Madeline's First Homemade Dress.

To some of you making a dress is like breathing. It's not that big of a deal really. So you hold some fabric together and push it through a sewing machine... big whoop! But to me, it's something like a dream come true. I've always wanted to make cute clothes for my babies and for myself. It has been a goal of mine for my entire life really. For some reason, I never got around to it. There was always something else to do, some other task to accomplish.

Today I was just sitting around after I put Madeline in her crib for her nap and it hit me... go make a dress. I have material. I have thread (only one color though, black). I have a very nice sewing machine just sitting upstairs waiting to be used. So I did it. What's the worst that could happen?

I chose this fabric and some ribbon I had for my project...
Here it is! I think it turned out pretty darn good for a first try with no pattern or pins to hold it together. I just had an idea in my head and and voila! The ribbon, I thought, added a nice touch. It also covered up the black thread I used that didn't go so well with the fabric.

At first I was going to tie the sash at the neck around Madeline's neck, but it was too bulky.

So, instead, I sewed a couple of buttons on the back and did a cute little criss-cross thing... yes, the buttons are black. I don't know why everything I had was black.

And here's my little model showing off her new rags, which, possibly, they will be soon (just rags) because I only used a single stitch to sew all the edges. It doesn't seem too sturdy. I have no idea what will happen when I try to wash it.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with the result. Because I didn't use a pattern it was slightly longer on one side and my stitch isn't perfectly straight because I am still getting comfy with my sewing machine, but my mind is swarming with ideas now and I am excited to go to the fabric store and keep on sewing!

I Just Have To Tell You.

I am making Madeline a dress. This is a monumental moment for me because I have actually never made anything of worth using a sewing machine before. I have always wanted to be one of "those" moms... like my mom was. She made matching clothes for us all the time when we were growing up. So, without a pattern or even pins, I am attempting to make a little sundress with some material I have had in a box for some time now. I happen to have some matching ribbon that I may use. I'm just so excited that I am skipping several steps. I hope to finish it today (I started it today while Mads was napping). If it turns out like crap, maybe I'll follow a pattern next time... we'll see.

To Be Continued...

Pink Palace and Noodles.

Yesterday Paul and Madeline and I decided to get out of the house and go visit the Pink Palace Museum here in Memphis. Paul and I have been talking about going there ever since we moved here (almost 8 years ago) but it just never happened. I have a trial membership card that I have been meaning to use anyway, so off we went.


The Pink Palace is a family of historic, educational, and technological museums as well as a planetarium and an IMAX theatre. You can check it out here if you are so inclined.

I tried my best to get some smiles but it just wasn't happening...

We didn't go to the planetarium or any of the IMAX shows (they have a cool deep sea one or a Grand Canyon one that looked pretty neat) because Madeline probably wouldn't sit still in something like that. So we just checked out the exhibits they had.

They have an underground Memphis exhibit that talks about the history of Memphis and has a ton of historical items on display; It was really an awesome collection of stuff from the 1800's. In one area they had a pharmacy shop that had all these old medicines that people used to use like "coca (cocaine) cola, and this cough syrup for babies that contained Ammonia... yikes... and a lovely leech display. Can you imagine... "Oh, Doc, I have a sore throat!" "Hmm. I see. Well, we better break out the blood suckers and drain your blood."

They also had a dinosaur exhibit - which I was excited for - but left us all wanting more... it had like 4 or 5 mechanical dinosaurs (small) slowly moving their heads back and forth and ROARING really loud over and over. No vegetation, no fake displays of natural habitat... I'm sure they're working on it. They did have some really neat fossils downstairs of all different kinds of animals. My favorite was the teeny tiny hummingbird skeleton.

Madeline fell asleep in between it all, which I was expecting and was somewhat relieved about since she wasn't really interested in anything we were looking at.

Afterward we went to the Olive Garden for dinner. Madeline had a really good time there watching people. She was laughing at the waitress at one point and there was a little girl at the table next to us who would not stop rubbing Madeline's head. She was cute. She kept telling her mom to please buy her a little girl like Madeline so she could play with her.

Good times.

Today Is Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Ma-ahhhh
Happy Birthday to you!!

Happy Birthday to Paul's Momma. We're so glad you are part of our family. We love you!

Madeline's New Pad(s)

Since our kitcken, dining room, and both living room areas are hard floors, we've been talking about getting some form of padding for some time now. We were torn between getting a rug or these floor pads that you can put together. Weeks went by, we'd mention it again... how we should get something so she can be out in the living area with us... the subject would disappear again... something new would come up.

So yesterday when I was grocery shopping and I saw these very lovely, very colorful floor pads at Sam's club, I KNEW it was what I'd been waiting for! I immediately packed two of these 8-pack floor pads in my cart and brought them home. Sixteen pads turned out to be PERFECT! I didn't even measure. It was so meant to be.



I vaccuumed and mopped the area before laying them down. They were very easy to assemble. They're very soft and spongey - yet firm. They're perfect! And now Miss Madeline can play and crawl and have fun out in the cool living area - as opposed to her carpeted, sauna of a bedroom. I'm very happy about this... VERY happy.



I think Mads is too.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Madeline's Monthly Message: Month 11

Dear Madeline Olivia,

Today you are 11 months old, and I am so addicted to your laugh, your smile, all of the little facial expressions you do. If I could just sit and watch you and hold you and kiss you all day long everyday, I would.

Two words to describe you at this age are "persistent" and "energetic". From the moment you open your eyes in the morning you are moving and ready to go, GO, GOOO! It takes all that mommy and Daddy have to keep you entertained throughout the day. Also, when you want something, you fight hard to get at it, and you don't forget about it with silly distractions from us.

Your favorite foods now-a-days are grapes, watermelon, blackberries, baby goldfish crackers, chicken, and you love all the Gerber baby snacks like baby puffs, and yogurt drops. Oh, the power of the yogurt drop. Thank you Gerber.

You can drink from a cup now, sort of. You always take an initial sip, but then you usually shake the glass and splash it all over your head and face or spill it on your tray so you can splash in it. You love water, especially ICED water. You gulp it down sometimes. You don't like juice very much, which surprises me. Juice is good.

You really dislike being put in your highchair. When we try to put you in it you usually straighten your legs and push the tray away with your feet. At times it takes both of us to get you in that chair. Sometimes if we put some food on the tray first you'll sit with no resistance. See, where there's a will there's a way. It's all about learning what will keep you interested!

You regularly put food on the floor. Especially if you don't like it. We usually go through a power struggle when this occurs... You drop some food. I say, "Madeline, do not put your food on the floor." Then you, while looking me straight in the eyes, slowly drop another piece of food on the floor. I say, "Madeline, do NOT drop your food on the floor! If you don't want your food just leave it on the tray, I will take it off for you." This happens about once a day - over and over again. You are not a light, submissive little flower. I have to admit that sort of makes me happy. I don't think you will ever just sit back and take anyone's crap.

You nurse about 3-4 times a day now, usually nursing more in the evening than any other time.

Tubby time has become a fun adventure. You kick and smile really big when I start to scoot your highchair toward the bathroom because you know it's time. You love to play with the water when it comes out of the faucet, you try really hard to stand up in the tub. I am constantly trying to get you to sit back down. You crawl all over the place though. A new thing you have been doing the past week or so is throwing all of your toys out of the tub onto the floor. I don't know what it is about throwing stuff on the floor. You also like to flick the washrag all over the place splashing water everywhere.

Changing your diaper is sometimes impossible. As soon as we lay you down on the changing table you turn over and try to get in the crawl position or sit up. I purposefully line up several of your toys along the wall only so you will have something to... YOU GUESSED IT... throw on the floor. I also have to let you hold something and push Elmo's foot so he is telling you a story while I change you. This all so I can get a diaper on you and get you dressed. Sometimes nothing helps and it takes two people to change your diaper. Dad will come in with us sometimes when he is here and jump all over the place or run in place or make a bunch of silly noises to keep you distracted. It usually works pretty good. I would let you just run around naked all the time but... look, I don't mind cleaning up food, or paint, or water, but pee and poo? I have to draw the line somewhere.

You still love Elmo. You love to play with your two Elmo dolls. We replace the batteries in them a lot. And at least once a day we watch your Elmo movie. I think we have watched that movie over a 100 times since we got it, and that is not an exaggeration!

Your communication skills are getting better and better. You don't form real words just yet, other than "Ma Ma" or "Da Da" sometimes. Most of the time you mumble, but you have discovered that if you point at something then we understand! So you point at everything. When we wake up, you point at the bathroom because you think your dad is in there. You point at kitty. You point at the TV because you want to watch Elmo. You point at your bathroom if you want a tubby. You point at my boob. You point at certain toys... It's kind of cool that you are beginning to understand. I love watching your little brain work things out and realize things.

One day at Walmart we bought you this little stuffed animal that, when you squeeze it's foot, does this really cute little laugh. It has quickly become your favorite toy and you love it. You give it hugs all the time and hold it, and you like it to be near you wherever you go. We named it "nubby".

You still love walking around with your Dad. Sometimes when you are walking I will act like I am chasing you and you do this deep chortling squeal and you start running as fast as you can to get away from me. You love to be tickled, so I act like that's what I'm going to do if I getcha!
My mom used to hide behind a wall or on the stairs when I was small, and she would jump out and scare us and we would scream and run laughing down the hallway. I'm excited that you enjoy being chased and surprised... I stopped trying to scare your dad long ago because when I scare him his natural instinct is to punch.



Just this past weekend we bought you a little walker/stroller and you are able to hold it all by yourself and walk forward. You don't quite have turning under control yet so if you run into a wall or a door you may be stuck, but you are working on it. You're very brave and regularly try to balance on your own or just hold onto something with one hand. You will be walking on your own soon.

We did make it to the zoo once this month with Misty and Brooke when it was a little bit cooler, but we haven't spent a lot of time outside this month due to the hot, muggy weather. You really hate being hot and sweaty. It makes you grumpy and uncomfortable. I am right there with you! I can't WAIT for it to cool down so we can spend more time outside.

You still pester Kitty on a regular basis. You still try to pull her hair. But you love her so much. You also love her toys. If we start to play with kitty you will try to get her toys and play with them yourself. So when we play with her we usually hold you back and you enjoy just watching kitty jump around.

This month you had your first cold. You and me were both sick. Thankfully it wasn't too bad. I had to suction your nose a lot though and you don't really like that. I tried to make it a fun thing by acting like it was cool when we got some boogers, but that didn't do it for you. You are just now getting over the cold. It lasted about a week.

You have THREE new teeth. Two on the top and one of the bottom, which makes a totally of four on the top and three on the bottom. Seven teeth! You are so adorable with teeth. Unfortunately we are still having a problem with you grinding your teeth together. We give you things to chew on when you start to do it, but it doesn't always work. You usually do it at night or in the morning or if you are really bored. Thankfully I haven't heard you doing it in your sleep. I think it's a conscious thing and you are aware you are doing it.

Every night before bed we brush your teeth and then we read stories. You love being read to.

You like to point at the pictures and turn the pages. We try to tell you what everything you point at is. Sometimes all we do is just tell you what the pictures are that you are pointing at. The other day you figured out that three of your picture books have pictures of a kitty in them. You had each of them opened to that page and were pointing at them and looking at me like, "Mom! It's kitty!"

You are sleeping in your crib. Each night after our little routine we set you in the crib and tell you we love you and it's time to sleep. You immediately stand up and start messing with the animals hanging down from the mobile. You also like to scratch the wall. And you love to hold onto the side of the crib and jump up and down. Usually after about 10 minutes, if we have turned out the lights, you will lie down and go to sleep. There are those days when your very impressive willpower will last longer and your mad refusal of the crib goes on for longer than 10 minutes... but your dad and me are doing well at staying strong. We must win! You're doing pretty good. You still wake up once or twice a night, but usually go right back to sleep if I rub your back. Usually in the morning we will let you come to our bed.

You sleep in the most interesting positions. If you put up a fight and stand up and cry for a while you usually end up in this folded position.



There have been a couple times this month where I found you sleeping standing up. But your favorite position is on your knees with your bum in the air and your face in the mattress. That is most comfortable for you.

I love who you are. You are a fun, active, happy little girl who has the most amazing personality.

You are very affectionate. You hug me and your dad a lot and you like to give us kisses. Sometimes you just just go back and forth between us for several minutes giving each of us hugs over and over. I hope you always want to give us hugs. We love you so much Madeline and we are so proud of you and who you are becoming.

July was a difficult month for me Madeline, and for many of the people I love. One of my closest friends, at a very young age, passed away. I don't think I have had so many powerful feelings and thoughts surge through me in such a short amount of time as I did during this time. And yet, through it all, there was you. You, with your smile, your laugh, your soft hugs and kisses.

Without you and your dad, I would truly be lost.

Love,
Momma

Wanna See Something Awesome?

Who is walking without the assistance of another human? Madeline is! She is still working on her balance, turning, and backing up, but by golly miss molly she can go forward!

The Birth Of A Mega Magnificent Man

On August 7th, Paul had his 32nd birthday. He had the day off from work, so we were able to have him with us the whole day! I decorated the "formal" dining room... I sort of stunk at picture taking for some reason. You can't see it, but I also decorated Paul's chair and there was a bunch of balloons hanging from the light in the center of the room...

Oh, and can I just say, I HATE streamer paper. I HATE it. I spent way to much time trying to twist that stuff only to have it break form on me and mess up the whole twisted twirl. I totally made those streamer paper flowers though. Pretty nice, eh?

Madeline colored a poster for her Dad... You see how that damn streamer paper is all weird and twisted in a stupid way on the right side of that poster? Ugh!

We decided to eat in the formal dining room for each meal since it was such a special day. Believe it or not, we have almost lived in our house 2 years (this December) and we have NEVER eaten a meal in the formal dining room. Are two dining rooms REALLY necessary? I guess there could be that one day someday when Paul invites his boss to dinner and I have to wear my Betty Crocker apron and then after dinner the men will escape to the library to smoke cigars and discuss politics (wait... where was I?) So, I decided it was finally time... to eat in that room. Paul really wants to turn that room into an office or something... which isn't a bad idea. It would make a nice office. I'm just not sure what to do with the nice table and 8 chairs we have in there.

So we had breakfast. After breakfast Paul opened his presents. Unfortunately none of them were much of a surprise because I asked him what he wanted and just got it. Most of the time I like to surprise people. I just love the look on someone's face when they are surprised. But I usually spoil the surprise because the anticipation of it just kills me. This year Paul got money (who doesn't like THAT present?), the last 4 Harry Potter Books (first editions), a rice cooker/vegetable steamer, a tripod stand for our cameras, some super dark chocolate truffles, and several lovely cards.

Our friends Misty and Brooke joined us for a delicious birthday dinner of filet, cheesy mashed potatoes, and super sweet corn, with salad. This year Paul asked for a pint of Ben & Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk ice cream instead of a cake. He usually gets an ice cream cake - he's never been a real fan of cake in general - but he just wanted the chunk this time. The birthday boy gets what he wants!

It was a great day, I know Mads was sad to see it end...

I hope Paul had a nice birthday. We love him so, so, so, so, so very much, and we are SO glad he is a part of our lives.

Learning In My Sleep.

Last night I had a dream...
that my blood pressure was 485/698 (precisely). A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/70. I knew, in the dream, that it was a miracle I was even walking and talking and that I needed to get to the hospital STAT so I could get a heart transplant. But I didn't want a heart transplant. In fact, I would rather die than get one (in the dream). Then I thought... well maybe if I just start exercising I can bring my blood pressure down and I'll be okay. So I started doing Tae Bo in my bedroom.

Then I woke up. Then I fell asleep again and had this dream...

Paul and I were swimming with Madeline. But we weren't in a swimming pool... we were INSIDE one of those water towers that each city has that has the city's name plastered on it. Except, this wasn't a normal water tower... it was like 800 feet tall, and Madeline, who was just sitting there floating in a little tube, fell out of her tube and began to sink in the water. I freaked out and grabbed her with my feet and brought her back up to the surface. In the dream I am so extremely angry that she didn't have a life vest on.

Lesson learned subconscious mind:
#1. I need to start working out again or my blood pressure will sky rocket and I will need heart surgery.
#2. Always put a life vest on your babies when you take them swimming in city water towers.

Itchy Little Hairs.

Sitting in the bedroom after buzzing Paul's head...

Edith: "Aren't you going to shower now so you can get all those little hairs off of you?"

Paul: "Nah, I'm gonna go get some gas and mow the lawn first. Then I just have to shower once."

Edith: "Don't the little hairs itch? Come here..." gets the lint roller out and lint rolls Paul's head and shoulders.

Edith: "There. That should help"

Paul: "Oh yeah, look at that." noticing all the little hairs on the roller. "Thanks." as he lays on the bed.

Edith: "What are you doing?!! Get off the bed! You still have little hairs all over you!!" proceeds to lint roll the bed.

Paul: "Alright. I'm gonna go get some gas so I can mow the lawn." leans down to give Edith a kiss and a hug goodbye.

Edith: "Don't get little hairs all over me..."

Paul: "I'm gone." leaves the room.

Edith: "Come back here and give me a kiss! What if you die?!"

Paul: "Well, at least you won't have little hairs all over you."

Edith: "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaa haaah hah ahaaa."

Paul: "Hahahahahahahah hahah ah ha hahahah aha haha."

Randomness

I have a cold so I am not going to get too creative with this post.

I think this is an adorable picture of adorableness...

Look at these pretty, poofy bows I made for Madeline! My friend Misty found these easy instructions to make curly poofy bows and we made some last week. I think they're so fun! I can't wait until Madeline has long enough hair for piggy tails.

I mean, who knew you could cook ribbon? Way fun.

This week is an extra special birthday week. My sister Heidi's birthday is on Thursday, and the love of my life, Mr. Paul F. (Freakin') Hotstuff, is having a birthday on Friday!! I'm so glad they were both born.

Mama Mia!

We've been trying to think of new and delicious dinner ideas lately. All we usually have is chicken. Chicken is great. You can make so many different things with chicken, but since it costs so much to eat now-a-days (Chicken is expensive) we're trying to spend and USE less. So one of our fun dinner ideas was to make our own homemade pizza.

Of course, while we made it I spoke like Mario from the video games. I felt it was appropriate.

Here's Madeline getting the flour ready...


Here's my babe, with his half Italian bad self adding some salt to the bowl...

After 10 minutes to let the yeast and sugar and salt and water fizz together, 10 minutes of kneading the dough, and two hours of letting the dough rise we have.... THIS!

This time we didn't make our own sauce, next time we will. I just got a pre-made pizza sauce from the grocery store... it was the generic brand, and I don't think it was too bad. I liked it. I'm sure Paul-y boy could make a much better one though.

Ahhh, the cheese and my one piddly little piece with green peppers and olives. I just wanted one.

It had Madeline's approval and was ready to cook! "In the oven!" she shouted (in baby jibberish)

Mmm, lookin' good...

Here we are waiting for the pizza to cook. At this particular moment Madeline was telling us a story about Vinny and the fishes and the family business. She was saying, "So I says to da guy..." at the moment the picture was taken.

Aww, Daddy loves his baby girl.

And.... TA DA!!! Here it is. Our first, homemade pizza. It was so much fun, and so easy. I can't believe we haven't done this before!

Next time of course we will have WAY more cheese (and onions and green peppers and olives), and Paul would like it to be much thinner. It was really thick. More like a Chicago style pizza (which I actually like quite a bit).

A Question.

Why COULDN'T Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater keep his wife?