I've been busy

Not that you would know since I haven't updated the blog in a while. Mostly because I'm working on projects, sleeping or researching more projects to start. Plus last Friday was my birthday & we took a fun little overnight trip to San Francisco. I decided I wanted to go to the California Academy of Science. I also decided I wanted a mini break from the girls to spent some time alone with my hubby so I invited Grandma along. I'm kinda a genius like that.

Our favorite part is the 4 story indoor living rainforest but man is it hot & humid in there. Hence my fabulous hair in these pics.

Thanks Grandma for joining in the fun! And carrying that heavy little girl.

So I lost my sewing mojo for about a month and it really just started to re-emerge this afternoon. I finally got some of my little cousin's Christmas present finished. Her American Girl doll is in need of a new wardrobe. & a sleeping bag. I made a t-shirt, layered skirt, casual dress and a party dress (not pictured) so far. I'm still planning on making a nightgown & panties, a pea coat, a corduroy jumper and a pair of fleece pants. We will see how much really gets done. I have the jumper cut and the fabric for the nightgown sitting out but the pea coat & pants might have to wait.

 

 We've also done a little bit of holiday baking. We have to test out all of the recipes before we make a double batch and pass them out. Luckily I have 2 very reliable tasters.

We haven't really been keeping up with MTMs but every once in a while I'll throw together a little something for the girls. I call this one "Let's dip everything in peanut butter & sprinkles." Even the celery was dipped and nibbled.

I've also rearranged my house, built a compost bin, decorated our Christmas tree, organized the garage, built a shelf, refinished a dresser for Mina, made advent trees for the girls, cleaned out the girls' clothes, chopped down a loquat tree (mostly, the hubby took out the stump and roots today), trimmed the out of control fig tree, raked a ton of leaves, made mini chalkboard "invitations" for my tree killing kiddos, made orange vinegar for cleaning, made my own hand soap, deodorant & laundry detergent and starting growing a new little celery plant from the root(?) of the store bought one.(Yes, I'm going super green & I love it!) And I haven't had time to photograph any of those things.

And since I've been so busy, I've been sore lately. So I treated myself to a pepperminty soak & a couple pages of Raising Chickens the other day.

 

It was so relaxing.

 

For about 5 minutes, until Mina found me. Next time I'll remember to lock the bathroom door.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for the 5 & Under Crowd

1. Clif Kidz Twisted Fruit
2. Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks
3. BATTERIES!
4. Character Band-Aid
5. Glow sticks
6. Little Flashlight
7. Character socks (my girls go nuts for socks)
8. Stickers
9. Toothbrush and/or toothpaste
10. Playskool Wheel Pals
11. Dark chocolate covered raisins
12. Bubble bath
13. Coloring books
14. Soap crayons or bath crayons

I'm smitten

Yep, I'm in love. With my 8 day old nephew.

The only problem is that his Mama loves him at least twice as much and wouldn't let me bring him home with me. I'm kind of impatient to meet my own little bundle of love, especially after snuggling this cutie. Only 16 more weeks until my due date.

Sporting the little turkey hat I made him.

Caetlin liked holding her new cousin.

Miss Mina's also smitten.

Update- in picture form, with a few words,

I'm exhausted today. And for once not because I'm growing a baby. Today I removed 2 eye sores someone considered "shelves." There were so many "WTF were you people thinking?" moments. I'm pretty sure half of their project budget was spent on nails. They wanted these things to be permanent. Too bad for them I'm super awesome at demolition.

Before I took my hammer & pry bar to the shelves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After. Soooo much better.

 

It was hard work but worth it. I spent about 1 1/2 hours tearing them out & 40 minutes cleaning up.

My other project recently has been working on the backyard. This is a shot of the back when we were in escrow.

After we bought the house and removed what felt like 2 tons of river rock, a stump & tried (unsucessfully) to plant some hydrangea.

 This is it today. The broken up sidewalk path had to go. The edges of the chunks were uneven and the girls were constantly tripping over them. I got really pissed at it after Caetlin busted her face on it twice in an hour and started digging up chunks as soon as she stopped crying the second time.

 

We are going to put in a brick walkway like this one.

 

(image source)

 

Speaking of Caetlin, she has decided she is going to start dressing herself.

 

Some days are better than others.

Let's call this day "epic failure" shall we?

And I've learned how to crochet! I had to make myself a little something to wear on Sundays. Go Niners!

 And a little something for my cousin's baby.

 We had a fun Halloween.(Wow, I'm behind.) Did I mention lately that I'm kinda awesome?

 My little Ponyo.

 And Miss Strawberry Shortcake.

Also I've been trying to keep the house looking like this.

 But more often than not, it's like this. Just keepin' it real.

My turn at his work shirt to her school dress

I made each of the girls a new dress this morning from some of their Papa's old dress shirts. Stef, of Girl. Inspired., posted her mini tutorial a while ago and I LOVED it! But my hubby doesn't wear dress shirts & I wasn't going to sacrifice any of the (very) few he had so I thought my girls would just have to live without these cute dresses. And then yesterday my MIL offered these shirts to me.  I knew exactly how I was going to use them the second I saw them!

Ta-da! The girls call these their "Papa" dresses. I opted for long sleeves since the weather is supposed to be getting cooler but otherwise followed Stef's directions.

Some of the worst modelling ever.

 Thanks for the great idea Stef!

KCWC Fall 2011: Day 3

Yesterday I didn't manage to finish any projects. I spent some time working on the skirt below but ended up getting frustrated with it because the pleats were not working out how I wanted. So I put it aside and did some work on my little girl's quilt. This morning I pulled it out again and everything just fell into place. I'm really glad I didn't try to force it yesterday. It's for my little cousin's birthday. She'll be 7 this year!

 I also managed to make a pair of little bloomers for Caet's Halloween costume.

Sadly this is the best picture I got of them. She did not want pictures taken.

 Here she is in her full costume. Any guesses who she is?

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If you guessed Ponyo, you're right! The dress is a hand-me-down. Mina was Little Red Riding Hood in 2008.

The bucket.

I printed out a pic and used mod podge to stick in on there.

I also googled how to write Ponyo in Japanese and copied it on to the bucket with a Sharpie.

Last but not least, I made some delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip.

 

 The girls loved it. Almost as much as me. The secret is it's made out of chickpeas. Make it and try it.

KCWC Fall 2011: Day 1

 

So I decided that I'm finally going to participate in the Kids Clothes Week Challenge hosted by Meg of Elsie Marley. I've almost participated 2 times before. This time around I have so many Christmas presents to make I figured this would help kick my butt into gear. I managed to finish my girls' Christmas Eve pjs, (mostly anyways). We have a family tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve & it's always pjs, that way everyone is cute and snuggly for all the pics the next morning. They are made out of flannel I picked up from Jo-Ann's red tag rack in February.

Mina's Nightgown

 

 

 

 

Caetlin's pj pants. I need to get a long sleeved shirt to embellish still.

While I was feeling crafty I also managed to knock another few items off my Christmas list.

 Caetlin's getting  2 new skirts & 4 little fleece diapers for her Hazel baby doll .

I <3 this skirt. Scraps from the Minnie dresses I made the girls for our Disneyland trip back in March.

 A little zippered Hello Kitty bag for my youngest sister ( I plan on sticking some gift cards in it) & a Strawberry Shortcake bag for my Mina to store her lip gloss, hair ties and other beauty goodies in.

I also whipped up a whole new wardrobe for Caetlin's Ruby doll.

So far I've spent a total of $3.60 on this. I had to buy 2 6 inch zippers for the little bags. All of the fabric is from my stash and scrap box, and since I need to de-stash, (because I have a nursery under construction instead of a craft room)  it doesn't count towards the project cost. My blog, my rules ; )

And to send you off, a new & improved bump shot.

18 weeks.