the 4th, well, the 3rd...

We celebrated our nation's independence on the 3rd of July this year. Ft Rucker, the home of Army Aviation, and our next town over, wanted their soldiers to actually have a weekend off--so they had the foresight to celebrate this holiday a day early. :) This had the effect of messing with mine and hubby's internal clock all weekend, but that is ok!

In school the past couple of weeks, I've been talking about Independence Day some with the kids. (Oh, we homeschool, and the kids and I sit on our couch about 2-3 times a week to learn new things.) They learned a little about the American Flag--to the point that little Monster hollers "AMERICAN FLAG, MOMMY!" every time he sees one. Which is ALOT with the whole holiday thing happening right now! :) They even had an impromptu lesson at the mall a couple of weeks ago, as they wanted to play in all the flags and swing on them, etc! So we talked about respecting the flag...

It was wonderful on the night of the 3rd, as the 98th Army Band struck up our National Anthem, to teach my daughter to put her hand over her heart, to listen, to not talk--you know, all the respectful things we are to do when our country's anthem is played. And there we were, with thousands of soldiers, families, veterans, and civilians--singing our national anthem, and teaching our children how to honor and respect and enjoy this gorgeous song! (And yes, the tears welled up in my eyes, as always when I hear our Anthem!)

Then we sat on the ground in the cooling night, and listened to the band play other songs. Bug was enthralled with the conductor's baton--so much so, that she has adopted her American Flag pole (where the flag part is, I have NO idea!) as HER conductor baton--and now leads the music coming from Monster's radio!

After about 40 minutes, we headed back to our car to watch the fireworks. It was about a 10 minute walk, and we weren't up to dealing with the mad rush to leave after the fireworks. So we parked just past where they were lighting the fireworks, and found a relatively red ant-free spot to put out our quilt in an empty field. There were cars lining the field, and people in and around the cars--but no one else was out in the field with us. And man, did they miss out! Honestly, if we had paid all the money in the world to have a fireworks display catered specifically to where we were lying in this field--we could not have had it better! The wind was just right, and our location was perfect--the fireworks exploded directly overhead. Some of them were coming down a bit lower than made me comfortable--and the ash was all over our car to prove it! But it was gorgeous! A night to remember! All four of us, lying on the quilt together, all cozy--sharing the wonderful evening together! :)

So that was our celebration of the 4th--on the 3rd. :) The real 4th was somewhat more subdued!

:) MonsterBug Blankets

Happy 4th of July to the Homefront Team

An article Teri Keys and I worked on is now featured in the Storque on Etsy. It's about the 4th of July, and is an interview with some of The Homefront Team. The Homefront Team is comprised of veterans, spouses, and significant others of our military. I am soooo excited!!! :)

Beach Bag

Sooo, I am in need of a beach bag. Our 3 year old, monster-sized basket I bought at Publix in Orlando has broken. The handle broke on it. I wanted to cry--cause it's been THE perfect bag! It sits in Bug's closet, always ready. It holds sunscreen, bug spray, hand sanitizer, a wet bag. Bathing suits and towels, pool and sand toys, child wetsuits, and a couple of child life preservers. It's a big basket! I like that I never have to go around, searching for the items I need before we head out to the pool, beach, lake, or springs--everything is right there!

But now, with a broken handle, I am searching for the new, perfect bag. It needs to be large, obviously! I need a couple of pockets--for the sunscreen and stuff, and also for my cell phone and wallet. I'd like it to close at the top, maybe--though I'm thinking that would be difficult with all I want to stuff in it. :) Sturdy handles. I started looking on etsy for beach bags--oh heavens! It's always been hard to search on etsy because of how they rely on tags--all kinds of odds and ends stuff end up in your search. But now they seem to have turned off the ability to say "beach bags NOT blanket NOT wet bag". They turned off the "not"???!!! What a PAIN! So I narrowed the search a bit by searching for orange beach bags. :) As orange is such a favorite color for me. Then, I saw an oilcloth bag in the search--and thought--wouldn't an oilcloth bag be THE BEST!!!! So 23 pages of oilcloth bags later (that I couldn't search with "not lunchbag"), I chose a bazillion favorites. But not THE ONE.

So I went to bed last night, thinking of all the pretty bags I saw. And then I thought of the 19 yards of oilcloth I have sitting in my fabric closet, since I am unsure if I can use it for children's picnic blankets because of all the CPSIA legislation. Hmmmm, should I attempt to make my OWN beach bag??? I fell asleep trying to remember what patterned oilcloth I bought, and what one pattern would look like with another.... :) What a way to conk out! I don't know IF I'll end up making the bag, or if I will keep searching for one, but it sure is fun to design things! And it made for a good night's sleep.

:) MonsterBug Blankets

Edited: So my cousin mentioned the XL Lands End Canvas totes. She said a child can fit inside--hahaha--and claims she "heard" this, but hasn't experienced it with one of her four kids. Not sure if I'm believing that, but, I'm grateful for the visual of how big the bag is! I have always been in love with the canvas Lands End bags, yet always wondered what exactly I'd use one for. So I followed her link, and the XL tote in persimmon and natural was on sale for $19! What a DEAL! I bought two! And I plan on adding some sort of an applique when they arrive--my initials or something--we'll see! (And yes, I KNOW they monogram for a good price--but I want to add my own touch to them!) Thanks, M! :)

Summer

It's summer, and it seems to be time for the blahs creatively. I'm surrounded by gorgeous fabrics and plenty of projects, yet I have no desire to work on anything. I should be working on hoodies and long sleeved onesies and T's for the fall, yet I can't seem to get any ideas flowing. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but mostly I just realize that this has happened the past two summers and I need to just give in to it. I need to rest, and enjoy my family, and do other things. I feel a little lost, and get worried I'll never want to sew again. But it's come back in the past, so I hope and believe it will come back again.

I have a custom order to work on the next two weeks anyway, a crib bumper, skirt, and sheet set. This will be something new to do, and will be nice. A little something to keep me busy, and maybe in a few weeks, or another month, I'll be ready to just sew my little heart away.

I'll show pictures when I'm done with the crib set, and will post more when the creative juices flow again. They seem to come in the fall for me. :) Maybe because I'm so in love with the fall (and because I so hate summer?).

:) MonsterBug Blankets

After the Vacation

I had a good visit last week with a dear friend--and our kids got along wonderfully! I ordered yummies from Nikid (on etsy) for our quiet moments--hahahaha--if you believe we had any quiet moments with 5 kids running around! :) So for our--I've had it up to here--moments! Surprisingly, the kids were so busy playing, they didn't notice our noshing on gourmet chocolates!

And yes, I forgot AGAIN to use my Christmas gift card at Joanns. :P Three times now.... And we had fun at Ikea--oh, how I needed a gift card there! I brought home Swedish coffee and Lingonberry jam--yum, yum! And picture frames galore, an orange bath mat that was SUPPOSED to be used in my kids' bathroom, but somehow made it only to my own... I bought Christmas presents for the kids in the marvelous toy section--European toys are so amazing! And yes, they had my lovely hippo fabrics! YAH! The baby stuff there made me want to have another wee one--just so I could stock up on super-cute baby toys!

I've been busy since we got back--VBS is this week, so the kids have been shuttled back and forth. Man, are they worn out after all that FUN! I've been sewing--though not as much as I had hoped!--and getting pics taken for a custom order. I've been a nurse to my sick husband. :( Poor guy! And trying to get the house in order--cause it gets crazy in here quickly! We still haven't unpacked, either.... I took a car load of stuff to the Salvation Army this week--it had over-taken my sewing room! And I cleaned out Bug's closet--whew--3 trash bags later....

Busy next week, too--we have some family coming for a visit! :) Can't wait! (And the kids don't know yet--hahaha!)

:) MonsterBug Blankets

Custom Order for L

L--here are pics for you. :) I hope you find some things you like! Click the picture if you want it larger. There are only 2 flannel fabrics I could find, too--so the rest of these are 100% cotton, unless otherwise noted.

F 1, F 2 (97% cotton, 3% spandex)

F 3

F 4

F 5--this one is textured--kind of a seersucker fabric--it puckers a bit--but soft

F 6, 7

F 8, 9--both flannel

F 10, 11

F 12, 13

F 14, 15

R 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (numbered left to right)

R 6, 7, 8, 9

R 10, 11, 12, 13

R 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

R 19, 20, 21, 22

:) MonsterBug Blankets

Little Vacation

Last minute, the kids and I decided to take a little vacation to see friends in Tampa.  YAH!  Guess what is in Tampa, besides wonderful friends?  A brand-new Ikea--with cute, cute hippo fabric (I hope!), and a super-sized Joanns--like almost walmart sized (well, a smaller walmart, but still...).  Maybe THIS time I will remember to use my Christmas gift card at Joanns???  

It's going to be a hot, steamy week--but it's like that here at home, too, so little change between the two places!  Kids will have other kids to play with, a baby--who's almost not a baby anymore--to coo over, and a change of scenery. :)  nice!  And momma is going to have adult conversation ALL DAY LONG!  And wonderful yummies from Nikid's goodie shop!!!  I bought us a sampler.... :)  She adds dry ice for a few dollars more--much needed when the goodies travel to Tampa.

Hope ya'll have a great week! :)

MonsterBug Blankets