Tooth Fairy Pillow

When Hayden lost his first tooth, I made him a tooth fairy pillow.  It was cute/plaid/boyish with a white felt tooth sewn on it.  Allie got her first loose tooth several days ago and I knew I needed to get started on a pillow for her.  I saw an idea on Pinterest where you ask your child to draw the tooth fairy.  The example I saw made a copy their daughters drawing and traced it on material.  I skipped that step and asked Allie to draw directly on some white fabric.

Next we picked out colors.  I asked what color she wanted everything: wings, dress, hair, skin, smile, wand, and she loved picking out the colors.  I got busy during nap time and brought the tooth fairy to life!  I also added the year.

Allies favorite color is orange so I made a small rectangle pillow and turned the tooth fairy into a pocket for the front of the pillow.

I thought we'd need the pillow tonight, but it looks like the tooth isn't quite ready to come out! And that's not a bad thing because I realized I didn't have any 1s!

Easter Sewing Projects

I decided this year that I wasn't going to be rushing around last minute making the girls Easter dresses!  And I'm proud to report they were done two weeks before Easter Sunday!

And I wished it would have been as simple as that, but nothing is that simple!  Let's start with the dress pattern I picked.  I'm constantly browsing sewing patterns and this pattern caught my eye.  I knew I wanted it to be the girls Easter dress.  And I thought it looked like one of the simpler patterns I had saved, so that was another reason I chose that particular pattern.  But there were several hiccups along the way...

After measuring the girls to the sizes listed on the pattern, I decided Krissy needed a 3 and Allie needed a 5.  I spent roughly 12-14 hours making the two dresses.  It's worth every minute of time for me to make them because I love sewing.  I know some of you can't imagine why in the world I wouldn't just go buy a dress, but I figured as long as they will wear clothes I make them, I'm going to make them clothes!

So let's talk about the pattern.... It wasn't nearly as easy as it looked.  That bodice caused me all kinds of headaches... For starters, the example dress in the pictures was white, so it was impossible to see if you were supposed to be sewing the right side or the wrong side.  And that bodice was made up of 12 pieces and I can't tell you how many times I sewed the wrong piece or sewed it backwards.  It was just all around frustrating.  I thought I was coming to the home stretch when the bodice was done and it was time to attach the skirt, but again I was so wrong.  I had to make two different slits in the skirt.  And they weren't easy slits.  I forget what they called them, plackets maybe, but I just think of them as Satan's slits.  I spent literally two hours trying to figure out how to make this slit!  So when the glorious hour came that both dresses were done, I was so so relieved.  That was until they tried them on and Allies didn't fit.  And it wasn't too big.  It was too small. Like her little behind was coming out of that supposed-to-be-knee-length skirt.  I wanted to cry.  Or burn both dresses.  But I sucked it up, bought more material, and the next day remade Allie a size 7 dress.  It took 6-7 hours, but when it was done, I was glad I remade it, and they were done before Easter!  I loved the material and I loved how they turned out.

The finished bodices waiting for the skirt.

Krissys dress!

And Allies 2nd dress!

All dressed for Easter service!  I also make their little necklaces.

And you'd think after the dress experience I had, I'd want to put the sewing machine away for awhile, but I found the cutest fabric bunny baskets on Pinterest.  The pattern was free!  I never find free patterns!  So I thought it was meant to be.  I was supposed to make four bunny baskets the few days left before Easter.  

The pattern seemed pretty straight forward and I got started.  After I cut the fabric, the next step was sewing on the bunny faces.  I don't hand sew much at all, but I wasn't intimidated and got right to work.  After I put the kids to bed on Thursday night, I spent 5 hours, yes 5 hours sewing on 8 eyes, 4 noses, and 4 mouths.  Apparently I am pretty slow.  I was watching tv too so I probably could have finished faster if I was only concentrating on sewing, but when 12:30am rolled around, I called it a night. 

My plan was that next day to put the baskets together and enjoy Easter weekend!  Can you already tell this isn't going to go as planned?!  So Friday I get up, I'm excited to get them done, and I go to step #2.  I realize the faces I sewed on were sewn in the wrong place, in the wrong direction.  There was no fixing it, there was no way to make it work, and all that work was a 100% total waste.  I again thought about burning what I had started, but Kevin encouraged me to work on what I could and he offered to go get me extra material I needed to redo the faces (he's a keeper!).  I took his advice and worked on the basket liners and ears, and after dinner recut the faces.  Again, when the kids went to bed, I sewed.  This time, the hand sewing took about 3 hours.  I finished one basket that evening to make sure there were no more surprises, and there weren't.  I spent about two more hours on Saturday finishing the baskets and was glad to get them done! 

You'd think after some crappy sewing mistakes I'd be burned out, but I'm really not.  I was so pleased with how both projects turned out that I think they really were worth all that trouble.  I actually have plans to sew two small things this weekend (a gift for a friend and a tooth fairy pillow for Allie).  Here's to hoping there are no mistakes to report with those projects! ;) 

February Snap shots

February was a great month!  We had lots of exciting things going on (Allie getting glasses, father daughter dance, Valentine's Day, Hayden's baptism) and we finished the month by getting out tax refund check!  Here are some of my favorite pics on my phone I took this past month!  I intended to post this last week, but I kept forgetting!  

Allie shopping with me at Walmart. She was telling me quite a story and I kept watching her expressions rather than listening!

Charlie was asleep in Allies bed one evening.  She slipped into bed too and snuggled him.  He seemed to really enjoy it!

Allie and I had the task of picking out her new glasses.  I ended up telling Kevin about this cute pair and he said, "Why didn't you get the pink ones?! Those are the cutest!  She's a little girl... What little girl doesn't want pink glasses!" I was second guessing the ones we picked out from the moment we picked them (I just felt rushed picking a pair because Hayden was with us and I was trying to get him back to school!). We ended up going back a second time just to finalize the ones we picked out.  They were Allies favorite and neutral enough to go with just about all her outfits!

Cute little Allie pic before her glasses arrived.

I laughed at myself one day while I was getting eggs.  My look was quite the combination!  I'm glad the chickens don't mind if I match or not.

These two were laughing at CeCe who happened to be in their "clubhouse."

Me and Allie wearing our fuzzy boots.

Krissy and Austin had a dentist appointment.  It was Austin's first trip and he did so great!

When Kevin gets home, Austin claims to be a daddy's boy.

He thinks bowls make the best hats.

Charlie loves to watch for birds in our kitchen window.

It was warm enough several days this past month to let the chicks out to play.

Harry was feeling frisky and started attacking my sweatshirt string.

I took this right before bed one evening and it's when I realized he was ready for another cut!

Group hug

I spent a couple days sewing this past month!

The first squirrel we had on our feeder.

Austin enjoying one of the m&m cookies I made this past month.

I made two pair of girl shoes and mailed them to a friend! (I told you I was obsessed!)

Sometimes I let CeCe in when the kids go to bed.  She was out this night and I felt so bad waking her up to go to her kennel.

Krissy was sitting on my lap watching tv and I noticed she kept making funny and cute faces.  This was my favorite!

I had several days this past month where I got to go out by myself.  The girls couldn't handle their momma being gone.  Krissy loves the attention!

Charlie licking/biting Hayden's hair.  We all think it's hilarious!

Somehow we all ended up laying in Austin's bed one day, so I made everyone smile for a group shot!

There were several unseasonably nice days last month and the kids enjoyed playing with Hayden's baseball things.

I don't know what it is with cats and clean laundry...

Allie found this rock for me and calls it the duck foot!  Made me lol bc it really does look like a ducks foot!

Looking forward to sharing all of March's pics with you at the end of the month!

Good Movies

We have watched a couple of movies lately that I wanted to tell you about!  Let me start by saying I only like happy, feel-good movies... So love stories, comedies, kids movies.... Those are right up my alley.  Both of these movies fit into that criteria!  

{Random sidenote, we watched both through our Apple TV.  This is one of the best devices we've purchased (it was Kevin's Father's Day gift last year and we really didn't start using it until a couple months ago)!  You buy or rent digital copies of the movie, so you never have to worry about movies skipping, scratching DVDs (and that happens a lot when you have kids), or forgetting to return a rental!  You can also stream cable channels, listen to music, mirror your iPhone through Apple TV ... But back to movies!}

The first is a kids movie.  It's been out since this fall but it seems like most people I ask have never heard of it!  It's called "Home".  Our entire family adores the movie!  The music is great, the characters are cute, there are lots of funny phrases in the movie, and the story line is good!  Even the "bad guy" isn't such a bad guy. 

The next movie is called "War Room".  Kevin and I rented it for an at-home date night.  I love all the Kendrick brother movies (Fireproof, Courageous).  This one didn't disappoint!  It was relatable and we both felt challenged at the end of the movie!  We had a 24 hour rental and the kids watched it the next day.  There were a couple scenes that had some adult content (the married husband goes on a date with another woman) but nothing was inappropriate and I don't think most kids would even realize what the scene was portraying.  

Either of these movies would be great options for a movie night this weekend!  Hope you enjoy the as much as we do!

Homemade Baby Gifts

My sister had a sprinkle this weekend.  I had planned on sewing a few things for little baby Fletcher to include in his gift.  I'm a big fan of homemade.  Don't get me wrong, I love store bought things too, but having a few items made just for you (or your baby) just makes ya feel special!  Am I the only one that fees that way? Moving on... The problem with that is, where do you stop?! There a bizillion darling ideas on Pinterest and I had the hardest time deciding what to make!

I made a small bunting for her oldest child when she was born and she said she'd love another one for her new baby boy.  After spending a crazy amount of time scrolling through Pinterest, here's what all I decided to make: name bunting, fabric alphabet (his nursery theme is books/letters), bandana bibs (why weren't these around a couple of years ago?!  They are seriously a-dor-able!), and my very very favorite .... booties!

I've fallen in love with making baby booties!  It's my new go-to baby gift (be warned if you have/are having a baby!) haha!

I was so pleased with how all the colors and designs came together!  Hope little Fletcher enjoys them too!

Kid Sayings

Here's a list of things the kids have said over the last few months that made me smile or chuckle!

11-25-15

Me: "I'm going to go ahead and cook the chicken for dinner."

Krissy: "Like one of daddy's chickens?"

12-8-15

Allie: "Mom when I get married do I have to kiss on the lips? That's gross."

12-11-15

Me: "Austin, what's all over your shirt?"

Krissy: "It's ricepy"

Me to Krissy: "Do you mean rice Krispy?"

Krissy: "oh... Yeah"

12-16-15

Allie eating my first batch of sugar cookies for the Christmas season: "Mommy I know whose the best chef in the world... You!"

12-19-15

Allie says to me: "It's a good thing we have duds in our house, right mom?"

I say: "Duds? What kinda duds?"

Allie says: "You know, the ones we hang stuff on!"

I say: "Ohhh you mean studs!"

1-23-16

Allie was getting ready for church and Hayden tells her, "Boys will attract to you". Allie asks why and Hayden tells her "When you dress cute it makes boys like you."  And then we had a conversation about how boys should look for girls with a beautiful heart, not just beautiful clothes.

1-25-16

Krissy: "Who are those cookies for?"

Me: "I'm making them for daddy because they are his favorite!"

Krissy: "Mommy you is a sweetheart!"

1-27-16

Krissy: "Where are my little ugly shoes?" (Referring to her Uggs)

2-21-16

Krissy: "I just like being barefoot like the chickens!"