James Pirates

I had great ambitions of getting our costumes done early this year... I got some done last month, but left the shirts for last minute yesterday morning. Of course, I forgot to take good pictures of the girls while it was light with the whole outfits... maybe if I'm ambitious today I'll give it a go.

The girls: Bug & Moo had leggings, pirate skirts, pirate vests and shirts with a pirate ship iron-on transfer. Bitty baby was a bumblebee. I sported the pirate ship shirt, skull bandana, pirate medallion, jeans & black boots with gold studs.

The girls out "trunk or treating"
Bug

Moo

Nick with the girls... he was a good sport and wore a shirt to match us. It was a super fun night, I am glad this holiday is over though!

Strangers have the best candy

As I was working on Halloween costumes, I dug through my knits and found this shirt my friend gave me this summer to make her little girl a dress. Sorry it took me forever, Audrey! I thought it was fit for Halloween so I made it one morning while Bug was at school.

Muffin Tin Monday

This week's theme: Halloween! Top row: Pumpkin muffin {recipe here}, 'witch' grapes, peach pumpkin jello jigglers,

Bottom row: mini pepperoni, yogurt covered raisin 'ghosts', applesauce with sprinkles

You can find the link up here, lots of inspiration!

Fall knitting

The weather has turned cooler, and I have been knitting. Oh, I love knitting. I used this pattern (version D) and a nice 100% wool Daletta yarn. I braved the yarn store with both girls and let them pick their own colors.

Bug picked a nice light pink, and Moo quickly grabbed the color at eye level and then ran off to pull yarn out of baskets. I chose grey, my go-to neutral. Shown here with already a few baby pounds. I'm 14 weeks along and due in April! After I got done with the hats, Bug told me "I can't wait to get that hat for Christmas!" so... I guess I have one handmade gift already done.

Muffin Tin Monday

Confession: I am not very creative when it comes to food. I seem to get stuck on the same dinner meals, and I am horrible about lunch. I would prefer to skip the meal all together, but the girls don't agree, and I find myself scrambling for something every day. So, to help me get motivated, I have decided to join the Muffin Tin Monday group, and here's our first go: There was no theme today, so Bug helped pick what went in each spot. Her choices were: Doritos, string cheese, marshmallows, turkey sandwiches and raisins. Hopefully this will get me thinking outside the box and maybe my kids will try some new foods! I am also inspired by {another lunch} and {bentolunch.net}, just wished I lived close to somewhere they had great Japanese bento boxes available!

Twirly skirt

... because a girl needs options! Shirt tutorial {here}

Skirt tutorial {here}

Gone Fishin!

Nick went fishing with his brother a last weekend and Bug has been begging to go fishin' with her Daddy ever since. I opted for an indoor version, and with a little inspiration from {Sew Like My Mom} I came up with this. Bug insisted the yellow was the pond, and carefully laid the fish out. A strong magnet on the end of a wooden spoon and we were set!

Her comment after she caught her first fish: "Isn't it a beauty?"I wanted the fish to be a little thicker than just two layers of fabric so I put a layer of purple felt in between the purple polka dot fabric. I used a pretty generic fish shape, they measure 5" from tail fins to nose. I also did one seam to sew the magnets into the 'noses' of the fish. One more rainy day game for the upcoming long Idaho winter!

{clothes for bitty baby}

Shortly after we had our birthday festivities for her baby doll, Bug decided her Bitty Baby was much better. I agree. She has been hauling her baby to Joy School, Church, and everywhere else we go. The ladies at our local thrift store even know "Baby Girl" by name. After several months in the same jammies, it was time for new clothes. I found this great tutorial for a shirt and Bug picked {surprise!} polka dot fabric. Oh, that girl is funny! I made my own legging pattern and was super surprised when it worked the first attempt while taking into consideration I had A LOT of help making the pattern. I also found a pair of 3-6m Old Navy jammies at the thrift store and altered them so she had more clothing options. I love being able to make doll clothes for $.50 and less than a half hours' time.I also have a Halloween costume for her in the works...

Joy School

This fall, Bug is in a great little group of 5 kids for Joy School. It has been really nice to have some time with Moo while she is at school, and it was a blast to be able to teach this week! You would think I could get more crafting/sewing done with only one kid, but nope. We just play! My lesson was on the Joy of the Earth, and we had a great time making art projects, with free time play, and singing silly tree songs. It's a great program and has really worked well for what I wanted. Worth looking into!