I forgot to mention

My parents and niece Kenzie Lou flew into town for a cold winter visit in mid February. Sadie took to my Mom immediately. She actually gave her a precious silly band within minutes of her arrival. She doesn't share her bands with anyone! They flew in a day after my pops b-day, so I whipped up a scrumptious chocolate cake to celebrate. (that was honestly more for my chocolate loving Mom)

For whatever reason, I didn't get the camera out much while they were here, which is such a bummer because we had loads of fun. We hit the MOA, Science Museum, got a little crafty with Kenzie and ate and ate and ate.

I have to say though, that the biggest memory I'll take with me was watching all the boys make us ladies Sunday morning breakfast. I love that every time my Dad visits, my boys beg him to make his secret family recipe...creamed eggs.

Another unforgettable part of the trip was the fact that we had a major snowstorm the day they were suppose to leave, so had to stay an extra day. My kids were thrilled. My parents, not so much! Hopefully they've learned their lesson and will visit when the weather is nice next time.

I don't even know who I am anymore

Anyone who knows me knows that I am into almost anything crafty as long as it doesn't require a sewing machine. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of them. My MIL once gave me a used one an within weeks I had messed it up so badly that it was not fixable. This left me broken and shattered (just kidding) and less than excited to try anything that included a sewing machine.

Well time heals all wounds right? A couple months back, I was shopping for some fabric to cover bulletin boards for Jackson and Max with my friend Esther. She was inspired to make a dress they had on display for her daughter and asked if I would like to make one for Sadie. I agreed, and then simultaneously winced, cringed and gritted my teeth. I think the most stressful part of the whole thing was picking out the fabric, but I must say it came together nicely.

Because I don't own a sewing machine, Esther and I took turns on hers. I was instantly smitten! This baby has a self threader, button controlled speed, and all the bells and whistles. Thanks to Esther (and her machine), I love to sew!!!

This dress took hours and hours to make, but for my first big sewing project, I think it turned out great! (Just don't look too close!)

A few things come to mind when I look at Sadie in this dress:

1-She better not have a growth spurt anytime soon.

2- I am either going to frame or bronze it when she grows out of it. Do they still bronze things?

3- If I were to sell it on Etsy, I would have to charge about $649.99 for it to be worth my time.

4- The JGP3 pose must be in the blood. (am I right Parrish's?)

I wish I had a nicer camera so you could see the detail on the back better. The ruffles were probably the hardest part. Thanks Esther for your help on that!

Now I'm just waiting for my new machine to arrive in the mail to start on another project....this time something much simpler!

Why do I even bother with the head bands? One of these days she might keep one on!

We Can Do Hard Things

I have been searching for a long time for something to put up in the entry way. I wanted it to be something of interest because it would the last thing my boys see when leaving the house. So the other day I was cruising through etsy and I found this little gem. I've always loved this saying. I was instantly smitten and knew it had to be mine! I know it might be cheesy, but teaching my kids that they are capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to, no matter how hard it is, is one of my number one priorities as a parent. I think it took me close to thirty years to figure that out, so I want my kids to get a head start on it!

Speaking of hard things being accomplished......

I finally got around to paining my bedroom. I took several pictures, and none really came out close to the real color, so you'll just have to come over and see it for yourself. The hard part about this job is that I did it all by myself in one day! That's right, I moved that massive bed! It was tough, but well worth the effort.

Next on the list is Jackson. He has been working really hard at school, and just moved up to the accelerated math class. Way to go Jack! Here he is with a picture of one of his heroes, Mr. Einstein!

I'm not sure if this counts. Max didn't quite do something hard, but he sure did land hard. Close enough right? While swimming last week, Max decided it would be awesome to jump in the pool and to a twist while he was at it. This resulted in him hitting the edge of the pool with his chin. Being the ever tough boy that he is, he wanted to keep swimming so he didn't think I was privy to this information. (I was in the shallow end with Sadie) I noticed from afar that his chin looked swollen, so swam over to check it out. He had a gaping cut on his chin and was swimming like it was no big deal. Much to his dismay, I made him get out. 6 stitches later, and he is doing great, but still mad that I made him leave the pool so early.

Sadie my lady continues to endure her overbearing mom who tries to place flying saucers on her head daily.

As for John, he told me I couldn't follow him to school, work, or the gym to snap a shot of him doing all the hard things he does!

Redo for two

I've been wanting to fix up Jackson and Max's room for quite some time. It's cute and all, but it truthfully looks like I let them decorate. (cuz I have!) There are random posters and pictures tacked up on every wall, and nothing to tie it all together. I have an amazing friend that is always coming up with fun decorating ideas on the cheap. When I saw one of her latest projects, I just had to copy it for my boys.

Along with the project, I also decided to do a little furniture rearranging. Here's a couple before shots of their cluttered messy room.

The few things I changed up made a big difference in the feel of the room. I found three posters and framed them. (thank you joanns 40% off coupon!) My boys were super stoked because they were robot and spaceship themed. I also hung two shelves and displayed some of their favorite Spaceship Lego creations. (so they won't get destroyed by Miss Sadie, and it also freed up room on the dresser)

And last, but certainly not least....the project! I made fabric covered bulletin boards made out of ceiling tiles for each of the boys. Aren't they cute?

This was project was up my alley. It involved fabric, duct tape, and Velcro......and no sewing machine!

And yes, that is a laundry basket....this is a real life blog people.

Fads gone wild

If you don't know what Silly Bands are, then you have been living under a rock for the last 12 months. Sadie being ever so trendy has decided to jump on the silly band-wagon. And yes, those are paint swatches on my wall, they've been there for months. I just can't make up my mind. But I digress....

Sadie can't get enough of her buh buhs. (Sadie speak for bracelet) She loves them so much that if you ask her to have one, she will give you a look something like this one and say MINE!!!

I'm hoping that like all hot trends, this one will come and go quickly like my hyper-color shirt I had in the 7th grade.

bragblog.com

I'm thinking of changing my blog name to bragblog.com. I have about 100 posts I could write right now that all have to do with bragging about how awesome my kids, family and friends are! I'll spare you most of the posts and share just one of the coolest: Jackson's first big swim meet!

Jackson has been working hard swimming 4 nights a week with NHCP swim club. It's something he loves to do and just can't get enough of. This first picture is of him on the block about to take off for a 100 IM. (25 meters of Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) He is the third one in...and his form is perfect!

Jackson competed in 3 events; the 100 Freestyle, 50 Backstroke, and 100 IM. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure when this picture was taken because he took first place in every event! Can you see that 6 pack?

I love this picture because it shows Jackson's total domination. He just killed his competition! We knew he did good in his heats, but had to wait for the final results to come out to see how he did overall. We were so excited to find out that he took first not only in his heats, but also overall for his age group in all 3 events!!

I'm so proud of my big guy and all of his hard work. His times looked like this:

100 Freestyle - 1:39.85

50 Backstroke - 47.14

100 IM - 1:52.56

Toot Toot Toot

Don't mind me, I just needed to blow my own horn for a moment. I'm not usually the type, but seriously, if you made something like this, you would want to brag a little too! Check out Sadie's homemade Christmas present:

I know, pretty awesome, right?



I've been wanting to try out woodworking for quite a long time, and when I saw this website, I knew I had to make something! Ana-white.com is seriously the coolest place for novices like myself to go and get good inspiration, and instructions. Love it!!


I can't quite say how long it took because I would work at it whenever I had an extra few minutes on my hands. What could have taken me a few weekends ending up being four months. I think my friends were getting pretty sick of hearing me talk about it for that long! The hardest part was picking fabric and sewing the curtain below the sink. My friend Esther was a big help with that, and even made Sadie the cutest little apron I've ever seen! (check her out, she is pretending to take a picture)



Sadie is one happy little girl to have a kitchen of her own. I'm glad that I got to try something fun and new. Now the big question is what should I make next?

Umm, hello there

I kind of feel like it's been a while, and I need to reintroduce myself to cyber space. My name is Jamie. People call me Jamie. I'm a mom, a coke lover, and I ate an entire box of white cheddar cheez-its for lunch today. Well, that's pretty much sums it up. Now onto an update:

Christmas came and went in a flash. We had a wonderful week with the boys out of school and John off work. Life revolved around lounging, eating, sledding, friends, museums, rock climbing and all sorts of good stuff. The boys are back to school and I have Sadie all to myself! Here's a few snaps of winter break for your viewing pleasure:

Christmas!!! Both boys got DSi's, and were thrilled.

Sadie got too many things to list. I'm hoping her favorite was the kitchen that I made for her. Post of that is forthcoming!

I was a little afraid that Christmas wouldn't be as magical for Jackson this year because he now knows who Santa really is. I was wrong, a DSi is always a magical thing, no matter where it comes from!

Sadie couldn't get enough of the chocolate fondue we made on Christmas eve.

Maxers ready to dig in!

The boys showing off their muscles and new pajama pants.

This is the first outfit Sadie has ever chose and insisted on wearing! She kept saying pretty! pretty! (and she is right)

It's now a frigidly cold January and I'm so glad to get back into our regular routine! (i never thought I'd say that...I'm usually a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl) Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly because I like to stay at home and surf the web uh, er I mean blog stalk when it's this cold and dreary. I say hopefully because of the aforementioned flying by the seat of my pants that I like to do. Happy January everyone!

Check it

The other day Jackson asked when he was going to be able to have his own blog. He thinks his life is pretty rad, and would like to share it with the world. I decided that it would be a good way for him to keep a journal. It took only seconds for him to decide on a blog name: lavaheadsblog. So if you want to check out what this little guy is up to, head on over to lavaheadsblog.blogspot.com . In a couple weeks I am going to make it private, so leave a comment and let me know if you would like to be invited to the coolest little kid blog ever. (in my biased opinion!)

Advanced Screening

So I know y'all just can't wait for this years Christmas card, so I thought I'd give you a little peak at some pics from our photo session so you don't explode with anticipation. Without further ado:

Thanks again to the talented Darci Timothy for working with our crazy family and making us look fabulous!