I Love Wikia!

Remember this?

A long while ago I heard about a web community called Wikia.

  "Wikia is a collaborative publishing platform that enables communities to discover, create and share content on any topic in any language."

"Wikia sites are written by community members that are passionate about subjects ranging from video games, TV shows and movies to food, fashion, and environmental sustainability."

Back in May I entered a craft contest at Wiki Easy Crafts with my windowpane turned to towel rack.

And....

I WON!!!!

I was so shocked when I got an email from Wikia telling me so!

Me...

 A WINNER!

GET OUT!!

I received my "Winner's Circle Loot" in the mail today.

{Squeal}

Look what was inside this wonderful red, white & blue box...

Three beautiful hardcover books

titled Paper + Craft by Monhee & Truman Cho,

Silhoutte Art by Vana Chupp,

and

Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart

as well as three bottles of Extreme Glitter Acrylic Paint from Plaid

and

Shimmer Fabric Paint from Tulip.

Woot!  Woot!

{More Squealing}

I'm feeling all giddy!

I was so pumped up & excited that I ran an extra mile tonight in hopes to contain my excitement a bit.

Running extra didn't help...

it just made me sore

&

I'm still giddy.

Yippee doodles!

Thank you Christina for the lovely package!

Happy Monday!!

~Amy



I Have a Dilemma

So, I have a dilemma.

Years ago, Grumpie gave me this beautiful antique coffee table.

I adore the curvature of this amazing piece of furniture.

It has such a romantic feel to it.

I know many would question the thought of a piece of furniture as being romantic,

but to me this table oozes with romance.

 I have finally decided to refinish it. 

I thought that I had my plan all set as to what I wanted to do with it.

My original plan was to paint a few coats of this beautiful blue, then cover the blue with white paint.

After painting, I wanted to distress it by sanding/scuffing it up a bit  around the edges, legs & top so that the blue would pop through.

But, after painting the table blue, I have kind of fallen in love with it just being this blue shade.

Here is my true dilemma...

do I leave the table this shade of blue

 & scuff it up

or

 do I go ahead

 & cover with white paint

then scuff it up

or

do I paint a couple coats of white then blue again so that the table remains blue on the top coat 

& pops of white show through once I scuff it? 

I am so unsure of what I should do?

I think I am going to have to leave the coffee table as is & ponder over it  for a few days.

If any of you have any suggestions, I would so love to hear them.

Man, I can't stand being so indecisive!!!

Onto something way cool...

the wee ones & I picked our first bounty of green beans from our garden yesterday!!

We had them for dinner last night & they were so very tasty!

I just love knowing where our food is coming from

&

that it is safe for my wee ones.

 Happy Saturday!

~Amy

I've Been Featured!

Woot!  Woot!

Ive been featured over at

...Joyfull Stamper:  Inspire Me Fridays-Linky Party

for Baby M's First Birthday Bash!!!

I am super excited!

You should head over to Maria's blog & check it out.

Lots of inspiration to be found!

Thanks Maria!

Happy, happy Friday!

~Amy

Camping Wasn't a Total a Bust...Just a Mini-Bust

The pesky seagull that stole fishing bait then was hooked & reeled in by Little Man N

Although, our camping trip wasn't a total bust, I have vowed to

never, never,

go on another camping trip with a wee one in diapers, toddlers or with very small children.

I predicted that the trip would not go smoothly, but my husband thought otherwise

and, well,

I agreed to partake in his crazy idea

even if only to prove a point.

That point being that camping is not for BABIES!!

Especially tenting out!

A very puffy Baby M

What is especially surprising, now that all is said & done,

 is that

the husband agrees with me!

Whoa!!!

I truly love to go camping, but put very small children into the mix

&

well,

not my idea of a good time.

Rather challenging & not overly relaxing.

Let's see...

prior to us leaving Baby M had a terrible allergic reaction to penicillin and broke out, head to toes, with hives.

She was incredibly red, puffy, swollen, itchy & uncomfortable.

It looked as if she was punched in the face!

Her entire body was covered!

So pathetic & sad.

She also was cutting teeth so that added to her misery.

Our first day was pretty great.

Fantastic weather, beach, locating the trail head, campfire

&

all that fun camping stuff.

Even the nasty mosquitoes the size of your head couldn't crush our excitement to be away from all things "civilized".

Then, the next day, after being promised by the ding dong weatherman for a sunny weekend,

CLOUDS.

And lots of them.

Sweet Little L's signature pose!

We managed to get a nice long hike in & when I say "long"

I am not over exaggerating.  

May I offer a bit of advice to all you lovely ladies?

Don't ever,

EVER, EVER

allow your husband to interpret

a

HIKING TRAIL MAP

when children are involved
in the adventure!

We also were able to get another visit to the beach for some wake boarding

&

skin boarding

before

baby grew puffier

&

then...

Baby M eating sand

the rain.

And, well, that sealed the deal for us

to pack up

&

head home.

I couldn't be more excited!

I told the husband that

he is more than welcome to take the older wee ones camping,

but

the babe & I are

STAYING HOME!!!

Sweet Little L napping in tent after our hike

I hope you all had an enjoyable & adventurous

 Fourth of July!

Happy Wednesday!

~Amy

Camping for the Weekend

The family & I, plus a friend of my son's, are packing up to go camping for the weekend.

We are heading to a beautiful island & doing some ocean side camping!

Excited, yet, a bit apprehensive.

Baby M has had a bad allergic reaction to penicillin is covered, head to toe, with hives.

She is also cutting 3 molars & nursing an ear infection.

I am thinking, her & I , may be returning a bit early.

:(

My two older wee ones are super-excited & are ready to tear it up!!

I'll be posting in a couple of days to let you all know how everything turned out!

Have a fantastic 4th of July!

Be safe!

Happy Saturday!

~Amy



Baby M's Very First Birthday Bash

Baby M celebrated her very 1st  birthday last week & we had her very 1st birthday bash this past weekend.

I am a bit poky about getting the shin dig posted.

A little birthday recovery effort has been going on over here.

Then add my home being invaded by neighborhood kids & well,

my time for me, myself, and I gets put on the back burner.

The birthday bash was incredibly laid back & very small compared to past birthday gatherings that have taken place for my other two wee ones.

The color scheme of the birthday was pink, white, and baby blue.

Here are some photos of Baby M's sweet little birthday party.

Her attire:

1. A birthday skirt purchased by an amazing friend, who also happens to be my next door neighbor.

2. I purchased a onsie and appliqued the number 1 to it.

3.  I made her a flower hair clippie.

4.  I, also, made Baby M a party hat  made out of fabric and embellished with a tulle pom pom, an appliqued number 1, and a silk flower.

She looked flippin' ADORABLE!!

And, of course, I wasn't able to get a great shot from my camera & I am waiting for a couple of others to send me their photos.

For party food, I kept it pretty simple.

I made lemon flavored cake balls,

rice crispy treat pops in the shape of hearts,

chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade caramel or a mini candy bar & topped with a vanilla/almond butter cream.

I also made Baby M her own chocolate smash cake with a vanilla/almond butter cream frosting.

I made a watermelon punch which just consisted of pureed watermelon with ginger ale & some sugar. 

It looked so pretty, & of course, I have no pic of it when added to the table!

Duh!

( I had the husband make the adults a grown up drink using the punch.   Yummy!) 

We also had some watermelon slices, grapes, blueberries, chips & salsa.

Things that the birthday girl loves to eat.

For decorations, I was very frugal & "decorating on a dime" would be an understatement.

I draped mosquito netting that my mom gave to me after her return from a trip to Vietnam along one corner of our  pergola. 

It was so billowy & lovely!

And free!

 I also made mounds of ruffled streamers & covered the "rafters", table & Baby M's highchair with them.

The cost for the ruffle streamer loveliness cost $2.00!

The streamers were so easy & fun to make!

I just took some plain old, boring streamers, set my bobbin tension to it's highest  on my sewing machine & then placed two different colored streamers together & started sewing.

Presto!

Ruffle loveliness.

It's like magic happening before your eyes!

I  made a balloon banner with the cost of maybe $3.00 (idea taken from here),

tissue paper flowers all of $1.00,

and displayed some fresh baby blue hydrangea flowers that were given to me by one of my son's sweetest friends who happens to be our next door neighbor as well.

A long while back, a friend of mine gave me oodles & oodles of white fabric.

Cost of fabric=FREE!

So, I dyed a large piece of fabric baby blue & made a tablecloth for the table.

The cost for the dye...almost $3.00

Total cost for decorating=a whopping $9.00

We all anticipated CAKE TIME!

Because she tends to shovel her food with both her hands during meal times

we thought, without a doubt, that she would go NUTS with her cake.

Guess what?

B-O-R-I-N-G

Nada!

No face plant into the cake.

No two handing cake into her mouth.

No throwing it all about.

NOTHING!

Oh well....

We did get some cute pics of her trying to figure out how to eat the darn thing.

It was such a great little birthday party.

She had a blast & in the grand scheme of things, that is really all that matters.

Happy Thursday!

~Amy

I'll be linking up to some fab parties!

It Was Like Giving Birth to a Pony!!

My wee-ist turned "1" today.

I still cannot get over how big she was at birth.

I mean, seriously, it was like giving birth to a pony!

I am not joking!

And I delivered her O-Natural with no drugs.

What was I thinking??

Ouch!

It was a tough pregnancy.
 An even tougher delivery.

She has had an uphill battle with a birthing injury and she has fought bravely and ferociously.

That is her personality.

A fighter!

Strong.

Very LOUD!

My little fire cracker.

She also has a personality that can brighten your worst day and have you smiling and laughing the moment you meet her.

She is truly amazing.

How much I love this little one.

Happy 1st Birthday Beautiful Baby M!

Happy Thursday!

~Amy

 

Mischievious Madness

You may ask, "How could this precious, angel of a face do something so wildly mischievous?"

Just look at her...

Big chubby cheeks that you just want to kiss & squeeze,

eyes the size of saucers,

dimples galore,

and the cutest little smirk that's simply hard to resist.

Pretty darling, right?

Ha!

During Sweet Baby M's nap, she made a stinky in her diaper.

No big whoop...happens all the time with wee ones.

However,

Baby M decided she didn't want her diaper on any longer.

She easily disposed of the diaper & emptied the contents.

She then proceeded to finger paint all over her crib rails & nearby walls.

I mean, really, how could anyone resist the temptation of finger painting with poo, right?!

Ohhhhhhhh, it gets better.

 The finger painting with her own poo just wasn't enough with this darling, angelic wee one.

OH NO!

She wanted to "one up" on all those other babies who have experimented with poo finger painting!

She decided to have herself a little SNACK!!

Seriously!  I couldn't believe my eyes!

Needless to say, I was a tad bit mortified.

However, as sick as this may sound to some, I found it quite comical.

Especially seeing how she realized that snacking on the contents of her diaper really wasn't something so fantastic.

In fact, if she were able to talk she would have probably told me it was disgusting!

I am going to savor this moment & know during her teenage angst years, I will have some kind of leverage with this tale.

A bit of blackmail, if you will.

And I won't be afraid to use it!

Muahha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Happy Tuesday!

~Amy