CHRISTMAS!

We spent Christmas in Utah!
It was a fun, busy two weeks. 

We got to see friends and family, some that traveled around the world to be there.

Here are a few pictures:

 Tired Winnie on Christmas morning, 6 am present opening!

 Afton didn't even wait for toys to come out of their packaging!

 Christmas banana. Yum.

 Attempting a family photo after church. Yup.

 I made K and E's skirts this year.

 Winnie loved Grandma's toy collection! 

 I did decorate our place before leaving, that way the dog sitters could enjoy our home more.

Éowyn is One! (Tomorrow)

My "twins" being themselves.

We never thought we'd have 5 kids. 

I NEVER thought I'd have babies 13 months apart!

I wouldn't change it for the world.

Happy Birthday Winnie!

Afton is Two!

 Our little princess turned two!
We just love this little girl and I am so grateful to be her mommy.

She makes us all laugh each and every day.

 Right before her party with her big brother!

New Blog

I've started a new blog with Leslie that will be craft/sewing/cooking/gardening only. :) Go check it out!

The Crafty Woman

Ok, so it is boring at the moment, but give us time! If you are interested in becoming an author or sponsor, email me! chris at doodleonyoo dot com.

Hazel

My Great Grandma 

passed away at 95 years young

September 18, 2011

I love this woman so much.

Growing up we would take turns staying at her house for the weekend. We would do chores, walk the dog, accompany her to her hair appointments, have dinner, and go shopping.
We were so lucky to get one on one time with her.

A few years ago I hit a really ugly time in my life. I was literally left with no place to go, no money, and had signed my children over to their grandparents so they could be provided for. 

Hazel took me in, no questions asked. 

I was able to get a job, save a little, and then moved into an apartment with Nate when we got married.

Nate and I adored her humor, her stories, and her funny quirks.

She allowed him to stay over until 1045 pm every night.

He called her Miss Hazel and she thought it was so funny that his southern upbringing required him to do so.

Even when she didn't remember most people, she remembered Nate when he'd visit.

This picture was the last time I saw her a year ago.

We had a party before moving to Arizona. I had a feeling it would be my last real visit with her.
I couldn't bring myself to visit her this summer as I knew how poorly she was doing and I just couldn't face it. 

I regret that now.

She was always smiling.

She loved her grand kids

She loved her great grand kids

and she loved her great great grand kids.

I have a 5 generation photo of her, my grandma, my dad, myself, and baby Taylor.

I will cherish it forever.

She is now with my Pappaw whom she has missed for 25 years.

I am so thankful for my Savior, for the Plan of Salvation, and for the knowledge that 

my Mammaw will be waiting for me with arms opened wide. 

I love you Mammaw! Always have, always will.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Smile that melts my heart.

December 2009-Taylor won't smile for pictures,

she is embarrassed by her large gap and crooked front teeth. 

Grandma offers to help with braces and Taylor has her consult.

January 2010-broke her pallet.

January-May 2010-expanded her pallet by key .5 inch.

May 2010-braces are put on and expander is left alone, no more key.

May 2010-June 15, 2011- NO gum, hard candy, chewy candy, or popcorn.

June 16, 2011-She has a perfect smile.

Today was the first day she was willing to smile for a picture! A REAL SMILE!

I am so thankful that she has grandparents that were generous and in a position to help her. 

Some people might not see it has a big deal, but for me IT IS.

My parents couldn't afford to put me in braces, 

plus, the amount of work to put them on me scared me to death.

I HATE my teeth and dread smiling in pictures. 

I don't want that for her.

Seeing her happy and knowing she will thank us and her grandparents someday for taking her to appointments, reminding her to brush constantly, nagging her to keep her retainer safe, etc.

Taylor is a shy kid, super shy, and I feel this little boost in confidence will go a long way.

{I actually had a consult today and will be *hopefully* getting braces on this year.}

Keeping Quigley

Say hello to Quigley James Thomas Ralston.

{Raedin named him.}
We are loving this big goofy boy! All 88 lbs of him!

Possible new family member!! NO I'M NOT PREGNANT!

 

This, is Koyote Quigley. AKA Quigley

Recently retired, not even 3 years old yet.. 

He has an outstanding pedigree!
He comes from racing "royalty" even!

His grandfathers are two of the most decorated racers of all time, 

His grandfather Gable Dodge has sired more puppies than any dog in history! 

{11,608 offspring thanks to modern medicine/frozen semen.} 

His other grandfather Molotov is highly decorated as well with undefeated track records.

His father CTW Legendary is a fine racer as well.

A close friend owns two of his half brothers!

We might just get to bring this guy home soon! :)

MIA

I was in California last weekend working a HUGE festival with the ladies from Henna Caravan.....well, turns out they need me again this weekend for another HUGE festival!

And of course, my camera died. Well, freaked out. Well, died. Sorta. Not sure.

Luckily, the kids are out of school for the summer and so is Nate! He gets to wrangle all 5 kids on his own. Last week he handled it well with Raedin sick and a trip with all of them to Urgent Care as Éowyn had pink eye! He even cleaned the house, dressed up the babies {with headbands even}, and brought my dog with him to pick me up at the airport on time. :) I am such a lucky lady. This weekend he will be dealing with a sick Taylor and a lonely pup, Sadie doesn't handle me being gone very well. I hope to get back to a normal routine after I return on Monday!!!! I have been design so many new tattoos the last few nights, I can't wait to try them out!

I learned how to make a button! Woot woot!

Question is....will anyone actually save my button and put it on their own blog?

Copy the code in the upper left corner to share! Paste it as a HTML code on your side bar.

I plan on posting more tutorials and sharings soon! 

Stop back soon for:
Steampunk Personal Flying Device
Nightstand Crusade! 

Sometimes, a mommy just needs a set of bright toes to look at at the end of a long day.

Henna, yellow nail polish, and Swarovski crystals. :)

{I took the picture with my phone, the henna is the paste still on.}

I used to get pedicures monthly, I LOVED THEM.

My husband did not. $$$$$

So, I started doing my own and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I love putting on a movie {Moulin Rouge for this set} and going to town with different colors, designs, and having an excuse to put my feet up and be fragile for a minute. So far my husband hasn't caught on that I buy the insta-dry polish....I can get away with "my nails are still wet!" for like 30 minutes! he he

The henna ads another 30-60 minutes of "helpless" time.

I have a dance performance Tuesday and decided since my feet show, why not dress them up?

Linking up at Flamingo Toes

Show And Tell Thursday

 A cute new dress for Afton! 
{Click on image to see it bigger.}

I love the butterfly sleeves and 

how simple this dress was to make. 

I got the pattern from 

Sewing in No Man's Land.

She has some gorgeous tutorials and free patterns available. 

{Her daughter also happens to share an name with one of mine.}

Super fast, super easy rose ring using rick rack!
{Try saying that 10x fast!}
Find the how to Here.

Ready for spring and vacation!

I found this fabric and just feel in love, it is so hard to find pink/orange/red that looks good on my red headed girls! This combo of coral, pumpkin orange, and rusty red seemed perfect for a little sundress.
Sort of made this one up as I went and I made up my own version of shirring, ok maybe I'm not the first, but sewing with elastic thread scares me and smocking takes too long. I stretched super thin elastic cord, while keeping it lined up, and sewed a tight zig-zag over it. Worked perfectly and didn't take long at all! (Cut the cord the length of chest measurement and the fabric about 6 inches longer).

I've only been sewing since October 2010 and have been self and internet taught, so bare with me if you see repeats of this dress in other fabric.

Head Band Give A Way!

Evelynn in a BOWdacious Bow head band!

BOWdacious Bows is doing a give away!

Check them out on Facebook or at their Etsy shop for your chance to win!

Easter 2011

Beautiful Krystin

Happy Evelynn

Handsome Raedin

Sweet Afton

{Out fit by me}

Adorable Éowyn.

{Outfit by me}

And just for fun:

Afton has an entire Peep in her mouth!

Our "dinosaur" Easter eggs, shells off! Cool eh?

Baby Leg Warmers and Ankle Socks.

The easiest baby leg warmers!
They are super soft, stretchy and oh so cute.
I made mine for $2.00
{Target has some fabulously cute woman's knee highs for only $2 a pair.}

Simply cut the foot of the sock off about 1.5 inches above the heel.

Serge or overlock the edge, turn under 1 inch, and sew your seem 5/8 inch from the edge.
Repeat with the foot part of the sock and you now have a pair of soft ankle socks!

For older girls or adults, use thigh high or over-the-knee socks ($5-8 @ Target)

I {heart} couscous. And you should too.

I have become obsessed with using couscous recently! I made this {above photo} chicken last night to go with it and had to share, it was SO GOOD! (I almost always eyeball when I make stuff up, so...no measurements on this one!)

Chicken breast or tenders (I use tenders due to so many small munchkins)
Bread crumbs 1/2 cup
Fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and fresh parsley (I got mine from my garden!)
Red bell pepper-diced
Feta cheese (crumbled)
Minced garlic (I used the jar kind)
Near East Couscous-roasted pine nut

Pre-heat oven 375 and spray cookie sheet with PAM
Mix bread crumbs and fresh thyme and rosemary {finely diced}, roll chicken in mixture and place on sheet. Carefully spray chicken with PAM so all bread crumbs are slightly moist.
Cook for 15 min (tenders) or 25 (breasts)
Sprinkle chicken with bell pepper, feta, and parsley. {Start your couscous, it only takes 5 minutes.} Cook chicken 5 more minutes. Serve over couscous.

Here are some updated pictures of my mini-garden:

10 tomatoes! Woot woot!

My snapdragons are HUGE!

My thyme is taking over!

1 hour dress

Using an old Shade(tm) cap sleeve top and a ripped tank, I made this cute little dress for Miss Squeaker.