Holly-Days!

This lil' old blog has been quiet for a while.  But that just means we've been having lots of fun! Well, mostly.  Brian had surgery three days before Christmas but he's recovering well and already back to work.

The girls had a fantastic Christmas and now we are working to put things away (toys, laundry, Christmas decorations, etc.).  I haven't run in WAY too long and I'm starting to feel the effects, so I'm starting that back up again soon too! I don't know what it is about post-Christmas, but it always makes me want to purge, organize, clean, and decorate.  You can bet there will be plenty of that going on here as well.  Meanwhile we're enjoying the rain (and we've had plenty!!) and just staying inside.

I've been trying to jot down a few of the funny things the girls have said so I can revive the Friday Funnies, (look for a new year's edition soon)!

I can tell you all we've been up to, but I know you'd much rather see it!

 Reagan's classroom Christmas party:

 Mom's birthday a few days before Christmas (and a delicious chocolate cake made by my sis-in-law):

Walking "Christmas Card Lane" (and a rare family pic):

Delivering cookies to daddy's office:

Reagan and my nephew Dylan (best buddies). He was teaching her all about something called a "Nintendo DS" :)

 Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house:

Christmas morning at our house. The girls all got a giant dollhouse to share.  Love Reagan's face (and the fact that she's throwing paper in her baby sister's face). :)

 Reagan REALLY wanted a globe for Christmas (something that's easy to find for cheap in August.  In December, not so much).  Thank you Craigslist!!

Skylar with her new Princess bike (complete with a baby seat on back)!

Skylar and Bailey wearing the slings that Reagan made for them!

Mom opening the quilt I made.  She's going to hate this picture, but I just love it!

The girls playing with their new dollhouse:

Matching Christmas jammies!

Our tree on Christmas night.  We have some crazy LED lights!

 

We hope your Christmas was blessed and your home is filled with warm memories! We are gearing up for a busy January (with every week/weekend already booked!), my return to teaching, and squeezing in some playtime too! :) 

Happy New Year!!

Holiday Happenings

You know it's been a while when my own husband says "you certainly aren't updating the blog very much." I know....I sound like a broken record.  We've been busy.  I've always said that I would not let the blog be a stressful thing for me, so when things get busy, it's the first thing to go.  So, here's a brief update of our holiday happenings!

A family picture taken on Thanksgiving at my brother and sister in laws house.

The next day was Brian's birthday so we took him out to dinner (and ice cream)!

Then, the Christmas festivities started! We picked out a tree...

Our dental office had a Christmas festival with a petting zoo so the girls had a blast petting the 3 week old baby pig.  

The girls decorated the tree...

This picture just makes me smile.  Bailey dressed herself and asked me to take a picture :)

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season as much as we are!! Reagan's last day of school before break is today so we're looking forward to 3 weeks of making cookies, watching movies, looking at lights, and staying in our pjs! 

Little Mamas

Today I'm linking up with my dear friend Liz! She has a countdown to Christmas and if you need any ideas for Christmas crafts, go check it out.



The girls have been so sweet this year when it comes to gifts.  They have asked if they could give gifts to their sisters for Christmas.  I love that they want to give and they aren't just thinking of their own lists.  Reagan really really wanted to sew something so I found a pattern for something that she could do pretty easily (and that her sisters would love).

Both Bailey and Skylar adore their baby dolls.  They tote them everywhere.  Literally, everywhere.  I've used scarves in the past to tie their babies to them so they can "wear" them like I did when they were babies.  But, nothing beats a "real" sling for a baby doll!

One yard of fabric makes TWO slings.  Plus, Reagan and I had them cranked out in less than 30 minutes (and for less than 5 dollars).

Start by cutting your one yard of fabric in half lengthwise.  That leaves about 18 inches in width (for me, the fabric was 55 inches wide so my length was 55 inches by 18 inches).  If your girls are littler, you can trim it a bit more, but I wanted a larger sling. I've heard you can also measure your child from hip to shoulder and then double it and add 2 inches.  That's too much math for me.  I just winged it.

Then, just hem both long edges.

You may also want to iron your fabric unless your allergic to ironing like I am.

After both long edges are hemmed,
Fold it in half with wrong side facing out.

Sew a curve on the OPEN end. Then trim. You can see how this is an exact science, right? My curve was lopsided so I actually sewed it again and made it a little less curvy.  That seemed to work better.

Fold it right side out and then in half and you're ready to go!

Hope you enjoy making a baby sling for your little mamas!

(for littler girls, you can make the fabric closer to 12 inches in width and probably 40 inches or less in length.  you can also line it with another fabric to make it heavier.  the options are endless.)