30 Years of Memories

(Um, doesn't Cory look SO MUCH like my girls in that last pic? Cailin comes to mind in particular with that one, but that's probably just because she's the closest to his age there).

So, as most of you know, Cory just turned 30. Sometimes I can't believe we're getting so old, but other times it's hard to believe that I've only known him fora little over 8 years. All I know for sure is that I sure do love the man I'm married to. He adds such a wonderful stability to my life, and is truly my best friend. I am so lucky.

When I was trying to figure out what to do for Cory's birthday (30 seems like a big number, deserves a good surprise, right?), at first I was at a loss, but then I saw a post on some blog (that I can't for the life of me find anymore) about a woman who made what she called a "real-life facebook wall" for her husband, by having friends and family send in pictures and messages for her husband, which she put up on their real wall. I pretty much just copied her idea, and I loved how it turned out.

(My first bunting, yay!)

The best part is, Cory actually loved it, too. He's not into presents or celebrations, really, so it was kind of a big deal when he admitted that this was a really cool present, and spent a long time staring at each picture and message. I'm so grateful he was born, and that he is mine for eternity.

KCWC Day 4

This makes me want to make clothes only for Cailin...

(sorry, this pic was taken last night after I finished, in the dark. The rest are better, but I didn't feature this side of the skirt).





We were able to get outside and play with (new) friends today, and it was so wonderful! I'm always grateful for a few hours out of the house. Thanks Tess!






PS. If you've been around a while, you might recognize the fabrics I used for this--the skirt is made from the leftovers from Cailin's carseat cover, and the top is the same as I used to trim the 4th of July skirts. I promised Cory (or mostly myself, really) I wouldn't buy more fabric for a while, at least until I used a bunch of what I have. So all my projects this week have been stash-busters. It's surprisingly hard to part with some of them, even though I know they're better used in stuff than on my shelf... :)

KCWC Day 3

Second verse, nearly the same as the first. :)


Did I mention that we live in California now? Less than an hour from the beach? And that the average summer temp is in the 80's? Sounds perfect for swimming, no? So, I switched up the shirred dress a bit, and made some swimsuit cover-up/towels. You can't tell this here, but those are made of a nice soft beach towel the girls picked out. That's right, all three from one $5.97 towel. Sweet.

Why did I make these, you ask? Well, remember how I've got three kids, and only two arms? Now I don't have to help everyone hold their towels up when we're done swimming (I'll be adding straps to the tops as soon as I wash and dry them to see how much they actually shirr up). And you better believe I'm making one of these for me, too. As soon as it isn't sewing for kids week. :)

PS. The idea came (again!) from MADE. How am I ever going to come up with clever ideas if she keeps coming up with them for me?

KCWC Day 2

Last one of these, I promise.


Well, maybe. What can I say? The girls and I really like this dress. When Janey saw Breanne's pink dress, she immediately asked "Mom, did you make me one, too?" I hadn't planned on it, but who can say no to this face?


I don't remember when or where I picked up this fabric, but I love it. I've been trying to decide on a project for it for months, but couldn't convince the girls to let me use it on anything, until today, when Janey picked it out of my stash for her dress.




The girls really wanted their pictures taken together--I love how good of friends they are, at least half of the time.


They decided that twirling was an excellent way to show off the dresses. I agreed, mostly because I wanted to show you the difference a circle skirt makes, compared to a generous tube dress. Even though there's a ton of give in the tube dress (the fabric is 45" wide, even though the girls are only 20 inches in the waist), it will never twirl up, because of the cut. Hence the reason I (and all of my girls) love circle skirts. It was funny, I didn't even say anything about it, and Janey said "Hey, Mom! My dress doesn't come up like Breanne's!" I didn't really expect her to notice, but she certainly did.


Oh well, she still loves it. And so do I. Also, I love this last photo. Everyone twirl! Cailin thought it was awesome. Funny girls.

Another Dress

So have I mentioned that Breanne is growing right up? I love that she's able to do more (she LOVES riding her bike (still with training wheels, but she's getting so much better!), she's reading basic books by herself, sounding out the words, and yesterday she perfectly rolled out all 13 pieces of naan we made--she's always asking how she can help--I need to be better at figuring out how to have her help), and while she can still be incredibly frustrating to me (she is amazingly good at ignoring me, and everything and everyone else around her), I'm trying to figure out better ways to utilize both of our energies. She's a good kid, I just need more patience.



Anyway, not only is she growing up mentally, but also physically. I swear, she has outgrown all of her dresses but two, and one of those is for an upcoming wedding, so she can't wear it yet. So... for KCWC I'm focusing on making her some new skirts (see below), and new dresses. Last week we had a sewing group, and I couldn't help but start early, and whip up another dress, similar to her Easter dress, but a little simpler (mostly).



It's simpler because it's just a basic tube dress, including the skirt, where the Easter dress was a circle skirt (I like the circle skirt look better, but it takes a lot more fabric, and thinking, and patience. And pressing and hemming. So this is better :)), but it is more complex because I made the lined pockets. It was my first attempt at pockets, and (like everything I make) they're not perfect, but I like the little extra they add to the dress.


One thing I'm realizing as I make more of these dresses is that I need to find a better way to keep them up on Breanne. She's getting so tall that the elastic thread gathers over her shoulders aren't tight enough to hold the weight of the dress up very well. I'm constantly having to tell her to pull it up in the front, and the back dips down nearly to her shoulder blades. I'm wondering if using plain elastic in a casing would be better? Or maybe just doing a different kind of sleeve altogether for her? I'm going to keep thinking about it, I'm sure the next dress will be different. :)

KCWC Day 1

Remember Janey's skirt I made for Christmas? Well, now Breanne has an almost matching one.


Not perfect, but I like it. I think I'm going to topstitch the seams, just above the gathers to make it a little smoother, but other than that, I really like it. Breanne thinks it's ok, but wishes it was pink or red. *sigh*

Also, I used a new stitch today, I'm so proud! It's the one that looks something like this: /\__/\__/\. Apparently, it's meant for an invisible-ish hem. Can you see the hem on the skirt? Well, I can, but I think that's because my tension was a little bit off. Live and learn, right?

Why Doesn't She Stop Me?

Ok, so this may make me crazy, but hear me out. :)

Today I was trying to get Breanne to stop playing on my computer and to scoot over by me so I could do her hair and then she could go get dressed, but she was ignoring me. So, like any good parent, I started brushing her hair from a distance... into her face. I was trying to distract her from the computer. Well, it didn't work. Breanne really, really likes the Electric Company, and apparently, nothing will pull her away from it. Not even her hair in her face. Repeatedly.



My question is--why didn't she stop me? I was brushing her hair like this for at *least* 5 minutes before this video, and was laughing hysterically the entire time. Crying, I was laughing so hard. And then, when she finally told me to stop, it was because the *brush* was blocking her view of the computer. Not her hair, the brush. Awesome. I'm still laughing. I love that girl, even if she does ignore me completely for the computer when she's only 5.

Bathtime?

Today we went to a park with a water feature and two playgrounds. All kinds of fun. And when we got home, the girls were in need of a bath. So I started the water, then went to use our bathroom before putting them in. Janey and Breanne generally get themselves in the tub, and Cailin stands at the side and yells until someone gets her ready and in. Not so today...


She was super pleased with herself, as you can see:

You should've seen how mad she was when I made her get out for a minute to get her diaper (and shoes, for crying out loud!) off. :) Where did my baby go?!?