meg + andy

pinterest skirt

2012-02-25T06:53:00.001-08:00

hi there, thought i'd share a simple project i completed this week. i'm mostly proud of it because i got the inspiration on pinterest and then actually did it. i feel like its important to document these kinds of occurrences to convince myself that pinterest really is helpful and not just a time-wasting dream world! ha.ha.

anywhoo, here's my version of this cute little skirt, made especially for a sweet little friend in Virginia.

And here was the inspiration. i just loved the letter color combination on a simple brown skirt made from an old knit t-shirt. Here's the link to the original: http://www.simplesimonandco.com/2012/02/all-you-need-is-love-skirt.html

And for a little random...here are the girls fetching mail several days ago.

madeline's faces and toe positions just make me laugh. sophie would never dream of pointing her little toe like that.

these girls couldn't be more different from each other but they still love each other...which is wonderful.

funny story that describes the girls' personalities in a weird way:
last night madeline wanted to wiggle will's loose tooth so she put her hand up to his face to try to feel it. will pushed her hand away but as he did he said, "ick! your hand smells! it smells like strawberry shortcake or something!" Then sophie wanted her hand smelled, so she stuck her hand in will's face and asked him what it smelled like. reluctantly he smelled and then said, "i don't know, i guess dirt." both girls were quite satisfied with his pronouncements.

we had a happy heart day

2012-02-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Hope very much that you had a lovely day yesterday!

we started out the morning with little gifts and notes in our mailboxes

(just notice this cheeseball expression of will's and compare it to madeline's further down. related, ya think??)

special pocket watercolor set and notebook for our nature walks this spring...

we had a super fun party with a few of Will's "big kid" friends. as i was thinking about the party, at first i thought that since he is a big 6 year old now and in kindergarten and all that maybe i should ditch the cutesy and go more "cool"... but then i came to my senses and realized that Will LOVES a good party. he's totally into the details and still appreciates "cute" things. in fact he is the one i can almost always count on to compliment me on my "cute" crafty endeavors. bless his heart, he'll make his wife so happy one day. ;)

he loved cutting out paper hearts and taping them all over the house. he thought the heart sandwiches were awesome and he was totally jazzed about donning valentine's day appropriate attire...he only wished he had red pants to match his red shirt.

so, even though he LOVED having his "big kid" friends here, i am trying to absolutely soak up the fact that he's still just a little boy who loves hugs and kisses, "little talks", and stickers and cute valentine's decorations and stuffed bears that "sing" annoying songs and heart sandwiches and planning parties with his mommy while sitting on her lap.

ok, now onto the rest....here's my madeline. the little spacey, bunny-loving, adorable princess girl that she is. this is her smile of choice recently. she looks like a complete cheeseball but she's actually for real. she could pose like this all day. in fact, whenever you catch her glance and give her a smile she'll stop what she's doing and give you one of these- head cocked and all. it's really quite endearing. which is good, because she's also an ornery little one who has been banned from ALL scissor use until further notice.

here's my lovely mom who came to the party to act as crowd control...and to make Sophie's day. When she is with Nana she is a happy girl. She's also happy when she's telling other people what to do or being "big". i made the mistake during the party to mention to one of the moms that i had intended for the "little kids" to sit at the table in the school room and the "big" kids could sit on the floor in the living room. Sophie, who was in the living room, overheard me from across the house and yelled, " I AM BIG! mommy! mommy!! I am BIG!" thata way to stand up for yourself girlie! I later overheard her asking Madeline if she needed help putting her pez candy into the dispenser. Madeline of course consented and a few minutes later, while Sophie was taking over the whole job Sophie commented, " i love helping little kids". and i love this extra special, one-of-a-kind little girl.

And THIS one... goodness, he's giving his mommy a run for her money. We laughed all day at our cranky little valentine as he wore his new shirt from Grandma... written on the front is "What's not to love??" Seriously. a kicking, whining, candy-stealing, screaming ball of fun....what's NOT to love about that?! ;)

honestly nothing. his little chubby cuteness is irresistible in whatever form it happens to take.

Well, that's all for this year...although i think we'll keep celebrating for the rest of the month...it's just too happy of a holiday to be done with. So, keep that sugar coming!

notes of love for a month (a valentine's activity)

2012-02-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hi there! well, i'm obviously in one of my periodic "i'm overwhelmed so i neglect the blog phase" but i wanted to share a simple idea and i mean seriously simple, not like the millions and millions of "simple" ideas on pinterest that make me inspired one minute and completely overwhelmed the next.

i got this inspiration somewhere..just can't remember from who...anyway, i found these little mailboxes (which the kids LOVE) at target in the $1 section and the idea is to simply leave notes of love and encouragement to your kids in the boxes each day and then to save those notes in a book and add to them each february. isn't that sweet and simple?

And it fits perfectly with Ann's "10 points of joyful parenting" list i've been digesting recently. Here is #5

"Today, i will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words i breathe are death words." - Ann Voskamp

it sadly surprised me how when hAndy and i sat down to write notes the first night i had somewhat of a difficult time coming up with "strong/grace-filled" words for the kids. I could easily think of 10 things that drove me crazy about them.

i want to speak LIFE and GRACE to them instead. i don't want them to remember me as a growling, nagging, grumpy, impatient mommy. yikes! this is such a good reminder!

knowing now that i have a note to write in the evening for the next day's "mail" has helped my perspective so much...i am more actively seeking out and focusing on the good and sweet throughout the day.

also, i had planned to put some candy or little presents along with the note each day but then i thought maybe i shouldn't set up an expectation too early so i skipped it the first day to see their reaction to just a little note. They were delighted. it's been 3 days of just notes and they are still excited every morning. i think this is also a good lesson to learn about how important and meaningful these grace words can be. they really don't need any sugar coating.

now i do still have the candy and a few little trinkets but i think i'll wait to put those in for another week or so...just so they can really soak up the words first.

oh ben! seriously, you are the cutest little person i've ever seen. just had to say that. even though you have been keeping me up throughout the night for last several days....

anyway, i hope you're inspired to try this out in your home. and its not too late! you could even just leave notes the week of valentine's day. we could do it for our husbands too! (are you reading this andrew??)
Either way, i'm challenging myself to start and continue speaking strong, grace-filled, life-giving words everyday.

3 little dollies for 3 little cuties

2012-01-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

Say hello to 3 of my favorite little people- my adorable niece and my charming little nephews

For Christmas i wanted to make them something special. So i created a "mini-me" doll for each of them.

This was my first time making boy dolls...i have to say, their little red strip underpants are my favorite part. ;)

Light brown hair, silvery blue eyes and blue overalls for Elias.

Brown hair, brown eyes and green overalls for Gideon.

And a little blonde hair, blue eyed dollie for sweet Calliope. And a dress, of course, because Calliope is always a lady. ;)

Now, i had a hunch that the little kiddos would probably be fascinated by the novelty of the dolls for a bit but i was determined to "wow" them and i knew the way to their heart was through Angry Birds. Much to Sister's dismay, the 3 have grown quite attached to these new pop culture icons. :) It's really pretty funny.

So, at the last minute i decided the dollies needed some birds too.

I happened to already have these little craft puffs. ( i'm so culturally illiterate, the only colors i thought angry birds came in were red and green! haha). Then i cut out little pieces of felt, drew on them with sharpies and hot-glued them onto the puff. Then i sewed a tiny piece of velcro to the dolls hand and one to the back of the birds so the dolls could "hold" them. :)

It's hard to always know what is going to get kids excited...i know there have been several times we have planned activities or gifts that we thought our kids would love and instead they fell flat...other times we have been shocked at the excitement over the teeniest little things....anyway, its always a gamble.

However, after they had opened the dolls, they each opened their little package of mini angry birds and they were ECSTATIC. So excited and happy. i got all kinds of hugs and sweetness. i'm pretty sure i could have scratched the dolls all together and they would have been completely thrilled by those little birds that took less than 20 min. to make! Cutest, silliest little kids ever. :) LOVE them.

it's monday

2012-01-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

let's resist the urge to be grumpy today...

"Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and i choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!" Ann Voskamp

Find the rest of her 10 Points of Joyful Parenting HERE

hAndy Birthday part 2

2012-01-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

After our Birthday Breakfast Bash, we lovingly deposited our sweet kiddos at their grandparents house and then enjoyed a whole 24 hours of freedom and fun.

It's amazing how having kids in our lives have helped us to appreciate the little things so much more. In fact, we kind of love not having to do much of anything. Simply driving in the car without questions and whining in the back, taking a walk around a big lovely park without visiting the playground, getting coffee, browsing around downtown, eating at a grown-up restaurant without having highchairs, kid menus, sippy cups and cheerios everywhere, and eating dessert as slowly as we wanted to were all quite, quite lovely.
(disclaimer: we really do love our children to pieces, even missed them a bit and were more than happy to bring 'em back on board the next day. just in case you were concerned) ;)

We could act like kids (my face actually kinda freaks me out here) and made sure we really lived it up. As we were going upstairs to our bedroom in our empty house that night we forced ourselves to shout and stomp all the way up. it was actually kinda nerve-wracking.

And we even got to act like adults too. We're such dreamers...

Anyway, i'm super, super thankful for my Andrew. He's the best ever, i love him and couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for me. Happy Birthday cutie pie.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, i happened to have married a boy wonder. He wasn't just plinking away on this piano in downtown ft.collins. No, no, he oozes with talent, puts me (the piano lesson drop-out) utterly to shame, and played all kinds of fancy schmancy piano stuff. Probably some russian sonata? or concerto?... i have no idea what those words mean. But isn't he cute?!

ANYWAY, all that to say, he's great. I love him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

the end. :)

linking to what i love wednesday at lollipops!

Handy Andy's Birthday!

2012-01-16T21:41:00.000-08:00

It was a big holiday in our family this weekend! hANDY had a birthday!! He's pretty much a rockstar around these parts so the day definitely called for a big celebration. :)

28 candles (on our very favorite coffee cake) for a very special "Birthday Breakfast Bash" with the kiddos.

In fact, the kiddos (namely Will) planned and decorated almost the whole thing. Which included streamers, plastic table cloth, banner, the 28 candles, gift ideas AND a scavenger hunt at the end. It was quite the bash. :)

Birthday card from madeline transcribed by me.

With 4 kiddos we get to see plenty of their selfishness, squabbles and screaming every day (which, i admit i sometimes contribute to!) so, i can't even tell you what a sweet relief and blessing to my heart it is when we also get to see some adorable love and sincerity come through. The 3 older ones were SO excited for this party for their daddy. Will made sure hANDY knew he was more than welcome to sleep in, the girls made sure i knew they would be waking up at 5am to get ready and Will assured me he'd start right in on the decorating as soon as he woke up as well. :) Thankfully no one woke up until 7 :)

In the morning they were all busy, busy, wrapping their presents (the salt was Will's original idea), making more beaded necklaces for him, finishing their cards, setting the table and keeping me on track as to when and how to make the coffee cake, oj and eggs. :)

Here they are going on Will's scavenger hunt. He had me write clues like, "Your next clue will be found on the huge pirate ship...hint: wooden picnic table." ha

Finally they found the treasure: an empty kleenex box filled with a bead necklace, his card and a "28" that he designed from bead and pipe cleaners.

Such a super morning. Documenting the great times helps tremendously in keeping the pull-my-hair-out crazy times in sweet perspective.

DIY: Baby Bib

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

For my adorable little baby nephew i actually made something that i pinned on Pinterest!! (shocking....i know). So, this adorable baby bib idea and pattern comes from Craftiness is not Optional.

She calls it a Bapron, and its awesome. At least i'm pretty sure its awesome. I've been meaning to make one and try it out on baby ben who has been subjected to pink hand-me-down bibs from his sisters. poor boy.

Anyway, i love how it has arm holes so it completely wraps around and protects the baby's sides from spills. Plus it's reversible.

Also it was super easy. Like maaaaybe 20 min. per bib. And as much as i usually rebel against anything that requires me to measure and follow directions, it was absolutely refreshing to have an {EASY} pattern, follow it and have it turn out the first time without a hitch. You don't have to have any super sewing powers to pull this off.

All of these fabrics came from JoAnn's in case you're wondering. The solid green and the green frogs are flannel.

Oh and they should fit both babies and toddlers because the arm holes are big enough and you can kind of cinch it up in the back. So cool.

Anyway, download the FREE pattern and make some today. Oh and there's lots of pictures of the bapron on a real baby on her site if you're needing more of a visual. Plus she has some cute color combos there too.

after this we move onto the new year pt.2

2012-01-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here's the last of Christmas.

We usually have about 5 separate celebrations due to our American-style split up family and lots of schedules to mesh but this year as i was gearing up for the intense week of get-togethers i tried to see it from my kids perspective: FIVE opportunities to be around their favorite people, eat yummy food, open presents, stay up late, have constant play-mates etc.

It's a never-ending PARTY!

They have no concept of the time, effort, sleepless nights, and organization necessary to pull it all off. They are just simply delighting in everything.

Being a kid is awesome.

And really, we have it pretty good too. All of our different families are wonderful. They love us, love our kids and love all the crazy we bring. We too got to eat yummy food (that i didn't have to cook!), opened fun presents, and got to spend lots of great time with people we love.

Proof of a great time was the lack of pictures i took. I think i personally took about 3. Handy Andy thankfully filled in, but i still missed a lot of photos that i now wish i had.... bummer.

My lovely sister in law Joelle and her adorable new baby.

Ben and his new rocking chair with his old but extremely cherished blankie

Legos and boys. I love this stage.

my sweet nephew Elias giving me a wonderful lingering hug after he opened my gift to him. :)

the dress-up clothes from Nana were a hit.

My nephew Gideon was absolutely delighted with the anthropology ovenmit that was inadvertently dropped in his knight costume gift bag. He kept announcing, "I am a knight! and this is my mitten!" LOVE him!

Well, that's a wrap. It took a couple days to detox from all the fun and excitement, but we're back to normal now and more than ready to move on with the new year!

Although...i do have a couple Cmas gifts i want to share with you...But if you're like me and have 4 family birthdays in January. You might need some ideas. :)

after this we can move onto the new year pt.1

2012-01-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

I had a hard time getting in the Christmasy spirit this year. I know it doesn't help that with Christmas comes my most dreaded season of cold and snow ;) but i know i was also struggling with how to make Christmas really count. I wanted to instill gratefulness and meaning into my kids' hearts and view of this holiday. I want them to realize how much they have, how much Jesus gave for them and how much of blessing it is to love others...

i love what Jami from "Hello from the Natos" wrote on this topic.

Anyway, i don't feel like i figured anything out this year...but i know it was good to think about and more than anything i realized that as great as it is to live circumspectly at christmas time it is just as important if not more important to do so throughout the year. Listen to this great quote some friends of ours put on their Christmas card:

"Christmas, my child, is love in action...The greatest gift God ever gave was HIS Son, sent to us in human form so that we might know what God the Father is really like! Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." D.E. Rogers

Here's to loving more, giving more, and being more intentional all year!

part 2 of our family christmas comes tomorrow and then we can happily move onto the new year! Thanks for sticking with me.

new dollie in shop

2012-01-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hey friends, i'm still here! Just trying to get back on my feet after the holidays and a little overwhelmed with school-planning, child-raising, clutter-sorting....you know how it is i'm sure.

Anyway, i've had a couple dollie requests recently and realized i never listed this little lady. So, let me introduce you to Greta. She has reddish hair, green eyes and a cute little half smile.

If you're interested in bringing her home check out my SHOP

Hope to be back here soon! Blessings on all your "to-do's" today. :)

Cheery Christmas song!

2011-12-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Just in case you still have a to-do list a mile long, sick kiddos, presents to wrap, food to make, a house to clean or packing yet to do, here's a song to lighten the mood. I was feeling a little "out of the spirit" this morning and maybe even a touch irritated. It's kinda hard to not lose the joy of Jesus in the busyness but this song will certainly help restore it. Born is our King! It's Christmas!

DIY: Snowy Star Ornament craft for kids

2011-12-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Or sweet little cousins came around the corner to our house for a little Christmas playdate this week. We had such a great time. They played, ~~yelled,~~ sang, watched My friend Rabbit and then we made this easy little ornament craft. You can make one too. :)

Here's what you need:

*Card board ( i used clothing gift boxes) cut into stars

*Face pictures

*Glue

*Fake snowflakes and glitter

*Lots of little kids who love to get messy!

I put the glue into bowls with paint brushes and the 6 little people glued their picture onto the star

Then they smooshed the plastic snowflakes into the glue. Then.....we got out the glitter.

Now for a backstory. Last week i attempted a Christmas craft with my kids. We were going to simply make gift tags. I thought glitter would be fun but it ended up being a horrible experience. because of me. I got SO frustrated with the kids, they weren't putting the glue on right, they weren't shaking the glitter softly enough. they kept tapping the extra glitter onto the floor, everything was completely driving me CRAZY. I felt so irritated at them and at me for feeling that way. Especially when the whole thing was my idea.

So, one might think it might just be good to leave glitter alone for awhile and that is what i had planned on but the kids and their cousins were so cute during this star craft and the snow looked a little sparse so i thought we should give it another try- for my own sake! :) Anyway, we had a great time. It was a great opportunity to value the process more than the product and to just have fun regardless of the mess.

Are they cute or what?? While was taking a picture of my nephew and the pile of glitter he had just poured out, his sister picked up the same bottle and poured out the remainder before i even noticed.
Then they both just sat there and looked at it for several minutes. it was adorable.

And here are the finished products!

yay for GLITTER! Yay for fun! ;)

Decorating the tree 2011

2011-12-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

So, we decorated the tree. The tree my inlaws lovingly took the kids up into the mountains on a day that barely reached 18 degrees to cut down. Handy Andy was flying and i was quite happy to stay home with the other babies (ben and my nephew).

So, even though these pictures kinda look the same each year, i was just reading Jami Nato talk about the importance of telling your story. I certainly wouldn't want the kids to grow up wondering if we did or didn't decorate in 2011. ;)

Anyone have any tips to convince a 6yr old that his shirt is not a tasty treat??

Madeline's favorite ornament this year was a little glass bunny from grandma

And Sophie's was her new glass wiener doggie...IN a bun. completely made her christmas. :)

This is a picture of me and my most-ugly childhood ornament. I find it amazing that this ornament has made it all these years...probably just to taunt me. I think i was 3 and going through the most awkward stage in my life...well, 18 was actually an extremely awkward age too...Anyway, I had just cut my own hair the day before this preschool picture was taken and i was honestly kinda hideous. My Sister had her picture taken the same day. We coordinated with our lovely brown dresses except she looked absolutely adorable. Long, curled hair, sweet little smiling face. No "marshmallow" cheeks as EVERYONE called them and no "grumpy bear" attitude.
Here's another true story for you: One of my mom's best friends made us adorable CareBear ornaments that same year because like any good 80's kid we loved CareBears. Well, this awkward age of mine went hand in hand with my grumpy phase. So, what bear did she make me? "GrumpyBear" of course and for Sister, she made "Love Bear" or something like that. Sooo, anyway, back to the tree.

Hot Chocolate treat after all their hard work

awwwwww

One of my favorite ornaments when Handy and i were just babies and only had one little kiddo.

dollies

2011-12-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here are two lovely ladies all ready to be shipped to 2 little twin baby girls in Pennsylvania. I had such fun creating two unique yet coordinating dollies.

Grace is on the left and Lily is on the right. :)

In other news, i finally added some dolls to my shop. Beware, 2 out of the 3 have green hair. I know its kinda edgy...apparently too edgy for Greeley as they came back home with me from the craft show...but honestly i wasn't too sad about that. They are my all-time favorite dollies and i wasn't quite ready to let them go a month ago...But now i am. Aren't you glad? haha :)

Here are a couple sneak peeks...

CLICK HERE to take a look

DIY: Christmas Pillowcases

2011-12-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

I've always thought Christmas pillowcases would be so fun and festive for kids to enjoy all season. The problem is that so many of the ones you can buy this time of year are 1) expensive and 2) kinda ugly.

So, i found this soft green flannel at walmart for $2.50/yd. Then i just used scrap felt and trimmings to personalize them.

Sophie's was, of course, a doggie. Wiener doggies are her favorite. I was going to print a doggie out and then trace it but i can't figure out how to enlarge clipart once i've copied it onto TextEdit. (this is a not so subtle request for some technical advice!) ;) Anyway, free-handing it was easy enough.

Madeline's was a bunny....of course.

And since Will isn't particular about any one species of animal, i chose his favorite Christmas icon instead. The nutcracker. He took a little more detailed investment than i was planning on, but again, it only took a couple tv show episodes and the whole project was completed. :)

Next year i might add their initials...

Christmas Mantle: only what i love

2011-12-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

I had two goals in decorating my house this year. The first was to use only what i love, and the second was to not spend any money.

The first goal was prompted by the shameful fact that i can be a compulsive buyer. Especially when it comes to buying stuff that is on clearance. Junky stuff that is dirt cheap is still junky stuff. :)

I usually want to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving but this year i realized i wasn't looking forward to putting up my decorations because of this reason as well as the fact that handy andy and i have had 7 Christmases together and my style has changed over the years...

So, i made sure i went through my stash at night so my junky decoration-loving kids wouldn't see what i was ditching this year so i was able to only bring up things i love or i thought i could work with.
(Now, truth be told, my oldest has an amazing memory and is also extremely sentimental. So i did allow him to retrieve a couple specific things that i would have been happy to permanently retire! oh well.)

Then i found stuff like this big star that i had bought (on clearance!) at Marshalls several years ago and wasn't even in my Christmas pile but i do love it and knew it would work.

After i set out the decorations i love, i gathered supplies to try and make a few things that would pull the rest together. I knew i had a bunch of muslin, cream canvas and burlap, so used those things for my color theme. First i wrapped an old junky wreath with muslin and canvas for my mantle centerpiece. Added some burlap ruffles and flowers and some old berries.
Then i made this little banner. I LOVE looking at the merry message. And these are so quick and easy. I sewed the letters on because i already had red thread in my machine but you could easily use hot glue for the whole project.

Well, that's all for the mantle. :)

linking up to southern hospitality's mantle party. I'm sure you can find more mantle inspiration there than you'll ever need. :)

monogrammed knitted stockings

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

A good friend commissioned me to put initials on each of her families' stockings this year.

Since they are knitted stockings the traditional thread monograms wouldn't work as well so she thought i could come up with something.

Felt worked great.

I used some wool/poly blend, my fabulous sharp little fiskars, a print out of all their initials in a font i liked. (I thought tracing would take too long but since i had super sharp scissors, eye-balling the letters worked just fine.) Then i hand-stitched around the letters.

It took about 4 episodes of our current favorite netflix tv show to get all 4 stockings done. :)

Now to get some decorating done in my own house!

whole wheat blondies are GOOD for you

2011-11-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

At least that's what i tell myself!
Well, hope everyone out there is doing well. I realize i've kinda fallen out of touch with my blog this month...i've been tired and overwhelmed...you know, the feelings that are most common with moms of young kids. But anyway, i thought i'd share my stand-by dessert recipe with you. I made these on Sunday when some good friends came over and since they are so quick and easy i thought you should make some too! I've added to and changed several things about the original recipe that i now claim it as my own. :)

Whole Wheat Blondies

2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup butter

1 tsp instant coffee granules

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/4- 1/2 semi sweet chocolate OR 1 square unsweetened chocolate chopped up

1. Grease a 13x9 baking pan. In a medium sauce pan melt the butter, brown sugar and coffee on med. heat. stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and melted. Take off heat and let cool slightly before adding eggs. Add eggs one at a tine, stir in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in half of the white and dark chocolate pieces and stir gently. They will melt and swirl

2. Spread into baking pan and then sprinkle with remaining chocolate pieces.

3. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. I always check it around 18 to make sure it doesn't get too cooked. You want to take it out when the center is just set. Cool and cut into squares.

If you don't over bake these, they have the perfect texture to be cut into shapes if desired. Stars or holly cut-outs maybe?

So, enjoy! I have big ideas to make and post, but for now they are just ideas in my head, so we'll see if they come to anything. Oh, and thank you for all your very nice words about my craft show. You all are so nice. :)

happy thanksgiving...

2011-11-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

to all the indian warriors...

and indian princesses ;)

craft show

2011-11-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the craft show on saturday. handy andy and i (bless his heart for wanting to hang out with me) had a great time, sold quite a bit and had the pleasure of being around some really fantastic local art and meeting some equally great artsy people. This gal and this gal were two of my favorites.The first one also happened to be the organizer of this event.

Well, anyway, here's my table. Lots of thanks goes to handy andy for the structural stability of the bunting dowels, meg + andy chalkboard and shutter display that held the mini chalkboards- all his ideas and all fabulous. :)

dollies galore

With all the tons and tons of snow our part of Colorado got in the last couple of weeks, there was also an abundance of fallen tree limbs. While it was very sad to see so many of our cities trees damaged or destroyed, i was pretty happy to go branch scavenging. Some of which i used to make this little hair clip tree.

These little owls were a new edition this year. They provided such a quick and creative outlet for me after making so many dollies...

Here's handy andy's handiwork- both the display and the chalkboards. Didn't they turn out great?!

Thanks to our wonderful grandparents for watching all the kids so handy andy could hang out with me for over 1/2 the day! so fun.

oh, and i thought i'd give a little close-up of this lovely lady. Greta, if you're reading, i'd like to introduce you to your namesake. ;) Do you all read picnics in the park ? Because you should. She's one of my favorite destinations these days for inspiration in almost every department- style, motherhood, homeschool, authentic everyday living. Very refreshing.

Well, anyway, we had a great day at the show and since not everything sold, i'll be filling up my little shop here soon. Now to go tackle the ginormous mountain of folded, but yet to be put away laundry. :(

why i've been a bit absent..

2011-11-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

I"m getting ready for my 2nd ever craft show. So, i've been busily sewing and crafting in every spare moment. Wellllllll, that's not true...in my spare time i've also been keeping up with all my favorite blogs, pinterest, and tv shows. Don't worry, i know how to keep my priorities straight. :) Anyway, if you're in the Greeley, CO. area, you should stop by! This show/ market is held in a super cute old building turned theater in downtown Greeley and will be lots of fun.

Ok, so here's a little of what i've been working on lately...and don't you think that handy andy hasn't been put to work as well, because he has! And he keeps coming up with such great ideas for my little booth that its almost getting annoying.... i shouldn't even joke, because honestly, some of my ideas are really, seriously brainless. For example, i wanted some pole type things on either side of my table to hang bunting on.

* My brains thinks like this: "I'll find some 5 or 6 ft. long dowels at hobby lobby(?) then i'll get a couple of tin cans, fill them with cement, when it's almost dry i'll shove my ginormously long dowels into the cans and hope they stick up straight. Then i'll put the cans inside a couple pots and kind of push them under the the 2 sides of the table and then string my bunting across the wobbling, possibly snapping dowels. riiiiight."

* Handy Andy's brain thinks like this: "First of all, does my wife's brain reeeally think that illogically??

Either way, I'll get a couple 2 feet dowels, find two substantial aspen logs from our wood pile, drill a hole in the center of both. Fit the dowel into the hole, put the log on top of either side of the table. String bunting. done." SO smart.

Well, that's all for tonight. I have a bit more sewing and pricing to do and then i'll be sure to share some pics from the actual show next week. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

harvest...halloween.. DRESS-UP day

2011-11-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

I could definitely do without all of the scary and ick on this holiday, but the fun of letting these little people dress up and run around makes for a pretty great night.

I think big family/group themed costumes would be awesome, but as the kids are getting older, they have opinions. This year, their opinions fell in the "ninja", "bunny princess" and "doggie superhero" categories. :)

Will put his costume together all on his own...even down to where he wanted his face paint.

Sophie knew from the beginning she wanted to be a doggie. But then about an hour before our party she began to get "super hero" dreams in her head. Thanks to my hot glue gun and lots of old t-shirts, i quickly made a super hero cape with an "S" on the back. She was delighted.

Madelines' two favorite things in life these days are bunnies and princesses. The combination of the two was obvious.

Here we are visiting our best neighbor, Charlene.

Ben was, of course, a sock monkey. And he played the part perfectly: cuddly, squishy and adorable.

Handy Andy out did everyone and threw his clown costume together in "LITRALLY" (parks and rec, anyone??) 15 minutes AND provided tons of entertainment with his unicycling and juggling...seriously, his talents are endless...

We went "treating" with a big group of friends around one of the loveliest, old neighborhoods in our city.

Look at all those beautiful princesses....and doggie ;)

It was a super lovely night. The kids scored some awesome candy which Handy Andy and i thoroughly enjoyed sorting and gleaning from that night.

DIY- Vintage Suitcase Makeover pt 2: map lining

2011-11-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

So, after i removed the lovely, but smelly vintage lining and cleaned it reallllly well, i started thinking of what to line it with. My first idea was a vintage bed sheet, which sadly failed. The second idea was using my ever so handy road atlas and it worked perfectly! :

1st Plan : FAIL
Materials: mod podge and vintage sheet
Method: Pre-treated the fabric w/ mod podge (coated it, then let it dry over night)
Put a 2nd coat on the dry fabric and coated the bottom of the suitcase with mod podge and then slowly tried to cut, fit and press it around the bottom and edges of suitcase
Problem: Did not stick, was not smooth, bunchy corners...majorly annoying

Here's a picture of the stiff, peeling, bunchy corners. I had such high hopes for a cute vintage sheet lining....oh well.

2nd Plan: SUCCESS!

Materials: Road Atlas!!, Hot glue gun and a little mod podge
Method: Used smallish pieces of atlas, hot glued around the edges of the paper, put a little mod podge on the center, kept layering, hot glueing, cutting...painted a top coat of mod podge over the top when the inside was completely covered in atlas paper.
Problems: None, except that after the first fail, i was sooo done with the project waaay before it was actually completed. :)

- the little pieces of paper were able to fit the curved corners perfectly and the hot glue did a great job of keeping it stuck-yay!

If you missed the first part of the Suitcase Makeover project, click HERE

linking to: tutorial tuesday

DIY: Vintage Suitcase Makeover pt 1

2011-10-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been on a vintage suitcase mission for awhile now and have been able to find some great deals on some really fun ones. The only down side is, they often have an overwhelming "grandma smell". The first whiff is kinda nostalgic but then its just too much, especially because i'm hoping to actually use these suitcases for storage and don't really want to pass that scent off to everything i put in them.

So, i thought i'd show you how i gave this little blue samsonite a makeover.

STEP 1: Remove the silky lining

-I could pull out most of it but did need some pliers and then eventually some back-up strength from Handy Andy to rip out the parts that were tacked down.

STEP 2: Once the lining was out, there still remained this decaying fuzz stuff which was the backing to the silky lining. I got it wet with a general cleaner and then used one of these scraper things to get it all off.

STEP 3: It still smelled after all that so i made up a mixture of water and bleach and scrubbed it clean

Ta' Da!

Click HERE see how i covered the inside!

linking to tutorial tuesday at lollipops

baby shower gift fun

2011-10-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

I got to celebrate 3 mommas and their new babies this weekend.One was a double surprise shower that was SO, SO fun. Our church has now successfully pulled off at least 6 surprise baby showers. (one was for baby ben and me!) We're pretty proud of our achievements.
Anyway, I went with some basic go-to gifts: burp cloths, bow-ties and burt's bees. 3 B's. :)

I was pretty excited when i saw this "Extra Energizing" body wash. I knew it would be the perfect remedy for these exhausted moms with newborns! ha, If only sleep could come in a bottle! :)

Since the two mommas at the double shower both had boys, bow ties were, of course, in order .

(Tutorial HERE)

Here's a detailed pic of the felt applique.

Felt is so easy and so wonderful to work with- no fraying or folding and comes in such beautiful colors

I got the terry cloth from towels that were on clearance at Target. The quality is SO much better than that which you find at a joanns or hobby lobby...
And the tan and blue linen are from old linen clothes of mine. I'm always happy to raid mine or my sister's "discard" pile for fun fabrics to use in projects.

Well, that's all. Baby showers are such wonderful excuses to get creative and enjoy celebrating an adorable new little life.

linking to somewhat simple

sock monkey hat

2011-10-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for waaay too many sock monkey hat pictures? great, cause here they are and you'll probably get to see many more in the coming months. :)

Ben got this hat for his birthday from Nana. She and i picked out from THIS ETSY STORE, the gal made it specially for him and then sent it out within a week from ordering.

It is the cutest thing ever...well, besides the little boy who is wearing it.

It makes me SO happy i can almost forget how bummed i am that snow is predicted for this wednesday.

She also makes super cute Owl hats along with other animal/color variations. Go check her out!

it's the little things that make life happy. We love you little monkey :)

linking to lifemadelovelyMonday

DIY: Map Book Favors

2011-10-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a little how-to for the map book favors i made for ben's birthday party. Super easy, but pictures are fun anyway.

ben's "World's Most Adorable 1yr old" birthday party

2011-10-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Ben's party. You can see the invites here. The theme was loose but worked great with things i already and the style of my house.

The road atlases i used to make the invites came in super handy for some easy bunting. I loved how it turned out and was kinda sad to take it down.

And then i just shopped my house: globes, old books, alphabet cards, a vintage suitcase, scrabble tiles, fun fabric, and best of all, a cute baby boy who wore the same overalls that Will wore at his first birthday party. :) awww

The bow-ties were fun to pass out to the guests. i used lindsey's quick no-sew tutorial for these.

Here's Ben's very own smash cake. He wasn't too interested in eating it...poor guy, i hardly put any sugar at all in the cake or frosting so it was probably a bit of a let down! ha.

I love these pictures of Will. He was soooo excited for Ben's big day. side story: in the morning while i was drawing the world picture on the chalkboard, Will was busy writing a sign for the front door with Ben's name on it. As he walked by to tape it to the door, he paused by the chalkboard, and said, "oh wow, that looks great Mom, its so cute!" There's seriously nothing like the affirmation of a 6yr old. :)

We told him that he could help Ben blow out his candle... i thought for sure he would just go for it and get it over with quickly, but instead he gently blew so Ben could take it all in. So sweet.

Happy 1st Birthday Ben. You sure are loved!

Oh, and here are the little favors for all the sweet cousins and siblings...

And....just for my own fun, here are 2 pictures of Will on his 1st bday wearing the the little overalls. :)

Linking to lollipops

fallishness randomness

2011-10-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

If you are in need a some new blog fun and lots of great laughs you should (if you haven't already!) go meet Jami at hello from the natos.

She is seriously one of the funniest people ever.

But she's also real and honest and her family has a really awesome redemption story.

jami nato also happens to be quite crafty and that is where i got my inspiration to make these burlap covered pumpkins. Aren't they cute?! I've had several of these fake pumpkins i got for next to nothing a couple of years ago and have never known what to do with them...Now i love them.

here's another little bit of fallishness.

Have you seen what our fireplace area looked like before we painted it?? Here's a picture just for you.

Blech... I hope this inspires anyone who is on the fence about painting indoor brick. i think it is just about always a very good idea. yes indeed.

Oh and did you notice that super lovely globe in the picture above baby ben's head??

My wonderful mom bought it for me at a little vintage craft fair hosted by our favorite family pumpkin farm. It has a little sticker on the front that says 1954!!! and it was only $8. I am in love. I am also in love with the fabulous dust stenciling all over the shelf. It took many weeks of not dusting to achieve that effect.

Well, i guess that's probably all the globe pictures you'd want to see...

Hope you're having a great weekend...wow, i just said weekend. and its only wednesday. I think i might be looking forward to this weekend a little too much. Five of my best girlfriends from junior high are getting together for a sleepover. This will be the first sleep-over we've had together since we were all 14. Pretty excited about this. :)

linking to lollipops

Book-Inspired Finger Puppets

2011-10-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

One of Ben's little buddies had his first birthday just 7 days after his own. For this special guy i bought a book by one of our very favorite children's authors, Sandra Boynton and then made these simple little finger puppets to make it extra fun.

I finished them while watching a movie with handy andy, and besides the teeny scraps of felt all over the couch and the long hot glue strings "EVERYWHERE" (quote by handy andy), it was super easy and lots of fun and i can't wait to make characters from another book.

Speaking of picking out another book, what are your children's book favorites?? I'm kind of wanting to expand our board book library.. i think the majority of what we used to have has been eaten or destroyed by the older 3. Suggestions please :)

linking to sugar and dots and sewmuchado and let birdz fly

DIY gift for kids to make

2011-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

I think my oldest, Will, might turn out to my crafty buddy. Last year he saw a version of these "monsters" in a craft book for kids and became super passionate about making them. He wrote out a list of at least 15 people he wanted to give them to as Christmas presents. I think we ended up finishing about 5, but i loved his enthusiasm and i loved that he could be involved in the whole process.

Here's one he made for his dad for father's day

For Ben's birthday, Will set out to make one for his little buddy. Here's how your little kiddo can make one too!

1) Dig through old knit shirts and felt scraps until your kiddo finds the perfect material for his or her "buddy".

2) Help him draw an outline.

3) Draw and cut out shapes for eyes, mouth, patches etc.

4) Sew OR hot glue. We decided to sew this time because Will was interested in using my machine. He loved pressing the foot and helping me lead the fabric through.
**However, hot glueing (inside out) works GREAT too and is faster/easier in some ways.

**The first year we were a little more detail oriented and Will got to practice using a needle and embroidery floss to stitch around the eyes, mouth and pirate patch. This takes a LONG time, so we gradually ditched this step, even though it is cute.

5) Stuff it- one of his favorite parts! (In the ones we made last year we added dried beans after we stuffed
6) Then glue or sew the bottom shut.

7) Give it to the birthday boy

8) If the recipient doesn't act interested, shove it in their face while making obnoxious monster noises! :)

linking to: jaqsstudio

ben's party invites

2011-10-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

I don't usually send out real invites to little family parties, but this idea came to me fast and besides, it's Ben's first birthday, and he's adorable...so he deserves a little more effort. ;)

Handy Andy completely refused my request to cut up one of our hardbound world atlases (good thing someone is keeping me in check)...so i had to get creative. Happily i found 2 big US road atlases at goodwill that worked great. And each for only .99.

The rest was super easy: little triangles, pretty card stock and simple white envelopes with a piece of map glued into the flap.

Hopefully these will get me going on the rest of the party planning, which is now 3 days from now. If nothing else, everyone can bring their invitations and stick them to the wall for decoration ;)

love that handy andy...

2011-10-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

I love that handy andy can read my mind.
He didn't get home from his most trip until 11:30pm but he knew that stopping by Safeway and picking up some ice cream would still be a very good idea.
AND he knew that even though he was kinda leaning toward the raspberry/chocolate, he had better go with chocolate chip cookie dough instead (my favorite).
And because we are total party animals and he knew that i reallllly wanted to watch parks and recreation (our new favorite show!) he even suggested watching an episode while we ate our ice cream.
Such a great guy.

baby ben's birthday balloons

2011-10-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ben loves balloons.

In fact, i think the other 3 kiddos were a little taken aback when they realized how fiercely he could scream when ever they tried to touch, let alone take any of his balloons.

He was perfectly happy crawling all over with them safely intertwined in his sweaty, chubby little fingers.

And whenever he did get a little sad (like he started to be in the pic above) all he had to do was look up at his balloons and everything was right with the world again.

Even days later when most of them had fallen and were disposed of quickly and quietly, he still hung onto the remaining few and lived up the last bit of balloon-induced happiness.

Now you can look forward to next year, buddy! :)

diaper box storage

2011-09-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've been busy trying to make and keep our school/craft/play room organized, functional and productive... the craft corner is turning out to be the biggest challenge of the room. My goal is to create more white space to make it feel less cluttered and one area that i tackled this week was above my sewing desk. The mismatched baskets full of fabric up on top of the shelf needed to go. I grabbed 3 empty diaper boxes and did a little painting.

1) first i primed it to help cover the bright colors, then painted a couple coats of blue using some left-over paint samples from Ben's nursery.

2) When the paint was dry i duck-taped the sides down

And that's it, nice, sturdy, free storage. :)

My Ben

2011-09-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Baby Ben turned one year old today.

He started out pretty scrawny-just over 6lbs but still as cute as ever.

He has been a calm, sweet, mellow, squishy little gift straight from Jesus since the very first day.

In a few short months he got nice and chubby

He has lived this first year of his little life under the constant (and sometimes smothering) love of his 2 sisters and adoring big brother.

He still has dark hair which makes me so happy.
He has been a wonderful sleeper even though i thought for sure i would ruin his sleeping habits with all the holding and moby wrap-wearing i did with him as a newborn. Those warm snuggle times were priceless.

Our favorite names for him are, of course, Baby Ben. But I also love, Benny Boy, Benjamin Button, Benjamin Bunny and the Benster.

I think Bow-Ties were made for him.

He loves his bottle, but he loves me more. :)

When he has been especially offended, his little face gets all blotchy and red.

This was his favorite face for several months. It's one of my trademark faces so i'm quite pleased that he picked it up.

Oh Ben!

You bring tremendous joy to our little family, we love you more than you could ever know and please don't grow up any more.

Happy Birthday, friend. Momma loves you.

First time for everything

2011-09-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, i've been kinda out of touch with the little blog here lately. But don't worry, we're still here. We got hit with a virus early in the month and by the time it made its way to all 6 of us, we feel like we've been sick for 3 weeks. Anyway, next time someone gets sick i think maybe i'll just go ahead and swab her mouth, stick that swab in everyone else's mouths, THEN hand out huge lollipops to weaken everyone's immune systems. We'd all be sick together and then MOVE on with life.

But on the up side, i had the opportunity to mow the lawn for the first time ever this last week. ALL by myself! Since Handy Andy was especially stricken with the cold + allergies, i thought it would be nice to give his sinuses a break. woohoo for excitement and adventure. It was actually quite nice, and the kids found it rather entertaining to watch me. Sophie was my little shadow and gave me thumb ups and lots of encouragement. ;)

Anyway, i think we're on the mend and i might even have a project to show you before the week is out.
Hope you all have been staying well and enjoying the nice fall days

sad to say good-bye...

2011-09-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

....to these 3 little ladies

I was so very happy to hear that 3 little Canadian girls wanted to adopt them but now that they are all ready to ship out i'm kinda sad to see em go. :)

However, before i did, i thought i'd at least let you meet the newest one. In honor of the little girl she is being given to, her name is Lily-Rose. Isn't that such a sweet name?

She has a chambray body with 2 red vintage buttons, a sweet little yellow skirt with pockets, and long striped seer-sucker legs. oh and a little removable felt pin in her hair.

Her legs are my favorite part, they will be just perfect for chubby little baby hands to grab hold of and pull around the house.
Although when Handy Andy saw her for the first time, he looked at me with a face that kinda said, "ummm, sweetie, did you realize the legs were almost twice the doll's height?? cause, they are. hope you're ok with that." isn't it sweet that he even cares. :-) yep, i'm cool with it and i think the baby will be too.

Well, anyway, i guess that's all except that i'm afraid my little dollie shop will probably be deserted for awhile now. oh well. :)

camping, check.

2011-09-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Well, at the end of august we crossed off one of the last things on our summer list. Camping.

Our church organizes a young families camping trip each summer. They take care of all the food, tableware etc. so all we have to do is pack our entire house into our van, set up our tent, play and try to get a little sleep, if that's even possible.

We had a great time.

i mean seriously, with hot dogs, s'mores, dirt, fire, rocks and friends, how could anyone not have a great time?! :)

And amazingly, none of the twenty five kids (who all under 7 years old!) got hurt, lost or eaten by a bear. None of the adults got much sleep, but it was worth it....at least for one night. :)

Can't wait till next year!

happy day at target (my favorite shirt is back!)

2011-09-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you to my best wardrobe friend last year....this lovely gray and white stripe knit shirt from none other but...Target. I bought it randomly last year (on sale for $9 instead of a VERY pricey $12.00! ha) and wore it all. the. time I was going to go look back in my archives and post some proof of how often i wore this, but just believe me, i wore it with everything: with sweaters, under dresses, under short sleeve shirts, with skirts... There's just something about these stripes and the shade of gray that went with everything.

So, recently i have been lamenting how i wish it was from a more expensive store so that maybe it would have held up better than the average 1 season wear i usually get out of Target clothes.
But either way, regardless of how much i'm willing to pay, i can't always find just what i'm looking for at any store and i had pretty much given up hope of finding a replacement for this greatness until......

last week, i was at......Target, of course, and what should i see? But my favorite shirt brought back this season with just a couple little changes (crew neck and gray knit around the neck). OH HAPPY DAY!

And then, i found these super fun shoes for $14.99. They are SO great. i love everything about them. And you will too, just look.

funky hemp braiding, perfectly distressed gray color, gray stripe elastic......AND

the cutest little owls inside. Nothing could make my feet happier....well, maybe a pedicure...

Aren't they just wonderful?! yay for happiness in the little things. And yay for Target. In the end, what would i do with it that fabulous place? Even if their quality doesn't last forever, i feel great about walking away with this kind of happiness for the price i paid. even if i have to repeat myself each year. ;)

cheesy sisters!

2011-09-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

So thankful for these girls. They are a HANDFUL to be sure, but without them, life would be dull and sad and much less pink and completely void of "pincesses", bunny and doggie infatuations, little painted toenails, and sweet little girly giggles.

And they really love each other too. Which makes me SO very happy. My sister was and is my bestest girlfriend ever and growing up with her was one of the biggest blessings in my life.

I'm so thankful my girls have each other.

Oh, and i bought these dresses at Target a few days after i had my ultrasound revealing the fact that i was carrying twin girls. I don't know what possessed me to buy two 3T dresses but it is certainly very sweet to see my girls wearing them after seeing them hang in their closet for 3 years. :)

1st school day

2011-09-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it through our first day and actually had a lot of fun. The kids totally got into the teacher/mom phenomenon. The girls actually took it very literally; at one point madeline bumped her leg and was kinda crying. i, of course, said "awww, are you okay?" Sophie piped up, "Are you the mom now, instead of the teacher since Madeline got hurt??" haha :) And every time we were in the school room, Madeline would call to me with, "Teacher, Teacher!"

Today was rainy, cloudy and a bit chilly, which ended up being a perfect day for the first day of school. Although, since it was so cloudy these pictures turned out kinda blah and grainy. I think Sister needs to come over and work some first day of school picture magic. How bout it? :)

Will had a bit of rough start. he woke up late and then got slammed with the news that he had to get dressed today- i know, how rude. His argument was, "jammies are clothes too." And then handy andy added insult to injury when he took Will into the bathroom to tame his bed head. To this he argued, "i really, really like bed hair." Don't we all.

But after a champion breakfast of doughnuts he got into the spirit and had a great day. He even yelled "YAY, its school time again!!' when the lunch recess "bell" rung. (who knows how long this enthusiasm will last, but i'll enjoy it while its here!)

He loved playing along with the whole teacher/ Mom thing and even "called" his teacher during lunch to chat about what the afternoon would hold. I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said, "the cookie baking experiment and Calendar time. " awwww

Madeline was a little spacey yet adorable, as always. She happily followed along with the activities but definitely in her own way. When Will and Sophie were drawing pictures in their science notebooks about their cookie baking predictions, she was drawing and dreaming about "bunnies..."

Sophie was eager from the beginning. Eager to answer questions, take turns, use supplies, follow directions, and tell her brother and sister what to do as well. :) Love her. And she even wore a skirt today without a fuss. Granted, it was green, which is her all-time favorite color, but still. :)

Here's a shot of the oh so talented administration. heehee (andy has a principal tag on if you couldn't tell) We love being professional. haha.

Oh and Ben. Little baby Ben was just giddy this morning. Maybe he smelled the doughnuts. But whatever it was, he was definitely in the spirit. :)

School Room Tour is coming soon. So hang onto your seats.

***Just had to add these ones that i took this afternoon. Since we were doing a science "experiment" Will was adamant about the safety goggles. safety first all the way. I love how kids think the dorkiest things are cool.

Sail ho!

2011-08-31T03:27:00.000-07:00

I love how when kids see 2 sheets hanging out on a rope to dry, right away they see a magnificent pirate ship waiting to be sailed. These 3 spent nearly all day on board.

Sophie was, of course, the Captain. Will was "all the other pirates who did important jobs like hoisting the sails and such." and Madeline was the "princess". of course.

There were lots and LOTS of "ARRRH! arrrh! Arrrhs!" going on. As well as lots of fighting off the bad guys with their little lego swords. (skillfully made and continually repaired by pirate Will)

(I love how he's using his toes in this one) Will was very specific with this outfit. He searched high and low for these red shorts because in his mind these were the epitome of pirate apparel. Especially paired with his orange shirt and bandana. :)

oh look! the princess came on deck

Ahoy, Matey!

linking to

quick ruffled gift

2011-08-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

I went to Target in search for a baby girl gift last week and found all 4 of these coordinating pieces on clearance and the perfect size for next spring. But....i thought the little white hoodie needing a little sprucing up...besides, all white is kind of an accident waiting to happen so i thought some ruffles in the front would make some nice camouflage. :)

I cut these strips out of some old knit t-shirts. Then i adjusted my tension to a loose basting type stitch that gathered it up all on its own. Then i stretched them out a bit and sewed them onto the jackets.

This quick little clippy to finished it off. This is super simple, but if you'd like a little how-to, you can look at this tutorial HERE.

framed chalkboard!

2011-08-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hello? Hello! So, my life is kinda going in spurts recently. For a few days i get super motivated, productive and on top of life and then the loooong list of life's to-do's overwhelms me and i kinda run around in circles starting and stopping new tasks and generally just getting more overwhelmed...Last week was like that, hence, my absence. But anyway, this is a new week. My kitchen is clean and i'm ready to start fresh. :)

So, this chalkboard project is not all that original but Handy Andy put a twist on it that is pure genius. (Although, knowing how many crazy talented people are out there in the world wide web, this twist is probably not all that original... But in MY world, he takes the cake.)

Materials: * "hard board"- this came in a gigantic sheet at lowes for about $6 bucks. i measured my frame and had them cut it to size....but here's the twist. Don't measure the inside of the frame like you would if you were measuring the glass that fits inside the frame edge. Instead, just roughly measure the outside so it not go past the outer frame edge. THUS, creating a perfect lip for the chalk and eraser! Does that make sense? (There are a few pictures below that illustrate what i mean)

* Frame (i spray-painted this one yellow) Oh, and if your frame has the little metal pokey things that keep the glass/backing from falling out, you'll need to take pliers and remove them. You WON'T be putting the chalkboard inside of those!
* Chalk board spray paint.

1)Spray frame **make sure you paint the inner edge- which is usually covered by the picture/glass!
2)Spray the chalk paint onto the hardboard and allow to dry. btw, this took LOTS of coats to get good coverage!
3) "Season" the board by rubbing chalk all over it and then smearing it with lots of little hands.

4) Place the board on the back of the frame and staple onto the back outer edge of frame.

Do you see the perfect little lip that was created?!?! cool, eh?

All done and ready to hang in the school room...actually its already been hung in the school room. But then i had handy andy unhang it. I promised that this time i'm actually going to spend time thinking about where i want it hung before i ask him to pound more holes. :)

{linking to: life made lovely and skip to my lou and the lettered cottage!}

toddler aprons

2011-08-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

This is a somewhat condensed apron tutorial. Given the fact that i had never made an apron OR used bias tape before this project, i found it extremely comical even taking pictures of the process. I am soooo far from knowing what i'm doing but winging it usually works for me and besides, kid aprons and bias tape are clearly very user-friendly. Otherwise, i would never have made it through...
Nevertheless, i did still want to give a brief how-to in case there is someone out there who needs first-hand assurance that a project like this is simple and easy and should not be intimidating in the least.

Now, what was the occasion that i should get it into my head to make these?? None other than my adorable little niece and nephew's birthday. You can see all the lovely details of their super cute ice cream party HERE at my sister's cool blog. :)

Alrighty, well, here's what you need:

* Apron fabric (this was kind of like a duck cloth but a little more flexible)
* Template- I used this home depot apron, although i made it a couple inches bigger all around.
*1 piece of coordinating pocket fabric
*1 package of double fold bias tape (if you get 2 packages you would have enough to make the neck strap out of the bias tape as well. I chose however, to just buy 1 pkg and make it out of the apron material instead)

*Neck Strap- mine was about 3x15 inches

1) After your apron is cut out, then cut the pocket, fold, iron and then sew the top edge (this is not pictured as i completely forgot about this step until i had pinned the whole apron! ha:))

2) Pin pocket onto apron

3) Begin pinning bias tape, leaving some extra on the edges to turn under

4) for the waist ties, start a new piece of tape, overlap the bottom piece and then continue it up towards the top of the apron. make sure you leave enough to tie.

5) Fold over the top edges

6) Sew all around the edges of the apron. Don't forget to sew the apron ties shut!

7) Sew the bottom of the pocket to the apron. And sew vertically on the pocket to create divisions

8) Fold neck strap fabric in half (lengthwise), right side in, sew and flip right side out, iron and top stitch.

9) Sew neck straps on securely

Voila' Two little apron/ art smocks!

Sister always dresses her kids respectably (see picture above? yeah well, her lil guy loves to wear those bow-ties and her cutie pie girl is always in a girly dress. wish it would rub off on their cousins....Oh Well) so i figured these would come in handy for even everyday marker activities. :)

Packaged up and ready for fun

linking to: A bowl full of lemons and sewmuchado

california

2011-08-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

**I know other people's vacation pictures aren't exactly the most fascinating to look at, but like i've said before, this blog might be the only "scrapbook" my family ever has, so, just scroll through them quickly.;)

For Will's 6th Birthday Andy and i decided to take him on a quick California adventure. He had never flown on a big plane and since his daddy is a pilot and all, we thought it was about time. So, we made arrangements with our wonderful grandparents to take care of the other 3, put ourselves on stand-by tickets and hoped for the best. Amazingly, we got on the first flight, Andy and Will even got to sit by each other and we arrived in CA by 9:30am.

Will's primary wish was to see the ocean, but then his Nana offered to give a day in Disneyland to him for his birthday...so, we got off the plane, our super fabulous friends picked us up and let us take their car to the Magical Kingdom.

This was Andy's first visit to Disneyland as well which made it even more fun.

The jungle cruise was our first ride and Will kept this expression the entire time- except when he was truly ducking to get away from the dangerous hippos and other wild animals. Afterwards, we had a big talk about animatronics which definitely cleared up some things for him. ;)

His favorite part of disneyland was, by far, everything pirate related. Although, he was extremely reluctant to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, and we started feeling like bad parents for pushing him to go through with it. Thankfully though, he had a great time and now calls it his "favorite ride ever" and wants to go on it 5 times in a row the next time we're at Disneyland.

We stayed all day, watched the parade and the fireworks, went on nearly all the rides and didn't leave the park until closing. It was a great day with lots of memories. Then we drove our friends' car back to their house and stayed the night with them. We are SO thankful for the blessing of such wonderful friends who hosted us all 3 days!

The rest of our little vacation was spent just hanging out, shopping, relaxing and playing at the beach.

Will absolutely loved his first ocean experience. He was adorable.

On our way home!

A Disneyland Party

2011-08-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Will has been talking about wanting to see the ocean for the last 2+ years. So, Andy and i got it into our heads to try and make that wish come true for his 6th birthday. We made did make it out to CA on his stand-by tickets and were planning on just living it up at the beach....but then, Will's Nana had the idea to give Will a day at Disneyland for his birthday. So....we hopped off the plane in LA and went straight to the "happiest place on earth". Anyway, we had a great time (pictures coming), but when we got back home we still needed to have a little bday party with family so I decided to carry the "magic" back home and make it a Disneyland party.

I really tried to keep it inexpensive and use what i already had as much as possible.
So...the banner and bunting was just paper and free-hand letters, and all the rest of the decor was just stuff we had on hand or could easily make. Oh, and i printed out some pics from disneyland and stuck them all around. :)

Of course, Will's favorite ride was the Pirates of the Caribbean so Mickey definitely had to share center stage at the party.

The ship was super easy...especially thanks to Handy Andy who made it his business to create accurate sails for the ship.

the mickey ears, were just stiff black felt glued onto headbands, when i ran out of headbands i glued some onto bobby pins for the adults. Side note: Buy headbands at the dollar store. I got a pack of 6 for $1. Packs at Target or Walmart were at least $4. :)

Disney character pez dispensers were from the dollar store too!

Since it was MY birthday too, its become tradition that i at least get my own cake at our shared party. This year my brother in law made this most fabulous lime cheesecake. It was the BEST thing ever. Thanks Nathan!

Cousins

My lovely sister in law and mom in law. Don't they look great in their mickey ears?!

Little Eric was all ready for the party too. Isn't my newest nephew the cutest?!

Oh Baby Ben, everyone knows you're the cutest too.

Happy Birthday buddy! We love you!

Oh, funny story: So, Will and i had been talking about the disneyland bday party idea for a couple of days before the day and had been throwing out ideas etc. Well, the day before the party, we were in the car and he, (completely seriously) started talking about trying to find a store or somewhere where we could find the right parts to maybe make the pirates of the caribbean ride. "Like some gears, a boat, robots etc." Anyway, there was too much craziness going on in the car at the moment so i didn't respond to him then which was fortunate because i kinda panicked. I started realizing that somehow i had given him cause to totally blow his expectations for the party waaaay out of proportion and was consequently going to be super disappointed with the results.

That night at bedtime i knew i needed to talk to him. I started out with, "Soooo buddy, i think we need to talk about your birthday party tomorrow...i know we're really excited about the disneyland theme and i love how you have tons of really great ideas....but, i know today you were talking about maybe trying to buy parts to make the pirate ride...and i just wanted to let you know that as cool as that would be... we're just really not going to be able to do that....so....."

Well, you should have seen his face...it was like he had just pulled off the biggest joke ever without even trying to make one. He said, "Mom! i knoooow we can't build the pirate ride! That would like take a whole YEAR! There's not even any way it would fit in our backyard!!!" then he just giggled and giggled and giggled and reveled in the fact that he had totally fooled me. It was a great moment and definitely made me realize how much my little guy is growing up. :)

i can see clearly now...

2011-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

As i (Andy) write this post, i can't get this song out of my head:

- it's a good song, so that's ok.

It relates as this is what our UV filter used to look

like after our beach excursion.

After a little rinse in clean water,

and a 10 min soak in the same,

meanwhile, cute photo op sans filter.

Used a non-scratching lens cloth and brush to polish,

hair dryer (on cool, mind you) to get it really dry,

and .... I can see clearly now...

mostly.

Just for all you non-filter users, remember to practice safe photography and always use lens protection.

Your lens and pocketbook will thank you.

how to make "white space" happen

2011-08-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

So, i'm sure you remember my chaotic "before" picture of this school room shelf? Well, as i mentioned earlier, i had previously tried to organize it by getting several plastic containers AND putting labels on them. Buuuuuut, it still looked messy and disorganized. THEN my friend mentioned the whole "white space" idea and i instantly knew that my clear plastic bins were the problem. However, i had just spent money on them and besides, sturdy, plastic, solid white containers are not to be had in my neck of the woods. I did found some online at IKEA and The Container Store, but those were inconvenient and more expensive than the walmart sterilite bins i already had.

So, what did i do with this clear plastic problem of mine??

Well, I bought a couple cans of Krylon FUSION spray paint for plastic. It took about 2 coats, and i only did 3 sides on most of the containers to save on paint. But in the end, the fronts and sides were nice and opaque.

Cool, right?! i will admit that it can rub/chip off just a bit, but it gave me the white space that i needed and in a hurry and will do just fine until i decide to replace them. (IKEA did just move an hour away from me!!!)
Oh, and just fyi, the green crates are from Target this season. They were about $3.50 a piece.

There you have it, now you can make white space happen too. :-)

linking to

Stay Connected!

2011-08-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hello this is Andy!

I just wanted to point out a couple features - some old, some new - that will allow you keep up with our blog! Look to the left---------->

You'll see an old option "follow us by email" that sends you a handy dandy email when we add something new. Below it is a new option for those tech savvy users of RSS readers - just click on the option you'd like to subscribe to and viola` meg+andy will pop up in your reader!

I have been long absent, but do not fear, there will be some new posts from me in the nearer future...
maybe? :-)

Andrew

Shelves Organized!

2011-08-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

Welllll, remember these lovely little peeks into the disastrous state of our "plool"room (this, btw, is handy andy's new name for the play/school room. isn't he clever..) Anyway, I'm very happy to show you a picture of some real progress. i have a feeling some of you might have been a bit concerned. Now, you can see for yourself that progress is being made. [at least on this side of the room] ;)

Here is the before of our shelf area with some handy arrows highlighting the most obvious problems

BEFORE:

Now granted, this picture was taken at the worst of this shelf's disfunction. But even at its best, it still looked cluttered. Even after i put labels on every plastic bin (which i thought would surely solve the problem) it still looked cluttered and i couldn't exactly figure out why.

Until....an old friend who also happens to be a professional organizer (how did i become friends with her?!) happened to mention the term "white space" to me. Do you all know about this??

My bins were clear- which means even though all the stuff was organized and nicely contained AND had nice little labels, the shelves still looked cluttered because there wasn't any solid "white space". Well...that's about all i know about it, but just knowing this much has helped my naturally unorganized brain a TON.

So. Here's.....the AFTER:

Yay for progress! Can't wait to show you the rest...

linking to life made lovely

popsicles

2011-08-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Have you made popsicles yet this summer?! They have been on our summer list and so, as much as i dislike the ALL-OVER sticky mess that comes with it, we finally made some. And they are yummy. And fun. And worth it. :)

Here's what you need for our Orange Cream "recipe"

*Little plastic "bathroom cups"
*Popsicle sticks
*A banana, sliced into medium thick slices
*Orange juice
*Yogurt, plain or flavored

1) Have kids stick a popsicle stick into a banana slice. And place in bottom of cup. This way the sticks stand up in the cup!
2) If you are using plain yogurt add a little honey, sugar or agave syrup to sweeten. Then fill half of cup with the yogurt
3) Fill the rest up with oj
4) Place cups in a baking dish and stick in freezer for several hours. We discovered that they take a bit longer to freeze inside the dish but it does help to prevent sticky spills all over the freezer.
5) When firm to touch, gently squeeze the bottom of the plastic cup and your popsicle will POP right out. :)

Do you have an easy popsicle recipe to share?? There are a few more weeks left in summer and i'm sure the kids are going to ask to do this again. :)

Don't you LOVE this mouth-full-of-summer-goodness face. :)

linking to Just a Girl

Book Storage System

2011-08-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

I'm here to share a little system that i {HOPE} will preserve my sanity and maybe yours too.
The kid books in the playroom have always been a source of irritation. No matter how many bins i put on the shelf to keep them standing up right, or how many times i tried to organize them into different categories etc, they ALWAYS ended up in a disorganized, half stacked, mostly stuffed-in-bins heap. Plus i could never find the right book at the right time. NOW, they all happily reside in color coded bins according to theme with matching labels on the spines. Here's how:

*Organize your books into as many categories as you want or have room for.
*Buy that # of clear plastic bins and sticky labels (1x3inch)
*Spray paint in the same # of colors.

*Spray paint the labels. Some colors took a couple coats to get a good coverage

*Since some of my books were extremely thin i realized i could cut the page of labels into halves or smaller

Here's one of my piles. These happens to be the non-fiction/science-related pile and since i had so many i went ahead and gave them two bins

*Wrap the label on the spine. i chose to wrap it close to the top so the kids would notice more easily.

*I might end up wrapping a small piece of clear shipping tape over the label to better secure it, but so far they seem to be sticking really well.

Ta-Da! Now, i can confidently say, "Go put the books away" and know that they should be able to do it neatly and quickly every time! Sanity restored! .....at least in this one area! :)

p.s. in case you are curious, here's the list of my bin categories:
orange: non-fiction/learning books
yellow: fiction: read-aloud/early reader type books
dark blue: poetry/rhyme books
light blue: board books
green: children's bible-related books

linking to A bowl full of lemons and SerenityYou

it's OUR birthday!

2011-08-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

My birthday has always been my favorite holiday (i know, how much more self-centered can i get?!) so when our first baby's due date was set for August 5th- MY birthday, i wasn't quite sure how i'd feel about sharing the spotlight. Either way, on my 22nd birthday, 6 years ago my sweet little Will was born and he was indeed the best birthday gift ever. And i think sharing the day has been good for us both.

Here's the card i found on my pillow that he had made for me last night all on his own.

Here's Handy Andy and Will about to leave on their annual "Birthday Breakfast Bike Ride". Will looks forward to this all year long. Even though A. had to leave on a trip at lunchtime, fitting this tradition in made all the difference for this birthday boy.

Awwww, our little SIX year old!!

After the boys got back i had to make a few quick errands to get food for Andy's trip. While i was away, this fabulous banner was created. I don't think i'll ever want to take it down. :)

And mostly for my own information since my memory is super horrible, here's what we did the rest of the day:
*Said good-bye to Daddy *Ate lunch *Got out the slip n slide, realized it had too many holes to inflate and spray properly. Dealt with LOTS of tears about the situation, found some baby shampoo and a sprinkler head, tried to convince the devastated birthday boy that the S&S would still work, had a certain little girl poop in her swimsuit, finally everyone gave it a try and had fun in the water * Had quiet times, *Read books *Watched a show *had a picnic snack dinner on the living room floor *picked up our CSA fruit share, *Went to get Frozen Yogurt with our cousins, Got balloons AND a discount for our bdays *picked up a Redbox kids movie *Made popcorn, put Ben to bed, watched movie, *Bedtime, this involved crying (girl drama crying to be exact)

progress??

2011-07-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm happy to report that our play/school room room is coming along quite nicely as you can clearly see in this picture. ha.

I promised Handy Andy that since our "To-Do" list is a mile long, i would only paint this room if i could get it done while he was on a trip. Well, i did it! After 10 million paint chips taped to the wall i decided on "Eloquent Ivory" by Glidden, bought a gallon and used every spare moment (even if the kids ended up tunneling in the huge pile while i painted) to get it done while he was flying. And yes, ended up with paint splotches all over us, but it was worth it. Handy Andy on the other hand had to be very optimistic to see that this "progress" was worth it instead of seeing it as a huge step in the opposite direction. And to be honest, when i stepped back and saw the gigantic mess i had created, i was kinda doubtful myself.

But anyway, thanks to Handy Andy taking the kids to the pool every afternoon this week, this huge pile no longer exists, things are finding a home, (which has frequently been the trash), and it is looking better. for the most part.

Thriftty Thursday- Vintage Song Books

2011-07-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

I found these books at the same garage sale as the wooden puzzles. The gal was selling them for .10 a piece! I couldn't believe it, but quickly snatched them all up. The colors are SO beautiful. I often just sit and flip through them- getting more color inspiration than from a style magazine.

They are filled with adorable songs and gorgeous pictures.

This one is a favorite

Good thing at least one of us in the house is musically inclined (It's the handy one, in case you're wondering.) or we'd never know what most of these sound like.

The bindings are so beautiful- Aren't the color combinations perfect? lime and burnt orange, purple and robin egg blue, navy and yellow...so fun. Anyway, now i'm trying to figure out the right way to display them.

The 1950's were so cool.

sunglass case/ color fail?

2011-07-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

I can't even count how many times i've finished a project only to be a little disappointed with the outcome. This project is just one example.

A sweet friend mentioned in passing one day that her sunglasses didn't fit in a standard sunglass case and how a felt one would be nice to protect them from the inside of her purse. Right away i had in my head to make her one. But...i kinda forgot about it until Sunday morning and since it happened to be her last day before moving out of state, i quickly got out my felt and tried to put it together before church.

In my head i thought these colors would look better, but now i can't really decide if i like it or not. Of course, once i finished with it, i realized i only had a 45 min to get myself and the kids out of our pjs and ready for church, so there wasn't any time to fiddle...but anyway, putting together colors is HARD- at least for me. :)

Either way, the rest of it turned out pretty well. Mostly due to the fact that it was easy- just four layers of felt, a small piece of elastic sewn into the middle of one side, a cute vintage button on the other side, and then sewn together around the 3 sides, leaving the edge exposed. Then i sewed on the flower and hot glued the edges so they wouldn't get crumpled inside her purse.

If my sunglasses weren't just a cheap $9 pair from Target i might be inspired to try out a new color combo and make one for myself...OR maybe handy andy would like a black, white and gold combo with a little felt airplane symbol?! It could very well be the hot new trend in the pilot world...hmmm. ;)

motherhood is a {hard} calling

2011-07-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Being a mom is hard. Our kids are adorable and precious and cute and there are tons of joys and sweet moments but its still hard. really, really hard. Kids know how to push buttons, their emotions are complicated, there's always drama: the highs are so high and the lows are crazy low. They have needs and wants all.the.time, and they rarely appreciate what it takes to keep everything going, let alone to make the fun stuff happen. They sin: their bad attitudes and character flaws make me cringe. they fight, complain and whine. They don't eat, sleep or go potty on command. They require teaching, explaining, consequences, training and re-training. They make messes, have fits, try my patience and bring me to tears of frustration like i've never experienced before.

I am often guilty of living in "wishland"- just wishing i could have a quiet night, a peaceful nap time, an uninterrupted hour to craft, a day without any discipline issues..blah, blah, blah.
But the fact is, they are gifts to me. I am their mom and being their mom is not a hobby, its a calling. and it requires sacrifice. I read this article by a fellow mom tonight and it convicted me more than anything i have ever heard. Here's a quote that brings it all into perspective.

"Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work. Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone."
{click here to read the full article}

A few weeks ago, i was especially stressed; the kids had been acting out, there was tons to do on my list, i was tired and cranky and apparently all that showed on my face without me realizing it. That is until, Sophie came up to me and with a sweetly concerned look, put her hand out to touch me and asked, "Mommy, what is wrong with your face? It is sad." I'd like to think my kids surely don't notice and aren't affected by MY sin, but i know that isn't true and that's why this article was something i SO needed to hear and hopefully remember. Anyway, i know this post is fairly random and a bit out of no where, but since i don't journal, this blog is the best place to keep record of it. :) Hopefully it will encourage and challenge you too. :)

A simple project is coming tomorrow. OH, and this sweet picture of Baby Ben and me was taken by my lovely sister.

linking to: capturing motherhood/

calm kids=pictures in focus

2011-07-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

The kids were unusually still the other day while we were sitting on the front porch, so i quickly took the opportunity to try and get some pictures in focus, for once. :)

those eyelashes....definitely not from my side

and then... the calm started to wear off :)

Thanks, kiddos!

thrifty thursday: chalkboard

2011-07-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

I realize everyone is on a chalkboard kick these days....but i really had no idea what i was missing out on until my mom found this one for me at a garage sale for $5. I LOVE it! I actually think i need another one, because its so nice to have our "Summer List" printed out all the time but it would also be nice to have another one to do fun things like this and this without having to erase and rewrite. Either way, chalkboards are the way to go. Thanks Mom!

And if you're interested in making a Magnetic chalkboard (i'm thinking this could be my 2nd one) my sister so kindly posted a tutorial of the one she made right here. :)

school/play/craft room panic

2011-07-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

So, i was walking in Target today and had a mini panic attack when i turned a corner towards the back of the store and realized i had just entered School Supply World. I have always felt a twinge of anxiety when school supplies show up in all the stores towards the end of july. Even when i was little, i felt annoyed that the stores were stealing my last few weeks of summer...the same way i feel when i see Christmas decor in Hobby Lobby by August....grrrr.

Anyway, today the anxiety was because i promised myself i wouldn't buy the fun stuff like markers, crayons, paper, glue, notebooks etc. until my school/play/craft room is ready for September- aka KINDERGARTEN! And boy, is it a LONG way from ready. For the record, i know we could start kindergarten on our kitchen table [and that's probably where we'll end up eventually] but for me, and my mental state, its very important to have our school space official and organized before we start our first year. So, right now i'm making lists, collecting paint chips, sorting through junk, moving furniture and hoping to start making some real progress soon. In the meantime i thought i'd share some inspiration photos. The color in these just makes me happy. :)

{pioneer woman}

{anthropology}

{land of nod}

{thehandmadehome.net}

{http://megduerksen.typepad.com/whatever/}

And just to keep it really real, here's a photo taken of our school room a few months ago. I'm happy to report it hasn't looked this bad since this pic was taken. yikes. Stay in touch. i'll keep ya updated.

wedding bells

2011-07-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

My sweet little mom got married a week ago. It was simple yet very lovely and we're so happy for them both. Here are some pics a friend took of the evening.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Isn't she cute!

Oh, and see the poofs in the background?? Sister i stayed up until 12am the night before the wedding making tons and tons of these because we had a vision. Not a very clear vision but we knew it would have to involve poofs and lights somehow. And thanks to Handy Andy, we didn't have "poof" bombs falling all night. (15 min. after she and i finished taping all 20+ poofs to the ceiling, they started randomly falling down one by one. So...Andy had to go back through, tie them to push pins and re-attach them to the ceiling. He's so handy. and nice.)

Here's handy Andy's wonderful younger sister, Bethany and my Madeline. We coaxed Madeline to smile for the first one with the promise that after a "serious" one we'd let her show off her "silly skills".

And here's the most pathetic picture of the night- Sophie mourning the loss of her Nana. In almost every picture of the reception- from toasts to exiting down the church steps, Sophie was at Nana's side....and then the inevitable came- she had to go. in the car. with her husband. without sophie. There were many, many, many tears. All the way home in fact. So much for being the MAMA. oh well. :)

Here's a little happier note to end on- the sweetest mom ever and the most wonderful friend, who also just happens to be my lovely Sister.

a mama and baby gift

2011-07-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Last night i got to go to a surprise "Pampering" shower for a dear friend who just had her 5th little boy. If any mama deserves some pampering, it is she. Anyway, since she already has the essentials it was super fun to put together this little assortment of "extras".

Her nursery theme is orange, aqua and brown so i kinda started out with those colors in mind for the little monogrammed onesie and then it was just fun to keep the color theme going. I don't know about you, but putting gifts together doesn't always come easily for me, so when they do, it feels like big deal and i thought ya'll might like to see and maybe be inspired. :)

Here's the onesie- super easy, just felt sewed on top of a purchased onesie. (It was nice that his initial was such a simple one!)

The little man definitely needed a bow-tie (made using this tutorial)

I was so excited to find this super cute orange necklace at a little boutique (AND for 50% off!). Being the only girl in her house, i thought a little "bling" was in order. :)

And lastly, Burt's Bees can quickly pamper any girl.

happy birthday daddy-o

2011-07-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

I don't think my dad really reads this fun 'ole blog but either way, its his birthday today and worthy of mention. I also thought it was worthy of trying to get a picture card done but alas, sometimes kids just don't cooperate. I thought maybe the black white hid the kid's rather uninterested expressions. :)

Either way, we do love you, dad! Glad we get to celebrate tonight! :)

rainy day fun...thanks to dad

2011-07-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last week i looked out the door and saw Sophie run down the sidewalk in the rain, then i saw Will following her. I ran to the door and was about to yell out, "What in TARNATION gave you the idea to splash in puddles in the rain?!!??" when at that moment Handy Andy and Madeline ran from behind the car chasing the other two.

Apparently they have at least one fun-loving-live-in-the-moment parent who realizes that nothing is more wonderful to kids than getting all wet in a warm summer rain. Good thing he was home or they would have missed out on the experience because initially all i could see was wet clothes and wet feet and a potential mess and inconvenience. Hope they realize how blessed they are.

Once the rain stopped but the puddles remained i let Ben experience a little of the fun too. (aren't chubby baby legs just the best?!)

Oh happy rainy day.

linking to LifeMadeLovelyMondays

thrifty thursday: vintage puzzle abundance

2011-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night i got on Craigslist and looked for garage sales. There were only a few listed that were for Saturday only but two of them sounded amazing. So i did what i never do- set an alarm for 6:30am and was out the door and at the two garage sales right as they opened. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw this whole stack of vintage wooden puzzles and for only $2 each. I greedily snatched them up hoping the owner wouldn't reconsider selling them after seeing my crazy eyes. ;)

One evening after the girls had dumped out several of these and were unsuccessful at putting them back together i began cleaning them up and was amazed how tricky they were. I kept making observations like, "these are really tricky to put together!" " i don't even know where this piece goes." Anyway, Handy Andy began snickering and poking some jabs about them being for children and what- not. So, i timed him on the squirrel puzzle and am quite happy to report that he hesitated not just once and i think it might have taken him nearly a minute to complete. So there, its not just me; kids back in the 60's were simply more spacial than we are.

Isn't this one just completely quirky?! Love it.

a quilt...err...blanket?

2011-07-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well, i finished my first quiltish blanket. Up to this point i've steered clear from quilts as i knew they required some measure of precision and step-following, both of which i'm not very fond of. However, i really needed a "blanket time" blanket for baby ben that would be kinda hefty and big but also attractive enough to have out on the living room floor each day. So, i got this stripey color idea in my head and decided to see if i could "wing" it. Well, as you might have guessed, quilters measure and follow logical steps for a reason. As much as i do love the colors and overall effect of the blanket, i'm glad the fabric i chose was cheap. It gave me freedom to experiment and therefore wasn't as disappointed with the (many) flaws as i would have been had it had been some designer fabric.

My biggest problem came when i was trying to attach the back. Although, maybe my problem started with the top- those gray stripes are looking pretty wonky. Anyway, i sewed the top to the batting first but then i guess i just didn't straighten my sides or measure or sew straight or something because after i sewed the bottom fabric, flipped it right side out and then tried to quilt the whole thing, it started puckering and such. So i quit after one strip, top stitched around the outer edge and called it good.

No, that curvy line is not in your imagination- it really is that curvy...and puckered.

But aren't the colors and stripes fun?! i try to keep focused on the positive aspects

Besides, it serves it's purpose and Baby Ben's cuteness hides all its flaws, well mostly. :)

p.s.

-i got the fabric at JoAnns and it was cheap but i LOVE it. It was in the shirting section i think- it has a hefty feel without it being too canvas/duckclothish, and its soft. fyi :)

[linking to lollipops]

4th of july weekend

2011-07-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

We were blessed with a fabulous weekend which included:

lots of red, white and blue

lots of splashing

and soaking

lots of squishing

and decorating

lots of parade-watching

and eating

more splashing

lots of swinging

a little bit of fussing

but mostly just happy, fun times.

So thankful for days like these.

we have an adorable new nephew!

2011-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Handy Andy's Lovely sister had a precious little baby boy last week. He's seriously just so cute and little and made "baby" Ben grow up the moment we put the two boys side by side. WHAT happened to our baby?! But we're so glad there's only 9 months between the two so they're sure to best little buddies.

Back to baby Eric, here are a few quick pictures i took of the cutie pie.

Baby toes! mmmm

5 cousins!

Here are some cute (and odd) things the kids have said about their new cousin;

Will-on the way home from visiting baby Eric "Isn't he just so cute?! And funny! Let's all talk about what we like best about baby Eric."

Madeline- "I thought he was going to be a girl!" " i just weawy, weawy thought it was going to be a girl."

Sophie- "He's soooo tuuute."

Sophie- "but i thought his name was baby Gaspord."

Will- "No, that's his last name."...I guess we could ask his dad if we could call him "Gaspord" for short."

Madeline-" I am going to live inside of Auntie Joelle. In her tummy-where baby Eric lived.It will be my house."

i might have listened to this 5 times in a row..

2011-06-30T00:14:00.000-07:00

Do you have a "go to" song when your day has been kinda a bummer? Well, i think i found mine. It's five minutes long, which is just about the perfect amount of time needed to choose a different attitude or perspective. You can't really help but be happy hearing it. So, have a listen or 5, if that's what it takes. :)

a party

2011-06-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was my mom's birthday so of course, a party was called for. Since we got to host the happy event i also got to pick the menu. My natural inclination is ~~unimaginative,~~ simple, easy and fast like hamburgers or pasta salad- and that's even kinda branching out for me! However, i happened to flip through an old martha stewart "FOOD" magazine and came across a 4 page "Tex-Mex" dinner party spread featuring menu, timeline, gorgeous pictures, recipes etc. It looked so beautiful and fun i decided we just had to be a little adventurous and go for it. And thanks to Handy Andy, I'd say it was a success!

hey ben! thanks for looking at the camera, buddy! :)

sophie and nana- joined at the hip

Handy Andy very nicely headed up the Watermelon Margarita task. Mind you this included cubing huge watermelon, pureeing huge watermelon, straining all of the pulp, making an orange sugar syrup, juicing tons of limes, and then making a tequila run 30 min. before the party. how did that not make it on my grocery list? Anyway, the end result was festive, fun and pretty but to give you a little inside scoop; in my opinion, it wasn't worth it. A plain ol' original mix would have been just great. ;)

Will- showing off his new toothless smile

It's amazing how awful great food can look if its not "plated' nicely. My sis and i looked over everyone's plate (including our own) for one that was picture-worthy and i'm sorry to say it, but Handy Andy's was the only one that fit the bill. So glad at least one of us has an aesthetically organized brain. :)

Here was the MENU:

Pineapple Marinated Skirt Steak

Poblano and cilantro relish

Pinto Beans with bacon and green onion

Lime cabbage and Spinach

Spanish brown rice

Birthday girl with her adoring crowd

we planted a garden

2011-06-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

In between painting our house, handy andy flying a TON, kids with strep throat, getting ready for my mom's wedding and keeping the 4 children fed and alive, Handy Andy and i realized we had an unfulfilled dream to take care of... So off to Lowes we went, bought some of these dandy-already-well-established veggie plants and stuck them in a dirt patch on the side of our house that we weren't (and still aren't 100%) sure will sustain life...

Veggie life that is, as we are positively sure it can happily sustain the life of digger bees. Andy and i first discovered several of their little hole/nest things and then started noticing lots of these green little guys flying around and disappearing in the dirt. We persistently attacked them with our shovels, spray bottle, rocks, flip flops all the while nervously ducking (and running, in my case) until we went inside looked them up, found out they were harmless and went about our "gardening" business and left them to dig, i guess.

Here's one of the little holes they dig. cool eh?

So, anyway, back to our garden. We bought 3 bags of dirt to give our little patch a head start. then we got 2 cherry tomato plants, 1 grape tomato plant, 3 zucchini plants and 1 pumpkin plant.

Here's the "squash patch". Kinda concerned that once they really start growing we'll realize they might be planted a little close? maybe? nah.

And i'm happy to report that:

1) they have been watered consistently

2) therefore they are still alive

3) signs of fruit are starting to appear! big, big yay.

Don't worry, we'll keep ya updated.

Happy Hair Clips part 4

2011-06-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the 4th Clip in this series: "5 minute Circles" I first made this clip one sunday morning when we were about to head out the door to church. I happened to notice Sophie, my girl least favorable to hair accessories, with her hair all in her eyes. I knew she would tolerate these plain metal clips but it needed just a little something to dress it up. I quickly plugged my hot glue gun in, cut out a few circles of felt that matched her dress, glued them on in a hurry and ran out the door. Later i decided a little paint might make it even cuter without adding a bunch of extra time.

Materials Needed: Clips, Spray Paint, Felt, Hot glue

Steps:

1. Spray paint the clip

2. Plug in hot glue gun to heat up

3. Cut out circles of felt

4. Create some color combinations

5. Glue circles together, then glue metal clip onto the circles.

6. DONE!

i used a gloss yellow and satin dove white "fusion" spray paint. The satin "fusion" coated the best in one coat. The yellow gloss was more runny and took a couple coats to cover. If you want this done in 5 minutes, i suggest a satin finish and the "fusion" kind worked the best!)

Mix and match the circles to make some cute combinations

Glue the layers and the metal clip

here's what my Sophie looks most days without a hair clippy

And here's her clip in action; keeping her hair out of her cute little face.

linking to the southern institute and sewmuchado