Us, as Martha Stewart

Posted July 5th, 2009 by Sally and filed in Uncategorized
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Things have been busy around here this weekend! We’ve been crafting, cooking, and tinkering up a storm.
First, our new TV antenna arrived on Friday. Since we were home with the day off, Matt spent the afternoon getting it hooked up and tuned in. We’re now the proud viewers of 6 crystal-clear TV stations! The really interesting thing is that the 3-foot metal antenna is in the closet in the office. Yep. Lots and lots of swearing was required to get that in place and working. :-)
While Matt worked on that and Ava napped, I got to sewing. Our outdoor seat cushions were a total mess and really needed to be replaced. Since they’re so expensive, I decided I could make them on my own. A quick-ish trip to JoAnn’s and I was on my way. I cut-out and sewed together 8 new seat cushions. I also made two patchwork quilt beds for Libby. It’s so hot here that she never slept in her other beds. These help her keep cool, but are still cozy.
Ava stayed busy too…she’s perfecting her strut in Mommy’s heels.
We’ve got more projects coming up this summer. Looking forward to all the creativity!

Ava’s Big Girl Room – Step 1

Posted July 2nd, 2009 by Sally and filed in Uncategorized
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So, our goal by the end of summer is to have Ava transitioned into her big girl room. We’ve set an August 1 deadline so that we can be through the worst of the challenges in time for me to catch a nap before starting classes again.

In order to get there, though, Matt and I are taking on several projects for making her new room homemade. Matt will be doing the furniture and I’m doing several projects for the decorating part. The first step was her quilt. She’ll have a twin bed and trundle, so I’ve made a shaggy flannel/denim quilt to go on it. I started last Saturday and finished up last night. It’s drying in the dryer now and will be ready as soon as the rest of her room is.
Next projects are matching curtain ties (already have curtains that will work), a floor pillow, and some artwork from an awesome friend – not to mention the furniture. We’ll keep you posted on the progress!

Little Swimmer

Posted June 29th, 2009 by Sally and filed in Uncategorized
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On Father’s Day, Ava learned how to swim. We had been in the pool every afternoon for several days because we had grandparents in town, and Matt and I had gone to K-mart to invest in some new pool toys. We had been talking that Ava needed some sort of flotation suit to give her (us, really) a little more freedom in the water.


Well, we found a winner of a suit and after two-days’ practice, Ava was motoring around the pool like a pro! She’s quite daring now and it’s great that she’s getting to be so independent…safely!



A Grand Visit

Posted June 23rd, 2009 by Sally and filed in Uncategorized
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We were delighted to play host to Matt’s parents and sister for a week. While I had to go to work a few days while they were here, Matt was able to stay home and we all had a regular vacation for several days over the weekend.

Ava loved having a never-ending supply of book readers and was delighted with the new armadillo book Grandma and Grandpa brought. She learned three new animals from that book…’dillo, sssssnake, and ‘gator. She doesn’t let you read the words, but really likes to touch the textured pages.


Auntie Moe was here too and was sure a big hit. She quickly received a name from Ava and spent the week being called “Mutt.” Not sure how the little one came up with that, but Maureen was an indulgent aunt and answered to the new moniker.

On Saturday, we went to Boulder City to ride the train. It was just as fun as we remembered, although a little more windy!

After our train ride, we went to El Torito for lunch. Since we had a whole group of Texans along, I’m pleased to report that the enchiladas are indeed up to their high standards!

We spent every naptime watching movies and then spent every afternoon in the pool. We ate TONS of great food and really felt like we were on vacation….all in our own house.

Thanks, Grandma, Grandpa, and Maureen for visiting! We had a great time!

Busy Baby

Posted June 6th, 2009 by Sally and filed in Uncategorized
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Matt took a couple days to build two new computers, so the kitchen was pretty much off-limits to Ava and I during their construction. (I painted the office on Saturday, so the house was all kinds of a mess.) So, I pulled out all the stops to keep the kid occupied while she was awake. We colored, we played with homemade play-doh, we played outside on the turtle and the tricycle, and then it was time for the last ditch effort….shaving cream.


Ava had a pretty good time, but instead of smearing it around on the table, she was all about smearing it all over herself. This coincided with a desired to spread all things creamy on herself – yogurt, peanut butter, and refried beans to mention a few.
Anyway, that weekend we learned that a busy baby = a happy baby. But we’ll need to stock up on shaving cream!
After all the excitement, we resorted to dressing up. First Ava in her daddy’s new t-shirt, then Libby in a necklace. Good thing Libby’s such a patient pooch!

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