If you need it, build it! :)

We have "market days" coming up at Alex's school and we needed to create a "farmer's market" style stall for the kiddos. We have a table and are going all out on the table cloth but I wanted a neat attention getting sign, so I called my Dad, asked his advice and headed off to the nearest Lowes.

On Dad's recommendation I got PVC pipe, connectors and end caps, came home, measured, sawed and voila...$11 and 15 minutes later I had the frame for my sign for this and many future projects.

Here is a quick do it yourself, step-by-step tutorial!

Assemble your items. I had the saw, tape measure and sharpie already, but everything else here cost $10.24. That and a little time and we have a very multifunction piece that should work for the preschool for a while!



Measure your PVC pipe and mark the height and width you want your stand to be. I did 7 feet high and 7 feet wide, so I cut all three pieces of my PVC pipe to seven feet.


Use a hack saw and cut the PVC pipe at your measured marks. The PVC pipe cuts easily, just be sure your cut ends go into the connectors so you don't scratch yourself.


Get your connectors ready. From here on out it's like putting legos together!


Use your short brace pieces and connect them to the sides of your T connector. The top of the T will hold your tall stand pieces.



Add your elbow connectors to connect your side and top pieces:



Alex helped put the finishing touches on. Here he is adding end caps to our stand:


The finished product! We're going to wrap it in brown crepe paper to make trees and decorate it with fall leaves, and hang a Shoreline Market Days banner across it, pictures coming soon!

The Beach Cake

I loved this cake! Not only was it right up my ally being pretty simple and yet impressive looking, it tasted fantastic! I'll be the first to admit that I typically go overboard with my son's birthday parties, but I did make an attempt this year to keep myself in check with everything but the cake.

Our decor consisted of a few inexpensive banners and one beach bucket full of snacks, some paper plates and napkins and we were set. We did go in with most of the family and get an inflatable water slide for Alex's birthday present this year. Throw that in with a regular kiddie pool, and the inflatable soccer goal Alex got last year for his birthday, and my backyard became a kids inflatable land dream. :)

Then there was the cake. My brother joined our decorating team this year and made such notable contributions as the teddy graham chicken fight, and the bouy. My sister carefully crafted a kayak, helped with the bouy and served as general managing director of the decorations, and I was the brains behind the surfer, the beach babes, the lifeguard and the tree. All together we got a nifty cake that served the 50 or so people who came with very little leftover.

I used 3 boxes of funfetti cake mix to make the 11 x 15 cake, a thin 8 inch round and two cupcakes so I could test the results before the crowd. :) Once both cakes were cook, I put them in the fridge over night to lock in the moisture. The day before the party I brought them back to room temp, arranged the 8 inch round in pieces to create the beach and added a crumb coat to make frosting it easier. Once the crumb coat had set for a bit I tinted store bough whipped white frosting with orange extract (colorless) and did a white layer over the entire cake. I quickly added finely blended graham crackers (they were powder like consistency) all over the beach by patting them into the icing. Then I tinted another can of whipped white frosting blue for the water and mixed it with the white to create white caps in the water. Then came the fun with the teddy grahams and gummy drops rolled and cut up into shapes. Here see for yourself!

Catching Up

The last few days have flown by in a haze of chaos, grief, and marvel at the irony of life.

Friday my maternal grandfather took a turn for the worse. He's suffered for years from Chronic Pulmonary Lung Disorder (CPLD), and for those of you not affected by the hazards of smoking, this is an awful thing to witness. Over the last few years he has slowly had a harder time trying to breath. He's been on oxygen for several years, suffered numerous bouts of pneumonia and now is on life support after ceasing to breath on his own. There is little to no hope of recovery and in my mind and heart I have told him goodbye.

Less than 24 hours after hearing this news I hosted a baby shower. It was bittersweet celebrating a new life while my grandfathers was coming to a close.

The baby shower was for Alex's previous teacher at his school. It's a Christian private school so when his engaged, but unwed teacher became pregnant she was let go. There was no warning for the students, parents or even the teacher herself. Alex loved her and it was quite an upset to deal with for him. His new teacher is also wonderful, don't get me wrong but we loved the teacher who's now gone. This baby shower was planned for a month and all the parents and kiddos from her class came together to show her how much she is missed. It was a wonderful afternoon and reminded me what a great teacher the school has lost. Alex had a blast having all his friends over, he shared his toys well and everyone enjoyed all the snacks. The adults all got a good laugh too when all the kids simulteanously started crying for different reasons. No worries though we brought out the cake and all was good!


My feelings on her dismissal are worthy of their own post so I'll just say that the Christian principles of acceptance, charity, and helping those in need should not be revoked at the very moment that someone needs them most.

This afternoon we stopped by the garden to see how things were going, make sure the timer was watering regularly and see if the recent hail storm caused any damage. Alex and I (Eric was not as verbally enthusiastic) were quite excited to see most of the plants were already sprouting. :)

UPS Mishap

As a multi-tasking mama my day is always unpredictable! Today I waited anxiously for a UPS delivery of rush invitations for a special event only a week away...and I waited in vain. Technology is great and this morning the invitation designer and I anxiously checked to make sure that the invitations were on the road and headed our way, especially since we overnight shipped them! At 8:45 they were in Austin and I made myself wait patiently for them to arrive, but by 5pm I was wondering where my elusive UPS driver could be. My husband's family had all arrived to go out to dinner and celebrate his and my sister-in-law's birthdays but I couldn't be pried away from the computer. As a born planner I will admit that I am somewhat of a control freak, it's one of the traits that makes me good at what I do. However this was my inlaw's first experience with the sometimes unpredictable demands of my non stop entertaining. As everyone enjoyed thier dinner I continued to hound UPS on the phone and email an all night printer with emergency instructions to get my order filled NOW. By the time dessert arrived everything was under control and running smoothly once more, but you can bet UPS and I will find the time to chat on Monday!