What's to Come

My kids don't cooperate when having their pictures taken & I want to come off as professional as possible when posting my designs for sale. I sent a few sets off to my friend Rachael who is also the woman behind the camera at Goody Two Shoes Photography.
I am so excited with these sneak peeks she posted & can't wait to see what else she does for my designs!

A Productive Weekend

What a busy weekend we had! Saturday morning we were all up at 6 am to get ready for Ethan's baseball game. It ended up being in the low 30's so I had to stay home with the wee ones & miss yet another game. His team won 8-7 and Ethan got a hit every time he was up to bat....this is a huge progression! Not only are his skills improving, but so is his attitude. I couldn't be prouder of the little man.

Saturday afternoon was spent preparing for a small gathering in honor of Ethan's birthday. It was not technically his birthday party because several family members were tied up due to the prom, but we still had a good time. The older kids stayed outside until they could no longer spot each other in the dark & they were forced to retreat indoors for cake. They all crashed shortly after cake consumtion.

Sunday was a slightly relaxed day. I decided I was going to get some cute wipes made because I am not going to open another pack of disposable wipes. They're almost too cute for their intended use ;-) They do work great to clean up a messy yogurt covered baby tho & I was able to use up some of my small remnant pieces that were just waiting to become something useful.


With the help of our oldest Robert, I whipped up this ipod cozy out of some flannel I had left over from pj pants. Rob stood next to me & watched the entire process. He was amazed that I could make a pattern myself & have the cozy turn out the way he had described it to me. To tell you the truth, I was a bit surprised myself. Rob's been saving his money for awhile now. Originally the money was intended for a laptop, but he decided this 80GB ipod was more practical for a boy of 12 & I must say I agree.
He also was kind enough to hand down his Nano to his ipodless brother Ethan, who is beyond thrilled that Rob gave him anything.


Our little Miss Cassidy is now officially potty trained. She has not worn a diaper or pull up (even over night) for a full week now. She even gets up in the middle of the night/early am if she has to go. Hopefully Sophia will pick up quickly..... but not too quickly because I just bought a bunch of cute cloth diapers for her.

Team Renee

">Team Renee listings on Ebay now!

A Sweet Reminder

....to stop & smell the flowers. Not that Cassidy actually stopped to have her pic taken, but at least she slowed down enough that I could focus.

A huge thank you to Becky
for turning my mediocre attempt at photography into something beautiful.

Taking the plunge

For months now I have been toying with the idea of cloth diapering. With the help of a fabulous sale on blueberry diapers, I've decided to wait no longer.


I have spent way too much time this afternoon painstakingly choosing a variety of diapers & the needed accessories to get started. As I type this, I am counting down the minutes until the start of the sale so I can place my order.....I feel a new addiction starting.

Pretty much everything there is to know about me

April is my name, but my good friends & brothers call me Api.

Blue is my all time favorite color.

Cassidy is my free spirited, highly independent 3 year old.

Driving is something I don't do.

Ethan is my big hearted, frog loving, baseball playing, almost 11 year old & my favorite wii bowling buddy.

Fabric is my biggest addiction & I can't get enough of it.

Grandpa's Cabin in Minnesota is our favorite family vacation spot.

Homeschooling is something we just started with our girls.

Ice Cream may quite possibly be the greatest invention ever.

Jumping in Puddles is something you are never too old to do.

Kids can make you crazy & humble at the same time.

Love is the one thing you can never give/receive too much of.

Monkey's are what my children are most days.

Nap time....why is it never my turn?

Oopsy is never a good word to hear from your 3 year old in another other room.

Paul is my husband, best friend & soul mate.

Quiet is what this place never is, but that's OK.

Robert is my artistic, football playing, Green Day loving, 12 year old tough guy with a heart of gold.

Sophia is my almost 2 year old diva, sweetheart, cuddlebug, who's favorite past time is singing "itsy bitsy spider".

Time is something there is never enough of.

Uncles.......how can the kids have so many & yet never see them?

Value is not measured by what you have, but what you do with it.

Wii boxing is one of the best workouts ever!

Xrays are never ending with four children.

Years seem to fly by.

Zoo's are a family favorite. Our favorite is the one in Omaha.

Spring has Sprung!

It's finally that time of year again when the kids can run wild & burn off their pent up winter energy. I swear they store it up during the indoor months, because their feet did not stop moving until their little heads hit the pillow last night.

Aside from the major "I don't want to leave the park" meltdowns it was a really fun day. I will have to take my camera on todays outing because the pics taken with my camera phone sucked.