Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! For the first time ever we are going Trick-or-Treating tonight! Every year something seems to happen that cancels Halloween for us, but this year it looks like we will actually make it to the big event! The kids are going as Cinderella and the "magic" Pumpkin.

 I feel a little like a slacker mom since I went with store-bought costumes this year, especially after looking at the costumes out there among the sewing blogs. But Sophie received hers as a gifts and has been excited about wearing it since we got it and George is wearing the costume that we bought for Sophie's first Halloween that she never actually wore.

And besides all that they both look super cute! I did make the necklace and headband for our little Cinderella and I like how they complete the look.

Disneyland

Last week I took a break from the blog. The family went down to Disneyland for two nights. We had so much fun! Josh and always loved Disneyland, we have been going there together ever since high school and we almost got engaged there (long story involving sickness and Disneyland reaching full capacity!).  Now with little ones we love it even more. This was our first solo trip to Disneyland with the kids, our last two trips we have had grandparents to help. This trip was partly to celebrate the fact that Sophie is 100% potty trained! To motivate her we made a chart that lead to Disneyland and it worked!

We joked that the preparation for taking two kids under the age of four is about the same as prepping for a zombie apocalypse. We had a flat of water, chocolate milk, pediasure and crackers galore. Our stroller was expertly packed diapers, sippy cups and sweatshirts. All of the overthinking paid of  becuase we had a wonderful, accident-free time!

The weather was perfect and even though it was a little busy we hit all the lines just perfectly. George was even tall enough to go on every rides that Sophie could including the Matterhorn! The real Disney magic happen on Thursday night. We decided to go into the Toon Town part of the park and let the kids get their wiggles out by running around in the cartoon houses. It was basically empty, they had great time. We went into Mickey's house last,there was a cute movie playing and we stopped to watch for a few minutes. Out of nowhere a door opens and a happy Disney employee ushers so into another room to meet MICKEY MOUSE!!! No two hour wait, No big crowd! It was amazing! Sophie gave him a hug and of course all I had was my iphone camera but it was still great! after that everything was icing on the cake. I can't wait to go back!

Day 4/5 of KCWC

Kids Clothes Week continues! And big news... Bangs!( If you happen to know the They Might Be Giants song about bangs then feel free to hum along! ) Yesterday I took the plunge and gave our little girl a haircut.  It's probably not the most precise of cuts, but I am really happy with her new look.

Another Oliver + S dress for Sophie! I used The Family Reunion pattern. I made a few adjustment to the sleeves and I tried the ruffle in the front. I figured out a little trick for the pintucks. Instead of trying to transfer the markings from the pattern onto my fabric, I just measured the lines and drew them in myself. The fabric is Blockade Blossom in Crimson by Joel Dewberry.

Tomorrow I plan to work on some tops and maybe, just maybe venture into the world of boys clothes!

Day 3 KCWC

Today I finished the top I started for Sophie last night. It is the After -School top from Oliver +S. This was my first attempt at this pattern and I learned a few things for my next go round. First of all I need to take the time to transfer ALL the markings. There was much seam ripping and gnashing of teeth over this shirt. It isn't that it was especially difficult it was just that the pieces fit together in a certain way that made it hard to just eye-ball it like I usually do.

 I had to add lace to the bottom hem because it was quite short on Sophie. Sophie is a 3/4T length wise but weight wise a 2T.  I made the pattern in a 2T but forgot to add any length while I was cutting my fabric.
I used fabric from my stash that I've had for a few years. I'm glad I didn't use any of my newer stuff on this trial run. Let's see what we get to tomorrow!

KCWC!

This week I am participating in the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. It couldn't happen at a better time. It is actually getting cool around here and the little ones are in need of some new clothes. The challenge is to spend one hour sewing clothes for your kids everyday this week. I have really been inspired by the past challenges on elsie marley. I thought It would be fun to give it a try myself.

I started the challenge yesterday with a personal favorite. I made Sophie a new top with the Oliver + S Class Picnic pattern. I have made a few tops with this pattern and can finish one in about an hour. I used a corduroy print I found in the clearance section at JoAnn's. It is a little busy, but it has a cute Fall quality to it. Sophie calls it her squirrel shirt.
  Today for day two of the challenge I began another top for Sophie. I am using a new pattern by (big shocker!) Oliver + S called the After-School Top. I was hoping to finish it today, but I spent more time tracing the pattern pieces than actually sewing. By tomorrow it should be finished. Here's hoping the kids will continue to let me get in some quality sewing time!

pumpkin patch

We had a very busy day. All week the threat of jury duty was looming over me. I was home free until last night when I learned I had to report the next morning. I was especially bummed because we had a trip to the pumpkin patch planned with a group from church. Miraculously, jury services excused me since I am a stay-at -home mom. I was able to race home and pick up the kids in time to make it to our play-date! Yeah!

We had so much fun! There was a corn maze, farm animals and tons of pumpkins. I took a lot of pictures but unfortunately they ended up mostly being the backs of their heads. It was nearly impossible to get them to look in one direction.

We went with our MOPS group from church. MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschooler. It is a group that connects moms with other mom and sets up fun play-dates, mom's nights out and other fun stuff. I is a really nice way to meet other moms who are going through the same things at the same time. This is my first year and I am enjoying it so far.

The pumpkin patch was really wonderful. There was a little pond with a bridge. Every type of pumpkins imaginable. Sophie really liked the" baby" pumpkins.  In the next picture her sweet sad face was for the "poor little baby pumpkin" she was caring for.

George was all over the place. To him every pumpkin was a seat. He must have sat on half the patch. Which did make for some really cute pictures!

I am so glad we were able to have this special outing. Both of the kids came home with their own pumpkin and a big smile on their face.

New Dress! Oliver + S Family Reunion Pattern

I have been a little intimidated by this pattern ever since I received it last Spring. Even though it was probably my favorite design, I was scared of the pin-tuck details. But after seeing this very cute fall version of the dress I really wanted to give it a try.

The dress not as scary as I thought it would be. The hardest part of the pin-tucks was transferring all of the markings from the pattern to my fabric. One of the things I love about Oliver + S patterns is how detailed they are, especially because I am not a detail person.  They stop me from getting sloppy and it makes the dress look very "finished" inside and out.

I used some denim fabric that I found in the clearance section of the Hancock's Fabric. The striped buttons are vintage ones that my mom bought for me when she went to "the longest yard sale" in the Mid-West. There were only three, so I finished the back with navy blue buttons. I hope this dress will last through the Fall and Winter, I think it will look cute with tights and a cardigan. Doesn't my little one look sweet and dainty? You would never know that 10 minutes before this picture she was covered in mud after playing outside with the dogs.