Hard to believe that this premature, 5 pound baby boy is now this 35+ pound rambunctious 4 year old.  The little boy who was supposed to be a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie baby, who instead decided he wanted to join us early and be a Halloween jack-o-lantern baby instead.  Time flies, doesn't it?  (Taking a break to sob out/cry like a hysterical pregnant woman for a moment...) Happy Birthday ole' bear.

On a side note....Halloween.  My little/big one was sick last year, and didn't get to go trick-or-treating, so that means that last years Hamburger costume didn't get used.  So, this past Friday morning, I pulled it out to make sure it still fit him, because I had every intention of using it this year.  It fit perfectly, too bad my son began to instantly scream (while tugging on the costume) "I don't want to be a burger!"  So... I asked him what he wanted to be, and he instantly said, "a pirate." 

Off we went to Hancock's in search of the fabrics needed.  Luckily, I found everything I needed, and in about a day, whipped up his pirate costume.  Inspired by the image below, my son was transformed into Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, his current favorite show.  Now, I didn't make the eye patch or the wristband (or glow sticks) or the rubber boots, though I did add a fabric cuff to the top of the rubber boots to give them that "pirate boot" look.  I was quite thrilled at how well the whole ensemble turned out, and my son was equally thrilled to wear it last night, and to be transformed into his favorite character.  He made quite the haul of candy last night, his pumpkin bucket was filled to the brim, and so heavy, the handle literally snapped into two parts.

We had quite the fun evening, and I'm hoping that you also had a fun filled Halloween!

Miss me folks?  It has been quite a while since I have participated in WIP Wednesday, I guess it has been because I am working on my own personal WIP...my bun in the oven!  Don't get me wrong, I've been working on projects, just nothing on my WIP list, all new things, and most of those I recently finished up!  So, this WIP Wednesday is really selfishly for me to take inventory of how many unfinished things I really have laying around, and what I need to just finish up!  Like those projects that are 80% and 98% finished - just do it, for goodness sake!

Speaking of my bun in the oven, for those of you whom I haven't shared our news with yet, we found out a few weeks ago that we are having a little boy!  We are excited that our son will have a baby brother to pick on and someone to play "cars" with.  The photo below was taken while we were on vacation in Destin, Florida a few weeks ago, so please excuse the frizzy hair and lack of make-up!  I just wanted to show you guys my growing baby bump, and even in the two weeks since this photo was taken, I swear it seems to have doubled!  Anyways.... on to my WIP rundown....

Finished Projects:
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Fringed Hobo Bag - See Post HERE

Ongoing Projects:
Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along
Organizing my OUT OF CONTROL Fabric Stash (98% complete)
Bottled Rainbows Ticker Tape Quilt-Along (5 of 16 blocks complete)
Lily's Quilts Quilt-Along  (Using Sherbet Pips)
Making a Light Box & Photographing 150+ Items (Supplies bought, partly assembled)
Sewing (for myself) a few tops/shirts. (2 down, several more to go!)
Sock Skeletons (80% complete)
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Blossom Shoulder Bag - NEW
2 Uber Large Handbags (cut out)
Quilt Bee Blocks
Christmas Scrapbuster Swap - NEW
Christmas Table Runner - NEW
Stockings for Kids Donation Project - NEW
Baby Boy Quilt for my Nephew - NEW

This Week's Stats:
New Projects - 5
Completed Projects - 1
Currently in Progress - 15

Dream Projects On Hold For Now:
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Everything Wristlet
A Stack of Burp Cloths
Baby Boy Quilt using Fox Trails (recently purchased)
Sock Monkey Quilt
Denyse Schmidt Home Dec Fabric Wall Hanging Quilt
Making a bunch of clutches.

Head over to Freshly Pieced to have a look at what everyone else is working on!

Another week inspired by Debbie over at A Quilter's Table, and this week she added a linky thingy (what do you call that thing?) so you can join in the fun too!  I love that every week Debbie shares stories, memories and a great recipe!  So here goes my story and recipe this week....

A long, long time ago....before the days of Starbucks on every corner, there was this fabulous place called Orange Julius located in a mall near you.  Apparently Orange Julius does still exist, it has just been 10+ years since I have personally seen one!  Anyways.... back to the point.  Back in the day, I thought this "Orange Julius" drink was possibly the best thing ever invented, and it was a major treat to get one.  I'm talking about once a year if I was lucky.  I can remember going to the mall and begging to get one, I think this drink may have been the only reason I liked the mall!  Who cares about shopping when you can drink something so heavenly.  You can see where my priorities are....

When my husband and I started dating about 12 years ago, there was still a location at our local mall, and being that my then "new boyfriend" had never had one, I suggested we go and try it out and have a "date" at the mall.  So we are sitting in the food court sharing our Orange Julius, I have a mouthful, and my "then boyfriend, now husband" says something that I find to be hilarious.  So you can just about imagine where this goes.  Yes, I couldn't contain myself and literally spit the lovely drink all in his face.  He sat mortified, and alas I just laughed it off, wiped down his face and apologized profusely.  I mean seriously, what else can you do?  What is the moral to this story?  Ladies if you find a man that lets you spit a drink in his face on the second or third date, and he doesn't promptly leave you, he might just be a keeper.  In my case, he was.  But every now and then he says "Do you remember that time you spit Orange Julius in my face?"  Yes dear, who could forget.

P.S.  Sadly, that was the last time I experienced an actual Orange Julius, and not because of that incident, but rather our local location closed, and I have yet to find another.  At least I can make one at home...

Anyone notice that I've been a bit flaky lately?  Not returning emails as quickly, can't quite get those projects finished in time, not blogging as much?  Don't even mention housework or laundry.  I have a pretty good excuse, I promise!

I'm Pregnant!

Yes, this is a "inside look" at our little one, and we are just tickled pink, and no, that doesn't mean we know the sex, it is to early for that!  I'm 14 weeks, or just into my second trimester, and due in late January.  I have been ever so sick, and no, I'm not one of the lucky ones that "all day sickness" goes away in the second trimester, but rather one of the unlucky ones that it hangs around for most of the pregnancy.  If I'm lucky I'll probably have a month or two of freedom towards the end (at least I did with my son.)  Aside from the constant nausea, I am on a whole feeling fine and trying to truck along like normal, though I don't feel like I'm accomplishing this task successfully.   Oh well, what can I say, I'm growing a baby, I think that is task enough!

A little over two weeks ago, I awoke one Saturday morning to find a very exciting email in my inbox.  It was from the wonderful Katie over at Katie's Korner informing me that I had won her Accuquilt Go! Baby giveaway and would be receiving one with my choice of three dies!  I literally was bursting from the inside!  I couldn't believe that I actually had won one of these babies!  I had been entering these giveaways for quite some time, but never thought I would actually win one!  The best part?  Accuquilt shipped this baby to me so quickly.  I sent my information to Katie on Saturday and literally had this Go! Baby in my hands by the following Friday.  Not even a full week!

I had my choice of three dies, which actually was really really hard to pick, since Accuquilt has around 58 available for the Go! Baby.  In the end and lots of lots of reading, I picked the Circles, Drunkard's Path and 2.5" Continuous Strips.  I can not wait to make binding with the 2.5" strip one!  I ended up picking both the circles and drunkard's path because I knew that cutting both of these things out by hand are a pain (especially the circles) and having a die to do it, would make them so precise!

My son also felt like he had won the jackpot, as soon as I brought the box inside the house he started screaming "treasures, treasures!"  As soon as the tape was ripped from the box, he discovered his own little present, a box full of those air pocket balloons, which resulted in hours of popping and so much cheap entertainment for a three year old.  It is amazing the things that thrill us all, young and old!

Thank you again, Katie at Katie's Korner and Accuquilt for hosting these giveaways that real people actually do win!  Be sure to stop over at Katie's blog and show her some love!  Stay tuned during the next few weeks to see the things I make with my new Go! Baby.  I can't wait to get creating!

My husband grew up in a tiny tiny town called Morganza just outside of New Roads, Louisiana.  I don't think it is even technically a town!  Have you ever heard of it?  Probably not, but maybe you have?  Recently the small town of Morganza has been in the news quite a bit!  You see the Mississippi River runs through this region of the world, and as I am sure you have heard, the Mississippi River has been flooding a lot of towns and causing all sorts of problems for anyone who lives in its path.

The Morganza Control Structure was built with the purpose to divert water from the Mississippi River to Morganza Spillway in times of flooding to spare highly populated areas like Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  This structure was constructed in 1954, and has only been opened two times.  Once in 1973, and the second time...you guessed it, 2011.  This structure is 3,900 ft long and in essence is a long dam.  It has 125 gates that can be opened one at a time.  At the time we visited, only 12 gates were open.  Currently I think there are only 9 gates open, the Army Corp of Engineers have been opening and closing them as needed to control the amount of water flowing through.

We decided we had to go see this once in a lifetime event, and it was amazing the sheer amount of water flowing from the Mississippi River.  It was definitely worth the trip.  We did not see any escaping wildlife (which is a big problem when you flood a huge area of land.)  The last I had heard, residents in Krotz Springs (a town South of the spillway) have encountered 22+ black bears!  I wouldn't want to see that in my backyard.

I wanted to apologize for my less than great photos of this trip, but you are not allowed to stop along this stretch of roadway, so all the photos were taken from the car window, while we were driving hence the bug spots, reflections, and blurriness.

At this moment in time, it does seem as if the crisis has been avoided.  No towns have seriously flooded, and there has been minimal damage to those living alongside/in the Morganza Spillway areas.  Hopefully as the next few weeks pass by, more and more gates can close and life in these areas can return to normal.

The last photo was taken in New Roads, Louisiana.  We were standing on top of the levee that holds back the Mississippi river.  The water was pretty high on the levee, but honestly I have seen it higher in the past. But, I would hate to think what would have happened had they not opened up the Morganza Floodway!

Want to learn more?  Click HERE to read more about this historic event and the Morganza Floodway.  Thanks for taking this little journey with me!

Have you ever seen the show "My Name Is Earl?"  My husband and I loved it, it was silly, the acting was great, it is a shame it isn't on anymore.  What is my point?  Well the point of the show was "Karma."  Do good things, good things come back to you, do bad things, and guess what bad things happen!  Simple enough.  I have been trying to practice this concept more and more lately, sometimes I succeed, sometimes fail, but heck, at least I'm trying!  All of this has a point that I'm about to get to....

A little over a week ago Denyse Schmidt released a brand new line of fabric for the chain fabric store, Jo-Ann's.  The internet has been a-buzz, everyone is really excited, myself included.  How great, you can run into town, and pick some up!  You can even use coupons!  Yeah!

My first trip was a little over a week and a half ago, I had coupons in hand, and a list of other things I needed, especially some of the (also new) Lisette fabric that was 50% off!  I found (and purchased) the Lisette fabric I was looking for, but they did not have the Denyse Schmidt fabric....boo!  While waiting in the extremely crowded and extremely long line to get my fabric cut, there was a year old? baby in front of us with her mom.  This child proceeded to scream (louder than any adult I have ever heard) and scream, and scream for about half an hour straight.  My son (in his stroller) even seemed annoyed.  Can I say head ache.  When I got home, I complained to everyone that would listen about this annoying kid and how her mother didn't really do anything, and just stood there while this kid wailed and wailed.  Now before you start judging me....wait.

After a few days went by, I couldn't stand it and decided to make another trip back to Jo-Ann's to see if they had finally put out any of the Denyse Schmidt fabric.  I FOUND IT!  So excited, I threw my son in the shopping cart and proceeded to load up the 11 bolts they had, to get the fabric cut.  That is when it started, the screaming, the crying, the crazy bad behavior from guess who?  Yep, my son!  What did I do?  I went and got my fabric cut, are you crazy, what did you think I did!  What did my son do?  He screamed the entire time!  What was the reason for all this craziness?  KARMA!  She got me, she won!  If you complain about a screaming kid, you kid will be the next to do it.  I learned my lesson, the hard way.

I haven't shared any photos of my "big" man lately, and thought I would share some that will surely embarrass him in the future!  First off he insisted that he wanted his Dad's handkerchief as a "hat," so that explains the do-rag.  Secondly, he is obsessed (do you hear me OBSESSED) with popcorn, he wants it everyday.  Lately he has discovered that when I am snapping photos, he can ham it up, and wants to see each silly shot that I take, which really explains these four shots, plus a lot more that I took that day that didn't make the cut.  Oh, and now that he gets a cool band-aid, he insists on showing off his boo-boo to everyone that will listen.  Having fun enjoying the silliness!

This is our son's first visit with Mr. Claus, he doesn't look thrilled, but I promise he was!  I hope Santa brings you something good!  Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Back in the day when I was a working gal, the company I worked for always had a great Secret Santa game that lasted one week, for four days you brought your "person" a small $1-$3 gift, and then on the fifth day, we had a party, and you presented your "person" a $20 gift and unveiled yourself as "Santa!"  I love this game, so fun to see everyday what you will get, and even better to try and figure out who is your "Santa."  The first year I participated, my "Santa" gave me this village set (a few pieces at a time) for the first four days!  How awesome is that!  It is a small set and the houses are small too, about 8" x 8,"  but the perfect size to set up every year.  I look forward to it every Christmas now, and we added LED Christmas lights underneath the "snow" to add that additional light and glow!  Every year when I set it up, I now think to those "working a real job" days and the few perks (and people) that made "the grind" fun!  Have you ever played "Secret Santa" and ended up with a gift that you truly loved?  I hope you are truly enjoying this Christmas Season and remembering the "Reason for the Season!"