Easter in Review

Our Easter in pictures (and, well, a few words)...

Hey, this Easter Bunny thing isn't all that bad.  I'm a little freaked out, but I'm ok.

Oh, wait a minute.  I am not a fan of this huge bunny.  Please, Mommy, let me get off his lap!!!

I like the Easter Bunny when he brings me stuff.

I like am obsessed with jelly beans.

Thrilled with my new book.  (Mommy is glad you like it, but she is just thankful for something new to read.)

Just because it's so cute...

Easter morning on our way to church.

We're working on being a bit more lady-like in a dress.

I'm tired Mom, just take the picture.

This is as much of a smile as you're getting.  But, hey, at least my paci's out of my mouth!

The Writing on the Wall

Well, I received a little early birthday present from Aaron this week.  Yes, I have a birthday coming up on Monday.  It's a big one and it involves a mid-decade mark.  If you are thinking 25, then you just go right on with that line of thinking.  Bless you.

Anyway, Aaron is one of those kind of husbands...if he finds out there is something I really want, no matter how frivolous, he finds a way to get it.  I had mentioned several hundred times that I would love, love, love to have a Silhouette cutting tool - primarily for its fabric-cutting abilities.  But, I knew that I could find lots of other things to do with it.  Well, what do you know...a box from Amazon landed on my front steps this week and a Silhouette was inside!!!  Happy Birthday to me!

I was so, so anxious to get it out and play with it.  Aaron was thoughtful enough to have ordered me a little starter kit as well. He knows me.  He knew it would just kill me to have that machine and nothing to do with it right out of the box.  So, I set to work studying up on it.

I had a little quote I ran across and bookmarked for use in something one day.  It said, "A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life."  Truer words were never spoken!  How cute would that be on the wall of my laundry room - the site of all my piles and messes?  It would give me the chance to try running adhesive vinyl through the machine!

So, I spent several minutes hours scouring the web for the "perfect" font.  I finally found it and carefully laid my little quote out in the Silhouette program.

It was easy, easy.  The part that made me nervous was actually using the machine to cut something.  My machine came with silver vinyl, so I went with it and loaded it for cutting.

Okay, easy enough.  I nervously sent my designed quote to the machine.  (For those who care, I used the blue cap, no carrier, a speed of 8 and a thickness of 12 - per the Silhouette website.)  It began the cutest little humming and cutting process.  It kind of sounded like a bunch of little elves buzzing around in there with an razor blade.  Aaron and I both held our breath and watched as the vinyl began to come out the other side.  This is what the finished product looked like.  You can see the faint outline of the cut font.

I carefully peeled away the negative space.

It really worked!  I was amazed.  In order to transfer the quote to a wall, you need to use transfer paper.  So, I covered my quote in the sticky transfer paper.

Now, here is the tedious part.  We had to transfer to the wall.  This is the part where I tell you that there are two "kinds" of people in this world.  I am kind of an eye-baller when it comes to hanging stuff.  If it looks good to the naked eye, I figure no one will notice if it is not perfect.  My husband?  He broke out the level.

He started getting obsessed with getting it exactly, 100% level.  I reminded him that this was on the wall of our laundry room.  Who would see it anyway, but me?  It was also a very forgiving font with no exact baseline to each letter.  Let's just go with it.  We were very scientific and used this for smoothing out the bubbles in the vinyl.

Yes, that is a Pampered Chef gadget for scraping dried food off of their stoneware products.  We improvised.  It worked.

Peeling off the transfer paper was slow, steady work.

But, it was worth it.  Here's our finished product.

I am pretty pleased with it.  I still may frame it out or something.  It is a little lost on the wall and the silver doesn't stand out as well as I would like on my blue/green walls.  It's what we had and we worked with it.  But, it was really just a practice run anyway and it has given me tons of confidence to try other stuff on my new little gadget.  Besides, it makes me kind of chuckle when I read that on the wall of my laundry room.  Indeed, truer words were never spoken written!

Thinking Outside the Box

I was at preschool story time at our local library the other day with my girls.  There just so happened to be another twin mom there with her girls who are a few months younger than Lily and Harper.  We began chatting about twin challenges, milestones, etc.  She asked me a pretty typical "twin mom" question, "Who is your dominant?"

"Oh, Lily, without a doubt." I answered without even a moment's hesitation.  She commented how interesting it was that I would say that.  "I would have guessed the exact opposite," she said motioning to Harper who was in the middle of a big group of kids playing happily with toys.  Lily, on the other hand, was hanging pretty close to me and seemed hesitant to jump into the chaos of "play time".  I went on to explain some of my theories regarding the nuances of their emerging personalities.  But, our conversation has really caused me to think.

I think twins, obviously, present some interesting challenges to a first-time mom. But, more importantly, I have been really amazed at some of the great lessons I would have missed with just a single child.  That has been the case with this "pigeon-holing" as I refer to it.

I think it is really, really easy to start labeling our kids pretty early on - especially when you have two to "compare".  Oh, she is the athletic one or she is going to be an intellect.  I think we tend to put them in a box and I can't help but wonder how those "boxes" nudge them in one direction or another as they grow older.  The ebb and flow of Lily and Harper's personalities have taught me to not be too quick to drop them in one box or another.  Lily really stands up for herself; Harper tends to roll over when confronted.  Yet, Harper rushes into social situations without fear; Lily tends to hold back.  Who is the "stronger", more dominant personality?  Some days it can be hard to say.  Some days I think they just flat out flip-flop their personalities.

I do know this.  God has created them each uniquely.  It is up to Aaron and I to take those God-given personality traits and cultivate them.  We have to be observant and really "know" who our girls are.  But, at the same time, I don't want to limit who they are by being too quick to label them as one thing or another.  I'm going to let those little personalities continue to emerge and try not to categorize and drop each girl into their carefully labeled little box.  Here's to parenting outside the box...

Elmo's World

Well, our house has been Elmo's World this last week - in more ways than one.  It seems that Lily and Harper have discovered Sesame Street.  Their favorite part?  Well, Elmo's World, of course.  Does any preschooler escape the "Elmo phase"?  I do have to admit, it is pretty cute how excited they get when he's on the screen.  I can't complain about the few minutes of quiet it gives me too!  (Although, Mr. Noodle creeps me out for some reason!)

On a related note, my friend Emily was having a 2nd birthday party for her little boy.  The theme?  Well, Elmo, of course!  She was lamenting the other day that she needed an Elmo shirt for him to wear at the party. Somehow, I agreed that I could make it.  I could make it, couldn't I?

I decided to go with a fabric applique.  I had played around a bit with appliques for a Christmas project and I was fairly certain I could come out with something decent.  I was very pleased with how it turned out...what do you think?

I worked with felt on this applique and I loved it!  After some googling, I discovered that felt seemed to be a pretty popular medium for appliques and I can totally see why.  It is fairly forgiving when you cut it out, it adds great texture...it is just a great material to work with.

After deciding on felt for the fabric, I played around a little bit with trying to sketch out my applique on my own.  Let's just say...I am not  an artist.  Stick figures are a stretch for me.  Finally, I had a stroke of genius and discovered that for $1.50, I could buy someone else's Elmo pattern on Etsy and trace it onto my heat transfer paper.  Sold...best $1.50 I ever spent.

This is what the pattern looked like after I cut it out of the pdf file from the Etsy seller. (I made my own pattern for the party hat and number 2.  I can draw a triangle!)

I used Steam-A-Seam made specifically for appliques.

I simply stuck the transfer webbing onto the felt piece I wanted to work with and then traced the pattern piece onto it.

I did this with each piece of the pattern on their respective colors of felt.  This is what my little Elmo looked like after all the pieces were cut out.

In addition, I cut out a little triangle party hat and the number "2".  The Steam-A-Seam was awesome and with just a little bit of heat from my iron, Elmo stuck really, really well to the t-shirt.  I wanted to reinforce him, though, by stitching around the outline of the applique.  In the past, I have used my zig-zag stitch to finish off my appliques with modest success.  In my googling about appliques, I discovered a tutorial that mentioned she found great luck in using her button-hole feature.  This concept seemed genius to me - the button-hole function would provide much tighter little stitches to outline my applique.  So, this is what I did.  It works beautifully and will be my go-to stitch for appliques in the future.  It is time-consuming and tedious to outline the entire applique, but pays off in the finished product.

This was my original finished product:

I was happy with this, but the little red ball at the top of Elmo's hat was really bothering me. You can't tell so much in the picture, but the circle is oddly shaped.  Turns out felt melts fairly easily under the heat of the iron and I kind of melted a side off the ball of the hat.  It looked just "okay".  Then, I had an idea...

Red pom-poms.  I pinned one on the top of Elmo's hat with a tiny little safety pin (for removal when washing).  Cute, cute, cute and that melted little ball on the top of Elmo's hat no longer bothered me.  It looked as though I planned it!

I am really excited about my felt applique discovery along with my button-hole stitching.  Thinking of all the cute things I could make for the girls with this idea.  And, who knows...maybe I will get to break out my Elmo pattern again.  We might just be having an Elmo-themed birthday party in October.  What 2 year old doesn't love Elmo?

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

My girls are so dainty.

So prim and proper.

I'm so glad that I don't have boys.

Boys rough-house and wrestle.

My girls are sweet and loving.

They always keep their hands to themselves.

They play so nicely together all the time.

There are never any tears in my home.

Only hugs and kisses and giggles.

Yes, my girls are sugar and well, frankly, a lot of spice.

To tell you the truth...I wouldn't have it any other way.

The View From Here

Easter's On Its Way

Well, I finally finished something!  Remember those miles and miles of ruffles I made?

I saw this tutorial the other day and I thought the little ruffled eggs were adorable! In addition, it was a fabulously done tutorial.  I had faith that I could actually pull this off for the girls - even after my glittery St. Patrick's day shirt FAIL.  Guess what?  I love, love, love how it turned out!  Take a look.

Those little ruffled eggs up close:

Pretty cute, huh?  This was the perfect project for me.  It kind of has that shabby, frayed look which doesn't require a lot of precision.  I am not the most exact, precise seamstress in the world.  This doesn't require that. I think anyone could make it turn out perfectly.  Also, I scored the shirts on clearance at Walmart for $1!  Love this little project!  Can't wait for the girls to wear them!

Lesson Learned

I should have learned my lesson after the first time around at Walmart...

The girls have suddenly become increasingly interested in the "stuff" on the shelves around them in stores.  I used to be able to blissfully walk up and down the aisles and they were happy just riding along.  Now I must carefully navigate in the exact center of the aisle so they can't reach out and grab something off the shelf.  They cry after stuffed animals, they pull shirts off the rack by their sleeves.  Then...well, then there are those ginormous bins of brightly colored balls at Walmart.  They cause a downright meltdown.  I began altering my route around the store so that we don't have a ball-induced fit.

Well, I noticed from afar the other day that they had a bin of smaller balls for $1.  I was going to make the girls' day...I immediately steered the double stroller towards the bin and announced to the girls, "You get a ball today!"  I pulled out a pink one and handed to Lily and a purple one and handed it to Harper.  They were absolutely thrilled!  They finally were holding in their hands one of those highly coveted, brightly colored balls.

I imagined the rest of my shopping trip going so peacefully as the girls were enamored with their new toy.  For a few minutes it did.  I was busy looking at paint colors and I hear, "Uh oh!" and a pink ball comes bouncing down the aisle at me.  I laugh.  I hand it back to Lily.  "Hold onto it, Lil."  I go back to my shopping.  Little did I know a game had been created right then and there.  I swear to you, I spent the next 20 minutes diving, lunging, running after and apologizing over loose balls through the store.  I was literally sweating by the time I made it to checkout.  I had a small epiphany as the checkout lady said, "Make sure they hold onto those balls out in the parking lot.  You wouldn't want to have to go running across the parking lot after a ball."  Point taken.  I shoved a ball under each arm, tried to carry all my bags, push the stroller and calm screaming girls who wanted their balls back.  I'm sure I was quite the site  heading to my minivan.

Ok, mistake made.  Lesson learned.  So, what was I thinking when I entered Hobby Lobby and decided I could "buy myself some time" by giving the girls something to play with while I shopped?  So, what did I choose?

Yes, those are giant Easter eggs.  And, yes, before you ask...I spent the entire time chasing eggs as they rolled down the aisles.  This time I have learned my lesson.

MIA and Catching Up

Well, I've been missing in action these days, haven't I?  I have got to learn to make time to blog even when life gets hectic.  Let's see...what have I been up to?  Well, I've cleaned up throw up and stripped crib sheets twice now (once at 2:30 in the morning).  Two babies equals two times the sickness.  I've changed more runny diapers and ruined outfits than I care to mention.  But, who wants to hear about that?

In other news, I have diagnosed myself with "Project-Related" ADHD.  I cannot seem to finish anything these days.  I have all these fun things I am working on and I get so excited I jump to another one before the first is finished.  Want a sneak peak just for fun?

Remember this beauty that I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $25?

Well, she's coming along nicely with a fresh coat of paint.

I still have a few things that I need to do to this piece before it takes its place in my bedroom, but I am loving how it is turning out.  I just knew it had potential!  I'll post more pictures when she's moved into her new home!

I'm working a fun spring wreath using a tutorial I found in my online "research".  I had to take a break because my fingers were sore from all the hot glue burns!  Well, that, and it is very monotonous work!  Here's a peak at that one.

I've had the sewing machine out making miles and miles of ruffles...

These are not just for practicing my ruffle-making skills. I am working on a little Easter shirt for the girls.  My hope is that it will turn out well enough for them to actually wear it.  Let's just say that my St. Patrick's day shirts using tons and tons of green glitter wound up in the trash can.  You win some, you lose some.

Oh, I did finish something!  I should tell you about that.  I saw these cute little celebration frames over at one of the blogs I frequent.  They filled the three frames for Christmas that said "JOY", July 4 that said "USA", Halloween that said "BOO" and Valentine's day that said "I {heart} U".  I loved the idea and wanted to get started for Easter.  The only problem?  I couldn't come up with a three letter word.  I tried to think Biblically-speaking.  I tried to think in terms of bunnies and spring.  Nothing coming to me.  So, I went with glittery Easter eggs instead. Here's how it turned out.

I am fairly pleased with it.  However, when I finished Aaron said, "Why didn't you just spell out 'egg'?"  Maybe I missed the obvious!  I think that would have been pretty cute!  In the future I am going to consult with my husband before I complete a project.  He seems to have better ideas than me!  Maybe next year...

Annnndddd, for those of you who just want to see the girls (ahem, the grandmothers).  What have they been up to lately besides creating loads and loads of laundry for their mother?  Well, they had their first official Easter Egg Hunt.  Lily, my over-achiever, got really, really into the hunt.

So much so that she has begun hoarding her eggs...including her sister's.  This has created a great deal of conflict in our home!

Harper, well, she figured out quickly that those eggs had candy on the inside.  She was completely distracted from that point forward.  Nothing was going to suit her until she got them open and got that candy.  

I feel the need to point out the bow!  I am really trying with this child's hair!

Anyway, that's all for now.  I will try and be a better blogger and keep up with our day-to-day!