Month: July 2018

Evelyn is One Month Old

Hi Sis,

This month has gone by quickly, and I have very few blog posts! My days have mostly been filled getting very little done, outside of laundry, washing dishes, eating, and of course playing and caring for Evelyn.

It is crazy to think she is already a month old. She might be just a baby, be we are starting to learn Evelyn’s likes and dislikes, and she definitely knows her mommy and daddy now.

This morning while nursing Evelyn, Nate gets up for work. Evelyn gave him the most darling smile and reached her hand out to him. She also enjoys staring at us while we are talking, smiling, and on an occasion we get some giggles.

As for what she likes, food, sleep, rattles, being held, diaper changes, swinging, bouncing, being outside, and music. She is particularly fond of Enya, and my singing… sorry Nate!

Evelyn has a few dislikes too. Dirty diapers! She will cry and fuss up a storm till she is headed in the direction of the changing table. She also cries evertime she gets hiccups, poor girl!

Well, time for pictures 😀

 

Love,

Jamiegoof

A Day in Oshkosh

Dear Sis,

Friday was a big day. We woke at 4:30 am, left the house at 5:30 am, so we could take off at 6:30. It was William’s first airplane ride. He was very eager to go, go, go!

Go Go Go Prepare for Take Off Movie

It was a three hour flight to a local airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. From there, we caught a shuttle to the air show. Since we had such an early morning we were ready for lunch upon arrival.

Since we were in Wisconsin, we had to get fried cheese curds to go with our ordinary burgers and hot dogs:) Think fried mozzarella cheese, but yummier!

After lunch, we checked out as many expo tents and tables as we could before William had had his fill.

Then, Daddy and cousin Blue found us a good spot to watch the airshow while they did more exploring. William loved eating snacks, climbing in and out of his wagon, and watching all the stunt pilots. 

Around 4 pm, the day caught up with William and he napped in the wagon, while we walked around and looked at airplanes.

The wagon Daddy got for the airshow is a great addition to our kiddo travel collection. It folds up smaller than our stroller and is more suited to a rapidly growing kiddo:)

After the airshow, we flew an hour to a good resting point in Illinois where we got a hotel room for the night. We completed the remaining 2 hours of the flight home the following day. He is a picture of William with his “Wee” arms, up and ready to fly:)

Not only is cousin Blue crazy for aviation, but William is trilled by it too. He even learned to say plane on the ride home! But, he still prefers to say, “Zoom Zoom” instead.

Love,

b

D.I.Y. Owl Sleep Sack

Dear Sis,

William is very partial to routine… especially at bedtime. We travel at least once a month and now that he is too big for many cribs and travel beds, I decided to go the sleeping bag route. I wanted to provide something he would want to climb into! He has been owl crazy for a couple of months… and I liked the idea of an Owl Sleep Sack. I found a great picture online to inspire my creative juices. This image is actually an American Girl doll sleeping bag:)

Inspiration

Finished Sleep Sack

Finished Dimensions (30 x 60 inches, not including pillow)

Materials

2 yards fleece, striped (outer fabric)

5 yards broadcloth (lining)

2 yards flannel, dot (wings)

1 yard broadcloth (pillow sham)

White, yellow, and black broadcloth remnants (appliqué facial features)

double sided fusible interfacing, such as WonderUnder

standard pillow, 20 x 28 inches

20 inch zipper, matching lining fabric (sleep sack closure)

4 hooks and eyes (sham closure)

tissue paper and clear tape (pattern making)

Assembly

  1. Fleece is 60 inches wide. To create 2, approximately 30 inch wide by 60 inch long panels, for the front and back of the sleep sack, it is easiest to fold the fabric in half lengthwise, cut along the fold, and trim away the bulky salvage on the other side. As a bonus, this cutting technique should also make it easier to match the fabric stripes at the seams.
  2. Most broadcloth comes 45 inches wide. Although, it actual measures more closely to 44 inches.  Fold 5 yard section in half lengthwise, so that you have two panels that are 60 inches long and cut along fold. Lay fleece panels over broadcloth panels and trim broadcloth down to 30 inches wide using the fleece as a cutting guide.
  3. Optional: Cut to round bottom corners of sleep sack outer fabric and lining fabric panels at this time.
  4. Tape two pieces of tissue paper together. Make wing pattern. Ours are just about half the length (30 inches) of the sleeping bag. Use the picture above as a visual reference. Cut 4 flannel wing panels. 
  5. Place 2 wing panels right-sides together and seam together along the shaped, top and bottom edges, of the wing, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Snip cures, turn right-side-out, and press. Repeat to make second wing.
  6. Lay a single panel of fleece right-side up. Lay wings on top facing inward as pictured below. Secure with stay stitching.
  7. With wings still folded inward, place both fleece panels together with right sides facing. Sew together with a 5/8 inch seam allowance with 20 inches open on one side for the zipper. If you opted to curve the bottom of the sleep sack, clip seam allowance as needed and turn right side out.
  8. Place both lining panels together with right sides facing. Sew together with a 5/8 inch seam allowance with 20 inches open on one side for the zipper. If you opted to curve the bottom of the sleep sack, clip seam allowance as needed for turning, but leave inside out.
  9. Lay fleece sack right side up. Working with only the top panels of each layer, pin wrong-side of lining opening to right-side of fleece opening along the zipper and top edges. Sew together with 5/8 inch seam allowance. Clip corns and turn seam right side out, by inserting lining into sleep sack. Set aside and begin working on pillow and sham.
  10. Round the top corners of a stand sized pillow as pictured below. I found it easier to do this sewing by hand.
  11. Set pillow on tissue paper and trace to make a pattern for the sham cover. 
  12. Notice in the picture above that the pattern is only half of the pillow sham. Cut the top panel on a fold. Cut 2 back panels. Note that 1/2 inch is added to the curved edge for seam allowance,  1 inch is added to the straight edges of the back panels to allow for hemming and 5/8 inch is added to the bottom for attachment to the sleep sack.
  13. Finish the straight edges of each sham back panel with a 1/2 inch rolled hem.
  14. Make a pattern for the horns and other facial features of the owl as depicted below. Oops I didn’t make a picture of the horn, but if you made it this far you aren’t helpless:)
  15. Fuse interfacing to the wrong-side of white, yellow, and black fabric remnants, then cut 2 eyes, 2 eye lashes, and 1 beak. 
  16. Fuse eye lashes to eyes. Stitch around eye lashes with dense zig-zag stitch.
  17. Arrange facial features on top sham panel. Fuse eyes, and then beak. Stitch around eyes and beak with dense zig-zag stitching.
  18. Cut 4 horn pieces. I used broadcloth for the fronts (2) and flannel for the backs (2) to add a bit more structure. Seam together, right-sides together, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, along both curved sides, leaving the bottom open. Clip allowance, turn, and press.
  19. Pin horns right-side down on top of sham panel. Stay stitch.
  20. Pin horns down, so they can’t move. Place back panels right-side down over face. Overlap rolled hems at the center. Secure with a 1/2 inch seam. Clip curve as needed, turn, and press. It should look something like the picture below.
  21. Place sleep sack face down. Center pillow sham face up and upside-down with fleece layer only. Remember to overlap rolled hem in the same order as it was overlapped on the top seam. The picture below should help with positioning. Sew with a 5/8 inch seam allowance.
  22. Turn sleep sack face up. Fold the top panel back to expose the back panel. To finish the lining along the zipper and top edges, fold lining under and pin in place. Top fold should line up with the 5/8 inch line of stitching that attached the pillow sham. Zipper fold is a bit trickier because both the fleece and the lining have to be folded under and pinned. Top stitch around the entire top opening 1/4 inch from edge.
  23. Install the zipper.
  24. Install hooks and eyes in the back of the sham at equal spacing.
  25. To give the horns more structure, open a small area of stitching along the outside curve. Add a bit of stuffing and whip stitch closed by hand. Put pillow inside the sham and you are done! 

For even more satisfaction, have your local small person climb in and try it out:) My 20 month old son was full of hoo-hoos as he climbed in.

Happy Sewing,

b

 

Alphabet Soup

Dear Sis,

We couldn’t find an Alphabet Soup recipe we loved, so we made our own! It is another great family meal for toddlers, kids, and parents:)

Alphabet Soup
Serves 12
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Ingredients
  1. 12 oz pkg. Italian Chicken sausage, chopped
  2. 1/2 onion, chopped
  3. 1 T minced garlic
  4. 6 c chicken stock
  5. 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  6. 1 c pasta sauce
  7. 2 c potatoes, chopped
  8. 3 c frozen mixed vegetables
  9. 1 c Alphabet pasta, uncooked
  10. salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven. Brown sausage. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent.
  2. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Pairs well with fresh baked biscuits, garlic toast, or buttered bread.

Love,

b

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Sis,

Today we made cookies so we could take them to the concert in the park later today. Sadly it got rained out, so we played for the duration instead.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields 6
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Ingredients
  1. 1 c unsalted butter, softened
  2. 1 1/2 c sugar
  3. 2 eggs
  4. 1 1/2 t peppermint extract
  5. green food color
  6. 3 c unbleached flour
  7. 2 t baking powder
  8. 2 t cream of tartar
  9. 1 t baking soda
  10. 1/4 t salt
  11. 1 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  12. 1 c Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in extract and color as desired.
  3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Beat dry ingredients into peppermint mixture. Stir in baking chips.
  4. Bake spoonfuls of dough on prepared sheets 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store airtight.
Adapted from Little Dairy on the Prairie
Adapted from Little Dairy on the Prairie
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From Drab to Fab

Dear Sis,

The home we rented in Texas had one bath. Our new home has 2.5. It is great to have a second shower and three toilets! …but I really only had decor for one bath, which I put in our master bath since it matched best in that space. 

Over the past six months I’ve slowly been decorating the second upstairs bath. Decorative towels was the last thing I needed! I found some perfect lace at Hobby Lobby the other day. William and I worked started the project together. He helped with the first towel, but lost interest, so I finished the other two after he went to bed for the night.

The finished set!

Since you are also a novice lace maker, I thought you’d enjoy a close up. It is a simple and fairly traditional Torchon lace pattern, though it is machine made.

Funny how such seemingly small details can make such a big difference!

Now I can move on to the next thing on my ever growing sewing list:)

Love,

b

The Better Nutter Butter

Dear Sis,

After nap today, we set about making some peanut butter cookies to share at the library concert later in the evening. Besides, there was no Daddy home to be offended by our peanut butter party!

Gluten-Free Recipe: nobiggie.net

This is our third library concert. Another family has also gone to all the concerts. They have a little boy that was born just a week after William. The boys are drawn to one another. They share snacks, sippy-cups, and a secret language. I forgot to get a picture of William and Carter together, but I did get a picture of William sitting in the grass listening to the music.

I also got a video of William playing with a soon-to-be married couple. He took turns pushing down the plastic bubbles on their beverage lids, over and over again. After the concert, we spent some time talking to the young couple and I was thinking… gosh he looks familiar. It turns out he is the bass player from the library concert from last week. Small world!

Love,

b