October Birthday Fun!

Apparently October is just a fantastic month to be born! Two of our four children, as well as many family and tons of friends celebrate their birthdays this month! We had a celebration for our kiddos last weekend and included cupcakes for the other family members celebrating this weekend!

We made homemade pizza (and zucchini pizza for our gf family members), per the children's request. Games, stories and laughs filled the evening. Here are a few photos of the various cakes (all of which were yummy), blowing out all the candles, a couple of the presents and one of the cousins having fun!

 

"Happy Birthday to You!"

 "Happy Birthday to You!"

 "Happy Birthday to J, R, S, E, E and everyone else!"

"Happy Birthday to You!"

Fall Fun (final part)

After getting the curtains finished (finally) the sewing machine was free for some fun projects. The kids each had an idea for a project they wanted mommy's help with.



Our youngest son wanted a shirt made with wings. We found a really nice black shirt (long sleeve) and some amazing fabric to shape the wings. The fabric is sheet with iridescent dots that look silver from one side and multicolored from the other. I cut each wing with a scalloped edge and attached them to the sleeves and sides of the shirt. It looks so cute!


 
Our darling daughter wanted to make something she could sew with me. She settled on a baby blanket for her newest expected cousin, as Auntie's birthday present this month. She picked out some soft neutral flannel (since baby's gender is unknown), decided on the size and thread color, and then went to work! With mommy's assistance, she cut, pinned, sewed and pressed the blanket. It is quite lovely!

 My son is into football big time right now. His room, his clothes, his favorite Xbox game, his favorite activity (indoors or out)...all football. So I was not surprised when he created his own football team and asked me to make him a jersey to match! I did not have a pattern, so I made my own using his favorite jersey. We bought fabric in the right colors and went to work making it. I had to adjust some of the pieces to make them fit right. I used iron-on letters, but the numbers didn't adhere right, so I made them out of fabric and stitched them on. I am quite pleased with how well it turned out and he wears it all the time!

(you can see the "bat wings" next to the jersey in this photo)

We have many other plans for this year, but next we have a big birthday bash to share!

Fall Fun (part 3)

The kids LOVE to bake with mommy (or maybe it's the eating part they love so much), so I was not surprised when baking pumpkin pie and sugar cookies were at the top of their list of fall fun. J made "panther" (think NFL) shaped cookies, A went crazy with "bat" (aka batman) shaped cookies and R made some spider cookies...not sure why, just because that's what she wanted. We decorated them with frosting and sprinkles and candy eyes!

I didn't get a picture of the pumpkin pie, but it was yummy too! There has now been a request for an apple pie and some pumpkin shaped sugar cookies.

My oldest daughter loves being creative with mommy, drawing, scrapbooking, sewing. She found this kit and had so much fun putting it together. Then she made a stage for them and took some photos.

Speaking of being creative, the kids also had some sewing projects they wanted mommy's help with. Next blog post, I will be showing off some of our work!

Fall Fun (part 2)

A few years ago the elementary school in Vinton put in a new playground. We are very rarely in Vinton after school and our summers just plain get busy, so we had not tried it yet. The kids have been asking to go this fall, so we made the trip in after school a couple weeks ago to try it out. Lots of new toys, basketball court, large sand box and good sized field with nature trail. I had to drag them away!

After leaving the park, we past by the football field and saw the younger kids playing a game. My oldest son has been asking to go to a game, so we pulled in, bought tickets and settled in for the second half of the game. I think we would have had a lot more fun if Little Miss had been cooperating. She just didn't want to sit with us, she really wanted to go run around the field! But next year, I think we need to make some trips to town on Tuesday afternoons and cheer on the team!

We picked up a couple pizzas on the way home and ate a late dinner with daddy. Two more activities marked off our fall list! Next:  craft craziness!

Fall Fun (part 1)

After all this work on the house and all the hours mommy has been away or busy, we planned some fall fun activities! The kids have sacrificed a lot over this past fifteen months as we've rebuilt. Their "love tanks" have gotten a bit low and need some fillin' up. The first on the list:  a visit to the local pumpkin farm.

"Which way should we go? Which way should we go?"

 

"Can we get some fun shaped gourds? I like the apple and goose-necked!"

"I found my favorite."

 

"I just don't know which one to get, Mommy!"

 

"Ooooh, I think I like this one!"

"Look at me, Mom! I'm a pumpkin!"

"I wonder if I could eat this?"

"Yuck! I do not recommend that!"

"Look at these top-gourds! They are so cool!"

We bought a trunk-full of fall fun, including pumpkins, gourds and honey! Next on the list:  a trip to a new play ground and a foot ball game!