365 days of girl

Well it has happened. Elaine has turned one. I'm only a week or two behind posting about it but I'm just happy I had the chance to do it at all! We have loved the change of dynamics our little Miss has brought to our home. We love you girlie!

Elaine right now you...

Love to do ANYTHING with Daddy (he's your favorite)
Have three teeth
Want to eat anything with sugar in it (especially cake or ice cream)
Can say 6 words (Mama, Dada, night night, Hi, yeah, and dog)
Adore your brothers
Love to "read books" by yourself
Want dinner at 5pm every night (on the dot!)
Can blow kisses
Add sweetness to our lives :)

Love you baby girl, we don't know what we would do without you!

Posing in her birthday hat. There's some serious attitude in those lips :)

The Month in Pictures...

We said goodbye to Jimmy on Saturday. We will be without him for 30 days (which Ammon tells me is ALOT of days) We are all doing well, Jim is in Seattle on an acting internship in Neurosurgery for the month. How awesome is that? Anyway, he already misses our faces so this pict-o-rama is for him.

Love you Jimmy

Places to Shop...Modestly ;)

I have to chance to help out with a Young Women's activity in our ward tomorrow night. We will be talking about modesty and where/how to find clothes that cover (and are still cute) I pulled together this roundup for the girls and thought I might share it with you as well!

Enjoy!

http://www.halftees.com/


(Cute under layering half tee with 5 sleeve length options and 7 color options. Priced between $14 and $17, relatively fast shipping) And I might add AWESOME for nursing...easy access ;)

http://www.downeastbasics.com/

(Good place to find layering tees and tanks. Skirts are mostly modest. Tops are hit and miss. Well priced, but expensive shipping)

I have a rant waiting to happen about this company, ask me sometime, maybe I'll blog about it.

http://www.elizamagazine.com/

(New Modest fashion magazine, right up there with Vogue in style but all the styles are modest! They always have great reviews of new modesty clothing companies.)

http://www.modcloth.com/

(This site is not dedicated to modest fashion; however most of their clothing is modest or could easily be made modest. Cute and retro.)

http://www.themodbod.com/

(Another great site for layering shirts. I really like their sleeve options the most. Well priced around $17-$20)

http://www.vintagehem.com/

(I LOVE this store! They have to cutest way to lengthen your dresses/skirts with a ruffled slip. Awesome!)

http://www.shabbyapple.com/

(This site is fairly expensive but they have the most classy and stylish dresses available in my opinion. However, some of their styles are really REALLY tight fitting, so not everything is perfect.)

http://www.clothedmuch.com/

(This is a fashion blog written by an LDS woman. She has fun taste and great tutorials)

http://www.divinitasole.com/

(Really cute modest swim suits. Very affordable, lots of options.)

http://www.kneeshorts.com/

(Modest length shorts and capris for guys or girls)

http://www.mikarose.com/

(Really pretty Dresses and skirts! They only have a few shirt options, but they are really cute too. Inexpensively priced as well.)

http://www.beautifullymodest.com/

(This site carries really lovely prom/wedding dresses.)

http://www.modestprom.com/

(This site is AWESOME! They have links to all the modest formal sites as well as ideas on making your dress modest, or how to sew one of your own.)

Simcha’s Spectacular (local shop)

(1839 South Taylor Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 (216) 932-3130 Open from about 12:30-6 Monday through Thursday and on Fridays till about 4 or 5 depending on the time of year. Jewish owned fashion shop. Very friendly owner, SUPER cute clothes. Her prices are about the same as shopping at Macy’s but the quality is really nice.)

____________________________________________________________________________________
These shops and blogs have made shopping for modest clothes so much easier! There is one thing however, that you should still remember. Even though these sites say they are dedicated to modesty, it doesn’t mean that everything they sell is actually modest. It is up to you to define your standards, no matter what they claim. Even if they are members of the church that doesn’t mean they are truly modest and virtuous.
“You are the strength of the present, the hope of the future…You are second to none. You are daughters of God…But, my dear friends, we cannot accept that which has become common in the world. Yours, as members of this Church, is a higher standard…

Modesty in dress and manner will assist in protecting against temptation. It may be difficult to find modest clothing, but it can be found with enough effort. I sometimes wish every girl had access to a sewing machine and training in how to use it. She could then make her own attractive clothing. I suppose this is an unrealistic wish. But I do not hesitate to say that you can be attractive without being immodest. You can be refreshing and buoyant and beautiful in your dress and in your behavior. Your appeal to others will come of your personality, which is the sum of your individual characteristics. Be happy. Wear a smile. Have fun. But draw some rigid parameters, a line in the sand, as it were, beyond which you will not go.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, May 2004)

 
*These opinions are my own, I am not getting paid in anyway from any of these companies for my review.

looky what she can do...........

wish us luck....

Luke is getting potty trained :)

It's a special day...



 I've been saving that obnoxious bow just for this day! Happy St. Patricks day!!! Thank you Grandpa Bates (and perhaps some other mystery person on my dad's side, Help me out here Dad...) for a claim on this Irish holiday. While I may be a very small percentage Irish (and my children even smaller) I love this day. Beside loving the color green, it's just kinda cool to celebrate my cultural heritage for a day. Yea for that tiny island on the other side of the pond, I love your hills and your cheerful accent, I love your corned beef with cabbage and fish and chips. I REALLY want to kiss your Blarney Stone and search for Nessy. I hope to play a penny whistle with skill and reel on my fiddle. I will play a jig today in honor of you.

Are you having a St. Patty's themed dinner tonight? What's on the menu?

Per your requests.......The Girl

She's six months old, She rolls like a champ, She eats baby food, She giggles sparingly and smiles freely, She sleeps through the night, has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger, She's our girlie!

Enjoy

It's tough work to be the baby :)

Oh winter....when will you end?

Yikes, it's been a while. Nice to see ya! I've been hibernating. Between Jimmy's schedule on his surgery rotation and that nasty winter that just can't leave well enough alone, I haven't felt much like blogging. Lame, I know. I haven't exactly been lazy though. We've been FULL of projects around here (mostly as a way to forget about the lack of sunshine, and the over abundance of snow)

                                                 Can I show you what I've been up to?

Jim made a Lego table for the boys. I need to paint the legs, but isn't that awesome! The boys love it! Lego is a wonderful thing.

My hooks have been busy too. I made these little shoes for Elaine. I would show you a picture of them on her, but as it turns out she hates things on her feet as much as I do! I'm not offended, I had alot of fun making them! I also made two baby hats that have already been given away, they were so little and sweet though. Sweet baby heads *sigh*

These pants were the pinnacle for me! Ammon and Luke have needed a pair of light weight cotton pants. They are sweaty little sleepers :). PJ's are simple enough to make but I had to re-thread my serger. (dah dah dahnnnn)  I have never before attempted doing this, I usually just ask my mom to do it for me, but I did it! I can read a diagram! I was so proud!!!!

So that has been our month. Sorry I haven't been sharing along the way. I'll try to catch us all up in the next day or two!

I'd like to know, has spring sprung where you are?

Nap Time Triumph...

So I basically feel totally awesome right now. I made this little beauty during nap time yesterday. What do you think?

This dress represents a significant triumph! Not only is this my first EVER baby dress, it is also the first item of clothing I have sewn without one scrap of help! I am so proud :).

You may also notice that this dress consists entirely of Moda fabrics (From JEllen's of course) The green is a basic solid and the skirt is Wee Woodland by Keiki for Moda. So this is also my very first finished project made from my lovely fabric stash! I have been otherwise too scared to cut my fabric. I'm such a chicken when it comes down to the cutting. Eek!

I found this pattern on Prudent Baby. I love reading their blog, and check it often. It was such a happy surprise to find this pattern waiting for me as a went through my morning blog list. I was instantly inspired I knew I had to make it.

And it looks simply darling to boot! (It helps to have such a pretty model!)

The Month in Pictures

January was a cold one here in Cleveland. These are just a few pictures from the month. I'll try to post some videos as well. Love ya!

Kid History - Episode 1

This out of control hilarious. You should check out episode 2 and 3 as well. I don't even know what to say right now.......so so so funny. :)


LOVE IT!

Who couldn't love this face...

                                    

Really, isn't he darling? I love the odd and silly tradition. In elementary school any holiday written on a calendar is always acknowledged, but this my friends was always my favorite. How strange you might say. I think it is wonderful. A charming community event, silly and frivolous and yet, so homey. I can picture the die hard fans (around 40,000 of them) with their warm drinks, bundled up, shouting hello to friends they may not have seen in a year. Hoping, chanting even, for an early spring. This little guy only prognosticates correctly about 39% of the time. Which is not very reliable, but I still love him!

I have another reason to love this usually chilly day in February. This is the day, six years ago, that I met my Jimmy.

I was on vacation, we ended up in the same institute class during the week and, in my naturally forward manner, invited him out to pizza with a few other friends. We talked the night away, were engaged a little more then a week later and the rest is history. So I guess this whole coming week is significant! How I love my Mr. And just like the movie, I get to repeat that feeling everyday for all eternity. *Happiness*

So Happy Groundhog day! Happy early spring! Do something wonderful today and hope it repeats all year long!


Catch you later!

She's crafty...

Well last month was......interesting. Aside from everyone being ill a few times I had some fun crafty outlets. This little number was hiding in my attic and really needed a face lift. I obliged :)

Now typically, one would place a before picture here instead of an after picture. However, one has a hard time doing this when they get too excited and start painting before they remember what a camera is. Suffice it to say, this table was plain. It was composite wood tan and it needed help.

After finishing the project, Luke was SOOOOO excited he promptly broke one of the legs off. YIKES that kid can really be a beast sometimes. So we had to fix that. I cut a circle with my jig saw in a 1x8 and glued it to the bottom with liquid nails. After that I just used longer screws to attach the leg brackets, and there you go. Easy peasy. 

My sweetie surprised me with a flower yesterday. I think it was meant for that table :)

The chalk board paint went on really well, it was thick and a little more smelly the regular paint but the results have been awesome. It's a total hit! The kids love it, it's cute, and it works great for mushy little love notes :).

fabric scraps and sleeping children...

So the kiddos are sick today. :( Boo. Jimmy is on call so we are solo. Ammon has been a trooper but poor Elaine is miserable. She's just too little to be sick I tell you! *Sigh* It's a sad thing to have sicky babies. At one point, all the squeakers were asleep, and I thought "I'm going to make something." So I used the tutorial from here and the instructions from here modified them a bit and came up with this!

Not only will my ears be toasty warm at Ammon's bus stop, but they will be seriously cute too! At least I think so. I would personally model it for you, but I'm a little sicky as well (and I look a little scary.) Maybe another day. I hope you're staying healthy and warm!


We'll talk soon

Do you ever feel....

Overwhelmed? Tired? Sad? Misunderstood? Stressed out? Overworked and Underpaid?

Lemme tell ya, This has been a week! BAH! This week involved basically all of the above mentioned emotions plus some. I am so done with this week. But I've been thinking, I get alot of comfort knowing I am not alone. When I call up my girlfriends, or say a prayer, I remember that I am not unique in these feelings. Others have been there, done that. And the best part is, they want to help! What a wonderful thing to have available! Imagine, a world FULL of women who understand each other. Amazing. I so appreciate all the beautiful ladies in my life. What a gift. Miss Sarah S. and her party, dancing her way into her 30th year, Miss Heather watching my crazy (yet wonderful) children, Miss Sarah R. taking me out to lunch, are all a testament to me of the power of women. These ladies were there when I needed it. They understand. I love them.

Speaking of...This week at JEllen's there will be a very special gathering of women (and some men I'm sure) to muster strength, pool talents and resources and do something AMAZING! We are a force to be reckoned with. (Mmmwaha) This is one reason I feel so passionately about the Relief Society of the church. We are women, garnering strength to change the world. So if you want to change the world, or just support another woman doing a good thing, I'd love to see you there! I have three seats open if you want a ride!

The results...

Ammon is doing well. He broke the lowest knuckle in his left thumb. He wasn't being all that crazy, he just fell wrong this morning and his thumb took the brunt of the fall. He falls all the time! It's crazy! Anyway, he is in good spirits, and has endured things well. I was pretty STRESSED OUT this morning, but I've finally calmed down as well. He'll get a cast on Friday that will be on for around four weeks. I'm just seriously grateful that it happened today and not tomorrow because Jim is on call tonight. Yea for a calm husband who is also almost a doctor :).

Ammon takes pity in the form of chocolate and cookies ;)

I knew this day was coming...

You can't last long in a house full of boys without eventually landing in the ED with a broken limb. Well, the day came. We officially have our first broken bone. Ammon is at the hospital now with Jim. His poor thumb will not be the same after today.

Roz and I are in sewing heaven....

This my friends is a sight of pure joy! My favorite fabric store had their year end sale this last week, and I got a gift card for Christmas....basically it was meant to be (Thanks Dad and Sue!). I went to visit Ms. Joyce TWICE this week. The first time I went alone (a rare occasion) However, I got in trouble by a certain 4 year old, who thinks Joyce is his best friend.

 We simply had to go back! Ammon is hilarious in her store. I think he would stay there forever if I let him.  Joyce kinda likes Ammon too. He's famous now, you should check it out! I had a blast thumbing through her beautiful selection and came home with these lovelies and a mind full of crafty ideas. Roz and I are going to be busy.

I was so pumped after my visit with Joyce that I made this! I worked on it after the kids went to bed until midnight. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Ahhhh fandango, you will make a beautiful baby quilt.

What would you do with a pile of beautiful fabric?