Whoa! It has been over a year since I have posted!

Life got a little out of hand so some things got put on the back burner. Anna Mary's food allergies which led to her not sleeping well at all really turned our world upside down. Luckily, that is in the past. Her allergies are much more under control now...I have found many pieces to the puzzle that is Anna Mary. Thankfully, she is now thriving and much happier...and so are we!

In the past year I have made a lot of things. I don't think I could remember them all. I guess I will just talk about the recent things I have made.

I am in full Christmas crafting mode with the new baby coming this fall. So far I have made placemats and napkins for my mom and a robe for my niece. I will start a robe for my nephew as soon as this weather breaks and I can stand working on the first floor which is not air conditioned. After the robe I hope to get some placemats and napkins made for my dad. Hopefully, these projects will be done before 8/30 when my sister and nephew leave to go back to MI after a short trip here.

I have lots of other plans for Christmas, but I will keep those to myself now. If I mention them now and do not finish them I will feel like a failure :)

I have all the baby stuff out, washed and put away. The house is almost decluttered. The upstairs is decluttered and I hope to get it good and cleaned and get the downstairs decluttered and cleaned before next Thursday when Lisa and Will come. Then I can cruise with just light cleaning until the baby comes :)

I've been tagged

My friend Alison over at Daily Treats virtually tagged me and now you are all going to learn a little more about me :)

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was in graduate school down at Lehigh University. I had just completed my first year and was enjoying that last summer of freedom before grad school got really serious. More importantly, I was newly engaged. Tom asked me to marry him on May 8, 1998.

Five items on my to-do list:
1. Finish a pair of capri length longies for Anna Mary
2. Weed
3. Pick up the downstairs
4. Find some chocolate to get me through the rest of the day
5. Check out cabins for next year's vacation

Snacks I enjoy: I am not a big snack person, but the one food I cannot do without is very dark chocolate (85% cocoa or higher). I am also enjoying cherries alot this summer.

What would you do if you were a billionaire? Take care of any debt that we have, buy a modest house in town and a modest house in the woods. Make sure my family is taken care of and use the rest to help others.

Places I would live: For the last 10 years or so I have dreamt of living in New York City. I love the city and unfortunately these days am unable to make the trip in. I guess this question ties in with the previous one as we would have to be billionaires to live there comfortably with a growing family. The only other place I want to live is right where I am, NEPA.

Jobs I have had: Babysitter, Checker at Wegman's, O-ring assembler, Teaching assistant, Instructor in a training program at Lucent (I don't think Lucent exists anymore), Tutor, Mom

I am supposed to tag 5 other bloggers, but since I am fairly new to blogging, I don't know even one person to tag.

Some recent projects

I just wanted to share some recent projects that we have completed.

Therese decorated this cake for a 4th of July party. It is her own interpretation of Old Glory. At first I tried hard to get her to make a perfect flag, but it was obvious she wasn't having much fun. I calmed down and just let her at it and this is what she came up with. Either way, the cake tasted great and Therese was proud of her creation!!




Next is a bag that I crocheted for Therese. I am still thinking about the kind of reusable grocery bags that I want. Although sewing is so much faster I think I will end up making crocheted ones out of all the acrylic yarn I have laying around. This is a first attempt. It is too small, so it is a bag for Therese.





These next pictures will be of no interest to most, but for those of us who have to live in this house, or for those of you who visit for periods of time these pictures are of great interest! First up is the downstairs bathroom, which was plagued with a unbelieveably slow filling tank (this is putting it mildly) and no toilet paper holder. Earlier this week I put in a new supply line and a new fill valve in the tank. Now it fills so fast! There was so much sediment in the line, so I am not surprised it filled so slowly. I am glad I took the extra step to replace the supply line as that probably made a huge difference. Today, I put in a toilet paper holder. I got to use my new drill for the first time!! I have actually never used a drill before, so I was a bit scared, but it wasn't scary at all. The holder is a little crooked, but it works, so that is what counts. Without further adieu, here are the pictures from the downstairs bathroom...







Next is a picture from the upstairs bathroom. The handle on this toilet always needed to be jiggled because it was broken. Well, I can't believe I didn't fix this sooner...it took less than 5 minutes. Here is the new handle...




I have also made some more pillow case dresses, but I have not taken the time to photograph them. I hope you enjoyed all the pictures of toilets in this post :)

Produce bags

This weekend I sewed up a bunch of reusable produce bags. Basically I followed this tutorial. I made 24 bags (I think!) using 3 yards of tulle. The tulle was only .99/yd, so these were some cheap bags. Half of the bags were made for a thank gift for a friend for running our church's vacation Bible school this past week. Therese had a blast at the camp learning about Mary the Mother of God. They prayed the Rosary, did a craft, and learned some Marian hymns each day. Ok, back to the bags, I hope that they are sturdy and hold up to the wear and tear. I didn't realize how thin the tulle was until I got it home. We will see, if they fail I am not out alot of money, although I will feel bad that I gave my friend such a shoddy gift.

Here are the ones I made for our family all together. Therese loves the bags!
These green ones are approximately 11"x10"
These red ones are approximately 8"x16" These orange ones are approximately 11"x16" I made 2 of these little red ones, measuring about 8"x8". We will use one to hold small things in the dishwasher that are top rack only (like the valve to Anna Mary's Foogo sippy), the other is a toy for Therese.

Clothespin bag

I have been hanging to wash out for about a month now. In that time we have used the dryer only when it has rained and made it impossible to get the clothes dry outside. I must say, that even those times we used the dryer the clothes were dried at least in part outdoors.

I had been carrying my clothespins to and from the house in 2 half gallon ice cream containers. It was a pain as they always spilled out. I found this pattern for a clothespin bag and decided to give it a whirl. I got some denim fabric from JoAnn's (I should have cut up some old jeans, oh well) and sewed it up in probably about 20 minutes. It isn't perfect. I think this is because of the hanger I chose to use and because I don't have a printer and so had to fudge the template for the opening. But it works great. I used it tonight when I hung out the diapers. I love practical things. Even more, I love practical things that I make! Here is a picture of it I have been wanting reusable grocery bags for a long time. First I was going to buy some material and make some, but that seemed too costly. Then I was going to crochet some out of some old acrylic yarn I have lying around (I may still do this). But today I came across this pattern. This is my next project after I finish the rest of the girls' pillow case dresses.

Ok, now I am going to share some mommy fluff. Therese decorated some graduation cards for a party that we went to this past weekend. She was simply told to draw some pictures on the cards. This is what she came up with.

This first card is for Sarah. Sarah recently fell off her horse and sustained a serious injury. We have been praying for her recovery for weeks. Therese said that this is a picture of "Sarah riding on her donkey very gently."
This next card is for Peter. He was lucky to get a Shimkus family portrait in his card!
I am so proud of how beautifully she writes her name! Not bad for a 3yo. Of course, she is often a bit over zealous with the flags on her Es!

A pair of shoes

I used some leftover material from the making of a pillow case dress to make a pair of shoes for Anna Mary. These shoes are *so* not perfect. Thankfully, my Anna Mary doesn't stand still long enough for anyone to notice. Here they are.

And here they are on my cutey's feet!

Today I got 8 pillow cases. Penney's was having a clearance on bedding so I got them pretty cheaply. They are just solid colors, except 2 that are polka dotted. I am excited to get to work on them!

Now I can't help but share some fun pictures. Here is the cutest 1yo in the world hamming it up for the camera! Here is Anna Mary enjoying an oatmeal, mango, kale, and sweet potato facial. She was so dirty that I found sweet potato in her ear even after her bath!

And here is Therese enjoying her time out in the little pool.

Happy Birthday Anna Mary!!!

This time last year I was leaving for the hospital in order to be induced. I was 42 weeks pregnant. I had mixed feelings, I was excited because I knew that by the end of the day I would be holding my sweet baby, but I was sad because my body had failed to go into labor on its own. It was a long day dealing with alot of bad hospital staff, but in the end, I was holding my sweet 9lb 2oz baby girl at a few minutes before 11PM. I was so grateful for the support of my husband Tom, my dear friend Mary Ann, and one great nurse named Janine. My baby is now one. It has been an up and down year, but I am so glad that she is thriving now. What a joy she is!

I also want to wish a happy Fathers' Day to all the dads. Last year on Fathers' Day we brought Anna Mary home from the hospital. Of course, that meant that instead of me waiting on Tom that day he was waiting on me, but he didn't mind. He got the best present a dad could get, a new baby.

Here are some pictures from her birthday party yesterday. She had a blast, even though in some of the pictures she doesn't look happy. I just didn't get the best shots...it is hard to get a very busy 1yo to hold a pose for long!

Here she is playing with her balloons before the big party.


She got right down to business opening her presents!


Here she is giving a kiss to the baby doll she got from big sister, Therese.


She loved her Little People school bus!



And finally, here she is during the singing of happy birthday. She doesn't look happy, but she was. Although, I think she wanted her daddy to put her down so she could get back to playing.


Well, I just had to come back here and put up some pictures of Anna Mary when she was born. I have been looking at the pictures and I miss that little baby. But I am so happy for the toddler she has become.


I can't believe how long her legs were and how big her feet were. It is amazing that she fit inside me!


Here she is flashing the peace sign.