He's Leaving on a Jet Plane

As I mentioned I recently took a trip to Alaska with my little baby.   Traveling with baby always has some challenges, with a lot of little things to plan for (like the fact that you never know when they might suddenly explode).  So I had to think of how to plan ahead and make this flight a little easier.

There were a few challenges I thought of ahead of time:
- The flights were at night so Bryce would be wanting to sleep
- Bryce does not take a bottle so I would have to be nursing (and yes I was "lucky" enough to sit next to a very large man on both flights.  The first guy was so big we couldn't put the arm rest down.  At least they were both nice.)
- I didn't want to have to check a stroller or car seat. (my mom had some for us up there and I have had strollers get damaged on flights before.)
- Bryce, my carry on, and a diaper bag would be a lot to juggle.
- There is not a lot of room on planes, especially with a baby on your lap, so I didn't want to have to be digging through a carry-on that was on the floor or under the seat in front of me looking for things.

So to solve many of these problems I designed a traveling bag.

First I made it so that the main compartment was actually a pillow case so that Bryce would have a nice soft place to lay.  I also folded up his quilt and put it in the big compartment too.  Then I put pockets on the front so that I would know exactly where my boarding pass, ID, and cell phone were.  Then I put one large pocket over the top of those pockets so that I could have a diaper, wipes, onesie, nursing cover, earphones, and baby Tylenol and ear numbing drops right there on my lap.  I added a strap so I could carry it easily.  And there you have it.  It worked out GREAT.  Every time I needed my boarding pass and ID I was able to get to it quickly and  then on the plane I put the pillow on my lap pocket side down and  Bryce laid comfortably on top.  Then I could just slide my hand under the pillow to get my ear phones and watch some movies.  I think a bag like this could also be great for kids to take on sleepovers or over night to Grandmas.

The other thing that I made was a larger sling to hold Bryce in.  I made it big enough for him to be able to comfortably be in it for HOURS  like 5 or 6.  That way he could stay in it while he slept on the plane and I had my hands free where walking around the airport.



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It feels so good to be back.

Oh man has it really been 2 WEEKS since I last posted!?!  Well no fear I have been super busy making stuff, killing bugs (that was fun), making more stuff, flying up to Alaska, and recovering from flying home from Alaska. 

Alaska was great.  I was born and raised there and my parents still live there.  My poor mommy and little sister had yet to meet the happiest baby in the world so the trip was very necessary.  It was my first time going on a trip and leaving my kids behind and I have to admit it was so nice to only have one baby for a few days.  Oh and the weather was SO nice up there.  My husband has been trying to get me to let us move up there ever since we got married (he is from Utah), but I am sorry...I am so not interested in experiencing anymore Alaska winters.  But I do LOVE Alaska summers.

Anyway, while I was up there we decided I better teach my little sis how to be crafty.  So we chose the baby life quilt as her first project.  

Check out the corner on that binding.  Man she is a rock star!!

I love the fabrics she chose.  The colors are so soft and sweet and she did a really good job putting it together.  We also manage to finish a few other things, but that is for another day.

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Summer fun

Oh man did my kids have fun playing with friends today.  In total 10 different kids under the age of 7 came through my front door.  It is funny to me that in the summer you normally think of fun out door things to do, but when the temps get to high the kids come in.  Now when all those kids ended up in the family room in front of the tv I thought I better suggest one of our old standbys.  When the kids are seeming bored I like to get out the pony beads and pipe cleaners (or whatever kind of cereal we have with holes in it) and let them bead.  The pipe cleaners are nice because even a 2 year old can bead with them and then there are lots of fun things they are turn them into.

Here's 6 of them having fun and check out the dishes on the counter...just keeping it real.

So here are a few things the kids made.  The long things the kids like to pretend are snakes.  They also made necklaces, bracelets, and crowns.   We also used Apple Jacks, but surprisingly those all went home with the kids.  The other nice thing about using pipe cleaners is that later you can take some of them apart and use them all over again. Pin It

Lookin' Good...

So today I was totally going to do a mini tutorial about how I painted my Baby Cute-e-cutes walls, but instead my awesome sister-in-law (who is in town from PA) came over and brought her hubby and silhouette to help me do a little vinyl lettering around my house and add a little something to my still kinda barren new home walls.  We didn't get as much done as we would have liked (I guess I will be asking Santa to get me a Silhouette this year).  But I am loving what we did get done.

I think I still may need something above it... ummm like maybe a big clock.  I always like a big clock.  But I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the vinyl looks and feel like it really warms up the space.
I have to give a lot of credit to my bro-in-law for this masterpiece.  Since the cutter only cuts up to about 8 inches high letters and I wanted 12 in high letters he totally just turned the letters the right way in the program, and then he was the genius who thought to lay it out exactly right on the table and piece it together there, rather than trying to measure and place each letter individually on the wall.  And he was the one who climbed up the ladder to adhere it to the wall some 10 ft up.  THANKS!
Now after getting a glimpse into the awesome world of the Silhouette craft cutter, I don't know how I will be able to craft without one.  Oh the things I could do if I got my hands out one (I am typing that with a dreamy far off look on my face.) Pin It

It is Like a Walk in the Park

Oh man the week I have had.  For the past 4 weeks my children have been taking turns getting a really high fever for about 3 days with no other symptoms and then getting better.  It has been super fun and this week it was my 4 year olds turn.  At least he was nice enough to wait until after we did family pictures on Tuesday (I haven't seen how they turned out yet, so cross your fingers that we got at least one good one).

So Monday I took the kids to the pool (something I never would have thought I could do before I actually did it.)
Tuesday we had family pictures (which seemed to take all day to get ready for them), Plus I made Em a new dress and a tshirt shrug (but more on that later).
Wednesday my 4 year old got a fever.
Thursday he was still sick, and I finally got my hands on the book for book club, read it, and went to book club.
With all that going on I am happy to say that I have (in my spare moments) been working on some of the finishing touches in my baby's room.

Ok so there are still a few pieces of art that I need to create and I would like to get a couple of those LACK floating shelves from Ikea in the empty corner by the crib.  And I am toying with the idea of painting a duck and a duck and a goose on the wall under the window like they are walking out from behind the rocking chair.  Wow so maybe I am not as done as I thought, but I have gotten so much done the past few days that I just had to share.
 I will be breaking down the different elements of the room over the next week.  SO if you want to know how or what I did stay tuned.  :)









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Oh no! My to do list is getting too long.

On top of finishing my baby's quilt (that I have been working on hand quilting for about 7 months), a few tee shirt shurgs, dresses, skirts, and tops (for my princess that I have currently in different stages of development), and about 3 pieces of furniture (that I recently picked up for free that need a little work),  I think I have to add this cute set from over at made.

How totally CUTE is that?  Plus I love being able to sew for my boys.  So now I have to decided should I make one for my 6 month old, 2 year old, 4 year old.... or just do one for each.  I have the feeling that if I make one for my 4 year old he will be requesting I put a picture on the front.  Oh the wheels are turning....so many options.  I love it when I get all excited about trying something new it makes me re-inspired to get some of the other things done.

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Heart Swimsuit

I recently picked up this cute little swimsuit at Old Navy for $8.  But when I got it home I realized it had the same problem that all my princess's swimsuits have.  The size small is too big, but the next size down is to short.  So I thought to myself I can fix this.

This particular swimsuit had just two problems.   It was gaping open in the front and was a little too low.  So first I added rows of shirring in the back and a few more rows forming a little triangle design under the bow in the front.  When I first learned how to do shirring I Googled it and then did a little trial and error.  It works best for me if I hand wind elastic thread into the bobbin making sure it is not pulled tight at all, but also not loose. Then with regular thread on top, my stitch length set on about 3 and lightly looser tension.  I just stitch rows making sure to go back on forth at the start and stop of each row.  It really is very easy and fun.

Next I just folded the straps over on themselves a little in the back and sewed it down by hand (that way I know it will stay, but it will be easy to cut the stitches next summer and return it to its original length.)

And Ta-da.  The shirring really adds a cute little something extra to the suit.

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