Happy Birthday Greta!

 Greta had a great 9th birthday celebration.  Her Papa Bill and Arlene came to visit and took her out to dinner to her favorite chinese restaurant, Chopstix, two days before her birthday.  The next day she had a slumber party with two of her friends and her big sister.  It was a busy day that started off with swimming at The Centre, an indoor pool with slides and other fun stuff to play on, and then back to the house to play.

The dinner she picked out was corn dogs, edemame, sweet potato wedges, and watermelon.  She thought a lot about her birthday dinner because she wanted it to be balanced between junk food and healthy food.  Everyone was too full for cake after dinner so the presents were opened and then they went off to play.  A few hours later, after everyone had on their jammies, they all enjoyed a late night snack of cake and ice cream.  I had my concerns about giving them sweets so close to bedtime but I guess all the activity exhausted everyone because when lights went out so did the girls.

I can tell this is going to be a good year for Greta.  She has matured into a  confident, funny, and thoughtful young lady. Greta has found a sense of contentment and understanding that she has never had before.  She contiues to be very artistic and a noticer.  She notices  beautiful things that others miss.  Plus, if she notices something beautiful about someone she will compliment them... even if it is a stranger in passing.  That is a wonderful gift to give people.

Slumber Party Guests:  Heather, Gigi, Greta, and Paige

Greta 9 yrs old and Gigi 11 yrs old

Heather and Greta

Greta and her Bestie - Paige



Greta designed her cake and I iced it.  She loved the results!





Thinking about her birthday wish.



I hope your birthday wishes come true.

"The Viv" Library Tote

Meet "The Viv".  This is a new tote bag designed for a busy SAHM to stay organized and have it all in one tote.  My friend, Tab, is a SAHM to her 18 month old Vivi.  Tab's dilema was that she needed a bag that could carry everything for the day and go from the library to the beach.  Ya' did I mention that she just moved to Hawaii?  Tough dilema, huh? 

 

 

 

It just so happens that I have been designing a new tote that would allow it to be over stuffed with bulky heavy things but not be too large for everyday use.  When I go to the library with the girls my bag is frequently overflowing with books.  I thought that an adjustable flap would be just the thing.  It tucks into the bag when not in use but if you need a few extra inches to pile the stuff up, the flap comes out and ties closed.  If it falls over in the car, the books stay in the bag and don't slide under the seat.  Hmmm, if I had a dollar for every time that has happened to me. 

Tab also needed a toiletry bag to contain her lip gloss collection and keys.

The last addition was the diaper clutch.  It will hold a few diapers and a small package of wipes.  It is easy to find and you don't have to carry the entire tote bag around for a quick diaper change.  I hope "The Viv"  gets years of usage at the library and the beach.

Back To School in 2012

We are not morning people... with that said, Gigi has to be at the bus stop by 6:30am so everyone is up before 6am.  I love the picture of her with her hard earned iPad (she saved money all summer to buy it).  It is the perfect example of her excitement, or anxiety, for the first day of school.  She got up early and got ready quick enough to have some free time before the bus came.  I bet that doesn't happen again.  ha ha

 

 

Her school is brand spankin' new.  When we went to the Meet The Teacher night they were still waiting for desks to be delivered.  The proposal of how the new Sixth Grade Center will be run is impressive.  The policies are based on the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective Students which is a branch of the Seven Habit of Highly Effective People.  The students are involved in the day to day activities.  Classes are 90 minutes long so teachers and students have time to really get their hands dirty and do interactive learning.  I have high hopes.

Let me point out one thing about Gigi in these pics... her shirt is wet.  This is the one thing that bugs me about this kid but it is also the one of the many things I love about her, she doesn't care that she got her shirt wet when she washed her face.  I suggested that she change into a dry shirt and she said "I don't care if it's wet.  It will dry."  Simply stated.

See, Greta goes to school at a decent hour.  Note that there is daylight.  ha ha  An interesting note about our family... we don't buy new back to school clothes.  I don't know why.  We've just never bought them.  I love Greta's outfit.  It was a surprise to me that she picked it for her first day of fourth grade.  Unlike Gigi, she has definite ideas about what goes together and how clothes should be worn.  We have had many arguments about Greta taking too long to get ready and me trying to convince her that her clothes don't matter as much as she thinks.  I never win.  For the first day of school she chose a pair of hand-me-down shorts and a t-shirt that is so old that the hem is coming undone in one spot.  She was going for cute comfort.

Softball Season

Gigi loves softball and she was a leader on her team this year.  It was a different softball season.  Instead of playing for a few months, her first season at Fort Leonard Wood found her playing on an on-post team with a month long season.  Practices started a week before games began and there were only a few girls who had played softball before.  As a result, her team played with heart but didn't win any games.  The area they did win in was friendship and isn't that the most important part?!?

Coach Nave and Gigi

Gigi's coach put her on second base and she loved it.  She would always play that position if she had a choice.  Lefties normally play first base.  He believed in her and really helped her improve in her fielding and throwing skills.  We also practiced at the batting cage. Gigi can send that ball flying.   Even I am getting in the cage and I have a mean swing (that frequently misses the ball). ha ha

Gigi at try-outs

Gigi missed playing a longer season so she tried out for a VERY competitive traveling team.  After careful consideration we decided, as a family, that due to Gene's travel demands that we couldn't maintain the dedication that was expected to be a member of that particular team.  Gigi was fine with the decision.  She just wants to play ball and have fun and I love her for her ability to be flexible and content on the matter.  It helps relieve some of my guilt over not being a Super Mom.  We are praying for a team that is more in the middle.  If not, then we will still be happy.

Church, church, and more church camp

 Here are my babies on the way to camp.

 It is tough to let them go and have a week of date nights with Gene. 

 Gigi is a camp pro.  This is her third week long summer camp experience.

Greta was so excited about camp.  She is finally old enough to attend.

Notice that there aren't any pictures of when we picked them up from camp?  Turns out that this camp was all church and no camp... for a week.  Oh wait, they did get to swim indoors for 30 minutes a day.  We love Baby Jesus more than the average Joe but really?!?!

ON a positive note, I want to send them back next year.  I have never felt as loved as when we picked them up.  Greta was so relieved to see us that she was holding back the tears.  Unfortunately, I will have to cling to the memory of those super tight hugs because there is no way in hell we could get them to go again. ha ha

Weekender Tote

Vera Bradley Weekender 

I have had my eye on the Vera Bradley Weekender bag for months.  I almost bought one several times but I didn't want to face my husband when I told him how much I paid and that I needed the matching accessories.   It also drives me crazy to purchase an item when I can probably make something similar.
We went on a weekend trip recently and I carried my old, snagged, sad, poopy brown duffel bag.  It was almost embarrassing to carry it to our nice hotel room.  I mean really, I am at the age now that when I travel and climb out of the car my bag is the best looking thing.  I should have a cute bag that distracts folks from the worn traveler.  I vowed that I would sew my own.  So, this weekend I dug through my scraps and sewed my very own custom designed Sherry Porter Weekender Tote... and accessories.

I love it and it was a fraction of the price of the Vera Bradley tote.  There are a few things I would change and that I learned along the way.  This is the first super-duper big, fleece lined, and zippered tote I have made.  Plus, I didn't follow a pattern. I made it up as I went along and decided on measurements based on the size of scraps I had available.  The interior is small black and white polka dot material and has a large pocket (that needs a snap but I forgot to put it in).  Zippers, arghhh!  After putting in all three zippers it dawned on me why I was not getting the clean finish stitch that I desired.  Oh well, next time.  I just won't let anyone who knows how to sew  look at my bag closely.  ha ha

The picture doesn't show the sizes of the accessory bags well.  The taller bag will hold my hairspray, flat iron, shampoo, and brushes.  This is just a fluke because I just pieced together scraps.  Thank goodness for small miracles.  The second bag is a little larger than a make-up bag. I need more products now to look good than I needed a few years ago. They are both lined with water resistant PUL so when my bronzer spills or shampoo lid leaks, they can easily be wiped clean.

Yea, I can't wait to go on a weekend vacation and see how my bags work.

PCS and Military Friends

It normally takes me about six months to get settled in and start making friends when we move someplace new.  I usually need that time to get moved in our new-to-us home, get the kids in their activities, and find my way around.  I am slow and being a military wife for almost two decades hasn't sped up that process.

Gene takes forever (or never) to make a friend.  I don't know what that says about him but he is slow to open up around new people and even slower to let someone in the Focker Circle Of Trust.  I can count his true friends on one hand.  Maybe I should be thankful... when he commits he is committed for life.  That is a good thing in a marriage.  ha ha

It is even more rare for us to both connect with a couple and have our kids get along.  If memory serves me correctly, this phenonmenon has happened in only two or three moves.  You know if you are one of those two or three.

This relationship was a win-win.  You know what I'm talking about... the kind of peeps that you wear your pjs over to their house to have a glass of wine while the kids raise hell in the back of the house.  The more amazing part of this friendship matrimony is that it happened in a span of less than a year.  Sadly, they left us for Hawaii... the other woman.  *sniff* *sniff*

I have been in mourning for about a month now but I feel that it is my duty to create a permanent record and start to move on.  Let the healing begin.  Just kidding, the beautiful part of being in the military is that you always run into people again.  So, instead of saying goodbye I made them a token of my affection that said "see ya' later."  Brad, Tab and family - enjoy Hawaii but know that the neighborhood isn't the same and I am getting a lot more sleep.