallels to my frustration with parenting right now...and it has left me wondering what the child equivalent to a dog's pinch collar is.

BFFs

I had a blast at our girls only sleepover last night. We had Mexican food, sang some karaoke, and saw The Vow. The movie was slightly disappointing as it wasn't as romantic as I thought it would be but it was so fun to be out. Having amazing girlfriends is really a "must" in life...

Ed Emberley Art Books

Uncle brought Chase some Ed Emberley books. I used to love those books as a kiddo.

Warbreaker

Book one of the year finished. Really fun read, knocked it out in a few days. The only disappointing thing is that it is a single book and not a series.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from this spoiled girl. Nothing like ending a night with chocolate strawberries and champagne.

Work in Progress

I swear I have been sewing up a storm lately...I just haven't finished anything yet! Here is a sneak peek at a baby quilt commission I am working on. I don't typically do the vintage country thing but it worked out and I am happy with how this one is turning out.

More quilts coming soon...

Jailbreak

I got a PoGo printer for my birthday and B found an updated Bluetooth print app!! I am in jailbroken iPhone heaven. Woohoo!!!

Terrafin

Chase's Improved Coloring Skills

Pottery Art

Angry Birds

Slam Bam Skylander

Tiger

Leopard

Another Angry Bird

I took Chase to a paint your own pottery store to make a birthday present for me and these are the tiles he made. So cute!

Sledding

We took Chase sledding for the first time yesterday. He LOVED it and wasn't scared at all.

After about an hour of sledding Chase was starting to get a little crabby so we suggested we go to the playground and he insisted that he didn't want to go and he was going to stop being grumpy. So we stayed...for another hour...and uncle decided to up the game with a crazy jump...

Chase was so small that he got SERIOUS air every time!

And the rest of us couldn't resist taking a few turns as well...

The joys of giant snow storms...

Can't wait to go back!

An Amazing Night

Last night, giant snow storm and all, we still had my 30th birthday party. I was amazed that almost everyone braved the weather and came out. We played Dance Central and Rock Band, ate the most amazing food ever, and laughed our asses off! I haven't had that much fun at a birthday party since my 18th birthday!

Here is pic of my two dearest friends (party hostesses).

The round of shots...(I am TERRIBLE at taking shots and it didn't exactly go down smoothly).

And of course there were Vodka infused gummy bears (yellow bear was a regular bear and orange bear was a soaked goodness bear). They were a big hit!

I hope the rest of my 30s are as wonderful as the first night was!

Thanks for everyone who helped organize, my parents for hosting my kiddo, and everyone who dragged themselves out on a cold Friday night to wish me well.

Mommy and Chase

A Snowy 30th

Happy Snow Day!

If only I were a school aged kid...this would have been the best birthday ever!

Amazingly a good number of people are planning on taking on mother nature and still coming out for my party! I feel loved!

The Big 3 0

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.
~Andy Rooney

Tomorrow I turn 30...wow!