Summer is coming to a close

Today is my son's last day of summer vacation... and it's a rainy, dreary day. I've been so excited for the kids to get back to school so that I can have a better balance of work and kids... but now I'm a little sad. During the summer months I definitely struggle to spend time with them and still get things made (summer can often be one of the busiest times with craft shows)... so I long for the days when I don't have to choose between them and work. But now that it's upon me... I don't want them to go.

I know I'll be fine (even happy) once I get that alone time once again. But I'll miss our picnics, our quick trips to the beach, our car rides to lessons (oh, wait, I'll still have those) - and the spontaneous hugs while they are playing.

Here's to a great school year with my Pre-K daughter and my second grade son. Wow, they are getting so big! Friends - call me. Let's do lunch!

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Muffin Tin Monday - ABC

It's Muffin Tin Monday! But I have to admit, I didn't do this MT today... I did it last week knowing that I wouldn't have the time or desire to do it today. Yay for planning ahead!

The theme this week is the ABCs/Alphabet. I decided to do my best with just the first three letters of the alphabet.

Contents: hot dog Arches, slivered Almonds, Banana, Whole Grain Bread, Imitation Crab and Carrots.

Remember to check the other tins out over at Muffin Tin Mom's blog!

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Tantrums

Today was the day of the tantrum. And the sad thing, it wasn't one of the kids. It was me. I had a tantrum and I'm sorry that my son took the brunt of it.

Here's how it went down...

I've been trying for several weeks now to get to the thrift shop so that I can get some tshirts to finish off some costumes that I have in the works. But with driving my kids to swim lessons, tae kwon do lessons, play dates, special events, etc... I haven't had time to make the trip. Boo.

But today, there was nothing on our calendar. Yay! So after lunch, I packed the kids up and headed to Goodwill. But alas, steps from the door to the store, I hear my son say "my stomach hurts" in his dramatic whiny tone. Ugh! I hate that he can be so dramatic... I never know when he is pulling my leg. And this time, it felt a lot like he just didn't want to have to go into the thrift shop.

Thankfully, I erred on caution and packed them back into the car and headed home. This is when my tantrum started. I started in (mainly talking to myself - but out loud) about how I've been putting this one errand off for weeks because I've been driving them around from one thing to another. And how I just wanted 15 minutes to get a few materials so I could finish off some costumes and get them listed... so that I could pay for more of those classes. Yep, I went on and on with my little tantrum while my kids sat in the back and listened (for once). Three signals from home, my son lost it all over the car. Grrrr!

I apologized to my son, sent him upstairs to get cleaned up and accepted my punishment of cleaning up the mess. Yuck! Then I proceeded to call my husband and complain just a little bit more - I mean, I needed to finish my tantrum :)

My son seems to be doing fine. I'm not sure what happened... perhaps he ate something weird? I'm not sure what though as all the meals were normal.

So, I don't have complete costumes to show, but more sneak peaks. I did finish one... and it can be seen here! Wonder Woman!

All costumes are made from recycled tshirts - it's been a fun challenge. That last one is done... but I need to find a model that's a 4 or 5 so that I can see how it fits. But, it's one of my favorites, so I can't wait to share it!

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Sneak Peak

I thought it would be fun to do a quick sneak peak of what I've been working on this week. Of course, I guess I snapped the pictures a little too quick as they are a bit blurry... but I figure it's just a glance.

Last year I had so much fun making my daughter's costume from recycled tshirts that I decided that I was going to try to do a few for the shop. While I'm not really into doing Princess Leia again, I do have a few ideas of other ones that I'd love to tackle. I'm going to make the majority of them my daughter's size (3/4) just on the off chance, she decides she wants it for her Halloween costume. Of course, I know better. She and I never agree on costumes. She's been wanting to be Luke Skywalker for a long time now (it was her first choice last year and I refused to make a costume that had a gun holster for a 3 year old - haven't decided if I'm going to give in this year).

Anyhow, here are some photos of the three that I have in the works right now. I find that I work better if I have more than one in various stages at the same time. Plus, it's easier for me to sew by thread color this way :)

I'm sure you can get the first one, but let me know if you know what the other two are going to be.

I look forward to sharing the end results. The first one is nearly done. The second one is going to take a while as it's a lot more involved and the third one I just started this morning. All my costumes are inspired by iconic figures but I don't really worry about making it look exactly like the inspiration. I think that's what makes these so much fun.

Yay for Halloween preparation! I'm also working on another full mermaid costume for a custom order. I'm excited that custom orders are starting to come in. I'll probably be cutting them off around the beginning on October to be sure I'm not stressed out this year.

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Muffin Tin Monday - presented on Tuesday

Wow, we had a busy Monday! Tae Kwon Do in the morning followed by swim lessons, grocery shopping, and birthday party shopping. All before noon. Home to make lunch - Muffin Tin was the easiest thing I could come up with on the fly, then a little work before I had to get my second child to his Tae Kwon Do class. I was exhausted and fell asleep last night before I could get the Muffin Tin Meal posted.

Contents: Macaroni and Cheese, Wheat Thins, diced ham (I get this pre-diced as it works perfect for when I make split pea soup), vanilla yogurt, grapes and carrots.

I haven't really had a chance to do a lot of these tins during the summer, but I know my son has enjoyed the few that I have done. Themes will be starting up again soon so hopefully I can get one with a theme in before he goes back to school.

My daughter is still in her "I don't eat that" stage. You know, where one day it's her favorite, the next day she hates it, and the following day she insists that it be her every meal. So muffin tins work great as they give her lots of choices as to what she isn't going to like that day. Although this day, she didn't leave anything :)

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