Project Smile

Look at me, totally on the ball here.  Project Smile for November and it's only December 2nd.  Woo.

But for starters....does this shot from our Christmas card photo shoot not just make you grin?

Here's my list of smile-inducing moments these days:

1. The Sunbean's newest phrase:  Hey - I've got an idea!
2. Netflix instant streaming.  Love it.
3. The Christmas present sitting under the tree with my parents' names on it.  We scored a sweeeeeet deal on Black Friday and I can't wait to give it to them!
4. The Christmas tree.  Oh, so pretty.  I just love this time of year.
5. MacGyver just found out he will be done with school in June, six months earlier that we'd thought.  Oh, heck yes.
6. Tide To Go pens.
7. Sesame Street Live tickets (2nd row) for just $30 each.  The Sunbean is going to go crazy.  Being a parent is so fun!
8. There is SNOW on the ground.  I. love. it.
9. I'm making cookies this afternoon with my little girl.

Life is good.

Let's Discuss: Gift Giving

With the Christmas season upon us, I've been thinking about gift-giving.  I loooooove giving gifts.  More than that, I love giving handmade gifts.  I just love the feeling of thinking about someone as I create something that I think they'll like or use.  I love watching someone's face as they open the gift.  Such fun.  Certainly not an event reserved just for this season, but there is such an abundance of it now.  Love it.

One thing I do not love is the game that is gift-giving.  I seriously hate receiving a gift and not having one to give in return.  I don't mind it the other way around, but receiving without giving is the worst.  If all goes according to plan, this will be our last Christmas as poor college students.  That being said, this is our 'poorest' year as college students.  Our gift-giving this year is strictly limited, but let me tell you.....I'll be making up for it next year.

But what I really want to discuss is how you do Christmas gifts for your kids.  Are you buying one big gift, with smaller gifts?  A bunch of little stuff?  A few things?  Do you have a strict budget, or do you just buy until you think it is done?  Do you spend the same on all of your kids, or do some gifts just cost more?

Last year, I knew the Sunbean would love her Bitty Baby.  And I was so right.  But this year, I can't think of a 'main' gift for her, so we're just getting a bunch of random stuff.

What do you do about Santa?  At our house, Santa brings things like socks and toothbrushes, maybe some candy.  He's a practical man.  He'll bring maybe one or two fun toys, but nothing huge.  As a parent, I want the credit for the cool stuff, dang it.  Some families have Santa as the main gift-giver.  What's your plan?

Do tell.

Quick Thanksgiving Clothes

For me, one of the best parts about having a little girl is sewing clothing for her.  I'm ridiculously particular about what the Sunbean wears, so most of the time it's just easier (read:  cheaper) for me to do it myself.

Right now, the Sunbean has little-to-no opinion about her clothes, and can be talked into wearing anything.  These days are slipping by fast, so the other day I dashed into Joann's to grab some holiday fabric.  Behold, our Thanksgiving 2010 outfit:

It was so super simple.  I'd say you could make this if you are an average sewer.  Of course, my job is always made easier by my ruffler and serger.  Even without those tools, though, you could do it.  I'm not cool enough to actually make a tutorial, but here's the gist:

The pants are a simple pajama pant pattern, with no side seam.  Don't make kids' pants with side seams.  It's a waste of time.  I threw a ruffle on the bottom for good measure.  If you don't have a ruffler, hand-gathering isn't hard and it's pretty fast.  For the waistband, I always serge the elastic in.  I think I'll put together a tutorial for this, though.  I'm always shocked at how many sewers don't serge in the waistband.

The shirt is really easy.  Get a shirt (I like Target and H&M), and then cut it off about an inch under the sleeves.  Ruffle or hand-gather some fabric (I never measure...just do what looks good), and then pin and sew.  Sooooo easy.  It looks good if you top-stitch the skirt to the top.  Hem that baby up and you're done!  I added a fabric rosette because, well, I had time, but you wouldn't have to.

So there you go.  I had it all done in less than an hour.


What are your turkeys wearing for Thanksgiving this year?

When Dad Is In Charge

Yogurt for breakfast.

Our Free Ikea Couches

Our house is going through a major reno, and the family room/living room/only large space in our house was one of the first places we started.

See, we have a three-bedroom home.  We have 1 (and a half) kids, and a home-based business.  So, we've got a kids' room, an office, and our bedroom.  Translation:  no place for guests.  We actually have guests come pretty often.  My mom watches the Sunbean for me on Wednesday mornings, and so she spends the night on Tuesday nights.  We used to have a twin bed in our office, but I booted it out in favor of more space.

I was making my poor mom sleep on the sofa every time she stayed, and MacGyver and I ended up sleeping on the sofa or floor if we had other guests.  Really not ideal.  We bought a basic sofa bed at Ikea a few months back, and it took us exactly 10 seconds to realize it is N.O.T comfortable.  It looks great in the office, which is a plus, but you couldn't pay me to sleep on it.  Back to square one.

We really needed a decent sofa bed.  By this time, MacGyver was so sick of me lamenting about our need to have space for guests, that he told me I could do anything as long as it didn't cost money.  In the words of Barney Stinson, Challenge Accepted!

Four years ago, we bought some decent microfiber sofas in a neutral color.  They were ultra comfortable, and never stained.  I really loved them, but lately I'd really been wanting white furniture.  With children.  Call me crazy.

I got the crazy idea to list our perfectly-good sofas on Craigslist, just to see what they would go for.  I listed them at $100 less than what we paid 4 years ago.  My jaw dropped to the floor when they were gone 48 hours later.  Seriously?  I'd just sold 4-year-old furniture for just $100 less than what we'd paid.  Hollar.

That left us with one giant room and nowhere to sit.  The Sunbean was seriously excited.

That very afternoon, we loaded up MacGyver's mom's minivan and made a pilgrimage to Ikea.  Our sofa money netted us lunch, dinner, 2 Starbucks trips, gas there and back, new dishes, AND new family room furniture.

We got this fabulous fold-out sofa and a simple parson's chair.  Both have slipcovers that can be removed and washed, so I'm not totally stressed about staining them.  The bed is ultra-cozy (we both like it better than our own mattress) and the sofa is great, too.

We do have limited seating, and we plan to get a few more chairs when we have more money.  You know, when we win the lottery.  Or some unknown rich uncle dies.

I'm LOVING the new look.  The best part?  Totally free.

Fun Little Meme

I had the best of intentions to include a pic of my new hair, but it looks dumb today.  Maybe another day.

Saw this on Em's blog.  I love a good meme.  Enjoy!

1. High heels or boots? Love, love, love them both.

2. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00.  I took 2 Tylenol PM last night, so it's a miracle I'm not still passed out in bed.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Don't remember....we go to a movie about once a year.  But we're going on Friday to see Harry Potter!

4. What is your maiden Name?  I'm not telling the internets.
5. What is your favorite TV show?  Hmmm.  I love me some TV.  Probably Cougar Town and Modern Family.  And Desperate Housewives.  And Brothers and Sisters.  And Grey's.  And the Today Show.

6. What do you usually have for breakfast?  Cereal or oatmeal.  Lately, saltines.

7. What is your middle name?  Marie.  After my great-grandma.
8. What food do you dislike?  Meat and cherries.

9. What is your favorite CD at the moment?  Tough one.  I don't really listen to an entire CD.  Mostly we listen to Primary songs in the car.  I can't wait to bust out the Christmas tunes.

10. What characteristic do you despise?  The desire to gossip.  And I do it more than I'd like.  I'm working on it...
11. Favorite clothing?  Leggings!  So cozy.

12. Anywhere in the world on vacation?  I have no idea.  I think I'd probably like to explore the old U.S. of A before I traveled internationally.  I did go to Japan for a month in 97, so I'd happily go back.

13. Are you an organized person? Insanely so.

14. Where would you retire to?  Somewhere with all four seasons.  And a Starbucks nearby.

15. What was your most recent meaningful birthday?  I love 'em all.  MacGyver is a rockstar when it comes to birthdays.

16. What are you going to do when you finish this?  Go to the Y.  I will not gain 70 pounds with this baby.
18. Person you expect to send it back first?  Copy and paste, people!

19. When is your birthday?  November 20th...Saturday!
20. Are you a morning person or a night person?  I'd like to think I'm a night owl, but in my heart of hearts, I'm a morning person.  And so is the Sunbean.
21. What is your shoe size?  6 or 7.

22. Do you own any animals?  The Sunbean has a fish.

23. Any news you'd like to share?  Hmmm...I'm hungry.  And I need to put gas in my car.
24. When you were little, what did you want to be?  A teacher, a doctor, a momma.  I did everything but the doctor.
25. What is your favorite flower?  I'm a sucker for gerbera daisies, but I really like any flower.  Except marigolds.  I think those are dumb.
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?  Saturday!  My birthday!
27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?  Bright pink or sunny yellow.
28. How is the weather right now?  Cold.  Love it!

29. Last person you spoke to on the phone?  Someone from craigslist.
30. Favorite drink?  Duh.  Nonfat hot cocoa from Starbucks.  With the whipped cream.  I'm getting wild, I know.

31. Favorite restaurant?  I love Chipotle and Casa.  I also love TCBY.  And Thai food.
32. Hair color?  A little brown and a little red.

33. What was your favorite toy as a child?  Dolls.  And more dolls.
34. Spring Summer, Fall or Winter? I like the change of seasons.  But if I had to chose, I'd go with fall.  Love it!

35. Chocolate or vanilla?  Chocolate.  Chocolate everything.
36. Coffee or tea? Neither for me.

37. Wish you were still young?  Oh no.  I'm a much better person today than I was in high school.  I love my life the way it is now.
38. Do you want your friends to email you back? or copy this?  Mmmhmm.  I love to creepily learn more about my friends with these things.

39. When was the last time you cried?  Oh, probably yesterday or something.  I'm always crying.

41. What did you do last night?  Cleaned the house, worked on projects, watched TV while MacGyver was at school.
42. What are you afraid of?  Pretty much everything after dark.

43. Salty or sweet?  I really love the mixture of the two.  Like that yummy popcorn in Chicago.  What's that place, Ab?

44. Car or Truck?  Both are useful.
45. Best quality you have?  Ha!  I have no idea.  I'm really organized?

46. How many years at your current job?  Teaching?  4.  Being a mom?  2.5.

47. Favorite day of the week?  Don't really have one.
48. How many people will you send this to? Not sending, just blogging.

49. How many will respond?  Maybe the better question is, "How many will actually read this thing through?"
50. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends?  Yep, love memes.

Shameless Plug

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