I love Sock Monkeys!

So, I just finished this little guy and I had to show him off! He's a sock monkey earflap hat and I loved how he turned out so much that I am working on one for me! The rest of the photos are over on my craft blog -- www.spicytuesday.blogspot.com. Come on over and see!

Today

I am

missing: my sister Krista and her hubby Joey. they should live here now.
wearing: jeans and a crazy-bright orange shirt with a scarf and my orange Converse.
working on: end-of-school gifts for teachers/co-workers, baby shower stuff for a close friend
eating: no sugar or starch for the next two weeks. post-diet maintenance phase.
dreaming of: warmer weather which should be starting any minute....
realizing: the fire engine siren which is realistic enough to be right outside my house is in fact just Josiah's fire truck going off in the toy box
impatiently waiting for: school to end so Kev and Gennie are home to play
anticipating: a happy phone call
loving: the generic Walmart version of Crystal Light orange drink
thinking about: how wet G is going to be after the waterfight b/t the teachers and students at her school today.
feeling: kinda chilly in the house...may need to add a sweater
listening to: Josiah and James arguing over a hot wheels car in the hallway (friends, sheesh!)
reading: blogs I like and facebook

"It's the end of the year as we know it......"

So, this school year is almost over and I'll have both of my kidlets home again for 3 whole months! I'd love to think that they'll play together daily and get along famously the entire time . . . but I know these kids, and let's face it -- that's just not gonna happen. They'll do pretty well most days but I'll be holding foreheads at arm's length and dodging swinging fists within a week, I'm almost sure of it.

With all the end-of-the-year tests and activities going on, we got some great news about Gennie. She qualified for the GATE (Gifted and Talented) program starting next year! They tested her over a couple of weeks and her scores came back in the 98th percentile, with an IQ of 132! She moved up through the reading scale this year and will be ending it reading at a 5th grade level, 130 words per minute with 98 percent accuracy and comprehension. Smart little thing! Here's hoping next year will be just as good or better!

Oh, and score one for all those "bottle-fed" babies out there! Her mind obviously functions just fine. :)

easter portraits

1 week of talking about doing easter dress-up pictures + 1 stop at the gas station for 2 bags of Skittles and 2 bags of Reese's Pieces + 1 hour of giggles and screaming and grins and pleading = a great set of Easter portraits, finally!

This next one was all their own pose . . . I figured I'd better get it now before "little brothers are gross!" and "big sisters are mean!"I gotta say, it's nice that they can pose themselves now -- it only took how many years?!

And then G really wanted a picture with her new flower so she ran to find an outfit that would match it and dressed in record time: Love 'em!

Sneak Peek - Miss A

This little beauty came to play last week. We played once before, when she was dressed up for Christmas, and this visit was just as fun!

I had a dress just like this blue rosebud one when I was little -- love it!

I got to try out some of my new backdrops and she played along perfectly.

And she got a new red wagon for the occasion -- and was thrilled with it!

And this last one I just couldn't pass up. . . crawlin' away all covered in grass.Thanks for bringing her back to play, guys! I had a great time!

self portraits

So, today I decided to take a few shots of myself for a collage I'm making for our front room. Of course I have lots of photos of the kids and even of Kev (although I get an earful each time I come near him with the camera) but I really don't have many photos of myself. It's such a silly thing, too; I always want to have photos of me because I love photos of any subject and especially of people having fun (and I'm just that narcissistic) but I hate looking at photos of me because I'm a horrible judge of how I appear. Common girl complaint, I know. Anyway, now and again I get motivated to try to get shots of myself, usually when I have something special in mind for them and today was the day. I set up the tripod and used Josiah to focus, set the self-timer, and let 'er rip! I got a few good ones and for the most part, I'm happy with them. They're good enough for my project, anyway. And really, as if it's not hard enough to get a good, focused shot where my eyes aren't too open and my smile looks real and my head isn't crooked. . . . . the boy had to sneak in at the last second: Honestly I didn't even know he was there until I downloaded them. Goofball . . . :)

new stuff in the ol' Etsy shop!

Boo Boo Birds and Ouchee Owls now available in my Etsy shop! Lots of colors and patterns available -- come by and check them out! www.etsy.com/shop/spicytuesday?ref=pr_shop

Thanks for looking!