3 Sweet P's

Happy Happy New Year!!!!!! It's been awhile

2012-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hello to all my long lost blog friends!!!! Boy has it been awhile! I went a long time without a new blog post. Mostly I just didn't have the time, and the demand of being mom was alot higher on the list. But I'm making it one of my MANY goals (not resolution) to blog more and along with many of my other 2012 goals, they go hand in hand. I will share some of my other ones as they come to be more of a reality than a distant cry of hope. I'm hoping that I can sit and type up a post after the kids are off to bed. It seems like lately after they are sleeping and my horrible need to have *me* time, I find myself on Pinterest, pinning....pinning....pinning. It's not new to me, but it never gets old, always something fun to look at and be inspired by. I'm hoping to do a fun weekly Pinterest Party Post, I pick one thing on my ever growing diy or crafty board, and post it and we can have a link party and you post what you've made!! I don't know if this is a new concept or not, but it sounds fun. (I've sorta dropped off all things blog related!)

Well that's it for now... Be sure to follow me Pinterest, the link to mine is on the top linky bar thingy. And I will leave you all with some photo's of things I made last year, (just as recent as 3 weeks ago!!!!) all from ideas on Pinterest!! So many more, but no reason to bore you:)

Layered Rainbow Cake via One Charming Party! Love her site!!!

Photo idea via Joop Joop.

Utensil holders via Sew Many Ways.

Costume ideas!!! So many that made these looks come together... all handmade minus Captain America!!!!

Ruffled Streamers via Made.

I will be back soon with a list of things that have happened in the past few months (well almost year since the last time I posted!!!!) Stay tuned friends!!!!

Some Goodness

2011-05-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

My cousin has had a love of baking for awhile, and she is always creating the coolest cakes for her children's birthdays and she recently has been asked to do a few for friends, and with EVERYONE always telling her she should do this for a living, she has decided to start her own business! I am so proud of her, she is super talented and truly has a passion for this.
She does it all, but specializes in Cakes, from simple to extravagant, Cake Pops, (and will even ship!), and Cupcakes. She also does gluten free!!

Here is some of her amazing work, and be sure to head over to A Sprinkle of Goodness and follow her and check more of her great bakes!
Also check out her Facebook page!

See how amazing she is!? I'm really hoping to bring more followers her way, so go and like her and follow the Goodness!!!

All images via:

Kids in the Kitchen

2011-04-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love cooking with my kids, and it seems like none of the recipes I have are easy enough for them to understand. That is why I love childrens cookbooks! There are many bennefits for your kids if they're able to help in the kitchen; math, reading, bonding, responsibility. I love it and I know they do too

Childrens cookbooks are so cute too!

Some not so much, but equally great!

The kids can even check them out at the school library!

Love how they have pictures for the recipes, helps the kiddos understand better. Sometimes it's difficult for them to understand what "fold in butter" means

In most of them, the glossary is very helpful

Some are just too fun!

Some have great themes

and others are just pretty to look at, while still having excelent recipes for kids

But no matter what they look like, most important thing is that they're fun!!!

So get out your cookbooks and enjoy an April shower inside, by the oven with your kids! Spring Break is next week, so I know we will be doing alot of this!

I'm in love...

2011-03-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

With this idea! I can't help looking at it and getting anxious, I REALLY want to do this in my bedroom. I started last week re-purposing a few items in my bedroom to fit the theme, but then decided I didn't want any one color, that I want a whole bunch, and I just want this beautiful tree to live in my room. I think it would be VERY time consuming, but do able. I've read that it's crepe paper twisted and pulled? Does that make sense? If anyone would have a better idea then let me know.

I just found this blog, Ruthi Auda. It's completely stunning and I love her blog almost as much as I love her tree! She is a designer for Anthropologie, how cool would that job be? I'm jealous!

Doesn't that make your heart skip a beat?

And they say you can't play with your food...

2011-03-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today while at the Dr.'s office, I was fumbling through one of the child magazines and came across this idea, I thought it was so cool and knew the kids would love it too. I can't remember what magazine it was to give the proper credit.
It's so simple too. I love it! I want to start a series for fun, easy, kids meals that they can prepare. All I had to do was boil the water and cut the hotdog!

"Squid Dogs"

Just cut up a few hotdogs

Let the kids spear them with thin spaghetti noodles

Drop them in boiling water, and cook until noodles are tender!

And ENJOY!!

It was pretty good!

Super Birthday Part 3

2011-03-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about this! Here are all the details for a Superhero themed birthday party. Complete with downloads, templates and links to other inspiring ideas! I hope you all enjoy! I know we did!

Cupcake toppers
Download PDF

Pop Rocks Cover

Download PDF

   Cape template
   Download PDF

  Batman Mask Template
   Download PDF

Superhero mask template can be found HERE on Ambrosia Girl.

Zap!, Pow!, and Bif! signs can be found here on Ambrosia Girl as well.

Our Table Settings can be found here.

The Batman crayons & stickers for the goody bags were in the Target 1$ area.
Coloring Pages
Download PDF

I found a coloring book there also that had the bookmarks on the back and I went to my local printing store, had them printed, cut and laminated for about 10$.But I did the work for you here, just right click on the photo.

Click on each picture to zoom in and right-click and "save picture as"

Signs:

Pennant Template:

For our "radio-active" punch:

I used Crystal Light Lemonade and added green glow sticks. I also had glow stick straws for the drinks, i found them at Wal-Mart in the party favor section.

And if your not into doing things yourself you can visit these shops on Etsy:

~Party printable: Digital DLite

~Party printable: Wants and Wishes Designs

~Party printable: Party on Boutiques

~Capes: Pip and Beans

Links to more Ideas:

~This one is AMAZING!

~A good round-up on Tip Junkie

Thanks for stoping by!

A Super Birthday Part 2

2011-03-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated P#3's birthday! It was so much fun and he said it was "the best day ever". We celebrated with alot of great friends and family. Here is a look at all the details and tomorrow I will have a bunch of links and downloads for you so you can do this as well!

Almost everything here I made or already had. I will share everything on that tomorrow too.

The craft table for the little super's to make capes and masks

"Radio Active" lemonade

The cupcakes

Birthday Boy! The big 3!!!

Girls with their Super power rings, otherwise known as Ring Pops

Come back tomorrow for more Super Hero themed birthday fun!

A Super Birthday

2011-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

I've been starting the prep work for P#3's Birthday Party. It is going to be SO much fun! Here are some of the things that I've been working on. You can do most of these with things with your printer and cheap craft supplies.

My in-laws found these on clearance at Toys-R-Us. Batman is P's favorite superhero!

The Party is on Saturday, so after that I will be back with tutorials, downloads, links, templates, and lots of photo's sharing all the ideas!! Stay tuned!

A special baby shower

2011-03-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

2 weeks ago my Girlfriend and I (with the help of my mother-in-law) threw an amazing baby shower for our other life long friend. I wrote about her story here. She has been through so much and deserved to have an amazing shower. We decided to go with a theme I saw on the Aesthetic Nest. It was so beautifully done and at first I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to execute it as well as them. But I think it turned out wonderful, we did different colors and I changed up a few things, but it was they're idea that brought it all to life. A HUGE thank you to them!! You can go here to get their free printables and see how amazing theirs was!When Mom-to-be saw everything she immediately starting crying, so I would say it was a huge success.

The whole set-up

She's a vegetarian so we made some Prego/Vegan Friendly sushi. It was really Yummy! Everything on the menu was Vegan, and she LOVED it all!

Thanks for reading! I will be back soon with P#3's pre-Birthday party planning. I'm excited to share!

Whats been going on...

2010-12-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

I has been forever since I've posted anything, so I thought I'd give you a little peek into what I've been doing that's keeping me so busy.

It's the first day of Winter break, I'm so glad that I can get up in the morning and enjoy my coffee without having to run around making lunches, helping a super picky almost 7 year old pick out thee perfect outfit, helping my 9 year old find his shoes, hat, socks, etc, yelling get out of the shower, 20 minutes is WAY TOO LONG!! all while having the little guy all over me. I love having them home (except when they're arguing with each other). They are great helpers, and we all love to bake together, do craft projects and play games, there is really not enough time in the day when they get home from school and have homework to do, chores, and reading, then it seems like it's time for bed.
Football has been over for a little while, The hornets made it to the Superbowl but lost. P#1 wasn't very upset, I think the whole team was OK with it. They had a tough division this year and they beat the team who has been undefeated for 3 years to make it to the Superbowl, He said that was better than the Championship. Now on to Basketball and Karate.

We've done ALOT of celebrating....

We took P#1 to the Seahawks-Giants game for his late Birthday Present (4 months late!!) He is a die hard Giants Fan, and my Husband and I love our Seahawks, and P1 said all he wanted for his birthday was to see the giants, and it just so happened that we were playing them this year at home. It was hard to watch the Hawks get their butts whooped but he had so much fun that it didn't even matter. We took him down to the Giants tunnel during half time to see if we could get one of the players to sign his football but they were still in game mode and none even looked up at us. So we went down after the game and he got SOO much more that he was hoping for, as all the players are leaving the field, they're looking up and high fiving,but not one came over to our side, and we thought all the players had left,so he looks up at me and shrugs his shoulders like oh well, then here comes Eli Manning (his favorite player) and he's trying to shout to him, but it's so loud, he stops over on the other side of the tunnel and hands something up to the crowd, and once he gets over to our side he points right at P and hands him his wristband. It was so awesome! I can't even begin to tell you how happy he was. You can go here to view the photo someone took on field, P is the one right in the middle of the photo .

We also went to Disney on Ice~ Lets celebrate for P#2 EARLY birthday present from Grandma. It was alot of fun. The girls got to dress up and dance and sing.They loved it!

Then we had a Birthday Party for P2 last weekend. It was a day-time slumber party, She had SO much fun! I always try and make it super special for her because her actual B-Day is on Christmas Eve, and I feel sometimes she might get a little sad about it, because every one's so worried about Christmas and other things. But It turned out great and a couple of her friends were able to come.

It started snowing after she said it was good luck if it snows on your Birthday! She was excited!!!

I also did a Holiday Bazaar this year, for ACS. I made about 15 aprons and only had 5 when it was over. I was pretty happy that even sold some!!! I was invited to come back again and also do one in February!!

Made a few gifts.....

I am just starting out in this whole knitting thing, but I totally cheated on this hat, I used a knifty knitter and not sure if I'll use it again for something like this....

Did I share the news that my sister is expecting? I am SOO excited and happy for them!!! She just found out that its a girl!!! I made these before she knew but I think they can work. My Brother-In-Law is a HUGE Star Wars person, so I had to make one!!!

Cute little monster set for my sisters sister-in-law who expecting her first boy.

And a set I made P2 for her birthday using Luvinthemommyhood tutorial. It was super easy, I just adjusted it so it would fit a smaller hand, and added ruffles and a matching scarf!

The minky is so soft and warm!!

I've also been working on my sisters wedding quilt, it's coming along, I just need a few more people to give me their squares and I can finish it!

We have been pretty busy, driving alot and visiting alot! Our thanksgiving was wonderful.

I finally was able to meet my cousins kids!!! OMG, so well behaved and beautiful. I miss them already.

Spent some time out in nature..

Decorated the tree..

And we are probably going to be playing in the snow for the rest of Christmas Break...

Happy Holidays Everyone! Hope its filled with love and laughter!!

I Heart Faces~ Paper

2010-11-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

I knew right when I seen what this weeks challenge on I heart faces was what photo I would choose. This is a shot from my sisters wedding this summer. This is "Flat Lindsey", she's our cousin who is like our sister, and we so badly wanted her to be there, as did she.It was really hard for us all who knew the family members who were missing from such a special day. Her husband is in the military and last minute they had orders to be re stationed and her move was the same weekend as the wedding. So one of the other bridesmaids drove home, got on Facebook, and printed us out a Lindsey. We had so much fun! She was there while we were getting ready, sat with her mom at the ceremony, danced, ordered drinks, was passed around from person to person. It was such a great idea and made her feel as though she was included when she couldn't be there.

My Aunt, Lindsey's mom holding her for a fun photo:

Constructive Feedback edits

2010-10-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

A HUGE Thank you to all wonderful ladies who took the time to do this! You are all great!!!!

Here are the fixes:

Brittany Junghans Phoography

Bethany from Cartwheel Soup

Autumn Cutaia Photography

Heather from Life's little moments ~ I couldn't save it but you can go here to view~ Heathers Flickr

Dee from What the Camera Sees

Shawna Summa Photography

Nicki from Smile Pretty

Adrienne in Ohio

Chasing Dreams Photography

I Heart Faces ~ Constructive Feedback Friday

2010-10-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

O.K. So here is our most recent family photo, while I love that were all in the photo and everyone is behaving and not making some terrible face or throwing a fit because mom told them to sit still for 5 seconds, I think it's missing something. Maybe the colors are off? Or are we all just too forward? All I could do was set the timer and RUN to the rest of the family before the photo was snapped. We did this about 15 times before the kids were restless and had enough, this is the best out of all of them. Maybe it's the angle? I totally forgot my tripod at home and had to make on using my small suitcase and makeup carrier! Anyways this is the photo that I want to use for our Christmas cards and when I printed it it looked super dark. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:)

I heart faces~ smirk

2010-09-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

While we were on our recent trip to the ocean I had my tripod out and we were taking family photos, I decided to jump in front of the camera for a test shot and the hubs was making me laugh, I was trying so hard to be serious! It came out smirky, but this is one self portrait I actually kinda like:) And I feel like I'm never in any photos because I'm always the one taking them, so this actually proves I was there!

Go here to see more fun interpretations of this theme.

Monday

2010-09-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, the start of a new week, and the end to a relaxing weekend.
Our weeks have been super busy. We have football 4 nights out of the week and then usually on Friday nights we make it to a High School football game, Saturdays we've been doing fun family stuff, usually ending the night with a college football game and Sundays we've been lazy and watching NFL. Yes, we love us some football in this house! P#1 is the starting QB and outside linebacker for his team. It's so much fun to watch him play! They are currently 3-1!!!

School is going great and I'm enjoying my days with P#3. Although it's a fight almost every morning with him and telling him he's not big enough to go to school.
P#3~ " I go sool mom?"
Mom~ " no honey, your not big enough"
P#3~ " ah, I big boy, I poop toilet"
Mom~ " yes you are a big boy, but not big enough for school"
P#3~ " I GO SOOL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!" (that's him yelling at me)
Mom~ " maybe later"
P#3 "OK, bye mom"
Then its a hissy fit after the kids leave and he's stuck at home with me:(

Here's some pictures of a few games....

They had an awesome opportunity to play at a High School football game under the lights! It was just for fun to promote the league, but they had a blast!

This is a pretty bad picture, P#3 was playing with my camera and I hadn't realized he moved my setting around so this is what they all turned out like.

P#3 cheering for his big brother

another game... P#1 running in for the TD!

P#3 making a big tackle

And our lazy Sundays. P#2 has been doing great at reading lately. She usually get frustrated and gives up. But we found that if she reads to her brother she's alittle more patient. I think it's because he isn't correcting her:) P#1 LOVES to read. I really wish she shared this with him, but all kids are different.

So that's what we've all been doing. Lots and Lots of football! Hope to share some pics of my first craft project that I've made in forever! Maybe tomorrow if I have time. Happy Monday!

I heart faces~Vroom Vroom (or choochoo)

2010-09-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme on I heart faces is Transportation. This was taken in Lancaster, PA. We were visiting the train museum and trying to find Thomas when this old train came pulling in. I found this conductor so interesting, his dirty clothes, the glasses, his gritty hands all tell a story of a hard working life.

Go here to see more entries more

Summer in Review~ 2010

2010-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

The initial purpose of this blog was to give family and friends who live far away a fun place to go to see what our daily life is like. So I could post pictures of the kids where I can write a little something more than a caption under the photo and tell them what we were doing on a given day. It has since turned into something so much different. I realized that I liked talking to other moms and blogging about crafting.
Who doesn't like to get gratification on what they put so much hard work into?
Whether it be motherhood or the arts.
I love keeping up with other moms and realizing that I'm not the only one who has difficulty on the subject of raising kids . Being a mom is the best reward, and the love of your children outweigh the hardships, but sometimes it gets hard. So it's nice to know you're not the only one out there.
I love the crafting outlet that this blog allows me. You know you can spends hours, days, heck even weeks trying to finish a project and you show it to your husband and he looks at it for about 10 seconds and says, Looks great honey. Really? Are you sure you looked? I know I've been lacking in the department of posting crafty stuff. The truth is that I haven't really done anything. I know, its crazy. Our summer has been so busy that I can't find time to sit and do anything.But I am currently little by little working on a quilt for my sister. It's going to be super special and very meaningful. I will share when I'm done piecing the top.
The last thing I love about blogging is photography. It's a long time passion of mine and I'm grateful to be able to talk and share with other people who share the love with me. I've learned alot and love the outlet that snapping pictures provides. I may not have been sewing, gluing or glittering, but I have been taking alot of pictures!
So now that school has started, and it's safe to say that summer is officially over (YAY!! I can't wait for fall!!!) I will wrap up with our summer in photo's. I have so many from all our journeys, and I didn't chose the best ones to share, but the ones that mean alot to me!!
This is what this weeks theme on I heart faces is!!

P #3 Learned to ride his tricycle.With lots of falling of coarse!~ June 1st

Our Garden grew lots of yummy veggies and fruit. I hate to say it, but I'm kinda glad it's over now ~June 2nd

Flying to my sisters. P #3 Waiting for our flight and loving the planes! ~June 4th

Longwood Gardens, PA~ June 6th

Rehearsal dinner for Carmen's wedding ~ June 10th

Carmen's Wedding ~ June 11th

Family BBQ ~ June 12th

Washington D.C. ~June 14th

Camping at Knoebles P.A. ~June 16th

Amusing ourselves at the amusement park. This was honestly the coolest place. I can't wait to take the kids back.

Rehoboth Beach, DE ~ June 18th. I was so bummed that my battery died in my camera and was only able to get a few shots while we were there. Beautiful beach, and it was hot!!!

Dust Devils Game~ June 27th

The hubs and I managed to sneak in a date!! We went to dinner and to see Eclipse~ June 31st

4th of July on the river

We had MANY MANY days of playing on the slip and slide. This picture just cracks me up!! ~July 15th

P #1's 9th Birthday~July 16th

Birthday party at the pool ~July 17th

Visiting great friends that I miss very much! ~July 25th

We took a long drive to Long Beach, WA. It was dreary and cold but SO much fun! ~July 30th

P#2 cut off all her hair and donated it. ~August 3rd

Water Park with Family who came to visit.~ August 18th

Playing at the local park with my niece (and nephew, but he was at the skate park) ~August 22nd

Football Started!!! ~August 30th

And the end of summer,Thus the begining of school

What has everyone been doing? I haven't really been keeping up on my blog reading either:( If you've posted something share a link and I'd love to see what you've been up to!

I heart Faces~ Photojournalism

2010-08-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

This weeks challenge on I heart Faces is photojournalism. This one is tricky, I guess you could consider photojournalism as any photo you take really. Don't they all have a story to tell? From the time you let your 6 year old make dinner for the first time because she begged and begged, or your 9 year old losing his teeth, or taking that long anticipated trip and the journey to get there. I could post a bazillion pictures I've taken over the years, and write in detail what was happening at that very moment. I guess that's the beauty of photography, you may not remember exactly what you felt, saw, or even smelt on a given date, but with your photographs you can look back and say, Oh ya, I remember how you loved to ride your bike around the neighborhood, and this was right before you crashed and skinned your knee, I had to drop my camera and run after you. I wrote about this before here. My promise to always document life...

So here's the story behind these photos. P#3 was not feeling well. I tried and tried to get him to be his normal self, but he kept wanting to be held. I had things to do around the house and asked him if he would sit with Titan. After I set him down right next to his dog, he decided it was time to play. I love how you can see the love he has for his dog in the look of his eyes. How you can see that Titan doesn't like a 2 year old all over him, but P#3 had to get that kiss. It's really amazing what photographs can tell you. If you listen you will hear a story behind every image.

I Heart Faces ~ Beach Fun

2010-08-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken on our recent family Vacation to Longbeach. It was so hard to chose just one from all the beach photos I have. I have one that I absolutely love of Miss at Rehoboth Beach, but she is wearing a bikini and I thought it was inappropriate considering strangers read this. I love this photo of her too, she is just so photogenic!

Go here to see more Beachy photos:

Locks of Love and a new do!

2010-08-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Last week P#3 asked me AGAIN to cut her hair. She's been wanting it cut for awhile, and I always was reluctant to cut it only because I know how much she loves her hair and because her long hair was HER. She kept telling she wanted to donate it to Locks of Love because " I know that kids in the hospital would be happy if they had hair" I finally gave in and let her do it. I know its for such a great cause and some little girl or boy will be happy to have it. While the lady was cutting off her pony tail I cried a little, I know how silly that is, but I was also so proud of my little girl for doing it. After it was done, she looked at me and said," I really hope someone will want my hair and the pink strip" (my sister did that for her on vacation) And I have to admit that she looks beautiful, hair long or short.

If any of you are considering cutting your hair visit Locks of Love to see if your hair is eligible for donation.

I heart faces~ Surprise!!

2010-08-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme on I Heart Faces is Surprise! Open to interpret however you want. I chose a photo of P #3, taken when we went to the beach last weekend. He was happily playing in the mud when a wave came up and splashed him. I think I may say "freakin" too much because he YELLED "It's freakin cold!!!"But I think he was generally surprised when we got there, and I don't know how many of you have ever been to the Washington coast, it's not really that warm of a place. We drove 6 hours from the desert to get there, leaving behind well over 100 degree heat, where you can swim in the river and it feels wonderful, to arrive in 55 degrees and the ocean is freezing. But all 3 P's LOVE the water and that couldn't keep them out, it was just a little shocking at first!

Go over here to see more surprised photos

Vacation Part 4: The Wedding!!!!

2010-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry its taken me so long to post something. I wanted to post pics of the wedding and since I didn't take any myself, and the photographers are so beautiful, I wanted my sister to come and guest blog to show you them herself:)

Let me introduce her to you.....
Carmen, blog world. Blog world, Carmen.
My older sister.
She is a dog lover with 2 little pups; Hailey and Bennett.
She is a very talented stylist, and has he ability to make you look like a super model.
She loves to craft. And after planning her wedding, wants to become a wedding planner, and is actually doing it for a girl she works with. Go em sis!!
So with out further ado here she is to answer questions I asked her:
**********************************************************************************************

Please tell everyone something about you:
~ I Love the color coral, it my favorite, and as you see in the pictures, it played a major roll!

What was your inspiration behind the details of the wedding? :
~ I wanted it to have a rustic and elegant feel, something along the lines of Rachel Ashwell. As well as have the colors ivory and coral, also to have a touch of the beach, since that is one of my favorite places to be.

How long did it take you to plan everything:
About 10 months start to finish. If you really ask me, it took about 8 years to plan, since that's how long I was waiting to get engaged:)

How did you feel on the big day?:
~ Overwhelmed with happiness, being surrounded by family and friends who you love. Beautiful because it is the prettiest day of your life. And VERY IN LOVE

What was your favorite part of the whole wedding experience?:
~ Planning and designing things with Christina online almost every night,everything from the jam jars to her coming to visit in May and searching for the barn wood for the wedding sign. The night before the wedding at the Bed and Breakfast with just the girls.And of course marrying my other best friend:)

Now on to the photos, How did you chose your photographer?:
~ After nearly 6 months of looking I kept hitting dead ends. The kind of photography that I liked, the photographers were really expensive. Until I heard about about Mathew Wright of Fig Tree Photography through a Friend, and he was perfect, within my budget and a great guy too!

Here are some of my favorite photographs, I hope you all enjoy them!! Thanks for letting me be here with you today.
~ Carmen

All the small details:

Most of which Christina and I made ourselves

How cool is that?

Card holder

the Ceremony:

The Reception:

I just love this photo:

I'll be back soon with more from our trip.

If any of you live in the Philadelphia area and need a wedding planner, you know where to go:)

-Christina

I heart faces~ Purple

2010-07-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

I chose another photo of my niece for this weeks challenge on I heart faces. I think she's just so darn cute, and purple was a hard one. I don't have too many photos with that color in them, and of coarse me being me, I wait till last minute and don't have time to go out and take anything:)

Go here and see more purple photo entries:

Over my Head ~ I heart faces photo challenge

2010-07-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

When I saw that I heart faces challenge this week was "Over my head" and it could be anything that is literally over your head. I mean the possibilities are endless, but I just knew exactly what photo I wanted to use. Not very original because lots of little kids put buckets on their heads, but it's her expression accompanied by the bucket that makes me crack up every time I look at it! And I know that she was walking all by herself, leaving behind her cousins, not paying attention to ANYONE. She was in her own little world, not trying to grab anyone's attention with her silliness, and it's that that makes it so funny to me!!:) I love my niece to pieces!!!

You can go here to see some pretty cool interpretations of this challenge:

9 years

2010-07-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Seems like this was yesterday...

I honestly cannot believe how fast time is going.
9? 9! Today my oldest is turning 9!!!
Wow!

Buddy, you've grown right before my eyes! I love you more and more everyday, I didn't know until you how much one can love another person. . Thank you for making our lives better, and funnier!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

A.K.A. MOM xoxo

Vacation Part 3: Morning of the wedding

2010-07-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

The morning of the wedding was fantastic! Us girls woke up, layed around and talked, went down to the kitchen to get breakfast, which they served to us out on the deck over looking the water, went back to our room and showered, sat outside talking some more, taking in the beautiful views and waiting till noon, which was when we needed to start getting ready. Once noon hit it seamed like the time just flew by. Hair, make-up, champagne, photographer, people in and out. It was hectic, but some of the funnest times I'll remember having. My sister was absolutely stunning, and I don't think it could have been more perfect(other than we were missing a couple people who we wish were there).

Here's how the day unfolded through photographs:
(some are not mine but thought I'd post them cause I missed a few things:)

Breakfast

P#2 getting her blown dry

My sisters paraphernalia

Sara (bridesmaid)

Me (Maid of Honor)

Leslie (Bridesmaid)

Kristen (bridesmaid)

P#2 (flower girl)

Pre- Wedding Toast

Bride and our Aunt Elena

The bridal suite

Bride

Sara putting make-up on P#2

Carmen getting ready

Giving our love to "Flat Lindsey" Our cousin who couldn't make it

(Image via Elena)

(Image via Sara)

People came to wish her luck:)

Getting ready to put the dress on

(Image via Elena)

She was SOOOO gorgeous!!!

(Image via Elena)

And that's not even half of the pictures I have! I didn't take any pictures of the ceremony or reception, but I'll grab a few from others so I can share!

Vacation Part 2: Rehearsal Dinner~ Chesapeake City, MD

2010-06-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Rehearsal Dinner was alot of fun! The weather was great, although at the time of day it was at was alittle too hot, but we were thank full for no rain. Chesapeake City is one of the cutest little towns I've ever been to. I want to go back(without kiddos) and have a nice relaxing weekend with the hubs. We ate dinner at a cute little historic restaurant,right on the water and so full of charm, and the food was great!!
The Bride, another bridesmaid, P#2 and myself all stayed the night at the B&B while the boys went home to nervously wait the following day. We Did a craft project, drank alittle wine, and watched a movie. It truly was a great weekend.

The Bride taking her dress to the room

The room

Rehearsal

My beautiful flower girl

My sister and I

My sister, my mom and me

Bride and Groom

Waiting to start

Waiting for the bride

With her wedding planner because our dads were late to rehearsal

Practicing the exchange

The groom and groomsmen

My sister, my dad, & P#2

Have any of you ever been to Maryland? It really is awesome.

Vacation Part 1: Longwood Gardens, PA

2010-06-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

This was one of our first sight seeing adventures on our vacation. Longwood Gardens was the personal estate of the Du Pont family that were French emigrates who came to Delaware in the early 1800's. There is a lot of American history within this family and alot that is totally fascinating. You can go here to read more. This place was so beautiful. And it's only one of the many estates that are in the area, all of which have become public gardens.

I'm back!!!!

2010-06-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Oh My Gosh! Our vacation was amazing! These are memories that will be some of the best I have. My sisters wedding was beautiful. We did so much: Longwood Gardens,Washington D.C., Lancaster PA, Camping at an amusement park, Rehoboth Beach, and lots of family BBQ's. I have so much to share and will be doing that throughout the week. Today is to get back to my daily life, I've got lots to catch up on!

Weekend in Review: Memorial Day

2010-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend is usually a fun weekend for us. It's usually spent driving a few hours to see family, or family and friends driving here to see us, or spent doing some fun activity. Not this year. The hubs was horribly sick, and the weather was nasty, real nasty. I felt bad for the people who drive over to this part of the state to go camping because it's usually out of the normal Seattle rain. I spent most of the weekend packing for our vacation and cleaning, which is probably a good thing! I also got to watch some specials on the meaning of Memorial Day, because sometimes we forget. I know alot people just think of it as a 3 day weekend from work, or an excuse to party, but I hope everyone took a minute to remember......

My Grandfather. Spain, circa 1940's

And Thank a troop anytime, not just on a holiday! Go to Pioneer Woman to see some amazing and touching photo's.

And this is what we did when the rain came.....

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. If you have posted anything about your weekend please share your link, I would love to read it!

I heart faces~ Yellow!

2010-05-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

This challenge was actually harder than I thought it would be. I have alot more pictures containing yellow than I thought I did. I will share all the other "yellow" pictures in another post because yellow makes me feel happy!! I chose this one because I love the concentration on his face and his little chubby fingers!

Go here to see more fun yellow inspired photos:

Gifts Galore!!

2010-05-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard on being such a slacker. I decided to sit down and get done some of the projects I've been wanting to complete. I have lots of Birthdays coming up, and one I already missed. I really enjoy giving gifts, but sometimes (especially lately) I totally blow it off. So I decided to get my but in gear and just do it!

The outfit I made my niece

The hubs was not too excited about our little guy being my model

But just look at all the ruffly ruffles! I Love them, and want a pair for myself:) I think that may be my next project

Clutches using Noodleheads Gathered Clutch Tutorial. I fell in love with these when I first saw them. all of hers were so darned cute!!! And her tutorial was super easy to follow.

I just changed a few things. I learned after the first that you really need to make your front cut longer so it gathers more,and there is no need to buy (3) 1/4 yards of fabric. I did just fine with scraps I had laying around. And of course I can never leave anything as-is, so I added embellishments and a strap to one to make it a wristlet.

I think I will be making more soon.

This is my favorite one. Too bad they're all gifts:(

My second Fave, I love the little flowery band

And my least fave, I actually don't really like anything about this one.Other than the back.

This part is cute.

Happy Thursday! It's almost Friday.. YAY! That means only 2 weeks till we leave for my sisters wedding:)

What are your plans for the weekend?

I heart faces~ Flowers and Faces

2010-05-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

This week for i heart faces photo challenge is flowers and faces. There are alot of beautiful photos to look at this week! I LOVE this picture of my sister and I. It brings back girlie childhood memories. I know it doesn't have a ton of flowers in it but her dress was stunning and I love my necklace, so it works!!!

For some serious awesome photos go to I heart faces and check em out!!

i heart faces Fix-it-Friday

2010-05-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

My photo is being featured on I heart faces today. Head over there to see how cool all the edits are!!! I am way excited about this!!!

Shirring is not my strong suit

2010-05-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Here's the story about my first experience with shirring. My daughter was going to her BFF's birthday party. And In my madness of preparing for my trip to Delaware I completely forgot about a gift for her to take to her friend. My first thought was how can I be so forget full, and leave on a vacation and leave my daughter empty handed {terrible mom moment}

and what can I whip up quickly? My girlfriend had an idea about making a shirred summer top, she said they come together easily and take no time at all. I ran to the fabric store, picked out fabric and came home. With my friend at my side, we started sewing. But half into it I kept asking why isn't it doing anything? She said sometimes you have to wait till your done and go over it with a steam iron, then it will pucker up. But no it didn't. After a while we got frustrated, and ended up just pulling every single thread and sewing in elastic.

I'm not sure what went wrong, we think it's my machine. I read just about every tutorial out there about shirring and did everything right. If anyone has had similar problems or knows the solution, please share!!! Never the less it tuned out adorable and you can't tell my frustration in the end result.

Delaware Part 3: A DIY Wedding

2010-05-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking that My sister and I should be wedding planners. We have done so much work for her wedding, and she has spent alot of hours and labor into making a ton of stuff. Mostly I help with the ideas and also alot of computer related stuff like making labels for her favors and signs for the reception sight. There really is so much that goes into planning a wedding. The really funny thing is, I'm really enjoying it! So once its over we wont be able to talk about ideas or stay on the phone till 1 a.m. discussing music and colors. I bet if I went back and looked at my phone bill over the last few months there would be an insane amount of long distant calls to Wilmington. So with that said... That's why we need to be wedding planners.

While I was over visiting, it was so awesome to be there hands on and help with some of the stuff we've been planning. She kept seeing all the "barn wood signs" on the DIY wedding websites, and wanted to make one, so on one afternoon while we were driving around, we went to antique stores to try and find old wood but came up empty handed. We did find some cool posts that were from an deck or something, and that's what we used as the pole. We happened to come across and old abandoned house that had piles of wood thrown out from it. We stopped, and my sister being the paranoid, some-what goody goody, kept saying I know, maybe we should go. She ended up spotting THEE perfect piece of wood. White, sturdy and distressed. We threw it in the back of the car and drove away like the rebels we are:)

It was fun cause we all got involved:

My Brother-in-Law helping too!

Painting the signs{Carmen did this cause my penmanship is TERRIBLE}

Had to do another of him because I love me a hard working man!;)

All done!!!! It turned out fabulous!

And remember this post about tissue paper poms? We ended up making 12 of them!

So easy and fun!

I will be back tomorrow to share some things I've been making!

Delaware Part 2: Seeing the First State

2010-05-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

My trip to Delaware this time was so different than the fisrt I went over 5 years ago. I really dont remember it being so beautiful. Maybe because the last time my sister lived in an apartment, we visited New York, and the ocean, went out every night and we didn't really spend any time driving around and just seeing the sites of this lovely small state.

We drove along winding roads, stopping at places along the roadside just to walk around and hike up hills to see what was at the top. Went to antique stores that are nothing like what we have here, and learning history about our first state.

The Branywine River

My sisters Kids.......

Weekend in Review: Mother's Day festivities

2010-05-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede. WOW!!! It was an all day event and the best part? It was all free!! There was so much to do, not to mention that if you couldn't find enough stuff to do until night(which was the best part!!) you could always go and walk around Walla Walla. I heart this town, I feel like a broken record, but this place is so cool!!! If there are Washingtonians who read this and have never been, please do! It really is a fun little town! By the time we made it home we were SO tired, it was a LONG day. But so worth it! We will definitely be going next year.

On this list of things we did on Saturday include:

walking and looking around at booths of homemade goodies

Going to a car show

Going on fair rides

Climbing inside a Jungle Gym

Watching horse racing

Hoping the pink horse would win!

Enjoying a concert

Marveling at how many people were there

Watching balloons being blown up

Then lit in the dark

And to end the night right, FIREWORKS!!!!!

Did you guys do anything fun and exciting? Or did you get to relax and enjoy your day?

Where I've been: Delaware: Part 1 {Bridal Shower}

2010-05-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I did something that is SO not me. I drove 300 miles to Seatac airport, left my kids in the care of my Mother-in-Law, and flew 3000 miles to surprise my sister. I was forced to get over my fear flying, and my fear of leaving P#3 for the first time. My flight was OK, although I missed my connecting flight in Chicago. The kids were great for Grandma, and I had SO much fun!! I felt like a big girl doing this all by myself! :) As many of you probably know, my sister is getting married next month, and I've been helping her plan and do stuff over the phone and through the Internet. Her wonderful future M-I-L and Sister-in-Law had a plan to get me out there to surprise her and be there to help hands on with last minute wedding stuff.
Today is about the trip and bridal shower.

Luckily on the planes I was seated next to some pretty cool people, who didn't mind me breathing heavily in and out trying to calm my nerves. It's not as scary as i had anticipated, but still pretty frightening, so that you xanax for helping me!:)

Carmen's M-I-L made these, aren't they cute?

She also had the centerpiece made. And the frame is of a journal entry from their beach house they go to yearly, everyone writes in the journal about their trip, and Carmen's was about Brian proposing, so unique and creative to think of framing it!

The food was fantastic!!

The apron I made her for the games, She's such a Domestic Diva!!!

The newlywed game. This one was my fave, she's terrified of owls, so if you read his answer, it's hilarious!!

She got tons of cool gifts

Just us! Just like when we were little.

Stay tuned for more east Coast fun!!!!

i heart faces~ Smiles

2010-04-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Do you know how hard it was to chose 1 picture?

Go here to see ALOT more smiles to make you smile!

Grow

2010-04-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Our weekend and week so far have been pretty uneventful. We went garage saleing on Saturday, and I picked up the most terrible, HUGE polyester MooMoo dress, but the print is fantastic. My husband gave me this look like " I hope your going to NEVER wear that" I just smiled and said," I will make this cute!" So stayed tuned for a refashion. I'm also working on a tutorial for the bag I posted here. My posts will be sparse until next week, and I'll share then what I've been doing!!! It's ridiculous and exciting.

Everyday here we've been outside working on something. We FINALLY removed all the big peices of bark that were out in the back yard. I must say that whoever put that in must not have thought too thoroughly about using big chunks of bark as landscaping in the desert, it was home to some BIG nasty spiders{including black widows.} and other things that crawl, BLEGH!

Onions

Spinach

Green Beans

It still amazes me that things can grow and suvive in sand. Have you been working on a garden? What are you growing?

I can do it!

2010-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

There has been some crafting going on here. But not the kind Im used to doing. My wonderfully talented friend who can do just about anything taught me to knit! Yup, Ive been knitting and purling until my fingers hurt. I'm just about done, I need to now sew on the dress, I'm so anxious to see what it turns out like. Who knows, this may be my new favorite hobby, maybe.

i heart faces~ Collages

2010-04-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

Go see more great ones over at :

For the love of garden

2010-04-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here whats going on in the gardening department of our lives.

Apples Blooming

Day Lilies

Raspberries {So excited for these} They didn't produce that well last year

Still don't know what these are

My potted herbs that will go in the ground once they're big enough

Sweet Basil sprouts

Strawberries

Other things growing that I didn't get pictures of because the irigation was on them:

Red and WallaWalla sweet onions

Sugar Snap Peas

Green Beans

5 Different types of lettuce and cabage

Things to be planted that we're waiting for the weather:

Cucumbers

Watermelon

Pumpkins

Carrots

Tomatoes

Red and Green peppers

Jalepenos

Backyard memories

2010-04-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

We are starting to get use to where we live. It's crazy I never thought I could live without green and trees. I don't miss the constant rain anymore, and I actually really like the dessert rain.
One thing I do miss is living in the woods. We used to have bonfires all the time. Get togethers where we all sat around a fire in our backyard, talking while the kids played hide-n-seek in the dark, until they were so tired they fell victim to the fires trance and fell asleep in our arms.
I got the hubs a firepit for our anniversary. I thought it would be a great idea. But we've only used it 2 times. I guess its just not the same. Especially for him. Good memories he has of his friendships, and a friendship that only lives in memories.

The kids love it though. We decided (well P#2 decided) That smores sounded really good, so they begged their dad to start a fire. It was nice. And for a moment, it felt like we were back home.

Flower Poms and a travel companion

2010-04-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

So my sister and I were trying to rack our brains and come up with something cheap and cute to decorate the ceremony site. Right now she has nothing. Tulle is pretty much out , were going for pretty, not 80's, and though I've seen some beautiful decorations done in tulle, its kinda ify, will it look fabulous or something from Bayside High's prom? Too risky since we will be responsible for set up,and no one else to blame if all goes wrong:)
After some time on the world wide web, I found this cute idea using sheppard hooks,with pomander balls hanging. Well flowers are expensive, and you know whats not? Tissue paper. And It looks wonderfuly wonderful.
P#2 and I decided to try it to see how easy it really was (before comitting to the wedding), and P#2 made them all! She had SO much fun, she kept asking if we could go get more tissue paper and make more. And she now has super cute decorations for her room.

On a different note. Here is the purse I made myself. It's more of a carry-all for when we travel. Something I can throw a bunch of stuff in for my 1 personal carry on item. I think it's fabulous and will be cute on the beach,

oh I can see it now....

{don't mind the wrinkles, I tried and tried to iron those puppies out}

Weekend in review

2010-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we celebrated a very special birthday.

My childhood friend gave birth to her beautiful little boy exactly 4 weeks after I had P#3.
He was healthy and happy.
But after a couple of months of him not gaining weight his mom knew there was something wrong. She kept going to doctors and they all had different ideas. One day she called, crying, saying there was something wrong with his heart, and they had to leave to go to a better hospital. My heart broke for her and his dad, and for him, such a tiny little baby, so helpless.
They lived in the hospital for months, with the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. His heart was failing and he wouldn't make it without a transplant. We talked often and she was always so optimistic, although, if I know her, she sounded frightened.

One day in December of '08, right before Christmas, when he was 8 months old, she called me to say that they had a donor, and he would receive his new heart within a few short hours. We both cried tears of joy. I'm not sure exactly how she must have felt at that moment , overjoyed, terrified, grateful. But She said it best.... that it is the best Christmas gift they could have got.

Such a long journey for him and his family, and a long road ahead too. My friend is an amazing mother, I know she will always prevail.

So I'm over the top about being able to celebrate his Birthday, he made it, he's here, he's beautiful, and he's 2!!!!!

* There is SO much more to his story then I wrote, I just gave you guys the super shortened ME version of it, Im positive that my friend would have writen one a bazillion times better than me. I hope you dont mind*

Keep Calm

2010-04-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I've posted something. Our weeks have been busy, we've made 2 trips (5 hours) to Seattle, in 2 weeks. We've been working very hard in the yard and getting our garden ready. Playing in the sunshine (and wind!). And losing sleep over how I should wear my hair for my sisters wedding.Well not totally "losing sleep", but we were talking about it last night and I had nightmares that a photographer (which really I am nervous about) was taking pictures of me but my hair was in the style of a birds nest. weird. And I looked terrible. I have this fear of having too much attention on myself, so if my hair looks good, then thats one less thing people will gawk at. That is why I didn't have a wedding, and that is the reason why I'm pretty much freaking out that I have to walk down the aisle by myself, outdoors ,in grass, in 3 in heels.

O.k. so on to crafty stuff.

I made this pillow for my sister. I really dont have the money to buy her the cool things on her registry, but I do have a lot of fabric, and a sewing machine. I thought this was perfect cause she loves shabby, and my brother in law loves WW2 memorabilia. Do ya'll know the story of this saying? If not you can find it here. I always thought it was something Rachel Ashwell came up with, goes to show how much I know my history!

{The back}

I didn't take pictures of the process, but I'm making another, so if you would like a tutorial on the pillow, just say the words!!

And I so LOVED this when I saw it forever ago. I decided to make one. You can find the tutorial here on Crafaholics Anoymous, the sheet music I printed is here, Wal-Mart has burlap, and I got the frame at he dollar store, just painted and sanded it. This project was super easy and super cute!!

Some photos

2010-03-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

Just thought Id share some photos from our weekend. I took SO many, but I really like these. My neice is so cute, and she's always making a fishy face or sticking her tongue out. Her mom says she doesn't smile for cameras, I think she must like me, cause I caught a few smiles. I want to get her big brother too, but he's a cool pre-teen who is always looking like the camera is an inconveneince, but I will, whether he likes it or not!! He's just too handsome not to take a picture of!!

P#2 putting make-up on my neice. She really loved it. I heard she's calling P#2 sissy.. I love it!! Thats what we call her.

I love how you can see that My neices cousin must be saying something P#3 doesn't like and he's letting him know. It's so typical, and three 2 yr olds together, there was LOTS of baby fights, and hissy fits.

He's just so stinkin adorable

See? She is hilarious!!!

P#2 loving the tire swing, and looking pretty doing it!

Again, stinkin adorable!

YES!!! A smile!! Isn't she beautiful?

My cool big guy, hes pretty handsome, I must say!

P#3 loved all the yummy cupcakes

I love this shot, everyones looking at P#1, maybe waiting for an answer? But he's totally paying attention to the basketball game going on.

A beautiful shabby apron

2010-03-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is the finished apron I made for my sister for her bridal shower. Its going to be cooking themed, and she loves antiques and all things shabby, so I went with that. I think she'll love it, and I might have to make another for myself! Their going to play a game where she wears the apron and has a bunch of utensils pinned on it and everyone has to try and remember what was on it.I SO wish I could be there:(

i heart faces- dramatic b&w

2010-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

This week's theme on i heart faces is dramatic b&w. This photo is of P1 & P2 on our recent hike. Paige really wanted to show her brother something cool. What you can't tell is that big brother was not too happy that his little sister wanted to hold his hand.:)

Head over to i heart faces to see more stunning b&w photos

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What to do...?

2010-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

We will be losing P1 & P2 for the whole week. They are going to stay at Gramdma and Papa's for the week of spring break. So the hubs and I are trying to figure out what to do with P3. While I'm looking forward to not packing lunches, having some quiet, and hopefully not cleaning a bazillion times a day, it's nice to have them around, they make me laugh and entertain the little guy. But I think they need a break from him and probably us as well.

So lets hope for long naps this week ( so I can get through my want-to-sew list)

Enough time to watch him sleep ( I could do this for ever, he's so peaceful)

And an abundance of sunshine, for playing outside, and picking spring flowers

We are still wondering what to do this weekend. Our weekends usually consist of parks or drives that involve something kid oriented. But P3 is still small enough to where he can't back talk us if we want to do something more adult-y. Maybe like a movie and dinner date? Going to a small town and antique browsing? Hmmm.....

What are your plans this week?

Smarty Pants~ And one proud Mama

2010-03-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the kids spring conference. First we went to P#2 and her teacher had nothing but good things to say about her. She said she is smart and has made great improvments on her confidence. She clearly enjoys school and respects her family. That part made me happy. I guess we are all she talks about, mostly her older brother though .I love the relationship those two have.I was always close to my sisters and felt bad that my girl wouldn't have that, but clearly its not the case, her and her brother are best friends. Her teacher knows a whole lot about how I run the house too. P#2 is always telling her about her chores, her bedtime, and even what we eat for dinner. She learned to count to 100, add numbers up to 20, but her teacher thinks she can go further. She knows all of her sight words, and is progressing on reading. I'm very proud of my little girl for being such a good student!

P#1's conference was so eye opening. His teacher had lots to say. The only thing he needs to work on is, instead of ignoring the kids who aren't doing their work, to ask them to pay attention. I guess he has that kind of pull with his peers. And I always knew he was smart, you know like when your second grader asks to read Harry Potter, and you ask isn't that alittle above your reading level, and he says, well maybe, but I want to try. Ok then. But his teacher says he is SUPER smart. He asked what I felt about him going to a school for gifted kids. I was shocked! I felt kinda like a bad parent, how did I not know how inteligent he is? I almost started to cry, I was that proud. He says its not an easy process. This school is difficult to get into, but thinks he can do it. Right now he is reading on a Jr. high level, and the school district doesn't let the teachers teach or test past the next grade, which is 3rd. Same with math, he's on a 4th grade math level, but again, they can't teach it. His teacher thinks he will be held back in school, and unable to reach his pottential if he stays in his school. So his teacher is nominating him, then it has to go through a few hands before the principle of the other school evaluates it, then they test him, and if he passes, he will go next year. I'm nervous for him.

And he's a bit embarassed I'm making a fuss over it.

i heart faces- focusing on angles

2010-03-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

I love this photo for many reasons. Mostly because you can see all the cute little wrinkles on his adorable little feet. I heart faces is focusing on angles this week, go here to see lots more cool ones!

Weekend in review

2010-03-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

My husband and kids tool me to Walla Walla for my birthday. I love this little town and all its charm. They also have some super yummy pizza that I wanted:)

This was on our drive

Candy Store

the kids loved it!!

We walked in the streets

Enjoyed the sunshine

Ate some Mediterranean Pizza

Love my guys

Walked the Whitman National Monument

Well, some of us bear crawled

Walked to the monument

Enjoyed the view

Original wagon on the Oregon Trail

Settlement of Marcus Whitman

We also climbed trees

Then we were carried home

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Aprons & a tutorial.

2010-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

I was asked to make aprons for the prize gifts at my sisters bridal shower. I knew I couldn't do anything fancy, cause fancy means $$ and I dont have a whole lot. So I decided on tea towels. I have a whole bunch in my stash from when I was making tea aprons awhile back. I have made SO many of the full tea towel aprons it's ridiculous! But I wanted them all to be different so here is what I came up with:

And I made a Tutorial for the full one. It's a great project for beginers, and if you dont have all the supplies to make it it only costs about 5$ to buy the stuff, and takes about 15 minutes. Maybe 30, but I've made so many so it takes me about 15! And It's fun! I've made them for just about everybody I know, and even sold a few!

What you need:

1 tea towel any color

2 fat quarters in coordinating prints

3 yards of 1 inch grossgrain ribbon

Matching thread

Sewing machine

Any embelishments you might want to add

Start by folding your towel in half down the center long ways. Press.Then Open.

From the WRONG side, Take the top 2 corners and bring the points in to the center fold, being sure that your corners are the same length on both sides, you can make these longer if your taller or shorter if your short! Press.

Then open the sides back up and cut off the corners 1 1/2 inch from the pressed mark.

Take your first piece of fabric and cut 8 inches by whatever the across length is of your towel is. You want it hang over the sides, just make sure it's longer than your towel. I didn't give exact measurements since the top can be customized to size:). Press the top and bottom seam of the fabric in 1/4 inch. Pin to the RIGHT side of the apron as shown below. Sew a staight stitch along the top and bottom.

Turn your towel back over and cut off excess faric at the same spot you cut from the towel.

Press the outer edge of the part you just cut in 1/4 inch. Then fold where you first pressed and sew down the outside edge.This creates a cassing for your ribbon.

It should look like this:

(Sew where the pins are)

Now for your bottom pocket.

Cut a piece from your 2nd fabric measuring 8" by the width of the towel adding 1/4 inch seam allowance. Fold and press in ALL the sides.

I added a ribbon to the top of the pocket, if you are not going to do this then just ignore it:). Sew JUST the top part of the pocket. If your adding a ribbon, just hold it under the piece so some is sticking out and sew it with your seam. Does that make sense?

Now pin your pocket on the bottom of the towel and sew around the 3 sides leaving the top open. Be sure have the top part you already sewed at the TOP!!!! I've sewed it backwards before!!

Now mark you spot where you want to create the pockets and sew the a straight stitches down the center of the pocket. Being sure to backstitch at the top and bottom.

Then finally take your ribbon, start at the bottom of one side of the cassing go up to the top then to the other cassing and go down. You can sew these in place but I like that they can move cause some people are smaller or larger and it can be completely adjustable. Burn the edge of your ribbon so it doesn't fray.

And Your Done!!!! Now go wear your apron and bake some cupcakes!!

You can even wrap it up all cute and give as a gift!

I heart faces constructive criticism

2010-03-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

I Love this picture, but the shadows across his face bug me out. It's so hard to take pics of him because he only holds still for about a second, and he NEVER lets me place him where I want. Like I said before, I'm just starting out with my camera and would love to get feedback on what I could have done differently. I used the digital photo professional to edit, it's the one that came with my camera. I didn't do much besides sharpen and brighten a bit to lighten the harsh shadow on his face. I really have no clue what else to do.

Here is the info on the shot:

Camera: Canon Rebel XS

Mode: AE

Shutter:1/160

Aperture:9.0

ISO:200