Trying to combine and conquer!

I LOVE this blog and it's name, but I'm trying to combine the thoughts here with the thoughts on our bridget and lucy blog and do it all in one place! Let's see if this works!!! www.bridgetandlucy.wordpress.com

bridget&lucy Fall Photo Shoot

We needed a picture for our Fall Sale. All the professional pics did not include our new fall fabric - so off to the park we went with my camera and hope for just ONE picture to work :). We had a blast and Bridget continued to scare us with her excitement for posing. When all the pics were taken and we were back at Nana's - she stopped us all and showed us one more pose that she forgot to use - oh Lord!!!!!


And here's the actual postcard - coming to your mailbox soon if you're on our mailing list!

Enjoying

I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting a little older, have kids, or what - but I think slowing down and enjoying the special little things is becoming much more important to me. I use to never slow down - going, going, going - and I liked it that way! Now I try and enjoy the daily moments, like the following I had with the girls on Saturday morning while dad was golfing...

We took some baked goodies from QCB and headed to Falls Park for a picnic...

The friendly barista at QCB convinced me life is short so I should have cream with my coffee - so I did!
The girls proved their ability to pose with the best of them on cue!

The nightly pick-up

Every night ends with the same routine - the pick-up. Picking up the house is just part of the day with kids. You are never done and typically while you are picking up one thing your children are messing up another. That's why I do the major pick-up at night. I've let go of the anger - I now try and get through it quickly and efficiently and enjoy the peace of a picked up house when it's done :) - I know, so zen. It's amazing what I find while picking up at night. Tonight I found an undressed doll, a Christmas scene electronic toy, toy cars, parts of books, fruit snack wrappers, a make-up brush I've been looking for, really big knitting needles, a legless Sleeping Beauty, a toothbrush and unfortunately - a toilet brush. The sad part - I have no idea when the toilet brush was brought out to the porch - no idea whatsoever. Thank God they're so stinkin' cute - I don't care about the mess!

Accident Prone

Oh this child!!!! At her second birthday party she fell off a picnic bench and landed on cement, leading to a visit to acute care that night and a visit to the ER the following day for a CAT scan - ALL which turned out just fine thank God! She woke up from her afternoon nap after her CAT scan by falling off my bed (she wouldn't get settled in her crib so I had her in my room). Last night she bonked her head on the coffee table directly inbetween her eyebrows. There was a blue goose egg immediately!!! She was looking a little rough today but we had a couple errands to run. At the first store she was showing me how big she was and she opened the door directly into her head - SERIOUSLY!!! I'm pretty sure I should invest in a cute helmet.

You can feel it

When everyone is content, calm, satisfied - you can actually feel it. No work, no agenda, no schedule (okay, this is a little hard for me:)). We were at Mantrap Lake for the 4th with friends. I'm pretty sure if Bill could financially pull it off he would retire now, move up there, and fish his days away. The days were filled with boat rides, fishing and tubing. The nights with fireworks, dinners and friends. It just doesn't get any better. Here's some proof of the total relaxation we had while there.

Gotta love this girl

Bridget likes sweets. I blame myself and every other person in her extended family because we all like sweets. We went to an AWESOME 4th of July picnic while up at Mantrap Lake with Billions and one of the activities was a pie eating contest. Bridget immediately bellied up to the table and went for it!

back to being domestic

Well - although I've been hangin' with the girls, going to a wedding, visiting a college friend, trying to enjoy summer and launching a business :) - I'm still pushing myself to "be domestic" - whatever that phrase happens to mean to me on a particular day. Some days it means taking a quilting class (because I need another hobby :)) and some days it means sewing on a button. Today it meant banana bread. Basically because we had two overripe bananas and walnuts - ta-da, banana bread. Bridget helped in the kitchen as always and informed me that she would be breaking the eggs. I had to literally arm wrestle her to get the eggs away - there were some tense moments where we almost lost an egg :). The banana bread was so good in fact that Bridget had multiple pieces without even mentioning the large amounts of walnuts - which must mean it's super awesome!

On another note - I know I've mentioned this before, but it seems that when Bill has the girls for a weekend they have a TON of fun and are definitely messier than when I'm around. I guess at least it's a "new" messy :). Lucy got into some sunscreen and then Bridget lovingly smeared dirt all over her sunscreen - she's a giver that Bridget. As you can see on Lucy's smiling face - Bridget can literally do ANYTHING to her and she thinks it's fabulous. Bill let me know that the mixture of sunscreen and dirt forms something like an industrial grease - in case you were curious.

These boots are made for walkin'

Since I'm trying to be really good about blogging and I'm leaving tomorrow for a long weekend - I had to get one more post in. I saw these boots months ago but I just saw them again today on sale! Doesn't every 3 1/2 year old NEED red cowboy boots? That's what I thought. And the posing ensued...

Just in case...

I thought I was going to miss my children while we were at a wedding for 4 days - they decided to get into my makeup the night before we left. I really didn't think of myself as a "makeup gal" until about a year ago. Then I became incredibly obsessed with Bare Minerals. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the amount of sparkle that is attainable with their makeup. So - as I was making lists, doing laundry, trying to pack and put the girls to bed I heard silence - ALWAYS very dangerous!!! I went into the bathroom to find them like this...

The picture really doesn't do it justice - they are COVERED in it - sparkling from head to toe. The wedding though - was fabulous. The bride and groom were literally BEAMING the entire time. Ah, you've got to LOVE weddings!!!

Nice Catch

It's been a rough last couple days. Bridget was sick for about 24 hours from Saturday - Sunday last weekend. And then Lucy was sick from about Monday - today. When you go through two sick kids for 4 consecutive days there isn't really much to talk about with your spouse because you're so exhausted neither of you can speak:). But Bill did give me a really nice compliment last night. As Lucy was gearing up for her most recent throw-up I happened to grab the bucket at the right time. Bill said, "Nice catch". Ah, love. :)!

The pattern business

As of tomorrow, bridget&lucy is in the pattern business!!! Super exciting. We're thrilled to have figured out a way to keep sewing clothing (yeah new sewers) and get patterns to those that do sew! Two TOTALLY different markets. This new business thing is so exciting, time consuming, energizing, challenging, scary, etc., etc. But mostly, it's honestly been fun. I'm sure that's why it's possible to make the time to spend on it while also corralling the little darlings. I don't have a picture of the new pattern - but when I get one I will post it! Instead, the ladies... that is blue chalk on Lucy's lips - she's a big sidewalk chalk snacker :).

Fresh Start?

Here's to a fresh start!!! I miss my blog! I write blog entries in my head all the time, thinking what a great post this or that would be. But then it obviously NEVER materializes!!! Here are just a couple pics to kick off what is hopefully a brand new start :)

This is handy

I can now blog from my iPod- CRAZY! But I don't have a camera on my iPod, and I don't know if I can do much posting without pics! I'm feeling very connected - maybe overly so:)!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Getting Away

Although we did not take a glamorous trip (like my sister who is landing in the Virgin Islands any minute!) - we did get away. Over President's break we took the girls' up to Minneapolis to visit Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. When I use to see all the families at the amusement park in the middle of the Mall I alwasy thought, "they're crazy! why on earth would you bring your family to the mall to play"! Now I know. Getting away is important. Getting away is necessary and Dora always makes it more fun for the kids! :)

So worth the mess

Last night Bill and his friend Chris were at the Grammy's! I have not watched an entire awards show for so long, but I couldn't miss this one. I had some sewing to do so I moved my machine onto the dining room table. A mess ensued. Thread, fabric, Good N Plenty's, etc. where everywhere. But it was more than worth it. To watch the show texting back and forth with Bill while he was there was unforgettable. What an AWESOME experience!!!! Thanks Chris!

The little student

Lucy wants to do EVERYTHING that Bridget does - including go to school. She is enamored of Bridget's backpack and decided to model the other day. Unfortunately the bag was bigger than she was ... and down she went! It must have something to do with the backpack being just as big as she is!

HILARIOUS!

This is worth a post. Last Saturday I took Bridet skiing in the afternoon while Bill and Lucy went to the grocery store after she got up from her nap. When Bridget and I got home I looked at Lucy's outfit and said, "Did you take her in that?" "Yep".

I always take her dress off to take a nap and he never put it back on. She was cruisin' the grocery store with tights and a turtleneck on. HA!

I'm not that jealous - I swear...

Well - talk about fly by the seat of your pants. In a matter of 4 hours or so Bill told me he'd been invited to the Grammy's with a friend of his, we booked a plane ticket for him, rented a car, booked a hotel and got some golf course recommendations with the help of my friend Lindsay. I on the otherhand will be home with my two divas...

The Sweater!

Well - I did it. I knit a sweater for a full size person - me! As some of you know - my attention span for any project is about one hour. :) My favorite knitting book is the "One Skein" book - all projects you can do with one skein of yarn. This usually means quick projects! So - knitting a sweater was a serious commitment for me. And it's done!!!!! I've informed many friends and family that I will be wearing it everyday with different pants. I may outgrow this phase, but I may not. And as usual, pictures must follow! Yeah for knitting!!!

The sweater - before the side seams were done, just laying on the table waiting for my mom to get over and help me!

The texture! I now consider myself a master at the seed stitch :).

This girl better be proud of her mama - or I'm giving this sweater to her sister :)!

Surviving Lunch

Poor Lucy. Life is hard right now. At lunch today she tried to be generous and share her grilled cheese with Breck (the dog) and when Breck went for the bite Lucy was offering she got more than the sandwich (a little bite of finger). No blood or anything terrible like that - just hysterics. While sitting on mom's lap recovering from the trauma she insisted on having some of my soup and dribbled it all over her pants - the soup was hot - more hysteria. Then she was back in her high chair trying to finish her sandwich and in her eagerness to remove the lid of her sippy cup she spilled the whole glass of water on her sweater, pants and food remaining on the high chair - you got it by now - hysteria. Then once I wiped her up and she realized she was getting out of her high chair (I'm sure still a little hungry) - hysterics. It must be very hard being a 1 year old. :)

missing my blog

Ah - I miss blogging. It seems time is just full of new things, exciting things - and blogging seems to fall to the way side. But I love it. Mom and I have a booth next week at a fundraiser so we are both crazily sewing. And both saying, "I thought I was so organized, how did this sneak up on me?", etc., etc. Just goes to show that we both always need a little pressure to get to work :). A couple pics, with a couple stories to share...

I took the pics for our Spring Line at my sister-in-laws beautiful dance studio - thanks Jackie! I had a blast taking the pics, but my pictures show SO much motion - even with my camera set at the fastest shutter speed. Any advice camera friends? This time around Lucy was in a much better mood and made the pics -what a relief since she does represent half the namesake :). She seemed to be thrilled as well :)


Oy - I love this one.

As usual - Bridget just isn't photogenic at all :)

I love this angle - and the new kid's aprons are so dang fun!!!

This one is scary... Bridget was facing the bar and I told her to turn around and pose - she did exactly this. Oh the diva...

The Nap Pillows

I have had this pattern for a Nap Pillow for seriously two years. I decided in August that I was going to make one for each of the girls for Christmas. It was a total labor of love, but they turned out. If the girls end up loving these even half as much as I do we'll be good. Bill took some pics of me making them and then there's a couple of the girls with them. I want one for myself but I will never, ever take the time to make another one of these :)!