It all started because of some fabric from Walmart...

About a month ago I was at Walmart and I saw this really cute fabric and decided I wanted to make Chloe a jumper. Here's the thing, often in my head I picture myself with these fantastic sewing skills, but in reality I don't have any sewing skills. So, I called my mom and jokingly said, "you should come out and teach me how to sew some dresses for Chloe". What do you know?
SHE CAME (about a month later) and she just left, which is why I am doing this post so quick because we are sad that she is gone. Chloe keeps looking around for "Nanna Roofie".

When mom came I had a list of projects I wanted to do with her. In true "organizing-your-priorities-and-time-management-fashion" I numbered the list with 1's, 2's and 3's so we would be sure to get many things accomplished. I didn't include getting sick and losing my voice(which is still gone-5days and counting!) on this list. We still had a great time and she taught me lots.

Here are some pictures of our terrific week together.
My first dress. I really am so proud. It probably won't fit little Blue till next fall. Fine by me because then I have more time to admire it. The dress my mom is holding is just a little summer dress we made and I also bought fabric for a brown jumper. I will post when I am finished because it is my final exam to see if I actually learned and remembered what my mom taught me. A note about the dress: we had to create our own pattern because I couldn't find a pattern that was what I had envisioned.
My mom is a super star seamstress.



Ruthie also taught me everything she knows about cake decorating. We made this cake and then my mom made me another cake for my birthday. It was nice having 2 cakes around to much on. Mmmm....cake!

My Brad took me out on a very fun date for my birthday. Grandma babysat, which she and Chloe both loved. We went out to eat and then to our very first movie in Kirksville- Vantage Point. I received many wonderful presents. This is a pictures of our little family on my birthday.

My mom brought Chloe her first doll. This doll giggles and you can't help laughing yourself. This picture is priceless.

We also took a trip to the local Amish town and bought a ridiculous amount of spices and cookie decorations and baking stuff. Mom loaded her suitcase and I loaded the cupboards.
We miss you "Nanna Roofie". Thanks for all the present you showered us with. Thanks for teaching me more about love and patience, and service and sacrifice, and teaching me those darn skills that I know I need and am grateful you have to pass them on. We love you.

And finally, my hair is ridiculously too long and I am getting it cut on Saturday. Horray!

What was your miracle today?

Take a look at the world around you and notice the miracles...no matter how small.
This was how I was greeted this morning.

The dreaded..."NO!"

What do these three things have in common?

It seems like in the last couple of weeks Chloe has started to discover things that I would prefer she didn't discover like: the cookie decorating bin(she and the dog were caught red handed; literally, they were so covered in red because they had eaten the red hots) the Cystal Light canisters (she punctures them with her sharp teeth and gets a reward full of sweet, powdery, goodness), the chocolate chips, the toilet, the dogs food and water bowl, and the garbage cans. It really breaks my heart to have to say the "N" word, so I am trying to just divert her attention as much as possible, but sometimes "NO" is the only way to go. Thankfully, there isn't much in our home to impose restrictions on, but in anycase, we're working on boundaries around here and our efforts are working, slowly. She and the dog are both confused when they hear "N-O" and don't know if it's meant for him or her. Chloe knows when and what to do to get mom's "attention". On the other hand, it's been absolutely priceless seeing her "discover" (there's that word again) her little world. She'll play ball with the dog and when the ball rolls under the couch she can duck down and look under the couch and see where it went. She imitates us when we laugh and really gets silly. When I do laundry she loves to help me put the clothes away, by throwing all the clothes I have just folded over her shoulder on to the ground. She can get through a basket much faster than I can! She really loves music and will show her rhythm with her bopping up and down. She has a bunch of new tastes like tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers,mushrooms, g-beef, craisins, tuna, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes, and fried mush.(This kid won't be picky if I have anything to say about it.) She loves to load bowls with little lids and then dump the bowls out. I recently went to Ace Hardware, of all places, and found a whole section of "classic" old toys (have I used enough italics in this post!!) The picture below is one such toy. If it weren't for my cute Brad I wouldn't even have known how this toy worked.
Then you squeeze really hard and...
I had the scissors ready to cut the black netting off...would've ruined the fun. We also bought a little canister that makes bird noises when you shake it. They also had a mokey and lamb one. So, when in need of a creative toy, head to Ace Hardware.