I'm Thinking...

Breanne Sews

2012-01-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

So for Christmas, there were two things Breanne asked for. A computer, and a sewing machine. Yes, this is totally evidence of who her parents are. Cory did give in and give her a (really, really old) computer (a Mac Classic II, if you want to know just how old, which had just been sitting in our garage gathering dust), but I just couldn't make myself buy her the cheapie Singer kids sewing machine for $30 that I'm afraid would just cause more frustration than fun because of its poor quality. So, I got her a little sewing/cross-stitch/embroidery kit instead. And I present to you, her first project. She sewed it all herself, and was so proud. I'm proud, too.

Immediately after I took this picture, she took off one of the frog's eyes, and proclaimed him the Pirate Frog King. He keeps his eye in the pocket on his stomach for safe keeping. Kids are weird, man.

Today...

2012-01-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

looked like this. Plus a few extra parts that I skipped.

Breanne was cold before school.

She got dressed and looked so grown up, I had to take a picture. She tucked in her shirt! So cute.

After I got out of the shower I could hear Janey and Cailin yelling about something. Turns out Cailin got stuck in her new baby crib. Hahahahahaha. Haha. Ha. Haha. I almost felt bad for laughing so hard and insisting on taking a picture before I got her out. Don't worry, she was fine. P.S. I did my second Couch-to-5K run today. Turns out it's a lot better when I don't drink cocoa right before.

I contemplated on cleaning up my crafting space. Didn't happen today, but my closet does look much neater. All our suitcases are officially unpacked and put away. You can expect to see craft space progress in the next few days. I can only take so much.

Rode some bikes after school. Yup, that's right, Breanne was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and it was warm enough. Why don't you people come visit me?!?

Cailin looked adorable after I fought to get ponytails in her hair.

You can see all three girls and bikes! Right after this Cailin pushed Janey around on her bike. Janey yelled "I know how to ride my bike! Don't push me!" several times until she realized, hey, it's fun to be pushed, and much laughter ensued.

Then, when it was time to come in, Cailin carried her own bike in. Yeah, she's tough like that. :)

And then we finished off the day with homework, play-with-toys time, and dinner at Chili's, because we had kids-eat-free coupons. Now that's a good day.

Tow-tow

2012-01-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

Nearly every morning since I introduced hot chocolate to Cailin, I've woken up to a bright-eyed little face ~~asking me sweetly for~~ ~~repeatedly requesting~~ absolutely demanding "tow-tow." And then it happens again pretty much every time she can't think of something else to say. Seriously, the girl wants cocoa at least 10 times a day. I only oblige once. Maybe twice. And well, I mean, who doesn't love a little cocoa? Good thing I was given 4 very large canisters, and one smaller can, of Stephen's milk chocolate mix, and a Cocomotion Hot Chocolate Maker. Best Christmas present ever. Or at least most useful in the present. I love it. And so does Cailin. :)

P.S. Don't drink cocoa and then do your Couch to 5K run. Trust me.

Christmas Dresses 2011

2012-01-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

So if you're my friend on Facebook, you probably saw my post about finishing up the girls' Christmas dresses the day before we left for Utah. I was SO excited to finally be done with all my Christmas sewing, plus they turned out even better than I expected. Truth be told, they'd been "finished" before, but didn't quite... um... work. I mean, yes, the girls could wear them, but they had really wonky waistlines, and were just kind of ugly. Well, not anymore. I'm pretty excited about how they came out.

This is the only picture I have of all three dresses together. I had to steal it from my mom.

Yeah, I know. Lately, my girls seem to refuse to want to be all together for pictures. Either that, or we're in too big of a hurry to get to church. Something like that.

Now for a little more detail--

Cailin's dress:

(Yeah, she fell on our stairs and scraped up her nose. Poor girl.)

White satin-y bodice, green diamond pin tucked fabric skirt. I fell in love with the green fabric before I'd figured out how exactly I wanted the dress to look, but this is what I came up with.

Cailin's is the only dress without a sash. I'm not sure exactly why I didn't put one on hers, but I really like the way it came out anyway. The little row of topstitching above the gathering just pulled it off for me. Also, it really does fit her better than this picture portrays--the bodice doesn't actually drown her, I swear.

Her dress also ended up with buttons in the back, as I didn't make it with a stretch velvet like the other two. Yeah, I did buttonholes without a buttonholer. You may now tell me that I am awesome. Thank you. :)

Now for the other two dresses... Yeah, these pictures are even worse. Why can't my kids stand still? Crazy girls. At least they like each other, right?

You can see the sashes here:

All I said was stop touching each other and hold still. They gave me this. I can't stop laughing every time I look at this photo. They're posing exactly the same! And I love Janey's face. Hahaha.

And here, we finally have, after a rousing round of "Put your hands on your head. Put your hands on your hair. Put your hands on your stomach. Put your hands to your sides." (*click*)

Oh silly girls.

Anyway, like I said before, stretch velvet on the tops, then some specialty apparel fabric on the bottoms. They have sashes, and I really like how they pulled the dresses together--you'll just have to believe me when I say they didn't work before I put them on. I also actually really like how the necklines came out--they're sort of a half-turtleneck. I was afraid that they wouldn't stretch enough to get their heads through, but since I used my serger, which allows for a little more stretch, they worked out just fine. Yay. :)

So there they are, the Christmas dresses of 2011. I love 'em, and I'm glad they're done. Ha.

Thoughts for 2012

2012-01-02T01:36:00.000-08:00

I have a bunch of Christmas posts I should be working on, but honestly, this is what is on my mind, so I'm posting it.

2011 was a pretty awesome year for us. Lots of changes. I can't believe when I look back at the pics from January of last year, that it was only a year ago. Cailin was a baby just turning one. Cory got a new job and moved out to CA without us, leaving us to pack while he found a house. We moved to CA (a place I never thought I'd live). My big girls turned 3 and 5. Cory turned 30. We went to a couple of really great weddings. The girls got some pretty serious haircuts. Breanne started kindergarten. Janey started preschool. Janey then got shingles. I had a super awesome birthday that I somehow didn't blog about. We made some really cute costumes for Halloween, We had our very own thanksgiving for the first time ever. And Christmas was awesome. :) Really, minus a couple minor things, it really was a great year. I'm so glad all this went so, so well, when there seemed like so much potential for craziness.

So after things went really well with our move and everything else, I started to get complacent. I began sewing more and more, and spending less time interacting with my children. I mean, I'm still around, and I listen to them play together and run interference all the time, but I don't get down and play with them very much. I started thinking that going to pick up Breanne from school counted as some sort of outing with my kids. I spent more time online than I should, just checking Facebook and Pinterest. I feel like even though I'm kind of trying to get my life in order and do fun things with my kids, I'm just constantly frustrated by my lack of organization and energy.

I've been thinking lately that something really needs to change.

So. As this past year came to a close, I actually spent a pretty good deal of time thinking about what I want to change and accomplish in the new year. I'm not usually a resolutions kind of person, but this year, I just feel drawn to the idea of having specific goals that I'd like to work on. I've gotten pretty lazy in my own way (no seriously, just because I sew a lot does not mean I'm productive. Promise.) and I'd like to move past that and really feel like I'm doing my best, instead of just coasting through the days. I feel like my children are growing up before my eyes, and I'm missing it. I'm not saying that I'm totally changing my ways, I still want to sew and have some time just for me that way, but I need to pay more attention to what is happening all around me, not just here on the computer or on my sewing machines. So, with all that in mind, here are a few of my goals for this year. I figure if I post them online for all of you all to see, I will hold myself more accountable to them. The fact that I'm actually outlining them in my head is probably enough, honestly, but since this is so heavy on my mind, I figured I'd share them here, too. This blog is titled "I'm Thinking," after all.

1. Plan at least one activity with my kids each day. Can be art related, time at the park or children's museum/Happy Hollow, a trip to the mall or store (that is exciting to them), inviting a friend over, or just time playing with them. Just something done with all my attention on them.

2. Get my kids outside more. We have (mostly) great weather here--it's in the 60's all this week. We live in a long circle (court? cul-de-sac?) with very little traffic. Our neighborhood is generally very safe. I need to take advantage of that and let the kids out to ride bikes and play, and I need to take care of our yard.

3. Be better about reading the scriptures, both on my own, and with my family.

4. Read the lesson material for sunday school and Relief Society before church, and take my manuals with me to church.

5. Cook for my family at least 3 dinners a week. Cory is a great cook, and will help pitch in on the nights when I don't make something, and we seem to always need to eat leftovers at least a couple times a week, so I think 3 nights of cooking a week is a pretty solid plan.

6. Get my paper situation under control. Since we moved here, I've wanted to reorganize our filing system, and I just haven't gotten around to it. That needs to happen, and soon. It's making me crazy.

7. Get my craft stuff all organized. Patterns filed, fabrics reorganized, ribbons and flowers put away in a manner that would make it easy to access them. I'm so tired of my craft spaces being such a mess--there are so many great organization ideas out there, I just need to take the time to implement a few of them.

8. Complete the Couch-to-5K program in the next two months (it's a 9 week program). I've been feeling so sluggish lately (especially around 3-4:00 in the afternoon--I can barely stay awake, seriously), and I just need to do something to get some energy back. I also hope to start walking to pick up Breanne from school at least once a week (it's only 1/2 mile to the school, so 1 mile round trip. It's the uphill with a double stroller bit that always stops me from doing this). Anything to get a little more exercise into my day (without, you know, having to head to the gym or something). And then, once I complete the program, continue exercising 3-5 times a week. I'll decide at that point what kind of exercise I want to do. Perhaps a kick-boxing class?

So there it is. My list of goals for the new year. I'm ready for some change. How about you?

The Dollhouse

2011-12-21T23:40:00.000-08:00

So this year, Christmas came early at our house. We're headed back to Utah for a few days, and knew we couldn't take everything we were giving the girls with us (especially not as a secret from Santa). We also knew that Cory would be working every day up until we left, so we just decided to celebrate this last Sunday. It was pretty great, though now I feel like I'm in this weird lull between fake Christmas and real Christmas, but with no Santa for real Christmas... it's weird. Anyway. This year, I was super excited about the girls' present. I bought a dollhouse for Breanne a couple years ago on an after Christmas sale for some 90% off. This one, actually (again, note the 90% off. Awesome). I didn't give it to her at the time because Janey was in crazy baby stage (1.5 years old), and I was about to have another baby. This year, though, with Breanne and Janey being in the delightfully responsible-ish enough stages that they are, and Cailin in a somewhat calm (for her) stage, I decided it would work.

And boy howdy do they love it. They've been playing with it for the last 4 days almost constantly. It always makes the hours worth it when the kids like what I've worked on like crazy. :) I stayed up many late nights painting and wall-papering and painting and material-ing the floors and painting... did I mention all the painting? It might not have been so bad if I hadn't had to paint the majority of the furniture too... but it ended up great. I love the way it came together, and the girls have really enjoyed playing with it thus far. Because we moved Christmas up a week (it was kind of a last minute decision) I didn't have time to finish the front of the house, so the porch and front wall are yet to be finished, but someday it'll all be done. Besides, this way=no pinched fingers, right?

Want a tour? Ok. We'll start at the top, in the attic (it's around on the back side).

Yes, that is a sewing machine. And a vacuum. I kind of fell in love with this pack of dollhouse furniture when I saw the sewing machine. Couldn't resist it.

Other side of the room, with the laundry, mop and bucket and ironing board. I love these pieces. The floor is corduroy (actually the same stuff I used for my diaper bag waaaay back here).

Then there's the bathroom. The pieces that came with the dollhouse for the bathroom were really lame. Super squarish pieces, with drawn on faucets, and no toilet. So I found this little set to replace it, after searching for nearly a month. I'm glad the greens match well enough to pull it all together. The floor is a sheet of 1 inch tiles from Home Depot I found on clearance. It's my personal favorite part of the room.

This is the bedroom. Couldn't resist the pinks (the floral on the walls is even sparkly...), and the floor is a furry white fabric. The bed is not complete, still needs a mattress, pillow, and a finished edges blanket, but it's coming. And yes, that's a light on the ceiling... you just click it on by pushing it. It is adhered to the ceiling, but twists off to replace the batteries. There's also one in the attic, and one in the family room. The girls love them. Let's be honest, so do I. :)

The kitchen. It came with a fridge, and the table and chairs weren't that scratched before, but... well... children. And a few days. You know the rest. My favorite part of this room is a tie between the flooring, and the faux paneling on the walls. It's the small things, sometimes.

And the front/family room. Complete with Christmas tree and lights. I am a sucker for the details. I have plans to upholster the couch, but haven't had time yet. I love the cabinet, though, and the furry carpet. You can tell that I bought this set a few years ago, though, by the tv. I'm sure the tv's in newer sets are flat screens. The girls asked me what it was. :)

So there you have it. I really love me a good project. Yes, still plenty to do on this one, but I love it so far. And more importantly... so do the girls. :)

I'm Still Here

2011-12-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I know it's been a long time since I posted last, but I just want you all to know that I'm still here, I promise. Just neck deep in Christmas projects. I'm really excited to show them all to you, but sadly, my daylight hours for taking pictures are filled with children who can't see the finished products. So, you're just going to have to wait, at least until tomorrow when 2/3 kids will be at school. I'm pretty excited about all the stuff I've been working on, and I can't wait to show you.

In the meantime, here are a few random pictures of Cailin, because she's got style.

She loves this hat. Seriously, loves. And for a while there, she couldn't care less what you wanted to put on her, as long as she got to pick out her own socks. Which were always babylegs, which she could pull on herself (see above picture). Good thing I've made about a million pairs for her.

Ooh baby, dark socks with the sandals. Which I swear I put away.

And a big ol' Ta-Da! for climbing on top of the side table. Kids. Sheesh. :) And yes, those are the bats in the background, this is a slightly old pic. Christmas decorations are mostly up these days.

Hopefully a more exciting post soon!

New Shirt for Me!

2011-11-21T20:46:00.001-08:00

So a few months ago, I bought myself a new shirt, to wear in our family pictures.

Despite my crazy face in the picture, I love the shirt. Except for the sleeves. It has these weird flutter sleeves that do nothing for me. Nothing. So, I always cover them up with a jacket. I've been thinking lately that I should just replace the sleeves, but I haven't found a fabric that matches well enough to do it. And to be honest, I didn't want to mess up the shirt. Anyway. So yesterday, during my restful Sabbath, I decided to just attempt to make a new version of the shirt, with a sleeve I like. I did my best at creating pattern pieces based on the original shirt. My result:

Have to be honest, I'm kind of in love with the result. I feel like it's the little details that totally make the shirt--the cuffs on the sleeves, the buttons, the gathers, and the neckline.

My first ever (faux!) button placket.

I feel I must have you note, though, that the bottom has yet to be hemmed. Not by my choice, but by the choice of my machine. (We're in a serious power struggle these days. She thinks it's ok to skip 5 stitches in a row, I tend to disagree. The sewing machine repair shop seems to think it's basically unfixable. Truly a sad day). So, if I ever get a machine that works again, I'll be hemming this baby up. The vast majority of this shirt was actually done on my serger. The neckline and button placket are the only pieces sewn on by my machine, and had to be redone a number of times to make them look reasonable and hide all the skipped stitches. :(

Anyway, enough sob story from me, here it is on:

Yeah, I kind of love it. Next time I'll make the sleeves slightly looser, but other than that, seriously, I'm so happy with how it came out.

Growing Up

2011-11-14T22:55:00.001-08:00

So guess who is big enough for a big-girl bed?

Yeah, it surprised me too, but she has handled it like a champ. We had one rough night, where she didn't want to stay in so we put her back in the crib, but since then--it's all been great. No locks on the door or anything. This kid is awesome. So is this picture.

And no, I did not stage it. This is how I found them on the first morning they both slept in the bunk beds.

I'm a little sad to be putting away the crib, not knowing when we'll pull it back out again (it hasn't been put away for more than a couple months at a time for years now), but it'll be nice to have the extra space. I believe Santa will be utilizing it next month. :)

Felt Dress-Up Dolls

2011-11-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

A while back, we were in birthday-party-mode. We'd been invited to two birthday parties within two days of each other. I was tired of spending money on gifts, and thus trying to figure out what to give to our 4- and 2-year old friends, when I remembered seeing these adorable felt dolls as part of a quiet book. Now, I still want to make quiet books for the girls at some point, but when they realized what I was making for their friends, they begged me to make some for them, too. And so, of course, I did. Yeah, I'm pretty much crazy.

Meet Cailin, Janey, and Alisha, our friend.

And yes, I did make one for Breanne, too. I don't remember why I didn't take pictures of it. Also one for a friend, Willow. I made 5 of these in an afternoon-evening. A fun, reasonably easy project. :) My girls loved figuring out outfits to put together.

Each girl comes in a little book, with two pockets--one for big pieces of clothing, one for small pieces, like shoes and necklaces.

Everyday clothes--jeans and t-shirt

Dress and ballet flats

With the crown and necklace. Because every girl is a princess and needs some bling.

More casual, some brown pants and loafers.

Red pj's.

Jacket, jeans, and cowgirl boots. I wish I had boots like those.

Dancer. My personal favorite.

More casual dresses, and you can't really tell in this pic, but pink maryjanes.

Want to go swimming? She does.

And since there are a couple people around here who refuse to wear anything but skirts...

So as you can see, nothing fancy, at all, but still a fun little project. The exterior of the book matches the pockets, nothing fancy, but the girls loved picking out their own fabrics out of my stash. You could easily make this a much more awesome and fun project by making more detailed clothing for the dolls, and fancying up the case, but I was going for quick and simple, so this is what we came up with. I hope you like it. My girls sure do... I was planning on taking these to church with us, but the one time I did, they spent the entire meeting "talking" to each other and playing back and forth, yelling about whose clothes are whose, instead of quietly changing their outfits. Seriously, all I remember ever doing with barbies is changing their clothes. These dolls aren't even 3D but they are fully animated. Ahh, the joys of having multiple girls. Sheesh. :)

We're Thankful For...

2011-11-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing "gratitude trees" all over the internet, and after seeing my friend Holly's yesterday, I finally decided to make one for us. The girls and I spent this afternoon during Cailin's nap cutting, cutting, cutting, and then taping, taping, taping, and finally writing and taping some more. :)

And thus was born, our Thankful Tree:

Yeah, a whole wall of gratitude tree... this house has huge walls, I never feel like I can do anything on a small scale.

Perhaps a little shy on leaves so far, but we have a whole bunch more to fill out over the next couple weeks.

Yep, I'm thankful for my sewing machine and serger. And clean laundry. Janey prefers flowers and school.

Breanne was certain to add an owl in a hole in the tree.

And then she wanted me to take a picture of her by the tree. :)

She's thankful for red, mom, Hazel, dad, Janey...

And squirrels. Still working on getting the s to face the right way. :)

Have I mentioned how much I love this wall in our house? It's one of my favorite things about this house. In case you don't remember (or I didn't tell you?), it also housed Cory's birthday wall,

and our colony of bats.

No, really, that's what a group of bats is called. Also, I know some children who would be disappointed if I didn't ask if you see the sole upside-down bat. He's a rebel. :)

I'm picturing snowflakes, hearts, birthday banners... I love it.

An Abbey Jacket

2011-11-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

A while back, I responded to a request over on Shwin and Shwin, when she was looking for some pattern testers. I was lucky, and she asked me to help her test out her Abbey Jacket pattern.

(The popped collar still makes me laugh. So fun on such a little person.)

SO cute! My first choice was to make a jacket for Janey. Of course I let her pick out her own fabric, which may have been a mistake, but I think it came out ok.

Unfortunately, because we were still in the testing stages, the sleeves were quite a bit short, but I still love it. And you can be assured, if you're thinking about buying it, the sleeves are fixed in the pattern now. :)

And it actually fits Cailin perfectly. I still need to make a new one that fits Janey, but in the meantime, Cailin will enjoy this little beauty. As soon as it's cold enough to justify a jacket, rather than just a long sleeved shirt, that is. :)

Showing Off

2011-11-02T22:16:00.001-07:00

Alright, so you got to see Breanne's latest trick yesterday. Here are Janey and Cailin's tricks today. Janey is loving preschool, and comes home with new songs to teach me regularly. I present to you the Duck Song:

Also, don't you love the abc's? We're working on learning all those pesky middle letters, haha.

And Cailin, well, she likes to tell jokes.

You just have to know the middle line, as she won't feed it to you. She's pretty good at the punchline though, right?

In short, I love my children. Even on days like today, where I do like 10 loads of laundry (1.5 pinks, .5 yellows, 2 whites, 3 blues (one three times, thanks to someone (me?) putting a (just wet, thankfully) diaper in with the laundry... UGH) and 1 towels and linens). And Cailin runs away at Breanne's school.

Reading

2011-11-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely a boastful mom post. Just a warning. :) I don't feel like I do this that often, but I'm so excited about my girl, I just want to share it. And it's my blog so I'll do what I want to. :)

So people regularly ask me how kindergarten is going for Breanne. Short answer--she loves it! Long answer--she is thriving, and knows nearly every student in the three classes (so close to 90 kids) by name. Oh, and she's reading. Yes, she could read a bit before school started, but recently it's just taken off. By the end of the school year, the goal for the teachers is to have every child in the class reading at a level "e" (they start with a, then b, then c, etc.). Breanne is already reading at level "f". I was super proud about this, but then Breanne started telling me about how reading works at her school. I guess the kids are divided into groups (she can only remember snails and pandas and rabbits), based on how well the read. (I feel that I should insert here that the kids don't seem to correlate their speed with their group... though I think that's how it's done). Breanne is a rabbit. She hasn't received a new book to read (they have guided reading books they're supposed to bring home every day) in 4 days, so I asked her today why not. She told me that the teacher that she usually practices reading with (not her actual teacher) has been absent the last few days, and her group hasn't been called on to go read. This was the first I'd heard of groups, so I asked her who else was in her group. She replied "no one." So wait, what? Breanne is the *only* rabbit in the kindergarten? She's the best reader they have? I. am. so. proud.

It later came out that there is one other kid in her class who is in her group, but he's been sick or out of town lately. I'm happy for that little boy, too. And I'm happy she's not in a group totally by herself. But seriously, I'm just so proud of Breanne. I love her desire to learn, and the way she doesn't throw her intelligence in others' faces (like I'm totally doing right now). She is the friendliest girl I've seen on the playground, and is such a wonderful sister and helper besides. Cory and I have talked a lot about how much she desires to help others feel included, and wants to know and love everyone. We're pretty lucky to have such a special girl.

And for your enjoyment, here is Breanne reading the last part of her book (that she's had for 4 days now, ha).

PS. Her back is mostly fine, just a minor rug burn. :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:38:00.000-07:00

Pretty perfect holiday here. Matching shirts (made at the last minute, of course... remind me to make them weeks in advance next year so they can be worn for, well, weeks), perfect weather for a trip to the playground, pizza with friends for dinner, and trick-or-treating with the same friends. And then, of course, consuming large amounts of sugar, and Cailin *finally* giving us a robot dance in costume. Not on camera, of course. :)

A few glimpses of our day:

(I thought it was funny that she was standing like this... until I caught a glimpse of my own shadow at that exact same moment...)

And from this evening... our jack o'lanterns, which we carved yesterday--

Cory's and Janey's (I'll leave you to decide which is which, ha):

And Breanne's:

Trick-or-treating... at home:

Sugar crash!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Costumes 2011

2011-10-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

I've noticed this time around that in all the crafty blogs I read, there are basically two types of costume-makers. One type loves it, and goes all out with the details, all homemade, etc. And then there are the others, who make it as quickly and cheaply as they can, as they figure their kids will only wear it once or twice. I am definitely in the first camp. I want my girls to have nice (read: durable! comfortable! well-sewn and nice materials and not going to fall apart!) costumes, and I don't mind it at all if that means I have to make it all myself, even if it doesn't save me tons of money (though it can definitely save me some). My girls dress up all the time--I would honestly guess at least 5 days of the week. The costumes they've had for the last few years are literally being torn to shreds. (And yes, that literally is being used correctly.) If I can make them cute, durable costumes that I know they'll wear for a while, I am all about putting in the time and effort to do so. I don't just put their costumes in a box in the garage when the holiday is over, either. They go straight into the costume box for play. And they're played with constantly. The time is a worthwhile investment to me (especially since they turn out so much more durable), and I really do enjoy thinking of ways to make the costumes even more special for my girls, little details that I know they'll appreciate.

So, that being said... here are the girls' costumes, in all their glory. The two older girls chose their own costumes this year, and Cailin's was ultimately my decision, influenced heavily by her interests. :)

Robo-Cailin:
We all know that Cailin already does an adorable robot. About the same time I discovered that, I was contemplating what she should be for halloween, when it hit me. :) I absolutely love the way this costume came out. I couldn't actually find a costume image to even work off of, so this was all my own creation. I got inspiration from these different robot images and stuffies. The gages turned out great, and I love the hood, even though she has very little interest in actually wearing it.
It is actually a square(ish, actually technically a rectangular prism?) with a hood inside to help it stay on her head. It's interfaced to give it stability and to keep it square. I seriously love that it actually worked. I wasn't sure it would up until it was attached. I also love her arms and pants. Yes, those are strips of fleece sewn together. I just love the color and playfulness of them.

Pink Bunny Janey:

Janey's costume, pre-ears. We just used a headband set of ears for that, and the ability to put them through the costume was my last minute addition, at Janey's request (I want pink ears, mom! Not white ears, pink!). And yes, I did make this hoodie. Out of fleece. It's perfect for our cooler evenings, and for the days too, since Janey's been sick. Don't be surprised if you just see more of these showing up, sans-costume attachments. They're comfy, and simple.

And what would a bunny be without a tail? Again, I was going to go with the even-bigger white one JoAnn's had, but Janey insisted on the pink. Now what to do with the blue, green, yellow, and white ones also from the package?

And Wicked Witch Breanne:

(Hi again, Hazel. See how this cat is always trying to steal the show? But I guess a good witch needs a cat?)

While everyone else hemmed and hawed about what they wanted to be for Halloween, Breanne has known for months that she wanted to be a witch. With a black dress, with some orange. And orange hair. And warts on her face. So, a quick trip to the fabric store later, we had this combination. And yes, the bodice is lined, and has a zipper. But no, it's not reversible. :) For the final edition of the dress, I actually folded and sewed the waistband sash more nicely and tacked it down in the front, and added some belt loops on the sides. It looks a lot neater than these pictures, but I don't feel like waiting to take more pictures before I put this post up. You can see it better in the last post about all our activities.

I really loved the combinations of fabric on this dress. The spiderweb stuff on the bottom was my favorite part, Breanne liked the sparkly black on top (and underneath the skirt). The tulle sleeves and sash were my idea, but Breanne gladly welcomed them. She wanted desperately to be an evil witch. I was worried that she'd be sad when she realized all her girl classmates were princesses, but she still seemed to absolutely love her costume. Well, except for the part where her broom fell apart, but I guess that's what we get for spending $2.50 on a decorative broom and sending it to kindergarten. :)

So there you have it. :) I spent a couple hours on each costume--Janey's and Breanne's were really pretty quick, coming together in maybe 3-4 hours. Cailin's took longer, but mostly just because I was afraid of making the hood, because I didn't feel like going to the fabric store again to buy more fabric and interfacing if it didn't work out. That being said, I did complete pretty much all of it on Wednesday, so it didn't actually take that much longer than the other two. It did require some hand sewing (on the gages) though, which I am TERRIBLY slow at, so that added an hour to it all. All in all, though, absolutely worth it. I love all three costumes this year, and am absolutely proud to say that I made them. I don't feel like I'm making excuses for how they look at all. And most importantly, the girls love them, too, and feel like they got exactly what they asked for. When I can't completely please them all the time, I'm glad to give them this one thing. :) Happy Halloween indeed!

BTW, I'm linking up to AmyLouWho's sew'n'tell again, as well as a few others. :)

Partying Already!

2011-10-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

This Halloween season is crazy for us. Anyone else feel the same?

We've had:

Janey's class party yesterday morning:

(is she not the cutest pink bunny ever?)

I could've sworn I had a video of her "shaking her bunny tail" but I can't seem to find it. So I'll take another one tomorrow when she's in costume again. SO cute, and so worth it. :)

And a playgroup party with our ward yesterday afternoon:

(My good friend and photographer took these first three beautiful photos at the party. The others are mine, and crappy. But hey, photos. Right?)

I asked Janey for a rabbit face. She was concentrating on scrunching up her nose. :)

(most adorable robot EVER, am I right? After much initial fight (for fittings, before it was done), Cailin decided that she was happy to wear the costume, as long as she didn't have to wear the hood/head. Britney and I timed the photo just right so she snapped it as soon as I moved my hand from putting the hood on her head. I can't get over what a cute robot she is. :))

(I asked for a witchy face. I'd say it worked out well. :))

(waiting for the pumpkin-bowling to be set up again... and yes, she did pick her shoes out. How can you tell?)

Janey and her best friend Payton, with another little girl we don't know as well in the middle. Still, super cute. :)

Goofball. I love that face.

Just knocked down all the "pins" with her pumpkin... on the 4th try. :)

Janey's favorite part of the activity, making a "spider" out of Nilla Wafers, chocolate frosting, and pretzels, with some nerds for eyes.

And then we had Breanne's class parade and party this morning:

She wanted warts all over her face. I consented and gave her 3. She was a satisfied customer.

Gotta love the spiderman poser in front of her. She was super concerned because all the branches fell off the bottom of her broom, so it was just a stick at this point. Poor girl.

I always get choked up when she's walking away from me as such a big girl. What is wrong with me?

That's my girl, blowing me kisses, flashing the I love you sign. It's kind of our thing. I love it, and so does she (thankfully).

We also had a playgroup down in Gilroy that the two younger girls attended in full costume but no real pictures from that. And then tomorrow there's our actual ward Fall Festival, complete with a trunk-or-treat. And then, you know, actual Halloween with trick-or-treating. Plus carving pumpkins sometime between now and then. So while I'm kind of exhausted, we've also just been loving it and soaking it all up. The girls love dressing up, and love their costumes (with the exception of Cailin, who mostly just tolerates it, ha), and I thoroughly enjoyed making them.

Coloring

2011-10-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

My girls have been coloring more lately. I love it. Breanne was coloring a picture the other day, and stopped to show me how well she was coloring in the lines, and how she was using a variety of colors, and pressing hard at different times to change the intensity of the colors. She asked me "Don't you think my picture is just coming to life now, Mom?" I'm so glad she, and her sisters, are finding joy in such simple things. At least occasionally. :)

I love watching Cailin, in particular, as she colors. She just looks so focused.

And, mostly for grandma, here is a minute of her coloring. Not exciting, at all, and there's a lovely pile of laundry in the background, but I just love how sweetly she's just laying there focused on coloring. These kinds of quiet moments with her are rare, to say the least.

Oh, and if you're wondering, I believe those are Breanne's shoes she's wearing. The girl couldn't care less what clothes she's wearing, as long as she gets to pick out her own socks and shoes. I love the little quirks.

Sneak Peek

2011-10-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Costumes are *almost* finished. And none too soon, as we have parties galore this entire weekend, starting tomorrow. One for Janey's class, one with our playgroup, one for Breanne's class-with a parade-, one for our ward-a whole fall festival!-with a trunk-or-treat, and finally trick-or-treating on Halloween itself on Monday. Wahoo!
I don't have full pictures of the costumes yet, but here are a few teasers--one from each costume.

Breanne--

Janey--

Cailin--

Yay Homemade!

2011-10-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Janey picked out and put on this outfit all by herself:

And guess what? I made all of the clothing you can see on her. I'm so proud! :) I wouldn't necessarily have paired them together, but still. Pretty darn cute. The model helps though, for sure.

I made the baby legs a long time ago--like 1.5 years ago... and they're still going strong. The skirt is made from pre-ruffled fabric (there's a store just a few minutes from my house that sells it for $5 a yard!! I need to go back there), and is a super simple elastic waist skirt. I didn't even hem the bottom, thanks to the ruffles hiding the edge (which is some sort of knit that doesn't fray... hallelujah!). Love that stuff.

I haven't shown the shirt here before, but I thought it deserved a mention too.

I made this shirt a few weekends ago. I've been lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Shwin and Shwin lately, and I LOVE it. This is Shauna's basic bodice, which hopefully she'll release at some point, because it's great. I've also used it for cutting out both Breanne and Janey's costumes, with some modifications. I love having a good solid place to start for clothing--it definitely has helped me figure out how to make the stuff I sew look more decent. Now if I could just take decent pictures... one thing at a time though, right?

Halloween Bag Mini-Tutorial

2011-10-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

So... I was planning on making another trick-or-treating bag so I could show you all how I made them. Turns out, though--I don't feel like making yet another bag. I did have Cory take pictures along the way while I was making a Frankenstein bag for a friend, but I actually made it exactly the same way Jill did here. Which is different from how I made the original bags, so I'm going to just show you the basics of how I made them. They're very, very simple bags, and are actually quite similar to the messenger bags I made a few months ago, so if you have any questions about the actual construction of the bag, you can just look there. Or leave comments or email me or whatever. I'm flexible like that. Just let me know.

And now, a mini-tutorial of sorts.

So this is what we're going for:

A cute little ghosty bag. Yay!

To start, you're going to cut out your pieces. You'll need two ghost shaped pieces, and enough strips of white to go all the way around the edges, and to make a strap the length you want it to come out. Then you'll also need your face pieces--eyes and a mouth for each side on this guy. If you plan to reverse-applique them, like I did, you'll need to make each piece a little bigger than you want it to appear when complete.

Once you have all your pieces cut out, you'll start by sewing the face pieces onto the back side of your ghost faces. When you're finished they should look something like this (keep in mind this is the backside of the ghost):

After the face is all sewn on, it's time to start assembling the bag. Take your strips of white fabric, and cut them to the lengths of the sides of the ghost--one to match the bottom edge, and one for each side, ending up high enough that there's a good-size opening to the bag. Then, like the backpack tutorial, sew them together into one long strip (don't sew the handles on yet though), and then sew them onto the bag. As fleece is very stretchy and shifty, I would highly recommend pinning a LOT, and start with the bottom, as it is the most crucial part to match up--the sides can be trimmed down if they stretch, but the bottom needs to match up fairly well too look nice. Ask me how I know. :) When it's sewed on, it should look something like this:

Next you're going to attach the strap--I'd recommend doubling up the fleece, and topstitching down each side (not shown on this bag) to give it more strength--the fleece, like I said, is just too stretchy--if you get a couple pounds of candy in there, it's going to drag it down. Strength is good with kids. :)

Turn the bag right side out, and cut out the white over your face features. Just pinch the two layers apart, then cut very carefully into it, and trim the excess away, revealing the black underneath. Feel free to play around with how you trim them out--for this side, you can see that I cut basically up to the stitch line.

On this side, however... oh wait, you can't see it. Dang cat. Does anyone else's cat seem to like hanging out in the most inconvenient area? Haha.

No seriously. I couldn't leave this photo out though, haha. The ghost is terrified of the cat! Ahhh!

Ok, enough with my lousy humor (though I am very funny. Seriously, guys. I am). On this side, I didn't trim the eyes all the way out--I trimmed out my initial cut to make the hole, and realized that I was in love with the scared ghost look.

So I left it.

And there you have it. One cute little ghost bag. Yay! If you're doing the pumpkin, you don't have to worry about the bottom of the bag, so it's even easier--just sew one long strip all the way around, stopping where you want to the top of the bag to be. The only tricky thing is making sure the two faces of the pumpkins stay matched up--so don't stretch it at all as you go. And then add the handle in green. Keep 'em lined up. And then, enjoy watching your kids fill those new bags with goodies.... that hey, you can sneak later, right? :)

Diaper Changing Pad Tutorial

2011-10-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

So about a year ago, I made myself what is possibly the mostly useful thing I've had for a baby (besides the basics).

A diaper changing pad. So simple, so useful. I made it when Cailin was like 9 months old, and honestly, I thought it was sort of silly to be making it so late in her infancy, after the blow-outs were supposed to have stopped, but I tell you what--I use this thing almost every day of the week even still. It's that great. :)

The best part about it is that instead of using iron on vinyl, or trying to find a cute sewable vinyl, you just use a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth. Super cute patterns available (my fish one is from Target for $5, the purple one below is from Walmart for $4), and you get a TON of fabric for that price. So you can make a whole slew of them and give them to every baby you know. When I was invited to a baby shower this last weekend, I decided to make one for the coming baby, and along the way, I had Cory take pictures so I could put together a brief tutorial for you. I hope you find it as useful as I have. Enjoy!

To make a changing pad out of a vinyl tablecloth, you'll need the following:
Vinyl Tablecloth
Coordinating fabric (approximately 16"x24" piece, or whatever dimensions you want your pad to be)
Small piece of velcro (I used a piece maybe 1.5" long)
Usual sewing supplies (machine, thread, scissors, etc)

All seam allowances will be 1/4".

To start out, you're going to cut out your fabric and vinyl tablecloth to the size you'd like your pad, plus 1/2" added to each measurement to account for seam allowances. So for my pad, I cut it to be 16.5"x24.5". Then you're going to round the corners (I traced around the edge of a plate).

Sew the two rectangles, right sides together, and leave yourself a gap to turn it right side out. I would tell you to pin them first, as the two fabrics will slip around a bit and not stay quite even, but something to keep in mind when working with vinyl--any pins you put in will leave marks that you can't undo. The pinholes will not heal back up like they will with normal fabric. So only use pins where they'll eventually be covered up by seams. (PS please ignore my crazy messy sewing desk--it was a ridiculously busy week, the end of which was crammed full of sewing random projects that still haven't gotten cleaned up. Sorry.)

Turn the pad right side out through the gap you left, and top stitch around the edge of the whole thing. Once again, you can't pin, and you also can't iron (it'll melt the vinyl), so just pinch the edges together tightly to crease the fabric where your gap is, and sew it slowly so it doesn't slide around and get all wonky.

Yay, you've got a basic changing pad! Next, you're going to fold it up to create creases where you'll eventually like to fold it. I do this by folding in the sides so it ends up a width I like (around 3-4 inches per side), then it in half (hamburger style), then unfold it, and fold the ends in to meet the middle and crease it again. Since that last sentence probably made zero sense, the blue lines in the next pic show (approximately) where my creases are:

Make more sense? I hope so. You can mark the creases more obviously, or just make sure you can see them ok to sew along them.

Then simply sew on your creases. This enables you to fold it up easier.

Don't worry if the vinyl stretches a little bit and doesn't match up quite right--somehow it all works out enough in the end that you won't notice it once the pad is complete. Or at least I don't. Just try your hardest to keep it straight and stretched together.

Once your lines are all sewn, fold it up along those lines (sides in first, then basically roll it up), and get ready to place your velcro.

Once again, no pinning where you don't want it to show up. :) Just hold your velcro in place, and either mark it (I marked it with a pencil on either side), or memorize your spot (if you have a pattern that makes that simple). Sew it on, and...

Voila!! You are done!
Admire that beauty, and enjoy having a nice clean place to put your stinky baby on to change them. I love it because once I'm done changing even the worst of diapers (and let's be honest, entire outfits), I can just wipe it down with a wipe, or if it's really bad, I can toss it in the washer. It does fade the tablecloth a bit every time I put it in the wash though, just a warning. And do not put it in the dryer. I haven't done it yet, but I can only imagine the damage. It easily fits in your bag, and can even be folded up smaller, if you want. Yes, yes, if you have to change crappy blowouts (haha, pun totally intended), this is a pretty decent way to do it.

(In case you noticed and are wondering, I sewed one of the extra fish from my original tablecloth onto the outside of the velcro for a little added decoration. Not hard, and made it just that much cuter).

KCWC Fall 2011

2011-10-10T22:29:00.001-07:00

Guess what guys? I was so excited to sew for KCWC again this week. I had all these great plans for dresses for Breanne, leggings for everyone, and most importantly, costumes.

You caught the past tense back there, right? Yeah, my sewing machine has been acting up for the last month or so, randomly skipping stitches, but still working *enough* to get through every project. Well. Not anymore. On Saturday, I was trying to finish up a last minute Jessica Bunny (not Rabbit, but pretty much the same) costume for a murder mystery dinner party (so fun!), when my machine decided it was done just skipping a few stitches here and there, and decided to just skip whole rows of stitching. I have no idea why it was doing it. I'd cleaned it, and kept it oiled, and everything.

So sadly to report, my sewing machine has been in the shop since Saturday. I think (hope?) it'll be good to go in the morning, but I haven't heard anything from the shop yet to confirm that. :( When I talked to the repair man, he talked fondly about my little machine, so I know it's being well taken care of, at least.

Anyway, as soon as I'm up and running, you can expect to start seeing some projects. There are some girls who are just getting too dang tall for their dresses around here. Leggings and longer dresses are most definitely in order. And there are some serious demands for costumes going on.

Poor baby.

Trick-Or-Treat Bags

2011-10-05T16:12:00.001-07:00

So I was recently commissioned to make some trick-or-treat bags for our upcoming Super Saturday (where the women in our church get together on a saturday to create all kinds of fun craftiness). These are not fantastic, but they're what I came up with:

You can expect a tutorial soon, as I'll be making instruction pages for the women who will be taking the supplies home to make them there. A very few details about the bags--they're made of fleece (which allows for unfinished edges without unravelling)(I'm still debating the necessity of lining them with something slightly less stretchy, but at least fleece will stretch, and then return back to regular shape, unlike felt), and the little details I sewed on for faces are all reverse-appliqued. Way easier than it sounds.

Anyone wanna make some trick-or-treat bags? When I was a kid, we just used pillowcases... everything's so fancy these days! :)

My Heart is So Happy

2011-10-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

If you've been around my blog for a while, you might remember this post. I was pretty heart broken when we woke up to the news that the Provo Tabernacle was burning down, just a few blocks from our home. The tabernacle was in our ward boundaries--we'd attended events and stake conference there, and also had worked on the grounds. It was a special building to us, and despite its old style quirks, we loved it. Every time I drove past it after the fire, then just an empty shell of what it once was, it made me sad inside.

Well, not anymore! It was announced this morning that not only will the exterior be restored, but it will be turned into a temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can see a rendering of what it might look like here. So beautiful, and such a wonderful transformation for the building it once was.

I can't even tell you how much this has touched my heart. Cory's been laughing at me all morning because I'm all teary about this, when I am not normally a cryer. It's just been proof to me, once again, of our Heavenly Father's love for us. The people in our Provo neighborhood will be so blessed by the temple being there, and I couldn't be happier for them. The only sadness I'm feeling is that we won't be there, to walk to the temple (instead of the hour-ish commute we have now). That building, which has been used for so many years to preach the word, will now become even more sacred. What a special, special thing.

Call me corny if you must, but I just keep thinking--They're turning a tragedy into a temple! My heart is so, so happy right now.

My New Bag

2011-09-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been using the same bag since my birthday in 2008, and finally this summer, I decided to make myself a new one. After hemming and hawing over fabrics and styles for a few months, I found some fabric I loved, and just decided to go for an image I had in my mind. I'm sure there are a million bags like it out there in the world that probably influenced my thinking, but this one came purely out of my own head, my own measurements based on what I wanted the bag to hold, and my own way of assembling it. I really, really love how it came out.

The piping detail

the interior fabric is kind of what prompted the whole thing--it's a dusty coralish color, and I LOVE it in real life. Pretty here in a picture, but 10 times better in real life.

During the process, there were several moments when I questioned myself (most especially when I was trying to turn the straps, made of 3 pieces of corduroy for durability, plus the piping on the edges, which was where the real trouble was...), but seriously, now that it's done, I just love this bag. When I make this style of bag again (notice the when, not if...) I'll put a pocket inside, but in the meantime, I'm just enjoying the simple beauty of this bag.

I made this bag back in July at a RS craft night, but I'm finally posting about it now because I've decided, last minute, to enter it into the Purse Week competition over at A Lemon Squeezy Home. I don't expect to win, but I do love my bag, so I'm happy to show it off a little bit. :) Wish me luck!

PS. I'm also linking up to AmyLouWho's Sew and Tell for fun. I'm so glad she's back!

What's That? with Cailin

2011-09-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

This video may start out a little bit slow, but around 30 seconds it gets super awesome. I recommend you watch it.

Meanderings

2011-09-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it's been a while, guys. Things have been just a bit crazy over here, with two big humanitarian aid events finally finishing up the last few weeks (that's what I'm doing for my calling these days, and I love it, but it's definitely kept me busy), as well as regular life with school drop-offs and pick-ups, playing, birthday-ing, and all manner of other stuff. It's been a really great couple of weeks, but super busy. I am grateful for the next week, in which I only have a few scheduled engagements. I'm just so tired! And no, I'm not pregnant. Just the regular bone-tired.

All this tiredness had me thinking today. Yesterday was the General Relief Society Broadcast for our church, and I loved all the talks that were given--several moments I was sure they were written just for me. But, oddly, more than that, I found myself thinking back to the last broadcast. I don't remember much of what was said, but I do remember going out for ice cream with some really dear friends after it was done. We had a great time, and I remember thinking on that day just how lucky I was to have such wonderful people in my life.

I think our move was so sudden that I hardly had time to mourn the friends and place that I was leaving. I try not to think about it too often while I'm here, too, because I don't want to dwell on sadness. It turns out--I love this place we're in, and I love the people here, too. I remember wondering, as I left Provo, how could I ever find another Amanda, Georgia, Holly, Lesley, Cindy, Michelle, Laura, Linda... all these names, and so many more. We truly loved the people we were with. And don't even get me started on the primary kids. How was I ever going to live without them all, seeing them every week?

I somehow realized yesterday that I am never going to find another of any of them. And I know that you can never really go home again. But at the same time, I love now knowing Kimberly, Tess, Tracy, Nancy, Ela, Britney, and a whole host of new names, and I can't imagine my life being complete without knowing them, too. And all I'm left thinking is how difficult it is sometimes to move on. We have all this wonderful technology that keeps us all connected, but it's so hard sometimes to still be connected--it's a very real reminder of what we're missing, no matter how happy we are in our new spot in life. I feel so torn--betraying those I left by being happy here, betraying those who are here by missing those back in previous stages of life.

Maybe I'm just too tired tonight to be thinking about such deep stuff. But mostly, I just want all my friends, from all the stages of my life, to know how much I love and appreciate them, and what we've had, whether currently, or in the past. I was changed by each of you, and I am so thankful for it. I can't imagine my life without you having been a part of it. Thanks for continuing to love me, too.

Poxed Again

2011-09-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

So Janey started preschool last tuesday... but the sunday before that, I noticed a small rash on her side. I figured it was just something she'd rubbed up against while working in the yard with Cory, and didn't give it much (enough?) thought. When it hadn't gone away by Weds, though, I started to worry, so I talked to a nurse friend we've made here. I sent her a picture, and almost immediately she told me she thought it was shingles.

So we finally called the pediatrician I've been planning on taking the girls to at some unspecified point, and she confirmed my friend's diagnosis.

What the crap? Shingles? Seriously? On my 3 and a half year old? I thought shingles was a stress-related illness?

Well, it is. Apparently when you have chickenpox, it stays in your system (that's why you never get it again), and attaches itself to a nerve. Whenever your body is stressed, if it affects that particular nerve, it can result in shingles showing up. That's why it's always just on one side of the body, usually in a sort of stripe from the front to the back. Shingles, itself, is not contagious--it's something your body does to itself. If, however, someone with shingles comes into contact with someone who hasn't had chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine, they can pass on chicken pox (but only through fairly direct contact with the sores). So even though we were out and about for 3 days before we figured out what Janey has, the chances of her having passed it onto someone is pretty slim, since she mostly keeps to herself, and the majority of kids she hangs out with are vaccinated. Still, ugh.

Anyway, so if you'll recall, a little over a year ago, in July, Cailin got hit hard with the chicken pox. Shortly thereafter, Janey also came down with it, even though she'd already had her first chicken pox vaccination. Her case was extremely mild, only resulting in a handful of sores that healed in a few days. I thought we'd seen the last of the virus in our house.

(You can see Janey's original chicken pox on her face here--just a couple, very mild bumps).

Well, apparently, something is super stressful for Janey right now (preschool? hair cut? seriously? she's 3.5!), and it brought it on. She seems to feel fine, though perhaps slightly more tired than usual, but I feel terrible for her--I wish I knew what was so upsetting to her body that it reacted this way. Anyway, we're almost done with it--like the chicken pox, we're just waiting for scabs (my favorite kind of thing to wait for, haha), and I think we're getting close.

Mostly, I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come--I want my healthy girl back!

Janey Starts Preschool!

2011-09-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Once again--Not this brand new baby anymore:

Not this happy adorable one year old:

Not this crazy eyed demon two year old. :)

She isn't even this just-barely three-year-old anymore.

Nope, she's a great big preschooler now.

Ready with an outfit she chose (with slight disappointment that the skirt she begged me to make the night before her big day was pink, until I showed her that it matched the flowers on her shirt, and came with white leggings)

a backpack she helped pick out fabrics for (contents=some papers for her teacher, a water bottle and snack, and her blankie for show and tell...love her!) that she actually gets to use this year (turns out Breanne has to use a clear backpack, so can't use hers, long story short):

Yep, she's excited--

And she's ready.

And so am I. Mostly. Even if Cailin isn't so sure.

Yep, that's right. Janey is old enough for preschool. When did all this growing up happen?

Oh Kids

2011-08-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just feel a need to start a post out with a big ol' sigh?

*sigh*

Today has been one of those days. Crazy kids, not enough sleep, barely making it through Sacrament meeting... just long. And then we got home from church, ate some lunch with grouchy kids, and sent Breanne and Janey up to B's room to play while C napped. Breanne came down to get her scissors, and told me she was going to be cutting some paper and fabric with them. Which we've been doing a lot of lately, so I was fine with.

Fast forward 1/2 hour or so, and in walks Janey with a new hairdo.

I actually had the audacity to think, just yesterday, that maybe we'd somehow skipped this childhood rite of passage with Breanne. Shoulda knocked on wood, I guess. Honestly, I think the pixie sort of cut looks pretty cute on Janey, but I wish it was something we decided on together. I was so shocked by it all that I didn't even think to take a picture of the sisterly cut job, all these are post my fixing. Breanne actually did a reasonable job, but I can't encourage this by telling her so and taking pictures!

Just in case you can't remember what her hair looked like before, here are a few pictures I took of Janey on Weds. after she asked me to try to make her hair straight (and I worked on it for 20 minutes with a brush and blowdryer and mousse):

I'm hoping the curls will come back.

Sometimes I feel like closing a post with an extra sigh.

*sigh.*

Kindergarten!

2011-08-23T22:17:00.001-07:00

So every now and then, it just kind of hits me that Breanne no longer is this baby:
Or this 18 month old, lining up her monkeys:

Or this 2 year old, trying on my tank top, socks, and shoes:

Or this just starting preschool girl:

Or even this sweet 4-year-old 4th of July sister:

No, no. She's been all of those things. And now she is this: my full-blown, kindergarten girl:

Picking out her own outfit, hairstyle, and bag fabrics. That's my girl. :)

So ready for her first day.

Standing outside her classroom:

Just a little nervous still:

Braving the playground on her own! Does she not seem just so little compared to all those big kids? (Well, she actually is, as this is not the kindergarten play area, as we found out, but still...)

Chilling with mom before it's time to go in... with a wink:

I'm so proud of my big girl. I love you Breanne, and I can't believe you're already in kindergarten. I'd appreciate it if you could just slow down, just a little bit, even though I'm trying to love every minute of you growing up.

Favorite Game

2011-08-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Cailin has a new favorite game.

Backpacks! With a Tutorial!

2011-08-11T18:07:00.031-07:00

So we've been thinking a lot about school over here lately. Less than 2 weeks until Kindergarten, and preschool just a couple weeks after that. So of course, new backpacks are in order. I asked Breanne and Janey what kind of bags they'd like, and showed them a few different ones, and they chose messenger bags. And because I'm crazy, and found super cute fabric that the girls loved, we decided to make them.

Cute, right? Perhaps minus the part where they're almost as big as the girls themselves, but I swear they're barely bigger than 10x12, to accommodate papers and binders and such. Maybe the messenger style wasn't a great idea for such small kids, but they love them, so we're keeping them.

Want to make your own? Because I was making two, I decided to just go ahead and take some pictures along the way, and I am now prepared to give my very first tutorial! I know this is nothing super exciting, and that there are plenty of messenger bag tutorials out there, but as a few people have told me--if I'm going to do tutorials, I have to start somewhere. So this is it. :)

Here we go.

For these bags, you need:

Main fabric, lining and batting EACH need:
3 pieces cut to 11"x14"**
2 pieces cut to 14"x3.5"
1 piece cut to 11"x3.5
1 piece cut to 4"x6" (if you want a pocket; you don't have to do the batting for this piece)

Whichever fabric you want your strap to be:
2 pieces cut to your strap length, mine varied by child. Janey's was around 12", Breanne's was 16" long, both 3.5" wide

Webbing:
1 piece cut to 12"
2 pieces cut to 4"
Melt the ends on all the webbing pieces so they won't fray.

1 package piping (optional)

and a clip thing to allow you to cinch up your straps, which should look like these:

**This allows you to create the flap with the lining on one side, the main fabric on the other. If you want the flap to be all one fabric, cut 4 pieces of that fabric, and 2 of the other.

Ok, so now that you have all your fabric cut out and in front of you, we'll start by making your pocket. I wanted piping on mine, so first I pinned my piping on and sewed it down (good tutorial for piping here),

then put my other piece on top, right sides together, and sewed nearly all the way around them, leaving a hole to turn the pocket right-side out. Flip it right side out, and your pocket is pretty much done! You may want to topstitch the top of the pocket (right below the piping), but I didn't think to do this beforehand, so mine is not topstitched.

To figure out where I wanted my pocket, I placed it on my main fabric, and put a pencil on it to see where the pencil would hit. As long as it isn't too high, you should be fine.

Now you can attach your pocket piece to one of your main fabric pieces by pinning it down, then topstitching around the three edges, and thus closing up your turning-gap.

If you want to section the pocket off into individual pencil pockets, now would be the time to do that, too. I'm not certain my girls will be using the pocket for pencils, so I left that off for now. Also, if you want a closure on the bag (magnetic snap, velcro, whatever), this is also the time to figure out where you want it, and attach that to the body of the bag.

Next we're going to assemble the bag body. To do this, first you'll take your three side/edge pieces, and piece them together. They're the pieces that are 11" and 14" by 3.5". The 11" piece is going on the bottom of the bag, and thus should be in between the two longer pieces. You'll sew them together like this:

Yeah, that's a long strip of fabric. :)

Now comes one of the trickiest parts of sewing the bag together--attaching the bag front and back to the sides. Don't worry, it's not hard, just try to get your pieces lined up right so your corners come out ok. To attach them together, you're going to lay down your main fabric, and then pin, right sides together, your long side strip, all the way around it. I recommend starting in the middle of the bottom piece, and working your way up to the top. It's not a big deal if the top doesn't end up perfectly even, as you can trim it. It is a big deal if there's a hole in the bottom of your bag because they don't match up. :) So when you're done pinning those pieces together, you should have something that looks roughly like this (minus the batting, that comes later but I didn't have a better picture of this step):

Now you can sew along the edges, creating 1/2 the bag. When you come to the corners, sew until you're about 1/4 inch away from the edge, then put down your needle, pick up your presser foot, and turn the bag 90 degrees.

Continue sewing, but make sure to keep all the extra fabric out from under the needle. The 3D-ness of the bag makes this just a little bit tricky, but it's not hard, just go slowly.

Do the same with the other piece of your main fabric--make sure your fabrics are all facing right sides together, and pin and sew along the edges. Yay, you now have a bag shape!

Now is the time to add piping to the top of your bag if you want it. Same as with the pocket--just pin it on along the edge of the fabric, and sew as close to the cording as you can (I hear zipper feet make this way easier, but I only have my one foot... sigh. :)).

Next up, make the lining of your bag. This is pretty much the same as the above steps, minus the pocket (unless you want one inside, too--you can change this up however you want), and with batting added. My recommendation? Pin your batting like crazy. I made the mistake of not pinning one piece, and it was all sorts of wonky when I finished sewing it, even though it was a pretty basic piece to sew. So. Pin all your batting pieces to their corresponding lining piece, like this,

making certain that you're pinning the batting to the *back* of the fabric (unpicking stuff sewn to batting is no fun, if you're wondering... ask me how I know). Then continue and sew the rest of the pieces together like you did the outside. Yay, you have another bag shape!

Next up, the flap. Take your last 11.5"x14" pieces of fabric and batting and stack them up, fabric right sides together, and batting on top. To round your corners out, find a plate or cd or something with the corner shape you're looking for, place it in the corner of your fabric, and either trace it or (if you're lazy like me), just cut around it.

(Haha, Jess, I bet this is TOTALLY what you had in mind for me to do with this giant button... I do have other ideas, just haven't utilized it yet, and didn't have a plate or cd upstairs with me. :))
Again, I wanted piping around the edge, so pin that to the top piece of your fabric, and sew it on, same as before. If you're putting a closure on the bag, put that on the lining side of your fabric now, too. Then you can stack your pieces back up, and sew them together, being careful to sew as close to the piping as you can. Flip it right-side out, and you've got a flap.

Good job!

The last piece to put together is your strap. For this, you take your 3.5" by whatever you decide strips, stack them up, fabrics right-sides together with the batting on top, and fold them in half. Put your webbing over the ends, and taper the fabric, like so:

Just remember to give yourself a quarter of an inch on each side for your seam allowance.

Next up, put your clip-adjuster thingy on one of your 4 inch pieces of webbing, and sew the webbing closed around it, like so:

Sew it on there good and tight.

Now you're ready to sew the strap together. Sandwich your strap with adjuster thingy in between your two pieces of fabric (right-sides together) on one side, and your other 4" strip of webbing on the other side, and place your batting on top, then pin it all together.

Sew along your edges, leaving a gap on one of your long sides to turn it right-side out. Make sure to double back on your webbing pieces, to make sure they're plenty secure. When you're done sewing, you can reach inside and pull the webbing to pull it right-side out. Top stitch around the edges, and your strap is done!

All that's left at this point is assembling and finishing the bag. Wahoo! Start with your lining bag, with the batting on the outside, fabric inside. Place your main fabric bag, right side out, inside your lining bag, like this:

Then pin your strap in on the end that doesn't have the adjuster-thingy. On the opposite side, pin your 12" strap. Then pin your flap in on the side opposite your pocket, and you are ready to sew the bag together!

Start towards the middle of the side without the flap, and work your way (carefully! I broke a needle on this part because some of the seams were too thick for me to go as quickly as I wanted) around the bag, but be sure to leave yourself a good-sized gap to turn your bag through, like so:

Now you can flip that baby right sides out, and push the lining back down inside the bag. Look at that! You've created a lined bag! You just need to pin the opening shut (and any areas you may have missed on accident during the last step, like I did here):

and then you can topstitch the holes closed, and your bag is finished! Connect your 12" strap through your adjuster thingy, and you are good to go.

And there you have it! You've made your own school bag. Who is excited for school?

These two are! And they're one step closer to being ready.

I think their little sister is excited, too. Alone time with mom, what could be better, really?

Gauze Skirt

2011-08-03T22:46:00.004-07:00

Man do I need better names for the stuff I make.

Anyway, a week or two ago, I (re)found this white eyelet gauze fabric I'd bought for round one of the flower girl dresses, which didn't end up making the cut. It's funny how sometimes I think a fabric will be perfect for one thing, then a while later, I see it again and come up with a totally new idea. As soon as I saw it that day, I knew it was destined to be a flowy skirt for Breanne. And thus it became.

Disclaimer on the photos. I just wanted a nice, sunny picture in our front room of Breanne wearing the dang skirt. Instead, I got about a million of these:

Thanks so much, barbie.com, for teaching Breanne and Janey the importance of "posing" in front of a camera.

And then these:

Where at least you can see the skirt. No luck on a picture of her happy face while wearing the skirt, but I guess I'll take what I can get. It's just a simple skirt, three slightly gathered layers, elastic waist, just a zigzag finish on the bottom to keep it from fraying, but not even a hem. I like the flow of it, without the hem to weigh it down. Has many imperfections, but I really do like the way it came out. And so does Breanne, which makes me happy.

Plaid Top

2011-07-28T14:59:00.003-07:00

So school is rapidly approaching (Breanne and Janey will both be in school this fall, can you believe it?!?), and while I've bought the girls each a few things, I also have had some fabric hanging around waiting to be made into shirts. This is the first of what will be several, if I find the time.

I kind of love the way it came out, especially the bias casing in the middle. I made my own pattern to make it, but really, it was super simple all in all. I'm working my way up to a non-peasant-top neckline, and who knows, maybe even buttons with button holes will be next. We'll see. :)

P.S. Don't ask what skirt she's wearing with it, this girl definitely has her own ideas about style. The other day I was voicing a concern I have about her being made fun of because she wears homemade clothes. Then when I asked her to put on something to match her new shirt and she came back with this skirt (second try, even, the first was worse... haha), it hit me that maybe I don't have to be super concerned about what I make that she likes to wear... just how she puts them together. Funny girl.

One of These Things

2011-07-20T17:14:00.001-07:00

is not like the others...

Cailin Defined

2011-07-20T17:09:00.005-07:00

I could be wrong (doubt it), but I'm pretty sure this is pretty much the definition of adorable.

Just the girl, not all of her crazy antics lately.

J&C's Room Stuffs

2011-07-18T22:21:00.006-07:00

So since we got back from Utah, I've been on a bit of a sewing break. Just a little bit burned out. To try to get back into things, I decided to finally get something up on Janey and Cailin's window. I found these white sheers at Walmart for 3 bucks a piece (they're actually voile shower curtains, but they were WAY cheaper than anything in the curtains, and make pretty and sweet little curtains) a few months ago, but I knew I wanted to do something with some color too, to get a little bit more color on their walls. Enter Hancock's $4/yd upholstery fabric that I found the other day, and basically this tutorial, and you get this:

Yep, entire window coverings done for less than $15. I like it a lot, though I think I may cinch up the valance just a little bit more--does it seem too long to you?

Also, while I was taking pics of these, I realized I never showed off the little girls' name letters, which I finished a few months ago. Here are those as well:

Do you think I need an & in between the names? I'm leaning towards yes.

Maybe someday I'll take pics of the whole room, but I swear, their room always has some sort of mess going on. *sigh*

P.S. Thank you all so much for your kind comments on Breanne's hair. I ended up fixing up the back just a little bit more (it doesn't show in the picture I posted, but I needed to cut the hair underneath just a little bit--weird wavy hair stuff), but I really am pleased with how it came out, and Breanne loves it. And all of your kind comments about it. :) You guys make me happy.

I Can Do It On My Own

2011-07-15T16:25:00.003-07:00

So I've decided recently that part of the problem with being a DIY-er is that it makes me want to make/do everything on my own. I see something in the store, and think, "Hey, I could make that!" or see someone doing something, and think "Hey, I could do that!" Sometimes this works out for me, and sometimes the results are a little more questionable.

The last few weeks, Breanne's been asking me to cut her hair. I was hesitant at first, but then watched some tutorials, looked at some pics online, and today decided to just go for it. I think it went ok, what do you think?

Breanne's hair before:

And after--the back:

And the front!

And for the record, Breanne loves it. I think I need to learn more about cutting wavy hair--even though it's cut straight, in some places it doesn't really look like it, because of her natural waves. Where did I get these curly-haired kids?

4/5

2011-07-02T14:53:00.004-07:00

4/5 of the dresses in a blurry picture that makes me look super happy (seriously, there are NO happy pictures of me during the wedding festivities... I had no idea I had an angry face all the time!)... but hey, you can see them in action! I'm so happy with how the dresses came out--I'll definitely be making more clothes in the future. But probably not yellow. Or circular. For at least a few days. :)

And in case you were wondering, I ended up hand-finishing the sleeves (while watching Arrested Development, excellent use of time, if you ask me), and I put embroidery-floss hand-crocheted belt loops on there to hold the sashes in place. Both worked out great, I'd say.

Would anyone be interested in tutorials of any of these things I'm making these days? I feel like I'm finally at a point where I might have something to show--lined zippers, fully lined dresses, hand-crocheted belt loops (felt hand puppets, whatever else I've made)... anything? I don't want to take the time to make a tutorial if it won't help anyone, but if you're interested, speak up please! I know everything I've learned has come from the internet/my own head and trial by error, so I'd be happy to share what I've figured out, if you want it. Let me know.

Circle Quilt

2011-07-01T22:34:00.006-07:00

So remember how I made 28 circle skirts for those flower girl dresses? (Yes, 28. 3 skirt layers, each lined, to make 6 circle skirts per dress, except for Cailin's, which was only 2 layers, so 4 circles, which totaled equals 28 circle skirts cut.) Well, for every one of those 28 skirts, there was a circle I cut out of the center to allow for the waists of the girls wearing them.

Well.

I couldn't just let 28, approximately 3.25 inch radius, perfectly good circles go to waste... so of course, I made a small circle quilt for the bride and groom. It's just a throw blanket size, but I love how it turned out.

(the back, pretty basic, but I like it, too)

I know, I know, it looks really girly, but these were their wedding colors. I just added a couple more fabrics with the pink in them to balance out the yellow. (Yes, that's pink in there, it was just raining outside when I finally took these pictures, all of an hour before we gave the quilt to the couple.) Also, this was the first time I've ever had a project professionally quilted--I seriously love the loops--what do you think?

(As usual, I'm linking up to AmyLouWho's Sew and Tell... finally a quilting post to put up on her quilting blog!)

The Gambler

2011-06-24T22:01:00.004-07:00

So today, Cory and I are celebrating our 7th anniversary. Only he's back in CA, and I'm still in UT (in between two Utah weddings... long story). Which is a totally lame way to celebrate an anniversary. Apparently, after only working for a company for 3ish months, one doesn't build up much vacation time, and the most important days to be together are others' actual wedding days.

Sort of.

Anyway.

Before Cory left (actually, on our trip out here), he put together a new mixed cd for me, mostly of songs I'd requested, but he also added in a few new gems. One of the songs I hadn't listened to before, but was by a band I'd mentioned that I love called fun. Are you familiar with fun.? They used to be the Format (or the other way around?), and I love them. Very dramatic, very entertaining lyrics, and are just generally really great to sing/belt along with. So this particular song he left me, he told me he liked a lot. So I started paying more attention to it. Turns out it is a beautiful little ballad about life and love. And I like it, a lot. Just like Cory. :) So, since I don't get to spend today with him, I've been listening to this song, reminiscing about the days when we met, how we started dating, when we got married, and how lucky I am to have him for eternity, raising our family together. I don't think I realized just what a commitment I was making when I married Cory--I realize more and more every day how lucky I am to have married him. I could not ask for a better husband or father. I realize how cliche this sounds, but he truly is my very best friend. There is no one else on earth I can talk to like I can talk to him. I am so, so, so blessed.

The song is called The Gambler, and can be heard here (I don't know how to embed YouTube videos, sorry). As our relationship grows deeper and stronger, and we watch those of our friends either get stronger, or fall apart, I realize just what a gamble it can be, choosing a spouse for eternity, and I am so grateful I've been so lucky to have chosen Cory, and that he is willing to have me by his side. I am still so in love. More so than ever, really.

Flower Girl Dresses

2011-06-02T20:24:00.006-07:00

So a few weeks ago, my soon-to-be sister-in-law (holy hyphens!) asked me if I'd consider making flower girl dresses for my girls and their two cousins. I, of course, jumped at the chance, as I love having an excuse to buy fabric and think out ideas for how to make something look nicer. I was concerned, though, as most of my projects turn out... iffy. But, I put together a list of cute ideas, most with tutorials, so I figured I'd be safe. Of course, she chose the one dress on the list that I didn't have a tutorial for, but I decided to go for it anyway, and try to recreate the dress (with a few alterations, as the bride requested (and I gladly obliged to)). And so, 2.5 dresses later, I present you with my first official J. Crew knock-off/flower girl dress:

(the front) and then the back (notice the invisible zipper, yeah, I'm kind of awesome like that):

Oh, and see that little bit of gingham peeking through there?

well, turns out I'm slightly crazy, and decided to make the dress basically reversible. It was the only way I could figure out to get the layers just right, and to keep the bodice beautiful inside with no exposed seams (some of us aren't so lucky as to have a serger).

The only issue with a zipper in a reversible dress is that it's not so invisible on the inside... but I'm ok with that. I love the gingham so much!

The original dress looked like this:

I still need to finish the sleeves. I can't decide if I should just roll them under and top stitch them, or use white bias tape (the yellows are slightly different shades, so I don't want to put the yellow on the inside dress... if that makes any sense at all), or do a handstitched invisible stitch to close them off. And I need to add a sash, just need to check with the bride on whether she wants them to tie in the front or the back. Maybe I'll somehow just do loops, so it can be moved from front to back anyway... hmmm. Not sure yet.

Anyway, I'm pretty darn excited about how they're turning out. 1 down, 4 more to go. The first one is always the hardest and longest to figure out, right? Right. Hopefully someday I'll have better pictures in real light with a girl inside the dress, but for today--I'm too excited not to share. :)

Raise your hand if you love yellow circle-skirt dresses (raises hand crazily)!! After this, though, I don't think I'll be working with yellow for at least a little while. Seriously.

30 Years of Memories

2011-05-17T17:57:00.005-07:00

(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

2011-05-13T19:43:00.004-07:00

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

2011-05-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-10T18:11:00.005-07:00

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

2011-05-09T23:05:00.005-07:00

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

2011-05-09T22:45:00.003-07:00

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?

2011-05-06T00:18:00.002-07:00

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?

2011-05-04T15:06:00.004-07:00

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?!?

Easter Dresses in Action

2011-04-25T11:36:00.004-07:00

Alright, back by popular demand are the Easter dresses, in action. You'll notice (this is so funny to me) that Breanne is actually the only one wearing a sash in these pictures--everyone started out with one, but I didn't have enough time to measure and cut and *sew on* anyone's sashes, so they were just tied around them like a belt. Of course this meant they were falling off everywhere, so Janey's and Cailin's ended up in my bag. Breanne was the only one who kept hers on all day. And she was the one who chose the satin ribbon (not as thick or bright a white as the grosgrain, but I ran out... sashes are LONG!). Sigh. :)

I love how the dresses turned out, and I love even more how much the girls liked them. Breanne was begging to wear hers for the two days it was finished before Easter, and couldn't wait to put it on on Sunday. I love reactions like that. :)

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you a video clip... so you can see how Cailin pretty much destroyed her dress (not really, it's in the wash and doing fine, but it sure looked bad after this). It was all my fault, really, since she didn't want to come outside and take pictures after church (she desperately needed a nap). I may or may not have told the girls to bribe her with her Easter basket of treats. That girl loves her some treats. Maybe someday I'll be able to just get pictures of them all smiling and happy... but for now, I'll take what I can get (and do it in video so you can see that they're actually happy). :)

Easter Dresses

2011-04-21T17:18:00.007-07:00

Now this is why I sew. I love, love LOVE when a project in my head actually comes out looking like I want it to. I'm not sure I've ever made something I like so much. So... one down, two more (partially done) to go!

Close-up of the fabric:

It's hard to see it not in real life, but the shirring caused the embroidered flowers to gather up as tight little puffy flowers... love:

There is some debate about whether or not to add the ribbon (Breanne doesn't really want it), but I think it looks better with it. What do you think?

To give credit where credit is due--I based this dress off of images of Made's Summer Vacation Dress, with a lot of help on the sleeves from my wonderful friend e. over at pinksuedeshoe (this is almost the same as her Turtle Dress). I love the look of the shirred bodice, and it's so easy to do! I changed it up from both of those, though, with my own addition of a circle skirt. I love me some circle skirts. Minus the hem, but that's a different story. :)

First Decoration!

2011-04-14T18:13:00.005-07:00

So... since we've moved in, I've been trying to figure out how to decorate this house. Those that visited my Provo house know that I'm not a big decorator in the first place, but add to that the massive wall spaces I've got here, and well... let's just say the walls are still bare.
BUT.
I did make something for my front door over the last few days (as a reward to myself for working so hard to get our taxes taken care of). I gave you a sneak peak yesterday, and today I'm ready to show off the final project. A new wreath!

If you've hung out here on the blog long enough, you know that I have a slight obsession with felt. So when I saw these wreaths in a couple different places, I knew I had to try one. I fell in love with the cream colored one, but when I went to my felt stash, I realized I didn't have enough of it to make a whole wreath, so I started layering other colors. I love the way the browns blend (in real life that is, they look a little funny in the pics, sorry). I didn't really realize until I was nearly done though, just how fall-ish the wreath kind of is. So, I may be making another, more springy one. I just love the look of it. What do you think?

Sneak Peek

2011-04-13T00:59:00.002-07:00

Because a girl can only take so much of working with tax numbers...

On Souls

2011-04-10T22:41:00.003-07:00

A story, but first, a preface: Are you familiar with the song All These Things that I've Done by the Killers? Well, I happen to quite like that song, so Cory put it on a mix CD for me. The girls listened to it in the car, decided they liked it, and now regularly ask me to play the "not a soldier" song. Janey went through a phase back when we were moving where she sang it as "I got soda, but I'm not a soldier," which was, of course, adorable and hilarious. Anyway, on to today's story:

Today, we were sitting in Sacrament meeting, listening to the prayer on the bread. In part of it, they mention souls. Breanne turned to me after the prayer, and said "Mom, he said soul! I'm not a soul!" I said "Everyone on earth has a soul, it's in our bodies." She accepted this answer and started to turn away, when Janey, with an excited look in her eye shout-whispered "Mom, I've got a soul, but I'm not a soldier!"

Maybe you had to be there, or maybe you just have to be her parent, but I thought it was hilarious. I love that look in Janey's eyes, and her ability to tie things together. Moments like that just make it all worthwhile.

A Present for Mom

2011-04-06T23:21:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, Breanne disappeared for a while. I called up the stairs to her to make sure she was ok, and she yelled back, "Yeah mom, I'm fine. I'll be down in a minute. I'm making a present for you. You're going to just love it! I know you will." A few minutes later, she came down with this:

How did she know that having my pins all organized by color was just what I wanted? :)

Piggies and a Cookie

2011-04-05T19:33:00.002-07:00

What could be better?

I'm back!

2011-04-04T16:33:00.006-07:00

Well, we made it! We're in CA, and finally starting to settle into our new house. The girls and I have been here for almost 3 weeks now, Cory for 6, and for the most part, we LOVE it. I'm finally feeling like things are put together/away enough (and I finally have a little energy to put toward it) that I can take the time to blog. So hopefully, I'll be able to pick this neglected bit of a blog back up and start writing again.

Many of you have requested pictures of our new house--I am happy to oblige you now, at least for a couple of rooms worth. :) I don't have the whole house put together yet, but I can show you a few of my favorite things about the house.

Janey and Cailin's Room:

Breanne's Room (which was clean when I started taking pictures of the house... but the girls love playing in there, so by the time I got to it... well... it looks played in):

Cory's and my room (why yes, it is huge and EMPTY... After living in 4 different tiny and packed master bedrooms, I LOVE the open and bare space):

Our ridiculous closet and bathroom (keep in mind that we've never even had a bathroom counter in our marriage... now we have our own huge bathroom, and the girls have their own as well... plus a bathroom downstairs--talk about crazy and frivolous!):

Hazel's favorite spot:

My favorite spot (a built in desk in the loft at the top of the stairs, with plenty of fabric storage space... :))

I love having this lock that keeps the girls safely in the house even if someone knocks while I'm taking a shower or something:

And last, our front room/formal dining area:

I know there is a lot to be said about living in a smaller home and making things work for you, but right now we are really loving being able to stretch out and enjoy some space finally. We are SO blessed to be able to have a home like this right now, even if we are just renting it.

I'll leave you with this video of the girls (mostly Cailin) enjoying our completely fenced, very private back yard. There's grass back there, too, you just don't see it in this video.

Just Girls

2011-02-15T20:14:00.003-08:00

So while Cory was out of town for his interviews this morning, the girls and I went and had a few pictures taken. I'm thinking, if Cory's leaving us here, he ought to have a decent picture of us there. So my awesome friend Rachelle took a bunch for us. You can see them on Rachelle's blog, LaRee Photography. Cailin had a really rough night last night, and wanted NO part of being out in the cold, and screamed pretty much the entire time. Janey was just cold. And Breanne was complaining about the sun being in her eyes (sounds strangely like some guy I married). And yet, I still feel like we got some good shots. Rachelle is just that good. :)

STOP FREAKING OUT

2011-02-13T21:59:00.002-08:00

Ok, so apparently my cryptic-ness isn't appreciated. But I've been sitting on some news for nearly a month now, and it's kind of killing me. As in I think I've lost 5 pounds just from thinking about it. So, here it is.

We're moving. To California. Cupertino. (It's at the base of the SF bay, if you don't know where that is). (It's also Apple Headquarters). Do you see where I'm going with this?

That's right, Cory's taking a new job, working at Apple. Whether he actually works *for* Apple, or with a contract company there (TCS, who has already made him an offer) is yet to be decided, as he has one last interview at Apple on Tuesday. The decision we make after that is what I was waiting for to tell you all about this, but (in case you haven't noticed), I'm not a big fan of crazy, and not everyone knowing what's going on was causing a bit too much crazy for me. So there it is.

This post is making me sound angry and bitter. I should change my tone, because honestly--we're pretty darn excited about the whole thing. I'm scared out of my mind at the prospect of leaving Utah (I've never been out of the state for more than 2 weeks) and my family, raising my kids in a place like California, and learning to navigate a non-grid-system area, but I'm SO excited for us to have our own adventure. In a new place for all of us. It will be OUR time, as our little family. And of course anyone is more than welcome to come visit whenever they want. :) Driving through the redwoods to get to the beach... yes please. And 70 degree weather... I can handle that, for sure. (The cost of California is a different story, but the salary in the current job offer is such that I'm trying not to worry too much about that. Yet. The numbers all work out in our favor, so it should be good). Also, Cory's parents gave us a GPS for Christmas. It's like they knew I'd need it or something. Anyway, the real reason that we are taking one of these jobs is simple. If you know Cory at all, you know that this has been a lifelong dream for him. How many people actually get to live their dreams out? And how could I ever even consider saying no? I am so, so, so excited for my husband to get to take a chance to do something he's always loved. He is so good to our family, and he truly deserves this.

The real reason I haven't told many people about this yet is just because there are still so many variables, so many questions, that we don't have answers for. We don't know if we'll have an actual job offer from Apple yet, we don't know which offer we'll end up taking if there is a second, we don't know when all our family will move, we don't know what we're going to do with our current house in the current market, etc. We do know that if Cory takes the current offer he has, he'll start working on the 21st, possibly the 22nd. Of February. Yes, next week. Crazy, right? But also, we know that the girls and I will stay here at that time, until Cory finds a nice place for us to all live, and we're able to pack everything up and move it. It'll be a few weeks at least. We're guessing in the ballpark of 6, though the thought of being here on my own that long kind of makes me cringe. I seriously look forward to when Cory comes home for lunch every afternoon, and when he's done with work for the day. So do the girls. I know so many women can do it all on their own, and I will be able to, too, but I am positive we'll miss him. Immensely. So I'd like to keep our separation as short as possible.

There are so many things that we are going to miss about where we currently are. We love our house, our neighbors, our ward, our friends, our activity groups, the area in which we live--so while this current situation is very, very sweet, there is a lot of bitter in there, too. Thankfully, we still have blogs, facebook, and Skype and iChat to keep us all in touch with everyone. This is going to be a great change, but not an easy one.

And that is the story. You may all stop freaking out now. Thank you.

Hee Hee

2011-02-12T23:52:00.001-08:00

Does anyone else find the error in this deal amusing (click to see the image larger)?

Pics Lost in Time

2011-02-12T23:35:00.005-08:00

So in case you haven't heard, Cory gave me a new laptop for "Valentine's" (he just wanted an excuse to get me one). Yeah, he's awesome. I know. :) Anyway, hopefully this will mean I can blog more, and get back into my groove of actually reading blogs and responding to them.

In the meantime, here are a few pics and a quick awesome impromptu video that haven't been posted due to the inconvenience of not having had a computer:

I was cleaning walls and doorways a couple days ago, and found this written on *both* of my bedroom doors:

Cailin really likes birthday cake. She was the first of my kids to just reach out and grab it and shove it in her mouth:

Breanne wanted to focus on her "homework" one day... it's a coloring and activity book, if you're wondering:

This one is for Shilo--this is the back of my sewing machine foot. See the stick-y-out-y thing, and how it has a notch on the top of it? That's the thread cutter. The notch.

Breanne's letter to Santa (it reads Dear Santa, Bring this to me please. (heart) Breanne, and then has a picture of the Rapunzel Tower):

Occasionally I do wipe off my kids faces, get them dressed, and do their hair. Proof of this with Janey:

And I just love this sleeping pic of Cailin--I rarely get to see her sleep anymore, and I just love her sticking out tongue:

And an impromptu video: I swear they were singing it before I started recording it--it was NOT my idea, I just wanted to record it for those lousy and long days in the future. :)

Life over here really is good. I'm sitting on some great news, just waiting for all the details to work out before I post it, but I promise, I'll let you all in on it soon. As soon as I can, the anticipation is killing me.

A Little About Cailin

2011-02-03T08:31:00.004-08:00

So, since Cailin doesn't really answer any of my questions yet, I thought I'd just tell you a little bit about her.

--Cailin is HILARIOUS. She is constantly doing things just to make me laugh. I don't remember my other girls doing this so young. She makes funny faces, funny noises, and does funny poses just to get a smile. She loves performing, but only for our family. Because...

--When we're anywhere else, Cailin is pretty shy. There are a handful of people who have gained C's trust, but for the most part, she doesn't want anything to do with anyone else touching her.

--Cailin is my earliest crawler, and latest walker. She does take steps, and has been for a few weeks now, but it is only if and when she wants to. There is no pushing this girl, because...

--she is so stubborn! If she wants me to do something and I'm busy doing something on my phone, she will do everything in her power to knock my phone out of my hands. If she sees something she wants (like bananas), she will yell (not cry, YELL) until she gets them, or some sort of explanation as to why she can't have them, and they disappear from her sight. Like yesterday at the grocery store. Can't eat 'em until we buy them, place them in the cart where she can't see them, and walk away from the display. 5 minutes later, we're good.

--Related to her stubbornness, if Cailin doesn't want to do something (like you're holding her and she doesn't want you to sit down), she will throw her head back and arch her back and cry or yell until you get up. Yes, this is exhausting, and I can't wait until she figures out a better way to solve her problems. Good thing she's so cute.

--Cailin is super ticklish up under her collar bone, and giggles every time I tickle her there. I love that it is so easy to get a good laugh out of her.

--Cailin is by far my best eater at the current moment. Yesterday for lunch, she had 2 bananas, 1/4 my quesadilla, a piece of bread, 2 pieces of cheese, 2 graham crackers, and 1/2 cup of milk. And was still demanding more. For dinner, she had a cheese sandwich, a banana, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, water and orange juice. (Usually we have more structured meals for dinner, I swear, but yesterday was exhausting, so we ate sandwiches. Don't judge). She will eat whatever we're eating, and more. Two days ago, I made up some tomato basil soup, and she even ate half my bowl of that. What one year old likes tomato soup? Mine usually don't, but this one does!

--Despite all her eating, Cailin is still only 18 lbs 13 oz, and 26 3/4 inch long. She's a short chubby girl, and I mourn the day that her rolls disappear and she grows up into a little girl.

--Cailin says quite a few words already. In her vocabulary: Hi, Dad, Hazel (she calls every cat Hazel), up, cheese, please, thank you, and UH-OH (which she says nearly every time we get into the van, a couple minutes into the drive, as she tosses her pacifier out of her seat. On purpose. I don't know how many times I'll have to explain that throwing is not an accident. :))

--Cailin has the thickest hair of all my kids, and it's not as curly as the other girls. It still definitely has some curl to it, but it spends much more time straight. It's super long on top, and has a bit of length in the back, but not enough to put it in ponytails just yet. So she usually just gets one on top, maybe tucked under to keep it under control.

--Cailin loves to shake her head "no" and occasionally tips herself over by doing it so violently. And then she usually laughs.

--Cailin surprised us the other day by folding her arms when I asked her to. I hadn't taught her that, but when I was trying to get her ready for a prayer, and said "fold your arms, baby" she surprised me, and did.

I'm sure there are more things I'm meaning to tell you about this sweet sweet girl, but this is a good list to start. I have to admit, I was hesitant to get pregnant with her, because I was terrified of having 3 kids. At the time, though, I felt distinctly impressed that if we had her, we would be blessed. And we are. This little girl belongs to our family. I am so grateful that we followed our promptings to bring her here. She is such a loving girl, and so strong-willed. She is a blessing to our family, and I can't wait to see who she grows up to become. In the meantime, though, I'm trying to enjoy every minute.

What a Year

2011-02-03T07:59:00.004-08:00

Well, it's true. Cailin has officially been with our family for a year now, and I can't believe it. Cliche or not, this year has gone by SO quickly! This little girl is a fighter. From not wanting to be named Natalie Paige to RSV to chickenpox... it's been quite the year. I'm so glad she's so tough and able to fight things out. I love her spunky personality, even through her bouts of yelling at me until I figure out what, exactly, it is that she wants. Most of all, I'm just so glad she's ours.

And now, for your viewing enjoyment (ok, I just wanted the walk down memory lane myself...), I present you with Cailin's first year, a photo story:

First moments:

First day:

First week at home:

Back at the hospital due to RSV

So tired of being at the hospital:

She's a great burper, and an awesome face maker around 1 month:

and still so cute at 1 month:

2 months and cherry cute:

3 months and smiling all the time:

4 months and OUTSIDE (also blowing bubbles is awesome, didn't you know?):

5 months and getting around by rolling:

about a week after 5 months old, and chickenpoxed to the max:

6 months and hiding from her mom already... and thinking it was hilarious:

7 months and eating french fries at the zoo with grandma... what could be better?

8 months on a cold day:

9 months and of course a princess for Halloween, though she didn't much care for the crown:

10 months and thinking something is absolutely hilarious:

11 months and eating the biggest marshmallow known to man... conveniently right next to the tub, which is precisely where she ended up when finished:

11 months and attacking the camera, because that's just her style (also please note the awesome hair):

And one year old, hanging out at the mall with the big kids:

OxiClean

2011-01-27T17:48:00.005-08:00

So remember back when I told you about The Works toilet cleaner, and how much I love it? Well, I still do. I wasn't sure I'd ever like another product as much. Last night, though, I discovered something I might be willing to compare. Not for cleaning toilets this time, though. This time, it's my grout. Our kitchen floor constantly looked dirty because our grout had gotten so gross. So once again, I turned to my friend google, who informed me that I should try some OxiClean on it. Yes, the laundry detergent booster. And can I say, AMAZING!

Our floor before:

Same spot after:

A couple things--I read that you should mix 1.5 C water with one scoop of OxiClean, and then use a spraybottle to distribute it on the floor. Now, I took that to meant that I could dump it all in my spraybottle and then shake it up. Uh, my bottle nearly exploded. Apparently there's some sort of chemical reaction that happens there. I'd recommend just mixing it up in a bucket, and then distributing it with a sponge, then scrubbing it with a scrubber. No, you don't have to scrub much, I promise. My floors were just especially bad. And last, just know that you'll have to mop it with fresh water a couple times to get the powder residue all up. Totally worth it, though. My kitchen looks amazing. Seriously.

PS. Please don't bug me about how dirty my floors were before. I know. I. Know. That is all.

Why I Should Never Shower; or It's a Good Thing Cailin Turns One on Monday

2011-01-27T08:59:00.003-08:00

Every day, whenever I think the girls are preoccupied enough, I hop in the shower. Usually I try to do this while at least one child is napping, but Thursdays are hard, because we have dance at 11:00, which is normally when Cailin naps. Today, the girls were playing nicely, so I decided to risk getting in while all three girls were awake.

This is post "I cleaned up, Mom! I cleaned up the mess!"

Yes, those are honey nut. No, babies aren't supposed to have honey (or nuts, really), until after they're one.

Cailin couldn't be happier about it all.

Good thing she'll be one on Monday. How is she so old already?

Toddler Quilts FINALLY Finished!

2011-01-19T21:27:00.004-08:00

So a year ago, I started attending a block-of-the-month quilting group. At the time I wasn't sure who I was making a quilt for, but I enjoyed the company of the women in the group enough that I wanted to participate in the project anyway. So I took Janey with me to JoAnn's and together we picked out some nice bright fabrics to make her a quilt. Come March, we realized the current bed situation wasn't working for us, and started talking about toddler-sized bunk beds. So I started making the blocks with two beds in mind. Well, last week, I finally finished up the quilts. I am SO pleased with how they've turned out, and the girls love them, too, because they feature their favorite colors in the borders and sashing. I realized, in this project, that quilting isn't necessarily my thing, but it's probably good for me to do it. It requires a lot of patience, as you iron, cut, sew, iron, cut, sew, iron, repeat a million times over. I've taken to lots of very simple, quick projects (and don't get me wrong, I still love those, too), so this has been a good change for me as I've tried to break out of some of my lazy ways.

So, without further ado, here are the quilts!

Janey's (in what else but purple, of course!):

And Breanne's (in red, like her hair):

They aren't perfect by a long shot, and I didn't take them in to be quilted, just ran along the edges of the blocks and borders to pull them together, but I really like how they turned out. More like puff quilts. Nice and cozy, which is great for two little girls sleeping against the edge of a cold house.

P.S. If the fabrics look familiar, it's because you saw them back when I made Cailin's bumpers... Yay, matching bedding all around!

Felt Hand Puppets

2010-12-23T00:25:00.008-08:00

So a month or so ago, I agreed to make puppets for my own girls, two nieces, and two sort-of nephews. I figured 6-8 puppets for each set of kids, no biggie. Right? Well, I'm not sure I can express how glad I am to have these done. They weren't overly hard or anything, and actually I enjoyed the creative process part of making them--they were just so time consuming, and I'm tired of staying up until 1-2:00 am to finish them. I am pretty proud of how they all turned out, though. See for yourselves:

Wild-ish animals:

Farm-ish animals

And all the kids themselves:

And everybody all together:

So, Stu and Shi, if you read this, let me know who you think would like which puppets--I'm willing to give up any of them, as I still have plenty of felt leftover to make new ones for my own girls. Just leave them a couple, so they don't feel left out. :)

Advent Calendar Day 19

2010-12-19T22:22:00.002-08:00

Today was another day of no gifts in the pockets--instead we thought about what a gift we've been given in our families, and in the gospel. We talked about it at church, and I tried to bring that home, too. We also really enjoyed singing lots of Christmas hymns at church--this is my favorite Sunday of the year by far. I even played my flute in sacrament, which always has me a little nervous, but it went well. I just love the focus church can bring back into the season--this time of year really is all about being grateful for the gifts Christ gave us--the chance to bs born, learn, make mistakes, repent, and ultimately, hopefully, return to live with Him again. I am so blessed.

Advent Calendar Day 18

2010-12-19T22:09:00.002-08:00

Sorry about all the pictureless posts, some days are just too crazy. Anyway, today for our event, we had two--we went and saw Tangled as a family, and then later we went to a family Christmas party with my extended family on my mom's side. Both were a lot of fun--the movie is super cute, and Breanne and Janey loved it. Cailin not so much, she's not really into movies yet, and mostly just needed a nap. She survived, though, as did I, and generally, I think a good time was had by all. The party was also nice--we got to see my cute pregnant cousin, and chat with some of the others, which I really do enjoy. Families are funny things--I'm glad I enjoy mine as much as I do.

Advent Calendar Day 17

2010-12-17T23:03:00.002-08:00

Today was a low-key kind of day, so we watched It's a Wonderful Life, and called it good. And "we" was mostly me, and then Cory when he got home, while I made dinner. The girls were too busy playing sleepover, and grocery shopping. Oh, the exciting lives we lead...

Advent Calendar Day 16

2010-12-17T22:56:00.005-08:00

For day 16, we "painted" clear glass ornaments, using permanent markers. This was huge to a few little girls, who regularly beg to use my special grown up markers. :) While the ornaments didn't turn out amazing or anything, we definitely enjoyed the activity.

Proof that Janey was there, even though I didn't take any pictures of her crafting:

And Breanne, of course super focused:

So Sad.

2010-12-17T21:56:00.001-08:00

Today we woke to the news that the Provo Tabernacle, less than 4 blocks from our house, was burning down. Truly a tragedy--it was one of the oldest buildings in the state, full of beautiful hand carved woodwork, and hand made stained glass windows. We've attended meetings and performances inside, and worked and attended events on the grounds outside. It was a building dear to me, and it leaves a hole in my heart where it stood. I am grateful we took the time to see the living nativity there a few weeks back--I keep realizing more things I will miss about that building.

Two More Skirts

2010-12-17T21:53:00.004-08:00

Did I mention that Janey is obsessed with skirts and dresses lately? Cory asked her if she likes pants, and she said "No, pants look kind of funny." So there you have it. Due to her obsession, I decided to just make her skirts this year instead of buying her pants like the other girls. First was yesterday's denim number, today I have two more--

A purple twirly skirt,

The flowers peeking through are the inside, which can also be worn as an outside, as it's reversible--

And then there's this purple knit skirt. I'm pretty proud of this one, as I actually got the gathering to work right, and the skirt came out just as I envisioned it. Now if only I was a better photographer... Oh well. Maybe in another lifetime. In the meantime, just believe that this is much cuter in person than on the hanger. I'm excited for her to try it on.

Question for You

2010-12-16T18:11:00.001-08:00

If you made a skirt like this for a certain skirt loving two-year-old you knew,

Would you add a flower or something to it, maybe on the side? Or leave it as-is?

Advent Calendar Day 15

2010-12-15T23:17:00.002-08:00

Today the original plans called for making and decorating sugar cookies, but when we saw the fresh snow outside, the girls couldn't help but need to play in it. So, for the first time ever, I let them play outside, by themselves. Of course I was watching like a hawk from the window, but I think they loved having free reign out there. I can't believe my kids are old enough, and obedient enough, to do this already! I love them so much, and am so grateful that of all the children ever created, they are mine.

Once again, I really got some decent shots, but they're on the real camera. Ugh. I really wish Janey hadn't poured water (accidentally of course) in my keyboard. Fried my logic board, a many hundreds of dollars fix. So now I wait for the new computer. Thankfully, I have my iPhone so I'm not totally out of commission. :/

Sent from my iPhone

Advent Calendar Day 14

2010-12-15T23:12:00.003-08:00

Today we made sequin trees. I saw the basic idea on my friend Amelia's blog a couple years ago, and have just been waiting for Breanne to be old enough to make one. Amelia makes her trees with buttons, which are adorable, but I didn't want to pay for a million pretty buttons, and the girls tend to like shiny things anyway, so we went with the sequins. I love how they turned out!

Advent Calendar Day 13

2010-12-15T23:06:00.002-08:00

We were supposed to make candy cane reindeer for the tree today, but a few little someones decided they weren't really feeling that idea, so we made Christmas oatmeal instead. Made much the same as regular oatmeal, but with Christmas sprinkles. It was a big hit. :)

Christmas Preview for Shilo

2010-12-13T17:28:00.002-08:00

Advent Calendar Day 12

2010-12-12T20:05:00.005-08:00

Today the plan was to make popcorn garland for the tree. And we did.

Well, actually, Breanne and I did. Janey wanted no part of it, and was even more angry when I took her picture. She just wanted to eat the popcorn (which I totally let her do, she was just tired and angry and needed a nap, I guess).

The thing I didn't realize about making the popcorn garland was how hard it would be, how frustrating it would be for kids, or how MESSY it would be. This is the floor under our table where we were working. Ew.

I planned on making enough to actually make it look decent on the tree, but we gave up. So this is what we got. Looks ok, but a little too sparse. Oh well.

Hard to see here, but Cailin's face makes it all worth while--she is in love with the tree.

Advent Calendar Day 11

2010-12-12T19:58:00.003-08:00

Get and decorate our tree. Fun times, see for yourself.

Advent Calendar Day 10

2010-12-11T17:28:00.002-08:00

Our activity today was going to the girls' dance recital. I love, so much, watching them dance. It's so fun to witness them learning, and growing, trying new things, and going beyond their normal comfort level. Though the dances they do seem so simple, it's really quite an accomplishment for them to learn all the moves, even though they aren't memorizing them yet. And even if you aren't that impressed with their moves, seriously, what could be cuter than Janey bouncing her knees and dancing in her green Santa dress? :)

And a little note on Breanne's dance--it's supposed to start with them tapping their foot, just like Breanne is doing. The teacher got confused, and started it out bouncing her knees again. Breanne refused to do the wrong move, even though everyone else was doing it. Funny girl. And then she really, really wanted to smile big at her family, like the teacher had told them to do, but she also really needed to watch the teacher... watching her try to look back and forth and keep up was just so funny to me. She wants so badly to do the right thing. She's such a sweet girl.

Advent Calendar Day 9

2010-12-10T19:48:00.002-08:00

We were supposed to make cake in a mug today, but our awesome neighbor gave us yummier cupcakes. So we ate those, instead. :)

Advent Calendar Day 8

2010-12-08T20:44:00.002-08:00

Today the girls didn't receive anything in their pocket calendar. Instead, today was a day for us to give. We went through their toys, and decided on things we could give away to other kids who don't have any toys. Though the girls were reluctant to part with anything, we managed to pull together a few things they don't play with anymore that were just taking up space. I hope to be able to instill a sense of giving and love towards those less fortunate than us, even if they don't quite understand it yet. I think everyone thought it was refreshing to have a little more space to play with the toys we really enjoy, too.

Advent Calendar Day 7

2010-12-07T22:57:00.002-08:00

Today we made snowflakes. I did most of the cutting, though Breanne made a few herself, too. Janey decorated using her favorite medium, markers. Of course. :)

My Christmas masterpiece... Ha. I love cutting out snowflakes.

Advent Calendar Day 6

2010-12-07T22:52:00.004-08:00

Sadly, no, it's not our tree. The girls very much enjoyed helping my mom and dad put up theirs, though, and now can't wait to put up ours. And Cory and I definitely enjoyed the break away from the kids at Cory's work party. :)

Advent Calendar Day 5

2010-12-05T20:56:00.003-08:00

So for the Advent today, we listened to the words of our prophet and his counselors in their yearly Christmas Devotional. And by "we," I mostly mean I, because no one else was paying a whole lot of attention. But I thought it was wonderful. You can hear it here if you'd like to listen. I can't help but love the feel of Christmas time. :)

(image via followtheprophet.net.)

PS. I totally meant to do a St. Nicholas thing tonight, but I completely forgot until after we'd put the girls to bed. I wanted to actually explain the man that he was and then put out their shoes. Whoops. That tradition will have to start next year.

Advent Calendar Day 4

2010-12-05T20:42:00.002-08:00

Every year, our stake puts on a "Living Nativity" where a bunch of people act out the Christmas story. Somehow, in our 6 years here, we'd never been. I'm glad we finally went this year--it was such a nice way to bring the real reason for the season to my girls, when we're surrounded by so much commercialism.

Breanne was very interested in the story, and figuring out who the people on stage were as they related to the song she sang at the ward Christmas party. She was so funny when she realized that Christ wasn't a baby when the wise men found him--we had to talk that one through. It's so fun to watch her grow and learn, and to be able to try to explain things in ways she can understand. I love that she talks to Janey about things, too, so Janey is also starting to understand more about what's going on around her. My kids are pretty great. Especially when we're out of the house and I don't feel like I'm going crazy. :/

Advent Calendar Day 3

2010-12-05T17:58:00.003-08:00

Day 3's activity was our ward Christmas party, complete with food, singing, and Santa. I made the choice to go to a baby shower for an old friend instead of staying with my little family, and though I had a lot of fun with my old girlfriends, I regret missing this. Thankfully, Cory took a video for me, and the girls refused to go see Santa. Breanne informed me that he was a fake Santa, here to help the real Santa, because the real one needed lots of help... what? who is this 4-year-old? Breanne's convinced the real one is at the mall, and she'll talk to him there. Anyway, I think the girls had a great time at the party (Cory's enjoyment was debatable, chasing 3 kids by himself all night), and I'm glad they went. I just wish I'd stayed. Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is a video of all our primary kids singing the Nativity Song. Breanne actually knows pretty much all the verses, but gets a little distracted. I'm so proud.

She told me just now that she was sitting because she was afraid she was going to fall. I believe her--she and Janey both seem terrified of heights. I'm glad we moved into our house, and don't live in our last third floor apartment... they panic every time we have to walk up there.

Advent Calendar Day 2

2010-12-02T22:06:00.003-08:00

Today, our activity calendar contained "a message! A message, Janey! A message!" (I overheard Breanne excitedly telling Janey about the message...), telling us to make cupcakes today. And in the pocket calendars, the girls received these:

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the cupcake making process--toooo messy with two little girls wielding the knives. I did, however, snap these post-mixing shots:

(I promise, the cupcakes were IN the oven before I let the girls have the beaters. No mixing of germs there.)
We took most of the cupcakes out to neighbors, and enjoyed a few ourselves. Mmm.

New Siblings

2010-12-02T19:10:00.002-08:00

So yesterday, I had a conversation with Breanne that went as follows:

B-Mom, do you know what my favorite stuffed animal is?
M-Your Zoey, of course. (she has a stuffed animal Zoey, from Sesame Street)
B-No, Mom! She's not a stuffed animal, she's my sister! Silly Mom! My favorite stuffed animal is my dog with a heart.

As of late, Breanne and Janey have become absolutely insistent that Zoey is their sister, and Elmo, Snoopy and Fairy (a pink bear, named by Janey, bless his breast-cancer-awareness-heart) are their brothers. There is NO convincing them otherwise. I find it quite comical, Cory's working on finding a way to convince them they're not really people. They're not buying it yet.

What 10 Months Looks Like

2010-12-01T21:33:00.004-08:00

I can hardly believe Cailin is 10 months old today. This little girl just cracks me up with her big grins and giggles, and her odd little quirky things she does. She loves to gently bonk heads with me--I'll tilt my head towards her, and she'll tilt hers to me until we barely bonk, and then she'll burst out laughing. Very sweet. She also loves when I look at her and shake my head and say "no, no, no," to which she responds with an enthusiastic nod yes. When I nod and say yes, she shakes her head violently no, almost to the point of falling over. Practicing that rebellion already, I guess. :) She really is a sweetheart, and I like her even when she's grouching at me with her angry growly voice. We're still awaiting her first teeth, which I believe will erupt soon, and is much the cause of her grouchiness. Regardless, I sure do love this sweet little girl.

This is her newest trick, as of this afternoon. I am such a proud momma. Oh, and I especially like the part where she tries to swat at Janey, as if to say, "hey, stop trying to steal my thunder! I'm the new clapping kid around here."