chikaustin -

"Hope is the thing with feathers. That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all."

- Emily Dickinson

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January25th

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chirp, chirp, chirp

Posted in: craft hope

Ahem. Excuse me. Is this thing on?

Well looky there. What’s it been… three months? You don’t say.

All kinds of amazing happenings are going on around these parts. I bet by now you have heard about the new project I just threw up over on Craft Hope two days ago. It’s gone viral.

Project 16 :: Little Warriors is collecting beanies and bags for children with cancer. Skidaddle on over and take a look. In 36 hours almost 200 people have signed up to participate or lead a group to get crafty. Join us!

In the fall, Project 15 :: Sock Monkeys for Texas was a HUGE success. We collected over 500 sock monkeys for kids in Texas who lost their homes to wildfire this past summer. And about 30 sock monkeys made their way to Sacramento to kids who are burn victims in the hospital over the holidays. The sock monkeys have been patiently waiting in my house to go to their new homes. We are delivering them to Bastrop this weekend. What a blessing they will be for the kids. They are going to a group of counselors working with the kids. Each and every monkey will be hand delivered to a kiddo by someone who loves them as much as we have from afar.

2012 is literally rocking my socks. This year is full of awesome and it’s only January.

*photo compliments of my daddy who is the best photog i know. it’s the kids at the fort worth stock show. yeehaw!
October26th

2 Comments

never grow up

Posted in: babes in toyland

My biggest little went to her first concert tonight. Taylor Swift. Time sure does fly and it seems like it was just yesterday that she was a baby and we were figuring out this new mama/baby relationship together. Today, her personality is not at all what I pegged it to be when she was little. At play dates she was quiet, introspective, and calm. Now she is a ring leader, outgoing, and loud. She’s sassy, caring, competitive, loving, crazy smart, and has a lot to say.

We hurried home from school today to get her ready for the big concert. Boots, check. Studded headband, check. Tutu, check. Bedazzled shirt, check. Lip gloss, check.

It’s not every day you go to your first concert. My baby is growing up.
October24th

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a girl and her decopage pumpkin

Posted in: crafting, kid crafts

There have been so many lists for me to keep up with. Things to buy, things to bring, things to decorate, things to make. I knew Chloe needed to bring a decorated/not carved pumpkin to school so we made a stop after school last week to a small pumpkin patch at the local United Methodist Church for Chloe to pick out her pumpkin. It’s funny to watch the way kids pick and choose things.

Well Chloe sprinted straight for the biggest pumpkins she could find. She’d go over to one and try to lift it. Then to another. Then another. I would walk over to her with a Chloe size pumpkin and she’d shoot me down time after time. There really is no rationalizing with a two year old. It has to be her idea or it just won’t fly. After a few minutes she ran over to me with a Chloe size pumpkin and said “Chloe pumpkin.” Well alrighty then. We have a pumpkin. I gave her one dollar to pay for her pumpkin and off we went.

I had seen a few ideas around the blog about decopaging pumpkins so we came home and gathered our supplies: a pumpkin, Mod Podge, a paintbrush, and a leftover birthday napkin.

I let Chloe use the paint brush and spread the Mod Podge all over the pumpkin. We then wrapped the napkin all around the pumpkin and then put a thin layer of Mod Podge on top.

It took a couple of hours to dry, but was WAY easier than painting with a toddler. She rode with her pumpkin in her lap to school today. I do believe she likes it.
October21st

4 Comments

handmade iPad cover {wonder woman}

Posted in: crafting

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when I have 103 projects all going on at the same time. I don’t know why I work best this way, but I do. In the middle of my chasing the kids around the other day I got a wild hair. I need to make an iPad cover. Like, I NEED to make it. Right now. So I hemmed and hawed for a few days thinking about what I’d want it to look like. I looked on Pinterest and Etsy for inspiration. Most are pretty masculine. What, no iPad covers with doilies? Ludicrous.

I picked up these Martha Stewart tea towels last week at the thrift store. Then dug through my stash of vintage fabric and lacy bits and found a few more things to use. Then quickly reazlied that I have no idea how to make an iPad cover. I’ve made a bag before and it’s the sandwiching of layers that puzzles me. So I sat there on the floor, amongst all of my fabric, trying to figure out how exactly I would make an iPad cover.

I couldn’t find a tutorial I liked so I winged it and came up with my version of a Wonder Woman iPad cover.

And here’s a fancy tutorial just for you: I traced the iPad, sewed the fabric together, added a few details to the front, sewed on some velcro, added a lining, and taaadaaaa… A wonky, but not squiffy iPad cover.
October19th

3 Comments

just a few things

Posted in: mama life

Things I have learned this week…

* Adding pumpkin to a banana bread recipe is a bad idea.

* Mowing the grass gets easier every time.

* Edging does not.

* If you add pumpkin pie spice to your coffee with creamer it faintly resembles a pumpkin spice latte.

* Crock pot meals are the easiest. I’ve got chicken and dumplings cooking at home today. Thanks, Velma. That’s her name. The crock pot.

* If I buy PF Changs frozen beef and brocolli for myself, then make a pizza for the kids. They will eat the pizza and then all of my beef and brocolli.

* A trojan virus is a nasty, nasty thing. It can shut down a global charity website in a heartbeat.

* Chloe will give up her pacifier if you tell her it flew away.

* If I put Makena in charge she can make dinner. PB&J for everyone. She even added cheese and mustard to mine. She loves me THAT much.

*I don’t like wearing dress pants. At all.

* I REALLY like to have many, many projects going on at one time. Right now I’m making an iPad cover, crocheted blanket, a Super Chloe costume, sock monkeys… running Craft Hope… fundraiser chair for Makena’s Daisy troop… and all of the other daily duties of being a working mama.

* The kids like to pick weeds. A lot.

I hope you are all having a lovely week. What have you learned this week?

The World Series starts tonight. Go Texas Rangers!!
October17th

3 Comments

a moment of transparency

Posted in: mama life

I’m going to be transparent here for a moment. Not in the disappearing transparent kind of way. Some days I wake up and I feel like I’ve got the world on my shoulders. I feel like I need to solve all of the world’s problems. Right now. I need to solve all of my own problems. Right now. And if that doesn’t happen I fret. I fret and I fret and I fret.

I begin to fret about things that just don’t matter. I think that maybe, just maybe a moment of clarity will come along and I’ll have it figured out. That today is the day that I will solve all the world’s problems. Right?!?

No. So life doesn’t go this way. It doesn’t matter how long I fixate or FRET on an issue it doesn’t go away. The answers do not come, the problem is not solved. Hmph.

I like to say that this is just the way God made me. I learned that from my son, Keegan, who is now five. Keegan, bless his sweet heart, moves at a speed slightly slower than mine. Okay, dramatically slower than me. I rush about. I rush from here to there. Sleep in until the very last minute and then rush. I rush here and there and everywhere. Keegan does not. Keegan likes to take his time. He’s really not in a hurry for anything, at any time, for any reason.

I remember one day a couple of years ago I’m rushing around getting the kids ready to get out the door and I said to Keegan, “son, you are sooo slow.” To his reply, “mama, this is the way God made me.” Wow.

So I’m the mama that God made. And he made my personality to be what it is. And then he gave me my son that has taught me new lessons on life. A personality quite the opposite of mine, that spends more time in the details, and not so much time fretting and rushing about. How about that.

So I’m going to attempt to follow Keegan’s lead. I’m not saying that I’ll be successful, but I’m going to try my hardest. I do find that when I fill those spaces in my mind — with things like Craft Hope — that are typically reserved for fretting, the fretting subsides.

I will try to not fret about the malware on the Craft Hope site. And the fact that the site is toast and has to be reinstalled. I will try to not fret about the fact that I deleted the sound driver on my laptop and don’t know how to fix it. I will try to not fret about people. And how mean they can be. I will try to not fret. I will have faith. I will have faith that things do work out, just not in my timing. I will have faith in things I cannot see. I. Will. Have. Faith.

{Pretty flower pictures compliments of my fawb, Chris. Aka Miss. Chris.}
October14th

6 Comments

making {chevron crochet}

Posted in: crafting

I love fall. I know we have been through this before. The colors changing, windows open, cooler temperatures, knee high boots, pumpkin spice latte, jeans, and hearty foods.

I set up my little Craft Hope World Headquarters again in the bedroom of our new house. At night the cool breeze blows in and I listen to the church bells every hour in the distance. I love this part of where I live. The church bells. I work on Craft Hope, thinking about the kids whose lives we will touch. The smiles the sock monkeys will bring. If you didn’t know already I announced Project 15. Skidaddle on over and sign up to make sock monkeys for children who lost their homes to the Texas wildfires this past summer.

Back to the church bells. So they ring from the church next to our neighborhood. You know the sound. I’d really only heard it when traveling abroad many, many moons ago. Or in movies. There is a calming presence to the church bells. Until you decorate your heavily antique furniture house for Halloween. Then it becomes just a little bit eery. For real.

Another thing I love about fall is crochet.

I’m starting on my Christmas presents early this year. Early for me means before black Friday. So I definitely have a jump on things compared to years past to start even BEFORE Halloween. I’m crocheting a full size chevron style blanket.

Here is the start of it. I have a few more feet to go.

I’m really loving the chevron prints right now. They seem to be popping up everywhere. And you know, Chevron is in… because Charlie Brown said so.

I carry the blanket with me everywhere – much like Linus if we are keeping with the Peanuts theme – in my trusty Dottie Angel bag I made last year in Seattle with Tif herself. She reminded me to be crafty at least twice a day. I had forgotten this lesson due to the daily duties of being a working mama. So Tif, I’m back to being crafty at least twice a day. I promise.
October2nd

12 Comments

mama made photo shoot

Posted in: babes in toyland

Chloe turned two this week and it hit me. I have not taken Chloe to have ‘professional’ pictures done. The mama guilt set in. Thinking of the many times I took Makena when she was the only child. Followed by the few times I took Keegan. The mama guilt set in bad. Then I quickly reminded myself… Self, you have a fancy camera. Do it yourself.

So in true Jade fashion I did an impromptu photo shoot with my littles. No there was no pre-planning. No new outfits purchased. No scheduling around naps. No asking for back-up assistance. No candy for bribing. No, none of that. I got them all dressed on this Sunday afternoon, threw ‘em in the car, and said ‘we’re going to take pictures on the square.’ This was smack dab in the middle of a day that I spent cleaning the house in preparation for Chloe’s second birthday party. Which was only two hours after the photo shoot. Oh yeah, and we still had to pick up the cake. I tell you though, this style just works for me so I don’t fight it anymore.

We parked just off of the square of our new little town and I let them loose. I followed them with my camera and only a few times had to beg them to stand still. Standing still is not something they do well. It’s like herding cats. Thankfully most of the shops were closed so there was lots of window peeking. This is a sleepy little town on a Sunday afternoon and I love it.

This is my favorite picture. It truly captures what life with Chloe is like. Why yes I am a professional cat herder.

We strolled around the square. Okay fine, we didn’t do so much strolling as we climbed the trees, the table, the park benches, we ran, we skipped, we jumped. But that’s how we roll.

I spent the afternoon chasing them around the square. Taking lots of pictures behind them because, well… I was chasing them. It’s how we stroll and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
September20th

9 Comments

freshly squeezed

Posted in: mama life

Well, hi friends. Just as life changes, so does this sweet little space of mine. Chikaustin has always been and will always be my little happy place on the web. A place of hope and love and hopefully inspiration. I’ve cleared the walls and pages of the chikaustin past to make way for new creations and adventures to share with you.

I’m still running in circles chasing my three little ones, but now teaching Engineering at a high school in a little Texas town outside of Austin. We have a house with a big back porch and a great yard for the kids to run and play. The town we live in has a bonafide historic square with farmers markets, market days, festivals, and parades. Where Friday night lights is a reality and terms of endearment such as sweetie and honey are used in most conversations.

I’ve struggled with what to do with this space for quite a while now. With all of the changes in my life over the past couple of years I kept most of it to myself. Chikaustin is not an account of my day to day life. It is and will always be a happy place hoping to inspire and encourage you. I won’t ever publicly talk about the messy parts. As Thumper most eloquently stated, “If you don’t have nothin’ nice to say, don’t say nothin’ at all.”

Many times I have thought about ditching the entire chikaustin schtick. Honestly though, some of my best friends I have found in this space. Friends that have held me up when I was going through the worst times of my life. For them and for this space I will be forever grateful.

Craft Hope is wrapping up Project 14 making stockings for tornado survivors in Alabama. I’ve seen loads of groups getting together and making stockings. I’ve seen them made at showers, parties, and Girl Scout meetings. So inspiring. I’m still running Craft Hope in my free time. In ALL my free time. I will never ever complain about this responsibility. I will promise to do my best to keep it going and changing lives.

Right now I’m reading The Help, addicted to Pinterest, and proving to myself that I CAN do anything I set my mind to. Like mowing the grass. I have grass stains on my shoes and blisters on my hands to prove it. Rock on!

“I was asked to act when I couldn’t act. I was asked to sing when I couldn’t sing and dance when I couldn’t dance -and do all kinds of things I wasn’t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.” — Audrey Hepburn