Princess V is really 4!

When a Princess wants a swing for her birthday and her dad walks on the wild side this is what you get...

A Giant Tree swing that attaches to 2 trees, the house and the upper level of the deck.

This is a single...
And here is a triple...
Get her up high dad!
The other kids look on with anticipation for their own turn.
One last time for the birthday girl.

Ok, it's time to open presents and sing Happy Birthday!
Mister A liked the balloons best. Or was it the Barbie paraphernalia?
Grandpa Bob makes sure that J doesn't miss out. We are equal opportunity birthday in this fam.
And they must match. Pink for her, silver for him.
I just love the looks that I get from Princess each year when she opens our gift. Priceless!

Who wants to decorate their own cupcakes?
Great decorations J. (You look so much like your mama in this picture.)
Don't forget our featured little lady...
I may never have a daughter but that is OK because I have a niece who loves to dress up. What a beautiful model!
Remember this apron? Here it is on the intended model. I was so happy when she wore it for most of her party. Strike a pose V.
A was amazed by all the little plastic parts that come with a Barbie bath. He even showed V how to use the hairbrush.

What a beautiful day with a beautiful family and friends. Thanks sister for including us in your day. Thanks V for all the photo ops.

I need a pocket!

Why do I buy clothes without pockets? Because they are cute and I am really wondering if they make my butt look big rather than if there is ample room to stow my electronic life (aka cell phone), lighter, a extra paci, car keys and whatever other miscellany that ends up in a pocket.
I was tellin' The Mama about my need the other day ad she told me to send her some pockets from worn out jeans. (It's on my ever present list ma.) I can't wait to see what she does with some used jeans pockets. Interesting.
So that is a long intro to what I discovered on Craftster this morning. This neato Hipslinger. Not quite a fanny pack so my sister can't laugh at me but something sleek that would be nice to wear to the park on my walk with A or even something for around the house while picking up when it is just a bit too hot to wear an apron. I am off to print this tutorial and add it to my (not quite complete) craft notebook.

Fabric Combos from Hobby Lobby

Today while I was picking up some batting for an upcoming rag quilt I drooled over some pretty cotton prints. Here are a few combos that I liked lots. (I apologize for the quality of the photos, they are from my phone.)

I like the stripes for a bias tape, the cream background for the waistband and ties and the dark pink background for the body of an apron. I think I even like these for a tote or small bag.

These prints would look really good with the remaining bias tape that I made.

I love the true color of these two. The lime is really set off by the blues.

These are another set that would make a lovely apron or bag. Once again I think the stripe would make a pretty bias tape with the polka dots as the ties and the flowers for the bib and skirt.

The Mama~ This is a combo that I like for your apron if you still want to use the pink leopard print and stripes.
This would also make a cute bag. I like the black print for a top too.
The Mama~ This is another idea with the leopard & stripes like V's.
I am thinking of using the top one as a quilt top for V.

The top print isn't polka dots it's tiny hearts. I love it. I think they would complement a nice B&W polka dot too.

This might be my favorite of what I saw today. The colors are very modern but the pattern reminds me of another time.

If only I had endless cash to build my stash because these ALL would have followed me home today. As it was I settled for batting at a 30% discount. How often can I go into a fabric store and leave with only spending $5? Not very!

Plan your work then work your plan

We do not need to know "how" or "where" but there is one question that we should all ask whenever we start anything: "What am I doing this for?" ~Paulo Coelho

Last night I was up way too late trying to sort out a few things to prepare myself for the new month. Tonight I need to get to bed on time (10:30) and catch up on my much needed beauty sleep.
So what did I do?
I went through my notebook, well one of them anyway. I want to try a new schedule for my household blessings during September. I am constantly working on perfecting the balance of HB's with other commitments, time with A and personal recharge/fitness time. I have a good plan for the month that I think will work.

My Daily Blessings:
Walk
Wash Dishes (x2)
Make Bed & Pick Up House
Sweep Living Room & Kitchen
Laundry (x2)
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Brush Teeth (x2)
Check Business & Personal Email

Weekly Blessings:
Change Sheets
Bathroom
Mop
Finances
Process Inbox
Meal Plan
Grocery Shopping
Park (x2)
Arts & Crafts
Reading Time (x3)
Visit Col
Sewing (x4)
Blog (x4)
Repost CL ad

Bi-Weekly Blessings:
WIC Shopping
Visit Dad
Sweep Outside

Monthly Blessings:
Living Room
Bedroom
A's Bedroom
Kitchen
Weed Garden
Costco Shopping

With all that laid out I need to get it into my palm for my reminders and see how it works out for the next month or two.
The quote at the top is something I came across in Life: Selected Quotations by Paulo Coelho. This book has many great quotes but this one jumped off the page at me today. I need to be more mindful of the reason that I am doing things. In the spirit of that I will say that I am rehabing my HB list in an effort to simplify my life and make more time for A and the hubster.

Ideas for The Mama's Apron

The Mama~
I need your input to which apron you think you'd like better. I think the first one would look more like V's but the second would give you more coverage

I am thinking too that either apron would look better with a different fabric than the polka dot. I want to go to the fabric store with you in mind and pick out something just for you. There are lots of great prints at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's these days. Heck even Wal-Mart has a few cute prints that I still need to play with. I might even try some new fabric that I have found online.

I sew. Really.

Here is the apron that I have been working on (10 minutes at a time for the last 2 weeks and almost all afternoon today) for my niece's birthday tomorrow. I hope she likes it . I do.
The best part is that I completely designed it myself. That means that I had to go back for a bit more fabric this morning and ripping out a few stitches but overall it makes me feel very accomplished.

A LOVES the Park!

So I mentioned that A and I went for 2 walks the other day. Well the next day we went back to the park with Granny. I remembered to bring the little camera to take a few photos for your delight.

He started out slow by just playing with the tic-tac-toe blocks...
and the steering wheel...Then trying to coax a new friend to come slide down the slide...
After a while he got brave enough to think about crossing the bridge...
See ma, if I just hold on I'll be fine.
Peek a Boo. Don't worry, I won't climb over it for at least another week or two...
Alright. What's next?
What about the slide?
Granny's dog, Jack, came to the park too. It was almost as if A was saying...
Are you watchin' Granny?
Weee. I like the slide now that I can do it by myself.
And look, I can climb back up too.
I look forward to our next day in the park with you buddy. I had a lot of fun watching you.

Several Weeks Ago...

I learned to make jam with my favorite aunt & uncle.

We made peach...
and pineapple...Didn't they turn out pretty?
I loved cooking in my aunt's magnificent kitchen. It is so roomy with lots of counter space and almost every tool one could imagine needing. I look forward to canning with her again. Next time though I think we will do it when my uncle is out of town. This turned into a BIG Doug project!

Thanks Aunt Phyllis. I had a ton of fun.

I should be in bed but I'm not.

I went for 2 walks today. This morning A and I walked over to the park about 10 minutes from here. It was going to be a much longer walk but we got sidetracked by the fun playground equipment. Then this evening we walked to Granny's house. I feel like a kid pulling my dolly in the wagon sometimes. Many people will look and smile. I makes me feel nostalgic.
We did laundry today as well as the regular dailies. I spend a lot of time taking care of the house (still) and really am evaluating what I do on a daily basis and what can be condensed either to bi-weekly or even as little as once per month (since it feels like that is what I am doing anyway). That is another topic for another day.
Today I should have been making an apron for a certain soon-to-be 4 year old niece but I spent the Nap Time on the phone and cleaning instead. Ah well there is always tomorrow to try to get it done.
Well if I want any chance of waking up tomorrow with a smile on my face I need to go clean up the kitchen and get to bed.

3 things I wish I could tell my 18 year old self

So 27 isn't that far from 18 but since I recently read something similar here I thought I'd give this a go. I picked 18 because I made a serious mistake that changed my life.

1. Stay in high school until you are done! It is much harder to get back to this point in 6 years. And go to college! It will change your experience a ton.
2. Dad is not the be all end all. You will need to learn and think for yourself. You are not an extension of him. The sooner you learn this lesson the better.
3. You are a beautiful woman. Learn to tell yourself this no matter what. Don't let Tom tell you otherwise.

Is there anything you'd like to tell yourself at 18 or even 20?

A grey day with a little ray of light

At the beginning of the year I made a resolution to lose 30 lbs. Today when I got on the scale I saw that I am only 4 lbs away from that goal. Picture my happy dance. Just thought I'd share a smile on an otherwise gloomy rainy day.

Beautiful Paper Lily

I have been so busy for the last couple of weeks that I haven't created a single thing. BLAH! So the other day I was listening to an audiobook that mentioned something about origami. This leads me to add scrapbook paper to my dollar store list. Today before the baby shower I needed to stop at said dollar store and pick up a bow and miscellaneous other goodies.
Tonight following a dinner with sister & brother in law and getting little man to sleep I decided to look for a simple origami instruction. I found this beautiful (and easy) tutorial over here and made this:

Isn't it pretty. I think I may make a few of these and put them in my vases in the living room. Maybe a couple of sizes too. I now feel like this unstuck my creative backup that I was experiencing. I have high hopes to at least begin my pretty red top this week. (I should also work on dad's curtains but I think I can hold off for a little while longer.)

Loving the plants

I got some beautiful new plants yesterday for an awesome deal. My dad has done signs for Nick's Garden Center for years and the owner is a good friend. Randy is a great guy and gave me a super fantastic price!


This morning I potted the plants in their new containers. I just love the colors and can't wait to bring them inside to liven up the decor.

Over at Mabel's House Liz wrote about The Art of Hosting. I was really impressed by this and decided to write on my thoughts about hosting.

This is something I really desire to do a lot of when we are in a space that allows us to have more than 2 guests. My (not so) secret dream is to host monthly get-togethers with family and friends. I loved being in the midst of so many people at my son's birthday. I also think it is a big part of the matriarch hat that I aspire to wear. (I have always loved this image and that is the hat I am talking about!) Anyway that is another tangent.

Back to the hosting ideas.
I want to throw themed parties. Lavish affairs where people dress up for them like a 20's Evening or a luau or just whatever color strikes me that week. BBQ's with lots of yummy food (all prepared by yours truly) and great conversation. Ahh, this is my dream.

I know if I just had a bigger space and a dining table that this would be my life. Alas, for now it is not the case. I will have to wait and only entertain another couple at a time until then.

Here are a few things that I aspire to have said of me when I do get to this magical place.
"She is such a great host. I felt right at home from the moment I walked in the door."
"Isn't that restroom just gorgeous? I love the little soaps and hand towels."
"I wonder what it cost to cater this. The food was amazing!"
Wouldn't I just feel warm and fuzzy all over if I overheard someone saying something like that about me. :) Talk about perma-grin.

So good I should have taken a picture

Dinner tonight was fab.u.lous. I cooked some chicken in a pan with a spray of olive oil. Half way through cooking I added pepper, garlic salt, red pepper, and chili powder. YUMM-O! Removed them from the pan then made a quesadilla and added the chicken. Oh man was it good. We had a side of microwaved veggies and water. You'd think that with good food like this I would be losing lbs left and right. To top it all of A & I walked down to Granny's house. A in his little red wagon and mama pulling it along. We had a good time.

Business is super fantastic. Today we won a bid for the stone veneer on the California Pizza Kitchen in Cherry Creek Mall. It was a good bid so we will be able to reserve the booth for the Garden & Home show coming up this winter. N & I talked about that today and got a few of our ideas down on paper. This is good stuff folks. We don't have a lot of advertising going on so I think it will be fantastic to get out business card out there in so many hands. Who knows there may be a huge payoff in the years to come from just one show.

Today we got to sample some more from our garden. The grape tomatoes are starting to turn red and ripen. I just got a taste today but there are a couple more that will be ready tomorrow. I am hoping I can get a good photo before hubby gets out there and plucks them. I also need to get the squash. They are so pretty with the blooms and the veggies all hiding under those massive leaves.

I was going to take photos of green today but didn't get to it. Bummer dude. Guess that will have to wait for my excursion with A to the park tomorrow. I think I will add either red or yellow to the day so I can get more than one day from a color. :)

Well that is enough from me tonight. I want to be up early to get a head start on my day tomorrow.

Hello? Are you still reading this?

Sorry for my week long absence. I have feeling kinda blah about blogging this week but things are looking up this week so I hope to update at least twice this coming week.
What is going on? Well...
Early last week was a bit of a blur. We visited with C & G on Thursday. Costco you are my friend. Monday through Wednesday we bummed around the house. Lots of housework was done but not so much creative stuff. I did start a new plan of attack with the housework on Tuesday and that seems to be working well. I should make a separate post on that later.
Friday I was feeling a major lack of motivation. I did get the house work done but after that I felt really drained. So A & I spent the day hanging out and not doing much above that.
Saturday I did a fun shopping all by myself. Hubbykins stayed home with A. They had a good time and so did I. I got a couple of pants and shirts for the boy. Hubby got 2 new shirts and jeans. I got 2 tops and a dress. I love clearance time!
Today was supposed to be a relaxing day with the three of us. We were planning to go to the gun range then maybe a trip to the park. But as often happens, plans changed. N's brother & sister-in-law came for a visit. As usually happens with them, they stayed until late. I hate to say it but I wish they would have left 3 hours before they did. I would have liked to lounge around in my pj's and gotten the boy to bed on time but that didn't happen. Oh well.
Now I need to get in the kitchen and do the dishes so they aren't there in the morning. But instead I am sitting outside having a last smoke and typing on my phone. And am going to post it after I get back inside, before the dishes. Bad girl, I know.

Let's see... I haven't posted on my blog all week. Part of it is not knowing what to say, part of it is not wanting to say what is on my mind, and part of it is lack of creativity happening this week. I feel like my mind has been to bogged down to feel creative.

This week I want to add a few appointments to keep with A. I think we will start with a coloring/drawing time on Monday, a trip to the park on Tuesday & Thursday, and some game time on Friday. I also hope to spend most of Wednesday photographing N's old jobs so we can get a better portfolio together. Sounds like a good week coming up. There may even be some pretty photos for you to look at along the way. If you are still reading this I commend you for checking in on me even in my absence. I promise to reward you with at least a photo in every post this week. Who knows maybe it is the week of color. Do I have a vote for green on Monday?

Updating on the 101 in 1001

#70. Get new PDA/Smartphone. Done beautifully. I got the Palm 700p. It was a discontinued model so the once $300 price tag was reduce to only $100! Plus I love, love, love it. I can keep my schedule, my contacts (with birthdays), tasks and memos. I really like the memos because I can just write up my blog while I am relaxing in the yard and can come back and post it later. Super handy when the computer free days come each week.

#58. go computer free for 1 day each week for 6 months. Good start. Last Saturday and Tuesday I was completely computer free. It really wasn't hard but I did have to remind myself that I am on a free day a couple of times.

#52. use more green cleansers in the house. Wow did I find something fantastic! Method has a great line of eco-friendly cleaners. I love the almond wood floor cleaner and the pink grapefruit dish soap. But the French Lavender hand soap takes the cake. It smells divine! I find myself washing hands just to smell that beautiful smell. I would love that smell everywhere. In my bedroom especially! Anyway, I am not completely ready to check this on off the list yet but I am making headway.

#13 have a monthly date night. I am excited for next wednesday night because I am taking my darling hubby for a picnic date at City Park. Hubby is really not the romantic type to plan a date like this. I am though so there is no rule saying that I can't take the bull by the horns and plan it myself. It should be tons of fun and kid free for the night just makes it that much more exciting.

#31. write & mail a letter each month. I bought a beautiful desk note card & envelope set yesterday at Hobby Lobby so I have what I need at the tips of my fingers when it is time to send a note.

#94. set aside time weekly for creativity. At A's age this is a bit harder since doing more than crayons and playdough are about all we can handle right now. But we are making time to do this even more than once a week. For myself I am averaging about once a week for personal creativity. Overall I think I can check off 2 more weeks (since I didn't check last week).

Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

The peppers are starting to get big. We have two. These were supposed to be jalapeños but they look like green peppers to us. Oh well the bell pepper seeds we planted didn't sprout so we are happy to have these.

We even have a few tomatoes. We have lost 3 plants but the ones that are thriving are producing quite a bit of fruit.

And of course we have some pretty little squash starting too. I love the blossoms on these. I can't believe how big these plants are.

We are happy to have such a beautiful garden. I can't wait to eat a tomato right off the vine. Yummy!

It is good to have a map

After my wonderful phone call with my mom I realized that my priorities are a bit out of whack so it is time to evaluate and set them straight.
1. A is the reason I am a stay at home mom. I need to be doing more with him instead of the computer and house. I need to take him to the park, read to him more often, and do more to develop his language and other skills.
2. Hubby needs to be up higher on the list too. I have been setting aside some of his needs for housework and other responsibilities. I know that he works hard to so I can be at home with the boy and I really should show my appreciation for that.
**Mom's words of wisdom: Babies and love won't keep, the housework will.**
3. Me. I need to take better care of me. A wise woman, my mom, told me that if I don't take care of my needs I won't have anything to give to the other people and activities in my life. I need to stop waiting for A to get bigger so it will be easier but do what I can with today. (This morning I was successful at getting a half hour to myself and put on my makeup, did my hair and dressed. Good Stuff!)
4. The Housework. This still needs to hit the top 5 otherwise I will neglect my duties. I am going to try to set myself an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening to work on the house. This should give me enough time to get stuff I NEED to get done without feeling guilty that I didn't do enough during the day.
5. Friends and Family. I need to make a better effort to spend time with the people I love. I cannot cultivate and rely on these relationships if I neglect them. I know that others lives are busy but I bet if I put on a BBQ most of them would show up.
6. The business needs to be on here as well. I know I can do more to get us more business. I also need to be sure to set aside time every week to enter in our receipts and keep up with all aspects of the books.
7. Crafting is something that makes me happy and needs to be included in my time. I think if I make an effort to be more organized in my projects then I can get more done with less effort. I also need to manage my projects better so I am not being pulled in 10 different directions when I sit down to work on them.
8. Money also needs to hit this list. I tend to spend money in ways that prevent us from saving to get into a house or just about any big purchase for that matter. By setting a budget and sticking to it I can get rid of my frivolous spending and STOP getting charged overdraft fees. (Yuck!)

Wow, this list is pretty much in line with my 101 in 1001 project. I guess that makes this list pretty complete.

4th of July was a Lazy Weekend

What a lazy weekend. Friday we visited S & T. BBQ and fireworks. I forgot my camera but S has pictures that she took. A fell asleep half way through the show. He was a champ though. Traffic after the show was crazy. Rant: Why can't people remember the line at kindergarten? Everyone got a drink at the water fountain when everyone stood in line and waited their turn. I think that for the $10 that we paid to park should have come with a bit of traffic control.
Saturday was super lazy and so was Sunday with the exception of lots of dishes and meal preparation.

Walking little one means time for a change

My little guy is walking with quite a bit of excitement for the last couple of days. This evening he even tripped and bit his lip. Hubby was nearly hysterical from the blood. I was calm but nervous. It turned out to be pretty simple to calm him with a boo boo pack and a visit to the backyard. Both good distractions to be able to take a look in to see what might have happened.

See ya tomorrow for my new blouse excitement and the lovely clothing purchases that I got today.

Organizing & Blessings

Last night I finished Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. While I liked most of her ideas I am already using those. She suggests that you explore why something isn't working in your current system. As well as what your goals are so you can make a plan. She breaks down the different rooms and offers ideas on how to attack each area. Overall it was worth reading but didn't offer me a whole lot.

Blessings:
6/30
water for the garden
A's wagon
walks to the park
beautiful fabric
a clean kitchen first thing in the morning

7/1
organizing a bit at a time
hubby's day off
visits with friends
getting out of the house
creative energy