Bloomin'

It has been an unusually early and warm start to spring around here with temperatures in the 70's and 80's for the past week and a half or so -- well ahead of today's first day of spring.  Which means it really looks like spring out there today.  I have so enjoyed waking up every morning and looking outside to see what new plant has begun to bud or bloom or poke out of the ground.  My dad says gardeners are the world's biggest optimists -- always believing that spring is going to bring with it the beauty of a garden in bloom.  It's nice to be a part of that club. I can't wait for all of the bushes on the side of the yard we planted at the end of last summer to start filling in!  Much prettier than a fence :).

 

I Made That!

I haven't posted much about my adventures in sewing since I debuted the dress I made for Merrill last fall, but I've still been at it.  This is my latest creation: 

a true red-carpet-star-to-be.  Millie held the dress up and posed like that all on her own as if Ryan Seacrest were there to ask her who the designer was! (and she has never seen a red-carpet walk ... what a natural ;) ).

Some things I learned while making this dress (well, actually before making this dress...): 1) waiting until the day before your sewing class to find a project will add a bit of stress 2) taking two preschool-aged girls to Hancock Fabrics to pick out a pattern and fabric for a project the day before your class, at the end of the day, while in the first (exhausting) trimester of your pregnancy will add a bit more stress 3) letting a four-year-old thumb through the pattern books with you and pick out her own dress will guarantee that she picks the most "fancy" (aka complicated) dress she can find thus adding a bit more stress and 4) said four-year-old will also pick the fanciest and most sparkly fabric she can find -- and try to combine it with an equally fancy and sparkly contrasting fabric (luckily, in this case, the four-year-old will compromise on a tamer contrast fabric) 5) while all-combined 1-4 will result in some stress, they will also produce a darn cute dress!

Some detail on the dress; these sleeves were killer!  Mostly because the fabric pieces were so darn small (leaving me to sew in less than 1/8 inch in some cases), but also because the techniques were new (gathering).

A close-up of the main fabric.  Notice the gold shiny "sequins" -- it was the closest I would let Millie get to real sequins :).  All the ladies at the sewing shop loved the fabric!

So, this was my post-holiday project.  Millie was determined for it to be her "first-day-of-spring-Lainie's-birthday" dress.  Which, given that I started it the week after the new year, I didn't think would be a problem.  But we had so many class cancellations due to weather or sickness, that I finished it just in time (about a week early).  Luckily she loves the dress.  So does Merrill.  Merrill hugged the dress and told Millie to do the same ;).  My next project will be to finally make the curtains for the kitchen.  Having the windows bare in the winter was actually kind of nice, but I think we're going to want the curtains for the summer.

In-between making Merrill's dress and Millie's dress I made these shoulder bags as Christmas gifts for Lauren and Mary::

A little kitschy, but perfect for two die-hard Mizzou Tiger's fans.  I was able to make the second one in just one class (3 hours!) -- not bad!

While I'm making the curtains, I'm also going to be searching for my next project -- with controlled input from two certain little girls ;).

{Happy St. Patrick's Day}

O'Reilly (or Reilly O as Millie calls him) paid a visit to our house this morning -- turning our breakfast green and causing some mild mischief.  It's amazing how strong the power of suggestion is -- turning a few chairs the wrong way was enough to convince the girls the leprechaun had been here.  They went running through the house finding other "evidence" of his presence :).  (Millie made me taste her green milk and cereal before she would eat them).  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  May the luck of the Irish be with you today and always!

Tiny Dancer

Merrill started dance classes last fall after spending the summer watching Millie.  She enjoys it just as much as her sister and has really come a long way.  It was hard to snap pictures of her because she was always watching herself in the mirror (seems like a good habit for a dancer...) and because they move so fast!  One of the things that amazes me about her is that she not only comes home and "practices" the things she has learned in her own class through her play, but she practices the things she has seen Millie do in her class that she hasn't been directly taught.  She loves to stand on the trunk at the end of our bed (where she can watch herself in the mirror over our dresser) and do plies and "tip-toe releves" (toe raises).  She goes through the sequence over and over again.  By the time she is ready for Millie's class she is going to be a pro!  Millie also often dances in Merrill's class.  It started as a way to help Merrill be comfortable, now it's a way to keep Millie entertained during her sister's class.  Luckily the teachers don't mind.

Merrill practicing her jumping

dancing with scarves

look at the emotion in her face ;)

Signs of Spring

 Gardener Millie

Dress-Up, Park, Pizza, Oh My!

The girls had a blast with my parents last night and 50% of the people in the house got a (fairly) good night's sleep...

The bags are packed

and the girls are ready -- rain boots, extra shoes and all 

It can only mean one thing -- no, we didn't send them to the gypsies -- a sleepover at Lainie and Grandpa's for the girls and a night out for Scott and me!  Woo Hoo!