school/play/craft room panic

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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!

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."