Pot Holders

Nothing like waiting until the last minute. See, this is the whole reason for the sew along!! If not for the sew along, I would still be thinking in my mind that I need to make new pot holders for myself, but I wouldn't have these cuties all completed & in my kitchen drawer.



***I'm having a happy day today because I hit 100 sales in my etsy shop. This gives me so much confidence. Yippee!!! Happy day. :)

Yummy Sunday Food

Banana muffins.

Soy Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Dumping It All On You

It's been a while since I've posted about what's been going on around here. So here comes one big crazy, long post.



I'm still liking my hair a whole lot. What I'm loving about it:

1. I don't have to blow dry it. That part is crucial for a straight style with my wavy hair. I don't have to ignore my screaming kids in order to get my hair blown out.
2. I always feel like I have a ponytail in. Nice & cool on my neck.
3. Dylan loves it.

Our Easter was really nice. I didn't get a photo of both the girls in their dresses before church & Claire was napping after church, so there went my chance. I didn't make a big deal about the clothes this year. Sadie wore a floral dress that she already had. One that I got on clearance at Target for $6. Claire wore a hand-me-down dress from Sadie. Easy-peasy. Sadie loved her crayons & her new princess coloring book & Claire was happy as could be with her new red ball. I don't believe in gifts for Easter. I mean, what do we think this is...Christmas?



At church the primary kids sang a song during sacrament meeting. Sadie was scared & didn't want to go up to the stage. As soon as they finished she started crying (pretty loud), because of course NOW she wanted to sing.

At home we found the eggs that the Easter bunny hid while we were at church. All except the three that the dog had eaten. Then I took the eggs to make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Once Sadie saw what I was doing she had a complete meltdown & was so mad that I had "ruined" her eggs. I did tell her beforehand that I was going to make yummy lunch out of them. I guess she didn't quite understand. :(

Also, on Easter Sunday, there had been so much talk about new, short hair that Sadie decided she wanted short hair too & I found her standing in front of the TV with the baby nail scissors snipping bits of her hair off. Luckily the didn't go any higher than chin length & there's no need for a clean up haircut at all. It just looks like her bangs are growing out. We sure lucked out there.



Claire is 11 months old as of Easter day. She is getting more bold with walking. Takes 5 or 6 steps & then falls down to crawl. She can climb up on the couch now. She puts her finger to her nose & says "shhhh". Still says "mama" "dada" "dee dee" & now she says "go" & "dog" both of which are mostly a g sound. there is a slight variation for each word, but she is definitely saying those words. I think she's also trying to say "ball", which is just sounds like "ba".


I had a few friends from church over yesterday. We had a brunch, where everybody brought something really yummy to eat & then we planted some seeds. Here are our starter pots for tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers. We don't have much space to grow outside, and if we end up with anything, I'll be happy.

I'm also continuing to post items in the shop. I have some Built By Wendy patterns that I'm getting uploaded. So if you are interested in those & haven't been able to find a good price on them, I've got 'em.

We're looking forward to warmer weather. I've got two little girls with nasty green runny noses today. Poor things. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Winner Of The Apron Is.....

Shannon!! Congratulations! We are all really jealous of you right now. :)

E-mail your address to me & I will forward it to Flirty Aprons. And, a big, huge thanks to Flirty Aprons for providing the darling apron for this giveaway.

Market Day

Took the girls & we hit West Side Market today. I'm trying to quit eating so much chocolate & bread. I'm really needing to change my snacking habits. I figured the market would be the best place to get a lot of produce for a good price.

Some of today's deals:

really yummy grapes .99/lbs.
2 cantalopes $3.00
10 oranges $3.00
2 heads of romaine lettuce $1.50
3 lbs. bag of onions $1.00
bunch of garlic $1.00

Plus I picked up some tamales & a roasted corn salsa for dinner tonight. Next week I want to get some grapefruit & blueberries (saw those for .99).

Fabrics

added to the shop today.

Flirty Apron Giveaway

That's right everybody. I've got another giveaway for you! This one is sponsored by Flirty Aprons!



Up for grabs is the Blue Chocolate Apron from Flirty Aprons. Just check out how adorable this is! A nice, full coverage apron that's cute & flattering.

Be sure to go over to their site to see all the other aprons they have to offer. There is a style for everybody. I, myself am loving the Sunshine apron. These would be perfect as gifts. Get a jump start on your Mother's Day shopping & you won't have to worry about it later!


Please leave a comment to be entered into the drawing for this lovely apron. I will draw one name on Thursday evening. :) Thanks so much flirty aprons!

I Asked For The "Lotta"

I took my Simple Sewing book in and showed my hair stylist Lotta's photo on the back cover.




It's a big change. I really love it! So long as I can figure out how to style it on my own tomorrow.

Guess What, Ashley....

you win!

e-mail me your address so I can send your bag out. Yay, Ashley!

The Prize!

I was going to make something else for the giveaway, until I woke up this morning & this tote was in my mind. I've actually been thinking about making this little beauty for quite some time. I'm so happy with how well it came together this morning.


Sadie came up & said, "Oh! I like the raindrops & this stripey thing!" I think I may need to do this applique on a t-shirt for her. Looks like we're going to be working on clothes & accessories for the sew along group & that would be a great one.


So make sure to get your comments in. I'll draw a name tonight after I watch Lost. I do have enough materials to make some more of these, so if by chance you don't win the drawing but would like a tote, contact me & we can work out arrangements for a purchase. Good luck!!



Just a little more exciting news. The giveaways are not going to stop after this. I will have another really fun giveaway the beginning of next week. Trust me, you won't want to miss out on that one. So be sure to check in Monday! :)

Crayon Roll, 500th Post & A Giveaway

I whipped up this crayon roll last night. It'll be going into Sadie's Easter basket. I've seen a lot of these around but didn't think much of them until I realized how nice they'd be for the church bag. A little organization is never a bad thing.


This, my friends, is my 500th post. Crazy, I know. Keeping with tradition around here at Sparkle Power, it is time for a giveaway. Unfortunately I don't have anything prepared yet. But, go ahead & leave a comment to be entered into the drawing & don't worry......whatever the prize is, it'll be good. :) I'll draw a name on Thursday night.

Go Ahead And Play

I checked out Unplugged Play from the library. Janae had mentioned this book a while back & I was curious. Last week, I tried to find more opportunities for allowing Sadie to play & not getting upset with her for getting into everything.

Some water play at the sink with her watering can & a few dishes


Cutting coupons


sorting pasta


and a little adventure with some new friends



We had a good week.

Another Girl...

Another window sitter.


If Claire is sad, I can put her by the window & she'll cheer up. I think she could stay there all day.

A Real Religious Man

We watched Nacho Libre a few nights back. It's been a while since we've watched it. I really love that movie. It's hilarious. Also, there are a ton of videos on youtube of people acting out the scene where Nacho says, "GET THAT CORN OUTTA MY FACE!!!". Totally bizarre.

Anyway, I hope you get a laugh today.

You've Got Your Hands Full

That's the comment I get the most from complete strangers whenever I leave the house with my kids in tow. It usually ticks me off, because I asume they're trying to tell me that I'm not handling things well. I really hate it when I feel that somebody is telling me that I'm not doing my job right. Don't you know that I'm perfect! (I'm so totally not perfect. I just have issues with other people lacking confidence in me. major issues. we just won't go there.)

Anyway, I get most of my comments from older people. You know, the ones that know EVERYTHING because they had children of their own 20-30-40 plus years ago. "that baby needs a hat on" "don't let her stand up in the cart" "where are your socks" "she's hungry" or "she needs a nap". I'm so glad that total strangers can look at my children for 2 seconds & know exactly what they need. Now, I think I'm a pretty good mom & most of the time my kids do have socks on or something covering their heads, but you've had those days when the fight is just not worth it & you'd rather get to the grocery store before lunch or nap time.

Well, on my last trip to the grocery store, I had a little old lady that felt the need to mention to me that I had my hands full. And as she laughed at me while I stooped over to put both the girls back in the car grocery cart & get them buckled in so that we could get the cart out to the parking lot (because both of them just had to get out once we got to the checkout), I realized that maybe I shouldn't take it as a negative comment. I'm doing just fine & I don't need the approval of strangers to confirm that. Maybe they're just mentioning it because they miss those days themselves. The days when they were so involved with little ones.

I've been struggling with Sadie lately. Yesterday was bad. Real bad. When I ask her to do something that she doesn't want to, she yells at me, hits me & throws toys at me. She is constantly doing things that she knows are not allowed & when I try to punish her for it, we get into the yelling, hitting & throwing toys again. So, today started with some Supernanny tactics. When she unbuckled her arms from her carseat during the ride home from dropping Dad off at work (car troubles), I told her that she was going in timeout once we got home. Now, normally I would just let it go because by the time we get home she's behaving nicely again. Not this time. I kept my word & she was mad! But after the 5 minutes, she was more than ready to offer an apology, I had her attention & could explain car safety to her & we gave each other hugs & kisses. And, the morning has gone really well. She hasn't been back in timeout yet. I'm feeling positive.

So I'm trying to change my attitude. Not to feel mad all the time because I'm constantly juggling little ones. It would sure help me a lot if winter would be over & the sun would shine on me a little more, but I can do it. With or without mother nature's help. My kids are not horrible. They're actually really good kids. I've just got to do my job to keep them that way. And I've got to fill my house with more love.

Sew Along Table Runner

I completed my table runner for the sew along while 3 feet of snow drifted into my driveway. Next time I'll remember to iron my fabric before I start working with it & maybe it will look a little smoother. I decided not to make it long enough to hang over the edge, because I know Claire would pull it off. Overall I'm pleased with it, but I think that the table needs a centerpiece now. I'm thinking some sort of rectangular container with grass planted in it.

Snowed In

And it just keeps coming down. Tomorrow the shoveling begins.

Hello Sunshine

Please think about coming around a little more often. Because I really like you a lot.



I found this writing on the inside flap of the girls dress pattern that I got at the thrift store earlier this week. How old is it, I wonder? The pattern was printed in 1967. But, I can't get over the fact that it looks so much like my mom's handwriting.


Happy Birthday Amber! Have a great day. :)

Post-It Note Drawing

Princess Leia - by Sadie. Age 3-1/2.

Snack

Well, actually this was my lunch yesterday. An apple (my variety of choice is fuji) & peanut butter really fills me up & is oh so yummy.


I gave a slice to the vampire teething baby, which she enjoyed gnawing on.



She was oh so cute & sweet yesterday. She kept holding out the apple slice for me to eat. I'd pretend to take a bite & she thought it was hilarious. Such a big girl......feeding her momma. She was also really cute with giving kisses yesterday. I asked her for one & then she just kept coming back & giving me more & more. I guess my giggling made her want to keep leaning in even though I didn't say the magic word, "kisses!". Some were open mouth & then she started squeezing her lips tight & then releasing them with a popping noise. SO adorable.

Today's Stop At The Thrift Store...

proved to be a good idea. I was lucky enough to find some green Mikasa mugs & salt & pepper shakers. The creamer is my favorite. It's also Mikasa, from the "curry yellow" line. It is a thing of beauty. I have been holding it & staring at it since we brought it home. That little view of yellow is just so exciting. All of these pieces will eventually end up in the shop once I get them cleaned up.

The fabric is also making me giddy. I'm going to be using it on my table runner project. So time for that to hit the washing machine & maybe I can get going on my runner soon!!

Happy Monday to you all. It is sunny & 60 degrees here today. Just the break in cold we've needed. Better enjoy it because tomorrow it will be cold again.