home sweet home

things are    s l o w l y    getting back to normal. 

cleaning house

entertaining children

making meals

sewing

dump off trips to thrift store

church callings

re-connecting with my mister

swimming lessons for the boy

attending my garden

etc...

our "normal" also includes my children making HUGE messes while i sleep in.

they've been waking up at the crack of dawn lately, so like a good mother, i give them dry cereal and goldfishes while they watch morning cartoons. 

needless to say, i have to vacuum every morning after i wake up.

also, the boys' new favorite game on my phone is a PBS app.

he takes pictures of random things (my fabric in this case) and decorates

them with pbs characters.

how darling is this?

despite the messes and early morning wake up calls, life is good. 

i like normal every once in a while:)

on the lake

we ended our trip to missouri with style. 

the night before we left, we enjoyed swimming off the dock,

dinner at the yacht club, then a late night boat ride.

the kids were hyped up and darling.

this reade boy still gets me everytime!

cole cuddled his momma,

and paisley:

and then paisley went off into her own little world of dancing and

acrobatics:

it was the perfect way to end our trip.

we enjoyed my brother and his family;

cousins really are the best!

i miss the lake, but have to say, i'd still rather live by the ocean.

i'll always be a california girl.

john deer

among my favorite things to do in this whole world, 

is mowing a nice lawn.

and mowing my mother's HUGE lawn with this riding mower is the ultimate!

there is something about zoning out the noise around you, being in nature,

and tkaing in the smell of cut grass. it's so relaxing to me.

what makes this process even better is when my mom is outside playing with the kids while i'm mowing. i love seeing them from a distance enjoying the outdoors and getting nice and dirty.

look how sweaty they are...it was SO humid!

my favorite playlist while mowing?

counting crows & coldplay.

 another belly shot.

i barely fit behind the wheel

future quilter

remember all these projects i started before i came to MO?

well, i'm finishing up one on my mother's ancient sewing machine.

seriously ancient.

the little miss just can't keep her hands off my fabric.

she like to place the squares in rows and organize them just like her momma.

i hope she grows up to love creating as much as i do...

my van gogh

so, remember the awesome children's museum that my dad took us to?

kavi decided to draw a picture of the day for papa.

here's his interpretation:

i love it.
although i'm not sure why his people only have one big eye?!
the best exhibit was all these clear pipes that you put mcdonald's time balls in to suck them somewhere else, or shoot, or whatever.


that's my boy.

fruit pizza recipe---per request

 

Yummy Sugar Cookies
2/3 cup shortening            3 cups flour            1 t vanilla
1 cup sugar                2 t baking powder        1 t salt
2 eggs                ¼ c milk                                   

Mix ingredients together. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Don’t roll too thin or bake too long, usually 7 to 10. Bake on greased cookie sheet.


Fruit Pizza
Sugar Cookie Dough              fresh Strawberries         pineapple tidbits
16 oz cream cheese (2 pks)        mandarin oranges        kiwi fruit, sliced
3 or 4 c Cool Whip                     bananas, sliced (soaked in pineapple juice)

3 or 4 c powdered sugar                                     seedless grapes, sliced

Make sugar cookie dough. Grease pizza pans and press dough into pans. Bake as you would a large cookie. Bake only until very slightly golden color appears on edges. Cool. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together; fold in Cool Whip. Spread on cooled cookie dough. 

Top with circular layers of fruit.

*this recipe came from my MIL's sister.
*just so you know,  i could live without the pineapple tidbits, but the juice with the bananas is a must.
*my favorite fruit was actually bananas, blueberries, cantalope, & rasberries. i would highly recommend using these fruits if you can find them fresh locally.

enjoy!

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grandmas and fabrics

while in omaha, 

we visited grandma van

who just lost her husband last month after 30 some years of marriage.

we miss you grandpa van!

we took her to red lobster- a grandma tradition, 

and she gave the boy a ride on her sassy purple walker.

during lunch, i grilled her on her childhood, her life, her parents' lives, etc...

they were both immigrants from poland.

 

afterwards, we headed to a local quilt shop that aunt shadda recommended.

i loved looking around with my momma and grandma. they are both so creative and i hope equally enjoyed the fabric eye candy.

here's what i came home with:

(i might have splurged)

this halloween fabric was too cute to pass up.

i'm planning just a small quilt for the kids to cuddle up with.

yes, that's my belly in the shot.

some more yummy fabric for a quilt for one of my girls.

i'm having a hard time decided what colors to do for which girl,

since i don't know the personality of this next baby yet.

this flannel however, is for baby #3:

pictures don't do it justice. really.

fabulous flannel for a receiving blanket

things he says

the boy: "mom, what's that?" pointing to a cat's toy

me: "it's for a cat."

the boy: "a handicap?"

a day with papa

while we are in omaha, a trip to see papa was in store.

we were planning to visit the omaha zoo, but plans changed when 

we realized it was 100+ degrees outside!

so to the children's museum we went:

uncle taylor and papa were so darling with the kiddos:

i almost got emotional watching them interact.

 {look how hot my younger brother is!

he just joined the air force and i'm so proud}

i was pleasantly surprised at how fun this museum was.

afterwards, papa made us some delicious tico burgers (from costa rica) 

and showed us around his garden.

the kids loved playing with papa and taylor.

all the attention was on them and they soaked up every minute.

the fara

remember this quilt top that i didn't know what to do with?

well, it found the perfect home.

my friend, jennifer, who i havent seen in a couple years

requested it for her adorable little girl, fara.

we talked a couple details and off i was, worked on the backing.

i love that it's not perfect.

none of my quilts are even close.

then off to the quilters', who rushed it for me before i left for MO.

look how yummy crinkly it is after being washed:

jennifer had the great idea of a personalized pillow to go with, 

so i incorporated some black and white polka dots for the binding that complimented the 

birds in the pattern, and also the pillow.

i'm starting to fall in love with hand stitching the binding...

and lastly, the small 10X10 pillow for the little miss.

i embroidered her name in the middle and framed the outside with the coordinating black fabric:

thanks jennifer!

i had so much fun making these for fara.

i hope you both enjoy!!!

fashion cravings

my mother and i packed up the kids and headed to omaha today.

it's about 4 hours from kansas city.

as i was driving, i thought about how i could spend all my imaginary money.

 these sunglasses are my mothers.

the rhinestones don't fall under my fashion cravings category.

i have a lot of imaginary money.

so much so that these two items would be petty cash:

these miz mooz flats are to die for in green right?

i need them.

now.

do you think i could get away with using one of these fossil book bags as a new diaper bag?

i eyed them at macy's and dropped into immediate coveting status.

 what do you think?

do you like bag A or B better?

paisley noel

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is it just because i'm her mother, 

or is this girl plain beautiful?

you can start drooling now

grandma suggested a great recipe for family night 2 weeks ago:

fruit pizza

the fruit in california right now is heavenly- and pretty cheap.

so with a sugar cookie crust,

a fluffy cream cheese "sauce",

and fruit galore for toppings,

we went to work:

and this is what we came up with:

...you know you want some...

thrift store goodness

 i'm a garage sale, craig's list, thrift store lover. 

so when i score, it makes my day!

here's what i found here in lees summit, MO while visiting my momma.

this might be my favorite thrift store find EVER.

check out this vintage wallpaper....

gorgeous for a little girl's room. 

maybe backing of a bookshelf, drawer liner, or on the wall!

$1.00

next is a practically brand new pair of twin sheets from the

simply shabby chic line for target.

i've wanted this bedding for years, but couldn't justify the price.

i was astounded to see it on the shelf at a thrift store!

$2.00

i couldn't resist these vintage hankies.

i have quite the collection at home with no idea of what to make with them.

any ideas?

those ducks are killing me in a quirky way.

$1.50

$2.00

okay, i know this dress doesn't look like much, but use your imagination here.

won't it look lovely on my post-preggo fatness curves with a sassy belt and some 

unique feminine shoes?

$4.00

imagine a belt along these lines:

both from modcloth

total?

$10.50

it doesn't get better than that people!