i'm still here...

Wow, how has it really been nearly a month since my last post?  I miss blogging and really hope to be back here more often!  So, I am going to do a little catch up posting this week- try and document some of what has been happening around here the past few weeks!

My parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago.  It was their last trip out in the RV before winter.  When we moved away from the DC area, one of my dad's requirements was that we find a house with a driveway big enough for the RV to park in.  Lucky for him (and us too) our driveway ended up to be the perfect length for their coach.  It is pretty nice for them to bring their home with them when the come to visit- instead of cramming into our little house with all the noise and chaos.

We were lucky to have them stay for a full 5 days this time, but not so lucky to have it rain the WHOLE time they were here (boo!)  My mom had brought stuff for s'mores but when it became clear we were not going to get a dry night to roast marshmallows by the camp fire, we ended up standing under the umbrella on the deck, while we roasting them over the camp stove.

I love to roast marshmallows and am actually pretty good at getting the nice golden brown color, but I don't eat them, so instead I roast them for all the impatient roasters in the family who always catch their marshmallows on fire :)

Regan has been asking for a beam in the back yard (and bars, and mats, and a trampoline) for forever.  My dad had planned to make her one earlier in the summer, but ended up not being able to come visit with my mom, so it got put on hold until this visit.  Here's Lulu showing off her stuff on the new beam :)

Last year the hubby's brother (and fam) bought a new (to them) house.  This chandelier was hanging in their new dinning room and for some reason they did not want it- needless to say, I was more than happy to have their cast offs.  It's been in storage for a few months, because it needed to be re-wired, but my dad rewired it and hung it while they were here.

It's hard to take a good picture of it, but is is super fun and sparkly :)  It is also significantly brighter than our previous light- so much so we had to install a dimmer!

a little bit of sewing

I am still trying to squeeze in a bit of sewing here and there these days- these are some of the things I've sewn recently...

new camera straps

headbands

foxy

a couple toddler skirt and top outfits

and some aprons I dropped off at Kitsch last month

I'm hoping to find some time soon to make a pair of these for myself.  What are you making?

new storage shelves

Grandpa and Grandma Bev came down over the weekend and installed storage shelves in our garage/boys room/laundry room/pantry.  The kids were really hoping they could use them as lofts, so grandpa gave them a chance to climb up there, just this once...

We had no problem filling the shelved almost completely.

A good bit of those boxes used to be stacked on the floor in the boys "bedroom", so they are very glad to have them up and out of their way!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Bev!  We LOVE our new shelves and extra space!!!

so many things i want to post...

but I just can't right now, so instead I leave you with this image from our weekend.

Yes, that is a bike hanging from the zip line. Yes, the children have been riding it down the line.  I know, stupid-crazy. Don't judge me- I was doing lesson planning when it happened.

finishing up some WIP's

Yesterday Micah asked if we could please work on his quilt- which really translated into, "Mom, will you please finish my quilt."  He's waited so patiently and I have been saying "no" to so many things lately with all the last minute tutor prep that I had to oblige...

And while I was at it, I figured I might as well sew Regan's backing on since that was all she had left to do.

Two WIP's off my shelves and into someone else's space, yay!

craft camp wrap up

I missed posting pictures last week (and taking them too, apparently, as these first 2 shots are the only ones I got from the whole morning!) but the girls made these flower mobiles.  Honestly this was probably the least favorite craft we did.  Those felt flowers were a bit tedious and it took us the whole 3 hours (with a short break for snack) to finish them up.  I also did these with Tallulah and the other student in my hand sewing class this summer- not sure if I ever posted pictures or not...

Today was our last class and we did freeze paper stencils.  The girls picked their designs last week and I had them all cut and ready to be ironed on to the t-shirts when they got here this morning.

They turned out super cute (sorry for the dark photo!)

We dipped marshmallows in chocolate and sprinkles for snack- these ones got a little messy, but tasty :)

And for our final project the girls did crayon canvases.  Now is a great time to stock up on 50 cent crayons at Walmart for more of these.  This project is always a big hit, if you haven't tried it yet you should!

I had such a great time crafting with these girls this month!

catch up

Since my last post I have buried myself in school prep.  Lesson plans for CC...

Science notebooks for the kids in my class.

All bound and ready to pass out next week!

Making a tri-fold dry erase board for my classroom.

Copying, dividing by week, and putting the kids work into binders so I can easily pull it out at the beginning of each week.

Updating our weekly checklists.

And drinking lots of this (recipe below) as a pick me up to...

give me the energy to get through this mess! (this picture is from last night. I almost had the table clean this morning when Regan started a craft project and covered half the table with paper scraps!)

In a 24 oz cup mix:
2 tsp Braggs raw apple cider vinegar
juice from 1 lemon (or about 1 TBSP lemon juice)
2 packets of Stevia

Add 1/2 cup frozen fruit and 1/2 lime
Fill with ice
Add water and shake.
I got this recipe from one of the directors at tutor training and have been drinking it every day since- it's really tasty (The first time I sipped at it, getting used to the apple cider vinegar taste, but I quickly grew to love it!) 

I'll be back soon with pictures from the last two craft camps and our school lineup for this year!