What I've Been Doing

Carly's teacher, Mrs. Lalino, is turning 50 and I wanted to get her a little something. I have seen these candybar bouquets at the upscale grocery stores and thought I would try my hand at one. I don't love the Christmas colored kisses, but they were on sale and her birthday is in December.

Leighton wanted some new big flowers for her hair.

I had seen these and made some while the girls were showering. I liked them because they could go on a headband or a clip. They are removable, quick and cheap. They passed inspection.

I melded a couple of different stitchery patterns I had and came up with a new one. I made some of these family stichery frames for my friends for their birthdays. This one is Amanda's. She has since reframed it and added a mat. It looks 100% better.

I made one for Michelle that had her kids and family pets. Her daughter was pulling the dog and cat in a wagon. It said 'Home is where your mom is' I didn't get a picture of that one.

This is the pattern I made for the one I am making for Amanda to give to her mom for Christmas.

I got this pattern from Twin Stitchers when I was in Utah. I am making this family tree for my mother-in-law for Christmas. I didn't get a picture of it either. (Need to work on that!)

One of the teachers at the girls' school has asked me to make her sister a bag. There are these pair of shorts that the teacher has had for nearly 20 years. Her sister is always making fun of them. The teacher wants them to be made into a bag and give them to her sister for Christmas. I found a reusable tote bag tutorial on Living with Punks and added some pockets to the outside and inside as the teacher had requested.

I had started with an equally loud print for the sides and straps and decided that it was just too much. I hope her sister really gets a kick out of it.

We Are Going to Miss Them

Dee's brother and his family have accepted a two year position with his company in Utah. We are very excited for them. What a wonderful opportunity!

They came to visit for one last time before they left and we got to have the kids spend the night. We had so much fun. The little girls all slept in Leighton's bed and Madeline was nice enough to sleep with Carly (she is a bed hog.) Robb got a bed all to himself. There are benefits to being the only boy.

We got a picture of all of them first thing in the morning.The picture seemed familiar and I found this lurking on my computer.

Same kids (missing one), different couch.Look how much they've grown!Psst. Don't tell anyone, but I am going to miss this one most of all. Why? Well, it could be because she is the cutest 5 year old I know. Or because she always says just what is on her mind. Or because she is my favorite. But, it's really because she will be the one who changes the most while they are gone. The good news is that they have moved close to my family and we can see them when we make our summer trip to Utah.

A New Bed for the Baby

Jensyn was supposedly asleep upstairs in her crib when I heard the distinct sound of little feet running to the playroom. I ran up the stairs to find her happily playing with her Little People. I asked her why she was out of her bed and she said she climbed out. I put her back in and asked her to show me how and sure enough out the little monkey climbed right out. So, I immediately got the allen wrench and turned her crib into a toddler bed.

She is the only one of the girls who ever climbed out. Carly was four when we turned her crib into a toddler bed and she says that sometimes she wishes she still had her crib. Leighton was three when she moved from a crib to a toddler bed. She was not happy about it. When we moved to this house, I was afraid that she would wet the bed. She was used to being so close to us and I could just run in and get her if she needed. She was mad for days and insisted on having her crib back.

I was getting ready to take Jensyn out of her crib as soon as she was potty trained. I found a cute bedding set at Target a couple of weeks ago and had saved it to make her new bed seem exciting. Well, I think Jensyn is happy about the whole thing.She loved the owls, but the polka dots were her favorite.She wanted in the sheets immediately.She demonstrated her sleeping position.She was nice enough to let Leighton try it out.Lest you think that Leighton had some bizarre make-up accident. She had gone to a birthday party earlier that day.

I was a little concerned for Jensyn's first night. I expected her to be up and down all night. She did get out nearly ten times while I was still upstairs tucking the girls in. I went downstairs and after about 15 minutes I heard little feet coming down the stairs. She peeked around the corner into the family room, smiled really big and announced very proudly, 'I down here.' Dee and I tried so hard not to start laughing. Dee took her back upstairs and that was the last we saw of her until the morning.

This is What I am Talking About

I blogged about Leighton's confidence and how we are trying to boost said confidence by letting her choose her own clothes as long as they are weather appropriate. Well, Leighton came downstairs in this outfit today. She was very proud of it and couldn't wait to get to school. Yes, those are her Dorothy slippers. She has worn them everyday since Halloween (except on gym days because she can't) I have had to re-glitter them twice.