A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Yesterday was Wednesday, but it was also one of those days I don't think I got to sit down until somewhere after the kiddos went to bed.  I feel like we have those days a lot.  I know I should enjoy them now because there will come a day when the house will be quiet and we won't be frantically running out the door to the next appointment.

So yesterday was Wednesday and we went to the library and the theme was "Nursery Rhymes."  Which, I thought was going to be an easy theme but you'd be surprised.

Piper wore:

Oliver + S Book Report Dress

This is the Oliver + S Book Report Dress done in Heather Ross Nursery Versery Little Pigs in Pink and Robert Kaufman Metro Living Circles in Chartreuse.  I had been eyeing the Heather Ross fabric for quite a while but it is a Japanese import linen blend and is kind of pricy.  When I heard what this weeks theme was it gave me the perfect opportunity to need to purchase some.  

When the two fabrics arrived in the mail, I really liked them together.  As I was putting the dress together, I started to think it was a mistake and didn't like them together at all.  After I was finished and had a few days to admire my finished work it started to grow on me again.  In the end, I like the finished product.

Like all O+S patterns this one had clear, easy to follow directions and cute details on the dress like the buttons at the neckline.  I chose to use some mother-of-pearl buttons on both the shoulders and cuffs at the sleeves.

The back of the dress has a cute contrast yoke and pleated detail:

I guess I should point out the fabric details.  Like I said the theme was nursery rhymes.  Take a look at my cute pink piggies and see if you can figure out which nursery rhyme it was:

Did you get it?  How 'bout, "this little piggie went to market, this little piggie stayed home, this little piggie had roast beef and this little piggie had none, this little piggie cried wee, wee, wee all the way home."  Cute, right!

In addition to dressing Piper to match the theme she brings something for show-n-tell as well.  Not that she ever gets up to show it but I keep hoping one day she will.  I looked and looked through her plethora of stuffies and had nothing related to a nursery rhyme.  So I quickly whipped up this guy on Sunday afternoon:

He's supposed to be Humpty Dumpty but I was kind of winging it.  Surprisingly everyone recognized him.  I taught Piper the rhyme, she calls him "humpy dumpy." :)

Finally here's one last look at my cutie model in her adorable new dress.  I did add length to it hoping it would last her for fall, but I'm doubtful.  Another thing to note, the bottom of the dress is quilting cotton.  I think in the future, I'd like to use something with a little more weight to it.  I just wasn't happy with the way it was hanging at times yesterday and I think that was partially due to the lightness of the quilting cotton.  I do in fact have another dress like this finished and the bottom is twill, I'm anxious to have her wear it to see the difference.  But, you'll have to wait to see it. ;)

Snow Day!

Yay! We have had our first snow day since sometime in February of 2010.  The past two years Zachary has had more time off from school due to hurricanes than snow.  Last week he was terribly disappointed by the early dismissal from school due to inclement weather which in the end turned out to only be rain.  As you can imagine, we have been in desperate need of a snow day.  We have already been out for round one of fun in the snow and will likely go back out this afternoon if the snow is still here.

Of course I took a lot more photos and you can see them here.

December in Review

So, December was an incredibly busy month at our house.  I never intended to take a blogging break, I just never really got a chance to sit down at the computer for more than a few minutes here and there.

So much happened in December, it's all still a little blurry (good thing I have pictures)...

The beginning of December, Zachary had an audition for Tri-County Choir.  I am pleased to announce that he was selected to both the Tri-County Choir and the State Choir (his audition for that was in November).  The weeks ahead will be full of rehearsals here, there and everywhere but what an exciting time for him.

Then there was a piano recital:

We visited with Santa:

We attempted to get some birthday photos taken:

This was sort of the theme of the photo shoot.

A special little girl turned 3, and there was a party!  Complete w/ princess dress:

A beautiful cake, the birthday girl helped to make: 

A lot of fun was had by all!

At some point I must have hit my head because I also agreed to make not one, but two different wedding cakes for two different friends:

Somewhere in the midst of all this Christmas came and it was lovely!

So, in addition to ALL of this sometime in early December on the Oliver + S blog Liesl was asking if anyone would be interested in testing a new pattern.  I volunteered and was sent a pre-released pattern to make this lovely:

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape

The cape was just released this week in both an adult and child sized version.  I will go into greater detail later this week, because there is a good story to go with it.

I have been sewing up a storm and feeding my fabric addiction quite a bit over the past month.  I have a lot to show you in the coming weeks.  Tomorrow we start back to library and I have a fun project to show you tomorrow in honor of story time.  Check back to see what it might be...

A Tiny Preview

Piper's birthday is in a few weeks.  I told myself I wasn't going to make her a birthday dress, but we all know that was never going to happen.  She is currently in love with Disney's Brave and will be having a Brave themed party.  I decided to make her a dress "inspired" by one of Merida's dresses.

This is the dress for my inspiration:

Here's a sneak peak of the dress so far:

I'm pretty excited about the dress, as you can see by my inability to wait until it is finished to show it off.  I've really had to step out of my comfort zone for it.  I am working with fabric I have never worked with before (because I was a little afraid to, for fear the results would be disastrous) and I've installed my very first zipper in 8 years of sewing (which turned out not to be as hard as I thought).  

I'm pushing to get this dressed finished by the weekend because I kind of want to make a dress inspired by this Merida dress as well (the fabric has already been purchased).

Rain, Rain, Stay So We Can Play

Here's one of the great things about little people.  They make you slow down in life and enjoy the world around you.  Like, for instance how much fun a rainy day can be...

Halloween Decorating

Now that October is here, it's time to start talking Halloween.  Piper is starting to "understand" holidays and she is making the holiday seasons very fun.  This past weekend we got out the Halloween decorations.  We spent the morning placing pumpkins, ghosts and ghouls all around the house.  Piper was quite the helper when it came to putting the decorations out.  I love her sense of style.

For example, I found several of these little Jack Skellington candles in various locations around the house:.

There was one on my computer keyboard.

One on DH's lappy.

This one is is on my printer.

Here is one under the television.

This one is on the stove cook top (I think he might get moved).

In addition to the Jack Skellington heads, she put some festive touches elsewhere in the house too.

The stairs:

Her chair:

A window display:

As you can see we are ready for Halloween.  What about you, do you have your decorations up yet?

Spy Cam

Over the weekend, Piper graduated to a big girl bed.  It was time.  We had caught glimpses of her on the monitor hoisting her leg up over the top of her crib in attempts to escape.  So, we finally gave in to the fact that she is no longer a baby and is in fact a big girl.  This was the scene on Saturday after we removed the sides of her bed.

She was thrilled with her big girl bed and the freedom that came with it.  She has been testing the waters and seeing just how much freedom she has.  Thanks to the spy cam we are able to catch glimpses of her doing things like this:

Trying on a pair of bunny ears.

Singing while wearing bunny ears.

Looking for hidden goodies under her bed.

Going for a little stroll.

Yay for the spy cam so I can watch these little moments.  Each day she gets a little better with her bed.  She still hasn't discovered that when she wakes up she can just get up and come down stairs.  I guess for now it's nice that she calls for me, it means she still needs her Mommy.  :)

Raising Strong Girls

Once you have a daughter, your entire view of the world changes.  You realize how difficult it is to raise a strong, independent, smart girl.  Every where you turn, there are images, books, movies, etc. showing woman that are weak and willing to let someone else take care of them.  I know I have run into my share of road blocks along my path just because I am a female.  However, I am proud that I am a strong female and try to do whatever possible to not let those road blocks stop me.  I love high heels and the color pink, but I also love that I can take care of myself.  DH is my partner, not my care-giver and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I go out of my way to make sure that Piper sees what an amazing, smart, strong girl she is.  Sure, she hears an awful lot from an awful lot of people how "pretty" she is.  I don't deny that.  She has blonde curly hair, dimples and blue eyes that can melt any heart.  But, she is more than her looks and I think she needs to learn that at a very young age.  Both DH and I tell her all the time how smart she is, and we are pushing her toward being independent.  Little girl loves to carry her stool around the house to get things that are out of reach on her own.  I love to just sit back and watch her do it.

I have come across a few web-sites that I love, that are about empowering girls and I wanted to give them a shout-out right here.

The first is A Mighty Girl. A Mighty Girl, is filled with book and movie suggestions that showcase strong girls.  The book and movie section is broken down into categories.  They also have a blog where they feature Mighty Girls, be they trail-blazers from the past or current Mighty Girls.  

My next favorite is a clothing site started by a mom who wanted to "change the way we think about girls."  I want her to be my BFF.  I love her mission statement on the front of her page (Pigtail Pals and Ballcap Buddies).  I will be ordering from her site. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with princesses. I just think there is something wrong with a princess that is willing to sit in a tower and wait for someone to come and get her.  I think it would be a better story to have the princess slay the dragon and rescue herself.  Don't you agree?

Toddler Photography

Have you ever given your child your camera?  Piper takes mine all the time.  If she doesn't use my actual camera she happily shoots away with my iPhone.  Sometimes the photos make me giggle.  Like these:

Zoe's paw

Piper's Foot

(hmmm, maybe she's working on a theme)

The kitchen table from her view

Another Piper foot

Partial picture of her brother

You know, maybe in an odd way this is what life from the vantage point of a 3 foot tall 2 year old looks like.  No matter what it is, I always smile when I take a look at the photos Piper has taken for me. I don't have the heart to delete any of them.  Maybe someday I will make her a scrap book full of her work. If I do, there will easily be a book dedicated entirely to pictures of Piper's feet, it is her favorite subject. :)