Being the height of Matt's busy season, he's been working 7 days a week. (Ugh, but yay, but ugh.) We were very lucky to have him home for Father's Day. For his gift, we had his suit dry-cleaned (which is a big deal 'round these parts...I was beginning to calculate if it might still have Spencer's spit up on it) & put a bag of Pop Rocks in the inner pocket for a little surprise. Idea & label found here.
Spencer painted him a tie to wear to church (I helped paint the stripes to make it more "tie-like" so Matt wouldn't feel like it was so "obvious.") & we had Monkey Bread for breakfast & Cafe Rio Pork, Black Beans & Cilantro-Lime Rice for dinner per his request. Cafe Rio Recipes from Mique's food blog here. It's been a favorite meal in our home for a few years now. So glad Matt could be home to feel the love!

Me: "So, Spencer. What did you draw over here with your chalk? Are you practicing your "P's" or something?
Him: "No, they're notes. I just singing a song, so I draw notes."
Me: (viewing them right side up) "Ohhhh..." Really? Sure, I eventually plan on teaching him about music, but I haven't really got around to it yet. Guess he just figured it out on his own.

Kids are cool.

Enter, the Dollar Store T-Shirt Flag dress!I had an idea for a T-Shirt Dress in my head, and thought for sure someone else had probably done a tutorial somewhere. Sure enough, I found one here and here. (Cute blogs, too!) I didn't make my own tutorial on this one since, as usual, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing until after it's all done. (With quite a bit of seam ripper action in between.)
I added a ruffle around the collar & at the bottom of the dress from an old red T-shirt of mine that is now shorter than I prefer. (Not crop-top short, just "at-the-waist" short; a length that kind of bugs me now. But oh, the knit fabric was so soft & yummy.) I just chopped the bulk of it into strips then ruffled them with a basting stitch before sewing them on.
Then I painted the stars on with fabric paint. You could totally use a freezer paper stencil or something from one of those awesome cutting machines, but since (削除) I'm too cheap (削除ここまで) I didn't have either, I cut out a star shape from a leftover scrap of card stock & used that as my stencil. Or heck, you could go hog wild & applique on some stars like my original plan that fizzled because I ran out of fusible webbing.
Since I was having a tough time determining the front from the back, I stitched on a little tag. (I was having entirely too much fun at this point. Time to wrap it up before I get too carried away!)
There you have it! It makes me kind of giddy for the 4th of July! Maybe because it reminds me of the movie "Pollyanna"where she's in her flag costume. Or perhaps because it's a bit Wonder Womanesque. Either way, I can't wait to put my little cutie in it & head off to a parade! Happy 4th of July, everyone! Linking up here:

On Mother's Day, Spencer was assigned to give the Opening Prayer in Primary. His first time praying in front of a large group of people. (Following his first time singing with all the other kids for Mother's Day. I missed it because I was accompanying on the piano, but I hear he did a little boogie.)
Normally, I'd let him say the prayer on his own, but I had a feeling the power of the microphone might entice him to acts of silliness, so I coaxed him along by whispering in his ear. He was doing great until the middle when he stopped repeating & exclaimed, "Uh oh...Hayden not closing his eyes!" (Which, of course meant neither was he. Busted.) I was impressed with the composure of the other kiddos throughout the remainder of the prayer, but after the "Amen," they erupted into a mass of giggles. Which kind of set the tone for a rather crazy Primary day. Oops.

The day after Mother's Day, Spencer was invited to a birthday party for a boy in his Speech Class. I didn't know him very well, & he's reeeeeally shy, but his mom said the party was going to be based on "Jake & the Neverland Pirates."Say what? To a girl with limited cable access, this was way over my head. Apparently this is a new show on the Disney Channel, & this lil' Cameron boy was obsessed with it. I searched online to see where I could find any toys related to the show, but they didn't exist. I instead found a barrage of people desperately pleading to the Disney execs to get the merchandise on the shelves & soon because their child won't even be satisfied with regular ol' Pirate stuff, just "Jake" Pirate stuff.
Yikes.
I decided to improvise. I repainted a light blue treasure chest of Spencer's that he wasn't using. I picked up some inflatable Pirate Paraphernalia at the Dollar Store & Painted it to match the accessories on the show & made a red Pirate sash to match Jake's. I made a treasure map out of some cream fabric & tan felt (of course) that I had on hand. Sprinkled it all with some gold pirate coins & voila! Almost-Instant Pirate Party gift that cost me about 3ドル.
I loved how it turned out. Although, it made me think, "Hmm...how come I don't make this stuff for my own kids?" Guess I'll have to add this to that lengthy "To-Do" list of mine.

Mother's Day brought a yummy breakfast of Orange Rolls (thanks to the hubs & his Pillsbury accomplice). Not in bed, because you'd have to wake up too early to catch me still in bed. Plus, I'm not a big fan of sleeping in crumbs. Thanks, dear!
We got a near decent picture me & the offspring actually smiling (even if not looking directly at the camera).
Spencer has become quite the budding artist. He's really getting to know his way around a paintbrush. (And, no, my fingers are not bleeding in this picture. Spencer said he painted me with red fingernail polish.) He had a little help with the penmanship, but other than that; it was all him. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself! Looks like he has that "artist" gene. However this also includes the lack of the athletic gene. He still runs while flapping his arms like a little Pixie, but we're working on it. ; ) Hope all you moms out there were treated like queens for Mother's Day!

Matt's been wanting to take Spencer to our Ward Father & Son's Campout for years now (about 4 to be exact). We have pathetically never been camping together as a family or even as a couple for that matter (yup, really). You'd think we would've practiced together before we put the fate of a child in our un-campworthy hands, but no such luck. Last year Matt decided to prep Spencer by camping overnight in a tent in the backyard. Success, but totally fake camping. Guess it'll have to be a trial by fire....literally.Apparently this Father & Son's Campout occurs every year on Mother's Day week-end (Which I'm not exactly sure I approve of. Sure, it's nice to have a couple of stinky boys out of the house for the night, but the next day it's like, "We're home! Here's all our muddy clothes & candy wrappers for you to clean up & your tired, cranky & filthy son. Gotta go, or I'll be late for work, Bye! Oh, & Happy Mother's Day! " Yup, not sure if I like the timing. Oh well.).
My "boys" bonded with fire, dirt, toasted marshmallows, the shooting of rockets (In the woods? Seriously, people? Where's Smokey the Bear when you need him?!) & even an outdoor movie. They enjoyed listening to the frogs at night & playing in the creek in the morning. Spencer enjoyed playing with a couple of the boys from his Sunbeam Class. Especially the newly-moved-in Hayden, who he's been talking about every day since. I'd say Spencer passed his 1st camping trip with flying colors. He was even quoted as saying, "This is the BEST day EVER!!!" which made Matt pretty proud. Heck, it made me proud & I wasn't even there. Glad to see my 2 boys makin' memories together.