Cherub outfit #2
Pretty arrangement thanks for the candles Kerri and for the pomegranates mom.
11.10.2011
11.09.2011
11.08.2011
Sierra- Our Cherub
Today we had a girls day. I took Sierra and bought her five new outfits and a haircut.
So while she was at school I assessed her winter clothes, sad to say the least. I then brainstormed ways to clothe her. I searched online for appropriate sized pants. No dice (unless I wanted to pay for custom!)
Then I considered making her pants and did some searching about that. I was tired out just reading about it, especially since she needed about five pairs.
So I decided to buy them large and alter them.
But I didn't want to buy new pants and risk messing them up by chopping them up, (since I've never done this before!) (I guess today is the day of parenthesis!!!) So anyhow, I went to the catholic thrift store that is right next to the local private catholic school. Most of the people who donate there have kids in the school and it helps to keep the school afloat. It also means there are a lot of children's clothes there, and they are nice because the school is expensive and so the families buy nicer clothes. :) WIN- WIN- WIN.
Long story short, we found 5 pants and five cute shirts. They range from 7-10 in size. The brands include Gap, Old Navy, Jordache, Buster Brown, IZOD, Children's Place and Levi.
I came home got out my sewing machine and rotary cutter and shortened all the legs and arms- and presto a new school week of clothes for Sierra for $10!
I promise you, I matched all the thread colors and was able to make alterations very discretely and she doesn't look hokey/poorly homemade at all! :)
I am proud of my work and feel MUCH better about the way her school clothes look and how I'll be able to keep her warm.
I also learned a few things. Children's Place is the best place to buy Sierra pants. They have a real tailored pant look, with a thick comfy waistband. Like these Buster Brown fit her well too. Think elastic with a tailored thicker pant at the bottom!! Also if I see the word "lo rise" or "skinny" I won't even bother. Come to think of it, those are rules I follow myself when selecting jeans- like mother like daughter, I guess! I hope she'll forgive me someday for passing down my well rounded fanny!
She must have a size 7/8 shirt with a long torso- same trait as me! No short shirts for this girl.
Pictures of my adorable cherub girl to follow.
In California, I was able to get away with letting her wear stretchy pants. But no more. Because of the weather here and the need to start layering soon (stretchy pants under!) I had to find real pants to fit our girl. This is quite a challenge. Sierra is adorable, cute and cherub like, however, she is rather thick in the middle. This is why cherub perfer to remain naked.
:)
Trying to find jeans, slacks, or anything else to fit her well is a bit of a puzzle.
Then I considered making her pants and did some searching about that. I was tired out just reading about it, especially since she needed about five pairs.
So I decided to buy them large and alter them.
But I didn't want to buy new pants and risk messing them up by chopping them up, (since I've never done this before!) (I guess today is the day of parenthesis!!!) So anyhow, I went to the catholic thrift store that is right next to the local private catholic school. Most of the people who donate there have kids in the school and it helps to keep the school afloat. It also means there are a lot of children's clothes there, and they are nice because the school is expensive and so the families buy nicer clothes. :) WIN- WIN- WIN.
Long story short, we found 5 pants and five cute shirts. They range from 7-10 in size. The brands include Gap, Old Navy, Jordache, Buster Brown, IZOD, Children's Place and Levi.
I came home got out my sewing machine and rotary cutter and shortened all the legs and arms- and presto a new school week of clothes for Sierra for $10!
I promise you, I matched all the thread colors and was able to make alterations very discretely and she doesn't look hokey/poorly homemade at all! :)
I am proud of my work and feel MUCH better about the way her school clothes look and how I'll be able to keep her warm.
I also learned a few things. Children's Place is the best place to buy Sierra pants. They have a real tailored pant look, with a thick comfy waistband. Like these Buster Brown fit her well too. Think elastic with a tailored thicker pant at the bottom!! Also if I see the word "lo rise" or "skinny" I won't even bother. Come to think of it, those are rules I follow myself when selecting jeans- like mother like daughter, I guess! I hope she'll forgive me someday for passing down my well rounded fanny!
She must have a size 7/8 shirt with a long torso- same trait as me! No short shirts for this girl.
Pictures of my adorable cherub girl to follow.
11.06.2011
Kids room
Looking in the door
Sierra's bed with her Narnia costume above
Weston's bed and Narina costume
I made a picture wall with some ribbon, nails and clothes pins.
New frame for Peter's art!!!
God planned this room too-- All the furniture fits perfect.
- There is a nook that Weston's cool shelf/head board fits perfectly- see picture.
- His smart mommy remembered to save the heavy duty drywall screws for the castle bed- they were taped on for the move- genius!
- Sierra's bed fits on the other wall with just enough space for the dresser at the foot of the bed. - see picture
- Her princess bed cornice thingy- happened to be right where the stud in the wall was- nice!
- I had an extra gold curtain, which matched perfectly so I shortened it to give their room a finished feel.
- We got a room darkening shade in that room as well that Peter hung up.
- I also got a huge frame at the Goodwill for Peter's painting of the castle and country side. It's a blue frame and had a blue/mauve mat (It had a cat poster in it too.) I spray painted the mauve part silver and got a much more matching and completely custom made painting for their room for $5 (and Peter would add- $5 and a lot of time!) Ya- it's nice and finished!
11.05.2011
Hello,
I'm feeling better here... just thought I'd let you know. I've been working so hard.
Putting stuff away, trying to make sure the kids have what they need, that we are on time, I've hung pictures and planted bulbs, hung up window coverings, put the kids room together, put our room together, found chairs that will finish the living room, organized 65% of the storage things, put away our summer clothes, gone to MOPS, organized the car port, and had Sierra's IEP. She started speech last week. The speech pathologist is really good. I'm thankful that's in place for her.
Peter just handed me a homemade mocha- our expresso machine still works great. What a garage sale blessing.
Second hand shopping has become a hobby. It's like a treasure hunt. I've found lots of nice things for our home. It's fun to have a list of things I'd like to finish off a room and then wait to find them, all for $5 or less! :)
Things on my list:
A small round wooden table for between my two new old fashioned chairs.
A small secratary for my desk in the living room.
Small paintings
A cool old trunk for storing blankets
A quilt hanger for one totally beautitful red white and blue quilt! ;) Thanks Megan (the gym/game/guest room will be red white and blue)
A small dresser for holding towels in the master bath.
Peter just handed me an omlette--- this man is so wonderful!
So anyhow, I'm feeling more at home and able to settle in.
How are you? I miss you!
PS- Halloween marks an anniversary for me... that is when I started dieting. I've lost and kept off 56 pounds since then and I'm still working on it.
Putting stuff away, trying to make sure the kids have what they need, that we are on time, I've hung pictures and planted bulbs, hung up window coverings, put the kids room together, put our room together, found chairs that will finish the living room, organized 65% of the storage things, put away our summer clothes, gone to MOPS, organized the car port, and had Sierra's IEP. She started speech last week. The speech pathologist is really good. I'm thankful that's in place for her.
Peter just handed me a homemade mocha- our expresso machine still works great. What a garage sale blessing.
Second hand shopping has become a hobby. It's like a treasure hunt. I've found lots of nice things for our home. It's fun to have a list of things I'd like to finish off a room and then wait to find them, all for $5 or less! :)
Things on my list:
A small round wooden table for between my two new old fashioned chairs.
A small secratary for my desk in the living room.
Small paintings
A cool old trunk for storing blankets
A quilt hanger for one totally beautitful red white and blue quilt! ;) Thanks Megan (the gym/game/guest room will be red white and blue)
A small dresser for holding towels in the master bath.
Peter just handed me an omlette--- this man is so wonderful!
So anyhow, I'm feeling more at home and able to settle in.
PS- Halloween marks an anniversary for me... that is when I started dieting. I've lost and kept off 56 pounds since then and I'm still working on it.
10.28.2011
Something odd is going on... I'm at my new house and it's great. Really great- it's all new, nothings broken, everything is nice. But I'm so used to moving and sort of "camping out" I'm not at all into actually making it a home by hanging up curtains or pictures or organizing it well. I don't know why. It's weird. Usually it's so exciting to settle in, but now it's just overwhelming. :/ So I'm making myself do it, but my heart isn't in it.
How can I explain it?
You know those moments, when you're staying at a hotel and you wake up alarmed because you don't remember where you are? Ya, my life has been a blur of those moments.
Last night that happened to me. We had finished watching TV on the couch and I was heading to bed. When I got up, I forgot where I was for a moment. That's when I could understand what was going on... I knew I was freaking out on the inside, although outwardly I seem just fine.
So anyway-
I finished hanging pictures in my living room. I did smile when I took out my weird painting that we've hauled around the world all these years. It's been rolled up in a tube. I hung it up with tacks in the living room. We bought it at a sidewalk sale in Saugus when we were first married, when we had two jobs and we jogged and we went to plays and we lived in a little 600 square foot apartment. Those were good times. All the times have been good, but that was a time of particular freedom. I saw this painting and totally fell in love with it's funky style, the colors, the gobs of paint, the story it told and I knew I'd love it forever, so we bought it and that was that. It's been in every home we've ever made together and I guess since it's up, I'm on the way to making a new home here.
How can I explain it?
You know those moments, when you're staying at a hotel and you wake up alarmed because you don't remember where you are? Ya, my life has been a blur of those moments.
- Like when we first moved to Mongolia and I was driving at night and I was so alarmed because there was a GIANT dog in the road (thinking like a Californian,) of course it was a cow.
- Or when, after living in Mongolia several years, we were in the airport hotel in Seoul and I heard the air conditioner click on (now a foreign sound to my ears) and I thought it was a herd of horses behind our house.
- Or when I get back to America after years in Asia, I hear the sound of water in the pipes or a bath tub draining and I panic that something is leaking because there were no pipes in our home there.
- Like when we stayed at Megan's house when we first got back in 2010- Sierra was crying in the middle of the night and I hurried to her. But the door was in a different spot and I smashed into the wall so hard, I laid myself out flat on the ground.
Last night that happened to me. We had finished watching TV on the couch and I was heading to bed. When I got up, I forgot where I was for a moment. That's when I could understand what was going on... I knew I was freaking out on the inside, although outwardly I seem just fine.
So anyway-
I finished hanging pictures in my living room. I did smile when I took out my weird painting that we've hauled around the world all these years. It's been rolled up in a tube. I hung it up with tacks in the living room. We bought it at a sidewalk sale in Saugus when we were first married, when we had two jobs and we jogged and we went to plays and we lived in a little 600 square foot apartment. Those were good times. All the times have been good, but that was a time of particular freedom. I saw this painting and totally fell in love with it's funky style, the colors, the gobs of paint, the story it told and I knew I'd love it forever, so we bought it and that was that. It's been in every home we've ever made together and I guess since it's up, I'm on the way to making a new home here.
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