Baby Gifts

Lots of babies being born right now. Okay, all the time. I got to try some new things with these gifts.

1. Legwarmers for a friend's baby. After spending $12 on one pair of legwarmers for my baby, I found a tutorial online to make them from women's knee socks. Much cheaper. And easy. They turned out so cute. I made a coordinating burp cloth and flower hair clip to go with them. I will never buy legwarmers again. And flower clips are so much easier to make than ribbon bow clips (at least for me). The white daisy was leftover from my wedding. I knew there was a reason I was keeping them!
   
   
2. Tie onesie for another friend's baby. I also saw this idea and pattern online to applique a tie shape onto a onesie. How easy and cute is that!?! I love using the wonder under stuff. When I have a boy, I'll probably make a bunch of these for church. I also made a matching burp cloth to go with it.
3. Taggie blanket for new nephew. I've been wanting to make one of these, so I asked my SIL if I could make one for her. She loves cowboy stuff, and I was lucky to find cowboy fabric. I used blue and brown felt on the back for softness and made one corner crinkly with a square cut from a grocery bag sewed inside. I think it turned out great and very masculine. With the leftover fabric I made a bandana bib - perfect for a little cowboy.
4. Diaper and wipes case for another new nephew. My MIL gave me one of these that she bought at a boutique and it is so handy. My SIL didn't have one for her first child, so I made her one for her second. I knew it would be easy-schmeasy. It turned out so cute, I almost wanted to keep it for myself. I made a fabric yoyo for the first time ever using this tutorial. Also easy-schmeasy. So fun to make and so adorable. The perfect accent for anything. Now what else can I put them on?
   
   

What to make next?

Aprons

I've been wanting to make a cute apron for a while. Our ward's Super Saturday spurred me on. This is what I came up with. I couldn't resist the apple/pear fabric. I think the bright colors will keep me going through the winter. I kind of don't want to get it dirty though...

I couldn't stop there. I had this not-so-cute, chicken-themed red apron that was a high school graduation gift. Once I saw the Christmas fabric on sale at Joann's, I decided to revamp it into a Christmas apron. Glad I did. I added the little pocket to break up the solid red. I love love love it. It will just make my holiday baking even more enjoyable. And hopefully I'll still be able to tie it around my waist when the season's over...

What Did I Do All Summer?

Crafted it up. My sewing machine was on the table half the time and my crafting supplies out the other half. So many fun things to make.

1. Bookmark for my sister. She's the best aunt and will be a great mom someday. I discovered how fun it is to sew on paper.
2. Recipe clips. I saw these for sale at Quilted Bear and knew I could make some myself. I couldn't find giant wooden clothespins right off so I settled for these plastic ones from the Target $1 bin. A little paper, stamps, and mod-podge, and they were done. I think wooden ones would be cuter, and they could definitely use some more embellishment. I'll have to try again.
3. Bedside storage. There is no nightstand on Daniel's side of the bed, so his stuff would just sit on the floor. I saw a picture of this storage solution somewhere online and knew that's what we needed. This was kind of a difficult project to plan out and make up, but I think it turned out great. And I used leftover fabric and piping, so it was entirely free! There is a large back pocket for books, a water bottle holder, a pocket for his iphone, and a pocket for pencils/pens. Now his things are quite orderly (except when E pulls everything out).
   
   
   4. Revamped kitchen items. The grape pattern on my utensil and spoon holder were a little outdated for my style. Solution: textured spray paint. It gives them a more neutral stone look. I love it. (Do you like my hand shadow?)
   
   

Too Much Cuteness - I Can't Stand It

Going Inactive

Daniel and I decided that we aren't going to church for the next four months. We can't pay attention anyway with Miss E trying our patience every second of every meeting. Every Sunday gets more and more challenging until yesterday when I almost couldn't handle it anymore. I would have left Relief Society if I hadn't needed to hand out some things. What do you do with a 14-month-old who isn't old enough to go to nursery but can't sit still and wants to run around and refuses to be entertained? We feel like we shouldn't have to "entertain" her or keep stuffing her mouth with food to keep quiet, but is there any other option at this stage? Is there a way to teach her that she should sit still and be reverent during church? I look with envy at those children who quietly sit on their mothers' laps and read books or who will sit and play quietly. Emersen wants to run away, play the piano, pound on the hymnbook cart, steal other kids' sippy cups, chatter loudly, crawl under the benches, and say Hi to everyone in the middle of sacrament meeting. Oh, she's pretty cute the whole time, but she is a handful. Is it just her personality or are we not teaching her correctly? I would welcome any advice or ideas anyone has. Tell me what works for you. Pleeeaase!!!

Well, this is our temporary solution. Since there aren't very many kids in our nursery, they will let her come in early as long as one of us is with her. So Daniel and I will switch off between Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society every week so that the other can actually listen and enjoy at least one meeting. Sacrament meeting is usually pretty manageable because it is the first meeting and she's not quite as restless. In the meantime, I am going to try to find some toys/books/whatever that will keep her attention a little better. And we will continue to stuff food into her mouth.

Halloween Night

We gathered in Fruit Heights again with the rest of Daniel's family for some Halloween celebrating and trick-or-treating. There was so much yummy food, games, and fun visiting. The weather was so nice and only really got cold when the sun went down. Emersen had the best time playing with her cousins and just going wild. Grandma's house is always the most fun. She was a perfect little ladybug fairy. She didn't mind wearing the costume at all and loved the headband antennas. Daniel dressed up as a soccer player. Not a very far stretch for him :). Of course, I was the boring one. I haven't dressed up for years. Maybe next year.


Uncle Joseph carried Emersen around on his shoulders. After each house, she would come back to us with candy in both hands. She was only interested in the Reeses peanut butter cup. She knows what those are!
Playing with their dads' iPhones.
Where's Emersen?

Halloween Crafts

I decided our front porch needed some dressing up, so it's still a work in progress, but I did come up with a fun holiday craft. I bought a plain grapevine wreath at Walmart for $2, ribbon for $2, plain wood plaque for $1, and some scrapbook paper. I painted the edges of the plaque, mod podged paper and embellishments onto it, drilled some holes for hanging, tied it to the wreath, and added some fake spiders. Here's my finished project . . . ta da! I also made a Thanksgiving plaque to change it up next month. I could probably use this wreath all year long.

Also, we didn't get around to carving pumpkins this year with Daniel being so busy, so I decided to quickly paint one. I love the monogram effect. A little different, but I like it. Our front porch already seems more welcoming with these additions.

And finally, I saw this idea for Easter "S'Mores in a Jar" and adapted it for Halloween to give to a friend. I found the ghost-shaped marshmallows at Target but couldn't find the perfect crackers. Oh well. It still turned out pretty cute. I'll have to do a little more searching next time.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Homemaking 103

Here are some final ideas from "The Art of Homemaking," these ones geared toward how to treat your husband:

• An ambitious, hard-working husband who is doing his part well to provide for his family shouldn't have to come home after a hard day's work and help his wife with her work. Exceptions are times of illness or emergency, or when several tiny children are in need of attention at the same time. In these instances, his help is invaluable, and a wise wife will express her appreciation accordingly and not make unreasonable demands.
• The way to make your husband want to do his part well is for you to do your own work as a homemaker so beautifully that he will want to measure up to his own responsibilities in this partnership.
• A person tends to become what you think of him. Think and speak highly of your husband and he will grow to fit the part if he doesn't already. Praise him for the fine things he is, be openly appreciative and grateful to him for what he does. You will find that he will respond by repeating his good deeds and by doing other things to please you.
• The man is head of the house, but the woman is the heart of the home. You as a homemaker set the spiritual temperature of your home. Your feelings and responses are reflected in the atmosphere about you.

I completely agree with the first point. I never expect Daniel to help me with housework (other than taking out the garbage) because that is part of my role as homemaker. It doesn't bother me one bit. But he does volunteer sometimes because he's sweet like that. He works hard to provide for us, and that's all I want him to do. I don't think men get enough respect and appreciation for their roles in our lives. I could say a lot more about that, but I'll stop there.

Anyway, that's all. I highly recommend reading this book. Maybe it's because I'm a bit old-fashioned, but I thought it was very thorough, correct, and enlightening.

Homemaking 102

Here are some more thoughts from "The Art of Homemaking," geared toward raising children:

• Children should be brought up with the rule that they do not "eat on foot." They should do their eating while sitting on a chair in the kitchen or some other appropriate place. It's surprising how early a child can learn this rule. Children do spill. it's wise to have children eat where their spilling will do the least amount of damage.
• Children can help. Children who are required to do a few basic chores every day to the best of their ability learn how to be good, thorough workers, and they learn how to apply themselves and use their time well. Let your children know what is expected of them and be consistent in your requirements. Be consistent in requiring a child's help every day. Make work easy for them. Show them and teach them how by working with them. Unless the job is dangerous or destructive you should let a child have the fun and growth which comes from trying.
• Wise parents understand that discipline should be a learning experience and not just a punishment. When the punishment fits the crime, the child takes his medicine and seldom needs a second dose. For example, if a child is "too tired" to help with the dishes, he is "too tired" to watch television.
• Children wither under criticism and they blossom under encouragement and appreciation. Even if it's necessary to correct their habits in some way, remember, a barber always lathers his customers before he shaves them.
• We all work better with incentives. So give your children lots of them until they're mature enough to have their own incentives and know the value of work and accomplishment. Often, a gold star on a chart at the end of the week is just the incentive children need.
• Teaching children to work and putting up with all their messes and inadequacies is a real challenge. It would be lots easier to shoo your children out of the house, lock the door, and do it all yourself. But that's not what mothers are for. When someone said that mothers are supposed to sacrifice for their children, I'm sure they had this in mind.

Even though our family isn't at the point that we need to be teaching about work, I know it will come soon enough. But we are definitely already involved in shaping behavior and character. It isn't easy.

Roasted Apples N' Cream Caramel Brownies

Made this deliciousness last night (and did NOT cut myself this time) and promptly took half of it over to the neighbor today to avoid the temptation to scarf down every last bite. Yummm. Thanks, Picky Palate!