tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72475135458349481732024-02-21T05:32:08.874-08:00Goldilocks CreationsMaking memories while creating solutions!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-40254491144829819052011-03-29T06:14:00.000-07:002011-03-29T06:14:41.403-07:00Huge Giveaways!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnIi-6BtXv4gkqHnIZoazDiv6DUmjcty37PR2lJdIaOdzoyvrWEo-bXy49pxVeq-s-M5sm-P3Nysy-FqfBBoX0SBIlQoxODf-kE70e7dDw6fsv5lQay6yC1cb_2oRYWkqXIm0Wi4LbaU/s1600/capespratt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnIi-6BtXv4gkqHnIZoazDiv6DUmjcty37PR2lJdIaOdzoyvrWEo-bXy49pxVeq-s-M5sm-P3Nysy-FqfBBoX0SBIlQoxODf-kE70e7dDw6fsv5lQay6yC1cb_2oRYWkqXIm0Wi4LbaU/s1600/capespratt.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For those of you that love giveaways, you need to hop on over to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51319&id=137970862893203#!/BoutiqueChallengeGroup">Boutique Challenge Group</a> on facebook. They are having a <span style="font-size: large;">HUGE </span><span style="font-size: small;">giveaway when they reach 5000 fans. I submitted one of our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51319&id=137970862893203#!/photo.php?fbid=160264360697638&set=a.155827241141350.31782.102188016505273&theater">Super Hero Sets</a> for the giveaway. </span></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNGe8zvCKvTWGSI4AL499sbAgTuaiag3TYqwVV5fCtM1aEfp8KcZkBVWP0kHlw6T8tU7QpHADQy0U_zmqQhO-Jlk4uMnKYjJHJJrZy5bmPZuXDVLxKXr0cVY_Sy6I2idOjBL97FQ8pVs/s1600/karissaorder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNGe8zvCKvTWGSI4AL499sbAgTuaiag3TYqwVV5fCtM1aEfp8KcZkBVWP0kHlw6T8tU7QpHADQy0U_zmqQhO-Jlk4uMnKYjJHJJrZy5bmPZuXDVLxKXr0cVY_Sy6I2idOjBL97FQ8pVs/s1600/karissaorder.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Super Hero Sets have become one of our most popular items. They can be designed with any color combination. Currently I offer two sets, the standard which is a lined cape with an emblem on one side, Super Hero ID card, and coordinating mask/ wristbands. The deluxe cape set has a reversible cape instead which you choose a lightning bolt, star, heart or any other design on one side and the initial emblem on the reversed side. Now the one I am giving away is the <span style="font-size: large;">mega</span> deluxe set because it will include all of the above mentioned plus our newest design....... A power belt . I am so excited about it. I designed it this past weekend and it looks so cute. I think it completes the adventure perfectly.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ-duVY5ak8AVMDV5H1htjepC-DTHMpf3XW7yZn7aXlbYStH9qhY4VlIjuAjjZtUa0p8MItXi6blUkEHz_0jLf674rt2Mv37Eapl46gFW6WID-P3kb2PCcbDWV0Y89lnctZTPStH1nkI/s1600/superhero1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQ-duVY5ak8AVMDV5H1htjepC-DTHMpf3XW7yZn7aXlbYStH9qhY4VlIjuAjjZtUa0p8MItXi6blUkEHz_0jLf674rt2Mv37Eapl46gFW6WID-P3kb2PCcbDWV0Y89lnctZTPStH1nkI/s1600/superhero1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>If you were wondering what all can you do with these cape sets, hopefully you realize from the pictures, that we can design them to fit your childs personality perfectly. We can do logos that resemble superman or batman or the pow , bam comic book style logo</em></strong></span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBF1kfYIEMKQZ_jhcu_5daScC8OmtlgNe3pWK_UGsR2cCf3j0bvAX1yhHIJ7rPUjySoizOu7sY4OztfPS3ycKzidK9c7XlJ8v4dDkvwnv5uismPAJ8aJ4KXiOmWF_J0e5dtjZ-MiS5KE/s1600/kellan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBF1kfYIEMKQZ_jhcu_5daScC8OmtlgNe3pWK_UGsR2cCf3j0bvAX1yhHIJ7rPUjySoizOu7sY4OztfPS3ycKzidK9c7XlJ8v4dDkvwnv5uismPAJ8aJ4KXiOmWF_J0e5dtjZ-MiS5KE/s1600/kellan.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now maybe you are not interested in the Super Hero Set, you should still go check the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51319&id=137970862893203#!/BoutiqueChallengeGroup">event</a> . They have over 250 prizes to hand out to some lucky people. You will need to look at both albums to see the prizes. The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51319&id=137970862893203#!/album.php?aid=27991&id=102188016505273">1st album</a> has 200 prizes and the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51319&id=137970862893203#!/album.php?aid=31782&id=102188016505273">2nd album</a> has about 70 prizes in it. So many beautiful items: jewelry, bibs, clothing, hair bows, hair bow holders, key fobs, certificates and the list goes on and on. Once you look through the albums, to enter, you comment under the picture (oh yeah, you obviously have to be a fan of the Boutique Challenge Group, remember it is a fan appreciation event ) and you must like the page of the boutique offering the prize you entered for. Thats it, easy peasy! Then you sit back, watch, cross your fingers and hope that you win! I will be hoping you win too. ;-)</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-34257048544787525512011-03-25T21:19:00.000-07:002011-03-25T21:19:58.724-07:00Pecking Order<div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">From the moment the second child arrives, the pecking order begins. I love how sibling shirts have become all the rage, proudly stating where you fit into the family. This <a href="http://www.appliquemomma.com/item_224/Big-Brother-Applique-Design.htm">sibling patch</a> from Applique Momma has become one of my new favorites to use when designing a sibling shirt. </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You certainly could use the patch by itself . However, I think the fun part of designing is playing around and expanding what you can do. Personally when I looked at the patch design she digitized, I saw a big bubble and immediately thought of lots of bubbles. After playing around with the placement of the circles and sizing them just right , I finally came up with this design for the sibling shirts. </span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5RwRaL78UZ_7RaC03EYt2r_O1Od8TUN-_z77NzRE_gsnORNNtMPkmoaisQD6Mb-MoeFluv7VA_PlB5H08laOzXPF6Z7BVyQCENBrjNhjrYCF2uwtagqHevTaxj8c1RWXQrPciqTuZXk/s1600/prattsib2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5RwRaL78UZ_7RaC03EYt2r_O1Od8TUN-_z77NzRE_gsnORNNtMPkmoaisQD6Mb-MoeFluv7VA_PlB5H08laOzXPF6Z7BVyQCENBrjNhjrYCF2uwtagqHevTaxj8c1RWXQrPciqTuZXk/s1600/prattsib2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw8ua-vvupKOQHmnZouSQ6Bw_xaOcyJPmFpFfiEoTu8Zdbc-o6eGBqURbKqVYlK9E3JDZgpCSPGIokDxHST5R9fjwuWsvVjz_wKUxmh-Bhbif5NONSN8_oXfr-GEg-dNukiYZ6PtRlOM/s1600/sibling1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaw8ua-vvupKOQHmnZouSQ6Bw_xaOcyJPmFpFfiEoTu8Zdbc-o6eGBqURbKqVYlK9E3JDZgpCSPGIokDxHST5R9fjwuWsvVjz_wKUxmh-Bhbif5NONSN8_oXfr-GEg-dNukiYZ6PtRlOM/s1600/sibling1.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love them, they are just so adorable....... It makes you want to proudly display your sibling status for all to see, right?</span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Now I am busy thinking of how to use the birthday patch that Applique Momma offers.</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-20040671940559547882011-03-17T06:05:00.000-07:002011-03-17T06:19:04.236-07:00Hibernation.......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWRHdeEEZdcOZXxn4ZZr4bwt-cb0xfo6C8Rki3x2hir3okIwSPWJXmhQoEMq2dz0hNnZS6q8n8RgehRCA2bpHtRiZ8X_pIG5D6wuCs9CrKJrbV7tRzk7nfB-HlCiUOJy7SVkYgbdSyk4/s1600/Bear_hibernating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWRHdeEEZdcOZXxn4ZZr4bwt-cb0xfo6C8Rki3x2hir3okIwSPWJXmhQoEMq2dz0hNnZS6q8n8RgehRCA2bpHtRiZ8X_pIG5D6wuCs9CrKJrbV7tRzk7nfB-HlCiUOJy7SVkYgbdSyk4/s1600/Bear_hibernating.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is surely what you must think happened to this lady. I wish I could say that is what happened. Oh how nice it would have been to have slept through some of that cold winter weather and just wake up to the beauty of spring.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSx_JJZ3jZFYiUN0YmMNltkGE15kXcqQGy5WB-ErVer9_vAqkOhwwUdjalZuKPeOoREFeQ1BUyOnQCnrq3yKbEiKI8CVW6WQa2iWWorcJel4M9cIr714XLjjMJC4aNrjHz1hoOCDOnxM/s1600/winter+2010+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSx_JJZ3jZFYiUN0YmMNltkGE15kXcqQGy5WB-ErVer9_vAqkOhwwUdjalZuKPeOoREFeQ1BUyOnQCnrq3yKbEiKI8CVW6WQa2iWWorcJel4M9cIr714XLjjMJC4aNrjHz1hoOCDOnxM/s320/winter+2010+021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> However that is not the excuse I can give to you concerning my MIA status over here in blogland. SO what can I give you as an excuse..........</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">hmmmm........... well...... you see........ its like this............. I have been swamped with homeschooling, winter illnesses, meeting deadlines for orders, Christmas, more winter illnesses, lesson planning, cooking, cleaning, sewing, babysitting and just about everything else that falls under the sunshine. The reality of it is this - I just would not make the time to write and share because sometimes when you are feeling overwhelmed, disconnected and thrown into overdrive you really do not need one more thing on your plate, KWIM? Plus, do you really want to hear how I am drowning in the neverending pool of task that I have on my To Do list?</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">For some reason my plate seems to be full before I can even get started with my day.</span></em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">As the day progresses....many things tend to get pushed further and further to the side of the plate. Not intentionally but it just happens. I love my blog, I love creating, I love a clean house, I love my friends, I love my family, I love to read, I love so many things that life offers to me but as the time ticks away I must prioritize between necessities and luxuries. It is such a huge balancing act that I obviously am still working on like every other mother in the world .</span></em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">So for whatever the reason, just know I have been maintaining life. Sometimes that involved teaching the boys, sometimes it involved a mundane task around the house and sometimes it involved creating an item that was ordered. I will<span style="font-size: large;"> try</span> to write and share often but honestly, that is all I can do. I am sure all of you can relate.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you can not relate, this would be the time to zip it, hold that thought, do not share because really none of us need or want to hear how wonderfully you have got it all together. We would really like to believe that you too are living in that constant chaotic feeling of "where did my day go" mode as you review your day only realizing in that precise moment..... You actually only managed to cross off a couple of items on the the never ending list of things TO DO. </span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-13097192836953276172010-11-11T07:39:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:34:20.142-08:00The lingering effects<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>"<strong>I can't believe I am 10!" was the first thing awakening me this morning. I look at my clock and realize I have only slept about 4 and half hours again. I really thought we would be past that now but the effects of a premature birth still linger with us. After a decade, the optimism has begun to fade and reality has set in to what we do have to deal with. We run like a well oiled machine around here most of the time. Very few surprises pop up anymore like that day ten years ago when I went into labor. I knew something was wrong, the lower back pain was excruciating and then my water broke. Fortunately I had read enough to know that at 25 weeks, they did have a chance at survival. The statistics at that time were 50% chance the first night. The percentage increasing with each passing day. The overall statistic for survival was 80%. I am sure that has changed now due to medical advance in a decade. But for us that night changed our lives forever.</strong></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Both boys arrived 15 weeks early. Their eyes still fused shut, no cries. We would not hear a cry from them till almost 3 months later. I never had that final trimester most women endure. Gaelan weighed in at 1lb 12oz and Ghavin weighed 1lb 11oz, both were a foot long. They should have finished off their development in utero. Most babies do but for the next four months they finished their utero development in a NICU isolette and incubator. The hospital was about 30 minutes from our house. So much time was spent on the road traveling back and forth. I can not even count how many times we got home only to get a call that said we needed to come back because it did not look good or another problem had arose. </strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Gaelan was the sickest, born under distress, he had a bleed on the brain and his lungs were diagnosed with Chronic Lung Disease within a day. The bleed resulted in a diagnosis of Hydrocephalus. Of course when you deal with the brain , they really can not tell you much..... just wait and see how he develops. In a course of 4 months, he fought over 15 infections consisting of Pnuemonia, , Strep B , E.Coli just to name a few. He had a PDA ligation surgery, seizures and several surgeries on his retinas. One of the biggest catch 22s of having the babies on the oxygen for a long period of time is it accelerates the growth of blood vessels and they start pulling the retinas which untreated can result in blindness. He recieved his last blood transfusion 4 weeks before his discharge.</strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Ghavin came home a week and a half earlier than his brother after fighting off just as many infections and seizures but thank goodness his lungs were responding and healing better than his twins. He mainly struggled with his stomach, developed necrotizing enterocolitis and reflux. This will plague us long after he leaves the hospital. Ghavin received his final blood transfusion 5 weeks prior to his dismissal.</strong></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Most people just assumed they lived, all is well with the world. Unfortunately the effects of a premature birth linger long after the discharge from the hospital. They started occupational and physical therapy when they were 5 months old. That was just the beginning of many therapies including speech, sensory, behavior and listening. I remember at one point in our lives we had a therapy every day of the week. Finally after 8 years of therapy, we stopped because honestly.... we were tired and ready to just accept this is as good as it gets. Plus we were struggling with the newest challenge of academics.</strong></em></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fh2Vw997lEqeXxGp6Cxq5hayFAu_KG0h9U6Z-5ED-f-6pnJKv5KfEKwItXfKGeoJICp6-jrz65AvntCEdDtdQ8nuQy4hZb8vLV9NdUbffUDaNohEJXIxpPa_LyRS3n3JTQUNKZpXRTs/s1600/img035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fh2Vw997lEqeXxGp6Cxq5hayFAu_KG0h9U6Z-5ED-f-6pnJKv5KfEKwItXfKGeoJICp6-jrz65AvntCEdDtdQ8nuQy4hZb8vLV9NdUbffUDaNohEJXIxpPa_LyRS3n3JTQUNKZpXRTs/s320/img035.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDfJagrORMp4-DDUPC7zL0dh44rlmU-e8Sg3DJ122-u1MO5EqKo3OvxKN2SLA1gr6O0mvi70_8rCztHzOMtU_ss1UXBjbXp_dkG6Zo7pklZdq-DWVGJBsmeIxDr9odGBIEI-SZn0JgJ0/s1600/img053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDfJagrORMp4-DDUPC7zL0dh44rlmU-e8Sg3DJ122-u1MO5EqKo3OvxKN2SLA1gr6O0mvi70_8rCztHzOMtU_ss1UXBjbXp_dkG6Zo7pklZdq-DWVGJBsmeIxDr9odGBIEI-SZn0JgJ0/s320/img053.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>The first three years were mostly all health and medical issues we dealt with. Ghavin was diagnosed with failure to thrive because of his severe reflux. He was a colicky baby for more than a year. If you have ever had a colicky baby on your hands, stretch it out a year long event. You get the idea. Solid foods had to be introduced slowly to both boys. Gaelans palette had suffered from the prolonged time he was on the ventilator. He also was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy. Due to those issues, he would not eat solids till after he was a year old. We were not allowed to be out around people because they caught eveything. Regardless of this , they managed to contract RDS several times, and stomach viruses that put us in and out of the hospital for the next 3 years. Just as the health issues started to subside, we noticed things about Gaelan and Ghavin that would take us down the road of several specialists. We have had the terms Autism, PDD-NOS, ADHD, ADD, OCD, RLS loosely thrown at us. Acronyms became our life along with the doctors, the therapies and the IEPS. This time frame to me was harder than the initial aspect of their stay in the NICU. Gaelan did not sleep, Ghavin did not talk, both had meltdowns over everything. We were all just exhausted.</strong></em></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSP5urtSH-ZrYDiCAQdgFG9GcbRQRXdcqxo29kwV5KKbRdjhwFPxp0jM002loeGynpbLnwhcDSIVYTzCC_X9xZiR9YZ7xbAHLpRO_HzycbEG8ASl1jogj6CrhQYUsr2EuFxrID6-9-gU/s1600/066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSP5urtSH-ZrYDiCAQdgFG9GcbRQRXdcqxo29kwV5KKbRdjhwFPxp0jM002loeGynpbLnwhcDSIVYTzCC_X9xZiR9YZ7xbAHLpRO_HzycbEG8ASl1jogj6CrhQYUsr2EuFxrID6-9-gU/s320/066.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Fast forward 10 years..... Gaelan has mild cerebral palsy, OCD, anxiety, and a sleeping disorder. He fixates on laundry, cleaning, talks a mile a minute, wears glasses and overall is very social. Ghavin still has reflux,and was diagnosed last year as dyslexic and dyscalculic. He is shy, quiet, artistic, humorous, hates roller coasters and observes alot. We homeschool now to alleviate some of the anxieties that traditional school creates. Both boys still have not landed on the growth chart for their age. They look as if they are entering kindergarten or first grade and weigh about 45 pounds. The twins see an endocronlogist that has told us their bone age is running on the average about 2 years behind their actual age. We see a nuerologist, behavior therapist, orthopedic, nutritionist and pediatrician on regular intervals. Gaelan must have his retinas checked annually. He will be at risk for detachment for the rest of his life they say. Our day consist of brain gym exercises for processing and memory, games to promote sensory and motor skills and schooling at our own pace. Gaelan still does not sleep for long periods of time which means I usually do not as well. Sometimes we read, bake or he just talks while I try to hold my eyes open. </strong></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>I am grateful they lived but wish we knew why I could not carry my babies full term. November is Premature Awareness Month. I encourage you to visit </strong><a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurityawareness.html"><strong>http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurityawareness.html</strong></a><strong> to learn more about this rising epidemic. The numbers are growing and they are astounding. Yes, most are surviving but the effects are lingering. I can attest to that.</strong></em></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-40255374672839420062010-10-23T20:14:00.000-07:002010-10-23T20:14:43.278-07:00I want to be.....<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My boys start thinking of what they want to be for Halloween usually back at the end of August. Between then and Halloween, They will pick something new every other day it seems. Gaelan first decided he wanted to be a gargoyle. I found a great one to make at Family Fun. Definately different, right?</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfjQahPny_yqcsswnloz9HuqRam1BISzhhHa94D7To8cciwU7uDCM72tMWzB5fO1IvCWCEjSEtp5XcOlhJK5rku-j4MO2TL-H2KCVSbQbkRAIk6UI7jXoMNCrRSvTDzik-IOLQZSZ7ZE/s1600/gargoyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfjQahPny_yqcsswnloz9HuqRam1BISzhhHa94D7To8cciwU7uDCM72tMWzB5fO1IvCWCEjSEtp5XcOlhJK5rku-j4MO2TL-H2KCVSbQbkRAIk6UI7jXoMNCrRSvTDzik-IOLQZSZ7ZE/s1600/gargoyle.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say I was not thrilled with this selection. I was already envisioning....</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mom, I am hot, I can't carry my bucket, I can't see, etc. You sense all that too right?</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Then he decided he would be a King Tut Mummy. This is a beautiful costume.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtovBlKTy43pBtLoXJi6JtxwUP44QsX8y3h3OlEQOCZAcHSScI_8cPkwH9wq0gPe77Fp-Bsl2vAzB6P3FaEhJWfDiTSsFUCUlUS36YJCtWPVCjXKec4s1UoiawaOiEFkWY7T95SE-TpQ/s1600/king+tut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtovBlKTy43pBtLoXJi6JtxwUP44QsX8y3h3OlEQOCZAcHSScI_8cPkwH9wq0gPe77Fp-Bsl2vAzB6P3FaEhJWfDiTSsFUCUlUS36YJCtWPVCjXKec4s1UoiawaOiEFkWY7T95SE-TpQ/s1600/king+tut.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But once again, I kept thinking.... this mask is beautiful, will be fun to make not so much fun having him wear it all night. So I started my motherly manipulation and I talked him into the coolest, easiest costume. No mask, nothing too hot or bulky. He is going to be a ghostbuster! I may even have my ipod set on the theme song all night just for effects while I walk him around. Hee-hee!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ghavin is such a pratical child, he originally chose this alien costume which I love the concept. It is way cool. I am sure he would get lots of stares.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E0MpMFER8qNjawrAq8SikBBtY0vVo42wvno5WTALtuJWAVSMlzY8m84xJup-BBpcOdDfhHtqXRWIXJBXj_U6GChSIeGInhvHDrkcjhXiuRPUjZvkONuwu5I8o-tobfIkkzwadGf8r9M/s1600/alien.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E0MpMFER8qNjawrAq8SikBBtY0vVo42wvno5WTALtuJWAVSMlzY8m84xJup-BBpcOdDfhHtqXRWIXJBXj_U6GChSIeGInhvHDrkcjhXiuRPUjZvkONuwu5I8o-tobfIkkzwadGf8r9M/s1600/alien.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">He however decided it would be too uncomfortable all night so he opted to dress up as Sherlock Holmes. He has been reading the book and just out of the blue announced this past week what he will be. Now they can not change their minds anymore because the fabric is bought, props are bought as of today. They have to stick with this. As a matter of fact, I really need to start sewing before they change their minds. *LOL*</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cya later!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">;-)</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-53801739342716545982010-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-21T20:33:47.877-07:00A Spooky Elegance<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>I think I showed you the cool font I recently got that is a spooky frame design.</em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em> <a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=002-14-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/002-14-1.jpg" /></a></em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>I fell in love with it but could not decide if I wanted to do a banner or some pillows. I finally decided on the pillows. I just love how they turned out. What do you think?</em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts123.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts123.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">They are already gone though. I had to start a new set this evening for myself. I used a black and white toile looking fabric on the opposite side. Black piping finished it off with a nice polished, elegant look.</span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> In addition to the spooky frame, we managed to FINALLY decorate the front porch and the mailbox for FAll. My kids said......Well it is about time! I have them spoiled. They assume I will do something again because we have done it before. This is exactly why I have to make owl cookies, pumpkin bread, candy corn fudge and black cat cookies this coming week.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts125.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts125.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts124-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts124-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>Cya soon. I promised myself I would not neglect my blog anymore! Hold me accountable folks! :-)</em></strong></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-50753196476631035092010-10-14T20:34:00.000-07:002010-10-14T20:34:44.918-07:00The smallest details<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes the smallest change can make the biggest difference in a design. This Whimsical Pumpkin design that I bought from Planet Applique is adorable as is, right?</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIfOFmGqYuRHfHwfZu3ysoKJ0gUdf2X2LqggAwloKLop5eyg04PLM_CheS1RxILTzK7BdkolVuMmJuxwlmMPI76O-djXQtAIbp-sZSv1EEbPWZnbKscq4cZegExjYq3a2-LzP0uRuxv8/s1600/whimsy+pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIfOFmGqYuRHfHwfZu3ysoKJ0gUdf2X2LqggAwloKLop5eyg04PLM_CheS1RxILTzK7BdkolVuMmJuxwlmMPI76O-djXQtAIbp-sZSv1EEbPWZnbKscq4cZegExjYq3a2-LzP0uRuxv8/s200/whimsy+pumpkin.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been very intrigued by the ruched designs that I have seen so I took this design and tried my hand at it.....</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEReiqievH3aqzOWBZj3EIkYYVU1Oakb39XZ9RavWKH3P-alUxDv6qfS3vsnhSaamoNlDzNZwTOskpOumEnxWwiiOhYRquFWWZQyfFmPcJIT1PlOTfprfHEmHm8K7xvV7tMAYjYIN6Nv0/s1600/ruchepumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEReiqievH3aqzOWBZj3EIkYYVU1Oakb39XZ9RavWKH3P-alUxDv6qfS3vsnhSaamoNlDzNZwTOskpOumEnxWwiiOhYRquFWWZQyfFmPcJIT1PlOTfprfHEmHm8K7xvV7tMAYjYIN6Nv0/s200/ruchepumpkin.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>I LOVE how different it turned out from the original design.</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided to add ribbons to this turkey to create feathers.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkp7DsHo5yHLElAz3tq7qQr7i5KdpAedUoKjLt_9XS4CX7H1jaNp_6MldXvZZs2W9KkPHB5qEAlqwfvI7oQhXoLB1EvLgGQntz2L5DmIvNi2UoTArVY53btOdpRWUR30DWRIeyNyQJLs/s1600/ribbonturkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkp7DsHo5yHLElAz3tq7qQr7i5KdpAedUoKjLt_9XS4CX7H1jaNp_6MldXvZZs2W9KkPHB5qEAlqwfvI7oQhXoLB1EvLgGQntz2L5DmIvNi2UoTArVY53btOdpRWUR30DWRIeyNyQJLs/s1600/ribbonturkey.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em> He was actually designed like this</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7m3zNhwscApHCPBY6CGASuJ9m1PZlCq7AI1osK-3ZJG-j3CLBDESyVCvkA3COwwUMqgR2zkl2aiFHW8S1Y7vNZKUKxiw69_rrwdjAgVWlVsP6Wud6eZErChe312aS22vDb88RxEo5_8/s1600/turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7m3zNhwscApHCPBY6CGASuJ9m1PZlCq7AI1osK-3ZJG-j3CLBDESyVCvkA3COwwUMqgR2zkl2aiFHW8S1Y7vNZKUKxiw69_rrwdjAgVWlVsP6Wud6eZErChe312aS22vDb88RxEo5_8/s200/turkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So wonderful to get an alternate look from a design you already have.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a great evening!</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-33939635098359947562010-10-05T20:47:00.000-07:002010-10-05T20:49:11.562-07:00Time Off<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everybody needs it right? Well I decided I needed a night off so I hosted a party for my friend Maria who sells Premier Jewelry. It was so much fun spending an evening with friends laughing and conversing. If you have never been to a Premier Jewelry, I highly recommend attending one. They just celebrated 25 years in business. The very first piece I bought was back before my eldest son was born ( remember he is 14) and I never attended the party. I ordered from a client who was having a party. Honestly I traveled and worked such long hours back then, it just was never possible for me to attend something like that. Now I am always running to spend a little time away form the kids with some friends especially since I homeschool. I do miss my daily adult interaction I received when I worked a job. But back to what I was going to share with you. If you attend a party, they share so many cool tricks of how to interchange your jewelry and basically get more bang for your buck. It is so neat and really simple stuff to do to give your jewelry a new look. SO that is all I have to share with you tonight. Nothing crafty just how much I enjoyed my night off with my friends. </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If you have not spent some time with a friend lately, do it, for it will do your soul some good! :-)</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-3291769744491552362010-10-04T20:05:00.000-07:002010-10-04T20:06:59.824-07:00EEK, What to do???<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did not visit the shirt ordeal today. Maybe by the end of the week. I did however do this incredible font .</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=002-14-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/002-14-1.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It is awesome, spooky, simple and classy all in one!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">When I started with it, I had planned on a banner with the word EEK and a spider on each end.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=006-10-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/006-10-1.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">After finishing all three pieces however, I really started thinking this would look amazing as throw pillows too. Now I am left wondering what should I do.....make the banner or the pillows?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Maybe both? What do you think?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Remember the Boo sign I made with the kiddos ?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I finally got around to attaching the wire handle with orange beads.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As promised .....Here is a pic of the finished design.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=004-13.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/004-13.jpg" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Have a wonderful evening!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-70762376915223058622010-10-03T20:53:00.000-07:002010-10-03T20:57:17.308-07:00Cupcakes...yum, yum, yum<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been working on quite a few orders this week and organizing all of our homeschool stuff. We are still finding what works for us and what does not. Somehow I did manage to complete a birthday package, a fall banner for myself, hair clips, bows, buckets . Oh and let us not forget I messed up a shirt really bad ( this comment is dripping with sarcasm and disgust). It was awful..... which goes to show embroidering with a machine still requires constant management and preparation to achieve good results. I really wanted to complete that shirt too so I could have the little boy that I watch, wear it to the pumpkin patch. I guess mother nature heard about my ordeal. She has sent a great deal more rain. Now I can use that as an excuse as to why we are not going to the pumpkin patch just yet. This is what I wanted to make for him. Cute right?</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sv4ynRS_vD9j9KZb8R3brhn-bCrL-O3VWADzbnXWKsNrkGuax-1v0W9Rg-GjtQqltYCE9C_gYOjeCRxo28dYXZLenlVEuRKgcFs2IhgZnEgKGbgzBkpjHdl8lyIuJwrVVcSxBnBQfIk/s1600/ptriuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sv4ynRS_vD9j9KZb8R3brhn-bCrL-O3VWADzbnXWKsNrkGuax-1v0W9Rg-GjtQqltYCE9C_gYOjeCRxo28dYXZLenlVEuRKgcFs2IhgZnEgKGbgzBkpjHdl8lyIuJwrVVcSxBnBQfIk/s320/ptriuck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>Yeah, well .....we will just say mine was not! One of the fabrics caught up under the presser foot and that was all she wrote.</em></strong></span> <strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I picked out the stitches but what a mess!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">So maybe tomorrow I will work on it. I was just so disgusted with the whole ordeal that I needed something to cheer me up so off I went to make some cupcakes. Not the typical kind that give you immediate gratification but these cuties that will give smiles for a long time! They look yummy enough to eat!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts104-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts104-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I actually had the idea to add them to my birthday banner with clips to hold photos of the birthday child. I know......I amaze myself sometimes too. *LOL* Sometimes I think we look as things just as they are and tend to forget what else we can do with them.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I do not know why I did not think of this sooner but at least I did, right?</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I will share a pic of it tomorrow . Who knows maybe I will share my pumpkin truck shirt with you too. I just need more strength to go there again.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hopefully a good nights sleep will give me just that!</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-61797600847186504352010-09-27T17:14:00.000-07:002010-09-30T13:32:09.960-07:00B O O !!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Some people seem to think Halloween has to be <em>scary</em> but it can actually be quite cute too. Just check out this adorable little sign I am making for a friend.</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=001-15.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/001-15.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess what? Her children did the ghost images with their feet. I watch her sweet angels on Monday, so today we whipped these out by dipping their feet in white paint and pressing their feet onto the black plaque. I then added the word BOO and some polka dots to jazz it up. I still have to add the clear gloss, drill some holes and wrap some wire with beads to form a handle. It is REALLY raining hard so that will have to wait till we have a clearer day. This is a great project to do with your little ones. I bet a lot of grandparents would love to receive this..... I could also imagine a bunch of these hanging around through the years to show their growth.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Have a great evening!</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">I am linking this project up to these great sites:</span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-are-little-boys-made-of-27.html">733 Blog - What are little boys made of weekly party</a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-35600115676187812922010-09-26T20:39:00.000-07:002010-09-26T20:42:52.937-07:00Halloween Photo Garland<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>I am so excited to share this with you because this idea has been bouncing around my head since August. I love this time of year soooooo much. I do not even know what I love more, the pumpkin patch, apple pickin, cool weather, crunchy leaves, candy corn or creating memorable costumes for my kiddos. Over the years we have created some wonderful , delightful costumes. We always take pictures but have always been saddened by the fact that we take them and just set them aside in a photo album. Here are just a few :</em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/?action=view¤t=boysmomcarl196.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="240" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/boysmomcarl196.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/?action=view¤t=Pictures06-09100.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Sasha as the crocodile hunter" border="0" height="320" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/Pictures06-09100.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/?action=view¤t=Pictures06-09096.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Gaelan and Ghavin" border="0" height="320" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/halloween%20oldies/Pictures06-09096.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously ...How could you not want to see those proudly displayed????</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>They always bring the biggest smile to my face. Usually at Christmas I display our Santa photos on a garland in the living room so I thought it would work for all the Halloween photos I had too. This is what I came up with quickly.</em></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em> </em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts087-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts087-1.jpg" /></a></em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts089-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts089-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts088-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts088-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>This is not the one I will be using for all of my photos but I thought it turned out great and gave me an idea if it would work or not. As a matter of fact, most of those photos are from magazines. *LOL* I promise to show mine by the end of the week.</em></strong></span><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">My head is already swimming over all of the possibilities!!!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-14265992273986427752010-09-25T20:32:00.000-07:002010-09-29T08:54:29.574-07:00Candy Corn<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Candy Corn.....some people eat it just during the fall. I could eat it all the time. I love those little pieces of candy. They taste sooo good! Even the colors are tantalizing. That is why I was tickled when someone ordered the candy corn font for their bucket. I have worked on it off and on all week. I redid the tulle around it twice before I finally was satisfied with the end result. Here it is during the process. This was after I took the tulle out and started over again.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=006-9.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/006-9.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I do not know what the problem was but I just did not like how it was shaping up. I had the same feeling with the witch hat bucket right beside it. As matter of fact I just redid the tulle on it too. But considering I have been ill with a sore throat, I guess we ended on a good note. I think it turned out to be one of the sweetest buckets I have made! What do you think?</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=007-8.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/007-8.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=005-10.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/005-10.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=009-7.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/009-7.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong><br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I will be linking this project to these parties:</span></em></strong><br />
<a href="http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/sugar-and-spice-weekly-link-party-26.html">733- A Creative Blog, Sugar and Spice Weekly Party</a><br />
<a href="http://sewmuchado.blogspot.com/2010/09/we-did-it-wednesday_28.html">Sew Much Ado - We Did It Wednesday</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-15964605344084483902010-09-21T20:42:00.000-07:002010-09-21T20:46:42.767-07:00Shopping<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> I am serious when I say that all of you who have girls must have some fun times when shopping. I would be broke if I had a girl. The twins and I headed to the outlets today in search of sweaters and shoes. I saw so many adorable things for girls. It is just so much fun dressing a girl. Dressing a boy is fun too until they realize that tshirts and jeans are the best thing for them. They each found a pair of shoes and maybe two other things they liked. I found some really cool shoes for them but they looked like I had grown a third head when I suggested it. Their response was we have crocs, we have tennis shoes, why do we need these brown loafers? Well they did not need them but they would look cute with some of the shirts and jeans I saw. I finally called it a day and came home. Oh, do not get me wrong, I had fun with the munchkins. It was nice to get out in the autumn weather. They even remarked how pretty a day it was. Ben and Jerrys was the highlight of their day. I just realized I have lost them to the comfort world of jeans and Tshirts. Only so much we can do with that!</span></i></b></span></div></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>After we got home, I finished up this shirt for a little girl. It is a fun applique of a pumpkin. We could have stopped right there. It would have look great as is but since I do not have a girl...... well I just had to add more to it because it is fun to do when you can. Ribbons and buttons now adorn the shirt and I added 3 inches of fabric to the bottom. </i></b></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view&current=crafts072.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts072.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I think it would look awesome layered over an orange shirt. We will have to see how Miss C wants to wear it. She knew she wanted the pumpkin design so I am sure she knows just how she wants to wear it too.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-65185901848173028322010-09-20T20:19:00.000-07:002010-09-20T20:22:28.588-07:00Overdose of cuteness!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week I have been working on a gift for a baby shower. A month back I had bought the fabric not really knowing what I was making but I just knew the fabric was definately her. Afterall she <span style="font-size: large;">is</span> putting a chandelier in her baby girls nursery. So you can just toss out the cute typical baby prints. That was not going to fly with this momma. So this is the stack of print I bought and fell in love with.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts042-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts042-2.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> My first thought was a blanket but something told me she would be receiving lots of blankets. I finally decided on this baby capelet. It is sooo cute.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts045.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts045.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I do know of some things I will do a little differently next time but overall I was pleased with what I got, without a pattern. I managed to make as beret to go with it adorned with the pink ribbon too.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Check out Teddy modeling for me. He is cheap and stays right where you put him. The easiest model I have worked with. *LOL*</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts047.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts047.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Oh and guess what, I did mange to put the magnetic clasp in the Poopy Pouch or diaper clutch, whatever you want to call it. See, it turned out pretty well and once again....super EZ.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts048.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts048.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With what little bit of fabric I had left, I made a burp cloth too for Ms. Audrey. </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=crafts049.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/crafts049.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Everything turned out well. It was great to spend the day enjoying company of friends, laughing and hearing tales of the momma to be.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-65111502860674960832010-09-15T21:27:00.000-07:002010-09-15T21:27:06.561-07:00Productive Days<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Sometimes you have an incredible productive day but just really do not have alot to show for it. That would be the case today. I really got a great deal of stuff done but it was all kind of like behind the scenes type stuff. I managed to do lots of domestic stuff like laundry, dinners in the freezer and cleaned out the fridge. Somehow I managed to get extra stuff done too. For example - I schooled the boys, designed 2 birthday shirts, 6 halloween buckets, cut fabric, made fudge for about 50 people, planned next weeks lessons for the boys and started baking cookies for a baby shower. You would think I would show you something from all that but I do not think you want to see my messy kitchen from baking, my folded laundry or lesson planning book. </em></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>It was a great day though. Trust me.....it was a productive day. That always leaves me with a wonderful feeling. I like it when things are checked off my list, don't you?</em></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, I can show you these adorable hair clippies I made the other day. They are super easy to stitch out on the embroidery machine. As soon as A has some hair, we will put these pumpkins in her hair. For now we will have to clip them to her headband. Hopefully I can do a pumpkin applique shirt for her this coming week after I am done with this baby shower I am baking for. </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=014-5.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/014-5.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These little scotties are too cute. For some reason I always think of herringbone patterns and scotties together. Wierd how we form these images in our head.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=003-9-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/003-9-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have a few more to share but I may have another "not much to show you day" so I had better wait just in case! </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-88698287857670677242010-09-14T20:43:00.000-07:002010-09-14T20:44:54.441-07:00Tuesday Toots<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=001-12.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/001-12.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stumbled across this <a href="http://melissaesplin.com/home/2008/06/poopy-clutch/"> Poopy Clutch</a> a month or so back and fell in love with the simplicity of the design. I was hoping I would eventually find a reason to create it. If you desire a Poopy Clutch too, you can find the complete tutorial at <a href="http://melissaesplin.com/home/2008/06/poopy-clutch/">ISLY by Melissa Esplin</a> . She has several different designs of the clutch to choose from. The Poopy Clutch is just big enough to hold a wipes case and a couple of diapers. It is perfect for when you need to run out just a moment and do not want to take that big diaper bag. This project involves absolutely no sewing unless you decide to make it out of cloth. I cut and put this together in less than 30 minutes while I watched The Closer last night. How cool is that? Twice I lucked out, the leather was on sale. YAY! The only thing that I could not find was a button stud so I am holding my case together right now with a brad but I plan on installing a magnetic closure on it tomorrow. Stay tuned for the update ................</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tomorrow I hope to feature the Poopy Clutch with its new magnetic closure and who knows? Seriously, I do not know. *LOL*</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Have a great day!</span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-60084713823652641372010-09-13T20:45:00.000-07:002013-03-19T07:00:37.291-07:00Back to School<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of you sent your kiddos back to school a couple of weeks ago but we just sent ours back last week. My oldest is in middle school and I am homeschooling the twins this year. Back to school shopping was easy peasy this year. </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I was elated with how short my shopping list was but then I became nostalgic for that feeling you get with back to school shopping. New clothes, backpacks, lunchboxes......so much of that was not needed this year since we are at home. As we were kind of preparing for back to school, a friend contacted me about making a special dress for her daughter, who was starting school this year. I really do not do dresses. Dresses like hair bows are just not something I have been allowed the pleasure of experiencing in a house full of boys.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Working on her daughters dress brought back so many memories of how we always prepared which new outfit the boys were going to wear on that first day. We usually took a pic of them with their new backpack and lunchbox heading out the door with a sign that has the first day of school written on it. I hope my friends daughter enjoyed her first day at school . This is what I was able to come up with for her daughters first day. I have this adorable crayon font that I have been waiting for the chance to use. This seemed the perfect time to try it out.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=004-10.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/004-10.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I really like how her mom wanted a bow tied on the crayon.</span></em></strong></div>
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<a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=012-3.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/012-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I do not get to hang around the girly world very often, I tried my hand at making some cute little hair clips.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=010-5.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/010-5.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I kind of liked hanging out in the dress and hairbow department. I might have to live vicariously through my friends with girls for awhile. </span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">;-)</span></em></strong></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-62192768466017024732010-09-08T20:37:00.000-07:002010-09-09T14:57:43.843-07:00Fall is in the air!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It will not be long till Halloween is here. I can already feel a little bit of the autumn crispness in the morning and evening air. I love this time of year. Fall colors are truly some of my favorite color combinations. Normally I decorate the house for the fall on labor day weekend but due to the appliance trouble that was all mine last week, it just did not happen. Maybe this weekend? Hmmm, we shall see.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I did get to work on this Halloween Bucket for Claire. Between working on the bucket and the crispness in the air, I am really starting to get anxious about decorating for the fall. Claire's mom liked the candy corn fabric so we used that and the curly halloween font with cats, pumpkins and candy corn to create this adorable bucket. I did tie on some lime green tulle bows just to give it that sassy, girly feel. What do you think? Did I get it sassy enough for a 3 year old girl?</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=003-6-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/003-6-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=005-7-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/005-7-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> I just can not wait to see Claire all dressed up with her tote. It should be a precious picture!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-83966745217700189232010-09-07T20:59:00.000-07:002010-09-07T21:04:19.710-07:00Making lemonade out of lemons!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess what....... my cell phone can not hold its charge more than like an hour ....go ahead, <span style="font-size: large;">laugh</span>. It really feels as if every electronic, appliance in my life is taking a break from its responsibilities. Drama, drama, drama with the gadgets in my life. Even my embroidery machine has decided I was overworking it the other day. How, you ask.....</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Oh it decided to chew up a blanket I was embroidering for a friend to give as a gift. <span style="font-size: large;">Horrified,</span> I was!!!!!!! Let me just say that blank blue baby blankets are not easily found in my area. I would know this because I visited <span style="font-size: x-large;">every</span> one in the area trying to find a replacement. After realizing that this was not going to happen, I knew that I would have to make her a new one to replace the one that was not so ready to be given. So I came up with this and had a little cooperation from my machine to personalize it as well.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=030-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/030-1-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I finally calmed down once I had it completed to understand not all was lost with the chewed up blanket. I was able to take the rest of the blanket and make the following:</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=034-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/034-1-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">A Monkey Lovie, He is a cutie!!!</span></em></strong><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=035-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/035-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">A Burpcloth, a Bib and a Wrist Rattle</span></em></strong><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=037-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/037-1-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I love this Taggie Bib and the Wrist Rattle. They turned out much better than I could have imagined.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=036-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/036-1-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Life threw some lemons at me this past week, looks like it is still hurling some this week. But that is OK.......because I know how to make lemonade!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-17124502907971269852010-09-06T20:09:00.000-07:002010-09-06T20:11:29.590-07:00No more bad mojo!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>I was hoping that my week of appliance mishaps was gone but it seems to really like me. Just as I got ready to load up pictures yesterday, I realized my camera cord has been misplaced. You probably noticed we did not have blog post yesterday. I spent most of the night searching for it. I was so excited to share some of the things I have done over the weekend and my brain was running with fifty different things like homeschooling the boys, gathering up all of my eldest sons items for school, this blog, fall items, holiday gifts to make, orders to be done, buy more ice, call the repair people again and the list just keeps going and going like the energizer bunny. Which brings me to the next ordeal I faced..... finally found the cord..... yes we will have pictures......hmmm.....maybe not...... the batteries are dead! Seriously, this can not be happening but yes it has. Kind of fitting after the week I had. Right? *LOL* </em></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Stay tuned, we could either have some pics tomorrow or more appliance, electronic drama. It is really hard to say at this point! </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">:-)</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-37549614445599989172010-09-04T19:22:00.000-07:002010-09-04T19:22:57.471-07:00Distance makes the heart grow fonder!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh ....How I have missed you guys! I had a wonderful time at the beach with my family, was so excited to come back all refreshed and well, that was the plan! I planned on visiting with you everyday. I also planned on getting alot of new projects knocked off my list. Unknown forces thought this was just not very exciting! Instead I dealt with a broken fridge, a broken washer, non-stop phone calls to arrange repairs, countless hours waiting for repair companies, daily trips to buy ice, orthodontist appts for repairs and I watched 5 extra kids too ( Ok that last one I had planned the whole time).</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">So that was my week in a nutshell. I still have laundry to do, I still have 3 coolers filled with ice to salvage some of my perishables, I still have 3 kids to watch ( their mine, figured I will keep them) and I still have a ton of projects that have not been done. That is life though and I am just thankful tonight that I was not so exhausted from my day that I could share my week with you! Cya tomorrow and I know I will have something to share because I actually did craft today but I misplaced the camera cord.............. </span></em></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-72429866159698590462010-08-25T06:52:00.000-07:002013-03-19T07:01:10.653-07:00Staying Organized with School!<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know many of my friends have already hit the pavement running their kids back to school but we do not go back till after labor day. Even though I am basking in the last days of summer at the beach, I did want to share some strategies that work in our household to keep the school papers, schedules and items under control. I guess the first thing I will say is we have a launch pad at out front door with hooks for every backpack. We will be homeschooling this year for the twins but we have always expected our kids to immediately unpack their bags. So many parents tell me their kids will not do this......Ummmm......yes, they will. They do it everyday at school folks. Kids are sneaky and tend to think you are not very wise at times. They like for you to believe that they just drop them randomly on the classroom floor but they have a certain spot they must put them, just ask them about it. Teach them the routine and have consequences ready for when they do not. Stick to your guns about this. (<span style="font-size: x-small;">Every teacher will confirm this and has totally got your back on this one). </span></span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some people store them in baskets or a shelf beside the door, I have hung them on the back on dining room chairs due to lack of a foyer before. I suggest you find whatever works for you and your house but every backpack needs a home. Trust me, your mornings will go so much smoother. You will love your life after implementing this strategy.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Once our children unpack their bags they must put everything that I need to sign or </span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">read in my mailbox. I managed to pick these up at Family Dollar a couple of years ago for $3 ea and gave them each a coat of black spray paint so that they match my decor. <span style="font-size: x-small;">( I know they need to be repainted, it was on the to-do list this summer, hmmm....not sure what happened)</span></span></em></strong></div>
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<a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=006-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/006-4.jpg" /></a></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Before I had these , I stacked 5 letter trays on the breakfast counter. Whatever you decide to do, the goal should be to create a mailbox for each family member. Once they put things in my mailbox , I read and sign at my convenience (<span style="font-size: x-small;">usually after they are in bed</span><span style="font-size: small;">).</span></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The rule is it will be waiting in their box to pack up in the morning. I do not sign things thrown at me in the morning. Oh.... Too bad, too sad is all I can say about that. I know it sounds harsh but my job is to teach them responsibility. Very seldom will a teacher or an employer forgive procrastination or disorganization from your child. Your child will never admit it but they would rather learn this lesson from you than another adult.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ok I am starting to preach, time to move on........</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=001-7.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/001-7.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The maiboxes hold 4 different colors of pocket folders. Each folder contains info that we must keep for reference or projects. This works really well especially if you seem to constantly misplace things your child brings home. For example we have folders for school, sports, goals&projects, and extacurricular activities. If they bring home info about an upcoming field trip, we put that info in the school folder. Lets say they have a game schedule & a snack roster for soccer, we put that in the sports folder. The goals and projects work well for items concerning long term projects or goals that your child needs to work with over a period of time. The other thing that I do is to transpose info into my calendar colorcoded for each child as items come in such as dates and times for certain events. The hard copy is always stored in their mailboxes so all parties involved can retrieve the info as needed.</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=007-3.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/007-3.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The last thing I will talk about today will be the Homework Baskets we created for each child. Our children do not do homework in their rooms. Well I take that back, my eldest son just started last year doing homework in his room at his desk. He is 14 and very organized with his homework (<span style="font-size: x-small;">Of course I am sure it has everything to do with all the systems and organization I taught him along the way *LOL*</span><span style="font-size: small;">) The reason we created Homework Baskets was very simple. When they sat down to do their homework, it always seemed I was asked the same thing. I need a pencil.... where is some graph paper....do we have a sharpener... I need a stapler....can I use your scissors. Ok I believe you have got the idea. Seriously, you would have thought they were nowhere with me when we bought supplies during the tax free weekend! Well, each child got a basket with the following in it: Pencils, pens, sharpener, scissors, glue sticks, markers, crayons, graph paper, bookmarks, tags, hi-liters, clips, calculator, ruler,colored pencils, index cards, erasers, a dictionary and notebook paper. They also have a 3 ring binder which usually contains relevant information to their grade level studies such as mathematical charts, spelling rules, maps,etc. The only thing we do now is restock it every sunday night from the supply closet.</span></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=019.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/019.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I have found this helps with homework a great bit. If you have more than one child doing homework, make your children some study corrals. These are very easy to do. I used science fair project boards cut in half, then spraypainted and trimmed out with duct tape. We have found them essential for our boys. It puts the focus where it needs to be. </span></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=016.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/016.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">My desire is that these tips will help you and your child have a great year......of course now I need to still figure out how to organize some homeschool items since this is all new to me. Just when I had my systems down so well, now I must go and change them to fit this new adventure in our lives. Have fun organizing!</span></span></em></strong><br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I will be linking to:</span></em></strong><br />
<a href="http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2010/08/whatever-goes-wednesday-28.html">Someday Crafts - Whatever goes Wednsedays</a><br />
<a href="http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/sugar-spice-weekly-link-party-21.html">733 A Creative Blog - Sugar and Spice Weekly Party</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-32886167099990245132010-08-21T20:27:00.000-07:002010-08-21T20:27:50.875-07:00Just a little raggy!<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will make this a quick little post because to be honest I am just slap worn out!</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Remember my last trip.....oh how wonderful and glorious it was..... Well not so much with this one. This has truly been a long day for this household. It seemed as if all parties were in a "mood" and then the traffic did not help. But enough of my ordeal.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">Let us move onto something a little more interesting. I gave you a peek of this bib I made for Jamie yesterday.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=005-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/005-4.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually saw a burpcloth sewn like this and was very intrigued by the effect.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=002-5.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/002-5.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">After making the burpcloth I thought I would try the same effect on a bib. I made the front side with a pocket and it is reversible. The reversed side is this cute jungle print.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=010-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/010-1.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Overall it was a neat project to work on and I was very pleased with the ragged edge. Let me just add that they are super soft too which is always a nice bonus for a baby. </span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope your weekend is turning out great. Hopefully I can share some nice beach pics tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe I can report that the "mood "has left this household.</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">That would be nice, right?</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247513545834948173.post-59545120436465221502010-08-20T17:49:00.000-07:002010-08-20T17:53:25.503-07:00Home Sweet Home<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you remember the Photo Letter giveaway I had a couple of weeks ago? Well Jamie was our winner and she chose the word "HOME". Now I did not know at the time but when Jamie was chosen as the winner, she had been through a horrible day. Her home was flooded downstairs. She had come home to find about 2-3 inches of standing water downstairs. Okay here is the kicker.....Jamie was pregnant, has a 20 mo.old child and her husband was out to sea at the time. I felt so sorry for her. I am sure most women can recall how emotional you are that last month anyway, and then the stress of taking care of everything by herself. I am sure it was all just a bit overwhelming. I was glad that she had won and made me feel as if maybe I was able to give her a little bit of sunshine that week. </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After choosing her colors of earthtones, this is what I created for her........</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=011-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/011-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><em>I found a qoute about home or families to embellish each letter with.</em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> From the colors she described to me that are in her living room, I believe it should play off well together .</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=014-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/014-2.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I really love this patterned paper on the M that she chose. It blends everything just perfectly.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=013-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/013-1.jpg" /></a> </span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Anxiously I am waiting to see a pic of them hanging with Jamie's favorite photos clipped on them.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jamie gave birth to a boy shortly after the giveaway so I decided to make her a little something for the baby too. She had no idea I was doing this but I just could not believe everything she had been through those last few weeks of her pregnancy. I wish I could have done more. Plus I love making baby stuff! Here is a peek at it but I will tell you more about it tomorrow.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view¤t=005-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/005-4.jpg" /></a></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> Have a great evening and do not forget to enter the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/?action=view&current=005-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn90/itb34me/005-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>">Halloween Bucket Giveaway</a> if you have not already. We choose a winner Sunday evening.</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1