Dolce and the Blehs

I indulgently bought myself a Dolce charm pack and have lately been putting it to good use. I've divided it into two different color groups, for a warm and a cool version of the same quilt.



The cool version....


...and this picture doesn't come close to doing it justice. I was going to do the warm quilt's sashing in orange...but I chickened out. It'll be gray too. ...and I guess they'll be twinnier that way...so I think I've come to terms with it.

Aside from that quilt top, we've mostly been doing this lately:


Being sluggish, eating saltines, watching stupid movies, and hoping no one else throws up on the carpet.

Romero Birthdays are Harbingers of Doom

It may sound crazy, but I think I have reason to worry (especially considering that we have two more birthdays to go this "season"). My proof:

On the morning of Cozy's birthday, one of our guests got into a lovely car crash...on the freeway. Bleh.

The night before Annika's party, Coze puked every hour on the hour. (I may be exaggerating slightly, since I was in a sleep-deprived haze while it was happening.)

Sofia swears her birthday party will not bring doom or destruction...or puke. Dare we? Sadly, I think we must.

Aside from the pukey night preceding it, Annika's party went pretty well. Since the BBC network has re-enamored us all with Robin Hood, Annika wanted a Robin Hood birthday party.

We crafted these lovely invites, telling all of her friends that we "Sher-Would" like to have them attend. (Yes, I know. We're silly.)


Annika "of the Hood" arrayed in her green, armed with dollar-store, suction-cup arrows. She was horrified that someone might think this was a Disney Robin Hood party (oh, so grown up!), so I probably should have gone in a different direction for the hats...but these ones were just so dang easy! Joanns even had packets of red feathers to stick in them!


Her band of Merry....girls...lining up for the archery contest.


Target cupcakes. Mmmmm. It makes me want to go shopping.


Happy Birthday, my little Outlaw!

Well, that was a quick year.

Cozette is one, and I think that may have been the fastest year of my life. I'm trying to celebrate it (instead of crying about it).

Here's how Cozy's day went:


Sleeping in (more of an every-day treat than a birthday treat.)


Trying to eat Mom's plants and popping bubbles.


Wondering what the point of this candle thing could be? Why would anyone defile my cupcake in that way? ...and the sing about it?


Naked strawberry-eating on the table. It sounds so risque, I know.


Checking out all of the lovely, thoughtful presents. Thanks, everyone!

Elise's Quilt

Another little retro quilt with a traditional pattern. I think it turned out swell.


....and it's already in the mail.

We {love} Laundry!

....making it...and letting it pile up in the laundry room.

So today, in the midst of washing sheets and other sundries, I decided I was going to spruce up my laundry room.


I dug out some pretty fabric I got on clearance ages ago (Pop Garden, by Heather Bailey) and found a tension rod.


...cutting...well, that looked weird...


....more cutting.....and splicing....and being cranky at kids....


...and there we go! It's not perfect. It isn't exactly wide enough...doesn't entirely cover the tension rod. Oh, well. Maybe my next home will have a super-tiny window somewhere.

Still, it draws attention away from the laundry, right?


...and I stole some of the scraps for my 9-patch!

Patterny Goodness

I got my fabric from Fresh-Squeezed (of "I have to say..."! It's Joel Dewberry's new "Modern Meadow". I was really excited when I saw this line, because...

Sofia wants a blue quilt. I suggested a nice turquoise blue. She said, "No, I want it like the colors on that sign." The LOWES sign. Great - my quilting dream come true. Royal blue and red. Could she come up with an uglier color scheme? I was thrilled that she was ok with the deep blues in this line.

The browns? We'll see. Wouldn't they make a nice baby boy quilt? Too flowery?


Randi threw in these charm squares! {Thanks!} I immediately cut them up for my 9-patch. You thought I forgot all about that quilt, didn't you?


I purchased this basket of clothes at Clash of the Titans...oh, I mean, while my family was watching Clash of the Titans. The littles made it through the first ten minutes, and then we retreated to Goodwill (before we all got kicked out of the theater).

Can you tell how I do my thrift store shopping? I walk down the eisle, looking for nice prints, preferrably in cotton. I pull it out...and hope it's in a size that fits someone.

Hmmm. This picture makes me want to make basket liners.


I'm almost done with the pillow, but the quilt I have to finish...


It's basted and rolled up in my room.

Cozy Curls

When Coze has her hair freshly washed,...


it springs into little curls that we all love...


...even when they're being slightly naughty.


Isn't there a rule about children not being allowed to climb until they're at least one? Oh, well, I guess 2 weeks wouldn't make that big of a difference anyhow.
(These pictures are for you, Mom!)

Other things wonder-baby is doing lately:
-Saying No-no (and often!), Num-num, Mam-mam (that's me)
-Reaching up and pulling papers off of the computer desk. Not good.
-Enjoying rowdiness with the other hooligans.

(Which, by the way, Sofia seems to have finally come to terms with the title "hooligan" and has stopped looking offended whenever I use it.)

One of my least favorite acts of rowdiness: Anthony spins her around until she's very dizzy and tries to make her walk. She stumbles all over the place. They both think it's hilarious. It makes me crazy.