Punkin Patch!

We took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch near Sublette, KS just before Halloween. Yes, I know I'm a little behind....story of my life!

Anyhoo, I have never seen so many different types of pumpkins! They had white, black(!), yellow, several shades of orange(duh), and a bunch others that I just can't remember at the moment. They also grew squashes, gourds, cantalope, and watermelons.

Here we are going on a hay ride through the farmer's land...

and we even encountered some of the locals. Honestly, I forgot how damn big cows are!

This is a shot Gene took of us watching the catapult. The man had this huge well, catapult, that he flung watermelons several hundred feet.

It was cool. We also went through a maze that they had plowed through a large patch of corn. I don't know why I didn't take any pics but it was really fun and we got lost a couple of times. I think that's the funnest part but I could tell the old hubby was getting a little freaked out.

We had such a great time that this will be a tradition from now on. I just can't believe we hadn't gone sooner.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I have to say in these gloomy times our nation is going through I am so very thankful for all the blessings bestowed upon myself and my family. My husband has a good job. It allows me to stay at home and my kids have their Momma to greet them when they come home from school. I can't think of anything much better!

Almost forgot

OMG! I can't believe I forgot to add this yesterday....Anyway, when I was at Needle Nook this last weekend Deb told me about a new bra pattern they have coming out soon. She really liked my bra and stitchy abilities so she asked if I'd like to be one of the testers! How cool is that?! I was extremely flattered and can't wait to see the new design. It is supposed to be a 3-seam cup. Most of the bras for larger busts from European companies seem to be this way. I just wanted to add that little "Yay me!"

I'll leave you with a super cute pic of my two babies.

Both sacked out on the floor. Penelope had her head right up against Conner's but of course she had to move before I could get the camera going.

Please disregard my UGLY carpet! LOL!

Back to business

Okay, seriously, I've been thinking about blogging stuff but I just never sit my butt down and get it done.

I've been sewing quite a bit and dealing with a sick toddler. One minute he has horrible diarrhea the next, he gets it again, and now he is on meds for tonsilitis and a nasty cough. Sheesh. The first bout of diarrhea came the day before we were to go to Wichita. I wanted to finally check out Needle Nook and pick up the owner's bra pattern, her bra-making manual, and a couple of the kits they offer. Gene needed to go to get one of his amps worked on. I decided to stay behind so he went on with Meghan and whaddya know, he stopped by the shop and picked up the book and pattern for me! How sweet. I have such a good hubby! I promptly got to work on the bra using bits and pieces I had in my stash. I was sort of pleased with the outcome. Even though I used a mish-mash of fabrics and elastic it turned out pretty. The cup was too small and band too big even though I measured like the book said. Poo. I swear, me and my big hooters....

The good news is we got to go back this last weekend and I got to spend some time in the shop, get this....on my own! Holy Crap, right? Anyhoo, I can't say enough about how helpful the ladies are. I brought my bra along so I could maybe get a critique. Well, one of the staff, Deb, told me to go put it on and she'd see what's what. So, I did. She even gave me a quick fitting and had me try on one of their premade fitting bras. We found I just need to go up a cup size (shock of all shocks) and use better elastic in the band (the stuff I used for the bra band was vintage from the thrift store and had lost a lot of it's elasticity). I also picked up a few of the kits.

Here on the far right you can see the little baggies with fabric and all the fixin's. The nude and white have enough for three bras and the sparkly pink (doesn't every girl need a sparkly pink bra?!) is for one bra. They had black, too and a bunch of other fun colors. Now I just need to get Halloween costumes finished and I have a few alterations I need to get done before I start diggin' in. I can't wait! The other is some brown jersey with gold for a t-shirt, some irridescent white sheer tricot to make Meghan a bra and the red is a 50 denier tricot to make me another bra and some panties. Should have enough for Miss M, too. The last is some groovy camo print knit with a shiny snakeskin overlay (I have no idea what it's called) for Conner's costume. He's going to be a dinosaur. That boy lives and breathes dinosaurs....

Also, if you need elastic might I suggest the Kathy_s Yahoo group? I recently joined her coop and had her send me one of the 1 pound assortments (only $7 plus shipping!) so I could get an idea of the quality. Above is a picture of the variety she sent. Holy cow, it was like Christmas! It comes in one big bag so I sorted them and placed each in it's own little baggie. It's all really nice lingerie elastic and stretch lace (some just have discolorations or is a tiny bit dirty from storage). I've already used some of it to make Meghan a little bra. I made it yesterday and she's wearing it today so I didn't get a chance to take a pick of it, yet. Kathy also has tons of fold over elastic. I'm just starting to get used to it so I didn't order any from her yet but she has a 1 lb assortment of that for $15, too. I figure that would be perfect for the diaper makers out there!

I can't think of anything else at the moment. I need to go make some cocoa for Meghan. She'll be home soon and it's a cold, crappy day. Cocoa will make it all better! ;-D

nose bud

nose bud
Originally uploaded by li'l miss muffett

I just received this little "nose bud" from Lisa's Lovlies etsy shop. It is just the right size. She also has tons of beautiful handmade silver jewelry. I'm coveting several of her earrings and drooling over the rings!

The Chai Story

If you own a dog or know someone who does please read this: The Chai Story

I think I've seen these toys in my local stores. I'll be sure to go check next time I'm there. I know I've seen the brand Four Paws.

I just thought this was such a tragedy! I know some of you that read my blog have dogs and would want to know this information.

Thanks for checking it out.

Joy Nash

Found this on another blog the other day and thought it was really funny.

Family news!

Short post. Good News.

Well, we are inching ever closer to the final potty training stage. YESSS!! We have 3 pull-ups left and I will not be buying anymore. I only bought this one package so I think we are doing pretty darn good. It's been all of about 2 weeks since we started this whole business. Believe me, I still feel like I'm dreaming. I'm so proud of the little man though. No pee accidents at all and no poo accidents for a few days. He has found joy in pooping on the pot I guess. Finally!

Meghan is doing really good with her knee. We went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday and he said we can slowly work her out of the brace and off the crutches over the next few days. He had her bend her knee a bit and she did good although she was a little freaked out. I think she thinks her knee cap is just going to pop out again. He wants start aggressive physical therapy in about a week to strengthen her leg muscles so this won't happen again.

School seems to be going well for them both, too. Conner is starting to say more sounds/words and Meghan is making new friends. No bullies in her class this year thank goodness. Last year was rough.

Well, that's about it for now.

Have a Happy Hump Day!

School Days Again

Thank God! I thought I was gonna kill me some kids. Today is only their second day but its so nice and quiet.

Also we have some exciting news! (If you are not part of my family you will not give a rats ass about this post, sorry)

Guess who has been using the potty like a big boy?

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Yep, you guessed it! My little Con man! We've only had a a few #2 accidents but I'll forgive him that. The first one was my fault anyway. I put him down for his nap and he kept getting up telling me he had to poop but nothing was happening so the last time he got up I put him back to bed saying "Oh, you don't have to poopy. Now go to bed!" Of course he got up again and the deed was done. I could have flushed myself down the toilet! He's not really into wearing the big boy underpants so we're still doing the "pull-up" thang. Found some with Diego on them so he was a happy camper. When we're done with this pack I'm not buying anymore though. He stays dry at night and through naps so big boy undies, here we come! I made him the cutest pair of boxer briefs several months back so I'll need to make some more up. I just need to find some super cute cotton knits. I had to take my M-I-L to the doctor for her broken foot (it's finally healing YAY!!) but tomorrow should be nice and uneventful. I'd like to get back to sewing everyday again.

Mr. C should be home soon so I'll sign off here. It's raining cats and dogs so I'll have to be sure to meet the bus. Ya'll have a happy Monday.

Big C's first day of school!

(Meghan erased the picture Conner took of her so I have none of her first day, dammit!)

been a bad bad girl

and not posting like I said I would... Sorry family! Had a busy but fun weekend though. Well, Gene and I did anyway. He had a gig Saturday night and we had a lot of fun. The lead singer is getting married this Friday and his Bride-to-be had her Bachelorette party there, too. She had a penis shaped cake and got a gigantic rubber penis from one of the ladies. It got nasty (and funny) when they took it out on the dance floor and were...well, lets just say having a little fun dancing around it, etc. Emphasis on the "etcetera". I was part of the party but refrained from dancing around/with the big dick. I did get out and dance the Electric Slide which I haven't done since high school!

Well, that's about all I have for y'all today.

P.S. Family: I've posted some pictures on flickr of the kids. Be sure to sign in 'cause you won't be able to see them if you don't. They're set to private.
XOXO

Happy Father's Day

to all the daddies and especially to my sweet husband and wonderful Dad.
Also, in remembrance of a couple of amazing Dads:
You are greatly missed.

Sewing and stuff

I haven't updated 'cause I just haven't had much to visit about, I guess. I'm still sewing like a mad woman. I finished up a cute top using some groovy Alexander Henry fabric. It's called "Baddanna" and looks like a bandanna print but up close you see it has skull and cross bones. Cool. I look a little preggers in the top photo there. I assure you, I am NOT. I'm just standing kinda wonky.

Our trip to OKC may be off, unfortunately. With the cost of gas and everything we figure it'll be around $800. That includes my tattoo, though. Soooo, no Foo Fighters, no ink.... poo. But on a lighter side we can take half of that moolah and take the kids to Wonderland Park in Amarillo! While we're down there we may check out the tat shops. It's much closer and we can make a trip in a day instead of having to sleep over. We'll just see. But as talk of gas is going up to over $5 a gallon, I have a feeling OKC is out. Oh, David Grohl, I'll miss seeing you belt out those tunes.
And, dammit, I was really looking forward to this tattoo!!! Ah well.

One thing we've been enjoying is bike rides almost every night. I told Gene once school starts in the fall I'm going to take Conner in his little cart. It hooks on to the back of the bike and he loves it. We did a test run and it only took us about 8 minutes to get to his school! Gene is riding to work a few days a week and that only takes him 5-6 minutes. Yay! Saving gas, good for environment, great for my porky ass!

Clouds after wind storm

Clouds after wind storm
Originally uploaded by li'l miss muffett

We had a seriously wicked wind storm whip up the other day. The sky was full of these neato lookin' clouds. Unfortunately, we had a tree break in half, too. It is pretty diseased so we will have to take the rest of it out. :(

Productiveness

Yes, that's what happens when you clean your shit up!

After cleaning the other day I sat down and started doodling. As you can see from the pictures in my previous post, I have tattoo flash all over my walls. It's good inspiration... plus I think it looks groovy. Anyhoo, right above my drawing space is some flash that has a gypsy lookin' lady. I got out my paper and pencils and started drawing a copy and came out with this:
I think she turned out pretty. It looked a little plain without a background so I added the sky which I just finished up today. I may do a little more work on that or I might leave it sketchy. What do you think?

I made my own tortillions for the smoothing. I'm thinking about making up a tutorial for them 'cause they are so simple to make. Maybe for my next post?

Before and After

Ummm...yeah, so this is what my sewing table looked like before
and this
Here's another angle... I didn't realize how much of a disaster this whole thing was until I started digging it all out! It took me about three days! I thought at first, I can get this done in an afternoon while Conner takes his nap. No problem! Yeah right. Was I in for a big surprise. I cleaned out a lot of crap and gave Meghan several items. She's starting to get into sewing (yay!) so I gave her a whole box of fabric scraps and some thread and needles. Lets hope she keeps those off the rug. Anyhoo, I got some more storage containers at the $ store for all the little bits and pieces.
So here's the outcome:
I moved a lot of stuff around and rearranged my table. Now I have a sewing section to the right and drawing to the left. It already makes me feel more productive. I sat down and started drawing the other night and it felt so good to have room to spread out! Gee imagine that.

This is the last week of school, too! Conner is going to summer school through June so he can get a little extra speech therapy. He's doing really well with it, by the way. Making lots more sounds and starting to say some new words. He's even stringing some words together now! Meghan is super excited about being done with school. I can NOT believe she'll be a sixth grader!
Man am I old!

Mmmmmm....Food Porn

Okay, I admit it... I indulge in a little food porn once in awhile. Flickr is a good place for free food porn and Craftster, yeah Craftster is good, too. So, anyway, what I'm getting at here is I'm going to share a little food porn with you today. You know, just to forewarn you...you may go away hungry....heh.

A few weeks ago I was browsing some blogs and came across this post on Angry Chicken's and she had a link to this recipe. Now, lemon bars are my most favorite dessert in the whole wide world (okay, okay, ONE of them anyway). Yesterday, I made these amazing Lemon Shortbread bars as dessert for our Mother's Day supper:I've made them a couple of times before but these were soooo much better. I'll tell you why...The first two times I used margarine and the bottled lemon juice. The recipe calls for using real lemons (duh) and real butter. But, lemme tell ya...it makes all the difference in the world. I made these babies with real butter and real lemons this time and oh.my.goodness. Sheer lemon heaven. The crust is rich and flaky the filling is creamy and tart. It also has a strudel topping made of flour, butter, and a little sugar. Yuuumm-o! It only calls for 1/2 cup of lemon juice and has 2 CUPS of sugar. The result is very sweet and not nearly lemony enough for me so I added extra lemon juice. I like mine really tart. I probably added an extra 1/2 cup. I'm not really the measuring type. I also added a little extra flour so it wouldn't be too runny. They turned out perfect. Got raves from everyone else, too! Here's an extra naughty extreme close-up:
Seriously, I'm getting hungry just looking at this.

Okay for some more sweetness, but the kiddy kind:
Conner made this for me at preschool. The little pot says "Mom". I just love it. Meghan made a little book that has several memories and things she likes about me, stuff like that. I about started crying. It was so sweet.

I think I'm going to rearrange my sewing table today to make more room for my drawing supplies. It's becoming a pain in the butt to try and draw around my sewing stuff and vice-versa. I'll take some before and after photos so you can see how terribly disorganized I am, erm...I mean, how organized I can be! heh heh.

First, I need a lemon bar though....

Happy Mother's Day!

My lovely little family gave me this vast supply of colored pencils (132 to be exact):

I promptly put them in order(I'm OCD like that), sharpened them, and did a li'l sketchin'.
I hope all the mother's out there have a very happy, very lovely day. Extra special happiness to my mom, sister, Grandmas, and Mother-in-Law! I love you!!!

sneaky peek...

at some drawing I've been doing recently:


This is for NiRosha. She very graciously asked me to design a logo for her soon-to-be-opened shop. I didn't want to show the whole thing since she's not open yet. She told me I need to advertise the fact that I do this kind of stuff and by darn she's right! So, if you need a logo..... ;D
I hand draw this stuff, btw. The above is pen & ink and a little marker. I'm afraid I don't know coding and don't have photoshop but still....

It's up

I thought it was supposed to be up tomorrow but lookie!!!

I love rainy days

As you can see from my view from the computer it's a dreary day. We have another chance for rain...like 90%. I LOVE it! I don't know why but I just love rainy days! As I type this up it keeps getting darker and darker so I look for rain anytime now. As long as we don't get hail or tornadoes. My tomato plant could use a good drink:
I can't believe it already has blooms on it either. yaay! Our rose bush is in bloom too. Actually, that's quite an understatement!
Just look at all those buds!

These babies smell sooooo GOOD! I swear I was 20 feet away and could smell them. I've sorta let them go wild. I haven't trimmed them back for the last few years and they're spreading big time. We really need to do some cleaning up of the flower beds but we've been avoiding it. We have hundreds ( I means HUNDREDS!) of irises and they are so crowded that some are not blooming. Yikes. Mom, I thought you were going to get your butt over here and take some! heh.

On my crafty note, I'm thinking about breaking out the emroidery supplies again. I've been lookin' around the needlework forums on Craftster and it's making me itchy to stitch. I bought a T-shirt custom made for Conner by the super sweet, super talented Amy of Early Bird Special . I just love it and he does, too. This was the best picture I could get of him in it. He wouldn't quit wiggling and moving around. I think he's showing me a Flaming Hot Cheeto here.

Anyhoo, I'm think about making some for him myself. I'd like to try sew directly on the knit but need to get some stablizer first.

Well, that's about all I have for today. I told my sister yesterday that I'm going to try to update everyday. I didn't post yesterday so, sorry Steph, I lied. Hopefully, I can get a little blurb every two or three days. Sometimes I just have nothing to post!

I hope you have a super "hump day"!

excitingness

Yes, I know that's not a real word but it's kinda what I'm feeling! Last week I was contacted by a woman who works for Babble.com about using one of my pictures for an article running this week. May 9th to be exact. The piece is a personal essay written by Rachel Pastan, author of the book "Lady of the Snakes". Here's the photo(those are Conner's 18 month old hands):

Kinda cool, huh?

Over the weekend I got another offer to draw up a logo. This time for a crafty business. I love doing stuff like that! I'd love to make a living doing it too. I've thought about taking a couple art classes at the junior college here to just brush up my on my mad skillz. heh. I'd also really like to learn graphic design using computers. Hmmm...maybe someday. Get Conner into school full-time first maybe.

I've got a lot of catching up to do today so I better take off!

Here I am again

Dammit, if I could just make up my friggin' mind. Well, as I just posted over here, I figured out what my problem with Blogger was and I'm still not tellin'! But it's so much easier to blog and add crap to my page, etc. on Blogger. I think I'll just start where I left off thankyouverymuch. So hopefully I can fill this electronic page with enough witticism and humorous banter to keep it lively.

On with the recent news...

Meghan had her first band concert last night. It was fun and Conner even liked it. He liked the drums best, I think. Not too many squeaks and squawks so that was a bonus. Here's a couple pics:

playin' a happy tune

Meghan (in peach) yakkin'. What's new?

Conner and Daddy, being good boys