Balloon Canopy

It's fun to celebrate the little things as well as the big things.  For instance, first day of Kindergarten, kind of a big deal.  Now last year was probably bigger, but now she's in Kindergarten, the real deal.  So while she was at school, I blew up some balloons, tied them to yarn, and hung them above her bed with push pins creating a fun canopy effect.  I also rearranged her room a bit adding a reading/dress-up corner by moving her trunk to the end of her bed freeing up her window.  She loves the transformation and is happily playing in her "new" room.  life.is.good.

1st Day of Kindergarten

It is finally here!  Bella was up at 6:40 ready to get her day started.  Her backpack was packed, pigtails perfected, and shoes double knotted to lessen the likelihood of tripping.  I walked her to class to help her with all her school supplies, and when we walked in, she gave Miss Angie a big hug before hanging up her backpack and beginning her day.  I noticed that she got out her orange Kindergarten journal that I got for her to use throughout the school year to write/draw whatever.  I'm going to try to give her a new journal each year, that way we can compare them as she gets older... Won't that be fun?!

And, as Bella starts school, I too am contemplating going back to school for Fashion Design.  I talked to Vince about it and he was nothing but supportive :)  I am in the research phase now, but I will keep you updated with my progress.  The more I sew, the more I love it and want to know more.  I think I have finally found my passion <3

For now, I'm going to enjoy my first day home on my own.  2nd cup of coffee, yes please!

Mostly Balanced.

I'll start with a little of yesterday... It was open house at Bella's school :)  She chose to wear her navy dress with pink roses, white mary janes, and pigtails.  Perfect.  We arrived at school around 4:15, the same time as the Primm clan.  Marty is in Bella's class this year and B-bo could not be more excited.  Once in the classroom, Bella showed Marty all around, and then introduced her as her "best friend" to any of her former classmates that were there.  She gave Miss Angie, who is about 6 months pregnant, a big hug before introducing her self to the new teacher's assistant, Miss Alexa who is another cute, young thing like Miss Ensley was.  I chatted with Angie for a good 10 minutes, and she tried with her charming self to coax Liz and I into being co-room parents, but I didn't bite.  I am going to do an art project a month, starting in October, with the kiddos in conjunction with what they will be studying at the time.  I think I may be as excited as Bella.

As for as excited as she acts about going back to school, there is also some anxiety creeping in and reeking havoc.  She has been with me all summer, and she gets very used to hanging out with Mama as well as attached which tends to some slight separation anxiety.  Plus, it's been a rough summer and she can sense that I'm sad, so she's extra protective of me right now too.  Don't get me wrong,  I love having her here, but I'm also trying to grow a small business, and I know once she has been in school for a week or two she will have adjusted nicely and be just fine.

After I put Bella to bed last night, Vince and I lit the huge bonfire we set up in the backyard, enjoyed a glass of wine, adult conversation, and the dogs running amuck around our feet.  After an hour or so, we were headed back inside, but paused to take in the stars first.  They were truly breath taking, and a nice reminder of why I love living in the country... so to speak.

As for today, for the most part it was great, with a bit of yuck.  Let's start with the great.  Vince took the day off to spend it with Bella since it was her last day of summer vacation.  He decided it would be fun to start a new tradition, and what better time to start then the day before kindergarten :)  They got up, got dressed, and went to The Flying Biscuit for breakfast, and I went out thrifting all by myself.  We met up at the Restore around noon to say hi to Pap Pap, and while there I scored a vintage chair for $40 that I'm going to reupholster.  Pics of that project at a later date.  From there, Vince and Bella went to Discovery Place and I went home to sew in a quiet house <3  They stayed at DP for 3 hours before Vince had to carry an exhausted/not wanting to leave kiddo out to the car, and she was out cold before they even made it out of the parking garage.

Now the yuck.  My Mom is home in Cali, which is good and bad.  She is exhausted and alone which = prime time for bad thoughts to creep in.  We had a very long conversation where she kept saying she just needed to get it all out so she could feel better, through big sobs and at times gibberish because of extreme exhaustion/devastation.  I just wanted to reach through the phone and wrap my arms around her and reassure her that it is all going to be ok.  Sucks that I can't do that.  All I can do is pray that this nightmare is all over soon, and we can all find some peace.

Back to good.  While Bella took a bath, I ran to Target to make an exchange and get some white air dry clay for Bella's class.  It was a teacher wish list item.  Anyway, while I was gone, Vince made dinner, and when Bella finished hers, she helped me make her lunch for the next day :)  Let's see if we can keep that one up.  Her outfit has been selected, teeth brushed, story read, kisses exchanged, and lights out.

In case you were wondering, the answer is yes.  I am doing a Kindergarten Fashionista album for this school year.  And her first outfit is awesome.

For now, good night.sleep tight.and don't let the bed bugs bite.

Unless you like that sort of thing ;)

One more thing... We discovered this at the end of the day.  Apparently, Vince dripped toothpaste down his shirt this morning while brushing his teeth, and it happened to fall in just the right spot.  Funny stuff.

My Monday.

Here it is in a neat little list...

6:00 The alarm goes off, but I hit snooze at least 4 times.

6:45  I finally got up.  Trying to get back into an early morning routine for school.

7:00  I unloaded the dishwasher, started a load of laundry, updated my blog, and made my first cup of coffee.

7:30  Bella woke up, and Vince left for work.  I made her a breakfast of cereal/yogurt tube/orange.

8:00 Switch the laundry and began picking up the house.

9:30  Cleaned both bathrooms and my studio while Bella cleaned her room.

11:30  Lunch!  Ham & Cheese sandwiches with carrot sticks, strawberries and lemonade.

12:05  Time to reconstruct Hogwart's Lego castle for Bella's city that is getting larger by the day.

3:00 Answered all client email, and set up appointments for next week.

4:00 Got roped into rebuilding the space train, and finished my 8th load of laundry for the day.

6:00  Bath time for Bella, and Vince is home from work.

7:00  Dinner!  Yummy portabello mushroom sandwiches for V and I, and a hotdog/fries/an apple for B.

8:00  Teeth brushing, stories and bedtime for Bella.

9:00 Sat down on the couch for the first time all day.

9:30 Out!  Sorry I missed your call Jenny, I promise one of these days we will catch each other.

and there you have it... A day in the life of Q.

Perfect.

One word to describe yesterday that is because it was.

I slept in until 8 a.m. ;) and was on my way to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee when I remembered my promise from last night.  Bella was sitting on the living room floor surrounded by Legos.  I promised the night before that we could put all the sets together and build a city, and it seems someone did not forget.  So I made my coffee and we began our first piece, a set that can be made into 3 different houses.  She picked the house, and we began.  While we built, Vince made a yummy breakfast.  I finally came up for air around 11, changed into some yard work clothes, and Vince and I headed outside to do some more tree clean-up.  Bella opted to stay indoors and continue building while enjoying some Pandora.  We got in a good hour of tree removal before heading back in to shower and eat lunch.  I walked out to put Bella's lunch on her table only to discover a passed out kiddo on the sofa.  Talk about some intense Lego play <3  She slept for about 2 hours before waking up all confused and apologizing for falling asleep.  so.sweet.

During her nap, I made a trip to Lowe's for one more can of spray paint for her table, some blackout shades for her window, 2 lamp shades and some paint chip samples to make garland with.  Once home, I promptly fell asleep watching Phineas & Ferb with B-bo and ended up taking a 2 hour nap.  Guess I was sleepy.  Once awake, Vince and I headed back out to do a little more tree removal before it started storming.  Great.workout.

Bella was in bed by 8:30, and while I prepped the Hogwart's castle set for construction on Monday, Vince watched some football.  We were in bed by 10:30 in order to begin getting back into a routine for the school year.  I set the alarm for 6 a.m. and fell asleep to a starry ceiling and thunderstorm brewing outside.

perfect.day.

*I made it up by 6:45 Monday morning... gotta start somewhere.

Lovely.

That's what today was.  lovely.

I let Bella pick out some fabric for a skirt, and she chose a hot pink with black polka dots knit.  I have already put it all together and it is adorable.  She already has the perfect shirt and shoes to wear with it, and I will post a picture when she is wearing the whole ensemble.  She is calling it her lady bug skirt.  too.cute.

I also created another melted crayon piece.  It's titled "Ocean Wave" and I love it.  This crayon melting thing is becoming a bit addicting.

Bella is spending the night with Pap Pap & Jamma tonight!  Vince surprised me with this when he got home from work.  He told me to pack a bag for her to sleepover, and that he was taking her to the park for a while first so that I could have some "me" time.  I love my husband.

Now, we are deciding what we want to do for the evening while enjoying a drink in front of the fish tank.  Life.is.good.

Photo Entry

Here are some photos of what I've been doing for the last few days.  Enjoy!

I covered a canvas in fabric, and then melted crayons down the front with a hairdryer before adding the buttons.  I call it Fall, and I will also be adding a vertical 4x6 black & white family photo in the bottom right corner area.

A skirt for Bella made from one of the sample squares from Susan trimmed with the ribbon sash from her flower girl dress from my brother's wedding.  Coolest part, this skirt has built in shorts made from a t-shirt.  Awesome.

I repainted Bella's table and chairs a creamy yellow, and I made the area rug below it out of 4 pairs of jeans.  I'm also going to paint a stencil of some sorts around the table in a charcoal gray.  And I am also contemplating drawing a huge zinnia pattern on the jean rug using a bleach pen.  We shall see...

Enjoying some outdoor time since the temperature is finally in the mid 80's.  It has been a scorcher of a summer to say the least.

And that is all for now.

xoxoxxx.

Highlights.

It's no secret that the last few months have been difficult for me emotionally.  So for this post, I'm going to focus on some highlights from the last few days, beginning with last Friday.  Enjoy.

Friday.  Bella and I made a trip to Ikea to get Allie's birthday present.  We decided on a new art easel with some new paints/paintbrushes/easel paper/chalk to assist the budding artist in her future masterpieces.  Bella chose to play in the super cool playroom, and this allowed me to have a peaceful hour of browsing around. Everybody won if you ask me.

Saturday.  Allie is 6!  Unbelievable.  We went to Robert and Ro's house for a small family party for Miss Cakes.  That's right, we are considered family, and good thing we were there because it seemed that La and Ro needed the buffer.  A little background... Ro is La's Mother-in-law, and La, Karl & the kiddos are all staying with Karl's parents for a few weeks or so until their house is ready to move in.  In other words, tense situation all around.  La is pregnant with number 4 having to live with her in-laws, while Ro, is probably feeling pretty invaded with 5 extra people in the house, 3 of which are 6 and under...  Anyway, it was a nice little party for Allie, and the kiddos had fun playing and eating cake.

Monday.  Bella entertained me with an impromptu dance session that included a ballet and tap piece.  And, of course, there was a costume change between numbers.  While the recital ensued, I created an area rug made out of 4 pairs of jeans to go underneath Bella's table and chairs that used to be red and is now a golden yummy yellow.  Pictures will  be posted when the project is complete... I promise.  I also will be making a flower girl dress for Allie for Laura's friends Brian and Callie's wedding.  I met with Callie, we formulated a plan, and I will be choosing possible fabrics over the next few days.  One last thing for Monday... Vince helped me fold laundry this evening and I realized it was a lot like Bella helping me fold laundry.  He only folded towels/napkins/blankets while I folded everything else and we still finished at the same time.  Granted, I'm pretty OCD when it comes to folding laundry, as in I have a specific way I like things folded, and Vince doesn't do it right, but to be fair, no one does.  Trust me, I already know I have a problem, and I have learned to live with it... and so has Vince :)

Tuesday.  Today.  I had the neighborhood boy come and mow the lawn today so that Vince won't have to when he gets home from work today.  It has been raining a lot, and we've been out of town a lot.  Both of these things equal a lawn that could be mistaken for a jungle.  Eric did it all in less than an hour, gotta love riding mowers, plus he edged and blew.  Gotta be a better way to say that.

And there you have it.

Fun with Yarn.

I am addicted to a new site.  pinterest.com  it.is.awesome.  Anyway, I found two yarn projects that inspired the above photos.  The picture on the left is a punch balloon wrapped in charcoal grey yarn that has been dipped in a slightly watered down glue mixture.  Once dry, it will be part of a yarn sculpture hanging light for over the sofa.  I'm going to add various size yarn balls to it for a cool cluster effect.


The photo on the right is of a yarn bowl.  I used the same technique as before, but only wrapped half the balloon keeping the strands close together.  We'll see how it turns out.

Congrats on the 1st time hair dying experience Jenny <3

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Slight Addiction.

To Build-a-Bear that is.  Yes, she has 9 animals from this lovely establishment, and now I'm going to give a little background on each.

1 & 2. Swiss the Bunny and Luna Bear with the blue bow were both created before Bella was born by Jenny and myself.  I made the bunny, Jen the bear and they have been faves since day 1.

3. Strawberry, the gray kitty wearing Christmas pjs.  Bella, Allie and Marty each made one of these gray cats for Bella's 3rd birthday.  Liz and I took the girls for their very first Build-a-Bear experience,  and we've been hooked ever since.

4 & 5.  Rudolph and Clarice the reindeer were left by Santa this past Christmas, and she still sleeps with them every night.

6. Pinkberry, the pink bear.  She was created in Disneyland with BB.  Allie also created a puppy and named it Suzy <3

7. The Pink Pair, Lily the Mama dog, and Ruby the puppy joined us on Bella's birthday this year.  We also ate in the food court, rode the merry-go-round, and visited the Lego store.

8. Olivia, the sparkly lamb was a reward for being such a great helper in Cordele, GA.  We had to help my Mom with my Grandmother for a week, and Bella was great!

9. Sunflower, the fiery orange tabby was created yesterday.  She joined our family in honor of Papa, and was a last gift from him to his sweet great granddaughter <3

So there you have it.  We may have a slight addiction, but each experience created special memories and so far, each of these animals has a spot on B-bo's bed nightly.  love.it.all.

Yesterday.

Turned out to be a day of accomplishments.  I finished all the laundry, and I made a cute bag for Miss Angie that has all of Bella's school supplies in it.  Being in Kindergarten, they still practice community supplies, meaning all of the supplies brought in are stored in a giant metal cabinet and disbursed as needed. So I thought her teacher might like a bag to use throughout the school year as well.  Yes, I know I am that parent, and I enjoy it.

Other activities of the day included a few errands, a 2 hour nap on the couch (I know it was 2 hours because 4 PBS shows cycled through) which Bella was patient enough to let me take, some Project Runway imagination play that included all of the Build-a-Bear animals, and myself & Bella, yummy portabello mushroom/tomato/swiss cheese sandwiches on Italian bread made fresh by Vince for dinner, 2 chapters of a Jack & Annie book before putting Bella to bed, and promptly passing out on the sofa at 9:30. I think that about covers it.

Enjoy your Tuesday <3

Nothing Like It.

Being home that is.  Nothing feels better.

The rest of Saturday was spent running a few errands, and then relaxing.  Bella and I took a nap until it was time for dinner with Frank.  Pap Pap really missed his Bella Bo, so much so that he enticed Vince and I over with a steak dinner, and promises of an UNO tournament with the B-sters.  While eating dinner, Frank also offered to take Bella swimming on Sunday afternoon, and he kept commenting on how 2 weeks was too long... Seems like someone is used to their instant access ;)

After a small UNO tournament, we headed home and put the kiddo to bed.  I proceeded to get comfy on the sofa, and that was that.  I stumbled to bed sometime around 2 a.m., and it seems I may have picked up a habit from my Dad <3.

On Sunday, I got Bella's school supplies, Pap Pap took her swimming for a couple of hours, Vince and I got groceries, and we unpacked and cleaned the house for a fresh start on Monday.

Now, it's Monday and here is a small list of what I would like to accomplish today.  Run a couple of errands, pay a couple of bills, work in my studio, finish the laundry, and go for a run.

Also, thinking about my Mom today.  She is by Papa's side watching her Dad slowly die.  Praying for peace for both parties involved.

But, let's end with something happy.  Vince and I woke up to the sounds of Bella cleaning up the living room without being asked on Sunday morning.  It was a big job too because she was extremely happy to be home on Saturday and got out all of her toys, yes all of them.  Somebody really wants to earn stars for their chore chart though.  She has her heart set on a Littlest Pet Shop Tree House Play Set.  Lord help me... more.plastic.

Whirlwind.

Friday.

Bella and I woke up and got dressed by 8:30, and headed to the hotel lobby for our complimentary breakfast.  She had her usual waffle with cup of peach yogurt, while I sipped my coffee and munched on a slice of bacon.  Post breakfast, we hung out in our room rotating between home shows and PBS kids until noon when we left to go pick up Vince at the Gulfport airport.  Longest 1.5 hours of my life!  Anyway, he arrived safely and back to Hattiesburg we went.

While driving, we discussed our options.  Shockingly enough, Papa is still with us, so there was no way a funeral was happening this weekend.  The earliest it will be is next weekend, so we decided to head to the hotel, grab our stuff, and then head to Papa's house to grab the rest or our stuff and say good bye before hitting the road to head home.  Vince let Bella and I decide and both of us agreed that we wanted to go home!

By 4:15, we were on the road, and I took the first shift because I knew the back way to get us out of town avoiding the heavy traffic of downtown.  I got us into Alabama where we stopped at Subway to grab dinner to go and Vince took over.  He made it to just outside Atlanta where we stopped for gas and I took over.  I finished the last 5 hours no sweat and we were home by 2 a.m.  It felt so good to pull up into the driveway, and before I got out I glanced at the odometer noticing we had traveled 2300 miles in 2 weeks... that's a lot of driving.

Vince carried in B-bo and put her to bed.  Then we had a few snacks, crawled into bed, watched an episode of The Good Guys, and then fell asleep staring at the stars on our ceiling.  It is soooooooooo good to be home!

Vince is making me yummy cheese grits and some kind of fancy bagel, and I've had the first normal cup of coffee since I left.  One clarification, I had 3 FABULOUS cups of coffee at Amanda's house. Papa has a percolator, and a very old one at that. It only makes coffee that tastes like ass. That is all.  Feeling a little bit normal, and it feels good.

One more thing before I go, while lying in bed and drifting to sleep, Vince and I came up with a great band name/children's book or at least we think so... Anyway, here it is... TNT Tartlet and the Sun Gun Habit.  Stay tuned for further elaboration.

Happy Saturday <3

Ready.

I am ready for this to all be over.  I am ready to go home.  I am ready for Papa to be at peace.

That being said, here is what has been going on for the last 2 weeks...

We arrived in Hattiesburg, MS 2 weeks ago.  Papa was so excited to see Bella that when we got out of the car she ran to give him a hug and he actually picked her up.  I couldn't believe it.  He later admitted he didn't think she would be so heavy.  She weighs 36 lbs wet :)  Anyway, we spent the next two days just hanging out with him.  He would just sit and watch Bella for hours, asking her all kinds of questions and shaking his head in wonder and amazement.  He was truly in awe of her.

Sunday, at 4 a.m., B-bo and I took Vince to the airport in Gulfport to fly home so he could work the next week.  Once back at Papa's house, I slept for a couple of hours before getting myself and Bella ready to go to church.  This would be Papa's last time to attend church, and he was so proud to have Bella with him to show off.  We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch, and once home things began to deteriorate.  His pain increased dramatically, and after consulting with my Mom, I doubled his morphine intake which seemed to do the trick.

Monday was the last day he left the house.  We drove to the pharmacy to pick up his meds, and he stayed in the car.  I cooked dinner for him that night, which was awful, and I am still feeling bad that it was his last meal on this Earth.  Tuesday, he pretty much slept the whole day, and just kept telling me he didn't feel good.  By Wednesday, I sounded the alarm and my Mom flew in to help take over.  He had spent most of the day vomiting or sleeping and I was out of my mind with worry.  Mom got to town at 11 p.m. and Andrew and Sarah arrived at 1 a.m.

By Thursday he was bed ridden and the inevitable was upon us.  My Uncle Randy made it in Friday afternoon, and the 5 of us spent 2 hours gathered around his bed while he told us each how much he loved us, and that he would see us all again in Heaven.  It was heart wrenching. 

Andrew and Sarah left on Sunday, and Bella and I went to Oxford, MS on Monday to visit my friend Amanda and her family for a couple of days to take a break and get away from it all for a bit.  We had a blast with her boys, Rowan and Rigby, and it really did help me gain a little bit of my sanity back.

Wednesday, we headed back down to Hattiesburg, and thankfully my Mom and Uncle decided that Bella and I needed a hotel room so that I could sleep in a bed for the first time in 2 weeks.  Bella actually slept until 7:45 this morning which I think is only the second time she has ever done that in her life. 

Papa is still with us, shockingly enough.  I mean I really don't know how he is still breathing considering the fact that he hasn't eaten anything since last Tuesday.  We are all in a holding pattern at the moment, and I am so proud of my Mom and Uncle at how they have put their differences aside, and are working together to make sure Papa is comfortable until he dies.  His only dying wish is that he passes in his bed in his room where my Grandmother did 7 years ago, and they are doing everything they can to make sure that happens.

Vince flies in tomorrow and I can not wait to wrap my arms around his neck.  This is the longest we have ever been apart since we've been married and it SUCKS! 

Hopefully this will all be over soon, mainly for Papa's sake because I know he is ready to go.  As much as I am going to miss him, no one deserves this, no one.  I'm not sure what God is waiting on, but I wish he would just go ahead and take him already.  Enough is enough.  I know it doesn't work that way, but it is breaking my spirit to pieces watching him slowly die before my eyes.

So for now, we wait.  Hopefully this nightmare will end soon.  My grief is so great right now, and I am ready to be home so that I can work through all that I am feeling.

My prayer right now is please, God please.  Take him.  Take him home.