Polar Bear Plunge

I think I have lost it ...

I have volunteered to jump into the Chesapeake Bay in the Middle of January with Elijah's and Elyse's School to benefit the Special Olympics!!

Check out my page ....

Click here to donate!!

Feel free to let me know that I have lost my mind!!!

(I promise to update my blog .. I PROMISE! Life has just been really busy lately!!)

<3 M

Sneak peak at Halloween

Here is a sneak peak at my babies last night :)

Wreck it Ralph, Merida and a ghost princess

More to come ... (I know i always say that. I have a lot to catch up on)

Hurricane Sandy 2012

She is a coming.

Our county was under a voluntary evacuation and we volunteered. We didn't want to take the chance of the bay bridge shutting down and us being stuck on the island. Plus, according to the million weather reports I am obsessed with now, due to the rotation Sandy is spinning, she is kicking all the wind, rain and water towards were we live.

Better safe than sorry.

We got a hotel room that has free breakfast (score) and an indoor pool!!

I didn't take alot of pictures yesterday ( as I was crazy mom packing up and cleaning) however I do plan on catching up on my blog later today.

I hope all our friends, family and loved ones are hunkered down, as they say.

More to come later .. I need to try and sleep.

We have broken ground!!!

Ladies and gentlemen ...

Mark this day in history .... They have broken ground on the new house!!!!!! Yayyayayayaayayayyaya

I am a Princess

Grab your tissues ...

I have warned you!! 

Click here

Amazing job. I have always called myself and my daughters princesses as every mom and girl/woman does. This video has made me now prouder to do so and "continue my reign". The way real girls are shown in "Disney" Princess actions and behaviors. Every time it gets to the part of the father and daughter dancing the ball room dance from Beauty and the Beast, I start to lose it... And I lose it for minutes after. it was so empowering to me and I feel as if my words will not do the video justice. Watch it ... Share it ... and hug the ladies in your life just a little tighter, push them a little harder and support them a little more. <3

Screen Printing

Ever since I found out my sister was pregnant, I have been wanting to make her some onesies. I looked up sites online to get them made but they were so expensive (the cost of ONE onesie cost the same as all the supplies for the butterfly shirt .. this does not included getting it printed and the shipping). I spent some time researching online and before Noah was born I decided the DIY screen printing was the way to go. I thought it best to test it out on a shirt for my daughter first, before committing to a tiny onesie. It was so easy that I swore I had done something wrong. I have since made Noah's onesies and today we are making Halloween shirts for the girls; I think I am obsessed :)

Here are the steps:

 What you need:

1. A T-shirt. I stocked up on girl shirts from the clearance section at Target .
2. Paint brushes. I picked ones with rubber handle (less chance of slipping).
3. Marker. This is tracing the pattern. I love sharpie pens.
4. Pattern. Simple imagine from Google.
5. Mod Podge.
6. Fabric Paint.
7. Embroidery Hoop. Check your local thrift store.
8. Panty Hose. Again check the clearance rack at Target.

What to do:

1. Wrap the panty hose around the hoop and pull tight. 
2. Cut off any excess hose however leave a bit hanging off so it does not slip through the hoop (that would stink and almost happened to me).
3. Use your marker to trace your pattern right on the hose.
4. Using a paint brush, take Mod Podge and fill in negative space (the area you do not want to screen print). This is where my OCD kicked in. I was obsessed with making sure I filled all the holes. I even flipped it over and made sure the holes on the bottom side were covered as well. Let it dry for a few hours. It is dry when it is clear. I think this one took a little over 3 hours.

1. Place the hoop where you want your pattern.
2. Add fabric paint.
3. Spread out the paint. I used cardboard to spread it out evenly.
4. Carefully pull up the hoop.
5. Tada!! (I let it dry over night)

This is the finished result.
As you can see, I went back and added pink butterflies, using the same hoop.

 These are the onesies I made for Noah!!

I will post the Halloween shirts when we are done!!

Update:

Here are the Halloween shirts and Noah in his shirts!! :)

Please ignore Ella's face; she was not in the picture taken mood at the time.

Playing with my Macro lens

I am at work waiting for my computer to boot up and I started shooting my anniversary ring with my Macro lens ... They came out kinda awesome. Gives you a whole new perspective :)

Back of work for now ... Enjoy.

Quick Football Update

The Kent Island Seahawks are 3-2 as of today and I couldn't be prouder.

Every week they get better and better, their plays come together quicker and they are able to call plays AND READ PLAYS without us adults shouting out plays.

Mostly importantly Elijah, as always, has an entourage. If it all works out he has us, both sets of grandparents, his aunt, uncle and his new cousin .. if I use my toes, I count 11 people. All of which has their own opinion on what he should be doing but most of all cheering each an every kid on that team on like there were one of our own. I know he is proud when he sees everyone on the sideline .. I know I am.

Here are the last 3 weeks in a snapshot!

Go SEAHAWKS!!!!

Chasing Butterflies

Before one of Elijah's football games, Ella and I went chasing butterflies!!

It was so much fun watching her stare at them, asking questions (most of which I did not understand), and running around. 

This was also her public debut with no diaper on :) 

One of the many pleasures of being a mom!!

You gotta love how she slipped her shoulder out on the side ahahahahah

If you are wondering, she is carrying around her horses in her "e" bag, her flower girl gift from my sisters wedding last year. She has a white horse (who we call Maximus from Tangled) and a brown horse (Bullseye from Toy Story). They are her buddies and she almost never leaves home without them.

I know I have alot to catch up on (football pictures, Saturday afternoon craft updates, house updated and just life) however "life" seems to be getting in the way lately. I really want to get better about this ... and I will!

Till next time ...

Noah James

He is here!!

Noah James

9:47 am 10.02.2012

8lbs 8oz 21 inches

All I can say is ... he is the cutest thing, that isn't mine!

<3 Proud Auntie Melissa

Look at how he looks at his mommy!!

This is me holding him for the first time <3

Look at all that hair!!!

Mr. Incredible!! :)

More pictures to come!! :)

Tie Dye, Thank you!!

Seems like every Saturday I am crafting or trying something new so I have been thinking all week about a fun title to the series ... I have some fun ideas, and I actually think I have a title, but I want to noodle on it a bit longer before kicking it off. So I will finally recap last Saturday's craft .. TIE DYE!!

As you know from previous bogs, Elijah plays flag football on Sunday and his team is the Seahawks. Being that I married into Redskins, I don't own any Navy/Green Team shirts or Seahawks paraphernalia. Couple that with the fact that I have NEVER TIE DYED before, it was a date!

Went to Michael's (my new Friday after work hangout) with my sister (after a pedicure, of course) and got all our supplies!! Now, I want to tie dye EVERYTHING!! 

Yeah .. I bought a kit!! Luckily it was Navy, Green and Teal ($10 at Michaels).

Found a tutorial on how to spin and rubber-band the shirts!! 

I wanted a spiral .. so I did that for Ella and I

Elijah liked the way Bullseye looked .. so we made that for Elyse and Daddy!

see the burgundy and gold?!?!?

Left them in the bag, on the deck, to soak up the dye
Roughly 7 hours

Obi eyeballing us!

Tie Dye, Thank you!!

Today's craft (which got  a sneak peak on twitter) (series name and craft)

 might not be up for a little while ...

It will all make sense when it does come up!!

Football/New House: Week 2

New House Update: None

It has been 2 weeks since I last posted a picture and things look exactly the same. Everyone keeps saying it takes forever for them to start, but that when they do, time will fly by and i'll regret being impatient ... I won't comment on how i feel about that. I just want them to start .. the sooner they start, the sooner they finish and the SOONER WE CAN MOVE  IN!!!! I can't stop thinking about it!

Football update:

The Seahawks played the Ravens .. and it was a "challenging" (they lost but they poured their heart into the game). The team did amazing and Elijah is FANTASTIC as the Rusher while the Team is on defense (I get alot of action shots that way too :) ) Here are a few highlights!!

Ella joined the team during halftime huddle :)

Dancing?

I am sooo proud of Elijah .. He is doing great and Sunday's are now officially fun days!

Now I am off .. Gotta get my couponing on so we can have food for the week.

Sneak peak of next entry ... Tie Dye baby!!

Sharpie Shirts

I was playing around on Pinterest and came across this while looking up tie dye ideas (another post). So after we made the "legit" tie dye shirts, the kids and I played around.

What you need is:

T-Shirts (I got a 6 pack on undershirts for under $9),

 Rubbing alcohol

Rubber bands

Spray bottle

Plastic cups (i didn't want to use our own cups from home) 

and SHARPIES!!!

Everything cost me $15 (I already had the Sharpies).

Place the cups in their desired locations and rubber band them.

This not only holds it in place, but help create the tie dye effect

Next, let the kids color away with the sharpies!!

Finally, spray the circles with the rubbing alcohol and watch it spread.

We laid them out on the deck for 3 hours before I washed and dried them.

See the results below:

Elijah:

Elyse:

Ella:

And I played around making an Avengers one .. hahahaha

I was bummed in the end when the shirts came out lighter and not as colorful as they were before hand! However, the kids had a blast and already want to do it again!! :)

Ok .. I have to go get ready for QAC Seahawks game!! :)