Fall Pinterest Challenge Fleece Fun!

Pinterest Challenge Time! Woot! Somehow I found time in between my Etsy orders to whip something up. I had scrap fleece just hanging out in a tote begging for some attention. So, I went to Pinterest and searched "fleece." Wow! My "Thread the Needle" board just got a lot bigger. There's so much out there you can do with fleece. I also searched "felt" because I had some leftover from making an owl costume for a friend. I pinned a bunch of felt things, but nothing really struck my fancy as something I had to do RIGHT NOW! Know what I mean?

I had to choose between a lot of neat stuff to make, and most of my fleece was "girly" which meant it had to be something for Avalyn. She's running low on warm weather wear, and being that today's high was 37 degrees, she's going to need some. I settled on a pleated fleece skirt from fleecefun.com.

I didn't take pictures of the whole process, because let's face it when you have a two year old and four month old those precious ten seconds usually used to take a picture can be better spent finishing the job. Hmmm... can we say run on sentence?

I already sewed the pieces of the skirt together at this point. Look at my shiny new scissors, though! And they have a sheath like a sword! 

Sewing the box pleats.

Oh, so pretty.

Yes, I was watching Nicolas sleep while working.

Oh, no! He woke up before I finished. Drat!

Sorry for the wonky photo. Night time and bad overhead lighting made me have to resort to *gasp* the on camera flash! Oh nos!

Look her hair is long enough for a pony tail! And yes, her boots are on the wrong feet. Crazy kid.

Now you're thinking, "She needed warmer clothes and you made her a skirt? You are beyond crazy." It's true. I am. To make up for the crazy I added my own flare to the outfit. Notice her shirt doesn't match either? The horror!

Long story (I'm lying, there's no story, but this is what people say) short, I made her some pants and a top to go with it.

She's so happy about it, too! Aw. The pony tail has vanished as well. Apparently, half a day is enough before the mess has to reappear. Where the hair tie vanished to, I'll never know.

Also, I moved my sewing room from the laundry/utility room into the office/guest room. The furnace was too loud. Seriously, with the door closed it was like, "Oh, I hear a gentle hum... it means glorious fall has returned and the house will be toasty and smell of baked apples and cinnamon." Not so much, people. In the laundry room it's more like this: "It's so peaceful sewing in here, the kids are playing just outside the open door... it's truly magica- *THUM BANG* OMG IT'S A FREIGHT TRAIN THAT'S BARRELING DOWN ON MY HOUSE! Oh... oh, it's just the furnace. What's that kids? You need me? I'm sorry I've gone deaf!" Which reminds me, I need to bone up on my sign language.

Where was I? Oh, yes, here are the additions to the outfit.

Pink shirt with patterned cuffs and collar. And a pair of pants with ruffled, patterned bottoms.

She could wear it without the pants, too, of course.

I also made her a headband, but she was done with the photo-op, enough to tell me she didn't love me anymore. Ouch. Don't worry she calmed down and came back later and said, "I'm so sorry, Mommy, I love you, too." Collective, "Aw..." Wait... this isn't a Full House rerun?

A few weeks back, I also made her a Rainbow Dash sweat suit. Complete with cutie marks. I need to fix the "hair" on the hood. Yuck. Otherwise I like it.

My next project: Avalyn's Christmas present. I actually bought a pattern for this next thing. Shocker!

Yeah, it's trending. #RainbowDash

Clearly, I need to go to sleep. Hope everyone else had amazing results with their challenges and nothing like this:

^_~

Busy As A Bee

I always think I live such a boring life, but tonight I sat down and realized how much is actually going on.

In the world of Matt: He built a railing for our front porch. It looks amazing! I can't wait until we rebuild the steps and add a gate in the spring. He's also getting the garage cleaned and organized. He's working a lot to bring in extra money. He will be starting college again in January.

Matt working hard in the garage.

Keith: He's doing amazingly well in school. He is in his schools Lego League. He actually has had friends over lately. He's eating well again. After a joint parenting decision, he will be spending all of Christmas break with us, and Thanksgiving break with his mom. The way the school has Christmas vacation broken up makes it so one parent gets a really short holiday with the kid, so I asked Domi if she would like to alternate Christmas breaks. She was on board. Her request was that if we get all of Christmas, could she have Thanksgiving, since technically it's Matt's year, that way each parent gets to spend a major family holiday with Keith. It seemed fair to us so we're going to see how it goes. I don't foresee any problems, and it's nice that we're all getting along.

Keith wanted a poncho, too, but he couldn't decide between one for the Detroit Lions, or Michigan State University. So, I gave him both in one. It was a lot of work.

Nicolas: He is my little talker and awesome sleeper. He sleeps 6-10 hours a night. He gave me a heart attack the other night when his Snuza went off. Yikes! He has such a deep voice when he talks to me. He mimics all the sounds I make, and he's so stinkin' cute. He is the most laid back kid on the planet. Avalyn will come over and take something right out of his hand and he'll just frown at her. She lays down on him, and he frowns at her. He doesn't scream or cry, he's just like, "Hey Mom... can you move her please? And get my toy back? Thanks." He's sitting up for a few seconds by himself, he's rolling, he turning himself around when he's on his belly... this kid is ready to move. 

Avalyn took something away from me... Again!

Pinterest inspired pic: Camera around neck + self timer = fun.

Avalyn: She's two. She's testing us every day. She's mean to Nicolas, she tells us no, she throws fits, she yells, she mimics  she laughs, she's bossy, she's helpful (and not so helpful), she wants to make us happy, she wants to make us crazy, and we love her. She's doing great on the potty. We've gone a month with very few accidents. She picked out her big girl undies (My Little Pony), and tells me when she needs to go. We even got toilet seats with built in small person seats (bonus: they're the non slamming seats - I love them). Avalyn loves going to the fabric store with me. Seriously, it's one of her favorite things. She helps me pick fabric, tells me what I can make with it, and then we go home and she screams at me when I try to work with it. Joyous. She is obsessed with My Little Pony. I can't go a day without hearing, "Rainbow Dash is fantastic " Or, "Rainbow Dash is my favorite!" Or, "Rainbow Dash is so fast!" So, what did I do? I made her a Rainbow Dash sweatsuit complete with "cutie marks." She's in love, but is now asking for a matching stuffed Rainbow Dash. I looked on Etsy and those things are going for $150. Looks like I will have a new project for Christmas.

It's Rainbow Dash! I still need to add the wings.

Me: I made enough on Etsy to buy myself something nice. It has been a lot of work, but it's been really fun. I even made a poncho that looks like an animal (I made an owl, unicorn, monkey, and frog so far), and one for Keith's (and my former boss's) favorite sports teams. The Detroit Lions and Michigan State University Spartans. I'm feeling like a bad mom lately though. Avalyn is driving me insane. I love her, but my goodness, the not listening thing is making me what to rip my hair out. Then when I snap at her, she gives me this lip and cries and I feel so bad for not having enough patience. I'm trying to carve out some Avalyn and Mommy time when Nicolas naps. She wants to play with her "corny's" (unicorns) with me so badly, but I never have time. I need to make time. She's only two once, and before I know it she'll be a teenager who would rather hang out with her friends than her mom.

My plans for the next couple of months:
Keep making things for my etsy store
Paint the little bathroom (I'm thinking a pale yellow and lavender)
Make the office/guestroom more user friendly. There's no room to move in there, it's not ideal.
Help Keith make gifts for his other sister's for Christmas
Paint the main floor - I'm so tired of the white.
Make a desk in the living room for a family computer, Keith is that age now and with all of these horrible stories of bullying and suicide rates going up - I am a firm believer in monitoring internet/computer usage
Rebuild the PC so we do have a family computer

Anyone else have big plans, or have a busy life without realizing it?

Life Update

My goodness I have been busy lately! I have sold a few poncho's through Etsy, made an owl costume for a friend, am busy making a sweat suit for Romeo's two-year birthday gift, and have to make a poncho for my former boss. I'm taking a quick break to write an update on how we're all doing.

Keith started 4th Grade and loves it. Avalyn is talking more than ever, and is potty trained (she still wears training pants at night). Nicolas is growing like a weed. He's rolling, and sitting briefly without assistance, he's also talking (baby coos) a lot more and blowing raspberries like there's no tomorrow.

We went from summer to fall up here in a snap. Seriously, one day it was 90 degrees and the next it was 59. What's up with that? I went down to my parents house last month and had a shopping spree at Once Upon A Child, I bought Avalyn so many dresses (easier than pants for potty training), and I made sure to get Nicolas clothes that can come off easily (that kid has so many blow outs), I also found a blue glowing seahorse, a Scout puppy, and a portable swing. The seahorse was $5 ($14 in store) and looked brand new, Scout was $10 ($20 in store) and also looked brand new, and the swing was $25 ($70 in store) and works great. I also had a full punch card so I got 20% off my entire order. Meaning, the swing was (mostly) free. I was so pumped. Sad that that kind of thing gets me excited.

I've been enjoying my new camera. Thanks to my sales for allowing me to buy it. That and some selling on craigslist. I still have a lot more stuff to list. Baby things that aren't being used, furniture that is not baby/kid friendly... so much to do!

Sorry the update is so quick. I'm tired, but felt the need to write something.

EDIT: For some reason I've had this saved in drafts for two weeks. Fail!