4.28.2010

Smocks

So ever since I saw these smocks over at Make It and Love It, I've wanted to make some for our kids. I wasn't sure about the cotton material, though, or the ruffle. Seemed like those things would cause it to hold on to paint/playdoh/whatever else they were using for their creations. Then when my friend E. talked about making a raincoat for her daughter out of a vinyl tablecloth, an idea struck me. What if I just made my smocks out of a vinyl tablecloth? So I did. I bought the tablecloth at Walmart for a whopping $4, and have enough to make a ton more stuff, as it was a 60"x84". The more expensive part would've been the bias tape I used around the edges, but I already had that (and have NO idea where it came from, it's just been in my stash for a while now). Other than those two things, the only other stuff I needed was a little velcro (about 6 inches total for 2 smocks) and some ribbon for a tie, which is totally optional. So now, for just a couple dollars and a half hour each, I have 2 smocks to keep my girls' clothing clean while they paint/sculpt/craft to their hearts content. I'm pretty excited about them.

General size and shape (I decided to do this differently than the smock at Make It and Love It--I wanted one that I didn't have to pull over the girls' heads--if they get gunky paint or whatever on them, I don't want to have to pull that up over their heads.):


Simple Velcro fastener:


I changed up the pockets, too:


and this is how I attached the ribbon (I went over it at least 5 times for some security, since this will get the most pull of anywhere on the smock):


And the smocks in action:


(And in case you're wondering, we are having a jammies day over here, what with the rain outside and everything. Normally I don't like them, but I'm being productive this morning, so it's going ok. And I know it's hard to believe, but I really do actually do my girls' hair every now and then... and I usually make Janey wear pants... and Breanne generally wears pj's that match... just not today. Oh well.)



4.17.2010

PIANO!!!

Ok, so there are a million things I should post about, but what I really want to say is...

I'm SO excited! Our friends are moving, and they didn't want to take their piano with them, so we bought it off them for a really reasonable price, and we now own a piano!! I can't wait to start playing again, and to teach my kids. A few pics:




I have the feeling our house is about to get another level of loudness... but in the best way.

In other good (and only slightly related) news, our renters moved out today. We actually really liked them and are a little sad to see them leave, but... this means we now have our whole house to ourselves. Expect lots of updates as we put in a toy room and craft/library room in the basement. Again, I am so excited! What a great day.

4.13.2010

Breanne or Cailin?

People that didn't see Breanne as a baby think Cailin looks like Janey. I disagree. I mean, she is her own self, for sure... but the similarities between Breanne and Cailin kind of astound me.

Cory's sister took a couple pics of Breanne when she was about 8 weeks old. I tried to recreate them with Cailin this morning (she's 10 weeks old)... see if you can tell the difference:





And for comparison's sake, here's Janey:

4.02.2010

Breanne's Four-Year-Old Stats

So instead of just writing out Breanne's birthday stats, I thought I'd have her share them with you. I figured you might like to hear her talk, and she definitely loves to take videos, so... here is a 5 minute video of her answering my questions: