Mock wrap dress

I've finally dusted off my sewing machine and started sewing again. It's been a year since I've sewn anything and I've really missed it! I'm sewing two new fall dresses and just finished my first one today. It's a mock wrap dress from Butterick pattern 5001, very quick and easy. I made this one short sleeved, the next one will be 3/4 sleeves because you never can tell what the weather will be like in Texas!
Anyway, just thought I'd show it off!

Art appreciation day

I found some paint-by-numbers sets at Walmart for two bucks and bought some for the big boys. JP and Danny got halloween watercolor books. They spent most of the day painting...IN SILENCE! It was just glorious! I was able to read and even got in an hour of sewing without someone saying, "mama" every two seconds!
It's true, art soothes the savage beast!




Little Danny also rode a bike for the first time today! We were all outside cheering him on as he peddaled around the driveway:

Summer revisited

Ha! Who says you can't grow summer squash and tomatoes in late September here in Texas?

Front porch makeover!

Ever since we moved in I have wanted to get the front porch area cleaned up, well we finally did it! Ryan had a particularly bad week in the behavior department and so his punishment was to remove all the rocks in the beds. I tell you, we have tried every punishment under the sun with that child, but nothing has worked better than this day of hard, physical labor! He really had time to think and reflect over the past week, plus, I think he's very proud of the job he did today....I know I am!!!
Here's the before picture:


The beds with rocks removed, landscaping fabric laid down, and a layer of mulch:


The finished project:


Now just to figure out what to plant in the beds that will make it through the winter!

Fall planting

I planted my fall garden today! A local nursery had some fall veggies for sale, so I didn't have to start from seed this season. We planted mustard greens, two varieties of cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Last week, I happened to find three tomato plants on the clearance shelf in the garden center at Walmart, so I added them to the garden, too.
Can't wait for the cooler weather to kick in and serve a dinner of roasted fall vegetables!

My new hobby!

Well I've finally found something that my oldest and I have in common...we like digging through other people's crap!
Ryan and I have been hitting the garage sales here in town on my weekends off, and we've been having a great time! We get up early and hit the sales, take a break for a smoothie and coffee, and we're off again! We've had lots of good talks along the way, too!
We found all of this last weekend for only 19 bucks:

Here is a great little table I found. I plan on repainting it and putting it in the foyer. The little setee is for my vanity. I initially bought the two pictures for the frames, but it turns out that I really like the scenic picture in the one on the wall, so I'm keeping it as is. As for the other one, I'm going to prime over the print and let Kyle paint something else over it. I'll post it when he's finished!


I found these two little porceline Mary statues and a very ornate gravy boat. I decided to turn the gravy boat into a planter and put them all on my kitchen windowsill. I just love my little "kitchen Madonnas!"




A BEAUTIFUL cake platter...


An incomplete set of china:


A few chochkies for my bedroom shelves, a mirrored tray, and some more state plates for my kitchen walls:


It's true....
one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Our new homeschooling group!

When we lived in Houston, we were part of a very large and very active Catholic homeschooling group. Since moving away, we've really missed interaction with other h.s. families (me more so, than the kids!) I decided to go ahead and start up my own group here in town and put the word out to surrounding communities.
We had our first meeting on Sept. 7th! Four families showed up, and an additional two contacted me but were unable to come due to schedule conflicts. Now six families may not seem like a lot, but considering each family has 4+ kids, you're talking about a pretty good turn out!
The kids (and moms) had a great time and it was so good to be with other like minded families and share our philosophies on child rearing and the Faith!
The name of our group is Wharton Area Traditional Catholic Homeschoolers, or W.A.T.C.H for short.