I Heart Faces "Sweet Dreams" Photo Challenge

Exhausted after a day of mischief, but Daddy couldn't make

it through an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...amateur.

I Heart Faces - Candid Photo Challenge

Ok, I know I haven't posted in ages, but I couldn't resist doing this photo challenge at http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ after seeing the link on Laura's blog.



This is a picture of my little boy with a look of pure joy as a bubble pops on his head during one of his play groups.

I'll be back next week to catch up on what we've been up to over the summer... promise!

Julie

Back home

Well, howdy all....
Reed and I are back home and of course I didn't get any sewing done while I was in Houston, but I did get a lot of shopping in and lot's of fun fabrics. I also had a nice visit with my cousins, Kim and Horst, and since Horst paid for our dinner, I offered to make his daughter Athena, my God-daughter, a dress. Mind you, I've never made one of these dresses, (I'm talking about a pillowcase dress)but it seemed simple enough.

I've seen these dresses all over Etsy...but what got me really thinking about them was my sister-in-law, Laura. So, I got really excited about the prospect of making one and I searched online for some guidance. This is what I found:
http://www.everythingsewing.net/pillowcase_dress_how_to.htm
http://www.sewingmamas.com/b/downloads.php?do=file&id=17

Sooo, if you know me, I was too excited to read all the directions, but I think it turned out really cute. I used a seersucker fabric with cherries all over(seersucker reminds me of my childhood and some of the things my mom made for me to wear during the summer), so the dress is light and airy. The ribbon is actually some scrap red cotton material I had, but I underestimated how long to make it, and although I can make a bow I thought a pretty knot was better with the length. (I'll probably go out tomorrow and buy some stitched grosgain ribbon to replace it.)

I used Reed as my model since he and Athena are about the same size and age. He's normally an easy going guy who will let me dress and undress him however I please, but even at 22 months I think he knew I was putting a girl's dress on him and he did not cooperate AT ALL. But after chasing him around the living room a couple of times I was able to wrestle him to the ground and get it on him. It looked pretty sweet...the dimensions are 21 inches long (it hit about mid-calf on Reed who's 33 inches tall now) and 21.5 inches wide. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures of Reed in the dress...

As my first attempt at the pillowcase dress, I think I'm going to actually keep it. My sewing was a little sloppy, but at 50% off at Hancock fabric, it was a good deal and I'll probably get more and try again.

Here are some more pillowcase dresses on Etsy that are adorable:

These are really pretty.

Wonder why I like these....

I heart Amy Butler fabrics.

I just remembered that even I have a pillowcase blouse

Funky Finds!!!

(So, I had to take a break from blogging and reading my favorite blogs because I was beginning to feel guilty about neglecting my child and also I was beginning to lose feeling in my right hand from all the mouse scrolling and clicking. But I'm back now and my parents are visiting so they can watch Reed for me. )

Oh what fun! Reed and I attended the Funky Finds Craft Show in Ft. Worth today. There were many creative vendors there, and some funky ones, too. We didn't buy anything, except for a cute little tank top dress for my niece, Madison.

Hopefully she'll like it. Not much for little boys at craft shows unless you count the hand made stuffed "animals" there, but Reed's not really into that. hmmm....little boy items, maybe there are some possibilities there.

We didn't stay too long, Mr. Reed was uncomfortably hot, but we did get to circle around a couple of times before calling it quits. I'm pretty psyched now about starting up a little business of my own, there's a lot of competition out there, but I think I could do ok.

Here's a list of some of the vendors I visited (most of them were baby stuff vendors):

• Loop and Lil (one of a kind vintage style kids clothes)


• Anchovies Parenthood Redesigned (baby apparel and diaper bags)


• Coup"ON" the Go (clever pocket photo albums re-purposed to hold coupons)


• Three Yellow Starfish (cute tops and bloomers for the little ones)


• Alphabulous (neat decorative iron-on letters and accessories)


• Angeles by Jehanne B Designs (baby designs, clothing & accessories)


• Nest Designs Baby (custom onesies, pillowcase dresses, etc...)


• Krafty Munchkin Designs (unique quirky items w/ asian flare.)


• Pink Lemonade Boutique Bags (pretty purses and day trip diaper bags)


• Baby Bowtique ("chic and sweet fashion for your princess"....that's what the business card says)


• Fuzzy Muffins (cute hand crafted stuffed animals)

Well, tomorrow we are off to Houston for the week. Mark is in Dover, New Hampshire for work, so we're staying with my parents. Hopefully I can get some work done on some burp cloths and bibs!

Sick and Tired

No....I'm not talking about me, but my little boy. He seems to have some sort of stomach virus or as my dad said, gastroenteritis. So he was kind of dragging today, but as you will see by my pictures, you can't really tell. He was still running around everywhere, but... if you watched him closely, he stopped every once in awhile (for a second or two).

Oh he's a climber...

Bubbles!Throw you hands in the air, and wave'em like you just don't care!Reed loves Gymbo.

Interesting Article

I found something interesting in Prevention Magazine. It pairs seemingly random combinations to help us get a healthy boost...you can read what these pairs do in more detail in the actual article.

Healthy Power Pairs

a new practice called "synergistic medicine"

" A marriage of foods, moves, and medical tests unlocks your body's healing potential. Reach your health goals faster with these 12 perfect unions."

1. Protect Your Heart - Green Tea + Lemon
2. Boost Brain Power - Exercise + Music
3. Rev Immunity - Pot Roast + Carrots
4. Flush Fat - Burger + Frozen Yogurt
5. Ward Off Heart Disease - Plac Test + HSCRP Test
6. Save Your Eyesight - Salad + Avocado
7. Build Muscle - Strength Train + Stretch
8. Avoid Metabolic Syndrome - The Mediterranean Diet + Nuts
9. Banish Breakouts - Retinoid + Benzoyl Peroxide
10. Fight Fatigue - Eggs + Orange Juice
11. Bolster You Memory - Curcumin + Black Pepper
12. Sidestep Skin Cancer - Caffeine + Cardio

Sounds easy enough...hmmmm.

Happy Easter!

The Norris' woke up this morning and celebrated Easter Mass. We didn't do any Easter egg hunting (maybe next year) nor did we take a picture with the Easter Bunny at the mall this year (Reed ran the other way), but we did play with our Easter basket and an Easter Egg!

We wish everyone a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Ta Da!!!!

I did it! I finished my first no-sew sewing project. (does that make since?) For years I've always wanted to make a table skirt, and now finally it's done. And I didn't even take out the needle and thread for any of it!

Since entering the blog world, my mind has been flooded with ideas. Blogs like, My Military Mansion and Nesting Place have inspired me to put more effort into making my home...well, a home. Somewhere comfy and cozy...AND pretty while doing it without breaking the bank!

So in the spirit of the Nester's window "mistreatments" my computer desk now has a pretty skirt to keep little fingers from pressing buttons and turning mommy's computer off.

Before
My supplies:

• pretty damask fabric that looks great with my black furniture and piano with brass hardware (50% off at Hancock Fabrics!)
• sticky back velcro (to attach the skirt to the desk)

• a glue gun
  

Et voila!

Now, I'm not sure I would be brave enough to try to make window treatments with a glue gun, (thread is much easier to take out for a person like me who is prone to mistakes) but for a table skirt, it was fun and a time saver!

I believe my next attempt will be to cover the big gaping space in my bathroom vanity that houses a not-so-pretty rolling storage cart. But this time... I'm going to to with the gathered look and not box pleats. First things first though, I have to convince my husband I need to redecorate and repaint the whole bathroom so that I can get coordinating fabric for a new shower curtain and vanity skirt. hehee...let's see how well that goes over.

Weekend Review

We had a great weekend in Houston a couple of weekends ago. Reed and Madison had a blast at her 2nd birthday party and Mark had a good time reconnecting with his buddies.

This past weekend we took Reed to Grapevine for his first annual Day Out with Thomas. He loved it! Once Thomas pulled into the station he was super excited..."train! Thomas! choo choo!" was his mantra for the day. Even the chilly weather didn't slow him down, but unfortunately when we got home, he had a slight fever and stuffy nose. He's feeling better today. His nose is still a little runny, but this hasn't phased him at all. Oh to be 2 again.

Getting ready for the weekend!

Mark's got tomorrow and Monday off, so we're heading down to Houston. Reed and I are going to Madison's 2nd birthday party on Saturday in Bryan, and Mark is going to Austin to hang out with his boys and to deliver a gift for John and Lisa. (I was invited to go to Lisa's baby shower, but it's also on Saturday. So, Mark is representing the Norris clan instead.)

I love it when Reed and Madison get together, they are 4 months apart and they get along so well. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get some pictures of them playing in the yard. Madison really enjoys drawing and coloring, so hopefully she'll like our gift for her. We found a cardboard playhouse online that she can color and decorate the outside. It sounds kind of weird, I know, but I've only read rave reviews. Here's a picture:I'm also pretty excited about the gift basket I made for Lisa. I started off with their registry and almost everything was green and brown, so the basket is color coordinated to match. We got them a few things off of their list and the rest was just some things I found I couldn't do without after Reed was born. Here's what is in the basket: bib and burpcloth set that I made for them, fitted crib sheet, Boppy cover, a Brown Puppy Wubbanub, long-sleeve kimono t-shirts that can cover up little hands to keep them from scratching that I rolled up and wrapped in green washcloths to make them look like white roses, Disney's Lullaby Album, green and white Gymboree shaker hand rattle, and of course the ever so popular Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

So, we're off tomorrow for another adventure. Till next time!

Starting a new dream

I have a new dream of owning my own business. Even with a great husband and a wonderfully delightful son, I still have a need to create with my hands. Through the necessity of motherhood, I have found the perfect outlet...baby and mother-to-be gifts! Ranging from burp cloths to diaper cakes, sewing, decorating and hot glue gunning...it's not only fulfilling my creative needs, but it's actually fun.

So, over the next few weeks (or months)...I'll be brainstorming and sorting out the details on ways to get my products out to the public. With my background in computer programming, of course I've already started to set up another blogsite to showcase my creations before I have actually thought through my business plan.

I'll be sure to announce when everything is off the ground and running full speed ahead! This is so exciting.