Random Projects!

I don't think I have updated the blog with ANY of my craft projects since last Christmas maybe? I truly can't remember. But when I was clearing out my phone pictures, I came across a LOT since right before this Christmas, so it has been while. I know a handful of you like to see these, so I am adding them in a post!

Some are sewing projects:

Like ties for the boys & their cousins for Becca's wedding...
And an art apron I made for our neighbor, Sadie, who turned 4....

and a few baby blankets....and not to mention Eli's zig zag quilt is finally finished! This was put off way to long from start to finish!
And as you can see, both the boys get good use of their quilts! Here they are all bundled up next to my bed one morning after a night full of storms....

A few handmade Christmas presents that I grabbed pics of....

Like a shirt for my father in law (who happens to nap even MORE than my husband... is that even possible?!) I saw a shirt like this online for over $20 & I made this one in about 30 minutes & the cost of a tee/paint.
A welcome sign/hook for my mama.... (made from an old cabinet door...)
Another sign made for my step mom... also made from a cabinet door (this time with a glass pane)...And one of my favorite little projects was a Christmas ornament for my friend, Randi. She is moving to Denver in June & I wanted her to have a little something to remember NC with (& me, of course!)
Right after the holidays, Rebecca & I started a "quilt block of the month". Here is my first block! I am pretty excited because this is supposed to be a stars/stripes (red/blue) quilt. That is perfect for Rebecca because quilting is her sanity while Todd has been deployed. But, I knew a red/blue quilt wasn't for me. So, I have been substituting the blue fabric with green, and so by December (the last quilt block month), I will have all the squares for a Christmas quilt! Perfect!

I've also worked on a few home decor projects for myself!
I used another cabinet door to make myself a sign at my entry way...And decorating my hubby's dresser is now this little frame ( more inspiration from pinterest!) that I can wipe down & change the reasons I love him everyday! It's nice to leave him little messages & remind him of all the little things I love about him. I also put up a shelf above the couch. This was an idea that I stole from Rebecca. We had seen it on a blog called "I am Momma Hear Me Roar", and both loved the idea of one long shelf of a simple piece of wood, held up with corbels. And then our friend, Randi had all these reclaimed wood pieces & told us we could have one! Woot! Last weekend, Randy planed them for us & we both got new shelves in one weekend! Here is mine... (It isn't decorated so nicely yet... but it's a start. I need something with some height to it... Keeping my eye out!)That door you see in the corner of the room in one of the above pictures is from the habitat restore. I plan to paint it (probably a bright green), but for now, I just cleaned it up & tossed a wreath on it!And one last project! I went through & made picture books at mpix.com of the kids preschool artwork! I had been wanting to do this for awhile. Mainly, because I knew that I couldn't hang onto ALL that artwork that comes home from school. So, I sifted through what we had, keeping my favorites & scanning them into my computer. Then uploaded them to mpix & created a photo book for each of the boys.
Then I tossed the originals (it truly pained me to do so!). BUT, I did hang onto a handful of my absolute favorites from each of the boys. And I made a little gallery in our LONG upstairs hallway... (Sorry, but the lighting is terrible in our hallway. We really need another light up there!)....
Now, after showing you all these pictures of projects that make it look like I have it all together over here; I have to prove that I don't. Every time I post a picture of something I've done like this to Facebook someone inevitably makes a comment that they don't know how I have the time/energy or whatever. Well.... here is what my laundry pile looked like just 3 days ago, waiting to be folded...

So see? I do NOT have it all together. In fact, my house suffers terribly from all my project undertakings! :) Don't let me fool ya!

Big Milestone!

Big news around the Moss house:

Here is your hint....Yep.
You guessed it! Eli is no longer using training wheels on his bike!!

I really think it was more of a confidence thing for him than ability. He liked knowing he wasn't going to fall. But when you have a big brother who wants to get out there & help you....It's hard to refuse the offer! Jackson literally taught him how to ride all on his own. And I think that is so special!

Everything from using the brakes, to putting your foot down so you don't fall when stopping- all Jackson's doing. The only thing I helped with was showing him (in literally one pep talk/take off) that he really could take off all on his own.... He just needed the encouragement to see for himself. And he thought I was holding on to him!

Voila! A new independent bike rider over at our house!

Here's a video of him riding!

Happy Easter!!

I think I will mainly just let the pictures speak for themselves on our Easter post. I will just say that Eli isn't pictured in the dressed up church pictures because he was at home with a fever. No one said the Easter Bunny was allowed to bring fevers! (And then Sunday afternoon, Jackson came down with fever too! Ugh!!) Anyway.... here are some pictures from our day!

Fever or not... When I said the Easter Bunny had come... They hopped right up & ran downstairs!

Wow! I got THREE chocolate bunnies!!!

I think the snake was one of the biggest hits in Jackson's basket. Maybe more so than the chocolate & jelly beans!
Off to church! So cute!
Easter bunny brought Jackson some sunglasses. He thinks he is THE MAN.
He would NOT take off the sunglasses for the pictures...
Mr. Cool Man...
Rebecca & her girls...

Seesters!!
Leah insisted I needed to get a picture of her hanging from the big magnolia tree!

Silly is this child's middle name....

Emma looked very grown to me!
Oh, she loves to run free in the church yard!!


Hope your Easter was fantastic!

My Yard is in Bloom!

A couple of weeks ago, the lens that I had been using on my Canon just died. Literally. The motor was just shot according to my father in law. So, he had a fixed 50mm lens that he said I could take. It's my favorite to use anyway, so I took it! So I was back in action again & ready to capture some photos! I was out at White Oak Shopping Center that very day & saw this beautiful tree in bloom, so I thought "why not!?" I got my camera right out & started snapping!So with the renewed fire to take some pictures on a beautiful spring day.... I was thrilled to find some new blooms in my own yard that very week. So, of course, I am sharing that with you all!

Rhododendron Bud....
Candy Tufts....
Pink Phlox...

Forsythia...
And since I took these, Our crepe myrtles are getting some green leaves on them, as well as our hydrangea and hostas. So more pics to come soon!

Pets are Fun to Have....

Here's a little snippet of a conversation with Jackson this morning:

Jackson: "You know, I like the name Lola for a cat."

Rachel: "Me, too. Did you know that I named her that because I like people names for animals? And Daddy didn't like the name Lola for a baby girl, so I used it for the cat since I liked it so much."

Jackson: "Yeah, I know all the animals have names like that."

Rachel: "Except Opie, our old cat. We named him that because Daddy liked Andy Griffith Show so much, not because it was a name for a real person."

Jackson: "I like having pets. They are fun to have."

Rachel: "They sure are! I love having pets too."

Jackson: "Yeah. Some people even have things like hamsters."

Rachel: "Well, do you want to know what my rules are on pets in the house?"

Jackson: "sure"

Rachel: "Nothing that slithers...."

Jackson: (grinning) "... like snakes."

Rachel: "Nothing that flaps its wings..."

Eli chimes in: "like birds!!"

Jackson: "OH! A bird would be so fun to have."

Rachel: "No, it wouldn't. Aunt Becca had one when we were growing up & it was obnoxious. Chirped at all hours & always woke everyone up early in the morning. No birds. And nothing that hops...."

Jackson: "like bunnies."

Rachel: "And nothing in the rodent family..... "

Jackson: (strange look on his face.... apparently the word "rodent" was foreign)

Rachel: ".... That would include hamsters, mice, gerbils.... uh huh. Not happening."

Jackson: (thinks for a moment, realizing that pretty much what we've got is all we're getting in terms of types of animals).... "I want a German Shepard!"

Rachel: "Oh, you do huh? We already have a dog & they are a lot to keep up with. I am not sure we can handle two!"

Jackson: "Yeah, I want a German Shepard." (And then in his most convincing voice...) "They are REALLY protective."

Rachel: ".........So are boxers." (Case closed.... and Jackson knew it, because he just chuckled & gave up)

.... and because it pains me to have a post without pictures, here are some of the pets!

The COOLEST egg dye project!

I found the coolest ideas this year via pinterest for dyeing easter eggs! I had to decide on just one to try which was tough! In the end though, I settled on this technique from a blog called Sandy Toes & Popsicles, that was super easy & I had all the supplies on hand (food coloring - we used Neon colors, vinegar, & oil). It was supossed to be marbled, but ours didn't marble. Instead, they were more splotchy which we ended up LOVING because we had a mixture of brown & white eggs (thanks, Peto!). This meant that our eggs resembled "dinosaur eggs!" Pretty fantastic, huh!?
I will definitely be doing these again next year! The boys had a blast & it was more of a process which made every egg look different. Much more fun than simply dunking them in a color & plopping them back in the egg crate.







Now, what shall we make with a dozen boiled eggs? Egg Salad, anyone!?