Spring? Maybe Not Yet....

Last Saturday, we had a warm day, and it was so nice to let the kids get outside! I actually spent most of the day inside getting the laundry done and cleaning the house, but DJ stayed outside with G, and cleaned out his truck and they took Bailey to the kennel. 

I snapped a few pics of the girls playing.

Here's G playing in the back of the truck, and below, both girls..... We've discovered that it's the perfect play pen for now! MC tends to head straight to the street so this keeps her contained while we are working in the front yard.

We also broke out the sidewalk chalk and some of the neighbors came over to color with G.

DJ raised the seat on G's old tricycle so MC can learn to ride- once she can reach the pedals.

The warm days we had last week, make me long for spring! I know technically spring is here, but it's in the 40s for the rest of the week, which makes me sad!

The Girls Lately

I feel like I haven't blogged about the girls in a while, so this post is dedicated to the two little girls that hold my heart.

G is just getting so big lately! She has really proven to me that she is growing up and maturing. She's helping out around the house more and she's learning so much! She is also strong willed and determined, and I really do love that about her! For the past several weeks, she has slept on top of her covers so she doesn't have to make her bed. It makes perfect sense, and i'm not going to argue with that reasoning- I wish I would've thought of that when I was younger!

She has also been enjoying the ipad and it's tv shows and learning apps. She asks to play every night, and we try to limit her to just the weekends, but she snags either the ipad or the phone any chance she has! The ipad had died one day, and we were charging it in the office. the next thing we knew, G wasn't in the playroom or in her bedroom- she was on the ipad with it plugged in.

This is her last Friday night watching t.v. She and MC have enjoyed moving the couch cushions and stacking them on top of themselves. When she came home from school, I asked her to change clothes, and she came back out in a Cinderella shirt and faux fur vest. (Her style choice made me laugh, b/c I've been trying to get her to wear that vest all winter!)

I was sitting on the couch beside her one evening, and she asked me to hold her feet. I smiled, because I use to ask my mom the same thing- it was just comforting to me (plus it kept my feet warm)! And, I love that G inherently asked the same thing.

Last Tuesday, I told G that she would have to be helpful that evening because I wasn't feeling well. She asked if she would get to cook dinner, and I told her no, that I would cook. She replied, "I wanted to make candy soup!"

MC is such a little ham. She seriously has the best personality. It's been really hard getting on to her, and she really keeps us on our toes because she is so determined. She climbs like no other child i've seen, and i'm surprised we haven't found her on top of the refrigerator! She's up the stairs if the gate isn't up, and she's on the kitchen counters and the kitchen table if it gets her what she wants (i.e.: food) She loves to eat, and if we're in the kitchen preparing, she's at our feet saying, "eat, eat" and then in the cabinet getting out her cup and plate.

She loves to have  her picture made and will say "eeeee" for the camera. She often takes my phone and pretends to take pictures of herself.

She's very helpful. She'll throw things in the garbage, take her shoes to her room, or dirty clothes to the laundry room. She even likes to help dust.

Lately, she has enjoyed coloring, and spends just as much time as G does drawing at the bar, kitchen table, or in their play room.

She has started to tell us 'pee pee' and 'poo poo' and we've sat her on the potty a few times. At first, she was afraid, but now she'll ask to go, and try to take down her pants and take off her diaper. She actually did pee pee on the potty before bathtime last Thursday (3/7) but I don't think she really meant to, and she didn't notice that she did anything. I wasn't planning on potty training her until after the baby came this summer, but we'll let her enjoy sitting as long as she wants.

She loves bows and shoes. If i'm looking on facebook and she sees those pictures she'll say, "shoe" "bow". It cracks me up.

The girls are starting to get along better and play together. Saturday morning, I think they played together in MCs bedroom for around an hour and I heard no fighting or arguing!

MC also loves babies and will carry one around with  her when she thinks about it. I know she'll be a good big sister.

Here are the girls last Friday morning before school. I'm glad I managed to get this picture at home, because MC apparently cried the entire time. She hates new situations, and getting out of her comfort zone, so i'm not surprised at all that she cried during pictures.

We had a family movie night last Friday and after a failed attempt of getting a movie at Redbox, and then renting one on the ipad, which we later figured out won't transfer over to a computer, so the three of us sat around the ipad watching "Wreck It Ralph" Friday night.

I really thought "Wreck It Ralph" was not going to be an age appropriate movie for G, but I really loved it! It's one that we will likely have to add to our movie collection!

I love these girls so much and I love seeing them grow and change! They are such blessings to my life!

Playing Catch Up on Orders

We decided to stay home from church on Sunday due to Daylight Savings and my need of playing catch-up. I felt so accomplished by the end of the day, and completed many orders, and began a few ready-to-ship headbands.

I had this "Olivia" ready to ship hair bow, and Jen S. asked if I could make an "Olivia" shirt to match. I was quite intimidated by the thought, but once I thought about it, I knew this would be a cute deisgn:

We ended up just making the outline of Olivia's body and I chose a red fabric with red pin dots. I love how it turned out!

I also completed this yellow dot pigtail bow order for Jen H. I am loving the summer colors right now and I cannot wait for warmer weather!

I also had a custom order for M2M hair bows for an Easter dress. The customer sent me a picture of her daughter's coral and white polk a dot dress, and I ordered the coral ribbon. My first thought was to pair the ribbon with a turquoise, so the bows would have a pop of color, but when I sat down to make them, I wasn't sure how they'd turn out. I remembered I had just ordered these small ostrich feather puffs, and I decided to use them! I LOVE how these pigtail bows turned out, and I think the feathers are perfect for spring!

I also had a sister set tutu order, and I finally sat down and finished it this weekend!

These are all projects from last week, but I thought I'd share them on this post rather than to bombard with another post....

The girls had school pictures on Friday, and I made them outfits to wear. See here for more on their outfits. I had finished G's outfit last Sunday, and MC's shirt was finished, but I had to catch up on their bows and MC's skirt.

I decided to make them hair flair, rather than bows, and I love how they turned out! I had accidently ordered the satin roses, and I'm glad I made that mistake!

Here's a close up of just the skirt.

I also had a request for a camo fabric tutu paired with hot pink. And, it's for this very reason that I love custom orders!!!! I would have never made this myself, but it's turning out so cute! I paired it with brown tulle as well.

I also had a request to make a matching hair bow for a little girl in G's preschool class for her pictures. The mom dropped off the dress, so I could match ribbon to it, and my first thought was to add tulle to the bow since the dress was layers of tulle.

Then, I found this ribbon that matched perfectly to the color of the dress. The layers of tulle gave the dress a shimmering multi-colored affect, and I knew this ribbon would match perfectly.... I just also knew that I hated working with the wired edges and satin ribbon.

I went ahead and made both bows, and let the customer choose. She went with the tulle bow, and her daughter looked precious on picture day!

I'll share pictures of my girls on picture day later this week in their completed outfits :)

And, if you're ever interested in any of these creations or a custom creation, please visit my facebook page!

I am obsessed.....

There are several things that i've become obsessed with lately. I thought I'd take some time today to share each of my new obsessions with y'all!

Friday night we made homemade pizza and had a family movie night. I'm obsessed with this pizza recipe.  My only variation is that I find that I need to add a 1/2 c. more of warm water, and that I also sprinkle in Italian seasoning into the dough while it's mixing. I use corn starch on my cookie sheet, and then roll out the dough. I will never buy store bought pizza dough again. Buh-bye Pillsbury. 

I'm also obsessed with Pinterest Told Me To. I found Sheaffer's blog a few weeks ago and I cannot wait to read it every day! First, she's gorgeous and I want her closet. Seriously. And, she's funny. I mean downright hilarious, slap your hand on your knee funny. 

Each week she recaps the Bachelor, b/c she's best friends with the Bachelor's sister, and b/c I think she's an expert on all things the Bachelor. I'm sad that this week will be her last Bachelor recap post. I'm not sure what i'll do without it. She's given me a whole new perspective on the show.

She also takes fashion finds from Pinterest and uses it as inspiration for her own outifts. And, she has amazing taste.

I've also started to follow Sean (the Bachelor's) sister blog... Her name is Shay and she's even more fabulous than her brother. She also does a weekly recap of the show and she was on the show!!! I'm pretty sure she'll be making an appearance tonight as well! I think I like reading her blog, because she's real. I always think of the Bachelor and Bachelorettes as these fantasy humans- I mean, they're gorgeous, but they're real people and Shay proves that. 

Follow her family blog here and her cooking blog here. 

Cooking intimidates me so while I check into her cooking blog, I haven't duplicated any of her recipes. She bakes a lot of sweets- girl after my own heart, and uses her crock pot tons! I kept thinking that she was this gourmet chef, and then I realized she's a busy working mom of two preschool kids and that her recipes are very do able! I can't wait to try out some!

I've been following Kelly's Korner for a while and I've participated in some of her link ups. This lady is real y'all.... real amazing. She has a love for God that is impressive and she has two adorable daughters.  Kelly lives in NW Arkansas and blogs about real life and even shares that she doesn't know why people love her, but we do. I know that God is using her in some amazing ways. 

Finally, I'm loving A Blonde Ambition blog. Leslie and I actually went to college together, and although I knew of her, I didn't actually know her, but through her blog, I feel like I do. She has impecable fashion sense and if I was in my 20s again I'd attempt to pull off her style. She lives in NW Arkansas too and shares some of her fabulous finds in the local boutiques. 

There are some work days, where I don't know how I'd survive without these blogs and their posts. I'm so glad that they're willing to share all the details of their lives that they do. There's something special about knowing that these bloggers are real people. Just like me.

Finally, I'm obsessed with Emmett's Search Dog fund, and i'm currently hosting a fundraiser on my page- so go find out all the details! Sheaffer also is giving away one of her favorite necklaces in the fundraiser!

And, in the words of Leslie.

Be blessed lovelies.

22 Weeks Baby Update

Today I am officially 22 weeks pregnant! I went to the doctor yesterday, and thought this would be a great time to do another baby update!

I love that my doctor does ultrasounds at every visit. He got some great developmental photos today.

We are growing one smart little girl! Here's a picture of her brain:

And, her legs- these are what have been kicking me nonstop on Tuesday and Wednesday! Thankfully, Thursday was a little less kicking.

My doctor also has 4D and he managed to capture this picture of our sweet little girl. He also said that with 4D technology, we can see if babies will have cleft lips. As a SLP, I thought that was totally cool. (That may just be my nerdy side.)

Here's a picture I snapped of myself before heading out the door to my doctor's appointment.

I also did this comparison photos of all three girls from around the 20 week range. Gretchen is on the top left. Megan is below her on the bottom left. The right photo is this baby girl.

I think all the girls have the same nose and definitely look alike. 

The baby should be about 11 inches long (about the size of a spaghetti squash.) She should also weigh about 1 lb. 

I have felt pretty well in this 2nd trimester; besides two days of indigestion. I've gained 20 pounds, and yes, I know that is a lot, but I also gain a lot with my pregnancies, and I've lost it every time. So, i'm not too concerned. I'm wearing maternity jeans and pants, although I can get away with one pair of my jeans, as long as I have the bella band. Most of the shirts I'm wearing are maternity shirts, or at least a size medium. 

I've been craving more fruits lately. I still enjoy ice cream, and i'm treating myself to a turkey burger and sweet potato fries from Backyard Burgers once a week. I may need to invest in their stock. 

My mom has started on the crib bedding and has finished the bumpers, but my grandma is going to sew on the trim. My mom is hoping to complete the bed skirt this weekend. I've started my registry at Target, but it's no where near complete. I've began to look at dressers, but I'm going to have to be very creative b/c i'm not finding what I want. The baby has a few new outfits and a new pair of shoes.

DJ and I have finally agreed on the spelling of the baby's name..... Adalyn Pearl.

Adalyn is named after a wife of the first immigrant to the US in DJ's family. Her name was Ada, and she went by Addie. Addie is also a family name on my grandfather's side of the family. Her middle name is Pearl because Gretchen and Megan's name both mean Pearl.

My next appointment is in April, and I think i'll have the gestational diabetes pre-test, and hopefully that will come out well!

DJ hasn't felt Adalyn kick..... every time he tries, she stops. I think she's showing her stubborn side!

Here's to the next few months!!!

Hog Wild & More

I found this Razorback ribbon in a group buy a few weeks ago and I knew I had to snatch it up right away! I was so excited when it came in, and I received a custom order on the ribbon that same night! 

This "Peace, Love, Hogs" bow pairs perfectly with zebra ribbon and red and white dots. It retails for $10.00.

I rarely post side-vide photos of my bows, but I love the perspective. This bow is made with three bows stacked on top of each other, which gives it extra fullness and height.

If larger bows aren't your style, I can make a simple "Hogs" bow for just $6.00

I recently offered a buy one get one free on bows, and I love that I was able to use such fun colors in this order! It just screams summer-time!

I made this whale applique onesie and matching hair bow as well. Both are listed on my facebook page!

I've shared these flip flops with you before, but look at them when paired with pigtail bows- so cute!

I also recently ordered this "Owl You Need is Love" ribbon and couldn't wait to set to work on a bow! I paired it with a coral and white chevron.

I love fabric shopping just as much as I love clothes shopping! When I was at Hobby Lobby checking out some ribbon, this fabric literally jumped off the shelf at me... okay, well not really, but it screamed, "buy me!"

I made a ready-to-ship bib with minky backing.

And, a burpie.

Then, I made a jumbo flower applique shirt with this material! This is a size 5 and is ready to ship for just $18.00!

I haven't done much sewing this week due to exhaustion.... This baby is growing and kicking and wearing me out! I'm hoping that in the afternoon, i'll be able to come home and set to work while the girls play in the play room before dinner.

Easter Twirl Skirt Set

I am so excited to share this skirt set with you today! I worked finally finished the set on Sunday and couldn't wait to get pictures! Thankfully, I finished it before it got dark, dressed G so she could model and here it is! It debuted on my facebook page earlier this week- so if you're a fan there, you've already seen it. 

The twirl skirt is made with a mustard yellow polk a dot fabric and a coordinating grey chevron trim. The shirt is embellished with a bunny.

This outfit is perfect for hunting eggs on Easter afternoon, but it's also great to wear all spring!

The matching hair flair is made with three grey rosettes and yellow chevron ribbon made into a layered bow- topped off with a sparkling jewel.

G loves it, and i'm working on a matching skirt for MC.

The girls are going to wear this for their spring pictures at school.!

Thanks G for being my little model!

I'm wanting to add more of these to my page, so if you're interested in being a "tester" just comment "tester" in a message, and you'll get 10% off in exchange for letting me test out more skirts and a picture of your little honey pie modeling their skirt!

Bibs, Burpies, and Bows

I have been a sewing mad woman lately! I have just finally gotten back all of my energy and motivation to put towards sewing and bow making that I've been working my tail off.... okay, well maybe not, but I have been sewing more often lately, and my husband has been great about giving me a few hours a few nights a week after the girls are asleep. There has been at least one afternoon a week, where I take the girls up to the playroom and let them play while I sew and work on projects, and then we go down for dinner, clean up and goodnights, and I go back up for more sewing time. It really has been working out well, and i'm just feeling very blessed. And, I really owe most of that to my husband whose been so supportive and to my customers and fans!

My principal at one of my elementary schools is due with her first child in April! Not the best timing for a principal, but she's thrilled- as she should be- and i'm sort of jealous she'll have April through August off with the baby! This is her first little girl, and I just had to make her a few burpies!

I added applique flowers at the opposite end of one of the burpies just for a whimsical touch.

And, she's receiving a matching yo-yo hair clippie as well! I'm also going to purchase a few small things off her registry to make this a complete gift!

I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and I fell in love with this chick Easter fabric. I don't know why I bought it, because the girls don't need anything out of the material, but it spoke to me and said, "Make me a bib"....... and i'll be making a burpie too.

I just think it would be so cute in baby's first Easter basket! Too bad that baby A isn't coming soon, so this bib is up for grabs if you know of anyone or if you yourself are due with a baby soon! It's $8.00 plus S&H.

I offered a sale last week on my facebook page for $3.00 boutique bows. One of my old college friends purchased three for her baby girl due in April. Here's one of her bows! An adorable lime green boutique bow!

I also have these "Big Sister" "Litlte Sister" boutique bows ready to ship! Buy just one for $6.00 or get them both for $10.00! (I need to find "big sister", "middle sister", and "little sister" ribbon fo rmy girls!)

I had just enough ribbon to make this mod-dot half pinwheel bow, and it's only $4.00! What a steal!!!

And finally, these bow flip flops!!!!!!

No lie, I have had three pair of flip flops in my craft supplies for two years. Just sitting there... waiting. I purchased some new ribbons this week, and then I realized how cute they'd be on the flip flops! So, here they are, after waiting for two years! I also have two pair of yellow flip flops that I'll be working on soon!

These flip flops are 8 inches in length, but fit my 5 year old's size 10/11 foot.

These flip flops are ready to ship for just $15.00!

Thank you so much for keeping me motivated and allowing me to share my creations with you! I'ts more than just an accessory..... it's a lifestyle!