Millarky

Handmade Holidays 2011

2012-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

This is sort of old news at this point, blogging didn't make the New Years resolution list :), but since this was the very thing that got me blogging in the first place, I'm posting it anyway.

Back in 2007, when I first "gave in" and started a blog I didn't post much but saw varies friends/family and friends of friends blogs with creative ideas, tutorials, etc. and in particular handmade Christmas gifts. I remember thinking I'd love to do that but in reality, doubted that'd ever happen. However in 2008 I had the unspoken resolution to start diving into my creative side (now that I was done with school and had a chance to discover I even had hobbies) and did make decent gifts by Christmas 2008. Its been a fun journey, and while I no longer blog about much of it any more, I'm still on it! And as always, thanks to my gracious recipients ;)...

Handmade Christmas Past:
2008
2009
2010

And here's 2011:

Scaled back. Trying to do better at my "good, better, best" choices. Granted I don't "create" until after the kids have gone to bed, but I'm getting too old, or something, to pull off multiple nights of a 3am bedtime. It was 1am this year instead... ha. If only stupid sleep wasn't necessary.

I only planned 1 major thing to make this year. I've been itching to try my hand at carpentry. It stands to reason for me that it would be something I would love! So I gave it a go. Here's my first project:

Baby Doll Crib for Charlotte:
To give Santa a hand, I used plans from Ana White (AWESOME site!) with alterations made for the tools we have. I can't say it did it ALL by myself, since I didn't fully know my way around the power tools and we lack some tools to make some tasks a one woman job, like drilling and screwing the crib rails (where really needed 3 sets of hands). Thank you, Boz.

And after some extreme frustration with our circular saw, Boz got me a miter saw for Christmas which will make for MUCH easier, faster, cleaner cutting for the next project. WAHOO. I'm very excited. Oh and Boz got a table top vice from his dad too! (Um, also a selfish request of mine).

Anyway, this first time learning experience, after lots of cutting, drilling, gluing, screwing, WAITING, a coat of primer and 3 coats of paints, sewing the mattress and bedding it took about 20 hours. WELL worth it. I'm picky so at first I wasn't thrilled with minor things, but now I'm letting up and LOVE IT. It's solid and will last for years (hopefully loved long too).

Personalized T-shirt for Cash:

Sticking with tradition, I made another one of those "self-portrait" T-shirts. Scott, Ray (couldn't find a pic, darn it), my dad, and now Sam, excuse me, I mean "Cash Money" have been the LUCKY recipients :) Cash Money's glows in the dark too.... hahaha, trumps them all.

Gingerbread Family Kits:
This idea comes from FamilyFun. It was a great gift for teachers/neighbors/friends that all of us got to help with. Easy too. Just make gingerbread cookies and put in a container with a tube a white decorating icing and varies candy (we did red hots, red vines, spice drops, and mini M&Ms).

I intended to share the label I made but of course anything I intend in advance blogwise rarely materializes in time. Maybe next year.

Furoshiki Tied bread
I love it when you can find 3lbs bundles of bananas at Costo for 50 cents! Thus I made banana bread mini loaves:

I'm big fan of Furoshiki and mini loafs were perfect to use it with. Warm bread wrapped in fabric, mmmm. (Knowing more in advance, using new dish cloths/tea towels instead would have been a nice addition).

And thats pretty much the extent of my stuff..............................................

Jack and Elyette's handmakes

To follow the lead of my amazing sister Elisa who makes it a point to spend her time helping her kids make gifts for each other, I worked with Jack and Elyette to make gifts of their choosing.

Tied Baby Blanket by Elyette

Without hesitation Elyette badly wanted to make a fleece tie blanket for her new baby cousin, Madison. She picked out the fabric and worked meticulously cutting exact 1 inch strips and tied them. It took several hours across several days, so that ended up being the extent of her projects. She worked hard. It was very sweet. Sadly I failed to take pics of her working, but here's a pic of Madison wrapped in the blanket:

Playdough by Jack

Jack worked right along side me making green playdough, while I made red, to give to Charlotte and some friends. He's a natural in the kitchen! He also made a "bead thing" ornament for Elyette. He's VERY detail oriented.

And the grand finale:

Toilet Bowl Plunger Bouquet by Boz

Beautiful isn't it? I'm sure his parents were SO thrilled to get this.
Either my enjoyment for "presentation" has rubbed off on him, or he's just mocking me. Probably both ;). I'm a dork and I know it.

Puke Packer 2000

2012-01-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

Customer Review: "Worked like a charm for me! Highly reccomended to save your carpet AND your sanity!"

Favorite Holiday Images

2011-12-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Trimming the Tree

Gonna get me some turkeys.

Mary Stink

Christmas Lights

Dance Showcase

No tutus for this kid. She wanted to be an elf :).

Millar "Express Christmas"

Baking?...

Merry Christmas!

E's Bday

2011-12-16T18:42:00.001-08:00

On November 7th my first born turned 6! Crazy!

She's been much older than that for a long time. She's an old soul. A one of a kind spirit, sent to lead her family. She strengthens me and teaches me so much. How blessed these past 6 years have been!

Love you Ely Rae!

Just wanted to share some highlights from her special day.

Breakfast in Bed

Birthday Play Date at the Park
She chose a VERY cool experience (post to come on that) over having a party, but really wanted to play with friends. So the day of her bday we made little "come to the park" flyers for her to hand around at school. After school I brought a bunch of mini cupcakes and she got to play with 15 or so friends from school. It was PERFECT! Low key, no obligations, totally a great way to go.

She picked SUSHI for her birthday dinner. Ha, how many 6 year olds do you know LOVE sushi? She certainly does.

Charlotte's HUGE bowl of teriyaki chicken. Not surprisingly she ate it all.

Between, grandparents, siblings, friends, and even Primary teacher, this kids was SHOWERED with gifts.

Butterfinger ice cream cake, roses, Rapunzel hair... does it get any better? :)

One year older and wiser too. Love this kids. Happy Birthday Elyette!

"Eat-able" Snowflakes

2011-12-07T17:24:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't like to make snowflakes? Even better ones you can EAT! (Bonus: no paper waste or little scraps to endlessly clean up). This is by no means an original idea, but it sure is a FUN and EASY one so we thought we'd share.

What you'll need:

Flour tortillas
clean scissors
cooking spray
cookie sheet
powdered sugar (sprinkles...all that etc. stuff)

Preheat Oven to 400

Step 1: Warm the tortillas up in the microwave (for about 15 seconds). This helps prevent cracking when you fold your tortilla. And we wouldn't want that would we, Boz :)?

Step 2: Fold your tortilla in half, then in half again (aka folded into quarter sections). Cut out snowflake designs with cleaned scissors, unless you not a clean freak, then just use any old scissors. Hopefully they haven't been up anyone's nose.

Step 3: Unfold your snowflake and place it on a greased cookie sheet. Spray the top of the snowflake with some cooking spray. Place it in the oven and bake for a few minutes (I was lazy broiled mine on each side for a bit).

Step 4: When crisp remove them from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar for a snowy effect or whatever you'd like.

Pork out and ENJOY!

SO easy!!! And even your your child can't wield scissors yet, they still enjoy the eating part-- provided they can chew. . .

Christmas songs

2011-12-04T00:38:00.001-08:00

I just finished these up tonight. Just some Christmas songs on the piano. You can download them here: Christmas Piano 2011

or stream them from the player below.

Enjoy.

Seven Year Itch...

2011-11-20T19:27:00.001-08:00

and itchin' for more.

Happy Anniversary Love!

An October Post

2011-10-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY

warning: long post, so just enjoy the pics of nothing else.

Its finally starting to cool off around here, I hope 90+ weather is gone for a LONG while. It's FINALLY starting to feel like Fall for me. I LOVE FALL. Such a fun time of year and we've been up to all the usual fun too..

Corn Maze:

"Its like we're in a story book" -Elyette :)

Pumpkin Carving:

Almost didn't happen. I finally just did it last night while Boz was Home Teaching. What kind of mother would I be if we didn't carve at least 1 pumpkin with my kids? The roasted seeds were probably the favorite part :).

He's Elyette's design.

And of course. COSTUMES:

This years costumes are totally inspired by each kid (and at their suggestions), and Boz for that matter. That hair of his has inspired costumes for years :)...

Since nothing about these costumes previously existed (well, at a price I was willing to pay) I did them all from scratch. Couldn't even find a brown turtleneck for Charlotte.The exceptions being the shoes, Boz's pants, socks, that sort of thing...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Astrid

(from How to Train Your Dragon):

This totally fits. I love that she'll all about the princesses and dresses for playtime, but when it comes to Halloween, she rocks the awesome (previous years picks: corpse bride, witch... makes me almost feel bad about having made her tinker bell and cinderella the years she wasn't old enough to voice her opinion)

Elements:

Headband: Strip of felt, spray painted buttons. Elyette sewed on all the buttons herself!

Shirt and gloves- clearanced stretchy mesh fabric for $1

Underskirt: simple green broad cloth

Armor skirt: Brown Felt, with spikes also made from same felt, spray painted silver, and hand sewn on.

Shoulder armor: More brown felt cut in strips, attached spike studs (left overs from Megamind) spray painted silver, and arranged and tied to the shirt

Boots: faux fur cuff pinned on her boots

Axe: $1 store broom and cardboard stapled together and spray painted (silver and black)

- Skulls were found at michael (just glued them on)

-- denim leggings she had... haha, one less thing to make.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Megamind:

That head of his is inspiring :). His head is the perfect shape... haha.. Even has the perfect little pointy nose and skinny little body. He was born to be megamind :).

Cost was not so frugal for this guys. I wanted to just go all out (well for me anyway). This was the project of projects. Even shaved his head.

Elements:

Cape: Black pleather, lined with blue interlock knit.

Stand Collar: Scrap black vinyl I had. Spike studs were a fantastic find on Etsy for $2. Black Pleather and Pellon for stiffening used for the part around his head (that part was a pain for some reason, took 2 attempts)

Belt and Gun holster: Studs, Vinyl

Gloves: Pleather, more studs worn with just a pair of black wool gloves.

Boots: His rain boots with pleather fold over inserts.

Jumpsuit: Black and blue interlock knit. Freehanded (scary thing with me) the blue lightening design, sewed it on to the black (which was all 1 piece), sewed on a border of blue ribbon. I just got the cheapest knit I could find and it didn't have the 4 way stretch I really needed, so the fits not great and it took a while to figure it out. Other than the fact that he gets a bit of a wedgie when he bends over, it works.

--Blue water based make up for $2 (I'm no make artist, that was obvious).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oompa Loompa

She just is one, what can I say :)...

Elements:

Brown Turtleneck: Made from an old jersey sheet. Painting the white stripes was a flop, so they are felt strips sewn on (ended up being much easier that way)

Pants: Felt (the brown buttons are also just felt circles)

Socks: striped with tape.

Shoes: pom poms made from brown jersey and white felt scraps (using this method).

--White face paint for eyebrows and Green hair spray. (I would NOT reccomend using that hair spray stuff on someone so little! Poor baby got a mild case of hives that night and I'm pretty sure it was from that stuff)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Willy Wonka

Again, its the Gene Wilder hair... and obviously a natural choice to go with an oompa loompa. Even with the oompa loompa he was mistaken for Mad Hatter though. Well, he can just wear it again next year and say he's Mad Hatter :)...

Elements:

Coat: Felt (love that stuff for halloween) and ribbon. It was a bit snug on the shoulders, but the great thing about felt is, you can just wet it and it stretches. So I sprayed the back and he wore it for a bit while it dried on him. Talk about custom fit!

Vest: Had some random cut out cicrles of this wild floral that I transformed into a mock vest (just the front part sewn straight onto an old white shirt of Boz's)

Bow tie: Scrap green satin

Hat: Oh the hat.. Totally glotting here, but I MADE THAT HAT completely from scratch using Felt, Pellon for stiffening, wire and ribbon trim. Oh man I was so stinking excited about this one! I spent days trying to "mentalize" how to make it the way I wanted since nothing I was googling was right, although they did help. I use the same "wetting" method for the brim. It was in 2 layers and I wet the bottom layer and stretched it over my wire and sewed it in. I was a bit too anxious though and went about sewing the top layer down over it before it was totally dry so that did cause some wrinkling. Other than that its a full on bona fide (well almost) Victorian Top Hat! Sorry... glotting done. It just exciting when something actually turns out how you pictured it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Veruca Salt

Suppose to look "spoiled" not pissed and exhausted :)

Yeah, I couldn't come up with much as far as fitting in the Charlie and Chocolate Factory thing. Thought I'd be a Wonka Bar or something goofy, but I was sort of over making costumes by the time it got to me.

So Friday night I grab some scrap pink fur stuff, whipped up a little coat thing and sewed a squirrel on the shoulder. Paired that with my yellow dress, some tights and mary janes and called myself Veruca. You know? The spoiled brat girl that wants a squirrel and the squirrels decide she's a bad nut and toss her down the trash shoot?

Of course few people knew who I was, the kids got it cause we just read the book this summer...most people thought I was Giselle from Enchanted... can't blame them. Maybe I should have rolled through the dumpster...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay so um, obviously this was all A LOT of work and was about 35 hours worth (not included the time I was "in my head" figuring out how to do stuff). And if you are think "That's just insane!" I COMPLETELY agree! I don't think I'll do them all from scrap like that again, but I was a really fun, trail and error creative process that you can only do for Halloween!... Don't count on this Christmas being very handmade this year... burnt out.... for now ;)

Oh I almost forgot the Trunk for the Trunk or Treat:

Tried to make it look like a candy store window to go with our whole Chocolate Factory theme. Jack and Elyette had fun helping me with this and Charlotte was ADORABLE!!! She makes it for sure. She sat there the whole trunk or treating time! (helps that she discovered the hershey kisses in a vase next to her :))

ok... all done! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!

A Birthday...

2011-09-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

Complete with all the trimmings (for a boy with all the trimmings):

Breakfast in bed

Egos... ha, I went all out :)... hey it was Fast Sunday.

Gifts

A few Dollar store finds. He's easy to please.

A motorcycle, his one request.
Elyette wanted to make him one out of wood,
so thats what we helped her do.
It was pretty awesome and
I'm pretty fond that she shares our handmade gift love.

Spiderman Pj's...
again (just not handmade this time- left that up to his sister this year).

CAKE!

But not just any cake... Chocolate Moose Track Ice Cream Cake!
with candied peanut butter filling and oreo crust and top. mmm, hmmm

well enjoyed by all (at least I think thats a face of enjoyment :))

Happy Birthday Jack!

We love you!

Lead Kindly Light Piano

2011-09-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

I made this song tonight doing my best to refrain from pushing buttons as fast as I could.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

2011-08-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

My first grader is off! ... um...without getting too emotional (and allowing some drying to time for some wet eyes)... this is harder than kindergarten!!! I can't imagine how this feels when your youngest goes and you have to come home alone.

After dropping her off at school, my subconscious led me to her room humming "Have I done Any Good in the World". Ha... I didn't previously have that song in my head, so I had to thank my Heavenly Father and grin at the thought that "Yep! Sure am doing good... I'm a mom! And the best of my 'good' are my little ones". I'm excited for her to learn and try new things, but most of all I'm excited for what good she will do for those around her. The world needs that amazing little girl, so I guess I'll share :)...

Pure Imagination

2011-08-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the wads last week, and I thought this would be a fun song to record on the piano. So here it is. I'm thinking of making a CD of piano songs entitled "songs I hated as a kid." I never liked this song as a kid, but I got to watch people eating a bunch of stuff made of candy, so at least the visuals were good.

Right click and download Here.

Wa, Wa, WASHINGTON!

2011-08-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Time to document my trip with the kids to Washington:

But first a disclaimer: As outings go, I failed to get the camera out much, so only a some portion is "Photo Documented", and I was having some serious camera issues at times, so I apologize, this is one of those more wordy less picturing posts I'm not the biggest fan of.

After a few weeks of getting more and more brave to make the drive alone with the kids, we went to Washington beginning of July to visit family.

Now, I can say I'm no rookie to driving long distance alone, but this was the first time with all three kids and going both ways alone (most of our trips I drive one of the ways alone and Boz flies in/out and drives with me the other-no daddy on this trip) for 2000+ miles.

But I'm VERY happy to report that this was probably the most uneventful, BEST ever drive alone. We only had 1 puking session (Charlotte- Elyette almost- only an hour into the trip that prompted a quick Target trip for dramamine)! And the kids and I kept ourselves so entertained that the kids watched only 1 movie each way. I even got to listen to all of Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley! (A Book on CD I "borrowed" and clearly failed to return to an old roommate of mine. (So Melissa, where ever you are, please send me your address so I can finally return it! :))

We drove to Portland (bout 12 and a half hours), or rather Wilsonville the first day. Visited my uncle Sparkie and his new puppy Jimmer :). The only "Jimmer" my kids are aware exists (and I'm sure their dad intends to keep it that way).

And my oldest sister Jennie and her family. Her youngest 3 kids are all about 3 months younger than all 3 of my kids. Its pretty fun having them so close in age.

The next day we proceeded 2-3 hours north to Olympia were my mom and dad have been building their new place. Its pretty cool; 3 acres of forest, and a house more self-reliant and self-equipped with all sorts of things to make things more comfortable/easier for my dad.

After Spending a day there we went farther north to Auburn were my sister Amy and her family live (and where my parents just moved from- where I grew up).

Then again, even farther north to Redmond were my little brother, Matt now lives (took a job with Microsoft after graduating this past spring-- oh blast I need to blog that visit too :)) as well as Boz's brothers Evan and Luke and there families. Evan's family just welcomed their 3rd, Max, a week prior to our visit, so I was ecstatic to get to meet him so soon!

Again, sorry for the lack of pics.

Then we headed back for Olympia to stay with my parents for a few more days and visit my sister Stephanie and her family that also live in Olympia.

Lots of Family in the Northwest!

Our trip also consisted of going to the Seattle Aquarium,

walking water fronts,

Getting lost...

A lot :) -well not terrible, but enough that the kids always just assumed I was "lost", but it helped a little 5 yr old girl know her prayers were answered when we promptly found our way almost immediately after every amen of hers.

a progressive park lunch

(cute idea of my mom's, like a progressive dinner, visiting different parks),

slumber parties with cousins,

helping grandma on the house (I'm sure Charlotte was a huge help :))

and lots

of playing and forest exploration in my parents back yard.

Elyette couldn't get enough (not even the pouring rain could deter her, or Jack for that matter).

It was pretty entertaining to watch Charlotte wiggle and squirm to the unfamiliar feeling of ferns brushing along her as we'd walk through. She loved it though. She also loved the many deer that would come toward the house.

Jack loved the big dirt piles, gravel, and "vintage" trucks in the front yard. It was VERY fun for them, which made it VERY relaxing for me.

The drive home also went well with the exception of the SMOKING motel room. We stopped in Redding (bout 9 hours away) to break up the drive home and well, I haven't had much luck with cheap motel rooms that last few trips... The last day of driving was kinda fun. We stopped at IKEA in Sacramento for some long anticipated shopping (I had a running list :)) and some lunch (yeah for $2 hot dog meals). Man, I wish we'd get an IKEA here. We got home around 4, beating dad home from worked (thus got to get all unpacked before he got home) and getting to see a friend before she left town. Ah, its nice NOT getting home late...

Pretty Sweet, BUSY, vacation! I love my NW...

Monkey Trap

2011-07-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of a Monkey Trap?

It works :)...

J.A.C.K

2011-06-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Its been to long since Jack has been the main topic of a post. Certainly not for lack of interest. In fact this kid is SOOO full of character, quirks, personal style, "buttheadedness" :) etc. that its become just so common place around here, we don't always take notice. An outsider's amusement is always a good reminder.

To let these "jack-isms" not pass us by undocumented, the camera has been our best journal. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, here's just a few:

Ranch Days

Sad I didn't find any pics of his hot day in shorts still wearing the beloved red boots.

Ah, the Mohawk... I mean "zebra head".

Yesterday (riding to Church) :).

Today

Love that guy...

Shoes for Charlotte

2011-05-29T19:54:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you've heard me whine about the impossible task of finding shoes for Charlotte. Her feet are small and narrow so she pretty much goes barefoot everywhere. Her big sister had/has the same issue, but at least its easier to find more narrow shoes once you can get past the baby sizes.

Now Charlotte has some shoes that semi-work, but they are all ridged and I'm one of those "no-shoes" advocates of sorts :). It stands to reason for me that well, first of all, babies don't need shoes at all anyway and when they do, soft and flexible allows for the best development, balance, movement etc. Why would you want to wear hard ridged shoes? Not even I can stand tennis shoes types anymore. Praise the day soft pliable ballet flats came out!

Case in point, Robeez and such types are what I want for my maybe-perhaps-someday-will-decide-to-start-walking toddler, but they are just much to wide. Why do they not make narrow sizes for babies/toddlers? Little ones come in just as many different shapes and sizes as adults.

I take that back, they probably DO make narrow sizes but have a $80 price tap attached. K, maybe its just me, but kids grow... FAST, so why would I spend that kind of dough on something that is only used for a matter of months (especially when you could get 6 pairs of shoes for that

price).

-- WOW, who knew I had so much to say about shoes :)!-

Well anyway, the whining can stop now, I finally just made Charlotte's shoes! And for $0.

I adapted the Cloth baby shoes pattern from the Michael Miller fabric blog. (Ah, the Internet!) The soles are a red geniune suede (made from free samples I saved from my FABMO days) the top is stretch denim from an old pair of jeans and its lined with some cute cotton from scraps.

They've worked great! Fit perfectly (with some wiggle room) and STAY ON! I highly recommend this pattern. For those interested in "customizing" let me know (got some EASY tips)!

Kindergarten Hat Parade

2011-05-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

In lieu of a Kindergarten graduation, Elyette's class did a "Hat Parade". Each student brings home a hat (her hat was basically a large oval donut shape out of pink posterboard) to decorate. Then these darling creations made their debut on stage for the parents.

SO CUTE!

It was my goal was to not have buy anything for this hat. Yes, I'm cheap, but mostly because I have a closet full of random junk that I just know could be treasures :). Sure enough we found what we needed for her unique and SUPER EASY (always a bonus) design that would be lightweight, since she'll be wearing this on her head of course.

We call it "mother nature". Elyette made the nest out of a styrofoam bowl, she painted brown and glued shredded brown paper all over. Then using yarn we "sewed" some chickies (from Easter) into the next, glued the nest to the hat. Attached some tulle/netting for the hat to attach to Elyette and with more yarn tied down a boa around the nest. Viola!

(he makes a good model too :))

Just hot gluing everything would have been easiest, but being the dork I am, we had to do things in a manner in which we could re-salvage the chicks and boa :). Although I'm not sure I'll ever have the heart to take this hat apart.

(sweet sisters)

My girl is growing up so fast! And since its clear I can do nothing about it, I'm THROUGHLY enjoying it while I can! :)

Congratulations Elyette! I love you!!!

Easter Pics

2011-04-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't sew easter outfits this year, but we were cheesy and coordinated anyway.

The girls wore skirts I made them a few months ago and I wore the dress I made for my little sister's wedding. Jack wore his tie from the wedding too, with what little specks of yellow it had :)...

Aren't you proud of me for not doing orange and aqua? :)... Yellow and gray, another favorite combo.

These pics were crackin' me up, I had to share.

Less than cooperative Charlotte :)

The "Jack" pose

And since I think I'm much better with the camera than in front of it:

...which isn't saying alot for me either way, but these cuties make GREAT subjects!

Almost as entertaining as last year :).

An Easter to Remember

2011-04-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Jack's Easter:

Elyette's Easter:

Haha, no really it was much better than that:

Arriving just after 9pm from a drive to Utah Saturday evening and discovering we only had a few eggs in the fridge (and needing to throw some poop and puked covered kids in the bath) made coloring eggs a "no-go".

The Easter Bunny still came, but a very patient Jack and Elyette had to wait for Charlotte to wake up. She slept until 9:45am!!! That has NEVER happened. Driving must have pooped her out big time.

Thanks to Boz's Grandma Rae, we had a VERY tasty Easter dinner. It was a nice quite dinner with just us, Grandma Rae, Boz's uncle Chris and Grandma's friend Loraine. We has Pears in green jello, her tasty green beans, salad, rice pilaf, very tender and very yummy lamb and strawberries and ice cream to finish it off. MMmmmm. If it was left to me, we would have ended up scrounging and eating something out of the freezer. Can't beat lamb!

As for the dramatic pics:

Jack caught a stomach bug, but was doing fine, until he ate junk he tummy just wasn't ready for. He didn't actually throw up in the pic, but he did later at Grandma Rae's... thankfully outside and not in her nice home. Again, after eating nothing but the jello and ice cream.

And just as we were leaving Grandma's at about 8pm, Elyette biffed it on the drive way. Skinned up her knee and hurt her wrist. No worries, just a sprain, nothings broken.

...We're alive and well and all the more appreciative of our Saviors sacrifice and resurrection.

More Charlotte Sentiment

2011-04-14T14:50:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to document a little about my sweet little Charlotte at this stage in her life...

Charlotte Nichole:

@12 month

Weight: 19 lbs 2 oz (10-25%)

Length: 28 1/2 (25%)

Head: 18.5 inches (75%) hehe

A little bit about this cute little fart:

If you happen to make eye contact with her, you'll

get a goofy, ear to ear grin that'll make your day. She's out to get a grins too. She's a little clown and how ever she can get you to laugh, she'll do it. Her best audience being Jack and Elyette. And of course she laughs at her own sillyness.

My favorite is her "peek-a-boo". She either hides behind something and pokes her head out or turns her head to the side (gives a little side glance) that whips her

head around to face you and starts giggling.

She sings. A lot. Its very cute. The best is when she starts singing with us at choir practice in Church. She loves trying action songs too. She's pretty good at "Popcorn Popping" actions.

She's got some moves. Most babies love a good beat and bounce to it, ha, but this kid should take some hula, cause she can shake and roll her little hips like nobodies business. Its all about twisting for her (the booty). Jack and Elyette play parts in music over and over just to see Charlotte twist. I recently discovered she must really like Jazz after seeing her twist and wiggly in a shopping cart during a whole trip to the store the other day.

She waves, shakes her head no, reaches for yes, blows kisses for good night (well unless she's too mad about it being bedtime), give good wet kisses, loves to "wrestle", jibber jabbers (probably much of it means something I just haven't figured out the meaning yet) says mama for a need (me or food mostly- ha, hence Boz claims her first word was in Portuguese- "mama" means "boob") and says "uh-oh" to everything else (very telling, I might add). She can name her mouth, nose, and eyes (likes to pull out my eyelashes for that one)- still working on ears. Nose is cute, she like to put her nose to my nose and giggle at how funny we look up close.

She likes to hide things. For some odd reason, when I'm sitting near her, her favorite hiding spot is in between or under my legs. It pretty funny. Although I didn't appreciate the pizza she tried to stash there once :). I also often find our fridge magnets all stashed behind the fridge. Must be natural product of being a third child :).

She's not walking yet, but loves to hold your hand and walk about. She a pro at up and down the stairs, which is wonderful for our peace of mind and we have no need for a gate anymore, but much to my dismay she's getting pretty good at climbing other things too (stools, park slides- then slides down on her belly :), patio chairs etc.) Its a bit nerve racking when i turn around and find her balancing on a stool in order to steal cheese off the counter. She's not even walking, do I trust her balance on a high stool!?! Scary...

She's rather easy going, but don't be fooled. When you've got 2 big siblings to battle for toys, FOOD and attention, she holds her own. She's a feisty little thing. Come watch meal time at our house and you'll get a pretty good idea what I'm talking about.

Back that up, just watch when I'm preparing a meal... it starts with wanting to be picked up or fed that instant. If she's not climbing up to try and get food, she's screeching and clawing my ankles and feet with her sharp little nails to get me to pick her up. I need to wear socks, it hurts, little booger :).

When she gets her hands on a soft toy, blanket or a object she loves, her response is to wad it up and stick it under her belly and lay on top of it. This is also how she sleeps. Bum up and blanket under belly.

You can see Charlotte through her eyes. Very expressive eyes. I love it.

Time to share Boz's hard work:

Her Bday Slideshow

We love you little Stinkster!

April Fools!

2011-04-01T20:29:00.001-07:00

I missed a golden opportunity to "April Fools" the kids today. Ya know, something fun, like putting legos in the cereal box for breakfast...

Thankfully Elyette caught the prankster bug and made plans to prank Dad. She had a number of clever plans. We went with the most plausible: Daddy's guitars got stolen while were away picking her up at school. So we went through the house and hid all the guitars and other instruments. The thieves decided to leave the drums.-- You know you totally bought it, Dad!

I asked dude if he wanted to pull a trick on dad too. His response? "Yeah! a flip!"... Not exactly the sort of "trick" I had in mind :). We went with that though: He had a story about how he did a flip and hit his head on the corner of a table. An extremely likely possibility. We marked up a bandaid and stuck it on his head, but he backed out last minute so we decided to stick it on Charlotte. I heard them telling Dad some story about her falling on a bag or something...

Ah, so proud.... :)

What good April Fools were you (or wished you were) up to ?

Charlotte's Party

2011-03-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

I love all the cute little tutus, onsies and hats and things that are out there for 1st birthday so I had to join in. I found some polka dot fabric that certainly said "party" that I thought I'd make a party hat and dress out of (she can wear a dress again and again right?).

That was the plan anyway. What I thought up in my head seemed cute and it turned out how I had pictured it, but for some reason looking at the real thing, I was no longer a fan... :P. At least not as a dress for other occasions...

Can you say "clown"! I guess that says "party", but quite frankly I'm not a fan of clowns. At least once on, she looked so darn cute anyway. This clown I like!

Maybe I'll have to add a cardigan to play it down for church or something.

So...being the freak of nature that I am, I decided to throw together some party stuff themed after the dress (well, actually themed after the fabric, since I didn't make the dress till the night before). I clearly have an obsession with orange and aqua blue because we had lots of paper scraps and things to use on hand. The only thing we bought were some lunch/treat bags to make flowers.

Honestly, I tell you, putting something together for very little (to no) cost, and up-cycling old stuff is what I like most. For lots of $$$ just about anyone can put together a sweet party, but doing it frugally? That is the creative challenge I enjoy. Granted that usually means its more labor intensive as well, but if your like me, thats fun too. My sleep would disagree, but I can sleep when I die right? :)...

Anyway, I digress, Charlotte's party:

These flowers are SO FAST and EASY. Elyette made 2 of them herself. Her's looked much better than mine.

We cut little triangles from scraps (Jack helped with this one too) and sewed them together in a long strip for a decorative banner. Again, super easy and FAST.

With scraps we also cut a bunch of cone shapes out of paper.

For popcorn

and some much coveted party hats.

Uncle Sam's a good sport :)

I've been wanting to try my hand at those cute iced sugar cookies. You know the kind that look like they probably taste nasty but look really cute. Yeah that kind. Made some of those.

This one, not so fast nor all that easy (well, not for my shaky hands anyway).

The cake was lemon flavored (thanks to my friend Heather for this yummy recipe- I halfed it for a small cake) with homemade strawberry jam for the filling, and freshly whipped cream as the "frosting". Served with strawberries... YUM!

Elyette helped curl the lemon and orange peels that we piled on top.

I used royal icing (as used for the cookies) for the letters. I'm pretty terrible at free handing stuff, so I cheated and printed her name in a cute font, put a piece of parchment over it and traced along a thick piping of the royal icing. Once it hardened I carefully scraped off the each letter and placed it on the cake. EASY!

Munching popcorn while watching her slideshow (Boz's hard work) A tradition thats getting more difficult as we're running out of music options that suit us. Suggestions?

So, obviously this was all totally unnecessary, our "party" consisted of her great grandma Rae, Grandma Debbie, Uncle Sam and us, but fun I couldn't resist.- and some sweet pics of all the fuss she'll love to have later.

Happy Birthday Stinkster!

12 Months

2011-03-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

AKA: 1st Birthday!!!

Whew, last "bear pic" and probably a good thing. Its been tricky with her getting increasingly wiggly. The moment she saw the bear sitting on the bed this morning she started squealing.

And few more for good measure:

glistening nose :).

Here's the line up:

Meh, I don't know about you, but I can't tell all that well how much she's grown :). Maybe if I got the exact same positioning on everything every time (and a less floppy bear), but still cute!

More Charlotte sentiment to come ;)...

I Could Have Danced All Night

2011-03-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

Recently, (or really not so, I'm just slow to post) Daddy got to take Elyette to her first dance. A daddy/daughter dance held by her school.

Complete with a VERY pink dress (to match her tiara she wanted to wear:), mom's pearls, and wrist corsage. You'd of thought she was in a wedding.

The evening started with lots of photos, (how could I not?). some taco bell (fancy) and on to the dance. Which she claimed "was too short!"

Sharing in Eliza Doolittle's enthusiasm: [Elyette] could have danced, danced, danced all night...

Feat of the Week

2011-03-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

What are all these people doing?

Reading the Book of Mormon!

We did it cover to cover in about 18+ hours (or actually reading),

on 5 hours of sleep

with a few breaks. (there for 29 hours total)

(and SO much food, I might add :))

Was it hard?... uh huh.

worth it?

ABSOLUTELY!

11 Months Old

2011-02-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

And as wiggly as ever. Here is the only pic I got of her sitting:

Tackling that bear down!

Who's bigger now? huh, huh?

Watch out world!

Rain or Shine

2011-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

Last week was BEAUTIFUL. Sunny, warm, perfect for lots of this:

Elyette is a pro now at riding "with pedals and no training wheels" as she will tell you. We tried the no training wheels and no pedals method of learning to ride a bike.

(I'm lovin' the look of determination on her face)

Basically the idea is they get a feel for balance while scooting around on the pedal-less bike before. After a few days of "scooting", the pedals went back on and she was a die hard at practicing (reaching 2+ hours at the park before I had to force our departure). Not to mention I reached a new level of one-handed (baby on the hip) abilities while helping her learn. Charlotte was a good sport about playing on the grass too to free up my hands from time to time.

(hello Fabio. rrrowr)

I can't say whether or not I thought the "scooting" helped that much, because I have no "control" to compare too. I think it may have helped a little, but I also think it got her into some bad habits, like putting her feet in front of the pedals and not using the breaks to stop... both dangerous habits she had to "un-learn". All the same, she rides now and its fun for us to all bike to school now (well, I jog with the stroller- Any adult women bike recommendations? I'm dying to get one since our last was stolen).

We didn't bike to school today. Since more appropriate February weather set in. It poured this morning:

I loved it. So did the kids :)- this was during breakfast at about 7:45am. We just had to take advantage instantly.

I admit I got a rather homesick for my northwest though, even before it dumped :). I think there's something about that smell of pending rain.

Ah... well anyway, LIFE IS GOOD... rain OR shine!

Elyette's Butterfly Valentines

2011-02-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

I asked Elyette if she'd like to get/buy or make her valentines for her 27 classmates for their Valentine's Day party, and she immediately exclaimed "MAKE". I was actually a little surprised. I expected her to want some sort of Disney princess valentines with tattoos or something, but no, she was MUCH more excited at the prospect of making them.

So, we did our research to find something that fit her abilities and wouldn't require supplies we didn't already have hand. These butterflies from Family Fun fit the bill. Even dude made some!

So, if you are making valentines with the kids this weekend try these:

Butterfly Valentine's

-our adaptation

Supplies:

- Cardstock or construction paper

- finger paint (or other embellishments)

-pipe cleaners

-Any stick candy, pencils, etc.

STEP 1: Cut out

Fold your cardstock in half "hot dog" style. Draw a heart like shape for the wings

and cut it out*.

In the center on the fold cut 2 slits 1/4 - 1/2 inch apart (for where the candy/pencils will go).

*If you don't want to free hand it, family fun has this template.

STEP 2: Embellish

Add embellishment to the wings. Color with crayons, sticker, glitter...

Elyette fingerpainted dots on her wings.

STEP 3: Insert Candy

Or pencil, or whatever it is you'd like. We happened to have these "sweet sticks" from Trader Joes as left overs from a friend's baby shower. I do think some valentines pencils would be great though. Non sugary options are always nice. Oh and we did tape ours in place to secure them.

STEP 4: Twist on Piper Cleaner Attennas

We twisted ours around twice and spiraled them.

Elyette did this 100% herself. Ok, well I did draw on the shape for her to cut out, but she did all the cutting (all 27, 28 actually in one evening- I was impressed), painting, assembling and spiraling herself. She's was awesome! And they look super cute.

New Look

2011-02-08T22:40:00.001-08:00

Many thanks for all the great feedback about blogging. Next step to further motivate: a Blog FACE LIFT. Thats in the works as you can see. Great art work eh? I love her signature long necks and big hands (got to fit all 5 fingers on there). My flesh colored skirt is pretty awesome too. :)

On another note, Elyette's celebrated her 100th day of school today! (I quite enjoyed this piece of school work from it)

Ha...Me too, babe. Me too.

Why do you blog?

2011-01-27T13:40:00.001-08:00

Clearly, you can see that "blogging" has not been a new years resolution for me. I'm lacking passion in blogging and need some motivation (not to mention, it BADLY needs a make over). Any desire to post has been fading in the past year.

I don't think I want to give it up altogether. Its the only type of "journaling" I've ever been any good at keeping up (and thats not saying a lot). I could say its a great thing for "the grandmas", but really they rarely visit if ever :).

It use to be a good way for me to motivate myself to try new things, but my creative focus has shifted to just those "things" and not blogging. I think also there has always been some distant thought that maybe, just maybe if I finally start selling (on etsy.com or something) it'd be a good way to generate interest/fans, sprout a businees... but I think all hope/desire of that is fading with the blogging. :)

So why blog? Help me out of my funk. Why do you blog?

10 Months

2011-01-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Picture taken 1/23/11

Handmade Holidays 2010

2011-01-04T14:00:00.001-08:00

With more limited time this year (that or a lack of motivation to pull several 2am evenings again) and dividing my sewing and "creative" attention elsewhere, Christmas 2010 was not at all as grand as 2009 and the dress-ups, but still enjoyable. And I got a bit more sleep.

Christmas PJ's:

More PJ's:

Chocolate Plate: Done in Vinyl

Poopy Clutch and Nursing Cover:

For an expecting momma, of course

Postcard Set:

I converted some drawings of Jack and Elyette's into 4x6 photos and mounted them to some postcard backing purchased here.

Animal Pillows:

For Charlotte: Made from terry cloth and flannel scraps. All I had to buy were the felt buttons. Elyette helped me stuff them.

She also did some of her own handmade gifts:

Busy making fleece scarves entirely by herself (oh and bead necklaces).

Dr. Kit:

This one is my favorite. I've wanted a Dr. Kit for the kids but not willing to fork out for those plastic kits. I wanted a real working stethoscope for them. So I got a pediatric blood pressure cuff with a stethoscope for $15 on ebay. Got Some bandaid, ace wrap, etc. Made a bag out of felt (lined with felt to, so nice and sturdy) on hand and viola! Dr. Kit for less than $20.

K, I think thats it. Hope all had a great Christmas!

9 Months (+ a few days)

2010-12-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is a few days late and you'd think she'd be about the same anyway, but its crazy how much she grows and learns daily. She's a FUN kid!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel... YOU CUT YOUR HAIR!

2010-12-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Since the special day of getting to see "Tangled", Miss Elyette has been quit obsessed with playing Rapunzel (naturally).

She put her hair in a pony tail and tied a long ribbon or cord to it to pretend it was hair.

She draped it down the stairs for Jack to "climb" and prance about the house...

she'd whip it ever direction, knock things over, and scold us for stepping on it :)...

I was getting pretty weary of this game. Can you tell?

Come last Monday evening, this game just went too far. Thanks to her wild morning hair I didn't even notice until I was doing her hair for school. She had chopped a large portion just under her left ear and a chunk right near the scalp.

I was SHOCKED. Now I realize I've been quite lucky to not have experienced this parental right of passage at all yet, but I didn't think Elyette was going to be the one to grant me that at this point. I was pretty confident we had passed that danger phase with her... apparently not.

Tuesday evening I trimmed it all up. 'Bout 7 inches or so off. Thank goodness for those curls- they hide the scalp chunk pretty well. ( you see it?)

She just look so darn cute no matter what. I quite love this way and thought she was nervous, Elyette really likes it too.

8 Months

2010-11-23T23:14:00.001-08:00

She's really that old. Crazy.

And won't sit still anymore.

EAT THE CAMERA!!!

2010-11-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

The boy I married:

and the man I love:more than ever!
(beard and all ;))

HAPPY 6th, LOVE!!!

A Day of Luxury

2010-11-07T22:34:00.001-08:00

What else would you expect for your 5th Birthday...Breakfast in bed, (pumpkin spice pancakes with cinnamon syrup and bananas, YUM!)

a bubble bath, (in my bath, no less)

she did her share of work too :).

Happy Birthday to My Ely Rae.

The Costume Post

2010-10-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

Wicked Witch of the West
I think she mostly wanted to be this particular witch so she could have a green face. Too bad the lame make-up we got ended up being more of a baby poop green and really gooey the whole time. Oh well, she was still thrilled.She already tells me she wants to be a skeleton next year... I'll have to get on that:).

Guitar Boy

Or so he called it. Man, did we nail this one when we decided to go with a 80's hair band costume. SO dude... He's really feeling the music

And I got to recycle Elyette's corpse bride leggings, so the only thing I made for him was the metallic shirt.

SpiderHer name (Charlotte) decided her costume for me. This one probably took the most time but TOTALLY worth it and it turned out! I hope it washes well because she spit up all over it MANY times... of course. Thats what she does, so I guess I should say she was Charlotte the Barfing Spider.
So then can you guess what I am?
In case its been a while since you've read the book, let me help: Charlotte's Web.

Wolverine
The hair and side burns he's always trying to get away with just made this a natural choice. Didn't take much to shape his hair (too bad we didn't get a better pic of it). For a more "snug" fit he wore my T-shirt and jeans. Perhaps I should be embarrassed that my husband can fit into my clothes...meh... he looked good ;). And I thought his spoons were a nice touch. Much more kid-friendly than blades.

Oh and of course our "Haunted Honda" for the Trunk-or-Treat:
Good way to showcase our Creepy Portraits:

Happy Halloween!

Candy Corn Dresses

2010-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of candy corn... 'til now!

I'll take 'em this way any day.

7 months

2010-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

And look what she has now! (Look closely in that little mouth)
Two new chompers, and chomp she does.

Stink Stats

2010-09-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Can I just say, I LOVE THIS AGE! Seriously, she is soooo stinking fun. The best part is that she learned how to sit on her own without support (or pillow behind her) a few weeks ago, which makes life bliss! :)- She can sit and play happily for quite sometime, WITHOUT wondering off and getting into stuff.

AND it makes from some pretty cute pics:

I could eat her!

So here's the 6 month check up stats:

Weight: 15lbs 1 oz (25-50%)
Height: 25 3/4 inches (50%)
Head: 43 1/2 cm (75%)

Summer Recap

2010-09-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

You might think this post is WAY too late, but considering its 102^F here today, I'm still feeling summer... without all the perks though (vacation, swimming,), sigh.

Anyway, enough about that blasted heat. Here's the good stuff:

May- DISNEYLAND!

June- Swimming Lessons
Jack and Elyette got took 6 private lesson at the Jan Thomas Swim school. Its a pretty awesome method of teaching that first teaches kids how to basically "survive" in the water and then learn strokes. The kids learn to roll over to get a breathe when they need it and swim to the wall, etc.

They did great! Jack has always been really comfortable in the water and willing dunks himself, so he loved it but we didn't do the full 10 lessons they reccomend, which ultimately resulted in him being WAY to comfortable and confident in the water. More than once he had to be "saved"- twice his rescuers were fully clothed (His uncle Luke once and myself another time)
July-The Beach! We'll have to work on that...

Elyette was a pro. She had the technique swimming and getting a breath down in 4 lessons. She was pretty awesome to watch this summer. We honestly and truly didn't have to worry about her in the water at all. Of course we kept an eye on her, as with any age swimmer, but she would just jump into the deep end, play around, get a breath with ease and swim to the wall when ready to do it all again. It's been great!

July- Beach trip Santa Cruz-- ALWAYS relaxing and fun!

August- Smith Family Reunion (My family).
Got to see my parents, my 8 siblings and their families (minus my oldest nephew, Nate). Thus I got to meet nephew, Lazarus (Jacob's newest, who was almost a year old) and my niece, Sarah (2 months- Jennie's newest). It was also everyone's first time meeting Charlotte (aside from my parents). Boy, was she held and spoiled constantly.

(Mom and Dad and their posterity)

We went to Heber Vally Camp in Utah. Its a pretty new girls camp spot that was really cool. We we're really roughing it at all. The "yurts" we're cool, and we did obstacle course. Boz, Jack, Elyette and I did the "giant swing". They harness you up and pull you up to the tree tops and let you fly. It was pretty cool (and a good tummy tosser).

It was a GREAT end to our summer!

So playing in the ocean and sand, swimming, camping, seeing LOTS of family, swimming, Disneyland, watching free movies at theater weekly, eating otter pops, swimming, staying up late, making chocolate dipped frozen bananas (a LOT of them, mmm), visiting the library and reading books, and let see.... SWIMMING. It was a great summer.

And now I'm ready for some "fall" weather...

Happy Half Birthday

2010-09-23T09:18:00.001-07:00

6 months old today!

How she's grown:

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

Rubba dub dub...

2010-09-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

three chubs in a tub...

Dude's Big Week

2010-09-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

It all started with the Jackster turning 3!

Look at that grin.

How could you not with all the spoiling that went on around here? And I do mean spoiling! Many late nights, or more like early mornings, where spent to spoil him. Really though, it was about time he was the recipient of mom and dad's work.
First, we transformed Jack's room as he slept the night before his bday, in honor of the big move from toddler bed to "big boy" bed. Although its still just a mattress on the floor, thus, Dude doesn't consider it "big" yet. Guess he can't get much air jumping off... poor kid. And I'm so going to share how the cityscape was done, so you've been warned!

Stink likes the bean bag chair.

Then we set up and filled a sandbox Boz made. I know, he's getting so handy- I LOVE IT.And that night he got to party with grandma, grandpa and uncle Sam. And yes... the cake is pink. I couldn't get the strawberry ice cream any more red without sacrificing flavor. An unwilling trade.

And oh yes, how can I forget... The one thing he kept saying he wanted was "black spider-man pajamas". Momma delivered :). Sorry, I'm gloating, but I'm pretty excited that they actually turned out.Made from a soft jersey knit, I top stitched the web design on the chest. Appliqued a spider (made from an old grey T-shirt).And by Boz's request - a hood, complete with eye holes . A bit snug for the big dude.

Mid-week Jack got to start preschool! Co-op with a few other mommies.

Future Preschoolers :).

Would you believe these cute little twins are only a week older than Charlotte? My petite Stink.

--------------------------------------

And we got to end the week with a BANG! Jack celebrated his bday again with friends, Toy Story style. We had a blast!Heck, I had a blast... and now I'm ready to get some more sleep :).Happy Birthday my little dude. I sure love you.

2010-08-28T12:19:00.001-07:00

Friday, 11:43pm:

Layed out attempt to buy 15 more minutes of sleep Saturday morning.

-------------------------------------------

Saturday, 7:37am:

Worked like a charm :)...

Elyette Goes to School

2010-08-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. -- Proverbs 22:6

Does that apply to Kindergarten? :)

No really though I'm thinking NOW is when my real training begins (both as the trainer and trainee). Now with the added influence of the outside world. An element that is almost none existent for a SAHM and little ones. Wish me luck... better yet, pray!

Elyette of course was just EXTREMELY excited to start Kindergarten yesterday, despite Boz and I trying to convince her to stay little and stop growing up. She won't even agree to slow down... agh. We're of course pumped for her too!

(you like how it's bigger than she is :))

I didn't anticipate Jack's response, though I'm not sure how I could have prepared him further anyway. After dropping Elyette off, he was VERY sad to learn he didn't get to stay too. "I wanned to stay at the school. I go to Kindergarten too, mom!" It was a hard blow for him. He got on otter-pop when we got home to soften the blow.He still missed her.I forget she's a major part of him. This his first time being this separated from her.

They were right back to fighting constantly when she got home though. :)

I held it together until I sat chatting with Jack while he ate his otter-pop and started tearing up. I just kept busy after that... writing this blog certainly isn't helping though :).

All in all an great exciting day! One of the most bittersweet of my life.

Congrats my big girl.

5 months

2010-08-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

BEACH!

2010-08-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Stink turns 4 months!

2010-07-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yep, its already been that long. Little Miss Charlotte (aka The Stink, Baby Stink, etc.) is 4 months old! Had her check up today:

weight: 13 lbs 10 oz (50%)

height: 25 inches (75%)

head: 41.5 cm (75%)

Coming along quite nicely :). She's a VERY sweet and happy little squirt. You look at her from across the room and she'll beam and smile back. She loves everyone and has every single one of us here wrapped around her finger. You should see Jack and Elyette swoon.

Charlotte is my first child to actually like tummy time and as a result pushes all the way up. After seeing her "stance", the Pediatrician warned she'll be putting her knees down soon and thus scooting forward. EEK, I'm not ready for mobility, but its still exciting to watch her. She's pretty good at doing 360's as it is. Now, my favorite stage is when they sit well on their own BEFORE they can move :). She's doing pretty well, folds in half and face plants of course, but she's gaining pretty good control.

How do people feel about those Bumbos? I've never tried one. Since she's happy on her tummy, there's no sitting up rush, but I'm curious if it would help, slow her down, or make no difference in that department. Thoughts?

(Pioneer Day pics I never posted)

She's staring to play. Loves peek-a-boo, daddy tickle attacks (enjoyment sometime questionable on that one :)), and is growing rather coordinated when reaching and grasping toys. She sucks on everything (naturally) and slimer may be her new nickname... thanks to all the DROOL (and spit up- why are ALL of my kids such major spit uppers?!)

Charlotte is a good little communicator. And I don't mean she wails :), in fact she has "noises" and gestures that make it obvious before crying comes- and when its time to eat, she certainly knows who her momma is... or should we say "milk lady".

(She has this habit of ALWAYS bring her right arm to her head while eating, sleeping...)

She's a GREAT night sleeper. Day sleep is somewhat erratic, but heck she's baby #3- you get sleep when and where you can. Since 2 1/2 months old she slept from 9:30-7ish with usually only 1 wake up between 3-5 sometime. Now goes to bed around 8- 8:30 with 1 wake up, but get this! Now brace yourself: She has slept the entire 9-7 stretch 5 out of the last 8 nights! Ah heaven I tell ya.

So if you ask me how its been transitioning to 3 kids- not bad at all...

thanks all to Charlotte!
Sweet sweet Charlotte. (these guys are good helpers too!)

Adventures in Swimwear

2010-07-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

In my frustration to find swimwear for my postpartum bod (as if it isn't hard enough, without all the... shall we say: extras?) I made grand plans to make myself one instead. Well, that hasn't panned out as of yet, nor is it likely too, but I did get to give it a go for my favorite model!

Ain't she cute? This really came about because I had a bunch of scrap white Lycra fabric that I made Elyette some "booty" shorts from for her to wear under her play skirts this summer (way too hot for leggings). I still had plenty left, so why not make a tankini top to go with?

She makes anything look cute. And a white swimsuit is SO practical... ha.

Reclaiming Naptime: Patriotic Pom-poms

2010-06-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've been very lucky lately and granted couple of days this past week with ALL 3 kids napping (well, Elyette was having "quiet" time) at the SAME time!!! Did I get the laundry folded or clean the bathrooms... NAH! I blew off the responsible thing and CREATED instead. And this time even you get to benefit from my hour of freedom.

I give you:

PATRIOTIC POM-POMS

Super easy, fast, and cheap... free actually(just use scraps). Now, obviously you can use any colors you want, but we made our for the 4th of July cause we thought they resembled fireworks.

Make them any size and fullness you'd like and put them on hair clips, headbands, T-shirts, flip flops, bags, ANYTHING.

Here's how to make 'em:

Materials:
-Scrap fabric (you don't need much)
-Scissors
-Thread

Yep, that's it!

Step 1: Select Fabric
You can use any old fabric that won't horribly unravel on you. I used a lightweight denim (blue), quilter's cotton and broadcloth (red), and a linen blend- from an old skirt (white). Next time I think I might try to make some from an old T-shirt.

Step 2: Cut Strips
Cut 1/2" strips on the bias* however long you can. The bias is basically on the diagonal where the there is the most stretch. This makes it so that if and when the fabric frays on the edges it will do so uniformly on either side and won't twist (we do want some fraying for interest and character).

*You can also cut strips straight on the selvage (its the side that doesn't fray much) if you want a little twisting action (but you may want to fray check the tips- the edge that isn't on the selvage if you do it this way)

Step 3: Wrapping
Once you have all your strips cut, begin wrapping them around a stable flat object (like a notecard) that is about the width you'd like you pom-pom to be. For example, I used a 5" wide tupperware lid for my largest one and 3 1/2" wide notepad for my slightly smaller ones.
If you are mixing fabrics like I did, alternate them as you warp them on. You strips of fabric are likely all different lengths and may not wrap many time. Don't worry about that. Just try to hold them all together as you wrap. You can trim it up later.

Step 4: Tie it off

After wrapping as many strips as you'd like for fullness its time to tie it up in the center. Thread a needle. At least double up the thread, I would recommend quadrupling it for more strength, or use a thicker floss. Before removing the wrapped strips, tightly wrap the thread around one side of the strip bundle in the center and tie (this will help keep it from falling apart when you pull it off). Gently slide the whole bundle off the object you wrapped it around. As tightly as you possibly can, wrap the remaining thread around the center of your bundle and tie off.

Step 5: Cut Loops
Once secured, take your scissors and cut the loops (several at a time works fine). Trim it up and even it out as much as you'd like and VIOLA, a pom-pom.

Step 6: Wet and Dry (optional)
They're cute without this step, so its up to you... First, spray the pom-pom with water to dampen it. Then throw it in the dryer (with other things if possible, so it doesn't flatten oddly). Promptly remove from dryer when done. This with fray up the edges and give a little interest to the fabric. I personally liked this "messy" look and ended up doing it to all of my pom-poms.

Attach pom poms to whatever you'd like. Enjoy!

3 months

2010-06-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it?
Clearly I was lazy snapping some pics this morning, but it works. She really just wanted to eat the bear the whole time anyway.

She looks especially big when the kids hold her.
He's a good helper :)

And ta da!My first pics of all three together. Obviously not planned. Elyette's wild hair and of course, Jack's wearing... well another "Jack ensemble".
Not sure why I haven't gotten many with all three... oh wait... I do know why,
THEY'RE INSANE!
Got to love them.

Charlotte's Blessing

2010-06-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 6th, we blessed Charlotte. Priesthood blessing are the special times we get to hear Daddy say our actually given names :). Otherwise we're Mom or "the wife", Slim, Dude and Baby Stink. Yep, so far thats what has stuck for Charlotte. Jack even now calls her "Stink" most of the time. So she pukes or poops all over herself and others regularily and a bath freshness lasts less an hour, big deal...poor baby. I hope that one fades fast for her sake. Anyway, here are some pics from the joyous day :).
Getting the white fluff ready. A little while back, my mom gave each of us kids some "keep-sake" clothes that specifically belonged to us. Mine included my blessing dress. I had no idea she had made one for me (I just assumed with 5 older sisters, I shared the same). It was a VERY pleasant surprise and I now Charlotte gets her very own keep sake dress. (My mom made Elyette's for leftover fabric from my wedding dress- so was Jack's outfit. There must have been a lot of leftovers :))
With Great Grandma Rae --Oh and if you're wonder what in the world Jack is wearing, its his sister's tights. Don't ask. The boy's obsession with putting on anything and everything he finds cannot be helped. All the attendees.

Disney Report

2010-06-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

DISNEYLAND that is!!! Are we spoiled?...YES! Especially Miss Charlotte. How many kids do you know that get to go at just 8 weeks old :). Ha, it really was a blast.

Elyette's favorites:

Matterhorn
Soaring Over California (she was really enchanted by this. It absolutely was a real for her)
Haunted Mansion (she loved the dancing ghosts and the widow bride- naturally)
Space Mountain
Tower of Terror ( Yes, folks... she's tall enough and went 3 times! She's a maniac)
Cotton Candy
Minnie Mouse
The Princesses (of course)

Jack's Favorites:

Matterhorn (so he says- he had his eyes closed every time :))
Pirates of the Caribbean
Winnie the Pooh ride (calls it the bee ride)
His Mickey ears (still wears them daily)
WOODY! (He was really excited to see him)
Snow White (He didn't care for the other princesses much, but he sure blushed for her)

Charlotte's Favorites:

Being held ALL DAY! (via front pack or sling)
I think Disneyland is almost more fun as a parent. Its seriously the best to watch your kids take in the magic. Elyette and I decided we want to live there!

2 month stats

2010-05-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Nichole

2 months:

weight: 10 lbs 8 oz (50%)

height: 22.5 inches (50%)

head: 39cm (50%)

My perfectly proportioned baby... so far. She's certainly thriving. Couldn't you just eat her?

2 months

2010-05-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Getting big.
Compare: 1 month

Happy Birthday

2010-05-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

...to one hot daddy.

I love you!

Viewer Discretion Advised

2010-05-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here's what you get when a little girl observes her mother nursing:

(Elyette, 2 years old, when Jack was 2 months old)

Here's what you get when a little boy observes his mother nursing:

True Nature

2010-05-07T15:42:00.001-07:00

So the photos from the previous post are rather deceiving. When snapping shots of the kids, this is more of what we REALLY got...

Can you say "VOGUE"

This is probably my favorite

Don't mess with Charlotte!

or Jack.

Dorks...

More dorks here

Easter Ensembles

2010-05-04T21:04:00.001-07:00

K, time to share this years Easter/Spring ensembles. Rather after the fact, yes... especially since I made them BEFORE Charlotte's arrival (unlike my amazing sister, Elisa, who made her 3 daughters' Easter dresses right AFTER the arrival of her 4th daughter last year!)

Up first:

Jack
- Cotton tie: Adapted from a pattern found at Ottobre Design (scroll through the pic to find the necktie- this tie is rather narrow and only big enough for a baby boy I think, so Jacks is a wider, longer version, but the method the same)
- Daddy got a matching tie from the scraps (Not pictured, sorry- used an old tie as my pattern and swiped the interfacing from it too). BOZ's request, NOT mine. I'm a dork, but not so dorky I'd expect my husband to wear a matching clown tie with his son. They looked cute though.

Elyette:
As always, she was the inspiration for all of their Easter digs. "Twirlability" is a must and she wanted Aqua blue, so that, cream and peach were my color palette. Ridiculous ruffles is what we ended up with :)

Ruffle Dress: So basically I have this one simplicty pattern (#2989) I almost always as my "base" (like for this, this, and this dress), so of course I used it again, with adaptations of course. I love the fabrics I found to use. The blue is a swiss dot with embroidered ends and the floral is a larger swiss dot. Love the textures.

Bolero: Again used the bodice of that simp pattern to get the size right and winged it from there

Flower headband: These flowers were fun and EASY. Maybe I'll have to do a tutorial for them sometime.
Charlotte:
I was excited that this actually fit her! And I went all out, complete with bloomers and booties (that of course always fall off)

Slim Jr. Dress: Adapted from another basic simplicity pattern (pattern included bloomers-sorry couldn't find it online anymore for a link)

Flower headband: Same as Elyette's. I made the flowers, added beads and attached to an existing headband of stretch lace (anyway know where I can find some of that stretchy lace?)

Booties: Made from Heather Bailey's bitty booty pattern.

Pay Day

2010-04-28T17:47:00.001-07:00

One Month!

2010-04-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

(For size comparison)

My thoughts on the transition to 3 so far: Lots of time and work? Well, yes obviously. What newborn isn't? But really, what would I have done with out these 2 And I don't mean the monkey on Dude's back (pardon the pun).Elyette scooped her up when she was crying last night and sang her to sleep (a song she made up:)). It was pretty sweet... and HELPFUL!

Ah, yeah... I have some pretty GREAT kids!

2010-04-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Elyette: Mom, what's it called again when animals sleep in the morning and day and awake at night?
Mom: Oh, nocturnal.
Elyette: Oh yeah... Charlotte's nocturnal.

...Ha

Cute animal :)

What's it called when someone gets almost no sleep?...

Farewell to Ray

2010-04-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, April 14th Boz's little brother Ray left on his mission where he will serve as a missionary for our church for 2 years in the Texas McAllen Mission, Spanish speaking. Wednesday morning he flew to Salt Lake City to report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo where he'll be for the next 2 months. If you feel so inclined to send some encouragement his way is address there is:

Elder Ray Millar

mtc box 274

tx-mcal 0616

2005 N 900 E

Provo, Ut 84604

When I explained to Elyette that she'll be about 6 1/2 years old when Ray gets home, she realized how long it will be before she sees him again. At random she'll say "Mom, I'm going to miss Ray". She adores her uncle Ray and is very excited for him too. Jack also LOVES Ray and has been talking all week about him becoming a missionary and how he's going to be a missionary too! He's pretty excited himself.
We got to see Ray off at the airport and Jack ran after him for one last hug (and almost got grabbed by security when he started to take off running when he saw me coming to retrieve him). When ever we hear a plane Jack exclaims "That's Ray!".

We are so excited for you, Ray. Thank you for you wonderful example. We'll miss you. You're in our prayer! WE LOVE YOU!

-Boz, Maegan, Elyette, Jack, and Charlotte

(PROOF- Boz gave Ray a "real" hug)

Want Some More?

2010-04-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here ya go Auntie Brooke :).... and everyone else who was thinking the same: "More Charlotte pics PLEASE"

We thought Charlotte looked an awful lot like Elyette when she was born (and not just because of the squished nose). Although there are obvious differences of course (like HAIR for example :)), we still think she looks a whole lot like her big sister. Still to early to tell if she got daddy's crazy eyebrows like Elyette, but that is for sure my nose.

We hear a lot of high pitched "OH, Honey... its okay sweetie" etc. around here. They love her! So do I!
And we're out... more to come soon.

And the Winning Name is...

2010-03-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

Charlotte Nichole Millar Born Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 4:06pm
7 lbs 11 oz, 20 1/4 inches long

Its officially going on the birth cert... and it suits her, I think. We choose "Nichole" after Charlotte's aunt (my little sister) Marissa Nichole, with whom she now shares a birthday.

The Birth Story: -- feel free to skip ahead
As you know from the last post, we had a bit of a "surprise" induction on Tuesday. In a nutshell, here's the time log Boz kept of it:

1:30 - break water
1:45 - Start IV
2:50 - Start pitocin
3:35 - ask for drugs (7 cm)
3:40 - 9 cm
///wait for doctor
4:06 - born

My elaboration:
We checked in around 1pm. My doctor came to check me before we did anything at 1:30- I was at a 4 and he "poked" me to break my water. So I was basically very ready to go, so that was good (and expected....like I've said I had PLENTY of pre-labor prep). Due to my history of going fast (with the help of pitocin anyway) I was first started on IV and penicillin to make sure I had that in my system before starting pitocin. The Dr. wanted me to start the epidural early on to avoid a "Jack labor" repeat. -- With Jack I asked for the epidural way to late. I was ready to push before I even had enough IV fluid to allow one, but since my Dr. was 15 minutes away they gave me one anyway. And I was too out of it and freaked out by then to refuse. In order to get it to me faster they got a new guy who had never done one in the position (side lying) I was in with contraction that close together... the result: a NASTY spinal headache from him puncturing me which was only cleared up by a spinal blood patch (where they draw your blood and reinsert it into the epidural spot to patch the hole) over a week later and the blood patch resulted in back pain that kept me flat for days. Needless to say, it sucked and I didn't want that to happen again.

(1 hour before delivery)

By 2:50 they started me on pitocin and I talked "pain relief" with the nurse, because I wasn't so sure about an epidural for obvious reasons. I decided when the time came I'd try IV drugs first. The time came at 3:35 :). I had only had about 5 or 6 contractions since starting the pitocin, but each one was quite a bit stronger than the last, so I wanted to make sure I didn't ask to late again. Before getting the IV drugs the nurse wanted to check me during a contraction... yep still getting a lot stronger with each one, so I was starting to feel a little alarmed, I was at a 6-7ish she said. She left and I had an even stronger one that I felt some "bearing down" with. Ok, so I know how this goes, I was starting to getting very alarmed at this point since no nurse had ever taken us very seriously about this rapid progression thing. Well, thank goodness one finally did: She came back at 3:40 and started prepare my IV drugs and somewhat jokingly asked "no pushing contractions yet, right?". My answer "well actually..."- She got wide eyed and checked me... I was at a 9 and she set off some alarm...

The next contraction sent me over the top with the urge to push and I knew it was too late for anything, but holding on till the end. Back-up came into the room and they called my Dr. (who was much closer than mine with Jack was, thank goodness). After the next contraction I asked if the pitocin was off. It wasn't so we took care of that ASAP, which at least did help with each contraction not being ridiculously stronger than the last. My nurse set about, stretching me (the burning didn't seem that bad compared to everything else) and trying to keep me calm and not "blast" Charlotte out (as she kept saying). Um, yeah, that's hard. I just kept thinking "doctor, doctor, he'll be here soon, hold on" as the nurse called for nursery twice and said "we're having this baby any second". I'm pretty sure I convinced her that she just might be delivering this baby.At 4pm my Dr. walked in. HALLELUJAH! He walked over and just as another contraction began, he started adjusting his stool and I thought "AH! SIT DOWN Doc, she's a comin'!". He did, thank goodness, and gave me some little snips. I was instantly bummed 'cause I thought by your 3rd your chances for not tearing are pretty good, but I guess not with babies that want to "blast" out. It was odd, because while the snips were not at all pleasant, they were almost welcome. Like a distraction from the other pain. After that contraction and before the next the Dr. had me push to ease her out. That felt MUCH better and with the next contraction I had to resist again as he kept saying "take it easy, take it easy", but I just couldn't fully resist and gave in to the urge and POW. I felt the crown of her head "pop" and a HUGE rush of satisfaction and relief came as I felt the rest of her just instantly slither through. It was 4:06pm.
Sorry if that was too graphic, but this whole birthing thing is pretty stinkin' amazing. I expected more pain to come with delivering the placenta and everything, but I didn't notice in comparison and I had my sweet Charlotte on my stomach ( and not in it...ahhh). She hardly made a peep and was just looking around. Just then I got really dizzy and felt like I was on laughing gas. Turns out that was the IV drugs kicking in... hahahaha. Great. Thankfully those wore off in an hour, I got to hold and nurse Charlotte and my dinner came :).... Not a bad afternoon, I'd say.

My favorite thing of all that afternoon was watching Boz. He claims he's not really into the "newborn phase" (understandable) and while he loves his kids, its much better for daddy when they get to a more playful state :), but I'll tell you if you could see the look of pure admiration and love on his face when he peers at his children for the first time, you'd know better. That look can't fool me, he adores his Charlotte. And I'm quite fond of the moments I've been frequently getting that look too.

I had to giggle when I first saw Charlotte, cause already she's proving to want to be just like her big sister :)
Nice crooked noses, eh?

Charlotte's Home:

Since all was well with the two of us, Charlotte and I got the go ahead to go home the next day. We got home around 4pm on Wednesday (would have been more like noon if we could have gotten my non-existent nurse to see us once in a while. Not to bad mouth nurses, I love and appreciate them all, and my nighttime nurse was awesome, but this one just wasn't so much. It was REALLY good to get home and finally get some real rest and see what Charlotte's temperament is really like when she's not getting poked and prodded.

Charlotte, or Charlie as Elyette likes to call her, is a very sweet and calm baby. She doesn't cry a whole lot and when she does she seems to calm herself quite well for a newborn. She's much more patient than her 2 older siblings were :). I hope that doesn't change. She likes to listen to her family's voices and has given her mommy a 5 hour stretch of sleep 2 nights in a row (and from about 12:30pm-5:30am both times). Lets pray that keeps up!
Jack and Elyette couldn't be more pleased with her. Jack just coos at the sight of her "oooo, her cute ... cute ears, cute eyes, crooked nose" (haha). His favorite is to play "she eating me" with her and likes to sit nose to nose just staring at her. He's very sweet with her and I foresee a very protective big brother in Charlotte's future.
Elyette is of course the second mommy we knew she would be for Charlotte. And to an extent I wasn't anticipating. She even pesters me to wake her up to feed her when she thinks Charlotte's hungry. Apparently its "Elyette Mommy" who knows best, not me :). Elyette will even loose sleep to watch her and wait to hold her. Newborn feedings are long and boring I'd say, but Elyette will be there every moment. Supervising probably. Its hard to get her to do much else than just looking at and talking to Charlotte. She also likes to read to her and tell her stories. It was Sleeping Beauty she told her in this pic (she pretended the card was a book)Aside from Jack and Elyette fighting over who gets to sit closer to Charlotte (and what to call her, etc.) its been very fun watching the 3 of them together. I love my sweet little family!

Thank you all for your love and prayers. We're doing GREAT!

Today's the Day!!!

2010-03-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, we're having a baby today (unless she really stubborn and takes longer than that). At about 9:30 this morning I got a call from the hospital I'm delivering at. Apparently I was scheduled by my Dr. for a 5am induction this morning!... WHAT?!?!?! No one bother telling me this! We never even talked induction, though I was in favor of such shortly after my due date thanks to already have 40+ contractions a day for the last 3 weeks- have had 2 just while writing this (not very strong of course and most not BH). I was begininng to think my body would just keep doing that for another 8 weeks then she'd just pop out :)... needless to say I've been a little nuts and already acting "overdue".

Anyway, of course I called the Dr. office and they admitted to it being entirely the Dr.'s fault and asked me to come in for my regular appointment which was scheduled for this afternoon anyway. Shortly thereafter the Dr. called and told me he'd like me to go in to the hospital today when I can anyway. I agreed and there you have it. I'm on my way in.... wish us luck!

Nesting

2010-03-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

I wish my nesting instinct was to scrub down the whole house and disinfect everything, but when the energy spurts come, I sew. My excuse is that deep cleaning is just too physically difficult and exhausting at this point to make the effort, but then moving around on the floor to cut stuff out definitely got a bit more challenging the last few weeks. Anyway, here's something I did before the "I've fallen and can't get up" phase hit:We've been making over Elyette's room with a bunch of fun projects (just 2 more little ones to go... for now :)... and then we'll share our efforts). And since she's excited to share a room with her baby sister we went on a mission to find or make baby bedding that would coordinate with her room. It was actually a much more stressful and challenging task then I thought, but after weeks of hunting (online and in stores) we found some fabric that we finally felt worked well enough (and in my budget!).

I made the crib sheet using this tutorial (FYI- if you try it, I recommend making it just a tad bigger), the bumper I made as a slip cover for the existing one I had for Jack and the quilt I HAD to splurge a little and border and back it with minky fabric... ah SO SOFT!

So anyway, there you have it, the "baby's nest" of Elyette's room... soon to be "the girls' room" :). Hmm... thanks to this and few other "girly" creations, Lets hope it really is a girl! haha... Anyone in want of some handmade baby girl items if not?

Spider-man and M.J.

2010-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

We've been rather obsessed with spider-man around here these days. It all started a month ago with a box of spider-man fruit snacks... they hadn't even seen the movie ('til about 2 weeks ago).

Now Jack must wear stripes/plaid almost daily (he thinks they look like spider webs I think), unless he decides to be the green goblin instead, and Elyette, aka "spider-girl" (or as Jack would say it "spider-man girl") always makes sure the front door is locked to keep Dr. Octopus out. Sometimes he has keys-- it's rather frightening!

Today spider-girl is M.J.We had some fun with my straightener on Elyette's hair this morning. When we where done, Elyette grinned and said "Hey, I look like that girl on Spider-man!" :) - Yeah, I can see it.
And though Jack woke up the green goblin, After breakfast it was: LOOK OUT! Here comes the spider man! Yes. A plaid collared shirt just screams spider-man...

Well at least after I combed his hair (not pictured), Elyette said he looked like Peter Parker. That's about right.

Missing Fabmo

2010-03-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

If you're in the Bay Area take advantage of Fabmo for me! Fabmo, in a nutshell, started with a couple up in Palo Alto taking discontinue fabric samples and such from the interior design community and offering them free of charge to the public for re-purposing. Its pretty awesome.

Thanks to my last visit to Fabmo before moving I have a new rocker for only $12! And I also got to use my new staple gun Boz got me for Christmas!

Before: (old, cheap, blah, rocker, we picked up at Walmart for $75 when we had Elyette)

Now a bit more appealing: (though I have to be honest and admit I don't find rockers to be "good looking" chairs by any means, but it does the job)

Though I scored on finding a sample large enough, I still only had enough Fabmo fabric to cover the front of the chair so I had to buy some fabric for the back. Here's the tab:

Blue Fabmo Fabric for front: $0
1 1/2 yrds clearanced blue microsuede for back: $4.50
Extra batting for added comfort :): $7

Accent pillow was also made from fabmo fabric and I stuffed it with batting from an old pillow I kept on hand. Not bad, eh?

Entering Adulthood?

2010-02-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

You'd think that maybe by now I might feel like a "grown-up". Did getting married help me think of myself as such?...Nope. Graduating college? Nope. Being of a mother of (almost) 3 kids!?! NOPE. Odd....

Odd that is what has finally made me feel the first mark of adulthood:

Yep, we bought a minivan. A 2006 Honda Odyssey. The last car we bought was before we got married and it has served our family well, but alas loyal little Hyundai just couldn't fit 3 car seats in the back and still have the doors shut so we finally surrendered.

We wanted to buy private party (for cost purposes of course- we were paying cash), but after searching for weeks with no luck we concluded we'd just have to go hit up dealerships, starting this past Saturday. To our luck, this was listed Friday morning and was ours by that evening. Its a nice ride and was a company car so its in great shape with just 48K on it. We aren't wild about the color, but we're over it :). The kids really like it too, can you tell?

So, here's to adulthood!-Whether that's a good thing or not, I haven't totally decided :).

Rare photos.... BEWARE

2010-02-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

A while back I intended to make a post on some Maternity dresses I made myself in November, but was seriously pouting over the finished product photos :)- Ha, I've said it before, pregnancy doesn't look good on me.

Well, whatever, I'm letting them loose anyway. Here's to honesty: I'm 35 weeks pregnant, 45 lbs heavier (gasp, I know), exhausted, out of breathe, whiny, "uncomfortable" (in pain would be closer to the truth), and completely and totally elated and excited to meet this little one, I can hardly stand it! There you have it. Now here's to photos you are lucky to see :)...

Retro Knit dress: modeled at 31 weeks preggo
Made from simplicity pattern 2956. Only altered to be maternity and added a ruffle on the hem.I can't take myself seriously, sorry...

Navy Dress: modeled a 24 weeks preggo (or so)
Also adapted from simplicity pattern 2956. Well, basically the sleeves are from the pattern, I altered the bodice almost entirely and did my own maternity friendly skirt.
Mini-me's Navy Dress (she posed first :)):
No pattern, but used a knit dress of hers for size guidelines. What you can do with a little extra fabric... I love her dress

Now here is what happens when you forget to pre-wash your knit and grow 10 weeks more pregnant (not a favorable combination I might add):

Navy Dress revisited: modeled at 35 weeks preggo
Since I failed to pre-shrink my fabric, I had to add some lace trim to the hem to make it suitable to wear again...
Mini-me's is still darling. Even better shrunken up a bit :)... Ah cute girl. Makes feeling like a whale all worth it :)...

Oo, and I have a bunch of that retro knit leftover and of course Elyette wants another "mini-me" dress. Any ideas?

The Name Game

2010-02-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

Tell us your preference... POLL to the RIGHT------>

As pregnancy goes, many have asked us what we plan to name this little girl due to make her appearance in 5-6 weeks (we're hoping she follows suite with her siblings and come is 5). Truth be told, we have NO idea.

Names have come in and out of favor and of course we don't all agree on many.... I liked Amelia or Myra, Elyette wanted Cinderella, Boz just didn't want Amelia and stopped liking Myra... The three of us discuss this regularly.

Elyette's probably been the biggest and most creative contributor with a range of name options. She wanted to name the baby "Elyette" for some time, but we finally convinced her that would be confusing :). Then she thought of Katie-Anna, Coraline (we were sorta digging this one, but due to the movie couldn't convince ourselves), and Cole (like after her friend Nicole she said, but just Cole- cute).

Now she's back to trying to name the baby after herself somehow, by coming up with variations of Elyette. Since Saturday she's been calling the baby "ElyeJ" (her spelling suggestion, said like "el-ja") and thought we should call her "jella" for short. haha... well, she possibly won a little on that one since Boz of course, having a nickname for name himself, HAS to have a nickname for everyone (hence Slim and Dude) and has been blank with this little one so far. Well, thanks to Elyette's "jella", we may have a winner....oh boy.

As for the name I plan to call her... and everyone else, we'd like to take a poll. It likely we won't have just 1 name till her birthday when we meet her, but we thought it'd be fun to see where the favoritism lies. Here's the list of names we all can agree to like thus far:

Charlotte (Charlie for short)
Sadie
Rory
Nora
Lucy
Amelia -Boz, you don't use the name anyway :)
Cole (one for Elyette, different spelling maybe :))

Etched Glass Silhouettes

2010-02-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

There are a lot etched glass tutorials out there, but I thought I'd add ours to the mix: Etched Silhouettes.

We made Christmas ornaments from beveled glass rectangles, but you could also easily do this on say a mirror, vase, candle holder, jewelery box, anything glass really. I think they make awesome gifts (FYI: V-days just around the corner!... although I think they are perfect for Mother's/Father's Day).

What you'll need:
-Glass object to etch
-X-acto knife
- Contact paper
- Etching cream
- Old paintbrush/sponge piece/Popsicle stick, etc. (to spread the cream with)
plus a pen or pencil and a camera

Step 1: Take photo
Take a picture of your subject with bright back lighting.
In a photo editing program (we used photoshop) bring up the contrast on your photo. (We did a bit more to clean it up, but its really can do fine with little to nothing... as long as you can see it well enough).

Size the photo to fit your glass object and print.

Step 2: Trace Silhouette

Place your contact paper (still intact) over your printed silhouette image and tape it down.
Using a pen or pencil trace your silhouette onto the contact paper. In order to see the silhouette you'll probably need some back-lighting. You could place it up in the window and trace, but for more precision, and it was nighttime :), I improvised by placing a glass cutting board over a desk lamp that I sat in my lap and traced out on that (WARNING: The bulb got hot and made the cutting board hot so I did periodically have to stop and let things cool).

Step 3: Cut it out
Once you're satisfied with your tracing job, position the contact paper onto your glass object. Peel the paper backing of the contact paper and carefully place it on the glass object and smooth it out well! The nice thing about glass, unless you're doing this on a mirror, that you can turn it around and check the back for bubbles.

Next, start cutting. Carefully cut around your silhouette with an X-acto knife. For small tricky spots, but sure to cut IN toward the center of the silhouette since you'll be peeling this part away anyway.
Using a pin or tip of the X-acto knife, carefully pull up the edge of the silhouette and slowly peel it away. Use the pin to get up any small pieces left behind. Hold the silhouette back and make sure it actually looks like the person your etching :).

If you are adding a name do this next using the same method as the silhouette. Since we made so many of these and the text would have been quite small, I bought custom made name stencils for $1 here, to save my self some labor and pain. If you are doing your own text, keep it simple! Curly cues, lots of serifs, etc. is just asking for trouble.
Cover as much of the glass object as you can to protect it (with tape or contact paper).
Again, double check the back for bubbles.

Step 4: ETCHING!
Once you've placed and peeled your text, covered the glass and everything looks satisfactory its time to etch! Be sure to use a well ventilated space, protect the surfaces your are working on and wear gloves.
Shake your bottle of etching cream. Slather on the etching cream using an old paintbrush, sponge, Popsicle stick or something else you don't mind trashing. Make sure you have a good thick layer covering everything. Leave the cream on for 5-10 minutes.

Now I tried a few methods of brushing it on, like, moving it all around while its etching, but I found that if I just brushed in on in one basic direction and let it sit it came out smoother (but then it could have been just my cream- it did seem rather clumpy).

Step 5: Rinse and Dry

After 5-10 minutes of etching rinse the cream off thoroughly with warm water. FYI- Don't freak out if it looks like it didn't etch at all, you won't see the etching when its wet. Pat glass dry and peel off the tape and contact paper to reveal your masterpiece!

and DONE!

Just Breathe - Kara Langer

2010-01-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

I just realized I finished this song a while ago and never put it up here. Written by Kara Langer, recorded in my living room.

Kara Langer - Piano and Vocals
Matt Powers - Bass
Me - Drums and mixing

Vocalist Needed

2010-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know it's a long shot, but I figure it couldn't hurt. I've been working with Austin Lewis on an album for the past few months, and we really desperately need someone to sing. Not just anyone, but someone good. I'd say someone amazingly good. We've been looking forever and have come across some really awful singers. Sometimes you just find the right person in the place you would least expect it (like my wife's blog).

So here it is. Below are three of the songs we have. We have about 10 songs and are going through and re-recording all of them now, so they should all sound good in the end, but these should give you an idea of what they will sound like.

If you can sing, or know someone who can sing, or know someone who knows someone who can sing please please please let me know. If you live in the Bay Area, then great, you can record at Austin's house. If you live in Fresno/Clovis area, then great, you can record at my house. If you don't live anywhere near those areas, then you'll have to invest $100 in a microphone and I can teach you how to record.

What we want:

Strong powerful melodic vocals. Not too hard, not too soft, just raw power.
Some one who can write good melodies and good lyrics. This is harder than it sounds.
A recorded sample of you singing. Doesn't have to be high quality, but I just need to hear what you sound like. You can even just sing into the microphone on your laptop.

What we don't want:

Cookie Monster or whiny Blink 182 style vocals. There's a high school right around the corner where I can find plenty of that.
An explanation of how good you are with no recording to back it up. There's a reason why the American Idol judges have to go through 3000 people to find 20 good singers.

I will even accept ugly people.

So what do you have to lose? Nothing. The worst that can happen is you send a terrible audition, I post it here for all to make fun of, and we all go our separate ways (I'm kidding by the way). What do you have to gain? The possibility of singing in the greatest metal band that ever lived. Seems like a low risk venture to me (no longer kidding).

So, if you are interested, or know someone who is, send a sample recording to apatheticinterest@bozrecords.com.

Dress-up Photo Shoot

2010-01-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

To debut what this elf was up to in the wee hours of the night prior to Christmas, the kids and I had a little photo shoot (They were SO much fun!).

This dress-up set is made up of different coordinating pieces for lots of costume variety and with adjustable sizing (velcro, ties, smocked backs, etc.) for years of use. So here's a sampling of possible costume combinations. Any thing you see that isn't plastic was made by yours truly.

Oh and you should also know that Elyette posed herself 90% of the time :)...

Victorian Sweetie I made the base of this hat from craft foam so it may not last long, but it was a fun experiment (makes me really want to try out a hat making class)

Belle of the Ball
Ain't she a beauty?

Masquerade

Mystery Maiden

Rags...

To Riches

And I'm not one to leave Dude out of all the fun...

Its a bird, its a plane, its...

Robbing the rich to feed this chubby :)

Buttler King

Howdy!

My Knight in plastic armor
...who tried to kill me- and the camera- thus ends our photo shoot.

2010 -- and Handmade Holidays 2009

2010-01-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

So I can't decide if I want to say "Two thousand ten" or "twenty ten"...hmmm... Anyway, Happy New Year Everyone! And I hope all had a Merry Christmas! So clearly blogging isn't yet on my resolution list, but hey better late than never. We had a blast this Christmas.
Jack seeing Santa arrive on Christmas Eve.
We went up to Boz's parents (who are now very close to us) where we get lucky cause Santa always visit Christmas Eve with some PJ's for the kids.
They loved it. Of course we all loved every minute of Christmas. We did lots of vegging, eating, playing, eating, watching movies, and did I mention EATING! Yeah, um, the Holidays are not good to a pregnant woman who can clearly not control herself and there is no working it off for this chubby lady, just getting rounder. Oh well, pregnancy doesn't look good on me, such is life. At least I get some cuties to show for it :).
This year in the "handmade Christmas" department we made PJ's, robes, monogrammed totes, personalized notebooks and popcorn bowls, screened tee's, including another awesome T-shirt with the recipients face on it (this time we did Boz's brother Ray :)) done by Boz (sorry, not pictured...)
We got the kids an art easel and whipped up some smocks to go with (interested in a tutorial anyone?). Unfortunately, some chalk cloth fabric I ordered to make a splat mat (to go under the easel didn't come in time, so that's one of this weeks projects. This was probably one of my favorites. We made etched glass ornaments of the kids' silhouettes for the grandparents (and of course a set for ourselves). Let me know if anyone is interested in a how-to tutorial for these! I did intend to do one for a "homemade for the holidays" post, but of course ran out of time.

Can I just say how fun it is to come up with and execute handmade Christmas gifts! The best is that Boz does it with me! I don't know what I'd do with out him. His photoshop skills are VERY handy and I've been really wanting us to get into carpentry stuff and now that we have a garage we really can! Plus we discovered that tools aren't nearly as costly as we thought. Boz is becoming quite the wood worker and much to my pleasure, HE LOVES IT.
This year he made my dreams come true :). I've been dying to make a set of costumes/dress-ups for the kids and asked Boz if he'd make a trunk to hold them. He did a beautiful job ( shhhhhh, Santa brought this ;).) and I'm very excited about future projects he already has in mind.

And the kids and I had a fun little photo-shoot today (finally got some sun!) with the dress-ups this elf made, so be warned of a post coming :).

One of Those Days

2009-12-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

You're looking at what use to be a pumpkin pie. The hard work of 2 diligent and helpful little kids and their mommy in an effort to feed the missionaries. It was all done and beginning to cool when this mommy felt that is wasn't quite "set" yet. So, it'd be a good idea to pop in back in the oven for a few, right? WRONG!

Now I'm not the most graceful creatures as it is, but seriously, pregnancy releases the Urkel beast in me. I wish I could blame it on say extra weight, or change in center of gravity, etc. but the truth is clumsiness strikes right from the get go. Its rather annoying... Anyone else have this problem?