Happy birthday, Thomas!

Just a short note today, but we wanted to say happy first birthday to our man, Thomas!  We've watched him grow up from just a little bean last September to a walking and dancing fool this September.  Here's to many more - and we hope you enjoy all your presents!  Love, Uncle Drew and Aunt Brandy

Obviously I don't see these boys all that often, so I take full advantage of picture time when I do...  ;)

I've married a monster...

Yep, it's official.  Or rather, it was official on October 17th, 2009.  But since then it's become even more apparent that Drew is a Pillow Eating Squashing Monster.  He drags his favorites around from couch to chair, floor to futon, room to room, even house to truck with a wanton disregard for color combinations or textures.  He then proceeds to squash (cringe) or fold them into submission to fit the perfect spot - leaving craters of lumpiness in his wake.  Lumbar support, you say?  It's as if he thinks pillows were meant to be comfortable or something...  ;)

And since I now have a second pillow warrior in the house (Loui is learning from the master) I thought I better come up with a stealthy way to win the war, if not the pillow battle (err...pillow fight?).  Enter my trusty sidekick, the pillow form (with removable pillow cover, hurray!).  I had the idea that if I could appear to be living with this habit (can't change 'em, right!?) then we might just get away with a win-win-win.  Drew gets to manhandle his pillows and Loui gets to leave drool all over them, and I get to replace the form or just take a cover off to wash it when it just all gets to be too much - without having to buy a brand new pillow, which would be ridiculously expensive and frowned upon.

So, since most of my existing pillows don't have removable covers I went to the expert (with a sewing machine) - Mom.  While Drew and I were home for the Annual Killian Salmon Derby I asked my mom if we might run out and pick up some fabric and forms, and work on making pillows.  And while my mom has a tendency to get bombarded with sewing requests when kids are home (I'm notorious for leaving jeans at home that need some love) she seemed to be into this one since she's in the middle of a remodel and needed to make some pillows of her own.  By the end of the trip we'd bought forms and (Mom had - let's be honest) completed one of my pillows - I just needed to sew on the buttons when I found some I liked back in Denver.  Score!  This way I get to pick out my own designs/fabrics and have some good ol' Mom time.

Anyways...I think this little novella (sorry for the length - and about pillows, geesh!) has some Hollywood potential.  No?  You don't think so?  It's got all the right stuff - monsters and villians, a lovely pair of heroines, a stuffed sidekick, drama, romance, and wit.  Okay, maybe I'm stretching it a little lot.  Maybe I wanted to make a post about pillows interesting.  Maybe I've been reading too many Young House Love blog posts.  Maybe I'm a little melodramatic today.  "Today?", asks the Pillow Squashing Monster.

**So, tell me about it.  Do you live with a(n) (insert Household Item Abuse here) monster?  Do you have a fun pillow pattern you want to share?  Anyone else out there addicted to Young House Love?  Do you take on another persona entirely when you blog (like me - I'm not this funny in person)?**