The Fabric Store

Swoon.... I love a trip to the fabric store.  I love it EVEN more than I love a trip to Gap or Gymboree.  Does that mean I am cured?  Or does that merely mean I have transferred my addiction from one outlet to another?

Anyways, Adam is still pretty helpless right now, but I needed to go to the fabric store to buy materials for the tutus I am making for a ballet class, so my in-laws kindly agreed to come over and babysit all of my babies (husband included) while I went to the store.  While I was there, I picked up a gorgeous book, I can't wait to dive into it!  Check it out, right up my alley, don't you think? Beside the book are some fabrics I picked up today also.

The book comes with 4 patterns that can make 23 different projects by altering pieces. Here is a link to the book on Amazon.

And now for some random pictures...

This is Badger wearing a neck pillow that the girls placed on her. She doesn't look impressed does she?

And here is Laina reading to Evelyn this morning in their matching footie jammies and matching messy hair.

Adam

I am sitting here just waiting.... waiting and trying not to freak out.  So to take my mind off of it, I will do my daily post.  My husband Adam was undergoing hernia surgery today and it has been over three hours since his surgery started and I haven't heard anything.  I am sure he is fine, it is such a common and routine surgery and he is young and healthy, but I can't help worrying.  I am a born worrier!

Adam and I met in January of 2001, actually as of yesterday, we met exactly 10 years ago.  Right from the start, he has been my best friend and constant companion.  I know lots of people who enjoy having time apart from their spouses, but not me.  I would be perfectly happy to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with mine.  He is just so easy-going and kind, and he makes me laugh; we have the same bizarre sense of humor.  We aren't mushy or sentimental people so for me to even talk this kindly of him is unusual.  You would just have to hear the story of how we became engaged to fully realize how un-romantic we are (remind me to tell that sometime... it is a funny story!)  But it doesn't change the fact that I love him very much and it hurts me to know he is going through pain right now.

Evie and Mylie and I took a little walk earlier to try and make time pass quicker, and that is where my pictures are from today.  The sun was shining a bit, but the ground was still wet from an earlier rainfall.  I have my "mommy googles" (I just heard that phrase today and I think it is great! So true that we look at our children with our mommy googles on and see them as perfect) on and it was difficult to pick which pictures I liked best so there are quite a few.  Sorry about that!

Send lots of healing vibes Adam's way please!

Valentines Already?? Yep, I am crazy.

I couldn't resist trying out this new pattern that I bought off of etsy today.  It is called a Peek-a-boo skirt and the pattern was made by LittleLizardKing.  Here is the link on etsy, I have made several of her patterns now and they are great for beginners with lots of pictures to guide you.  I am going to attempt a shirt of my own design to go with it, but I will have to get back to you on that, it may be a disaster!

Evie was my model today, and she is sick and fairly non-compliant (not that disobediance is unusual for her.... she is like that even when she is feeling good!) so the pictures aren't well styled.  Also, the settings I used were obviously not right because the lighting looks like crap in the photos.  Now that I am done apologizing for my shortcomings, here are the pics!

I fed her a cake pop in hopes of bribing her into good behavior.

I would have loved this picture if it wasn't so blurry and she should have been wearing a diaper cover.



Hello, my name is Julie, and I have an addiction....

.... to buying kids clothing.  There.  I stated the obvious. 

Now, what am I going to do about it?  I have tried all kinds of different ways to get myself to STOP buying more kids clothes.  Some have worked for awhile but then my self control explodes into a big buying binge.  Others don't work at all.  So far, the thing that has worked the best for me is this blogging thing!  So that means you all will probably have to read a lot more out of me in the coming months.  Also, sewing is helping me.  I always knew I needed to get a hobby, but nothing held my attention enough to divert me from my shopping.  Sewing is the best of both worlds.... I can make some cute kids clothes (usually) at a fraction of the cost, plus I get the satisfaction that I made it myself AND with the added bonus of keeping me busy enough to steer me away from online shopping!

Sooooo.... with that in mind, I have decided to go on a self-imposed buying ban.  I am going to aim to not buy any more (new or used) kids clothes from now until March 1.  The only exception being that I can purchase patterns and fabrics with which to make kids clothes.  Sound fair enough?  I hope I can do it! I will check in daily here with my progress.  And I promise to be 100% honest.

I have blathered on long enough for one day, so tomorrow I think I will post some projects that I am thinking about embarking on in the new year!

And to wrap it up, here are my photos for the day.  It was a cold and dreary day which we spent mostly inside and the lighting was terrible today.

Here is my little Evie trying soooo hard to be a good girl and not jump and run all over the table.  She is drawing a picture:

Then I noticed that she was getting a bit of a devillish look on her face, thinking "hmmmmm":

"Oops, I accidentally got on the table.  But look, I have beautiful blue eyes...."

"I just couldn't resist the mischief.  I am just going to full-out sit up on the table and be naughty"

And this is Mylie with her new doll, "Jenny".  She got her from Aunty Lisa for a birthday gift and she hasn't put her down all day.



Sugar Cookies

I have come to several realizations today.  The first of which is that it is never a good idea to count on the amount of time a baby USUALLY sleeps when planning a craft.  Since Evelyn usually has a solid two and a half to three hours nap in the afternoon, I thought it would be an excellent time to ice the sugar cookies I made yesterday for Mylie's party (don't worry, I will be freezing them until the party).  So I laid her down, made a huge batch of royal icing in several colors and consistencies and got set up with all the bits and pieces that I would need to decorate the cookies.  I have never really "iced and decorated" cookies before other than the paint on icing that we usually use or a shake of sprinkles here or there, but I have been getting ideas and inspirations from this blog called Glorious Treats.

Which brings me to my next realization for the day.  I really don't enjoy decorating cookies.  I love baking, I love decorating cupcakes and I sure love eating both, but decorating cookies.... not so much.  Maybe it had something to do with my 3 (almost 4) year old constantly trying to "help".  Even after I set her up with her own cookie and icing to decorate, she still managed to grab one of my bottles of the thin consistency icing and squeeze it all over her dress.  She also managed to spill the shaker of sanding sugar all over the table and floor, not once, but twice!

And can you guess what happened as soon as I had finished doing one cookie?  Yep, Evelyn (aka Destructo-baby) woke up and terrorized the cookies and I until Adam got home from work.  The path of destruction she left was wide, and I still haven't finished cleaning it up.

But here they are, the finished product.  These are for Mylie's Gingerbread house decorating party on Sunday.  I normally wouldn't choose brown as a decorating color but it goes with the theme.

Natural lighting, oh how I love thee

While reading my friend Christine's blog yesterday, I was suddenly struck by why I have been so disappointed in most of my pictures lately.... because since the weather has turned cold, all of my pictures have pretty much been inside.  And I just haven't figured out how to make indoor lighting and my camera play nice yet.  So I decided to take it outside today!

While waiting to pick Mylie up from preschool, I snapped a couple of Evelyn (and yes, other parents were looking at me like I was weird).

Love her eyes in this one while she was still strapped in her seat:

Evelyn is sporting quite a mish mash of brands today (which can be seen as a big no-no on some forums I frequent!).  Gap Deauville hat and coat, with Old Navy jeans and Gymboree Tres Chic shoes.

When it was time to pick up Laina from school (have I even mentioned that all I do all day is drive kids to and from activities and school?) I snapped a few of Mylie who stubbornly refused to wear the hat I wanted her to in favour of a pink Gap corduroy newsboy.

Mylie is wearing Gap Leopard/ Deauville corduroy trench with Gap Himilaya top and jeans, with Joe Fuggs.

Here is Evie again, this time with a different soother (fyi in case I refer to it as such, soothers are know around here as "ooshies").  Working the runway.

And a sweet one of the sisterly reunion once Laina got out of class.

If I can get my sewing machine to stop being temperamental while I finish, I will have something cute to show you tomorrow night!