We have some really creative friends who come up with really FUN ideas! Just for instance last night we gathered for our small group Christmas party and as dinner winded down and we moved to the family room to be more comfortable this large stack of pictures appears as if from nowhere. We notice some shuffling of the pictures and there are many confused glances and smiles. Next thing you know we are playing the worlds largest game of Memory with almost 200 pictures. The fun part was that they were all pictures of us together. It was really sweet to play a fun and crazy game and relive some really fun times that we have had together over the past four years.
I confessed from the beginning of the game that I am really good at Memory games that are made for ages 2-5 but over that not so much. We played with two teams last night and it was really helpful as you need a lot of minds to remember a board that large. It was also a little tricky as some pictures were the same people but at a little different angle. Very FUN! Definitely give gigantic Memory a try you will have a blast!

When celebrating a baby girl it is so hard not to make a fun little outfit, so that is exactly what I did last week. While staring at fabric in the stash it was again so hard not to pull out the Alexander Henry Pears and Apples, so that is exactly what I did. It is just way to cute for a little girl. I used an Amy Butler pattern for the pants and found a new quick little tutorial for matching shoes which I will definitely use again. Now, back to that Christmas sewing!

Well, it is official! There are no longer any cribs in our house! I thought that this moment might be a sad one but I am really good with it. I kind of even think that it is exciting! I don’t think that makes me a bad Mommy, just an excited Mommy! It is amazing how quickly the kiddos are growing but it is so much fun at the same time to explore new stages! Brother is all settled in his big boy bed. We thought that this might be a hard process but he has done really well with it. I must admit that his mattress and box spring are sitting on the floor because someone (that would be me) has not finished painting his bed. I love the bed and cannot wait to finish painting it but it is so cold outside right now that I cannot brave the temps to finish the bed (I know, that is really sad). I came across the bed at an antique store and it is o-l-d and loved. It was wood but since it was so loved it needed some sprucing, thus the coat or 5 of paint. Anyways, back to the story…We found bedding for brother when he was a wee little one and snatched it up as it was a cute quilt with fishies on it. After pulling it out of the closet the task of curtains began for him. I wanted cute and fun so I ended up with fish curtains! I grabbed cheap solid curtain panels at Target. I found an outline that I liked online that matched the fish on the quilt and cut out the fabric and a bit of Heat-n-Bond added a little sewing and voila! Very FUN and fairly simple! Now if we can just get some warmer weather to finish up that bed!!!

Guess what has been going on at our house???
Hint…

Okay, how about this…

Yep! New windows! It was a bit chilly in our house and we looked kind of funny with our winter hats and scarfs on inside but, it was COLD! Our work men were fabulous! They weren’t afraid of me and my craziness which is always a plus in my book. The kiddos struggled a little bit with the chaos of it all but they survived! I guess they are a bit young to appreciate the better utility bills, no more wood rot and no more drafts but hopefully someday they will understand.

While out and about this morning I saw this…

and God brought this to mind.

Look how early I am for Christmas!!! It is just the beginning of November and I have already finished the stockings and they are ready to go! Okay, not really…remember this from way back in 2007? Yep, 2 years in the making! These are some incredible stockings…I mean 2 years to make them…you should see the quality! Okay, not really either, they where shoved in the bottom of a basket for 2 years! I had to iron them before I could even sew them! You all know how badly I detest ironing so they were pretty wrinkly! I am excited to have the stockings all finished up. They were really fun to make and even have lining! I borrowed the shape of the stocking from here (check out how many different shapes they have) and then had fun creating on the rest.There is still time for you to make stockings this year as well…or at least start them!

Update: Since the previous stocking post in 2007 Sister has claimed the snowmen and Brother has made claim on the reindeer! Just in case you were wondering and all!

So, recently a friend passed along a fabric panel (you know a big panel of fabric with printed items on it that you just need to cut and sew) to me that she could not use. From the moment that she handed it to me I knew that I had found a new love. It is so simplistic! Some of you out there may think that I am off my rocker, but I love these things! Since I was given the ballerina I have been scouring Ebay and Etsy for fun fabric panels. I came across a monkey (he even has little clothes) for brother for Christmas and Sister will receive the ballerina. I have a few more hopefully in the mail and on their way to me also so stay tuned!

McCalls patterns are 99 cents again this week at Joanns and I feel like this is the first time that I have taken full advantage of it. I made my list and hit the store without the kids as to not be distracted from the task at hand which of course was finding my 10 (there is a limit to these things) patterns and making it to the checkout on my own time and not the kids meltdown time. It was thrilling! I decided to purchase a fleece jacket pattern in a feminine and masculine styles and then a pattern that included hats, scarves and gloves as well. I was anxious and cut into the hat, scarves and mittens last night. I finished up the scarves and hats leaving the mittens for another time but they were fun to make and came together pretty quickly. I of course had to play and mess around with the pattern a little bit but just because I cannot leave a good thing alone!

It has been quiet around here for a bit. There were lots of thoughts swirling in my head but none complete enough to write about. There were lots of projects cut out but nothing that made it to the sewing machine…yet! I have however in the last month sewed a button on a pair of pants for my hubby! Nothing amazing but yet still apart of life!

I decided to head out to a fabric shop that I don’t usually frequent this week and I stumbled upon a very happy find…some Katie Jump Rope fabric that was half off!!! That is right 50% off! Very exciting! I think that the green and blue print is very anxious to become a quilt and the orange print is pretty certain that it would like to become a skirt. Now I just need get sewing!