BubbaChic

Maddy's Quilt

This is the finished version of Maddy's quilt in all its glory! Overall I am happy with it - and it has actually given me the motivation to make another quilt, even though I know there were points along the way - I was ready to give up with it and stick in a cupboard and forget about it!

Its made up of a mixture of new fabrics - including my favourite squares from the Amy Butler, Heather Ross and Free Spirit lines and some vintage floral fabrics. Maddy is liking the little Heather Ross squares depicting people swimming in the sea along with turtles and fish.

 

Its not perfect by any means - but my little girl likes it so I am going to forget all the errors I see!

And here is a photo from tonight - when Jay asked Mads, Maddy do you want a bath? Mads replied (not taking her eyes of the screen) 'I can't Daddy, I'm working'

It made me chuckle!

Relaxation

That pretty much what I have been doing for the past 24 hours - relaxing...whilst Jay runs around multi-tasking (didn't know he was entirely capable of that!) and entertaining the kiddies - whilst also making sure that they are fed, watered, not killing each other....

I was greeted by this lovely sight when I got back from the op yesterday:

I will over look the fact that Joshua is wearing a Saints t-shirt, just this once and focus on the train that Jay was painting on Joshua's arm.

Maddy's Butterfly courtesy of Daddy.

Jay also managed to get some cracking shots of our little feathered friends who seem to becoming more frequent visitors in our garden now.

They are truly fabulous little creatures!

I did managed to get both of the hand sewing finished on the quilts that I was working on, even in my groggy, often one-eyed state, but have not managed to get any pics as of yet.

All ready to go!

So - I am all set for tomorrow...hand sewing at the ready and on standby on the bedside table...dinner  is cooked and in the fridge and my bubbas are in bed early ready to wake their Dad up nice and early!!!

Historically, Joshy has a bit of a hard time with me being in the house and him not being able to see me - I usually get a little visitor knocking (whacking) the door sobbing mamamamamamamamama getting progressively louder and more desperate until a) I open the door or b) Jay carries him into the living room and distracts him with tickles, play or food.

So, we shall see how he gets on. I am sure they will just enjoy spending some one-on-one time with Daddy all to themselves!

Procrastination...

So...having been a bit under the weather for a couple of days now, Jay took the kids out this afternoon and gave me a couple of hours to myself...so instead of being productive and actually finishing up the hundreds of projects I have on the go - I surfed...for tunes which sum up the eras in my life - such a blast from the past and so funny to think I used to dote on some of this music!!

School a hard rock kinda gal - that was me!

College slightly cooler ;o)

University totally chilled!

and this how can you not love someone from your home county? plus he was damn talented!

First met Jay and this one because I seemed to hit my teeny bopper days about 10 years after everyone else! (Is it wrong that video still makes me grin and blush like a school-girl!!)

Party days brings back memories of a cheap holidays to Corfu - terrible hotel, good company!

Wedding Song awww, makes me go all fuzzy even now

What I am listening to right now

Oh memories, so funny! Can't wait to see what songs will be part of the next 10 years with Jay and our babes.

Getting ready..

So, next week (Wednesday) I am having to have a little surgery (A very American word, but sounds so much nicer than the English equivalent - operation!) which will involve at least one day in bed to rest and recuperate afterward.

So, I though it may be a good chance to tackle the mounds of hand-sewing that I am accruing by currently having two quilts on the go this one for Maddy and this one for the arrival of my friends first baby. And if I have the time and the inclination, finish the hand sewing for this little lady (pattern from the adorable Wee Wonderfuls)

Maddy's new quilt is proving to be a toughie - I have lost count of the number of lines of stitching I have unpicked from it and have now resorted to using spray adhesive to sandwich the layers together to enable me to sew straight lines without too much shifting (which feels like I am cheating?!) My visions of happily sewing the quilt whist dreaming of my little sweetie wrapped in it have currently been replaced by the annoyance and frustration of not being a very good quilter with a few silent expletive chucked in!

Anyhow, I am sure that when its finished, Maddy will not see all of the glaring errors that I see and just enjoy it...which is my whole purpose for doing it. But for the rest of today, it is going to be put away, out of sight so that I can see it with a fresh pair of (not so critical) eyes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A day of firsts

Today contained quite a few firsts for one day:

• Maddy's first day back at pre-school, making lots of new friends and having a ball (I am informed by her teachers)
• The new words 'share' and 'sticky' first appeared in Joshua's volcabulary
• The first purchase of a christmas item - a seasonal green tablecloth from a thrift store (along with a new picture titled 'Prunus Americana' how cool is that!)

• The first time I have ever mad bread and butter pudding

• and last but by no means least - my first attempt at making a doll from this Olive and Archie pattern

Quilting

Today I finally managed to jump back on my sewing machine for the first time in over a month. It was a good feeling and for a very worthy cause - a newborn baby quilt for a sweet sweet friend.

Its gender-neutral and contains the sublime stitching embroideries and the cute japanese fabrics. I still have a stack left to do on the quilt, but seeing the top done has got my fired up and excited to finish.

Baking Day with a side of Hummingbirds

Today, we baked - lots.

Apart from the usual cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner we also had a carb-marathon baking session which involved making bread rolls and banana walnut loaf.

Maddy and Josh both enjoyed the kneading of the bread (or just plain whacking it in Maddy's case!)

My boy looked like he had grey hair when he had finished - and Mads, well, when she went to clean herself up when she was done - it looked like a small flour factory had exploded where she was standing - all very amusing.

Ta-daaaaa...finished products!

..and this little lady is my only sewing accomplishment for today - I finished it tonight at dusk, whilst searching for my new little feathered friends in the garden - the hummingbirds. They are wonderfully beautiful and perfect...just like my babes.

An Addiction

Today saw the arrival of these two little beauties in our mailbox:

Both Japanese books, full of inspiration and absolutely adorable embroideries. I have found myself focusing on hand embroidery over the past month or so - not least because it is so portable, but also because it is so easy to stop and start them again throughout the day.

I have just finished the Sublime Stitching Kurt Halsey embroideries for a newborn baby quilt and I can't wait to pair it up with the fabric and see it start to take shape - If I wasn't soooo tired right now, I would have tackled it tonight as I am itching to see it!!

And here is my (badly lit - new camera flash on the way!) little pile of work from today...

An English Daydream

A few days has gone by since coming back to the States – we are all pretty much over the jet lag and back into the swing of Oklahoma-life – including the soaring temperatures and out-of-the-blue thunder storms, that we actually started to miss. I have been a bit pensive contemplating things since we returned and thinking about all the things we love about England and that we will once again miss now we are back home.

• Being part of a larger family again – something we took advantage of until we moved away from it 2 years ago. The safety of having your most loved people so close and just a few minutes away (as oppose to hours and hours away)
• Good to spend time with Jay – to go out, knowing that the kiddies are in expert hands and relax  and reconnect with each other. Sharing quiet times and times alone and sharing conversations in company with good friends
• Catching up with friends and a few impromptu blasts from the past (school friends) Seeing how they have all moved on – we will have weddings to attend next summer and new babies to visit
• Seeing the children connect with their cousins – like they had never been away. Watching Josh be *one-of-the-boys* with his cousins and enjoying the rough and tumble, boisterous activity time that only other little boys can provide him with
• Watching Maddy blossom in the love and attention that was poured on her by everyone and also seeing her morph into a *little-miss-bossy-boots* when things weren’t going her way.
• Forgetting the stresses of work, routine and scheduled life to go with the flow for 3 weeks.
• Being able to be outside in the garden, full of fruit trees and flowers and watch the kiddies play, without having to worry about spraying every bit of exposed skin with insect repellent.
  
  And now I will stop reminiscing and go and stare out into our garden, count my blessings - of which there are many, and watch my new garden creatures - Humming birds (excited? - oh Yes!) who appeared in our garden as if by magic.
  
  Here are a few (blast from the past) family shots from England:

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  Cally and Mum

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Maddy with Nanny and Planky (from Dec 2005)

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Aiden with Uncle Oz

Jetlag crazy jetlag

Today the jet lag really seemed to kick into full gear and I wondered around feeling very groggy and sleepy. So it seemed the perfect excuse to stay close to home and do some relaxing activities - apart from a leisurely trip to the thrift store to have a dig through some fabrics.

I found just one thing for me, a really pretty vintage pillow case which may inspire me to make cushions - the kids scored better and Joshua came away with a lovely hand made wooden train and Maddy was very happy with a little tin suitcase that she has been carrying around for most of the day.

I also had a happy mail day, with the arrival of these Japanese fabric beauties ordered from Sassy Cotton - which are going to be turned into a baby quilt imminently for a sweet girlfriend of mine who is expecting. The cute white and floral background fabric is my vintage pillowcase from todays shop.

And here is a shot of my crafty bubbas creating masterpieces this afternoon.

Back Home..

We are now back in Tulsa, having once again experienced the delights of long-haul flights with 2 young children! Flying internationally is traditionally stressful and hectic enough - yet when combined with Maddy and Joshua's company - it takes the experience to a whole new level!

Anyhow, enough moaning - we are back and are TIRED! I wanted to share a couple of photos from tonight of Joshua who fell asleep for 10 minutes in the car and then tried so hard not to wake up...

Here he is over Jay's shoulder and the photo below is Jay (being funny) and trying to wake Joshy up from his slumber and putting him on my back - as you can see, it wasn't entirely succesful!

We have been SO lazy today - after Jay and I only got about 3 hours sleep in the last 36 hours - we all went out for breakfast, came back home - all went to bed for 2 hours, got up and ended up going out for dinner - if only every thursday could be like this - fantastic!

A Rare Sighting..

Today we lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a very rare and beautiful creature in the garden - the very timid (and never before photographed) sock fairy.

The sock fairy looked to be weaving her magic amongst the flowers in the garden, pausing only briefly to squish a plum on to the head of a garden ornament...she then disappeared and we later saw a very similar looking creature sitting at the table eating tuna sandwiches.

We feel very honoured and blessed to be in the presence of such a beauty.

The Silver Lining

What do you get when you cross:

1 Tired Grumpy Baby + a completely non children-friendly pub + a busy lunchtime with no room for said grumpy baby to toddle around?

= Frazzled parents!

We have learned our lesson (you think we would have sussed it by now!) and relish the times we have with our grumpy baby, because soon he won't be a baby anymore - and we will have all the time in the world to eat our dinner at a leisurely pace!

Hidden Treasures

This afternoon we ventured out for a few hours of relaxating at Dad's favourite country-pub (well as relaxing as it can be whilst running round continually after a toddler!) The kiddies discovered some hidden treasures:

An apple from the apple tree - found by Josh

A teeny-tiny flower picked for Mummy by Maddy - how perfect is this little flower!

Magic on the beach

Coming from this part of the South Coast of England means that I have always just kinda taken the beach and being close to the sea for granted. However, living in Oklahoma has definetly made us appreciate our time at the beach now. Joshua had not seen a beach before this trip back home and Maddy had long since forgotten the trips we used to take down there when she was a toddler.

So there is a magical element to these stoney shores now. Here are a few shots of todays nautical trip - made even more special by the arrival of Cowes Week and the hundreds of boats we could see in the distance.

Putting the world to rights

Action shot of Joshy !

Me and my Girl

The serious business of finding the perfect stone

Our Impact

The past few weeks back in good old England have been a bit of an eye opener to me. We moved over to the States, just over 2 years ago now and coming back here - it has struck me just how much bigger our Carbon Footprint has become and how we just seemd to have forgotten the *greener* habits we had whilst living in England.

This is what I mean:

UK: Wash clothes clothes are left to dry outside on the washing line
US: We use the dryer

UK: We recycled any food packaging, paper good etc. that we could
US: We don't

UK: We had 2 very small cars (one of which was not used much because Jay used to cycle to work)
US: We have 2 cars over 3 litres

UK: Household rubbish collected once every two weeks (hence why you wanted/needed to recycle more)
US: Household rubbish collected twice a week

Its been a bit of a wake up call for me - and I am determined that we, as a family, will be changing our habits when we return to the US so that the difference we make to the environment will be more of a positive one!

I'm off to go and research what recycling facilities are available to us in our area....have a good day!

Playing and Cooking..

After a hectic few days, today was a more low-key relaxed day that involved a whole lot of this:

some picking of these:

and eating of this:

Home-grown apple and plum crumble...mmmmm

Hidden Treasures

So - I am thinking that I have been walking around my parents house for the past 29 years with my eyes closed...and yesterday, they were opened to the crafty wonders that my Mum has collected over the past decades!

Mum saw me looking in a book shop for some crafty books and mentioned that she had some I could look through at home...and then she got them out - all 2 bags of them...and four stacks of fabric and countless other treasures. Including some embroideries she had finished and never made it to be framed...so some of this little lot will be coming back to America with me, where I can give it some well deserved care and attention!

Here are a few of my finds, along with the Sublime Stitching embroideries I have been tackling at quiet moments over the past few days.

Crazy Days

Its been a mad mad mad busy few days - involving lots of activities - both of the theme park variety and of the rushing round visiting people variety.

We spent a day in the company of our loved-ones here involving 5 small children and 4 adults...it was a big hit with all involved and I don't think the children have ever been so scared whilst also being so energized by the numerous rides they all went on.

Sadly - I didn't charge my camera prior to this adventure so I only have one photo from the day before the camera died.

Mads and Joshy on the start of our epic adventure

The day at Paultons was then followed by a day of feathered fun here with Nanny and Daddy - whilst Mummy enjoyed a day of shopping, lunch with friends and visiting more friends and generally just relaxing and recharging!

Today was a slightly less hectic and a slightly more relaxing day, spent at home surrounded by good company and good food. Here are a few snap shots:

A dose of reality

There are so many times that I find myself being inspired and taught by my children and today was no exception. In a moment of frustration and tiredness, I was ready to go and crawl into the nearest hole (or bed) and lay there and wallow for the rest of the day and succumb to my tiredness (and grumpiness!)

But a trip out to the garden with my two little angels (avec camera) gave me the kick up the bum I needed. Watching them play, made me realize that every moment with little people, whether its watching them climb a mountain of clean laundry or watching them explore the garden with the same vigor they explored it the first time, is special and inspiring.

Exploration

Yoo-hoo!

An English summers day with a side of clouds

Playing Catch Up

So, the past few days we have spent lazing around and enjoying the company of friends and family - and really enjoying the rare English sunshine, both in the garden and on the beach.

Here is a snap shot of the last few days

At the Beach

People watching

Chilling by the water

Watching Grampy *Planky* work

The plum trees in Mum and Dads garden