New Product Alert: Mickey Ice Cream Sundae Desk Set

Happy Sundae... I mean Sunday!  Today, I have a really sweet treat to show you!  I am so excited to share our new Mickey Ice Cream Sundae Desk Set with you!  This has been in the works behind the scenes for quite awhile now and I'm so excited that it has finally made it's delicious debut over in our Snowblade Creations shop!

I've actually been meaning to post about our new ice cream desk products for a few months now.  Unfortunately, as things picked up between my sewing class, working on the Glowforge, Squirrel-Gate, cleaning our house, and our businesses getting busier,  I haven't had much time to work on product photoshoots.  They can be time consuming.

The other day, I made time to do it when it was warm in the house and there wasn't much cleaning that I could do.  Our light box is helpful, but it's really bright and I have a hard time doing product photoshoots by myself.  It's much easier to have Eliot hand me items so my eyes don't have to go back and forth between focusing on the items in the box and grabbing the ones outside of it.  It was a bit of a struggle doing it myself, but I was able to get this set and a few other items photographed!  And it's about time!!!

Most of these pieces were made back in January when I was a busy bee working behind the scenes on two new desk sets for Snowblade Creations.  (You probably recall my post about the debut of our new Mickey Mouse Galaxy desk set back then too.)  While working on the galaxy desk accessories, I was also working on another set that I dreamt up last year... one with dripping chocolate and colorful sprinkles.

I was so excited to finally make this ice cream sundae set come to life!  This set is so much fun!!!  I've wanted to work on this for months.  Like the galaxy set, I've been waiting patiently for all of the desk accessories before I dove in.  However, with this one, Eliot has been printing these pieces specifically for me to make this set.

I absolutely love ice cream and I've always been obsessed with sundaes and bright sprinkles.  I've found a few different suppliers to buy faux sprinkles through, so I knew I had to make this idea a reality.  The bright bubblegum pink material has a layer of "hot fudge" and faux sprinkles dripping down it.  Each item will always be one of a kind!

The best part is that you can mix and match all of the accessories to create your own fun desk set.  We're offering the base in four different "flavors" or colors: vanilla (white), mint chip (mint), chocolate (brown) and of course, strawberry (millennial pink).  

You're probably wondering what took me so long to list these in our shop.  All of the pink samples have been done for months, but I decided that I wanted to show the other colors in the listings too.  I recently finished the mint business card holders and the white pen holder.  Eliot's already printed a mint pen holder and he'll be printing a brown one when we have time to in between prints for the businesses!  Then, customers will be able to see all of the options available to create their unique ice cream desk set! 

Our fun ice cream set is sure to be a big hit!  Every time I look at mine, it makes me want a sundae.  Our new Mickey Ice Cream Sundae Desk Set is available now over in our Snowblade Creations shop.  It's sure to be a sweet addition to your workday!  °o°

Custom Toppers

All work and no play makes for a long week.  Like I said the other day, this week Eliot and I have been hyper focused on our businesses and cleaning the house.  It's been going well, but it's also been a lot of work.  So the past few days, I have taken a little bit of time during the day to have some creative fun in between tasks.

The hot weather arrived sooner than I was hoping.  I always say that by Memorial Day weekend, we need our AC units set up and ready... and I kind of forgot that Memorial Day usually falls closer to this week, but it's late this year.  I thought we might have one more week before the hot days, but we've actually had a few days in the high 70s.  

That's made things a bit more interesting with cleaning during the day.  Eliot's been going to work at a more normal time this week (instead of a late shift), so I've found myself trying to clean during the middle of the day when it's the most hot out.  Thus, I've had to take breaks to sit down, cool off and hydrate before going back to work.

On Thursday, I had a bit of a craving to make something... but not something for the businesses.  Sometimes, that just feels like work and I want to make something that's for myself.  I decided to dive into the 3D printed glasses toppers Eliot had made me a few months ago.  I joined a group on Facebook that makes custom toppers that fit the ones I bought from Pair Eyewear.  I've actually bought a few from three other sellers, but I also downloaded the 3D print file in the group so I could make my own.

Eliot went print crazy a few months ago when things were more quiet with both of our businesses.  Now, we wouldn't have time to print them, even though they only take about 20 minutes per topper.  Thankfully, he had already printed me a ton of them.  I have over 20 different colors and then over 50 duplicates that I can play around with.

I wanted some magical designs for my collection and since Pair still hasn't released official licensed Disney designs yet, I decided to dive in.  I grabbed a hot pink and red, and before I knew it, I had two polka dot Minnie toppers.  I loved how they came out so much; the paint wasn't even dry before I grabbed a black and polka dotted that too. 

During another break, I used the new sealant (that was suggested in my group) that I just got to seal the silver glittered toppers that I made weeks ago.  I had already sealed them with clear nail polish, but I wasn't thrilled with how it looked so flat.  After using this new stuff, they look so much better, shiner and more professional.  I ended up adding a second coat to them, and then I put some on all three polka dot toppers.

Later in the evening, after Eliot was home, I wanted to make another one.  I grabbed a blue topper and the new supplies I bought back in April.  Before I knew it, I had my Sorcerer Mickey toppers designed.  I asked Eliot's opinion and he liked how I'd laid it out- so I glued the moon and stars down.  Once they were dry, I sealed those too!

I love how all of my new glasses toppers came out!  I've got so many ideas for different designs.  I'm hoping that I can make more for my collection when I have time!  I was hoping to make a few more designs on Friday, but I've decided to wait for the time being.  I really do need to focus on cleaning and organizing the house.  Plus, I think it makes sense to get these finished.  They're done design wise, but I still need to shape them to my glasses and add magnets.  (The first set of magnets I ordered are smaller than I wanted so I need to order larger ones.)  But I'm happy with my first five topper designs!  I'm sure I'll make plenty more of them in the future!

In fact, I really have to figure out how I'm going to store and display all of these.  I have an embarrassing number of official toppers from Pair, plus the custom designs from others and now I'm making my own custom designs!  I'm definitely going to need a dedicated place for all of them so I can find what I'm looking for easily!  

I can't wait to rock my new handmade glasses toppers with my Disney outfits!  They are definitely going to take any outfit to the next level!  °o°

Fun Find: Hamilton- The Walt Disney Cover

As expected, I've had a busy week of cleaning and organizing the house.  My current "go-to" soundtrack when I have a lot of projects to work on is still Hamilton.  Ever since I first watched it almost a year ago, it's my favorite get stuff done soundtrack.  Not only is the music upbeat and catchy, but the Broadway musical is long enough to get about two and a half hours of cleaning done while listening to the 46 tracks.

Since I've been on a Hamilton kick, I thought I'd share a Fun Find Friday of another Disney Hamilton mash-up.  (You can watch more Disney Hamilton Crossovers here.)

Today's video is from impressionist, vocalist and YouTube sensation, Brian Hull.  (I shared a few of his other videos back in May of 2016, which you can see here.)  In this cover video, he's told the story of Walt Disney, but with Hamilton style.

I thought this video and mash-up was really creative and fun!  I love how the lyrics of the song tells Walt's story just like the first song of the musical introduces the viewer to Alexander Hamilton.  Plus, Brian even had the Walt Disney Family Museum fact check the lyrics to make sure that it was historically accurate!  How cool is that?  

I'm so glad that I unexpectedly stumbled across this a few weeks ago when I was on YouTube looking for something else.  I was really impressed with it so I immediately saved it to share!  I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as I did!  °o°

A Half Birthday Surprise

Happy Half Birthday to me!  It's a happy day indeed.  I wasn't even planning on posting anything today, but I just had an awesome surprise and I couldn't wait to share it!

As you know, I've been working on my blog updates and updating my social media accounts.  I have been so excited about it, but one thing that I wasn't really feeling was my new Instagram name.  (I changed it to magically_melissa_jo if you missed it.)  I wanted it to reflect my new blog name and "brand" but I wasn't happy about having the underscores in it.  It didn't really bother me at first... and I thought having underscores separating the words actually made it easier to read.  Then, I got the emails.

One of the small shops that I follow, and receive emails from, changed their Instagram name at the end of March... the same day I wrote about my name change.  I received the email mere hours after I'd posted my blog post.  In their email, they announced their name change, and included the text, "That's right!  No more ugly underscore!"

The words "no more ugly underscore" have stuck in my brain ever since.  I received a few more emails from them with that same intro text, and every time it cut me like a knife.  I started to seriously second guess myself.  I knew most of the large accounts for celebrities or brands don't include underscores.  And suddenly, I didn't know what I was thinking.  Since then, I've wanted to change it.

Every time I've looked at my own account, the words "ugly underscore" have bounced around my head and I have immediately left my page.  Even then, I didn't rush to do it right away... and truthfully, it's been moving day to day on my to do list for weeks.

This evening, I decided it was time to stop avoiding it and to deal with it.  I opened the app with every intention of changing my name to magicallymelissajo, the same name as before but with no underscores.  So I went to change my name and for the heck of it, I deleted the underscores and the jo and hit done.  I was sure that I couldn't use magicallymelissa because every time I've checked for about a year it's been taken. 

But it didn't kick me out or make me pick another name.  I quickly grabbed my laptop and put the name into it online.  No one came up but me.  Then, I Googled it.  The only results were my Instagram and my blog.  Was this even real?  Finally, I switched over to my Happily Ever Hatter business Instagram account on the app, and then I switched back to my other account to check one last time and there it was... magicallymelissa.

I still can't believe it.  Like me, there have been multiple ways other Instagram users have tried to have some variation of that name by adding "ugly underscores" between the words or at the end.  For weeks, I've been kicking myself for avoiding changing my name, but because I didn't do it, the name I really wanted was finally available!

I'm so excited and I think that I'm still partially in shock!  I keep opening my Instagram to check that it's still there.  I can't believe this worked out for me.  Talk about having a little bit of magic and pixie dust in your corner!  This probably sounds ridiculous, but I wanted this name so much and I thought it would never be possible.  Now, my blog name, Facebook page name and Instagram name are all the same and I'm so happy!!!

"Even miracles take a little time," and this one was definitely worth waiting for!  °o°

Whistle While You Work

The first half of May has certainly started out with a bang!  After many months of barely leaving our house, I finally feel like I have a life!  I'm still at home most of the time, but there are actual things on my calendar now.  (I have things to write on it again!)  Eliot and I are also making a big push to do a lot of cleaning and house projects.  I probably won't be around much, so I thought I'd do another recap while I had some time.

I've already told you about some of the stuff that Eliot and I have been up to.  On May 4th, I celebrated my 8th Blogiversary.  On the 5th, it was Cinco de Mayo and Eliot and I both had our first COVID vaccination shots.  The last week and half of April and first few days of May, I was taking a free online business workshop.  Over Mother's Day weekend, Jeremy visited and we spent the afternoon with my parents in Freeport.  On Monday May 10th, we received the Aulani package we'd ordered back on May 2nd.

It's hard to believe all of those things took place in the first 10 days of this month.  The rest of last week has also been a bit of a blur.

The San Jose Sharks hockey season ended on Wednesday, May 12th.  It went out with a fizzle since we lost 6-0 to our arch-enemies the Vegas Golden Knights.  Our season was originally supposed to be over on the 8th against Arizona, but since a few games got rescheduled due to the NHL's COVID procedures, we got stuck with this finale.  At least the Sharks have been able to have fans at a few of their last home games.  But it's too bad the season was shortened and weird with COVID since this was the Sharks 30th anniversary year.  We also had a terrible season and couldn't seem to get it together.  Eliot and I are glad it's over at this point... it was getting painful to watch.  Hopefully, the guys will have a good break over the summer and things will go better next season.  For now, we get to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs stress free!

Sara's Graduation from Colorado State University was on Thursday the 13th.  Due to the ongoing pandemic, it was virtual for us, but unlike Elissa's graduation from UNE last year, at Sara's ceremony the students were allowed to be present for it.  About 15 minutes before the ceremony started, I used our Roku to get on YouTube and found the livestream so we could watch it on our big screen television.  Eliot arrived home (with Amato's for dinner) a few minutes later right as the students marched in.  For the next two hours, Eliot and I sat in our living room watching the ceremony as Sara and her classmates received their hoods and diplomas, as well as awards for excellence.

It was really bittersweet.  We were sad that we couldn't be in Colorado to celebrate, but I was happy for Sara that she got to walk across the stage.  Elissa wasn't even able to do that last year, and I'm still angry and hurt for her to be robbed of the experience.  It was also a really exciting evening as Sara and her classmates took the veterinarian oath and Sara officially become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine!  After 10+ years of school, she'd reached her dream of becoming a vet!  She's talked about this ever since I met her 13 years ago.  Eliot and I were so proud to see her reach her goal.

A few hours after the ceremony, Eliot and I joined his family on a Zoom call for just over an hour. We're scattered across the country in four different places so it was nice to talk to everyone at once.  (Eliot and I talk to everyone often, but we only do a Cady family Zoom call every few months.)  It wasn't the same as everyone being together in Colorado to celebrate, but it was still nice.  Hopefully, we will be able to get together with Eliot's sisters and parents at some point so we can all celebrate both Sara and Elissa's graduations and accomplishments!

Of course, it's not all fun and games here.  We've been busy with a few other things.  

I've been working on this blog post on and off all week.  (That makes it easier than typing everything in a recap all at once.)  I had another fun post that was supposed to be live on Friday, but I posted the same blog post four times and each time it was deleted.  (According to an email from Blogger, it violated their malware and viruses policy?)  I'm assuming one of the videos or links I wanted to post had something they didn't like.  I tried taking off all of the foreign websites and a few other things and that still didn't change it... my post was still deleted a few minutes after making it live.  After over an hour of trying to get it to work, I gave up and left a draft of my post for another day.  I've never had this happen to me before so I'm not really sure what to do about it.

(Update: Yesterday, I woke to four emails from Blogger saying they reinstated my post after checking it.  I was finally able to go back in and post the original version!) 

We've had many more orders for Happily Ever Hatter and Snowblade Creations.  It's been keeping our printers, Eliot and me very busy!  But I do a little happy dance every time we send another load of packages to their new homes!  People are definitely traveling to Disney based on the number of mouse ear orders we've had.  And those not traveling are still adding magic to their houses or work with our desk accessories!

This past week, I've juggled working on our businesses with cleaning and organizing the house.  I know that it's only a matter of time before the weather gets warmer.  Soon we'll need our air conditioner and I'd like to get a bit more cleaning done before that time!  Thus, I've tried to focus on cleaning the house as much as possible.

I don't feel like I have much to show for it, but I have been slowly going through and organizing the containers of stuff that we've tucked away in our dining room area.  A lot of my business supplies have ended up stored away here, since I currently use the dining room table as my workstation.  Now that putting everything into my office (in an organized fashion) has become a viable option due to Squirrel Gate, I'm hoping to spend the coming weeks moving stuff into my office.  

This afternoon, Eliot helped me move everything away from the closet so we could start organizing that.  I haven't decided exactly how I want to arrange all of the storage containers, but we removed some of the extra stuff so it'll be easy for me to move things around.  I'd like to have the closet be all storage so I can have all of my supplies organized and easy to find!  Right now, most of the containers have my scrapbooking and paper crafting stuff in them, so it'll be nice to be able to have quick access that too!

Another thing that I've been working on is organizing some of the DIY projects that I want to work on.  I've got supplies and pieces for projects all over the place.  I finally gathered another container of them this weekend.  Unfortunately, Eliot took one of my other DIY containers downstairs and I'm not 100% sure where it is, so I'll be keeping a close eye on this one.  Maybe I can finally start working on a project here or there!

On May 2nd, Eliot and I started to go through everything in the new storage unit that we got after Squirrel Gate.  We were able to consolidate a bunch of stuff into fewer containers freeing up four containers.  We're about 1/3 of the way through cleaning and disinfecting the stuff that Eliot packed up from my office, so that's a good start!

Eliot has been hard at work with outdoor chores.  He usually doesn't start mowing our lawn regularly until June, but by then it's more overgrown than it should be.  Since the weather has been nice lately, our grass has already been growing like crazy.  He's been outside each weekend of May getting that accomplished!  

Eliot and I were hoping to redo our flower beds and front walkway, but we'll probably wait one more year to do that.  I'm not a huge fan of the red brick, and the wildflowers that are planted in it have become unruly looking.  We're hoping to replace it with gray bricks, a few bushes (instead of flowers) and having the front walkway paved.  The slate stones look charming, but they're a giant, slippery pain in the butt in the winter. 

We're hoping to get a bunch of cleaning and organizing accomplished over the next few weeks.  I'm really on a mission to get our puppies sooner than later.  I know once we get them, our priorities are drastically going to shift so I'd like to get the house stuff done before that.  Plus, we have quite a bit of puppy proofing that we need to do first.

Thankfully, we're going to have a little bit of extra time to get everything done.  Eliot still has 3.5 days of vacation that he has to use before the end of May.  This is new territory for us since we always use up all of his vacation days.  We're planning to add them onto Memorial Day weekend so we'll have an extra long weekend and he'll have a very short work week.  We're hoping to get a bunch of projects finished around the house during his days off!  Hopefully we'll be able to check a few things off our to do list! 

Eliot and I are also planning another trip down to IKEA in the near future.  The item we needed to get after our last trip was supposed to be restocking last week.  According the website, it's been delayed for a few weeks.  (Maybe we'll be able to use one of his vacation days to get that once it's finally back in stock!)  There are a few other things we're planning to grab while we're there... and I want more Swedish meatballs!

The next few months are sure to be busy ones for us, but I'm excited about all of the progress we're making.  I feel better about the house, better about the pandemic and better about how our businesses are doing!  Eliot and I are going to keep moving forward and working hard!  Hopefully all of our efforts will be rewarded with two cute puppies later this summer or fall!  For now, Just Whistle While You Work...  °o°

Fun Find: Duffy the Disney Bear

Hi friends!  Today, I thought I'd do one of my Fun Find Fridays since I haven't done one since January.  This time, we're diving into the story of Duffy the Disney Bear.  After writing about Duffy and his friends in my Aulani merchandise post on Monday, I figured I'd introduce him to those of you who have no idea who Duffy and his friends even are.

Duffy originally debuted as "The Disney Bear" back in 2002.  It was a few years before he became the Duffy we all know and love today.  He used to be available in a bunch of different colors, mostly pastels, before merchandising finally settled on his light brown color.  Eliot and I actually bought his youngest sister, Elissa (who was nine at the time), one of the original pre-Duffy bears while we were in New York City at the old Disney Store on 5th Avenue.  If only I'd known then what I know now... those original bears go for hundreds and thousands of dollars on eBay.  I wish we'd bought a few for ourselves- both the black & white and aqua versions would match our bedroom!  

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Eventually, Disney decided to make him in one color and to rename the bear, Duffy the Disney Bear.  He became much like Figment, a park specific character that wasn't from any other Disney movie or franchise.  He's known for his "hidden Mickey" face, having Mickeys on his feet, and having a small embroidered Mickey on his hip/butt next to his tail.  The video below goes into more depth about Duffy and his full history.  

Over the years, Duffy became a very popular character at Tokyo Disney in Japan.  in 2010, Duffy finally made his way into the American Disney Parks.  Duffy had a new backstory that Minnie made him so Mickey wouldn't be lonely while on long trips overseas.  (That's why Duffy is usually shown in a sailor costume.)  Disney used the story of Duffy to make a special bedtime story video to show on their Resort TV.  Each night, you'd be able to watch the story of Duffy when you put your kids to bed. 

As more and more Americans discovered Duffy, he became more popular.  He became a meet and greet character in Epcot at the entrance to the World Showcase (Mexico side).  His merchandise was sold at the store near his meet and greet location.  There was also a giant Duffy in Once Upon a Toy along with more merchandise.

Unfortunately, Duffy's popularity in the US never became what it was overseas.  While the parks in Japan and China were adding new characters to the Duffy and Friends line up every few years, he was slowly being phased out of the American parks. 

In a weird coincidence, Eliot and I were actually at Epcot on Saturday October 3rd, 2015, the same day as Duffy's final meet and greet Walt Disney World.  When we realized it was his last day, we immediately got into the line.  Someone else in line with us was having him autograph one of the Duffy books.  Eliot disappeared and came back a few minutes later with a book for us to have him sign.  Of all the Disney things we have, that signed Duffy book is one of my most favorite Disney possessions.

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Eliot and I absolutely love Duffy and his friends.  I'll never forget my first little Duffy plush.  I bought him a few days before our Disney wedding.  I had seen this smaller Duffy plush with him wearing a cute pumpkin costume for Halloween.  I immediately fell in love with him.  I purchased him right away and he sat proudly the television stand of our Pop Century hotel room the entire week of our wedding celebration.

Duffy was always one of our favorite meet and greets at Walt Disney World.  I was so excited to take a picture with him in his Halloween Costume at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party a few days after our wedding.  I always wanted to get a picture with him in his Christmas outfit too.  Eliot and I were both devastated when he left Epcot "to go on an adventure around the world".

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Thankfully, Duffy is still huge overseas.  Like I said earlier, he's so popular over in China and Japan that he gains a few friend every few years:

- ShellieMay debuted in 2011 at Tokyo DisneySea.  She's a pink, female version of Duffy and according to her story, she was also made by Minnie Mouse.

- Gelatoni debuted in 2014 at Tokyo DisneySea.  He's a gray cat with white accents that wears a blue beret and he loves to paint- sometimes with his tail.

- StellaLou debuted in 2017 at Tokyo DisneySea.  She's a lavender and pink bunny who dances ballet and dreams of dancing on Broadway.

- CookieAnn debuted in 2018 at Hong Kong Disneyland.  She's a yellow dog with long floppy ears who loves to bake new recipes.

- 'Olu Mel debuted in 2018 at Aulani in Hawaii.  He's a shy turtle who likes to play the ukulele.  He was originally called 'Olu before they changed it in 2019. 

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Like the original Duffy bear, all of Duffy's friends have Mickeys on their feet, (except 'Olu) and they have the same loose Mickey outline on their faces.  ShellieMay is the only one who also has an embroidered Mickey on her hip like Duffy does.

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Duffy merchandise isn't seen very often here in America anymore, but those of us who are Duffy fans still keep an eye out just in case.  Most recently, he's been seen in a few items of last year's Christmas collection.  Most people would see an unassuming teddy bear with Mickey's outline on his face, but we Duffy fans immediately know who he is. 

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Like I mentioned on Monday, Duffy and friends merchandise is available at Aulani.  I always keep an eye on ShopDisney as well.  They'll occasionally post items from Aulani... even though most of it is Olu stuff that we already have at this point! 

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Disney does still recognize Duffy occasionally.  Duffy and his friends have their own pages on the Walt Disney Imagineering website.  Disney also occasionally makes new stop motion videos of Duffy and his friends every once in a while.  The one they just released a few weeks ago for spring is super adorable!

Eliot and I hope to meet all of them overseas one day!  In the meantime, we'll be happy to snuggle with our very own Duffy and Friends plushies from Disney's Aulani!  °o°

Mother's Day 2021

This past weekend, my family celebrated Mother's Day.  Unlike last year, this year we actually got together on Mother's Day... even though Mom and Dad's big income tax deadline is quickly approaching on the extended date of May 17th.

The celebrations started a little bit early as Jeremy came up to our house Saturday afternoon.  When he arrived, Eliot and I were just finishing a bit of cleaning- me inside the house and Eliot mowing the lawn and weed whacking.  Jeremy relaxed on the couch while Eliot and I showered and got cleaned up.  Then, we went up to Portland.

The mall was closed so we headed toward Target because both Eliot and Jeremy wanted to go.  They both found a few things they had been looking for.  After that, we ordered Pat's Pizza.  We had a little bit of time to kill before we had to pick it up, so we went to the Walgreen's down the road from Pat's.  While there, we wandered around and I found a little Mickey plush with shorts on.  I had been looking for one for a home decor project, so he came home with us along with some snacks for the night.

We picked up Jeremy's and my pizzas and headed home.  (Eliot had a frozen pizza at home that he wanted instead.)  While eating, we watched the first two episodes of the new Ducktales on Disney+.  Then, we switched over to watch the first period of the San Jose Sharks game before calling it a night and going to bed early.

Sunday morning, the three of us got up, showered and headed north.  Jeremy took his car while Eliot and I drove my parents' truck that we've had for the winter.  We made a quick stop to drop something off at our storage unit, then we went down the road to the park and ride to leave Jeremy's car.  Since we missed the mall Saturday, the guys wanted to stop at Newbury Comics quickly.  While they went inside I called my Mom to check in with their ETA.  We still had plenty of time so we went into Books a Million where Eliot found a Charmander Loungefly that he wanted.  We also made another quick stop at Target before hopping back on the highway.

We met Mom and Dad about 45 minutes later at the LL Bean store in Freeport.  It was there, in the LL Bean parking lot, that I hugged my Mom for the first time since last August.  It was pretty emotional, but somehow I held it together.  After that, I gave Mom the card we all bought her and Jeremy gave her a little plush zebra.

After that, we didn't really have any plans.  We went inside LL Bean and walked around the store.  I swore I saw our dentist but with everyone wearing masks I couldn't tell.  A few minutes later, a lady came up to me while I was watching the fish in the pond and said hello to me.  It was our dentist's wife who works in the front office.  I said hello to her, introduced her to my family and told her Eliot was around there somewhere.  She went back to her shopping and few minutes later, Eliot caught up with us.  Apparently, he wandered off to pet a dog in the shoe section.  The dog hadn't left the house much since she'd been adopted during quarantine and was still getting used to people.

Eventually we made our way outside where we took a few pictures with LL Bean boot car.  Then, we slowly walked around downtown Freeport.  (Mom has to walk slowly as she's still getting her strength back after all of her surgeries last year.  This was the most she's walked since fall of 2019.)  We started looking for food places since we hadn't eaten yet, and eventually decided on getting ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.  Mom and Jeremy both got milkshakes.  Dad and Eliot both got sorbet and I got a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  It was so nice to be able to sit all together, at a picnic table, without face masks on.  Plus, the ice cream was delicious!

After that, we made our way across the street and over to Yankee Candle.  While we wandered around the store, the ladies there told us the store was closing- which was why they had so many great deals.  Eliot found a wax pot melter that he liked and since we already had a bunch of the melt cups at home with no melter, it made sense to get it.  He got the melter and three more melt pots for the cost of just the melter!

At this point, we didn't really have anywhere else that we wanted to go, but we were all getting thirsty.  We decided to go to McDonald's for drinks so we split up and walked back to our cars.  While, I drove over to McDonald's, I realized that I had forgotten to tell Eliot and Jeremy about the comic book store that I'd seen on the map when looking for ice cream places.  After giving me a little crap for forgetting something so important, they decided to go since they still had about 20 minutes before it closed.  I parked in McDonald's and they headed right over to the comic book store across the street.

Dad went inside to order drinks and some fries while Mom and I sat in their car and talked.  A few minutes later, Eliot and Jeremy reappeared talking excitedly and each holding a white shopping bag.  Eliot even bought me a gift while there... Buzz and Woody pens!  Dad had accidentally bought Coke instead of Diet Coke, so Eliot went inside to get a drink and more fries.  Jeremy and Dad went to gas up the truck for us while Eliot and I stayed at the car and talked with my Mom.  Once they returned, we all visited for a few more minutes before Mom and Dad had to drive back to Augusta to pick Nana up from her visit with my aunts and uncles.

Before leaving, I grabbed the Mickey Rainbow fabric that my parents had bought for me at the Topsham Joann Fabrics on their drive down.  I had asked them to get me 5-6 yards since the Portland store was sold out of it, and Dad bought me the entire bolt of fabric!  (I think it's 10 yards since that's what they had in stock before he went.)  It's so bright and fun!  I can't wait to make a bunch of stuff with it!

We all said goodbye and gave each other more hugs.  Then we tried to make loose plans for Memorial Day weekend.  We're not sure if the three us of "kids" will be going home to Trenton, or if Mom, Dad and Nana will be coming down to us, or if we will be doing a little of both, but we've all marked that weekend off to get together again.

Then they headed north and we drove back south.  Eliot and I dropped Jeremy off at the park and ride where his car was waiting for him and we headed home.  Once we got home, I basically crashed, but it was a good crash.  I was physically, mentally and emotionally spent.  I was so grateful that we got to see my parents and spend time with them.  (We haven't seen them since Christmas.)  They're fully vaccinated, we've had our first shots and we're closer to returning to things feeling more normal.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day as well... ours was definitely special.  °o°