Ella's Easter Dress

This post should be titled "the girls' Easter dresses," but there was a bit of a mishap.  First of all, I knew that I wouldn't get three Easter dresses made this year and since Maisy has a ton of dresses passed along from her sisters, Maisy wore Ella's Easter dress from four years ago.  Then Sadie's dress become a beautiful disaster.

It started when I measured her and realized that she needed an adult pattern and not the girl's pattern I had originally intended.  So I went to Burda.com and purchased a pattern. When I printed it out it was one page of written instructions, no pictures. I read through it and realized there were some confusing parts with the lining, but I thought I could figure it out as I got there.  But then I got there and it was awful. I was using silver satin, so totally unpicking the whole thing was not a great option.  Plus it was too small. I cut out a new bodice. Then I tried the new bodice on Sadie and it was still slightly too small, out came the back darts. Perfect fit.

The side invisible zipper went okay, not great. Sunday morning she couldn't undo the zipper all the way. We tried desperately to get the dress on anyway, but then she was stuck. I got it off and tried messing with the zipper and it broke.  So we safety pinned up the sides and put on a cardigan. She looked really beautiful in her silver satin with turquoise sash and white sweater, very grown up. But she was barely through the door before that dress was off.

Maisy ate chocolate at church and her pretty pink dotted swiss dress was covered. The white peter pan collar was a chocolatey mess. So now just imagine how they looked because these are the only pictures I was able to get of Easter dresses.

 Doesn't she look pretty. The dress is the New Orleans pattern from youcanmakethis.com.

 It ties in the back, so no zippers or buttons.

 The four layers of ruffles are so Ella. The necklace was her own design and this is her favorite tree.

So, there you have it, the Easter dress.

Hill Country

We took a day trip up to the Hill Country, to Concan, Texas.  We went to see some friends ranch and also to see the bluebonnets. We weren't disappointed. 

I meant to get a family photo, but this was the closest I got.

 The sky was this amazing blue.

 The kids and Evan ran off some energy.

busy, busy

There are two very good reasons I haven't been writing lately.  First of all, Miss Maisy was off school for TWO WEEKS! I love Maisy , but she is a media hog. When Maisy is home the TV is on, her iPad is right next to her, and she is on the computer.  And if you try to take the computer back, you will pay the price. Having Maisy home is noisy, busy, and I get little done.

 The second busyness is that I am acting as a wedding planner.  Back in December a friend asked if I could help her with her wedding in three weeks. I did that first wedding, and well it just escalated. So now I'm playing around with the idea of starting an event planning business.  (I hope Lori doesn't mind that I posted this photo.)

So, busy, busy.

Spread the Word

Spread the Word day. You can read more about my feelings here. Texas currently still uses the word as a classification on school files.  Hopefully this will change, I know it hurts us.  And I know that it limits Maisy as this label follows her through school. If you haven't already, go pledge.

talking

 Maisy has a new iPad that she got through a grant from the phone company. (Appropriate that the phone company would facilitate communication, right?)

 It goes with her to school and then comes home every day.  She uses Proloqoe2go to communicate. Today when she got home from school she used it to ask for pretzels and chocolate milk.

Then during Family Home Evening she used it to ask for the colors of crayons that she needed for her picture.

  But the best was, after family prayers she used her iPad to say "pajamas mom mom bedtime."

Our Menagerie

We have quite the menagerie here. And its growing. We started with the chickens, we have one rooster...

and twelve chickens, two of the chickens were brought to us by a nice couple that had bought them for their grandkids for Easter and just couldn't keep them in their backyard anymore.
Then this is Precious. We love her. She was rescued on a hunting ranch as baby and also outgrew the backyard she was living in.
She loves us too.
And these are our newest additions. The mama isn't ours, she is just here until her little guy stops nursing. She is very sweet.
And he just might be the cutest thing ever.
I'll have to share the story of our goats another day.

Color Blocked Skirts

Sadie wants a princess dress for Easter. Of course, she doesn't call it a princess dress, she just describes it that way. I want to make her a color blocked dress. Ella will be happy with anything, especially if I show her some inspiration photos from high fashion.

In an effort to get Sadie on my side, I made these skirts last week. I love them and I think I might have to make a few more.
Both girls loved them. I made matching flowers for their hair and they looked very cute.
I might have convinced Sadie and be able to avoid tulle, but we'll see.
In the meantime, I think I want to make an orange and yellow skirt for Ella and a blue and green for Sadie.

Granny Stripes

I finally got some pictures from my camera uploaded. Apparently someone had been chewing on the camera cable.

I made this baby blanket about a month ago for a sweet baby girl.
Her mom wanted pink and blue and I thought this pattern lent itself well to that color scheme. I kind of think it looks like jumbo rick rack.

the story of sick

We have had so much sickness here lately that Jack wrote a story about it. So here it is, the story of sick:

(1st was coughing. 2nd was runny nose. 3rd was throwing up.)

(4th was fever. 5th was 6th was rest is on the back.)

(6th was throw up bowl.)

(7th not sick was best. The end.)

I have let my blog go. I have neglected it and I feel bad. It is my journal and my therapy. The place where I can share and remember. The place we go back to during good and bad times. The kids scroll through and remember the funny things we've done, the good memories we've made, and they smile because mom thought enough to write it down.

I used to have journals, one for me, one for each of the kids, and I tucked them away in my drawer. No one read them, not even me. The memories were there, but they felt too personal to share. One day Sadie found a little book with her name on it and tore out all the pages in it. After all it was her book and she hadn't even written the things in it. I cried when I saw all the memories torn out and in the trash. She didn't realize what she had done, because I never shared those journals with her. But this, this she reads, this she knows others read, and I am careful about what I put here. I keep in mind that while in my mind no one reads it, they may, my kids do.

I need to be better, I'm going to try to be better. I think I often feel guilty for the time I spend on the computer, but this is my refuge. And I need to return.

Maisy's room

I finished Maisy's room a little over a week ago. I love it, but best of all she is so proud of how it looks. The shelf has her Olive doll, some $1 dinosaurs I spray painted (she likes dinosaurs), a Sarah Jane print, her two stuffed friends, and a little mirror & bank. Her dresser top is so damaged I had to cover it, luckily I had a runner from Ikea. Her alphabet wall is along side.

I had to make her an alphabet wall as an homage to her learning all her letters and her love of Super Why. She thinks they are Super Letters. It took a few months to compile a nice variety of letters, but I think it's worth it.
One of my favorite surprises was this little microwave cart. It used to be the stand for her humidifier when she still had a trach. I started to sand it with the intention of repainting it, but I loved all the layers I started to uncover and just poly'd over it.
She loves her clouds, sun, and raindrops. The blanket I crocheted brightens her bed and the toadstool is where she says her prayers. For now her banner adds some color to her windows. I have bought the fabric for curtains, I just haven't gotten around to making them, eventually.
In the meantime, I love her room.

Come and enjoin

As the littlest family member, Jack is feeling a little left out lately.

"I never get to enjoin the parties."

All the lonely people

About ten day ago Evan and I celebrated our thirteenth year of marriage and then a few days later I celebrated my thirty-sixth birthday (should I admit that?) It was a busy week, full of school Christmas parties, an awards assembly, visits to ladies from church that live far but need not feel forgotten. Saturday morning I got up early and drove an hour-and-a-half to take a shift at our church's food pantry. It was quiet and the sun wasn't quite up, because I was alone and in Evan's car I was listening to grown up music, a Beatles' CD. The words "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?" stood out and made me start thinking about loneliness.

I arrived just in time to learn the layout of the store before the first visitors arrived. Then the next five hours were spent helping fill carts, boxes, and bags with orders for food. There were so many stories to be heard, so many sad stories. Lost jobs, lost hopes, bare cupboards and trees without presents. Some found comfort in family, others didn't have any. One lady just sat and I knew she was carrying more emotional weight than one person need carry. I sat by her and she talked, I listened. I gave a lot of hugs and shed a few tears. Then I drove home. All the lonely people.

That night, Evan and I were to play Mary and Joseph in a live nativity. I scurried to find costumes and get everyone ready. Chasing kids most of the night kept me from feeling very serene, but sitting next to Evan playing Mary watching my kids in the audience brought some peace.

Then the night before Christmas Eve I was asked to speak at a baptism. The woman being baptized was a young mom to three small kids. Throughout the baptism I could distinctly feel how much Heavenly Father loved her. She stood to bear her testimony and said, "I know that Heavenly Father sent the Sisters to find me because I was so lost."

Three little reminders of the true meaning of Christmas. Three little reminders, of Christ's love for all of us. All the lonely people, they do belong.

a step in the right direction

These pictures are a blur, but so are most days with my children. Maisy has been drinking her meals. I don't know why we didn't think of it before (maybe because the smell of it reminds both Evan and I of cleaning up vomit) but her teacher suggested it and it is working out great.

We still use her feeding tube at night and when she doesn't feel well. However, it is so nice to put her at the table with a straw and can of Bright Beginnings instead of "plugging" her in.

Black and bright

Just a quick post. Another baby shower blanket.

I used the Granny Stripe Blanket pattern from The Purl Bee. The yarn is I Love This Cotton, from Hobby Lobby, in black tweed and Sugar and Cream cotton in various colors. I really love how it turned out.

get

Maisy's new favorite word is appropriate this time of year. She walks around with catalogs and points at the things she wants for Christmas and says, "get, get."

Get scooter, get Leapfrog Leapster, get guitar, get Tangled doll, get Leapfrog Tag, get markers. She knows what she wants.

Halloween

The other morning, as I was getting Maisy ready for school, she wouldn't put on her sweater. I went to her closet and got out another sweater, she didn't want that one either. After a few more tries I finally brought her over to her closet. She pointed to the top shelf where her Super Why costume sat. Which then reminded me I hadn't posted Halloween pictures.

This year Sadie was the queen of the owls. Her headpiece was my attempt at deciphering her vision. I was thinking something more Great Horned owl, she was thinking more elegant and queenly.

Her wings were wonderful. She was against wings because she didn't want to be fairy-like, but I reminded her she was an owl. The wings were nothing like a fairies wings. The "feathers" were just sewn at the top so they had movement.
She added her pettiskirt, some tights, and layered t-shirts.
Ella was a midnight fairy. I wish I had a better picture of the skirt. It was sixteen layers of tulle in shades of black and silver, so pretty. Ella made the mask and the wand.
I made the headpiece. It started out a dollar store crown, but with a little spray paint, some feathers, and sequins it became beautiful. Makeup and mom's jewelry added to the specialness.
Maisy was Super Why and for the first time ever she loved everything about her costume and never wanted to take it off. With the exception of the mask which she decided was a headband, she wanted to sleep in the costume. When she got home from school and I showed her the costume she started jumping up and down. Once we put it on her, she twirled around and around. It was wonderful!
Here she is with her best friend (the paper doll) waiting for the costume parade.
Jack was Yoda. He loves Yoda.
He too, wanted to sleep in his costume. When people come over he has to run and put on his Jedi robe so he can display his Force. The black finger tips are not part of his costume, I just can't stop him from drawing. He always has markers in his hands and no paper is safe. His school work comes home with drawings on the back. Our kitchen table is covered in markers, crayons, and paper as soon as he gets home from school. We try to remind him that a Jedi must have order in his surroundings to have order in his mind, but so far it isn't working.
So, there is our Halloween. We went to a trunk-or-treat, and a harvest festival, but Halloween is a little scarier here, so Halloween night was mostly scary movies and popcorn. And not one trick-or-treater.