~Heart Garland~

After seeing several felt heart garlands here and there, I decided to make my own.


Very simple, very fun!

~I have a shiny thumbnail~

When you go to the mall, do you see those kiosks with the special lotion? The ones where the salespeople try to squeeze lotion on anyone passing by?

Well, the other day we were at the mall, and my hands were oh-so-very dry -- to the point that they were starting to crack. Now normally, I will do anything I can to avoid this type of kiosk, but I figured I needed lotion, so "why not?"

Here's why:
:::after getting my sample of lotion, I'll be drawn over to the kiosk to further examine the lotions
:::after the saleslady discovers that I really don't want to buy lotion, she'll try to get me to buy something else
:::she'll grab my hand and start buffing my thumbnail, all the while explaining the great benefits of not polishing my nails (which I never do anyhow)
:::after I admire my lovely shiny nail, she'll try to get me to buy the nail-buffing kit
:::I really don't want the kit considering I have a similar one at home that I never use
:::and the lowest priced kit is only $29.99
:::I only have $21 in my purse and I can guarantee you I'm not putting it towards lotion and a buffer!
:::I kindly say "no"
:::and walk away
:::and the "manager" calls me back over
:::and says he'll pay the commission and he can lower the price to $22
:::which, if you're keeping track I still don't have enough money
:::and I say "no, I really don't have the money for it today" (or tomorrow...or next week)

As I walked away, I determined to not ever get sucked into the vicinity of this type of kiosk again!

~Dress up Baby Doll~

A long-time family friend gave this to us. Now isn't this the cutest little thing?


Seriously, it makes *me* want to sit down and play dress up! The baby doll comes with five complete outfits. Each outfit has booties, little headbands or bonnets, and diaper covers. Too, too cute!

~Same old, same old~

I was thinking about my breakfast routine this morning, mostly because I mixed it up a little. Instead of coffee, toast, and eggs, I went to Starbucks and had oatmeal and coffee.

So I was thinking how I almost always have exactly the same thing every single morning, prepared almost exactly the same way. It's a simple routine for a simple, yet delicious-to-me breakfast. I start the coffee, start the eggs, start the toast. Tend to the eggs, butter the toast, take the eggs out of the pan. And then I sit down and eat. Mmmmm, I love my daily breakfast!

And my Starbucks oatmeal? It was very good! For my birthday, my parents gave me a Starbucks gift card. If you go to the Starbucks site, you can register your card. You'll get a free drink in your birthday month, and there are other perks too - like two hours of wi-fi each day. Yesterday it was a pleasant surprise to get a coupon in the mail for a free bowl of oatmeal! I used that along with a Starbucks coffee bag that had a coupon for a free cup of coffee for a nice little breakfast out!

So what do you do for breakfast? Do you eat breakfast? And do you mix it up or do the same thing every morning?

~Romantic Piano~

Romantic Piano
A CD that I am enjoying very much the past few weeks is Nina Postolovskaya's "Romantic Piano". Nina plays selections from Chopin, Debussy, Schumann, and others. Her playing is so beautiful, and the music is peaceful. Often, I play it during naps so that there is a bit of background noise which enables me to move around the house more.

My MIL gave this CD to me a few years ago for Christmas. Since I'm enjoying it so much now, I looked up the performer and found two more CDs on Amazon.com. I'm thinking of getting them with Amazon gift cards I've earned from my Swagbucks.

The link under the image will take you to Amazon, which is also the image source.

~Christmas dresses~

I finished The Baby's Christmas dress in time for her to wear it the Sunday before Christmas. Next year, if I make her Christmas dress, I'd like to make it earlier in the month so that she has time to wear it a few more times.



I used Simplicity 2767, which is a "Project Runway" pattern. Having used this one Project Runway pattern, I'm not much of a fan. I ended up buying way more fabric than I needed (which turned out to be a good thing...but still).



I think I took out as many seams as I put in. I don't know why, but sewing this dress was full of frustrations. I thought the sleeves would be way too long, so I shortened them. When I tried the bodice on, the elastic pulled the sleeves up and I realized that I should have left them the same length as the pattern. So this is where the extra fabric came in handy, as I had to cut, sew, and reinstall two new sleeves! Before I hemmed it, I tried it on The Baby and I was ready to throw it away! Thankfully, Kevin talked me into finishing it and I actually liked the end product. LOL So no matter how long you've sewn sometimes projects just don't go the way you hope!

And then, I came home with my Christmas dress. My mom made this for my 2nd Christmas. I'm hoping it fits The Baby next year! Crossing my fingers on this one! I was almost 14 months when my mom made this, and The Baby will be 21 months.



My dad was working his way through college, as well as supporting his wife and baby girl by working at a fabric mill. One day he brought home yards and yards of red wool which had gotten machine oil all over it. My mom was able to fit pieces of the dress here and there, and out of all those yards of fabric, she was able to make this dress!



Now, I have to say, that sometimes being the oldest in a large family just isn't "fair". All of my sisters wore this dress, so somehow they all think it belongs to them. This is the only keepsake item I have from my childhood, and no one wanted me to bring this home. But I have it now. ;-)

~Traveling with a little one~

I am certainly not an expert when it comes to traveling with babies and children! But I did learn a few things on our recent trip! I'm recording them now while they are still fresh in my mind. Maybe this will help me to remember later on! :-)

Next time we travel (this June, for my sister's wedding!), I plan to:

:::take a stroller. This will make things so much easier in the airport!

:::forget the laptop. I didn't use it enough to make lugging it through the airport worth its while!

:::get a bigger diaper bag. I have a small diaper bag I use for church, and the diaper bag I got from the hospital. The bag from the hospital is bigger, so that is what I used for travel. It worked perfectly when we traveled with a 6-week old who slept the entire time we were in the air! But when you start adding food, spoons, a sippy cup, toys, etc., it was just impossible to get things in and out. OK, not impossible, but a pain in the neck!

:::pack more chocolate. Seriously.

Now, you tell me! Any top secrets for perfectly happy babies while traveling?

~Christmas, a Wedding, an Engagement, and a Long Trip Home~

We spent the last 10 days of December in California with my family. I fully intended to keep up with blogging, and even took my laptop with the thought of going somewhere with free Wi-Fi every few mornings, but that just didn't happen!

Christmas Day was very enjoyable! We went to my Mom's parents and had a late brunch, and then gathered around while my grandpa read Luke 2. We exchanged gifts. I wasn't sure how The Baby would respond to the gifts. She was rather non-interested in the whole affair, even the paper and bows. She did "help" unwrap a few gifts, but she mostly played with toys while we exchanged our gifts. Later in the afternoon, we went to my dad's parents for munchies and desserts and time to visit with family.

On the 29th, one of my sisters got married. It was a beautiful wedding, and I was so glad we were able to be there. We got to meet her fiance just a few days before the wedding, and he is a very nice young man. We're very happy for my sister!

And then, on the 30th, another one of my sisters got engaged! She was totally surprised by the proposal, which was kind of funny because she is usually the one that you can't get anything by! She's planning her wedding for early June, so it looks like we'll be heading back to California this summer!

Our flight and trip to California went relatively well. Our return trip was a completely different story. Thanks to an over-tired baby, a molar coming in, and a crowded airplane, we had a very.long.flight. I have never heard The Baby scream or cry so loudly. She finally went to sleep for awhile, which was a blessing to her, us, and the people around us! LOL Thankfully there was a really kind lady just across the aisle. At one point, we all got a big laugh out of The Baby when I fed her some mixed vegetables that she did not like! She stuck out her tongue and made a huge face. And then on the second attempted bite, she sputtered. I moved on to the pears! Needless to say we were quite happy to finally arrive home!

Now we're back and settling into our routine again. I'm looking forward to this New Year and what the Lord will do this year! Happy New Year!!!