Minnie Mouse Skirt

O.K. Long story short- My daughter decided months ago that she wanted to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween. That's great. My good friend, Trina, was willing to teach me how to not be intimidated by the sewing machine. She patiently showed me how to make a pillowcase, then she patiently showed me how to sew a skirt.

So... I now have a Minnie Mouse skirt for Nichole's Halloween costume. However now I need to sew a shirt/top to go with it. Trina moved away (we miss their family) and I really appreciated her teaching me while she was here. Now I'm asking anyone for advice on how I should sew a Minnie Mouse top for Nichole's costume. Please. Any free patterns anybody knows about, or just how to sew a general shirt. I am very much a beginner so... any help would be appreciated.

Catch of the Day

The KAT's Meow

Jr.: I want to watch a movie.
Daddy: We're not going to watch a movie. It's Sunday.
Jr. (whining): But it's not Sunday. The sun is not up. It's Nightday.

Autumn

It's Fall. It's Autumn. It is no longer Summer. We celebrated as a family by going hiking in the Big Springs area up Provo Canyon. Twice in two days. The first day we enjoyed the fall colors. It had rained that morning and was still cloudy so it was absolutely gorgeous.

The second day, we still enjoyed the fall colors, but we also had fun taking some family pictures. It was fun and challenging with our two little ones

but we also got some sweet family pictures.

Remember, you can click on the pictures to see them larger.

I've Reached That Point

I've been wearing sandals most of Summer. Now that it's Fall, there are colder days. The other day it rained and since my family had plans to go hiking that afternoon/evening, I had to put on shoes and socks. Well guess what. I couldn't reach my toes to get my socks on myself very easily. I've reached that point in this pregnancy. Like I said, I hadn't noticed before as I've been wearing sandals a lot.

My sweet little boy, though, was very helpful. He volunteered and helped me put my socks on. I'm very grateful with the big helpers I have.

Balloon Twist Tea

Nichole came down with a bit of a cough so we got some herbal tea to see if it would soothe her throat. Jr. of course wanted some so we let them each pick which flavor they wanted.

You can tell our son has been around us a while.

Jr.: "I pick balloon twist tea."

Mommy: "That's ginger twist."

Leaf Rubbings

Nichole learned about the letter "L" in kindergarten, so when she got home from school, the kids made leaf rubbings.

Appropriate for the letter "L" don't you think?

More Impressive Balloon Sculptures

Jeremy offered to make a 3 foot video game character out of balloons for a friend to give at a birthday party.

He got a little carried away.

The KAT's Meow

Jr.: Mommy, I like you.
Mommy: I like you, too, son.
Jr.: You're pretty.
Mommy: Ohhhhh, thank you.

Later
Jr.: You smell yummy. And good, too. And pretty. You smell pretty.

While You Were Out

While you were at work, dear husband, I asked our son several times if he ate his rice and cheese. Always the answer was, "Yes." When I went to the kitchen to see, this is what I found on the table:

Again I asked with the plate right in front of him if he ate his rice and cheese. Again the answer was, "Yes." How do we teach our 3-year old about telling the truth when I don't think he realizes he's lying?

Homework

Work Hard

Play Hard

Famous Husband

I mentioned that Jeremy was on KSL-TV's Studio 5 the other day. Here's the link to the segment.

And here are some still pictures of his creations.

They didn't come right out and say it, but Jeremy really did write that book, Balloonology.

Studio 5

Just a head's up for those that read my blog. Jeremy is going to be on KSL-TV's Studio 5 tomorrow at 11am. He's building background scenery out of balloons and will get to talk about the book he wrote, Balloonology. Just wanted to get this out for anyone that wants to watch it and for those who don't know about his book yet.
You can learn more about his book from his publisher, Gibbs Smith.

Catch of the Day

Such a Big Girl

The time has arrived. It seemed like only yesterday our little girl was handing out flowers and spreading peace.

Now she's a big girl going to kindergarten.

The first day was good. She was anxious to get going and kept reminding us that we don't want to be late.

When we dropped her off, she had no trouble. I expected to be the one to get emotional. First, because it's me. Second, because I'm pregnant. I surprisingly didn't have a hard time. Jr., on the other hand, did. After Nichole went in to her classroom, he kept saying that he wanted to go in, too. We finally convinced him that we could do something special at home. So it was decided that we'd have a treat and he was a little happier.

When we picked Nichole up, Jr. was so happy to see his sister. She was pretty calm about the whole thing, but it sounded like she did have a good first day.

My big girl.