Thursday, April 29, 2010

Laid Back

It is so hard to go out to eat with friends these days with L.J so it was nice when The Groom and The Bride-To-Be came over this past weekend for dinner.
The menu was sooo ono! Crab legs, veggie kabobs, roasted corn and cocktails.
YUM!
Dinner should always be as relaxed as L.J is in this pic.

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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Party In The ATL

As Maid of Honor, I get to plan the bachelorette party!
And I'm sooo excited!
I'm envisioning a starting point at my house with decorations, hor d'ourves, mini games and lots of alcohol with an ending of gorgeous, passed out women in the limo on the way home from ATL.
Boys beware!

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Friday, April 23, 2010

Fresh Start

Yay! TLH is not bipolar!
Not yet, anyway.
To make a long story short, TLH is diagnosed with adjustment disorder.
The Dr. said that bipolar usually hits children in their teens and since it runs on her dad's side of the family, there is still a chance she could inherit it.
She also said that it was good we were getting her help early and early intervention will definitely help for what can happen later.
TLH starts therapy in 2 weeks and the A. Team has already incorporated new rules around the house that her therapist suggested we try. And so far, so good.
I know this will only make the A. Team better because we all have the same goal...
To be one big, happy, loving family.


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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

She's Sew Crazy

TLH has shown some interest in sewing since I first received my sewing machine and when the Easter Bunny brought her her very own starter machine, she was excited to get started.
As it turned out, that machine was a piece of crap.
I The Easter Bunny should have known that cheap wasn't the way to go.
So, I returned it it mysteriously disappeared and TLH started learning on my machine.

And, she loves it.
Her first make was this hair scrunchie.


It came out so good and she was sooo proud of herself!
I love when she feels accomplished.
But, we have to take it back to the basics because her hand sewing isn't as great as stepping on a pedal.



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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

CraftFail.com

I don't know how I stumbled upon CraftFail.com, but I'm loving it!
75.5% of the clothing, crafts or whatever it might be that I try to make, end up as fails.
It usually takes me 2 or 3 tries before I just give up and settle I'm satisfied with the final product.
It may be because my measuring stinks.
But it is a big improvement from my old method of just eyeballing it.
Take these bloomers for example.
(Excuse the lack of pictures. My model was such a diva and didn't want pictures taken so I bribed her to sit still by letting her hold that tube. I really don't let her play with diaper rash cream.)

This was my very first time making bloomers.
I used this tutorial as a guide.
I didn't use a pillowcase. I used the matching fabric I made the pillowcase dress with.
I only had to redo them once. Whew! And they were still so-so.
I wish the leg openings were a little more stretchy than they are, but, she was able to get her chubby legs in them.
The leg openings on the first bloomer I made were just a little too tight.
It looked like they were cutting off her circulation.
I've since made another bloomer for her (which I'll share in a later post) and I only had to make them once. But, the leg openings weren't the same so one is smaller than the other and somehow one side came out longer than the other.
I don't know how that happened.
The innocent look on my face right now says it all. =)
Another fail project I just finished is this ruffled butt onesie.

I followed the tutorial to the tee (or t.?) but somehow I managed to still fail.
I even measured. Correctly.
I guess I was so intent on following the directions and concentrating that I forgot to make sure the ruffles were on straight.
It doesn't look too bad in the picture but when you hold it up, there is such a noticeable slant.
Maybe it won't be so noticeable when L.J wears it.
Oh, well.
I have 4 other onesie's to practice on.
Thank goodness for Gerber onesie packs.
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Monday, April 19, 2010

My Muno

Buttahz is one of my besties from waaay back in the day.
Back when Nirvana was the shit.
Back when Doc Martens were on everyones feet.
Back when everyone dressed for raves.
I am sooo glad that we still keep in touch after all these years.
I made a Muno softie for her most adorablest son, Marz, today but as soon as L.J saw it, she had to have it.


I figured she would play with it for a few minutes and then move on to the next thing like she does with her other toys, but that didn't happen.
She kept Muno by her side for almost the entire day.

She even walked a few steps to get him.

I knew, then, that Muno wasn't going to be shipped off to his new home with Marz.
Muno now has sentimental value.
I'm sorry, Marz! I'll send you something even better than Muno. And I promise it won't have a drop of L.J drool on it!

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Sunday, April 18, 2010

So Much To Do

I have been on a yard sale/thrifting kick for a couple of weeks now, so after TLH's soccer game on Sat. I just had to stop at a couple that were on the way home.
Big mistake.
Mr. A ruined it for me.
He was hating on everything! He cock-blocked everything I picked up.
"You don't need that." "That thing doesn't work anymore."
I glared at him like I normally do when I have something ugly to say but keep it to myself because we're in public.
Never again will I take him with me.
He made me pass up on a baby jogger that I've been longing for.
Just the other day I told him I wanted one and what do you know?
I spot one at a yard sale.
First thing he says, "How are we getting it home?"
Hellooo...
Isn't that why we we bought Delilah?
To pile our crap in?
Needless to say, I didn't get anything.
Anyway, when we got home, I was still irraz, so while he was out painting the garage, I took the girls with me to go thrifting.
I found a couple of cute things, but my find of the day was an old pentagon side table with storage.
I haven't taken any photos of it but you'll see it in a future 'Before/After' blog.
I can't wait to get started on that project!
So little time.
As I mentioned, Mr. A has been working hard finishing the second garage we built a year ago and getting our pond pretty again.
And while he's been doing those projects, I've been resanding our back deck.
Yup, I'm handling power tools.
Well, just a sander, but it still has to get plugged into the wall before being used.
I was sanding away when I saw Mr. A in the corner of my eye on the top landing (where my new craft room will be!) of the second garage with a basketball.

Him and TLH were playing basketball and he decided to launch the basketball from that distance.
And guess what?
He made it on the second try.
He's such a big kid.
I also got a little break from sanding when the duckies came!
They usually swim in the pond in the mornings, but I guess they got a late start today.
TLH grabbed some bread and they led the duckies all the way to the house so I could get closer pics of them.


So cute!
Anyway, the deck should be finished and stained by the end of the week (yay! no more splinters!) and then I'll be able to start on that table.
So the plan goes.


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Another Milestone

L.J surprised us all and decided to take her first 2 steps today!
I guess she thought her babydoll was worth trying to get from me.
It won't be long before she's walking all over the place with me chasing right behind.
I can't wait to see her little chubby legs in action.
She won't be needing those baby knee pads anymore!

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Friday, April 16, 2010

Maid To Be


A good friend of mine is getting married and I'm the Maid of Honor.
Being a bridesmaid is not my thing.
I'm very shy to begin with so having all those eyes on me makes me uncomfortable. (You wouldn't think that with all the tattoos I have.)
Mr. A and I never even had a "real" wedding.
We did it "Sex in the City" style and went to the courthouse like Carrie and Mr. Big.
And I liked it that way.
So, now, it's crunchtime.
I need to lose some lbs - like pronto.
The other bridesmaids in the party is tall, super thin and modelesque.
My self esteem drops lower and lower everytime I think about it.
Ugh.
But I do get to wear a pretty yellow dress.
Yellow does look good on me.
=)
I have 3 months to lose 15 lbs.
5 lbs a month. Do-able.
Let's see if it's do-able for me.
Wish me luck!



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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Daddy's Little Girl





I wish I had a better camera to capture stolen, precious moments as these...

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Before/After



Our bedroom was becoming a junk room/catch all.
And that picture was taken after I edited all the junk down to what you see.
So not inspiring.
I can't believe I was letting our bedroom become a scene from 'Hoarders'.
Bad. Very bad.
I decided to reclaim our space and tidy it up.
The first thing I did was price baskets that fit the bookcase in our room.
Ridiculous.
$20 a basket x 8.
Ya, right.
Too rich for my blood.
So, I went into cheap mode and decided to make my own.
I found the perfect sized shipping boxes at Staples for $2 and some cents a box.
Yup, shipping boxes.
I used a box cutter to cut the top flaps off


and then headed outside to spray paint the boxes white.

Once they were dry, I glued scrapbook paper to the front of the box and just to make sure L.J wouldn't rip the paper to shreds, I Mod Podged it.

It came out so much better than I imagined and now I can really clutter it up and no one will be able to see it!
Another great thing about these "baskets" is that it makes for less dust - and dusting.
I am now inspired to redo the rest of the bedroom.
Love it!


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Monday, April 12, 2010

DaDaDaDa

L.J babbled for the first time today!
We were all in the kitchen when she started blurting out "DaDaDaDa".
I love hearing her sweet, angelic voice!
But, I know, once they start talking, they never stop.


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Peach Pit Ring

I was eating a nectarine (are they the same as peaches?) when TLH mentioned that her book 'The Daring Book For Girls' has a tutorial on a Peach Pit Ring.
It says that if you rub the sides of a peach pit on cement, it eventually will make a ring.
TLH wanted to try it and we figured a nectarine pit is the same as a peach pit, so I finished my nectarine and gave her the pit.
She started scraping but after 30 seconds she found out that it was tedious work.
So, instead, she gave me the job while she played basketball.

After 15 minutes of scraping, this is all that I accomplished.
TLH had the right idea of pawning this project off on someone else.
I guess this ring will have to happen in sessions.
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Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was spent with good quality family time.
Saturday morning, TLH had a soccer game and it was pretty exciting.
They were down by 3 but by the last 10 minutes of the game, they came back to tie the game 4 to 4.
Great job, girls!

While Mr. A went was out golfing with his co-workers after working overtime, me and TLH went to the River Walk.
It was such a beautiful day.
We packed up the wagon and TLH's scooter and we headed out with the sunroof open and the wind in our hair.
We joined the lot of bikers and joggers on the trail and enjoyed the sights.


Every once in awhile, I would turn to look at L.J and she would just be watching the wheels roll. I love her curiosity.

The Ocmulgee River runs next to the trail and we were able see some canoers enjoying their day. How cool is that dragon canoe?

TLH stopped to look for a four leafed clover (with no luck) while we sat and ate our snacks.

Across the Ocmulgee River is the Rose Hill Cemetery where one of the Allman Brothers is buried.
I haven't visited there but from where we were sitting, it was simply beautiful.

After walking the trail, we stopped at the playground before leaving.


We stayed out longer than expected so Mr. A ended up beating us home.
We were home just long enough to get a bathroom break before we all headed out to the farm so I could check out The Aung's new investments - which look sooo good.
TLH was able to feed the calf and the goats while we were there and she loved it.

We stayed long enough to have dinner and we headed home where everyone passed out
for the night.
Sunday was a bit more relaxed.
TLH and L.J spent most of the day outside while I did housework and an old friend of Mr. A's came by for a visit so he and Mr. A played catch up.
I love my time with my family.
I wouldn't trade any of it for all the money in the world.

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