Annndd . . . She loves it!

The skirt-o-sunshine was a bit of a gamble on my part. I mean, it's way cute and all, and I couldn't wait to sew that sunshine onto something special, but would she wear it?

Oh. Did she ever wear it.

Skirt-o-sunshine went swinging and sliding today.
It watered the garden and rolled in grass.
It took a ride in the big red wagon.
It battled with lightsabers.
It climbed on monkey bars and played hide-and-seek and duck-duck-goose.

Right now, it's in the wash.

Lilly, the fact that you relish wearing all of mama's creations makes me very, very happy.

And now, a confession: I felt sad today.

You see, Ian--this sweet, precious, gorgeous, wonderful thing--well, the sun rises and sets in his eyes as far as I'm concerned. I am completely and hopelessly in love with my sweet, big guy.

And his feelings were hurt today.

This kid who never sees the bad in anything. Who goes with the flow. Who doesn't complain. This child of few words. He said it when he got home from VBS today: "Well, mama, some boys laughed at me today."

And this mama's heart broke.

I'll spare you all the details. Ian's very unique, and I know he won't always be understood. It's a mean, mean world sometimes, and our children are going to be hurt. Again. And again. And again. And as mamas, we have to deal.

But how?

How do YOU deal?

Sewing Sunshine and In the Box

Sew much happening this week. Finished another custom blanket order. My friend, Nikki is a jewelry designer and she and I have traded some blankets for baubles. It's Christmas shopping done early for me, and her pieces are absolutely gorgeous! Check out her website here.


Next, I made my first baby block and ball set for a sweet new friend. Here it is:

And last, I am working on a party skirt for Lilly. Have I mentioned that as a mother of a little girl, I LOVE tulle? (esp yellow--it's like sewing sunshine!) She does, too, so that works out nicely for both of us.

Nathan scored some "suite" tix (thanks, KY3!) to the Cards game tonight. And I mean, SUITE tix (as in, IN THE BOX, right behind home plate). If you've never enjoyed a game on site in the comfort of air conditioning, leather seats, with hot dogs and snacks provided, it's the way to go, folks. With a little outdoor balcony all our own, we were livin' it up!





To make the night even "suite-er" (okay, okay, I'll stop), the pixel gods smiled on me by making it world record night. The Guinness goal? Get more peeps to wear clown noses than ever before. My camera was popping right and left. Word is, we busted the record, so my family's clown noses are going down in history. And that's no joke. (somebody stop me, please).



Fast forward to the drive home -- two hours past bedtime, two tired, grumpy kiddos in the backseat, and Lilly takes a little swat at Ian.

When he protested, I teased, "Hmm. What should we do about this? Should we sell poor Lilly to the gypsies?"

And he answered, without hesitation, "Yep."

Nathan forced me to add this to my list of things never to ask your four year-old.

Sometimes I wish someone would sell ME to the gypsies. Anyone feel the same?

---

There are no words.
Well, there is one word.
COLDPLAY.









When you're listening to the second greatest band of our time (look out, U2);
When you're singing "Fix You" with 20,000 of your closest friends;
When you can see Chris Martin, in the flesh;
There are no words.

Thanks, Nathan. I'll remember this night forever.
xo

Tonight

Going somewhere tonight.
Special anniversary surprise.
Nathan's kept it quite the secret.
Stay tuned . . .

Trash to Treasure

It seems thrifting is on everyone's mind these days, or at least that's the case in the blogging world. Inspired by others' successes and determined to find the perfect piece I could transform into a fabulous bookshelf for the kids' rooms, the children and I headed to a local flea market.

If you've never taken your preschooler to a flea market, try it.
Zoo? Boring.
Library? Can't compare.
Park? Yawn.
Ian and Lilly were in hillbilly heaven at this place. Think, toys. Everywhere.

We didn't find the elusive bookcase, but we did find an hour of entertainment and got a good dose of second-hand universe enlightenment. Need I say, "We don't get out much?"

I think not.

Treasures collected:
Loved these colors. Have big plans to turn this into something beautimous. Stay tuned. Thank you, Lou Lee, wherever you are.

And the most beloved treasure of the day: Iron Man. Pure joy for a super-hero-ific four-year old boy. Completely overpriced, even at $1, but Ian hasn't put him down for two days.

At a playdate this morning, a friend said to Ian, "He looks kind of OLD."
Shhh. Ian doesn't notice. And he doesn't mind. To him, this is playtime GOLD.

Here's that super-hero-ific boy, tuckered out after a day of crrrazzzy thrifting with mama and sissy.

[Ahhhh. Good day.]

Oh, and dad -- I'm gonna take you up on that flea market date (I'm a seriously cheap date). You and me thrifting for treasures . . . can't wait to see what we collect!
just kidding mom.
maybe.

Goodbye, and thanks, t-ball.

Goodbye first t-ball season. We will miss you.

Thanks for giving Ian a trophy, a chance to succeed, to be an athlete, to shine. He wasn't the best player on the team. But, he very well may have been the one with the most heart. The one most eager to please us and his coaches. He loved playing, was loved by coaches Josh and Nicole, gave it his all, and we felt pride.

So thanks, t-ball.

And see you next year.

Happy birthday Nathan

In high school you were voted:
Best hair
Best dressed
Best personality

Things have changed (just a little!) as you've grown older:
Now, you are
Best hubby
Best dad
Best t-ball coach
Best coffee maker (no joke) for a sleepy wife
Best punching bag for a rowdy four year old
Best 3 a.m. Tylenol dispenser to a crying two year old
etc., etc. . .

I hope your birthday was worthy of someone with so many "bests".
XO!