Bring it on.

I'm still here. I've just been trying to catch up on my sleep since the big roadtrip to Minne-SOOOOOOOH-ta. And since Barf-O-Rama 2009. And since Vacation Bible School started this week.*

*Please note that it is not the workload of VBS that is the tiring part, especially since I am just an assistant that has to push the play/pause button on the CD player for the kiddies to hear the music during Bible story time, but rather the fact that we have to be up and at 'em earlier than normal. I know, don't feel sorry for us.

Barf-O-Rama 2009? You haven't heard of that? Good times, good times, people. After the 12-hour drive home and being completely wiped out, our little man got sick the first day home. As in siiiiiiiiiiiick. As in strep-throat-in-the-extreme-heat-100-plus-degree-summer-really-stinks sick. Bless his little heart, it was rough, for all of us. We've been unusually blessed in the fact that our little guy NEVER gets sick. We cruised from our 3rd-year-check-up to our 4th-year-check-up with nary a doctor visit in between. (And I think the only visit between his 2nd and 3rd years was one for pink eye, which doesn't really count as being very sick.) Seriously, the kid usually has the immune system of steel. So getting sick for him is an especially miserable experience because he doesn't understand it and has no previous experience of being sick to draw on.

But along with the ol' family reunion came late late nights with all the cousins, no naps, and less sawing logs at nighttime than normal, so we were all pretty wiped out towards the end. Throw in a public swimming pool, and BADA-BING! The immune system of steel goes out the window, and you've got yourself a sick little kid. Apparently one of the other cousins came down with the same thing, so we're pretty sure it traveled home with us.

Needless to say, I'm tired and ready for a relaxing rest of the summer since our summer has been kind of strange since it started. Broken elbow + hospital stay + staying out of the pool most of the summer so far + big roadtrip + big sickness -- whew, I'm tired just typing it out. I'm ready to spend the rest of the summer just chillaxin' by the pool with no more drama!

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In other news, we LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE our kitties. After a rough first day of introductions (it was looking quite like Harry might kill Sally), Harry and Sally have warmed up so much to each other that they now sleep together, eat from the same bowls together, play together, and would generally be lost without each other. We are thrilled, to say the least. How fun that they have their whole lives ahead of them to spend with each other! A little match made in heaven. {Insert collective "awwwwwwwwww" here.}


Too bad if you're tired of kitty stories and kitty pictures. She is just too dang cute not to post.


This picture cracks me up. The Italian greyhounds LOVE kitties, too. But they are quite spastic and bouncy, and it can be a lot for a little kitty. Mazi, our bigger dog, got pretty protective of little Sally, as you can see here. I laugh, though, because although it is "sweet" she is acting protective, I think it's more of a "if anyone messes with the kitty it is going to be me" type attitude since she is the queen dog. The good news is that everyone gets along -- dogs, kitties, and humans.


Feel the love. They share every dish of food and bowl of milk. So cute.


And, last but not least, they both curled up on my son's bed a couple of nights ago. Note the plastic sheet and towels for blankets since it was during the final hours of Barf-O-Rama 2009. I hope that eventually they might be the type of kitties to sleep at the foot of his bed someday. Talk about cute.

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I have been sewing up a few little things lately as well.

Here is the June block for Stephanie of the Pieced Together Quilting Bee, which was actually sewn up and mailed out on time before we left for Minne-SOOOOOOOOOH-ta:


It's another spiderweb block, and I really loved her fabric choices. I am anxious to see the whole thing once she pieces the blocks all together.

And another little birthday present for a very special little 2nd birthday.


It's "Spaceboy", another Wee Wonderfuls pattern. I hope you can tell he's a spaceboy since his helmet is bright orange and not silver. Next time I might try to find some silver-ish fabric to use for the helmet part. There is a robot doll that goes along with him, but since I was sewing this up during Barf-O-Rama 2009, there was no free time between washing the barfy laundry and taking care of Barf Boy (my husband's name for him) to sew up a second doll. Like my other dolls, I tried to make him look like his recipient -- in this case, the cutest little guy from Taiwan you ever did see.

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Overheard this afternoon while my boy was playing pretend with his stuffed animals:

We're pirates, GRRRRRRR!!!!!
We cut coupons!!!!!!!
We save money!!!!!!

Hmmm, I don't think he's been spending too much time with his mama, do you?