Explaining...

The art of trimming rose bushes.

Rewind: Father's Day Gift

We started with an unfinished wood clip board from Michael's. It was a whole buck.












Then I printed a handful of photos all taken the same day {so the colors coordinated} and cut them up for decoupage.












After coming up with a pleasing composition, we spread Mod Podge on the bottom of each photo and stuck them to the board. I used the back of my hand to flatten any air bubbles and then painted a light layer of Mod Podge over the top of the entire board to seal it.












Et voila. A chic, cheap, semi-homemade Father's Day gift for My Sweets. I totally see him as a clip board guy at work. Now he can bring this to the boardroom, and if he suddenly finds himself missing us like crazy, he can discreetly sneak a peak under his notepad for a quick fix.













The last shot is going to make my mom swoon. She's a sucker for office supplies, too. The kids and I found this handsome loot at Michael's, too, for just $1 an item. They went with our theme perfectly.

Paper Craft

I wanted to share this card that Buby made for My Sweets. He is working on his scissor skills, so I let him use my decorative-edged fabric shears to cut out hearts that we traced onto folded construction paper. Buby did the stems all by himself and then signed the inside with red pencil. I think it's precious how he writes his name... lowercase "g" and the rest uppercase.

Mirror Image

I hung a full-length mirror sideways on the playroom wall last week, and coincidentally, that very day Bleu made a new friend.

Birthday Girl

Banner by DesignStash.

Happy 8th birthday to our extraordinary niece Grace!! We love you.

Oopsies

I went away and didn't tell you. I'm a very bad blogger. In my defense, it was an extremely busy week at home. I've been using my {late} nights to clean + organize and spend extra quality time with My Sweets. Thursday morning the kids + I took off for a week in Family Land, just the three of us {four with the dog}. My Sweets had to work. It's the longest we've ever been away from him as a unit. Today is day 3, and we're in withdrawal.



I always bring the laptop to Family Land but rarely take it out of the bag. Bleu doesn't like sleeping in a playpen, so at the end of our hectic days running around, she typically ends up snuggling in bed with me. When we're away from home and off our routine, she likes to feel me next to her at night. I don't mind at all since it's the only time we get to room together. Right now she's draped across my lap... eyes closed... feet crossed... mouth just barely open enough to see her two top teeth. I'm balancing the laptop on my knee and typing with one hand... about to doze off myself. Her sweet little lips are so distracting. MAN, she's cute.



Needlesstosay, I haven't spent a moment online. My Sweets calls daily to remind me how much he looks forward to checking the blog {a not-so-subtle hint to post more}, and now my inbox is full of emails from friends wondering where I am. So now you know. We're here in Family Land smooching the grands, chasing cousins and riding horses. I'll post those shots when we return at the end of the week.



For now, some random new photos I uploaded before I left. For My Sweets.

Built By Buby

Details to come.

P.L.A.Y.

Sweet Pie

14 Months

To be continued...

Classmate Gifts

Buby grew this organic corn specifically for his school friends. My Sweets came up with the idea, and I think it's brilliant. Buby started the corn from seed using the Burpee Ultimate Seed Starting System once our own garden was all planted and squared away. You can practically watch corn grow, which makes it the perfect crop for preschoolers who live on instant gratification.

A few days before he was to give them away, I repotted the plants into 100% biodegradable peat pots that the receiving kiddos could just drop into the ground easy breezy. Beautiful. Buby has really embraced the growing/watering/nurturing process this year, which of course gives us such joy. We hope he carries his love of gardening into adulthood.

Teacher Gifts

Buby's school nicknamed his class the Starfish, so our end-of-year teacher gifts were mostly starfish themed. We kept the crafts simple {as in Buby making them... not me} + very inexpensive.



Miss Cathy and Miss Lydia each received a hand painted mini clip board. Clip boards are ultra fashionable right now, and Michael's was selling these for just a buck. Plus, we scored the teeniest starfish symbols in the wood section and affixed them to the top with Aleene's Original Tacky Glue, which I use for everything. Then I looped through some coordinating ribbon so they could hang on a classroom wall, if so desired. We placed a white Martha Stewart label on the back of each with a message from Buby.



Miss Cathy also received an ornament. Because, well, we LOVE Miss Cathy in this house almost as much as we LOVE ornaments. I happen to find this large wooden + felt starfish piece, drilled a hole in the top and looped through some ribbon to turn it into an ornament.



Kathy B. was Buby's music teacher and Alexandra his beloved art teacher, so he painted small round boxes for each of them and wrote on the back.



The total for all five teacher gifts was less than $7, and I think they turned out pretty cute. Don't you?

Rain Rain

"Rain rain. Go away. Please come back another day." We've been singing this tune for over a week now. C'mon, June! It's not like we don't LOVE our playroom. It's stocked with everything a wee heart could desire. BUT we are fresh air people.



It's been a good few weeks, but busy. I haven't had the time/energy to blog at night, but I promise to catch you up lil' by lil'. There are a dozen drafts just waiting for me to caption. For now I'm going to bed. Here are some photos from Friday. P.S. Yes, that's the headband I made Bleu for her 1st birthday. She had it on and then handed it to Buby. He was quick to tell me how much he loved it. Seriously, someone should make boy barrettes for dudes who aren't into bangs and crew cuts. Okay, maybe I'll do that.

Happy Father's Day

In a million years, I could not have dreamed up a better father.

Cottenelle Soft

She's using our 12 pack as a chair this week. I don't have the heart to take it away from her.

Old Photo Friday

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Love you,
Jenny

Feast for Animals

While I ran upstairs to put Bleu down for her afternoon nap, Buby prepared quite the feast of sweets for his animal friends.

Uncle T.

Photo courtesy of Mike + Mel.

Isn't he beautiful? That's our nephew Mason. Tom drove to Family Land last Saturday to be God Father at cousin Ronan's baptism and to quick meet this lil' guy before heading back.


The kids and I stayed behind, since it would mean two straight days strapped into car seats. Buby really didn't want to miss school on Monday either... it was his second to last day. BUT we'll be in Family Land next weekend to see everyone. Hip hip!

Earth to Buby

Original Earth painting by Buby.

Green House Effect

Original house portrait in construction squares by Buby.

Tractor Parade

Old friends with matching twigs.
In bright red chairs.
Looking quite sibling-ish.
On a sunny Sunday in June.



Half-dressed men in old bathtubs.
Misting their way down Main Street.
Loving the attention, I'm sure.
And lending a certain vintage appeal.



Ice cream scooped from a kiddie pool.
By a real-life dairy princess.
With a sash and everything.
Seriously, who needs 31 flavors?



Nearly 400 tractors.
All types, sizes and ages.
Strutting their stuff.
In front of a cheering crowd.

Sidelined

She's miffed with me for not letting her dive into the pool with Buby + Grandma on Sunday. It was too cold for my bones.

Last Day of School

Caterpillar art via Buby.

In a few short hours Buby will graduate from three-year-old preschool. He will say goodbye to his Starfish teacher {Miss Cathy}, his teacher's assistant {Lydia}, his principal {Karen}, his music teacher {Kathy B.}, his art teacher {Alexandra}, his Spanish teacher {Rosa}, his classmates {Dakota, Alexa, Bella, Emily, Camila, Jenna, John, Karrie, Mehak, and Taylor}, and his friends in the older classes.



He will distribute homegrown + handmade goodies. He will get on stage {or not} for an impromptu Talent Show and sing "London Bridge." His choice. He will say hello to his Cricket teacher {Kay} for next year. He will trot down those side stairs with his worn + torn blue book bag hanging off his shoulders for the very last time. He will celebrate with a Graduation Day treat. Stay tuned...

Best Buddies

Another thing I love about Buby's school is the Best Buddies program. Each Starfish {a three-year-old} is assigned to a Panda {a five- or six-year-old} at the start of the school year. They have the same Best Buddy for 10 months. At least once a week the children work side-by-side on an art project, pair up on the playground, join each other for music, or eat snack in the other's classroom. They learn from each other. Buby's Best Buddy is Eli. I hear A LOT about sweet Eli on our trips home.



Last week Bleu + I happily attended the annual Best Buddies picnic. The kids devoured cheese pizza and watermelon and cherry-flavored Rita's Ices while us parents relished the chance to be flies on the wall {err, berry bush} and witness the conversation + laughter.



During Closing Circle Buby presented a handmade card to Eli and Eli one to Buby. A teacher asked if anyone would like to say something about their Best Buddy. Eli raised his hand. He said, "The days I saw Gavin... those were the good days in my life." You could almost hear the oohs and aahs from the sidelines. It was so darn cute.



A few minutes later Buby shot up his hand, too, but when the teacher called on him he froze. She gave him a moment, but he looked around and gave up his turn. That afternoon Buby was in the bathtub singing his favorite song, "Uno, dos, tres amigos. Cuatro, cinco, seis amigos. Siete, ocho, nueve amigos. Diez!!" when he paused to tell me that he wanted to say something during Closing Circle. I asked him what it was. He replied, "That I love Eli." Ahhh.