Doing Disney...?

Are you doing a family trip to Disney this year?   Seems like everyone I know has Disney fever.   I guess it must be the age of my children and their respective friends.  Part of my boys Christmas this year was a trip to Disney from my mom. There were 8 of us total.  We had ages 89 to 1 in our group.

I started planning out my shirt schedule back at Thanksgiving!

Everyone was going to have shirts! and you were going to wear them. Amazingly my 7 year old, Reece, didn't argue with it.  1. because he knew there were no other shirts in the suitcase and 2. he secretly still likes to wear them. Just not around his school friends.  

For the first day we had shirts for our meeting with Mickey.  If your name is on your shirt, all of the cast members call you by name everywhere you go!  I think it's in the employee handbook or something.  It was so funny to walk in to Mickeys dressing room and see the look on my boys face when he called them by name.  "Hi Reece! I'm so glad you came to visit me today." 

They both had forgotten their names were on the front of their shirts!  Day one was Mickey with Shorts and Minnie with skirt for the girls.

Day two, we hopped over to Hollywood and did some character meetings and took in a few of the shows.  Hollywood was great for a break and not as crowded but there is not a lot for the 5-7yo crowd.  Unless you want to get in the Toy Story ride line over and over and over again. Seriously, that is an awesome ride.  You have to make it a Fast Pass choice!

  

Day 3 we got up super early and left Baby Emma with Mom and Dave.  We wanted to try and get in some park time with just us and the boys before the lines got super long.  We hit the ground hard and were in line for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean before the gates even opened.  This days shirt was Mickey feet and Minnie feet on red.  

Everyone loved our shirts and with the crowds getting heavier that day, it was really easy to spot these in the crowd.  

Moral of our Disney story......

1.  Use a planner to get your stuff booked.  Deborah Forsythe at http://www.thetravelagencyinc.com/

Or Sarah Moskey at I'm Your Fairy Godmother

2.  Get matching shirts.  Really!  Its one of the only places that I think family shirts are appropriate.

3.  Have your childs name on the shirt.  Everyone will call him by his name and he will feel like a rockstar!

4.  Don't overplan but make a plan.  It's important to tackle Disney with a purpose.  Go in early, get on the train at the front and go to the back of the park.  Start at the back of the park where you can hop on three rides back to back.

5.  Have a Magical Time!  It truly is a Magical Place and I hope that we can experience it again when Emma can do more than sleep through it.

Happy New Year!!!!

Hope your new year is off to a wonderful start.  We are having quite the time here in the Saliba household. Baby Emma is standing and cruising and eating everything in site.  So far this week she has experienced the taste of dirt via the houseplant and burnt wood from the fireplace.  Im not talking about a little lick either. Two handfuls of each both times.  Tongue out and mouth full of dirt and mud.  Two handfuls clinched so tight that the mud was oozing out between her fingers.

A new year at Sweet Bottom means trying new things and improving on those things that didn't go so well.  I am going to continue my flag series with spring offerings and a few for back to school that I am sure will be a huge hit.  Right now I am in Disney mode, trying to plan for a family trip in March for 7.  Shirts for everyone!  The boys will be tricky but I think I have a few good designs for them to wear at the park.

Of course baby Emma needs a dress

I thought this was cute for the whole family to wear on the plane

 

A couple of designs that Reece (age7) "Might" consider.......

Its going to be a great trip!!!

Doing what I can

Having three kids is crazy sometimes!  Having three kids under 7 and working a full time out of the home is insane.  Having three kids under 7 and working a full time job and trying to have a sewing business on the side is.... well, you can understand.  Lots of late nights, lots of sewing past midnight, lots of turning away orders that I just can't take on.

Have you gotten your holiday shopping list started yet? Don't forget the teachers and caregivers in your lives.  They work very hard to love our "littles" and it is a thankless job some days.  

I have a new line of totes and bags that would be cherished by any teacher out there.  

  

I am constantly trying to figure out how to balance it all.  Giving my family time, giving myself time, giving my job time.  I hope that I can learn to give myself a break every now and then and realize that what is important is not things but love.  Unconditional love.

Knowing how crazy my schedule is on any regular random day, I have decided to start getting my Christmas calendar ready and filled up.  I found this adorable printable planner download from The Polka Dot Posie.  Click HERE to get yours!

  Its got everything you can think of to keep sane this Holiday season.  I even saw a free Thanksgiving planner too!  An organized mom is a not so crazy mom.

Speaking of Christmas and planning... These were a HUGE hit last year with my group.  Frosty the Snowman garden flags.  I added the teachers last name across the bottom and they loved them!  You can order them from my Etsy page HERE.  or send me an email at lsaliba@hotmail.com

Happy Fall Y'all - Lorrin Saliba

52 Weeks - Week One "Being Better......"

Every year I make the same promise to myself, make better choices, be better at keeping up and do better at home and in my job.  As I sit here starring at my sweet little two month old baby girl, I realize that this "Being Better" thing has slipped me by again.  I mean, Dylan has only gone to school on Wednesday with a show and tell item twice since January.  I feel ashamed and like I let down my child for not remembering to "bring something that starts with a U".  Then, I remember, that I was going to "be better" at giving myself a break.....

I read an article once about one of those moms that had everything going on.  You know the one who manages to get cute scrap booked notes into the lunchboxes and cuts the sandwiches out into shapes with cookie cutters.  The one who plans the weekly schedule while rocking on the front porch with a latte.  Lets call her Mallory.  Mallory wrote in her blog that she, at the least, would document one thing that happened to her life each week in a diary.  She made time to sit by herself alone and reflect on the week that had passed and document something about the week just past. Maybe Mallory had something here.

I usually promise to start my weekly blog post around the new year.  Then, around week three of January, I remember that I was going to start blogging each week and by then..... You know what happened next, nothing.  This year is nothing new. January 1st, new baby on the way.  Crazy busy work schedule. Trying to get a nursery put back together. Two very crazy little boys all means no entry for week one.

Today I decided there is no reason to wait until January. Why can't this thing start whenever I want it to?  I mean, there is always plenty to document and with this new little girl in my life, why not start now. So here's to "Being Better"  Week 1.

Football anyone?

Since my boys are getting "Too Old" for my cute applique shirts and since they wear uniforms to school, I've had to embrace new creative outlets and avenues for my sewing obsession.  

Since the garden flags were going so well.....why not make some for the college sports fan in our lives?

I've even done an "orange" one or two for VERY special friends. That horrible color is too much for my precious machine and they were charges extra.

These heavy duty Chevron canvas duck cloth flags are double sided for extra weight (they wont fly off in a storm) and they are completely custom.  You tell me the school and I make up a flag with your special requests.  

Garden Flags are $20 ($24 if you want an orange one :-))

Summer Garden Flag obsession

I have a new obsession! Chevron Garden Flags.  They are so colorful, can really dress up the garden and add a really nice touch to the front stoop for your summer visitors. 

These are the most recent ones that I have made but you get the idea.  They make great teachers gifts, baby yard announcements, school spirit team flags and wedding gifts.  

The fabric is outoor duck cloth and I finish it with a good layer of Scotch guard.  The choices below are just a few of the ones I have available.  I made a stop at Joann's yesterday and had a field day looking at all the wonderful summer festive colors that they have.  I had a dream about the pink and green stripe that I HAVE to go back and get today when they open.

This one I made for my grandmother Graneane for her 87 birthday last week. 

Springtime means Newtime.....

Busy new job, busy two boys, busy time of the year.  I love Spring.  Go outside. Smell the fresh (insert sneezing sound effects) air and play.  Having two little boys means that every minute that can be spent outside should be.  Diggin' in the dirt (gasp) and cuttin' worms in half.  Dylan actually asked me to "paste it back mommy".  While I can't paste it, a clever mommy  finds a new worm and does a "switcheroo" when you distract the little archaeologist.

I have been playing around with new idea this spring. I love the new Frocket shirts that everyone will be sportin' this Spring and summer. Funny, I spend hours picking off pockets of little Tee's, only to sew fabric ones back on........

Applique Markets makes the design file and I made this!!

Frockets are everywhere!!! Get one today.

 

New Year - New Life - New Projects

I cannot believe that I have let an entire month go buy without my first post of 2013.  What can I say - shame on me I guess.  Of course, I have several excuses waiting in the wings, the most important being two VERY busy little boys, a demanding new job and a part time sewing company on the side in my "spare" time.

Happy New Year 2013!!!
2013 started off a little slow but I welcome the break so I can get a few of my other little art projects completed.   

A few if the latest baby gifts I have done lately. Owls are really popular this year again.  I have an owl family of 5 designs to choose from.  Its become an obsession to buy an owl pattern when I see it.

For the the little Tennessee (ughhh!) baby Charlie being born really soon.
by the way, Go Tigers Go!

Monogramming
I have this awesome fancy circle swirly monogram that is beautiful and about to go on several things in my own home.

I am making a pattern for IPad sleeves using some beautiful drapery remnants. Thought this would be a nice addition to dress those up. Also Guest towels, a plain white oxford dress shirt, a bench seat cover and an apron that will be a gift for some one this May..... This Spring if it sits still long enough, its gettin' monogrammed.

Giving Thanks.... Being Thankful

Several times this year I have written off  the topic of sewing and posted about being blessed, being tired, being behind. Basically about being a mommy, a mommy who just happens to sew.   This past Thanksgiving has been especially important and special to me for several reasons.

I started a new job in November.  I said goodbye to corporate life at FedEx and a brutal travel schedule.  I said goodbye to projects that drag on, seemingly without end, because of politics and in-fighting. I said goodbye to annual reviews and constantly having to prove my existence over the next guy. But, I also said goodbye to friends that I spent long hours with working late nights in the hub.  Friends, I will miss very much.  How can you forget Chicago, the sort that goes on for 12 hours and stumbling on a little place called Eli's cheesecake that changed the way I will forever see cheesecake. And finding out that big, manly Illya is scared of heights.  Fort Worth, Texas for a week in August is brutal especially on an airport runway. I will honestly never look at a FedEx plane flying overhead the same way again. And I'm thankful to not have to ride on them again.

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, I found out a dear old family friend had taken his life.  He was depressed over heath and money issues and I wish I could have done something about it.   I was truly saddened for his loss and couldn't help but feel for his beautiful family this holiday season.  You will be missed Little Joe. I'm thankful to know you.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, my dear beautiful little Dylan turned 3.  Not really anything to devote a whole blog to but in my mind this baby is getting so old and big and grown up that I want to grab him and hug him and squeeze him and never let him go.  My baby is three,  I'm thankful God gave you to me.

This holiday season, I am going to focus on Giving Thanks more than just beautiful Fall day in November.  I'm Giving Thanks for my new job with better hours and a better, more defined position. I'm Giving Thanks for my family. They are a mess and try my patience like you couldn't believe but these two boys are the best thing that have ever happened to me.  My husband is a go with the flow fella, not to quick to get things done, and doesn't have a sense of urgency that I seem to have.  I am thankful we met and fell in love 20 years ago.

Give Thanks this Holiday season.

Too Much, Too Fast, not enough outlets.......

I heard someone make this statement the other day and I just had to borrow it for a post title.  It's one of those statements that,well, you frankly just get.  I mean I knew exactly what this person was trying to say.  Like you, my days are crazy.  Full time corporate job, two active crazy boys (ages 5 & 2 1/2), part-time at home sewing business,  gym (sometimes) & LAUNDRY.... Sometimes I'm a blur when I come in the door after work.  Often times I work through lunch to get caught up or I'm running errands during lunch trying not to run out of ketchup at home!  I did that once - never again.  It's almost too much! 

The start of Kindergarten is just about to break my heart. I can't believe my sweet little Reece 

is starting Kindergarten this year.  What I wouldn't give to have just one more year of pre-school and fun filled days with Ms. Victoria.  I am going to cry, actually I already have (several times) and I am right now while typing this post.  I have agonized over starting him now or waiting for one more year.  I've read the books about outliers and red-shirting.  I have talked with numerous other mommies and teachers about boys and summer birthdays.  There are great arguments for both sides.  I just couldn't find a good enough reason to keep him back other than it just doesn't "feel" right.  Conversations happen and numerous days have past and it still just doesn't feel right. I want him to learn confidence in his own way and not have it forced sown his throat.  I want him to feel like he belongs not try so hard to fit in that he is not comfortable.  I want to give him every opportunity to succeed in life without having to fight being the youngest in the class. This is all happening too fast! 

I am involved in so many topics of conversation and streams of thought that sometimes I find it difficult to get out of my car after work.  I sit in the driveway and recap the day...."did I eat lunch?, what about that report, did I pay the pre-school tuition, what's for dinner that won't take too much time, do I have sewing orders to complete?....."  Then I am awakened out of "sleep mode" to the kicks on my backseat, "mommy my day to get out of the car first.....! What are you waiting for???" My travel time (6.5 miles ) from school home is my down time -  sad but true.  In that time, I try to talk to my two boys about their day.  Did everyone have nice hands? How was your lunch?  Mean while cell phones are alerting me to reminders for everything from get milk to that dreaded "Low battery" indicator window on the phone. I am plugged in all the time.  I hate to admit it but I am.  You come in my house at any given point in time (please ignore the mess) and any given number of things are "charging" - cameras, video batteries, cell phones, IPads.....there strewn about like a Best Buy. We just don't have enough outlets - or maybe we have too much stuff?

Welcome to the world little ones!

Goodness I have a lot of friends having little ones lately.  Lots and lots of sweet little babies being brought into our world.  I am so appreciative to all my friends that call on me to make gifts and clothing for their special occasions. I love making these cute adorable hugable squeezable outfits and sets.  Your mommies and grandmommys and aunts really love you!

Satisfaction...Appreciation....Pride

Well...I've had one of those "milestone" birthdays and I'm just not liking it! Not one bit. I can't change the aging process but I can take satisfaction in the fact that time stops for no one (except for that crazy Joan Rivers loon) and that we are all growing older together. Thankfully, I have my health and the ability, albeit not always the will, to exercise regularly and eat right.  Darn you Exeline's Pizza, a good dry chardonnay and Fudge Stripe cookies!

For my birthday, my sweet husband pulled one over on me and had my mom and my 86 year old grandmother "Graneane" show up at our annual family beach vacation in Gulf Shores, AL.  After the shock of them showing up, on our doorstep totally  unexpected wore off, I realized that there were four more hands to help retrieve juice boxes, make sandwiches and hand out cookies! Score one for mommy getting to read a book! 

A little later in the evening as we had gathered for a nice dinner together, it dawned on me that my mom and I had never been on a vacation together. Now, I'm not counting the too many gymnastics meets or cheerleading competitions, I mean a vacation to the beach or to a theme park.  Not that she didn't want to or didn't care but more like being a single mom working sometimes multiple jobs, we just didn't have the means to do so.  Tough choices had to be made and over the years, I have really begun to  appreciate more and more the sacrifices she made for me.   Not so ironically, very much like I make for my two boys today. Hopefully in 25 years they will appreciate me as much as I appreciate my mother for everything she did. 

I have great genes!

I am so blessed to have had the opportunities I've enjoyed in life.  Loving mother and family. Wonderfully supportive husband and two beautiful boys. I have a mediocre level of artistic talent - just enough to be dangerous. I paint, I sew, I build things.  Over the years, my determination, studying, patience and practice have paid off pretty well for my sewing hobby/business.  I love it and I love making things for my friends.  I take so much pride in seeing those birthday photos of your little boys and girls in their special day shirts or wearing a personalized crab shirt in the family beach portrait. It means a lot to me that my work is being recorded in your memory albums for years to reflect and remember.

Dylan aka "Sweet Bottom" (above) is a great model if you have a high speed camera!

This weekend...More sewing photos and a blog about taking shortcuts in some designs.........I promise no more monologues.

Being an "in the moment mommy....."

I read this article recently about being an "in the moment mommy" and I want that!  Between the stressers of daily life and the grind of work, "mommy" at the end of the day, is more like "having a moment".  I have a found a passion for this sewing stuff and have been fortunate to be able to do it in addition to my other responsibilities. As I have mentioned multiple times before it is my creative outlet for stress.  I love making gifts for people to give and love seeing those memories being made. And I have made some great new friends along the way!


As I approach another birthday and re-read the email that came a few days ago about PreK4 graduation for my sweet little Reece, I realize more and more just how important being that "in the moment mommy" is.  Tears well up and I get that thick choking feeling every time I think about this milestone, the graduation not the birthday (well maybe a little of both).  I so want to be this mommy for my own mental well being as well as for my two boys.  


This post is not about sewing. Not that anyone really read this to begin with. It's about professing to seek out a balance and strike a chord of personal fulfillment.  This is the mommy I want.  It's about finding that job that fills my heart and soul not just my wallet. It's about being the person that I know I can be inside and being a good friend to those around me. Finally, it's about showing my boys just how much a mommy's love really is.  This is the "in the moment mommy" I want to be.  

Refresh, Renew and bring on Spring!!

We bought the house in 2003 and started on a journey of renovation that, I hate to admit, continues today. At this point, I never imagined the need for a permanent sewing space but that was way before 4 little grabby hands get into everything you own. This was me trying in vain to cover up the lime and aqua vinyl wallpaper that was attached to the walls in our attic.

After a few years of sewing in another old outdated spare bedroom, we finally got around to
work on bringing the upstairs into this century. Cay you say Goodbye purple and blue Berber and old dark paneling and Hello wood floors and new paint. The birth of a child brings on a whole new world of opportunities. Where the upstairs was once going to be a place "to hang out with an awesome kegarator watching football games" has turned into "Play Land" with comfortable soft seating, reading nooks and great fun colors. The traveling sewing room gets displaced again. I move from a spare small bedroom to the attic (above).

My husband bought me this awesome sewing machine for Christmas in 2006 and from it I have discovered all kinds of new and wonderful talents I never knew I had. This Christmas he bought me a TV for the sewing room. His claim "if your going to be spending so much time in there..." It was a wonderful thought and he was being really sweet. Honestly I enjoy the quiet of my sewing space. This is what happened next. Since we had to move the table to hang the TV and wires and cabling and why don't we......

• add a craft work area and more storage


• Recover that old dirty table and make some new legs for it


• Get a nice cabinet that I can store all my blank shirts and fabrics in


• Make room under the table for out of season stuff like tote bags and beach towels.

Another shot of the "before" that I have been working with for about 5 years.

After of the same section with this wonderful storage cabinet, thread racks, and a place to really get some work done. Thanks Honey for all your hard work.

If you need me - I'll be sewing.........