My how the week flew by! Three for Thursday!

Three things that come to my mind immediately.  GO!:
1.  I need some chocolate.
2.  My girls are soooooo cute!
3.  I need get working on some projects.

Three things I did instead of blogging this week:
1.  Sleep.
2.  Not dishes.
3.  Not laundry.

Three things I would like to learn how to do:
1.  Knit.
2.  Play guitar.
3.  Not be shy when I talk to people.

Three things that are pressing on my mind:
1.  How much should we get in loans this year?
2.  What is the best way to nurture and teach and play with my girls?
3.  What should I pack for lunch at the zoo tomorrow?

Three pictures:

(This was taken in the rush of the morning.  How appropriate that it is so blurry!)

Three personal pet peeves I have about blogging:

1.  That I allow it, at times, to make me feel inadequate.

2.  That I don't have enough time to do it as much as I would like.

3.  So many unwritten rules!

Three people I find intriguing:  

1.  Jeff Probst.

2.  Michelle Duggar.

3.  Santa Claus.

Three "surprises" I found this week:

1.  The mud puddle in our driveway is good breeding ground for frogs!  It is filled with eggs.

2.  How much sleep I really needed.  I slept for nearly 2 days straight!

3.  Groceries don't put themselves away and dishes don't clean themselves!  Dang it.

Three things I enjoyed about Mother's Day 2011:

Hmmm....it kind of got skipped over this year in all the hubbub, but...

1.  I was able to start catching up on sleep (are you noticing a pattern this week?).

2.  My dad and brother-in-law and his father stayed a little longer to rest before they left and we watched a movie together.

3.  My sister-in-law and mother-in-law gave me a whole lot of goooooooood chocolate.

Three things I just can't resist:

1.  Golden Graham S'mores.

2.  Good bread.

3.  A song that needs to be sung and/or danced to.

Thanks, Evelyn!  I don't have any suggestions off the top of my head, but I'll try to think of some and let you know!  

Symfully Sweet: What to do with a Peep

My friend Sami has a monthly contest that I have been dying to join up with!  She picks a candy for the month and then tells us to go crazy with our creativity.  You know, let the juices flow...Come up with some kind of project or activity or something that incorporates that month's candy.

This month, she chose....



Ugh.  Peeps.  I don't like Peeps.  Sure they're cute and lovable and my sisters love them!  But, I'm not a fan.  So, this was definitely a challenge.

I thought and thought, and I even came up with some really cute ideas.  But, those ideas either required time I didn't have last month or they would have ended up with Peeps that needed to be eaten.  I just couldn't bring myself to that.  What could I do with Peeps that would put them in a situation where I would still eat them?  Then it came to me.

Here they are...unaware of what lies in their future:

 I dumped them in a pot with half a stick of butter.

I also added some strawberry marshmallows with them, because I needed more.

I turned on the heat and reduced them to a more basic form.   

 It wasn't pretty to watch.  

And the color was kind of a gross pucey color.

Have you caught on to where I'm going with this yet? 

The next step:  I added Rice Krispies and stirred it all together.   

 And of course, at the very end I added chocolate chunks (like the chips only chunks!).  

 Spread them out in a pan...

 ...and no one will ever know these used to be those yucky little Peeps!  

Even I liked 'em!

Yum.

*Disclaimer:  After reading Sami's post, I almost decided to not post mine since we did pretty much the exact same thing.  How embarrassing!  But then I started thinking about it.  I believe this is a case of great minds think alike, since I did this well before I knew that she did it too.  So, I'm posting it because I really want to join in and to support Sami.  Also, Peeps turned Rice Krispie treats are awesome.

I'm a sucker for a good meme: Three for Thursday

Yeah, I know that technically it is not Thursday anymore, but I'm doing it anyway!  Check out Hanging By a Silver Lining for the original!

Three things I do after the the kids are in bed:
1.  Work...mindlessly type for 4 hours straight.
2.  On Monday nights, work on a project while enjoying a TV show that is not on the Disney channel.
3.  Read.

Three people I kind of want to be, but not really:
1.  A dancer in a Broadway show.
2.  Me in the future when I have figured everything out and I'm completely comfortable with myself.
3.  Kate Middleton (I totally stole that one from Evelyn, but it's still true).

Three objects I would never buy used:
1.  A swimming suit.
2.  Ped-Egg.
3.  Socks (it seems I have a foot thing).

Three things I didn't do today:
1.  Dishes (at my house).
2.  Put my groceries away.
3.  Exercise or diet.

Three books I would like to read:
1.  Harry Potter again.
2.  The Songwriter.
3.  The Remarkable Soul of a Woman.

Three things that have been ruined for me thanks to stomach flu and/or morning sickness:
1.  Frosted Mini Wheats.
2.  Lunchables.
3.  My 10-year no throwing up streak.

Three things I appreciate about my marriage:
1.  We are still learning and we are both okay with that.
2.  He makes me laugh and he gets my jokes.
3.  No one else can give a hug like my Mister.

Three things within a two-foot reach of me:
1.  A pillow.
2.  An exercise ball.
3.  Mickey Mouse.

Three pictures:

 This was completely spontaneous!  She hugged me right as I clicked the picture.

Adventures in egg-dyeing.   

Chubby Bunny.

Three plans for the near future:

1.  Pick up my parents at the airport.

2.  Go to the Mister's graduation.

3.  Say goodbye to my sister and her family.

Three final thoughts:

1.  I like my toenails painted brown.

2.  I miss blogging.

3.  I'm going to bed.

Easter dresses!

I have, for years before my daughters were even born, always wanted to sew for my kids. 

Unfortunately, my sewing experience, while not nonexistance, is very little.  I'm working on that. 

Here's proof.

I made this!

I actually made 2 of them!

By myself....Without any help (not counting tutorials).

The straps are crooked.  And the hem isn't straight (I have yet to be able to sew a perfectly straight line.  I don't think it's possible).  But, hey, I'm still proud.  And my girls love them!  That's enough for me.

Here's how I did it:

Using pre-shirred fabric and following a project sheet from the fabric store, I cut the bodice.

Since O's chest measurement was about 20 inches, I subtracted 3 inches (to allow it to fit snugly) and cut it at 17 inches.

Next, I folded it in half (right side in) and sewed a straight seam up the back. 

Flip it right side out and *bing* there you have it!

The next day, I remembered their torso's aren't that long, so I measured how long I wanted the bodice (from armpit to bellybutton) and cut the bodice to size.

The tutorial I followed for the skirt can be found over at Made.  (I l.o.v.e. her blog!  It is fantastic with so many great tutorials!  I really want to try and make this skirt for myself.  Every girl, no matter the age, needs a good twirly skirt.)  This tutorial was really easy to follow.  The only thing I did to modify it was that in place of an elastic band I used the shirred bodice.  It worked just fine.

Here's the circle all cut out.  Isn't it pretty? 

Also, because the bodice was cut from the chest measurement and skirt was cut from the waist measurement, there was more of a difference in size between the two.  To make up for that, I folded the fabric over at a few places along the waist.  It still looks good.

Once I had the skirt and the bodice sewn together, I added straps. 

For these, I cut 3-inch-wide strips of the fabric, 8 inches long (the measurement from the front of the armpit to the back). 

I folded each strip in half lengthwise (right side in) and sewed it up the length.  Then I flipped it right side out and ironed it. 

I don't particularly enjoy ironing, but in this case it was necessary.  If you don't iron, you get a tube.  If you iron, you get a flat strap.  That's what I wanted. 

I sewed the straps onto the bodice.  I measured where I wanted them to go while O was wearing the dress, but it was still crooked.  No matter, it isn't that crooked. 

I didn't take a picture of it, but I hemmed the skirt all the way around with a zigzag stitch.

Finally, I put the dresses on the girls and took pictures!  We would have gone outside, but it was pouring rain.  (And, yes, I have a tablecloth on the ground in my living room.  We were having a movie day and eating lunch while we watched.  This is easier than cleaning the carpet.  =))

I asked her to smile.  This is what I got!

Then I asked her to twirl.

There's a smile!

L was in on the fun too.  

A little uninterested at first...

Then she copied...

And joined the twirling!

Whew!  All tuckered out (yes, that tablecloth is clean.  We hadn't eaten yet!)

Happy Easter!

Vlog time!

I have decided to participate in a monthly vlog link party with Mamarazzi and Shawn.  What can I say?  It looked fun.  I'll probably be making this a monthly thing.  I like being able to hear other people's voices matched up with their faces and I'm hoping you'll like my voice.  =)

Ok, so, my voice is probably too soft (sorry), the room is way messier than it should be, and we have learned that if I point a camera at my face I tend to talk for a long time! 

Here is the list of words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Antenna, Rootbeer, Ambulance, Museum, Milk, Orange, Apricot

Anyway...here it is!  Enjoy!

Thanks Mamarazzi and Shawn!  I can't wait for next month!

Getting Organized, the pretty way

I have a binder.  It is black and drab and boring.

I use it, theoretically, to keep myself organized. 

I put my weekly schedule in it.  And my lists.  Lists of project ideas, things to do, people to see, games to play, blog ideas, recipes to try.  You know, fun stuff. 

The problem is, it's black...and drab...and boring. 

I look at it and it feels like work.

I decided that if I am going to be doing this for the rest of my life (which is my plan), I need to do something to make it more enjoyable. 

So...

First I found this great piece of paper.

I cut it to size and then wrote a happy, inspiring quote on it...in pencil first.

 (which, by the way, I should have done lighter because erasing this proved to be more work than it should have been.  If you do this, learn from my mistakes and don't press so hard with your pencil.)

Next, I got out my gel pens. 

It's been a while since I've played with my gel pens.  I had forgotten how much fun they are!  I traced over my too dark pencil lines with the beautiful gel pens.

And, here's the end result:

Sorry the pictures is kind of blurry, but you get the idea, right?  I have to admire it every time I look at it.  Now my binder is happy, inspirational...even motivating! 

And, good news, I have been inspired to make the rest of my organizing methods more fun and happy and inspirational...maybe even motivational!  Just a little something to look forward to.



P.S. I'm linking this here:

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

It was one of my favorite books when I was growing up.  So, you can imagine how happy I was to find it for my girls! 

We loved it for a month or two, but apparently we loved it a little too much.  The cover just came right off. 

So, I set it aside to keep it safe. 

Then I had an idea.

It couldn't be too hard to make a new, more durable cover, could it?

There was only one way to find out.

So, I found some cute paper and measured it to fit.

I just opened the book to the center (where the staples are visible) and then traced a line just a little bigger around the book.  While the book was open, I removed the staples. 

Lesson Learned!  I should have been more generous tracing the line around the book, to allow for just a bit more room when folding the paper in half.

Next, I cut the paper out and covered it in contact paper.  Sorry I didn't get any pictures of that.  I was watching a movie with my Mister and kept forgetting to take pictures.  =)  But, really, I'm not that great at contact paper covering, so maybe you didn't want to see the struggle anyway. 

So...once the paper was covered, I folded it in half like a book.

I got a little stuck here.  My plan originally was to just staple everything back together, but I have an itty bitty stapler that couldn't handle such a large task.  I was forced to improvise.

I put the book on top of the new cover (opened up), matching the staple holes to the folded crease. 

Then, using a large yarn needle inserted in the previous staple holes, I poked holes in the new cover.

The contact paper was surprisingly durable (good!), so it took a little extra pushing, but it turned out perfect. 

I used some string I got on clearance forever ago and sewed through the holes to bind it all together. 

There was no real specific technique here, I just wanted it to stay together and be strong. 

And, it turned out great!  The book has held together quite nicely in O's excitement over the fixed book and I'm fighting the temptation to go through and recover all of her books! 

I linked this project up at Naptime Crafters!  Yay!