We are getting ready for a medieval feast/awards ceremony at the end of the week with some friends, and I am getting together some things for our display table. These are the "year in review" layouts I made that I figured at least the grandmas would want to see. :-)
{click to enlarge in a separate window}
I have finally hopped on board the digital scrapbooking train! Ha ha, I still remember telling Misty a few years ago that I couldn't get why people would do it digitally over "the real thing," but I'm gettin' it now. :-) I'm actually having a lot of fun teaching myself Photoshop Elements, and I have finally gotten the hang of using templates, so it's going a lot easier now. I won't win any awards for what I do, but my kids are excited to see pictures of the family. I do most of my layouts in 8x8 size and can get those emailed off to Costco and have been happy with the quality of their prints.
The best part of digital scrapbooking? Airbrushing, baby!
I did it! I have been threatening to do it for about a year now, and I finally did it!
I sewed my first knit project on the serger. I've done a few other things on there, getting used to it, like jammy pants for Josh, tablecloths, Barbie pillows, all in cotton. I have heard such bad things about sewing knit that I have been nervous. The funny thing is that I guess some people really like knit, others don't.
Anyway, today I took this:
and I made this:
(let's all say it together in your best Nacho Libre voice -- "stretttcheee paaaantssss")
and the pants actually fit! Hooray!
They have a couple of issues, including the fact that they have a white thread rolled hem, but since I was only planning to wear them as lounge pants around the house, I didn't see the need to wait until I had matching thread to start.
I might turn out to be one of those people that actually like sewing with knit. It was much easier than I expected, and I thought much more forgiving than cotton. I have some fabric to try a simple shirt next time, we'll see how I feel about it after that project.
C'mon and join in. TRUST ME people, I am definitely a solid example of "if I can do it, anybody can do it."
A couple of nights ago the kids caught me in a weak moment and pestered me till I agreed that they could get into my bead/jewelry-making drawer. I wish I could now hire someone to tie the knots at the end of the stretchy cord that they insist on using to make necklaces for everyone. And oh yeah, I'm supposed to mail these to their out-of-state friends when the project is done. :-D
Amber, I just saw your post and realized that we are not alone in our bead adventures, how funny!
So -- the latest report to give is that we have 3 strep patients (Josh, Ava, and Sadie) and one broken thumb girl (who can't get her arm wet or do anything fun -- bike riding, monkey bar climbing, etc -- for 4 weeks). I don't think we have lice anymore. I think I have had strep, too, but hopefully it will stay mild enough to not need to go in for anything, because frankly I don't have time. I can't even go into all of the details about how every single thing we've had to do this week (dr appts, Rx pickups, arm casts) have been fraught with things-gone-wrong that had to get fixed and took twice as long as necessary. But in the end everything always worked out, so I'm grateful for that. And Ryan is home for the weekend, and is still employed, so I'm grateful for that, too. Last night I got to go to Costco and Target while Ryan had the kids, so I am stocked up for whatever this coming week may bring!
This morning we are home from church again, obviously. Josh taught Primary (Sadie got to be the song lady). I like it -- church only lasted about 30 minutes. :-) We will spend the rest of the day doing paper dolls, playing chess, and whatever else the kids have dreamed up for me.
(Josh shared the Good Samaritan story, complete with visual aids)
I knew that having boxed out windows would be good for something.
Me and the mini-me
before we headed off to Lego Robotics this am
Kitty kisses that smell like fish . . . thank you, I think.
I guess I better get off my duff and finish getting this room put together (it's going to be a great studio/office). The piles of stuff behind me are starting to bug me, but this room is dangerous -- I always get sidetracked.
There's the new sewing table with room for my regular sewing machine and the serger. Wall unit with fabric and lots of other crafty goodies. Drawer carts with more crafty goodness. Now I need to finish organizing it and actually pull up the big box of fabric from the downstairs closet to weed through and stick into the wall unit there. Very fascinating stuff, I know.
For the curious, these are the weekly activities our kids are doing this year (in addition to the usual schoolwork).
Mondays -- Our family has been sponsoring a weekly health class for our other homeschool friends from church. We've talked about the Food Guide Pyramid, exercise, staying well (staying away from germs!), and we also play some P.E. games like kickball, etc. We eat a healthy snack together as well that the kids help make (we made fruit smoothies in the blender, for example). We just had our last class for this fall. In the spring I'm planning to help the kids put on a short play.
Tuesdays -- Josh has Cub Scouts and Delaney has Activity Days at the church.
Wednesdays -- Josh meets with his friend Sofia to work on LEGO Simple Machines projects with Sofia's mom (this is the latest reincarnation of our LEGO Robotics club). They will go with another family to compete in Houston in December, and again in the spring. We trade houses to meet together and the other kids play in the background. (Josh is doing this instead of Tae Kwon Do this year.)
On Wednesday afternoons we continue to have Creative Wednesday with Aunt Karyna and our cousins. Sometimes we all do a project together, sometimes just the mommies do a project while the kids play. One time we made these little pom pom critters from a Martha Stewart kit (did you know that Wal*Mart carries her line now?). The kids had a lot of fun with it. (And Natalie has a gift for closing her eyes in almost every picture I take of her, oh well.)
Thursdays -- all three girls have dance class on Thursday afternoons, so Josh and I get to wait around the dance studio from 4:00 to 6:00 (their classes are staggered). The way the class times cross over, we don't really have time to go to the store, so we draw, play Uno, read, and otherwise amuse ourselves.
Fridays -- we STAY HOME! Actually, Fridays we get our house ready for Daddy to come home. Lately his flights have been in the early evening so the kids can come with me to get him at the airport. There is usually a mad dash to give Daddy a hug (accompanied with "DADDDYYYY!!!", with other passengers looking on and smiling at the enthusiastic reunion. I decided to video a bit last week, but didn't get the full effect!
Like many binkies/passys/binks/bits before it, Ava's final "bit" seems to have met a timely death today. It almost looks like it was snipped right off. It's a mystery.
Ava was NOT too pleased about this discovery. "My bit is BROKE! I want to FIX my BITTT!!!!" So I dutifully helped her try it back in the mouth several times, but it just didn't work.
Although, as is par for the course with this my most stubborn child, she realized that if she carefully bit the remaining part of the binky, she could keep it in for a short amount of time. She's a little nut.
(Did you notice the new location for the webcam? Workin' on some rearranging upstairs, thanks to the addition of a borrowed sewing station . . . )
. . . sewing on the badges!