The fair was in town

Summer is officially almost over. The Farmer's Day Fair was held this past weekend. A week earlier than usual but it still signifies the end of summer. We went on opening night to eat lots of really yummy food, let the kids explore the midway, and to see all our friends. Jimmy promptly found his best friend and took off. He is getting too big. The kids won some prizes at the games and Bianca surprised us all by winning a large stuffed dragon at a dart game. Who knew she had such good aim?

Bianca and I ended up wandering down to the fair again on Saturday for the horse show and so I could see the craft fair. Bianca has been obsessed with horses lately and I am going to have to call about some lessons for her. I was hoping this obsession would blow over but it has only gotten stronger. We watched some of the English walk/trot classes and then wandered over to the horse pull. Several sweet horse owners let Bianca pet their animals.

Then we wandered up to the craft fair. Before I even got in the building I had bought a jar of caramel sauce and two marble painted fat quarters. Bianca also got to marble paint a small piece of fabric. I found out from the vendor what paint they use and I may have to order some and give it a try. The results are beautiful.

Once inside, there were booths offering jewelery, cupcakes, hand knits, crotchet items, and hand carved furniture. Bianca tried her hand at paper making, made a river rock necklace and got a crochet beret that she hasn't taken off since I bought it. I think I may try out a booth next year. I have a feeling American Girl clothes will sell really well. We also looked through the contest entries. The quilt and needle work were amazing. I may enter some socks into the knit category next year and I think my picture of the deer in our yard will be going in the photography contest.

It's a twin

So Bianca has a bunch of friends but her two best friends just happen to share her love of American Girl dolls. What is a crafty mom to do but make some skirts that match for all the girls' dolls. Unfortunately, I realized I didn't have quite enough of this fabric to make three skirts, although two skirts out of two fat quarters isn't bad. So one of Bianca's friends will get this skirt:

Purple side of skirt

Green side of skirt

The other will be getting a skirt made of these two fabrics. Please excuse the cat hair on the close ups and the cat on the iron board; I still need to wash the fabric:

Fabric 1

Fabric 2

 

Both fabrics together

I am a bit obsessed with the blue/green combo lately. Luckily, Bianca is happy with any doll clothing. Although, she really fell in love with some purple and pink batiks at our local quilt shop. So you may see some of those in the future.

There are a few things I learned making this skirt a second time. First, read the directions again. Even if it is a really simple pattern and you think you know what you are doing. If you don't you may (like me) sew the skirt together before adding the velcro. If you do there are two options, you can cheat and just sew it on even though the stitches will show on the outside or you can pick out the entire seam while swearing at yourself, attach the velcro and then resew the seam. In case you didn't guess I chose the second option.

The second thing I learned actually made my life easier. As I was trying to mark where the velcro goes I had an epiphany. If I cut out the area on the pattern where the velcro goes I could just mark the area as I marked the pattern. Just make sure you make your marks on the right side of the pattern since that is where the velcro gets attached.

Pattern on fabric

Close-up of velcro area

Once I get the next two skirts done, I think I may make the girls matching shirts for their dolls. I think I may also look for a way to modify the pattern to make a girl's skirt.

All things girly (or at least American Girly)!

I love having a little girl. There is just something about having a girl to share girly things. I just get her! The last few years she has really been into American Girls. Last year for Christmas she got Saige. Two years ago she got Jess and Kaya. I have been sewing a ton of clothes for her lately. Thankfully, Jess and Kaya have been willing to model them for me.

The reversible wrap skirt, modeled by Jess:

 The wrap skirt is a great free pattern. This blog has some great advice on making the skirt and also have a link to the free pattern on Craftsy. The skirt is super easy and even a beginner sewer would have no issue. The hardest part was making sure I had the velcro lined up correctly.

 Jeans and t-shirts, modeled by Kaya:

The jeans and shirt pattern are from Liberty Jane. Every Friday they have a free pattern and they also have several that are always free. The first shirt is from the free Trendy t-shirt pattern. The second is using the t-shirt variations pack using the 3/4 length sleeve. I am going to have to cut the sleeves a bit shorter next time because they ended up more like long sleeves. I like the pattern but hemming the neckline and setting the sleeves are really fussy. If you get the variation pack there is a way to add a neckband which would probably be much easier.

The jeans are pretty easy. When I first read the pattern it was confusing. The best thing to do is to just start sewing. Some things are clearer once the previous steps have been finished. They actually have usable pockets. One of my back pockets ended up bigger than the other when it was all said and done and something is a bit wonky about the waist but overall I am happy.

The last thing to share is the cute cut outs I put up in Bianca's room. I actually found them at Dollar Tree. There is a weird shadow on Tinkerbell in the photo. The words say "A dream is a wish the heart makes".

Things have really changed

So, I have been sitting here thinking about how much things have really changed in the last year. And boy, have they changed. Jay and I bought a house. We love it. It is 5 minutes from the kids school and my job. It is close enough to town to be convenient but far enough away that we are pretty isolated. The best part is we are only a mile from the beach.

The second major chance is I got a new job. I loved my housekeeping job because it was flexible but I really wanted to put my degree to work. I was hired at the local elementary school and I am a 1:1 para in the intensive needs program. I work with a sweet adorable little boy. He and his family are just amazing and I really love my job.

Now for the minor changes. We lost one of our cats almost two years ago and our other one last summer. We also lost our dog in August. In September we added two kittens to our household. Al & Abby are brother and sister. They are too cute. Please ignore the bag of donations in the first photo.

Al:

 Abby:

Then for Mother's Day Jason got me a new puppy. She is a border collie, lab, husky, and Australian Shepard mix. We named her Timber.

Yes, she is very strange and sleeps with her head in Jason's shoe.

Something about our yard...

Our new yard seems to attract wildlife. Today we had a mid-morning visitor. Bianca noticed him first out the window.

About a month ago in the early morning we had four very special visitors.

I am not sure what it is about our yard that the animals like so much but I am glad they do. It makes for some great photos!

Fun at the Lake

Today Jimmy had a baseball tournament over in Readsboro. He rode over with his coach. I wasn't sure what to do with Bianca so I went and picked up her BFF. These girls have been friends since preschool. They are heading into 2nd grade in the fall and will be in the same class again. I guess the teachers know a good combo when they see one.

Since it was another hot day I decided to take the girls to the lake. I got some amazing photos. One of my Mother's Day presents from Jay was a Nikon D3200. I am still learning all the ropes but I love the camera.  I also got a bit of a sunburn. I guess I missed a few spots with the sunscreen.

As for the tournament, Jimmy's team took 3rd. I was extremely impressed. The teams they were playing were older, all-star teams. Jimmy had a great time and his coach was happy with how he well he behaved. The last game he was batting .750. She said he also made some good fielding plays.

Sleepover fun

Recently my kids have discovered the fun of sleepovers. Bianca went to her first sleepover at the end of last summer and has been loving them ever since. I think we have either had a extra child sleeping here or have lost a child to a sleepover every week in the last month. Thankfully both kids have a close circle of friends where I really like the kids and trust the parents.

Last night Bianca had one of her good friends over after the girl's spa birthday party. I wish that I had thought to have someone sleepover with Jimmy too. It is actually easier to have both kids have a friend. This morning the girls were having a blast making themselves mustaches and then dressing up as princesses.

Tee Ball

Exciting things are happening

Usually after a long hiatus I blog about how much I suck at blogging. I am going to try something different this time. This time I am going to blog about all the exciting things that are going on in my life right now. Two of them will have a long term impact on my life. I am hoping they both have a positive impact but one could go either way.

1. Jay got a new job! Well, a promotion really. He is now the manager of the bell/valet department. This means 40/week plus benefits and a higher wage. He is still hourly so he will also get overtime. I am so proud of him. He has worked his butt off for the last two years and it has really paid off. If you ask him he practically owns the mountain.

2. We have to move. The house we rent is being sold. It has been a good, cheap place for us to live well we recovered from some financial blows. That said, I am a bit glad. We are looking into buying right now. I only hope that we can find a new place before we have to vacate this one.

3. This will have no long term impact but GORDON RAMSEY is in our town. Technically, not our town but the one next to it where both Jay and I work. He is filming an episode of Hotel Hell about a local inn. While filming he is staying where Jay works. Jay has met him and said he is very nice and laid back. I am hoping to meet him soon. I love Chef Ramsey and have been a huge fan of The F Word, Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares (and the American version as well), and Hell's Kitchen. I cannot believe that one of my biggest celebrity crushes is here. I am really hoping to meet him while he is here.

That is the most exciting news in our little world right now. The kids are both doing well in school. Bianca started tee ball. She is adorable as always.

On deck

Getting ready to hit

 

Headed for 1st

Jimmy has decided not to do baseball this year. He is too busy with after school clubs and the school play. He is going to be a Winkie and a Poppy in the school production of Oz. I will have plenty of pictures of that soon. He is also taking golf lessons again this summer.

30 Days of Thankfulness- Catch up

I obviously suck at blogging daily. Today I am thankful for so much! I am so thankful for my children. They are the most amazing things in my life next to my husband. Jimmy is so smart. He reads and spells well above grade level. He is great at math. He is so logical. I am constantly amazed by the things  he says. Bianca is the sweetest girl ever. She loves to cuddle and hug us. She also loves to draw pictures and is always making me new artwork. She loves to smile and make people laugh.

I am also thankful for my extended family. My MIL is wonderful. She loves me and treats me as her own daughter. After hearing some horror stories I consider myself extremely lucky to have her. I am thankful for my aunt. She is always there to support me and give me encouragement. I can turn to her with any problem and she will understand. I am also thankful for my cousin. Growing up we were more like sisters than cousins and we still are. I don't talk to her as much as I used to but when we talk it is for hours and it is like we never missed a day of talking.

I am thankful for my amazing friends Taryn and Jessica. We met through the school and it is great to have close friends with kids close in age to my own. Taryn has helped kick my butt into better shape. Her encouragement is a lot of the reason why I was able to run the 5k in just over 33 minutes. Jessica has been amazing when it comes to helping out with events. I can volunteer her for anything and she steps up to the plate in an amazing way. Both Taryn and Jessica are great listeners and are always there when I need to vent.

30 Days of Thankfulness- Day Two

I am thankful for my husband. I may no always express it the best way but I am amazingly thankful for my husband. We have had some difficult times and have come very close to divorce more than once. I am so thankful we decided to work on our marriage instead of throwing it out. He is my rock and is always there when I need him. We fight and have our issues but he has my back and I have his! I cannot imagine my life without him. I love you so much honey! You are the center of my world and I don't tell you that enough.

30 Days of Thankfulness- Day One

I am going to commit to one blog a day for the month of November to express my thankfulness. I, like many others, often get distracted by what I don't have or what is going wrong. I am going to try to take a few minutes to focus on all the things going right.

So for day one I am thankful for God's grace. Without it I would be lost and floundering. God has shown me grace when I have been at my lowest points. Whenever I start to doubt or wallow in self-pity I look at all the blessings God has given me and the grace he has extended to me. I am trying to practice extending that grace to others.

Lots of pretty sparkles.

First off, the results are in on the 5k. I ran it in 33:33 with a pace of 10:52. My running partner ran it in 24:21 with a pace of 7:52. She is seriously a rock star and took first for her age division. Another friend of mine ran it in just over 22 minutes and took 2nd for our division.

In more fun news my nails look like disco balls. I painted them with Sinful Colors Smokin' which is an amazing dark gray. I love that color but I just was not feeling it today. I decided to go for fun and layer several coats of Sally Hansen Ice Queen on top and the results are amazing. Ice Queen is a great holographic glitter polish with medium blue and silver hexagonal glitter mixed in. The pictures don't even do the polish justice. It is impossible to get all the amazing colors in the holo. I will try to get a picture outside tomorrow to see if that helps.

It is 5k time!

I have been having one of those weeks so far. The head gasket went in my Jeep, I ran out of propane when I went to cook dinner, I am PMS'ing, etc. But today none of that matters. Today is 5k day. I will be taking J's big beast of a truck, forgetting my PMS, and not worry about dinner. I have more important things to worry about like the big hill at the start of the race and whether my running partner will make it. This is the day I have been looking forward to and dreading since I ran it last year. The goal is to run it faster this year than I did last year. Last year it took me almost 45 minutes but I did jog the whole thing. This year my goal is somewhere around 35 minutes. Shaving 10 minutes off my speed would be an amazing accomplishment and I have been working hard to get there all summer.

Yes, that is the beast of a truck in the background. I am wearing my "I run like a girl" headband from Bondibands. They are seriously amazing. If you are an exerciser I would recommend one. Not having to wipe sweat from your eyes while running is such a treat.

Lots of pretty colors

Lately I have become a bit obsessed with painting my nails. I noticed they were getting longer so I decided to paint them. I usually bite my nails so this was a nice change. I have found keeping them painted helps keep me from biting them. Plus they look pretty.

Here is the color of the day: Ocean Side by Sinful Colors

The color from a few days ago: Pink Cream by Sinful Colors

A few more of my favorites:

Rise and Shine by Sinful Colors

Zara by Zoya:

If you look you can actually see how my nails are growing. I am going to get a stamping kit soon so I can put some neat designs on them.

Running Away

I have found out that I want to run away more now as an adult than I ever did as a kid. I have found the solution for this. The solution is running away. When I get upset with my husband, I run. The kids annoy me, I run. I am stressed from work, I run. I need to get away, I run. I run at least 3 times a week. Sometimes I run 2 miles, sometimes 3 or 4. Once I even ran 5 miles.

I have signed up to run in the Lt. Dooley Remembrance 5k on Sept 15 again. My goal this year is to beat my time from last year. It shouldn't be hard because I was very slow last year. I am not super fast now but I am quite a bit faster.

I find that I run more now that I run with Taryn. She is a great running partner and has helped my up my speed. I also found a great pair of running shoes that make me feel like I am running on air. The other must haves are my Bondiband and my Frog Togg. The Bondiband is a sweat wicking headband. It is so much nicer to run without sweat dripping into your eyes and stinging. The Frog Togg is a towel that you wet and it stays cool for hours. It is a must have on a hot day after a long run.

I cannot not recommend a better way to destress than to run. I pop the kids in the car and go to my local school. Each lap around is .25 miles and the kids play on the playground while I run my worries away.

A New School Year Resolution

I am going to try to blog at least once a week. And yes, I know that this has nothing to do with the school year. I am hoping I will have a bit more time since work will be slowing down and the kids will be at school.  Summers are tough. I have been working a ton and trying to spend some of my time off outside. I have also been running again. I have worked up to running at least three miles each run. I even did a 5 mile run once. Thanks to my friend, Taryn, I can now run a 9.5 minute mile. She is super fast and very supportive of my slow self.

The kids are doing great. Jimmy is starting 2nd grade and Bianca is starting kindergarten. They are both excited to go back to school. They have been having a lazy summer. We did sign Jimmy up for golf lessons. He loved them and is a natural. That made Jay very proud. He will be taking golf lessons again next summer. Poor Bianca won't be old enough until the summer after. Sometimes having a winter b-day sucks.

In other news I have become Pinterested! I have been posting all kinds of crafts, recipes, fitness stuff, cute pictures, funny pictures. I have been obsessed with pinning. Feel free to click on the link below to follow me.

Let's play ball!!!

Baseball season has officially started. Little league baseball to be exact. Jimmy will be playing this year. He already had his first practice and he loved it. I love that it is at the school so Bianca can play on the playground and I can run during his practice. Talk about a great way to multitask. He is going to have 3 practices a week and each practice is 90 minutes long so I should be in great shape by the end of the season. Jimmy needs a bit of work on his throwing and catching but he has a good bat.

The low carb adventure has been going well. I am down about 12lbs since starting it last month. I cannot believe the change. I have more energy and I don't feel crappy all the time. I still have the occasional treat (like pizza night) but I really limit it so I don't feel sick the next day.

The kids are on school vacation this week, I have the next three days off, and the weather is crappy. At least my house is mostly clean so we will be able to go do fun stuff. Plus Jay is off work too so he will be able to join in. Jimmy has baseball practice on Wednesday and Thursday morning unless they cancel it. It is supposed to be cold and rainy so I hope they do. I am also going to try and work on some sewing projects. I really need to get material to make baby pants for my cousin's baby. I also want to make Bianca some more doll clothes.

Saying goodbye to carbs

I need to get into shape for summer and I have decided that means saying goodbye to carbs. Not all carbs, just bread, pasta, potatoes, rice. The ones that taste good. I have basically gone primal. So far it has been working other than the fact I really miss Jalapeno Cheddar Combos. Those things are addicting. I have also been running again now that it is getting warmer. Spring is finally coming to VT. We had one week that was beautiful then two weeks of cold and now it is warming up again. 

Now that spring is here I need to start my garden. I have a bunch of seeds and a starter tray so we will see how this goes. I do not have a green thumb. Both of my grandparents were great gardeners but I cannot keep plants alive to save my life. If there is ever a zombie apocalypse and we have to rely on my growing food and Jay's hunting our family will starve. 

Sadly, I have stalled on the craftiness. I need to start some projects for my cousin's baby but I just haven't yet. I am making him an adorable teddy bear sweater, a taggie toy, and a snugglely toy. I may also make her a diaper bag. I love making baby stuff. I can finish it fast enough that I don't lose interest.

Clutter

I hate clutter. It makes me anxious. I like everything put neatly in its place. Yet, since we have moved in to our new house I have a bunch of clutter. It is driving me nuts. Part of the issue is a lack of storage areas. This house has few closets. Another part of the issue is having an extra person in the house. I need to start going through this clutter and start getting rid of it but it seems to paralyze me. Having all this stuff around just overwhelms me.

Unfortunately, most of the clutter is not mine so I am very limited in what I can do with the clutter. I have also found since I started my housekeeping job I have an issue cleaning at home. I am so sick of scrubbing, washing, vacuuming, and folding by the time I get home that I just don't want to do it. Then it piles up and makes me want to just ignore it even more.

I think I need to get back into a routine like Flylady again. I will start by decluttering one area each day until everything has a place. Once I get that done I will just have to keep up with it. I am hoping that Jay will help me with this. I will also have Jimmy and Bianca start doing chores to keep their stuff cleaned up.