One Can Never Have Too Many Hats

I made Natalie this hat. I'm in love with this fabric, but I only got just enough for the hat, so I just might have to get some more. Anyway, I've been surprised at the lack of summer hats for toddlers, while there are so many for smaller babies, and so I just made one. Hopefully I'll make some more for the shop soon. I have exciting shop news to share, but it will have to wait until some things are up and finalized. I've also started knitting a hat for the new baby, now that we know he's a little boy. I'll share a picture of that too when it's all done.

Baby News!

We are happy to announce, our new baby is a BOY!! Casey is especially thrilled :) Natalie came with us to the ultrasound, while Layla stayed with a friend and she was a little disappointed at having a baby brother instead of another baby sister. But, it didn't last long and she is now pretty excited, I think. We are off to some friends' for dinner, but I just had to share before we left!

A Long, Long, Twirly Dress

Okay, I'll get to the dress in a minute, but can I first acknowledge how beautiful she is???? Those eyes! Just gorgeous. Anyway, I made Natalie this dress today and she really loves it. I got this fabric some time ago for $2 a yard and a Butterick pattern for $1.99. Can't beat that, eh? Anyway, it came together really fast, despite poorly written instructions. I cut it out last night and sewed it today between an emergency trip to Target because we ran out of diapers and a major bubble bath catastrophe. The wet hair and red eyes are both due to the latter :)

On a side note, I came across a brand new blog dedicated to kids art and craft ideas. It's called The Crafty Crow, if you'd like to take a look.

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful last few days. On Saturday, Casey was home all day (rare but always great) and so we colored some Easter eggs with Natalie. Layla missed the fun because she was napping. I planned it that way actually :) She LOVED the whole experience and Casey and I had fun too. He made an *I love Natalie* egg and I made him a Pepsi egg.

On Sunday we had a lovely breakfast at church and then a good Easter service. After that, we went straight to some friends' house for lunch and stayed there until we were all bursting at the seams. I apologize for the cruddy quality of the last few pics of Easter morning; I had the camera on a weird setting by accident. And also, I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures of the Easter basket fun. Natalie is still carrying hers around today after sleeping with it last night.

The Incredible Non-Edible Egg

I whipped up some of these irresistible Easter eggs this week. I couldn't help myself after seeing the tutorial on The Purl Bee. There are instructions for knitted eggs too, which I love, but will have to wait for another year, not the week before Easter. I love all the Easter trees I've been seeing lately and I want to have one next year. Maybe if I make a few eggs a year, I'll have a nice little tree a few Easters down the road. Of course, I have plans to give half of these away, one as a little hostess gift along with some homemade jam (we got invited over for Easter supper after church) and one just because I know someone special will love it. I had one for another someone special, but Natalie was holding it in the car on the way to her house and completely lost it. I was dumbfounded, since it was zipped into a bag she was holding, the windows weren't down and we made no other stops! I'm still baffled, I just don't know what could have happened to it!!! Anyway, enough. Is it obvious how much I have loved these Heather Bailey fabrics the past several months? I ordered several quarter yards before Christmas and they have just lasted and lasted and been perfect for every little project, I just can't get enough!

Happy Spring! and a Shop Update

What a wonderful first day of Spring!! It's in the air for sure, at least it is here in beautiful Colorado. I added these iPod cozies to my Etsy shop today, plus one more that's not in the picture. Take a look if you want!
We spent some time outside today, as you can see, and we plan to do more of the same after Layla wakes up from her nap. I know many people think Easter seems too early this year, but I find it lovely that it happens right at the same time as Spring's arrival. What better way to celebrate a world made new?!

Inspiration and a Must-Read

Last week, I entered an inspiration challenge hosted by Thriftin' and Craftin' and this is the scrapbook page a came up with. Every month, she'll post a new inspiration piece and those participating can create anything in any medium that was inspired by the piece. Fun, huh? You can see the super-cool mini-quilt that inspired this page here. In this page, I used her idea of the brightly colored raindrops on the brown linen background. Fun, fun.

ALSO, you can't miss this! My sister recommended to me the greatest book EVER for mommies and homemakers, called Passionate Housewives Desperate for God and it has literally changed my perspective forever. WELL, last night I was driving my cousin home after she baby-sat for us and on the radio were the authors! It was on a show called Family Life Today, but unfortunately, I arrived home shortly after they came on and it was too late for me finish listening. BUT, I got on to the Family Life website today and wouldn't ya know, it, I was able to subscribe to the podcast and so I'll get to listen to the whole thing today. Here it is, if any of you SAHM's are interested and you should be!!! :)

By the way, Becky's baby shower was yesterday and she LOVED the diaper bag. Several people told me I should have an online shop and I DO, but I'm finding it tough to sell anything from my Etsy shop because it's just so vast. Anyone else have this issue?

Mmmmm

I did not grow up eating potato soup, since my Mom did not like it, so I never tried it until I was an adult and now I really love it. I made a big crock-pot full yesterday and we ate it for dinner, so I thought I'd share a little non-recipe :) This is how we make potato soup around here:

Chop up a bunch of potatoes and toss them into the crock pot. (That's what Natalie's doing in the second pic.) We have a big pot and we've filled it all the way up to feed about 10 people, but last night I filled it about half full with taters to feed us and a guest. Then, chop up a bunch of carrots and celery and throw them in there too. Fill the pot with water until it just covers the ingredients, but pay attention to how many cups you're using, since next you need to put in as many beef bullion cubes as cups of water you used. Next, put 3 or 4 Tbls. of butter and some salt and pepper in to top it all off and let 'er cook for several hours. You can use your judgment on the high or low thing. Yesterday I had it on low from about 10 am until 1pm, then on high until dinner time. But, WAIT, you're not done yet! After several hours, the potatoes will be nice and soft. When that happens, drain as much water as you can from the pot and fill instead with evaporated milk until the ingredients are just covered. Let that cook until nice and hot, stirring every now and then so the potatoes get nice and mushy. Serve with chives, cheese and even bacon bits if you have them and enjoy!

P.S. Throughout my first trimester, I would get so irritated to click on certain blogs I read and find pictures of food that always looked so gross to me during that time. So, if any of my readers here are in that boat, I sincerely apologize! :)