Just as I expected...

This summer when I started this birdbath project I told Chris that if I was lucky, I would have the project done in time to store it for the winter. So, I guess you could say I waited until last night to finish because I didn't want to disappoint anyone by being done early... Anyway, I love how it turned out. The darkest color is a sort of iridescent blueish-purple. I just hope it doesn't blind anyone as the sun reflects off of it ;o)

Happy Birthday to you...

Well here are some of the pics from Maya's birthday tea... I am going to try to link you to the photo book I created so you can look at all of the pictures if you choose.

Does anyone remember all of these?! My mom saved mine...and they still smell good!

Maya and her friends had a great time at her party. I think they thought it was really cool to use fancy dishes and teacups...they took it so seriously. I don't think I've seen 8 little girls be that quiet at a party before!!

5 second rule

Tonight, Maya was dutifully putting the silverware away for me while I unloaded the rest of the dishwasher. I heard something fall and immediately turned to make sure there was no fork sticking out of her foot. I must have had a look of alarm on my face because she quickly picked up the fallen item and responded..."That's OK mama, it hasn't been 5 seconds yet, I don't think.". That's my girl! Heehee.

TRICK or TREAT, SMELL MY FEET!!

OK. Don't know why I can't get these to be upright, but you get the idea... Strawberry Shortcake and David Beckham were at my house today!! Nic and Kyle came over to Trick or Treat with us and so did Brooke and Breanna for a little while. After we made it through our neighborhood, we went to see Mrs. Patty and Mrs. Johnson at their houses. Got lots and lots of yummy candy!!

It's HOT!

Here is my newly tiled fireplace!! It does not have grout yet and needs a bit of trim, but that is next weekends project. Chris, my dad and brother tackled this job on Sat. and did a fantastic job! Too bad it took us over a year to decide what tile we wanted... It really does look great and can't wait to see the project finished!!

All right, already...

I didn't really realize this was going to be this hard. This...whole... blog... thing. I think I am putting too much pressure on myself to make each entry something special or funny. But I realized today that I'm missing on documenting the little stuff waiting on something BIG to happen.

I, like every other mom out there, have also been really busy. In the past two weeks, I have had 7 soccer games and 7 alamode design sessions. That is in addition to work, dance, tumbling, and 2 parent teacher conferences... I have helped design 67 bags in the past 2 weeks and 101 just this month! That is crazy! Tonight I had a huge party and sold 27 bags. Let's go shopping!!

I learned at the P/T conferences that my kids need to straighten up, OK so maybe not. It really makes you feel good when you get through one of those and the teacher says, "Really, your child is a dream." Both kids did really well...Maya may have to work on controlling her gift for gab, but otherwise no major issues. ;o)

Maya's birthday is coming up next Tues. It's going to ruin the Halloween costume reveal, but here are her invites, I think they turned out pretty cute.

This was a costume my mom made for me, I think in 1st grade. I have put her on the hunt to find a picture of me in it. I was so excited to see Maya in it, it didn't even need to be altered. I just rolled her sleeves up one time, well, because she didn't inherit my long "monkey arms". I can't wait for her party. We are going to have a tea party and use my Grandmas collection of teacups and teapots. I know this sounds risky for a bunch of 6 year olds, but my Grandma is tickled pink that someone wants to use her things...she could really care less if something got damaged. I can't wait to set the table and send her a picture. I just wish she could make it here to see it in person.

Keagan had "tryouts" for basketball this week. They don't "cut" kids, but they do fill the teams with a "draft" of sorts. This is the first time for Keagan to play other than in the driveway, so I was curious to find out from Chris what was expected from a kid his age. When they got home, Chris commented privately to me that he thought Keagan would do fine...that he was, in his mind, a solid middle of the road as far as ability. We knew 2 of the coaches going into it. Today, Daddy got news that made his day. His boy was first pick of the second round by a coach that we don't know. So we'll see how it goes, hopefully his coach makes things fun and not stressful.

Well, night night...off I go to dream about purse fabrics. ;o)

What I learned at corn festival...

1. I learned that I shouldn't stay out until 4am.


2. I learned that my cousin Amy is fun to hang out with.


3. I learned that I shouldn't eat an entire caramel apple at 3 in the morning.


4. I learned that Amy can play, I mean REALLY play the drums!!


5. I learned that sitting on the street for 2 hours straight watching a parade is hard on the rear end.


6. I learned that walking 8 blocks for a $6 pork chop on a stick is not really worth it.


7. I learned that staying awake after this crazy visit for a 3 1/2 hour drive home was not going to be easy.


8. I learned that getting up for work the next day was going to be even harder...

OK. Maybe I already knew some of these things, but for some reason I chose to completely ignore any common sense that might have tried to make an appearance. We made a whirlwind tour through Morris for the festival. Maya and I were there for a total of 26 hours and Chris for only 17. In that time, we went to Aunt Debbie's for dinner, went to the carnival, watched a great fireworks show, went out to the bars, did I mention eat an entire, huge, caramel apple?, sat around a bonfire in Sarah's backyard, and sat through about 1 1/2 hours of a parade. Oh, I guess the other thing "I" did was manage to leave all of our sleeping blankies and stuffed friends at Grandma's house. That was fun to manage on my lack of sleep. Thankfully Memaw is coming for grandparents day on Thursday, so all will be well and the world will be made right when the necessary sleeping paraphernalia is returned to its rightful owners. When you remove the tired and grumpy factors post weekend, we all really had a great time. The "real" reason for heading north was to see my aunt, uncle and cousin, Amy. She is 8years my junior and has always lived in Arkansas. In the past 11 years, I think I have only seen her 3 times... So really, I have never known her as an adult. It was really nice to "hang out" with her and get to know her. She is a great girl and a lot of fun. However I feel this week, it was worth it if only for that reason. ;o)

I've been checking alamode's blog quite often, and let me tell you, there have been some really cute bags designed lately. Can't wait to get mine. And, my messenger bag. I will, for sure, post pics when I get them. Make sure you check out the blog!

Done for now...

Time flies...

My gosh, where has the time gone? I can't believe I am taking 6year old pictures for Maya. I wanted to get them taken before she loses her first tooth. I'm not even sure if her tooth is "ready" to come out, but she is determined to wiggle it until it does. She can't wait for this weekend, her big plan is to bite into one of Marta's famous caramel apples at the corn festival back in my hometown. I will, of course, also take pictures after she loses her tooth, but I wanted to get some good pics of all those tiny little teeth.

I put her in two different outfits... The polka dot outfit is what she wore on the first day of kindergarten. She also loves that cowboy hat, so I thought that would be a good choice to remember her at 6 years old. The second is a more subdued outfit, both to get some pics of Keagan and Maya together and for the picture idea I stole from my friend Lori. She had the same shot taken of each of her girls as they entered kindergarten. It is a good way to document how they write their names. I only wish I had seen the idea as Keagan was entering kindergarten...

I just love the way this one turned out!! Thanks, Lori!! Here are some of the pics of Keagan and Maya together...

and one last one... Am I lucky or what!!!

hmmm.

ok. I clearly need some work taking pictures of my layouts, but here is a bit of what I worked on at Robyn's on Saturday night.

This is Maya's costume and class from 2 years ago, her first experience with dance. It was really fun. I'm not sure if you can see it, but the bottom black and white picture is hilarious because all the girls are looking directly on Maya's feet so they will know what step is next.

This next layout is from Chris' last outdoor game in Indy...a bittersweet moment. Oh, he will still play, but he has "retired" from the team of guys that he started playing with back in undergrad. It has been so fun to see the team transform from a group of guys... a couple with girlfriends... to nearly every guy married with at least a couple kids. This layout focuses on Chris and his filthiness at this particular game-it poured down rain the entire time-, but probably my favorite pic commemorating this event is one I have yet to scrap. It is black and white and Chris and Brad are walking off the field with all of their gear...I'll let you see it when it is done.

too cute, if I do say so...

Look at my super cute new shoes!! I LOVE them! Went shopping last week at DSW...the day after a super great alamode party, so commission check was on my mind... Of course, then I needed to go get some new clothes to wear with them! I don't splurge like that on myself very often so I get really excited when I do. ;o) More later!

if only...

If only I had enough time in my day to complete all the things I would like to. Of course, what parent doesn't think the same thing. I know that I am not in a unique situation, I am fully aware that it has everything to do with priorities. I had a friend/coworker tell me the other day, "I don't think you are happy unless you are busy." I don't know, maybe she is right. I would much rather find something to do with a few "free" hours than sit at home. It makes me appreciate the days like I had today even more. Between church and picking up the house, I actually got a nap!! Now, did I clean every nook and cranny that needed it? Um...never. But, I did wipe out the windowsills and even took my fan apart to get the dust off of it. That seemed like enough for one day, and definitely worth a nap, right?!? I needed the nap, I was out past my bedtime last night. I scrapped at Robyn's and her cat scared me half to death so I had a difficult time settling down to sleep. I had taken one load of supplies to the car, left the back end open and went in for the second load. When I came back out, I had one of those moments of what I realize is irrational fear, where I thought to myself, "I should not have left that open, what if someone crawled into the backseat while I was in the house". Just as I was pushing the thought out of my mind, an object comes flying through the air at me from inside my car. Apparently I had startled her cat who decided to explore the inside of my car. With the scream that left my mouth, I made sure I went in to tell Robyn that if anyone came knocking on her door asking if everyone was OK, that it was just me, and that I would eventually be OK. Tomorrow I will try to take a couple of pics of the layouts I finished yesterday...



Here is a pic of Maya at her very first outdoor soccer game. It was so fun to watch her. Her first experience was with indoor soccer at Chapel Hill, two years ago. Back then, if someone asked me if they could come watch Maya play soccer, my response would be, "Well, you can come see her, BUT it is questionable if you will see her actually play. Her idea, then, was to run around the gym, holding hands with her friend and running just fast...or slow... enough to not get to the ball first.





So, when she decided to play this time, with friends again(Gracie and Kendall), we made sure to tell her we would like to see her touch the ball on occasion. Well unfortunately Chris can't make it to her games because of coaching Keagan, because he would love to see her. It is so fun to see her. You know, either she picked up some skill by osmosis from being near a field so much of her life, with Daddy and Keagan always playing, or she was actually watching some of those practices. The girl has some moves! She got a goal this weekend, and after we drove to Keagans two games out of town. She HAD to leave her shin gards and cleats on for those(5hours with all that gear on! ugh). I think she thought it made her look cool in front of Keagan and his teammates. She looks up to him so much...



This picture is obviously of Keagan. In the picture it appears as though the ball is standing still. I am 90% sure, though, that it was actually kicked hard and went straight into the goal. I know I did get a pic of his goal last week, and this is the only one I came across when reviewing all the pics that looks like he was taking a shot on goal. He is such a good boy. I just wish he wasn't so hard on himself. I think he gets that trait pretty honestly, but in combination with the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve makes for an over emotional mess at times. How do you teach your child... especially male gender... to be less sensitive? When so often that is an important trait that grown men lack. When it is so often a trait that will serve him so well. I guess what I hope is to teach him how to control it, not how to break it...as if its truly a bad habit. Ugh...parenting... not an easy job...and one that has been weighing heavily on my heart. I get so caught up in being frustrated with him, when really it is more that I am frustrated with myself for not knowing how to help him.



Alright, I have a feeling I'm rambling. Could have something to do with the fact that I should have gone to bed a while ago. Again, will try to post scrapbook pages, soon.

beyond proud

We spent the long weekend at the lake and challenged both Chloe and Keagan to try kneeboarding. Chloe went first, of course, there was no question about that, but much to my surprise, Keagan went for a ride, too. I had one of those moments where you actually feel your heart swell...you know what I mean... when you have to pause and catch your breath just from the sight of them either doing something to overcome a fear or even just when they give you that special look, the one that you know they only give you. I can't believe that is my boy flying behind a boat at 14 miles per hour, when just last year he still had issues with getting his face wet. Way to go Keagan!! I'll tell you it is bittersweet, however. Because this means he is growing up, growing just a bit more independent of me with each day. Ugh. I'll just count on the fact that he WILL live in that house across the street when he grows up just like he tells me he will. (oh, and Maya tells me she will be next door to him). Speaking of growing up, my baby girl has started "reading". She thinks she is so cool reciting a story she has learned at school. In this picture she is "reading" Whose Feet to Holten. She worships him so...

here we go...

OK, OK, I've been completely sucked in to this cyber world of blogging. I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself into. It looks very easy, but I'm sure there is a catch. I was getting very jealous of Robyn and Sara with her alamode blog. Who knows if anyone will actually read this, but I'm sure if I promise pictures, a certain Memaw will check back every once in a while :o) I really like the idea of a journal so we'll see if I can keep up with it.