Koh-koh-mah 2009

We had our first event of our re-enacting season. I have been keeping busy sewing since the kiddos have started school. I still have lots that I want to work on, but I am trying to go at a slower pace so that I don't get burned out and not want to sew at all after the events are done. I have been diving into more research about fabric and clothing styles lately, reading blogs about other peoples projects and it only makes me want to sew more. I am lucky to have kiddos who love to do this with us, because I love making them clothes that they enjoy wearing for the whole weekend. I am quickly finding that I will have to make me some more clothes, because I did not have anything to change much this weekend and I really want some new stuff. Sari loves the regency clothing, which we could not wear at Koh-Koh-Mah, due to it being French & Indiana War, which is pre-regency time.

I have uploaded a few pictures from our September 18th thru 20th Koh-Koh-Mah event, there are tons more, maybe I will upload more later. I also have our Mississinewa 1812 pictures to upload soon, but I haven't even started on those yet.

Dora in her period correct cloak, with her non-period correct T-shirt...lol.

Dwayne headed down earlier on Thursday than I did, he took the 3 younger kiddos, while I waited on Sari to finish trying out for the school play and finish up my own last minute projects. There is something about trying to get everything ready for that first event, it takes me forever and I run around trying to remember what all we might possibly need. Sari and I got there just as everything was unloaded and the kiddos were all hungry. Dwayne headed back home to do some work that came up last minute, he came back Friday afternoon. Anyways, the group of us went out for some pizza, then I brought back the new guy, Dennis, with me and my kiddos, while everyone else went shopping. I still had to make beds up and get things set up to be ready for the Friday school day. That was not much fun trying to do in candle light. On the ride back to camp, I apologized to Dennis about the randomness of my kiddos, they jump from one subject to the next without even a pause, he made the comment that the randomness was nothing, but he was amazed that they never stopped talking. I listened for a moment and I guess I am so use to it that I didn't realize that between the 4 of them there is never a quiet moment, when one stops talking another one starts and sometimes they don't even wait for the other ones to stop talking. Just goes to prove how good I am at multi-tasking, because I can keep track of all their discussions. I really have no idea where those kiddos get their talkativeness. Anyways, back to camp, we all changed for bed, putting away our modern clothes for until we packed up on Sunday.

Tobi sits around the fire, we all smell so much of smoke by the end of the weekend, there is just no way around it, but we love the smell of camp. I cooked breakfast everyday, which was a lot of fun for me. I love cooking over a campfire. My mom got me a cast iron tea kettle which holds lots of water for doing the dishes, that is a huge help.

Our new friend, Dennis, stands in front of his tent. We made so much fun of him because he kept bringing out stuff to set out to sell and we could not figure where it all came from in that small tent. Dora, Brighton and even Tobi helped man his selling blanket. He paid them a small amount for their time, but they just enjoyed having something to do.

Dora takes a few moments to rest on the beautiful Saturday. The only bad thing about this weekend was the dusty dirt that was just everywhere. The weather was quite nice.

Sari spends some time playing with Tobi and Cody. Cody is the son of our friends, Dave and Tammy. They have been re-enacting a lot longer than us and they have been very helpful as we try to figure out the right stuff we need. Cody loves playing with my kiddos, and Sari does such a good job entertaining the younger ones.

Here is a picture of our kitchen table, obviously I have not done the dishes yet, I must have been avoiding the work ahead of me. I bring snacky foods that can be set out to snack on all day long, cupcakes, grapes, and bread.

Dwayne and Brighton are getting ready for the day. Check out my new red kitchen cabinet back there. My hubby did an awesome job making that for me this past winter. It stores so much of my stuff and has tons of room to work as well.

Dennis had a lot of fun letting Brighton try out some of his clothes. Brighton really enjoyed this since usually only the girls get to dress up in cool clothes and because he is growing so fast I don't make him anything fancy. Dennis was just about Brighton's size and had tons of clothes with him.

Brighton looks very flamboyant here...

This is an inside look at our tent. The little girls bunk beds.

This is how close they sleep to our rope bed.

These 3 stacked boxes are our dresser, they come apart to be carried separately, but hold a great deal of our clothes. Dwayne worked hard on these as well this past winter. After this weekend he had to make Sari her own trunk for her great many clothes.

Here is an inside look to our rope bed. It is more comfortable than it looks, although we are going to have to make some modifications soon. Still need to get things worked out with it to make it a little more comfortable for Dwayne.

It was really a great weekend. We really love doing this. I love making the clothes. We have our 3rd event coming up in the next few weeks and I plan to take pictures of the kiddos in their outfits to show off all the new things I have made.

So much for daily updates...

Around our house things stay busy. The kiddos last day of school was June 12th, after a busy weekend, they headed off to my parent's house on Monday, June 15th. On Wednesday, June 17th, I got rid of our 2 cats....they had just pushed me too far, and then I picked my kiddos up from my parents on Thursday, June 18th and broke the news to them about the cats. They took it well.

We had another good and busy weekend, the kiddos and I packed up the van and headed out to Georgia to visit a friend of mine. Twelve and half hours later we arrived in Georgia. My kiddos travel great!!! Even with the fact that we have no air conditioning in our van....I know, I know...this is just horrible of me, but I don't do well with air conditioning and my poor kiddos suffer because of it. They did great though, no real fighting, we only had 3 stops and they did not complain, what more can a mom ask for??? We spent our first day just hanging out at my friend's house, then on Wednesday we headed to Tybee Island over by Savannah, GA. At first we had trouble finding a parking place, because the place my friend normally parks at was closed because they were filming a disney movie, so we had to find another parking area. Once we got parked we headed out to the beach. I must say, I am not fond of sand....I know...I know, I'm weird, people tell me all the time and I'm ok with that....lol. We spent 2 hours on the beach and I'm sure the kids would have spent more time, but we really wanted to head back into Savannah and check out some of the historical sights before we started the 3 hour car drive back to my friend's house. Savannah is very cool! We only got a small taste of the history, but it was fascinating. We spent Thursday chilling at my friend's house, so we would be rested up for the 12 hour drive on Friday back home. Once again...my kiddos did great on the drive home. Dora and Brighton only got a little restless as we got near home, but still the kiddos traveled great. We did those 12 hours again, with only 3 stops....amazing!

We got home late Friday night, and even though we had been in the car for over 30 hours in 5 days, we still wanted to do something on Saturday. Off to Conner Prairie on Saturday we went. With a family our size it only cost us a dollar more to get a family year membership, so I am betting the kiddos and I will take some days this summer and go back. It was a great day!

Monday, June 29 Dora went back to violin lessons, this very good for her to keep up with this summer. The week was an easier week for us. I have been sewing again and it feels so good. I made Brighton a new shirt and fitted a pair of Dwayne's pants britches that were big to fit Brighton, started a new wisket(vest) for Brighton, and finished a chemise for me. The fourth of July weekend was a good one. The kiddos spent Friday night with Dwayne's parents and we picked them up early on Saturday to do a day trip to Corydon, IN for a re-enactment...no comments on that one....lol. The day trip ended early, so after picking up some "regular" clothes for Dwayne and I, we went to an Imax theatre to watch Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen. Brighton was sooooo excited. It was a good movie, I could have done without some parts of showing off people's bodies, but oh well. Another late night home met with a late morning. Sunday was spent lazy like...just a nice grilled linner as Dora calls it (lunch + dinner = linner) and lots of movies. We had to head to bed early because Dwayne has to be up early for work.

Now, we are heading into the month of July full of marching band practices and contests. It will be a busy time for my family, but we are looking forward to it. I can't believe how quickly the summer is going already, but at least we are enjoying it!

3 months later...

Oh my goodness, how horrible of me...3 months and I have not even touched my blog. Life has changed so much in the past few months. I am no longer employed, my hubby is calling me a burden on society. I may look for another job in the fall, it will depend on a few things. I am finally getting ready to sew again, starting today right after this blog. My kiddos are begging for new re-enacting clothes (although the vote is that Sari has to be last, because she already has so many clothes...) I have promised a couple of pieces of clothing to some friends as well, so I have my work cut out for me. I am discovering there is so much that needs to be done, that just has not gotten done since I was always busy working. I have also been painting and I will continue to do that soon. I think I might get my kiddos all involved to help me paint when they are all home again.

Next week the kiddos and I are heading down to Georgia to see a very good friend of mine. I have been telling her how much I want to come and see her since she moved down there, but we have never been able to work it out. I thought there would be no way this summer either, until I suddenly quit my job and what do you know, I finally had some time.

Starting in July the 2 older kiddos will start their band duties. I am very excited for them! I can't wait to see how the little Monroe Central Band will do this year, although this may be one of the last summer that they are little, there are lots of band kids coming into the band over the next few years.

Well, there is just a little update, I really hope to be doing a much better job of keeping up my blog this summer. I really want to post some of my sewing projects and share some band video of my kiddos.

Hoping for a good day...

Oh what a beautiful Saturday! I don't have to work, which is nice. I really enjoy my work, but I also enjoy these days off. I really wanted to travel with my hubby and daughter to the percussion contest they were going to, but my son has hunter's education today, so I was needed here at home. I have decided to make the most of it...well...sometime soon I am going to make the most out of it. Today will just be me and my 2 youngest kiddos. I have so many projects I want to get done and I rarely have a whole day to work on anything, so I am really hoping I won't waste this time I have. Dwayne won't be home until late, Brighton will be spending the night at a birthday party and the the girls can entertain themselves...until it is time to eat at least. Maybe we will even watch some movies...who knows...the sky is the limit for us...

Funny Story...

Last night before my ceramics class I decided I needed to get a little bit of shopping done. I headed over to Target, got the few little things I needed and a few things I didn't need. I still had 30 minutes to spare, so I thought I would head down to Starbucks for my FAVORITE drink...a peppermint latte with extra whipped cream. But I got distracted by Rallys on my way there and decided I was hungry and a cherry coke...my other favorite drink...would be good as well. So, I pull in, order a small cherry coke, small fry, and plain cheeseburger...I was trying to keep it cheap. I pull up to pay and wait for my food. The guy hands out a bag and in it is a sandwich and a fry...well, it looks right, so I drive off. I eat my fries on the way to class, because I hate cold fries and then park in the parking to eat my sandwich before I head into class. As soon as I open the sandwich I smell the mayo...dang, it is not a plain sandwich, Oh well...I will eat it anyways. Then as I further exam my sandwich I discover not only is it not a plain cheeseburger, it is actually a bacon double swiss burger. YES...this is great, because I really wanted a bacon sandwich, but did not want to spend the extra money. All I had to do was take the top bun off. I decided to look at the receipt to see where the mess up happened and find out that the customer in the other lane ordered a small cherry coke, a small fry and a bacon double swiss burger. What are the chances that we would order the same thing EXCEPT just the sandwiches??? I feel really sorry for that person who got my plain cheeseburger. I definitely got the better end of the deal!!

Where has February gone??

I know that time goes by fast, but there are some months that seem to go by so much faster. This final weekend of the month is jammed pack for us. Tobi has her little cheerleading show on Friday night, Saturday morning begins bright and early for Dora, Brighton and myself with Angel Food, Saturday also being Tobi's official 6th birthday, Sari has a Winter Percussion Contest, and then the day ends with Sari's first ever date going to the Sweethearts dance. Since Saturday is so busy, Tobi's little party will be on Sunday where she will have a few friends from school and probably some family over for cake and ice cream, and she WILL be the princess of the day. This weekend would also be my hubby and I's 17th anniversary, but we actually have to wait until 2012 for our next anniversary. Besides...there is no time to fit in any anniversary partying this weekend...lol.

Work has been so crazy for me lately. I am working anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week, depending on what needs to be done. This has left little time to work on my sewing projects that I have lined up. I am taking full advantage of my day home today and I am finally sewing again. Isn't it hard sometimes when you have a hobby you just love to do, but you can't find the time to do it? I really appreciate my wonderful hubby for putting up with my sewing equipment in the living room all the time. This is really hard for my super clean freak husband. I must say, he handles it all well. I can't wait to spend another 17 years with him...and more!

I am so proud!

I just spent the whole day in Muncie waiting and watching two of my kiddos perform at the solo and ensemble contests. Lucky for all of us, we got to drop Dora and Tobi off at grandma's house or we would have been listening to how bored they were. Sari's group 3 trio received a gold, Brighton's group 4 solo received a gold and Sari's group 1 solo received a silver. It was a good day for them. I never did anything like this when I was growing up, especially since I am not in any way musically inclined, but Dwayne did lots of these contests and he loves seeing his kiddos doing well at them.