Weekend Catch Ups - WCU

 I am a solid 30 pounds down now!  Finally!!!  So I'm close!

On Saturday, I went to a niece's baby shower back in my home town.  This is one of my sisters along with her daughter.

I beat 3 or 4 of the stuffed animal diaper changing contests but would have had to beat 15 people to get the grand prize.  sigh.  Lost to a niece, not this one.

Loads of games!  And I have this little baby perched on top of my microwave for the week.

Another sister that I rarely get to see!

Here is the mom to be with her sisters and a couple sisters-in-law. The one on the far right is expecting about a month before Grace.

It was a beautiful morning and she got lots of nice things for the baby.  Got some visiting in with two of my sisters and had lunch with my bro!  

I stopped by a nephew and his wife's new organic food shop and brought home a pound of frozen ground buffalo!  I'm planning on trying it out in meatballs next weekend.  My quarter of cow is done and I'm picking that up today too.  There is no shortage of meat around THIS house!  Whew!  And I can only eat between 5-7 ounces a day while on plan.  It'll last a while.  Meri is taking half of it so my part of it should all fit in my deep freezer.

I got home and took Aggie for a walk and then watched an episode of a show with Leon.  

Wasn't this wagon a SUPER deal for $10 at a garage sale?  It just made me nervous because the straps were broken.  I kept thinking she'd jump out.  Mental note: find new straps for the wagon.

On Sunday, Leon and I picked up the cake for the boy being confirmed.  While I was worried about the cake saying "Congratulations on your Consirmation!" I really didn't need to.  They had written Confirmalion instead.  The confirmand got a kick out it and everyone wished him a happy confirmalion the rest of the morning.  They served walking tacos with the cake and everything was yummy!  I passed on the misspelled cake and had a taco salad instead. 

Then we went shoe shopping and I spent a lot on two pairs for the boy.  Ryan reimbursed me later. Maddy was looking for shoes for an upcoming wedding also.  No luck.

Leon had a good time with Aggie and Jen, blowing bubbles.

Got home and after visiting with all the kids, the girls and their loves came with me out to the cemetery and put some fresh fake flowers out on Robb's stone and his dad's.  They look lovely!  I wish I'd gotten a pic!

I tried to help Leon with some technical stuff on a homework assignment and Maddy was very helpful!  But then we hit a roadblock and hopefully Leon is talking to his teacher about it today.  He's only got 7 days left of school!

Then he and I relaxed a little and we watched another episode before his dad took him back to his mom's.

I pulled out all the rest of my vases for Maddy to peruse virtually this morning. She's doing the centerpieces for one of her sister-in-law's weddings this summer.  and have I got LOADS for her to choose from!  The square vases got sent home with her last weekend.

As usual, I have some drama in my life, which I won't air here.  Suffice it to say, I either may give up my sewing room again OR my schedule for the next couple months is going to be up in the air and a lot more busy.  I sit with bated breath awaiting the outcome.

While the dandelions bloom...

On Friday night, I sewed while Meri crammed her memory work with Robb.  Got most of the dress done except for a couple things.

On Saturday morning, Leon and I went to go see his other Grandma.  She hadn't seen Leon since his birthday.  We had a really nice time and he loves their back yard! 

  

 That afternoon, I sewed more.  Got almost all done except for the handwork on the hook and eyes.  Helped get supper on the table, then back at it.

Sunday came.  The BIG day!  The day Meri and another confirmant say a ton of Bible verses and sections of the Apostles Creed along with their meanings as well as answer a lot of questions in FRONT of the congregation from memory.  She did a wonderful job of it!  My confirmation, when I was 14, had a lot more awkward pauses and kicks to my sister, who was being confirmed with me.

  

Meri looked beautiful and we had a lot of photos taken afterwards.  The ice cream cake still sits in the freezer at church because it was too soft to transport home.  Who wants a lot of drippy ice cream on their car upholstery??  Well, if I'd had a spoon with me, I'd be just fine.  Oh well.  We'll pick it up tomorrow.

 

Sunday afternoon, my SIL and her family came back to the house with us to load up a tv cabinet that my MIL had found for her.  We sat in the sun and visited a lot.  She's great!  After they left I realized I hadn't gotten the ASG sewing group newsletter done yet and it was due to the committee for proofing, like the day before...  oops!  I locked myself in my office and got a rough draft of it done, then sent it off to them.

 That evening, Maddy wanted us to watch The Music Man with her.  I'd never seen it, even though it's based on an Iowa city not far from here.  Her college is doing that musical this next year and since she's one of only a few Iowa kids in the entire school, she wants to be a part of it!  She should be a shoe-in!  Just say something Iowish.  Pronounce boat correctly or something!

There are so many songs that I already knew in the movie.  

I had no idea that's where they came from!

It's iconic!

Leon watched it with us and thoroughly enjoyed it!  We only got through about half of the movie before exhaustion hit us all.  Leon asked to see the Buick Man several times the next day and got his wish.

Monday, Memorial Day!  The day to remember all who have fought for our freedom to speak freely, worship as we please and blog.  We celebrated by getting the house & food ready for a lunch with friends, then went out to the local cemetary for the service.  Meri's Middle school band played.  

 

I fiddled with the zoom on my new camera and caught, what it looked like, her napping. 

She says no, she wasn't.  The sun was shining right in their faces.

Leon didn't want his toes in the grass...

  

Then my bestie and her hubs came over for a lunch that consisted of mainly leftovers from the confirmation lunch the day before.  It was STILL GOOD!  Robb jazzed a couple things up with bacon.

Bacon improves EVERYTHING, yes?

After they left and the food was put away, I napped with Leon and Maddy.  ahhh...  Then made the changes to the newsletter that the ladies sent me back.

I think we need a sequel to Memorial day.  Just to nap more.

Vogue shopping

I bought a pattern last night....  Designer Vogue!!!  It's the one Meri wants for her confirmation dress.  So I'll be making a (maybe wearable) muslin by this weekend.  

I never thought I'd get to sit at a sewing machine again...

I took Leon with me shopping last night.  He had to sit in the cart at one store and then I let him "walk" at JoAnns.  He is a real boy and hops in rain puddles.  He also agonized over every single bolt of fleece, deciding on which one he wanted for a simple blanket.  He pulled almost every bolt off and pretended it was a pillow on the ground.  He finally ended up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fabric, then at the cut out table saw Spiderman.  Got a yard of that instead.  It'll get hemmed up this weekend, but for now he's happy!  I never knew a yard of fabric could make someone so happy.  He must take after me.

JoAnn's had some fabric similar to that Tator stuff so we can make microwave bowl holders.  I got an email yesterday from the Allfreesewing.com website that had instructions on how to make them.  We could SO use these in our house as we use the microwave a lot reheating things.  It's scary how often I burn myself or watch someone yell OW OW OW as they run with a hot dish to the counter.  I'm going to try making one myself and then make Meri make a set for a 4H fair project.  Although at this point she's agreeable to it as she sees the need...  and as she holds ice to her fingertips...  And they'll be entirely washable if things boil over!

Pattern instructions HERE.

Back to last night, Leon and I stopped for fries & chicken nuggets and then a couple other places.  After the first store, he REFUSED to sit in the spot for kids in the carts and insisted on sitting in the basket area.  Yep - I'm that BAD grandparent who says, "Ok, but just keep on your butt!"  and then he doesn't.  You know the little pictures for illiterates on how to keep your child safe in the shopping cart?  Yeah - I ignore them.  I'm basically saying, "Not only am I illiterate but I also am blind.  Now sell me stuff!"  Sam's Club now has a photo of me next to their door...

Remembering the days when I could hit 4 stores in less than an hour.  Last night took me three hours.  Got home in time to read a few books to him before his daddy came home from work and put him to bed.

You know?...  I wouldn't trade last night for a rush night for anything.

Confirmation pics

Here are Maddy's confirmation pictures. We are so proud of her. God has truly blessed us with faithful children.

Crazy Weekend Recap...

It's done. My son's graduation party is over and my daughter has been confirmed. If my stupid camera dock wouldn't be acting so flakey today, I could post a few pictures...

Anway - a verbal recap...
Friday - worked on various items around the house getting ready. As soon as Maddy got home, I sic'ed her on taping all Ryan's photos to the 3 big poster boards that I was going to set up in the livingroom with the mounds of scrapbooks that he's in. She could only get to 2 of them and pooped out. Oh well, maybe 3 was a little overkill. I did some massive grocery shopping in the morning so Robb could get the potato salad and beans done in the afternoon. At the checkout at Sams Club, I noticed that I only had 2 buckets of ice cream on the bottom of my shopping cart... I had put 3... Somewhere in Sam's a bucket of ice cream is melting... My guess is the produce isle.
I was on my feet all day. Except when I got a hair cut that night. What was I thinking??? I always set up a hair cut 5-6 weeks in advance because we love our stylist and she's hard to schedule at a last minute. So we're on a schedule. But the night before a big shindig? Oh well. It did give me an opportunity to sit for 45 minutes and get pampered. Then off to the school carnival and send Meri to a friends for the night.

Saturday - I finished the cleaning and yard work, then ran to Sams for the pork loins and other items that we couldn't live without for the party. I almost left without the buns... oops! Turned around for that. Two of my sisters showed up around noon, so I set them to work wrapping the tables on the deck for autographs and putting the pad on the trampoline. We set up the 1919 rootbeer keg on the deck along with a barrel full of other types of pop. Set up a narrow table in the kitchen for a buffet style serving and let 'er rip. The party started at 4pm and suddenly it was 8. Wow - how did that happen?
So many people came and I was pleasantly surprised on a few that I certainly didn't expect. Meri stood guard in the livingroom and pointed people she knew to certain pages of the scrapbooks that featured Ryan proudly showing off something in the toilet as a toddler... Or photos of him (at the age of 2) kissing a girl... acting goofy or just showing off his baby pictures.
Maddy did a fabulous job of mingling and keeping guests entertained in the same room.
I felt spread a little thin and didn't get to talk to everyone as much as I'd've liked... oh well. that happens when you've got that many to entertain. I think people understood.
Ryan sat on the front porch and strummed his guitar, seranading everyone that came to the door. He'd visit with them before sending them inside for some food. My niece and her husband hung out out there with him. The husband was a music major and helped Ryan by taking turns on the guitar. He'd make up quirky little songs like a old time bard. "It's Ryan's graduation, something something rhymey, It sure is sunny, hope your card is funny..." Also several of Ryan's groupies hung out out there and held lighters... Ok - they didn't have lighters, and kind of looked at me funny when I suggested it.

After the party, my sister and Mom hit the kitchen hard. I took care of putting food away and they washed up counters, washed dishes and helped garner child workers to fold up tables and clear off the decks. Melanie - Thank you!!! You were a God-send.

We had finally gotten everyone settled in and fell asleep within moments of hitting the bed. Our feet were screaming, as we'd been on them for 2 days straight. We had 14 guests stay over night because Maddy's confirmation was the next day.

Sunday - We got up early, but Robb told me to stay in bed. A little bit later, Maddy brought me up breakfast in bed for Mother's Day. cool! Then Robb made breakfast for all the mothers in the house (5 in all) and had their kids wake them up to eat it in bed.

Then we loaded up all the leftovers into the cars for the meal after church. The dear ladies of my church took care of all the sides, setup and cleaning, but we brought paper goods, meat and buns and tons of relatives.

I stopped at a florists and bought roses for all the mother's in my group and Meri bought a corsage for Maddy's big day. We also stopped for a bunch of Panera bagel packs because we have fellowship time before Sunday school and no one can turn down a bagel...

At church, Maddy did a fabulous job reciting her many, many Bible verses and showed great knowledge in what she'd learned. We're very proud of her.

The ladies at church did all the meal work, so I was able to visit with relatives and friends. It was a great time... exhausting, but good.

I feel so bad! My sister asked me to keep an eye on her crawlie baby and I got distracted for a moment. When I looked back, the baby was gone... Meri and I started looking under tables, coat room and out the open front door. She was nowhere to be seen. Then we realized she was in the bathroom with her mom. hmmm... I wasn't very trustworthy, was I??? Apparently my sister had gone out to her car for something and on the way back in the front door, came across her child crawling out to find her... She scooped her up and took her to the bathroom with her. I'm so sorry!!! But that little girl is definitely going to be in the Olympics someday.

We got home around 3pm and I crashed on the couch. I slept from 3 until 5. We were supposed to pick the dogs up at the kennel at 4:30, but obviously missed our window of opportunity. They'll stay there til Monday. A few of us attended another graduation party that evening and enjoyed looking thru the photos of that graduate.
Then came back home and lounged...

Oh - what a weekend! We didn't do much for Mother's Day itself outside of giving flowers to the mothers, but oh well. I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Confirmation dress done!

I got Maddy's confirmation dress done! The Easter dress was going to be a tryout of the confirmation dress, but we decided it wasn't the best design and the neckline was WAY to low. Maddy had to wear a tank top with it at Easter. So the next day after Easter, she and I went to JoAnns fabrics and found a new pattern that she agreed with. We also found the most expensive fabric I've ever bought. $15 per yard ivory Dupioni Shatung silk. I didn't even spend that much on my wedding dress satin... But when I went to check out, the gal there had a 40% off coupon for me to use and I also got an additional 10% off with my American Sewers Guild discount, so that was nice. It brought the dress down to a more reasonable price range. AND the dress fits my youngest daughter really nice too, so I'll definitely be making more of these for them both.
I did raise the neckline, which was very easy to do with this pattern. I added an extra inch at the top, or it would've been pretty low again. I was NOT going to let Maddy wreck the look with another tank top...
After a quick tryon before I finished the shoulders, we adjusted how the top of the no-sleeve shoulders would fit. Perfect...And it looks better on her than the mannequin, but I'll take pictures of her in it in a few weeks at the actual confirmation. She's busy studying with Ryan. It's a great review for him as he quizzes her on Bible verses and questions she'll be asked. I know she'll do great.

Oh - I just remembered that I was going to make her a slip to go with it! I think tho, that I might have another one that she can use.

I'd like to get the diningroom put back together now. The junk on the left side of the table was due to an emergency last night. My mother-in-law's fish tank sprang a leak and one of her photo albums got soaked. I managed to pull apart the pages before they dried and most of the pictures are ok. The Creative Memory page protectors are wonderful! Those pages were hardly damaged! Too bad, we didn't have them on all the pages...