Fun Times

Fun times were definitely had by all today.  Swimming in the a.m., hangin' with friends at the Kiddie Park and fro-yo in the p.m.  All the rides are geared for those 50" and under.  No lines.  No wait.  Somewhat of a respite from the blistering heat.  Somebody was in bed, asleep, by 7:00 p.m.

Summer continues its maddening march onwards, so we're doing our best to squeeze out all kinds of fun and cross items off our summer list!

Happy Birthday!

So someone went and turned 38 today.  Since it was a work day, things were kinda low-key.  But that's o.k.  We still tried to make it special for him.

I think that thing that made it the most special was the fact that the Noodle was suuuper excited about it.  She kept say things like: "I can't wait until Daddy's birthday tomorrow!" or "When we wake up, it will be Daddy's birthday." or "Let's sing Happy Birthday to Daddy when he gets home from the gym." or even "When is Daddy coming home?  I want to celebrate his birthday!".  Ha ha!!

When he finally did get home from work, she bolted to the window and screamed out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and then pounced on him with a big hug as he walked in the door.  She was soo excited for him to open her gift to him--a picture that she had drawn of a 'bonga car' (read:  VW), which she had wrapped herself.

So, I'm just giving a big shout-out birthday wish to the best guy I know--the one who makes me laugh, settles me down, brightens our day, loves us no matter what, and is a wonderful role model!  We love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Monday!

It is another week and so another opportunity to hook up with Lisa and say hello!  Last week, the Noodle and I had a "girls shopping day" up at a local outdoor mall.  The weather was gorgeous and all the flowers looked so beautiful.  Here are some pictures from that and as well as some hellos for this week.

Hello to swimming lessons--the water is going to feel so refreshing!

Hello to boxes, packing tape and peanuts.  All of a sudden our move is getting very close!

Hello to a special someone who is celebrating his birthday this Friday.  His only request?  A D.Q. ice-cream cake...I think we can deliver :)

Hello to tomatoes ripening on the vine and our huge basil plant.  Such a simple, summertime treat--just pick one off the vine, wrap a leaf of basil around it and pop it into your mough--delish!

Hello Monday, how did it get to be the third week of July?!?!?!



"The Call"

Today is always a special day for us, because it is the anniversary of when we received "The Call" telling us that there was a little girl waiting for us in China!  J and I were on vacation and had just walked up from being at the ocean all day and he happened to check his voice mail. To say that we were in shock and awe when we realized who the voicemail was from doesn't even begin to sum it up!!

Since that was the second day into our vacation, it immediately turned from calm and relaxing into OH.MY.GOSH.IT.IS.REALLY.HAPPENING!!  Thank goodness at the last minute I had decided to chuck our huge adoption binder into the car 'just in case', never really thinking it would happen.  God has a great sense of humor, doesn't He?

It was certainly a vacation that we will NEVER forget!  So, Chinese Noodle,today we celebrate the day we first saw your little face and knew you were our daughter!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!

Hi all!  It is Monday and the start of a brand new week.  Last week was busy with J off from work, pony camp and various visits with family members, plus of course the 4th.  What better way to recap the holiday week and look forward to a new one!

Hello to getting back to a normal routine...including workout schedules and bedtimes!

Hello to Daddy going back to work--we're going to miss eating lunch with you each day and having you around.

Hello to getting a handle on the plants that are going gonzo due to all the heat!  Hello gardening gloves, trowel, weed digger and a great little assistant who loves to help.

Hello to lots of fresh produce from the CSA.  While most of us are wilting from the heat wave, the veggies seem to be getting bigger and better.

Hello to catching up on my summer reading list.  I've almost finished this book and am getting ready to start on this one.  It seemed that while school was in session, this was one thing that took a back seat :(

Hello Monday!  It's a fresh new week and the possibilities are endless!  What are you saying hello to this week?
 Hooking up with Lisa's Hello Monday posts.

The 4th

Happy (belated) 4th of July everyone!  Hopefully you were able to enjoy our nation's birthday with some sunshine, good food, lots of smiles and perhaps a firework or two!  Having Uncle and Aunt C up to visit made it even better!!

We had quite a busy day--a visit to the carnival, swimming, a baseball game, more swimming and then a cook-out.  It was so busy, in fact, that we decided to forgo the fireworks for bed!

Fun little project

So the big question is...are you on Pinterest?  I am, and I'm obsessed waaay into it!  So many cute ideas, recipes, inspirational things--the list just goes on and on!  While I never really got on to the Facebook bandwagon, this is something I'm really digging.  It was what I gave up for Lent, actually.  LOL!

That being said, I've come across quite a few projects that I've pinned and now that it is summer, have finally been able to do them.  Yeah!

I saw this cute shirt from Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy and then stumbled upon this shirt from Plum Adorable.  Orginally, I attempted to make a variation of the bleached-pen shirt from Plum Adorable, but since the bleach pen was actually "color safe" on my gray t-shirt ($5 bucks on sale from TarJay), when all was said and done, all I had was a cute gray tank.  Period.  No bleaching out.  Grrrr.

Soooo, second time's a charm and I decided to go with the same graphic, but use Lindsey's tutorial for the glittered tee.  You can go check out both of their tutorials because I basically followed them to a "T".  Ha ha, funny, right?! 

Supplies:
T-shirt
cardboard to put inside the shirt so that the paint/bleach doesn't go through to the other side
either a Clorex bleach pen or some paint (I used good ol' Martha Stewart's glitter paint--Antique Silver)
freezer paper (the key is to put the glossy side down)
an iron

Step 1:

Put the cardboard into the inside of the shirt to prevent

the paint/bleach from leaking through.

Step 2:

Trace your "image" onto freezer paper (remember glossy side down)

and then cut out.

Step 3:

Iron the freezer paper onto the fabric.  Make sure you really

get the edges nice and bonded so that the paint won't creep out.

Step 4:

"Paint" on the paint.  I used a foam brush.  This is

what it looked like after 1 coat.

Step 5:

After the paint has dried about an hour, add a second coat.

Step 6:

After the second coat has dried, peel off the freezer paper and use a pressing cloth and your iron to heat set the paint.  I spritzed my pressing cloth with water to help get a good steam.

Step 7:

Try not to get poked by your little helper as she "points" out the finished product.

Ugh.  I don't know how people take pictures of themselves each week for

wardrobe accountability posts!!  I look all slumped, rumpled and roughly the side of a barn.

The shirt looks much cuter in person...promise!