Baby L2 is Here!

And he is a BOY!  I really was shocked- I thought he might be a girl for a long time!  His name is Maclain Chase (McLain is Grant's middle name- we are just spelling it a little differently).  He's such a sweet and good baby.  I've enjoyed being his mom for the last two weeks!

He came two weeks early (just like his sister) and was 6 pounds, 4 ounces and 19 inches long.  We had another great, natural birth at the Birth Center.  This labor and delivery was so very different from Coraline's and that will have to be another post.  Let's just say we made it to the Birth Center with about 40 min. to spare!!

Grant holding Maclain before we go home.

I made this little hat for him.  Each of my babies had a special piece of handmade clothing that they wore home.

She loves to hold him!

I love their slow motion "kung fu" movements.  So cute!

He was sunning a bit and Coraline decided that her dolls needed to sun too!

Pregnancy Update

My last entry on pregnancy was when I shared that we were pregnant and now, 6 months later, I'm giving you an update (I'm such a slacker)!

This pregnancy is going very well.  It has been different from the last in that I actually did experience morning sickness.  I never got sick but felt nauseous a lot of the time.  I also have been experiencing heartburn almost constantly and since the beginning of the pregnancy.  This baby better have a head full of hair!  But other than those mild complaints, everything has been great.  I felt the baby move at 16 weeks so that has been very reassuring.  Baby L2 likes to be active at night which concerns me because apparently their pattern in the womb is their pattern when they are born.  Hmm.  We'll have to talk about that one Baby L2. 

I've really started showing recently, so I'll have to get a few pictures up.  It took a while for people to realize I was pregnant which really is a good thing when you think about it!  I'm just glad to be past the "chubby" stage! 

I'm still dancing and am on the treadmill quite a bit during the week.  I want to be in the best shape possible to have this baby and have the energy needed for two when s/he is born.  We are planning on having a natural birth again at the Birthing Center.  So far, everything looks good.  I pray the baby likes that plan too!

I'm trying to prepare Coraline for the baby as much as a 19 month old can comprehend.  I really think she has no idea what's going on but we read books, play with her baby and talk about the baby in "mommy's tummy."  She's such a sweet girl and loves babies and toddlers that I really think she'll be fine.  I can see her getting mad when she wants me to read to her and I'm nursing or something like that but I'm sure every child goes through a jealousy stage.  We are also going to move her to a big girl bed soon so we can have the crib for the baby.  I was so nervous about this but just today she started trying to climb out of the crib which is a great indicator that they are ready to move out of it.  Hopefully, that move will go smoothly! 

Here is a shot of me at 14 weeks.  I have more recent shots (24 weeks) I just have to download them from my camera (talk about lazy)!

Hello out there.

Sorry, I've been MIA for awhile.  No excuses really.  Just haven't had much too blog about. 

I haven't been crafting too much lately.  Although, there is one project that I'm dying to share with you-- I receive the Martha Stewart magazine and they had this neat article on creating a cross stitch portrait of your family.  I used to cross stitch all the time and thought a family portrait would make an adorable wall hanging.  So, I got out the graph paper and started drawing our family. . .  


Here is the finished product--

Oh, yes, you've noticed the little addition in yellow-- he/she will be here sometime in April!  I shall call him/her Baby L2.  I guess that little one may have prevented me from crafting and blogging recently.  We will have to do better Baby L2 if we want any readers!

Definitely more crafting to come!

If I Should Fall Behind

Sometimes, I don't know what to think of myself!  I have never been able to pinpoit my music style.  There are very few things I actually like to listen too and much prefer to listen to books on tape when I'm in my car.  I never know what to pick on the music on demand channels because most of the stuff I don't like.  It's frustrating to say the least!  I have a strange, eclectic assortment of songs on my mp3 player (which, sadly, doesn't get used as much as it should).

With that said . . . there is one person/band that I love and have always loved and will always love since I was 5 years old.


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.   I have my dad to thank for that.  He would blast Born in the USA while he had me and my sister in the back of his jeep (with all the windows down) driving to Waimea.  I will never forget how "big" I felt listening to his music.  Rhea and I only remembered the line "Born in the USA" but we sang it proudly!  I have that CD and occasionally roll all the windows down in my jeep and blast the CD- it's great! 

Here is a song that my dad found--  I LOVE the message and the lyrics. 

Culotte Tutorial

My niece is going to her first overnight camp this week and they require that the girls wear culottes.  According to my sister, culottes can run around $25 a pair.  That's a bit much for some fabric and elastic, so she asked me to make her some.  My niece got to pick out her favorite fabrics and we were off!  After looking at the construction of a culotte, I realized that it is a pretty simple construction. 

Some interesting facts about culottes- they are supposed to look like a skirt, but really are "baggy" shorts and they are to have an elastic band (no zippers or buttons). 

My niece is a children's size 6, but you could easily make this smaller, larger, longer, etc. to fit the size of your child.

You'll need:

1 yard of fabric
22 inches of 1 inch elastic
basic sewing materials

First, I took a pair of her culottes and made my own pattern out of it.  Here are the dimensions that I used:

Skirt/Short part.  Place the long side (14 inches) on the fold of the fabric.

Basically you want to start out with a rectangle.  Measure in 8 inches from the top and make a mark.  Measure 6.5 inches down and make a mark.  Now you are going to cut a "J" (this is the crotch).  Bottom notch is similar.  Measure 3 inches up from the bottom and make a mark and measure 5.5 inches from the left and make a mark.  Cut an angle.  This is part of the bottom of the culottes.    

Waistband.  You will want a total of two pieces. 

You have a total of two pieces.  This will be the skirt/short part.

Place the right side of the fabric together and, using a 1/4 inch seam, sew along the long side (14 inch) and the inseam (4.5 inch).  You will want to serge or use a zig-zag stitch on the raw edges so it won't fray.

One part of the culotte done.

This is what it looks like when you turn it right side out.

Now, pin the two legs together and sew using a 1/4 inch seam- this will be the crotch part. Set these aside for now.

Onto the waistband.  You should have two pieces.

Place right side together and sew along the short sides (6.5 inches) and create a tube.

Now we are going to create the tube for the elastic.  Fold down 1.5 inches, and then fold the raw edge under another 1/4 inch to create a tube for the elastic. 

Sew right on the edge of the bottom fold.  Make sure to leave a space to thread your elastic through.  Set this aside for now.

Now on to the pleats of the culotte part.  I put three pleats onto each leg of the culotte.  One at 2 inch, one at 6.5 inch and one at 11 inch.  My pleats lines were marked at 1.25 inches apart.

You will want to overlap the third pleat on each culotte (front and back) so that it hides the shorts part of the culotte.  This is the step that makes it look like a skirt.  If you look at the picture above, I've put the pleat on the left side of the culotte over the crotch seam.   

Now, I've placed the third pleat on the right side over the third pleat of the left side, so that you can't see the left side pleat anymore. 

This is what it will look like after you pin it.  (Looks like a total of 5 pleats, but really it is 6 because one pleat is hidden).

Now, make sure your waistband matches up to your culottes (you may need to adjust your pleat sizes) and then place your waistband over the culottes (right sides together), pin and sew together. 

When you are done, it will look like this.

I topstich the waistband into place.  It looks cleaner to me.

Now, time to thread your elastic into the waistband.  Sew together elastic and then sew the opening shut. 

On to the hem.  Make this whatever size you need too.  Mine ended up being 1/4 inch hem.

Finished!! 

I made four culottes in a span of two days.

A good view of the shorts part.

See how it resembles a skirt when layed out.

That little cut out in the leg helps the hem stay all the same length and makes it look like a skirt.  Without it, that piece hangs lower than the rest of the hem.

This is my first tutorial and I apologize in advance for anything that doesn't make sense.  Please ask me any questions.

 

A fine day indeed . . .

It's a good day to be a mother.

My loves got me a fun basket filled with little treats.  And my mom left a little surprise on my door.  Everything was food or food related.  Wow, my family knows me well.

This is my first Mother's Day.  This year has been wonderful.  Who knew being a mother would be this great?!  Little Miss C has rocked my world (for the better, of course) and I am thankful she has.  I wouldn't trade a single day with her.  I hope the next year is just as great! 

Love her.  And I love Grant for making it a special day for me! 

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  We had pretty weather over here and were able to celebrate with both Grant and my family.  It was a busy day for us, but Miss C did pretty well.  She got to wear not one, but two pretty Easter dresses!  Lucky girl! 

Family picture. 

Her first (and only) egg!

Hot Fudge Sundae . . . with Sprinkles

And here she is in her ensemble.   A hot fudge sundae (with sprinkles) indeed.

Miss C and her cousins decided to make the rounds in our neighborhood.  The kids racked up- I spotted a full size snickers bar and chips.

I love this picture of Cousin E giving Coraline a fist bump.  She looks very intent on doing it right.  Also, this is a good view of her skirt and leggings.

All in all, we had a great night with the family.  My dad and I made baklava so the adults were sufficiently sugared up as well as the kids!  Hope you all had a happy halloween!

What now? A Pillowcase Dress of course . . .

So, I'm conversing with a sewing friend one day asking her about her serger and all. I had been thinking about getting one, but I was unsure about spending the money. Well, another lady had overheard our conversation and a few weeks later, out of the blue, e-mailed me and asked if I wanted her old serger. I jumped at it (and offered to pay her some), but she insisted I take it for free. What a blessing! And it was all the inspiration I needed to create a pillowcase dress (or parachute dress) for some adorable nieces of mine.

I had promised my SIL I'd try to make some for her little girl, Addie. Then I was talking to my sister, who thought two matching dresses for her little girls would be fantastic. Well, I had a spare white pillowcase and decided to try to master this pillowcase dress before Christmas.

Well, I would say that my first attempt was pretty successful. I'd like to try to master the arm hole a bit more and, I think I will need to make it a little smaller for, well, smaller girls. But other than that, I was very happy with the finished product. Thought I would throw in a appliqued flower to finish it off. I'm thinking of adding ribbon to the section where the white meets the pattern material. Should have done it earlier, but chickened out (the ribbon was slippery).

Oh, serger, you are my new friend. You are complicated and tricky, but you create a lovely seam. One which my sewing machine will never be able to rival.

Craft Fair

Have I got any readers left???

If so, I have a great excuse for being absent for so long. I had been furiously stamping away creating greeting cards, notebooks, calendars and quilts for a craft fair. Oh my, the craft room was outta control these past few weeks. But I was able to pull together quite a stash of cards.

It was a ladies' retreat as well as a craft fair, so I got to hear some neat speakers and sell my stuff. It was at my sister's church, so added bonus is that we got to spend Friday and Saturday together (a rare event with my working schedule and her 4 kids)!

Can I give a shout out to my sister who is the best salesperson in the world! She's not pushy but she tells you what you need to buy! I sat like a lump most of the time nodding and smiling. I can create it, but I can't sell worth a darn. It's the way God made me- so there. Thanks Rhea, I never would have sold anything without you!

Here are some pics of our booth:

The quilts. I didn't sell any, but got lots of compliments. Several people took my card, so maybe they'll remember me in the future!

Oh, the cards. The many, many cards.

Another Goodbye

Lately, death has become more tangible . . . unfortunately, more real to me.

I've been very lucky to have only attended three funerals in my lifetime. However, recently, it seems that death is lurking around.

My sweet Aunt Christine passed away on October 6. She fought an extremely hard battle against a rare brain disease, Pick's Disease. She held on for a long time. And for that I know her family is thankful. She is in a much better place now and her body is completely healed. And for that I am thankful.

So, goodbye Aunt Christine. Until we meet again.

(L-R: Aunt Christine, cousin Linde (Christine's daughter), me, my grandmother, Faymom and my sister, Rhea)

Busy as a Bee

Life has caught up with me at the moment. Let's see, what have I been up to lately:

* * *

Made a skirt out of some fabulous material

Finished a super adorable quilt

Finished a second quilt top

Turned 29

Almost finished the book, Revolutionary Road

Went to my favorite restaurant, 518, only to find out they no longer make my favorite dish

Had a cupcake from the Cupcake Shoppe

Went shopping for some new work clothes

Had dinner with some family members

Had lunch with my mom

Got three special orders for quilts

* * *

I'm sure there is more. My computer is not uploading my pictures, so when it decides to cooperate I'll post some stuff.

Life is starting to get a bit busier. Hope I can keep up!

He is risen . . .

He is risen indeed.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Savior.

I know I did.

I went to Easter service at church, listened to an awesome message, and sang one of my favorite songs. Then I got to have Easter lunch at my dad's house, ate delicious food, and had an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Then I got Easter dinner at Grant's parents house with more awesome food and good time with the family.

Whew. What a day.



But a glorious one indeed.

P.S. Does anyone else think Grant looks a little like David Duchovny here (guy from X-files)?

My Tirade for the Day . . .

Grant and I are on a mission- to spend as little money as possible, so that when the time comes I am able to stay at home with our future kids.

I can't even tell you how blessed I feel that Grant and I do not have the "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality. I just was not raised like that. And I'm pretty sure Grant wasn't raised like that too. In all honesty, I just don't like to shop. I don't care for new cars, clothes, shoes or the newest electronic gadgets. I will spend a little money on crafty things, but not much. It is just not ingrained in me to want to spend money. And this has gone way back-- I was the one who saved her $1 allowance every week-- you can just ask Rhea!!

I think this "being content with what I have" mentality was one of the greatest gifts my parents could have given me. I'm so thankful that I don't have to have stuff to make me happy. I just want food on my table, a roof over my head and a car to get to work.

And I don't want to harp on the economy, but it is tough out there. And we know first hand. Grant is in sales. And sales are down. Way down.

But from the beginning of this year our goal was to solely live off of Grant's salary. My salary was to be put into savings. And we've been doing it. We are doing it. The whole point of this "experiment" was to be able to prepare ourselves for when we have kids, so that I will be able to stay at home with them.

As much as I worry about these things, I'm learning to trust that God will take care of us. I firmly believe that staying home with my kids while they are young is what I'm called to do. It's what my heart desires to do. And I'm willing to sacrifice in order to do it.

But here's my tirade of the day: When I think of how much of a sacrifice it is for a parent to stay at home (including myself) it breaks my heart. When did America get so expensive? When did staying at home with your kids nearly become financially impossible for most parents? Why can't we go back to a simpler time? Why? Why? Why?

I know, it's pointless to wish for something that just isn't so. But seriously, why is it nearly impossible for one parent to be able to stay at home to care for and teach your kids. I believe many of problems in this world can be traced back to this issue-- families don't see each other often enough, kids are left alone during the day, parents are too tired to make a healthy dinner, kids are being taught right and wrong from others, etc.

This country's focus is breaking my heart. I don't want to be one of those parents. I want to be at home with my kids. I want to be the one that teaches them right from wrong. I want to be the one that they can talk to. I want to be the one that greets them when they come in from school. I want to be the one who makes them a healthy dinner (and breakfast and lunch). I, basically, want to be there.

So, I will sacrifice what I need to in order to do that. And I will trust that God will take care of us. And I am thankful that I don't need much to be happy in this world.

And that is my random, long tirade of the day. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

Rainbows and Butterflies

The Rainbow dance concert was a success! Wow, thanks to all the many friends and family that came. I even got a comment about how many of my peeps showed up!! You guys rock!

I got so many wonderful comments about the swimming piece! I can honestly say that I was a tad apprehensive about my costume-- halter top bathing suit with shortie short shorts, but once the music came on it didn't phase me. And I know, people think I 'm crazy and way too self conscious, but I cannot help it-- really, I cannot help it! But then, I remembered that there were tons of little girls around and the last thing I wanted to do was set a bad example of negative body image issues. So, I sucked it up (literally), took off the cellulite-hiding tights and embodied a 50's synchronized swimmer cheesing it up for the audience. After all, when will I ever get to wear a polka dot bathing suit, swim cap and bright red lipstick again? Hopefully, I can get a few pictures of the piece up soon.

Sunday was beautiful and I was able to enjoy the sun for a few minutes. My doctor said I was Vitamin D deficient and that I MUST sit out in the sun for at least 15 minutes a day. Hmm, okay doc, if you insist. I can just hear it now . . . "No Grant, the doctor said I must sit outside. I'm sorry, but breakfast/lunch/dinner/laundry/dusting must wait." (I kid, Grant would never interfere with the doctor's orders). So, I sat and I read and I watched butterflies flutter by and I felt the wind and I heard the birds sing. It was a glorious ending to a LONG month.

Thanks again for all your support (dancing, life, etc.)- you all are great! Here's to Spring.

They're getting too big

My sweet "babies" are turning 6 today! I still remember the day they were born (and I mean the moment they took their first breath, people). And now they're little people. I mean they talk, sing, make jokes, pretend, fight, laugh- they do it all. It's insane how fast they grow up!

Here they were a mere hour or two after their birth with their grandpa.

And here they are being cute little people.

Happy birthday you guys. Don't grow up too fast on me.

Disclaimer: They are not my real babies, but I'll always think of them like that because I'm an aunt and I can do those things.

Christmas Tree

We've never gotten our Christmas tree so early in the season as we did this year, but we are both going to be so busy every day for this next week that Friday night was our only day to get it.

I think Grant did a fantastic job finding the "perfect" tree.

He's a good man- cleans and everything.

Here is the finished project!

With a little help from the cats.