Eye Opening: Our family Vacation

So I feel like having children is this MASSIVE magnifying glass on your flaws and shortcomings.  Three years ago, I would have said that I didn't really have a vice/major sin issue (HA!!!).  Today I can look you in the eye (or not, since I'm typing at a computer screen), and admit that I truly struggle with coveting.  I have huge jealousy issues when it comes to things that others have that I think make their life easier.  I go into the mode of 'oh if I only had X, obliviously my life would be sparkly and happy and oh so wonderful'.  I find myself wanting the open space in someone else's home, wanting a little extra income for more date nights,  or even wishing that I could have experienced life with only one baby at a time.  Yep, it runs deep.

source

So how does this tie into our family vacation???  Well, I think I've been quite a sourpuss the last few years on various vacations because instead of enjoying the moment, I get caught up inside myself thinking 'if only...'    And for that I apologize to all of my family and the people who put up with me on a daily basis ;op  So this time, I put my best friend to work praying for me and stepped forward into vacation mode with the mantra of 'enjoy THIS moment'.  When my coveting tenancies reared their ugly heads, instead of going into my jealous state, I starting make a mental list of what I could change when I got home - or if it was something beyond my power, I let it go.

I ended up having the best vacation I have had in YEARS... and it wasn't because it was some exotic destination, or a change from the daily grind of caring for three toddlers, it was simply because I changed my attitude.  *i'm actually working on a post about making 'visiting family' the BEST VACATION EVER!

date night in DC - you can't see the Washington Monument behind us ;op

Pool Time!!!

Baking with the kids - My sister and I have made this Flag cake every 4th of July for years!!!

Monkey Joes - bouncing insanity!

and of course some matching PJs (PJ's are the ONLY thing you will ever see me go all 'character' on - but come on it is GABBA!!!!)

One of the key areas that hit me was the cleanliness of my Sister-in-law's house - I was in awe.  She has and keeps a GORGEOUS house WITH A TODDLER.  It made me realize how much I miss the 10 months after we had the boys that we hired a cleaning service - it made a huge difference in being able to keep up with everything.  We can't afford that at this point, but instead of just wishing I could have that again, there are things I can do to try to keep things more manageable.  A clean house just makes me feel less frazzled, it makes me more desirous of having people over, and it honestly seems to foster better play in the kids!  My house will never be spotless, and most likely it wont ever all be clean at one time, but it can function with better organization and a plan.

A PLAN????

Well yes, I pinned THIS on pinterest about a year ago - hahahahahahah!  And THIS.  Both are easy breakdowns of how to clean your home in about 20 minutes a day.... now even 20 minutes feels like a lot to add onto my already chaotic day.  So here is my plan:  in order to get into the habit, I will take the first 10 minutes of nap time to do one thing on the list on the MAIN floor of the house each day.  Once I am in the habit, I can adapt and expand to make sure that I eventually cover the whole house, but at least this will be a starting place for me.


What do you think???  How do you keep your home clean with a house full of kids???

Hugs, and remember to enjoy THIS moment!!!

Guest Posting At the Mouse House!!!

Hello lovely ladies!!!  Today I am guest posting over at Welcome to the Mouse House, and sharing what I think is one of the BEST kid friendly gifts EVER!!!  

The BIG Hooded towel.

 Head on over for a full tutorial of how to make your own - so quick, so easy, so fun!!!

The Bubble Poccket Top and Spin Skirt

Elegance and Elephants is releasing their newest pattern TODAY - and guess what that pattern is for an ENTIRE OUTFIT!!!  How cool is that, a top and skirt all in one.  Today is the Release of the Bubble Pocket Top and the Spin Skirt.

ok-  that should say 'SPIN Skirt... gah I edited the image and then left for vacation, and now have no way of changing the image... hopefully you will all forgive me ;o)

If you love the bubble pocket shorts (like I do) - then you are going to love the new Bubble Pocket Top.  It is an easy fit garment that just screams summer.  I love the bubble pockets and the clean lines of the V neck. The top is fully lined and can be made form any light to medium weight woven - I'm thinking it could be done in a knit too... ideas ideas ;o)

My favorite part of the skirt is the waist band - it is an elastic waist with a functioning drawstring - the instructions include making your own, but I chose to go with a ribbon for mine.

I also did a double layer skirt because my main fabric is see through.

She absolutely loved wearing it, and I loved making it!

Dizzy little girl was taking her Spin skirt literally - good thing Dada's hands are always there to catch...

Pirate Playtime Pants!!!

When Heather (of Feather's Flights) contacted me and asked if I would be willing to be a part of her blog-tour of her newly released first two patterns, I JUMPED at the opportunity.  I love sewing for my boys, and her Playtime  Pants fit the bill perfectly. And if you love sewing for the littles in your life, this unisex pattern can be yours - just enter the giveaway below!!!
 First I thought I wanted to do super comfy knit pants - my boys love playing in knit pants, they are so stretchy and soft, and easy to move in, and forgiving in the fit (which with twins who are built almost nothing alike is a big deal to me!)  But I looked through my knits and was uninspired.  ;o(
I then though - ok, how about super fun PJ pants out of lightweight flannel... I looked once again through my stash and fell in love with some adorable robots... but there wasn't enough ;o(
I sat down again and tried to think of the perfect thing to showcase this fun a versatile pattern - and I remembered my winnings from PR&P, my mostly untouched fabrics from fabric.com and specifically the coordinating Riley Blake Pirate Mateys fabric that I had picked out for the boys.  I pulled out the fabrics and immediately had a plan. ;o)

I made these clam digger length and added the little tab as one more way to draw in the coordinating fabrics (the bit of orange is left over from when I made A the blazer out of a bed sheet).  To make clam diggers, just follow the pattern and leave off the cuff.  Hem to your desired length (I turned 1/4 and then 1/2 inch).  My boys grow like weeds, so I have learned to hem things a bit longer than I want and within a couple weeks they will be the perfect length ;op

I love these little pants - I love how easy they are to customize, and I love that I can make them with knit or wovens.  The pockets are quite fun - and my first time doing a front pants pocket on a pair of pants with no side seam - I was worried it might look like this strange floating pocket - but it doesn't, it looks ADORABLE!!!  To get the contrasting trim, I lined the pocket with contrasting fabric and then just shifted everything and pressed so that it peeks out, then top stitched so it would stay in place.

If you are looking for a great staple pants for your boys to play in - this is a great pattern for you!

(my baby boy is in a 3T (Heather actually mentions in her pattern that these are cut slim, so I sized up since I was going with cotton - I would do a 2T in knit and add length for my tall boy!)

With an elastic waist and two main pieces  - these are a breeze to whip up (well you know, if you don't decide to get all complicated with pockets and tabs and double top stitching....) but even with all those extra features, I quickly put these together, and I am sure there will be more to follow!

More of my cute little 'not so pirate-y' pirate:

Aye-Aye Captin' I've found provisions

Always watch yer back, lest someone steal yer gold doubloons!

See - perfect for playtime!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't miss a single stop of the tour!!!!
July 1: Suzanne from Winter Wonderings, Wanderings, & Whatnot July 2: Rachel from Once Upon a Sewing Machine July 3: RaeAnna from Sewing Mama RaeAnna July 4: Heather from Feathers Flights July 5: Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts July 8: Ari from Max California July 9: Magda from House of Estrela July 10: Sophie from The Sisters 4 July 11: Toni from Sugar Tart Crafts July 12: Celina from Petit a Petit

Pattern Review of the Mainstreet Tee!

Hello dear readers, today I am here to share with you one of my favorite patterns of late - the Mainstreet Tee&Dress by Terra's Treasures.  It is no secret that I am a huge fan on knits - also no secret that I am a MASSIVELY HUGE FAN of upcycling.  Terra has put together a pattern that lends itself to my loves quite perfectly.  

The Mainstreet Tee and Dress is versatile, fun, modest, and perfect for summer play. 

First you get to choose whether your little darling gets a dress or a Tee - mine got a Tee, because she needs more of them desperately (I get tons of hand-me-down skirts, shorts, and pants - but almost no tops... well looking at the way baby girl plays and eats, I think I know why ;op).  So I printed out the pieces for the top.

Dear friends, it goes together like a dream - not only does she use color lines for the sizes (which those of you with color printers will love), but the dress lines are a dash and the tee lines are solid (so people like me with B&W printers can still easily find and cut out our needed size and not get confused between the tee and dress).  Each page is labeled with the Patter and Designer Name, and once you put the segments together, each pattern piece is labeled with the Pattern Name, the designer's logo, the name of the pattern piece and a grain line - nothing is left to change or guess work here!

The next choice you have in making this pattern is whether you want to do a knit neck ruffle or woven one.  I went with knit ( I used the existing hem of the T to save time, the pattern shows TWO different ways to finish your ruffles, either a pressed rolled hem on a normal sewing machine, or a serged rolled hem).  There are also options for ruffles at the bottom, but I chose to keep mine simple for play.  All of the ruffle measurements are given in charts so you can easily cut out the rectangular sections needed without printing extra pages and wasting paper.

Terra does an amazing job explaining knits and the amount of stretch needed for this garment.  She includes a stretch gauge so that you can test your upcycles and make sure they fit the bill 35-100% stretch is recommended for the main body.
This pattern includes techniques for sewing with knits, gathering, and binding the neckline and arm holes.  If you are a beginner just starting out with knits, you will love how easy this pattern is to follow - and you will LOVE your results! *I use a twin needle for my top stitching, this allows the knit to retain its ease for stretching over your child's head - doing it in the contrasting thread color is just extra fun.

I mixed two solid color jersey tops for my upcycle - if you are more classic, you could make this in all one color, and if you are more adventurous - you can mix the pieces to your heart's content!

Comfy knit - Check
Adorable neck ruffles - Check
Cute little puff sleeves - Check
Pattern Versatility - check, Check, CHECK!

I love the fit - it is snug to the body without being tight (my baby certainly has a budah belly, so it would be a bit looser on someone with a smaller frame).  

The length is also spot on - perfect for pairing with shorts to play!

One Tee down - 99 to go!!!  Hope you love it as much as I do!

Flip This Pattern: High Contrast

Hello faithful readers - in case you missed it, here is my full blog post about flipping Elegance&Elephant's Bubble Pocket Shorts.  But more IMPORTANTLY, today is the day you can start voting for your favorite!!!!  So go vote.... FOR MINE... or you know, whosever you like best... they are all seriously amazing and I had so much fun just getting to participate.

If I won - I think I could be convinced to do a free tutorial for the top.... just sayin'.....

GO HERE TO VOTE

and if you haven't already, read on and see baby girl dancing...

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..... I am Heidi Kettner's biggest fan.... well maybe after her parents, and husband, and friends she actually sees in real life... well I'm somewhere in there.  I have had the privilege of testing both of Heidi's patterns, and somehow for both I used two contrasting fabrics.  Thus she dubbed me the 'Queen of Contrast'.  And it became the inspiration for my flip of the Bubble Shorts!

As a photographer, contrast is very important to me - it can make or break a photo, and you can't go further with contrast than black and white.  I wanted my flip to show off the lines of this pattern, to enhance what was already there, to be clean and classic, and something I would love.  Well, I DO LOVE THEM!!!

I went with eyelet for its summer and slightly vintage vibe, and paired it with straight black cotton.  The shorts are lined with a soft lightweight knit to make them opaque and to make them extra comfy for my baby girl to run and play in.  Because of that , there is no inner waistband, I simply top stitched around the two layers to create a casing for the elastic.

Beyond the piping, I added extra bows to the pockets - just that little extra touch of girlish charm.  And I changed the cuff.  I rounded the two edges and made them overlap at the center of the pocket for just a little detail.

I then had to make the perfect top to go with the shorts.  I decided on a knit halter with a black base and white eyelet peter pan collar - another nod to vintage meets modern.

I am so excited that I have gotten to be a part of this series and I hope you like my flip!!!