Roses Are Red....Wedding Flowers

Once again I got sweet talked into helping with some wedding flowers for my friend's daughter who is getting married today.  While the thought of taking on a project like that is overwhelming I have to admit that I do love working with flowers.                                       

The normal wholesale place I've ordered flowers from before was sold last year and now they require a Nurseryman's license to get in.  This of course put me in a panic because we waited till the last moment thinking it would be easy to just go in and order....yes, I'm a true procrastinator!

Luckily the wholesale supplier through Costco came to the rescue but we had to order all the flowers sight unseen~which for me was really scary.  I'm a visual person and this was a huge gamble to me.  The wedding colors were red and turquoise so we picked out red Peruvian Lilies, red Roses of course and....

these gorgeous red Gladiolus which were even grown here locally in Idaho.

These will be for the tall table centerpieces.  The flower guy told me they were "firecracker red" and he was right!

After working all day on them I quickly snatched some pictures of them last night before they were whisked out the door, so my lighting wasn't good.

My daughter wasn't horribly excited being draped with a towel so I could get a neutral back ground picture either.  Oh, the difficult life of being a blogger's daughter.:)

                                     

I had to do 6 corsages and 11 boutonnieres, each individually labeled and tucked safely into a cooler for safe keeping.

Of course all this was done between squirrel feedings!  We've gotten a few emails inquiring on whether our little squirrels are still alive.

This is what greets me every morning next to my bed.  This is our older squirrel Martina who is about 7 weeks old now.  She has figured out I'm the Momma and source of food~she'll crawl out of the box and has figured how to jump over onto my bed to wake me up to feed her.  I am soooooo sleep deprived right now.  I have fallen off the wagon officially and back on Dr. Pepper after a good year and half of being Dr. Pepper sober.

This is our tiny baby Martin, he is about 2 1/2 weeks old now and just starting to get a fluff of fur coming in around his mouth and on his tail.  He gets cold really easily so he has to be tucked away in the shoe box on a heating pad.

Here they are together, growing fast.  I had them in separate boxes but after a couple of days Martina climbed out of her box and into Martin's to snuggle up with him.  I am so grateful that they will be able to be raised together.  And yes, my daughter picked the names~but at least she didn't go through 10 sets of names before deciding on these ones.  I still find myself calling Martina Fifi.

Tonight is our big annual School Fund Raiser Wild West Night.  Yes, I'm not only on the PTO board, I got talked into being the Vice President again this year.  I obviously don't know how to say no....  It is a carnival style event which consists of many many hours of work and planning.  There are some really fun events though and I'm taking my camera to document it and share with you guys.  What is your most successful school fund raiser?

Wood You Like To Craft September

Today we are sharing our take on Kitchen Decor for September's theme

over at Wood You Like To Craft!

Make sure to head over and check out the cute Menu Planner that Krystal did yesterday and to see what Melinda and Wendy have up their sleeves for the rest of the week!

                                      

This sign about sums up our summer....

Sorry friends!

It was a crazy one~family in town for 8 weeks straight (I'm not kidding either)!

Lot's of trips to several states~Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah.

Our first niece got married in St. George Utah (which we fell in love with, it's so pretty down there!).

Here's one of my Instagram's from her reception~aren't they cute!

                                

Lots of fun trips and family made it a summer to remember but unfortunately not a summer for crafting.

Plus guess what landed at my door last weekend~not one but two baby squirrels!

The larger one is about 5 weeks old and the tiny pinkie was maybe a day or 2 old. 

Yes, I'm completely sleep deprived from feedings every couple of hours, but they are so fun!

We did get some fun projects done which we'll be sharing in the next few days

and a bunch that we are getting ready to do.

What is it about Fall that brings on my crafting itch?

Do any of you get that way too?

It's good to be back, we've missed you!:)

Labors of Love

I have to admit I've been horribly distracted the last little bit.
A week and a half ago our 3rd squirrel Fifi disappeared, at dusk, which only means one thing.
Big bird gobbled her up.  No not the one from Sesame Street, most likely a Great Horned Owl.
We're not sure we are liking owls very much right now.

She has been our sweetest squirrel so far and our little family is heart broken.
I know, you're probably thinking, wow, it's a tree rat, a rodent.

There is something that happens when you feed and care for a little creature from the very beginning of it's life, it awakens the Momma in you.  I'm especially sensitive to this since I have suffered with infertility.
If you wonder where my crazy animal/pet fetish comes in, it's because I've always wanted to be surrounded by the pitter patter of little feet.  I just didn't know "how small" they would be.

So when my Dad called me the night before my hubby went out of town last week
I completely jumped at his offer to help me with a project I've been wanting to tackle for years now.

I've been wanting to rip out our fireplace ever since we moved in here.
Yes, that's popcorn ceilings~that's another project to tackle...eventually.  That's my hubby in his lucky Ohio State hat.  I don't think people even recognize him if he doesn't have it on.  Go Buckeyes!
I realized I don't even have a picture of the "before" fireplace wall really.

The wall is about 12" deep, with a faux wall, laid over a solid brick wall (so the house would look updated to sell~to us of course.), then the original wall.  When we moved here I traded in my large house for one almost half the size which was fine because the yard was too die for!  Huge trees and not a sign or peep from any neighbors, my very own little private park!

Right before Turkey Day my hubby and his friend installed 2 windows that I fought tooth and nail for with the hubby.  Now he can see the errors of his ways.  Period.

My hubby~I let him be "the man" for the day.  I didn't even touch a power tool, just ran for drinks and lunch.  It was really nice!

I bought cabinets for my birthday 1 1/2 years ago that have been sitting in the garage waiting for the "opportunity" to be used.

Here's my Instagram photo of my Super Man Dad!  He gave me 30+ hours in just 3 days to remove everything and haul it to the dump.  Oh did I mention that we also lost his hearing aids in the debris and had to dump out all 4 garbage cans of rubble to find them?  We did find them though and they still work.  He is the most amazing man I know, he'd do anything for his girls~and boy does he get the opportunity for us to take him up on it!

Stay tuned and I'll keep sharing everything as we get closer to being done.  I ripped off the entire mantle yesterday and got all my wood cut to rebuild it.  Also next Friday we'll be decorating doors down at the school for Teacher Appreciation Week.  Photo's will be posted that night, I promise!  Now back to installing those cabinets.....

Pruning 101

It only seems fitting after such a wonderful Father's Day yesterday
to sing the praises of our amazing Dad
who came to the rescue once again this last week for his girls!
Pruning, not the fruit but the tree kind!

A few weeks ago while Candace and her little family went on their first ever

family vacation, I spent a lot of time out working in the yard.
Then when Candace got home we spent 2 whole days chopping
and hauling to the dump over a ton...yes a ton literally, of branches.

I admit it wasn't all work~

our duckies are growing so fast and it was fun to just be outside with them!

I went and got the kiddie pool, which at first seemed monstrous.....

it doesn't seem big enough anymore.
And of course along with us is squirrel #3, Fifi.
Yes, I said number 3.:)

When we moved here I wanted the exact opposite of my last home.

I traded in house size for a yard full of trees so I had my own private little retreat.

It has been wonderful but those trees~they are a lot of work and expensive!

So I have had to figure out how to prune myself because some Tree experts

charge up and over $500 per tree to come in.

Don't get me wrong~they earn their money rightly!:)
Since we can't hire our Dad out to come teach and rescue you

we thought we'd share one of the best sources we have ever come across

which was a video from This Old House!

Those guys are amazing~and hey the accents~who doesn't love em'!

This Old House's website is full of amazing tips on everything!
Another great article was from them is found here.
I love how their first tip is "Fight The Fear"!

photo from This Old House

My brother got me a Sawzall for Christmas

 and honestly that tool has been so well used!

It makes pruning easy and puts my mind at ease~the thought of my husband with a chain saw

scares the crud out of me!
This Sawzall makes cutting through those bigger branches so easy
and relatively safe.

Here are 2 tools that are must haves for your garden:

I really like the Fiskars brand and they are economical as well as being well made. You can find them at Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes.

Hand pruners~~for everything like roses and shrubs.

I picked up this set last weekend and they are delicious and just under $13!

Long handles pruners for larger branches and hard to reach ones!

Really easy to use and cuts even easier!

If there was any advice I could give, it's to have courage!  Watch a few videos and give it a try, you have nothing to lose, only money to save and a beautiful yard to enjoy!

Last but not least~THANKS DAD for teaching us how to work in the yard and forever being our Knight in shining armor.  Seriously he is the best Dad ever!

A Squirrel's Tale

This week has totally snuck away from us.

Forget accomplishing anything on Candace's room,

she's been stuck sewing 20 something angel and townspeople costumes

for a play they are putting on for her church group.

Today in between letting some paint dry

for some birthday banners I'm making

I thought I'd catch you all up on our latest squirrel adventures.

 Last night I was going through some of our pictures to help my parents out with

a lame newsletter about our family that of course

none of us want anyone to see pictures of us in.:)

I stumbled across all my little squirrel pictures and

I know, it's silly, but I was missing my "babies" and how fast they grow up!

Here's Gracie our first squirrel who is now 2 years old!

Here's a funny picture I got of Gracie who learned to sneak in the pet door

in the morning...and eating next to Izzie in her cage and Morris the cat.

Looks dysfunctional doesn't it!

She's living out in our yard now

and hasn't been too happy with me for kicking her out of the garage 2 weeks ago.....

which is where she had 3 babies this spring....

yeah, she chewed down into my mini Christmas tree box and had them!

Note to self: Mini tree completely destroyed~make sure to throw away.

We didn't dare peek in on them because she was fiercely protective

but the night we first saw them.....

Yes, crappy picture in dirty garage in dim light=

a giddy phone call to my parents to let them know I was a Grandma.:)

Here they are sleeping in some can holders in my garage.

They are now chewed to death so I guess I won't be using them.

When they were weaned they were more than happy to move out of the garage

and now I get to see them hang out around the bird feeder, 2 girls and 1 boy.

Oh did I show you the picture of Big Red?

I'm pretty sure he's the Daddy.

Check out his creepy blue eyes!!!!

He is huge and was hanging out an awful lot with Gracie,

the boyfriend who wouldn't go home.

Meanwhile, remember sweet little Izzie?

She was brought over by my thoughtful friend Beth.:)

Izzie grew up beautifully and loved to chew on every electrical cord in our house.

The TV, the vacuum, the Dustbuster, the computer, the lamp....nothing was spared.

When we finally went to release her this spring she did very well.

She went off for 2 days.

So I spent 2 days sitting in the freezing cold waiting for her to come back.

She did, and then we thought we'd try again a few days later

and she didn't.

I had all our neighbors on the look out and we couldn't find her.

I didn't over feed her so she matched right in with all the other squirrels.

I hope it's a good sign.

I have really missed her.

These last pictures of her were taken right before Easter

after my crazy week of crafting for a boutique and getting only 10 hours of sleep.

The bags and accentuated wrinkles made me almost not post these.

But we are coming up on our yearly anniversary of baby squirrels being dropped off

at my door and I have to admit.....

even though it's totally nuts....

I'm kinda hoping one does.

Don't repeat that to anyone!!!!

If you missed out on our previous

squirrel adventures check here and here!

An Izzie Update!

I'm finally getting around to letting you guys know

how our sweet little Izzie is doing.

Here's a few pictures I snapped today.

Izzie is growing so fast and

she's now entering the "fun" stage of baby squirrelhood as we call it.

Her eyes opened last Tuesday which was such a magical moment!

Although she sleeps most of the time,

when she does wake up she is curious and wanting to climb on everything. 

My favorite part of this is when she nuzzles into my neck to keep warm.

Her little squeaks are so cute and

her little nose smelling everything is like little butterfly kisses against my neck and cheek.

Can you tell we are just loving this moment in time?

We had a super scare last night though!!!

As I was headed out to meet Candace and my Mom

to collect our stuff from our first of the season boutique

I noticed a squished squirrel on the road next to our house under the acorn tree

which is the hub of activity of all of our squirrel neighbors. 

(Last Saturday my little girl and I collected 2 buckets of acorns for our Gracie!)

My heart seriously sunk and almost broke out of my chest. 

 I got out and tried to look as close as I could and noticed

the squirrel had a missing top of it's tail,

which our first squirrel Gracie has (that's a whole other post....)

I hopped back in the car and made a mad rush to my hubby and little girl

who had headed down to bird watch. 

Sooooooo,

 a whole lot of crying later and

my hubby going and feeling the "victim's" tail 3 times to convince me it wasn't her,

we were all still upset because of course Gracie wasn't in our yard or in her nest box. 

Ya know I may tease about my hubby not being trusted with my tools

 but in moments like these it's clear the reasons why I love him so much. 

He even went out at midnight with a flash light to

feel the squirrel tail again to calm my ever growing fears.

I headed out this morning to see if Gracie

had come back to her box but it was empty and cold.

Completely broken hearted I was crying in the shower

 hurrying to be on time to church when my hubby

came into the bathroom with guess who on his shoulder.

I have never been so happy in my life! 

Well, yeah I have but ya know......

So both sweet squirrel girls are safe, healthy and happy! 

 My little girl is so glad to know her "little sisters" are okay and

someday I'll actually get a picture with the squirrels

where I don't have on a hat and I'm wearing make up.:)

It's Official....I'm Nuts....

Yup, I know what you guys are thinking.

She's totally nuts.

I couldn't agree more.

Look at this new bundle of joy

that has "joined our family" as my little girl puts it.

Saturday night we had a wicked awful wind storm blow in

and it did more than blow a few branches down.

My good friend who lives down the street called me frantically

at about 10:30 at night to ask me if I wanted the baby squirrel

her dog just hauled in.

Ahhhhh, the agony of deciding in a split second.

I actually said no at first thinking how am I going to do this again?

With boutique season starting????

But I have everything to help out and I caved.

My hubby calls me the "Squirrel Whisperer".

Yeaaahhhhh.

So wish me luck with this little girl,

( and the feedings every 2 hours!!)

we have figured she's about 1 week old,

umbilical cord still attached.

She was pretty hurt by the dog

who by the way my little girl has named her after

but I think she's going to be okay.

Welcome Izzie~!

Uuhhh...So Did I Mention We Have A Pet Squirrel?

Her name is Gracie.

She was found a week before school started under the huge pine tree in our front yard. 

My little girl "rescued" her (Moooommmmmmm there's a baby animal and it's still alive!!!)

and she does the perfect imitation of me and how I responded when she found her ....

"Greaaaaaatttt.".

We figured she was about 2 weeks old and was about dead

but thanks to Google, of course a whole lot of Dr. Pepper (for me that is) and kitten formula feedings every 2 hours, we now have a pet squirrel who does "stinketh" up our home. 

Yeah, is that a word?

She is horrifically spoiled, has traveled 8 hours in a car up to Seattle and back and has

made everyone who's met her fall madly deeply in love with her!

Of course none of the kids in my daughter's kindergarten class believe her as she tries to enchant them with the delightful daily stories of Gracie the squirrel,

so here's our Valentine creation for the Inquiring Minds who want to know

what life with a pet squirrel is like!

I was inspired by Alissa over at 24-7-365! 

She did the cutest photo Valentine's for her kids! 

 I haven't been able to get the idea out of my head, I just loved it!

This was the first time we've made "Homemade" Valentines.  We had so much fun putting these together! 

 My daughter helped lay everything out, I glued, she glitter glued, she signed them and I taped on the treats. 

We just used Picasa to whip these out!

 My hubby says we are silly

and of course I had to very last minute make some up for me

with the help of Scrapblog to add the funny disguises for a little party I get to go to! 

 Yes, we really are nuts for Gracie the squirrel!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!