Little late......

but I made it to the party!!

Amanda at Serenity Now is having another party.......a Show Me The Progress Party! Time to share any project that you may be working on that's not finished. It's fun to see what everyone is working on and how their projects are coming along.

We've been working on my older girls' bedroom-they're 13 and 10 now so it was time for an update. I kind of did the re-do a bit backwards. First, I found comforters I liked that were on sale-green on one side and blue on the other. Then we matched the paint to the comforter and for a first for us.......painted the walls two different colors........you know you're talking to a girl who has lots of white walls in her house so this was a major step for me.

The bottom of the wall is the blue color and the top the green color. It came out great-my husband and dad did a nice job with it-and the girls love it. What a difference it made in the room-I want color everywhere now!! This is my oldest daughter's bureau-I think it was the only neat place in the room to snap a shot!!

Only after we painted the room did I started looking for fabric for curtains.....this is where I think I was a bit backwards. I wanted to bring in some other bright colors too and after a few trips to the fabric store to bring home samples, I found this fabric......

Both the girls liked it....score! It's perfect too because the blue and green match perfectly and I can bring in bright pink and bright orange-just what I wanted.

Now to find time to sew the curtains.......I'm thinking that won't happen until school starts!

Weekend Wind Down

It's summer time and the living is easy!!

After another busy week, it's time for Weekend Wind Down.....we're just laying low again this weekend. I think our major goal is going to be to stay cool.....it's going to be a hot one!

This week's question has to do with your summer wardrobe.......

What's your favorite clothing combo during the Summer??...Skirts & Heels, Shorts & Tennis Shoes, or a Sundress and Flip Flops?

I'm a shorts, tshirt, flip flop and I gotta have my sunglasses kind of girl......longer shorts and mostly short sleeve tshirts-I think I only have one tank top. I've been thinking I need a few skirts in my wardrobe for when I need to go out somewhere and I really wish I was a sundress kind of girl....so many cute ones!!

Out of the mouth of babes.........

and a girl after her mom's heart.......

this weekend as we're driving from my mother in law's to my mom's

we passed a Dollar Tree

and from the back seat

I hear my 5 year old say

"A Dollar Store, I adore the Dollar Store"

Weekend Wind Down

Pretty low key weekend for us......just working around the house, relaxing and staying cool!! I found out about a fun new linky party last weekend-Weekend Wind Down and I'm joining in again this weekend!



This weekend the question is....... on a hot day, do you prefer the ocean, the lake, or the pool?

B.K. (before kids) my answer, hands down, the ocean! My husband and I used to go all the time-many fun memories. A.K. (after kids) .....totally different answer-definitely the pool. It's so much easier and closer....no traveling.....no sand.....no waves to knock down the little ones. The kids love it and will stay in all day playing! We still love to go to the ocean and we camp down there for a week each August, but for a hot day, with the kids, the pool wins!

Dishing It! with Serenity Now

Party time again!!! Time for July's Dishing It! with Amanda at Serenity Now.

This month's topic is "Your Summer Reading List".......perfect, love, love, love to read and have since I was younger. I don't have as much time to read as I used too-hhmmmm, wonder why??-but I still love it and it's a great way to relax especially before bed. I've also gotten really good at reading while I'm cooking, I figure I'm just standing there and have to be in the kitchen anyways-might as well enjoy it a bit!

Now a days, I'm usually reading light fiction because I'm either a. too tired to really concentrate or b. the kids are running around and I can't concentrate. It's hard to get into a book with a complex plot and lots of characters when you're falling asleep or stopping every few sentences to help someone out. I get a few magazines in the mail like Parent and Good Housekeeping and my guilty pleasure is definitely the People magazines my sister in law passes on to me.

I'm really looking forward to lots of reading this summer. On my Top 5 List right now are:

1. Private by James Paterson and Maxine Paetro
I don't read many mysteries but I have pretty much loved all the James Paterson books I've read. I love his Detective Alex Cross Series and his Women's Murder Club Series.

2. The Secret by Beverly Lewis
Last summer I read one series by Beverly Lewis and really enjoyed it. Her books mainly focus on the Amish Community. This book is the first of another series that includes The Missing and The Telling.

3. While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky
Another author that I'll get a book by even if I don't know what the book is about. This one is about two sisters and sounds interesting.

4. The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
Love this author too! Never been disappointed with one of her books.

5. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This book is on my oldest daughter's summer reading list so I want to read it too. She already finished it and liked it.

Time to go to the library!!

I'm melting.......

Wow! It was a hot one last week! There were some cranky kids and a probably even crankier mom here at 7 All Together! The heat did us in!!

We spent a lot of time in the pool and in the sprinkler. On Friday night, my kids brought it up a notch and made their own Wipeout course. Too funny!! My older girls love that show! I personally don't understand why anyone would want to get covered in foam and bounce off those big balls and try to conquer all the parts of the course that just look impossible to me! Not my idea of fun by a long shot!

My oldest designed most of the course with some help from her dad. This was some serious planning. The buzzer went off at the swing set slide with the sprinkler close by.

After you navigated the slide/sprinkler, you had to shoot two baskets.

You then has to climb the stairs of the Little Tikes slide and slide down onto my picnic table cloth aka "The Slip and Slide". Oh yeah, and no Wipeout course would be complete without foam.....one whole can of shaving cream went into this Wipeout course.

Then it was on to the teeter toter portion of the course-our Little Tikes picnic table rose to the challenge and bravely stepped in!

The kids had a ball designing and completing the course. My husband acted as spokesperson and timer!

What a great way to stay cool!!

Chic Click Carnival

Bloggers are wonderful people-I've learned so many new things from different blogs-everything from new recipes to clothing patterns to ideas for decorating my house. So much sharing in the blogging world! I love to find new blogs and am excited to be participating in the Chic Click Carnival this week!

For those of you who may be stopping by from the carnival my name is Dawn and I'm a SAHM with 5 kids....4 girls and a boy from 13 down to 2. I love to sew and craft and with 5 kids I'm all about quick, easy and inexpensive!

I think my favorite post changes all the time but right now I love the one about the Wipeout course my kids created. Right up my alley, fun, quick, and inexpensive-they had a ball just running around the yard with the sprinkler and staying cool!

My favorite peep of the week is Moms by Heart. Her tag line is "raising rascals on a dime" and with 5 kids every penny counts. I love finding out about new deals and coupons and Lori makes it so easy for me. Her newest post is adorable-a free picture of you child with the tooth fairy. She lets you know about all kinds of bargains like those on prescription glasses, address labels and Thomas the Train toys and great printable coupons like this one for Diet Coke. She also goes through all the best deals at different stores each week-makes my shopping much easier!!

Check it out-it's a great way to find new blogs!

Big, Big Day!!

Kindergarten Step Up!



I don't remember my other girls being quite so excited, but my 5 year old was beyond excited about her Step Up Ceremony.....preschool to kindergarten.....

Course she was mostly concerned that there were going to be snacks there.......yes, a girl after my own heart......but she was also very excited about being on stage singing her songs!

She asked my everyday how many more days there were until Step Up and we had to name the days and then she would wake up the next morning and ask if Step Up was today (and if there would be snacks!).

I told her I'd make her a new dress and it's so cool to see how excited she was about that!! Makes those late nights staying up sewing at the last minute all worth it!

I saw this fabric at JoAnn's and loved it right away. I used the boutique halter top tutorial from Trotter Sweet Peas Boutique-I was lucky to win it in a giveaway and had been wanting to try it out. We both loved how it turned out and she looked adorable!!!

A special dress for a special day!

First Camping Trip of the Summer!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!! We got back Monday from our first camping trip of the summer-down by the beach-great week, great weather-wish we were still there!!!

Lots of relaxing........

spending time at the beach.....playing, swimming, looking for shells and sea glass........

a few tantrums because we were so tired from all the fun and staying up so late..........

but they didn't last too long and then we were happy again.......

a visit to Newport, Rhode Island to visit one of the mansions and walk the cliff walk........here's the back of the mansion.....

and here's the front........absolutely beautiful......very hard to believe people really lived there at one time.......I definitely know I'd never want to have to clean it!!

great tree for climbing right in our camp site......

celebrated a few birthdays......I forgot candles so we celebrated the first birthday with paper umbrellas........

and the second with the top of the 9 candle that was still in the camper from last year........

Fun, fun week!! We're still trying to get back into the swing of things and get caught up on the laundry that is threatening to take over our whole house! Hard to try to get things done though-it's so hot this week! I think the saying about being able to fry an egg on the pavement could really be true this week!!!

Have a great one!!!