Flirty Apron Swap-Celebrating Independence

I made this apron for my partner Shawnee for the Flirty Apron Swap. I had actually purchased patriotic fabric but once I saw who my partner was, I had to get this cherry fabric for her! To accompany it, I purchased personalized cherry recipe cards and stickers from LittleBeaneBoutique and off it went!

Be an Apron Angel

My son Jonas and I worked on this apron for Apron Angels which is a group started by my fellow Apronista, Lucy. Here is a little information about it from Lucy. You can also visit her blog for more information!

"Ladies,The community I live in was hit very hard by tornadoes on May 10th. Many of my friends and neighbors were left homeless or suffered severe damage to their homes. The Red Cross and other organizations have been working hard to help them with food, clothing, and the resources to rebuild.I am making a call to all the Apron Angels that have contacted me (or wanted to contact me) with offers to send aprons to those that needed them. I would love to be able to send an apron to as many of these women as possible to send them a message of hope and love. They don't need donations of clothing and such right now because the community is seeing to those needs. This donation is one of the heart from one woman to another. If you would like to participate, please send me an email at byrdhouse1@windstream.net . We would like to raise about 100 aprons and will be collecting and distributing them over the next several weeks."

If you are an apron fan and are interested in joining Apronista, please don't hesitate to contact me regarding an invite!

Wordless Wednesday-Don't Make Him Angry

I actually had bought this get up (the fists make noise and "talk" when you hit them against things) for our friends son Riley's party. It was such a hit that we had to get one for our house. Now we can't get Chase to take it off and poor baby Cooper cries whenever Chase comes in the room dressed up!!!

Did I fail to Mention

That it is a 2 hour season finale of Greys tonight and how incredibly "geeked-out" I am about watching it??? Rose needs to go, that's all I have to say!!!

While your waiting, take the Grey's Personality Quiz, surprisingly I am Izzie

They're Done-The Good AND The Bad

Okay, so this isn't my typical type of post but I felt compelled to share. I went through a list today of all the shows being cancelled and I was particularly sad to see October Road go. It was a really good show that I always watched when I came across it (which was obviously not enough)!

On the other hand THANK GOODNESS that they cancelled caveman. I can't stand the commercials, whose idea was it to make a whole show out of it?

And what about all the shows I never knew existed????? How could Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose be on a show that I had no idea about? Ohhh.....because it was on Fox, that's why!

Good news is that Scrubs is no longer over, just moving to ABC....I just love Zach Braff!!

All Dressed Up and Ready to Go-Go!!

I just got my 2 swap partners from Tracey's Fabric Scrap Swap and I have 2 heaping piles, ready to go!

Wordless Wednesday-Happy Birthday Cooper!

My Apron Swap Creation

Here is my apron to send off for the Summer Fun Apron Swap over at A Feathered Nest, I also made a little dish rag to match! I hope my swap partner likes it and I can't wait to see mine!

It's So Much Fun Turning One

Today was Cooper's First Birthday....this year has gone so fast. It is so hard to believe this failure to thrive baby has turned into our Chunky Monkey!

It was about 95 degrees outside so we had a small Wii tournament going on upstairs at some point but it was a wonderful time with great friends!!! Cooper enjoyed his first cake and we hosed off the chair (and him). Now that Cooper is one, maybe it is time to start considering another little one......hmmmm......husband having heart attack.........

In honor of his nickname, we had a monkey themed party. I made a Monkey Number 1 onesie and matching hat for him to wear. The invites which I received a million compliments on, was created by SafiaStyle , wait until they see the matching Thank-you Cards! The banner was made using this 6" by 6" sampler pack of monkey paper from Barking Dogs Boutique. I simply used some 1/2" red fabric binding and tucked them in and glued it together.

Kids DO the darndest things!

So today my hilariously funny 4-year-old comes downstairs and I ask him if he has brushed his teeth. He looks at me and says "yes". I remember that he got dressed in front of the TV today and he always brushes his teeth before getting dressed so I question him again.

At this point he seems shocked and says yes again and I notice he is covering his nose, looking in his hand and then covering his nose again. So I say "Chase, you didn't brush your teeth did you" and again he says "yes, I did" covering his nose.

So there I have the dead give-a-way that he is not telling the truth. He is checking his nose to make sure it isn't growing like pinocchio's........kids, I tell ya.....they crack me up!!!!

Wordless Wednesday-my poor baby

Well, the Nana is in town for Cooper's first birthday this Saturday and bless her heart, she put him in his 4-year old brother Chases jammies (check out the pant leg dragging on the ground). I had picked up Chase's pirate eyepatch off the ground and put it in my pocket. When I got Cooper out of his crib, I tried it on him and he ended up wearing it like this all morning.

Jammies 3 sizes too big + eyepatch+bottle=FUNNY PHOTO OP!

Donna Downey Project No. 3-Photo Apron

At last, the secret number 3 project from Donna Downey's Fabric Scrapbooking, a photo apron......don't you just love it?? On one pocket I put a Mother's Day poem and the other, a black and white photo of the boys!

My Lucky Day!

Today I opened my email and received wonderful news (to me at least). Not only were my backordered 2D Zoo bolts shipped but somehow they found 2 bolts of Mocca for me which were supposed to be out of stock until the end of June.....she has no idea where they found it to ship but I am not complaining!

Now I have 4 beautiful bolts of fabric that have been sold out for months showing up at my house on Monday, Happy Mother's Day to me!

For The Mothers

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here".

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football , hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...

And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us.

Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.

Wordless Wednesday-even more joys of a carboard box

Part Two

Toddling Toddler or Flesh Eating Carnivore?

Now that Cooper is walking around, my husband can not get over his resemblance to a T-Rex (not you Trae, but the dinosaur). He always walks with his arms at his side and his elbows bent .....do you see the resemblance?

Ruffled Apron Project

This months group project on Apronista is the Ruffled Apron from Morgan Moore's tutorial . Here is my contribution, I made a patchwork version from my scrap fabric. For a look at others finished products, check out the Ruffle Apron Flickr photostream

Donna Downey Project No. 4-Throw Pillow

Yes, number 4 and no...... you didn't miss number 3. My third project from Donna Downey's book Fabric Scrapbooking is secret for now as it is a present for a little someone who likes to read this blog.


I made this photo throw pillow this morning for my MeeMaw using some of my new fabric from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Collection. It took me maybe and hour (because of the photo layout) and I love the way it came out!

May 12th is National Wear Your Apron Day!

How fun is this? On Monday, May 12th I challenge you to wear your favorite apron all day long! I can't wait. Any excuse to wear one of my aprons is a good one! All participants can post their pictures from National Apron day on Apronista or on the craetor, The Kitchen Madonna, blog

Don't have a favorite fashionable apron to wear? Their are sooooo many beautiful aprons on Etsy, and my adult size craft aprons are on their too now!