TheDailyMe

Tissue Paper Pom Poms!

2012-06-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I hosted a baby shower (onesie party!) For the decor I decided to hang tissue paper pom poms from the ceiling. I love these things! Here are the step by step instructions on how to make these adorable decorations...

Materials:

Tissue Paper (You only need 8 pieces to do one pom pom so I would suggest buying a pack that comes with 8 because it makes it so much easier. Wal-Mart packs come with 8 pieces and they are only $.97 each. This is what I used)
Fishing Line
Bread tie

Instructions:

1. Lay your 8 pieces of tissue paper out and smooth out the creases the best you can.

2. Fold the tissue paper over in 1 inch strips in an accordion type fold until you've reached the end of the sheet. (For those of you who don't play the accordion, fold it like those fans we used to make out of paper as kids)

3. Then cut the edges straight across so they are even. Now you can get creative with how you style the edges, I chose to cut out little wedges on the ends, the options are endless.

4. Not tie the middle with an old bread bag tie.

5. Now start pulling the pieces of tissue paper apart, towards the bread tie. You are going to pull the first 4 sheets one way and the last four sheets the other way so that a circle is formed.

6. Once you've pulled all the sheets out, your pom pom should be complete. I chose to hang mine in Lilly's Room as decorations. I did a smaller one in pink (everything was the same I just cut the 8 sheets of tissue paper in half)

I like to hang them with fishing line because it looks like they're floating in the air. Above are pictures of the finished product, both in Lilly's room and on the back porch, before the baby shower.

Food...It's what's for dinner...

2012-06-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

Alright so I thought it might be helpful to do a post about food. I know it can be difficult to come up with dinner ideas that aren't the same old same old. Or dinner ideas that don't rhyme with leanut mutter and belly.

So here we go...

Wednesday: Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs In order to make this happen your gonna need a grill. But they are so good! The marinade is yummy and it's also a healthy option. Maybe you could pair these kabobs with some biscuits or better yet these garlic knots, and you've got yourself a meal.

Thursday: Grilled Chicken Salad. Use that leftover chicken from the kabobs you had last night and throw it on top of some lettuce. Use the extra cherry tomatoes from the kabobs and throw those on as well. Add some carrots, peas and maybe boil a few eggs and you've got a great salad. Now, I love garlic knots so If I were you I'd just make some more of those and pair it with the salad...but that's just me.

Friday: Fried Rice This is one of my favorite recipes. What's especially great about it is you can use that same chicken you bought for the last two meals. Oh and you'll use the eggs and carrots and peas again too. Oh and while it calls for bean sprouts and green onions I don't usually use them and its still super awesome.

Saturday: Egg Salad Sandwiches It's summer time! There's nothing wrong with keeping it simple. What's great about this recipe is two things...It uses the rest of the eggs that you didn't use AND you probably have most of the other ingrediants in your cabinet already. Now, in the spirit of summertime I would cut up an apple to go with these sandwiches and add some potato chips. It'll be like 1952 all over again.

Sunday: Chicken Enchiladas Time for Some Mexican! A simple recipe that once again uses the 20 lbs of chicken you will have bought at the beginning of the week ;) (Also, I want to point out that this was the first time that I've included cheese in this meal plan. For those who know me...this is unbelievable.

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken with black beans This meal is great for your long days becuase it literally takes about 5 minutes to prepare and when you get home its done...and its super healthy. Instead of using cream cheese I use sour cream (Fat free) and I serve it over tortilla chips so its more of a taco salad. (Notice that it uses the chicken you bought) And you can throw some cheese on it that is left over from last nights meal)

Tuesday: Meatloaf While this recipe doesn't really use any of the ingredients from the previous recipes you can use the rest of the onion from the fried rice meal. But that's ok because its just good (*tip* make some extra sauce, its the best part...also, serve with green beans and mashed potatoes for the perfect meal.

Hope y'all find this helpful in planning your meals for the next week. All the recipes came from Food.Com. It's such a great site because you can save your favorite recipes to online cookbooks and you no longer need to rifle through a million cookbooks in an attempt to find that one recipe you thought you remember from about 3 years ago that might have had a smudge in the left corner...

Where is all the Fabric?!

2012-06-19T05:53:00.002-07:00

I don't know ab!ut you but I feel like the local fabric stores are seriously lacking in quality, cute fabric. Here is Hampton Roads we are pretty much stuck with Joann's Fabric which has a very limited selection and not a lot of change from season to season. I was in there yesterday and saw some fabric that I purchased TWO YEARS AGO...it was the same price too, not on sale. This must be where Forever 21 gets their marketing model...

So, I've found a wonderful fabric company online that has some adorable stuff; Raspberry Creek Fabrics Click on the link and check them out, some of my favorite fabrics that they have include the lantern flower print in zen grey and the Mingle Leaf Stripe in Pink

I'm hoping to use Raspberry Creek Fabrics in some projects in the near future and hope you enjoy looking at their site.

The things you can do with an old T-Shirt...Part 3

2012-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

What a cute kid right? I totally agree.

Alright, this is the 3rd and final installment of "The Things you can do with an old T-Shirt". I'm going to go ahead and call this dress "The Braided Dress", creative right? Here's what you need to create it: (If you missed how to do the headband...Click here

Old T-shirt (I used Black)
Leftovers from another T-Shirt (I used Yellow)
Thread
Scissors

Alright, now for the process...

Step 1: Use a dress you already own as a template and place it on your t-shirt. Then just trace the outline, leaving an extra 1/2 inch on each side that will be eaten up when sewing the two pieces together.

Step 2: Cut out what you've traced. You'll want to cut both the front and back of the t-shirt so that you have two pieces that are identical.

Step 3: Sew the two pieces together, front to front. You only need to sew up the sides.(From the bottom of the dress to where the armpit starts) Don't do anything with the bottom or the neck, and you don't want to sew the arm holes together! Once you're done sewing the sides together, pin the arm holes down about 1/2 an inch and sew each one so that the seem is on the inside of the dress and now the outside is nice and clean looking.

Step 4: Now all that's left is the braid. You're going to want to cut out three strips and sew them together. If possible, try to find strips long enough to go around the whole neck, I didn't have any strips long enough for that so I had to sew two smaller braids together. Sew the top of the three strips together and then just braid them, as you would your hair, until you reach the bottom. Then simply attach them using your sewing machine to the bottom of the dress. If possible try to use coordinating thread so that the thread isn't visible.

I cut my strips about 1/2 an inch wide but I'm sure if you made them wider than that it would be good too. It would probably just mean you had a thicker braid. What's great about this project is you don't need to be precise. I simply eye-balled it and cut strips that looked close enough to the same size and somewhat straight. By braiding the strips together the inconsistencies vanish!

Step 5: Do the same thing for the bottom of the dress (you'll probably need to sew together a few braids) and VOILA! You're done!

Thank you for those of you who shared the link to my last post on Facebook. The three people who let me know that they shared the link were Christine (1), Suzanne (2) and Amy (3). I used a random number generator (random.org) and the winner is...Christine!!! Congrats, your 3 headbands will be coming soon.

Things you can do with an old T-shirt...Part 2

2012-06-16T10:26:00.005-07:00

It's headband time people! This is so easy its scary. Also, don't miss the CONTEST at the bottom of the page for your chance to win a set of three headbands :)

Step 1: You're going to need to measure your baby's head first. The best material to use is the stretchiest because that means you don't need to be all that specific on your measurements. Remember you'll need an extra 1/2 inch to overlap so keep that in mind.

Step 2: Cut a strip (I chose the black and white material) the length that you'll need based on your above measurements and about 1 inch wide. Fold the material in half and sew the two ends together. Now you have a circle.

(By the way, if you ever need to rip seams, using scissors to do this sucks. Amazon sells the Singer seam ripper for a good price...see below)

Step 3: Cut a strip with the other material (I chose yellow) that is about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Once again, (as you can see from my strip of material) you don't need to be all that exact with your cutting.

Step 4: Fold that strip in half length wise and iron it so that it stays flat. Not your strip should be about 3/4 inches wide but still 12 inches long.

Step 5: Cut slits that are about 1/4 of an inch apart all the way down the folded strip. You aren't going to be cutting the part that's folded, you want to cut the other side that isn't folded.

Step 6: Then you'll simply start rolling the strip with the base/bottom being the folded side. Use fabric glue or iron on adhesive (which is what I used) as you roll so that it stays in place. Then use fabric glue/iron on adhesive to attach your flower to your headband. And Voila! You're done.

Now stick that adorable baby in the dress and matching headband and take some pictures :)

So far we've made two things out of two t-shirts, but most likely you've got most of one t-shirt left (yellow in my case) and parts of a another (black and white striped in my case)...so you guessed it, we'll figure out what to do with all that in the next post.

Alright, here's your opportunity to win three of these headbands (each in a different material) with corresponding flowers...

All you need to do is share the link to this post on your facebook page in the status section and place a comment on this blog post telling me that you did! I'll choose a winner Monday ~~morning~~ evening (6/18/12) GOOD LUCK!

The things you can do with an old T-Shirt...Part 1

2012-06-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

So we all have old T-Shirts right? Maybe they're not our style anymore, maybe they're stretched out of shape or maybe they have a hole in them somewhere. Well today's post shows you how to turn that old t-shirt into a little girl dress. Actually this will be a series of posts and we will be using two t-shirts to make a number of things. The materials list below is all you will need for this post as well as the two posts that will follow this one.

Materials:

Two used t-shirts in coordinating colors (I chose Black and White striped and Yellow..like a bumblebee)
Thread
Scissors (The right scissors are very important! If you're looking for a good pair, Amazon has a two pair set for a great price, see below)

Instructions:
Step 1: Start with one t-shirt, the stretchier the material the better.

Step 2: Cut the center out of the shirt (a big square). You want two pieces so cut the center out of the front and back. Make sure your pieces match up to one another and are identical in size.

Step 3: Next you're going to fold the big square in half

Step 4: Now cut an a-line shape along the open side of the material. You will be cutting through four pieces of material. remember to keep the folded side clean of any cuts, this way when you open it up you'll have two matching pieces, a front and a back.

Step 5: When you open it up you'll want to place the two pieces front to front and then sew them together. Remember to not sew the bottom (It's already done because you're using the bottom of the t-shirt!!) and don't sew around where the arm holes will be and where the neck hole will be. When your done it should look something like this.

Step 6: Now you'll need to clean up the edges around the neck and arms. I folded the material around these areas down about 1/2 inch, pinned, and then sewed so that the seam was on the inside of the dress and the outside looked clean.

Step 7: Since I'm on an applique kick, I decided to cut out two hearts from the yellow t-shirt material and iron them on with the applique backing to the front of the dress. Then I sewed around the edges to give them some extra sturdiness (Knit is not all that sturdy)

And that's all! Next time I'll show you how to make the matching headband.

Bibs!

2012-06-12T19:33:00.003-07:00

So, as crazy as this sounds, when a 9 month old eats avocado and other foods it leaves their bibs somewhat stained. Most of Lilly's bibs look like a rag I picked up off the street so I thought it was time to make her some new ones. Also, we have a game we play at our house, I put Lilly in her highchair, and then put on her bib, she instantaneously rips said bib off and the cycle continues. So, I thought by making bibs that tie, rather than using Velcro, we might attempt to solve this problem.

Materials:

1/4 yard of cotton Fabric
1/4 yard of terry cloth fabric (in corresponding color) (I used white)
Thread
Ribbon (in corresponding color)

Steps:

1. I simply traced the outline of a bib that I already had. I traced it onto the cotton fabric and onto the terry cloth.

2. Next I placed the two cut out pieces together, front to front, and pinned them. Before pinning, I stuck two pieces of ribbon between the two pieces of fabric. You want to do this so that when you flip the bib inside out after sewing- the two pieces of ribbon can be tied together to form a bow. Below is a picture of what it will look like while pinned up and as you're sewing. Notice the small pieces of ribbon sticking out? All the rest of the ribbon is hanging out inside the two pieces.

3. Sew it Up. As you're sewing, don't forget to leave a 2 inch gap so that you can flip the bib inside out.

Below is a picture of the bib after it has been sewn and before it has been flipped inside out.

4. Flip it. The ribbon will help you do this because you can gently pull the ribbon so that the ends are easier to straighten.

5. Repair the Opening. You can do a top stitch here but I used the iron on adhesive because I thought it was easier. I simply folded the two pieces of fabric so that they were equal with the rest of the bib and then ironed the adhesive into place. I also like to iron the entire bib because it gives it a nice finished look and this way you can do both things at one time. Below is a picture of the finished product!

1/4 yard of each material is enough to make 4 bibs. BUT it's very important that you place them on your fabric in a way that allows you to get 4 bibs out of it. You might need to work with your fabric before cutting to make sure you are using it efficiently. Otherwise you'll only be able to make 2 bibs and you'll have a lot of wasted fabric and that's frustrating.

If anyone is interested in purchasing any bibs, I'm selling then for $5 each or a set of 3 for $13.00.

Onesie Party!

2012-06-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

How to Throw A Onesie Party!!!

So when our good friend Jesse found out she was having a baby girl Lindsey and I of course had to throw her a shower. We tend to dislike the "shower games" that are always played over and over and so we tried to come up with something different. Since every little girl needs onesies and you really can never have enough of them we decided to throw her a "Onesie Party" Below you can find instructions on how to have your own Onesie Party. (While this is definitely a great idea for making onesies I'm thinking it could also be altered to make a quilt)

Materials Needed:

1. Thermoweb Iron-On Adhesive (Pictured Below): The package below is 10 yards, which is PLENTY. It is $12 at JoAnn Fabric and if you use a coupon you can get it for about $7.20.

2. Scraps of Fabric: Lindsey and I had a number of scraps left over from sewing projects we've done throughout the year but I also bought two 1/4 yards of fabric just to make sure we had enough. A 1/4 yard of fabric will run you about $.75 and you can easily get away with maybe six-eight different types which will provide you plenty of options. So, assuming you don't have any fabric scraps, you're looking at about $5.25 for fabric.

3. Onesies: Now, we're pretty frugal so some of our onesies came from yard sales but the ones that we purchased new are $2 a piece (Wal-Mart and Target) I think its fun to do two onesies per person because the whole process doesn't take very long so there'll be plenty of time. Assuming you have fifteen people attending your shower, and you purchase all your onesies new...the onesies will run you about $60. (If you purchase all your onesies from yard-sales they will run you about $8.00, $.25 each. I highly recommend this option)

4. Scissors (two pairs)

5. Two Irons

6. Ironing board

7. Pen

We printed off a few pictures ahead of time and cut out the different shapes in different materials, so the ladies would have multiple options. I googled the images I wanted (heart, flower, elephant, bird, butterfly) and then was able to print off the images I liked best and use those as templates that I sketched onto the fabric. Before you sketch you need to follow the instructions on the Adhesive.

The adhesive has two sides, a side with paper and side without paper. You will place your material (front up) onto the side without paper and then iron the front of the material. When your done you'll have a piece of material and the back will be paper. You then sketch you design onto the paper side and then cut the design out (Keep in mind that if you're image is not symmetrical you will need to trace it so that when flipped over it isn't backwards) If you have fifteen women at your shower you should make about 30-40 images, ranging in different pictures and different materials. You want the women to have options.

On the day of the shower each lady chooses a onesie and a image (heart, elephant etc). All they need to do is peel the paper off the back of the image and place it on the onesie where they want it to go. Then they iron it down for about 30 seconds and VOILA! It's done.

We did save some scraps of material with the adhesive already applied so that the ladies could cut out there own shapes if they so choose. I call this a "creativity buffet" Some women may want to get super creative while others just enjoy chatting and ironing.

So, for the total cost of about $20 you can have your own Onesie Party! As I mentioned earlier I bet this concept would work great with a quilt as well. Everyone could get a square instead of a onesie. I would love to try that for the next baby shower I host :) Below are some pictures of our finished onesies, we made 25.

Weekend Update

2012-06-10T17:05:00.004-07:00

What a great weekend!

Friday...Our goal was to have the whole yard completely finished by Saturday (yesterday) and let me just say that John totally held up his end of the deal. He finished the (450 square feet!!) patio and it looks amazing. We also finished planting new shrubs in the front yard and created/mulched two new beautiful flower beds. I stained the porch floor and re-decorated it so that it was all ready for the summer. We got a new grill and new patio furniture for our patio and it all looks amazing. The final step was the sod. Due to all the rain we've had in the past two weeks our sod guy was behind. He got the front yard done and the side yard and half of the back yard...but it wasn't all completed. I really wanted it all done but understood there just wasn't any way. Poor John tried everything he could...including:
1. Offering to install the sod for the guy if he would just drop it off.
2. Offering to paint the dirt outside green to hopefully blend in with the rest of the sod.
3. Offering to pay the sod guy an additional $500 if he could just get it here in time for the baby shower we had on Saturday morning.

But unfortunately, there just wasn't any sod to be had. Hopefully though we'll have it tomorrow.

The front yard looks amazing though!!! (See picture below)

So, I spent Friday afternoon getting ready for the shower and then Lindsey and RACHEL came over and helped me cut out appliques that we used the next day for the shower.
Saturday started bright and early with shower prep and then we had the shower at 10:00. It was wonderful. We love you Jesse! And we love baby Flo!

My parents came over for dinner Saturday night and it was great to catch up with them.

On Sunday, we went to church, went to Five Guys for lunch, played in the fountain at Towne Center with Lilly for a few minutes and deep cleaned the house in the evening.

How was your weekend?

Lilly Thursday

2012-06-07T03:34:00.002-07:00

So, Lilly had a stuffy nose for a few days which I thought might be contributing to her waking up at night so we got a humidifier. I do think it has been helping. For the most part she seems to be sleeping better. Another benefit is that its unintentionally a noise-cancelling machine. The upstairs of our 30 year old house has wood floors, that tend to creek. Normally in the mornings its like that scene from Get Smart where Steve Carell is trying to not get hit by the lasers but he has a mouse climbing on him. Well, there's no mouse but I jump around the upstairs in an attempt to not step on the creaky areas...

Now its not that big of a deal because I think the sound of the humidifier drowns out the sound of the creaky floor. Icing on the cake.

In other news, she's found her voice this week. She thinks its funny to babble loudly/scream. Sometimes its cute and funny, sometimes it's not (Like in the middle of the library)

Oh and she thinks sneezing is the funniest thing. Every time she does it she laughs.

Creative Wednesday

2012-06-06T19:09:00.001-07:00

A dress with buttons!

This was my first attempt with buttons but I think I did ok with them. I just think its such a cute dress. The pattern consists of three pieces: the front and then two arms that cross over to form the back. Because the dress is lined and two different materials are used you will need to cut out six total pieces.

One you've pinned the three pieces together (front to front) on each type of material you then sew the two contrasting materials together all the way around. You will pin them together with the front of each material facing each other. One you've sewn around the exterior (and left a 2 inch opening) you will cut small triangles around the curves so that when you turn the dress inside out it doesn't bunch up where the curves are. Be sure not to cut through the seam you've just sewn! Now, turn the dress inside out through the opening.

After I poked out all the corners I did a zig-zag stitch around the entire dress, I feel like the zig-zag adds a little extra and this also allowed me to close up that 2 inch opening. Then I made the button holes.

I cut a slit where I wanted the hole to be, then I sewed just barely around that opening multiple times, forming a rectangle, and then cut away the frayed threads that were created. I'm not sure this is the best way to do this but it seemed to work, there are a lot of videos on you-tube if you want a more detailed how-to.

Then I sewed on the buttons (by hand) and voila! Here is the dress.

Hot Topic Tuesday

2012-06-05T03:43:00.001-07:00

Alright, this issue is greatly debated across the world...e-readers or old fashioned turn the badge books? I personally prefer the old fashioned kind. There's just something about snuggling under a blanket with a cup of coffee and an old book. I also feel like the look of the book itself tells a story. The way an old copy of The Scarlet Letter feels is very different from the way the new Steve Jobs book feels. They pages feel different, the fonts are different, the size is different and the covers are different. I feel like using an e-reader neutralizes some of these differences.

BUT, I was once on a trip and had no way of getting to a store and hadn't brought any reading material. I bought a book and read it on my phone and it was great that I had that option. I would have rather had the book itself though, reading on my phone was a bit like being a giant and trying to read book for dolls.

So what are your thoughts?

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Weekend Update

2012-06-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

We started the weekend off right by going to the Newport News Greek festival on Friday night with some friends. (See Fridays post for more info on that). While at the festival we had a torrential downpour that lasted for about 8 hours...the result in the AM was that most of the dirt that john spent last week spreading over the yard had washed away :-\

On Saturday we started laying pavers around 7:30. Around 11:00 Craig stopped by and I happily let him take over my task of hauling pavers and hammering them into place. Craig and John continued laying pavers until 5:00 and I spent that time sweeping sand into the crevices of the already laid stones. Finally, at about 6:00 everything was complete and the patio was finished!

We then stopped by a birthday party for our friend Nick for about an hour. Then we came home and went to bed. It was an exhausting day.

Lilly woke up Sunday morning with a runny nose and watery eyes. I stayed home from church with her and just John went. We spent the rest of the day grocery shopping, decorating the patio with our new furniture and of course ending the evening with dinner with our friends. It has been an extremely busy weekend and will continue to be a busy week but I'd rather be busy then bored :-)

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Bonus Post...Sleep is for the weak

2012-06-02T04:09:00.001-07:00

So, I was laying in bed last night at 2:30 thinking about how I would give you guys a bonus post this morning. I usually don't blog on the weekends but alas, its a special occasion.

Remember when you were a kid and you went to bed at 9:00 and woke up at 7:00 and there was nothing in between except dreamland? Well, I miss those days. Here is a play by play of last night in our house

10:30- go to bed
11:30- wake up to John downstairs in the kitchen opening the fridge
12:00, 12:45 - wake up to the sounds of thunder and the torrential downpour outside
1:30 - wake up to Lilly (still asleep) with her pacifier still in, saying "ahhhhhhhh" as loud as possible. She wasn't crying just babbling while still half asleep. I was hoping she'd fall back into a deep sleep but then at 1:45 I decided to rock her back to sleep, it worked.
2:00 - Wake up to John saying "I don't think so!" (I was waiting for a Tim to follow this) As he rolls over
2:30- Wake up to the storm one more time
2:45- Our cat sleeps in the guest room upstairs, usually in the night he gets bored and wants company. While our bed is in fact high enough for him to jump up on he thinks its so high so we've put a chair next to the bed for him to use as a stepladder. Unfortunately the chair is on John's side of the bed and he's scared of John at night so he will only stand next to my head on the floor and wine, "Meow, Meow, Meow" he does this until I pick him up and put him on the bed. From there he walks in circles around my face until he finds a comfortable spot to lay down. This comfortable spot is ALWAYS in the center of my pillow. This all happened at 2:45.
3:00-5:30- Sleep!
5:30- check on Lilly because she spit her pacifier out
6:30- wake up
6;45- Lilly wakes up. (Usually she sleeps until 7:30 but oh well, it was just one of those nights)

Five People You Meet...at a Greek Festival

2012-06-01T18:23:00.002-07:00

Just got back from the Greek festival and had a good time, despite the fact that we went during a torrential downpour/tornado. I had never been before (I know, I've lived in Hampton Roads for 25 years and this was my first time going, crazy right). So if you've never been then you're in luck! Because below you will get a good re-cap of the different types of people you'll meet at a Greek Festival.

1. Friends! - We met a group of about 10 other people there and it made it so much more fun. It's good to have good friends.

2. The Announcer/DJ - I'm not sure if this is the correct title for this person but I'm referring to the individual who stands on the stage and introduces the dance groups as they perform. Since we're dealing with a Greek Festival, said person is of course Greek. He is also a man of many talents because he'll switch from introductions to announcements faster than you can say "Ompa!"

"The next group of wonderful dancers is coming to us from Maryland, and by the way...don't forget to check out our baklava over at the table with Nick...or the Gyros at the table with Nick!"

3. Vendors - So there are vendors at this festival selling all sorts of crazy things from jewelry to Greek hats to demonic looking rain sticks to children's dance costumes. Some things were not bad looking but other things (think leopard print men's hat) were somewhat questionable. Regardless, its a fun experience.

4. The Dancers: Kind of entertaining and definitely some interesting costumes were being worn. I did learn that most of the dances were group things-like in a circle, which coincides with all my other Greek experiences (ie: The one time I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding) Its very dis-similar to line dancing, which I'm more familiar with.

5. Other Attendees - There are so many different people who come! well actually they can be broken up into two groups-the Greeks and the non-Greeks. The non Greeks basically look like the Greeks except they don't have name-tags and there names aren't Nick(i).

Lilly Thursday...Food!

2012-05-31T18:22:00.003-07:00

So Lilly has started eating food! She prefers people food from the table but she's doing ok with baby food, though its touch and go...One meal she'll almost finish a jar of squash (her favorite) and the next she reacts like I'm trying to feed her cotton balls.

We're definitely making progress though which is awesome. I can see the future and it no longer includes an image of Lilly going off to college drinking a bottle.

Another development this week is Lilly's discovery of her tongue. I actually googled "my 8th month old sticks out her tongue a lot" because I was kind of concerned...but apparently its a common stage. When her pacifier isn't in then she has her tongue hanging out. Michael Jordan always played with his tongue out... so the way I see it is she is destined for greatness.

Its so exciting to see her developing and learning and she's such a great kid. This week John and I were basically outside all week working on the yard. I also cleaned, re-decorated, and stained the porch (pictures to come later) and she would just sit in her pack-n-play for about an hour each day playing quietly. We sure are blessed!

Creative Wednesday...Leggings!

2012-05-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

So I love leggings on babies, they're just so cute! I decided to make some for Lilly and after a few not so great attempts I believe I've mastered it enough to share, below are the steps in case you're interested

The link I used is here:

Great Link for Leggings!

I used 1/2 in elastic but if I did it again I would use 3/4 inch. Also, I didn't have the double-stitch needle but I think they still turned out fine.

I purchased knit fabric for the white and purple pair so those cost about $2.50 to make (each)

I went to the thrift store and got a t-shirt for $.99 which I used for the turquoise pair. The fabric stores don't offer a lot of options when it comes to knits so sometimes you'll find better patterns by looking through old t-shirts, plus its a cheaper option. I was able to do that pair of leggings for about $1.15.

Now you go try some :)

Hot Topic Tuesday

2012-05-29T19:41:00.001-07:00

I am currently reading the book, 'Steve Jobs' by Walter Isaacson. It has been such an interesting read and I've really learned a lot about Steve and Apple. This leads me to my topic for today, are you an Apple consumer or a non-Apple consumer (whether that means windows, Microsoft etc)?

I do not own any Apple products and I doubt I ever will. I do own a smart phone, laptop and tablet but all run on windows. My decision for not choosing Apple is that they come across as elitist and I've always felt that I'm being "different" by NOT choosing Apple. Ironically, their slogan, which I've learned from reading the book, is "think differently" and the company has always considered themselves the different and alternative option, but oh well, that's where I stand.

So what about you, who do you chose and why?

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Weekend Update

2012-05-28T05:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! Hopefully if you're reading this you are enjoying a relaxing day off work and are able to hang out with your family. (If you aren't reading this then you should be.) Also, hopefully you are remembering the wonderful sacrifices that those who serve in our military are making.

So far this weekend we have been working on the yard...a lot! John has finished prepping the yard for sod, which hopefully should arrive any day now, and he's begun digging out the patio. Yesterday Craig came over to help (go Craig) and he's coming over today as well. Their task is to dig out (5 inches down) a 450 sq ft. patio. Unfortunately 1/2 of the area is covered in tiny pebbles that go about 2 inches down. The other half is covered in thick roots. As of now, they've done about 1/4 of it.

We spread 20 bags of mulch this weekend and planted a lot of bushes and our yard is beginning to no longer look like an eye soar. I'm so excited to see the finished product...and pictures will come soon! The side of our house is currently a staging area for 1500 pavers, 1500 bags of sand and a reaming 20 bags of mulch.

We also met our new neighbors this weekend. They are very nice and are stationed at Langley. Anna, Wolfgang and Sebastian (they are German). The only unfortunate thing is that they apparently want to raise chickens...

We are planning on having a cookout later this evening and hopefully the patio will be all the way dug out :) What are you doing this weekend?!

Five People you Meet in...The Dentist's Office

2012-05-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

I'm replacing Friday's "Weekend Preview" with "Five people you meet in..." Let's be honest, no one really cares that much about what I'm doing over the weekend...

Each week I'll finish this sentence with a different word, the word of the week will most likely come from some interesting encounter I may have had recently. This week's edition: "Five people you meet in the Dentist's Office.

1. The Receptionist: This is the first person you run into when entering the office and at least at my office, they are always very nice. The one thing that always goes through my mind is how they must be tired of repeating things so much. While sitting waiting to go back, I here the receptionist on the phone reminding people of their appointments for the following day(s) I can't help but think that would get tiring after a while. I hope that's not all they do all day long, it just seems like it because it's all they do every time I'm in there. Any Dental receptionists out there who can verify this?

2. "Co-Waiters": So in my case, the waiting area is pretty small and this week I was alone for a few minutes until another patient came in. As soon as she came in she asked, "Why are the blinds closed?" And had such a concerned expression on her face that had I not been paying attention, I might have thought she asked, "Why is there blood all over this wall?" Nevertheless, she looked at me to answer this question of which I could not but the very sweet receptionist took a brief break from her phone-reminders to tell the lady she could open the blinds if she wanted. I always feel like waiting room individuals momentarily share some sort of a bond. Most likely neither one of you is looking forward to what is about to happen.

3. The dental hygienist: The main question, is of course, is she going to try to carry on a conversation? Keep in mind that I have a tough time carrying on a conversation with my hair-stylist because I figure I'm there to get the job done (at super-cuts mind you), so you can imagine how difficult I find it to small-talk with someone when I can't actually move my lips. But alas, I understand that they are just trying to be friendly.

4. The dentist: This is the job to have. I've been going to my dentist for approximately 22 years. Twice a year. So that's about 44 trips to the same dentist. In all those trips I'm fairly certain that we've never uttered more than the following words:

Dentist: "How are you doing today!"
Me: Great. How about you?
Dentist: Good. Thanks
(4 minutes later)
Dentist: "Well everything looks good, have a great summer (or winter depending on the time of the visit)"

5. Me: I realize that I don't actually meet myself at the dentist but I'm going to write this in the perspective of you, or the any of the a fore mentioned 4 individuals. The first thing you need to know is that I have crazy eyes. I don't know what's wrong with them but they are uber-sensetive and this makes things like getting a haircut and going to the dentist difficult. I immediately close my eyes and they remain closed throughout the entire process. (Is this common? Leave your comment below please) The light is what I can't handle. I seems to me like it has got to be the brightest light ever that's shining in your eyes. Just because my eyes are closed doesn't mean they are sensetivity-free. If something unexpected comes to close to them, they can, at any point, freak out. This happened this week at my appointment. The hygienist brushed my closed eye-lash with her hand and I jumped like I'd been shot (That's where the blood on the wall in the waiting room came from!). She, I'm sure, was totally freaked out and probably thought she stabbed me with her little stabber-tool that was inside my mouth at the time. She asked if I was ok, I said I was and tried to brush it off like it must happen to her all the time. I feel so bad for the hygienist that gets stuck with me: the non-talker, eye freak.

Lilly Thursday

2012-05-24T04:26:00.003-07:00

So, when I was pregnant I signed up for this thing where each week I would receive an email talking about the stages of my baby and what I was experiencing. An example of this would be, "Week 8! Your Baby is the size of a raspberry, also you're probably feeling pretty nauseous these days huh?" And then it would go on to discuss these things in further detail.

To my surprise the emails continued after Lilly was born and now they discuss common development issues that your baby may be experiencing each week (ie: sitting up, crawling, etc)

Well this week's email was entitled, "Why your baby wants only you, How to Handle separation anxiety". Well being that I've trained Lilly to coincide her major live events with the majority of other American children (Just Kidding!!! For those who may take this seriously I fully recognize that she is her own person and I am not pushing or pulling her in any direction) But, in all honestly she pretty much has corresponded perfectly with these weekly emails. This is especially true for this last one. In the past week she has been in nursery twice, on Sunday and on Wednesday. Both times, she has cried enough for them to come get me. Its so weird to me because usually she doesn't ever cry and it's not like she's showing signs of this during the week. She's not especially clingy and she doesn't freak out when I initially leave the nursery room, its usually after about 20 minutes and I guess she realizes I'm gone. When we got home last night I tried to sit her down and explain to her that mommy would always come back for her and that she should instead focus her energy on having a good time with her other baby friends, but I don't think she was fully picking up what I was putting down.

Well, the not-at-all-vague email says its a phase and that is should probably end sometime in the next 3-12 months...so we'll see.

Creative Wednesday

2012-05-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

So, this week I made Lilly another dress. I found this fabric on clearance and so the total dress, with ribbon and all probably cost about $5. The inside is lined with green fabric and rather than buttons or zippers it is tied with a ribbon in the back. The only thing I could think of that would make this a little better would be a second ribbon closer to the neck-line. But other than that I'm happy with it. I had never tried the edging before but I bought the pre-made stuff and it was really easy.

Hot Topic Tuesday

2012-05-22T06:09:00.002-07:00

Alright today's topic: The United States giving aid to the less fortunate. What are you thoughts? The way I see it there are two sides.

Side A: We are a blessed country that has the ability to do something about the poverty/disease/natural disasters/genocide etc in other countries and it would be wrong to not use what we've been blessed with to help others.

Side B: We are currently in significant debt ourselves yet we continue to give aid to other nations when they are faced with poverty/disease/natural disasters/genocide etc. who provide our country with nothing in return. While we should care and pray for those individuals it is not the job of the United States to fiscally provide with the result being the US going into even more debt.

Thoughts?

Weekend Update

2012-05-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Well, on Saturday I went to some yard sales in Wythe and found some cute stuff for Lilly. Baby girl clothes are so hard to resist! Afterwards Lilly and I went to the alumni reception (Lilly slept through it) at SCA and then to the graduation. The first graduating class was in 2003. I was a sophomore at the time and there was 1 graduate. 2012 was their 10th graduating class and the largest, at 27 students! Some interesting things about the day: Each graduating class has a framed class photo hanging in the hall. My class photo has been missing for two years and no one knows where it went. One of the guests of the graduation was standing in the foyer waiting for the ceremony to start when a women came up to him, handed him the photo and said, please give this to the principle. So weird. But I'm glad it was found. Also, I was able to see the yearbook for the 2011-2012 school year and Lilly made it in! It's a picture of her at the homecoming game with her face painted :)

Afterwards we went to an after party (for Nathan Coleman) and then we came home and did some P90X. On Sunday we went to church and then I got things ready for dinner and John worked on the yard. We met with the sod guy and it looks like the sod will probably go down within the next week. John got a workout jack-hammering concrete, spreading dirt and cutting down/pulling up shrubs. Hopefully it will NOT rain for the next 9 days like the weather station says its going to...because we have a lot to get done.

Sunday night was wonderful as always with our friends over for dinner. Lilly just loves Rocco and she tried so hard to crawl after him as fast as he was running :) That was it for the weekend, now for an equally busy week...

Weekend Preview

2012-05-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

It's Friday people! This is NOT going to be one of those nice relaxing weekends at the Ralls house. Tomorrow starts out bright and early at the Wythe neighborhood yard sale. Well, thats what Lilly and I will be doing at 8:00. John will be running a 5k.

The Summit Graduation is at 3:00 tomorrow and at two O'clock there will be an alumni reception. After the graduation we will be stopping by one of the graduation parties.

There is of course church Sunday morning and dunner Sunday night at our house (which will be featuring crock pot lasagna).

In between all that we need to meet with the sod guy on saturday, purchase the stone for our patio, buy balloons for the alumni reception and go to a homegroup leadership meeting...we'll see how it all goes, and if we're able to fit everything in...whats going on with you this weekend?