Ten on Tuesday

1. Yesterday my daughter did not have school and I did not work, so I had high hopes of good old mother daughter time. My plan was to drive into Lawrence and go to Hancock Fabric. I thought since I was successful with sewing some of my daughter's new bedding accessories I could attempt an American girl-big girl nightgown set.

2. Somewhere in my hopes of a great time with my daughter, I forgot that she was vastly different than me.

3. I like to be efficient; I'm a quick shopper. My daughter likes to take her time, a long time.
She and I have different tastes in clothes. Turns out what my thought of a 30 minute shopping adventure in Hancock Fabric took an hour and 30 minutes. We could not agree on anything, from patterns to fabric. I'm sure this is foreshadowing of what is to come since she is only 5.

4. She compromised on the pattern and I compromised on the fabric. Actually, I said no to many fabric options like see through sheer with sequence.

5. I left the store exhausted.

6. When we came home, we began our little project and started cutting the patterns out of the fabric. I began to panic. I haven't made an outfit from a pattern in years, like 20 years. I did not know how these cut pieces were going to assemble together. I decided to stop before I became a raging lunatic before my daughter and decided to attempt it at night. At night it would be me, the fabric and my sewing machine.

7. Well I can say that the American girl doll nightgown is done! Yay! I like it, and best of all my daughter likes it. I think my daughter's choice of fabric turned out great!



8. Now to make my daughter's look-a-like gown.

9. I'm not the only one who has been crafting around the house. My daughter began assembly her bird house last week. My son then decided to make his own. Can you guess who is whose?



9b. My girl wants to set her bird house in the tree in our front yard. We just might do that.

9c. Yes, you did notice real nails. My kids like to hammer. They have their own tool box with a hammer. My daughter has a pink one. They are well supervised :)

10. I can't wait until my daughter's room is complete. My husband has the floor to do and then paint the walls. I've been working on her bedding and storage. Here's a little peek.

Taste of

Spring.
I always enjoy teasers in the middle of the winter.
Just to let you know what is to come.

I felt like I pretty much played hooky today.
Went to a birthday party, bathed in the sun, painted my toes, my girl painted hers, watched my girl play in the sand, went to the park, washed the car.

Yeah, pretty much played hooky.
The dishes need to be done, the house cleaned, office work still is looming.
But glad I took the time to play
on this Spring like February day.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Valentine's Day is over. For me Valentine's day is more fun with my kids being little. Home made valentines, Valentine gift boxes sent to cousins miles away, school parties; it's just plain fun.





2. But at times, I wish the holiday didn't even exist. Especially for my sweet single friends, friends who have lost a loved one, or those whose marriages are struggling.

3. It makes me appreciate my husband even more and especially makes me reflect on the unconditional love of my Savior.

4. I have been trying to reduce my sugar intake and it has been hard! I have discovered this new gum that has come to my rescue. If you like mint chocolate chip ice cream or girl scout cookies, you have to try this gum.



5. My husband has been busy trying to remodel the "spare" room that will turn into my daughter's bedroom. Hopefully she will be moving in soon. She has stated that she wanted her room to be colorful. In order to save on some money, I let her pick out some fabric to accompany her current all red bedspread. I have been busy sewing away. Here is some of my recent projects.


6. We even included Laney's (the doll) bed into the mix.

7. We have so much more to do!

8. If you live in Kansas, I am sure you are aware of the basket ball game that happened last night. My FB status was infiltrated with KU/KSU comments.

9. I'm a KU fan and will always be. Our team got spanked. KSU was the better team last night. Congrats.

10. I just looked at my e-mail. I just got tons of spam regarding airline tickets. It is kind of creepy how I can google something like airfare and then get tons of e-mails regarding it. We are hoping to get reconnected with some dear friends of ours in the near future.
Later-Jen

Ten on Tuesday

1. It seems like the whole mid-west is a little frosty today.



2. Last night the school district canceled school without any snow yet penetrating our neck of the woods. All the districts in the area followed suit. I guess they truly believed in the weathermen this time.

3. I woke up at 7:00 this morning, looked outside and only saw a dusting of snow. I thought, they closed school for this?" Then a few hours later I looked outside and said, "Ah, they closed school for this!"

4. My sister who lives a 4 hour drive south of us, woke up to a foot of snow. Hehe. Her husband is now shoveling 3 feet snow drifts from their driveway. I don't ever remembering seeing that much snow when I lived in Tulsa.

5. Thankfully my husband closed shop for the day and arrived home safe and sound at 1:00.

6. He is now tackling an auto project (placing a new starter in our car). He is so handy like that. I truly take that for granted.

7. Question of the day. "How many snow days will we have this week?"

8. I've been making valentines for past clients, pictures from previous photo sessions. I need to make some valentines for my own kids. Even though I have tons of pictures of them, I think I may do a mini valentine's shoot tomorrow. Hmmm, what do I need to bribe them with this time.

9. This is a conversation I overheard earlier this week.
My boy, "Man, my room is a mess!"
My hubby, "Well, clean it then."
My boy, "Ah, why did I say that."

10. My evening is going to be spent staying warm, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate.
Stay warm everyone.

Kansas Day

Longing for the warm days of summer.

Ten on Thursday

1. So I totally missed Ten on Tuesday. It was a very busy day. I had only spent one hour at home from 8:30am to 8:30 pm. How did that happen? Needless to say the blog was neglected.

2. This week our schedule feels somewhat back to normal. We had three snow days two weeks ago and last week had one snow day plus Monday off due to Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

3. Before the snow hit last Wednesday, my girlfriend, her daughter, my girl and I drove to the American Girl Store in KC. My girl and her friend had received an American Girl doll for their birthdays. We thought it would be fun for our girls to spend some time at the store with their new dolls.

4. I never thought I would buy an American Girl doll for the my girl, let alone enjoy the American Girl doll experience but I did.

5. My girl enjoyed it even more. She was skipping from one display to another. It was like she was in little girl heaven. Here is a picture of her and her doll Laney.




6. My girl was a bit overwhelmed with all the choices of clothing for Laney. She had a hard time choosing, but ended up with the outfit above.

7. Later that night after the snow had bombed the earth with its white stuff, my girl showed me Laney's new scarf that had unraveled. I was disappointed since American Girl prices are not cheap to have something unravel within the day of purchasing the product. I ended up calling the returns dept. They asked if I could just return it to the store for an exchange. When I stated that I lived 40 minutes from the store and that it was snowing, she asked for information on the receipt. We received a new scarf set in the mail within two days. They stated to give the used set to someone else. I am totally sold on American Girl now!

8. When I picked up my girl from preschool yesterday, she exclaimed, " I am so excited." When I asked why, she replied, "I get to buy Laney her headband today." My girl had been saving her money to buy a headband at a store where my son takes piano lessons. He has piano lessons every Wednesday afternoon. The past two Wednesdays have been canceled due to the snow. My girl literally had been waiting 3 weeks to buy this headband:




9. I just received my new Iphone cover. I bought it from Cafe press.



10. I like it and my husband likes his too.

Ten on Tuesday

1. There has been a lot of riding the plasma car around the house, lately. I think everyone is getting a little stir crazy from the winter weather.



2. My kids even made stop signs for the cars and people.



Translation: "Stop. Count to three seconds, then go. For cars."

3. My kids are coming up with so many creations. A flying boxed garage for my girl's dog and below is a closet for my girl's American girl doll. Though I think it is quite creative, I am hoping to find a nice wood one that won't break the bank. $25.00 would be great.



4. My girl has also been making some valentines. Creations were inspired from familyfun.com Here's a few:



5. This past weekend we traveled to Oklahoma to see my nephew earn his Eagle scout award. What an accomplishment!

6. I feel like I have scored on Monday nights. I enrolled my kids in Lawrence Gymnastic Academy. Both my kids' classes are at the same time, each with a friend in their class. Additional bonus, I have a sweet friend to talk with during this time. We love it!

7. I mentioned last Tuesday that I have been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm at chapter nine. The book has reaffirmed what has been brewing in my heart for some time. I don't know exactly where God is leading, but I want to follow.

8. One question that kept coming to my mind while reading the book is 'If the church wholeheartedly loved God and took care of the poor, afflicted and needy as He has requested, would there be a need for as many government programs?'

9. Which led to this question, "How can I be a changing agent to help the poor, afflicted and needy."

10. Big questions, but I am ready to be used.



My girl thinks it should be summer. She asked if we could go swimming. When I replied that we may be able to go to an indoor pool again, she stated, "No an outdoor pool." We have snow on the ground. I don't think that is going to happen any time soon.