Panic

 There is nothing like getting to the end of a sewing project to discover you didn't get enough material the first time so you are praying the whole way to Hobby Lobby that they still have that bolt of material or you are going to have to start all over again. Phew. 😏😬🪡🧵🧷 then you see some pretty fabric for yourself and splurge $24 dollars for yourself to make possibly 3 or 4 things. 🥰

Back To School Time

 Well, it's that time again.  The dreaded back to school time. Gosh, where did the summer go? ☀️  Just as we're having fun, it ends too quickly. Now it's back to rushing around and chaotic. However, it doesn't have to be. 

Now is a good time to establish a plan to get organized and implement ideas to help those busy days go smoothly. 

Here is a list of ideas that have always helped us. 

Believe it or not, your successful day starts the night before. 

1- Establish a night time routine.  This includes prepping things for the next day such as laying out your clothes for that day. This helps so much because everyone is not scrambling around in the morning time trying to figure out what they are going to wear. Of course you need to make sure laundry is caught up. 🙃.  You can even designate a little area and plan your outfits for the week and prefold them and put them into little bins or in the closet on hangers.  Whatever works for you. 

2- fix lunches and snacks the night before and put in the refrigerator.  You can go one step further and take a day and premake a load of sandwiches and some snacks and put in ziploc bags in the freezer. By the time it's time for them to eat lunch, they are ready to eat.  It also helps keep cold lunches cold. Now if you are taking a hot lunch, you will probably need to prepare it right before you leave and put in a thermos. I've known alot of moms to have stations in a pantry for lunches and snacks. If the children are old enough they can grab things for their lunches and fix their own. Jordan Page from Fun Cheap or Free had an excellent lunch system and organization for her children's lunches and how they are to fix their lunches. You should check her out and if you want creative lunch ideas for kids, check out Jennifer Fudge from Bunches of Lunches. I love all her lunch videos. 😋 

You can also take a day and just preprep breakfasts. Like breakfast burritos, egg bites, sausage and biscuits, smoothies, granola with yogurt, or granola bars, fruits. Either you can grab something and sit and eat before you go out the door or you might can grab and go and eat on the way. Some people have time to sit down and eat, some don't. Try to find a creative way to get something in the kids tummy before school.  Some kids eat breakfast at school and that's awesome. 👌 

3- have the kids take baths or showers at night. When they get up the next morning, all they have to do is wash their face, brush their teeth and fix their hair. 

4-establish a good bedtime routine and get them to bed so they can get a good night sleep. Start winding them down early and turn off electronics. Electronics stimulates the brain and it can't relax. You have to literally turn off and unplug before your brain can relax and be prepared for sleep. Sleep is very important for children and brain development so they can learn and function through out their day. 

5- Parents, you have to go through those back packs and check all those papers and etc. You might want to do this every night or even when they come home from school. So you can be prepared to assist with homework,  get ready to buy or make something for class projects or fund raisers or class parties. 

Alot of things can be started as soon as they walk through the door when they get home like #5. 👍 

When they get home, at least give them a few  minutes down time. They have been at school all day where it has been noisey, they are over stimulated,  probably starving , etc. They might just want to chill out, unwind, and have a snack before supper. Give them some time to talk about their day if they want to. Younger kids will be more apt to do this than older kids. As your kids get older,  they want more privacy and start clamming up. That is a story all in itself. I cover alot of this on our Parenting Page. 

Designate a time for homework. Be available to assist when needed. Maybe have them sit at the island or bar or table of the kitchen while you cook. This way you can make sure they are doing it. Lol. 

If your kids have sports or extra curricular activities after school that puts you getting home late, you are really going to have to step up your game and come up with a plan. 

Moms,  if yall work, you might have to incorporate a plan where the whole family can pitch in and help in the house hold and do chores to make the home function smoothly for everyone. Design some chore charts that are age appropriate for each kid. Everyone in the home is going to be busy everyday. This will help the home survive and still function. Put someone on laundry duty or come up with a system where everyone can help. Someone on dish duty after meals, floor duties like sweeping, mopping, vacuuming. Dusting duty. Holding them accountable for cleaning their rooms. I cover alot of these things on our Homemaking page too. I created chore charts for our kids too when they were little and I had a reward system. You can come up with one too. It doesn't always have to be money.  Believe it or not, even toddlers and preschoolers can learn things too. They are so eager to do what everyone else is doing. Not only are you helping your home to run smoother, you are teaching accountability,  work ethics, and life skills. 

If your a stay at home mom, then these things shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure your available for when they all get home and greet them. Make sure you are rested and on top of your game. Busy nights and days is where meal planning comes in handy.  On those busy nights due to extra curricula activities,  get those crock pots and instant pots out. Meal prepping and baking ahead meals comes in handy too. Check into batch cooking or freezer cooking. Those dishes can be taken out of the freezer that morning to thaw and when you get home, pop it into the oven and bake or if it is prebaked, then just heat it up and serve it. Bam. 

School time doesn't have to be hard. It takes planning and organizing. Come up with and implement your own system that works for you and your family to help the day go smoothly and the home to function.  

I hope alot of these tips have helped. 

Enjoy the journey.  

I'll Try To Catch You Up

 Boy, it has been a busy few weeks. I'll try to catch you up. 

We finally got Dallas and Brylee set up in Nannys house. They have worked so hard fixing it up like they want it. They love being there. So far I think Brylee has decided to wait until next year to go back to school. We had so much trouble finding them a place to rent where she is going to go to college and financially it is too hard on them at the moment. They don't want to start out their future struggling to make ends meet and I think they made the right decision.  They want to work a little bit and set a nest egg aside for next year so it will be better financially when she goes back to school.  As you can see, he loves his Legos. I'm thankful for the young man he has become. He and Brylee are on their journey to adulthood. He cooks and cleans while she is at work.  I'm glad I taught him how to take care of himself when he was growing up.  Even boys need to learn to take care of things,  not to loose their masculinity but because they need to know how to take care of themselves. Mom can't follow them everywhere and do it. Brylee is very neat and organized too. He has been getting brownie points and letting her rest when she comes in and take a bath while he cooks. Our boys take care of their women. 

 It was time for me to rejoin dear hubby and I had to go back to LA where I was once again greeted every morning by our greeters on our porch

I sat out on the cottage porch one day and just enjoyed myself. 

Bow chicka wow wow.....do not disturb 

I fixed a good supper one night. I found the recipe on Facebook.  It is Taco Stuffed Shells. 🌮  It was delicious. 

One day I went walking around the grounds to see if I could spot any gators. No luck. I would have probably peed in my pants had I seen one. 

The bad thing about where we are is there is no place to swim. I am a water baby and I love to swim. Louisianas insurance laws are so awful around here. 

So to pass my time, I got into a sewing frenzy.  School is fixing to start for our little buddy Atleigh and I wanted to make her some school clothes. And I didn't want Caroline to feel left out so I made her some too. I can't believe my little buddy will be going to Kindergarten. I do not know how Caroline will take it. She has been with her sissy 24/7 for 4 years. I put together some cute little short sets. 

And of course I have to accessorize. I am making hairbows to match. This is just one I have got done. 

Here is a close up. I have had my nose stuck in YouTube and Pinterest. I love the way they turned out. 

The next day I was busy again and finished making the bows for the other outfits. 

I finally just had to take a break and have some time for myself. I am a water baby and need my water therapy. The place we were at in LA , there were no swimming places even remotely close. Where we live we have man made beaches up and down our river. The river that ran through where we were, had no man made beaches. Not to mention, the insurance laws in LA is outrageous and ridiculous.  My dear hubby got called to another plant which landed us 2 hrs closer to home has areas to swim. The hotel we are in had a pool but has been closed since 2020. 😡. So I just found the local YMCA.  I swear, I sing it every time I type it. 

Dakota surprised Jordan with a weekend trip to Gatlinburg.  He's just like his dad. Well, she has been pretty upset and down on herself because she thinks she did not pass her National exam. We are not sure yet but will know in a couple of weeks. He was trying to get her mind off of it. While she was taking her test,  Dakota got to go and spend time with his Granny and Poppa. My momma and daddy. They enjoyed their visit. 

These girls are about sick of my "freedom". Atleigh has called me 3 times in the past few days crying and her little "I want you Gmaw"  is breaking my heart. Then there is Caroline who I can hear in the background,  " Let's fight Poppie".  Lol. Just a few more days and they will be glued to us. 

I have three more outfits to sew for them for school.  I can't believe our big girl starts Kindergarten.  We've been together for 4 1/2 years. Little sissy probably will have some adjusting to do too. She's has big sissy 24/7 and want know how to act not seeing her during the day. It's adjustments for everyone.  

When we get home it is time to order our upper cabinets and get them installed. I am so excited. 

Well, I have more sewing to do so I'd better get at it. And I will have some new viodes up soon. I just posted a new one last week I think. Two new videos actually.  Here is the link. 

https://youtu.be/xhRefRrZB8M

And 

https://youtu.be/41sqa4re-wc

Hope you enjoy them. 

We Got Our Soldier

 

I got the chance to come home and Dakota and the girls came and ate with us. He actually grilled some steaks for us. 

The next morning, me and Brylee set out on an adventure. We headed to MO to pick up our soldier.  We were making good timing and we actually had some time to kill. We kept seeing signs for and Wildlife Adventure park so we said, Why Not? We had so much fun because we got to pet some Lemurs. IT WAS SO COOL

We made it to the hotel, checked in, found something to eat and even got in a little swimming. Then we got up the next  morning, got ready and drove to the base.  We were told where to meet them and pick them up for Family day. He did not want to do much but just go back to hotel and just rest. He was so exhausted. They had been up since 3am. 

It was time to take him back to the base and drop him off until graduation time the next morning. Then we got up and got ready and headed for the base again for AIT graduation. 

He took us to the PX when it was over and I got to pick out some souveniers.  We got back to hotel and relaxed and swam some. 

The next day it was time to drive home. Dad was so proud to see him. Dad had to finish out the rest of the work week and could not make the graduation this time. Dallas said he was ok with it as long as he was there for the 4th. 

We got to celebrate the 4th with my momma and daddy coming that morning. They could not stay for all the night time festivities because they have trouble seeing at night. 

We had to add the Army flag to our pole. 

And of course me and my little buddies have to bake some treats for the 4th. I let them decorate them all by themselves. We got every thing ready for that evening. We just had to keep it simple because we all literally just got home the day before and were exhausted and didn't have time to cook. 

At dark, we moved outside and watched as they shot our fireworks. I think Dallas enjoyed his coming home party. 

We let the girls spend the night with us. They loved a set of their pjs I made for them. The next morning I had take them home because they were going to get ready to go on an outing with daddy, bonus mom and some friends.

We found out later that Dallas had proposed to Brylee and of course she said yes. So we will have an addition to our family. She already has been, just legally now. They have so many options for their future to start out with that they have alot to discuss and work out and plan. I am so excited for them. We went through the exact same thing when we were younger. It brings back alot of memories. 

I will be here the next few days helping Dallas get some things taken care of. They are going to be staying at Nannys house for a little bit until they figure out their next move.He has to check in with his recruiter to get his schedule for his weekend training every month. If you will remember he is reserves for right now while she is taking her college classes. 

 We still have alot of cleaning up and packing up to do at her house but we are getting there. It was hard for dear hubby to walk into his momma house again after so long. This will give these kids some time to learn how this thing called adulting works. They will do just fine. 

Happy 4th of July

 May we take time today to remember all those who have sacrificed their lives, and those still fighting for the freedoms we have in our country today. ❤️ 💙🇺🇸