Tempting Fate

I tend to not write what we'll be doing anymore, but Fourth of July celebrations call for disclosure. Rob is off work today, so I'll be heading out in a little while to grab some things from the grocery store sans children (woo-hoo!) and then running into town to reserve our spot for the parade this evening. People in our adorable little town put down blankets, towels, even their chairs along the parade route as early as 9:30 AM to reserve their spots. No one bothers these things all day long and when you arrive for the parade, you civilly take your spot and wait for the parade. The parade consists of the local marching bands, people with hot rods, cub scouts, boy scouts and girl scouts, the local Lions (who run the show) and lots of candy being thrown. They also hand out free balloons and flags to the kids.

Tomorrow, there will be lots of fun games, music and activities in the park. We will actually be helping out with the fish game. I'm preparing myself to come home with a goldfish or two and wondering where the heck we'll put them that Cutie won't try to fish them out. There will be fireworks in the park tomorrow night, which we will also reserve our spot for much the same way we are reserving for the parade.

Having grown up in Philly, this small town celebration is adorable, refreshing, and a bit disappointing all at the same time. Philadelphia, being the cradle of liberty, really does the Fourth up right. Lots of fireworks, lots of concerts, lots of stuff on the Parkway. Our town comes close, but can't quite touch the atmosphere of Philly. At the same time, I'm impressed by our town and what they do. I look forward to the Fourth each year. It's such a fun holiday.

Celebrate our freedom and thank God for it. We're a very lucky country.

Oh Well

I was going to share a picture of my stitching with you today, but it turns out the battery in my camera is dead. Time to get some new ones, but not today. The sky is gray and cranky looking, so aside from Josh's piano lesson this afternoon, we'll be staying inside.

Timmy must be growing. He has been sleeping like a narcoleptic lately. He doesn't wake up until after 9 in the morning, then ends up napping again before noon. Another afternoon nap later on and off to bed by seven thirty at night. I'm not complaining even a little bit, but it's certainly different. It makes me wonder if he didn't need this much sleep all along and this is why he has been so cranky.

Rob is off tomorrow for the holiday weekend. We have a lot of plans, mostly participating in our town's celebrations. There will be a parade tomorrow and a good time in the park on Saturday. I'm also singing a couple Masses this weekend and working, so I might not be too pretty on Monday!

Travel Weekend

We drove the kids to New York state this weekend to visit some of Rob's family. His cousins were officially married in the church on Saturday and had their adorable baby boy Christened on Sunday. We spent the weekend hanging out with family, having fun in the hotel and driving. A whole lot of driving. The kids really, really loved the hotel room and all the pillows that came with it.







Timmy slept well at night, but just didn't want to nap unless he was on Rob's shoulder. I think someone missed his Daddy.


The summer is just breezing by, and we finally have summer-like weather. The weeks will be relaxing, the weekends fun for the foreseeable future. It is looking like Rob will not have to travel for business much more. Unfortunately, I think that means the trip to France I thought we'd be taking is out of the picture, but that's not definite yet. Oh well. It's not like Rob and I are not going to get to travel this year.

As expected, I did not pick up a needle at all this weekend. Right now Evie's stocking is tucked away. I know I should pull it back out and get working, but after two straight months of solid stitching on it, I'd like to take a break. I think I might pull out something easy like Baseball, or something satisfying like Stitching Treasures for the month of July and I'll start back up on the stocking in August.

Michael Jackson

The greatest choreography in any music video ever.

Start at about the six minute mark if you don't have time for the whole thing. You won't be disappointed.

Survived Another One

Rob is on his way home from another week in Tennessee. I'm so relieved, and glad that the kids and I came out alive on the other side. I'll tell you, I am totally fried. I would never want to be married to a traveling salesman!

I didn't do any stitching yesterday because of running errands and it being just too humid. We have a busy weekend ahead, so I'm not expecting to accomplish much over the weekend, either.

Surprisingly, Timothy is still sleeping and I woke up on my own this morning. Isn't that the best feeling in the world? Even if I wake up really early, as long as it's waking up on my own I feel fabulous!

I found a great wrap to go with the orange dress for this weekend. It perfectly matches the shoes, and I'm very happy with myself for finding it.

Summer blogging is always so scintillating, isn't it? Here's a cute picture, just for fun.

Well, that didn't last long

I quit the new project. It was one of those designs that have floating backstitching, and I had to think too hard. I want some good old brainless stitching, thank you very much. I think I'll have to get back to the fairy.

Reward

I finished all the major backstitching that I can do on the fairy the other day. There is a little more because there is a color DMC I'm missing (isn't it always the way?). Bear in mind there is still a lot of regular stitching to do, and beading after that. However, since this was a pretty big accomplishment, I decided to reward myself with a very small start. It's one from the French stitching magazine Isabelle sent me for my birthday last year. I can't show you a photo of the finished product because my scanner is on the fritz, but I'll show you a picture of what I've stitched so far. It's called Jolie Coeur (pretty heart, in French). In the magazine it is pictured with two other heart designs and finished into an apron. I am just stitching this one and I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish it into a bag to carry my stitching.




This is a small design, the fabric is just 6x6". There are only four threads. I needed to substitute on of the blues because I didn't have the called for thread. You would think I had zero DMC stash from this post, but seriously I have a ton. For some reason I'm always short one, though. Anyway, I'm making it work.

Summertime means traveling, and while I won't give any specifics, we will be going away off and on pretty soon. Of course that means lots of preparation, especially when a baby is involved. It also means running errands with all three kids in tow. I will readily admit that taking the kids when I have to go to several places in one day is probably the worst part of being a mom. Joshua is the only one who can buckle himself in with any regularity. We're trying to have Evie practice, but sometimes it's just easier and faster for us to do it. We still have a sedan, so the car seats are packed pretty tightly into the car and it's hard for Eve to get her hand down in between the seats. Putting Tim in the car always means getting in and out with the stroller. I've decided rather than stretching the pain out over two days, I'm going to try to get as much done as possible today. On the list is the library, getting the oil changed in the car and going shopping for a shirt, tie and pants for Josh and a wrap for the orange dress. We'll see how far we actually get!

The Next Step

Timmy accomplished something big today, so Joshua wanted to do a party dance. You have to watch until the end to see what all the dancing is about. I believe that in the middle, he attempts (and fails miserably) to do the worm.

Summer

This morning Rob commented that it was really bright for being so early. "It's summer," was my reply. It's officially summer and it seems that maybe the weather has remembered what it was supposed to be doing. It's going to be a really nice day.

I worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so I'm exhausted today, but I got a lot of stitching done. I wanted to finish backstitching the fairy's wings last night, but I ran out of steam. I think I'll probably be able to finish them today, and I'm pretty sure that's the last of the backstitching. I'm sure you're all tired of looking at this, but while I still have the motivation to do it, I want to get as much done as possible. Time is ticking toward Evie's 5th Christmas.





I'm going to apply for my passport today. This is a process I should have started several weeks ago, after Rob left for Italy (or maybe even before), but for several reasons, it didn't happen. I definitely need the passport for our cruise later this year, but I might need it even sooner, so I want to get started ASAP.

The sun is shining, and I want to make sure the kids get outside today. They've been suffering from cabin fever with all the rainy days we've been having.