a is for apron...

We love to color around here. A few good coloring pages with some crayons, markers or colored pencils and my girls are good to go for hours. Literally. Even Pinky gets in on the action. Really, who can resist a nice coloring page and some fresh sharp crayons?

A google search for "coloring pages" frequently yields new fodder for fun. Lately though it seems we've exhausted our options and the girls have been looking for something new. Mommy to the rescue. I've begun drawing an alphabet's worth of pages for my little ladies and thought you might enjoy a bit of coloring, too.

Introducing Goodness Gracious' very first coloring page, starting at the very beginning with "A is for Apron."

Just double click on the image above and select 'Print' from your file menu to print immediately.  Or  right click on the image and click 'Save Picture As....'  to tuck it away in your files for future use.   I'm new to posting documents on the blog so let me know how it works for you.

I'll post a new coloring page every Monday for hmm... the next 25 weeks if all goes well. Happy Coloring!




goodness gracious coloring pages by laina kay are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.;

a little shopping...

Pinky and I had a bit of time to spare after book club the other day.  On our way home we took a scenic detour so that we could wave at the baby cows along the way.  It wasn't quite naptime yet so we decided to stop in at a darling little toy store that was on our path home.

We'd never been in before and oh, what a treat.  We explored every nook and cranny, oohing and ahhing all the way.  Pinky was beside herself with excitement running from one pretty thing to the next.  We spent lots of time ogling a giant display of Calico Critters all decked out for Halloween.  Too cute!  Then we found our favorite thing... a  Melissa and Doug grocery cart.  She squealed happily when she saw it and immediately took it for a stroll. I was impressed with how sturdy it is and adorable, too!  I think this may be on Miss Pinky's Christmas list this year. (I just love when they're little enough that I get to tell Santa what they want) And Pinky and I have a new favorite place to visit along our scenic detour.

bathing beauties...

Summer Memory - August 2010

Visiting Shaka and family.  A hot summer day. A dip in a pool. My girls and Thing 3 pose  in their pretty pink suits.

stainless style...

Love this stainless steel pitcher.  Pretty and practical.

shh...

Don't tell anyone, because I want it for myself, but Twig and Thistle is giving away a Silhouette Digital Cutting System.

I have dreamt about owning one of these every day since I first heard of them three years ago.  Truly, I have. I've researched it and it's the one for me.  Being able to digitally cut out any font I desire... having a machine cut whatever my little head dreams up and designs... oh the joy!  No cartridges!  The alphabet project I posted about the other day would be a breeze with this little machine!

The things I could make!  I think everything in my house would probably end up monogrammed. The details I could add to cards without fretting over handcutting would be divine. There would be personalized gifts for everyone I know. Oh, and the church bulletin boards I could embellish. See, others would benefit from my good fortune if I had one.  I should have one, right?!

lunchtime love...

A bit of spork goodness. These are the ultimate. Actually my kids call them 'spifes' for the bonus knife on the side. So colorful and sturdy! They're handy in the kids' lunchboxes but I bought them for the simple reason that I love the way they look.  Turns out that bright unusual look also ensures that they return home each day.  We still have all of ours after two years of lunchtime love. Bonus!

fair fun...

Summer Memory - August 2010

A visit with Shaka's family. Carload night at the country fair. Unlimited-ride wristbands.  Tons of cousin fun!

Pinky's first carnival ride.  Hmm... I think she liked it.

Lots of naughty fair food, of course.

The big girls tried the slide.

Shaka and Thing 4 tried it, too.

Ooh, firetrucks with shiny bells.





And a cute firefighter, too!

A caramel apple coated with coconut for Cha-Cha.  Yum!

Pinky's first corndog.  I think she liked that, too.

Not too many shots of the big boys as they went to ride on the wilder side with Shaka's husband.

The Orange Whip.  A favorite for all, even the big boys.  I think the kids each rode it three or four times.

Around and around and around again.  I'm dizzy just remembering. And I was only watching!

Phew!  We were all beat by the end of the night!  I think we had our fair fun for the year!



toys to treasure...

Beautiful things over at imagine childhood.  Those plush geese are so charming that they may even be the exception to my no-more-stuffed-animals-in-this-house rule.

wooden handled glass magnifier • mother goose plush • wooden canoe

♥ felt...

Alicia's done it again.  Felt ornaments so delightful it makes me want to cry.  Look at that red coat.  The red gingham... the tiny stitching.  Could it be more darling?

The last three years she's designed these felt ornament kits and each year I drool and then hem and haw over them until they are gone.  I have no embroidery skills.  Would I massacre their heirloom-worthy loveliness?  Would this fear cause me to leave the kits in their bags indefinitely?  How sad would that be?

I was actually slightly relieved when I saw the new kit.  I can't possibly buy it since I never actually bought the previous kits.  Right?  Can't not have a complete set.  Then I scroll down.  Oh... oh!  It's the cottage with the sweet beaded lights from last year, the tree with the perfectly placed sequins, the charming pink cocoa cup and... *sigh* the beloved, much-remembered ice skate.  She's re-released the last two year's sets.  My heart beats faster.  Now a new reason to hem and haw... should I spend $75. on ornament kits that may suffer the horrible fates listed above?

Oh, but look at that ice skate.  Can I resist?

easy as a-b-c...

Check out this great playroom.  So cheerful and crisp.  Do you think it's always that neat?  Wish mine was!

And those alphabet canvases... simple but eyecatching.  Perfect for a kid's bedroom, too.  Wouldn't these be great in a bedroom shared by a sister and brother?  Girly fabrics and boyish fabrics all working together to make the alphabet.  Fun!

via ohdeedoh

life=risk

This video is getting me going today...



via The Lettered Cottage

caravan...

I am still so enamored with this sweet bunny lamp.  It would be so perfect in Princess and Cha-Cha's bedroom.  My heart beats a bit faster each time I come across it, hoping that this time it will be within my grasp.  Alas, once again it is out of reach.  This time I came across it in kind of an odd photo.  But it led me to Caravan, a quirky shop with a very clever website.

Where I even get to see it all lit up.

And I can check out other interesting items, like these bug magnets.  So not me but I am strangely drawn to them.  Aren't they lovely?

I really want one of these birds.  I don't know why, I just do.

The Caravan shop looks like a place I'd love to peruse... you know, on my next trip to London.  And while I'm there I'll finally pick up my rabbit lamp.  Wouldn't that be nice?

cabinet craving...

I think a sunny yellow kitchen like this would make me cheerful every day.  (Do you think The Husband can be convinced?)

And these bathroom cabinets.  Yes, please...

oh deer...

This set of fabric decals is making me smile today.  Isn't it sweet?  Removeable and repositionable, too.  The chubby pink bird is my favorite.

back to school?

The children returned to school last week.

Can that be right? I still haven't posted the summer.  Glorious summer. Where did it go? Every year it slips away faster. It's frightening. Seriously, I'm scared.  I've said it before, I'll say it again.  Time is not my friend...

The Boy started middle school last Tuesday.  Middle school.

Sixth grade.  Wasn't he just in kindergarten?

Yes.  Yes, he was.  Look, here's proof.  This photo is still on my hard drive.  I believe this was taken yesterday.

Same tree... same boy?  Right?

Throwing this one in for good measure.  Can you stand the cuteness?  Look at those cheeks!

Ahh... memory lane.  Look how little Cha-cha is.  Do you see this Laurel?  Does this configuration look familiar?  Kindergarten today... middle school tomorrow.  It will happen to you, too!

Anyhoo *sniffle* middle school.  The Boy's going to a science and technology magnet school.  Experiments, robots, legos even!  So far he loves it.  Uniforms.  I love it.  He's always been a polo and khakis kind of boy anyway.  Now it's just like garanimals.   Four shirt colors, three pant colors... mix and match... easy peasy.

Princess and Cha-Cha had a one day reprieve.  Their school didn't start until Wednesday.  They slept late while the Boy waited for his bus.  No bus photos for the Boy.  I don't think that's allowed in middle school.  No waving either.

The girls enjoyed their extra day of summer and then they were good and ready for their first day.  I wasn't, but they were.  Fourth grade for Princess and first grade for Cha-Cha.  Wow.

 

They're growing up too fast, too.

Look how tall Princess is getting.

A pretty, smart 9-year old girl.  The chubby baby cheeks are gone.  Only two more years in elementary school.  Let's not talk about it.

Cha-Cha gets to go to school all day now.  She's thrilled.  No more half-days with Mom racing home to catch the kindergarten bus.  That part is nice but I miss her happy chatter in the afternoon.

Her only complaint is that "they still treat us like babies, Mom."  Can't blame them, she was just a baby yesterday...

Look at those sweet sisters.  Big girls.  And of course, their must-have new shoes for the new school year.

There's Pinky.  At least she's not going to school yet.  She really is still a baby!  A baby who plays in the dirt while she waits to wave goodbye to her sisters.  She loves dirt.  Perhaps I need to get her a sandbox before she heads off to middle school.

See she's still a baby.  Rolie polie wrists, smooshy cheeks, nibble-able toes.  A baby.  No school for her.  See the chubby baby feet in her big sister's flip flops?  No baby feet in flip flops allowed at school.  I think that's a rule.

Note the averted eyes.  She's tired of me taking pictures of her.  I'm sorry baby, I can't help it.  You've got a lot of photo ops ahead of you... just look at all the pictures your siblings endure.  Buck up baby.

Uh-oh.  There's the bus.  Taking the last moments of summer with it.  Whisking my big girls off to another school year.  A school year that will likely pass too quickly.  Anyone know how to freeze time?  Just for a little while...