one shabby chick

It's Business Time

Ok first of all...have any of you seen these guys? They are hilarious! I can't remember where I first saw this one but it was on someone's blog...then I saw this link today here...and it all came back. Hubby and I watched about 5 different ones - we were laughing so hard.
So today we officially started school. And it went great! Little Brother actually seemed to learn something(yeah!) and we got in some good reading. Baby girl threw a tantrum and had to be put to bed and actually took a long nap. I'm not kidding myself into thinking she'll do that everyday.
We have our big soccer opening day on Sat. and so I made a banner for little Brother's team since Daddy is the coach. They are the Blue Snakes and I just sewed it up really quick. I think they'll like it and figured they can decorate it with their names and hand-drawn snakes.
There was yet another baby shower this past weekend...yes, everyone I know is pregnant or has just had a baby. I made these little goodies for the little guy...

My mother-in-law comes on Wed. I am actually excited and am hoping she can teach me some yummy Costa Rican dishes as she is an excellent cook.

Bela's b-day is on Thursday so Tita (that's what we call her and also my mom too) is arriving just in time. My mom is going to take her out to lunch and a little shopping for her birthday (she has a little tradition that she does with all the kids) so Bela is excited. I am not sure what to get her and don't want to get more plastic junk that will just end up at the bottom of the toy box. She is really into crafting so I think I'll get her her own little supply of craft stuff and things she can make on her own.
I did get in some sewing this weekend and made some new cushions for the couches. I still have one more to go because on Sat. morning I was humming along with my Brother when it just totally freaked out and jammed, bending the needle radically. There was lots of muttered words under my breath as I worked the needle out and put in a new one. Imagine my surprise when it wouldn't sew...it won't catch the thread at all!! Of course Brother is closed on the weekends and so I took it to the repair shop only to have them tell me they wanted $119.00 to fix it...the machine only cost $180!!! So I did what any normal person would do...I bought this instead...I know, I'm crazy. And now I am crazy in love. It is the most amazing machine I have owned. Granted up til now I have only owned Brothers so not much of a comparison. I did not know what I had been missing. I still need to call Brother since I just bought that machine in July!!! Ok don't want to talk about it too much - it will make me upset and I will forget about my little beauty sitting in my sewing room now...sigh....

Summer Lovin'

"Summer lovin happened so fast...Summer lovin had me a blast...." - Let me start by saying I love the movie Grease - it is one of my all time favorites and somehow this song just got me to thinking about my summer love of blogs. I only discovered the magical world of blogland this summer and sadly will have to put it on the back burner as life is taking over.
I'll still blog from time to time but mostly I'm sad about not being able to spend time reading all the blogs I have discovered this summer. I mean, I can still cruise over them all and maybe spend some extra time on the weekends, but for now there is just too many other things going on...soccer (practice 4x a week plus 3 games on Sat. - not to mention my season starts in Sept.!), homeschooling 3 kids and keeping a rambunctious 18 month old occupied (which we "attempted" to do today and I finally just gave up), hmm...what else...life in general - cleaning, cooking, piles of laundry :-).
We have a Science and Art co-op tomorrow and we sorta put off reading the first chapter and so we had to cram 2 weeks worth into 2 days (we meet every 2 weeks). Not a good plan esp. with a child just starting Kindergarten and a Science book that is 4th-5th grade level. Tomorrow is the first meeting and I'll see what all the other parents say about it - we may not include Little Brother in the science...it was just frustrating for him since he didn't understand much of it. And Baby Girl could not handle not getting attention...let's just say it was not pretty. So I got some toys for her to play with that are only for schooltime and hopefully that will keep her occupied for a time. i'm not sure how I thought I could manage all this but we'll see how it goes once I get organized and on a "schedule" (term used loosely).
The fire is still raging and has spread to a few different areas now...I'm not sure if any homes have been affected yet but it is just radical. I've lived here all my life and have never seen a fire this bad here. No rain yet from the hurricane but hopefully it will come soon!
In birthday prize news...
I only had one commenter yesterday so she's the winner!! Yeah for Jody...I'll send out your goodies as soon as I can.
I got a birthday surprise yesterday from Sew,Mama,Sew! as I was a winner on the Free Fabric Friday giveaway...I love blogland!
On a side note...my hubby is watching the stupidest show I have ever seen on tv (well, maybe not THE stupidest...there are lots to choose from right now on tv - and he just told me this is not the first season!!!)....it's called Who wants to be a Superhero? I think they must hire actors for this show - bad ones too!

Woman Parties until Her Butt Falls Off...

My sister sent me a hilarious card for my birthday....
It reads: Woman Parties Until Her Butt falls Off!
Ellen P. Smellin, 28, was surprised on the morning after her birthday to find that her buttocks were missing. The only explanation she could think of was, "I must have partied my butt off." Her friends, who had joined her in celebrating her birthday, were not similarily affected by the revelry. Ms. Smellin told this reporter, "Hey, it's ok with me! I really thought I was stuck with those monstor buns forever. I dieted, exercised - basically tried everything. It never occurred to me to try to party them away." Scientists at the local university said, "Huh?"

OK so this is the scene outside our front door today...
Scary right! It is a terrible fire and has already burned over 3,000 acres. We are praying for rain ...and there's also a hurricane on the horizon too! What a way to ring in my birthday!

I know I had planned to make something for a birthday giveaway but between fires, 4 children and trying to begin school this week, I didn't manage to get anything done. So instead I'm giving away this book ...and a few extra goodies thrown in. So comment away and I'll randomly pick one tomorrow (or maybe Wed.) and ship off your prize.

I had a fun birthday..went and saw Stardust on Sat. with Hubby - I loved it!! It was so funny and romatic and just a great movie. We went to Indigos for dinner - romantic and yummy! Then yesterday I did some shopping and found some fun stuff - all in all a fun weekend. Today I rearranged the living room since my dad bought me a new tv for my birthday! I know - cool yeah! It is a HD but not flat-screen but we have some really crappy tvs right now so it's nice to watch a good picture finally. We had a family dinner and entertainment was provided by the fire. We kept having to go check it out and see how far it was advancing. I hope it rains tonight!

Scrappy Potholders

We do not seem to have any potholders in our home. I had a set out of Amy Butler fabric that my sister's old roommate had made but I can't for the life of me remember where they are....I think I may have left them at someone's home (we've had a few new babies born to friends recently and we all get together and make them dinners). So I figured I'd better make some more...and I had bought a whole bunch of this on a whim one day - let's just say I can make a lot of potholders!!

So I decided to make some time-consuming fun potholders and I used this tutorial. It really is addictive although takes a bit of time. I would love to make a quilt out of a bunch of them but I don't know how long that would take me - years I'm sure. They have a great Flikr group here. These sisters are REALLY talented and I am amazed at all the things they come up with - truly stunning stuff! I am working on a purse pattern of theirs and have messed it up quite a bit...it is my first purse undertaking and somehow I managed to fuse the lining to the outer fabric..not bad and I'll just sew in some new lining (which I haven't tried yet) but you can see the lining through the outside fabric. Not alot but it is visible. Bela said "oh well, guess you can just give it to me"...she gets all my first tries and mistakes, poor child!

Sorry to rant about my mother-in-law in the last post..I think I'm just a little nervous! We actually bought a house with my parents and they live upstairs in a 3 bedroom and we live downstairs in our own 3 bedroom ( It was the only way we could afford to buy a house in Hawaii)). It's like we have 2 seperate houses and although I thought it would be hard it's actually totally fine. I'm telling you this because they have a spare room upstairs and have offered to let my mother-in-law stay there so she can have her own room. I was trying to figure out which children to move around and where to put everybody so I think this is going to work out great because when she gets tired of us, she can go upstairs to her own private room. And we can have our own space at times too. I am excited she gets to go with us to Portland too and I know she'll be a big help with the kids there.

I'm trying to come up with something I can make as a good giveaway on my birthday since it seems like a good time to do it so stay tuned....

AHHHH!

OK so right now I'm trying to get a picture to load and it won't - ahhh! Getting very frustrated which is not making me sleepy which is where I really should be. OK what the heck..it finally just loaded onto this page even though I wanted it on a toally different post. Guess it just wanted to take it's sweet time loading. I'm off to deliver it to it's rightful home...
Well, I had thought to go back and re-work some of my previous posts since I'm pretty sure I must be somewhat OCD and the need to rearrange is always hitting me...mostly it involves me straining, pushing, pulling, moving large pieces of furniture around in my home. My poor husband never knows what he might come home too every day. I usually do it once every few months and it is usually because I'm feeling an obsessive need to clean.Everywhere. I know I have 4 children and clutter happens but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Anyway, so I was going to do that to my blog but I am impatient too and just can't stay up half the night waiting for the pictures to load.

So today was spent cleaning (surprise) and doing laundry. I had told the children we would start school today but I think I'll put it off one more week. Yes, we'll start next Monday. perfect. On mommy's birthday - oops..maybe Tuesday then. I usually have big plans for my birthday (see, it's a week away and I'm already talking about it!) but no one else seems to read my mind and do the things I have planned out (in my brain).

I have to post a picture of the pillow I made for the belly dancer's b-day.
Her mom raved about it and I just smiled. I smiled because I knew one day she'd probably try and straighten out those ruffles in the bottom corners and she would see the ugly truth. I had sewn part of the ruffle onto the inside of the pillow- ughh! I was trying to be so careful and just make sure I caught the chenille in back and wasn't thinking about the ruffle getting caught. Oh well, it looked cute and no one knows but me. And now you.

We made some cupcakes today (actually I did since I had mopped today and didn't want any small people spilling things on the floor. I am a horrible mother - I know. Hey, I let Bela pour the water in!) but we used boxed mix as I'm not sure I'm as big of a baker as I thought. Oh I love to make cookies - at Christmas. And I do love cooking - just not the clean-up. I think that's why I have a slight aversion to baking - flour gets everywhere. I saw this recipe today for marshmellows. We may have to make some - and I promise I'll let them help me.

In other news, my mother-in-law is coming. FOR 2 MONTHS! The thing is we haven't seen her in over 8 years so she wants to come and see the kids (and her darling son who can do no wrong - and really he can't). My husband is from Costa Rica. I met him down there - we have a horribly romantic love story which I will save for our anniversary (Sept. 2). I am the horrible American who made her son move far, far away. No, she really loves me - the only thing is we are a lot alike. Which is not a good thing. I envision many bitten tongues in the near future. She is a Latin mother and has an opinion about everything (huh, maybe I'm part Latin too) (and not that all Latin mom's do - don't want to offend anyone) and it's usually not the same as mine. She also does not speak English which would be fine but I do speak Spanish and therefore understand what she says. I know I'm making it sound much worse than it actually is and we are all very excited she is coming. I just don't think I'm a good host. I can only stand people for so long in my home. So i will be praying very hard the next 2 weeks (she called Sunday and is coming the 22nd - of August) and try to be a wonderful hostess for my suegra (no, I'm not swearing - it's mother-in-law in spanish).

I know she'll be very happy to see this little one up close....

* oops, forgot to mention that yes, I did stuff the pillow before giving it :-)

Sugar Overdose

So the birthday party today was fun...it was a "theme" party. The mom has one every year for her daughter and this year's theme was "Arabian Nights (or something like that)". She always decorates according to theme and even had a big "flying carpet/swing" thing that fit about 5 kids at a time. There was even a belly-dancer who "performed" a few songs....
Just a bit uncomfortable....I felt sorry for all the dads who seemed to suddenly find the bbq really interesting.

My kids had lots of fun and were so sugared-up that by dinnertime Hubby and I were ready to strangle them. They've all gone to bed now though. They don't get much candy at home so whenever they can get a piece or two they are all over it. The cake had fondant frosting and flowers so that added to the sugar overdose.

I managed to get a couple shots of Baby girl.

Son #1 has decided he's too cool and if he catches me taking his picture, he gets up or moves. The other two were busy jumping on the trampoline (which didn't have a net but they made a rule of only allowing two kids to jump at a time). We walked as we live just around the corner and there is no parking. Hubby was doing a tile job but managed to make it back to go with us. Thank goodness! I hate taking 4 kids to parties by myself!

New Design

So until I can figure out how to add my own banner at the top of this page I will be forever changing my design (or just until I find one I like).
So the beach was wonderful...I get there and think - "why don't we come more often?". It is definitely one of the perks about living in Hawaii (and also, 2 minutes from the beach). But man am I hurting now! I, of course, as a good mother, slathered the children in sunscreen, but somehow forgot about myself. Ouch..hurts so bad..especially my shoulders so wearing a bra (which I unfortunately have to any time I am in public) is very painful. I should know better - i was born and raised here and am (as they call you here if you are white) a haole. Oh well, at least it will fade to a tan in a few days. And yes, I am aware of all the skin cancer/wrinkles I am subjecting myself to.

I am so tired from the beach day that I am not sure I will get any sewing in today. Even though the kids are wiped out and I know it will be an early bedtime tonight....and hubby is going off on his "wife abandonment boys night out" thingy...which leaves me all alone - which is perfect for sewing. We'll see..maybe I can swing by the coffee shop and get a latte to perk me up a little. I want to start a new project..see there I go again abandoning the old before it's done!

I got this catalog in the mail today and I swear in my mind I am like a small child thinking.."ooh, I want that..ohh and that. Wow that's so cute..oh I really want that". I love all 3 of their catalogs (since we have NO stores here in Hawaii - which is a really good thing for my checkbook) but my favorite is the Kids one. I get inspired everytime I look through it. I love this quilt and this one..it's making me want to start on quilts for the girls..oh, and did you see this? Love it!! It must be why I love this blog so much...she's a designer for Pottery Barn. She makes the most beautiful things and her studio is adorable!! I think have a blog crush on her - read this before you think I'm a weirdo! (I read that today and thought it was hilarious!)

Well, I can tell the kids are tired since everyone is getting on everyone's nerves - it is going to be an early night!!

Beach Day

So we are off to the beach today...it's a nice sunny day and our friend is hosting a little Mommy and me day at the beach. My poor children have had to play around the house all week so i figure they deserve a day at the beach. I really hate the prospect of putting on a bathing suit but I will sacrifice for the children. Lately Baby girl wants to spend the whole time in the water (and she thinks she can swim) so I have to keep a good eye on her. Guess I'd better pack up to go..

Oh how I'll be suffering....

Soccer Season

So soccer season has finally started. Today was Bela's first practice in which will eventually become a never-ending cycle of practices and games since we have 3 playing. Hubby is coaching son #2 which should be fun since they are still little and actually listen to you unlike son #1's team. It forces me to actually take a shower and get out of the house, which I guess is a good thing. I had planned on running everyday or walking at least, but soccer has now cut into that so maybe I should commence with the beer-drinking again. No - I need to use some will-power.

Tomorrow Hubby and my brother are going to see this movie without me since our babysitter is ill and I don't know who else to call to watch 4 wild angels. So I am sacrificing so he can go see it and on Sunday, when the babysitter assures me she'll be well again, we can go see this. I have the german version and really love it and am almost hesitant to see it since it looks so similar. I am addicted to Top Chef and I love cooking movies. Maybe I'll have to plan to eat somewhere after too.

I finished up a pencil case for a birthday on Saturday - sorta had to force myself to finish it.
I love starting new projects - I just have to force myself sometimes to actually finish them. I don't know what it is..I love the lure of new projects but then i get into them and get bored. So I had to make her something fun after I finished up the case - as a reward for myself. I have seen so many cute little aprons lately and thought - I could make her an apron. So that's what I did. I put a little ruffle on the bottom and some tulle and 2 little pockets. It was very fast and came out cute.

Tomorrow a friend of ours is hosting a Boys' Club at her house. It is mostly just about getting a group of our boys together and teaching them things and having fun playing together..tomorrow it's all about pocketknife safety and they each are getting their own pocket knife. I grew up around knives since my Dad is a custom knife maker (I think this is where I get my craftiness from since my mom is not artistic at all). It will be good for them to learn pocket knife safety although I'm not sure he'll be walking around with it all the time. I bought him this book recently which he seems to like...he's gotten better about reading since we've homechooled but it's not the first thing he chooses to do.

It has gotten quiet very fast here - Baby girl is down for the night. She's showing her age lately and everything is either "mine" or "no". It's horrible naughty but it's all I can do not to laugh at her when she says it. And..she loves to go "bye-bye". As soon as she hears keys or someone mention leaving she instantly says bye-bye and runs to the door. i know I'm her mother but it's still pretty cute.

"Mommy can you carry me to bed?" our really heavy 5 year-old is begging me right now (non-stop I must add). Looks like the only way to get him to stop is to half-drag, half-carry him to bed. Nope, I managed to carry him all the way, although my back is aching a little now. Hopefully the glass of wine I poured myself on the way back will help with that.

Hubby has gone to bed too...he wakes up at 5 am while I'm still in Dreamland so he's allowed - I guess. Plus he works so hard too. well..guess, he wasn't quite ready for bed..he's now watching tv and eating cereal..as if the delicious chicken sandwiches I made we bought for dinner weren't enough...seriously, if you are ever on the North shore of Oahu..this is the place for hamburgers... they have a couple in japan too.

oh, before I sign off - here's a peek at the heavy 5 year-old's quilt I'm working on..I'm liking it more now...we'll see how it turns out..I'm taking it slow so I don't burn out on it too.

Haircuts and daily routine

So we managed to make it out of the house yesterday and I thought I was safe since most schools have started back already - well, apparently I was wrong and most people chose yesterday to shop for their school supplies! Not really but those aisles at Walmart sure were packed - the kids were great though and the two older ones were very helpful. I think they loved the fact that most of the items I was buying were for them
.... although I may have to use those watercolor pencils myself - they look like fun!

I have decided we should probably start school soon since we have a science group that we are in and our first class is August 15th and we are already supposed to have read the first chapter by then which I don't see us doing unless we actually start school and get into somewhat of a routine.

Lately our "routine" looks a little like this...kids wake up much earlier than mommy and proceed to make lots of noise in the boys' room (which is right next to mommy's room) playing with legos and blocks (my children are obsessed with them - the duplo ones - they even know whose are whose and play with them for hours!!). The loud yelling usually wakes up Baby girl which then forces mommy to slowly get out of bed and make her way to the coffee maker to turn it on first before getting crying baby out of bed. I wish my coffee maker was some sort of lightning fast one that made coffee in record speed - it usually takes way longer than I am willing to wait which causes me to pour a cup when there is just enough in the coffee maker to fill my cup which results in my drinking potent black liquid. The second cup is always much better. back to the routine - by now kids are at table saying they are hungry to which mommy (unless she is in a cooking/really good morning mood- then she makes pancakes or waffles or some "hot" breakfast) replies to eat some cereal or bagels. Then mommy shuffles into the living room to turn on the beloved imac and sift through emails (but mostly read her ever-expanding list of blogs). After the children are done eating they proceed to ask mommy a million times if they can play video games (Daddy got a wii for Father's Day - it is a big hit). Mommy says "maybe - after you do your chores"...which they then race off to do and mostly leave half-finished (except for Bela - poor child, I have trained her too well) and then go ask mommy again (who is still at the computer working on her third cup of coffee) to which she replies "are all your chores done" which is met with an "oh I forgot one" and race off to finish them off. This was the scene today and as you can see
mommy caved in to the lure of video games but only for a little while as the boys are getting haircuts today and I may see if she can trim Baby girl's hair too (she doesn't have much but maybe it could be made into a hairdo?).

After we got home from the "big day out" yesterday I managed to work on little bro's quilt some more.
I had cut them into 8x11 squares but didn't like the look of it when I layed them out so I cut them into 4x11 strips and am going to stagger them (I think) and add in some 4" squares out of this print. At least that's the plan right now...although when I went to bed last night, I was running things through my brain and thought about adding a smaller strip in between the bigger ones so I'll play around with that later.

I was thinking about taking the kids to the beach after their haircuts but it's a bit overcast today so maybe we'll hit the library on the way home and cozy up with some books instead. We are lucky to have a great library within walking distance from our house (but why walk when you can drive?). It is a wonderful resource to have when you homeschool - although I must admit, I love buying books. I don't know what it is, and if books weren't so expensive we'd have lots more. I just love having books around to look through and read together. I am addicted (I've been using that word a lot lately - uh oh) to Amazon. The free shipping is just a huge draw! I have to force myself not to buy anymore craft books - although I do have a couple on pre-order!

I did manage to get in force myself to go on a walk/run yesterday and I even resisted drinking beers a beer in celebration of the event. I've decided that's something I need to give up if I'm going to make any progress at all. It saddens me as I love beer but until I lose some weight I'm forcing myself to make it off-limits. I really do not have much self-control so it will be a test for me but I think I can do it. Coke (the drink) is another love of mine but it's gotta be off-limits too and I must force myself will drink water instead. My husband is not sympathetic at all since he (which is a wonderful thing) thinks I'm fine as I am, can't stand the taste of beer (which is probably good as I would hate him for drinking when I can't) and drinks more coke than me. Oh well, I just gotta keep thinking of the end result...being skinnier for my sister's wedding :-) . I ordered her a hair piece thingy off of etsy as she wants to wear a flower in her hair for the wedding. Bela's skirt came the other day - I love it and want to order more in multiple colors! Maybe I'll get her one for her b-day as my sister picked the black one for the wedding. I wanted her to get the brown and pink one but it's not my wedding so black it is. Well, guess I'd better go do my chores now! maybe if I finish fast they'll let me join them for a game of this...it's so addicting fun!