Well, here we go!

creativity is a curse blessing. i have tons and tons of things in my head that i'm excited to put in to yours. :)

well, you did not have to wait long! i've got a yummy tutorial for you. actually, it's a series of tutorials, and this is the first one.

long, long ago, when emily loved all things pink she used to wear bows and clips.  well, as you know i have an embroidery machine and i loved personalizing things for her! at the same time i discovered making tons o' things with covered buttons. i had a brilliant idea to make clips and pony o's with them. so. i searched on etsy for someone who sold tutorials, and much to my surprise they were all made with glue. yuck. even at it's finest e6000 will fail...so i created one that you sew the button on. i scoured the internet, and, in fact, all the tutorials i found used glue, so i created ones that used a needle and thread. JACKPOT.

in addition to my www site i also sold on etsy. much of the time ignored it - i only had my tutorials listed on there (for the most part) so i sometimes would go months without having an active listing. :) like i said, i'm lazy. so anyway, these tutorials were exclusively sold on my etsy site.

here is tutorial #1 in a series of 3. this is by far the easiest - even you non-crafters can do it. i PROMISE.  have fun and send me some pics of your creations! (also, this one does not involve a needle and thread - those are a tad more "fun" and i'll post them soon. so, relax and go have a dr. pepper.)

(when i converted this the font sorta got squished? weird. anyway, as you know, you'll go to crafter's hell if you "re do" my tutorial and produce it for sale. don't do that. it's tacky.)

Pony O Tutorial

It's offically been more than a year since I blogged. So there.

i think i wanna blog again. but this time, i think i'm going to fill it with all my secrets. secrets of sewing and my all-out-balls-to-the-wall creativity. not that i want to be a great and famous blogger, but just so peeps will stop emailing and asking me how to do stuff. since i shut cutesy cloths down i have a huge list of things i want you all to know how to make for your kids - the most popular stuff - the stuff i made tons o' money with. why not share? i'm a giver. you all know that. but, you have to promise that if you decide to start a business and use my ideas/patterns for your basis, PLEASE FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY acknowledge that you are using my designs.

but at the heart of it all, i'm lazy with a capital "l." i do not capitalize. OH THE IRONING. i will try and get this all started when elliot goes off to kinder this year. **sniff** how can he be THAT old?!

i think i'm even going to name it "ain't no party like a mcneal party" - 'cause let's all face it - there is NOT one. (yes, we watch a lot of the office and i'm aware i stole their idea. shut it, for i am giving them credit.)

i promise to make it good. i promise to make you want me to post more. i promise to learn grammar. 2 outta 3 ain't bad, right?

in the mean time, here are some pics of my oh so fabulous parties we've thrown for our kids. be jealous. (no, don't - really, i'm not all that. BUT I KNOW HOW TO THROW A PARTY, and, on the cheap, i might add.)

below are the highlights from the kids' parties this year. elliot had an indiana jones themed party, ethan a club penguin, and emily had a groovy party. i'll tell you that a LOT of planning goes in to one of their parties. i really think about it. i think about how i can do it for cheap. and i'll let you know how to pull it off and none of your snooty mommy friends will know the difference. i'm cool like that. you are welcome.

it has been a long while since i've used blogger, so i can't remember how to make the pics upload in any other format than all in a row. don't worry, it's worth the scroll.

Meh - It's been almost an entire year since I've blogged

so, maybe i'll just post some pics. i've made the switch to fb, so really, i don't even check blogs anymore. :) here are some pics i took of them in a random field of bluebonnets that were close to the house. they aren't great - the sun was out too much. who cares though - they are little texans and it's a part of their upbringing to have some pics in april in bluebonnets.

March, April and May - well, just a little :)

Eh, just another pic post

wow. i've been busy these days...nothing like a little pic update for the grandparents, though. :) here are few pics from january and february.

Best Quote from Christmas

ethan: mae mi - are you SURE about that baby alive you gave emily? did you KNOW is tee tees and poo poos FOR REAL?!? why did you buy that for her?! it JUST tee tee'd in the BOX!

fast forward 4 days.

ethan: okay, baby alive. i love you too. you're thirsty? okay, i'll feed you a ba-ba. okay, baby alive. aw, i'll give you a hug. sweet girl. oh, you burped! uh, oh.

yes, my son plays with dolls. but i so wish we would have gotten that on video. about an hour before being caught playing with it he had to go to time out for hitting her. i guess he decided he would love her on the sly. :) let me tell you though, those comments to mary were hysterical. he was serious. he could not believe she bought her a doll that did that.

Merry Christmas!

we could not make up our minds, so 3 of the 4 got printed. :)

Even more from Ethan

mom - it does not matter that you put on my belt different from me...it matters that we love each other.

yes, ethan, that's what matters. :)

i get to spend a lot more time with ethan now that emily is in kindergarten. he enjoys being "in charge" of elliot during the day, and spending time with just me (when elliot is sleeping). he is enjoying showing elliot the ropes of being a big kid and telling him the way we do things. it's almost like he says, hey - i'm in charge of you now and these are my rules. it's going to be different around here now that emily is away most of the day. get used to talking to me. :)

i think ethan may be even quirkier than emily.

1. EVERY morning, the first thing he does is get dressed - from head to toe, belt and shoes included and sometimes with a hat. he tells me his "work guys" give him a hard time if he's not dressed right. sometimes he fights me to wear a long sleeved button down shirt and church pants. most of the time i just let him wear it. i mean, how can i really say no to a boy wanting to look so sharp?! he will pitch a fit if he can't find his belt. he will not leave the house without it on. he also tucks EVERY shirt he has in; even shirts that really shouldn't be tucked, like a sweatshirt. i can't get him to stop.

2. he sings/talks ALL day long. think i'm exaggerating, well, i sooo wish i were. about 5 o'clock i've just about had enough and i ask him to just stop talking. he looks at me and says - mom, you don't love my singing?? it's so sad. :)

3. he is very particular about where socks hit him on his ankle. if they are not ankle socks, he makes them ankle socks by pushing them down into his shoes. it's an all out fit if i try and make him wear them correctly...so i just give up. at least he wants to wear shoes. :)

4. he blurts out bible verses he's learned. he gets this robot-like voice and says them...i guess that's not so much quirky as weird. :)

5. after he brushes his teeth he makes one of us smell them. we've tried to just tell him we know they are clean, but he is insistent we check it out. then, he giggles when we smell them.

6. he absolutely has to take a bath in the morning. does not matter if he had one the night before. he will also decide he needs another one if he gets bored during the day. i've heard more than once, mom, can i just go take a bath??

my most favorite thing he does is when he just randomly tells me - mom, my heart always loves you. he started telling me that about 6 months or so ago, and it always makes me smile when he says it. he's a sweet boy. i'll be a little more than sad when he goes off to kindergarten next year. at least i'll have elliot with me so i guess i won't be too bored. but elliot needs to learn to TALK!! but we are working on that. :)

More from Ethan's mind

background: for a couple of years now, ethan has had a pretend family. mainly, a mom, grandpa and a brother. boro, his brother, gets blamed for making ethan do things, his pretend mom lets him do whatever he wants, his grandpa (by the way, he does not call my dad the word grandpa) and his friend miguel who lives in the kitchen cabinets. a couple of months ago ethan told me his pretend mom died so this conversation took us offguard.

ethan to me and dan: my pretend mom is going to die in december. she's going to have a stroke.

dan and i look at each other: really? i thought your pretend mom died a little bit ago.

ethan: she did. but i have 'mommy seeds' in the attic i water. i got her from up in the attic.

us: really. that's interesting.

ethan: yeah, when i get tired of my old pretend mom, i just go upstairs and get another one.

us: okay, ethan.

then he talked at length about his pretend family.

where do i begin? now, how do these pretend moms lose favor with him?? should i be worried?!?!

Sweet words from Ethan

ethan to my mom: do you have a daddy?

my mom: no.

ethan: you need to get one, they take care of you.



i think dan is doing his job, what do you think? :)