Jenny Garland

Coin Quilt Piece-a-Long

If you've been thinking about quilting but aren't sure where to start, I have the perfect project for ya: the 2009 Coin Quilt Piece-a-Long. Coin quilts are a great because they piece together easily and can look fresh and modern.

Moda Bake Shop (awesome site, by the way) has a tutorial for a stacked coin baby quilt. I'm basically making a larger version of that quilt.

I took both girls to a quilt store the other day to choose fabric. Sara Paige slept and I bribed Kate with a lollipop while I meandered. Don't judge, it worked ;)

I chose Moda's Wonderland line for the coins. I can't wait for you to see all the fabric in the line, soooo cute!!

I just finished cutting the coins while watching Mama Mia. Not impressed with the movie but it did make me want a great tan and a vacation. By the way, Pierce Brosnan is a miserable singer. Why didn't they do a voice-over? He should never sing. Ever. Not even in the shower with no one else in the house. Listening to him sing was like watching the American Idol trainwrecks pre-Hollywood. You know what I'm talking about.

Enough about that ... Brad's out of town, Kate's fast asleep, and here's what Miss Sara Paige (one month old today!) is doing while I type:

I think I'm going to lay out my coins in the order I'll piece them, burn send back the movie, pop open a Diet Coke, and watch Top Chef.

A Dog Parade and Costume Contest? Fun, Indeed.

Sunday afternoon, my girlfriend and I took our kids (5 of 'em under the age of 3!!) to the Krewe of Barkus in downtown McKinney. It is a dog parade and canine costume contest. So much fun!

While Kate and her friend caught lots of beads and candy:

The babies were clearly enthralled with the whole event:

 

How cute are the twins?? Seriously. Looks like Sara Paige will have her choice of handsome men.

Anyway, here were a few of my favorite doggy costumes (the Golden Girls, a bumble bee, a lobster, and a leather clad retriever):

 

At one point, the kids decided to enter the middle of the parade to grab goodies:

It was a gorgeous afternoon and after the parade, my girlfriend and I squeezed in a "mommy conference" (read: wine) on a terrace before the kids lost it.

Check out how many beads they got:

 

Deal 'O The Day

After a precious Princess birthday party,

I ran to Target to pick up a few things. Since I was out by myself (can I get a "woo hoo?"), I had time to meander by the clearance rack. JACKPOT, baby!

The gray sweater was marked down to $6.24 and the purplish tee was marked down to $3.24. Thank you, sweet 75% off rack.

Unfortunately, I needed two Avent baby bottles which set me back $18.98. Boo!

My Hubby's a Keeper

I'm not a huge Valentine's Day person (aside from the crafty stuff), but I have to admit when I opened the front door yesterday and saw these gorgeous roses (a dozen each for Kate, Sara Paige, and me), my heart leaped!

What a thoughtful husband I have! To top it off, he wrote the sweetest cards for the girls:

...and a romantic one for me (I'd post it but I'd blush)!

Two Weeks Old

This morning Kate, Sara Paige, and I went to Kohls to buy new bath towels (try to contain your excitement, okay?). I consider our outing a major success as there were no baby diaper blowouts, toddler temper tantrums, or bouts of crying from either child.

This afternoon my mom ("Nana") is taking Kate on a special date. I'm here alone with Sara Paige, mesmerized by the sweet little faces she makes in her sleep. Take a look for yourself:

I think it's safe to say I make cute babies. Or Brad makes cute babies. Whatever. Someone around here does :)

Sara Paige is two weeks old today! Already, I can tell she's a gentle soul. She has an even temperament and only cries when hungry or during bath time. I really can't blame her about the hunger part, I get pretty cranky with an empty stomach too. However, I thoroughly disagree with her distaste toward bathing. There's nothing like a hot bath or shower.

Wait a minute...  I just glanced at the clock (3:10pm) and realized I haven't had either today. Nice. Nothing screams stay at home mom like not showering before dinner.

Anyway, Kate's been a great big sis and sings "Row Your Boat" to soothe Sara Paige when she's upset. The precious thing is it works most of the time. Then Kate gets excited and says "I fixed her!!!"

Here's a recent picture of my other two cuties:

Our house feels full and meaningful.

Check out my new blog design :)

Thank you, Hannah Craner for my super snazzy blog facelift :) I love it!! Hannah works very quickly and has great ideas. I told her I wanted something fun, light hearted, and crafty. She totally created what I was looking for. I highly, highly recommend using her services.

Grab my button if you feel so inclined!

PS - how cute it my new signature?

Kate's Valentines

My favorite little crafter and I decided to make some Valentines over the weekend.  We made cinnamon heart bark and tissue paper hearts. The bark is AWESOME and super easy to make. Highly recommend it if you need a chocolate fix :)

While we were making the tissue paper hearts, Little Miss doused herself with glue. That was definitely her favorite part. I'm thinking next time we'll skip the decorative bit and I'll just let her roll around in glue for a while.

 

And my teeniest of Valentines was a spectator during all the mess :)

Be Still, My Beating Heart!

Kate and I were sitting on the couch and she was threading a Lace and Learn animal. All the sudden, she looked at me and said "I'm doing a craft like Martha, Mommy!" Yes, my sweet girl. You sure were!

Two kids ... I'm bone tired!

I can't express how thrilled I am to have two healthy, mostly happy girls. This past week has been exciting and exhausting. Did I mention exhausting?!

I have absolutely no concept of how long it takes to get myself, Kate, and Sara Paige ready to go and out the door. The other day we were getting ready to go to my friend Heather's house. I told her I needed to hop in the shower and said we would be there in 30 minutes (she lives 5 minutes away). Nearly an hour after my promise, with sopping wet hair, I looked at the clock and blurted out an expletive! When I called to say we obviously weren't there on time, Heather laughed and said she thought I was being pretty optimistic with my 30 minute estimate. Please note that Heather is an experienced mother of two. And so sweet because when I said I'd be there in 30 minutes and she knew there wasn't a chance in hell, she didn't say anything :)

Brad's been off this week and gets up to change Sara Paige's diaper and re-swaddle her after I feed her through the night. What a sweet guy. He's been a lifesaver and I am NOT looking forward to him going back to work next week. I want to play with Kate all day like I usually do but between nursing every 2 hours and caring for a newborn, Kate''s obviously not getting as much attention from me as she's used to. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be bothered by it yet, cuddles with me when I'm nursing, and is very interested in being a big helper with Sara Paige. We'll see how she does next week when Brad's back at work and not a constant source of entertainment for her. I want to make sure Kate feels as loved and as precious to our family as she is.

As I type, Sara Paige is asleep on my chest, making the most precious of baby sighs. How can someone so small leave an impression so big and so meaningful? Life is an amazing thing.

First outing with the girls and a doctor's appointment

This morning I took Kate and Sara Paige to my MOPS meeting (Kate plays with other kids her age and Sara Paige stays with me during the meeting). I was nervous about taking both of them out by myself but it went really well. Here's a picture from right before our big outing:

Check out a close up of Sara Paige's sweet cheeks (and non-focusing baby eyes!):

And Kate's gorgeous baby blues:

This afternoon Sara Paige had her first newborn appointment (5 days old). She weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces (born at 7 pounds 11 ounces). Her head was 13" in circumference. All in all, she's doing great and we're happily adjusting to being a family of four.