Rainy Camping

Our Ward (aka Congregation) had a campout a couple weekends ago. It thunderstormed. Because I wanted her to sleep in her own bed and not disturb her tempestuous rhythms,  Caroline and I were safe and warm at home til the morning. We rejoined the brave ones for breakfast, anxious to see how they fared... Eric and Gwen had a marvelous time anyhow! Gwen was just short enough that her feet missed the dripping roof and she didn't get soaked until she got up. :) and the rain didn't even seem to phase her AT ALL. She was just tickled to be outside! 

Caroline, not to be outdone, insisted on walking everywhere herself, even though her height meant she got pretty soaked in the wet grass. That was a day of SUPREME independence! (if we attempted to pick her up or redirect her, there was an eruption of squalling fits!)

After packing up the tent, we stopped at a boardwalk metro park to see if all the rain had impacted the waterfall. We were NOT disappointed! Both girls thought this was pretty awesome! The only way we could get Caroline to stop looking at it so we could take a picture was if I held her with my body as a screen. :)

 Caroline charging on ahead, full speed, despite the slippery boards. Gwen doing another 'pose' in the background.

 We found some beautiful leaves. Gwen and Caroline wanted to compare theirs. Daddy had to get in on the leaf-bragging session so he picked this one with fungus nubs all over it!

Walking along the boardwalk with my beautiful family, everyone so happy, the world so clean and glistening, the outing spontaneous and free with no expectations, schedules, or time tables, all worries and cares temporarily left behind... Money, school, work, projects, things to do and things to buy... none of it mattered. I was absolutely content and my heart was filled to the brim with gratitude. I am so happy. I am so blessed. My family is mine for eternity and I couldn't ask for anything more. :)

Posing

Gwen is at a funny stage of 'posing' for photos. Some are cute, some are sassy, some manage to look sort of spontaneous, but most tend to look like she is doing a crazy yoga balancing pose or holding in her pee. Some recent pics to illustrate the posing phenomenon:

She's such a character! :)

First Dentist and First Day of School

Gwen's first visit to the dentist was yesterday. She was nervous, so I was too (for her), though I made a big show of how fun and exciting the visit would be. And you know what?... it really was! Gwen had a GREAT time, loves her dentist, loves her new Dora toothbrush, carries around about 6 toothbrushes of all sizes to help brush the teeth of her dolls and stuffed animals, and is eager to show Mommy and Daddy that she can brush her own teeth before bed! I have to say, if anyone is looking for a pediatric dentist in the NW Columbus area, I highly recommend ours! He was really exceptional at making Gwen feel comfortable and happy throughout the entire exam and tooth cleaning.

Today was Gwen's first day of preschool. She was sooooo excited, probably more excited about her new Rapunzel panties than anything else, and is ecstatic about her 'big girl' Dora backpack that I picked up from a garage sale this summer for 50 cents. She was willing and eager to get dressed today, let me fix her hair, and didn't even complain when I made her go potty before we left the house even though she 'didn't have any pee pees' (yeah right).

the funny faces you get when you ask a toddler to 'smile'

She seems to like it so far, but I can tell she is also struggling with the classroom rules and structure (which is exactly why we wanted her in preschool). I observed when I dropped her off that she was having a hard time following the directions for activities the teacher had out (she wanted to play with the kitchen and the teacher had to redirect her 3 times). Apparently there was another similar incident on the playground when Gwen wanted to play with the big equipment and the teacher told her it was off limits. Well, I hope she continues to be happy to go to school, settles in to the classroom rules and routines, and learns some things about expectations, respect, and following directions. She's such a big girl!

Rapunzel Dress

I have finished making Gwen's Rapunzel dress for Halloween!

It was challenging, since this was my first actual clothing item ever and since I couldn't find a perfect pattern that I liked, I opted to combine 3 online tutorials to get the job done... but, I certainly learned a ton and had fun doing it! Gotta admit, I'm glad it is finished so I can do something else. I got sore sitting at the sewing machine for a couple hours 4 nights in a row. How do you 'professional' seamstresses do it? ;) One of the best parts of the project was that I was actually using fabric remnants from a dress I had made in HS for a Medieval Christmas feast musical concert I sang in. So I only actually spent 6 dollars (pink ribbon, pink sparkly bead details, elastic, and velcro) on the entire project!

The bodice tutorial I adapted from this Cinderella dress tutorial. It was perfect, except I didn't use stretchy knit, so the neckline wasn't as smooth and simple or easy as she makes it look. Because one of my fabrics turned out to be itchy , I also had to improvise a partial lining (after I'd already sewn the thing I decided I better put in a lining so I wouldn't have to listen to her complain), which looks terrible since I was just making it up as I went along, but it gets the job done. and it is on the inside, so looks don't matter, right?  :)

The sleeves I wanted puffy, so I adapted this puffed sleeves tutorial. It worked great, except the tutorial doesn't give all the dimensions an inexperienced person like me might desire. I had to guess. I got lucky. :) It also doesn't explain how to attach to the body of the clothing, so I had to look that up. But overall, the best puffed sleeves tutorial I found online. Of course, I added the pink ribbon stripes.

The skirt I wanted as full as possible. I was going for a circle skirt so it would be wonderfully twirly, but didn't quite have enough material. Remember I was using remnants, so I just combined the fabric as best I could. So, almost a circle skirt. I adapted this tutorial for a twirly skirt here, adding an improvised lining here too.

I still have to make the braided yarn hairpiece with flowers in it, but that shouldn't be too hard. I'll finish it closer to Halloween, I think. Now I just have to make Caroline's peacock tutu and headband, finish sewing my diaper bag, and start&finish sewing my Thanksgiving advent calendar and I'll be finished with my queue of sewing projects! I hope to get all but the advent calendar finished before school begins in September because I won't have as many nights to work on things when I'm supposed to be doing homework.

Oh, and I have to convince Gwen that she doesn't want to wear 'the pretty purple dress for me?' until Halloween... yeah, wish me luck with that one!

Score a FREE clothing item!

Thredup: a gently used clothing website. Kind of like shopping goodwill online.
I had never heard of this website before, but by signing up today through a friend's referral link, I scored a cute FREE shirt for Caroline. Because if you sign up through the referral link, you get 10 dollars credit that can be applied towards shipping too. So as long as your item is 4 dollars or less (which is easy to find), you should get the item to your door completely free! Like this Disney skort for 3 dollars you could have for FREE!

So while I can definitely shop for cheap clothing at Volunteers of America, and frankly won't shop this site all that often because of shipping, I'm not going to turn down FREE clothes. And guess what? If YOU sign up following my referral link, we BOTH get 10 dollars credit! So.... here's my invite: http://www.thredup.com/492380

Go check it out. Sign up if you like (cuz I won't complain about 10 dollars!). It's a deal!

Indian Run Falls

Indian Run Falls-- We spontaneously decided we wanted to explore a local trail on Saturday. As soon as we got there and piled out of the car, it started pouring. We hunkered under the small 'pavilion' with the map at the trail head, but decided to go for it anyway. We ended up really enjoying the trail. Gwen wanted to run around each observation station and she delighted in 'posing' for the camera. After she got over her initial fear of the rain and we made it to relative 'cover' under the canopy, Caroline was fascinated by all the trees and enjoyed touching their textured bark. Then she overflowed her diaper and went commando on the return walk. Eric got peed on. Lol. 

and a funny video you'll enjoy:

a Dear Friend of Faith

 Caroline wasn't sure about the whole 'sit-in-the-flower' thing...she's giving me the look...

Great times at the zoo with my dear friend, L, and her her sweet kiddos! Love you so much, girl! I won't embarrass you on public blog-o-sphere by telling the whole world what an incredibly sensitive and inspiring friend you are... okay, so maybe just a little bit. :) Because the world needs to know what a beautiful woman of faith and hope you are! You could see the positive in the gloomiest situation, the glimmer in the most abrasive of people, and the divine in the most mundane of daily routine. I am a better person because of you. and someday, maybe I'll be just a little bit more like you. :)