We'd planned to leave early this morning for Albuquerque - it's balloon fiesta time!! - but between getting Leanne up and ready for preschool (she spent the night cause her mom was sick; poor mom, but lucky granma)
Leanne reading to AJ
Introducing Mortimer H. Potimus, known to his friends as "Morty".
Leanne was kind enough to pose with Morty,
even though he was not made for her.
(She wants a giraffe, in green please.)
Morty will be headed to his new (secret) home soon.
Hippo butt!
Morty was made with sock yarn, a small freaking size B/2.25mm hook, and the Heidi Bears "Happypotamus" pattern with one modification - I like my linked-dc join better than the pattern's straight dc's.
Love the braided look it gives the motif edges and that it's tighter so no less stuffing can escape.
Next on the hook - finishing Rachel's turtle and Addy's pegasus unicorn before starting Marie's turtle and Leanne's giraffe. Anybody else want to get in line?
Happy birthday to my hubby, who notched another half-decade on his personal timeline.
It was a day of being treated to meals - breakfast with Marie,
lunch with a friend on the beach in La Conchita,
a movie with Leia (Box Trolls; it's cute) and dinner with Matt's family. Pretty nice way to spend a day.
Spent the day working on quilty projects with friends and lookee, lookee what I have -
My new toy.
A 2014 Mini Cooper Paceman.
She's 5 months old and has 5000 miles on the odometer, so technically she's "used". Which means we got a great deal on her.
This cutie was hubby's idea for an anniversary present and replaces my much loved 10 year old Audi TT. We're still getting acquainted, but I'm looking forward to many happy miles, zipping around town, with the little girls in tow. Happy anniversary to me us!
Bad Granma took the little girls to the $1 store today to buy makeup . . . for them.
I don't wear any much makeup, so we need supplies to augment the leftovers from Leia's previous ballet recitals.
I spread an old sheet on the family room floor, set out two mirrors, poured all the makeup and brushes into a pile, and told the girls to have fun.
Leia is getting to be a pro at dolling herself up and was very happy to show Leanne the finer points.
Leanne went with the "more is always better" philosophy.
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.
They had fun, I had fun . . .
then I sent them home for mom and dad to clean them up. Such a bad Granma.
Going . . .
Going . . . .
Still going . . . . .
Gone! Master bath remodel has begun.
In theory, this should be about the
last remodel project on the house. In reality, hubby likes tinkering and
changing things up. Don't tell him, but I'm betting he'll start back at
the beginning once this and the kitchen are done.
To celebrate her new "big girl" status, Leanne and I went shopping for fabric to make her preschool nap blanket. I already had the princess panel in my stash, so we just needed some backing flannel.
We wandered down several aisles, but once Leanne spotted Hello Kitty, the search was done.
I wanted this to be really special for her, so I rounded the corners (using this tutorial), added a heart-shaped edging,
All the little girls are back in school, so I finally have a collection of 'first day' pics to share.
Addy was first, entering second grade on August 20. She looks both nervous and excited. By the end of the day, she was just excited, proclaiming she " had the best teacher in the history of teachers and that 2nd grade is awesome!" Yay!
Leia danced her way into first grade on August 27. She was definitely all excitement . . . and was out sick by the third day with whatever was going around the classroom. She also loves her new teacher.
My little Leanne started preschool on September 3. There's no morning "first day" picture because Leanne sobbed her way through it once she figured out Mommy wasn't staying too. As you can tell, she got over it. She loves her teacher, Miss Robin, and can't wait to go back again on Friday.
I love finding new, fun, inexpensive things for the grand-girls to do. This project turned out to be a huge hit. Leia, 6, played "Chef" for a couple of hours, then off and on for several more. With Leanne, 3, it was good for a solid hour, then off and on for another hour or so. And best of all? They cooperated and played well together, with no bickering. Hooray!
Step 1: Clean out your spice rack. Be sure to check the expiration dates, just for grins. My worst one expired in 2006, but hey, I don't use pumpkin pie spice ever very often.
Step 2: Put expired spices, non-breakable containers, measuring spoons and a variety of stirring implements on the counter. Throw in a bottle of "pretty" popcorn kernels you are never going to use. Add measuring cups and water.
Step 3: Step back and let the fun happen.
Leia kept insisting that I call her "Boss" or "Chef".
Optional: Nose plugs. When mixed together, some of those spices really stink.
Bonus: Hubby thought it would be really bad (as in call-the-plumber bad) to put the final 'soup' down the garbage disposal, so I poured it around the landscaping out front. If nothing else, the two containers of red pepper the girls used will keep wild critters and neighborhood cats out of there for quite awhile!
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