1st Day of school tradition…the trampoline!

When we moved to Ft Huachuca, we bought a trampoline for the kids. They love jumping on it….and that year, on the first day of school, they begged to have "one last bit of fun" before going to Kindergarden and 3rd grade…. 

So we snapped a few pictures of them having fun….and now it's a tradition. 

This year Maddy showed me her "fancy walk" and they both showed off Ninja attacks….one of my favorites is the look on Maddy's face as Connor is doing a flip. It's not easy to get shots of them on the trampoline, but it is worth it! They are such good kids and love each other so much! I am a lucky mom and I'll miss my kids this year…..I guess I'll just spend a LOT of time volunteering at the school!









Maddy is still so photosensitive....I usually end up with pictures of her with her eyes closed!    Notice the photobomber behind her!





Freaked out Maddy Face....crazy insane Connor face.








What a dork.   I love this boy.

1st Day of 3rd Grade.

Maddy is thrilled beyond belief to be a real-live, 3rd grader.

She kept telling me the whole way to school. "I'm so excited to be a 3rd grader this year!" "I don't need help with (her freakishly large) backpack because I am a 3rd grader!"

She was disappointed that her brand new glasses were not ready yet, but she will have pink and purple glasses to wear for the 2nd week of school. I shouldn't have expected her to make it this long. Genetics are stacked against her. She has one good eye and one that is pretty bad. She didn't realize how poor her vision was because she was compensating for the bad eye. Of course, when we went to pick up her glasses today, she noticed right away how much better she could see….and how much brighter everything was. The tv and computer were too bright! I think she will adjust soon enough.

She did get to pick the fabric and design for her new dress though.   I wasn't sold on the idea of ruffles all the way down the front, but I have to admit, the fabric and style worked well!  She is still measuring about a size 4 wide and size 6 long (although, I've learned to add a few inches for modesty!)   I had never tried this pattern before and it was really baggy...but I've also learned that a sash or tie will make anything fit her!  

She still has a few more projects in the works, but soon I'll get started on Halloween costumes!  I was hoping to make her a Civil War Dress but I suspect she and Connor are going as Calvin and Hobbes.  How to make a cute Tiger costume that isn't really heavy and warm?  Hmmm.   Living in Arizona has it's challenges but I'll figure something out!

New furniture and Maddy's room.

The bookshelves are done! (note, if you scroll down a few posts, you will see a "before" version of her room)

I still have to move wall art around, but I have a plan! Think Canvas and paint.....

The other bookshelf.... full of toys, legos and the books that are too tall for the other one! I don't have bookends so they are over there for the time being. You can also see her 100 days of school project hanging up-she loved it too much to get rid of it....

Originally, I planned to put this bookshelf in Connor's closet to keep his toys on, but even though it isn't perfect, it's too nice to stick in a closet. I guess I'll be working on something for boy next....or maybe Matt.

Maddy's dollhouse and "grandma" chair. She loves the beanbag and the chair so we have lots of seating in her room right now.

Maddy's desk is a lot like mine......sigh.

A sewing project for Valentine's Day.

A good friend of mine gave me some shirts that didn't work for her (she is losing weight and looks amazing!)  I loved one shirt but it never looked right on me.  I would try it on and then take it off in frustration.  It was so pretty but on me, it looked boxy and made me look pregnant....and not in a good way!

The last time I tried to find a way to wear it, I took it off and tossed it on my sewing table where it landed on this green paisley fabric.  I RARELY mix patterns.  I love how they look, but I can never seem to match them up on my own.  Well, I looked over and loved the combination.  I doubt I would have thought about these two fabrics had it not been for the fortuitous juxtaposition.   So I made a skirt and dress out of the shirt and fabric. I started Saturday night and found myself in a full on sewing kick. I managed to finish in time for Maddy to wear it to church the next day. (her choice, not mine, I thought it was more of a school dress)



 I confess that I love the fact that the shirt already had a nifty ruffled edge.  When I get my serger up and running again, I'm going to try this as a way to accent other outfits.  Super cute!  With a few minutes and a trusted seam ripper I was able to tie the green fabric strips in....



With some more careful snipping of the shirt, I was able to create a matching section of ruffle for the peasant blouse.  As a note for myself: Make the shirt a hair wider and the base and a tiny bit longer to allow for a larger seam.



I repurposed a seam on the shirt as a tie on the shirt. Maddy is so skinny that without a tie, many shirts and dresses look too baggy. It's hard to see but I also added a fantastic little extra that I love. I made a false hem at the bottom of the shirt with extra topstitching as a detail. It lays perfectly and came out just as I imagined. I played around with a scrap for a good 5 minutes, folding and pressing to figure out the best way to get the look. (happy sigh)




I would love to have custom tags for my clothing, but I am too cheap to buy 300 at a pop! (Let me know if you have a good store for smaller quantities!)  I dressed it up with a tiny purple tag for fun.





You are probably wondering what the entire outfit looks like....of course, my daughter is adorable and cute and did NOT feel like cooperating. The best shot? This one. I do love her so much. I love her excitement and joy!

The brain in a 5 year old girl is weird.

Madeline just told me that she got to be the princess today at recess. She has been frustrated because Kayla has been the princess every day and she wanted a turn. We talked this morning about how Kayla never wants to share princess time and everyone else has to be the foxes that chase the princess. She went to school in a princess dress, with princess hair extremely motivated to have a turn!

This afternoon she updated me. They were both princesses because Maddy said (and I quote) "that whoever was kissed by the prince would live happily ever after but whoever didn't would die. But nobody was kissed by the prince, so we were dead. The prince was Daniel, Kayla's boyfriend. But Kayla is too little to have a boyfriend because she should be ...

...(insert long pause here)...


....footloose and fancy free".

I'm rolling my eyes. At least she thinks footloose and fancy free means you can run and play on the playground with anyone you want.