fyi

1. the saying "fyi" is part of my everyday vocabulary
2. I will be patrolling the neighborhood on Alex's bike tonight. Well it is trash day tomorrow, who knows what kind of freebies I may find.
3. I have been working on more decorations for Maelea's party. I just can't wait.
4. Will she really be 1 on Sunday? Yes. I CAN-NOT believe it either.
5. This is what I looked like about 1 year ago. Uh, WHOA. And it is even more sad and whoa that I think I was more tan then than now.

6. I love spray paint. It is right up there with the Clorox wipes.
7. Does it get any better than the movie Lonesome Dove? I think not.
8. We took Alex's car to the shop for a paint job. Before and After pictures will be posted when we get it back.
9. I'm posting this bullet style because I didn't really have many pictures to go along with this.
10. I took some pictures yesterday of the Pennington boys. They are my ap's boys and it was sooo fun. We were in a junkyard and I think they were in heaven. They named ever single piece of equipment and part in the place. It was cute and made me think of my dad. And how much he would like that junk yard.

Have a good evening. The baby is asleep, I'm about to eat some ice cream, then watch Alex play soccer in the street with the neighbors.

what Maelea's into

You know me, I don't do it by the book.
Maelea loves milk, yes I said it, milk. I know she's not one yet but that last can of formula was gone and I said, we're starting milk now. Three weeks early. Before she turns one. I don't think three weeks, at this stage in her life (yes the womb was much more crucial) will make that much of a developmental difference.
Now she is all sippy cups and milk, and water, and juice. Stopping the bottles was no biggie. She's so big.


She loves crunchies and yogurt melts for snacks.


She eats them up so quickly. She eats everything we give her actually. She totally gets that from her dad.
No, we are not having another baby yet but when we do, I can only hope they are this easy. wow.

Also, when you pray today or tonight or whenever, just please pray for a sweet baby girl named Elise. Please just lift her up in your prayers that all will be well and say a little prayer for her parents, for strength and guidance.

inside ol gal

As previously mentioned I did some work on Gal's interior. Yikes. I mean, she's a bit dingy on the inside. I mean, she is 44, not to be rude but that's got to be like 88 in people years. I'm sorry to the readers that are 88 and 44 for that matter and I will now try to crawl out of this hole I'm digging. Sheesh.
And actually, I think using one of my three fans that are at least 40 years old helped. I was cool and so was gal, she always is.
Back to gal's insides.

These items were desperately needed.
This fabric was a pretty close match to the color of the interior. And it was a close as we were getting anyways because it was up to me and it was 95 degrees. And my favorite, fabric-only-cutting shears. Granny would kill me if I EVER used these on paper.

Glove, yes 1.
Because that's all I had, that's why.
It was cleverly placed on my left hand because that was the hot hand. The hand doing all the pressing of the headliner, cloth, and hot glue. Have I mentioned my love for hot glue?


I hot glued all of the headliner that could possibly be glued. Then I cut fabric strips and hot glued them to the open sections. You see, this prevented all of the fiberglass from escaping and blowing into someone's shirt or in their eyes. That's uncomfortable, right dad?

And this is how it ended. Sorry, no before shots. She was too embarrassed.


And this is how it actually ended. Sliced tomato with salt, string cheese, and a DP for lunch.


Not bad for someone that hot glues the interior of a car who is married to someone that actually drives it around every day, right?

Shoot, I'm country.

cousin love

Maelea got to meet her Hatch cousins for the first time this last week.
It was Alex and I's first time to meet Brooklyn.

Watch out, cuteness alert ahead!



Brooklyn's hair before bed, so darling.



Mckinley started off as her normal shy/ come and get me self then warmed up and was playing hide and seek all night with uncle Alex. Brooklyn was just laid back, snuggly, and oh so smiley the entire time. Both of these sweeties are so fun and Maelea loved her cousin time.

company

I actually got a little emotional while getting ready to do this post.
I have amazing friends. Real true friends. They have been there for me, love me, and love my baby. I have a small group of very best friends and I am oh so proud of them.

Two of those best friends were part of the fun company that came to visit this week.


Nancy and Micah came Wednesday evening for a quick one night stay. Their flight went out Thursday for Hawaii. Dream vacation I'd say. I wanted to go, but they only invited Maelea. :) She's obviously cuter and looks better in a swimsuit, so it totally made sense.



Alana and Kyle came late late on Thursday night. She had to call me and wake me up to tell me they had arrived, but once I opened my eyes I was so excited to see them! We were so busy doing and going and they had lots of family plans with Kyle's family that I only snapped a couple of shots.



See why I love them so much?
Not only did they play with Mealea non-stop and chit chat with me they showered her with gifts of adorable clothes.
Great friends=great life.

how funny...face

I follow the pioneer woman's blog...it is a great one if you don't already read it. She's a fantastic writer, like I seriously laugh out loud at alot of the things that she says. She's always doing contests and giveaways so I entered the funny face photo contest and Maelea's picture made it into the finals for group 1.

Check it out here.

And since I can't do a post without a pic, here you go.

my funny bunny

Maelea is so squeezy. I call her about a million different names a day. For example:
funny bunny, funny buns, boosie boo, busy bones, ladybug, silly sil, Maelea bear, boo bug.....and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes she will give me a funny face look, with squeezy eyes and a scrunched nose and I still smile and laugh like I did the first time she made that face.



She's really into attempting to repeat things that we say. Now that's funny.


For some reason she's been really wanting to climb in and play with her old carseat. Not sure why.


We got the Tahoe back this evening and I couldn't be happier!

Yes I shall

Normally I wouldn't say "please get me this" but maybe if I put out the word early.....ok, I'm just kidding. But having a little time to just relax at home (minus the worry over still NOT having the Tahoe back yet, yes it is STILL in the shop) I've been cleaning and thinking and crafting and thinking.

And these are the things that make me happy and things I wouldn't mind having as gifts or surprises or things of the like.
1. Clorox/ Lysol wipes. Hello simplicity and clean smells.
2. gap gift cards....hello simplicity and everyday wear or dress up clothes
3. neat cookbooks that focus on a theme or specific item (like the FABULOUS one that mom surprised me with, porch parties)
4. cake stands....I want a colored glass one. I have a couple of them that I made but they are small... want to see? ok
the two separate pieces


and the two pieces put together.

yes a garage sale and thrift store combo, who doesn't love hot glue?
5. these I don't like but I need, shorts. Please don't remind me that Maelea is almost a year old and I still am not back to my old size. I had to cut off a pair of jeans the other day so I would have some shorts to wear that weren't nike. nice.
6. fancy shampoo. It makes me feel fancy.
7. yummy candles, my favorites are the ones from bath and body works, summer scents.

ahh heck, 7 is enough don't ya think? Ok, maybe that's too much.

Look what I found

I think this might be the title of my posts for free things that I find. Trashy treasures just wasn't cuttin' it. The following pics are all things I've found, for free, on the curb.

The grey case in the back holds a drill, the red sawzall case is just awesome and has the saw inside, and the first aid kit had old boxes of supplies inside but I mostly love the case.


Who wouldn't love this little easel? I sure did! Plus it is super easy to clean up and has the marker board on the opposite side.

This little stand was a pretty simple piece. I sanded it and then put the white primer coat on it yesterday. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm going to put another white coat on it or use a color.


Call it junk, dirty, gross, I really don't care. Just about anything can be cleaned up and revived.

And old trunk.


Love me some old windows, they can be used for so many things.

And old mailbox with neat handles, LOVE this brown box and inside there is a saw, and another skill saw in the back.


Some people just don't know what they have.


I didn't do a post yesterday for Father's Day and I feel pretty bad about it. So here is a little tribute to the fathers.

Alex, Maelea loves you so much. She adores you and thinks you are the funniest thing in the world. She is constantly looking for you when you're in another room and she lights up when she finally sees you. Thank you for your unending patience with your two girls, I know we only need it on occasion, but thank you anyways.


Dad, you are awesome. You always come through and save the day. You make me laugh, alot. I love you very much and Maelea is so blessed to have such a fantastic Pappy.


Cleveland, you are a hoot. I will never forget that you were the first person to bring me a dr. pepper right after I had Maelea, it was all I wanted! That's because you are always wiling to do whatever it takes to make people happy. Maelea is so blessed to have such a great Poppy!

what I does

I've been feeling very crafty lately and have been putting this and that together, repurposing, painting, and the list goes on. I love it and I think I love having time and energy to actually do it even more.
I think I might start a little series ( I know, I know wishlist Wednesday really hung in there for a whole week) but this wouldn't necessarily be on a consistent basis. I think I will call it "trashy treasures." I don't really like the word trashy all that much, but when the shoe fits....when in rome....you get it.
Trashy because we, yes Alex and I BOTH, find stuff that our neighbors in our neighborhood leave on the curb to be picked up by the trash truck and this stuff is awesome! Seriously, my next post will be a trashy treasures post and I'll have pictures of the goodies we've hauled in.

Here are a few pictures of things I've made lately.



I've been wanting some type of coat hanging thing for the entry way that is more me. The frame is one I found at a garage sale and painted last year. The bunting inside the frame is repurposed from one of Alex's favorite shirts that had a rip in it and put on twine (obviously I used the sleeves), the wood is wood from Elmo's barn, the two different sets of hooks (which I love that they are different) came from a garage sale that I went to with my mom the other day, and the Alexander sign came from the hunt county trade days in Quinlan last week from Jo's booth, she's my fave! Oh and even though Alex is holding the hammer, he didn't do any of the hammering, I did and mom helped me keep it all level.




This table set up is actually different now but I wanted to show a few of the things on it. The tray is mirrored and from a neighborhood garage sale for 25cents last year, the books are from here and there and I love how vintage and colorful they are, the ice bucket is old and from a thrift store, and I'm starting a nice little hanky collection, I love those things.
I've actually put a small dresser scarf on the table now, moved the ice bucket, and added something else that I've made.


Just because she's too cute.

Lots of visitors coming this upcoming week. Wednesday Nancy and Micah are coming to stay the night with us because they are flying out of Dallas and on to Hawaii, I know I'm quite jealous of that little vacation.
Alana and I have been planning for about a month now on a time to get together and her and Kyle are coming on Thursday to stay until Sunday because his family is doing some "Dallas stuff", so I am so happy about getting to see her!
I think Byron and Marla are going to get to come down Thursday as well and spend the night on their way to Louisiana to a wedding. Can't wait to see everyone!!!!

cruisin' in the gal at 1:45......a.m.

What???? When was the last time I stayed up until 1:45 a.m.? I do not remember. But this is what I did last night.
Took some family pictures in Forney, really hot but pretty fun shoot. Went to start the tahoe, but it wouldn't start. It turned over and chugged, but wouldn't start. Of course this would be my luck. First pearl, then the gal, now the tahoe. Seriously????
Yes, seriously.
So I called a friend and she brought me some gas, but after putting the gas in it still wouldn't start. I was surprised and embarrassed and sad, almost cried right there.
I've never ran out of gas before.
Long story short, Alex and Maelea bring the galaxie and come to get me. We go back to the tahoe for one more go at it, but no luck. I call the insurance company for roadside assitance (since I didn't think my dad would be able to make another 8 hour trip and the fact that it was 10:00 at night.) They called a tow truck and it was covered through the insurance, thank goodness.
He arrived roughly 2 hours later. Yes two hours.
During this time Charity came to get Maelea, a man named Tim walked up to us cigarette a blazin', he asked Alex for a ride home, stood there and talked to us for twenty minutes, offered $10, told us that was the strawberry moon/ harvest moon, then Alex took him home, Alex and I listened to music, talked, swatted mosquitos, etc. Finally the strangest tow truck man in the world arrives. I hate to say rude things like that, but it was quite an experience for us. Anyways, we FINALLY get on the road and headed back to Terrell. Drop off the tahoe, turn in the keys, cruise through town, go through the fancy McDonald's drive through (thru actually), and got home at 2:00 a.m. Fuuuun.
Turns out it was a bad fuel indicator mechanism ( that was for you dad) and they needed to get us a new one. Of course that part is not covered under our warranty. So tomorrow that part will be in and we should have it fixed. I asked them to go ahead and check out a few other things too. So another delightful out of pocket expense for the HappyHatchFamily. Yahooo!

I took these a few days ago and it couldn't be more fitting at this time.



And I'd rather do a post about these two pearly whites on the top, drooly bear but I had to keep you informed on our wonderful vehicle mishaps.

galli gal

Dad made the long haul to the big state to bring us ole gal. She's here and she's big and bad. Literally, I don't know for sure if she'd fit in the garage with the door closed.

I know Alex was beyond excited to see my dad show up in the bronze gem.


I plan on taking you on a journey with ole gal. I will be scrapblogging her transformation. And this is the start, or second start.
If you've been keeping up with this blog then you know she was a surprise for Alex over a year ago. Mom and dad picked her up from a man in Joplin, MO. (turns out that man's house and everything were blown away in that terrible tornado they had) so we were able to keep a little piece of his history alive. We have bought and paid for her and that's also a nice feeling.

She had a little trouble with her running, she got real tired, I think she felt a little old or maybe she'd been sneaking some cigs, I saw a few puffs of smoke, but who knows. Dad and Alex worked on her alot, and Alex learned alot. Then, not too long ago dad traded for a new motor for her, a 390.....BIG ole heart for the girl. She was renewed. And she was thirst, girl drinks gas like it is going out of style.
Then you know what happened to pearl, just bit the dust. So when mom came down we thought it might work out to be able to get the galaxie down here. And it did work out. She made the long long trip without a trip up. Oh wait, she blew a tire. So what we thought was going to be two new tires, turned out to be a full set of new shoes for her, but hey, she prances around in those things like she bought them from jimmy choo.

Let me interject here to show you the few hours Pappy got to spend with Maelea.


Walking all around, as long as she can hang on to someone's hands!

Now back to the galaxie. Surprisingly, Alex let her sit all day and didn't take her for a spin. I think he was just happy she was here, as was I. Having only one vehicle is more trouble than I wanted, and it gives me so much more peace of mind just knowing if one of us is gone, there's a vehicle to jump in, just in case.
Anywho, the next day Alex went out to talk to Jimmy our neighbor about gal. After I put Maelea down, I joined the convo. Alex got it in to start her up and...and...nothing. Um, gal, are you ok? No, she wasn't. No pulse, unconscious. Alex was sick. Looked like a little kid who just lost his dog.
As you can probably guess, we called my dad. Big surprise I know. And we tried every little thing he said to try and he finally came to the conclusion that it was the starter. He explained everything, as he always does, and Alex went to O'Reilly the next day to get a new starter.
Let me back up, he took the old starter out himself. What a mechanic. He literally dug his heels in and got after it.



Taking it off didn't seem too difficult.




Putting the new starter back in......oh-my-goodness. It was getting h-o-t but that small breezy breeze kept hope alive. I made several attempts to get Alex to take a break, let me help, etc. etc. He wasn't quitting. He was two bolts in and covered in dirt and grease but that third bolt, oh blast you third bolt. It was a doozy but gal was depending on that third bolt so he pushed on.


Maelea went down for her second nap and out I went. I said give me that thing, let me crawl on the hood and reach in there and finish it. Hood, as in where the windshield wipers meet the hood of the car. He gave me a crazy, sweat dripping look, and handed me the wrench. (no pictures of me, I assure you that.) I wriggled my arm down in the that greasy mess and got to work, one quarter turn at a time. That's about all I could get out of one needle nosed plier squeeze. And did I mention how how it was? Yeah. Finally, oh finally the bolt was in and tight. After four long hours, most of them spent on the blasted third bolt, she was in. And a new appreciation for why mechanics charge so much by the hour. The wires were hooked back up to the battery. Ok, here goes, start her up. And he did, and boy did she sing. She's got a dual set of pipes you know.

Gal is back. I even took her for a spin today after some work on the interior. More pics of that later. I-chee-wa-wa. Boy do I love some go behind that gas pedal. Plus I love old cars and trucks, always have.