Dead squirrel, cute cat, and poppers

I thought I would catch your attention with that title....but I will explain it all. Starting off with the crafty stuff... Before vacation I bought 3 cheap Cooke sheets at Walmart. I think they were $3.98 for three of them. They made the perfect trays for our 9+ hour car trip to Kansas and Missouri over Memorial weekend. On top of being the great catch all for snacks, crayons, and the Olivia car, they are also magnetic! We have these super cute magnetic dolls that you can dress in different clothes, and the cookie sheets were the perfect fit for these dolls. Well, I decided to paint a little outdoor playground for the dolls and for Olivia too:) Not my best work but I may or may not have had a couple of glasses of wine while painting:) (don't judge me, it's summer break:). I painted it with acrylic paint and learned that I will need to seal it to keep it from chipping under little piggy feet.
On to the title explanation.... We were outside playing with firework poppers, throwing them, stepping on them, and hearing them pop just means its summer! Our little one loves them, she was throwing them and jumping on them, all while my husband was trying to pop them on my feet;). While we were outside we met some neighbors who had just dumped a squirrel that had fallen into their pool and drowned. Poor squirrel... Let's have a moment of silence.………
After the excitement of squirrels and poppers we were about to head inside when a cute little kitty cat came into our yard and wanted to be pet. Well, of course we had to get him some food and water and of course a good petting. Our little one was so exited!!!! "titty tat" "titty tat" "titty tat"!!!! Well his name is of course "titty tat." he will stay outside but we will feed him, he's just too cute and Lyla loves him already!!!
There you have it, a crazy, ordinary, fun evening in the Shue household.

What's happening with your family this summer?

Letters to Lyla

I've been writing things down here and there to document things that our daughter does, but I thought I would just start blogging the little things she does. So here are just a few recent things that she will inevitably hate me for in about 11 years.
One: you started saying "shhhhh" at the funniest moments, like when daddy and I are talking at dinner and not including you. It's even funnier when you do it in the car while mommy sings.
Two: you finally started pooping on the potty everyday, too bad it also includes watching MickeyMouse clubhouse, Olivia, and care bears to finish. (like father like daughter;).
Three: you count everything, a little rainman-ish but none the less awesome; you are currently counting to twenty with little to no help from mommy and daddy.
Four: you started writing your name...semi legible!!!!
Five: You love "Teddy" which is a homemade Care Bear from when mommy was little. ( it's about 30 years old!)
Six: you love playing "earthquake" with daddy before bed every night.
Seven: you are talking up a storm
and very inquisitive to sounds, and your great at "charades" as we try to decipher your speech:)
Eight: you love mustard....
Nine: instead of saying pig ( for Olivia for instance), you snort like a pig and breath deep through your nose. So cute and it reminds me of my aunt Louise who had a pig decorated kitchen. She would have loved you!
Ten: you say "I love you too mama" when I tell you I love you. Which may or may not be 50+ times a day!
Eleven: you started pushing your stroller with your belly. ( picture below)
Twelve: you were a daredevil at the park and played on the swing with 'no hands!'
Thirteen: your fear of dogs has gotten SO much better! ( spike and lyla below)
Fourteen: you wear the stuff mommy makes you because I think you know how happy it makes me. (you are so beautiful) (see below)

More to come and to add. What are your little ones doing these days that will embarrass them later in life??? I would love to hear your comments or questions.

Summer dress

So I found this fabric at Walmart for 1$ a yard, yep you read correctly $1!!! I love good deals. I only bought two yards because I wasn't even sure what I was going to do with it, but it's pretty and it was $1 a yard! It's been sitting on my ironing board (with a million other things) and it keeps calling out to me "make me into something beautiful."

Today, I made something beautiful! I love making clothes for my little girl, it just makes me smile when she wants to wear the things I made. I also like making her dresses because she is so tall and all of the store bought clothes are WAY too short! I can't wait for her to see the finished product. I of course added pockets because you have to have a place to put rings, coins, snacks;)
Here it is, please leave a comment or question, I'd love to hear them!

Summer vacation

One week into summer vacation and time is going by quickly. Although 10 hours in the car on Monday didn't seem so quick. We had a great Memorial weekend with my in-laws in Kansas City. I even got to meet some family members that I hadn't seen yet! We had a great time and our little one got to play with her cousins, aunts, and uncle! Swimming, playing, eating, and being with amazing people was a fantastic way to kick off the summer.
I'm trying to plan different activities for my little one and our family...and still get laundry, dishes, cleaning, and cooking done. I need professor Von Drakes multiplicity potion! (Mickey mouse clubhouse...anyone?!?)
Today little one and I visited the library and picked out lots of books...the scaredy squirrel,a Sandra Boyton book, and a few other ones. As I was juggling my wallet, the books, and making sure the little one was going safely up the stairs.... I had a thought.....we have to make a special library book bag to make sure that we dont mix up any of the library books and I don't fumble and fall down a flight of stairs:).
I let my daughter pick out her own fabric (bonus it was only $2.00 a yard:) and we got a few groceries and headed home. I worked on it while she took a much needed nap and she tested it out when she woke up. I got her approval:)
This bag was very quick and very simple to put together, I just cut two rectangles, one for the inside and one for the outside, sewed up the sides and added some gross-grain ribbon. I think I will add some fabric paint and let my kiddo do some painting on it so she can make it "hers."
What summer time projects do you have planned for your family?

Oops!

I started making these cute little princess bags (inspired by a girl and a glue gun) for my daughters birthday party. I was so excited about these bags and made two last week for a birthday party. Well, I was trying to be cheap, I mean frugal, and bought the bags at the dollar tree. Bought the tulle and ribbon and started dreaming of princesses! Well my dreams were cut short when I gave myself a few blisters, messed up a bag, and then as I thought..."an iron-on would be cute" and so I put the Iron to the bag and look below to see what happens when you add heat and pressure to something that is apparently plastic or something obviously not fabric.
Well, its good I had extras. The bags turned out great and the kiddos loved them. (I found out that my little sisters cut the bottom of the bags to make princess dresses for their dolls, how cute and innovative!) I may have to make some dresses now:).
Thanks for stopping by, it's summer break now, so hopefully I will post more blogs soon!

Time flies!

3 years ago, I was in a hospital bed blowing bubbles with bubble yum gum and joking around with my besties, my husband, and my parents...patiently awaiting for my daughters arrival. I had an epidermal at about 4 1/2 centimeters because apparently my doc on call loved me!!! I kept poking my legs and saying "look guys, I can't feel anything!" I think I was getting delirious waiting for my baby girl. She was 10 days late and I was ready to meet her!!! I had an amazing pregnancy and fantastic delivery and then we had a rough two years with lots of hospital visits and a broken bone. If you have a child that has/had Hirschsprungs or a broken femur, I would love to hear your story. Email me or comment below.
Anyway, I can't believe that my sweet baby girl is turning three! Time truly flies when you are having fun. Our little girl is just so amazing! I love her more than I ever thought possible!!! She has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives.

In honor of her birthday, I decided (at 7:30pm at night) to make her a birthday outfit. So here it is, it only took about 1 1/2 hours and I think she will love it! I took an old t-shirt and cut out ovals of fabric for balloons and used heat-bond to secure them, sewed them on an old shirt and made a skirt to match, added some embellishment stitches and voila!

I will try to take pics of her wearing it! Let me know what you think!

Craft ADD

My mind is constantly going, going, going! Unfortunately, it's usually going in different directions. I've always had problems focusing on one thing for a long period of time. In college my professor told me I should be tested and be put on meds, but really I had made it to college, what was that going to help? Seriously should have reconsidered that advice....!!!

:) I have made it 31 years, a few broken bones, a few stories to tell, and am so happy in my life. I have a wonderful husband (truly amazing!), a beautiful intelligent daughter, and a great job, BUT, I can't seem to clean one full room in our house at one time. I clean up stuff all the time, do dishes, pick up toys, but what the heck, I just can't seem to stick to completing a task in one sitting. I think that is why my credit sucks. :/ oh well, back to the point....

Ive been having trouble focusing on my crafting. I have so many fun things like hair accessories, keychains, crayon holders, and hand bags, but finishing more than one or a couple seems out of my realm of thought... and or attention span. Any advice in how to help my problem???? Until I can focus, I will continue to blog and craft random stuff. My next project.......bracelets for Relay for life for my mom. (sorry if I just ruined the surprise mom, I just hope I get them done.) Until then, here is a picture of a crayon holder for my daughter when we are out and about. This was inspired because I took crayons in my purse when we went out to eat a few weeks ago and forgot one. Well, a warm day+purse in car=melted crayon in my purse. Good thing I made the purse and it's washable:)

Let me know what you think...