Japanese Knot Bag

To say life has been a little crazy lately would be an understatement.  A few weeks ago a friend told me about a boot camp that she's getting involved in and immediately I realized that is where I wanted to be too.  As much as I have enjoyed Texas Fit Chicks, as a business model it's not great and I have ended up spending money to do it instead of making money.  Yes. It has been an expensive lesson. But thankfully I have learned it quickly and I'm grateful for my friend telling me about the new camp, Camp Gladiator.  So at this point I'm burning the candle at both ends, doing Texas Fit Chicks 3 days a week and Camp Gladiator as often as I can, (sometimes twice a day and on my off days), in between juggling family and church responsibilities.  Not to mention two birthdays and Easter all within a couple of weeks of each other!   So forgive me for not posting more often.  


Anyway I did have some time before all the craziness to make this really cute purse for a birthday gift for one of Kelly's friends. It's called a Japanese Knot Bag and I found the tutorial through Pink Chalk Fabrics, but try as I might I couldn't find the original tutorial, so I will have to make another one and do my own tutorial.  But we all know that probably won't happen for another 6 months! :)  The way it works is you slide the shorter handle down over the taller one and hang the taller one on your hand or wrist.  So cute!  I can't wait to make one for me!

You can't really tell but this is a beautiful royal purple.  I need to do better at my photo-editing skills so you could see the true color.  This was a great project that took me a few hours the morning of the party.  The best part was that I had all the fabric and supplies so it didn't cost me anything!

Don't lose hope for me yet, other posts to follow: Family trip to the Dallas World Aquarium, Kenzie's imaginative play time, Kate's birthday & a few pictures of the guinea pigs.

Grateful for Walls & Favorite Famous Person Day

"Mom! Look what I can do!"

"I love this wall sooo much!  I'm so grateful for this wall!  If we didn't have this wall I would have anything in the whole house to hand upside down on !"

Sorry this picture is a little blurry--I was giggling.  Good thing we had this wall just so Kate could have something in our house to hang upside down on! 

Once a month the kids have had a different dress-up day.  When I got the paper about it at the beginning of the year I thought I would be organized and write them all down on the calendar.  So this month was 'Favorite Famous Person Day.'

Can you tell who they are?

Taylor Swift and James Bond

I didn't bother telling Kevin that James Bond was a fictional character and not a real person.  It just wasn't worth the argument.

I thought they looked great and was impressed that we came up with it the night before.  They love participating in these dress up days and were excited to go to school.

Sadly, this dress-up day had been cancelled and no one told us!!

Kevin was really mad that he spent the whole day at school in a suit.

Oh well.  If anything he learned that if something like that happens again he has the freedom to call me and I'd bring him something else to wear.

Good Times!

Been Studying

Some of you may be thinking--she's home now right...where are her posts?!


Well, I have been furiously studying for the last couple of weeks for a personal trainer exam.  The first part I will be taking in about 20 minutes and the second part I take on Tues.  Please say a prayer for me and wish me luck--I am extremely nervous!


I know, I have done this before, but somehow the anxiety just builds and builds.


Anyway, when all of that is over I will share my frustrating experience of being locked out of the house and my thoughts on life with a very, very stubborn 3 year old!

"Peace, Tranquility, Joy.....Maybe Next Year."

Yes, I borrowed that quote from the cover of "A Christmas Story," one of our favorite movies this time of year.  It caught my eye last night as I was staying up too late to finish gifts for teachers and bake cookies for our annual staff cookie extravaganza, etc and I had to totally laugh out loud.  I was having one of those conversations with myself about why was I staying up late to do all these things that are supposed to foster that warm, fuzzy Christmas spirit when all I was really thinking and feeling was, "This is so dumb!! Why am I doing this to myself!" **sigh**

It's all about balance and this year, like so many before, I can't seem to find it. I can't tell you about all the pictures I have waiting on the camera that I want to blog about, Justin's molten chococlate cakes, Kenzie playing with her Halloween candy like they were little toy people, Santa's personal visit to our house, to name a few. They'll get there eventually.

It's this quest for balance this year that has lead our family to a big decision.  We decided that after Christmas I will not be going back to my full time job at the high school. It was a difficult decision to make, because I truly enjoy it. However, my family relationships and my sanity are much more important.  I am looking into some part time options that will allow me more time with our family.  Nothing is confirmed yet, but I will let you know once things are worked out.  It is bittersweet for me, however I am really excited to be home. I'm looking forward to getting our house in a better order and exploring and hopefully strengthening some talents here and there.

So don't give up on me. Keep checking and there will be more posts coming soon!

This Girl

So I was having a somewhat stressful day at work today.  Some of our students were having a really difficult time and it was challenging.  In the midst of it all I received two phone calls from the school nurse.


She wanted to know some information about Kate's eyes.  Apparently Kate's eyes had gotten blurry and were crossing throughout the day.  This made it difficult for her to see, so she had plenty of help with people reading to her, writing things down for her, helping her walk down the hallway, etc.


Of course I was concerned.  I called the ophthalmologist and they were able to see her this afternoon after school. Perfect!


After having her eyes dilated and a few tests--the prognosis:  She is totally fine! In fact, her eyes are less far sighted than they were about a year and a half ago when we first had them checked.


Yes.  She was totally faking it all day long because she loved the attention.  


I've always thought that I should find a cute, sparkly and uber-girly t-shirt for her that says big and bold, "It's O.K. to tell Me no!"


She just knows how to work that cute girl charm to her advantage.


Why do I get the feeling that we are totally in for it with this girl?!