New Bikes..sorta

We just moved Ella up to a bigger bike. I am a little scared how fast she can go on this but she was just way too cramped on the old one. This one with the seat lowered now fits Lars perfectly and he can also go very very fast. He loves it so much and I am amazed how well he handles it- much better than Ella at his age. It is a pretty gender neutral blue but if you look closely it says "Surfer Girl". Good thing they can't read yet.

Last Day of Amana Preschool

Hugging the Porcelain God

No - he is not drunk, sick or hung over...but after going potty the other day he decided to hug the toilet. Gross! I know. I wonder if he was tired or it was cold. Who knows.

But the good news is, today on the toilet he was exclaiming "Potty Trained!" loudly. I think that we are there all the way. In fact he is even dry over nap time! Woo Hoo! I wonder how long before he is dry through the night on a consistent basis?

Summer Sightings

We were all in the backyard the other day and Lars excitedly screamed for me to come to the side of the house to see something exciting. I heard him yelling, "Come see the pecker mommy!" Sure enough there was a woodpecker in the neighbors tree.



We all enjoyed the moment and watched as two woodpeckers frolicked about our heads. So we laid down on the ground then my children rested their heads on my torso- such a relaxing a peaceful moment we had.



Lars then spotted a dinosaur- a T-rex- in the sky. I took a picture because it really did! We laid with each other for a blissful 15 minutes until daddy pulled up home from work. I skipped my workout this day but the moment will always be such a great one. One missed workout can always be made up!

Summer so far....

strawberries & rhubarb everything...

sandbox fun....

clover crowns & chains...

Finished!

Amy Butler, fabric goddess, supplied this pattern and fabric.
In fact, I copied the one on the cover of the pattern exactly, since I loved it so much.

I can't remember if I posted pics of my finished skirt. I took a class at Home Ec. and made this skirt with my sewing buddy Elizabeth. I did not so much need the help as I needed the time.

I love this skirt but I added a few inches into the side, since my measurements were larger than the pattern stated. Needless to say it is too big. I know I will be able to take it in this summer. It has become one of my favorite and most commented upon skirts!

Do you really need to ask? More Amy Butler delicious fabric here!

Next is my shirt that caused me to swear needlessly. I had this close to finished last summer, and abandoned it because much like the skirt I was too large for the measurements. So it was about 4 inches too big in the bust area. In order to fix this, I needed to tear it all apart and redo the front neckline- which was not an easy thing to do. So in order to avoid this project I decided to sew Ella her sun dresses.

Here is one of the dresses I made Ella last summer. It is a Michael Miller turtle fabric but looks quite modern from a distance.

I finally decided that I needed to finish this shirt. My wise sewing friend Sherri and I came to the conclusion that we are both "No Rules" or our own rules kind of sewers. Patterns tend to make us feel stifled so we do more creative stuff when able to fool around and do as we please, not so much wehn doing a pattenr. Sherri also keyed me into the fact that no one else would know if I took a shortcut to finish my shirt. So she inspired me to fix it in my way rather than taking it completely apart. I think the results are fantastic! I essentially took in the darting seam from the back then top stitched it all the way down. I matched up the neckline, so I think it lays better than it did before. I also noticed that the topstitching on the dart seam adds more structure to the shirt. All in all I love this shirt and think the next one will not be as hard! One project to add to my list for the summer!

Woodland Fairy

Woodland Fairy
Originally uploaded by BambolettaDolls

So...Ella has been going on and on about those "girl" dolls, but I discovered these and think I love these. They are totally handmade by Bamboletta Dolls. They can be custom ordered and they usually come with a full outfit including a handknit sweater. They also make adorable boy dolls- which was why I was first attracted to them. Then Nora discovered the Fairies. Oooohhh a whole new thing to look at. I will need to show Ella.

Meanwhile, I will start preparing my stash of fabric to make Ella some doll clothes for her birthday. I think I have decided to make a nightgown,dress, shirt, pants, shorts, hat and possibly a sling for Ella as well as a pair of matching pants for Ella to wear with the same material as the dolls. Once school is out, I will begin an item a night marathon! I can't wait!!