Father's Day

Father's Day is a big deal around here.  And Lee is catching on that Mother's Day is a big one, too.  A birthday can never compare to either of the "parent" days, right? 

Wow...  you didn't die this year... ohhhh-kayyyy... let's buy you a present for that accomplishment.  And a cake. 

In a world of dead-beat dads, I managed to snag, marry, and create a family with a WONDERFUL man.  He is an excellent dad.  Honestly.   There are some things about him that are lacking, but the commitment and love he has for our kids is top-notch.  That, my friend, is worth celebrating!  That's worth TEN cakes and a slew of presents. 

I surprised Lee with this quilt, which he was clue-less about; his main gift was custom built and he helped design it.  Because he's seen me in action, Lee totally appreciates the time and money it takes to make a quilt.  Trust me, it's cheaper, quicker, and  easier to go to Pottery Barn and buy a quilt- even if that means a road trip.  

(The fabric is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter with some Kona solids and Amy Butler mixed in. I did a pretty tight free motion and it crinkled up perfectly.)

Wondering about the big gift?

Several years ago, I bought Lee a boat for Father's Day.  If the phrase best wife evah just popped into your brain, I'm not surprised.  You can see his boat and some of the amazing fish he's killed by clicking here.  

So Lee is bringing home all these yummy fishies and has no where to clean them, so...

I surprised him with the idea of building a fish cleaning station!  We worked together to decide where to put it and how big it needed to be.  It's not finished yet, but here it is... tucked quietly behind the bath house:

Add some lights and paint and he'll be right ready to descale some dinner.  

 Hoping to post completed pictures in the Fall when it cools down enough to paint.  

Happy Father's Day, Lee!!!  I adore you and thank God for you.  So happy, I am, that my kids get to grow up just like me...  with a wonderful, present, full-time dad!  

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And in case you feel sorry for my kids...

I'm not against birthdays... 17 kids came over last week and partied down for Henry's 5th birthday.  I was super excited that I didn't have to dive in and rescue a drowning kid like I've done the last three years in a row.  At one of those parties, I sailed right over the daydreaming $15/hr life-guard.

Here's the Hank the Tank after blowing out the candles...

Show and Tell

First of all, if you're not interested in "hand-made," please just hang up now.  Exit out.  Click the back button.  You will NOT enjoy this post.  It's just a bunch of stuff crafted by yours truly.  

There now.  If you don't enjoy this post, it's not my fault.  It's yours... unless you do like hand made things, but think my stuff is c-r-a-p-- which is totally possible.  In that case, sorry for wasting 5 minutes of your day.  

*****

For my mother-in-law's birthday, I made her this fabulous quilt.  I say fabulous because I really thought about keeping it!  It's simple, I know, but I adore the fabrics.  They have a certain vintage, earthy feel that suits me- and her- perfectly.  All of this fabric is from the DS line from Joann Fabrics.  

I backed it with a great, vintage sheet I picked up at Goodwill.  

One day, many moons from now, someone in my house will inherit this quilt and we'll know that it was used by a very special lady; and it will be special because it was hers.  And because the fabric is darn amazing.  

*****

Believe it or not, I carry my iron with me when I sew with my buddies.  Yes, ironing is an important part of sewing.  If I would have known just how important, I probably would have picked another hobby. 

Here's the iron caddy I made with my Life Group at church... 

And here it is with the handles...

What's super cool about this iron caddy is that it unfolds into an ironing pad.  

*****

I was about to chunk some nasty outdoor pillows when I had a brain surge and remembered that I have a sewing machine.  I whipped up four pillow-covers, all different, that I can remove and wash.  They really brighten up my back porch.  And the nasty can be washed off ever-so-often.   Genius, I know.  

*****

Listen, friends, if you ever decide to sew anything, anything at all, sew this.  It may save your sanity.  No joke.  My kids have never been able to hang a towel.  EVER.  And there are four of them.  I found myself yelling "Who left the wet towel on the dining room table?" or "We don't leave towels on the back of the toilet for a reason!!!  Bring me a bucket someone, please!!!"  And more often than not, I'd find puddles of towel on the floor directly under the towel hooks.  So... I solved my own problem.  

I bought each kid a different colored towel and sewed a loop in the center for hanging.  They have to use their own towel and they MUST hang it up; preferable on the towel hooks in the bathroom, but I'll let the door knob slide by on occasion.  Now, if I find an orange towel on the floor, I know exactly which kid to beat.  Aren't we all happy round here, now?!  I know I am.  

*****

 

So I made this cutesy little basket for the girls to keep their Smurfs in.  Liliana insisted it made a better hat.  

In efforts to gain the Smurf basket back, I made Liliana her very own hat.  And she LOVES it!!  Or did.  I think she's forgotten about it.  Or lost it.  Either way, she was a very happy chica for at least 3 days.  

*****

Another of our Life Group projects was to make baby quilts for our local Women's Pregnancy Center.  What an honor to sew a quilt for a baby who IS because his mama chose LIFE!!  

I was surprised to discover that our quilts will not be handed over casually, but will be earned.  By attending parenting classes and similar things, mothers earn points that can be be redeemed in the "store."  May God bless the baby that gets this quilt!  In three or four years, I hope it's completely ratty from being loved, toted, and drug through the dirt (not talking' about the baby, here)!  Nothing would bless my heart more.

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Speaking of babies... My cousin and his wife just had a beautiful one!!  Or handsome, better yet.  He is unbelievably cute.  And tiny.  And his cry can break the hardest of hearts- it is the sweetest cry ever.

I know a good bib can save the day so I made him three towel bibs.

These are the best things ever!  All you do is cut a hole in a hand towel, use knit to create a soft neck, and add some sort of fun to it.  You can always buy a hand towel that already has monkeys or something stitched in, but those are more pricey, so I go with plain and add my own decorations.  

Here's a close up of the appliqués:

I love the letter H so this one was fun!  The fabric is from Robert Kauffman's Dr. Sues line.

And here's all three designs I used...  I love the contrasting thread.

*****

Here's my sweet Liliana in her Dr. Sues ensemble.  She loves it, although she couldn't understand why I wouldn't let her wear her Dr. Sues hat to church with it.  It's all Dr. Sues, you know?!  Never mind the utter distraction she would be.

*****

I have two sweet, little friends that I'd been dying to build skirts for.  Finally, I got them finished!!  They were sooo excited to get them and have thanked me and raved about them several times.  Honestly, I don't know who is happier, me or them!  I love giving gifts and when those gifts are loved... wow!

Are these not the cutest girls ever?!!  I just love them!  All smiles and happy here...

I also made some matching headbands that I tested on Henry.  He's covering his face so you won't know it's him wearing something girl.  Ooops.  Guess I let the cat outta that bag.  

They were super easy to make.  I used black elastic-- worked like a charm!!

*****

I know it's boring, but I'm ending with my super-cool, $8 ironing board.  It's wider and taller than a standard board and I like it a lot!  I made a cover to dress it up a bit and it's my new, favorite ironing board (I have four- don't judge).  And if you're in the market for a really good iron~ go with a Rowenta.  My friend, Michelle, introduced me and boy was she right!!  Make sure you get the German made Rowenta (some Rowentas aren't made in Germany- so check).

*****

I'm excited to show a few more things that I'm almost done with!  Hoping to finish up soon so I can play show and tell again.  

Happy Summer! And Happy Sewing!

XXXOOO

Don't Forget to Shave!

Have a look-see at a letter I received from a reader today...

Karolyn, I wanted to write you and tell you thanks for writing your blog about your dermotology visit. I remember reading it and thinking that it's been years since I've been to the dermotologist and if Karolyn can bare down...I can too.  The very next day I scheduled an appointment to meet the derm and discuss my body type as well as the numerous "beauty marks" on my body. We met...I loved him, scheduled the full body scan and...cancelled....3 times! I ALWAYS had an excuse. Then, they called last week and said they had a cancellation for Wed and did I want it? I put on my big girl panties (VS, of course) and wore my "real" deoderant (thanks for the tip) and sat, stood and cringed as he shined his light EVERYWHERE. I left with 3 biopsys and 8 photos and orders to come back in 6 months. I thought...well, that wasn't all that bad...I need to write Karolyn and thank her for giving me a "heads up". Everything is easier when you're prepared.  Well, I received a personal phone call from the derm yesterday morning. It seems that one of the spots on my leg is type one melanoma. I'm going Wednesday to meet the plastic surgeon and then we'll go from there. So, now I'm writing you to say, "Thanks! You very possibly saved my life.Thanks for sharing the intimate details of your life! Thanks for encouraging your readers to go to 

the Doctor! You Rock!!"

Side note: my particular melanoma is genetic but is brought out/made worse with the sun. My sister and Mom are both getting checked on May 8th. 

I'd sooo be lying if I told you this didn't make my eyes tear up a bit.  Wow!

So I say again...  

Strip down and get checked!!  You're not too young.  

If you've never read my candid retelling of a visit to the dermatologist, check it out by clicking HERE.

I'll be visiting the good doctor early next week for him to remove a place on my lower neck.  1 out of the 3 biopsies from February came back bad.  

And remember...

People who regularly visit the dermatologist don't die of skin cancer. 

Spring Break 2012

For Spring Break, Zebby-do joined the throngs of others who flocked to the mountains and spread their wings on the slopes of Breckenridge.  It was his first time skiing and he had a blast.  Thank you Nonnie and Papa.  

He was super excited about riding on a plane...

and a ski lift...

Zeb was the first in our (little) family to go on our (larger) family's annual skiing vacay. They quit asking us several years back, and who can blame them?  I'd get tired of hearing heck, no, too.  

  My parents shocked us by asking Zeb to go and we shocked them by saying yes.  Michal was a  bit disappointed to miss out on all the fun, but her tears dried quickly when Non and Pop handed her a brand-spankin'-new iPod touch.  Everyone has a price.   

In efforts to even out the fun factor, Lee and I loaded up the three younger kids and headed to...

It was a great time, for sure!!  I totally recommend at least a half day there.  There's a modest entry fee that includes the mermaid shows, animal shows, a boat ride, and a small water park.  Kids 5 and under get in free so it was cheaper than a movie for us (even without the popcorn!).  

I was not expecting to see a merman...  times are a'changing.  

The kids were super happy about meeting this beautiful mermaid.  Liliana got a little fresh and rubbed her mer-thigh.  She was determined to have the full experience.  

Who doesn't love a good photo op?  My mom swears I look JUST like her in this picture.  I'm not really seeing it.  

Ah, ah, ah.... Ah, ah, ahhhhhh....

I don't think I'll be cast for Ariel anytime soon, but I do like my mermaid body!!  

Lots of Pea-fowl at WW!  And Liliana chased EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. THEM.  

Liliana liked this statue so much she decided to give her a goodbye kiss.  Gross, I know.  

She's five.  What do you expect?  

We called it a day at the Land of Mermaids and crashed at a local hotel.  I could write a series of posts of why I HATE staying at hotels.  Another day, my friend, another day.  

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The next day we loaded up in the m.v. (that's short for Mini Van) and headed even farther south to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter the Tail-less Dolphin.  For reasons I will never understand, my girls coaxed us into driving 5 hours and spending nearly $100 to see this dolphin-with-no-tail.  Meanwhile, we have hundreds upon hundreds of whole dolphins a mere boat ride away from home.  If you catch them at the right time, it's breath-taking. 

 But they have tails.  

I must admit the movie Dolphin Tale is a good one.  The story is amazing.  The righteous part of me is screaming about the millions of dollars being spent on this dolphin when there are kids dying of starvation every day, but the story is amazing.  

Here she is, in all her prosthetic glory...

Winter has had several tails.  The girls were able to hold Tail Number 18:

We also met a turtle...

and had some fun at the sting ray tank...

So I totally missed it, but Lee had his 15 minutes of fame when a kid fell into the stingray tank.  He heard a splash and then a scream.  In that dream-like slowness, he turned--- knowing it was Liliana.  Alas, it was not; BUT, being the super-hero he was born to be, Lee rescued unknown child from sting-ray peril.  Bravo, Lee! Bravo!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever...  Sister love, right there, folks... Sister love.  

The CMA is small.  I mean, NOT BIG AT ALL small!  I asked a staff member about the daily traffic.  "Before the movie," she replied, "we had about 200 a day.  Now, we have an average of around 4,500 a day."  

Good grief!!!  It cost our family of 5 around $85 to get in the door.  

Winter is a dang rich Dolphin.

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Our quick trip came to and end.  It was great to be home.  We sent the kids inside to get ready for bed and 2 out of 3 followed orders.  Liliana just didn't quite make it...  

Good night, sweet heart.