Wordless Wednesday ~ July 8, 2015

Isabella!!!!!!!!

Crochet Baby Dress for Isabella

Crochet Baby Dress

Crochet is another crafty endeavor that I enjoy when I sit and relax at the end of the day.  Recently I started making a dress for the newest grand girlie, and finished it just in time for her to wear to a wedding this past weekend.

I found this pattern on You Tube, written by Oana in Italy.  I am graciously thankful that she is willing to share her skills and video tutorials with the world, and that she took the time to make an English version of her video tutorials.

Our Selfie

Isabella is now 7 months old, and the pattern was written for 6 months.  When I started the project last month, the dress was more of a shirt so I had to add more rows of cascade stitch to get the length long enough to be a dress on her.  The top of the dress fit her just perfectly, so unfortunately wearing the dress was a one time deal, unless another special occasion pops up in the next couple weeks before she outgrows the top.

Isabella is a techy baby and is fascinated with cell phones.  She loves to take selfies and.the fact that the child knows what buttons to push amazes me.  The lighting was poor, but I had to capture the moment with her wearing the dress.  She wanted to hold my cell phone but Grammy said no.  She didn't give me a smile for the selfie in return.

Catching Up

Summer "vacation" will be over after today, when I return to the regular routine of School Food Service for another year.  It's been a rather busy summer, and looks to be equally busy this fall.  The fact that next weekend is Labor Day is unbelievable to me.  Where has the summer gone?

After spending a week in Boston for the ANC (Annual National Conference) for SNA (School Nutrition

Beautiful Day

Association), I came home to put finishing touches on wedding plans for one of my daughters.  Beautiful day, beautiful bride, and everything was absolutely perfect.  Even though I have been step-grammy to now 9 & 10 year old girls since they were 2 & 3 years old, it is now official when my daughter tied the knot.  Those of you who remember when Christina was born...she's going to Kindergarten this year!  My how the time has flown by, and Hailley is now 4!

Tomato Heaven

Then it was on to a week of statewide school food service training where I embarked on a graduate level course in Nutrition and Food Education, and taught two classes for the State of Vermont.   One of the days we took participants of the class to a local organic farm, and I was delighted with the hoop frame set up they utilize for growing tomatoes...it was definitely Tomato Heaven!   The classes were held up near where my daughter and the 4 grand girlies live, so I made nightly visits after classes were finished each day.

Diaper Cake & Purse

To round out the last weekend of summer vacation, I hosted a baby shower for my younger daughter, who is expecting in October.  The guest list grew, and the space in my house kept feeling smaller, so we borrowed a big tent for the yard, and after it went up we had two days of non-stop rain.  I was worried, to say the least, but the rain moved out and everything started drying out in time for the party.  In my ever creative mode, I embarked on creating a diaper cake for the shower, and when I found myself with leftover diapers I made a diaper purse, because every little girl needs a purse, right?

Soy Tea Lights

Today has been all about catching up with packaging, photographs, and listing items in my online shop.  Today I added soy wax melts and tea lights (boxes made in house) in some of my summer scents, and will be adding fall and holiday fragrances in the near future.  Also added are some fizzing bath salts in 9 oz. and 16 oz. bags.  The 9 oz. bags are handcrafted in house.

Curing the Winter Blues

Smile!

It is hard to believe that it has already been five years since my first Grandbaby was born.  How did time fly by so fast?  Stop the clock, already!!!  We went for a visit and to celebrate the momentous occasion. I also snagged some cute T-shirts for the girlies while I was in Washington, DC which required a photo session, of course.  This is one proud Grammy, grinning from ear to ear, because we learned earlier this week that Grandbaby #3 will join our happy, growing family in October and these two precious girlies will have a new cousin to grow up with!

Watermelon Soap

Midweek we were inundated with yet another major winter storm that delivered 2 feet of snow followed by yet another deep arctic freeze.  I am so done with winter, and yearn for warm sunshine, flip flops, and summer fun.  I'm ready to retire the coats, boots, and scarves for a while.  Alas, winter is holding a tight grip and not relinquishing its hold quite yet.  In the soaping room I created Watermelon Soap that not only looks fun, it smells amazing!  A fragrance that cures the winter blues, for sure.

In other news, phase one of our new website design is now complete.  A real website that connects to our blog feed, and for now, to our Etsy shop.  In time products will migrate over to the new website.  At least for now I am please to have everything somewhat tidy and connected from the domain to make finding the online shop and blog/news updates easier.  And now it is time for me to head back into the soap room and create.  :)

Fun In The Snow But Looking Forward to Spring

I'm not a huge fan of the cold or the snow that goes with it...give me the sand, beach and hot sun! But here's a face that sure does enjoy the snow! Christina is inching right up on 2 years of age, and it is a constant battle...boots on, coat on and then it is boots off, coat off (by herself, of course) as she tools around the house begging to go outside. She knows exactly what to do when the sled is put on the ground...in she goes and waits to be pulled around. Baby sister is almost 6 months old and hasn't been introduced to snow angels or sleds just yet.

Christina's favorite Aunty taught her how to make snow angels as she tested out the new snow suit that was given to her for Christmas. And not a moment too soon, we finally had enough snow for her to get out and enjoy.

The only snow I enjoy are days when a call comes in the wee hours that we have no school due to inclement weather. This Grammy gets all giddy with excitement and the creative soap making juices flow. Several new batches of spring soap are currently on the curing rack, and will make a debut in our online store later this month.

Hailley Lynn ~ Our Newest Family Member

July 27 we welcomed our second Grandbaby, Hailley Lynn, into our hearts and arms. She is joined by big sister Christina, who is now 18 months old! Christina is absolutely smitten with her baby sister (check out the photo on the right side of this blog).

This is one very proud Grammy. We're celebrating so join with us and share in our delight...we have extended the summer sale in our shop until August 8, 2010.

Happy Birthday Christina!

It's hard to believe that one year ago today we welcomed Christina into the world. A precious miracle that immediately won the hearts and love of her family.

At 6 months of age, the independence was starting. Her personality beginning to come to the forefront.

Today she's a ham and three quarters. The big smile is just a glimpse of the sweet baby she has become.

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Chocolate Monster

Happy 2010!

Snuggles was sitting on the bench. Christina crawled over to him and just before she pulled herself up on the bench to play with him, he took off under the table. As she was lifting the table cloth to find him, Snuggles casually poked his head out by the bench and walked over to me. I wasn't fast enough to capture the entire moment, but I did capture a great moment of Christina. :)

Sunday Silence

Guessing Contest

In case you didn't know...LOL...my oldest daugther is due to have her first baby soon. And since this is also my FIRST Grandbaby, it calls for a contest! All you have to do is guess the date and approximate time you think she will have the baby and leave it as a comment right here on my blog. Her given due date is March 10. You must also leave a working email in your comment so I know how to reach you if you are the one to make the lucky guess.

So....what could you win? A shopping spree to Spotted Cow Soaps ~ haven't decided the exact $$ amount ~ but I will say that I am going be real generous!!!

Guess away ~ and I will announce the winner as soon as the baby arrives!

Five Months

Showing off my daughter's growing belly...