Noah

This photo exemplifies our little man perfectly. He's a little naughty, but mostly just seriously adorable. Noah, in his prime at the age of two.

Upcycled Creations Part Une: Girl's Sweater Dress

So what's upcycling you say? Well I would define it as using a well-loved item, for example a lush little sweater-set from Christopher and Banks, and re-inventing it for a greater purpose.

For over a year I've been on the hunt for the perfect sweater dress for Eden, but alas the cute little dresses I often find are often out of my price range. So what's a girl to do? Improvise!! Here's how I made a sweater dress for E out of an old sweater I got at Goodwill. And as a testament to how simple this project is (as opposed to my sewing skills), it only took about 15 minutes to complete!!! Alright folks brace yourselves for inspiration : ) *Sorry about the quality
of the pics, the lighting wasn't the best*

Start with an adult sizes sweater and fold in half. (I would have showed you the sweater as a whole but I got too excited and started cutting before I got out the camera).

Using a girl's dress as a template, mark and cut a diagonal line that will represent the sides of the dress.

Unfold the dress and make sure the lines are even.

Now turn the dress inside out and sew the sides together.

Once you've finished sewing the edges, turn the dress so that the right sides face out. You'll notice that the sleeves have some raw edges, so we can make cuffs to make the dress look complete. This step isn't always necessary, especially if your working with a stretchy fabric such as jersey knits.

Cut the cuffs off of the ends of the sleeves to the original sweater.

Here is the sleeve to the sweater dress and the cuff.

Place the cuff so that is slips over the end of the sleeve. The raw edges should line up together. Make sure that the right side of the cuff and the sleeve are facing each other. This way when you turn the cuff the right side shows. Clear as mud huh?!

Head back to the sewing machine to complete the sleeve cuffs.

fin.

Eat that Meat!

The Grimes' household possesses a scientific mystery in that somehow our two older children can maintain enough energy to meet their metabolic needs without consuming any food. OK perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, they eat at the most three bites each before stubbornly pushing their plates aside in protest. Well after a particularly frustrating evening, battle lines were drawn as Pete and I tried to stare down our opponents in a last ditch attempt to get them to eat some food! Then brilliance struck as we came up with a fantastic idea; perhaps a rousing chant will spur them on to good deeds. And with that "Eat that Meat!" was born, and ya know what? It worked!Now the kids eat at least six bites after a few inspiring shouts of "Eat that Meat".

I'm back!

Did you miss me? Well here are some pics of the family during the month of October. This month was particularly challenging as Pete and I were in the thick of school and both of us were sick for what seemed like a month! Was it the dreaded H1N1? We'll never know but I'm glad it's over. No worries though, God is good and he is mighty to save. Enjoy the pics!

The Boy

The Girls

Our first snow arrived with a bang on October 10th!

*Witty Title Here*

Well my brain is fried after my first month of being a full time nursing student and I have no smart or witty title for this post, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here! I think for now I'm just going to keep my posts to pictures of the fam unless I have something super inspiring or smart to say. So with that being said here are some recent pictures from when my brother came to visit back in August.

Reinventing Fall

September is less than two days away and the tell tale signs that fall is near are evident. It was forty-something degrees this morning and the overly chipper weather reporter informed us that light jackets would now be needed in the morning hours. On a side I note, I think it's very inappropriate that weather people are required to stay positive even though no one can possibly be happy at the news that "light jackets will be needed" or "eight to ten inches of snow are expected by morning". It's just asinine. Eyes aglow with excitement, the female weather lady on our favorite news station chirped on about the end of summer. Meanwhile an all too familiar dread begins to form a pit in my stomach as I realize that soon it will be cold, very cold and it will most likely snow, a lot. I have heard of people who actually enjoy the winter months and I commend them for their heartiness. (Take special note of my refrain from using words like "foolish" or "daft".....you're welcome). But for the rest of us, here are a few ways you can think about Fall that will surely brighten your spirits.

Try very hard not to think of words like death, dying, or dead when looking at fall leaves. Instead think of a beautiful plethora of colors, kids jumping in leaf piles and other such jovial matters. When faced with chilly weather think about wearing delicious cashmere sweaters in an assortment of warm colors. And, with the decrease in temperatures also comes a decrease in incidences of wardrobe malfunctions at Walmart. For example: portly woman dressed in a tube top, portly woman dressed in a bikini top, portly woman in a thong....you get the idea. Furthermore, Fall hosts two great holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. These days conjure up thoughts of hot apple cider and cinnamon, pumpkin pie, hay rides, candy corn, fire pit nights with friends, turkey, gravy, stuffing....woah baby can you feel the excitement?!

OK everyone let's practice positive thinking. Close you eyes, now think about Fall in all its glory....OK what did you come up with? Swine flu, black ice, frost bite and the like *ERRRT* Wrong answer! Do some deep breathing and try again! If you thought of hot chocolate, Snuggie blankets, warm woolen sweaters *DING DING DING* You got it right! Fantastic, you are now ready for Fall!

Cutest Shirt Ever!

Pete wore this very same shirt as a toddler it reads "Organized Grime". Classic.