Petunia's first day of school

My little petunia had her first day at preschool and of course, she loved it.  She had a great time there last year and I knew she was ready to go back when she said, "Mom, I want to go see all of my friends!"

They have a summer program where they go for one week in the summer, but it wasn't enough for her!

I guess she is my social butterfly!

Here she is with her new teacher.

She was also excited about taking her new Jesse lunch box.  Now if she'd just eat some of the food I pack in it, we'll be doing good!

First Day of School 2010

It seems as if this year, the first day of school was much more anticipated than last.

Last year, both of my girls went to new schools (for them anyway) and of course, there was a little bit of anxiety.  This year, they were excited!

Thank goodness, my big girl got a great teacher (I heard you couldn't go wrong with the second grade teachers at her school.  Phew!)

She even has one of her very best friends in her class!  Who could ask for more?

Last year, I walked her all the way into her class for two and a half weeks!  This year on the third day, she was ready to jump out of the car and go in by herself!  I am so proud!

Petunia's first day photos still to come!

Last days of summer

I've been out of the loop for a while, but I am here to do some catching up!  We tried our best to have a lot of fun before the kids went back to school, and I think we succeeded! 

The weekend before school started, we decided at the last minute to surprise our girls and drive to Dallas.

Can you see the red store?

That's right!  We went to the American Girl store!  It was so fun!

My big girl has been saving her money and having no idea we were going somewhere, came to me with the AG catalog and announced she was buying her baby sister a "girl".

I had ants in my pants because I knew about the trip!  I wondered though, if she would follow through and spend all of her money on her sister!

Well, she stuck to her word.  The hard part was for my little petunia to pick ONE girl.

This is the girl that came home with us.  Each new girl she saw, she said, "This is her.  She's the one I want.  I want this one."  It was so cute.  She was so excited!

A little bit of  "thank you" lovin'.

Of course, we had a fabulous lunch in the bistro!

Then headed home!  The girls slept almost the whole way, both clutching their girls.

I think I had almost as much fun as they did! 

What a great summer!

 

First day of school survival kit!

Monday is the big day around here.  Another school year will begin.  Yesterday, we were demon dialing the school because they printed the list to let us know what teacher our children will be assigned to. 

Tonight, we go for "Meet the teacher".

The other day, I found a cute idea at Some Days You Gotta Dance.  Paige works in a school and found an "emergency kit" on her desk while preparing for her school year.

I thought this was such a fabulous idea and decided to go for it!

Here is what I came up with!

I got the little basket in the clearance section at Wal Mart.  They came in a set of 3 for $1.50, red, white and blue!  I put in some snacks, a note pad, water, hand wash and wipes, lotion and Tylenol!  Hopefully, she won't need the Tylenol!

The bow on the outside, I made in school colors.  It is actually a belt!  I am planning to make some more, so I will post a tutorial for it!  Hopefully, tomorrow.

Wish us luck for tonight.  I am hoping there will be some friends in my sweet girl's class so that anxiety levels will be low for Monday!  I am sure the teacher will be great.  I've heard great things about all of the second grade teachers!

Scraps and Scribbles giveaway winner!

First off, let me say, you have one more day to enter the hair bow giveaway that I am hosting over at Scraps and Scribbles.  Go check it out!

Courtney offered up one of her super cute rag bracelets to one of my readers.

The winner is...Lamb Around!

I'm sending you an email!

Thanks to all who entered!

Lots of fun and last day to enter the giveaway!

Today is the last day to enter the Scraps and Scribbles giveaway!

Also, I am hosting a hair bow giveaway on Scraps and Scribbles that ends tomorrow!  If you have a little girl or know one that you may need a gift for, head over and enter!  There is only one person entered so far and that is just sad!!!

Onto...Lots of Fun.  This is our last week of summer vacation and I have been trying to pack as much fun into it as possible for my sweet little girls!

Over the weekend, we had a blast.  We went to a pizza joint that has all of the fun stuff and road go karts and bumper cars, bowled, ice skated and played lots of games!  Then we headed out for lunch and then to the movies!  We saw Despicable Me.  I thought it was very cute.  Even cuter was when my little petunia was reaching out at some of the 3-D stuff trying to touch it!

Yesterday, we enjoyed some fun time at a museum.  My girls had never been to this butterfly habitat and it was awesome.  I can't believe we've never gone to it!!

We saw a couple of butterflies emerge from their chrysalises!  It was amazing.

Then you go into this big dome that is kind resembles rain forest, and there are butterflies flying around everywhere!  The girls loved it and the butterflies were gorgeous.

Then, of course, we had to have a little fun in the gift shop.

Hilarious, right?  I thought so anyway!

Gussy up that hat! (just in case ya missed it!)

Just in case you missed it...here is the tutorial from my guest post over at Scraps and Scribbles from

the other day!  There is a giveaway involved, so hop on over and check it out!

And if you haven't entered the giveaway here for the rag bracelet, what are you waiting for?

Lately, I have been working on sprucing up a plain cadet cap.  I've seen these hats everywhere with rhinestone designs on them, but thought they would be so cute with some flowers on them!

There are tutorials all over blogland for making all kinds of fabric flowers.  Here is one of my new favorites!

All you need is some fabric, a circle template (you can use a glass), needle and thread, a small piece of felt, and a button.

Start by making six circles and cutting them out.

Fold them in half once and then again.

Then take your needle and thread and run a long stitch across the raw edge.

Now pull it tight so that it gathers in the whole bottom of your petal!  Tie a knot in your thread and do the same for the next five circles.  I didn't even cut my thread in between petals.  That way they are all sewn together at the end.

This is what it will look like with all six petals done and sewn together.  Next glue your felt circle onto the back.

Find a cute button big enought to cover all of your raw edges and stitching and sew into place on the opposite side of your felt.

Next add a pin and/or hairclip to the back and you are done!  You could even sew this right onto a purse or hat if you didn't want it to be interchangeable.

Now go make some cute flowers! 

Guest Post with Scraps and Scribbles Plus A Giveaway!

Today, I will be swapping blogs and guest posting over at Scraps and Scribbles!  Come by and see what I've been up to and check out Courtney's great blog!

Hello Freckled Bug readers! I'm so happy to be visiting Andrea's awesome blog today.

I'm Courtney, author of Scraps and Scribbles. That's me with my goofball brother. I'm wife to my hunka-hunka hubby and a stay-at-home mom to one busy little 20-month-old boy. When I' not chasing after him, I love making beautiful things-be it crafts, food or photographs. I'm a bit of a fashion and make-up junkie-I just can't get enough of either! I started Scraps and Scribbles as the resting place for my projects and thoughts. Here are some of my projects:

Picture frame turned earring organizer

Scrabble tile pendant necklaces (I sell these in my Etsy shop)

Use your old mismatched silverware to make garden markers

This has to be my favorite-my Anthro-inspired Ruffle Tee

Today I'm going to share with you a delicious and easy cupcake recipe. It was one of my favorites as a little girl. Here we go!

Surprise Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar

Filling:

1 egg, unbeaten
1 cup chocolate chips
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cupcake ingredients together and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, blend filling ingredients together. Line or spray a muffin tray.

Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with cupcake batter,

drop in a large spoonful of filling

and cover with a spoonful of cupcake batter. Bake for 25 minutes. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes. Or you can do them in a mini muffin pan for parties!

And there you have it-a simple, delish desert! Thanks so much for letting me visit today, Andrea!! I hope you all come by Scraps and Scribbles to say hi! I'd love to meet you!

Courtney has graciously offered one of her super cute rag bracelets as a giveaway to one of my readers!

Here's how to enter the giveaway:

1. Go and visit Courtney's Etsy shop and come back and leave a comment to tell me your favorite item.

2.  Be a follower of The Freckled Bug.

3.  Be a follower of Scraps and Scribbles.

There are three chances for entry.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

The giveaway will remain open until Monday, August 16 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday!
(winner will be chosen randomly!)

Thank you Courtney, for stopping by for a visit!  I must go make those cupcakes now!!

My new kitchen!

Recently, we revamped our kitchen!  I've been wanting to share, but had to round up some photos!  We really got brave and made some drastic changes, but I love it!

Check it out.

I forgot to take before pictures!!!!  I can't believe it.  I was so excited and preoccupied with emptying out the entire kitchen, I forgot.  Sorry.  So look beyond my little chef and see the back splash and stained cabinets.

I am an equal opportunity mother, so here in this background, you can see the walls, cabinets and back splash.  I promise, this was not a shameful ploy to show you more pictures of my girls!!

So here is the new kitchen!  We are still working on some new decorations and replacing the little lights over the bar area.  But it's definitely colorful and fun!

My dining room is the same color red as the island, so it kind of ties it together since you can see through to that room.

Well, I am off to make some breakfast!  Have a great day!