MaryAnn is here ~ let the adventures begin

Mary Ann got in last night around 8:15. Rich, the kids and I all went to the Orlando Airport to pick her up. The kids had never been inside the airport and wanted to go so we got there a couple of hours before her flight arrived to look around and do some shopping ~ since they have really cool stores in the airport. I got a new Tinkerbell mug at the Disney Store. They also have a Universal Studios store, a Kennedy Space Center store, A Ron Jon Surf Shop, A SeaWorld shop, an Oakley store, A Croc's shop etc.
Here's the center of the airport Here's a shot of the hotel rooms that all look down onto the center of the airport And because we are geeky that way, we took the glass elevator up to the "almost" top floor to get a better view
And while there are no actual MaryAnn pictures yet ~ Here's her accomodations. She'll be staying in Julianne's room with her new full size bed. We put Nate's bunk beds back together in his room so Julz is bunking in with him this week.
Well time to take the kids to camp. Nate is loving it - Julz, not so much. Maybe today will be better for her.

A few new projects done

As promised, here's what I've been working on in the sewing room lately..
These terry cloth covers for the pool/patio chairs Two down and four more to go! I found the towels on sale at Target and got 6 for the chairs. They serve multiple purposes. The put a little color onto beige chairs, they protect the chair backs from the sun and when you sit on the chairs wet from the pool, you've got nice absorbent terry cloth at your back.

The other quick project I did was for Julz. She needed some new shorts for summer camp so I got these plain shirts and shorts and decided to dress them up. Since she is all about peace signs these days. The first outfit I added the peace signs with swarovski crystals. I think this was her favorite cause she is wearing it to camp today. The second one is my favorite I cut the peace sign out of some black fabric (with all color dots on it) and sewed it on the front of the shirt. It's raw edge applique so it'll fray a bit after being watched which I think will only add to the charm of it.

For some other great projects not from me, check out Mary Lou and Cherries Too. Designer Mary Lou Weidman (one of my absolute favorites) has some really cute stuff on her blog and is also doing a give-a-way.

A nice lazy weekend

There was a ton of stuff I wanted to accomplish this weekend ~ after all my BFF is coming to visit on Monday ~ but then I realized she's coming to see me and not how tidy my house is (Thank goodness) so we played instead!
I got a new pool toy ~ a floating chair, complete with not one, but two drink holders. Whoever made this chair knows me so well. Richard liked my new toy so much I'm gonna have to go get him one too so I can use mine.
As you can see the kids got some new water blaster toys as well. That thing blasts a long way ~ no one is safe at the pool now... and Nate is enjoying that just a bit too much. And here's Nate using my new chair in his own "unique" way while Richard sleeps floats the day away.

I have been getting a bit of sewing done but need to get the pictures off my camera and on the computer. I promise to show you some new cool stuff soon!

Kids start camp tomorrow and they are very excited. Both of them have friends going to the same camp and Nate is now in the "teen" camp. The teens go on field trips every day. This week's trips are the batting cage, the beach, a juggling show, kayaking and an aquatic center. Julianne's group will also go to see Mark Nizer (the juggler). There are some cool videos of him out there on YouTube. I wouldn't mind seeing him myself. Oh, and there is a Talent show at the end of the week. Too fun! Me, I'll be having my own fun. Mary Ann will be here and I've got lots of fun stuff planned.... pictures and stories to follow!

In remembrance

It was a year ago today that we lost Angie. For the most part, I'm trying for a "normal" day for the kids. In some ways I am still in shock over this ~ still can't believe it's true. Some days it's easy not to remember since we didn't see her all that often, other days it's still very raw and painful.
We've been talking about Angie a lot more lately, I guess this day has been on all our minds. Two days ago, I was sorting through the kids clothes ~ getting rid of those that no longer fit. As I folded Nate's stuff I ran across a sweater that Angie had given him the Christmas before last I guess it was. He had only worn it once (he's not much of a sweater boy) and I don't think we ever washed it. As I was folding it, I caught a whiff of something very familiar. It was Angie's scent. She always wore the same perfume ~ something by Victoria's Secret... and just a very slight hint of cigarette smoke. Not that nasty overwhelming smell, just a hint mixed in with the perfume. I buried my face into the sweater and breathed in deep ~ over and over as I sat and cried. Julianne noticed and asked what was wrong. I handed her the sweater. She smelled it too, and began to cry. We handed the sweater to Nate. He took the sweater, breathed it in and smiled, a smile that broke my heart. Both kids came and sat with me and we all hugged for a very long time.

And the winner is....

I know, I know... I was supposed to pick a winner on Thursday but life got crazy as always and before I knew it the weekend was here and I just plum forgot! So, without further delay the winner of these fat quarters is Regina from BitnByAQuiltingBug. Congrats!

I was a winner too this week. My friend Sandra of Sandra Sews sent me this little prize, just cause! She and I both love Flamingos and I adore the bags she makes. Thank you so much Sandra. I'm loving it!
Me, I'm still working on a new group of screen bags for the Etsy shop which I hope to finish in the next day or two so keep checking in. They are turning out really cute and Julianne has helped me with the fabric selections (since I'm aiming for her age group) and the buttons as well. Here's just a little sneak peak of those.

Julianne is also working on two little quilts of her own to give as gifts to a couple of little guys we are kinda fond of (Tyler & Bryce). No special occasion, she just really wanted to make them. I'm thinking I'll let her make the blocks and maybe even put them together and I'll quilt it for her, we'll have to see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.

Me, I'm excited cause my BFF MaryAnn will be here in just a week. We are gonna be floating in the pool, drinking drinks, shopping and maybe even some sewing ~ but mostly just getting into as much trouble as humanly possible. I can hardly wait.

And just because.. Here's a couple of pics from the sunrise this morning... First one is the view from my sewing room And the second one was taken looking out the window of our living room I'm telling ya.. It's nice to live in Paradise!

Summer learning

Richard and I decided we'd really like to keep the kids thinking over the summer so we came up with some "work" for them to do ~ along with goofing off and lounging in the pool. Today's assignment will be about music. They will be asked to pick a song they like. Go on the computer and find the words to the song as well as who it was written by, sung by etc. The second part of the assignment will be to write a page on what they think this song is about in their own words. Do they think it's sending a good message or not? Should be interesting. We've got quite a list of "assignments" for them to work on over the summer. I've tried to make them as fun as possible and have incorporated doing research (which they are both bad at), as well as reading, math, science, history, geography etc. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh and Nate has started off the summer with a new hair cut. Nice and short. Julianne, on the other hand refuses to cut hers. I can't blame her really, she's got amazing hair.

Well, I'm off to get some sewing done while the kidlets are still asleep!

My son the doctor?

I know Friday was their first day off school but with my MIL in town and Richard's birthday it all kinda blended into a long weekend. Today seemed more like their first official day off and we did a lot of NOTHING.
Well, not nothing. Nate and I had an appointment to meet with the counselor at the middle school he will be attending in the fall.
There were all kinds of forms to fill out and one of them asked about what career path he has chosen (in 6th grade, really? ~ I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!). He told the counselor he'd like to be a surgeon. You could have knocked me over with a feather. In the waiting room, he was looking at law enforcement. I didn't make a comment. She spoke mostly with him and they mapped out a schedule for middle school (which includes taking some high school courses) and even high school with the possibility of getting his 2yr jr college degree at the same time as his high school degree.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful ~ but seriously ~ this is the child who will do the bare minimum on a project at most. He tries to blow off his school work on a regular basis. Richard and I joke that we have had to drag him through school.
I know he can do it, if he decides to. He is absolutely smart enough. It's his drive I worry about. On the way home we talked about it and I told him that I thought that it was a wonderful goal and that I would help him in any way possible but also it meant really getting his act together, being organized and getting lots more A's than we've been seeing in the past.
Could this be the start of the new and improved Nate? We can always hope ~ not that the old one was bad.. actually he's an amazing young man and I really am so proud of him. But in some ways he's a very typical preteen boy and that's okay too. I'll tell you one thing, he'll make a really cute doctor!