A farmer's life for me...

Had a gorgeous weekend! It feels more like summer than fall here in Michigan (and how often do I ever get to say that?) We took the boys to the Oak Haven Farm, and had a wonderful time.  One of the best places! Free admission and parking, and a ton of free things to do! They went through a kid sized corn maze, fed the goats, and played in piles of hay... Johnny made a "hay angel" and needless to say, they needed some serious bath time when we got home :) There was even a waterwheel and little pond with ducks :) The kiddie corn maze was their favorite.  We bought some caramel apples and much needed water (all that running through mazes, you know) and took advantage of the great weather.

I took some great pictures of my ridiculously handsome boys... this is Johnny:

 And here is my Mikey:

There is this little "house" set up to look like an old front porch.  I am pretty sure it is for display only and not meant to be an attraction to be walked on... but before I grabbed my little trespassers off the porch, I took a great picture...

Every time I go to a farm or orchard, I have dreams of being a farmer... I know it is a ton of work, but I long for quiet country roads and fresh berries waiting to be picked. I live in a subdivision in a house like pretty much every house on the street, next to a busy road... I am a country girl who grew up in an old farmhouse, where dad had a huge garden and mom canned vegetables and made her own juice from the grapes dad grew behind the walnut trees in back. I miss those days.  My mom has since packed her canning supplies in a box labeled "DO NOT OPEN EVER AGAIN" and has it stored in her basement (canning is work, I know), but I have that romantic nostalgia of summer days, carrying freshly canned goods to the pantry. Maybe she would let me have her canning supplies... Now I just need to find me a little farmhouse to live in :)

Back to School...

Well, my munchkins had their first day of school today. It was a "Parent/Child" day, so no bus and I got to sit in a teeny little chair and play trucks :) Tomorrow is the "real" day with the big yellow bus and the whole kaboodle. Johnny didn't want to go at first, but once we were there and he saw all the cool puppets and circle area, he didn't want to leave. Yay school! Mikey is a seasoned pro at school - he has the same room he had last year, and was right at home :)

I thought it fitting that today's card was a school theme for Cute Card Thursday, and I am excited because the card is also part of the first challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges! I just adore these papers from Basic Grey. I don't have many pieces left, so I am not sure what I will do next fall! I need to find more...

I had already done little trees, a schoolhouse, and decided for this card to make a little shelf of books. I paper-pieced the books. Printing the titles on in teeny font, then folding and cutting, distressing, then adding the "pages" with little cuts to look like real books. I used my most favorite ribbon, the teastained ruler ribbon. I plan on having some of this cute ribbon in my Etsy store soon, so if you like it, better check it out! Perfect for card-making and scrapbooking.

Ingredients
Paper: Basic Grey, Crate paper
Stamp: Studio G ("Back to School")
Embellishments: Little red brad, ribbon, chipboard circle
Ink: Ranger distress ink

The studio... in real life :)

I posted pictures of my studio a few days ago, and have had such lovely comments from you lovlies out there! My parents are coming for a visit tomorrow, so I will have to tell my dad how well his craft table was received :) I warned readers to look quick, as it will never be that clean again...

I just brewed a pot of coffee (it is after 10:30pm) and plan on heading downstairs soon to my new favorite place in the house. I thought I would share some more pictures, too. I don't think I mentioned before that my creative space is only half the basement (which believe me, to a girl who used to scrap on the kitchen island while trying to cook pancakes at the same time... very grateful!) ... the other half is a family area. Ok, fine, it is the twins' area to wreak havoc. The make forts out of the loveseat cushions, bring every toy they own to spread on the floor, try to convince me that picnics in the basement are a good idea, and pretty much thoroughly enjoy themselves.

And if you look closely at this picture, you will see that it isn't a child-free zone...

There is about 12 inches between my work table and the loveseat. So much fun to try to stand on mama's table and jump onto the loveseat.

I have decided to pick my battles.





Yes, you can come look at the pretty papers.
No, you can't jump off the table.
Yes, you can arrange all my wood mounted stamps in a row.
No, the Crop-o-dile is not a toy.
Yes, you can pick two buttons to glue to make your "own card."
No, you can't taste the glue...

And so it goes. I don't think I have mentioned it here or not, but my boys turned four just last July, and they both have been diagnosed with Autism. If you are familiar with autism, you know it is a wide spectrum. Johnny's autism is more mild, whereas Mikey struggles a bit more. Mikey loves my craft area. His favorite thing is to line up all my stamps, and to line the edges of my table with his dinosaurs. Johnny makes arrangements of pictures, toys, and cups around my sewing machine. Here is Mikey intent on improving my collection of vintage books (that dress form is now in three pieces, by the way. They said it was a trophy and the boys hosted a race to see who would win it... the trophy lost).


While it can be a bit messy, and I may spend a few extra minutes looking for my distress ink (by the dinosaurs, of course! Duh, mom) I love it. I love that I can make a card, tickle my kids, sort some paper, play pirate, work on a scrapbook page, go outside and push the boys on the swingset... Don't get me wrong. Some days are better than others, and some days I can't wait for bedtime. And then there are those moments, when the house is still and quiet, I go into my workspace, see a T-Rex on my chair, and laugh so hard I cry.