khloe's altered booties

well after several request to see how I made khloe's little brown and blue booties I thought it would be easier to just post it here. as you can see I bought them from Target pretty simple, but soo cute. (They have this same style in pink. ) She needed something she could wear with all her navy dresses, skirts, etc. but these were actually made for boys, a little too masculine. So I just added the strap and a simple flower to dress 'em up. So easy, and man do I get compliments on these little darlings, everytime she wears them... So there you go, couldn't be easier. We bought their pink striped ones last year, love them too, but these navy cuties take the cake.

sorry the pic stinks.. but she never holds still long enough for my slow camera..!!!

christmas cards made easy...and cheap

go from pictures like this....
(she never lets me get a good photo of her
...no seriously no one can capture her personality but Helga)

to pictures like this...with just a click of the mouse http://reflectionsphotographybyhelga.blogspot.com/
I know she's my sister and I'm supposed to talk her up, but when have you EVER known me to say something I didn't really believe. This girl has serious photo chops, she can make ANY family look super cute, she knows how to capture each personality. YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED! ...and she has a killer deal for the holidays too!
... you know you need the good memories, and we all want to look perfectly put together.... at least in photos... right? :) why not save a little green while you're at it...

pics of the kids.. a salute to summer

mister luca james showing off his chompers gideon doing his homework on the trampoline...he's so studious
and a sweet smile from miss khloe
she is soo much cuter than me at this age... I think it's funny when people say she's my little clone... truth be told.. I was an ugly child...honest
all of these brilliant photos are taken by my talented and brilliant sister helga...check out the reflections photography link...(just off to the left)
I already miss the carefree days of summer, and the holidays are closing in... so not ready this year!!! sorry this is a quick post but I am still working on the reno on my kitchen...(you know between wrestling tournaments for gideon and preschool for luca)

just a personal thought

I went to a parenting class today, it was great, surrounded by all my new neighbors that I hardly know sharing and talking about feelings....I hate feelings.
(Yeah sarcasm was frowned upon too, by the way - one more check against natalie)

sometimes I feel like such a guy, I don't want to sit and talk about how this or that made me feel bad; or if I DO go to someone for advice, I want suggestions. I want you to help me see the other person's point of view, don't tell me you "understand" that I feel "____". It is patronizing to me. I have subscribed to the 'just fix it or forget it' mentality. Feelings can take over your life if you let them. That's where depression, and anxiety attacks come from. Don't get me wrong, I still get upset, but I don't see the benefit from dwelling in it too long.

But here I am in this class learning that I need to be a better listener, to validate my childs feelings more and help them to feel that emotion is ok, it's acceptable, it's normal. They were right. I sometimes get so caught up in my "no victim mentality" parenting style... I forget...they have feelings. And they(at least not yet) don't hate them.

I think God sent me crazy, passionate kids to remind me to stop...and feel. Sometimes it's not about getting something done, or solving a problem...

thank goodness for neighborhood parenting classes...with neighbors I don't know. Of course it would be nicer if I was surrounded by people who knew me...and don't think I'm completely nuts... oh well I guess they'd learn the truth eventually... :)

hair bow mania

maybe having a girl just brings the creative out in me.. but I have been making tons of bows lately. Yeah I want a bow that matches every outfit (seriously it's like an illness)..but she looks so cute with her hair up :)man I can already tell...I'm gonna be so poor when she gets older

she is already getting so good at holding still so I can do her hair...of course she will pull it out if she gets bored ...sorry I tried to get her to smile for you guys...no deal

another summer project, a baby quilt...set

just another project from this summer...a good friend of ours had the sweetest little girl. She wanted to do the whole nursery on pale pink and grey (not the easiest color to find). We finished this baby set just in time for her shower. Later I made the matching owl (last post) and brought it to the hospital to meet little Monroe. She's a cute little bugger. I don't know why I love whipping together quilts so much, but it makes me happy to know that somewhere a little baby is being comforted with something I made. :)
You can't see in the pictures, but I added 2 loops in the center seam on the quilt. They can be used to attach those baby rings to the blanket itself. Then the rings can attach toys for tummy time OR ...wait for it..this is genius (if I do say so myself) you can attach the loops to your car seat... instant car seat cover, that easily converts back into a banket... I know, I know... I get all excited over the dumbest stuff. But I have never seen that before... I invented it... yeah... hold your applause, thank you thank you... :) man - I'm such a dork!

WOW!!! summer is almost over!

wow...what a summer!! we have been so busy, (remodeling our kitchen...more of that to come)sorry I haven't been posting like I should... so here is my latest craftiness.... what do you guys think?

I designed these owls for this years "niece" gifts (I make something for my nieces each year for their birthdays) My oldest niece Kayla turned 16 this year, so she got the key chain version. my younger nieces have a stuffed owl in their future. (the nephews are getting the cutest stuffed snakes... I'll post a pick soon.)

A friend of mine thought I ought to do a tutorial on some of these stuffed animals I've been making...would anyone use that? I have made them for baby showers etc... so simple and quick...these funny little frogs (below) were an idea I had after we watched Disney's Princess and the Frog. I was going to buy Khloe a frog, but it was $27!! crazy right... so we just made her a little prince charming to kiss as much as she wants. My sister wanted one for Makyla so she got the little girl frog. We had to take some pics before we seperated them for life:) ha!

alright enough for today... I will post again soon. Oh and stay tuned for some of my summer remodeling including a cool mural we did for gideon's room:)

hiking above our house

We have been taking full advantage of the mountain being right outside our door. Hiking has become a favorite, as you can see. (can see our house down in the bottom right corner....hint look for the white fence...he he)
what is so cool about this trail, it only takes a few minutes and the whole valley dissapears and you feel a million miles away, even though you've only been walking 20 minutes, or so... gotta love the view though....maybe you can make out your house too ;) can you see your city?
ok, all corney jokes aside. You all need to come up for a day and check it out for yourself. It is so peaceful. We always see wildlife, deer, owls, rabbits, squirrels, so many birds and flowers. It's sooo beautiful! Last time we even found some cougar tracks in some mud. Luckily no cougar :)

Grocery Co-op!

So my grandfather turned me onto this produce co-op in my area, actually it's available in a lot of states. I got online and ordered my standard basket with a 'mexi basket' add-on. On saturday I went to pick it up, not sure what to expect. Holy Cow there had to be over a hundred people there! Apparantly I was the last to know....
So here's what I got in my 'standard' basket $15.00 (pretty great..huh? )
2 coconuts, 1 lg. cantelope, 1 bunch celery, 1lg. romaine head, 5 tomatoes (a little green), 1 bag seedless grapes, 11 redskin potatoes, 10 apples, huge bunch of bananas, lg. bunch geen beans, 2 stalks broccoli, 12 apricots. So far EVERYTHING has been perfect. Even the apricots and melon had great flavor. Obviously it isn't local produce, but pretty neat, just the same.

.....just to give you some scale, this is the onion- they are huge!
and the mexi add-on for $7.50 14 tomatillos, 4 med. avocados, 8 anaheim peppers, 2 Lg. onions, 4 med. jalapenos, 6 limes, 2 garlic, green onions and a large bunch of cilantro (have you noticed the bunches in the grocery store are like half the size lately?)
the non-refridgerated stuff...all lined up nice and pretty, there is something strangely satisfying about having fresh, yummy produce on my counter :) If you want to check it out, their website is bountifulbaskets.org... they have bread and really yummy corn tortillas too.

she's getting so big!!!

travis' says she must be my favorite (since I take so many pictures of her) but I swear it's just cuz she's supposed to be my last... I just don't want to miss it :)can you believe she's 10 months old!!!
so here's another one... her first day in pigtails...alright maybe I DO have a little problem... he he

sorry...l'm trying to be better

khloe hanging with her great grandpa
a quick snapshot of our trip to nevada

Khloe is growing like a weed!!! she" so big!!!

Gidster did really well at his recent science fair... yes I say recent even though it was a couple weeks ago, but I am just now getting it up here... sorry. I haven't found enough time to do everything yet... still unpacking and trying to get settled in - I will try to get to updating more... but we're having so much fun up here... we want everyone to come visit!

we're in!!!!

we are officially into the new house and it is soooo nice!!! I have loved having the space to put everything and it has the most amazing views up here!!! but sadly, with the crazy weather, we have yet to meet anyone up here yet. SOOOOO please feel free to visit :)I would love it!!!

So, I just got my internet working again, and I have a ton of e-mails to return so just a quick post tonight - but I'll catch you guys up later... promise :)