Back to School

Kids are back in school....Yippee!!! The kids were up EARLY on the first day; dressed and ready to go a good hour before departure.

Christina was excited to sport the new school clothes she bought with her summer babysitting $$, and to catch up with classmates.

Thomas was excited/had the butterflies as he started middle school.

It was only slight torture for one child to have the 1st day of school photo taken. Did I mention we have a teenager in the house?

Grace was more than eager to get back to school to see her friends, to see her old teacher, and to get back into her school groove....

Wayne and I both took Caroline to her first day of Kindergarten. She didn't shed a tear & walked tall to her new class. She's loving it!

Wesley and I discussed our new 1-1 time as we drove home.

What shall we do? Read? Play cars? Build a fort? Eat crackers? Do push-ups? Roar like a dinosaur? Go for bike rides? All of the above?

We'll take it day by day and enjoy the next few years before I'm HOME ALONE! I can't imagine. I don't have a countdown going by any means, rather my plan is to enjoy this fleeting time with my babe while it's here.

There is a TEENAGER in the house!

Bring on the possibilities, bff's, babysitting jobs, drama, independence, and much more... The sky is the limit for you, Nina!

What we love about Christina....

• Christina reads to me- Caroline (sis)
• She teaches me songs to play on the piano - Grace (sis)
• She keeps her cool when I *steal her candy - Thomas (brother) *reference to a photo in Thomas' scrapbook of him at age 2 taking a lolipop from Christina while she was sleeping.
• Christina is a beautiful example of intelligence and kindness for her little sisters - mom
• Her blueberry muffins- the whole family!
• Her babysitting skills- mom & dad
• She helped me learn how to ride without training wheels! - Grace

From her friend, Nicole...

• she can brighten anyones day
• when she smiles you want to smile.
• she stands up for what she believes in
• she has a really strong testimony
• She will complete a task no matter how hard or big (like helping her sisters clean their room!)
• She is kind to others and accepts anyone

Christina's current favorites...

color(s): purple & lime green

animal: cat

song: "Send it On"

book: Inkspell

subject: science

indoor activity: board games- Clue

outdoor activity: swimming

movie: "Nancy Drew" & "Nacho Libre"

TV show: "Sonny with a Chance"

food: pizza

dessert: peppermint ice-cream

candy: Mike & Ike's

vacation: Disney World

scripture story: Alma the younger

hero: my mom

What 3 dreams do you want to achieve while you are

13 years old?

1. Go to Utah

2. make a new friend

3. run a 5K

Name 1 dream you want to achieve during your lifetime.

I want to write a book.

Happy, happy 13th, Christina! We wish you another beautiful year, Sweet-pea!

(Yes, I'm terribly tardy posting this!!! But better late than never. If you've got something nice to say to Christina for her birthday, leave a comment...she'll love it!)

Patches and Appliques (continued)

New memory card is in, so here are more appliques I just finished...

... two tees for Wesley who happens to be an invaluable rock star babe in our family band. I used a font called "cooper" for the "W" and I enlarged it as much as possible to fit on one page. I think it was 400 or so. The guitar is just freeform. I may stitch around it again with brown thread....not sure:)

Happy Birthday to Sweetpea, Sunshine & Cutie....

I've had the idea for these pillow shams swimming around in my head since Garnet Hill sold similar shams. I made these shams to coordinate with the quilts I made for our girls. I measured the width and length of a standard pillow sham for my pattern and freestyled the letters so it looks handwritten. I made one for each of our girls for their birthdays and had them pick out all of the fabric and trim from what I had on hand, so they really love their new pillow .

Resources: The ruffle trim for "Cutie" came from the top of the flat sheets I used for the backs of their quilts. I think gathering and making ruffles is a big pain, so I was glad to repurpose this trim.

The white front of the pillow is from a former sheet as well. One of my miniature artists colored on it, but the sheet was still in good shape...now it is two pillow shams. The back of the shams consist of fabric from the same sheets as the ruffle trim. For Christina's, the back is the top of the sheet from her quilt backing. There wasn't a ruffle, just a hem, so all I had to do was overlap two pieces and sew.

All of the lettering fabric is from my scrappy stash. I already had the pom-pom trim (found at Jo-Ann's) & the standard size pillows, so viola....an easy, resourceful, personalized project.

*To make this super fast & easy, you could buy a pre-made pillow sham and just add the applique using the fusible web, etc. Bed Bath & Beyond has basic white shams with a simple ruffle and I almost went that route before I realized I had resources on hand.

Here's a cute personalized pillow for a boy.

Patches & appliques

If you know how to work an iron, you can do this project. I knew as I got started that this could be as addictive as using a label maker...

For a tutorial & some cute printable graphic patterns go to Crap I've Made, but if you've used anything like Fusible Web, you can do this w/o a tutorial.

How my short-term applique addiction got started....Grace has a cute pair of jeans that I bought a bit big at a second hand store. She wore them a lot last year, and although they still fit, one knee wore thin and the fabric tore. So, the other day I took a scrap of fabric, fusible web, and made a heart shaped patch. I added some stitching around the edges. Using the same techniques and supplies I appliqued a heart to a white t-shirt for Grace to wear with her "new" and improved jeans.

This project led to:

Initial tees....I Enlarged 2Peas tiger tails font to 700 (I used slightly different font sizes with each letter), printed my girls' first initials, and made appliques from those letters using Heat n Bond fusible web. The girls picked out what fabric they wanted from my scrap stash. Since taking these photos, I've added zig-zag stitch around the edges for reinforcement (& I like the way it looks too).

Butterfly tees...

I took a t-shirt of Caroline's that was stained here and there and used this applique technique to document a tic-tac-toe game between Caroline and I. Caroline won!

I've got a few more examples to share, but I need to pick up a new memory card first, so check back later on.

The fabric scraps for the t-shirts are from my sister, Julie's fabric shop, The Dizzy Daizy Quilt Shop. Flannel versions of similar high end fabric can be found at my other sister, Sara's fabric shop called, Sara's Place.

7 is AWESOME!

Dear Gracie, our sunshine,

What a great year this was for you! As we celebrate you on your 7th, here are 7 things we LOVE about you...

• You shared your love of reading with your classmates in 1st grade and read with expression uncommon for your age. You read an astounding 37 books this summer (so far), which was a great contribution to our family's summer reading challenge. You even set out to teach Caroline to read with her new rhyming book.
• You clearly have a take charge, trailblazing personality and it's a joy seeing you achieve your goals and dreams.
• You spread sunshine and smiles to all around you, from homeless on NYC sidewalks to kids at school, your friends, teachers, and of course your family.
• Your laugh is contagious and can lighten the gloomiest of days.
• You speak your mind....when the antibiotics kicked in after several miserable days with strep, you TALKED our ears off from morning to night, and by night I mean 11:30pm. Daddy asked you if you were ready to go to bed, but you frankly replied, "I'm not done talking."
• According to you, quality of life has everything to do with health. Your outlook reminds us to truly appreciate each day we live and breath.
• We love how you share your budding talents and by being brave and courageous, you have shown the way for your quieter little sister to blaze a path of her own.

Grace's Favorites:

color: yellow

animal: cheetah

song: "Walking on Sunshine"

book: Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great

subject: social studies (I liked making my own map)

indoor activity: Twister Hopscotch

outdoor activity: ride my bike

TV show: Wizards of Waverly Place

movie: Bambi II

food: spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan on top

dessert: strawberry pie

candy: sour patch kids

vacation: Camp Joseph, Sharon, VT

scripture story: Esther

hero: my brother, Thomas

What 3 dreams do you want to achieve while you are 7 years old?

1. I want to ride a horse

2. Go to the pottery shop and make something

3. Ice skate in our yard

Name 1 dream you want to achieve during your lifetime...

Go to Alaska and build a huge snowman.

SEVEN is awesome according to Grace. We are so happy that we get enjoy your journey with you, sunshine! We love you MORE!

Turning 5

August is birthday month for 2 little and 1 not-so-little girls in our family. Grace and Caroline were born 2 years and 5 minutes apart (both about 30 minutes before midnight). Each of our girls are so different and yet share the priceless common thread of sisterly love.

We've had a crazy busy month, most recently, currently passing around strep, but I'm finally getting around to recording some fun birthday notes for the girls. It sure is fun celebrating the joy they each bring to our family....

**********

Dear Caroline,

This was your last year at HOME with mom before you start school. We sure had fun coloring, learning to spell and write your name, playing with Wesley, working in the kitchen, gardening, shopping, reading, playing on the computer under your very own toolbar bookmark with fun sites just for you to visit, etc. I'm going to miss you while you're at school, but I'm excited for you too and for all of the great things that will come your way.

As we celebrate your 5th birthday, we've come up with 5 things we love about you...

• Your hugs & kisses, without fail everyday, but also those offered to your dear Primary teachers, esp. Sis. Boyd whose husband died this year. You have a generous and tender way of showing you care.
• Your eagerness to learn...Kindergarten cannot start soon enough for you!
• Your sweet and thoughtful prayers, including smacking your lips while you think of what next to say, and pushing your hair out of your face (did I just prove I peak during prayers?!)
• Your sweet singing voice. A highlight of your 4th year was on the 4th of July when the crowds, led by Neal Diamond broke out singing YOUR song, "Sweet Caroline." Your sweet singing can be accompanied by some loony dance moves too:)
• Even though he's a strong force to be reckoned with, you let your "little" brother wrestle you and you giggle that contagious giggle of yours; so endearing.

Caroline's favorites.....

color: purple

song: "Listen to the Still Small Voice"

animal: a horse

indoor activity: playing on the computer,

outdoor activity: ring around the rosies

food: pizza (w. pineapple!)

dessert: brownies w. powdered sugar on top

candy: lollipop

book: Barbie books

TV show: Dora!

movie: Cinderella

vacation: Camp Joseph, Sharon, VT

scripture story: Brother of Jared in Ether

What 3 dreams do you want to achieve while you're 5 years old?

1. Learn how to read

2. Go to school

3. Paint a picture

What is one dream you have that you'd like to achieve during your lifetime? Learn ballet.

Sweet Caroline, you are a sweet, sweet blessing in our family!

Happy 5th to you!

xo, mom & dad