Happy Friday!

We have a lot planned for this weekend....

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday....and a Happy Halloween!

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Pumpkin Patch 2010

Little T got his second taste at a pumpkin patch. Seeing that he was only 6 weeks or so old the first time, I think he enjoyed it more this time.

Last year:

I love, love, love this shot of him.

Can you see the excitement on his face when he picked his own little pumpkin?

A new trick: fish lips

I'd say he's pretty good at it!

Auburn's downtown Halloween event was tonight and was a ZOO with more kids than I care to count....I think everyone in the county made it. Total craziness.

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Fall Jon Jons

Some recent little jon jons for some special boys:
I love this madras:

Auburn football

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Trunk or Treats?

Some photos from trunk or treating at our church. We have a new small group called new or expectant parents and while it's still getting off the ground, everyone has participated wonderfully. We are very excited to see where this group takes us, our church and allows us to grow in our faith and perhaps impact the community while impacting each other.
We participated in the trunk or treat and had a "tailgate" party.....with a bunch of kids...yeah.
T was a tiger - at first. It was quite hot outside so he switched gears and donned his Saints attire (along with his mother).
Here he is with my pen pal's little boy, Tate. (yes, from when I was 11). I'll write more on that one day. Tate is 6 months younger than Troy.
Tate.

Troy playing with a ball game.

Little Reagan.

Ansley with Tate.

T found these cones and was amused for a while....until someone came to play the game. Then, he got quite upset.

In his tiger costume....looks hot, huh?

Without the head adornment.

Some of the folks from our small group. Thank goodness I have black on...I'm getting big!

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Beach trip with the girls

A few (three) weeks ago, we headed to Blue Mtn. Beach. "We" means my mother (KK), both sisters, Troy and Colt. Relaxing? N0. Fun? YES!!!
Of course I got zero photos of all of us together. What's a girl to do, right?
Here are a few of my favorite photos below.
Thankfully, KK and Mary helped me a LOT with Troy. He's a busy little bee and my pregnant self would get tired going up and down the stairs with him. Thanks guys!
KK with Troy the one day we went to the beach.
Right after about the 100th time I told Troy not to eat the sand. He actually was putting it in his mouth and swallowing it. Yuk.

I love this photo of Colt. He loved the sand and would just play with it.

The boys

Troy has been doing "fish lips" and we think it's one of the funniest things. Here he is in the tub. Colt is an active little thing in the tub and Troy was a bit intimidated.

Someone got a little jealous when his mother was holding another....

We had a wonderful weekend of great food (royal red shrimp anyone?), company, a little shopping and watching an awesome Auburn football game (vs. Arkansas).

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Making Easy Peesy Panel Curtains

I have a separate sewing blog. Did you know that? Well, I haven't been great at keeping up with it (even worse than this blog). So, I've decided that, for now, I'll combine them both.

As was the case when we announced to our family about my pregnancy with Troy, I made bedding, curtains and pillows to announce the upcoming arrival of our second child.



I did make some pillows, pillow shams and curtains for Troy's soon-to-be new room. Our plan is to put him in the new room when the baby is a few months old and needs to go in the big crib. I'm praying and crossing my fingers that he'll cooperate in a full size bed at around 22-24 months old...

While I was making these curtains, I thought it would be fun to share with you how easy it is to make panel curtains. Here goes:
First, you should choose your fabric. Below is a photo of when I was trying to decide on the bedding, pillows and curtains for T's new room. Oh, and this is how I "announced" to Brian that we had another baby on the way. Surprisingly he "gets" my sewing mind sometimes and knew I was telling him we'd have to decorate the room:

Step 1: Measure your window. The width of the fabric of your curtains should be at least twice the width of your window. For my window, it is 6 feet (or 72 inches) wide. Double that and I would need two 72" panels. Honestly, I used two 64" panels (the same width of the roll of fabric). When purchasing the fabric, the length should be however long you want your curtains to be PLUS 10 inches (8 inches for the bottom hem and 2 inches for the top hem).

Step 2: Square up your fabric (sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this). Using a rotary cutter with a cutting mat and grid, cut each width and length straight (don't tear the fabric, sometimes it makes panel curtains more difficult - hopefully your fabric is heavy enough to where you can't rip it). Don't cut the selvage - that is your straightest edge.

Step 3: Cut the panels the length they should be (don't forget your extra 10 inches to add into your length).

Step 4: Lay out one panel and turn up the bottom 4 inches. PRESS! Turn up another 4 inches and PRESS. PRESS!!

Pin along the bottom hem. Straight stitch along the top pressed edge. Step 5: LINING. Yes, your curtains will be lined. If you've never done this before, don't freak out. To me, lining things is easier than not. Your lining material should be equal to the length of your finished curtains PLUS 2 1/2 inches. Also, the width should be SIX inches narrower than the width of the curtain fabric. Cut as appropriate using a rotary cutter to make it square.

Step 6: Turn up a 2 inch double fold hem (similar to the bottom hem of the curtain fabric). Press and pin in place.

Stitch along the upper fold for your hem.

Step 7: Place your curtain and lining fabric with the RIGHT sides together. Your lining fabric should be placed exactly 1 1/2 inches ABOVE your curtain fabric. Stitch along the outer edges.

You will have to manipulate the lining fabric a bit since it is narrower than your curtain fabric.

Step 8: Turn the fabric right side out.

Step 9: You will now need to press your curtain. Lay it all out and make sure that your curtain fabric extends 2 inches beyond the lining material on the BACK side of your curtain. Photo is below. Press the whole curtain. Be patient because your panel will be large and you will have to work with the fabric to make sure it stays even in the back.

Step 10: Time to finish the top edge. Lay out the top edge of your curtain with the lining fabric on top (see photo below). Make a double fold 1 inch hem. Your hem should extend just a little over the top of your lining material. Pin and sew.

By this point your child has probably decided to wake from his/her nap.

Get back to sewing the top edge and finish before your child becomes annoyed with you not paying close attention to him.

Allowing your child to play with your sewing box is acceptable, under close supervision.

Once you have finished sewing the top edge, you should mitre the bottom corners of your curtain. I'll try and post this at some point. This time, I wasn't able to finish due to the child in the photos above.

Here is the room before:

And after: See the curtains hanging? I used curtain pins with loops to attach to the rod. This is my preferred method of hanging curtains.

I hope this was helpful! Trust me, it is SO easy!

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