I have many things to be thankful for this year including the biggies…family, friends, faith, health and home. Of course that’s not forgetting the little pleasures like making art with zippers and lace : )
Now that the two oldest kids are back in school we’re not seeing each other as often as we did over the summer. My 5th grader hardly needs a prompt to give me a complete rehash of her day, but the second grader is another story. When I ask how his day went every day is… (one word said very tony-the-tigerish) “Greeaaaaaat” (and by the way I have proof that isn’t always the case, but we won’t go there.) 
Having an activity to come home to that doesn’t plug in or require batteries has been my trick to find out more. Not only does the simple process of putting a puzzle together relax, it brings out stories that otherwise might not be shared.
I won’t lie…having 1000 pieces laid out on my dining room table for days on end makes me a little nuts, but it’s worth it. I’m finding all sorts of pieces, I would otherwise have missed.
Enjoy your last ride of the summer over this long holiday weekend. I’ll be laboring inside way more than I would like with looming design project deadlines, but you can be sure we’ll still sneak in some warm weather fun. See ya on the other side of the weekend! 
hmmmm…still undecided over here. While I do appreciate having more time for uninterrupted work, I’ll miss the laid back days the summer brings. I think my kids have mixed feelings too. They love seeing their friends and moving up a grade, but at the same time school is a full-time job with work involved. My kids (with the exception of the preschooler) go back tomorrow so we’re spending the day making sure we have all of the supplies on the list.
In addition to the first case back here, I finished sewing personalized pencil cases just in time for my other two back-to-schoolers. They got to pick their fabric and I took it from there.
My second grade boy…what more can I say?
In the spirit of back-to-school, I’m including my lunch survey which ran in the December/January edition of Family Fun. You can go to Family Fun to download a copy or since you’re here scroll over to the right in my “Printables” section. Click on lunch survey to read about the inspiration and then click on the survey itself to print. Fold this up with a pencil and place in their lunchbox. You’ll find out all kinds of tidbits about those first days of the new school year.
Perhaps you’ve wondered where I’ve been…
…just at the most perfect spot for aqua blue toenails.
Insert big smiley face : ) under “Welcome.”
Little 4-year-old Nora took it upon herself to line footwear up ever night at our condo door. She wanted to be sure that the next morning we’d be ready to get to the beach as soon as possible.
We didn’t want to miss any of this looking for flip flops.
Refreshing having nowhere to be for a long week, but right here.
As it must, the tide came in and our little piece of beach real estate washed away. We’re now back home and diving into reality. For starters, I’m off to restock a very empty fridge.
yep. We did it. We adopted. Now our family consists of two parents, three kids and one adorable kitten. Meet Penny. Our new calico born in the back of a ’55 Chevy. At least that’s the place where the animal shelter said her and her litter mates were found. Just the place where you might find a penny right?
Our little Penny is the runt of the litter. She’s a precious little thing half the size of her other three-month-old siblings.
What a friendly, playful, outgoing, tolerant-of-lots-of-love kitten she is. I’m pretty sure Penny has had more visitors and been held by more hands than any of my three children in their first days.
One more baby pix for now. Sweet dreams Penny. We’re happy to have you.
This winged opportunity has been flying around in my head begging to be painted for several weeks now. Every since my kids convinced me that we needed a Venus fly trap for a pet. Happy to hear about a pet that didn’t come with vet bills or need to be walked, I conceded.
Meet Vivi. She’s so much easier to care for than anything with legs. We purchased Vivi at Lowes…in case you’re wondering where you might find a fly trap. Although we have yet to catch a live fly for Vivi (Murphy’s law…buy a fly trap and suddenly flies become extinct), we’ve fed her beetles, pill bugs and an ant or two. She happily coaxes them into her traps and snaps shut. Amazing really and very entertaining in a warped kind of way.
Here’s the painting in full ~prints for sale in my etsy shop. Yes, it was our little Vivi who got me thinking about opportunity and how you have to grab it when it buzzes by. It also helps to have an open trap or two so you don’t miss it when it does. 
We’ve returned from our family reunion/spring break in Disney World. Our family, along with grands, aunts, uncles and nieces had a *magical* time with gorgeous Florida weather. As I was doing the many loads of return home laundry, I found a couple pieces of “pixie dust” thrown as we opened the Magic Kingdom one day last week. My three-year old niece called it “pissy dust.” I’m thinking now that she may be on to something as “pixie dust” once home from the magic, does indeed transform into “pissy dust” when found in the 7th or 8th basket of laundry. Settling back into reality…one load at a time. 
I’m not exactly sure what triggered my memory of this little gal. Maybe it was the latest kid temper tantrum or it could have been me having a grouchy day. Regardless, I remembered “mad doll”, proceeded up to the attic and dug her out of a box of saved memories. My grandma gave me this figurine back when I was five which was sometime in the mid 70’s. Apparently, I was going through a stage of “mad-ness.” Grandma G wanted me to see what I looked like. She wanted me to look at this crazy mad doll and laugh instead. I sure wish I knew Grandma G today because that lady had to have a great sense of humor plus she was a crafty genius (I definitely remember that.)
I tried to track down evidence of me needing a mad doll back when I was supposedly going through this little growing phase, but couldn’t find any. Just look at this angel with a matching cake nonetheless…could she possibly have a temper? naaaah, I didn’t think so either (if anything maybe she was “mad” about the curtains? guessing.) 
So Maddoll is out of the box and now has a permanent home in my office for a quick referral in case anybody around here “forgets what they look like.” My kids are both amused and “freaked out” by her which I think is exactly the point. I wish I would have remembered her sooner. Nothing like a visual. :0 (
All five family members got to order one box in their favorite flavor. I’ve made it clear that choice doesn’t mean ownership, but apparently this kid isn’t taking any chances…and I know where she’s coming from. Once those boxes get opened you have to be really quick. Like lightening quick. Poor turtles are stuck with crumbs around here. Hopefully you’ve received your order or it’s on the way. I’d offer you some of ours, but we’re down to a box or two with threatening notes attached. You wouldn’t want that.I remember my cookie selling days when a box would set you back a whole $1.25. While the price has changed to $3.00 a box, my favorite flavor has stayed the same. I’m a true thin minter through and through Especially thin mints slightly frozen. How about you?
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