It's Been A Long Time...

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted...let alone posted some pictures. I've entertained my little heart out. By the end of the week, my children were bleary-eyed and exhausted. After a few power-naps and some quiet days they have recovered. If I could just get some loads of laundry done, I think I will feel completely recovered, too.
In the meantime, I still managed a little crafty-ness. I would slip it in during the girls' afternoon naps.
This is my favorite project---a little pincushion nestled on top of a wooden thread spool. This way your needle and thread are always handy. I'd like to make more, especially because I need to improve on my assembly and stitching.

My girls have been spending a lot of time at their craft table, but there is never enough room for the basket of crayons, the paper they are working on and all the other papers and coloring books that aren't being used. Remembering back to my days of elementary teaching, and having kids hang backpacks on the backs of their chairs, I came up with these. They are simply made out of dishtowels, with a little pearl button to hold them closed. And perfectly placed(thanks to the manufacturer), there's a hook on the inside of the dishtowel so that they can be hung on a hook, when not on the back of the chair. Emma's has recently been converted to her pool backpack though. She stuffs her beach towel, bathing suit and tap shoes (!) inside (all the necessities for a trip down to the pool).

Here's a few favorite pictures from our week with Wisconsin cousins. It was a good time, but at the end we all decided that next time we'll try just a long weekend. Everyone was very tired by the end.
I have more to share soon--a wonderful swap package from a sparrow, some sewing projects,  artwork from Emma, and pictures from yesterday's trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

(I wanted to show a few more pix of the kids playing in the partially filled swimming pool, but realized that my youngest is bare bummed in all the photos...oh well, I'm sure you can imagine the fun.