I have not blogged about my family in a long time. Oh - what's that you say? I haven't blogged, period? Holy smokes, you are right! Yikes! It's been since February! Well, that's just not okay. So here's the deal. I'm going to stop waiting for the perfect project, with the perfectly edited photos...because I just don't have time...and you'll have to give me grace for that. And in return, I'm gonna blog more. But it's not just going to be about my crafty projects...though I have been making a LOT of art lately...LOTS. It's just that I've been living a lot of LIFE lately too. And, well, they sort of go hand in hand. So if you want one, I guess you're gonna get them both! ;)
So let's see if I can give you a sort of summary...in mostly photos...of what we've been up to! (In no particular order...that would be WAY too much work! LOL)
I had a blast at CHA, and it was so fun to meet in person some cool peeps who've had a major influence on my artistic life and so much more...like Christy Tomlinson!
Anthony continues to home school, though more often than not these days, he refuses to do his work. It's all part of his struggles with Sensory Processing Disorder, among other issues. I'll definitely be blogging more about this, because it affects all three of my children, though he and Mackenzie the most, by far. Seen here, he's playing on my iPad, which he LOVES doing! I was bribing him...15 minutes school work, 15 minutes iPad, and so on...LOL.
Mackenzie and Makayla have grown up SO much. This was at a recent park play date, when Mackenzie borrowed a scooter from a friend. She hasn't mastered it, but she sure loves trying.
Couldn't remember if I'd posted these before or not, but when I went to CHA, all the members of the Craft Test Dummies team exchanged homemade gifts. I made hand-bound journals...the first I've ever made. It was super fun, and I'll definitely do it again! Each one was mad with different materials and bound differently.
This is a canvas I made around Valentine's Day, inspired by project I saw in an email from Somerset/Stampington. Wax paper hearts, stitched with bits of vintage music sheets, vintage linens, glassine paper...stamped...and attached to a decoupaged canvas with cute mini wooden clothespins and jute string.
We've been SUPER blessed to have found Sensory Time, a local indoor play place that is specially designed for children with Sensory Processing Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and other disabilities. We have gotten a membership here - and the kids LOVE this place!!! It's everything their little sensory-seeking bodies desire!
And when we're stuck at home, I try my best to find sensory-related activities to help keep them occupied and happy...like making a swing on the bunk bed!
My nephew and his new wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and my kids absolutely ADORE her. They had fun oohing and ah-ing over her when she came to visit for the first time!
I was elated to find a WORKING 1923 Remington Portable typewriter at a local antique shop and plan to use it for bits and pieces on art, scrapbooking and journal related projects.
More bunk-bed swing fun - flying fairies, anyone?
VERY occasionally, Anthony will sit down and actually do some school work...but these times are getting increasingly fewer and farther between. Trust me...there will be more posts about this!
I've developed a love not only for Instagram, but for tiny pottery bowls to use for storing artsy embellishments. Sigh. These beauties are from Anthropologie...another love!
Park days are a big hit, and we've tried to soak up as many as possible while the weather's been cool...for I know the summer heat is fast approaching!
My husband and I had the pleasure of participating in a fantastic surprise party for a dear friend. She's been having a rough time lately, and this show of love from her friends was just the boost she needed. Oh - and I got a hair cut. A real one. From an actual hair stylist, at an actual salon! (This is a big deal...I usually just chop my own hair, or pull it back in a pony!)
{And how fun is it to actually have a pic of me and hubby?! These are rare!}
Did I mention that we visit Sensory Time regularly? LOL Not only do they have stuff for when my kids are bouncing off the walls and need BIG activity stuff like balls and swings, but they also have lots of fine motor activities for them too! I am so happy that THEY are so happy there!
My dad was staying with us from just before Christmas through the latter part of March. This was a feeble attempt to get a decent photo of him with my kids...who refused to cooperate. Oh well. We had a fun day in Old Town Temecula anyway!
I've been doing LOTS of art activities with the kids - and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it makes me that they are not only old enough now to really participate, but that they all 3 seem to really ENJOY art!! I give them pretty much free reign of a large selection of products...various forms of paint, watercolor crayons, water-soluble gel sticks, paint brushes, watercolor paper, mixed media art journals, colored pencils, crayons galore, markers in various forms, modeling clay (including really cool glitter modeling clay that even smells good!), paper of all kinds, scissors, collage journals, glue...they've got it made!
I also re-did our bedroom. We got a new bed frame, new mattress set, and so I felt the need to get a new comforter cover and pillows, and a great new lamp. (The curtains on the wall are old...not sure what I'm going to do with them.)
I got a new camera - not a DSLR - but way better than my old one...a Canon Powershot SX something something...I forget the letters and numbers! LOL All I know is that it has the ability to do manual stuff as well as a bazillion programmed things...and I'm still trying to figure it out! This was me trying to do the bathroom-mirror photo! Ha!
I re-did my craft room, for the second year in a row, and as part of that, I found some cool new storage options. This rotating bin is from Harbor Freight and cost only $20 - and holds a TON of spray inks, paint daubers, Distress Stains, tools, etc. I LOVE IT!
I bought my hubby a total surprise - just because - no birthday, no holiday - just because. An IPhone 4s. Actually, I got one for both of us, and we LOVE them. We've turned into Mac people...iPhones, iPads, and I have a Macbook Pro now - and I couldn't be happier!
Have been having fun getting some great happy mail! So much fun!
Mackenzie's fine motor skills aren't great, and her scissor skills are rather poor especially. I was so impressed to find these great scissors by Faber Castell at one of my local JoAnn's - she loves them, and they really help her!
Um, speaking of Mackenzie...I mentioned the Sensory Processing Disorder and the fine motor skills. She also still lags behind in speech...and she just does some rather, well, odd things. I couldn't help myself - I had to take this picture. I went in to check on her one night to see if she'd gone to sleep - and she had...but apparently her princess dolls needed to hang from their hair over her for the night...their hair tucked into onto of the cross-frames from her sister's bunk bed above her! LOL Gotta love that girl!
I mentioned my craft room remodel. My dad and hubby closed in the wall pass-throughs that went from my room to the family room, and built shelves in them - GENIUS. We also got several cabinets from Lowe's which they put together for me...and I'm SUPER DUPER happy with how everything came together!!! And yes, I've been keeping it clean...cleaning up after my projects!
Here the kids are at LAX, waiting...though they had NO IDEA they were waiting for Jeremiah and Shelia to arrive! It was such a great surprise for them to have a visit from them!! We hadn't seen him since he left just before the new year. It's been a hard grieving process...but I have to say, God's timing is perfect, and I *needed* to focus on my own kids' needs...and Shelia is doing a FANTASTIC job being Jeremiah's mom!!! I'm so thankful that we get to continue to be a part of his life, but I'm also so thankful that we were able to provide HER with the opportunity to be his mom!
I mean, seriously, how cute is he?!
Jeremiah enjoyed Sensory Time as well...he nearly fell asleep on one of the therapy swings, he was so relaxed!
Mackenzie, on top of the dome climber at Sensory Time.
See? I really *have* been making art! A tag I made for a Liquid Pearls review over at Craft Test Dummies.
Did I mention I have developed a slight addiction to washi tape?
I finally put curtains up in the girls' room. They LOVE them...when they're not trying to pull them down. The pink ones actually block out all the light when they're closed, but the purple ones are glittery. So pretty!
This is a truly amazing photo. My kids have been terrified of dogs, cats, bugs...pretty much any living creature besides humans...for forever. But last week at a homeschool group park play date, the girls just decided they were going to make friends with this little dog who belonged to one of the other families. OH, how sweet it was!!!
More evidence of art!!
I even made homemade strawberry freezer jam - sooo yummy!
Last Friday, my friends Tamekia and Valerie took me for a spa day. The funny thing is that they had promised me this spa day if I survived our family cross-country trip 2 summers ago! LOL Hey, better late than never, right?! It was super fun and relaxing!!
My biggest little artist...she's always trying to sit at my desk and touch my art supplies. "Oh, this is SOOO beautiful, mommy!" But I think you can see from the look on her face that she's not so innocent!
A canvas I made this week, using one of the monthly kit clubs I've joined. It is seriously so much fun to receive happy mail every month!!!
Anthony on his 7th birthday - cannot believe how big he's getting! What you can't see in this pic is that before I got the cake frosted, I had set it in the garage to cool off more quickly...and Mackenzie had snuck out there and literally put her fist in the cake and grabbed a fistful!!! Sigh. Did I mention my kids have Sensory Processing Disorder??
The kids have a new fascination with painting the little $1 wooden birdhouses from Michaels and JoAnn's...I say, "Hey, why not?" It's cheap and it keeps them occupied. And it's a great sensory activity!
Anthony finally lost his first tooth last week. It was a big deal. He was pretty excited about the $2 the tooth fairy left him. What happened to the quarters I used to receive??
My hubby, working away...if he's not working at work, he's working at home...either doing work work or house work. Poor guy!
Another pic of the girls making up with the dog. It really was fascinating and wonderful to watch.
Makayla must have more facial expressions than any of my children. I think it's her eyebrows! LOL And those killer big eyes!
I've got lots more fun stuff to review for Craft Test Dummies - including these new Spectrum Noir alcohol markers by Crafter's Companion/Darice. I've been having fun playing with them!
My hubby tore out the carpet in the front room and replaced it with laminate flooring this past weekend. LOVE it! He plans to eventually do the spare bedroom and our bedroom as well...seriously cannot wait!!! He's turning this room into a t.v./reading room.
Okay - I know that was fast, and long, at the same time. I promise I will go into MUCH more detail about some of the issues and things I brought up in this post...but I hope this gives you at least a glimpse into what I've been doing for the past couple months!!
I have a book I'm reading right now - Life Moments for Women - and will be posting a review soon too...keep an eye out for that! It's a really fantastic collaborative of stories of a wonderful group of California women and what they identified as "life moments," or changing points in their lives. For more info NOW, check out their FB page!
Til next time, keep creating, and remember to do the things that matter most!
