Before and After

So I've had our room "made over" since September (it was my bday present to myself), but I finally got around to taking "after" pics (sadly the before pics look better, it was a cloudy day today). I feel rather deceitful on this one, this is not what our room looks like on a typical day. Picture more toys, books, thread, fabric, iron and such strewn about and there you go. . .

Before- BLAH

Spent less than $300 on ceiling and table lamps, hardware, fabric for curtains, bedding, organizational shelves and drawers for closet and my sewing junk and got:

After- Ta da!

I wouldn't call it completely done. I'd still like a little more color here and there maybe. Any suggestions?

POW!

What's even better than building a really tall block tower? 

Knocking it down!

There's a Reason We Call Him Fathead...

Jack Gregory Millar- Head Circumference:

9/17/07 - 2 weeks old: 37 cm ( 50%)
11/12/07 - 2 months old: 40.5cm (50%)
1/23/08 - 4 months old: 43.2 (63%)
3/25/08 - 6 months old: 45.1cm (77%)
7/08/08 - 10 months old: 48cm (96%)
10/06/08 - 13 months old: 48cm (85%)
2/12/09 - 17 months old: 50.2cm (96%)

and all the while the rest of him has stayed steadily between the 20th to 35th percentile.

Elyette: (telling mom for the 50th time) Mom, I want to wrap Chase's present.
Mom: (while doing dishes, repeats) I know. Daddy's getting the wrapping paper.
Elyette: But, he's not... Daddy's just picking his nose.

Sounds about right :).

Mysteriously Sexy or Nerdy?

I'm leaning toward nerdy. After over 5 years of the same glasses (a few Rx old and being held together by craft wire), I finally got new glasses. Why the delay? They ain't cheap.

This is the first time we've had any sort of vision coverage, but we've discovered we pretty much still don't have any. Our kaiser plan covers the exam, but not contact or frames and lens. So its basically a $50 benefit. Yep, thats it (I know cause I've been paying out of pocket the last 5 years). What the heck am I paying thousands of $$ for? To have my kids weighted and measured and someone to tell me my eyes haven't changed? Wonderful. I know I know, its there if we need it, but seriously? Anyway...I'm almost done whining..., thanks to Costco, I got some decent frames for $60 (thats a good deal if you're wondering), but the cost of lenses are the kicker. My Rx is bad enough that I have to get the more expensive type of lens (no-glare, scratch resistant, blah blah blah) cause the cheap lenses are too thick and heavy! Hahahahaha, yep, definetely NERDY!

Family Portrait

We decided to get together this week for a family portrait.

One of These Things Just Doesn't Belong Here...

What's in a Name?

Alrighty, so after months of Boz and others encouraging me to sew for profit a little more I'm slowly easing myself into the idea. I'm slow because... well, you don't want to hear my perfectionest self whining so lets just cut to the chase. I plan to maybe finally open up shop with Etsy.com and I need some help. 

My little sister Marissa, like myself, has a passion for sewing and creating so we'd love to collaborate together on this. She's much better than myself so I'm getting the better end of the deal. So we need some name ideas. My creativity here is limited, so PLEASE HELP.

We liked MissyMae's, but um, well don't google that. By itself it belongs to rather scantly clad female(s) we'd rather not be associated with. MissyMae Design is clean (MissyMae Style is not). Thus, we like MissyMae "something", any ideas? Or should we just bag that idea altogether, thanks to our naked friend. Any other ideas? 

 

Or should I kick you out altogether, Missy, and go solo till you aren't in school, planning a wedding, blah blah blah, whatever. We can merge later when you don't have a life.

 Maeleigh? Maeganmillar (so original)? Think tags people. Really! Please make suggestions...

Although if you suggest "Made with Love" or something else that might suggest I'm 80 years old, I might have to kindly pass :). 

THANKS!  

Marissa made this dress for Elyette for Christmas. Some of her past creation can be seen here.

Now for some strings

I added violin and cello tracks to the version of Come Come Ye Saints I recorded a few months ago to see if I could get a decent sounding arrangement with a violin/cello/piano trio thing.

I think it turned out ok, although I think I'll take a different approach next time. Not sure if this makes sense, but I don't think the violin and cello have enough room to breath in this one. Oh well, I guess next time I'll work on that. For a first attempt at this kind of song, it's good enough for me.

Come Come Ye Saints

Going Pro!

Well, sort of. I just finished my first sewing project for profit! Elyette's sunbeam teacher, Katie Merrick, ask me if I'd make these baby sleep sacks for her to give to a friend that is having twin boys. I've seen "sleep sacks" but I really like this version. Its terry cloth on the outside and linned with flannel (cozy), so its not roasting hot and perfect for this area all year or fall/spring elsewhere.  And it has a separating zipper that is in upside down to make for easy diaper changing. I'm totally making some more of these (for myself and I can think a few babies coming soon that might like one). Anyone wants one :)? Anyway, THANKS SO MUCH to Katie for giving me the oppurtunity. I really had fun.

Dream Update

So last night we suggested Elyette dream about princesses and she got really excited about that. Well, she woke up this morning a little disappointment cause she didn't dream about the princesses, but instead about a black monster. She said it was ok though cause she took my advice and made friends with the monster:)... 

Vivid Dream of a 3 Year Old

This morning Elyette woke up telling Boz a little about a dream she had just had. I'm not sure he knew what she was talking about at first, but we got to hear the whole thing in vivid detail at lunch today.  WARNING: The end is still a bit violent even though I edited much of it.

 It was a very clear bad dream. She closed her eyes and thats when she could see the monsters (falling asleep). She was with her uncle, Ray when the monsters appeared and Ray dropped her and the monsters tried to get her! Then the sun came up and she opened her eyes. (She still loves you Ray, even though you left her for dead :).)

She repeated it about 6 times, the same every time, with the exception of details like "scary music" and she even mentioned seeing smoke at one point.

I love that "right now" are her filler words. My favorite part is when she told the monsters "Don't Monsters" in her sweet distressed damsel way.

Christmas 2008

We enjoyed Christmas in Seattle with my family this year. It was a FULL house, Christmas Eve especially. My brother Jacob, his family, Me and my family, my little brother and sister Matt and Marissa, who are going to BYU, were all visiting and my sisters Steph and Amy and their families, who live in the area, came to spend the night Christmas Eve. Its been a long time since I was able to spend Christmas with that many of siblings (Jennie, Rachel, and Elisa,- I MISSED YOU GUYS!). It was AWESOME.

The Nativity

um...don't ask, just enjoy :).

Man, are we glad we flew and that the flight wasn't canceled! It was a White Christmas. I don't think I've ever seen that much snow last that long there. Way fun!

Christmas Morning

Aftermath Fun: Pacific Science Center

Can you tell Elyette had a blast? We felt like we didn't even see her the first few days cause she was SO busy playing with her cousins. She's been asking to go back to "Little Gramma's".

Jack also kept VERY busy (kept us all busy too). Only Uncle Jacob could get him to sleep Christmas day. Oh and here's Jack's biggest highlight:

Meet Cardiff. The newest edition to the Crook Family (my sister, Steph's). We ALL had so much fun with him. He's one cute puppy and handled Jack following him everywhere and giving him "love" very well.

Needless to say, we had a very Merry Christmas! And here's to the new year!

Starting a new song

I started this song today to try out a present that santa brought me, so I figured I'd post what I got done so far. It's far from being done (hence the length), but I think it has potential to be kind of a cool song.

Suggestions/comments welcome.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/122815/orchTestMixdown5.mp3

Elves Hard at Work.

And that we were. Here's what were busy working on before Christmas. Many thanks (and due apologies in some cases) to our recipients for their gracious acceptance of our first attempt at homemade Christmas gifts.

For Jack and Elyette: Coloring Books and Crayon Rolls
Santa stuffed these goodies in their stockings. The crayon rolls where made from some scraps their mom had and with the help of Boz's photoshop expertise, Santa used some existing photos to make coloring books.


For Li'l Baby: Bike Helmet.
Since Santa brought Elyette a bike with a little seat for her Li'l Baby, he thought Li'l Baby should have a helmet. So he made her one from a Styrofoam ball (so safe :)), paint, elastic, and cute buttons. Santa's kind of a dork, I know ;).







For Hannah: Scripture Tote.
Modeled after the tote I made for my niece, I made one for Boz's sister Hannah (whom I had this year). I just changed my exterior design a bit and changed the type of closure. I'm afraid I basically made Hannah get new scriptures just so she could use this gift (sorry about that Hannah!), but is was made with love all the same...

For Scott: Personalized T-shirt
As personalized as they come! Who wouldn't want a shirt with their own face on it? Boz gets full credit for this one. I only bought the shirt he painted on. We learned you can just use freezer paper to make a stencil, iron it on, then paint, let dry and VIOLA! (for more detailed instructions, google: Freezer paper t-shirt)

For Dawson: Personalized Sweatshirt
We had my sister Steph and her family this year. Their last name is Crook (to clear some confusion) so this was for my nephew. Like his dad's, done with freezer paper. I was going to make the sweatshirt too (since I found a tutorial I wanted to try), but in the end I couldn't find the fabric I wanted for a price as good as this Old Navy Sweatshirt, so there you go... (let me know if you are interested in that sweatshirt tutorial- it looks fun)
For Steph and Kaytee: Cosmetic Bags
Simple, but fun to make. I found coordinating laminated cotton that I wanted to try sewing with (interesting stuff). Steph's is the green dot one and Kaytee's the pink dot. They got stuffed with nail polish (more age apropriate for Kaytee) and such.For Brynn and McKenzie: Tiered Skirts
More matchy matchy. Well sort of. They're both eyelet fabric tiered skirts for my little nieces that live around the corner . Maybe its because Elyette wants to wear a skirt/dress DAILY that I've come to really love these on little girls. Very versatile.
For Grandma Rae: Apple Apron
Boz's grandma, Rae is a fabulous cook so I made her an apron (Thanks for the suggestion Debbie!). Inspired by this ADORABLE Jessica Steele apron Elyette got from her Aunt Hannah.For Mom: Padfolio and Pin Cushion
My mom is an EXCELLENT seamstress, so really I can't make her anything she can't already make 100 times better, so I made her something she probably wouldn't think to make for herself, but is hopefully somewhat useful all the same. The pin cushion pattern is by Heather Bailey and the Padfolio is by Sue Bleiweiss, though I made it much bigger, to fit 8.5 x 11. (PS: if you try the pin cushion use the smallest ribbon width recommended. I used the largest and threading it was a HUGE pain).For Mom and Dad/Gramma and Grampa: Painted Denim Patch Quilt
By no means can I take full credit for this very special gift. It's from ALL my parents posterity! This past July for our Smith Family Reunion (my parents and 8 siblings and their families) all 22 of their current grandchildren each painted a denim square for a quilt. I got to make the squares into a quilt. I didn't want to hide ANY of the artwork in seams, so that's why I did it the way I did. Thanks to my family for trusting me to do it!
For Elyette and Li'l Baby: Diaper Bag and Clothes.
This was probably my favorite gift to make. I was suppose to save this one for last because I just wasn't going to do it if I didn't have time. Man, I'm glad I did it anyway because it was Elyette's favorite too! I think Li'l Baby appreciates it too. The Friday before Christmas I just really wanted to start this, so ALL day, well as much as my monkeys would allow, I spent sewing the clothes (taking precautions to not reveal what I was making). After bedtime I set to work on the diaper bag, not really knowing what or how I was going to do it, but it was very exciting that it was working out nicely. Ok, I admit, I was up till after 3am completing it all, but it was soooo worth it. The best part is, and Boz would agree, this most favored gift was COMPLETELY FREE! All made from scraps and materials I already had.

Though, I admit, stressful at times, making gifts this year was a lot of fun and really rewarding. I can't make any promises, but I got so many ideas that I didn't get a chance to try that I think I'll for sure be doing this for years :), so watch out!