Last night we went to a fireworks show. We RARELY let our kids stay up late and we were pretty sure that our fun family adventure would backfire on us today. Isaac didn't sleep well and woke up early. How do babies wake up so early when they go to bed late? I'll never understand, but I know it has never worked for us. Anyway, we had a really lazy day here at home. It was peaceful and relaxing. At SIX THIRTY when Isaac was wide awake for the day (this was after 30 minutes of mad intense crying and even correction for the little guy) when he became "happy" and thankfully hadn't woken everyone else up (I don't know how they sleep through him!) Isaac and I read our morning books together and then made
this. It was amazing. I LOVE the butter. I don't buy unsalted butter, but did for this and it is divine. I even made the french toast with only egg yolks and with lemon zest. Yep, breakfast was a big hit- complete with "kid coffee" and cantaloupe- around 8:30 when everyone else was up and ready for the day. The rest of the day was spent cleaning and organizing the garage (we have our annual yard sale coming up this weekend), staining fence sections (behind the kids in the pic), mowing, playing in the pool and riding bikes. We had several friends over for dinner- the best kind, the kind you don't have to clean house for! hi, Chuck ;) We had BLT's (thx to Jason for doing LOTS of bacon on the grill so our house wouldn't get all hot and greasy) and corn on the cob and watermelon and a yummy dessert that the kids enjoyed making with me. It was basically a big cookie in the shape of a flag decorated with blue frosting and blueberries, red frosting and strawberries, and white stripes of cool whip. Of course we had more cool whip and piles of blueberries and strawberries on the side. Jason and I are probably going to be wide awake for quite awhile still. It's 11:30 and the fireworks around our neighborhood are still going loud and strong. I took a lot of pictures tonight to get the one above. It's not perfect and the outtakes are probably my favorites. I'll try to post more of those tomorrow.
p.s. Ella helped me cut out and sew the garland that is pictured. We made 2 of them. I am getting so much joy out of crafting with her recently. I feel like I've been waiting forever for my little girl to sew with me and now I'm enjoying it! I have fond memories of doing the same thing with my mom. I'll post pics to
my other blog as well.
I had a bunch of potatoes to peel and cube for soup that's going in my freezer. So, while I cut the potatoes I let the kids sit at the kitchen table and stamp away! (Don't worry, none of these potatoes made there way into our soup!) I shy away from paint- probably because I'm lazy and don't like the clean up, but what's the harm? It's so fun and whenever I let the kids paint I wonder why I don't do it with them more often. After their papers were dry I rolled them up and we'll use them as wrapping paper. Who wouldn't want to receive a gift wrapped in this art? :) Oh, I have to say something about Kate's hat. She loves her puffy bakers hat that really belongs with the kitchen set. She wears it almost everyday. It just so happens that she was wearing it when it was time to paint today! She looks like a little artist, doesn't she?
Tada... here is "my" space! Our basement is unfinished (as you can see by the ceiling and little light bulb hanging down!), but I'm trying hard to make it livable. I painted the paneling on the walls, pieced together all kinds of rugs for the floor, and just keep killing the spiders! That doorway leads to the really "dungeony" part of the basement that's all cement. That's just one of my many piles of laundery you see on the floor! 
She'll be sewing with mamma in no time at all! This is exactly what I used to do with my mom. I would sit beside her sewing machine (which was in the living room of our trailer) and stitch little pictures and buttons onto scraps of fabric.
This thing that my ribbon sits in was an awesome find at the JUNK MARKET. It was only 25 cents. It's a wood frame for sewing machine drawers. The buttons are from the Buffalo Nickel.
These old coke crates (yard sale finds) work perfect for storing my baby food jars full of odds and ends. The sewing machine desk is in poor shape. I got it at a thrift store a few years ago. I thought it was an aweful color, but it's really growing on me!
Bend a wire hanger to desired size and string from ribbon.
Stitch torn scraps of fabric to frame and then to each other with thread strung with beads.
Window decorated for fall.
Another window I like! This one's an antique.
This is an old highchair I found at a yard sale for $1.00. I was so excited to find it! It was in rough condition and was missing the tray. Perfect! I had been looking for an old "high" chair for Ella to be able to sit right at the table with us. Since the tray was missing I took off the hardware on the side arms that hold the tray and chopped off a few inches of the arms so it would sit closer to the table. I had to sand the whole thing down pretty good and clean it. Then I painted it black with a distressed finish to match our table and other chairs. Ella LOVES her big chair at the table!
