Boy or Girl? Vote!

Hello friends!

To the right here, you should see a little poll. I am curious to see what you all might be thinking when it comes to the sex of our little #2. So, please, if you have a minute, vote! Since we are all in a voting mood and all. ;) I will share the results on Halloween, so stayed tuned!

M.LEWIS

Creating Little Red Riding Hood

So in my search to find something worth blogging about, I decided to share with you all my latest little project.

Lorelai is going to be Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. I chose it for many reasons, but the main one is: all I need is a cape. I thought that would be easy. A lot of costumes come all in one set, but I just wasn't looking for too much extra stuff to keep. So once I searched and found out that any mini-sized cape would cost me easily $15-$20, I decided to make one myself.

I went with felt for fabric; it's cheap, requires no hemming, easy to cut, and will not be too hot or too chilly depending on the weather. I found a pattern at the store, but it was almost $15 by itself, so I went home and managed to find one online for free. You had to print it out and assemble it yourself. 14 pages worth. So, me being me, thought "I will just look at the tiny example on the screen and cut out my own on newspaper." It was a little tricky, but I made it work. Lorelai was not into modeling any sort of example I cut out, so a lot of it was done by "eyeing" it.
I cut out the pieces and my mom offered her sewing machine to sew the big pieces together, which much faster than hand-sewing it all. It had 5 main pieces. A large section for the back of the cape, 2 front panels for the cape and 2 pieces that form the hood. The large section and 2 panels were assembled together with the machine, along with connecting the 2 hood pieces. I would have to connect the hood to the cape by hand, but not before some serious nipping/tucking. The cape was a little too voluptuous for such a small body, so I had to take it in so it would not swallow my soon-to-be 2 year old. I decided to pleat the back and the sides so it wasn't too bulky on top, but still gave her plenty of room to move her arms. Pleating done by hand, then the hood attachment. I added some red ribbon for a tie, and tada, a cape! (And by "tada" I mean, 2 days of planning, 2 hrs of shopping/forming a pattern, and 2 hrs of assembly.) I now want to go get some lace to finish off the end, but that's only if I get some extra time.

I was not able to convince Lorelai to model it for pictures, so just imagine it on a little, feisty girl. I hope she will actually wear it on Halloween, something tells me if candy is involved she will tolerate it. ;)

Happy costume-planning!

M.LEWIS

Settling into Fall

I feel I have to blog every so often.
This pregnancy has made so disinterested in writing though. Maybe because it's nothing new now, maybe because when I have a free moment I want to sleep, maybe because I am just getting lazy, but not matter which reason, I have fallen down on the job.

I am 16 (almost 17) weeks pregnant now. We find out the gender on Halloween, so look out for that update. ;) I used to think I was having a boy, but mainly because I already have a girl. But now, I get the vibe it might be a girl. I still don't really have a clue, but I am leaning slightly more towards pink rather than blue lately.

I very much look forward to Halloween for the above reason, but also because it is my 2nd favorite holiday (after Christmas). I am trying to figure out Lorelai's costume choice. She is too young to care or have an opinion. She doesn't do well with headbands, and only likes to wear hats in 2 min intervals. She will rub off face paint, and will scream at any clothing that is unusual to her (i.e. tutus, tights). So, I need something that is relatively normal in the clothing department and requires few or no extra accessories. I think I have landed on Little Red Riding Hood. I already have a dress she can wear, and it would only need a cape to complete the look (along with a basket). She could also take Phoebe with her as "the big bad wolf." I am a little unsure on the cape, I think she might fuss...but if there are enough distractions, I think she will just think of it as a sweater and carry on. If I can find a cheap cape, I'll go with it.

I am also trying out a Pinterest project this year for decorations. Glow stick eyes in the bushes. I knew my little family could not go through enough toilet paper rolls in time, so I used an old soda can box and cut it up and taped them in cylinder shapes...same difference. Yes, that is Hello Kitty duct tape. I hope it looks cool. I won't really know until Halloween night, since I won't waste glow sticks...they were kind of hard to find cheap.

Changing topics a bit, Phoebe has had some medical issues lately. Eye ulcers. The term alone makes me cringe. She has needed eye drops every 2 hrs for almost a week. Tomorrow evening should mark the end of the treatment. I plan to take her into the vet on Monday to make sure everything has healed. My check book doesn't not want to take her in, but I know it's for her health, and that's important. I had to pay a portion of my own medical bills this week...not a fan. But what can you do? Baby needs to be healthy too! I just pray LEL is not next on the pattern.
By the way, LEL broke from her terrible pickiness and actually most of a hamburger! I know, I know "a hamburger?! That's so unhealthy!" Well, shut it. It is a small miracle that she even tried it, and an even bigger one that she almost finished it. She ate meat. That is huge for her. So judge away, I know I'm in the right. Of course, she is still a long way away from being open-minded about food, but I will take what I can get!

One last side note: This weekend is going to have some seriously cooler weather, and I am so excited. I want soup in a bread bowl. That sounds amazing. :)

I will try to update more often, but you know how that goes...until next time!


M.LEWIS