Randomness from the Past Few Days

I feel like I haven't been on here in forever even though it's only been a few days!  I schedule the vast majority of my posts and try and do a few at once.  This leaves me more free time (what's that?) to read my favorite blogs. 

I scanned Mamaw's funeral program.  She made the quilt pictured above. 

This past week has been busy and somewhat hectic.  If you are a regular reader, you know that Casey and the kids went to Altus, OK on Thursday for his Mamaw's funeral.  They left right after school Thursday and the funeral was Friday.  I was really stressed about Casey taking the kids overnight.  Don't get me wrong, Casey is an excellent father and I completely trust him.  He's just never had the kids alone overnight before.  He had originally planned on staying until Saturday, but they ended up coming back Friday night really late.  I think he had a dose of reality!

I just want to thank you all again for the sweet comments, condolences, thoughts, and prayers regarding Mamaw's passing.  I'm so blessed to have such sweet, caring blog friends!

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I was not able to attend the funeral on Friday because I had a mandatory student teaching seminar to attend.  It started at 8am and lasted until 4pm.  I was so sad that I had to miss Mamaw's funeral, but I tried really hard to make the most of the seminar.  I got so much out of it.  Things that will come in really handy once I start student teaching and especially when I have my own classroom.  (If I am lucky enough to get one...Texas is facing massive budget cuts in public education.  Pray for me.)

Since the past few days have been completely crazy, we've had to eat on the run a lot.  Trying to eat healthy from fast food restaurants is not easy.  Now that everyone is back home we can enjoy eating our normal dinners again.  I made baked salmon, wild rice, and sauteed spinach with garlic and it was so good!  It was wholesome and light, kind of like "spa" food (minus the spa).  *The plates that I served this meal on were my great-grandmother Helen's wedding china.  How special is that!*

I did a little shopping for the kids today at Old Navy.  They just happened to be having a 30% off sale so I got some really good deals.  Plus I picked up a really cute scarf for me!

First of all, I apologize for the cruddy picture.  I took it of myself in my bathroom.  Genius, I know.  I'm really wanting to do something different to my hair.  I don't want to cut the length off but I would like a slight color change.  Any suggestions?  (I need a facial in a bad way too!)

I'm certain this post is full of typos of every kind.  It's been a long day!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Remembering Mamaw

Those of you who read my blog might remember that Casey's grandparents have both been very ill and under hospice care.  We got a call this past Saturday that Mamaw was not doing well and probably would not make it through the night, so Casey drove to Altus, OK to be with her.  All six of her children and all but 4 of her 15 grandchildren were there with her.  Casey came back on Sunday evening and as soon as he walked in the door, we got the call that she had passed.  She waited until everyone left then peacefully and quietly passed from this life.

Even though her health was failing and hospice had come in, it still doesn't make it much easier to deal with her passing.  Of course we are relieved that she is not suffering anymore but she will be sorely missed.  She was a such a sweet lady and loved her family tremendously.  You could just tell how proud she was when everyone was gathered together for holidays and family reunions.  She always treated me like part of the family.  I'm sure her husband Papaw is struggling with her passing in his own way.  Casey told me that when he was there, Papaw came in and they just held hands and looked at each other for a long time without saying anything.  Kind of like he was telling her that it was okay to go to heaven. 

Casey and the kids are leaving this afternoon for Altus for the funeral tomorrow.  I will be home alone.  Why?  Because I have a MANDATORY student teacher seminar.  Mandatory as in if you miss it, you will not student teach.  Believe me, I have already tried to explain my situation and find a way to go to OK, but it is just not possible to miss it without messing everything up.  I feel terrible and desperately want to be there to support my husband and his family and pay my last respects to Mamaw.  I have already talked to the family and Casey and they have all assured me that they completely understand but I'm still really upset about it.  If you would, please say a little prayer for Casey and the entire family.  It will be a tough few days for them. 

French Dress Paper Garland

Since I love to scrapbook, I have TONS of pretty scrapbook papers and embellishments.  However, I'm short on time and haven't been able to put together scrapbook pages lately.  Plus, I've done a lot of digital scrapping and really like it.  I'm kinda moving more in that direction.  But I can't let all those pretty papers go to waste, so I'm always looking for paper crafts to make with them.

I found one that I absolutely loved yesterday and just had to make it for Abby's room. 

A french dress paper garland!  Isn't it lovely and girly?  Abby really liked it.

(All pictures enlarge when clicked.)

Little Birdie Secrets originally came up with this precious idea and sketched it out, then Ashley at Cute As a Fox generously created a *free* printable template.  They used this garland for a baby shower and it just looked precious!

I just cut out the template, traced it onto my scrapbook papers, cut and embellished.  To make it into a garland, I punch holes in the arms and threaded a cute ribbon through.  Easy peasy!

I decided to hang it on Abby's vanity mirror over her dresser.  (Picture of me included for your viewing pleasure...NOT!!!)

Another view.  I need to do a post all about Abby's room someday because she has the cutest, most girly room!

Oh, and Superman showed up during all this crafty fun.  :)

Happy Tuesday!!

Valentine's Day Chair Backers

Are y'all already tired of me posting about Valentine's Day yet?  It's still a few weeks away, but I wanted to prepare ahead for it since I'm starting work (aka: student teaching) on Feb. 7.  I mentioned a while back how much I loved these chair backers from Pottery Barn Kids.

Aren't they precious?  I really wanted to order them but thought I could make them cheaper.  And then when I decided to just order them instead of spending the time to make them, they were sold out.  Story of my life!

Well, I did go ahead and make them.  Granted they aren't nearly as perfect as the PBK ones, but my kids love them all the same.  I found THIS wonderful tutorial that helped me achieve my goal. 

Here are the two I made for my kids.  They look wonky in this picture but actually look better in person.  I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination so there are definitely some imperfections!

This is the lining of Wyatt's bag.  I was originally going to use this one for Abby's but decided to go with something else.  I did the inset heart on the front in the same fabric.



Here is the lining of Abby's bag.  I knew I would regret using the soft minky fabric.  It's beautiful and soft but it is SO difficult to work with.  It is so slippery and I had the worst time trying to get the seams to stay lined up.  I just finished another project with it and had no idea what I was getting myself into!  If anyone has any tips for working with it, please let me know.

Instead of inseting the heart on Abby's bag, I appliqued it on and topstitched around it.  Then I used iron-on, flocked letters to personalize them.  Easy peasy!

I've already bought all the goodies to fill the bags with, so I can sit back and relax until Valentine's Day.  {Unless I come across something else that I just HAVE to make. ;) }

Linking up with:

Wishing You......

...a jumpin' & jivin', booty-shaking, nose-pickin', "hot diggity dog" weekend!!

(*For the record, I have NO idea where Abby learned that booty dance!!  This was the first time I've ever seen it!) 

Valentine's Day Decor

Yes, already!  I had originally planned on waiting until the first of February but I decided to just put it up.  Now, I'm not one of those people who needs a special day to express my love for my family, but I do love making things festive.  So, without further ado...

The mantle.  I found this heart garland at Michael's and made some wired ribbon bows to attach to the ends to dress it up a little.  The hurricane vases filled with coffee beans are leftover from Christmas.  I wrapped some of the wired ribbon around them to make them a little more festive.  I changed out the floral arrangement in the watering can with some (fake) pink carnations.  I found the adorable "Keep Calm and Love On" sign here.  I just printed it out and stuck it in a frame.

After I took the picture above, I decided to add some heart confetti to the mantle.  Just to jazz it up a little! ;)

The centerpiece on my dining room table.  I flanked this pretty teapot my neighbor gave me a while back with some mini tulip arrangments.  I placed everything on this hand-tatted, heirloom lace runner.  (Just kidding, I got it at Walmart years ago).  I can reuse the flower arrangments for Easter.

I added some pink tulle and some little felt hearts embellished with heart stickers to the chandelier above the table.

I made some tissue paper pom poms to hang above the hutch.  I messed up the big white one, so I just place it in a vase.  It's kinda weird, so I'll probably change it up.

More of the same wired ribbon from the mantle tied around some candleholders.  I just love this ribbon!



One of the wreaths I made.  I put this one on the front door. 

The other wreath I made.  My walls are a muted, brick red color so it didn't really photograph well.  It looks nice in person, though.

That's about it.  I do have a Valentine's Day garden flag, but I didn't get a picture.  Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's Wednesday so I'm linking up with Jamie for WILW.  It feels more like a Tuesday since we had Monday off.  That much closer to the weekend!

I'm LOVING that my handsome boy had a wonderful first day of "school".  Yesterday was his very first time EVER in daycare (and away from me) and he had a great time and got a great report.  That is music to this mama's soul!

I'm LOVING that I ordered these Juniper Breeze products from Bath & Body Works.  This has long been one of my favorite fragrances from B&BW but is no longer carried in stores.  When I saw them on sale (for $3 a piece), I snatched them up. 

I'm LOVING this handcream from Crabtree & Evelyn.  I love how soothing the lavender fragrance is.  My tube is almost gone so I'm trying to squeeze every last drop out of it!

I'm LOVING this gorgeous cameo necklace I found here.  The colors are stunning and I just love the tree.

I'm LOVING that I'm teaching the Wednesday evening Cradle Roll class this month at my congregation.  I usually teach the 1st-5th graders but the babies are so much fun!

As always, I'm LOVING these two cuties....

and ....

this handsome fella!!

Have a great Wednesday!!



Wyatt's First Day of "School"

First of all, I have to mention that this is my 100th blog post!  I can't believe I've blabbered this much since I started this blog last September!

Okay, so today is a really special day...my little Wyatt started "school" (aka: daycare, although the name of the place he goes to is actually called a day school)!  It is bittersweet for me.  I'm so glad that I found a place that has been highly recommended and had a really good "vibe" to me.  I'm also excited that I get to start teaching soon.  But I am sad that I won't be able to be home with him anymore.  I keep telling myself that if we are not adjusted after my 12 weeks of student teaching are up, I'll stay home until he starts school. 

Here's my big boy!

Wyatt did not want to cooperate for pictures this morning but I did manage to get a few...

This is the Kindermat cover I stayed up late making last night.  I can't have my baby napping on a cold, plastic mat!

*A note about nap mats:  I really wanted one of the all-in-one nap sets with the mat, attached blanket, and attached pillow.  However, I looked online and called a few places here in Amarillo and was shocked by the price.  The absolute cheapest I could find one started at $50 and they went up from there.  Since we already had a Kindermat from when Abby was younger, I decided to just reused it.

Wyatt's napmat, blanket, and PillowPet.  Welcome to the jungle, baby!

Here's Wyatt working really hard (notice the tongue!) on arranging his Wonder Pets in the schoolhouse.  This type of work takes extreme focus and persistance. ;)

(Ignore hangers and other misc. stuff in the background...mornings get a little hectic around here.)

I couldn't leave Abby out this post, even if it's not her first day of school!

When I dropped Wyatt off this morning, I stayed a while to get him adjusted (actually, it was more for me).  He was doing great, playing with the other kids and having fun.  I really like his teacher from what I've seen.  She has the sweetest personality.  Of course I had to call to check on him just a bit ago, and she told me he is doing great.  No trouble (so far!).  Whew!

Abby was really concerned about her baby brother this morning.  She knew that this is his first time away from me and she was really worried about how he would adjust.  She is a little mama hen when it comes to her brother.  I surprised her with lunch from Rosa's at school today so I could reassure her that he is fine. 

The moral of this story:  Hold your babies tight because they grow up too fast.

Weekend in Review

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  My weekend did not start out very well, but it did get a lot better.  I tried to find the silver lining in everything that went wrong.

Friday:
Friday morning started out wonderful and unfortunately went quickly down hill.  The kids got up without a fight and were ready early so we didn't have to rush around.  After dropping Abby off at school, I stopped to get gas before running errands.  The gas pump handle got stuck and I spilled gas all.over.the.place.  Not only was my hand and coat covered in it, but it was all over the ground.  I went and told the attendant what I did so that they could clean it up (I was so afraid someone might pull up and throw out a cigarette and blow up the place).  I got in the car, wiped my hands off with WetWipes, and decided that since I was already at Walmart, I would just get my grocery shopping done.  Wyatt and I made a beeline to the bathroom so I could scrub my hands and we got that task done.

Then things took a nosedive.  My laptop had been acting up:  overheating, loud fan, etc...  It's about four years old and has been used and abused.  Anyway, the screen wasn't coming up at all, so I took it to a computer repair shop.  The motherboard was completely burned up.  I was able to get any pictures and documents off that hadn't already been backed up and sold it for parts.  But now we are going to have to spend $ out of pocket to purchase a new one.

The silver lining:  I'm getting a new laptop.  I'm considering going with a Mac for the first time ever.  Anyone have one?

My cell phone was next.  It had actually been dropped so many times before by my children that I was surprised that it still worked.  Well, the last drop it took was the fatal blow. 

This was my phone.  (Yes, a flip phone...I'm old school, okay)  I actually really liked it and was a little sad that it broke. 

The silver lining:  I got a new cell phone.  Fortunately, we had an upgrade available so it didn't cost a whole lot out of pocket. 

Here's my new phone.  It's an LG Vortex.  Like I said, I'm not one of those people that has to have the newest piece of technology out there.  This one is pretty cool though.  I just dread having to transfer all my contacts and such over. 

Okay, so anyway, back to the story of my weekend...

(Here's a hint...it involves my Durango.)

Wyatt and I went to pick Abby up from school (right after I found out the bad news about my laptop).  We got out to talk to some of the other moms, got Abby in the car, and then the creme de la creme happened.  [This was when my nervous breakdown really began ;) ]

I stuck my key into the ignition and it wouldn't turn.  Not that engine wouldn't start, but the key would not turn to even start the engine.  I sat there for 25 minutes trying to get it to turn.  The steering wheel was completely locked up.  I called my husband and he was just leaving work.  The problem:  He has a 35 minute drive home.  Fortunately, we only live 2 blocks from the school, so we were able to walk home.  But I hated leaving my car there, especially since all the windows were rolled down. 

After Casey got home, he went to the school to try and start it but got the same result.  Turns out it was the cylinder (?).  So we had to call someone to come up to the school to install a new one.  The bad news:  another $100+ out of pocket.

The silver lining:  It's fixed.  :)

By this time, I was so overwhelmed from the day, I just lost it.  I cried in front of my children, which I HATE doing.  Both of them were crying and hugging me, telling me everything was going to be okay.  I felt like a terrible mom for breaking down in front of them. 

Saturday:
Casey let me sleep in since I was still trying to regain composure from the previous day.  Saturday went much better.

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I deep cleaned the house, got caught up on all the laundry, organized and cleaned my kitchen cabinets, and had a pretty productive day.  We spent the day just hanging out and relaxing.

Sunday:

We had to make a special trip to Altus, Oklahoma to visit my husband's grandparents.  They are not doing well at all and hospice is about to come in.  We went to visit just in case we don't get to see them again.  Very sad, but they have both lived long, happy lives (and have been married for 65 years!) and are at peace with leaving this earth. 

I'm so glad we have tomorrow off.  Another day to get things done and enjoy my children (Casey has to work :( ). 

I know this post was full of negative things, but I tried to focus on the positive side too.  God is good all the time, no matter what challenges and obstacles come my way. 



Valentine's Day Wreaths

I love decorating for holidays and Valentine's Day is no exception!  I have been finding some inspiration from some of my favorite craft blogs and decided to make a couple of wreaths.

The first wreath I made was adapted from an idea I saw here.  It was super simple to make, and I already had most of the supplies on hand.  I did buy some new scrapbook paper, but that was it so the cost was minimal.

 Here is the scrapbook paper I used.  Sorry, not the best lighting.

Here's a close-up of my favorite paper.  I just love the vintage, retro illustrations!

The finished product.  The main difference between the inspiration wreath and mine is that I used a floral wreath form and wrapped it in ribbon.  I also didn't cover the hearts with clear glass glitter, but it would look really cool if I did.  I still might!

Onto the second wreath.  This one is a rag wreath made entirely of fabrics I already had on hand.  And a wire hanger.  How easy is that?!  Here is the link for my inspiration wreath.

My finished wreath.  I really like this one!  It came together in less than an hour.  The most time consuming part is cutting and tying the fabric, but it was a good excuse to sit down and watch a favorite show!

How precious are these chairbackers from Pottery Barn Kids?  Love them.  I saw them a week or so ago on the website and thought I could probably make them for cheaper.  Then I decided that I didn't have time to make them and checked back on the website and they're sold out.  (Boo)  Anyway, I started searching around and found this awesome tutorial.  I went out and bought the materials and am almost finished with my first one, so I'll be sure and post when it's all done. 

Anyone else decorate for Valentine's Day or am I the only  lunatic that does one?

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to link up with Jamie for WILW!

I'm LOVING that it's finally supposed to get above the freezing mark today here in Amarillo.  It's been too cold!  I think a lot of the country has been experiencing cold temps and snow.  Brrr!

Dancing Blooms Cardi  from Anthropologie.  I love this sweater!  I can see wearing it with jeans and tall boots.

Anchors Away Collection by China Glaze.  This is the new Spring 2011 collection and I love it!  "Sea Spray" and "Below Deck" are on my list of must-haves. 

Preschool Backpacks from Pottery Barn Kids.  I'm searching for a "big boy" backpack for my son when he starts "school" next week.  Since his nickname is "Monkey" and am really leaning toward the red monkey backpack.  Cute!

Charlevoix and Lovely for Moda Fabrics.  Oh, how I love fabric.  I am just imagining all the wonderful things I can make with these two "jelly rolls".  Hopefully, my sewing machine will be getting a workout soon!


I'm LOVING my wonderful husband and my two great kiddos, as always!

Happy Wednesday!!