Monday, October 31, 2011

Candy Addict!!!

Alexia has tasted the sweet amazingness of candy and now Nick and I are in BIG trouble. On Friday we went to a little Halloween fair at a near by park. There were games, crafts, and a make shift trick-or-treat trail. Alexia refuses to say trick or treat in public (she does it at home and in the car I promise) so she just said "please" to get the candy. She opened one of the chocolates and it was over!!! "More please" is pretty much all I have heard all weekend. Then crying when she doesn't get it. Today she surprised us all and said "pretty please" so of course Nick said she has to get candy now! Good thing we go to Hawaii tomorrow so she can forget about candy. Candy what? Candy who? Never heard of it girl. Here, have an apple!



Halloween Party

We have people over every Sunday for football so I decided this Sunday we should have a Halloween Party since everyone will be here. Everyone ended up having a good time.

This is the spread


I made regular cupcakes and I also tried cupcakes in a jar. I have made pie in a jar before and saw cupcakes in a jar from www.iambaker.com so I decided to try it.



I also made some hot dog mummies and monster noodles. I saw these in a Halloween magazine and decided to make it. I did change the recipe for the monsters so the kids would like it.



The thing that took the longest to prepare were the cookies. They were also the biggest hit. I made the cookies two days before hand and decorated them the day before. The decorating took way longer than I had thought it would. I used melted chocolate and a powered sugar frosting I made. I started going cross eyes toward the end and Nick helped by eating the ugly ones and laughing at me.


The cookies were Alexia's favorite and she would not let it go for pictures.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Playing Catch Up

Alexia got sick a few days ago for the first time ever. I am not sure what was wrong, for all I know it was the fact that four teeth broke through at the same time and her gums were really inflamed. She had a bad fever and did not want anything to do with me. She woke up an 3:45 in the morning and wanted nothing except for Nick. He called out of work because if I looked at Alexia she got really upset. I was not allowed to take her temp, give her a toy, or anything. If I tried to touch her, forget it!!! You would have thought I was killing her. Nick of course thought it was hilarious. The next day her fever was much lower but it was still there. I was more acceptable to her that day so I was able to take care of her. Then the next day she woke up and talked and talked and talked. I think she had to tell me all the stuff she wanted to say but didn't feel good enough to say. She was so quiet when she was sick so it was funny having her run her mouth again. She is back to the happy energetic kid she normally is. Now I have to catch up on all the stuff I was supposed to do while she was sick. I have a bunch of stuff to get ready for our Halloween party and for our upcoming vacation. Lets hope all gets done by the time we leave so I can fully relax on the beach.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Stroller Emergency

I have mentioned before that I have a list of projects a mile long that I am working on. I started prioritizing them and figuring out deadlines for some. There are quite a few that need to be done before we head out to Hawaii for a very much needed family vacation. My list got put on hold when Alexia loved her baby stroller to death. The fabric just gave out and she was so upset she couldn't put anything in it. I ran out and got some fabric and during her nap I whipped up a replacement. Here is a before and after shot.



Alexia had to take the stroller to the store with us the day she got it back. She also figured out that if she ran into me I would make a "funny" noise.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

What's for Dinner?


We had Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread!!! It was so amazingly delicious that Alexia gave me countless kisses of gratitude. I got the recipe from joythebaker.com. I have been wanting to make this for months but never had the time. I am so glad I have finally made the time.


Saturday, October 15, 2011

Pumpkin Cups

I saw a recipe on somethingswanky.com and decided I had to try it. I haven't tried any yet but Nick and everyone else that has tried them say they are amazing. Mine are not as pretty but I was really pressed for time. I didn't even have time to take a real picture. I took a camera picture in the car on the way to see some friends. These are the ones I brought for them to enjoy. I have lots of the frosting left so I will make brownies in these cup shape and add the frosting to them.


Now I am off to see what Alexia and her partner in crime Lily is up to. Alexia is having her first overnight play date so we will see how it goes at bedtime!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Care Bears

When Alexia and I were visiting in New Jersey we went to the mart and Alexia fell in love with a roll of fleece they were selling. I am pretty sure it was because it had bears all over it, and of course she has no clue what a care bear is. Alexia doesn't usually take something off the shelve and refuse to put it back. She took this roll that was almost the size of her and walked it to the register and she even put it on the belt to purchase (she has never done that!) My mom kinda agreed that we have to buy it for her. I took a look at the yardage and decided I would make 4 blankets for her. Two would be crib size and two would be little cuddle blankets for her to walk around with. Since Alexia is a blanket addict I want to have the same blankets she had at home at my mom's house. That way I don't have to pack blankets. She already had the "car blanket" there because I made two of them. Now she will have these there as well.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Seeing Red

Nick and I have been trying to figure out what Alexia should be for Halloween for months and months (way too long I think). After much debate and googling we made a decision.


Alexia will be Little Red Riding Hood!!!!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Tutu Dress

This is what I made out of that tulle I showed you in the previous post:


I also made this hair bow to go with it:


We went to the park near our house to take some picks and Alexia did great. Most of my pictures were of her laughing. I wanted to get these pictures done before it snowed (which could be any day now, blah). I have to say this dress was really easy to make. I didn't follow any directions or anything, I just jumped in and made it. It took only about and hour and a half total. I got tulle on the bolt so I had to take time to cut it into strips. If I got the roll it would have been a lot quicker.


Friday, October 7, 2011

What's Up?

Once again it has been a while. I have been completing a bunch of projects and adding even more on my to do list.

I made a bunch of stuff for my cousin for her baby girl. I made a diaper cake, stroller blanket, burp rags, bibs, wipes case, pacifier holder, boppy cover, crib bumpers, changing pad cover, and a car seat canopy. There might have been more but I can't remember. I forgot to take pictures (of course) except for when it was all packages up for the baby shower.




Alexia and I flew to New Jersey to surprise my cousin for her baby shower. It was so great to see everyone, some of whom I haven't seen since Nick and my wedding six years ago. It of course had to be during hurricane Irene so Alexia got to experience her first hurricane.

Now I have a to do list a mile long but I will chip at it day by day. I did complete these Halloween toddler bracelets for my goddaughter and her sisters. I will be making some for Alexia and her friend Lily but these had to get done early so they can get to the girls by Halloween.



I have made something absolutely adorable for Alexia with this:


I bought a couple of things to complete that and I plan on taking pictures this weekend. I also bought some more fabric for my other projects.


We have one of our wooden projects on the list for tomorrow so hopefully the weather allows us to get some work done outside. We aren't planning on going anywhere this three day weekend so hopefully a lot will get done.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Goose Lake Park

There is a great bike/walking trail by our house that we try to get to on nice days. If I am with Alexia during the day we just walk but in the evenings after dinner we try to get a bike ride through the trail. There is a cute little lake and playground for Alexia to play around in. It is great for those beautiful and sunny nights we have here. Alexia would stay out there until midnight if we let her.



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Newest Additions...


These two bundles of joy have entered into my life. I was having trouble with my old sewing machine so we saw this one on sale (and the saleswoman gave me 10% off on top of the sale!!!!) and just bought it! I was a having a little bit of buyers remorse because of the price tag but once I started sewing with it...OMG like butter!!! It was amazing and I don't know how I lived without it before. Then I "had" to buy something to store my ever growing collection of threads and bobbins. I love that it is not just a plain sewing bin and I love that pattern so much. I already finished two valences and a boppy cover for my friend's daughter, an "I out did myself" pettiskirt for my goddaughter, and a blanket for my cousin's baby girl. I am in the middle of crib bumpers and a car seat canopy, which I hope to finish in a few days. I hope I remember to take pictures of these projects so show you all. The next step is building a sewing table (in the works for next month!) so I can get projects done faster and neater.

Monday, July 18, 2011

I miss you....

 I miss my laptop so much. It has my pictures on it (even new ones I want to post but didn't get the chance), my favorite sites, and is my connection to EVERYONE!!!! After everything this past week we think we know the problem so hopefully tomorrow I will have it up and working. Why not yesterday? Nick had a midterm due. Why not today? Nick has a softball game. Tomorrow Nick is not allowed to do anything but help me get my computer working.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

We're Back!!!

Alexia and I made it back from our trip to New Jersey. It was a fun trip but I was exhausted and glad to be home. Alexia had such a great time!!! She is now at an age where I think she will remember all the family and friends she played with those three weeks (well, with the help of skype convos to refresh the memory). Hopefully there will be plenty of posts coming up this week. I will be blending in past and present so I don't go crazy making sure I catch up. I will post as things happen and put some NJ trip in between in little bits. I have tons of pics to go through, tons of sewing projects (and a machine that is acting up!), and hopefully a summer of fun for our little family.

Monday, May 23, 2011

I Can Do It!

I let Alexia try to do things for herself pretty much all the time. The only way she will learn is to do it so I just go with it. It usually ends up taking a while but being a SAHM what else am I going to do with her all day. I have accepted that a big big humungous mess will always follow but I am at the point where I kinda don't care and it is worth it. She has been brushing her own teeth for a long while now, she puts on my shoes and tries to put on her own shoes, she "dresses" herself with whatever clothing she can find or pull out of a drawer, and of course eats by herself. I do draw the line with knives, in case you all were wondering. I bring all of this up because I was looking at recent pictures I have taken and the majority of them look like this...





I do a lot of laundry!!! (That is why she was disrobed in the first pictures, lol)

New Floors!!!

We finally got our new floors in. We finished the master bedroom and it looks great. Well finished is not quite accurate. The flooring went in but we still have to finish the moulding. This pick shows it with the moulding but not yet painted. I can't wait until it is completely finished and the when the walls are painted too.


Next is the great room which I think Nick will have to do by himself while ALexia and I are gone. It will be nice coming home to it done. We also bought the tile for our backsplash and it is going to look amazing!!! We also fell in love with a tile for the fireplace but we have not pulled the trigger on that purchase. We can't install the backsplash until the new countertops are done so for now it will sit in the garage. We picked out 2 countertops we like so we just have to measure and pick one. Decisions decisions!

Regular

So we haven't been up to much lately, just living our normal everyday lives. I have been sewing up a storm trying to get everything done before Alexia and I head to New Jersey. I can't wait to see everyone and there will be three new people I get to meet. I have a feeling my baby fever will hit an all time high when I see those baby girls. This weekend will be busy with packing and last minute shopping. I am not really stressing about it since whatever I forget I can get there. I just hope Alexia's tooth breaks through before we get on that plane on Wednesday so she won't be fussy. She handles it great usually but I can see it is really bothering her. She walks around looking for something she can chew on to make herself feel better. If I can get some of these videos I have off my phone I will have more entertaining posts soon enough.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Reason

The reason I got to celebrate Mother's Day is her....



 ...and I am so grateful for her.

Sesame Street


We went to the USO Sesame Street Live show on base and had so much fun. I called Nick at work a few weeks ago and demanded he pick up tickets because his daughter, who has never seen a single episode of Sesame Street, needed to see this show.  Well, I didn't quite demand but him being as awesome as he is left work early and got them. I even found a cookie monster tee at Old Navy on sale so I had to buy it, duh. When we got there Alexia got a bandana and a light up toy to play with, which she loved. She also loved seeing all the other kids. When the show started she watched and even clapped when cookie monster got on stage without being prompted. She clapped and danced in her seat and in the aisles, literally. She got up and danced in the aisle and it was the cutest thing ever! They had a rule of no videos so I didn't get a video of her dancing. I would normally disregard the no video rule and sneak one in but the USO was so generous with this free show for military families and with all of the free goodies for the kids (not only the bandana and light up toy, but DVD, magnets, and pads) that I abided by their one and only rule. Pictures were OK so here you all go....




Thursday, April 28, 2011

Soccer Star

About a month ago Nick and I realized our amazing daughter has a natural talent. She put her apple on the ground and started kicking it, well not kicking it but dribbling it like a soccer ball. Of course when she was done dribbling it she picked it up and ate the apple (no food goes to waste with her, lol). We didn't teach it to her or show her how to do it. It was really amazing to see. Well a couple of weeks later we saw a soccer goal and ball on sale at a store so we bought it. Alexia now plays soccer with us and she loves it. The only problem is when she sees the camera she comes up to me and takes my hand to play instead of taking pictures or videos. If I don't have the camera she will play by herself. Isn't she such a nut? Well, I quickly grabbed the camera when her back was to me so I only caught the end of her dribbling and scoring, but you get the idea. Hopefully we can get to a park soon and I can get some good shots of her playing soccer.





Alexia now plays soccer with anything that resembles a ball, including her easter eggs, lol.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ruffle Dress

About 2 months ago I ordered some ruffle fabric so I can make Alexia a fun romper for pictures. It has been chilly here and I want to take the pictures outside so I have not made it yet. I did come across a ruffle dress so I decided to make that first. I have plenty of fabric (the benefit of a tiny kiddo) so  I hopped to it. I made one in 12 months but it is a little big. I am either going to hem it smaller or make another one all together. I am glad I made this easy dress first so I can get a handle on working with the ruffles. When it came time to take a few pictures to show off my work Alexia was not having it. I did it after her breakfast thinking she would be her usual happy self but no such luck. She had to be bribed with more food. I want to make a cute sash for it but all I had on hand right now was ribbon so I tied it around her waist for the pictures. This dress is so light and airy, I can't wait for her to wear it in NJ when we go this summer.

This was before I bribed her...



This is her after with food n her mouth...


This is her shy pose ( I love her chunky legs, lol)


Her ballet point...


Showing how the fabric allows for movement....


Standing in her favorite spot, on the fireplace....