My first Dress

I am pretty excited about this!! 

Alan put my sewing table in my sewing room this weekend and I am LOVING it!! He seriously made my month! 

I haven't been sewing lately because I took the machine from our dining room to the basement, where I had no where to sew until now. I have had idea after idea flowing through my head about what I can make and what I can create. Now I can finally work on anything my heart desires, once the kids go to bed :)

A few months ago when I started sewing I found a girl on ETSY that sells pre-cut pieces of fabric to make pillowcase dresses, pretty much the easiest thing ever, you don't have to cut or even think much really :) Now if you didn't know this already, I taught myself how to sew, so anything looks pretty easy on paper, until I start sewing. The first one wasn't to hard, I had some trouble with the arm holes, and getting my stitching straight, but I put off making the second one until now. I started sewing Presley's dress and got to the part where you put the ribbon through the collar so you can tie it on her shoulders, (that's how it stays on). So it basically was supposed to look like this when finished, of course different fabric, but you get the picture.

So here I am... 

 Add the elastic to the collar instead of ribbon 

 I should put sleeves on because it's freezing outside!

I have never made anything from a pattern before, not to mention making my own sleeves and not having a pattern, it took me some time and with a little help (thx dh) I cut the sleeves out and attached them.

Another brilliant idea to make the dress more fabulous, I will put a sash around the waist to add some depth and help it look better on Presley.

Pretty cute huh?

I'm not done yet, I then thought of a cute apron with an applique

And now for the finished product!!!

I'm pretty darn happy about it, I just wish Presley was as excited as I am about her new Christmas dress Mommy made :)

Hello my Lovlies

My great long time friend started photography, so of course I had to have her take some pictures of whom I think are the cutest kids in the entire universe.

I highly recommend her to anyone looking for pictures at a great price. Not just because we have been friends for some 20 years, okay maybe a little, but because she was AMAZING with my kids!

My weekend

I had a nice relaxing weekend. Here are a few of the things I loved about it...

• A nice bike ride up the canyon for some yummy food and even yummier time with my hubby
• Creating new items for my Etsy shop & upcoming Boutique
• Jaimen asking Grandma if she has any "blonde" pudding, instead of chocolate
• Being able to make Presley deep belly laugh by doing practically nothing at all
• Pushing the kids on the swings and watching Presley catapult off the slide :)
• Holding my hubby while enjoying the fresh smell of fall, without a care in the world because I am with him
• Seeing my grandma and grandpa... they are so sweet together

I'm 4!!

Today Jaimen turned 4. I am so happy, I am sad, I am excited, and I am proud!

This morning when he woke up he asked, 

"Mom, where is I'm going today?"

I told him nowhere, that we were staying home for his birthday.

He responded with,

"But I need to tell people that I am 4."

Everyone who called or came to visit, he didn't wait and listen for them to tell him Happy Birthday, instead he hurried in with "I'm 4!!"

He was so proud to be 4, he knows it means he is growing up and getting bigger, and it could not make him happier.

Jaimen,

I love you so much, you will never quite understand just how much. You make me smile so big inside and out. I am so proud of you and who you are becoming, you make me so happy to be your mom. Some day's we have our tantrums, you and I both, but there are more days when we have fun! I loved watching the excitement on your face when we went to the aquarium for your birthday, you are so full of life and I love it. I don't ever want to see you lose that spark in your eye or that look of wonder. I wish I could be 4 again :)

Happy Birthday Jaimen!

I love you,

Mom

Pick me Pick me :)

I want to win this fabulous pattern!

Just think of how cute they would go with a matching onesie in my etsy shop :)

Dealing with it

A while ago Jaimen said to me, hands on hips, "Mom, I'm not dealin with this." I think I laughed so hard because I couldn't figure out where he got that phrase from, until I started paying attention to my words, I am to blame.

This morning we were on our way to daycare, I had to put Jaimen's booster seat in for him because we forgot to get Presley's car seat out of Alan's truck, and she had to ride in Jaimen's car seat. On the way there Jaimen said, "The blue car seat is for babies!" I responded by explaining that the blue car seat was still his and he says to me, so serious, "Mom, your dealin with this, and it's serious."  Bahahahahaha!!

Where do kids come up with this stuff?

The little chick's

I am warning you right now that there may be a few new posts this week and next, but don't hold me to that because you may be let down. It's been quite some time since I have blogged, but I have good reasons for that:
1. I have 2 kids
2. My husband went to graveyard shift (temporarily)
3. I work "full" time
4. I taught myself to sew
5. I opened my own ETSY shop!!!!
(mainly the reason I haven't blogged is because I have been sewing, and when I am at work, I actually need to get work done... this means we are busy which is good:)

On to this post which is not about anything other than my two little chick's. That's what I am calling them today, tomorrow may be different, we will see how they act.

Jaimen is finally starting to throw less tantrums, he is starting to understand that if you calm down and 'Use Your Words' that he doesn't need to be so dramatic. Yesterday I saw something funny in Jaimen, well not so much funny, as awesome, to me. I noticed that he felt good when he thought he was doing good, accomplishing something, being a helper, or being the big brother. By 'felt good' I mean he had this thing about him, I'm not sure how to explain it, he walked different, like "I'm the Coolest!" He acted different, so proud of himself and proud that he was doing good, and being happy. I'm not sure if any of that makes sense to anyone, but it makes sense to me. This doesn't mean that he didn't try and hurt his sister when the Dr. came into see us yesterday, or that he didn't pester her in the grocery cart, or that he didn't whine at all, he is still 3 after all. I have been praying that on his 4th birthday, he will change his mind about being whiny and naughty and just decide life is easier if you behave and are nice, I know, yeah right, hey a girl can dream, just funny what you dream once you have toddlers.
Speaking of toddlers, some people call Presley a toddler, and FYI she is NOT a toddler, she is my BABY!
Pfew glad I got that out.
Anyways about Jaimen... he absolutely loves the summer, what kid doesn't? He loves to be in his bathing suit running around pretending he is a motorcycle in the sprinklers. He also loves eating Popsicle after Popsicle after Popsicle. (not sure why my spell checker wants that work capitalized, but whatever, must be smarter than me. I should just figure out how to get it to write this whole thing for me, wouldn't that be cool?)
Jaimen still calls his private parts, his favorite part, he says askident instead of accident, and no I don't correct him because all to soon will be the day that he talks like a boy and not a cute 3 year old anymore, and when that day comes, I will miss askidents.

Jaimen will be turning 4 at the end of August, and that is sure sneaking up on me, before I know it, that day will be here. I don't want him to be 4, because after he turns 4 he is going to be 5, and then guess what? Kindergarten! (According to Jaimen) He says that he has to go to kindergarten all by himself. I asked him what if I don't want to, he said, "But mom, I need to go all by myself."

It makes me so proud and sad at the same time to see them growing up,  speaking of growing, Presley is growing like a weed. 

Well she is not getting as big as normal babies, but she is growing mentally way to fast! We just went to her 15 month appointment, she is now 20.1 lbs, and 30ish inches tall. She is definitely small like me, and will probably always be small. People look at her funny when they see her walking around, practically running, because they don't think that should be possible, or that she shouldn't be old enough to do that. Her laugh is contagious, she has 4 different laughs for different things... one of them is a fake laugh, one is a deep belly laugh, she has the typical giggle, and then there's the short haha laugh. She likes to walk toward the hall, look straight up while laughing (at nothing mind you) and run into the wall or fall down. She could do this over and over. She could also play with an empty cereal box forever, I love that! Jaimen has taught her how to play tag, and hide-and-go-seek. She loves playing both with him. In fact one morning I got her out of bed and she started looking under her bed for Jaimen, who wasn't home at the time :) It's cute that she looks for him. 

She has her little gum massager/ hard toothbrush that she whines for when we are all brushing. She climbs up on the stool and waves her brush in the sink for water then copies us in brushing her teeth, which she only has 8 now.  Another funny thing she did the other day, she climbed up on the stool so she could see in the mirror and started doing fish and kissy faces at herself, watching her lips move in and out, it was hilarious. 
Presley loves eating, she will point and tap on the fridge if she wants a drink, if she is hungry she will either sign 'eat' to me or point to the animal crackers. I asked her "Who's the pretty girl" while she was in her chair, big mistake, she is hilarious and starts rubbing her hands in her hair and giving you the eye :)
She is easily entertained and so easily entertains us. 


They are both growing to fast, but will always be my BABIES!

Oh and if your wondering why there are more pictures of Presley than Jaimen it would be because this is what he does when I pull out a camera.

Not my favorite pictures of my cute boy right now... these pictures do not do him or his hair any justice. 

Las Vegas SX

This past weekend we were able to get away to sunny Las Vegas for the Supercross Finals. We are big motocross fans, so this was super fun for us, being our first time. I have never seen anything like it, or felt anything so energetic. It was by far the best supercross I have been too, hopefully in the years coming we can travel around the states and see other supercross'... first on my list, San Diego, I'd like to take the kids and go to SeaWorld for a family vacation :) I hope to be watching my own son in a supercross like this one day.
While in Vegas, we had to have a little fun! We rode the New York New York rollercoaster... my favorite!
Me and Alan walked almost the entire strip until 4am after the supercross, I have blisters to prove it!
We gambled a little, Alan won some cash... woohoo!
Got to get in the hot tub twice, wished it would have been for longer, but had fun!
I got to go to the outlet mall for the first time, they have some good deals! Found a ton of stuff for Alan and the kids, but I didn't get anything for myself :(

All in all it was a good time, and long past due. The last time we have been anywhere alone was our honeymoon 5 years ago. This was a trip for us, good friends, and our 5 year anniversary.

I loved every minute of it, but the supercross was, by far, my favorite part!

A YEAR IN THE MAKING

Presley turned 1 on the 3rd of April, she is so little, she shouldn't be 1 yet. She is 28 1/4" tall, and 18.4lbs.... tiny little thing, but she is happy and healthy!

A few of the fun things sweet Presley is doing right now...

• Starting to walk (since 10 1/2 months) but these past 2 days she is really wanting to take off.
• Saying Mama or yelling Mama
• Wanting to play with anything that Jaimen is playing with
• Laughing at the dogs when she thinks they are chasing her or she is chasing them (they are actually just walking behind her)
• Giggling when you kiss her little legs or belly
• Starting to eat table food, and loving everything we give her
• Still loving the bathtub or anything that has to do with water like the dogs water bowl
• Talking to you whenever you will listen
• Hitting Jaimen when he is giving me cuddles
• Throwing the ball for the dog, and laughing hysterically when he brings it back

We love our sweet baby girl, and no matter how old you get Presley, you will ALWAYS be our sweet BABY girl! Thank you for being a free spirited wonderful girl, and for choosing us to be your family.
Happy Birthday Presley!

Jaimen's Words

A three year old can be so many things, and all in one day. They go from being sweet and pleasing, to nasty and downright mean. Although Jaimen has a naughty attitude, the boy can be as sweet as a lollipop, and funnier than anyone I have ever or will ever meet.
I wanted to jot down some of the funny things he has said lately, since I am a few months behind on his/my/Presley's journal. At night when it's time to write in said journal's, I am to tired and my brain just doesn't even comprehend that I need to keep these memories. So now that I am thinking, I will write!

Yesterday I was painting a chalkboard on the wall. Jaimen was behaving himself and happily watching, when he says, with much enthusiasm, "Mom! Your doing a favilous job!" "Really favilous Mom."
The words they say, might not be as funny to some, but you have to actually hear it coming from their oh so cute toddler mouth, in their oh so cute toddler voices, and the actual tone of their voices can be the real kicker.
Later when I tried to let him try to paint, he turned into Mr. Hyde in about 2 split seconds. He backed away from me and my paint and said "Your NOT doing a favilous job!"

He is definitely a boy, but a very observant boy. Before it snowed, Alan put snow tires on my car (which Jaimen knew nothing about.) As we were getting into the car one morning, Jaimen looks at me and says "Mom, I LOVE your tires!"

We had a problem with Jaimen getting out of bed for quite a while, still a work in progress. Some nights he would stay in his bed to fall asleep but around 1am or 3am he would get up, some nights he would get up right when we put him down. When he would get up immediately, I would have to shut his door, so he yells "MOM!" over and over, finally he figures that I am not answering so maybe he will try something else, "LYNSIE! LYNSIE!"

This morning I came out of Presley's room after putting her clothes on and he says, "Awe she's so pretty" Although my husband doesn't get the award for giving compliments, I actually have to fish for those, Jaimen is very observant and he will tell you when you look good or smell good, or if he likes your outfit. I love that about him.

One day he looks at me, super serious, head cocked the side, hands on his hip and says, "Freaking Heck Mom!" of course I laugh, so it's a recurring saying on his behalf. I try to tell him not to say that because its just a nice way to swear, but he knows its funny, so he keeps on going. To be honest I keep laughing.

He loves giving compliments and he loves getting them. He will put on a hat, or get dressed in the morning, and he asks, "Am I handsome Mom? Boys are handsome, girls are pretty."

He tells me the other night, "Let me tell you a secret." He puts his hand up to my ear and comes in real close and whispers, "Ummmm, your, your gonna kiss Conner, (laughs a little) and I'm gonna tell you, your gonna kiss Aidyn, and Slater(laughing some more)." haha I guess it's that time where they learn about telling secrets, and I know exactly who he is getting that from, and I figured that out by what he said :)

I ♥ Jaimen

My Baby Girl

I absolutely LOVE having a baby girl. Everything about her, I love.
She is normally a super happy girl, happy with anything your doing, or anything she is doing. I say normally because she has been a grumpy sick girl for 2 weeks now, this is getting old. Today we are going to our 2nd Dr. appt. in 1 week. At her first appointment she had croup, ick. She got over that, then her first tooth broke through... that was fun. Now I think she has an ear infection. Regardless of her naughty attitude, she is still the best baby girl I could have asked for.

We have been pretty lucky, even though she is going on week 2 of being sick this is only the 3rd time in 11 months.

Presley already throws tantrums. They are really funny. Every time she decides life is too tough, we laugh, we laugh for a second or two, and then pick her up and try to make her happy again. It's so sad that parents think these things are amusing, at least until they become a regular part of their day. I don't remember ever thinking Jaimen's tantrums were amusing or funny, I guess everything changes with your second baby.

Preschool Pictures

Jaimen had pre-school pictures done this past week and they wanted to do Presley's too. Here they are, I am so delighted, they turned out wonderful! The best part, we didn't have to actually go anywhere to get them done, they did them at the house he goes to daycare/preschool at :)

My Favorite Part

Although times have been rough lately, my favorite part of my life is my kids, hands down, and I need to thank Alan and myself for that. I am sure any parent would agree with me, you have no idea what life was like before them, and couldn't imagine life without them. At times you would like to get away from them, but never for to long. Even though Jaimen's been regressing, not sleeping, and both kids are sick with colds right now, I absolutely love being with them.

Presley is 10 months now, and she weighs 17lbs... Dr. says she is probably going to be little like me. She has been crawling all over the place, and pulling herself up on everything for about 2 months now. She will stand all by herself for a few seconds at a time, its easier for her if she has a false sense of security, like a toy in her hands :) Presley is absolutely in love with the tub. When I run the shower in the morning she finds her way to the bathroom and pounds on the door, when I let her in, she cry's because I am not letting her in the water. When it's bath time, I run the water then go undress her, she gets very upset with the fact that she is not in the bath yet, but on the way back to the bathroom she bounces her body and shake her arms because she realizes the water really was for her. She likes to stand on the outside of the tub while Jaimen is in with pure excitement on her face, bouncing up and down and laughing, she could do this for hours.

Loves:

• bath time
• 
• dog bowls & dog food
• eating anything we give her
  
• the Tupperware cabinet
• 
• to carry her socks around the house in her mouth

Hates:

• putting jackets or coats on
• changing clothes or diaper, unless she is chewing on one of her shoes
  
• not being in the kitchen when one of us is cooking
• putting lotion on after bath time

Jaimen is funny and full of life. He does not like attention unless he is asking for it, when he walks into a room, he hates for everyone to immediately greet him. He would much rather no one speak to him, until he is ready to warm up, which on an average takes half hour to an hour. He is so smart, I am certain he is to smart for his own good. He loves to write letters, and he does excellent at it. Jaimen is in love with movies, as I am sure any 3 year old is. He would be perfectly happy if I would allow him to watch movies all day, every day. The reason this post is really called 'My Favorite Part' is because of Jaimen. We have been teaching him about how our private parts are 'private' we don't show ours, or touch others there. Jaimen calls it his 'Favorite Part', he doesn't know he is calling it different than what we do. It is quite hilarious when he starts yelling out after sitting on the floor, with Presley crawling over him, "Mom! Presley touched my favorite part, Mom, she touched my favorite part, we don't touch my favorite part. No No Presley" hahaha I can't help but laugh every time I think of that.

Loves:

• bedtime stories
• bath time with Presley
• 
• his toy motorcycles
• riding his 4 wheeler with dad
• 
• getting the car grocery cart at the store
• counting with his fingers: 1 spider leg, 2 spider legs, 3 spider legs, 4 spider legs, 5 spider legs when he is rinsing his mouth after brushing (if you cut this short... watch out!)

Hates:

• coming home from daycare/preschool
• being rushed
• sleeping
• 
• being told no
• going to the bathroom, unless it's his idea

Well yet again, my intentions of writing a short post about "My Favorite Parts" turned out to be another loooong one. Oh well, my blog, my memories :)