Today's Project

Ok, so I am not trying to do a project every day but it seems like it has been going that way this week. I am fortunate to be on break from school and having the kids take naps at the same time has really made it easier for me to do some craftiness around the house. Today I got out the cricut again and cut some vinyl quotes for the walls. Now I am not going to go crazy with the quotes but a few touches here and there are fun. I don't like it when there are quotes and annotations all over the house (personally I think it is a little tacky) but a few are kind of quirky which I like. I started in Lizzy's room because as I said her room needs a lot of work. I think I am going to add another one above her crib in addition to the one above her changing table.


Then I put another one about the laundry room because I think the quote is so funny.

Word to the wise, the transfer paper is really sticky. The quotes are really easy to make. Just pick your quote and color of vinyl. Place the vinyl on your cutting mat and smooth out to get rid of any bubbles. Cut the letters using whatever cartridge you like. Peel off the sticky part of the transfer paper and set it aside. Place your quote on the other half of the transfer paper (the none sticky part) face up and arrange it the way you would like it to look on the wall. Make sure to take the backing off the vinyl before you put it down. Then place the sticky part of the transfer paper on top of the quote and smooth it out as much as possible. Peel the sticky transfer paper off (the letters will be stuck at this point) and place on the wall. Smooth it to the wall and peel back the transfer paper leaving the beautiful quote on the wall. It is actually really easy. Just make sure to keep your transfer paper away from everything. I accidentally tried to bring both sheets at the same time and they got stuck together. This would only happen to me but just in case, take your time and be careful. Fun and easy project, DONE>

Butterfly Mobile

Today's project was a butterfly mobile for Lizzy's room. I saw it at Pottery Barn and loved it but it was really expensive. So I decided to make it. I cut all the butterfies out using my Cricut cutter. Then I went to Michael's and bought a metal wreath ring and spray painted it white. I strung the butterflies from the wreath with jewelry string and tied the top with ribbon. It was a really fun project and I think it really adds to her room. I still have a lot of decorating to do in there and lots of ideas thanks to my friend Heather who helped me make the mobile. Stay tuned for more projects on Lizzy's room.

Recent Project Update

I have been fooling around with the pillow dress and taking it to the next level. Here are some pictures of ones I have made this week.

The bee hive dress is for Lizzy.
Then I made a tiered, aline for my friend Susan and a onesie that matches. She doesn't check my blog so I think I am safe until her shower. I have had so much fun making these and have a lot more ideas the more I work on them. Can't wait to show all of you more.

If anyone would like to order a dress they are $20 and they come with bloomers. Just email me if you are interested. The onesies are $15 and the bibs are $12. I also make blankets and burp cloths if anyone wants some great home crafted baby items for showers or just for your own little one. All sizes from newborn through toddler.

Caught in the Act

The kids are really feeling at home in our new home now and they like to show me that by being mischievous. Elizabeth is moving around all over and getting into everything. Jackson likes to tell her no, when he knows she isn't suppose to get into things, however he likes to get into all kinds of trouble too. Here are some pictures of me capturing them in the moment.

Here is what is new with them.

Jackson is talking a lot. Repeating everything and using new words every day. He likes to tell me to come sit with him "you sit right here" and to watch movies with me in my bed. He loves Mickey Mouse. He found a Mickey doll at the bookstore the other day and informed me that "Mickey is going home with me". He also loves Nemo. Everything is Nemo these days. He also loves his Shark pool. It is the shape of a shark and squirts water out the top. He used to be scared but now he loves it. He refuses to take naps which makes it hard for me but we started movie afternoons, where he watches a movie during nap time in my room so mom can take a break. He is also getting really into trains. Every time we go anywhere with a train set he spends the entire time playing with the trains. He is learning to be nicer to Lizzy and careful around her because he tends to play a little rough.

Lizzy is taking steps, up to 5 now. She pulls up on everything, opens all the drawers and cabinets in the entire house, and likes to dump everything out on the floor. Most days our house looks like a tornado came through. She has 3 teeth and still a great smile. Her favorite toy is a push cart that she takes all over the house walking behind it. She only takes 1 nap now which is nice because it is long and we can go and play in the mornings. She can say mama, dada, and bye bye, loves playing patty cake with my hands and she likes to tackle Jackson (which gets a little crazy because like I said Jackson plays rough). My favorite thing she is doing now is giving me big open mouth, slobbery kisses. Baby kisses are the best.

Such a girl, already into make up. Check out that lipstick! We moved the decorative balls up after that.

How to stay cool in AZ summer?

That is the question I have been asking myself lately. But let me add something to it..."How to stay cool and have fun in the AZ summer?" We can only go swimming so many times before the kids get bored and mom is exhausted. So here is what we discovered in our search for fun this past week.

On Monday we went to Barns and Noble. They have a children's book reading every Monday and Friday where they read a book and then have a fun craft. This week we ran into our friends Heather and Gabriella. We haven't seen them in a really long time so it was so fun to spend time catching up. Jackson and Gabriella were so cute holding hands to go and listen to the book and then coloring next to each other. After the book reading we played with the trains and read some books on our own, then we went to the play area. After that we went to the puppy store and by that time it was so hot and the kids were so tired it was time for a nap.
On Tuesday we met up with Heather and Gabriella again at the Artville Museum in Mesa. Liz and Lexie met us there too. I have never been but it was awesome. So kid friendly and there was so much to do. We spend 3 hours there playing and doing activities. They have a music section, a train section, tables with stamps & coloring, puzzles, a kitchen/grocery section, huge stacking blocks, and a baby section just for Lizzy. Jackson and Liz were having so much fun playing that a photographer who is creating a book on Mesa life asked if he could take some pictures of the kids. They sure do love the camera.


Then on Thur we went to Toy Town and met up with some of our friends from our mother's groups. Sorry no pictures. Toy Town is awesome because it is just a big room full of toys and you can hang out all day. They have baby toys, trains, driving cars, dress up clothes, and little houses for playing house. We have been there a few times before but I have never seen Jackson have such a good time. He played with everything, and was very independent. He found these huge Nemo fish and carried them around everywhere. (He is obsessed with Nemo, everything is Nemo. Even his favorite Elmo and Curious George stuffed animals are named Nemo). We stayed for 4 hours and I had to drag Jackson out by his shorts.

The rest of the week was spent hanging at our house, cleaning and playing. Jackson is actually a really big help with cleaning. He likes to vacuum and dust for me. Lizzy loves the dish washer. She isn't much help but she is sure cute.

The last picture is everyone eating breakfast. Jackson insists on Elmo and George (NEMO) eat breakfast with him. He pretends like he is feeding them. I have to remind him to take bites too. It is so funny, I love make believe.

New Project

I have really been working on my sewing skills this summer and coming up with fun ideas for projects. My recent project was a baby present for my close friend Kim who is having her second girl in Sept. For this project I created a bib, onesie (with ruffles on the bottom of course) and a pillow case dress. The dress was my new project. I have seen them on other girls and I knew that they were really easy to make but I didn't know anyone who knew how to make them. So I went on U-TUBE, where you can find anything, and watch a few videos on how to make them. Most of the videos were not very helpful. They gave a general idea though which is what I needed. So I got to work. First I created the pillow case out of the fabric that I liked. These dresses are designed to use vintage pillow cases but you can use any fabric you want. So I cut the pillow case shape, measured the arms based on one of Lizzy's dresses, and finished the neckline with some cute poka dot ribbon. I think it turned out really well and I learned a lot about how to change it for the next time. Now all I have to do is make one for Lizzy because she looks so cute in it.

This last picture is Lizzy free standing. She is getting really good at it and I think she will start walking on her own any day now.

Elizabeth, where is my baby?

Where is my baby? That is the question I have been asking myself lately when I look at Elizabeth. She is just growing too fast. Right in front of my eyes. I feel like I blink and she is doing something new. I know the second child grows up faster than the first but I am just not ready for her to be talking and walking.

When Jackson was growing out of baby hood I was constantly looking for the next milestone. When is he going to smile, sit up, crawl, walk? With Elizabeth the milestones are flying by and all the sudden my infant is no longer an infant but almost a year old. I really need to pay more attention otherwise I will wake up one morning to make up, rock music, and a boyfriend that rides a Harley. (Every father's nightmare).

So here are her current milestones and what she has been up to.

-She is now 10 months old.
-Cruising around all the furniture
-Loves holding our hands and walking around
-Calls me mama and Brandon dada (it is so sweet when she is sad because she gets her little lower lip out and says mamamamamama, I can't resist it).
-She loves chasing Jackson around, where ever he is she wants to be
-She has 1 tooth on the bottom and the other one is coming in next to it
-She eats table food and loves everything we give her, best eater ever!
-She is a huge flirt. Flashing that smile at everyone and giggling.
-She loves people in general and loves to be held
-She is very observant. When I read books she notices when pictures match. Like the ball on the cover is the same ball inside the book.
-She is crawling and scooting. Usually scooting when she wears dresses.
-She is really good with her hands holding bottles, cups, and picking up food with her fingers
-She waves and says bye, bye
-She claps her hands and my hands when we play patty-cake
-She still has really crystal blue eyes
-She pulls up on everything
-She likes opening cupboards and drawers


The one thing I notice the most about her is she has charisma. People and children are drawn to her. Everyone tells me what a beautiful baby she is. They want to hold her and play with her. When we go to play places kids come over and want to play with her and hug her. Today she was in the daycare at the gym and a little boy went up to her and kissed her on the lips. People are drawn to her and she knows that they are putty in her hands.

We had her 9 month check-up a week ago and she didn't even cry when she got her shots. So brave. Here are her stats:

Height: 30 inches (97%)
Weight: 19lbs (75%)

Confessions

Confession #1: I cleaned the whole house today from top to bottom. I vacuumed, mopped, cleaned windows, counters, bathrooms, and dusted. The house was completely clean for a whole hour while I took the kids to Costco. Thankfully it was still clean enough that Brandon noticed when he got home which was nice. Then tonight, after I put the kids to bed I sat and watched mind numbing TV for 3 hours. I love teen drama shows. Even though most of the time the acting is awful.

Confession #2: I looked at my old yearbooks from high school for an hour by myself. My mom sent them to me in the mail and I was just glancing until I got into reading what all my friends wrote and looking at all the old pictures. I know a lot of people look back and think, "what was I thinking" when they look at old pictures. I look pretty much the same. I would like to think that I have gotten older, more mature looking, maybe even more beautiful since I am now a mom, but I have to admit I look just about the same minus some really bad wardrobe choices. Whoever though shell necklaces were cool should move back to Hawaii where they belong.

Confession #3: I went to the gym today and worked out really hard. I did the stair climber and I was actually dripping sweat by the time I was done. Gross I know but it felt good. Then I came home and ate 2 Albertson's chocolate chip cookies. (my favorite) So much for working out.

Confession #4: Today at Costco we ate some lunch and this elderly women was looking at Elizabeth and smiling. Then she told me that Lizzy is so beautiful and has the roundest head she has ever seen. Can you say irony?

Check out Lizzy's tan lines in this picture. She has a better tan than me.

It's Hot Hot Hot

Wow it is definitely summer time here in Arizona. It is at least 105 every day now. I love the sun but the heat is really tough with kids. I have to make sure to slather them with SPF 50 every morning, turn on the air conditioning in my car and let it cool down before I put them in where ever we go, and keeping them hydrated is a constant battle. It is hot. But the water play is so much fun. This week we went to the pool and the splash pad.

As many of you know I belong to a mother's group. It is a group of moms that I met through the internet. They have kids ranging from newborns to 5 years old and live throughout the valley. We get together at least 1 time each week for different activities. One place that we went to was the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center. It is a really fun pool that has a zero depth area (deepest part is like 3 ft), water slides, and a giant bucket that dumps water every few minutes. At first the kids were hesitant but we have been a few times now and they love it. Well this week I got really brave and I took the kids by myself. We had a great time. I thought I would been to overwhelmed to enjoy it but once we got there it was really nice to spend some time with just the kids and myself. Lizzy loves the water but since she is such a mover now I had to hold her the whole time. Thankfully Jackson has been really brave and independent for the past week and he played in the water with out having to be permanently attached to my hip. He went down the slide all by himself, pulled the levers that dump water on his head, and every time the big bucket dumped the water he would yell, "ooohh, BIG Water Dump." We spent 2 hours there and by the time we were done the kids were sleeping soundly in their seats.
Then on Friday we went to a splash pad at a local mall. You might be asking yourself, what is a splash pad? It is a place that has water that shoots up from the ground at different heights sporadically. They have a lot of them throughout the valley but the one at the mall is close and easy. Jackson doesn't usually like splash pads but in the past few days he has learned that they are really fun. He was running through it, putting his face in the water, and sitting on top of the water that was shooting up. It was so much fun to watch him play. And Elizabeth loves the water. She tries to grab it and splashes around. As I was watching her play she leaned over and opened her mouth to try to drink the water. Then the water started to go down so she leaned farther and farther until her face was on the ground sucking the water. Really gross I know, but it was so funny. She is fearless. She likes to be right in the middle of all the excitement so I can usually find her crawling over to the most powerful water splashes. My little baby daredevil.



We also went to the mall and walked around to get out of the heat. Jackson loves shopping and Lizzy likes the stroller so it is a nice break from the heat. While we were walking around we went by a small carousal and Jackson jumped on to go for a ride. The carousal was broken so it wouldn't go around by they still had fun pretending they were driving. They are really great kids. A lot of work and tiring but I love them so much I can't spend a day away.