Catching up...

* Disclaimer - this post is long and most likely boring.  Read on anyway...

The days are just zooming by!  I'm sure many of you are feeling that way as well.  This time of year is always hectic, especially with school-aged kids.  Programs, sports, holidays, meetings, prom, graduation - to name a few.  I often wonder how we scale down from so much of this.  The answer?  Not participate in so much, maybe.  But, with four kids, it doesn't take much to get this busy.  My kids aren't even involved in much separately, but add them all up... my calendar is full.  I try to say "no" when I need to and remember that it won't be long before they are all on their way to other phases of their lives.  So for now, I just keep my calendar handy.

I hope you all enjoyed Easter and Mother's Day.  Yes, I think it has been that long!  Anyway, it is raining here today and very dark.  I've just come down from a very busy week and finished up some major PTA meetings (my last year as the high school PTA prez).  So the past two days have been a whole lot of "nothin'".  Time to re-focus, re-organize, etc. for the next several weeks.  And, time to blog!  Just a few snippets of what's been going on around here:

I made this little dress from Simplicity 2432 at the last sewing retreat.  It was supposed to have a little shrug, but I didn't think she would wear it.  I added a little bling to the top and a pretty ribbon.  The bodice ended up being a little too wide for her.  I should know better than to go straight from the pattern.  But, she loved it anyway.

A good hunt!  Thanks Easter Bunny!

 

I bought a pretty fan for my studio.  The lights I have can get very warm and I cannot part with my sweet little chandelier to put in a ceiling fan.  So, best of both worlds!  Isn't the popcorn ceiling purty?

I've tried using my crock pot more, at least once a week to help quicken meals but still have something better than fast food.  The only drawback - its getting warm outside and you can't make cold crock pot meals!  A friend of mine gave me a super-crazy-good recipe for chicken tortilla soup!  Oh man, she wasn't lying to me when she said I would love it!  So much so that I took pictures of it!  There are so many recipes for this, but if you would like this one, I would be happy to share it with you.

 

I bought the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook and decided that I MUST purchase yet another crock pot.  They obviously come in different sizes.  Who knew?

It's so cute!  And, Mother's Day rolled around and I was surprised with three bouquets of flowers!  All different and unique like my kiddos.  I love fresh flowers!  

 

 

 

 

I loved the sweet message on my kitchen chalk board.  It usually says something profound or simply "It's good to be the Queen", but this made me smile!

Next post I'll fill you in on a few of the crafts I was able to squeeze in.  I also have some very exciting news to share soon.  I hope you'll stop back by!