Utility Sewing Day

Today I did a couple of projects that have been on the to do list for a while, but were not very exciting. But first, I will share with you a project I finished yesterday.

I have been wanting to make a Waldorf-style doll for a while. While I don't agree with most of the Waldorf philosophies, I do agree with their view toys. Toys should be hand-made, with natural materials, with simple features to allow the child's imagination to be the central ingredient in play, and have no bells and whistles or flashing lights. Waldorf dolls have a very distinct style and are made with natural materials: wool yarn hair, wool stuffing, etc. Daddy Man bought a kit as a surprise gift for me, and I had so much fun creating this doll from fabric and wool fluff.

I don't know what her name is yet. Muffin calls her "Monee" (Mon like Monica), which is what she calls me these days. :) We'll see if it sticks. I was tired of sewing (can you believe it?) so I put a dress and shirt on her that I made for one of Muffin's other dolls a while back. Her 'buns' stick out when she bends over, so I'll have to make a longer one later.

More recently, but less excitingly, I made these flannel baby wipes. I already have lots, but with another baby on the way, my usage of baby wipes will at least double, so I thought I'd make them now. I was so tempted to use one of the cute girly print flannels I have, but I decided to save those for a more exciting project. I LOVE not spending money on wipes (or diapers, for that matter) anymore! And I know exactly what' s in them: water!
Per Daddy Man's request, I made several man-sized snack bags. We never seem to have enough for his lunch, so now we do. I even lined two of them with plastic, so he can put his sandwich in them. He was very pleased. :)

Mr. Baby's Room

Well, Here it is: Mr. Baby's room. As part of Operation Beautify, I decided to move him into his own room, and let the girls have their room together. I think it will work best this way, but a major deciding factor was the decorating factor....much easier to have a girly room and a boyish room, then try to mix them together. As usual, my pictures aren't that great. I don't know how she or she or she does it. How do you take decent photos with kids running around, pulling on you, messing up your staged areas, poking each other, you get the picture. (ha ha) Anyhow, here it is.

I still need to hang the curtain rod higher, but I'm pretty happy with how the curtains turned out. I sewed circles on them to match the bedding.

I painted this bookcase....

...and these shelves.....(thanks Sister for the cute arrangement on them!)

...and this table. I love the Uppercase Living on it!
My Uppercase tree on the wall is a bit lonely....not sure what to do with that yet. Any ideas? That green pony- one of the kids' favorite toys. I highly recommend it. It is called the Rody Horse, and it is a blow up toy to bounce on. You can inflate it to different sizes depending on how big your kid is. Love the fun colors too. If you live in Redding, they can be found at Sugarplumb Cottage.

This fabric is what I based the whole room on...ironically it is the last thing to go on the wall. I'm looking for a large frame from a thrift store to paint orange or green. I found this amazing fabric at a garage sale...score!! I wish I could get more of it.

So there you have it. Mr. Baby's room. It is so nice for him to have a space with all baby-safe toys to play in. I don't have to worry about him choking on a pea-sized strawberry shortcake doll purse, and he seems to enjoy having his own space to play in. It is also perfect for bed times. Girls' room to come soon!

Update: After some searching around I found this lamp that was sold at Urban Outfitters a few years ago. Oh how I want that for his room! I can't find it anywhere, just found this picture on a post where someone was ranting about how Urban Outfitters ripped off the design from the vintage fabric, originally offered in an apron kit. Honestly, is it that big of a deal? Anyway, I think my fabric must be from one of the apron kits. If you ever see this lamp, or even just the shade, send it my way!!!

Car Seat Tent

Hello! I know it's been a long time since my last post.....two things happened: one week, I spent every extra minute making baby things for my sister's baby shower (pictures to come, after the shower of course!) and some for my baby too....then the kids got sick. Nothing terrible, just colds, but Mr. Baby is also teething, so we've had lots of days with crying, whining kids (and mom for that matter! ). They seem to be doing better, at least Mr. Baby is sleeping better, so I have a few minutes to share my projects with you.

This is a car seat tent I made with fabric my sister-in-law gave to me. I love fleur de lis, and since my car seat is black and white, this goes perfectly! Just had to add a little flower and girly ruffle. So fun!

I'm sure my picture doesn't give it justice. One of these days I'll have to learn how to take a decent picture. But for now, it will have to do! Another plus with this tent- it is nice and lightweight, so perfect for the Redding summer!

I love my kids!

I feel like I have a renewed sense of appreciation and love for my Babies. Maybe it is because their cheeks are so kissable.

Maybe it's seeing them enjoy their new turtle pool ($5 at a garage sale!) together on a windy spring day.
Maybe it is seeing them get so excited about each other....
or seeing how their faces light up when they look at me.
Or, it could be that I decided to sit and relax, simply watching them enjoy themselves, instead of trying to get something done while they were occupied.
Whatever it is, I am glad for it. I love feeling that heart-warming, overwhelming joy when I look at them or hold them. It's such a better feeling than stressing about what needs to be done, or why they are cranky or fussy. I think I am going to bottle this feeling in my heart, and pull it out when times are less fun. (see last post)

You can almost see his tooth in this one. :)

I just can't get enough of this sweet face!
Mr. Baby likes to investigate and figure out how things work, much like his Daddy.
Ok, have you had enough of their cheeks? Didn't think so. But I do have other things to talk about. ;) This week my Sister and Mom came to visit me and help me get prepared for new Baby Girl. Can you believe that I am almost 8 months along, and didn't even have anything set up for her? Sister and Mom to the rescue.

Part of the preparation was moving Mr. Baby into his own room, and setting up baby's crib in Muffin's room. The girls will have a castle/princess theme, and Mr. Baby will have a more modern, orange, green and brown room. I will post pictures of each of the rooms once I finish a few projects, like making curtains, painting some of the furniture, etc. Here is the first thing I made for Mr.'s room: his crib blanket.
I modeled it after an Uppercase Living tree that I ordered for his wall. It took quite some time to make, but thanks to sister's expert drawing, it came pretty close to the model. We had so much fun doing all our projects; from changing pads and pillows, to blankets and shirts, we did it all. (Yes, my living room looked like a craft store exploded in it for a few days, but it was worth it! Sorry housemates!)

The back of the blanket is flannel owls. It was my first attempt at a real applique, and I'm pretty happy with it! Can't wait to finish his room and show you how it all looks together!

Three Good Things

In an effort to change my outlook on our night last night, I have decided to focus on three good things. And since I can't do a post with out a picture (and I DEFINITELY don't want a picture of last night) here are some random flowers:

1. Nobody was sick. If you have to be awake at night, it must be worse to be awake at night with sick kids. We should take a poll: What's worse: screaming kids or sick kids? I think sick kids.

2. Daddy Man was able to get some schoolwork done...albeit at 3 am, but you have to fit it in somewhere, and if you're already up, why not?

3. Three or four hours of sleep is better than no sleep.

I'll leave you with that. ;)