I am so excited for

HARRY POTTER !!!!! ( and if you know me, that was said in an English accent)

To get even more stoked, watch this.

There's something theraputic

about digging around in the dirt. My mail-order flowers arrived and I have been busy planting them . Two roses in the back yard, black eyed susans in the front yard, dwarf daylilies in the side flower bed and hosta underneath the tree and shady flower bed. I put on all of my gardening duds and grabbed the shovel and plowed away. I'm sure billions of people around the world understand this fact already, but there's something so refreshing about pulling out the weeds, grass stragglers, and then replacing them with fresh soil. It's like removing the natural order of chaos that is occuring and setting things right again. I like the feeling that I have made my small and simple world a little bit more beautiful. Plus, the colors of the flowers that you can find are amazing. I am still trying to figure out what is currently growing in my back yard flower bed from the previous owners. My next door neighbor has the most incredible garden. She has been working on it for years, about 40 years I think. It is gorgeous. Maybe I will in a house that long, and be able to mold the yard to just how I want it, but I doubt it. We seem to be a transient people. Dusty gets antsy sometimes. This time of year is so beautiful here. The nights are cool and the days are warm. Tyson loves to sit outside with us and chill in the grass. He doesn't like to lay down in it yet--but he loves to stand and feel it on his feet. We had a barbeque for Lauren's birthday. I didn't have the camera out when everyone was there, but I did catch a few at the end.

The Birthday Girl. the BIG 2 0 !!! You can see the bouquet of flowers that we gave to her hiding in her bag.



Lauren and friend (sorry, I can't remember her name)



More "crazy party guests" Lauren had quite a few more girlfriends come and go, they sure seem to have busy little lives for a Friday night. :)



This is a favorite of mine. Totally shows Tyson's personality (and Dusty's too for that matter)

Spring is here and.......

it makes me want to clean every nook and cranny, organize all of my junk, and redecorate! I probably won't do the the last one because that's not exactly in the budget, but I can dream up ideas. I've been ripping out pages for the keeping from the Pottery Barn magazine that I get far too infrequently. Some things I am definately getting when I have my savings up though, is this
and one of these. I think Dusty will build the body of the box and I will order the top cover. Cute though, huh?
Also to get some great ideas on decorating. Check this out! I'm already salivating at the mouth with some of the pictures. This takes you to the designers favorite places to find good stuff. If you have time, browse around for a while. Gotta go!
Organizing awaits.

S'more goodies

Dusty walked in the other day after work and I had been trying to keep Tyson busily occupied on different things (it was a very fussy day) and this is what I finally came up with. He loved it! Tyson loves to look at this apron and he loved the feel of bouncing in it.



Then, another day, Dusty got messing around with Tyson's LONG hair. For heaven's sake, some are sooo nerdy! (never mind that my kitchen table is currently my greenhouse until it gets warm enough to plant the garden)






We also went swimming, like usual and here a few snapshots. Sorry Patrice, but you and Ayda are too photogenic to leave off of the blog! Patrice looks "gorgy" all the time, even when we are wet!

Did you know

that all of these things have occurred on the day that I was born? Thanks, Cardine, for this interesting idea.

Sept 10

Historical Events
1608- John Smith is elected council president of Jamestown, Virginia
1846- Elias Howe is awarded a patent for the sewing machine
1988- At his residence in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden launches Al Qaeda.

Shared Birthdays
1659- Henry Purcell (an English composer)
1960- Colin Firth (Yum-0!) you'll know him from such movies as Pride and Prejudice, Love Actually, and Bridget Jones' Diary
1989- Sanjaya Malakar ( Anyone reminded of hair? or conjuring up a picture of the pony-mohawk?)


Two Significant Deaths
(Since I had no idea who anyone was, I went with their description instead)

1482- Frederico da Montefeltro, Italian Renaissance condottiero and patron of arts (sounds like a good life to ignorant me)
1801- Jason Fairbanks, American murderer ( if he's from his namesake in Alaska, I'm not surprised)

National Observances or Holidays

World Suicide Prevention Day
Teacher's Day in China


My source: Wikipedia

GGRRRRR, (Tyson's way of saying hello!)

This was our first trip to Park Discovery. Mostly we followed Allie and Lily around, but Tyson did have some fun in the little swing. Afterwards we found a cozy, shaded bench and hung out while Lily went down the slide. If you haven't been to Park Discovery, it's fantastic. Whoever thought it up really had some imagination. Below are a random sampling of Tyson's many faces. He sure does have some good ones!










Tyson had a great time with Lily. He loved to watch her push the vacuum around and swing in the bouncer. They also got to read together one of the mornings.


In order to keep Tyson occupied while I sort out the laundry, I give him rides in the basket. It's the perfect size to keep him contained.

Tyson didn't know that they serve pureed sweet potatoes at Olive Garden!

Finally!

I'm giving all of you a cyber Tyson "happy seizure" (he gets all tense and excited) because I'm finally done with two of my projects! I have been busy all week long at the sewing machine finishing my nappy bag (as the pattern calls it, not diaper bag, and no, I'm not being my usual delusional self using the British words for everything) and my happy apron. I realize that the nappy bag is a bit monstrous, but I can finally fit everything I need for Tys. Plus, the way it wraps around me, it is not heavy at all and very, very functional. I might make it a gift for all the new moms I know.
I started out being a little intimidated by the whole concept of sewing a bag because I usually only do straight stitches. But as Allie also indicated, Amy Butler's patterns are amazing. They are very easy to follow and also very cute! It has a cell phone pocket. I debated whether or not to put it on, but I decided that I would eventually have a phone. Right now I put binkis in it for easy access. (you never know when Tyson will decide to see if his scream still echoes in Walmart) I also didn't put in the bottle pockets as the pattern indicated, but there are lots more pockets for me to utilize.




AAGGGHH! Please excuse my horrifyingly dirty mirror!




Here is my happy apron. I think my favorite thing about it is the button up on top like a brooche. It turned out quite polka-dotty but that's okay.



Drat that mirror. I swear I am going to go clean it right now.

Shout out

Hello everybody! It's been awhile, I realize. Lots of things have been happening in our busy world. Easter came and went, so did Derek and Allie, and my family. It's so much fun having company. I just wish we had a bigger house so that we could all spread out a little bit more. It is pretty amazing how many people we can cram into our living room though. Now that everyone has come and gone I am going to drag out my sewing machine and finish my happy apron and start my nappy bag. When Allie was down she showed me the darling dresses she had made for Lily and some of Lily's friends. Talk about creative and so cute! Sometimes I wish we could dress little boys in dresses too! Dusty would never go for that. But he does embrace wearing purple and pink which I think is fantastic. I haven't bought Tyson anything pink yet because I'm pretty sure that would confuse people still since he is such a cute kid. I'm afraid I would have to explain that "no, he's not a girl, pink is just his favorite color". (hee hee if anybody watches The Office and gets that). We didn't do anything spectacular for Easter. Not even an egg hunt. I guess we'll get more into it as Tyson gets older. Dusty would probably have looked for some though if I would have hidden a few. My tomato plants are getting so big! It's amazing to plant something from a tiny seed and watch it grow. Then you plant it in the garden and you have a bush. I love it. We bought another shrub for our front flower bed. Hopefully I got the right one. You just never know these days. Anyways just wanted to shout out at Happy Spring to everyone and let you know that we are still here!