End of Summer Fun

Ahhhh, the end of summer!  It is SEPTEMBER already!  So crazy.  Here's a quick update on what we filled our last weeks of summer with. 

Going to the dentist.  I hate dentists, I have horrible experiences every time I go, so I was nervous for them.  Fortunately it looks like they'll have their dad's teeth (ie, no cavities) so it went well and they got new light up toothbrushes.  They thought it was fun!

On a whim the other day I decided the kids should share a room.  I was SO SICK of picking up toys from the living room, and they won't play down in the basement because our sick cat keeps pooping on the floor down there.  So, Otis's room turned into the bedroom, and Ingrid's room turned into the play room.  So far it has been okay.  We have to time the bedtimes strategically so one falls asleep before the other goes in, but we're learning.  Tonight Ingrid went to bed first and Otis fell asleep in our room.  I'll go in and plop him in his bed later.  Whatever works...

 We also took a trip to a local petting farm last weekend.  This place is SO COOL!  Tons of pens of animals you can go in and touch and feed.  They got to milk a real cow, pet baby ducklings, feed chickens, and pet kittens.  I wanted to take all the kittens home, they were so adorable!  And bunnies, too!  I think we maybe need a bunny at some point.

 Yesterday we went to the Beer Garden.  It was a beautiful day and it just seemed like the perfect day to eat a pretzel and have a liter of beer, right?  This place is awesome, there's a playground right there, so we could sit and drink beer and let the kids play.  They have live music most afternoons.  Tons of kids were running around.  Definitely a good place to hang out on a sunny afternoon.

 And lastly, today I had my last show of the summer.  This was the last Maker Market of the season, I also had done July's.  This was definitely my favorite show!  The vibe at these things is just so mellow, I know a lot of the other vendors from other shows, so it's just hanging out and selling stuff while drinking iced coffee and sweating in the sun.  Today's show was my first on using my NEW SIGN!!  In July I sat next to a lady that does the most amazing calligraphy cards, Filthy Freehand.  I loved her style and knew I wanted to come up with a unique logo so I had her do it.  She came up with the coolest ones to choose from, but ultimately I went with this one (I love it!)

 I went right out and had a sign made, it looked so cool hanging up!!  I hope it lasts for other shows.  I'm not sure how many uses it's supposed to get...I also got this cool red suitcase from my neighbor who sells vintage on Etsy.  It worked so well to hold blankets, bibs, and my new price list.  I have a vintage paint by number and then I printed out my prices on a piece of kraft paper and used washi tape.  Love how that turned out, too! 

Kids start school on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I am excited for that!  Ingrid will be all day, Otis will be three mornings a week.  I plan on using that time well, I'm hoping I can get all my errands and sewing done in that time so I don't have to ignore Brendan at night anymore!  This summer has been super fun, but SO BUSY.  I'm ready for a new schedule.

State Fair AND a Trip to See Gramma!

Just realized I never posted any pictures of our day at State Fair since it was the day before we left on our vacation to my mom's house!  We had our friends from Chicago come up to go with us, it was a great day.  Ingrid walked the whole way and didn't even complain!  I think that had to do with the fact there were plenty of stops to get snacks, or at least to look at what was deep fried or on a stick (or both!) Both kids rode rides this year, and we all went on the Ferris wheel, which was terrifying.

 See how OPEN the sides are?  I imagined the kids falling to their deaths about a billion times.  It sucks to be a mom sometimes.  As a kid I found things exciting, now I just realize how every little thing is potentially deadly...

 

The next day bright and early at 5am we got up to take the ferry across Lake Michigan to see my mom.  I had taken the boat once before but no one else in the family had, so it was very exciting, even at the crack of dawn.

 We got to my mom's and promptly went down by the beach and made sandcastles, visited the horses, took a golf cart ride.

 The best part of the trip is that while we were playing outside, there was a campfire going.  So we got to roast marshmallows and hot dogs, just like camping!  In fact, the whole weekend was like camping but with real beds and showers, and as much coffee as I wanted!

 Brendan and my brother went fishing.  My brother caught this 34" pike.  It was scary and very toothy and Ingrid ran screaming off the dock when she saw it!

 It was relaxing and amazing, and as always a very good time.  I just love going there to visit, we all have so much fun every time!


 

The Way We do Things Around Here

A bunch of the same busy busy busy around here.  Keeping sane by keeping busy. Mornings are still pretty much without TV.  We do puzzles still.  Lots of coloring.  Today Otis made a ramp for his cars with the ironing board.  Anything to pass the time!

I've been pretty busy crafty wise.  I had a new consignment order for a place right across from State Fair Park, and seeing as State Fair started today, I had to get my stuff there in a timely fashion.  I also have two other consignment orders to work on, and another Maker Market is coming up September 1st.  So, busy mama.  Ingrid and I made this felt doll for a friend's birthday present.  Ingrid was too funny, "Mom, I have to play with it to make sure it works, okay?"  Apparently it was in working order.

 I went through some old photo books and found some gems.  I love that I'm taking pictures of pictures.  Here's Brendan and I the first summer we met ten years ago.  We are little kids, it's crazy!

 Speaking of little kids, there has been a bounty of little kids around our house the past week or so.  We watched a friend's girls one afternoon, here's Eleanor and Otis looking sneaky.  They found this water fountain (or "bubbler" if you want to get Milwaukee on me) and took turns seeing who could actually get to the water.  It was hilarious.  They're both just a tad too small so they were trying SO HARD to climb up!

 We also went to the zoo with our neighbors the other day.  Here they are at the barn with the cows.  I still can't believe my mom had four kids.  How do you do it?  I have it down pat now to look for each of my kids, but four?  Jeez louise.

 And here I am looking like I have long hair.  WHICH I DO.  Which if you've known me in real life you'll understand how freaking amazing this is.  I have had short hair my whole life.  Except for a short stint in middle school/early high school with a perm and some fierce bangs, I've had a pretty short hair style.  Like boy short most of the time, what feminine people call a pixie cut.  I have always just said it was short, you know, like a boy.  But now that I have money to pay someone amazing to cut my hair in a flattering way, what do you know?  I can grow it out.  It still seems so new and crazy that I can pull it back in a ponytail.  Like a normal girl.  Weird.

SO Glad I'm Me, or, I LOVE My Life!

 I've been thinking of all the troubles I had when I was younger, feeling lost and like I just didn't know what to DO with myself.  Where did I want to live?  What did I want to go to school for?  What would I do with my life?  Now in my mid 30s I can honestly say I'm glad I ended up where I am.  I live in a cool neighborhood in a pretty great city, I'm married to a funny scientist, we have two amazing kids that make me happy about 99% of the time, I get to sell vintage kid's clothes and sew stuff.  I have it pretty good.

This past week has been HOT.  We got a cheap Slip'n'slide at Target and used it for hours at a time.  I even slid down it, it was fun!  The kids got a real big kick out of that, I'm glad there is no video evidence of it.

We've stuck to our no TV in the morning routine, well mostly.  Sometimes I have to take a shower and that is the easiest way to ensure I get all the shampoo out of my hair AND shave both legs.  I had cut out 4" squares from a whole bunch of my scraps to make a scrappy quilt or two.  Ingrid found the pile and has been having fun putting together her own quilt.  I cannot wait to teach this girl how to use the sewing machine!  She will be a natural I bet.

And we've been just plain silly stuck in the house with it being in the 90s.  We go out right away in the morning, try to get some play time outside.  Then it gets too hot to breathe, so we go in and cool down.  Again after naptime we try to get outside, but dang, it's been like 80% humidity the past week.  Uncomfortable.  And yes, I realize how funny that is that we midwesterners complain about how COLD it is and how much snow we have and then a few months later complain about how HOT it is and how much humidity we have.  I sometimes wonder why anyone lives here...

 This weekend we went to the cottage.  We brought friends, it was fun.  The kids all played, we went swimming in the lake, and this morning Brendan took each of the kids on a kayak ride.  The cottage got a face lift last month, doesn't it look nice?  It used to be white, I really like the creamy tan though.  And lastly, look at that picture of Brendan's dad and uncle!  Bob is the one on the right.  He looks just like what Brendan looked like at that age!  I love how there are just random old things at the cottage, you just never know what you'll find when you go searching through the drawers looking for clean sheets...

Maker Market

Today was another craft show.  I was looking forward to this one, as it was outside and in the parking lot of a coffee shop, which meant good coffee only steps away!  I love my neighborhood so much, and today's event just made me so happy.  A friend started this show, the first Sunday of every month May-September.  I was supposed to do June but after having impromptu throat surgery, I had to pass on that one.  So today was the day.

My first ever show I had NO CLUE what I was doing, but now that I've done a few every year, I'm really getting the hang of it.  I know what to bring, I know what usually sells well, I know how much to make, and yet still always make way too much!  Getting the tables set up is pretty fun, I'm always perusing Pinterest for ideas. 

 This show I had two smaller tables, which I covered with vintage table cloths (one was a kid's sheet) and I used my wire baskets I have for shows, along with Otis' toy drum, and my Irmi giraffe.  He's been holding clothes in Otis' room, but guess what fits on him pretty well?  BIBS!  I love how it turned out. 

I also used my tent to hang clothesline and I hung up some tag blankets and bibs on the side.  Last but not least, my trusty vintage sheet bunting I stole from Ingrid's bedroom way long ago.  It has since been taken over for hanging at my shows. 

 

I did pretty well today.  My goal was to make enough money to buy this pair of clogs.  My god, red and cute and Swedish, I just died when I saw them.  But money doesn't grow on trees and we need a new floor in our kitchen so I couldn't just buy them straight up.  Well, I could, but I'd feel guilty later...Now I don't have to!

Books and Braids and Beaches and Bods

This week:  I tried on a pair of pants that DID NOT fit me 2 weeks ago.  Turns out the 30 Day Shred is working!  I felt so good being able to button them!  I'm hobbling like a grandma because my knees are so shot, but that's the price I pay I guess...

 And!  My hair is long enough for braids.  This is SO EXCITING because the last time I had hair this long is when I was 20.  I have been a short haired girl my whole life, this is such big news for me.

 Summerfest is going on right now.  It's a sleazy huge music festival that happens every year and people act like it's the best thing and you just HAVE to go.  We never do, but we had free tickets and it was a beautiful day, so we went.  Otis fell asleep on me, Ingrid whined about walking, and the beer cost a ridiculous amount.  Probably won't be going again next year...

 The thing we WILL be going to again is this amazing place called Bookworm Gardens.  It is so cool!  A sprawling garden with little sections devoted to kid's books.  There's tons of stuff for kids to do, like play music, sweep a barn, water the garden, play in a log cabin like Laura Ingalls, scrub Harry the Dirty Dog, go in the Three Little Pigs' houses.  It was so fun, the kids ran and ran for two hours, we actually had to drag them away because it was lunch time.  We didn't get to see everything there, so we'll have to go back.  Afterward we went to a nearby state park and had a picnic and played on the beach.  It was another gorgeous day, we had so much fun! 

 And now it's the Fourth of July, we should be planning lots of fun things to do, but instead we're looking at all the rain in the forecast and thinking maybe we'll just stay in and paint our kitchen cabinets.  I have a show on Sunday and I am hoping it is not rainy the whole time since it's outside...Please cross your fingers for me!

Summer Break!

We've been on break for about a week and a half now and I'm loving it.  We have to leave at 7:30am to get Ingrid to school on time, so it was always rush, rush, rush.  Now we have the best mornings, we have nowhere to go, we get to hang out and be lazy if we so desire.  Otis has been sleeping in until after 7, which is great, except next fall school starts even earlier!  I guess the bell will ring at 7:20 instead of 7:40.  UGH.

We have a summer list full of parks, museums and local activities.  So far we've done the museum, Chill on the Hill, the wading pool, parks, and of course, gardening.  Keeping busy!  One activity a day, even if it's just going to the park. 

 I have also started the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video.  Whew!  I've gained about 30lbs in the last year for some reason, so I have to kick my ass in gear and get some more exercise.  I am not a video exerciser, normally.  But a few people had mentioned doing it and loving it, and I thought for $8 and some 3lb weights I might as well try it, right?  It's awesome!  The thing I love is that Ingrid loves watching it with me for some reason, so she's my biggest cheerleader!  As soon as I've had a couple cups of coffee she says "Okay, mama, time to shred!"  Honestly, I need that, since I would otherwise get lazy.  I'm also doing some sort of post on Instagram after I do it so I keep a log of it.  Even if no one else is seeing it, I feel like I have to do it to keep myself motivated. 

Otis has been sick and crabby the past couple days though, so I am worn out.  Mentally tired of dealing with his mood swings and crying.  Physically tired from him wanting to be cuddled and carried all the time.  Please, don't let your kids get Hand Foot and Mouth disease!  It sucks.

Next week is another week of whatever, and then we have a fun filled weekend for the Fourth of July and cousins and the cottage and I have another craft show!  The Maker Market is July 7th, I'm getting ready for it and looking forward to hopefully not a really hot day!  Last year I did an outdoor show in July and it was like a hundred degrees.  Ugh.  I'm happy it's in the parking lot of a coffee shop, I foresee a LOT of iced coffee in my future.

What are you up to this summer???