bare tracks

The summer is coming to a close. The kids are all geared up and ready to head back to school. And me, well I'm not! Bryar will be headed to preschool this year along with Roxanne. I tossed the idea over and over in my head and finally decided that this would be the right thing to do. Bryar has a late birthday so she will be one of the youngest in her class. However, I think she's tough enough to take on even the bravest 2 year old - LOL!

We have had fun this summer, mostly walking around bare foot (proof...my dirty foot up there) or close to it with our feet hanging out of our flip flops! Roxanne thinks it's so cool to get her feet wet and make foot prints along the deck. So, sometime this week I will be letting her

get her feet wet in some paint. I have a little project that I need some feet print for. 'Til then...have a great weekend!

the scoop on picky eaters

Do you have a picky eater? There are times that my kids will not eat certain foods. It's not because they don't like them, I think they are just bored with them. I am sure that there are times that are kids are just not into what we decided to cook. Well, with a little brain storming, I came up with an idea. You creative moms may have already known about this little trick or maybe have other fun ideas to share that will get kids to eat.

I used some Tostidos scoops chips and filled with with a few green beans and some mac-n-cheese and they vanished. Poof...the boring food was now fun to eat! I have also tried doing this with other food ideas such as corn, peas and mashed potatoes. Give it a try the next time your little one has that "not this again" look on their face!

Not your frilly kind of lace

Sewing is no big news around our house. If the machine is running, there is usually a kiddo or two in my lap or standing by my side. My girls love to watch me sew. At times, I will give the girls my scrap pieces to play with. Roxy will hand me tiny bits and say "Mommy, can you sew this together" or " I need these pieces sewn right here to make a ....etc". It is always my pleasure to encourage their creativity. However, I want them to also understand the old style or the traditional way of sewing as well.

I think hand eye coordination is a very important skill, especially when sewing. While browsing through Michael's a few months back, I found some of those old fashion lace boards. Remember those? I use to sit for hours playing with lace cards. Untying them and then retying them....and so on. Both of my girls showed just as much interest as I did (as a kid) when I showed them the lace cards. They played with them for almost an hour.

Roxy was getting pretty good at weaving the lace string through each hole. Bryar was just proud that she could get the lace in a hole - LOL She would applaud herself out loud each time she was able to lace a hole in the card, it was quite cute! We all had fun learning a simple technique and enjoying what seems to be a growing trend in our home...the love of sewing!

Hoot!

I am in love with this owl clippie. Isn't she adorable? If you are looking for stylish felt hair clippies, check out this Etsy seller!

Girls rule!

You might remember me posting last Friday about enjoying a night out with the girls. Well, here are a few pictures from our fun filled night. We headed out to see a Legally Blonde, the musical. It was fabulous! We were all choking on our popcorn with laughter. The performance was outstanding!

After the show we went to grab a quick bite to eat. We enjoyed eating outside, the weather was perfect. This breathtaking water fountain was within arms reach of our table. It was so relaxing. We shared funny stories, old memories and just plain 'ole girl talk. There's nothing like good times with friends!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It looks like Tommy and I are going to tackle some projects around the house. One of those projects will be adding new lighting to our front entrance and also adding additional lighting to the front flower bed areas around the house. I can't wait to see the end result.

Tootles!

Need a drink?

There are those "dry" times in life when you just need a drink! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

pear-O-licious

Oh, how yummy is this pear! I am in love with it :) I made it from Heather Bailey's Fresh picked pincushion pattern...AWESOME! I won the pattern when my friend Lisa and I went to the Inspire conference a few months ago. Yea, I know, it's taken me a little while to get around to making one - LOL

This pattern is super easy and sews up quickly, leaving you with one yummy looking pear.

Now that's my kind of fresh pickin'!

trotting about

The summer has been full of fun times, good food and lots of laughs. Last weekend we enjoyed spending a good part of Saturday with my in-laws. Roxanne loves to go to Nana's house and I enjoy the woodsy feel of her home. It's tucked away from the city life, surrounded by acres of land with horses grazing in the pasture. Roxanne and I want to move to a farm, so this is the next best thing!

Other family members gathered in and we enjoyed the day. Nana grilled old fashion burgers served with all the yummy sides! The kids could hardly stand the wait to gear up the horses for riding. Each one of them would smile from ear to ear as they mounted the horse. Even little Bryar got on! They spent most of the afternoon trooting about on the horses and loving every minute of it!

We ended the afternoon cooling off at Amicalola Falls. Talk about gorgeous! The water was cool and crisp. The kids wadded in the streams alongside the falls and had tons of fun splashing about. We hiked down the trails, stopping to take pictures along the way of the beautiful view around us. I love nature when its manicured, maintained and full of life, but I also love it raw, uncut and twisted. There's just something about it's realness. Ahhh, just thinking about it makes me want to go back. I am sure there's a house or two for sale up there!

Go bust a gut

Today has been a fantastic day! Tommy woke up early and took my car in to be serviced...oil, tires & maintenance stuff. I slept in 'til around 7:30 and then did some monogramming for some custom orders, ate breakfast and started laundry. When the kids woke up we got dressed and met a friend at the fabric store. We had a blast, the kids played and so did my friend and I. We exchanged design ideas, fabric choices and just had fun drooling over all the prints. Yep, some fabric jumped in my arms and begged me to take it home! After that, it was lunch time...yumm-O! And now, it's party time - :)

I am looking forward to tonight. I am headed out with friends in a bit. My hair looks rather undone at the moment, I can't seem to decide what to do with it. I haven't picked out what I am wearing but I have a good idea of what it will be. But ya know, that's what so awesome about having a girls night. They don't care! It ain't about the hair, the clothes or the shaved legs (LOL), it's just about having fun, letting your hair down and laughing til your stomach hurts. So, I guess I better head to my room and get ready, I've got some laughing to do!

C-ya later!

Have a great weekend!

scrub-a-dub

Today was spent cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. You know all those places around the house that you look at and say, "I need to clean that", well today "that" got done. I spent most of the day doing all the nitty gritty cleaning, taking a few breaks for some fun and laughs with the kids (we got a new puppet stage).

My new saying is, "Cleaning is like a good work out. If you're sore when it's over, then you don't do it enough!". Well, my legs are a little stiff from all of the up and down of standing in a chair, reaching all the corners. My arms are a little wore out from doing the "wax on, wax off" motion (No, I don't karate, but my 2 year old does...in a funny kind of way!).

The entire house is clean, everyone's room smells fresh and everyone has clean crisp sheets on their bed and clean snugly soft pj's to wear to bed. Ahhhhhh, talk about a job that gives a reward! We will all be sleeping like babies tonight :)

Oh, and the picture up there...well, it's one of our newest additions to our pond plants. It has a unique look and I caught it wide open right after a rain shower, beautiful isn't it!

The book

OK, remember that book that I told you I was reading. Well, I haven't quite finished it yet. However, I think I am far enough along in the book to tell you that it was worth the money. If you are like me and have somewhat of a hard time knowing exactly what motivates you and your business, this is the book for you. The "YES attitude" book is all about being positive. I am looking forward to finishing the book soon and applying the "YES" technique to my business life and personal life as well. If you think you would like to join me and read it for yourself, check it out HERE!

bubble gum fun

I have been trying to put together some party plans for my sweet baby girl. She will be turning two in August. She is a girl who is full of fun, loves to laugh and she thinks that gum is just the best thing. So, I have decided that a bubble gum machine party is in order! What fun bright colors, an all time favorite candy, and an awesome way to remember this milestone in little Bryar's life. I have been searching for gift ideas and fun toys with this theme in mind and look at what I found...a personalized gumball machine!

a bit behind

It's only Monday and I am a bit behind schedule. Pretty crazy, huh? Well, lets just say that there comes a time when you gotta stop and smell the roses. Well, I stopped but it seems like chicken houses and horse droppings were the only thing around to smell - LOL

More about our weekend adventure later. Happy Monday!

focus

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Mine will be spent trying to focus. I bought a new book that I promise I will share with you next week. I hope to complete the book over the weekend so that I can give you a book review. So far it has held my attention (Chapter 1). I am not sure if it's just that the book is written well or if I have finally found the book that has all the right answers...we will see!

Oh, and talk about focus, Tommy ran the Peachtree Roadrace over the 4th. He did great! He amazes me with his endurance. I am glad that he enjoys the sport

and I wish him the best ...love ya Tommy!

Life is sweet

My mom bought the girls a cotton candy machine for Christmas last year and we decided that we would try it out the other night. Summer reminds me of cotton candy for some reason. I'm not sure if it stems back from my youth and being at the ball park, my love for theme parks or just my plain old sweet tooth. Whatever the case may be, it's still an old favorite!

The girls enjoyed watching the machine spin out the sugar mix into fluffy clouds of cotton candy. Roxanne enjoyed wrapping it around the cone.

Bryar was a bit hesitant on trying the pink stringy delight but Roxanne dug right in. After watching the rest of us enjoy our sweet pink goodness, Bryar joined in the fun!

Splish splash

We enjoyed some wet and wild fun this weekend on the slip & slide. Both of my girls along with two of their cousins enjoyed a fun afternoon of being wet. What is it about water that is so attractive? Before we knew it, the dads were joining the kids in the water and don't think that my sister-n-law and I weren't ready to splash a bit ourselves!

burger surprise

Remember those awesome cupcake pops that I made at Christmas? Well, here's another great creation from Bakerella that I used to add some fun to our 4th of July party. My version looks like a McDonalds version of a Fudruckers burger in comparison to how Bakerella's looks (she's awesome). However, I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out. After all, I have never claimed to be the best in the baking department-LOL!!

If you've got an extra couple of hours on your hands and you want to try this unique twist on the old fashion burger, check out the "how to" HERE. I opted out of the printed vellum fry holders due to the expense of the paper ($9.99). Yea, call me cheap :) However, I thought my idea to add the onion rings was kind of fun!

Happy 3rd...

and 4th! I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July. I plan on eating a greasy hamburger and maybe even a hot dog, watching beautiful fireworks light up the sky and being a proud American! I love the USA :)

squeezable goodness

My baby fever was fed yesterday when I got the chance to spend almost an entire day with baby Mia and her wonderful Mommy Lynette. Talk about a cutie, Mia is gorgeous. Her big blues, her squealy giggles, her smile....she stole my heart. Lynette is a mommy of two, a brilliant and educated woman, a voice that can sing like a song bird and a heart as big as this world. She loves her family and she's a great mommy. Thank you Lynette and Mia for coming to visit us, we had such a good time!