Trying again

So I dumped this blog. Summer came and I had two kids and nice weather to keep me busy. Blogging was the last thing I wanted to do. Then fall came and I went back to work. My sewing machine has been VERY lonely and most of my craft time is spent making cool animal projects to go with the letter of the week with the 12 preschoolers in my class. On my days off, I clean, shop, go to the gym and run my kids around.


That said, I'm going to try again. However, this won't be so much about crafts. I'm going to try to blog about other things like


- lunches. I'm a bit shocked at what shows up in my preschoolers lunch boxes each day and I'm going to show you what I pack for my kids.

- pictures. I have a fancy camera. I've taken a ton of photos. I think my mother in law might like to see some.

- life. my kids are insane, make me insane, and can be really darn funny.

- preschool, I still have some craftiness in my bones and my preschoolers and I do some fun stuff. I get ideas from other bloggers so I'll put some of my ideas here.

- crafts. Like big girl crafts. Like stuff you do after your kids go to bed. This may be mostly other people's ideas that I have tried.

So that is that. Read if you like. :)


S


and see. we are all alive. that's us at Christmas.

Mommy's New Camera

The hubs, bless his heart, finally came through with a new camera as a mother's day / birthday gift for me! It took our taking really cool photos of some BMX bikers in action to prove to him that it was a necessary purchase. I am one happy momma and have been busy snapping away and reading up how to use my camera instead of crafting and blogging. Here's a few images so far!

Simple Skirts

Hello again.

So I like the blog MADE. Great tutorials. Including the one for the Simple Skirt! I figured it was simple enough that I could show my friend Amanda how to make it on her brand new sewing machine. So a few weeks ago we took her machine out of the box and whipped up a pair of matching skirts for Sweet Pea and Cinderella! It took us two days to finish them thanks to a pair of rowdy little brothers that needed to be supervised and a pitcher of margaritas that needed to be consumed on Cinco de Mayo but we got them done!

I really wish Amanda blogged too because after this she made the cutest tank top to go with the skirt with little star buttons and ribbons! I made both girls another version of the skirt too which is great for doing all sorts of things!  

Like Jump Rope 

and blowing bubbles

Sports Pillows

Yup, avoiding my blog like the plague. Bad blogger just hasn't been in the mood. Not sure why. I've been up to a few things though, like working on these cute sports pillows for Jojo's room. I was happy to be able to give new life to an old rugby sweatshirt and a really awesome Official USA RUGBY Jersey. The white baseballs were made with an old white t-shirt and a bit of red fabric paint. The little man loves them though!

And I'm back

So good weather hit and I vanished from the blogging world. I just can't seem to make myself work on many projects or sit at the computer when I want to be outdoors soaking up the sun. We've been busy visiting the park, riding bikes, running, playing, etc. Crazy how life just gets in the way sometimes.

One of the highlights of the past few weeks for me was running in the GO! Saint Louis Marathon Relay. How it works is that a four member team each runs a six or seven mile leg to complete an entire marathon. The church we attend had four teams running. I ran the last leg when it was very hot and mostly uphill. I was happy with my time and was amazed by all the people out there running.

Another bit of excitement around here is that we have our garden planted. It's just a little bitty raised bed and a few post but it's still super fun for the kids. Our peas and beans have sprouted and are looking great!

And today we are wishing the husband a very happy birthday. And yes, JOjo is wearing a tie on a Tuesday. He likes to dress like daddy, bless his little heart.

And I have been doing a few crafty things. Jojo got a new BIG bed last week so I've been working on a few things for his room including some pillows and lamp. The hubs and I are off to the STL Cardinals game tonight so those will have to wait till tomorrow!

Wall Pockets & Organization

True confession of the day. I am not an organized person. I'd like to think that I am but I'm not. Honestly it drives me crazy and I try and try again to be more organized but it never quite comes together. This week, it a fit of frustration, I'm at it again. I could NO LONG STAND what was happening in my laundry room. It's a big laundry room but the space is sort of wasted. What does one put in a laundry room?? I have a washer and dryer and on the opposite wall is a double closet, and a pantry type closet and on the third wall is the door to the garage, oh and there is also a door to the kitchen!

I really should have taken a photo of what was going on in there but it was pretty sad. I added this table that had become the dumping ground. Mail, keys, craft stuff, a half eaten hot dog, random snacks, bubbles, tools, a jump rope. The kids had no good place to put their bags & coats. I tried to get them in the closet but it just wasn't happening. So on Monday, I snapped. I banished the table to the basement and brought in a shoe rack and a pack of command hooks (I need to do a post on my love affair with command hooks!) I created these awesome fabric wall pockets and a new chore chart. Now, who wants to guess how long this attempt at organization will last!?!?

 I made the chart from the metal sheet of a dry erase board we had that had lost it's frame. I covered the edges with strip of fabric from an old bed sheet that I hot glued on. It's stuck to the door with command strips.  The chores, etc are written on with a marker so I can change them as needed and the kids mark their completed chores with a magnets made from craft foam. 

These super cool wall pockets were made from a tutorial found over at Thrive. I LOVE that they are made from corrugated plastic and an old bed sheet. You can use cardboard too but I have tons of corrugated plastic on hand. Please don't look to closely at these since my fabric got glued on a bit crooked. It was a hazard of attempting to craft and supervise a toddler at the same time. I'm hoping that these small things help get life back in order around here just a bit!

The Charlotte Shirt

So it's Monday and I think the germs have finally left the house!! Finally it was a long week that ended with a chest x-ray and a double infection for Sweet Pea. We managed to perk up this weekend and get out of the house as a family. AND both kids were off to school today!! Sweet Pea headed back to preschool and Jojo had his first day at his preschool. His school is the coolest thing, it's at the local high school as is taught by students taking child development courses. He goes three days a week for six weeks. Such a fun places for him to start school. Sweet Pea went there too!

Having kids down for the count last week gave me a bit of time to sew and to do some crafts with them. The only problem was that I had to work with what I had on hand! I hauled out another chunk of the red floral I scored at goodwill that I used for this apron and this skirt. This time I whipped up a cute little swing style top for spring using the Charlotte Dress Pattern from Mama Stellato. I just left off the sash and shortened the length. I hope to pick up some white capri pants to go with it.

And no, there is no photo of my model wearing this top because this is what she looked like a good part of last week. Gorgeous, but one sick little girl.