Quilting

Even though I've yet to finish my first quilt (I'm to the point where I need to actually quilt it and I'm scared I'll mess it up), I'm looking for fabric to make Winnie a quilt for her move from the crib to a bed. I think I'm going to do a large cream linen center panel with a brown corduroy tree applique and a pieced border all around. The multi-colored floral will be the back and the red will be the binding. The "leaves" on the tree will be fabric yo-yo's in all of the patchwork fabrics. I don't know what pattern to do the patchwork in, but I think I better keep it simple if I want to actually finish it.

I also want to make a coordinating quilt for the doll crib she's getting for Christmas.

Matt's a good sport to listen to all of my plans without reminding me that my house is already filled with half finished projects (including the half painted wall I blogged about last July). I think I need to start scheduling my time more like Matt does and say "I am going to work on this project from 8:00 to 10:00" and when 8:00 comes around stop whatever else I'm doing and work on my project. Matt seems to get more done than I do with my "work on something until it's finished" approach. I usually put housework first and that's one project that's never finished. The only kink in my new approach to efficiency is getting Luke to agree.

261 E 100 N

Another great house is on the market.



I was in this house several years ago on the historic homes tour. Everything is perfect about this house--except the timing and the price. It's currently for sale by owner at $249,900, which for once seems just about right. The county says the house has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, but the owners say 5 bedrooms. If I remember right, they're using a downstairs parlor as the master bedroom--it's OK as a bedroom, but I wouldn't want to use it that way. The best feature of the house is that it sits on .45 acres. .45 acres! And just 3 blocks from the historic courthouse and 4 blocks from the 4th District Court.


I've always said I want a small house and a big yard. While this house isn't exactly small, the ratio of house to yard is perfect. Flowers, fruits, vegetables and play space wouldn't have to compete. This house also seems to be well maintained compared to a lot of my other "dream houses". The current yard is nicely cared for, but my favorite thing about it is that it's almost a blank slate for my grand plans.


Maybe it will still be on the market in a year--or two.

Christmas in April

Matt sold a textbook back today and I promptly spent the money on my first Christmas purchase of 2009. This Christmas, Winnie is getting one of these dolls and her outfits.

Today I bought this doll crib that I'd been eyeing on Ebay to go along with her.


It was only $25.00, including shipping, so I'm a little worried that it may look better in the pictures than real life, but the size is perfect and it's supposed to be solid wood with a working drop side. That's more than I can say for my real crib!

I'd kind of like to paint it, so an imperfect finish could be a plus because it would get rid of my guilt in painting nice wood.

I love Christmas shopping so much it might not be healthy.

Update: Make that my second Christmas purchase of 2009. I forgot about one other thing I'd bought and put away. Good thing I keep a spreadsheet!

Sunny Day Blues

This week the kids and I decided to come to my parents' house and let Matt have some peace and quiet to study for finals. Yesterday I was hurriedly doing laundry, changing sheets, doing dishes and packing bags to get ready for the trip. While I was doing all this, Winnie was doing this:

There were kids outside playing and she kept looking out wistfully and asking if she could go play too. By the time I was ready all the kids had gone inside. No one told me that being a mother came with so much guilt.

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny always hides our Easter baskets, so when Winnie got up this morning, she got to have a little hunt around her room for her basket. Too bad the video of her search is too big for Blogger because she was really excited!

The Bunny had hidden Winnie's basket in the play pen. Because Winnie went to 2 Easter Egg hunts yesterday, he thought it best to keep it light on the candy and add other goodies to the basket. Winnie got a coloring book, crayons, measuring spoons (maybe mine will stay in the drawer now), and her very own pillow. She did get a chocolate rabbit which we then let her eat for breakfast. Aren't we good parents?

For a while now, Winnie has been asking to have one of her blankets folded up like a pillow, so we thought it was time to actually get her her own. She got a travel sized pillow and I couldn't find any pre-made cases for its size, but I had enough fabric in my stash to make her a little pillow case.

Grandma Susan bought Winnie this little dress a while ago and we saved it for today because we thought it would be the perfect Easter dress.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize until I downloaded my pictures that my camera lense got a little finger print on it at the Easter egg hunt yesterday so all of my pictures and video from today are cloudy.

The Cost of Having a Baby

With no complications, baby's grand total: $11,681.18. Ouch. Thank goodness for decent insurance.