Crafty Tuesday

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Well, today we have little bits of everything crafty, but it is still all about the Birthdays over here.

Little Miss Six had to have something to wear with her new sparkly skirt on her birthday so she got a new “6” tee from Mama. You can’t see it very well, but it is indeed CAT fabric. 😉

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If we are friends on FaceBook you already know my love/hate relationship with the cakepop. The first batch for Choir on Thursday didn’t turn out all that great, but the Friday batch was definitely improved.

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Perhaps I’ll do a little tute post the next time I do them. When we were restocking our supplies on Thursday night Addie piped up with –

“Mama? We can just dip them in chocolate and then roll them in sprinkles, I think.”
“But I thought you wanted cat cake pops, though?” I asked her.
“Yes, but I just think that the kittys are too many bunches of work for you.”

Oh. Baby. I will make that sweetness 20 dozen cat cake pops if she asks. It was the such a sweet thing for her to say. And her squeals of pride as she handed them out to her classmates. Well, that made all the blood, sweat and tears totally worth it. (Well, actually there was no blood…but lots of sweat and tears. It was over 100 degrees the two days I was messing with them!)

So back to the sewing room we went. I had several “teen” birthdays this month, and teens love the gift cards (so I’m told) and I made some of these little purses to hold their card loot.

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These are TRULY easy, and I fully intend to do a little tutorial on these too. The problem is I don’t think of it until I’m done making them, and of course at that point I haven’t photo’d them every step of the way. But this one I’ll put on the list.

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It is an easy way to use up little scraps of fabric, plus it makes giving a gift card a little more personal.

And last, but definitely not least, we have another beautiful example of my mom’s handiwork. This was Addie’s birthday card from Nana and Papa last week…

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And Addie after she discovered that it was a sunflower! With M&Ms for the seeds! (I think she has some in her mouth even!)

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That Nana always finds a way to outdo herself, doesn’t she?

Birth…days and days.

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No matter how low-key I vow to make a birthday celebration, as in – “Hey, this is an off year, we are not doing a big party nor a week-long celebration,” I always seem to forget that promise about two days before what proves to be the next birthday extravaganza. This year was no exception. Epic fail, yet again.

I told Addie that we had a big party for her last year so this year she could invite a friend for a fun date and dinner with the family.

“But I can’t pick just ONE friend, Mom! Can I have more. Like three, or maybe four?”

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So we compromised on TWO friends. Plus Emma Grace. So we landed at four girls. All Ad wanted to do was go to Color Me Mine and paint some pottery.

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Oh, and then maybe dinner at Shogun.

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And then maybe the friends could spend the night? And since this was all happening on Saturday, the day AFTER her birthday, we needed treats for her class on her ACTUAL birthday. And since we were signed up for snacks at choir, maybe we could just bring birthday treats to choir since it was the day BEFORE her birthday. And thus, the nearly week-long birthday celebrating our Addie was born.

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Not that I’m complaining (ok, maybe I am a little), but let’s just say I’m so very happy that the weekend is over. It ended with a proclamation of “this is the best birthday ever” and big thank yous and love for her new American Girl, so it was definitely worth it.

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But I think we were all just happy that it is over…for another year.

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Happy Birthday Lexer!

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I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a million more times before my time is done…it is hard for me to think of my Lexer as anything other than my pig-tailed, sweet, first niece.

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And then she goes and turns 13 today.

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I’m still mystified, how does this happen?

We love you, Lexer and wish you the best day (and whole year!) ever. Sending you love, hugs and kisses.

(And to Meesh and DJ – Good luck with your first foray into the teenage world…hopefully you can pave a nice smooth road for the rest of us!)

Happy Birthday, Roo!

Love,
Aunt Bean, Uncle Jamie, Emma Grace & Addie Rose

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I’m also saying special thanks today on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. I am so grateful to be here to watch my girls and all my nieces and nephews grow like little weeds. And I am thankful to all of those who continue to fight and those that have lost their lives fighting to keep my family free and safe. We won’t forget.

My Oh My…You are SIX!

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Dear Addison Rose,

You are six.

You are a fabulous first grader.
You have crossed over to the “big kid side” where you now have to use BOTH hands to show your age.
You are funny…your quick wit and humor entertains us each and every day.
You are fearless and brave…never letting anyone tell you that you can’t do something.
You are smart and talented…even when you don’t practice or keep at something, your natural ability to learn and do so many new things is surprising.
You are strong…(sometimes strong-willed and stubborn) but I have no doubt that someday this will serve you well.
You are beautiful…inside and out your light and caring, sweet nature always shines through.
You are the best example that God really does have a plan for everyone…for our family was truly completed when he gave you to us.
You are still my baby even though…you are now six.

Happy Birthday sweet Addikins.
I love you,
Mommy

Look how you’ve grown!
Just born!
1st Birthday
2nd Birthday
3rd Birthday
4th Birthday
5th Birthday

Checkin’ In.

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Been one of those weeks. Just wanted to check in and let you know we are still here.

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I have Crafty stuff to share and owe you a big ‘ol Garden update (and lentil salad recipe too, Elise!) too.
Here is a little taste to hold you over.

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But right now I am trying to figure out how to do these cake pops…
(Anyone with any brilliant advice to offer on the art of cake pop making?)
…because you know a certain someone is turning SIX in just 2 days, right?

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Chaos and things.

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I am fully aware that I left you hanging for Crafty Tuesday. Again, not because we are not doing anything crafty, I am just not together enough to get it photo’d and blogged. It always seems that the work/projects/craziness all come raining down at once. I can go for weeks without really needing to do “work” for anyone, and then all of my clients contact me literally the same morning.

Unfortunately, the rainstorm also coincided with the first week back to school, so I’m still reeling just a little bit.

So a little vent/update. Or…how about a “Love Thursday” bullet list, since it is almost Thursday and I’m trying to find the silver lining on the dark cloud over here?

Things I am loving today:

  • Being dangerously close to my breaking point, putting the girls to bed without books because they are beyond exhausted, and then working downstairs and listening to Addie sing herself to sleep. That girl.
  • The fact that the girls are still happy to be sharing a room and bunkbeds, and Emma even let Addie borrow some of her jammies tonight.
  • Facetime with Daddy when he is away.

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(sorry, a post with nothing but crappy iphone photos again!)

  • Daddy coming home today.
  • Daddy promising to be “on kid duty” this weekend. (How heavenly does that sound right about now?)
  • A surprise (or two!) in the garden when I tried to wrangle the overgrown vines this afternoon.

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  • Addie’s excited squeals when I showed her our garden surprise!
  • Lentil salad. I’ve eaten it every day this week for lunch. So easy, so delicious, and not half bad for you either.

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  • Two little girls who notice when I don’t put notes in their lunchboxes, and ask that I make sure I remember to.

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  • Daddy coming home.

(Yes, it deserves two bullets on our Thursday Love list.)

Happy Thursday.

Munchin’ Lunch.

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My two least favorite tasks? Unloading the dishwasher and making lunches. Both of which I usually end up doing while making my coffee in the morning. Hmm…maybe that has something to do with why I hate both of these chores? I haven’t had my coffee yet!

At any rate, Emma has decided that she really wants to take her lunch every day because the 3rd graders can eat outside on the patio if they bring their lunches. Coupled with the fact that I very easily fall into a rut (I think the girls got the same lunch for a week straight at the end of last year!), this could be the start of a very long year of making sandwiches.

Then I was inspired by Jen over at iheartorganizing and her very cool lunch packing organizational skills. So this weekend I did a whole bunch of prep work that will hopefully make the morning lunch making a little easier. I still won’t be making amazing lunches like Lisa, but having everything all ready made might at least give the girls a little variety and grant Mama a little sanity.

So I set up a tray in the snack drawer…

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Granola bars, Grahamy Samys, Fruit Mash-ups, mandarin oranges and snack-size baggies of crackers, Pirate’s Booty and pretzels.

And I did the same in the fridge.

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Hard-boiled eggs (the girls LOVE them!), yogurts, string cheese, more little containers of fruit – these are leftover berries mixed up as a little fruit salad.

And, one in the veggie drawer in the fridge…

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Carrot sticks, cut-up celery, cherry tomatoes, little containers of hummus and ranch.

I’ve bought a few of the Ziploc brand bento box containers and I also got a set of these EasyLunchboxes from Amazon.

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The girls would much rather have a Lunch-able type lunch than a sandwich. So I end up making cheese/crackers and lots of “dippables.” Thankfully they love hummus and yogurt which make good dips and these trays fit into their lunchboxes perfectly.

The only sandwich that they really do love are these Uncrustables that I made the mistake of buying last year. They are crazy convenient, you keep them in the freezer, throw them in the lunch and they unthaw by lunch time. BUT, they don’t have whole wheat ones, and they really aren’t that great on the nutritional scale.

So, I also made our own Uncrustables today.

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I think we have settled on the Sara Lee 100% whole wheat bread. It is soft and doesn’t have any seeds or grains in it, so the girls are happy – it is made from 100% whole wheat and doesn’t have any HFCs, so I’m happy. I peanut-buttered both sides of the bread so the jelly wouldn’t seep through. I get to control the type of peanut butter and the jelly (BTW – this Smuckers Low Sugar Jelly? It is amazingly good and smells so grap-a-licious! Yum.) and then I even cut them like the uncrustables.

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I decided to leave the crusts on, to help them freeze a little better, this way they can peel them off and have the cool cut-outs. And if the girls are really hungry, they’ll eat the crusts, too!  So I bagged each sandwich up in a Ziploc separately and then stacked them all back into the bread wrapper for extra protection and put ’em in the freezer.

It feels pretty good to have the entire week of lunches all ready to go!


—Updated—

Heavenly. This morning I made both lunches in under five minutes. They have a pb&j sammie, frozen yogurt tube (it is going to be hot today, so I figure both of them will still be cold by lunchtime), grapes, carrots and a smores “treat.” After I did this post last night I found a little mix of golden grahams cereal, mini choco chips, & mini marshmallows. A little bit of a sweet treat. So I made up a batch of that and a pile of of snack-sized bags ready to go.

I literally just grabbed two of everything popped them into their lunchboxes and zipped up.

AND…I sat down and had my coffee and something to eat with the girls. (No dishwasher to unload this morning – thanks to a lovely dinner with Jeff and JB last night.) The easy grab snacks are making me eat better as well because that is what I reach for when I am hungry. I’m telling you…this is life-changing!

Summer Lovin’.

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Just before all that Back-To-School stuff happened this week, we had to have one more summer fling. This is my new fave pic of Roses – the sandy cheeks get me every time.

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Gracie hasn’t quite been herself all week, but we decided her summer haircut is a great beach ‘do – so much easier to get all the sand out.

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And there was a lot of sand castles because the water was still a little chilly…apparently.

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But the cold water didn’t stop the big girls…

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…or stop them from working up an appetite.

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Addie found a new favorite big kid…

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and we all loved sharing one last summer afternoon filled with sun and good friends.

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First Day.

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We had what the girls like to call “opposite day” around here yesterday. I think that is the fun(!) of parenting, right? Just when you think you have it kinda figured out – along comes something and knocks you down a peg or two and you are just left standing thinking, “Huh? So that is what we are doing now? Well…ok then.”

Anyone who knows the girls at all (or has been hanging around here long enough) understands that as alike as Em and Ad might be on some things, they can be the complete opposites on others. Attitude toward school, has always been one of those things. Emma has always enjoyed and looked forward to school and Addie protests the very thought of it.  (Cue the dramatic music…)

And then, there was our first day yesterday.

Emma has a little bit of a summer cold and wasn’t feeling all that hot on Tuesday, so she slept most of the day away and didn’t want to eat anything, she kept telling me her tummy hurt. Well, her best friend is not in her class this year. It was a mere blip on the radar Monday when the girls looked over the class lists. We figured it would be epic meltdown, but they actually seemed okay with all of it. We commended them on not being disappointed and told them “it must be because you are THIRD graders now.” BUT when Emma got up yesterday morning she was not at all her usual enthusiastic self.

“My tummy hurts because I’m nervous.” – Yes, sometimes it is a little scary to do something we are not comfortable with, but I think you might just be excited, too.

“I’m nervous because I don’t know half of the class.” – But you do know all of the third graders and the other five girls are all in your Girl Scout troop! (She is in a 3/4 split class.)

“But I don’t know the teacher.” – But you didn’t know Mrs. P. last year either!

“But she is a FIFTH grade teacher!” – Almost all teachers have to be able to teach all different grades. She was a fifth grade teacher, but now she teaches third and fourth!

“But…but…but…”

And so our first day photos…well, she looks very much like she was feeling…apprehensive at best.

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And then we have Addison (thegirlwhodoesn’teverwanttogotoschool) Rose. At 6:45am yesterday I opened my eyes because I could feel her standing there staring at me and she was fully dressed complete with an attempted hair brushing and she whispers, “Morning’ Mama! It is the first day of school. I’m a FIRST GRADER! I’m ready to go see Mrs. K. I want to pick her some flowers. Did you know we get desks? DESKS?!”

Yes. Good morning. Ok, then.

And every single photo I have of her on her first day of school has THIS smile on it.

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She was beyond excited. She ran to her classroom. She eagerly handed over her flowers and a hug to Mrs. K. and all was right with the world.

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In the end it was a perfect day for everyone.

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Emma likes her teacher but has told me at least 5 times that she is “very strict. Nice, but very strict.”  (Which is all fine and good with J. and I!)  This morning there were no second guessing going to school, she was ready and happy. And Addie’s enthusiasm hasn’t waned either, although she comes home from school EX-haaausted. Which is also fine and good.

I think they are in for a great year. But I still can’t believe they are third and first graders!

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Crafty Tuesday

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Hey Crafty girls and boys. This might be the quickest CT post, ever. Just wanted to show you what we are working on and why I totally missed last week’s CT.

T-shirts!

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We did tees for the entire PTA board and a few for the office staff. So 20-ish tees.

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The cougar paw is cut from fabric (by our lovely Eva – aka our Silhouette) and appliqued on the front. And then Eva cut the sleeve text out of flocked vinyl. Nice!

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We got rave reviews on them and I think we might be making many more of them in the near future. Right now I am trying to get the girls ready for school. Tomorrow. Tomorrow!!