petting zoo

Our neighbors have a cute little petting zoo. I say neighbors because although they don't live in our subdivision they only live 1/4 mile away. Today we visited the pigs, goats, and lambs.

(left) once they realized she had bread, all the pigs gathered around her (right) going to get more bread

(left) bending over to get a better look at him (right) this girl is fearless...

(left) more fearlessness (right) most of the time they just stuck their tongue out to get the food

Claire decided to sit down to check out the lambs... so cute! They were pretty cute little lambs too!

A few cute things Claire has done in the last few days...
- She moves Buddy's hand (Buddy is dad's old cabbage patch doll- we say buddy because we can't remember his name) as if buddy is waiving and says 'bye bye' as dad leaves in the morning
-Says 'numa numa num' as she pretends to feed buddy or mom/dad.
-Requests yogurt by saying 'gogurt'. This is the only food besides milk, that she requests- without me asking her if she wants it.
-Pushes mom away (from hugs) when she is totally immersed/busy playing with something (this reminds me of myself- sad but true)
-Gives me hugs after I get upset at her or after she hits us during a little meltdown (the giving hugs when I get upset/angry totally reminds me of Jason- I have such a sweet hubby)
... and a sweet little Claire :)

Random stuff

(left)We made these yummy whole wheat pretzels. We substituted all the regular flour for whole wheat (maybe a little less whole wheat) and they were so good! I am not a fan of salt, so we added some cinnamon/sugar on top and then baked them. They were gone fast!
(right) For Activity Days we made these cute church bags to hold their scriptures in. We had 7 girls at our activity (5 are from our ward)! We had moms there with their sewing machines to help their daughters. So fun! The bags are made out of placemats (from the Dollar Store) and ribbon to decorate/ handles. I found that Walmart has a great price on 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon which is sold by the yard. (only 53- 83 cents/ yard) Which makes it cheaper than a 9 foot spool of 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon which is $1.99-2.99. I think they messed up on their pricing, because that means I can buy 3 yards= 9 feet for only $1.59. Anyways, I like having options on ribbon and buying it by the yard- so I won't complain. Another thing I learned, don't buy Joann's ribbon by the yard. It's insanely more- $1.50- 1.99/yard. Instead use a coupon, even only 40% off (a standard coupon I get every couple weeks), to make their ribbon by the spool decent- $2.87 for 9 feet. Plus its really cute- its the brown ribbon with flowers in the picture below. Here is where I first learned about the bags and here are some good directions to make them.

Before /After pics- Used an old frame and attached ribbon with a staple gun. It was a two person job to keep the ribbon taunt. One person holding the ribbon taunt with needle nose plyers and the other person putting in the second staple (you don't have to do this with the first staple). I love projects that are not only cute, but make life more organized!

Skirt I made from McCall pattern 5812. I love it when Joann's sells their patterns for .99- 1.99. This pattern requires lots of fabric (7 5/8 yard) And they actually call for 60 inch wide. I used the 32 inch wide stuff of muslin (which is normally 1.40/ yard) but I got it on sale making the skirt only $6.50. i didn't do the last tier (thought the length was good and I am 5'8''). But it does require alot of time. If you have never made a ruffle before, I suggest starting on a smaller scale (the longer your piece of fabric you need to ruffle- the more patience you'll need... :)) One small tip on doing ruffles, you have to pull on the bottom thread (the one from bobbin) to make the ruffles. Well if I sew all the way to end of my fabric, then I have a hard time telling which piece of thread is from the bottom. When I stop sewing a stich or two before the end of the fabric, then I don't have this problem. YAY!

long hair

Dad is also pretty talented at getting it to stick straight up... I tried mimicking this today, no such luck :)

compact diaper changing kit

+ =

I've wanted to make something like this for a while, but it took me a while to figure exactly what I wanted... I almost made this, because it just so stinking cute and it incorporates the idea of having two kids in diapers. (But I like using the little lid on the wipes case, that these cute cases cover- practical always wins over cuteness for me) I also really like all these ideas: here, here and, here that make it more convenient to carry altogether. As she says, it helps so you don't have to juggle everything (diapers, wipes, changing pad, sanitizer, diaper cream) and a kid with blowout diaper.

So without further ado... here is where the real credit is deserved
Diaper case: http://mudpuddlesanddaisies.blogspot.com/2010/03/diaper-clutch-tutorial.html
Changing Pad: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutorial-baby-changing-pad.html

With the diaper case, I didn't use the clear vinyl, because I wanted to be able to throw it in the wash without worrying. I used really thin but really stiff fusible interfacing (instead of batting).
I pulled some of the things out to give you an idea of how much it holds: 4 diapers(Huggies size 4), Huggies wipes case, hand sanitizer and 4oz diaper rash cream(not shown, under sanitizer)

For the changing pad, I used a thicker vinyl (on the inside) instead of laminated fabric (since joanns doesn't carry it). And although, I followed her measurements pretty closely, the velcro closure measurements didn't quite work on mine (not sure where I got off), just pin it and test it before you sew it down. I added a few things to make it easier to hold and wrap around my diaper case (if you notice the velcro pieces on the thick brown ribbon, one is small and the other a lot wider, it is to account for a full diaper case vs. an almost empty one)

Here is my cute model, showing it off.

Happy Mother's day

Claire I were spoiled with yummy food- all made by dad: Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, Greek Turkey Burgers for dinner (pictured below), and cookies for dessert. Thanks honey for working so hard to make my day wonderful!



I love this movie about choosing to be a mom. It is so true! Being a mom is the toughest job I've had, but it is by far the most rewarding job as well!

18 Months

This little cutie turned 18 months this last week. Which means Nursery- a class for little ones at church. We actually took her last week and she loved it. Unfortunately she got a runny nose and so we didn't take her this week. But are excited that she loved it so much!

Bean Musuem

It was free Pretzel Day last Monday. So we went to the mall and got a snack with our friends...

We then went to the Bean Museum.

(left)Here is Thomas and Claire. Claire was holding on really tight to Thomas- so cute! (right) Claire loved the big cats

...and loved following Thomas

(left) Getting in a good run before nap time (right) Taking a break for a hug

Thanks Paige for taking us in your sweet new ride! We are going to miss you guys this summer!