Friday, January 30, 2009

Happy Birthday!


I saw this on someone else's blog. I cannot remember who, but I just need to say that I took this exact design from someone else (although I did add the initial). It was my first time using interfacing and applique-ish type techniques but it turned out pretty well I think! I ended up using a shirt with a small design on it because there were no solid t-shirts. But with some strategic placing of the petals, it was back to a plain slate. This is a shirt for a little girl down the street. Her dad and DaddyMan are co-workers, so although we aren't technically "friends", the fact that they live four houses away means we got invited to her 2nd birthday party. They also just had another little girl a month ago. I haven't seen her yet but of course I'm making her a matching onesie! I hope to have that done tomorrow but for now, I think this is really cute!

ps. I delivered a freezer meal and gift to my friend today! That one is officially scratched off my list. Finally!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Belly Laughs

Three started laughing today! I think I've mentioned that One is Three's absolute favorite. Even from day one, One's face was the one he would focus on the most. He'll smile at One's picture in his who-loves-baby book but just look at the others. Well, today One walks in the door and Three starts laughing! Completely out of the blue! It was the cutest thing ever! So One comes over and starts fake laughing himself and it just got Three going. These little giggles turned into shrieks and full out belly laughs. It was such a great moment.

And Three has also started touching my face. He spreads his little fingers out and puts them on my cheek and just looks at me.... It's like he's really looking at me for the first time. Of course, sometimes it feels like he's gouging my eye out - so we're still working on the aim. I am so in love!

Here's me and Three in the sling I finally fixed. My seam ripper hasn't got such a workout in quite a long time! But I needed to exchange the rings I started with for bigger ones and now it's so much easier to adjust. I got these rings at ACE hard wear but this is a much better deal (even considering shipping). I LOVE LOVE the fabric but what a bad angle to take a picture! Ugh. Please forgive me. I couldn't get the fabric in the picture otherwise (although I certainly looked much better! )

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The old stand-by


So many crafts have fallen through. I have so many things that need to be done. I decided to go to my old stand-by for my friend's baby SK.3, due any day now. It is the everything gift. A burp cloth, a changing pad, a lap blanket for the carseat or stroller, a lovie....whatever you want it to be! It's just fabric of your choice (a fat quarter will make two) and chenille. You could also use flannel. If you don't want to make your own, a friend of mine has some for sale here.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Growing up

One had his first real play date today. Such a big moment in his life and mine. We have known this family for several years and were so happy that our boys would go to school together. Would have a familiar face on that first day of kindergarten. Anyway, One called me to let me know he went home with MN.1 like he was supposed to (thank you for having him do that!) and I gave him the whole "have fun, be good" talk. Yeah, yeah mom. One's big concern was that he didn't have his cub scout shirt for tonight. So, after promising that I would send the shirt with DaddyMan, One couldn't get off the phone fast enough. Can't imagine why he would want to play with his friend more than he would want to talk to me...

Word has it that they got ice cream after school for a snack. :o)

But I did finally get that picture of the kids that I meant to get on Sunday. Tonight at story time...


Two got tired of taking pictures and opened her book...


Three thought it looked so yummy, he wanted to try it!


Of course he did! Check out what book it was. This favorite from my childhood. And I just love the laughter in the big kids' faces. It is my greatest hope that they always feel this close to each other.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Muffin Tin Monday

(Clockwise from top left: saltine crackers, grilled cheese, grilled cheese,
tomato soup, applesauce, and salad)


Muffin Tin Monday is something we have just really run with. The kids absolutely love it! They take turns helping me cook every night but it is especially fantastic to get to help on muffin tin monday. Who knew? And we have to get creative to fill all the tins. That means throwing in chunks of cheese or opening a can of olives.... but tonight One had his own plan for filling up the tins....salad! I have never made such a miniature salad but it was great. And there is just something about an iceburg lettuce salad that screams crunched up saltines on top! Maybe it's my southern beginnings, but oh my! Not many things could taste better!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Catch-up

Oh my! What a crazy past few days we've had! I realized after the kids went to bed that I didn't get a picture of them all today. Oh well, it's just another thing on my list that I'm behind on.

Soooo, to catch up...

Saturday, One and I went on a date to get his Cub Scout uniform. Waaay more pricey than I was thinking, but considering Cub Scouts is essentially free, I guess it all balances out. But One must be growing! He almost ate us out of house and home that day. He better not be trying to grow out of his uniform!

And One is feeling left out of the sewing fun and asked me to make him something. We came up with "Dark Vader" pajama pants and went to Joann's where he could pick out the perfect fabric, which ended up being solid black cotton. One more thing on my list but I know he'll love it.

Two has been feeling sick these last few days. A very weird illness where she would feel very icky in the morning but usually end up feeling back to normal by lunch-ish. We've been doing lots of snuggling. One morning she just knew she was going to throw up. I got her a bowl, which she put up to her face and then immediately fell asleep! Like any good mother, I, of course, took a picture.


That night she had her first accident ever. (TMI WARNING!!!) It was after 11pm and she woke up to go to the bathroom but didn't quite make it. Poor girl thinks she peed her pants but as all of us moms know, just because it's liquid, doesn't mean it's pee... Ugh. And of course all she wanted was for me to pick her up and hold her. It was so disgusting but you know I did it. Now that's true love. But, she woke up this morning perky as all get-out so whatever it was has passed!

Earlier in the week I had made some felt hearts. I'm playing around with colors because I'd really like to make something valentine-y for the mantel, but these hearts were teeny and I ended up turning them into hair bows. And then, when I had my bow-making materials out, I was inspired to whip out some big bows. Because what do you do when your daughter doesn't always want to wear hair bows? You make bigger bows!


Two wore the big purple one today and it was adorable!

And then this afternoon, I had my girls small group. Or what used to be my girls small group. Remember being a teenage girl? Yes, well two of my (three) girls are not getting along at the moment, so neither one will come for fear that the other might be there.... which leaves just me and one girl. We have been knitting and I have gotten pretty far on the scarf I am making for my aunt that was just visiting.

But, tomorrow I have a play date with my friend who's baby is due soon. Remember this that never happened? Yes, well I had big plans to sew this adorable toy that I saw in a book. And make her a meal to eat or freeze. Do I have all of the ingredients? No. Is the fabric dry to begin cutting? No. Oh well. I still have a few more weeks and besides, her ulterior motive is really to get her hands on my bebe au lait nursing cover so she can figure out how to make one of her own. Now that I can handle. Maybe she could do a tutorial?

So, sorry for the lame post. I hope to get back on track this week. I don't know if anyone even reads my blog to notice that I haven't been around but I am really loving doing it.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Junior High Flashback

I took a sewing class last night! Through my fabulous park and recreation department. It was so fun! I can make just about anything with my machine.....as long as it only requires a straight stitch, but OH MY GOODNESS!!! Now I can zig-zag, I can do ALL of the decorative stitches that my machine offers....wow. Love it! I learned so many random, helpful things, but the teacher had those little 4x4 scraps to practice our stitches on and it took me right back to 8th grade home ec!

Funny thing though, I also learned that I have a vintage machine! Now, I knew it was old, but vintage? Really? I bought it second-hand from a dear lady at my church during my senior year of high school (almost 12 yrs ago). I think I paid $150 for it, which I know was such a deal, but I had to make payments on it in order to afford it.

So here's my machine. A 1969 Viking Husqvarna, series 6010. It was top-of-the-line in its day and is still in perfect condition.


I love it so much! I think I might need to name it. Gertrude? Trudy? Hmmm.

But it's such a funny story of how it came to be available. See, this lovely woman at my church was married to a rather nerdy kind of guy (hmmmm, much like DaddyMan, now that I think of it). Anyway, I guess this husband kept talking about getting a new computer and Lovely Church Woman threatened that if he ever came home with a new computer, she was going to go out to buy a new sewing machine! Well, this went on for several years until one day, he came home with a new computer and that was that. New machine for Lovely Church Woman and fantastic opportunity for me! Funny thing is, my mom spoke with this woman in the last few months and the woman spoke longingly about her/my machine and how she wished she had it back because her new fandangled machine, with all it's fanciness, just couldn't compete.

I guess it's true, they just don't make them like they used to. But there's not a chance in the world that she's getting her hands back on MY machine! :o)

Unfortunately though, no crafting has gone on today. Two is coming off of a sickness, got up waaay too early this morning, and has been cranky and tired and needy all day. And Three has decided that he really needs to be held while he is sleeping. So I spent the day loving on my babies and letting everything else fall away. Because as much as I do love crafting, I love my babies more and hope I will never turn down an opportunity for a little snuggling. Even if they're sick. (Hey, you get it where you can!)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Brightening my world

How easy do you think it is for me to find my phone in my big black-hole-of-a-purse when it's ringing and I'm in the middle of a group of people wishing I had picked a different ringtone or least not chosen to have it ring so loud that I really, really try to get to it quickly? Not easy at all! I've gone into the phone store looking for a different cover but all they have are little rubber edges (don't you love my technical lingo?) to put on it. But then it wouldn't fit in its case and oh yeah, did I mention they're like 30 bucks? What's a girl to do?

Welllllllllllll, this girl took a new look at the leftovers of the used-to-be-tights-but-are-now-legwarmers from the other day and went, ah ha! I sewed a little cozy out of one of the hips of the tights and I love it!

Who's gonna answer her phone a little bit faster from now on? Now about that ringtone....

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

It's like we were there!


Only we weren't! And aren't I glad? You betcha! Keeping track of three little ones in that crowd sounds like a nightmare, and that's not even considering the whole bathroom situation! But how much fun did it look like when the people started walking on the frozen reflection pond when the inauguration was over? You know that's like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I bet if you went to go do that next week, you might get a ticket or something, but 1.4 million people? What can they do?

But what a fantastic day! I wonder if my kids will remember or even understand the magnitude of it all? I know I don't get it as much as the previous generations do. So maybe it's a good thing that they won't get what a big deal this was. Maybe they'll look back and wonder how it could have ever been otherwise.

Monday, January 19, 2009

the "lellow" un-80's

If you know anything about Two, you probably know her favorite color is LELLOW!!! For a surprising two years now! Did I tell you she's not even 4? We're talking half of her life here. Amazing. Not so long ago I saw a tutorial for a pillowcase skirt and at a recent trip to my favorite store (Goodwill, you really should know that), you know I was looking through the pillowcases. Well, how could I pass up a yellow pillowcase? You know I couldn't! So today, this pillowcase became a cute skirt. And....for the big finish.....a too short pair of tights (a la Target-a-few-years-ago), became....wait for it....leg warmers! Oh my! Two loves them! A little girl in her ballet class wore leg warmers last week and that was that! She had to have some.

I have a sweater that I had planned on chopping up to make her leg warmers (yellow, of course) but as I was going through old clothes to pass on, I came upon these 24 mos tights. It was an ah-ha moment, I tell you! Of course all leg warmers are easy to make, but my big concern was how I'd make them stay up. With old tights, it was perfect! And best of all, these didn't fray! I don't promise that with all knit tights, so make sure you test first, but cutting up tights and then you're done? I'm not sure it could get any easier!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Round Two


I'm having such a great time with my aunt in town that I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, but we made a second batch of the heart crayons. My aunt, my kids, and me. It was awesome! She's always been my favorite aunt and I'm so glad that my children are getting to love her too. We took out the darker colors this time. These are RoseArt crayons that I found half-price at OfficeMax - score! One more batch and I should have enough for One's entire kindergarten class. The kids really love this one.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Baby Love


So I've spent most of today loving on my baby. I feel like sometimes he gets lost in the shuffle in his position as number Three. Shuttled around as we pick up One from school or take Two to ballet or speech. It seems like I often feed him, change him, and then put him on the floor or in the saucer in an attempt to get other things done.

Well, today poor Three had his 4 mos shots. All shots he's had before, which takes some of the worry away, but today I felt really moved to let other things go and give Three some extra love. We played on the floor, sang songs, spent lots of extra time at diaper changes, even stopped for a photo session/love-fest with Two so I'd have some more recent pictures. He was pretty happy, cooing and smiling, for most of the day but then he started getting cranky so I wrapped him up and he crashed two hours early! Not wanting to lay him down, I've just held him all evening. It's been so nice.

Here are Two and Three doing a finger count:
Getting Three here was very touch and go. I'm so grateful he's here. And healthy! There was a time early in my pregnancy where we thought Three's life would be mere minutes, if he made it that far! And then we were faced with several potential health and developmental obstacles. We had a team of fabulous doctors with whom we met regularly and now here we are, with a practically perfect baby! (we're still handling some kidney issues) It's been such a journey and I'm so glad I took today to be with him. DaddyMan and I take turns taking the big kids out on dates. It's really special to us that we have individual relationships with the kids, as well as relationships as The Family. Three is attached and tags along with me on these dates and I forget that, even though he's an infant, I should still take the time to give him his special one-on-one time as well.

Love you baby! Thanks for a great day!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

I ♥ valentines


I have a new friend that is a real artist. A real, like, make-your-living-off-of-your-art, artist. Well, we got together today to make valentine cards. Imagine, crafting with a real artist when you are a copy-the-ideas-of-others kind of girl! A little crazy but I think we had a good time. I love stampin' up stamps and here's a frugal secret.....tracing paper works just as great as vellum and is about a million times cheaper!

Here's a close-up of my favorite:

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Ummmm, am I really that bad?

I got a very sweet thank you card from Mrs P today thanking me for the handmade table runner......um, rewind, yes, she said table runner! My scarf! I think I'm slightly mortified but it did give me a good laugh.

Today I made my first batch of heart shaped crayons. The directions are here. They turned out pretty good! I do wish I had read more of the reviews before I got started. Like putting a baking sheet under the muffin pan? yeah, that would have been a good one. Or that crayola brand was the best so you didn't end up with a non-color layer of wax? However, I did follow some of the hints, like scoring the crayon paper so it would be easier to take off, using a silicon muffin pan (which I found at Joann's) and heaping the crayons into each spot:



Because they do shrink quite a bit. See the spilling? The spilling that could have been avoided if only I had followed the suggestion of putting this on a cookie sheet? Yes, some of that spilling ended up in the bottom of my oven! And then I reasoned that I needed to clean it up while the oven was still hot so the wax would remain liquid..... Worked out fine but I can only imagine if I had burned myself and the story that would have followed. You can also see the layer of cheap wax, especially on that bottom right one.


But they did pop right out of the silicone and I didn't use any pam. Aren't they cute?


For my next batches, I'll put in less dark colors, I'll definitely put my muffin pan on a baking sheet, and I'll use only crayola crayons.

We'll mount them just as the family fun website shows. Won't they be great as goodies for the school valentine party? Or put them in a chinese take-out box from the craft store to give as a birthday gift! And with all the shapes of muffin tins out there, the possibilities are endless!

Monday, January 12, 2009

The organization of me

I love getting things organized. You might not know it by looking at my house, but I am just one person following behind several other people. It is a lost cause, I know, but a girl can have aspirations.

I recently joined Oprah's ClutterCrew, where they say, if I follow their plan, my house will be organized and clutter-free in six months! I love it! This month's assignment is the bedrooms....exactly what I needed! One is really great at cleaning his room without assistance when I ask him to. Two, however, is another story. I'll ask her to put something away and she'll just run and chuck it in her room. We finally organized her room and, for now at least, everything has a place. It may not be in the right place, but at least it has an assigned place. Girls are so hard! There's the box for all barbie-related items. There's the doll house and doll-house items. There's the dress-up box. There's the parking spot for the doll stroller. And finally, there's a toy box for everything else that doesn't fit into any of those categories. Of course, it doesn't help that her room doubles as the nursery too.

Anyway, over the last few days, DaddyMan and I have been tackling our room. This is a huge job! The door to our room is the one door I close whenever people come over. Remember the bathroom re-do I talked about? Yeah, no one has seen it because they would have to walk through our room to see it! I took an embarassing amount of stuff to Goodwill but it just feels so good to get rid of stuff! This is something I'm working on but so far I don't regret anything I dropped off.

And tonight, just for myself (ahhhh, that doesn't happen very often anymore, but I'm trying....), I'm putting together a craft binder! You know, for those project idea papers that all the craft stores put out to get you to buy their merchandise? Or the cute ideas that you see in a magazine? (Like this one that I just got the perfect muffin tin for.) Or for my tons of bookmarked ideas I have on the computer? I printed them out and they're headed for the hole-punch next. Ohhh, it's sad how excited I am about this binder! It's a 3-ring binder with one accordian pocket for loose papers or project samples and it also zips closed so things won't fall out. And the amazing thing is, I found it at my favorite store, brand new and half-price, for just $1.50! Score! I've been envisioning it for awhile and am beyond excited to finally have it put together!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday Love

I'm going to try something new. I'm going to try to put a picture of the kids up every Sunday to watch them grow. Yes, I'm going to take a kajillion photos until I get that one magic picture where every child is smiling......or at least looking. (This picture took only 7 attempts!) I've seen these very organized moms with pictures of their kids and a sign that says "8 mos" or however old their child is at that point. It's an amazing idea! A friend of mine bought a large dress for her daughter when she was an infant and every year on her birthday, she puts this dress on her daughter and takes a picture. She has the pictures from every year and the dress will still fit for a few more years. I might do this with Three. Maybe a dress shirt from the DaddyMan? We'll see. But here are my One, Three, and Two on Three's 4 month birthday. (Could I put anymore numbers in there?) I love the the big kids cannot keep their hands off of him. They love him so much! Do you see that they both holding his hand?The good thing is, he loves them too!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Another one bites the dust

I don't remember knitting being so slow! Maybe it's a bit like the pain of childbirth? You forget after you see the finished product? Anyway, after two hours of knitting last night and only a few rows' progress (seriously people, after all that, this blanket is still only 8" high), I've decided I need a new gift for my dear friend and her new baby! I'm thinking either this (can't you see it with some cute tags or ribbons sticking out at the edges? And of course with some bright patterns...none of that pastel stuff) or maybe this. I think I need a trip to store to decide this one.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Flashlight Friday

My kids love flashlights. Always. They have received several as gifts over the years because they love them so much....and also as our attempt to keep them away from ours. :o) After school the other day, One got out his flashlight from Christmas and turned off some lights and closed the curtains and was playing with the light. Now, it was broad daylight so it wasn't overly fantastic but he didn't know that. However, it got me thinking about how we could really make it work and -voila!- Flashlight Friday!

The kids and DaddyMan made sure everything was put away before we started dinner, and then afterwards, we turned off all the lights, closed all the curtains, and the fun started!

Here are the kids running down the hall:

Here's One:

And here's poor Two, who couldn't stand still if her life depended on it:
Of course there was some hide-and-seek going on and an impromptu scavenger hunt (followed by putting the item away! I'm patting myself on the back for that one!). Even some flashlight tag on the wall. They had so much fun. We could also play games by flashlight or read stories by flashlight. The possibilities are endless! We were newbies tonight so we just let them run around for 10 min or so and then turned all the lights back on and got ready for bed but oh! This could get so fun! I'm hoping this one will stick around for awhile!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Keep 'em coming

Nothing new for today. I did make another bib. Only half as long as yesterdays and so much cuter because of it. Tonight I plan on working on this some more. It is slow going. The shower is Sunday and it's not looking like I'm going to make it. Sooo, rather than trying to do a new craft today, I'll stick with the blanket and instead list a few things I have on my list...

*I found the perfect dark gray/green sweater at goodwill yesterday that is soon destined to be this.

*For the next child's birthday party or maybe for our babysitter that's heading off to college next year, I have this in mind.

*End-of-the-year teacher's gift, perhaps? Perfect to attach a gift card to.

*My aunt is coming to visit next week. This might be a fun craft to do together that would be a great present for her two sweet grandbabies who live a plane-ride away.

*I found a great body pillowcase cover of large purple, fushia, and pink circles that will one day be this and probably this too!

*And finally, I made a wedding quilt for me and DaddyMan, yes, many years ago. Like most big projects in my life, it is still unfinished. Well, the top is (HAND)pieced together and I had begun quilting it. After almost 8 years of marriage and not one day of it occuring with our wedding quilt on our bed, I have decided to rip out the little bit of quilting I had begun...quilt the top directly onto a piece of muslin, and turn the whole thing into a duvet cover. Can't wait!

However, none of these, or any of the other 100 bookmarks I have in my "crafty stuff" folder will happen until I finish knitting the blanket.

Probably.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Howdy buckaroos!


Three has had a rash for awhile from The Drool. I haven't been able to keep it under control by covering it with vaseline (my all-time favorite baby product, btw) and the bibs I have are so big, every time Three waves his arms around, he flips them up over his face. My doctor said "make your own!" Ummm, hello? Why didn't I think of this?

I cut off a piece of this cute towel to the size I wanted it and then zig-zag stitched the raw edges. This is a pretty amazing feat for me considering I only ever sew in straight lines! Then I sewed some ribbon onto some suspender clips that I had leftover from when I made these (not that Three ended up needing them -bummer!-) and voila!

I eyeballed everything and I think the ribbon's a bit too long but that can be easily fixed. I also folded the bib over in a triangle when I put it on and I think it makes it look like a bandana the cowboys wear. Super cute! One wanted in on this picture. How could I resist?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

"You don't argue with the angels. His name is Jesus."


Today's creativity was theatrical....if you can call it that. Our church's nativity play was originally scheduled for the Sunday before Christmas but had to be canceled due to the snow. It ended up being rescheduled for today after church. It was super funny (we're no fuddy-duddy church afterall!) and since Three is the youngest baby in the church, he was Jesus and I had to be Mary. Yes, I said "had to". This was sooo not my thing but once they assured me I had no lines, it was fine. DaddyMan was an "Obnoxious Servant", something he handled quite naturally. :o) Three did fantastic. He didn't cry at all and just soaked up the attention.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

For the maestra


Today I have been working on an apron for One's Spanish teacher in the dual-immersion program. According to One, Sra M wears one everyday. (Wouldn't you? All those sticky fingers...) I am really not liking the fabric as it is pictured, but it is still so pretty just looking at it, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. It is, of course, still in need of a pocket (as both of my others are still waiting as well), but this one gets priority and is guaranteed to get done because the last time I saw Sra M in an apron, her pockets were weighed down with all sorts of teacher-things. This pocket is a MUST.

Sra M is so amazing! She spends her days with 60 kindergartners, a good 20+ or so who have no idea what she's saying, yet she always has a smile on her face. One has the most perfect spanish accent/pronunciation because of her, and most importantly, he attributes all of his recently acquired dance moves to her. That alone just might be worth it.

Friday, January 2, 2009

A cozy scarf


It's done! The scarf for the wonderful Mrs P is finally done. My sewing machine really hated the yellow fabric for some reason. The thread kept breaking and I had to sew each seam at least five times before it would actually sew. Wasn't doing anything different, so who knows? I tried it on to check the proportion and it's sooo warm and cozy. One for me is definitely going on my to-do list! I'm going to roll this one up, tie it with a pretty ribbon, and attach a sweet card. I'm hoping she'll really love it!