happy thanksgiving

I am in Alabama visiting my husbands sister, her husband and their four kids. The drive was long and we stopped way too many times but we made it and we are having a great time exploring 'Bama and ridding horses.

If you've roasted your turkey and baked all your pies and find yourself with nothing to do (not likely, huh?) check out my pictures on Instagram @erin_woodward. It's my new obsession! Do you Instagram?

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for many things, big and small, and I am thankful for all of you that read my blog. My writing isn't that clever, I'm not that cool and my really impressive projects are few and far between. I really appreciate all of you that keep reading and commenting. It means the world to me.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Holiday. For those of you outside the US, I know you don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I am thankful for you too and wish you happiness and safety!

lake house pictures

Our three days at the lake were so fun! I married into such a great family. We all get along so well and enjoy each others company. It's a rarity, I think.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the lake.

Gemma

Ezra and Aunt Jess

My beautiful niece Eliza

the gorgeous house we rented

Niece Eliza and nephew Garrett in the canoe

Nephew Noah and Sutton fishing on the dock

My Father-in-law, Mike, Sr and Michael

Sunset

And my most favorite picture from the lake maybe even ever. Sutton and her Uncle Andy- both sporting what we call The Crazy Eye. Sutton has been making us laugh for years with The Crazy Eye but we just realized that Andy shares the same... talent.

Can't wait until our next Lake Trip!

pvc sprinkler!

School is out and it is officially HOT here in North Carolina!


I have been seeing DIY PVC sprinklers all over the internet lately. They are all awesome and I knew I (okay, Michael) had to make one. We decided to go with the "Kidwash 2".


The plans call for landscaping misters which cut back on water waste. As much as we plan on using the kidwash this summer a little water conservation would be a good thing.


It was a HUGE hit!




Michael even got in on the action! I ran through it a couple of times too and it was seriously refreshing!


The cost was very low, about $14, and it took Michael about 30 minutes to put it together.

What are your plans to bet the summer heat?

look who's four months!

Gemma is four months old! Yesterday she rolled over from her back to her front for the first time. I excitedly called Michael to tell him about this milestone and he says, "Oh yeah, she did that yesterday." What?!? Since he was kind enough to not wake me from my Sunday afternoon nap to tell me the news I let it slide. :)

I am not sure how it has been for you but in my experience, I took a million (or more) pictures of my first born, Liam. With each child, the amount of pictures I have taken has dwindled. In an effort to document Gemma's infancy (and to combat her eventual argument that I don't love her as much as the other kids) I have been taking monthly photos of Gemma inspired by famille summerbelle.

Today Gemma has a fever and isn't feeling great but she still manages to smile. As long as I am holding her, that is! I have several things I want to post about but they will have to wait until my little one is feeling better.

matchy matchy

I have a little confession: I have always thought dressing your kids in matching outfits was a bit lame but now that I have two girls, the urge to put them in matching clothes has hit me unexpectedly. Sutton loves the idea and Gemma can't voice her opinion so there is nothing to stop me!


I made Sutton's top with the pattern I made up for the polka dot dress. I had wanted the top to be a little longer but I was working with fabric I salvaged from a failed skirt I attempted a few years ago. I made the top as long as I could and to save length didn't hem the bottom. I love having that option with jersey knit!


In place of the hook and eye on the polka dot dress I did a big yellow flower button and elastic cord.


Gemma's outfit is a simple onesie dress with a ruffle at the neck. I have seen many tutorials for onesie dresses and had even made a few as gifts. I made one for Gemma about a month ago and was so happy with how it turned out until I tried to put it on her- where the skirt was sewn to the onesie the onesie no longer stretched. It was almost impossible to get the dress over her head and onto her body and once I did get it onto her the seam dug into Gemma's chubby belly. After a little brainstorming, I figured out a way to make a onesie dress that fit! I'll make up my own onesie dress tutorial soon.


I love these girls! They are beautiful and so much fun to dress!!

the dress again. this time with Gemma in it.

Gemma looked adorable on her blessing day in the dress I made. You'll have to take my word for it though because I didn't get a single picture of her on her blessing day. She had a blow out half way through Church. Poop all over her dress. Ugh!


Thankfully, it didn't stain! All last week I meant to put the dress on her and take pictures but it was a crazy week. Not only were we busy with school and projects and errands and life but Gemma has had a cold and I have a sinus infection and ear infection. We've been a barrel of fun over here, people.


The stars finally aligned today and I was able to get a few good shots of Gemma in her dress.


This week will be better than the last, I am sure of it! Mainly because it's spring break and I plan on sleeping in every morning. :)

15 days

Thank you all for your congratulations and kind words! It means so much to me. Thank you.

We have successfully made it through the first two weeks of Gemma's life! There have been a couple really difficult nights but the good nights are outweighing the bad.


I couldn't have survived if it weren't for my sweet husband, he is my rock. When I am an exhausted, sobbing, hormonal mess he can talk me down off the edge. Also my saintly mother. Maybe saintly is exaggerating but every time I have a baby she comes and stays with us for two weeks. She takes care of the other kids, makes food, cleans the house, does laundry, basically everything. Pretty saintly, right?


Gemma is doing really well. She is absolutely precious and we are all smitten with her. Liam loves to hold her and does a good job of making Gemma feel comfortable, she doesn't cry at all when he holds her. Sutton is so excited to have a sister to "play Barbies with". Ezra is always wanting to hold, hug and kiss Gemma. He isn't jealous of her at all, in fact he shares his beloved "kiki's" (blankets) with her.


About Gemma's name: Michael and I both really liked the name Gemma, in fact it was the only name that we could both agree on. It is pronounced with a soft G (like George), phonetically "Jem-mah". It, of course, means gem or precious stone.


Gemma's middle name is in honor of my maternal grandmother. When I was little my sisters and I referred to Grandma Hazel as the "mean grandma". Hazel had 9 children and almost 40 grandchildren. She was old and tired and often in pain and therefor somewhat grumpy and impatient with noisy grandchildren running through her house.


As I got older (10-12 years old) I spent more one on one time with my grandmother and really got to know her. She wasn't mean, she was actually a very fun and loving woman. I loved spending time with her. She taught me how to play chinese checkers. We would spend hours playing that game. When I surprised her with a really good move she would say, "Dammit Hazel, your as blind as a bat." That always made me laugh.


She died in 1992 but I still think of her and the time I spent in her home. I was very excited about giving my daughter her name. The really amazing part is that Grandma Hazel's birthday was January 22nd (I had forgotten this until my mom reminded me a couple of days before Gemma's birth) so Gemma and her namesake actually share a birthday. I couldn't have planned it better!

I am taking it easy, trying to enjoy this time with a newborn. It is so very fleeting. Posting will be light for a few months but I will be back! Promise!

easy christmas shirts

My kids love having holiday themed shirts. In fact, I was able to get Liam out of bed today, with a smile on his face, by reminding him that he gets to wear his Rudolph shirt to school (he takes after his mom and is NOT a morning person!).

I like to keep the shirts simple, white T's with a one graphic image, for two reasons: I like the way it looks and they are EASY.

Liam requested Rudolph. I did a google image search and found a cute silhouette and made a freezer paper stencil. I didn't feel the need to do a tutorial. This idea has been popular for a while but in case you have never tried it need a tut you can find a good one here.

Liam's shirt is a little small. Rather than buying a new white shirt I decided to use his Mime shirt from Halloween not realizing he had grown so much in less than two months! Oops! Too late now.

Michael was the inspiration for Sutton's shirt. It was the night before her class party and I realized I had forgotten to make her a shirt. Michael suggested tying red ribbon into a bow and gluing it to Sutton's shirt. Then I remembered that I had left over fabric from the ribbon candy pillow and thought it would make a super quick and cute candy cane applique. I just stuck the (untied) ribbon under the applique and ironed and sewed the applique on like normal. Tied a bow, did a couple of stitches by hand into the knot to keep it tied and heat sealed the ends of the ribbon.

Ezra's shirt is a hand-me-down. Sutton wore it last Christmas but I actually made it for Liam when he was in preschool back in December 2007. It was probably one of the first freezer paper stencil T's I ever made. I did touch up the paint because it had faded a bit from being washed so much but it's holding up great considering.

So if you have a kid and a white T laying around whip up a Christmas shirt for him/her. It'll take a small amount of time and it will make their day, I promise!

I love this picture! Liam's belly showing, Sutton and Ez looking at each other... it's one that makes me smile and think about how much I love them. A fact that I occasionally need to be reminded of! :)

thanksgiving recap

Where did the last week go?? Thanksgiving was so wonderful! Several days of no school for the kids and no work for Michael was heavenly. I've had a hard time adjusting back to normal life.

Thanksgiving dinner was hosted by my sister-in-law Jen this year. Everything was delicious! I made a turkey, roasted carrots, rolls (I used frozen rolls- don't tell anyone!) and several pies.

The adult table:

The kid table. They had lots of fun coloring on the paper covered table.

There was a little wiffle ball going on in the front yard. Sutton LOVED being included with the big kids.

Then came the PIE. I may or may not have looked like this after I ate my pie.

The obligatory group shot. Kalleen, you asked for a belly shot. This is probably the closest you'll get. I am starting to get a complex. The next person that asks me if I am "sure there are TWINS in there?" would get kicked in the teeth if only I could get my foot that high! :)

my favorite pillow tutorial

I love to rearrange furniture but the layout of our family room makes for very limited furniture placement. I am so bored with it but there are no other arrangements that would work. So to freshen up the small space I often make new pillow covers. I use what ever fabric strikes my fancy in the moment but it is usually within my current favorite color combination: navy, aqua and yellow.

I have made many pillows with an envelope back. They are great for one sided pillow designs like the sunshine pillow or the ruffled pillow but for a basic pillow this tutorial from Design*Sponge is the best. Zippered pillow covers are so simple to make. There is really no need to fear the zipper! Zippered pillow covers look nicer and they are double sided. Did the baby spit up on the pillow right before company comes over? No worries, just flip the pillow over! I can't be the only one that does that, right??


I love this navy and white geometric print. It is called "Darcey" by Anna Griffin.

The sizes I made today (13" square and 18"x10") are perfect for cradling little heads during an afternoon movie.