Cut'n a Rug at the Wedding

Ben & Kim's Wedding in Stevensville, MD

This is Kim and Alex... Kim is my cousin's beautiful bride. Their wedding was 2 weekends ago in Stevensville, MD... right on the Chesapeake Bay. I just cant tell you how amazing this wedding was... the view, the weather, the food, the music, the little details... everything!!! It was just incredible! They did an amazing job with the planning and prep work and it showed for sure! They make such a sweet couple!

Alex was thrilled to be their flower girl... she looked so pretty!! Well, for the first 1/2 anyway... once the kid-favor markers found their way to her dress... along with the chocolate fountains... and then there was some sort of break-dancing going on on the dance floor too (I'll see if I can add some pics of her and her cousin cut'n a rug together)... that by the time she was finished beating up on the dress, we actually left it behind at the hotel... yes, it was THAT bad!!!! But you know what, she got through the ceremony looking sweet as can be, so the h*** with the rest! We snapped some beautiful pics (pre-marker and choc fountain) so we do have proof that she can clean up well when we scrub really hard!! :)

Anyhow, Ben & Kim... we love you guys!!! Thanks for letting us be a part of a very special day!!!

I might be off my rocker.... Doggie Collar Covers!!!

Ok. so I just might be off my rocker... my husband certainly thinks I am!!! I've just added a new little collection to my website... Shabby Fashion Dog Collar Covers!!! :) Oh come'on!!! Stay with me here... so I have been collecting these fabric remnants as I've been making these skirts... too small to put into another skirt, but too big to throw out... so they've been piling up and piling up and piling up. So I was in a store a couple weeks ago and saw these nifty little dog collar covers... now, I say "nifty" because of the whole concept... but thats all that was "nifty" about them... the fabric that was used was probably the ugliest fabric on the face of this planet!!! So last week I started jogging my brain on what I could use my remnant fabric for... and it hit me... those Doggie Collar Covers!!!! Ok, so I think I'm either going to sell these things like hot-cakes... or Im going to get locked away in a padded room somewhere!!! Have my creative juices went too far this time? Well, we'll see I suppose... but let me just tell'ya... they sure do look cute as can be on Kelsey and Allie!!!!! :) So what's your vote? Cute? or... Off my rocker?

A beautiful night's sky!

Ok, so I just had to post this picture from last night's moon... Brent and I were out on the front porch waiting for Alex to get home from Awanas and we both noticed how cool the moon & sky looked so I grabbed the camera and snapped a shot... and thought I'd share with all of you! :) It's all part of my "stop and smell the roses" therapy Im trying to train myself to do more often!!! :) Im calling a strike against my constant To-Do List!!! What's life all about if at the end of it, all I can say is, "I finished everything on my list!!!" So, my advise for today... look up at the sky tonight... and enjoy the view!! :)

Free Hugs... Pass it on!

http://www.freehugscampaign.org/

Check out the video from the above site.... what a wonderfully simple concept of spreading some love... they played this video at church on Sunday... it has really stuck with me (thanks Thom!)... I just love it!!! Hug one person today that you might not usually hug... it might change someone's day more than you would ever realize. Hugs to you all!!!! :)

"The Plant Project"

So here we have a picture of a piece of the"The Plant Project". Alex and her classmates were given a project to "Design a Plant". So here's my dilemma as the parent... how much is too much help? So when she was trying to get started and thinking what she could make it out of... she was thinking basic construction paper... but i thought... OO!!! Ive been saving all of the toilet roll and paper towel rolls for some sort of craft project... this is perfect... so I gave her that... then I had another OO!! moment... I have a bunch of scrap fabric left over from making skirts... "You can use that!" I told her... so from there... she took over... she figured out how she wanted to cover the rolls... the pattern that she wanted... she found some green floral tape and insisted to cover the stem portion with this tape... so she had all of the pieces put together and then it was time to figure out how to keep all the pieces together as one flower/plant.... thats where the glue gun had to come into play... so we pulled out some popsicle sticks and i hot glued the sticks to the middle and peddles and then Alex added little designs to each stick... so anyhow... to make a long story a little longer... we put it all together... and Daddio comes in and sees it and says "Wow... the teacher's never going to believe she did that by herself"... so here I am now... fretting over this poor project... "did I do too much?... no, i only gave her the materials and handled the scolding hot glue... but was that too much?... should i have let her do whatever she was going to do with the construction paper?... naaaaa... I was just teaching her that she can use other mediums other than paper... and to try and think 3 dimensional... but is this her idea now, or my idea?.... blah, blah, blah.... " It's that little battle between the angel/backer on one shoulder and devil's advocate on the other shoulder, ya know? Anyhooo... I will be starring at this 3 foot flower until Friday when it's due... and probably continue to torment myself until then... can we say "LET IT GO ALREADY!!!!" :)~

Ahhhh... the joys of being a parent... this whole "getting older" thing has me a little perplexed this year... its a new phase in letting her take on more responsibility and has me trying to figure out where Im suppose to take a step back and where I'm still suppose to take a part... didn't I just give birth to this child yesturday? Surely she can't be 8 already!!! Final note for the day... give your kids an extra special hug today and look them in the eyes and tell them how much you love them!!! :) Hugs to all of you!!! OO!! Hugs!! That gives me an idea for my next post!

Cats and Plants... and Kids Teeth...?!@#

Ok, so the 2 subjects on this header have nothing to do with one another... but that's whats on my mind right now...

So 1st... cats... this is Boots... aka "Bootsie" when she's being sweet.. or "CAT!" when she's being mischievous. This is our first cat... adopted her from a stray kitten about a year ago... we've been dog people all of our lives, but we love all animals and she stole our daughter's heart, so what were we to do? Well, obviously, bring her home! :) So she has adapted well... the dogs get along with her quite well... our younger dog, Allie loves to play with her sometimes... and Bootsie loves to play chase with Allie... she knows that Allie is suppose to stay inside the baby gate in the kitchen and family room... so she'll zoom right past Allie getting her all wound up... and get her chasing her, then she'll go straight for the gate... hilarious to watch!! Anyhoooo... so our only obstacle that we have not overcome with Boots is the plant thing... she has killed every living plant in the house except for our last 3... we have 1 tree left that is on the floor in the kitchen, and then 2 potted plants that we have had to put up on the top of the fridge to keep them safe... now, you might say... "Well my cat can get up on the fridge!"... yeah, yeah, yeah... ours can too... but she doesnt like to because we've surrounded the top edge with inside out strips of duct tape!!!! Its the only way she'll leave them alone!! So that brings us back to the 1 last tree that has survived... we have put chili pepper on the top of the soil... tin foil around the edge, saran wrap, skewers poking out the top, even this spiky rubber stuff that you wrap around the trunk.... and NOTHING HAS WORKED!!!! HELP!!!! Please, please, please, I beg for some good insight on this one!!!! Its a matter of tree life or tree death!!!

Ok, so on to our next subject... children's teeth! Our daughter is 8 and is a pretty disciplined morning brusher... we're not very good about brushing at night... we do sometimes, but forget other times... my husband and I both grew up morning brushers, so that is just what sticks with us... anyhow, she brushes with good effort every morning... however, her big teeth are coming in pretty crooked on top... so when she brushes, it just doesnt get in some of those tough areas where her teeth are overlapping and crooked... so my question is... do children get braces now'a'days before all of their adult teeth are in? I dont know the answer to this, but my daughter has been noticing kids the same age with braces on... so it makes me wonder... should this be something I look into? I hate to think of the cavities we will be accumulating because she can't get into those tough places very well while we are waiting for the rest of our big girl teeth to come in... I suppose this is a question for our dentist... our next cleaning is coming up soon... just thought I'd throw that out there though... surely someone else has experiences this as well... maybe you can help shed some light on the situation...

Ok, back to work... today is Monday... and its starting off to be our first beautiful Fall week... after 2 weeks of rain, rain, rain... aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.... I LOVE Fall!!!! :) Enjoy your week everyone!!!