BubbaChic

Playing Catch Up

Its been a busy week - what with 4th July festivities and ALOT of swimming and socialising to fit in - me and the kiddos have been worn out...

We had a lovely long weekend last weekend, filled with breakfasts out, swimming round friends houses, having BBQ's and eating red, white and blue cake, whilst watching a few (probably illegal?) fireworks being lit in our neigbourhood!!

The cake was lovingly made by Maddy's sweet friend who (along with her parents and wonderful brother) shared their 4th of July with us - to give us an insight into how we should really spend this holiday. We had a BBQ (with far too much meat!) whilst the kiddies played and we enjoyed some adult company and conversation for a whole evening - with bursts of having to mediate arguments on who could play with the barbie phone next.

It was wonderful - a whole evening with friends that didn't have to get cut short at 7pm to rush the kiddies home for bed - Jay and I wondered whether, dare we say it...it could...perhaps...be the starting point that our little family is growing and entering into a new era....??!

This weeks weather has been very reminicent of home - lots of showers, scattered thunderstorms - the only difference being - it is still into the 90's. We seem to have had rather a lot of storms not directly hitting us, but developing over the city ready to move east and cause havoc. When the kiddies and I left the house the other day, I looked into the sky to see this rather strange swirly cloud above us...(click on the picture for a bigger view)

When I later looked at the weather channel to see what was happening - it does appear that this in fact was a storm developing above us...crazy! I must admit that Oklahoma certainly does have some awesome sights to see where the weather is concerned.

So, what else has been going on??...Joshy is fully chattering away now - with his favourite conversation being about 'poopy train track...' he thinks he is the funniest little man on the planet when he says those three words...?

Maddy is doing good - and thoroughly enjoying the summer. Her swimming has really come on in the recent weeks and she is getting more and more confident each time she swims now.

Jay has been busy busy working away upstairs - trying to ignore the all too often shouts of the children arguing downstairs. I have been sewing - lots, but they are all gifts and all unfinished, so no pickies yet!

After such a busy week we are all looking to some down time this weekend - although Joshua informed us tonight that we need to go to the Zoo, then swimming, then to the ice cream shop on saturday - so it appears the children have got it all worked out.....

Little moments of happiness

Spread all through the day....

The first glimpse of sunrise, in a house where mama is up while the house is still quiet and calm..

The first cup of tea of the day, why does the first one always taste the best?

Inspiring eye candy on Flickr

5 hours of gift sewing whilst the babes are out having lots of fun

Home made granary bread and minted pea soup ala Mary's Bread Basket and Soup Kettle

Starting Christmas in July, with the piecing of a Christmas quilt using this layer cake pack

A day in the life....

Our day....    

6.37 Wake up.....

Go and retrieve Joshy from his crib....my boy takes a while to wake up and is not usually happily initially!

Maddy gets up soon after and watches TV as she finds her voice!

Both kiddies help Mama butter the toast..

and then chill out on the sofa and savour their efforts...

At 7am, Mama grabs a really quick shower...

A self portrait with our wonderful (renters) master bathroom wallpaper!! (man! it wakes you up, if nothing else!!!!)

Pop in to say hello to Jay who is hard at work (working from home today)

Come downstairs and give my (starving kiddies) a granola bar each - breakfast #2

Kiddies then want Cornflakes (aka breakfast #3)

It looks a bit strange and dark outside, so I check the weather to find thunderstorms threatened all day...bloomin' tornado alley! I have an early doctors appointment, so I head out...

with a quick pitstop at starbucks for a grande non-fat latte on the way!...mmmmmm

Head home after the doctors, and find....

Both kiddies in Daddies office, finding great amusement in Daddies shoes!!

Enlist the help of my little poppets to mix some bread

 

Give Daddy a kiss goodbye and head out...

9.15 time to hit the road....

Kiddies ready for play!

Even though the sky looks like severe weather is on the horizon

Arrive at Church when I drop the kiddies off at the playgroud to play with their class before the storm hits...

Whilst I go and check the resource room, where I volunteer with my sweet friend once a week to get the sunday school classes sorted with their lesson...find a mess!!

But shoot off because I have a 9.30am meeting (darn it, I'm late already!!!)

Meeting finished, I spend the next 2 hours with my sweet friend, until we are able to leave the resource room like this!

Time to go get my kiddies!

They both have had a ball and have zebra paintings to bring home...

as a treat, we stop at MacDonalds to get a Happy Meal and some lunch for Mummy and Daddy...

Kiddies chill out with their Happy Meal...

Whilst Mama checks on the bread...

and tucks into the grilled chicken salad and vanilla iced coffee!!

Time for Joshy's nap...

and find Maddy (who doesn't usually nap) crashed...put quilt over her and put Joshy to bed

Joshy is sound asleep soon...

Whilst the house is peaceful, I check the mailbox to find some lovely mail!

Handmade bows from a sweet sewing mama to give a little girl we know who is battling lukiemia, fabic from Kumquat and some moda fabric also...

Mama starts dinner whilst there is a quiet moment - meaballs and tomato sauce...the kiddies favourite

Whilst the meatballs are cooking - realise that playroom and sewing room is looking like a bomb went off...

That feels better!

Washing on and laundry folded...

Dishwasher loaded....

2.30, time for some internet time to check my emails....

Maybe not!! Joshy wakes up (in a very bad mood!!)

Gorgeous hubby arrives home from a meeting, grabs some lunch and heads up to the office...

With dinner done, we head out to get Joshua a well needed haircut

Maddy holds up her map in the car (like the map on Dora) which Mummy has made to explain to her exactly what we are doing today....

Joshy is very good having his haircut...

and we pile back into the car (with lollies from the hairdresser)

Back at home, both kiddies chill out and snack on carrots..

whilst mama cuts out a toddler dress as a gift...

until I hear a commotion in the lounge and realise said carrots are all over the floor!

We call Daddy down from the office for dinner...

and all eat dinner together...

After dinner Maddy gets changed into tinkerbell outfit and flutters around the lounge (doing all she can to annoy her brother en route)

Daddy chills out with his Fathers Day gift - Gordon Ramsays book....

Mama cleans up the kitchen, which looks like mount tomato sauce has expolded in it!

Daddy gives kiddies a bath...

When kiddies get out of bath, Daddy has a shower...

and Mama prepares the living room, closing curtains and trying to make it dark and low keay so babes will realise its night time (even though it doesn't get dark here until about 8.45)

Whilst Daddy is getting kiddies into their PJ's, Mama steals 10 minutes on the sewing machine

and manages to piece a dress...

Joshua soon voices his displeasure,

So Mama has some snuggle time with babes...

Bed time!!! Daddy puts a very tired Joshy to bed, whilst mama takes Maddy to bed...

After a story, Maddy pretends to be asleep for the camera!!

And Jay and Dee get some alone time!

Watching Bear Grylls and enjoying a glass of wine!

American Traditions

1. Root beer float [The only good use of ice cream],2. I'm not loving it., 3. mmmmmmm...., 4. luquid creamer, creamering a creamer creamation

When we first came over to the States 3 years ago, there were certain American foods and beverages, which we just thought of as...well, how do I put it?....wrong!

I used to cringe at the thought of iced coffee - drinking cold coffee was, in my opinion - the pits. My feelings were very similar in regards to root beer floats, flavoured creamers and breakfasts that mixed sausages, pancakes and maple syrup all on one plate...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Over the course of the last three years, I have seen the error of my ways - and wonder why on earth I waited so long before actually trying these delicasies!!

Our fridge now contains 3 varieties of coffee creamer, ranging from french vanilla to creme brulee! I am a sucker for dipping my sausages in the maple syrup at breakfast time. McDonalds Vanilla Iced Coffees are a real treat for me, and I will often even buy the XL variety (that looks very much like a bucket!) but the creme of the creme of the bunch is the newly discovered root beer float - wow!

I don't like the taste of root beer (Jay says it tastes like medicine!) but when you mix it with ice cream - its like heaven in a glass!!!!  I can't believe I have missed this taste sensation for the last 30 years....

When life gives you lemons...

...how do you remember to make lemonade?

1. when life gives you lemons, make the best lemonade ever, 2. Meyer lemon, 3. Lemons and Limes, 4. lemon on pink

This has been a post that I have been pondering for the last couple of months - but one I stop thinking about pretty quickly, because of the negativity that is attached to it. I try to keep this space up beat - real, but positive...somewhere that I come to at the end of the day and reflect on all the good things which touched us and this does not yet fit into that category, not just yet anyway.

Just over three months ago we found out that a sweet friend has lukiemia - she is also carrying her forth child. She is an amazing lady who I connected with when we first met - I think the fact that we are both foreigners living in America helped that initial bond! Her life is one of service - both to her family and to the Lord and I think I, like many others are still struggling to get my head around the *whys?* of this situation (that i perhaps will never understand anyway)

My friend is an amazing character - strong, yet feminine and with a servants heart. She continues to give all that she has in both spirit and energy to all of those that cross her path. Her positivity and warmth touch even the most hardened heart and she is an inspiration, a very real inspiration.

I think we all need a reminder sometimes, of the unimportant (and often material) things that we place so much importance on. The things which gets us down that we know, deep in our hearts, should not have that hold over us. There is a lot to be said for simplifying and enjoying the moments in time which are ours to enjoy right now - instead of searching for the next moment - the new job, the pay rise, the next accomplishment we can tick off our mental list - just living, enjoying and being thankful for the moments of now.

Today, I am taking my sweet friends lead - and the kiddies and I are going to enjoy time with good friends...as the reality of Maddy starting school in just a few weeks, has shown me even more that I need to seize these last few moments of having both my babes at home with me.

Our weekend...

Our weekend summed up:

Spending time in the company of sweet friends, who treated us to an American feast (and the kiddies to a new experience of rollerskates!)

New member of the family, thanks to my wonderful hubby, who truely spoils me....

Listening the most uplifting and wonderful song I have heard...ever!

Making sure our little friends are well fed and looked after - especially as they have the very important of job of looking after their egg. This is a photo of Daddy on guard duty in the window above our front door (mummy is sitting on the eggs in the nest they made on our porch light) Birdseed and bread is put on the window sill to ensure they are well fed!

Daddy

and Mummy!

...we also had a very heartwarming thing happen to us this weekend. Whilst finishing breakfast in our favourite local breakfast spot, we were informed by the waiteress that our bill had be paid by another customer - who wanted to remain anonymous.......ummmm, wow.....we are very blessed indeed.

6 Years ago this week...

We started a journey, which has opened my eyes to just how wonderful you are...

I love the precision which toys are put together for our children...

and the cuddles which the kiddies get - even when extreme fatigue is kicking in..

I love the way comfort is secondary when you are needed to squeeze on to a toddler ride (and the way you make me laugh so hard I nearly pee'd when it looked like rides were not going to take your weight!)

I love the time you take to do the little things which will make us happy...

and the way you share even your most prized foods (like coldstones)

I love your tolerance...

your generosity and warmth...

6 years ago this week, we started our journey as Husband and Wife - a journey which has already given me far more than I ever imagined. Happy Anniversary Hunny, I love you.

whew!

Its been a tiring couple of weeks here - what with swimming lessons everyday on top of normal commitments and routines - and with a nice sprinkling of severe weather thrown in

Yesterday marked the end of our swimming lessons, with Mads going out with a bang, or should that be a jump - off the diving board...Joshy was less than impressed with the thought of jumping off the diving board, so opted for a cuddle with his teacher at the end of the board instead.

I am hugely impressed with what they have learned during the last 2 weeks and I looking forward to taking them swimming with their new sense of enthusiasm for it.

The day drew to a close yesterday with the wail of tornado sirens once again. A severe thunderstorm passed over us at about 11.30pm and left us awake until about 1am - when Jay and Maddy managed to get some sleep, but me, wedge in between them, sadly did not rest very well at all. I transferred Maddy back to her own bed numerous times in the night after the storm had passed, only to be woken up 5 minutes later by a little tap tap tap on my shoulder and the words 'scoot over Mummy....'

I admitted defeat at 6am this morning, when I opted to get up and start the day and leave the rest of the house sleeping soundly - my eagerness to get up early may have something to do with a certain quilt show which me and a girlfriend are going to this morning....ohhhh I am excited! (what was the budget again hunny? ;o)

Tonight, there appears to be more storms on the horizon, oh joy. I realised last night, when the storm had passed over and I was squished back in bed, that my tummy actually started rumbling?? I drew the conclusion that the panic mode with high levels of adrenalin that I had been in for the past hour, had probably made me burn up my dinner - and I was in fact hungry!! I also drew the conclusion last night that the sound of tornado sirens is probably the most effective laxative you can get!!!!

Taggy Tag Tag

I have been tagged by the wonderful and very talented Emilie and Tif so, here are the rules:

* Link the person who tagged you
* Mention the rules in your blog
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours
* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them

When I was little, I used to watch my Dad doing any kind of project and I just didn't get why he would stand back and just look at his project that was nearing completion - sometimes for quite a while...now, I find myself doing exactly the same thing on each project I do.

I am a morning person, I would rather be up at the crack of dawn with the kiddies than going to bed late - a real departure from the party girl Jason married almost 6 years ago!

I am a bit addicted to tinned kippers (much to Jason's disgust!) and am going through about 5 tins a week!

I always have multiple projects on the go at once - probably around 15 right now - which includes 4 quilts and numerous gifts.

I am really bad at answering the phone - we get so many cold calls that I barely ever answer the phone during the days now, I figure if someone needs me, they can leave a message!

I never have my cell phone on either - I used to be such a text junkie, and always had my phone on - but since moving to the States, I am liking the peace of not having my phone on all the time.

Thats me done for the night! The six people I would like to tag are:

Alison Marie - a very special and sweet mama, whos blog I have just found and I love

A J Quilts - my new love of quilting has lead me to this talented mama

Samantha - The Crochet diva whos gifts I wish I had!

Randi - from I have to say - However, be warned her Etsy Fabric shop needs to come with a warning...

Selena from Apron Thrift Girl - a veteran blogger who I am sure has been tagged a gazillion times!

John - a Quilting Dad who taste in fabric seems to be very similar to my own! (great minds ;o)

and here is a something Maddy was working on, which I scanned in, because you can't have a post without an image, can you:

(Nanny and Planky are my Mum and Dad, I believe she is also hard at work at writing something for Grandma - Jays Mum too!!)

Loose Ends...

It kind of feels like this is a post of loose ends, with pictures and news to share;

The Caramelized Banana Cheesecake went down very well at the BBQ, along with the pecan caramel sauce to make it extra calorific!

I have been busy with the kiddies and busy with trying to tie up some projects over the past few days - swimming lessons are proving more difficult for Maddy than we ever anticipated - a shaky start, fueled by other little people crying has left her feeling very uncertain about the whole *swimming lesson* thing and even the promise of a new Dora swimming costume, doesn't seem to be cutting it right now.

We are aiming to stick with it and see how it all pans out tomorrow morning....

I managed to finish up this quilt tonight following the auction for Samuel's family:

It will be packaged up in the morning ready to send to the auction winner -

I hope that they like it! I didn't realise how much of an emotional project it would be to do - my heart is just breaking for his family, I wish there was something more I could do.

On the Babylock front - and their promise to call me within 48 hours - I finally had an email from them today (6 days after contacting them) letting me know that an engineer would be in contact with me on Friday...so, again, watch this space!

Swimming and cheesecakes..

This morning marked the start of a two week stint of swimming lessons for Mads and Josh. We will be heading out every morning for the next two weeks to take lessons at the local pool - Maddy has shown a great deal of excitment over this, she has always been pretty calm in the water and she was looking forward to starting - right up until the point when she had to get in the pool. Then, he form changed, to more of this and thats how its stayed for most of the lesson (boy am I looking forward to taking her tomorrow!!)

Joshua, who we silently anticipated there may be issues with - was a natural, he did all of the activities that his group did and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it....phew!

The rest of Memorial Day will be spent chilling and having a BBQ with friends - we have been working on a caramelized banana cheesecake since yesterday to take with us, hopefully its taste will reflect how long it took to make!!

Its not just Tiggers that like to bounce...

Bouncing in our jammies at 8.30 in the morning...summer has arrived!

Our weekend

Some wonderful mail on Friday to start the weekend::

A gorgeous house tape measure made by Patchwork Pottery a seriously talented mama who's work I ADORE! I spotted these tape measures months and months ago and been hankering after one ever since...you can find them in her Etsy store, I believe there is one left, which will not last long!! 

I managed to plod along with some sewing in some down time - work in progress includes::

I pieced a large quilt on Friday night - made entirely out of charm squares from Moda's Blossom line

I am making it to go in our lounge as a snuggle blanket when we need it...

Our weekend was also filled with lots of activity - both indoors and out. The weather was glorious and in the 80's so we took advantage and did some garden beautification:

and got a bit distracted at one point with the ice cream van...

and ended the weekend with a high - with the AWANA awards ceremony - in which both kiddies got to stand on the stage, in front of lots and lots of people and do their little singing/dancing routines that they had been practicing. Josh got stage fright!

Whilst Maddy spilled over with joy of being the centre of attention in front of lots of people and was beaming and chattering the whole way through...she was completely in her element!

Its a funny coincidence that a few hours before her stage debut, we actually signed her up for ballet dancing classes for the first time - I have a feeling that this was the right move for our little star!!

Work in Progress (lots of...)

The last day of school on Tuesday marked the start of a busy period in this house. Whilst Mads and Josh are busy playing, eating, drawing and bouncing (on the new trampoline!) I seem to have a number of ongoing projects that are needing to be wrapped up in my quiet times.

Bar far, the most important is finishing this quilt:

Which is being auctioned off here for the benefit of a very brave little boys family - Samuel Backus, who's 4 year battle against leukemia ended last week. Please please take a look at all the auctions here and seriously, how can you resist not bidding on these!

The auctions end Thursday May 15th 8pm (Eastern)

Other work in progress includes:

quilting...

      

making quilted fabric coasters...

and turning this yard of fabric and charm pack into a boys quilt....

Bread

Since coming to the States 3 years ago, we have been on a quest to find the perfect bread. Bread is very different over here than back in England - and having been used to the bread back home, we always seemed to be on the lookout for something very similar.

We have found a certain type of bread that we make-do with...its bareable as toast and sandwiches, but we have yet to find a loaf which completely hits the nail on the head.

After spending the last couple of weeks seeing this book being tried out thoroughly on Angry Chickens blog and the all inspiring Soulemama's daily bread makings I took the plunge and order it for our family.

The book arrived on saturday and whilst I was eager to give it a try, I quickly discovered that the bread in the book was baked on a baking stone and not wanting to deviate from the recipe - we waited, until today....

I made up a batch of the bread dough this morning, which took all of 5 minutes and left it to rise for 2 hours before putting it in a container in the fridge (where it can stay for up to two weeks) I love the concept of having the bread dough ready in your fridge, and just pulling a chunk off each morning and letting it rise for 40 minutes before baking it...and the taste is...very English! Hooray! I tried the light wheat loaf first and one batch of dough will probably last us the week.

Jason is highly impressed with my latest efforts and we are currently baking our second loaf of the day ready to have with dinner....so far so good!

Our Weekend

This weekend we enjoyed some family time together - both chilling and playing (and a little fabric shopping!)

The kiddies both enjoyed a birthday party of one of their friends on saturday, held at the little gym - where they got to try out a variety of fun equipment and eat cupcakes - could a party get any better!

Yesterday was Mothers Day, over here in the States. The day when I get to stay in bed after the kiddies have jubilently woken up their Dad. The day when I get to lazily get dressed whilst smelling breakfast being cooked...oh the joys, I could get used to this!

Maddy is always really excited on days like today, excited that she has a special card to give me and she remains excited, repeating "Happy Mothers Day Mummy" over the course of the day. Josh is less excited about the special occasion, but more excited about the bountiful delicious food which seems to be served on days like these.

We pottered around all day, enjoying a day of relaxing after the illness and high emotion of the week before!

Along with breakfast, Jay served up a treat at Dinner - Beef Wellington a la Gordon Ramsay, it was quite possibly the most wonderful and tasty thing I have ever eaten, made even better by the fact that it was prepared entirely by my wonderful hubby.

I think this sets the precedent for Fathers Day next month!

Brace yourself Betty..

Oh Oklahoma, beautiful, sunny, warm Oklahoma - how you surprise us with your extremeties...its a good job we love you.

After a day of relaxing and re-cooperating and enjoying some very English-like weather (except it was still 75 degrees whilst it was raining!)

Maddy enjoyed dancing in the rain, whilst Joshy was happy to sit and watch it all under cover::

We checked on our little strawberry plant - which we are hugely proud of and were looking forward to eating the 3 strawberries that we check on daily...

and quickly discovered that something has already eaten 1 of our precious strawberries!

We chilled, played, did jigsaws, drew pictures and generally relaxed....until tonight that is::

when a severe storm hit us - tornado sirens once again were sounded over the course of an hour signally that we needed to take cover on the lowest floor of the house, in the most central room...so kiddies were woken up and brought down to the bathroom, where they were covered with blankets...(circles on the map are areas of rotation within the storm, where tornados can drop)

Mads thought it was hilarious and chattered her way through the hour long ordeal! Josh, who is intensely sensitive, was much more pensive and quiet and jumped at the chance for a cuddle from Mummy or Maddy at every available opportunity.

Mummy had to work very hard not to throw up and to try and keep a somewhat balanced attitude on the outside, even when the inside was petrified!!!! Daddy managed to miss the whole event because of a business trip - but was on the phone continually being the calming influence which Mummy needed!!

Things seemd to have calmed down for now - the kiddies are in bed, the bad storms seemed to have passed us and I am no longer feeling quite so sick!

Oh Oklahoma, its a good job we love you...

The rough with the smooth

Yesterday I was treated to some pampering by Maddy and her preschool, who put on a party for all of us Mums for Mothers Day (this weekend honey ;o)

We enjoyed cookies and punch, whilst beautiful (matching) bracelets were created by Maddy.

And hand made gifts, which just melted my heart.

On returning home from our wonderful morning, Joshua promptly threw up all over me and has been doing much of the same ever since!

Today the plan is to stay close to home, whilst Oklahoma gets rattled with thunderstorms and dream of spring and some new additions to our spring nature table...

Phew!

Life has been crazy around here in the past week - hence another improptu blogging break. In addition to the deep cleaning of the old house, ready to hand it over to its new owners on wednesday - we also experienced our fair share of unexpected dramas events which have just swept us along.

The business of the start of the week, was overshadowed by a trip to the ER on Wednesday morning with a dazed and confused Joshua who just had Maddy and a chair land on his head (whilst he laid on the floor) a cat scan revealed no major damage except a shaken up Joshy with a sore head.

The house is coming together slowly - we added something new to our bare walls this week with the addition of this:

A re-print of a WWII propaganda poster from Britain - I think it it encapsulates the Great British stiff upper lip perfectly - and just makes me smile. The history of the poster can be found here.

It is placed perfectly on the first wall that you see, when you walk through the front door:

I just love it.

On a different note, I have managed to squeeze some craft time into this week, to keep me (a little) sane...some very special and secret projects are on the go:

Along with some other wonderful (and not secret) projects like Crazy Mom Quilts - Quilt-along

The directions for the construction of the quilt block are really clear and simple and I am looking forward to getting out of my quilting comfort zone and learning some new things from a true pro.

Relaxing and growing..

A wonderful weekend was had all this weekend - the kiddies because they got to spend some quality time with Daddy, doing Daddy things like trips to the zoo, ice cream shop and the home depot(!) and wonderful for Mummy because I got to spend 2 nights away with some amazing women, in peaceful tranquil surroundings - a complete contrast to the rollercoaster of activity that has swept us along in the past few weeks.

Our time was spent learning and growing in our faith, with a large dose of some unadulterated *girlfriends* time, with a little eating thrown in - and of course, some hardcore sewing was undertaken!

Inspired by my time with some wonderful friends and a very cute pattern from Easy Quilts magazine - I worked on this baby quilt - whilst chatting and drinking vast quantities of diet coke (they offered it free - all day and night...how could I refuse??)

I am a big fan of any Heather Ross fabrics - but I think that the Matreshka fabric is particularly girly and adorable and I have been eager to immortalise it in a quilt. I liked the pattern very much, it was quick to sew up the main bulk of it - and a little trickier to sew other bits - but I can see it being a good pattern to use up scraps in the future.

Regardless of the fact that we have ALOT on this week with the final deep clean of the old house needing to be finished and more upacking to do here, I am eager to join Crazy Mom Quilts Quilt-along and determined that I will be able to fit it in somewhere!!

And now, back to reality!

Transitioning

We moved a week ago today - and have just, in the past few days, started to settle down into life in our new home. We still have boxes to unpack, curtains and pictures to put up - but we are now in a livable condition, without obstacles blocking every hallway and room.

The move seems to have taken it tolls on Joshy, who seems to be very mummified and clingy and is more prone to meltdowns right now than ever before. He has started to sleep better through the nights (thank heavens, I was struggling with him regressing back to newborn sleep!) and we are hoping that more one-on-one time and endless cuddles and reassurance will help ease the transition for him.

Maddy is taking everything in her stride still - although, she does seem to have become a bit more of a drama queen (or DQ as we now refer to that behaviour!) but she seems settled and happy in our new home.

Because of the number of times we have moved over the past 3 years, we are very aware of the drill now - and all the stages which come with moving. There is the inevitable packing up stage and moving day, but there is also a stage in between your whole home being in a box and being completely unpacked - and thats where we are now. This stage is usually defined by a number of things:

1. You know what items you are looking for, but (annoyingly) have not yet located them yet

2. You are able to cook a meal with the minimal cutlery, plates and cooking implements that you have managed to find - but its still not easy!

3. You are having to wash underwear everyday because the location of the underwear box is still to be discovered

4. You are wearing new combinations of items in your wardrobe, because *old faithfuls* are still packed up

5. The kiddies have not even noticed that 2 whole boxes of toys are missing (and don't seem to be missing them one bit!)

6. You keep going to the wrong cupboards to retrieve items you have managed to find a home for

Its starting to feel like home thats for sure - especially after an afternoon of cozying down with the kiddies yesterday and watching the spring thunderstorms - just to remind us that we are still in Oklahoma.

Catch Up Time!

Whew!! Its been a crazy few days!

The move went (pretty) smoothly - but we are still trying to catch up with the dirt and grime, not to mention cobwebs and invasion of ants that we left by the previous renters of our new home - so still lots to sort out.

We have the main rooms of the house starting to get somewhat organised - and everywhere else is filled with boxes and bags, just screaming to be unpacked. In the midst of all the moving mess, I checked the mailbox to find this wonderful little package - and even grabbed an hour of down time on saturday night for some theraputic hand sewing -

The kiddies are enjoying the new house and particularly the garden which is a lot more practical for two active little ones who love to explore. Joshy seems to be having a hard time adjusting to his new bedroom and we have had many a sleepless night since moving in - but I am sure it will settle down soon (this too shall pass, this too shall pass....)

Maddy has just fitted right into her new sourroundings and keeps saying 'Mummy, thank you for my new house!' Adaptable as ever, our Mads!

Well, I better go and continue unpacking, so that walking without sustaining an injury in the house becomes possible!

The Home Straight

Moving day tomorrow, so today was filled with lots of packing packing packing! The kiddies helped in the way only a 2 year old and 4 year old know how::

Has my boy aged about 18 months now he has had his hair cut??? or is it just me??!

and the final room to be packed::

A day of box lifting awaits us tomorrow, so I should really get to bed!

Much of a muchness..

Another day with off colour kiddies and more of this::

...meant that when the kiddies were in bed, I grabbed a couple of hours to craft without any real purpose, other then to find my sanity...

Let the madness begin...

Its been a crazy few days, filled with lots of::

combined with a bit of::

and some more::

and just a touch of::

To keep me sane!!

The big move happens thursday, so I think photos will be all I can manage in blogland this week...

Wishing y'all a wonderful week x

Holy Hailstorm Batman

Its funny isn't it, I was wondering when this post  would come back to bite me firmly on the bum - particularly:

"I must admit, we (*ahem* - ok - I) haven't always been this level headed at the thought of severe weather."

Yeah, thats just what I was last night, level headed, when the tornado sirens started going off at 2.30am...

We had been expecting a few storms, what we weren't expecting however, was golfball sized hail, super cell storms coming one after the other, with conditions that worried officials enough to sound the tornado sirens (for twenty minutes?!!!) to alert the whole of the city that we needed to be on our guard - at 2.30 in the morning.

We brought Maddy into the bedroom to stay close should we need to seek shelter and Joshua, who was already in our room, slept soundly through the whole experience - which is incredible, because it was LOUD!!

I managed to take a few shots of the start of the hail storm, which came in the midst of all the chaos::

The hail at the beginning of the storm, piling up at the back patio door

The hail in the front garden - a blanket of white

A very restless night was had by all in this house, so I am looking forward to an early night and lots of sleep, before we do it all again tomorrow night, when we are expecting round 2...oh joy.

Progress is slow

Progress has been slow in the house for the past few days - progress on anything that is! We have the moving deadline of next thursday looming, so I am really feeling like any spare moments should be spent packing the non essentials of the house. However, spare moments are few and far between at the moment - especially when 3 out of 4 members of the house are under the weather.

The weekend was relaxing and filled with togetherness - togetherness of us all spending some quality time with each other, whether it be at our favourite breakfast spot or at the zoo. Togetherness also for Jay and I, with a blissfull few hours to relax and eat out together on sunday.

The April showers continue in Oklahoma (we are currently under a sever thunderstorm!) and Spring is really making an appearance. I am looking forward to getting into the new house and planting some flowers in the garden with Maddy.

A few projects are on the go - including a sock monkey quilt which needs finishing and I also made two baby outfits on friday night for a last minute baby shower:

They are both from the New Conceptions Baby Essentials pattern, which is a good staple pattern for anyones stash.

The plans for this week are packing, packing, packing whilst also trying to finish off some new curtains and entertain my two little (grumpy) people who seem to be full of the snots and alot of attitude right now!

I did have one of those double take moments at the weekend with Maddy - when we were walking past the DVD section of the supermarket - she looked at the veggie tales DVDs and said 'I am so over veggie tales....' *insert sigh and rolled eyes here* I kind of just stopped in my tracks and wondered if I had just really witnessed my 4 year old behaving like a grouchy teen....!

I have a feeling my guys will never cease to amaze me....

Spring - Oklahoma Styleee

Ahhhh *sigh* spring in Oklahoma, so beautiful yet so unpredictable - with tornado season fast approaching, it shouldn't really have come as any surprise that we were on alert today for severe weather. You think I would have clicked on when I heard the alarm going off on the weather radio when I was sitting in the chiropractors office at 7.15 this morning - having just driven to the office, the whole time looking at the sky thinking - what is going on with that big dark cloud?

Or perhaps I would have woken up a bit with reports on the radio on the short drive home, of a possible twister just north of us...nope - life here continued pretty much as normal this morning. We are pretty used to the weather channel alarm sounding to let us know that conditions are severe, or that they have gone from just severe to completely tornado friendly.

We know the drill now - the kids know the drill now - when the weather starts to look a bit dodgy, the TV is put onto the weather channel constantly to keep an eye on what is happening, and life continues as normal - until we hear the tornado sirens outside - thats when we panic!

We have our tornado shelter cleared (aka the cupboard under the stairs!) and stocked with essentials:

I must admit, we (*ahem* - ok - I) haven't always been this level headed at the thought of severe weather. In our first year in Oklahoma we moved here in the middle of summer - and although we experienced a few cracking thunderstorms, we didn't ha