You'd be mad too if someone was getting sick on your head!

Pumpkins, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

I actually got a pumpkin carved today! Can you believe it?
I know, not very original but Jaden and I had fun, he pretended like he was the pumpkin and was asking me to be careful and gentle while cutting out his features. Silly boy.
I decided to make a little pukie guy, I guess the little guy is scared of heights and got sick on his Pa. Hahahahahahahahaha!
I have 3 more that can use a carving so I think I might look around the net and see what I can come up with...
I'll post updates if I get anymore done.... now off to roast some punkin' seeds...yum!

And here's another pic of little Baby Gus in the jumper I made for Jaden for his first Halloween, it fits Gus great and my Nephew wore it last year! I wonder how many more babies will get to wear it before it gets retired?

I also made a decorated shirt for Jaden this year, I'll post a picture of it soon.

My Diaper Keyring Fluff

My Diaper Keyring Fluff, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

Now what do you do when you want to show your cloth diapers but it's getting cold outside to pull your babies pants off and show them off?
Well you carry it around on your keyring that's what!
I made this little darling just like it's big brothers only miniature, It's even washable!
I'm thinking about selling them in my Etsy shop!
Whatcha think?

My first fancy AIO cloth diaper

Well, I know I can sew but sometimes I don't give myself very much credit.

I bought this pattern for the Very Baby Very Basic All in One cloth diaper pattern recently from The Diaper Shop and I've been just looking at it for a couple of weeks, and with all the sad things going on I haven't been motivated to clean my house just so I can start sewing so I finally cleared a pile and cut out the diaper. I think it turned out pretty cute, it looks just like the pictures on there site minus the little Very Baby tag, so I was pretty surprised! I tried to sew with Jaden around and he just can't keep away from the mesmerizing magic of a sewing machine in use so it was a little challenging to say the least! LOL I was reading in the Mothering.com diaper making forums that one mom suggested sewing while the children are sleeping and I think this is a grand idea, but today Gus went down at 11 till 3 and Jaden went down for his nap at 2 and he'll probably be down for 2 1/2 hours so today that just ain't going to happen, but that's OK. I was just too motivated.

Here's Gorgeous Gus modeling his new diaper, I think he approves. :o)

I wanted to make some like this so my husband can't say that "Cloth diapers are just too complicated for me!!!" (he builds airplanes for goodness sake!), this style is called an All in One because it works just like a sposie but you wash them instead of trashing them. Now what's his excuse? :o)

I made it with an outer layer of PUL fabric which is a waterproof fabric on the inside and a soft polyester on the outside and the inside is 2 layers of Super Flannel with a flannel double that has I think 6 layers so I think this is going to work really nice. I have enough fabric to make probably 4 more just like this.

I should have got in gear earlier this summer so I could have made some really cute prints and just put on a t-shirt so I could show off my cloth diapers! It's really fun to see peoples expressions when I say I use cloth diapers. (she must be really stupid and/or poor!!!) Well, not stupid or poor, just on a tight budget with a huge imagination and a sewing machine! ;o) The premade Very Baby diapers retail for about $18.50 on the net!

I'm also going to go Saturday to check out a shop in a nearby town that rents space in their gift shop so I can sell my baby items locally without going to craft shows to do it. Man those craft shows are a ton of work and with Baby Gus now I don't see any craft shows happening very soon!

I'm tired

We had her funeral Saturday and I couldn't believe how it seems like time was standing still, we had only been there an hour or so but it felt more like 6, I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I didn't even dream when I went to sleep which was probably a huge blessing! We all went to bed and forgot to turn off the computer or the living room lights and we left the front door unlocked!

I've held up pretty good, but this morning I opened the closet and there was her jacket hanging on the hook from one of her last visits. So I cried while I brought in my share of the flowers. The jacket is a pink fleece so I was thinking about making a little pillow to put on my bed to sleep with. Mom would probably be mad that I cut up a perfectly good jacket though! :o)

My 3 1/2 yr old has been doing really great but I wonder when he's going to notice that Grammie isn't anywhere. She wasn't moving or talking for about a month so who knows. When we were sitting at the grave site the pall bearers rolled her casket on the stand and he said "cool" wouldn't it be nice to be able to handle this stuff with stride like little kids? I think if he asks where Grammie is I'll just tell him that she went to heaven and leave it at that. I don't want to get him all worried about that sort of stuff if I can help it.

On a little happier note, I took the kids to see Disney on Ice with my niece and great nephew and it was pretty good. What I hate is how expensive all the toys are and how they shove them in our faces! The tickets were $18 each with $3 for parking and then they were charging $18 for a small bag of cotton candy and a cheap 101 Dalmatian dog mask! Now I don't know if I've made it clear that I am a rather new tightwad but I just about choked at the prices! Everything at the show was $15-$30 and I seen kids with costumes on and arms full of toys. geez I told my niece that if we do this again we need to go to the Disney store and buy some stuff on clearance and pack it away for the next show! :o) My mama would be proud of my thriftiness. Oh and talking about being tired, me and the boys laid down for a nap at 1:30 and didn't wake up till the phone rang at 4:30 and the show started at 5!!! Thank goodness my husband helped me get the kids dressed! I realized after we got home that I had put Jadens tennis shoes on the wrong feet! I really was tired. ;o)

Take care everyone and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your sweet and heartfelt kind wishes for my family and I.

God Bless you all. xoxoxo

She's gone

Mom passed away this morning at 7am peacefully in her bed in her own home. My sister was with her and noticed that her breathing had gotten labored so she quietly told her that it was OK to go and that we would all be alright and she died a short time later.
JoAnn Oaks will be missed more then I could ever put into words.
My mother was very strong and knew how to take care of herself and her family and we were her life.
I had a chance to tell her one of the last times she bounced back from being so close to dying that I was so proud of how she raised us girls all on her own and how grateful I was for all the hard work she always did for us and that I loved her with all my heart so I was at that place where I could let her go to heaven to be with everyone she missed.
Mom would have been 70 on December 5th this year, way to young to be taken but she had a good life and has a family that loved her very much.
We decided to bury mom in a pretty red fleece top with her fanny pack purse that she ALWAYS had one and her hiking boots so she can go camping on Heaven Mountain instead of Colorado this time. I'm going to put a fresh pack of her favorite Wrigley's Double Mint gum in her fanny pack so she has it if she needs it.

I love you mom, I'm sorry about putting this picture of you on the net, but I think you look cute in your little cover girl pose. *wink wink*

Little found dog

How cute is this little doll?

This little lady appeared on my doorstep about a week and a half ago with just a little collar on but no tag. My Hubby had picked up Jaden from my Moms house where I was staying over night and when he got home she was on the porch shivering.

Dan actually put her in the garage with a dog bed, food and water, he must have really felt bad for her because he's the kind of guy that would prefer that ALL pets stay outside, but alas he married a woman that would have ALL pets stay inside sleeping in a huge double king sized bed...kids/pets/parents and all! LOL

Well after I spent the weekend staying with Mom, I got home and took a look at her and she just followed me in the house like she was home. She had obviously rolled in most likely horse poo and she really stunk so I gave her a bath in the kitchen sink and she was very well behaved. Monday morning I called Animal Control and told them I had her so if anyone was missing her they could come and get her, if I had had them pick her up they will destroy her in 3 days and I wouldn't let that happen so I just gave them my info.

She slept on the floor in the bedroom on a towel and even in Jadens bed one night and she is totally potty trained!!!!! Quite the sweetheart.

Well anyways, our friend put an ad in the little local paper for a found dog, and her owner put an ad on the local cable channel saying she lost a dog only we don't have cable so we didn't see it, she even called AC and they said they didn't know of any dogs by that discription!!! So just as luck would have it someone seen both and called her owner and then she called me. 9 days later she was returned to her family! The lady was really grateful to have her back and I mentioned how great the instant engraved dog tag machine was at Wal-mart but being so thrifty I offered to make her some Shrinky Dink dog tags...

We had temporarily named her Lucy...as in "I love Lucy" but come to find out her real name is Nikki, not to far off I guess. It was so cute to here Jaden say "come here Woosie!"

The dog tags aren't perfect but they will certainly do! I made her 3 just in case they don't hold up but I think they will, Nikki only goes outside to potty.

This wasn't the first dog to show up lately,about 3 weeks ago a large black and white dog showed up and I called AC and 2 days later his Mama called and they came and picked him up. His name was Jack, do you think Jack told Nikki that our house was the doggy safe house? "bark bark... go to that blue house with the white fence and they "bark" will help you find your way home!"bark bark" Who knows.....bark!

Prairie Mouses Needlebook

Prairie Mouses Needlebook, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

Here's one of the little gifts that I made for my blogpal Louise from New Zealand.
I almost forgot to take a picture of it before it was shipped and that day just happened to be cloudy and the picture is a little crappy. LOL
The main fabric of the needlebook is a faux linen with a antiquie moss green polka dot on the tab, inside and mushroom.
I drew the little mouse with a little needle, thread and embroidery hoop and Louise's initials. I didn't want to use the machine to make the button hole so I just made one with my needle and thread!
I hope you like it!

I've actually been sewing a little

Baby name blocks, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

I had an order for these adorable blocks and I finally got them sewn.
Sandra (the lady that ordered them) has an adorable little baby boy named Joey and she asked if I could put his name on them and stars be stars I actually pulled it off! :O)
I just cut rectangles all the same size and freehanded the letters out of fleece.
Now I just need to make some for my own kids!
Now that the orders are done, I think I'm going to start making some cloth diapers and recycle some t-shirts and sweatshirts into pants for Gus Gus.
Talk to ya all later, hugs...

She's doing better!

Mom's doing better, bless her soul! She kept asking when she was going home and then proceeded to stop declining so they said we could take her home!
She's now at her house and between my 2 Sisters, my Aunt and I we are there around the clock.
I stayed over this weekend and she actually was quite alert and talkative which is really a change and this morning I asked her if she wanted her regular toast with butter and jelly and she turned up her nose and said she wanted an Egg McMuffin from McDonalds!
Now this is the lady that's hardly ate more then 2 bites of anything.
She's a real trooper I tell ya!
I know she's not going to get "better" but every day that I get with her is a treasure. xoxo
I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet and caring words you have all told me, I really can't express how much it's means to me.

Mom

My Mother was put into a hospice care facility yesterday, her health is getting worse and she's not responding to medications.

In the past whenever she's had an "episode" that ended her up in the hospital she would snap out of it and be a little worse for the wear but still able to talk and carry on a conversation but this time she went in for an IV to get her magnesium and sodium up and it didn't do her any good so she couldn't stay in the hospital any longer and this was just the next step.

I am the youngest of 3 children, all girls. Our Mother raised us all by herself because our Father was an alcoholic who abused her and so I really don't have any memory of him living with us, just him coming for a wonderfully home cooked meal that she was gracious enough to serve him. He never paid any child support. I never remember feeling like I didn't have what other people had because Mom was a great Mom. She even drove the school bus so I could be with her while she worked, I have some wonderful memories about that bus. She would make my sisters and I matching blouses for Valentines day and other holidays.

They don't think she's going to last very long . She's had lung cancer for 2 1/2 years now. The cancer stopped spreading but now she has some sort of syndrome that makes her lose her electrolytes and that makes her not be able to stand or stay awake. She's been having problems taking meds and eating too.

I realize the end is near and although I've cried quite a bit I think I'm ready. I used to talk to her on her lunch hour and for 3 or more hours in the evening every single day but sense she hasn't been able to work and living with my sister she didn't have the energy to sit on the phone so that seems to have made it a little easier to handle. I once had a counselor tell me I need to ween her from calling me all the time. I told her that she just didn't understand my relationship with MY Mother and that was just the way it was. :) I think if this had been like this way a year ago I wouldn't have been able to hold up so well.

The picture above is from about 2 years ago, about 6 months after she found out she had cancer and started chemo and radiation this is her in her first wig. I think she was more upset about losing her hair then anything. She didn't look the same but she still looked nice.

I love this picture because it was spring and we had picked some flowers from a bush and made a halo and Jaden was having a good time on Grammies lap.

Mama,I hope you don't suffer. I love you with all my heart.

911

remember when this all happened 5 yrs ago it was a very sad time, I was working and just remember wondering what was going to happen next. Here in Wichita, Kansas we build lots of planes and have a large Air Force Base and everyone speculated that maybe we could be hit if it was a really huge attack.

I just remember feeling weak in the knees and thinking I just needed to call everyone and tell them I loved them. I couldn't help not crying.

My first born son was born just around the time the troops were sent to Iraq and I wondered why I was bringing a child into a world like this, but a child is a blessing and a gift from God and he made me see the joy in the little things.

I don't know what I would have done if I had been working and had kids in daycare that day.

Well, I want to take a minute to thank all the hero's involved in that day and to say a prayer for everyone effected from that tragic event.

I have a little brother-in-lay that is on his second tour to Iraq in a very dangerous area, I'll be praying for you Tyler!

May God bless you all!

xoxoxo

Just plane cute banner

plane_banner, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

Fun huh? You can make your own at Glass Giant.com.
Then you should also go visit Fodey.com they have the coolest newspaper story generator that looks really convincing!

Have fun! xoxo

Update

fabric flower bobbie pin, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

The AC is still kind of on the fritz but it's been unusually cool here in Kansas so we've been managing but just barely! LOL
It's keeping the house about 5 degrees cooler then outside but without all the humidity.
My Internet came back on after I called and canceled with the company I had and ordered with AT&T so hopefully this will be a more reliable service then with the old version.
I was quite thrilled to find out that we could get the AT&T Internet because living in the country our options are very limited.
The old service was almost $50 a month and the new will only be about $14 so I am really happy about that.
It starts on Monday so wish me luck that it actually works!!! :o)

I thought I would show you the little decorated bobbie pin that I made a while back, it's pretty pinks, oranges and a lime green center all hand stitched with a little green leaf. I feel "cute" when I have it in my hair. :o)

I really need to get my sewing table cleaned up so I can get to making some more stuff to put in my Etsy shop, I've been selling things really good and the Lord knows I need the $$$ but I just don't seem to be able to find the time! I thought with my Internet being out I would have been more productive but I just found myself playing with the kids more and thats really more important then sewing, my fabric never grows up but my babies will and fast.

I better go and get to sewing!!!
Take care everyone!
Julie xoxo

Net and AC on the fritz

Hi everyone,

I'm taking a few days off because my internet is on the fritz along with our air conditioning. arg!

Thank goodness this weekend has been on the cool side, the AC is staying at about 78 degrees but that's about what it is outside and it's supposed to be getting back up into the high 90's so I hope it get's fixed soon.

I'm just using a friends wireless access so I won't be posting for a bit. I bet I get a whole lot done without the ability to surf the net all the time like I do!

Take care and send me all the positive vibes you can spare!

Hugs,Julie

Here's the new Kings crown I made for Jaden recently.
I wanted to call him a prince but he quickly clued me in that he was KING!
This was made from a sweater that I picked up at the thrift store for $1 and then I felted it in the washer which took about 3 times and it's pretty dense! I cut it out and did a little needle felting to add "jewels" and a green letter J and then whip stitched around it to finish.
I added a little elastic and covered it with matching red fur in the back so it'll fit for a while. Pretty decent for my first try at felt crown making don'tcha think?
Well the King was happy anyways. :o)

Here's a shot of the King playing on my laptop.

He likes to navigate around at Nick Jr playing games and watching videos.

He starts asking to play just about whenever I'm on the darn thing!

If I'm not in the mood to share I just tell him Nick Jr. is taking a nap and so far that seems to work. I know bad mama! :oD

When he was about 2 1/2 I left him playing on Sesame Street tickling Elmo and he came in the kitchen saying "E" "E" "E" and I agreed with him then he opened his hand and there laid my cute little "E" button from my laptop!! Do you know how hard it is to get a key back on a laptop? Let's just say for about 3 months every time I used the E key it did this Julieeeeeeeeee. I was determined I wasn't going to give my up my computer for who knows how long so I ended up fixing it myself. I did built airplanes for 6 years, surely I could get a key back on a laptop!

It only took me about an hour and lots of !$%*& words to go with it! Oh did I ever tell you about the time Jaden stuck a pencil in my sewing machine where you plug in the foot pedal and broke off the lead? I now it was just the 2 yr old curiosity but MAN was I mad. I fixed that too. I figured I better try before I spend $50 just to have the guy take 2 minutes and fix it and say "here ya go, good as new!" A good tip if you ever decide to take something apart like a sewing machine is to take a picture with your digital camera BEFORE you take anything apart, then you can look at the pic and see how it goes back together! LOL live and learn!

I wanted to share my yummy Sloppy Joes recipe

Now I know how hard it is to make something for the whole family that everyone will eat, especially with picky eaters like my Jaden, so I thought I'd share one of my staple recipes that always get gobbled up and I always have the ingredients on hand, not to mention it's easy peasy! Tonight when I made it I decided to actually measure the ingredients and write it down, I've always been sort of a pinch of this, dash of that kind of cook so if you want just adjust the amounts of really any of the ingredients and it'll still taste great!

Blueberry Mama's Sloppy Joes

1 lb Ground Beef

1/3 C. Chopped Onions

1 Beef Bullion Cube

1 C. Ketchup

1 tsp. Mustard

1/4 C. Brown Sugar firmly packed

Salt & Pepper to taste

Scramble ground beef with the beef bullion cube and onion until well cooked, make sure you smash the bullion cube mid way so you don't get a mouthful of salt! Drain off any fat, now add ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. You might want to add the brown sugar a little at a time and taste it as you go so you don't make it too sweet for your family, mine likes it just like this but I'm sure all families are different. Remember... you can always add, but you can't take it away! :o) Put a couple of big spoonfuls on a hamburger bun and garnish with pickle slices if you want.

As you can see this little guy really loves his mama's Sloppy Joes!

My Husbands never been very excited about Manwich (OK he hates it), but once I started making my Sloppy Joes he looks forward to me making it every week or so and that makes planning meals all that much easier in my opinion! Dan takes it the next day for his lunch and I usually pack enough for his buddy to have a sandwich because he loves it too!

I'd love to hear if any of you out there try my recipe and how your family liked it!

Take care and enjoy!

Julie

I was a Sunshine Family girl!

Me and my cousin Brian Christmas 1974, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

Look at how proud I was with my new dolls!
This is me (6) and my little cousin Brian (2) on Christmas Eve 1974.
My Aunt had this and lots of other pictures of me growing up.
They had been at my Grandparents home and when they passed, they got packed up and stored in my Aunts basement.
I've been asking her for them for the past 4 years, but I wasn't being buggy or anything. But she retired recently and I guess she decided to go digging and delivered me about 12 pictures or more of me as little as 6 weeks all the way up to about 16. Funny how I always thought I was rather hefty all those years, well not when I was 6 weeks old silly! But looking at the pictures I wasn't really that "Large" until I hit about 17. What a waste of worry.
Now about the Sunshine Family!!! Oh I really loved these dolls!
I think I played with them for years!
Isn't it a little funny (and not planned) that Brian and I are practically dressed like the dolls? I'm in pants and his pants are a different color and print, but gosh!!!!!
Brian is 5 years younger then I am and he and his wife are expecting their first baby in September, I'm really excited for them.
I remember his first Christmas, he was born December 7th and on Christmas Eve Aunt Betty had dressed him up in the cutest little Santa suit and I thought I had a real doll to go with my new Baby Alive. Aunt Betty has a picture of me sitting in a chair packed with pillows holding Brian in one arm and my Baby Alive in the other with the biggest cheesiest smile I could muster for a 5 year old.
Oh by the way my husband is only 4 months older then Brian that makes him 4 1/2 years younger then me. huba huba!
Talk about strange I was enough older then him to have memories from the time when he was born.
And his mom is only 4 years older then my oldest sister.
I was the youngest child and he was the oldest child.
I wonder if I was as well behaved as I looked in this picture?
Probably not. :oD

How to watch the movie

I've been trying to put this in the last post but for some reason it shows for just a second and then disappears!
To watch the movie just click on it to activate it and then click on the arrow to make it play.
I hope it's not to annoying to watch! I think Jadens giggling is funny, but then again I'm his mama. :o)

<
Here's my little guys being funny. Gus is trying to learn to stay sitting up and Jaden thinks it's REALLY FUNNY!

I hope you enjoy it.

Look what I got in the mail!

Look what I got in the mail!, originally uploaded by mama_blueberry.

My new dear friend Laurie over at Old School Acres offered to make me a copy of her totally adorable new Japanese craft book on how to make little stuffies out of socks and gloves and it is sooo cute!
It must have took you an hour to make that many copies Laurie!
I was floored when it arrived packed full in a manila envelope with a Teddy Bear magazine, 4 different vintage fabrics, a delicate vintage hankie, handmade post-it note packs and a sewn fabric embellished card she made herself!
Oh, Laurie you spoil me!
It came at such a good time, I really needed the lift.
I stopped on the way home one night from the hospital and picked up some gloves to make the little puppy on the front page of the book. I grabbed 2 sets so maybe I can make a boy and a girl and use some of the fabric to make a little dress for the girl!
Ahh inspiration!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Now go check out Laurie's blog and say hello! Here