Silly Pea

A couple of cute things Pea said lately :)

#1
Me- "Pea, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Pea- "I want to be a soccer player when I grow up! I want to be the player who gets to pick all the pretty flowers! I'll make our team a beautiful flower trophy!"

lol.

#2
Pea- (to Nathaniel) "Daddy, where are you going with Mommy?"
Nathaniel- "I'm going to take Mommy out somewhere nice for dinner."
Pea- "OOOHHHHH, Like McDonalds???"
Nathaniel- "No, somewhere even nicer than McDonalds."
Pea- "Like Wendy's? Wendy's is much nicer than McDonalds. Mommy loved Wendy's."

Haha... Kind of funny that even a 3 year old knows that mcd's is the lowest of the low, lol.

A Week with 5 Kids!

This week, I get to keep my niece and nephews while my sister and brother-in-law travel to LasVegas. Not sure what we're going to do all week, but I'm sure we will find something interesting to get into. I am, however, looking forward to having other kids to play/occupy my kiddos so I can get some cleaning and sewing done. I might even be able to take a nap! I can't wait until all the funny starts, because I'm sure with 5 kids, something hilarious will frequently happen. Right now, I'm just listening to the sounds of my house being destroyed... crumbling under the stampede of 10 little feet. As long as they leave the kitchen standing and don't raid my stash of chocolate, I'm sure that this week will be nothing but a blessing. Here's to the start of many sleepovers, movie nights, popcorn all over the floor, and smiles and laughter all around!

Tutorial: Snack/Sandwich Baggies

Yet another easy and cheap (and cute!) way to reuse around the house- make cloth baggies. Besides being able to reduce waste, save money, and personalize the kids' lunches, you'll save yourself a lot of stress by making your own! You will no longer have those mornings where you wake up and realize you used the last baggie yesterday, and don't have any way to pack your kids' pb&j. Just make a dozen or so of these, and throw them in the wash, as needed. Presto, problem solved!

Here's how to do it!

Step 1: Determine the size of bag that you want. Add 4 inches to the length, and 1 inch to the width. I like my snack bags to be 5x7 and my sandwich bags to be 7x7. So, the cut dimensions for the snack bags are- 6x11 and the sandwich bags are 8x11.

Step 2: Hem both ends of the bags. Using a decorative stitch is a nice way to make the baggies look even better!

Step 3: Fold in one of the short sides 3 inches- right side to right side- iron or pin to keep in place. Then fold the other hemmed side all the way over to the fold created by the first fold- right side to right side- iron or pin in place.

Step 4: Sew 1/2 inch seam allowance down both unfinished sides. I always sew two rows, about 1/4 inch apart, for added security in case a seam busts.

Step 5: Turn right side out, and fill it up with snacks, and go!

Who's Who????

Okay, well, they're not identical... but pretty close! Here are a couple pics of Grunt in the tub tonight- he was all smiles and laughs (not that it's rare, but he was especially so tonight). He and Pea had some secret story going, because they kept making each other laugh. I love my family.

Grunt- always so happy. Such a blessing!

Pea in 2008- 10 months- also a blessing. My sweet pea.

Pillow Case Dress Tutorial

I was cleaning out our closets the other day and realized that we have about 50 pillowcases and only 5 sets of sheets... so, in an effort to organize and create space, I saved the 10 nicest ones and ended up with a thousand pillowcases on my bedroom floor. So, I saved space in the closet, but now, what to do with the bunches of pillowcases on my floor??? Enter: the pillowcase dress. I saw this a while ago, and hadn't really thought much about it, but, here is my version of a pillowcase dress.

Step 1: Pick out pillowcase, wash, iron wrinkles out. Determine length of pillowcase dress either by measuring your kiddo, or by using another dress of which you like the length. (I used another dress since Pea was in bed.) Add 1 inch to this measurement for seam allowance.

Step 2: Cut the pillowcase to the desired length. (Make sure to put the closed/sown end of the pillowcase in the scrap/throw away part).

Step 3: Create the arm holes by drawing a "J" on either side, using another dress for this process can help you make the correct size and angle. Cut out the J on both sides, through both pieces of the pillowcase.

Step 4: Turn pillowcase inside-out and iron down 1/2 inch at the top of the pillowcase. Fold fabric 1/2 inch again and iron. Sew the casing you have now created from one end to the other, leaving both ends open. Do this on both sides.

 

Step 5: Thread 6 inches of 1/2 inch elastic through each casing, careful to pin one end so that you don't lose the elastic in in the casing. Stretch and stitch the elastic on each end of the casing.

Step 6: Using the same method as the above casing, although a little smaller, create a casing on each of the arm holes. I ironed 1/4 inch down, folded, then ironed 1/2 inch down, then sewed as close to the edge of the casing as possible. Thread ribbon through the casing and cut to fit.

Voila! A pillowcase dress! This only took me about 30 minutes, and I don't think that it would take that long the next time. You can always use a plain pillowcase (mine had a ruffled edge) and decorate it with buttons, rick-rack, or ribbon. Super cheap! Super easy! Super cute!

Pea's First Build A Bear!

We took a trip to Easton to spend some family time this past Sunday. It was such a wonderful day! Walking around, holding hands, doing a little shopping, no stressors or agendas. While we were walking around we found Yo-Goot and stopped off for some frozen  yogurt. It was SUPER-YUM! It was just like a place that we went to in Louisville that we both fell in love with. Both of the kiddos loved it too. The only problem is that Grunt ate half, if not more, of hubby's yogurt... he was NOT a happy camper when it was gone. (Grunt, I mean... although, hubby wasn't super thrilled either.) After our pitstop we decided we'd walk around and when we passed the Build-A-Bear Workshop Pea was ecstatic. Now, we've passed them a lot of different times at different places, but this was the first time that Pea really showed interest. So, we decided that we would give her a special treat and let her make her own bear. It was the highlight of our day. Seeing her so happy and so proud of what she made- it was wonderful! Then we ended our trip with some time in the fountains.

Here are some pics of Pea and new bear, Sophie.

A cute pic of the kids and daddy.

aaaaaaand a couple pics of the fountains- Grunt is a glutton for punishment!

Pictures....

For some reason our pictures aren't showing up... even ones from past blogs. Not sure why, but I'm working on it. If anyone knows why, let me know ! :) Thanks

ETA- 7/17- i'm going back through our blog and re-adding the pictures- this could take a while, so bear with me!