i have to say...

links, links, links!

***Jump Up and Down has put together a tutorial for making ruffled pants for your little one.  All you need is a pattern, some fabric and you are on your way to cuteness!

***Polka Dot Creations shows how to make a skirt out of a bedsheet.  Saves money AND looks good!

***Ribbon headbands are sweet and simple.  Aubry will love these!

***How to sew a linen apron?  Pleasant View Schoolhouse shows you how to make one from a thrifted dress.

***Made by Rae is offering a free baby dress pattern. Check it out!

Don't forget about The Recipe Box Swap tomorrow!  Bar and Cookies, Girls, Bars and Cookies!

i promise i won't turn this into a "puppy blog"...

...but that doesn't stop me from posting some more pictures of our new babe!

On Sunday we took our girl on her first outing.  The park, of course!  She sat in the back of the Jeep and spent the entire time trying to make us feel bad enough to let her get in front.  No chance, but she sure was cute peeking over the seat!

We used to have a fabulous dog named Chuck, and Maddie has inherited some of his stuff, including this chain for walking.  I know it looks bad to have such a wee dog wearing such a huge choke-chain, but we can't bring our selves to pay for a new one when we have a perfectly good used one.  We are cheap!

Did I mention that Maddie likes to bite?   Even the leash is a great snack:

Those eyes get me every time:

I am still taking pics of the family, of course:

My faux-Chucks are looking pretty trashed.  Maybe a new pair is in the future?  I would love to buy these (in pink, of course), but I am too cheap.

With dog food on the grocery bill now, I am sticking with the faux-Chucks!

Have a great day!

The Recipe Box Swap is coming!

The Recipe Box Swap is here again!

On Thursday, May 1st, I will be posting a favorite recipe here on my blog and I invite you to do the same on your blog. I will provide an auto-link at the bottom of my post so that you can leave your post URL and others can visit and see what you have cookin'.

The theme?

BARS AND COOKIES!

The code for the graphic:

<a href="http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/"><img src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/ihavetosay/recipeswap.jpg" border="0" alt="swap blogpost"></a>

The code for a sidebar graphic:

<a href="http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/"><img src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/ihavetosay/recipeswap-1.jpg" border="0" alt="swap sidebar"></a>

I hope to see you on Thursday!

__________________________________________

Also, be sure to check out Tracy and Erin's posts over at Me and My Girl.  Good stuff!

there is a tiny reason for my busyness

Meet Madeline.  Maddie for short.

Puppies take about the same time and effort as newborn babies and I forgot this fact when we brought her home!  My eyes were soon opened.

Maddie seems to be housebroken already (lucky us!) and she has learned the command "come".  The boys have been working with her everyday and they are in love with her.  She is going to be VERY spoiled!

Our problem is biting.  She bites everything, all the time.  Is this normal puppy behavior?  Any suggestions on stopping her from doing it?

Here is Maddie playing basketball with Micah:

She helps Craig with the lawn-mowing:

This is where my cat can be found these days:

I am posting a little earlier than I had planned because I accidentally made my "be back soon" post sound like something was wrong, and I wanted to let you all know that we are fine, just preoccupied with an adorable pup.

We will be fixing our fence this weekend so that Maddie has a place to hang out where we don't have to supervise her 24 hours a day.  We will also be working on "sit" and "stay", and making sure that we keep our shoes away from our resident biter!

Have a lovely weekend!

 

be back soon!

I am going to shut the computer down for a few days so that I can get some important things done and relax a bit.  There is lots going on here and I am feeling stressed, and the computer seems the best thing to set aside.

See you all in a few days!

the heart of the matter

Today's post, Take Back the Hours, is at The Heart of the Matter.

"One mistake that we have made in the past has been to schedule our lives according to the things that seem to scream for our attention---and I am not talking about toddlers! The need to put out constant fires may be a sign that you are overextended and that you need to cut back on your commitments."

Click here to read more.

good things

This weekend was warm and sunny. Perfect for:

**Capris and tank tops
**An early morning walk along the river
**Starting the flip-flop tan line on my feet
**A trip to the zoo
**Sewing--lots of free time on Saturday morning while my kids were at a friend's house!
**Washing the cars
**Making a compost pile (crossing my fingers that it works!)
**Planting nasturtiums

Mr. Sun, keep on shining!

Snow on Pike's Peak:

The cat rolling in the dirt:

Lovely flowers:

An "oops" shot, but I still like it:

Have a lovely Monday!

***PS---You will find a post at Me and My Girl today!

a few links

***My favorite new-to-me blog is Down To Earth.  You can learn to do just about anything there, including making your own laundry products, baking bread and calculating the true cost of your food.  Love it!

***Ric-Rac has two great tutorials, a fabric bucket and a one-hour totebag.  Check it out!

***Sew Take a Hike shows how to make a picnic bag.  Too cute!

***Ottobre Design is offering a free, downloadable pattern to make a sweet totebag.  Love the polka-dots!

***I am so happy to say that Me and My Girl is going to be up and running on Monday!  This time it will be a group blog and I am very excited about all of the fun activities that will be popping up there soon!

Here is Aubry's latest craft creation.  Her name is Petunia:

Have a great day!

making some changes

I have noticed that many of the things I am doing to save money these days, also turn out to be good for the environment and good for our health.  Once again, getting back to the basics is a good thing.

I took the plunge and made my own laundry detergent.  The cost was about $2.00 for 2/3 of a 5-gallon bucket, and so far it has worked just fine.  The clothes are clean, they smell good and my husband hasn't noticed, which is a sign of success for me!  ;)  It is all natural, with no chemicals or weird ingredients.  The recipe is here if you are interested.

I also found a source for fresh eggs, and the cost is a little lower than the grocery store!  Honestly, I was nervous about trying them because I expected them to taste funny, but I am happy to say that they are downright edible!  Being from Southern California, I am not used to having a connection to the foods we eat.  Bar-coded, plastic-wrapped foods are my norm, but I am learning to like these new, healthy changes.

Saving money, eating better food.

I like it!

she's a lot like me

She caught me sorting through my fabrics. 

She knew that one pile was destined for the thrift store. 

She found a box. 

She folded. 

She took. 

She now has her own fabric stash.

Sewing days are now on Wednesday. 

She will be learning to use my sewing machine.

Oh my.