Instagram Friday {Life as we know it}

It's been a while since I did an Instagram Friday Post. 

But since nothing else was getting posted this week, maybe it was time for a life post. You can always follow along to life as it happens find me on instagram @shwinpics 

 Penny is growing way too fast, and yet really slow at the same time. I can't believe she is over a month old already. We have spent as much time as we can soaking up the sun to get rid of her Jaundice. It's lasted the longest in Penny than it did in the other kids, but she has also been the smallest.

 We spend lots of time cuddling in bed in the mornings. It seems I am slow to rise after a long night and the kids are just as happy to climb in bed in the morning for some cuddles. So what if we stay in bed till 9:30-10...

 I am 99% done with this pattern ready for testers soon... I am just waiting for a few of the other spring patterns to be done as well, it also takes twice as much times these days :)

 The kids and I made up a batch of our favorite salted caramel popcorn with chocolate drizzle, I will share the recipe soon... it's delish!

 Abbey's room is almost done, since she took over Jude's old room and it had to be "girlyfied" (not a real word) A full reveal will come when and if I finish the room :)

 This is how I get things done most days. Wearing one baby and two kids following my every move... It works

 Having three kids has been challenging to find the balance, between taking care of them and finding time to do my things. But I refuse to make them give up their time so things are just a little slower while I learn to utilize every spare second.

 We ventured out of the house with all three kids for some family fun. We choose bowling, Abbey won, well she kicked butt and took names. Jude was not a fan of loosing to his little sister.

 We also got and played The Beatles Monopoly. It is awesome.

 My beloved machine had an incident this week. Some kids (not mine) put pins in all the holes they could find filling it up with loose metal. I took it apart and rescued it. Then I heard the most beautiful noise in the world... a sewing machine back up and running... of course then I had to move along and take care of kids :)

We have also clearly embraced the January Blahs. We have been having a record breaking cold winter this year, (cold for here, not cold compared to my childhood winters in Minnesota) The air has been horrible, trapping us inside, and the sky has been grey far too many days. This has resulted in some moody days from the kids.

So life with three is not too bad, they all love each other, which is nice. Hopefully I can squeeze in some time here and there to share some fun projects.

Instagram Friday!

Welcome to instagram Friday!

Did you think I had up and left the blog this week? Yeah ok I pretty much did, missed the super fun link party and everything. It's a crazy time of year :)

 My week started out with the first visit to the hospital for a non stress test, just making sure the baby (who decided to stop moving so much) is nice and safe in there... she is, probably to safe, and comfy :) Her movement has still been really slow, but my ribs are finally healing :)

 I had a girls night with this little girl, after spending a day in labor and delivery... 8 min contractions... totally fake. My husband went out and had boys night with Jude, and Abbey and I had girls night, timing those lovely and persistent fake contractions and doing puzzles.

 On 12-12-12 Katy from No Big Dill had a fun little hashtag party on instagram inviting people to share what they were doing at the 12 min. mark of every hour through the day. It was fun to document. We stayed pretty busy, getting done the last min things on my list before the baby arrives, doing everything we could to turn all this fake labor into real labor...

 After spending yet some more time in labor and delivery... (seriously fake labor is annoying... I never had it with the first two and it is messing with me so much this time) Still no baby, so we went to Jonny Rockets for dinner, this super cool chick loved hitting up the jukebox, she selected the songs herself (nearly all Beatles songs funny how that happened)

Then we took the kids to see the lights display. It's a fun little drive through park, the kids love it.

So, still no baby, if she doesn't come on her own soon we are scheduled to be induced next week, so at least we know she has to join us soon :)

Hopefully I will post a few more things next week I have been working on some fun projects lately that I am excited to share!

Instagram Friday!

Welcome to this weeks link party!

(no baby yet...hopefully soon :) We did have a busy week, nothing quite like the fear of the baby coming any day to get all the things done that you have been meaning to do for awhile...

 We started Advent. I love advent, and my mom sent me the advent calendar from when we were kids. It's fun to share something from my childhood with my kids.

 We have had many rainy nights, which is odd for December, but rain still makes for a cozy evening.

 The biggest project this week was getting new carpet in the basement. I love new carpet! The new carpet was part of the delay in other projects, we had to wait till the new carpet was in before we could move Jude downstairs, and then we moved Abbey to Jude's room, and set up the baby's room in Abbey's old room. Whew, it was quite a switch up. (and no it didn't put me into labor as I had hoped it might :) Jude's room is the only one that is nearly complete. It's the old playroom, minus the butterflies and with a new (but old) dresser which I love, it used to be my husbands, sad thing, it's missing one knob... one, and I love the old knobs, so now I am on the hunt to some how find one knob to replace it...

We also had a special surprise visitor (well surprise for the kids we knew he was coming) Our church sends a Santa around to visit all the kids. It helps with the behavior, Jude loved it, Abbey was a little unsure, even though she says she loves Santa.

So that was our week, how was your week?

Instagram Friday {on Thursday again}

Welcome to instagram Thursday... I promise it's not a new thing, it will return to Fridays, but this week I have a guest post on Friday and thought instead of double posting I would just move this to today. Which is good since I was planning on sharing a free pattern today... but it's not ready yet :) So Monday will be free pattern day! Think Christmas Pajamas! 

 The week started out great! Thanksgiving wrapped up we peacefully enjoyed time as a family, went to go see Wreck it Ralph (super cute) and to get everyone in the mood to set up for Christmas I woke them up with the sweet smell and taste of home made holiday spice doughnuts. They were yummy. (and can be made in less than 20 min, maybe someday I will share my secret)

 Abbey has a new "thing" she does things "by accident" Like brushing her teeth to get ready for bed... it was an accident she actually wanted to stay up longer. Throwing her sandwich to the dog, was an accident, she wanted to finish it so she could get her treat... I kind of love the new phase cause it makes me laugh.
(the dirty mirror does not make me laugh but whatever it is what it is)

 Do you have picky eaters? I have and I am not kidding when I say the worlds pickiest eaters. Abbey? She eats peanut butter toast... and that's about it. She used to eat a few other things but it's come down to toast or nothing lately. Jude? He will eat chicken nuggets, and toast. So we are forcing them to branch out or starve... ok not really starve but the kids need to eat real food and I am little sick of the complaining at every meal so they got to make their own veggie pizzas, (more on those later) Both kids made them, and ate them. It was a small victory.

 Other small victories... I am in the end friends. The "any day now" which likely means any week now, but certainly not more than 3, so I feel like a ticking time bomb. I keep waiting for an energy boost, or the nesting phase to set in... it doesn't seem to be coming. However the big room swap, crib set up and nursery "put-together" is going down this weekend, so that's something.

Ending the week on a high note, Jude was looking through pictures, this one was from the morning we were setting up for Christmas. He brought me my phone and asks, "why am I acting like superman but dressed like spiderman?"

I love that cross superhero boy. (and the girl who is equally amused by his high on sugar doughnuts and Christmas spirt antics)

So that's our week, we will see you back here with a special guest post and Monday with a free pattern!

Happy Thanksgiving {Instagram Thursday}

Welcome to a special edition Instagram Friday {On Thursday} 

Here in the states in Thanksgiving, which means, being thankful, cooking yummy food, eating the yummy food and spending time with family. (there may be some football for the men maybe...) Since tomorrow is going to be full of special deals, sales and giveaways I thought I would have Instagram Friday today. 

We had Thanksgiving yesterday since we celebrate a day early. I spent the day, cooking and loving every moment of it. I nearly cooked myself into labor... but the contractions stopped, which is fine really I have a few more weeks :)

 While I was cooking, I had my "little taster" near by, she requested Finding Nemo on the computer (so she could still be near by) Within no time at all she had the i-pad, and i-touch set up in front of her with a different show on each... technology much? She is a funny girl.

 Jude had a role in the annual children's program at church. He was a perfectly behaved child since we pinned his tie to his shirt this year. Last year he took his tie off and used it as a boom-a-rang... it was an awesome moment.

 I have been working on a pants pattern (one I started oh, 8 months ago) final near complete. Of course right after I sewed this perfect welt pocket with inset flap... I went and sewed the other pocket upside down. It was pretty annoying. Don't you just hate stupid little mistakes?

Jude is our little artist. He loves to color and so every month or so I love to brighten his day with a new pack of crayons. Everyone loves new crayons and a new pack makes this kid so happy, he colors for hours.

So how has you week been?
I hope those of you celebrating Thanksgiving have a great Thanksgiving and we will see you back here tomorrow for some amazing Black Friday Specials!

Instagram Friday!

 Abbey has a style of her own that is for sure. Well I mean she gets to choose from the clothes I have made for her so I guess I can be partly responsible for her style. I did manage to convince her not to wear her red jeans (she believes an outfit matches if everything is the same color) Then on the way out the door she insisted a hat was in order... what hat? A bird hat. Yes she put a bird on it. (ruffle shirt was shared here Jacket was a pattern I was working on and never completed... for shame)

We were super nice parents, woke the kids up early and took them to a new cool store that opened, it had a ferris wheel inside we rode on it, we played some virtual games, saw animals... a kids dream right? Apparently not the right day for these two, both had total meltdowns, and got taken straight home. Don't you just love days like that as a parent? Always seems to happen when we think we planned something great. 

 This little girl got sick, a little stomach bug that came and went. We knew she was on the mend when she insisted on putting on a "show" for us.

 2 weeks ago we got a fluke snow storm... this week we had weather in the high 70's absolutely lovely and we took full advantage. (today? We are having a white out snow storm as I type)

Our kitchen sink got all backed up beyond DIY fixes. So we had to call in the plumber. The kids were more than thrilled to watch him snake the drain...

So how was your week?

Instagram Friday

Welcome to instagram Friday! A little glimpse into life beyond the sewing and crafting. 

 Abbey was in rare form this week, excited to wear dresses, and get her hair done. Two things she is not usually all about. Which is funny for a pink and purple loving girly girl. I also got my act together and brought out some fall decor, pumpkins included. The kids were happy. (oh and the dress is a new pattern soon to be released :)

 We got busy painting pumpkins. Carving is not really our thing. The kids love painting anyway.

 Our Kiwi Crate of the month came and it was shadow puppets! Which was perfect because we had dark and dreary rainy weather all week. The kids loved the shadow puppets and we had shadow puppet shows for hours.

Another way we choose to pass the time on these rainy days was pretending to sleep... well the kids pretended I may or may not have pretended :)Nothing beats cuddling in bed on a cold rainy day.

Our week ended with some surprises... we woke up to snow! I was actually a little sad, granted I love snow but in October? And after the super hot summer and fall we have been having this was just surprising... the kids thought it meant the baby was coming, since I have been telling all summer she will arrive when the snow comes... the snow came really early... the baby? Hopefully she will hold out a little while longer although the end is near :)

Also posting is a little slow, I have projects to share but my mom and my shwin are here for a visit! So we are soaking up that family time and they are helping me get ready for the little one to arrive, and of course shopping and laughing and well so little time left for blogging but I do have some things I am eager to share.

Instagram Friday!

Welcome to instagram Friday! A little glimpse of life beyond crafting and sewing.

 Girls night out put on by the amazing Jessica at Me Sew Crazy happened! It was so much fun! I would do a full recap of the nights event, butI didn't take any pictures... The restaurant was dark but lovely and I really just had a great time meeting some ladies I have admired for some time and it was great to meet them face to face and some who I didn't really know at all but it was great meeting such a wonderful group of ladies and we all had something in common. The love of sewing! We also walked away with some sweet swag, it was a great night!

 Since the Girls Night Out event was a little ways away from home, the whole family decided we would make a weekend out of it. The kids loved staying at a hotel for the night (what makes hotels so much more fun than sleeping at home?) The kids and my husband caught a pre-season basketball game and then the next morning we all went out for breakfast outside.

 We finished off fall break with a little trip to the build a bear workshop. The kids loved it and it was so worth the peace and quiet it earned me :)

 Even though I have been failing to post the rest of my projects (even the ones I made during KCWC) I have been sewing up a storm, including working on 3 new patterns. I will call it nesting. I am pretty excited about this pattern... once I get the quirks figured out :) (this particular one is for baby to be since testing out a pattern in mini versions takes almost no fabric)

 I went shopping with my husband for some new jeans... I believe he tried on 30 pairs of jeans we finally walked away with one pair... men. Lucky for me one of our stops was at JCPenny which has Sephora, my skin has been horrible with this pregnancy, I mean horrible, so I put a call into my super hero (shiwn) and she saved my day... Argon Oil. It is a miracle, and I bet you now all wish you had a shiwn you could call :)

Ok I get this question a lot: "where do you get your buttons?" Yes I am a button hoarder. I love buttons I use a lot of buttons, I can't get enough of them. They can be pricey especially if you are picking out buttons on those little cards for each project... yikes. So my secret? 2 places I get all my buttons Joanns, and Ebay. At Joanns they have a Mega button box (usually on the bottom of the shelf below all the buttons) It is 10 oz. of buttons for 5.99 I usually use a coupon 50% off. The load in the picture is my most recent box. You get lots of matching sets, lots of colors, some really cool buttons some cheap crappy buttons, but it's a great haul. I try to add one a month and before you know it you have a mega collection and will never need to button search again. Oh and on ebay I buy mix bags, same type of deal. 

Instagram Friday

Welcome to instagram Friday! 

Today is Girls Night Out! I am over flowing with excitement! So excited to meet some great ladies! In case you haven't entered for a chance to win some sewing swag you should! Check out the details here I have seen some sneak peeks of the swag and it is amazing!! SO you won't want to miss it. 

 Andrea from the train to crazy started a fun instagram hashtag #isew in which there are weekly themes. Last week was space. Here is a little glimpse of my sewing space, back when it was clean and ready to take on KCWC. (now it is a bit of a disaster) The basement has been a work in progress since we moved into the house, and so someday I will share a real tour (and the board and batten we put up) someday...

 Jude was getting ready for halloween early and thought he was "spooky" with his fake teeth toy... then they got stuck it was funny.

 I hit 30 weeks, So anxious to be done and yet, I have a million things I need to get done before she comes... like prepare a room for her. I should get on that :)

 Abbey is a girl on a mission. It is that lovely time of year when all the flies from outside seem to make their way inside. We all hate flies but Abbey especially hates them and hunts them down. (she has yet to get one)

I did sneak in some costume time during KCWC (tutorial coming Monday) Abbey decided on Hello Kitty this year. No surprise there. It was fun to make. If you are hoping for a cool boy tutorial... sorry no such luck Jude decided he wanted to be iron man and this pregnant mamma decided to buy it instead of making it. Thank you Target.

How was your week?