Weekend

Greg is home, so it has been a weekend of food and family! My favorite!

You Know You're a Reader When...

You can't get through cooking dinner without a book nearby.

Tie Dye

In our continuing "Summer O Projects" the girls and I made tie-dye t-shirts. We bought white t-shirts on sale for half price and a neon tie-dye kit. There are all sorts of suggestions in the pamphlet that comes with the kit, but we decided to do a traditional tie-dye style. We folded the t-shirts up accordion style and tied them with rubber bands (then twine when I ran out of rubber bands).

Then we sprayed on the dye. The dye in the kit comes in handy little spray bottles so no mixing which is nice. The girls had fun deciding which color to put where.

We let them dry tied up overnight and then hung them up to finish air drying the next morning. After they were completely dry I set the dye with an iron.

They turned out really cute and the dye has survived the wash with no running or fading.  Next on the list, tie-dyed socks!

On a side note, you should have seen the smiles we got when the three of us wore our matching t-shirts, friendship bracelets, and dyed shoes.  I'm just hoping we didn't look like craft crazy clowns and people were just smiling because we looked like we'd been having fun!

Thinking Ahead

"Flowers for Teacher," September 7, 1946

After noticing that the stores are already setting up their school supply displays, I checked my calendar and realized that school starts 6 weeks from today! That means our summer is almost over, which in turn means it's time to start thinking about back to school.  Whew!  How did that happen so fast?

Ideally, I start planning for school a month or so before it starts.  Last minute panic is no fun and makes for a stressed out family!  Here is what I hope to accomplish in the next few weeks:

• Dental check ups and cleanings for the kids (they've already had their annual checkups with the doctor)
• Go through their jeans and school clothes to see what still fits and make a list of what's needed.
• Check the school website for registration dates and complete paperwork.
• Make sure school phone numbers are in my contacts list on my phone
• Start going to bed earlier
• Make sure the kids finish up their summer reading
• Take the kids for haircuts (me too, if I can find the time)
• Declutter - this is an ongoing project around here
• Gradually start shopping for school clothes and supplies

Have you started your back to school organizing yet?

Country Evening

I love the friendly people in our town with their laid back attitudes, the gorgeous sunsets, and the wide open spaces.

Random Vacation Thoughts

Fair warning: this is going to be one of the rambling, non-cohesive type posts.

• Despite leaving "clothes" off my packing list I did actually take some with me and didn't have to spend my vacation in nothing but a swimsuit and PJs. My most versatile and favorite piece of packable vacation clothing is my foldover jersey skirt. I have the dark heather gray color which is so versatile. It goes with everything, doesn't wrinkle, is light weight and cool, and the foldover waist makes the length of the skirt adjustable. I'm hoping to get a few more in different colors.

• I haven't had a swimsuit I actually like in years and years.  Of course that's probably because I usually just buy whatever keeps me covered and is cheap.  This year I decided to buy a "real" swimsuit so I bought the hidden assets one piece at Target.  The only problem is I bought it without trying it on (shame, shame...I know,) and I should have sized up.  It is very slimming and cute, but it's a bug bear to get on, and once it's wet, there's no taking it off and putting it back on.  That sort of creates a problem if one needs to make use of the restroom facilities.  So instead, I wound up wearing my board shorts and halter tankini top which provided no support (should have sized down. Again, I bought without trying on.  Must be a phobia.) but was at least easy to get back on when wet.

• My hair did not look cute in the humidity, so I tried to stay out of all the pictures.  Unfortunately my plan didn't work, and I'll always have reminders of the strange ways my bangs can curl up.
• Ditto on the makeup in the humidity.  My skin tends toward the oily side, so my makeup just slid right off my face.  I finally gave up and wore Dr. Feelgood balm over my sunscreen with the addition of a little lip gloss and a swipe of mascara (I normally wear it under my foundation as a primer and it does help if the humidity is not 110%).  It didn't cover up the flaws in my skin like foundation does (at least somewhat), but that's better than looking like I was melting, right?
• I came home sick (airplane germs?), but I've been cleaning and de-cluttering nonstop since I got back.  There's something about seeing your home with "fresh" eyes to make you notice things that need to be done.
• I checked out In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel to take with me on the plane but then chickened out, because what if I lost it or got it wet or got sand in it and the library police came knocking on my door? WHAT IF? So I took my kindle instead because it actually belongs to me and only my husband and I would freak out if it were lost or destroyed (much better than freaked out librarians).  I've been reading it since I got back though, and I'm loving it so far.  I knew I would.
• I LOVE looking at churches in towns and cities that I visit.  I'm always so tempted to ask if I can go in and look around.  I saw so many pretty, traditional, older churches of all sizes.  I'm a sucker for a steeple.  :)

At Home I'm a Maid But at the Beach I'm a Mermaid

Vacation is over and it's back to reality (and laundry) but I have so many sweet memories.  There's just something special about spending time with my family at the beach.  I love the timeless sense of fun and freedom that we get from the the waves and the long stretches of sand.

 

We're sleep deprived and in dire need of some vegetables (what is it about vacation that causes all nutritional concerns to go out the window?) but it was so worth it!

Wish You Were Here!

I'm writing to you from the teeny tiny screen of my phone. I didn't bring my computer with me but I wanted to say hello and I'm having a great time! See you soon!