She Sleeps

Olivia has NOT been taking naps for about a month now. This was NOT my decision either. But since she has decided that she is done with naps, we started doing "Quiet Time". It has been going pretty good for the most part. She usually wants to put all the couch pillows on the floor and watch one of "Libby's shows" as she says. So I put in one of her shows and she quietly watches for about 15 minutes before moving on to something else that she would rather do. Before, I know it... "quiet time" is no longer quiet and my house has been turned up-side down! However, on occasion, she will fall asleep on her own, when she really is just exhausted! Today, was one of the those rare occasions... She fell ASLEEP!! Hallelujah!! Thank you! It was a great afternoon! And I was able to get a few things done. He she is... just sleeping away on her couch pillows!


I couldn't resist taking pictures, worried that the flash may wake her, but it didn't even phase her. She was that tired!





And then, the time came. I had to wake her. If only I could have those quiet moments more often..... ahhh.

Lately

Olivia is so funny. She is always making me laugh and keeps me busy. One thing that she says lately, that I randomly hear her say is "anta, HO! HO! HO!" (anta is Santa) Christmas must be on her mind a lot because we hear it all the time! Among many other things that she loves to do is dress herself, which results in a room covered in clothes, until she finds just the right outfit for her. Here is one of her "getting dressed all by herself" outfits looks like.

So if you see us around town, and she looks very homely... just note, she dressed herself. (Or I was to lazy to get her dressed and I look just as cute as she does:))

We also took her bowling for the first time. She loved it! I think she even bowled a better score than me!


And that hat she is wearing, that is my latest project. I learned how to crochet and thought, I might as well do a hat! I was really easy, and she wears it all the time. I am not sure if she is just trying to make me feel better or what, I am just glad that it fits.


My first hat that I started didn't really end up all the great. I don't know what I did wrong, either way, it just didn't work. Although, I have come up with some other ways to use it. (I won't expound) Here it is....

Before and After

This summer before we moved into our house, I was on a mission to find furniture that we could furnish our house with. However, I wanted to keep the cost down. Thank goodness Moscow has such great Yard Sales ( Seriously though, better than back at home by far!). I was able to find several things for our home for a very thrifty price.

Small Side table before


Small Side table after I painted it and my neighbor, (who very generously) rebuilt the top of it.



Before... Behind the couch buffet table
( I know, this one was really ugly before)



After: Turned out great with a little bit of elbow grease and some paint!



And here are a few others that I have done. I don't know where the before pics went, but I love the way they turned out. Its amazing the potential that all these things have that someone considered junk.

The Bench I re-stained and recovered.
And the White things... well I repainted them and added the greenery and whatever else you see!


Only 4 more months before yard sale season is underway! Can't wait to see what other treasure I will find!

Since my sewing machine is out...

After sewing Olivia's shirt together, I thought I would give one of my old white shirts that I never wear, a try. Time to re-vamp a few things in my closet... So I thought I would start with this one.

1. Old white shirt in my closet that is collecting dust.



2. Take scrapped piece of Chiffon that I have and ruffle it on my machine.



3. Pin it onto my shirt in a way that I think I would actually wear it out of the house.
(This was the worst part of the process, I think I stuck my fingers, hands, and arms a gazillion times!)




4. Sew it on! ( It took some time and a few swear words, but it's on)



5. The finished look. Add skinney Jeans, Tall riding boots and a cardigan... And I am ready for a night out with the girls sipping my steamer, sitting in our favorite coffee shop!
Now its your turn. If you can sew, even just a beginner like myself, you can do it!

And this is a Blog milestone for me. I don't think I have ever posted blogs on back to back days! Aren't you proud?!

Flower Ruffles Shirt

So I have been on a craft kick lately. It has been fun for the most part. I just hope Olivia hasn't heard to many of those four letter words that I only say when I am frustrated! Anyway, I have been blog stalking so many crafty blogs out there, and have been inspired to make Olivia a shirt. And hopefully one for me too! So I was set out to do it and to do it for a very thirty price.
This is what I did:
I started with one of her onesies that she no longer wheres. (still is the right size for her, we have just done away with onesies.)



Then I cut off the bottom of it and added a ruffle around the bottom.




Then I took an old pair of sock that i know longer need and made arm warmers... (Kind of like the leg warmers that you see all the time that are so cute.)



Then I added some flowers to the front, put on her arm warmers and Voilá!
Here she is in her new shirt. Total cost of shirt re-make??
.90 (gotta love the clearance rack at Joannes!)

Créche

This year our Church put on a créche for our community. There were over 400 Nativities from all over the world. It was really neat to see nativities from Haiti, Pakistan, Iran, Croatia, Jerusalem, Brazil, Mexico and many, many other countries from across the globe. It was really neat. While checking out the nativities there was also a live nativity set up to take pictures. Costumes and photographers were provided. What do you think?

(Thanks Sandy, (my MIL)for being such a good sport and being a Wise man in the photo. It would not be complete without you.)

Chris made a great Joseph.




Here on some pics of the Nativities. Really the picture just doesn't do justice to what it was really like. Whether you believe in Him or not, the feeling was undeniable and very strong.
This last picture is the Fontanini set that my MIL set up. My brother-in-law, Darren, has been collecting this nativity set for years. Isn't it so amazing?



May we all remember what the season is about.


Merry Christmas.

The Martha in Me

I don't consider myself to be a crafty person. I never really have been. When it comes to making my own crafts, well, they usually turn out to be a disaster. But lately I have been on a craft kick knowing that the outcome probably won't be what I was hoping for. And thanks to some friends here, they have inspired me to give my crafty skills a try. So I made a purse. And to my ASTONISHMENT... It actually turned out just fine. In fact I am toting it around town as my purse.

TAH - DAH


The flower was actually really easy to make! ( Olivia was mad that I wasn't taking pictures of her, so she made her way into the photo!)



The inside of the bag matches the flower. And there are a couple of pockets too!



I even enjoyed making it enough, that I will probably make more. And I hope that this crafty side of me will even take on some new projects. Because it is going to be a long winter!