Impromptu Photoshoot

This morning we had a photoshoot at Yuen Lui. The problem is that it takes 2 weeks to get the pictures in hand...I'm used to instant gratification when it comes to pictures. So, while the girls were still in their dresses (Easter dresses from last year...Monkey finally fits hers, and Chick is barely still in hers) I did an impromptu photoshoot at home. The pictures of the two of them together aren't very good, but I'm including them anyhow, because they're still sweet. In preparation for the official photoshoot today, I was up until almost 1 making their headbands. Here's a closeup. The tutorial is on sewhipmama's blog. It would be SUPER EASY except that I found it very hard to sew the rosettes together--maybe I had them too tightly twisted up? But I'm pleased as punch with the end product, and when my hand stops being tender it'll all be worth it.

OK, now I'm going to do something productive.

"My neighbor comes for a cup of tea. We have a party by the cherry tree."

Or under the computer. (the title is a quote from one of our favorite books: Little Mommy)

Today the girls had a tea party inside the computer cabinet.

These pictures show that these little girls are resilient. EVEN THOUGH they have a mama that yells way too much this week & EVEN THOUGH their mama had to call their daddy today to warn him that she was going to bake brownies and there probably wouldn't be any left by the time he got home... despite all of that misfortune, they are happy. Even when she didn't get to help MAKE the brownies, Chick was happy. Resilient, I tell you.

Here's another: both reading Eric Carle books from the library.

In which I confess all

I'm grumpy. I've been feeling "off" all weekend--maybe a little under the weather? Tired, cold at times, and generally BLECH. At church yesterday I felt like I couldn't keep two coherent thoughts together enough to function. Today I keep warning Chick that I'm grumpy, in hopes of her not annoying me.

She doesn't stand a chance, though...everyone is annoying me. I am annoying me.

I wish I could just go back to bed, but I am too busy procrastinating layout, which will continue until Friday. Plus this weekend is a primary quarterly activity (I need to get my station's activity ready, as well as put together a slideshow of the kids & pictures of Christ). And Sunday--is Valentine's day, of course (Chick needs help finishing her Valentine's for her preschool party tomorrow....), and we've been asked to give talks at church.

I'm now 6 months pregnant, and STILL have YET to take a picture of this belly (I actually got "I think you're having triplets!" comment yesterday. Come on, I'm NOT that big). I can't complain about the pregnancy. But I can complain that it's going too fast & I am too busy looking up Valentine's day garlands & reading felting project books to do the things that need to get done (like Monkey's scrapbook, which is barely started, or like Chick's quilt).But on a happier note: it looks like the sun is coming out. And I'm very proud to report that my New Year's Resolutions are going great.

• Flylady has made my home presentable, at least, and it keeps getting better & better.
• I've put money into my savings acct as planned (even a little extra!) & I also overpaid my credit card last week.
• We've been a little spotty with FHE, but generally it's gone well.
• We had guests over a few times last month. I was going to have a little V-day get together on Sunday, but now we're giving talks and I don't want to be stressed out.
• I've been following my dinner menu almost every day, and it's such a relief to not have 5:30 roll around & everyone is hungry & looking for dinner & I don't know what I'm going to fix.
• The only two things that aren't getting done yet: logging onto sparkpeople...I did a few days. And the kitchen isn't remodelled yet, but that's a year-long goal...I had no intention of getting it done in January.

Also on a happy note: I think my kids are darling & I still like my husband. : )

Oh, and thanks to my new microfiber cloths there are less "unremovable stains" in the kitchen.

And thanks to craigslist & people wanting free stuff, the tool room is getting closer to becoming a bedroom for Chick.

Crayon Rolls

Today Chick is going to a double birthday party, so I made crayon rolls for her to take as gifts. I also made one for her, which was a last minute thought for a birthday gift but didn't get done in time (because it was so last minute)...so I did her's at the same time as the other two.

This was the first one I made, and I just followed the directions from this tutorial & didn't try anything fancy.

This one I thought would be fun with double needle stitching between & X-stitches around the outside. I like it, but I ended up messing up the spacing, so only 15 crayons fit into the roll & the last spot is too small for a crayon. It would also look better if the double stitching was in the same color, but I used what I had handy & I don't suppose a 3 yr old will care.

On the last one I did X-stitches in between, which I really like, and a vine around the edge (I can take it or leave it...I like the X-stitches around the other one, but was worried that it might be too much to do the dividers & the border like that.)

Anyhow, the outside of the third is made from an old stained t-shirt that I had in my refashion box. All of the other fabrics & materials were from my stash.

Cruise: Princess Cays & Onboard

So. The cruise is beginning to be a distant memory...I need to hurry and finish blogging about it!

Princess Cays was a private beach that we went to on Friday. Due to worrisome weather, we had to head back to the boat early. It was beautiful there, but we didn't actually DO anything--we walked around a bit, to see what there was. Then we settled into some chairs in the shade and HH napped while I read (The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society).

There were two formal nights, for the days when we didn't go to port. I am always excited to see HH in a tux (isn't he handsome?!), and it was so nice to be able to take as long as I wanted to get ready & not have snot on my shoulder from little people before I even got out the door.

(HH striking a pose & looking dashing)

I can't even think what I did onboard. Of course there's plenty of eating. Sometimes there was game playing & a game of mini-golf. We went to a couple of comedian shows & a few musical performances. HH played BINGO, as did several family members (My BIL won the jackpot on the last day--$2,000!). Some of my siblings were in a Water Olympics game (and some of them won). We got to see my SIL PRETEND to be hypnotized...the picture is her (in yellow) pretending to be a vacuum. We really aren't sure who, if any, were REALLY hypnotized, but it was funny nonetheless.

HH is a wanderer, so we explored some. I went to a detox seminar, and took a nap here and there, and read a little, and just relaxed.

Party Pics

First they decorated their party hats with Hello Kitty Stickers...Then they posed for a picture with their hats and blowers. We played Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty, and after the party the background became a placemat.
We also played Hot Potato & a toss game.

During a free-for-all playtime, Chick went back to add more stickers to her hat. She had them all lined up in a row.

Chick with her cake and crown.This is one of my favorite pictures from the party. Ahh, peaceful eating.

They were all really excited for the cake & ice cream.Monkey was downstairs with HH for a lot of the party, but got to try on a hat. Chick opened lots of fun presents. Some coloring of Hello Kitty pictures, and the party was over.Chick played with her new toys for a long time.Saturday night my brother & his family came for dinner & games.

The next day, Sunday, we had church in the morning (I did a game of Memory for sharing time in Primary). Then my parents joined us for dinner, and my aunt came for dessert & presents.

Monkey tested out Chick's new microphone...

and sat on Grandpa's lap : )

HH helped Chick with blowing out the candles.

Sunday night I took down all the decorations. Streamers were super easy to roll up and store. The pom-poms were pretty easy too--they take up NO space when folded back up, and will be totally reusable : ) The house did look a little austere with no streamers and explosions of color, but we're getting used to it again.

Muffin Tin Monday: Dr. Suess

I cancelled a visit to my parents' house today, because really I needed a day of rest (every other day this week has some hustle & bustle and then I go straight into layout on Friday evening).

What better way to spend too much time on my rest day but by exercising my brain with MTM. The theme was fun, but I don't know how I'd have done without the inspiration of these other participants (here, here, and here). To see the official MTM blog & links to all other participants, go here.

I used several of the books as our material: Green Eggs & Ham (green deviled eggs, ham rolled with green cream cheese), Mr. Brown Can Moo (milk with a silly straw), Horton Hatches the Egg (tortilla with Horton drawn on it), and Happy Birthday to You (the clock fish, which Chick was quite intrigued with last night).

The 3 Musketeer bar has nothing to do with the theme. She got this cute birthday can from her nursery teachers at church yesterday (they are the greatest, honestly). In it were 3 3Musketeer bars & a tiny stuffed dog named Buddy.

Chick loved it (Monkey was napping, but she did end up eating some of Chick's...some green ham & the tortilla pieces).