47906 Weather Update

Kevin is out shoveling right now. He's a bit fanatical about a clean driveway, and for that, I'm always grateful.

I couldn't get a good picture, but the precipitation right now is out of this world. It's raining kosher salt:

Easy-Peasy Pajama Pants

In preparation for the cold/snow/ice storm approaching, I have been thinking about things to keep us all warm. Bryce and I were doing some shopping at one of my favorite stores, Menards, this morning when I stumbled across this:

A fleece blanket for $1.98. Despite its claims, I was not at all confident in its superior quality, nor its durability, but I couldn't pass it up for the price and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I recently saw a tutorial on making simple pajama pants and thought this was just about at my sewing ability. So, while Bryce took his nap this afternoon, I got to work. I was surprised to find this really was an easy project, and also, thankfully, quite a forgiving project too. Now don't look too closely; they're certainly not perfect, but good enough for the amount of time I had, plus I know the recipients' standards aren't overly picky!

I love that I was able to use the natural hem of the blanket for the hem of Kari's pants. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough material going in the right direction to do it for Bryce's, but I was able to incorporate it into his waistband.

And, so for .99 cents each, the kiddos each have a new pair of pajama pants. I told Kari she could wear them to school tomorrow to "celebrate" the snowstorm.

Birthday Weekend Wrap Up

Wanted to share some pictures from Kari's birthday weekend. It was filled with family, food and friends. Kari mentioned several times, "This is the best birthday ever!" It was really neat to see how excited she was over everything.

Getting ready for ESPN Gameday.

The gang's all here!

Opening gifts. Kari got a cash register to complement her kitchen and grocery cart. A big hit.

The Chinese theme continues with the cake. Bryce after his bath.

Pancake Sunday

Kari brought treats to school on Monday.

Kari with her classmates and teachers, Miss Mary and Miss Holly.
Shortly, I'll post pictures of the Chinese birthday party.

Movin' On Up

We put Kari's bed together today. This was my bed growing up, and my grandmother's bed growing up. It's a little over 100 years old. I taught Kari how to climb up on the bed using the iron side rails as a step. The bed is about up to her chest.

College Gameday at Purdue

ESPN's College Gameday is here at Purdue. What an experience!
People were super fired up.





Oh, and then as we were driving by Ross-Ade, we came across this:

Some sort of a polar plunge. They were giving out t-shirts to the participants. I don't care if the t-shirt was weaved in gold, I still wouldn't do it.

Kari is at her first basketball lesson at the YWCA. This afternoon is her birthday party. More posts to follow.

More Crafts, New Tools

So, my Christmas was totally a "plugged-in" one this year. Definitely not complaining. I got a new iPod (my current one was desperately old and one of the first models that came on the market many moons ago.) I also got a Dust Buster, which, while totally unromantic, overfills the practical side of my heart. And finally, I got something I had been eying for quite some time now: A Silhouette.

I could hardly wait to get started using my Silhouette. Project #1 was just testing cutting letters. Thanks to Grammy Pammy for the great hat idea.



Project #2 is only a sneek peak of Kari's birthday invitations.

And project #3 is a birthday gift for Kari's friend Joe. Joe loves Handy Manny. I actually used the Silhouette to cut the stencil. It was delicate but it saved me two steps in the process.