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Time for High School!!!

Oh my gosh, yesterday I took Kate up to register her for high school! Naturally, they made us fill out a form and then schedule an appointment (which is what I thought we had on Monday?) but we are one step closer. We also got information about her two orientation days which sound super fun. 🙂

Other highlights last week include finalizing the twins’ school registrations, deciding that we would let them be in separate classes this year, and deciding that we would let them ride the bus! Cue massive panicking on my part, but at this point I’m just holding them back. It’s for sure time for them to have some more independence, but part of me still looks at them and sees my teeny tiny, sub 5 pound, babies.

We also found an awesome public pool in our new town! And it’s at the end of our street next to a cool park and the YMCA! I’m pretty sure we are all going to be crying at some point this winter, but for now it feels like we are moving to paradise.

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Beach Time!

I don’t think that it’s a secret to anyone that I am obsessed with the beach. We’ve been to the beach, um, 7 or 8 times since we’ve been in Maine? I love it! Our new house will be about an hour and a half from our favorite beach in Portland which is totally doable for a day trip. We’re loosely planning a once a month day trip to Portland for beach/ shopping! 🙂

Luckily that will give me plenty of chances to perfect my heart/ sand picture. But we are just too cute in this picture not to post it! For this, you’re supposed to dig a heart shaped hole in the sand and then put your camera at the bottom of it. When it works, you see a cute heart shaped sand border! We think we just need a much deeper hole for the heart to show up. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to perfect this over the rest of the summer. <3

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How is it August?!?

Y’all! July was a whirl wind! But in the best way. 🙂 Let’s see how we did in July.

  1. Find a house. OMG! Yes! We found an awesome house and we’re under contract. 🙂 Now we’re just (impatiently) waiting to close. Closing is currently scheduled for August 30th, but we’re really hoping that they let us lease it before hand. Our last day in this Air BNB is August 31st and that’s cutting it a bit close for my peace of mind. lol. Also, Raptor starts high school ::gasp:: on the 28th (I think?) and I’m not loving the idea of a 2 hour commute to get her to school. Not exactly the relaxing first day I want for her! So all fingers and toes crossed that the closing goes well and that they let us move in early.
  2. Sell our house. We did it! It went well and I’m so incredibly grateful.
  3. See a lighthouse. Done! Peanut was in a crappy mood when we got there, but the rest of us had a great time and I’m sure that we’ll seek out more light houses in the future.
  4. Go to the beach. Yes!!! Oh my gosh, we have been to the beach 6 or 7 times at least and it’s been amazing. Our new house is going to be about an hour and a half from our favorite Maine beach, but I’m not going to let that stop me from listening to the ocean at least once a month. 🙂
  5. Go to the cat cafe. RaptorDad took the kids and let me sleep. Amazing! The kids all loved it.
  6. Boat ride. We didn’t manage to get this done, but we did find an abandoned military fort which was Xander’s second pick. We’ll make it out on a lobster boat at some point. 🙂
  7. See some mountains. Boy howdy have we seen some mountains! Our second Air BnB is at a ski resort and it’s stunningly beautiful. 🙂
  8. Baste more hexies. Done! I still have loads to do, but it felt amazing to be making progress. And RaptorDad flew back to Texas to get our puppy and our second car which had such treasures packed as my hexie quilt! Yay! I am so happy to be working on it again. And the kids are thrilled to have the puppy back. 🙂
  9. Design map embroidery. Still kicking this around in my head, but I’m excited about it. 🙂
  10. Stargazing. Oh my gosh, the stars here are amazing! We have an awesome back deck and RaptorDad and I love sitting out there in the evenings and looking at the stars. 🙂

So time for some August goals!

  1. Register kids for school! I’ve already started this process, but I’m actually taking the littles up to the new school to register them and get a little tour tomorrow. Then I’ll take Kate up on the 14th to register her.
  2. Scavenger Hunt. Kate and I found an online scavenger hunt for the month of August and I’m obsessed! There are 30 items and the goal is to find 25 of them. Fingers crossed!
  3. 4 more blog posts in August. I want to start posting a blog every Monday again.
  4. Fairy Houses. We want to make some fairy houses with the kids using only materials that we find in nature.
  5. Hiking. We’re not exactly “hiking” but we did find a cute little walking trail. There are so many fabulous trails around here! I’d like to try to go on one hike a week.
  6. Finalize plans for Africa. Oh my gosh, my mom and I leave for Africa in like 6 weeks! i’m so damn excited I almost can’t stand it. 🙂
  7. Milky Way Photo. So I tried some nighttime photography and it was so fun! Then RaptorDad found me some YouTube tutorials and I’m eager to try again. 🙂
  8. Game Night. I’d love to get back to our weekly family DND sessions. Among the treasures packed into the second car was a box with some DND essentials.
  9. Planner? I think I’m ready to give using a planner another go.
  10. Hexies. I want to keep making progress on my hexies. 🙂

I’m going to stop this blog here, but hopefully I’ll have a post cued up for Monday!

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New State Who Dis?

We made it to Maine! Yay! We drove in on July 1st- the OG Raptor’s 14th birthday. We’re currently settling into our Air BnB for the next 2 weeks right outside of Portland. Then we have 6 weeks in an Air BnB about an hour away. We’re hoping to find a house in the next few weeks so we can be finished with closing by the time our second Air BnB is done. Fingers crossed! So far, we are all falling in love with Maine! It’s absolutely gorgeous!

June Goals?

  1. Pack all the things. Done!
  2. Load Pod. Done!
  3. Road Trip Hotels. Done!
  4. Road Trip Activities. Done!
  5. Clean all the things. Done! Well, we paid someone to clean all the things, but they are clean so I’m counting it as a win. 🙂
  6. Find a house to rent. We’ve discovered that rental houses are a myth.
  7. Find Schools. ::sigh::
  8. Explore New England. It’s beautiful!
  9. Fall in love with New England. We’re working on it. 🙂
  10. Adventure. Boy howdy! It’s been an adventure!

July Goals.

  1. Find a house!
  2. Sell our house! (Fingers crossed for a quick sale!)
  3. See a lighthouse. This was top of Mia’s list so we need to make it happen!
  4. Go to the beach! This was top of my list. :). We’re not attempting it today because it’s the 4th of July and I’m allergic to crowds, but soon!
  5. Go to the Cat Cafe. Ugh. This was Kate’s pic. I’m super allergic to cats, but I’m just going to mask up!
  6. Boat Ride. Not sure how we’re going to make this happen, but Xander’s pick is to go out on a boat and catch a lobster. lol.
  7. See some mountains. RaptorDad’s pick is to see the mountains.
  8. Baste more hexies. All of my craft supplies are packed up! ::sob:: But I did keep some fabric and a basic EPP kit in my backpack so I want to keep basting hexies for the binding of my hexie quilt.
  9. Design map embroidery. I have had this project saved on pinterest for YEARS but I haven’t had a cool trip to do it. Basically you buy a road map and then embroider your path directly on the paper map. I’m wishing I had kept track of our exact route and stops in real time, but I get super carsick so that wasn’t an option. I’m trying to retroactively record our path though. I’m not sure how detailed I’ll make the map, but I think it’s going to be cool. 🙂
  10. Stargazing! We’re hoping that we can see some amazing stars out here! I want to play with my intervalometer and camera and try to get some amazing images. 🙂

So that’s where we’re at! Not much crafting going on because everything is packed up, but we’re having a blast exploring our new home. 🙂

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How is it June???

Oh boy. We’re leaving on June 25th, so now that it’s June 1st things are starting to feel real. We’re starting to have the “lasts” and saying goodbye. Last day of school. Last time at camp. Last time to see friends. (But we’re really hoping all y’all will come visit us!) Let’s take a look at the May goals.

  1. Scrap October, November, December 2019. Sadly, only October got done. And now the majority of my scrapping stuff is packed up. But, I feel good about getting another month done.
  2. Road Trip Plans. Well, I think we have a route and we do have an Air BnB booked for the 2 weeks we’ll be in Maine. I don’t have any organized activities for the kids, but I did make some clipboards that I think are going to work well. Maybe I’ll do a separate blog post about them later?
  3. Teacher Gifts. Ugh. This didn’t happen at all and I feel super shitty about it.
  4. Heart Quilt. I’m about 3/4 of the way done with stabalizing it.
  5. Color Wheel Quilt. I have the center quilted with some straight line quilting, but I want to do some stippling around the edges where the applique is. I need to finish the hearts and then I’ll change out the sewing machine foot and I should be able to wrap up the color wheel quilt pretty quickly. Which is good because it’s a gift for a friend and we’re leaving in 3 weeks. EEEPPPP!!!
  6. Scrap Goal. Honestly, I didn’t even look at this.
  7. Passports. Done! I mean, they’re not back yet, but we sent off all of the information and had our appointment. 🙂
  8. Edit Photos. They came out so cute! And most importantly, the graduate AND the family were happy with them. 🙂
  9. Crafty Plan. I think my crafts are going to be the bucilla kits and my hexagons. I’ve managed to misplace my advent calendar bin though so hopefully it turns up as we’re packing!
  10. Ice Cream Soda. I wanted to prep a bunch of blocks, but it just didn’t happen and I’m trying to be ok with that. I think I’ll end up with plenty to work on with the stockings and if not, I guess I’ll be forced to buy a bunch of fabric and start a new project! lol

Not in the list, but I did make a big breakthrough on the hexagon quilt! I figured out how I want to bind it and I did a teeny test section. I absolutely love how it’s turning out.

Now for some June goals.

  1. Pack all the things.
  2. Load pod.
  3. Road trip hotels.
  4. Road trip activities.
  5. Clean all the things.
  6. Find a house to rent.
  7. Find schools.
  8. Explore New England.
  9. Fall in love with New England.
  10. Adventure! 🙂
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We’re Moving! Also May Goals

We’re moving!!! I can’t believe it’s actually happening, but we have made the decision to move out of Texas. I know, I can’t believe it either. BUT I think it’s going to be an awesome adventure! We are 80% sure we are moving to the Portland, Maine area, but seeing as how we’ve never been to New England we’re planning an epic road trip this summer so we can go check it out and pick a town to move to. Oh, and we also have to pack all of our things and stage our house so we can list it. In less than 2 months. ::cue panicking:: So there’s a whole lot to get done! Let’s start with April Goals.

  1. Get at least 1 quilt top basted. Done and then some! I got 2 quilts basted at retreat.
  2. Project Life March and April 2023. Nope.
  3. Project Life catch up plan. Done!
  4. Scrapbook February and March 2023. Well, I got March done. But in bigger news, I also got August and September 2019 done!
  5. Clean up and organize WIPs. Not really, but I did make some decisions and finish the color wheel quilt top. 🙂
  6. EPP. Nope.
  7. RE Homework. Done! By the skin of our teeth, but it’s done!
  8. First Communion party. It’s happening this weekend! 🙂
  9. Plans for quilt retreat. OMG we had a blast. 🙂
  10. Plans for the twins’ birthday party! Yay! They had an amazing time. 🙂

May Goals:

  1. Scrap October, November, December 2019. (I’m cheating a little since I did October on the 1st. lol) I’d love to get as much done as possible (FOR REAL) before we move.
  2. Road trip plans. I would like to finalize the route up to Maine including possibly hotel rooms? Also, car activities for the kids.
  3. Teacher gifts. I totally dropped the ball on Teacher Appreciation week, but I do plan to get them some kind of end of the year gift.
  4. Heart Quilt. I’d like to finish stabilizing it so that I can do the hand quilting.
  5. Color Wheel Quilt. I need to piece the backing and get it quilted and bound.
  6. Scrap Goal. I’d love to also wrap up 2020. I have a large chunk of it done because I did it in real time for early Covid.
  7. Passports. We have our appointment today, but I need to finish filling our the paperwork and making copies.
  8. Edit Photos. I took some graduation pictures for a friend of mine and they turned out so cute! Now I just need to edit them. 🙂
  9. Crafty Plan? My craft room will probably end up packed up for a chunk of time. I want to create some very condensed, very portable craft projects that I can keep out. I’m thinking the Bucilla stocking kits? But I’d like to give that some thought.
  10. Ice Cream Soda. On that note, It would be awesome if I could go ahead and prep the rest of the Ice Cream Soda blocks before I had to pack up my fabric. 🙂

All this while also packing all the things and getting ready to list the house. Ack! But we are all excited about our new family adventure and we can’t wait to make some new memories as a family. 🙂

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April Goals (On Time Even!)

It’s not an April Fool’s Joke- I’m actually posting my April goals on time! Let’s see how March went.

  1. Schedule travel vaccines. Done!
  2. Schedule dental/ eye dr appointments for Kate. Dentist is scheduled. 🙂
  3. Twin Birthday Plans. RaptorDad took point on this, but we still need to get the evite out to their classmates. Evite is sent!
  4. Plan for PL/ Scrapbook catch up (2023). Not yet.
  5. Book swim lessons. Done! And this has been hanging over my head ever since I missed the sign ups last year.
  6. Retake Bluebonnet Pics. Nope.
  7. Edit Soccer Pics (x2). Nope.
  8. Put new quilt up on the design wall. Done! And I’m loving it. 🙂
  9. Write April goals post (on time?) Woo hoo!
  10. Enjoy my birthday!!! My birthday was amazing!!!

April Goals:

  1. Get at least 1 old quilt top basted.
  2. Project Life. March and April of 2023.
  3. Project Life Catch Up Plan. I want to go through and make a list of exactly what I’m missing. I also want to go through and label my Project Life kits so they are ready to go.
  4. Scrapbook. February and March of 2023.
  5. Clean up and reorganize WIPs. I want to go through and look at each in progress quilt and figure out what needs to be done.
  6. EPP. Ever since I put my Ice Cream Soda quilt in time out, I haven’t been keeping any EPP projects in my backpack. I’d like to change that.
  7. RE Homework. This is due at the end of April. Ugh.
  8. First Communion Party. The twins are making their First Communion. Party? IDK.
  9. Plans for quilt retreat.
  10. Plans for the twins’ birthday!
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Is it March Already?

lol. I’m typing this on the 23rd 27th. Might be a little late for goals at this point, but I’m a creature of habit and I enjoy being able to look back on these so I’ll post anyway.

February Goals:

  1. 2023 Project Life. I got 1 of 4 weeks done.
  2. Old Project Life. Nada.
  3. 2023 Scrapbook. Honestly, I only got 2 pages scrapped in February.
  4. Old Scrapbook. hahahahahaha.
  5. Heart Quilt. I didn’t get the back pieced, but I did cut out some squares for the backing. Progress?
  6. Girl Scout Cookies. Done! Totally done!
  7. Beach Trip. Done! Yay!
  8. Spring Break. Honestly, we had a pretty low key spring break and it was exactly what all of us needed.
  9. Wood Signs. Nope.
  10. Hexies. Also nope.

You may be wondering, did you do *anything* in February and March? Yes! I actually took a long term sub job in the library at my kids’ school and it was amazing! It was 16 days (so just over 3 weeks) with spring break in the middle. I absolutely loved it, but I’m very glad for a bit of a break to get caught up on all of the things around the house. We’ve also been having so much fun working on our dollhouse miniatures! We work on them at the kitchen table so it’s more of a fun family time activity and less of me hiding in my scrap/ sewing room. lol. I’ll try to post some pics later. Also, I started a new quilt! (again)

March Goals? I mean, it’s like 5 more days. lol.

  1. Schedule travel vaccines
  2. Schedule dental/ eye dr appointments for Kate
  3. Twin Birthday Plans. RaptorDad took point on this, but we still need to get the evite out to their classmates.
  4. Plan for PL/ Scrapbook catch up (2023)
  5. Book swim lessons
  6. Retake Bluebonnet Pics
  7. Edit Soccer Pics (x2)
  8. Put new quilt up on the design wall
  9. Write April goals post (on time?)
  10. Enjoy my birthday!!!

Almost summer time! <3 <3 <3

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Hello February!

Oh my gosh, it is so cold here. We’re on our second ice day! Unlike 2021, we currently have power ::knock on wood:: so we’re actually really enjoying it. I even let Kate and Xander go outside and play in it! Mia looked at us like we were insane for leaving the warm house. Kind of think she might have the right idea. 😉

But we had fun. 🙂 I switched my lens out for my macro one- so fun!

I’m actually pretty proud of this shot! And now, back to the goals.

January

  1. 10k steps a day. Well, I’m averaging 8,463 steps a day which is a step up from the 6,238 I averaged for 2022. I tried to find how many days I actually got over 10K steps, but my phone and I are currently in a stand off. lol.
  2. Old Project Life. Done! I got 4 weeks of 2021 done. 🙂
  3. New Project Life. Done! I got the first 4 weeks of 2023 done and I am thrilled!
  4. Old Scrapbook. I didn’t get August of 2019 done, but I did get February 2021 done so that’s something.
  5. New Scrapbook. Done! I am all caught up and January 2023 is finished! Yay!
  6. Ice Cream Soda. This quilt is in time out.
  7. Africa. Still trying to get our flights booked, but we’re working on it.
  8. Doll House. I didn’t get a bookshelf made, but I did make a fish tank and that’s pretty awesome.
  9. Girl Scout Cookies. Well, we’re not done yet, but we are getting closer and so far it’s been ok.
  10. Valentine’s Day. Behind as per usual, but I did start a new tradition last night that I’m pretty excited about. I cut out hearts and I’m writing down one thing I love about each of them every night between now and Valentine’s Day and taping them to their doors. So cute!

So February Goals.

  1. 2023 Project Life. I’d like to get caught up and do February in real time. That’s 4 weeks.
  2. Old Project Life. Fingers crossed I can keep the momentum going. I’d like to get 4 weeks done in one of the old Project Life albums.
  3. 2023 Scrapbook. Keep current! January went really well and I’m hoping I can get some systems in place to keep this up.
  4. Old Scrapbook. I’s like to get 1 old month done. My current (delusional) plan is to keep current while knocking out 1 old month each month so I can (very slowly) catch up.
  5. Heart Quilt. I didn’t really get any quilting done last month. This month, I’d like to piece the backing for my heart quilt.
  6. Girl Scout Cookies. ::sob::
  7. Beach Trip. I’d really love to make a day trip down to the beach. I love the beach so much and it’s a huge recharge for me. Bonus is that in the winter, it’s so cold that my kids don’t want to go out in the water!
  8. Spring Break. Make a spring break plan! We’re going to do it as a staycation so I want to make a plan. Initially I was thinking “all the Austin things!” but then I remembered that spring break in also SXSW. Hmm… Will need to ponder this further.
  9. Wood Signs. I’ve decided to make some wooden signs to sell on Etsy. Um, I need to figure all of this out.
  10. Hexies. My poor neglected hexies. I want to pull these back out and get to quilting!
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Doll House Fish Tank

I made a fish tank, y’all!

There is lots of room for improvement, but overall I’m really pleased with it!

I made the actual tank with pieces of acrylic that I cut on our laser. The gravel on the bottom is actually bits of broken glass from the floral section at Michael’s and the plants are sculpy. The fish are pieces of twine that I coated in mod podge, then folded over on themselves and added a dot of stickles to. Then I placed the things and added resin.

Things I would do differently… Well I would have found a better way to suspend the fish for one. They kept floating to the top which just made it look like a tank full of dead fish. lol. So next time I would either glue the fish to the plants or pour the resin in layers. I would also try to find a better solution for getting rid of the bubbles- maybe a pressure pot? But either way, I had a lot of fun making this!