InstaFriday - InstaHappiness!

Alright, last week I put my pictures into one large collage, to save time...

BUT this week, bigger pictures (per my mom's request)!  My house may not be clean because of it, but I did mange to get this post done!

On Friday, I woke up to Lola's sweet little face right next to mine!  Did you know that she is the hardest one in the family to wake up?!  Ugh, super annoying!  Last Friday also marked the day that I would be announced to my school that I am teaching 2nd grade next year and leaving behind all that I have really ever known?!  Not going to say too much now, I am almost to he point of excitement and not sadness, but not quite there yet.  Stay tuned.  I sewed until after midnight making sure the finishing touches were made to my girlfriend, Camille's, baby shower gifts!

Saturday was one busy day.  My dad, Lola and I went to a very large retirement community's garage sale!  It was nice, but nothing close to where I went with my mother in law last weekend!  After the sale, the family headed to Xavier's football game at the Cardinal's stadium!  When the hubs said he would take a picture with me, I jumped at the chance {a serious even around here}!!  I left about 1/2 way through the 3rd quarter and headed to Camilee's baby shower!  Camille is the most beautiful pregnant lady I think I have ever seen and I was so happy to celebrate baby #2 with her. I have been working on some of her gifts for quite awhile now so I was so excited when she opened her presents: horseshoe onsies with the month in the middle, one for each month until she is a year old and swaddle blankets!  They did get quite a few ooooh's and ahhhhhhh's!  Totally what I was going for ;)  Annnnnd, at some point, Candis' OCD self got a hold of my phone and just started deleting.  TOO many messages drive her crazy! 

If Saturday hasn't been busy enough for you to read about, lemme just tell you that it wasn't over once the shower was.  I rushed home to make Lola a little t-shirt dress, using this technique {so easy}!  We got to go on the field for the little league pledge.  Was super cool to be that close to the action!  To see real pictures from that night, click here!  It had been awhile since I busted out the big mama camera, was kinda nice!  Hanging with a few of the girls from school rocked my socks and of course seeing Grandpa Jerry protecting a sleeping girls ears while the firework show afterwards melts my heart!

My dad has been working on one of his rental houses during this visit - in between and after golfing with his buddies -  and on Sunday, I volunteered to help him.  We spent way too much time at Lowe's, he has trouble making decisions!  But I was able to restock on my paint chip supply!  You really never know when you might need one!  Even though I spent most of the time cleaning up, I did get a lot of quality time in with my pops.  Loved getting to just talk to him.

Monday morning I woke up to Lola with her head covered by my bed's bedskirt?!  I thought it was hilarious.  I also posted that I had a pair of Joyfolie's Raelynn boots that I wanted to trade and turns out that I found someone to buy them...but I haven't heard from her yet, so, you might be seeing a post soon!

I got some good mail on Tuesday - thought bubble boards from Pick Your Plum!  Little ones, big ones, round ones, rectangle ones - very inexpensive and I can't wait to paint them with chalkboard paint!

 My favorite part of teaching 8th grade is Romeo and Juliet for so many reasons.  It has begun!  What has ended is One Tree Hill, it was a sad night on Wednesday.  Sounds cheesy, but I really did learn a lot from this show and I am sad that I won't have it to watch anymore.

 While at practice Wednesday night, Lola found a puddle by the drinking fountain and made a giant mess!  It was so worth letting her to see that smile over and over again!

Ummmm, I needed my oil changed BAD.  I have never had my car tell me that before and headed into the dealership after work to get 'er done!  My night was crazy busy {surprising I know, we never rest over here}, so when it was all said and done and I was almost home, I snapped a picture of my smiling self, celebrating that fact that it was almost Friday!  Woohoo!  I got quite a few comments on my bangs, I have to cut those suckers once a week or they are a hottttt mess!  Super annoying, but love them when they are freshly cut!

 

Linking up with Jeannett and my favorite linking party!

Wanna see what we will be up to before next week, follow@ jenni_roseland

Little League Night @ the Ballpark!

**I know, I know...two posts in one day, it MUST be an April Fools joke?!  And real pictures too?!  Shocking!  Have a busy week ahead of us, so don't get used to this!**

 Last night we headed to Goodyear Ballpark for Little League Night!

 We all wore matching t-shirts {Lola's was jazzed up a little, couldn't help myself!  Click here to see how I did it} and got to go out onto the field for the little league pledge - don't feel bad, I didn't know there was one either!  It was so cool to be so close to the action!  We also learned how sacred the grass on those fields are, mannnn, they kept reminding us to stay on the dirt!

 Didn't matter though, the kids had fun!  Even if we had to wait in line for what seemed like forever!

We made our way down several flights of stairs and got to see a couple secret spots that we probably would never have been able to see before we made it to the field!  Kyan plays with a bunch of great kids, several of which he attends school with!

 

After we felt too cool for school, we headed over to center field, where my dad was saving a nice grassy spot for us!  We enjoyed the game with family and friends!  It was a perfect evening spent together!

There was lots of silly timing going on!

Cheesin' it up for the camera!

And several staring contests!

 We even tried to touch our tongues to our noses (we did this out to dinner with the Swishers a few weeks ago too, becoming a regular game with us I guess)!  Wouldn't you know that Grandpa Jerry was the only one who could make it happen?! 

After the game, the kids got to run the bases before the big fireworks show!  Lola tapped out {you'll see in a minute why} but Kyan and his buddies headed down to the field for a run around!  The dentist office that the kids go to was sponsoring the night and handed out goodie bags at third base!

 It was a LATE night, one we really weren't sure we would make it through, but the kids seriously kept begging to stay for the bases and fireworks, kinda couldn't say no!  So while Kyan ran around the bases, Lola curled up on Grandpa Jerry's lap and crashed out in about 30 seconds of snuggling him.  She slept through the entire show, thanks to grandpa holding her ears {every firework shot off was accompanied by a boomer - my favorites - but not for my sleeping princess}!  Didn't phase her one bit!

It was such a fun night, so glad my dad was here to spend it with us!  Surrounded by family and friends is the best feeling and we are lucky that we have such great people in our lives!

Our Golf Buddies

 Another yummy season of spaghetti and meatballs with our golf buddies!  

What you can't see is Lola asleep on the ottoman behind them!  Poor girl just couldn't hang the whole night with them, even though she was so excited to see them!  Made for a nice, quite dinner! 

InstaFriday - with a quickness!

 1.  Masking Tape works every time for a salad bag that pops open on your way home from the grocery store, Wonton Tacos = deliciousness (click on the name, it will take you to the recipe), Oreo got a new treat, Lola told me she was ready to go to school in those heals, prepping for our Sunday dinner of Spaghetti and Meatball dinner with our golf buddies - Kyan loves to mix the meatballs (again, click on the name of the food and it will take you to the recipe, that one happens to be my Aunt Jan's secret recipe for her meatballs and sauce)!

2.  More prepping - this time it is chocolate chip cookies (Aunt Heidi's secret recipe, also shared if you click on the food title!), Merchant Square flea market - serious junking went down, pedi/manicure - how I love shellac, emergency clutches for Kyan's teacher!

3.  Chocolate Chip Cookies done and ready for ice cream, mail worth opening from Lisa Leonard Designs (I LOVE her work, added to my collection), "you can fly" necklace by LLD, downloaded Justin Bieber's new song for Lola, listened about 85 times the first night, after talking all week about our golf buddies coming over for dinner, poor girl crashed about 45 minutes after their arrival and slept right through their two hour dinner/visit, she was sad when she woke up!

4.  Dinner for the gold buddies!

5.  Love dressing for Spring, I have been using some of my dresses that are too short to wear to school as skirts, easy conversion, Mrs. Ashby hair according to Lola and how she insisted on wearing it to school, she loves her teachers, saved 30 cents per gallon on gas and filled my tank for $35, head massage and hair brush - was so worth letting her stay up past bedtime to do, Justin Beiber has entered the building in the form of Lola's first poster - she was so happy when she unfolded it!

Sorry for it being so short, big decisions being made over here, hope everyone had a great week!

Linking up with Jeannett over at Life Rearranged!

(to follow us on Instagram:  jenni_roseland)

InstaFriday

We had another wonderful week, that is for sure - best part, it seemed to fly!  Happy to report that we are one step closer to summer break over here {yes, I am counting!  Nine weeks to go until I am enjoying that backyard with the kids}.

For part of this post, we were still on Spring Break!  On Friday, Chad took the day off of work and headed to the Phoenix Zoo with us!  We hadn't been in quite some time {only for a birthday party and we didn't really explore past the area it was in} and I the kids had a blast!  They walked the entire time {without complaining}!  A major highlight for Kyan was riding Isaac, the camel!  He was so excited!  After watching him, Lola decided that next time, she would be brave and try too {yeah right, we'll see about that}!

Friday evening we met Grandma Donna for dinner after she got off work and had her therapy {hip replacement a few months ago}!  Yummy Mexican food at a local restaurant by her house!   The kids were very excited to get to spend their evening with her!

Saturday morning, Lola and I did some serious shopping together!  We started garage sale-ing, but really there wasn't anything around our 'hood that we were finding, so we hit up TJ Max and Old Navy, where we found some smokin' deals!  Plus, everything at Old Navy was 17% because of St. Patty's Day, so double smokin' deals!  My favorite thing I picked up were those Steve Madden shoes and my maxi skirts {yes, I bought it in three different colors}!  After our shopping day, I came home and played around on my sewing machine for a little bit and got an idea {that I am sure has been done before, I just hadn't seen it} and created a skirt out of an old t-shirt!  You can find the tutorial here if you want to make your own and have 10 minutes to spare!

Saturday night we met the Swishers for dinner at BJ's restaurant, a great spot as they have something for everyone!  We love those kids and Uncle Frank too and did some seriously laughing at the table!  And as you can see above, Lola decided that she wanted to eat her Spaghetti diner noodle by noodle.  Not kidding, she slurped them up one by one.

Sunday I finished making my first LilBlueBoo Sienna dress!  It was so much work and I become one with the seam ripper for sure, but I think it is safe to say that Lola LOVES it!  Not sure if I will be making another one anytime soon, think I will stick to those skirts, but it is something I can say I did!!!   I also did a little bit more shopping - I needed some Mac foundation, so I slipped on another maxi skirt from my shopping trip the day before and headed to the mall!  When I got home the kids went over to the neighbors to play and headed down in the rain and got about 10 feet before Lola came screaming and crying back inside, followed by Kyan and the umbrella.  It stood no chance in the crazy wind/rain we had!  I had to drive them down so they could play!

Monday was a sad day.  I had to head back to work and it was a long one!  But, neighbor Kelly had that Twix Brownie waiting for me when I drove past her house {and her kids' lemonade stand}!  It was delicious, but oh so rich.  I had a bit and had to put it down.  I spent Monday night on the couch, watching The Voice, working, all while bundled up in my snuggie!

Tuesday I finished up Delany's crib skirt with my friend Camille {if you click on her name, you can see the maternity shoot I just finished with her and stay tuned for pictures of her new baby girls room}!  I hope to get a tutorial up on that ruffled crib skirt soon, even though we didn't really measure much!  It was fairly simple, just a lot of hemming, ruffling, pinning and more pinning!  It does look beautiful and I can't wait to see it on the crib in person!

Wednesday was finally warm again and I sported my new shoes to school!  I paired them with an H&M dress I got this past summer, before I headed to Jamaica!

Thursday morning Lola woke up with the cutest grin on her face and came barreling into the bathroom while I was getting ready...

Lola - "Mom, I just had a dream about Justin Bieber!"  

Me - "Oh yeah?!  What was he doing in your dream?"

Lola - "He was singing to me!"

Me - "One Less Lonely Girl?"

Lola - Blushing, "Uh-huh!"

Me - "What was he wearing, his purple clothes?"

Lola - "No, his white ones!"

Too much, for real!  She is in LOVE!

They let me snap a new picture of them before they headed off to school!  I told them if they had good days, we could make our own pizza for dinner!  With a sticker on Lola's sheet and an excellent report card for Kyan, pizza makin' they did!  They loved them and ate every last bite.  They were actually begging for more and I didn't have any, but I know for next time!

Linkin' up with again over at Life Rearranged!  

 Hope every had a great week and has an even better weekend!

Recycled T-Shirt Skirt

 In the midst of all of the sewing I have been doing over spring break, Lola needed a little green to wear for St. Patty's day and an idea came to mind last minute...use one of the t-shirts I just bought from Saver's {I bought a bunch of fun colors to use for the Sienna Dress pattern by lilblueboo}!  I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I did happen to snap pictures while making it, just in case!  Good thing for me {and now you too}, it did!  I can't wait to raid the house for more t-shirts to use on these super simple skirts for Lola!

What you will need:

an old t-shirt {I used an XL}

elastic

matching thread

Measure approximately 15 inches of the t-shirt and cut {adjust accordingly if you are making for someone smaller, but this worked perfectly for Lola}!  Make sure you use the bottom part of the t-shirt, this eliminates any hemming later on, it is already done for you!

 Leave it in one big piece, don't cut it!

While inside out, iron out any wrinkles.

Measure your child's waist {I wanna say Lola's was about 16-17 inches} and add one inch of elastic.  Lay down the elastic to see how much you need to fold over to make the waistband.  Iron and pin without the elastic inside {you just need to elastic for this part to see how much to fold your fabric over}.

Sew almost all the way around.  Leave approximately 2 inches to pull the elastic through.

Put a safety pin on one of the ends of the elastic and pull through.  Make sure to hang on to the other end so that it doesn't go through too while pulling.  Pull out both pieces of the elastic and overlap them.

Sew the ends together.  Tuck into the fabric and finish sewing the top closed.

It is seriously that easy!  Ready for Lola to wear to our St. Patty's day dinner!

She loves it and it really is the perfect length for standing or sitting!

But especially for playing in!  So comfy and all in about 10 minutes!

Ready. Set. GO make a few of your own!

 Linking with these fabulous parties!