Tis the season

It's been one of those crazy weeks.
I'm getting ready to head in for my last day of preschool -a bittersweet day. So much fun seeing the kids change and grow from the first day, now ready to head off to Kindergarten. Because it was so fun, I get sad -I'll miss those smiley faces.
It will also be my own youngest child's last day of preschool (big sad/happy face). I cannot believe she's ready to move on to Kindergarten...still processing this one.
In other news -swim team season has begun!
When I first signed our eldest up for swim team I hoped, but had no idea she would love it so much. The middle joined in later on the premise of trying "just one season", here we are 3 seasons ago for him.
There is so much joy in watching them swim. I love that they've continued, as this is an activity that can carry them through life's currents and eddies.
The "baby" has always loved being in the water, so you can imagine the disappointment that came with her refusal of lessons for 2 summers. I didn't push it, because it's way more important that she takes lessons with a positive feeling, and she is now so ready and I'm so glad we waited.
Prime example: We went to the pool last week as the winter "bubble" was off and it was over 80 degrees. Youngest had not been in the pool since early last fall, she immediately was under the water, holding her breath and doggy-paddling as fast as she could. Wow -leaps and bounds. She is now counting the sleeps to her first swim lesson. :)
I'm going to leave this post with my most favorite swim pic of the eldest:

This was taken at the champs meet last year -she didn't even recognize herself. She has a beautiful butterfly stroke. :)
Enjoy the weekend, I will be back over the next few days with cards (the supplies have been spread over my table all week waiting for me!), and Sunday Sweats.
Happy Crafting!

Sunday Sweats: In the Yard

Good afternoon!

Sweat of the week: Weeding
Did you know that gardening and yard work can be a fabulous workout? It's great for your body and your soul -it really gets you some of that feel-good energy.
Check out this link from Weight Watchers about the benefits of a garden workout. Or, you can Google "gardening workout" like I did for some more good articles about it.

I just spent about 90 minutes out in the yard babying our new strawberry patch:

We try to add something new/different to the garden every year. This year we moved the strawberries that were overrunning the 2 planters we had them in, divided them up, and planted well over 2 dozen plants into an area that had gotten overgrown (we cleared it first). We'll see how it goes. Most of the plants have fruit, so I'm optimistic that there will be enough for some jam. Today was all about weeding the plants that surfaced after turning the dirt during the clearing of the patch. I found 5 baby pumpkin plants (we had pumpkins in there 2 years ago), that will get moved once we decide where we want them. There is still room for them to grow without ill effects to the strawberries.
I'm off to detox at the studio's saunas, then hit up my Renew Yoga class (fewer postures, less heat, way more stretch) for my final sweats of the week.

Happy Sweating!

Fun Stuff!

This weekend was pretty busy, but busy with fun stuff.
Kicked it off with a lovely mother's tea at the little one's school, and then off to a craft sale...oh yeay, two words that should be paired together often.
Craft Sale. Oh Yeah.
Little monkey and I went with the teacher I work with on the premise that we were shopping for our classroom...*smile*. We truly did get items for our class; project supplies, bulletin board decor, etc.
I, however, ended up bringing home 2 hefty sacks full of fabric and other goodies.

 I hope you can see some of the goodness in these pics. I scored some great vintage stuff - I have completed versions of those cut & sew ornaments up in my Christmas box that my grandma made when I was much younger, and that Snoopy pillowcase(!!). I can't wait to make the ornaments up with my kids; promised the boy that I'd teach him how to use the machine this summer, and this will be a great starter project.
As for this denim?

I "had" to have it to add a retro feel to the denim bags I like to make, but after finding out it was purchased in the 80's, we decided it was vintage, not retro. Those pink pinstripes -stitched all the way, no color screening here! I feel like I should attempt making some jeans (my sis decided she needed a skirt when she saw the fabric), but not so confident in my sewing/tailoring abilities. Bags are much safer...we will see. I've got about 3 yards, so something will come of this fabulous find.
Highlights of Saturday were watching the boy snag some flags at his flag football game, and the beautiful (and much needed) pedicure I got with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. It's an annual tradition, now in it's 13th year! I don't have a toe pic, but here's a clip of my polish choice (it is sooooooo sparkly -I love it!):

It's OPI Liquid Sand in "It's Frosty Outside". There is no way a picture could ever do it justice, but if any of you are familiar with Stampin' Up's Silver Glimmer paper -well, it's pretty close. :)
Kicked off Mother's Day with a yoga class with my eldest, a good friend & her kids (who are also my kids' bfs). Led by my favorite instructor, it was a great way to start the day. My sister picked me up in her sweet ride, gave me this awesome
Aquaman comic:

(I love Aquaman!)
Then we drove to our parents' to get mom for a lunch date at one of our favorite burger joints. I ordered my favorites, and they were giving a choice of strawberry sundae or strawberry shortcake, so I had that too. So full. It was so good. One of the reasons we love this place is the freshly sourced ingredients, the "green" way the business is run, and how employees are treated. It isn't particularly close, but that just made it even more special of a meal. Thanks Mom!!! xoxo
After lunch we popped over to the outlet mall nearby where I did the mom thing where I went into the store for one item for myself, and came out with a whole bag of stuff for the rest of the household. I did manage to come out with the one item I wanted for me. :) Came home to 2 pies hubby had crafted, and a humongous lasagne that just got finished today. Really good. Even better was that the recipe came from a cookbook my son's class had put together for the moms. One side of the page was the child's favorite recipe that their mom makes for them, and the other side is about the mom by the child. So sweet!!

Fun stuff I'm tellin' ya. :)
Happy Crafting!

I love a good sale

For as long as I can remember I have loved garage sales -going to them and having them.
However, the best is going to them, finding an amazing treasure, and getting it for a deal!
I know some people think they're gross, but I like the idea of finding something reminiscent of growing up, something with character & quality (they really don't make things like they used to!), and really, some things are just meant to be re-purposed.
The kids and I popped into an estate sale this weekend -fortunately, it wasn't a hoity-toity one (you know the ones I mean), and the kids stuck by me and kept hands to selves. It was an hour before the sale ended, which, as I told the kids was a pro/con situation: pro -you are likely to get better deals, con -not so much of a selection. Pro: everything was 1/2 off!
This house had some awesome little honeycomb rooms downstairs that had kind of a pantry/canning/storage room feel. One of them would have been the perfect craft room -I could totally picture all of my stuff in it!
Each room had different stuff, and my littlest one did so well waiting for the last one -the Christmas decoration room.
We found our treasure in the last box -the ornament jumble.

We're gonna make these little treasures for Christmas this year:

I want to change out the angel's painted head for a clear bead instead, but I just love these. They've got kind of a funky, retro, folk-art feel. We make clear beaded icicles as a long-time family tradition, so I'm pretty stocked up on the beads. Just need the wire, safety pins, and a re-stock on pipe cleaners and we're ready to roll.

Well, after the estate sale, where the woman offered the kids the couch she'd just marked down for nothing if they could fit it in the car, they are ready to hit up another one. Like their mama, they love a good deal, and are looking forward to finding some over the summer break.
For the record, there was no way that couch would've fit in the van -it was pretty big, but the kids will not forgive me for awhile for passing it up. Middle child said he'd have dragged it all the way home in the pouring rain if I'd have let him. Not a chance kiddo!

Until the next time,
Happy Crafting!