Sentence of the Day- Uh-oh, Pop-Pop!

Katy and I recently spent some time with my parents. My maternal grandmother was also visiting during the same time we were in FL. It's always fun to get four generations together!

One evening, Katy ran up to my mother in the kitchen, with a flashlight in her mouth. She thought it was funny that it looked like her cheeks were "glowing" when the flashlight was turned on and in her mouth. Immediately, my mother told her to take the flashlight out of her mouth- it was dangerous!

Then, Katy ran up to my grandma, in another room, and showed her the same flashlight-in-mouth trick. Once again, Katy was told to take it out- it's dangerous to have a flashlight in one's mouth!

Finally, Katy ran back to the bedroom where I was getting some things together. She showed me her flashlight-in-mouth trick. I immediately told her to take the flashlight out of her mouth- it's dangerous! Germs!

Katy sulked off.

A little later, I found Katy sitting all alone in the bedroom hallway, glum and forlorn. I asked her what was wrong?

With big crocodile tears in her eyes, she replied, "Nobody likes the trick that Pop-Pop showed me how to do!"

#DisneySide @Home Celebration- Princesses Playdate

***Disclosure: "I received free products in order to host the #Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own."***

We hosted our #Disney Side @Home Celebration, today. Our #DisneySide is definitely all about PRINCESSES, so it was a Princesses (and Princes) Playdate with friends!

Princess Decorations

Drew Photography

Princess Decorations

Drew Photography

Princess cupcakes

Drew Photography

Playgroup Royalty

Drew Photography

My own little Princess.

Drew Photography

**Photography compliments of the talented Drew Photography. Thanks for coming to our party and sharing your talent, Stephanie!!**

***Disclosure: "I received free products in order to host the #Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own."***

Sewing Pattern Testing- Amelie Clothing- Nikka Tunic

Nikka Tunic- Front

Nikka Tunic- Back

Here's another sewing pattern that I tested, recently. This time, the Nikka Tunic by Amelie Clothing.  Amelie Clothing's pdf patterns just keep getting better and better!

This sweet little tunic is perfect for layering and adding a little pattern to the wardrobe. There are no buttons or zippers to sew, so I'd classify this on the easier end of the scale. The ties in the back make the top an easy fit for all sizes.

That tutorial was clear and concise and the pictures really complimented the written instructions. Good job,  Amelie Clothing! Thank you, again, for the opportunity to work together!!

Sewing Pattern Testing- Made for Mermaids- Cleaning Cinderella Everyday Princess Dress

Cleaning Cinderella Everyday Princess Dress

"Feeding Chickens"

I had another chance to test for the talented Made for Mermaids by Megan, last week. This time- Cleaning Cinderella! You know, the dress she wears before she goes to the ball.

This was a simple sew peasant-style dress. Instructions for the head scarf are included at the end of the Cleaning Cinderella Tutorial. If you're going to make the dress, might as well make the head scarf- it totally makes the outfit!

Lil' Miss loved the dress and she insists on wearing it for our next trip to Disney. I love that the apron is already attached and sewn into the dress- no extra piece to keep track of!

Cleaning Cinderella is definitely a fun pattern to sew! Thank you for the opportunity to test for you, again, Megan!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Katy Grace!!!

February 18, 2010

February 2014

Happy, Happy, HAPPY Fourth Birthday, Katy Grace!!! I cannot believe that you are already FOUR!!! For some reason, this birthday seems bigger than the others. It feels like she really IS getting bigger and older. She's no longer just a baby or toddler. Gone are her cute baby babbles and chubby little rolls....

Lil' Miss has brought so much joy, laughter and wonder into our lives (and numerous sleepless nights ;-P). It's hard to imagine our lives without her! Her precocious personality, her expansive vocabulary and infectious smile and giggle most definitely make our lives richer!

She continues to turn into her own person. She's got opinions and personality. She's sassy and smart. She's independent and strong. She's got a sense of humor that she definitely inherited from her Daddy! It is so fun to see her grow and develop into the person that she was meant to be!

Here is a list of some current Katy statistics:

Favorite Show/Toy- My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic!!! Her play room is currently an explosion of all things Equestria! MLP is her current OBSESSION! (Followed closely by Disney Princesses)!

Favorite Books- Berenstain Bears- she loves them as much as I do!

Favorite Color- Red and Pink- not blue or green because those are boy colors, according to Lil' Miss.

Favorite Food- Chocolate, Chicken Nuggets, French Fries (Can we say, "kid food!?" Overall, though, she's a good eater and will at least try most things.)

Current Bedtime/Wake up- Katy goes to bed at eight PM and usually wakes up around 7:15-7:30 AM (of course, it's never a full-all-the-way-through night of sleep... for her, or us...)

Height/Weights- Katy is 39 1/2" Tall and 35 lbs.

Current Clothing/Shoe Size- Size 4T clothing, size 10 1/2 shoe. We're still into dresses and dressing, "fancy." That girl would were a dress every day of the week, if I let her!

Currently on Her Nightstand- Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I started reading her chapter books, this past year, and she loves to snuggle and listen to me read to her each night. So far, we've read the whole Samantha series from the American Girls Collection, along with Fancy Nancy, Super Sleuth and several Disney Princess chapter books.

Happy Birthday, Katy!! Can't wait for another year of giggles, spills and life with Katy Grace! ;-X

Best.Birthday.EVER!! (My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic, 4th Birthday Party)

Katy celebrated her 4th birthday with some of her playgroup friends, on Monday. 

The theme? 

My Little Ponies, of course...!! :-)

Birthday Girl!

Entry Birthday Banner

Dining Room Decor

Decorate Your Own Unicorn Horn

Birthday Favors for the Guests

Spike's Gems

Window into Equestria

Twilight Sparkle's Biggest Fan!

Put the Cutie Mark on Twilight Sparkle

"Let Them Eat Cake!"

Make a Wish!

Table Setting

Fluttershy's Bunny Food

Applejack's Apple Cider

(We also served "Rarity's Fancy Spiral Sandwiches" and "Pinkie Pie's Ice Cream.")

Happy FOURTH Birthday, Katy Grace!!!

XOXOXOXO,

Mommy and Daddy

Sentence of the Day- Hibachi Grill

Ted and I got to enjoy a belated Valentine's Day Dinner on Saturday, February 15, 2014, at a local Hibachi Grill. Katy was at Romp 'n Roll while we dined. We picked her up from her fun night out and told her all about our dinner entertainment. Ted was going into detail about how the chef used some fancy knife work, played with fire and flipped, chopped and cooked his way through our meal. He told her that we ate rice, veggies and meat. At the end, he asked her if it sounded like something she might like to try (someday, once she outgrows her egg allergy, that is).

Without missing a beat, Katy responded, "I like the part about lots of rice, best!"

"Valentine, You're the Apple of My Eye" Free Printable

Having a child makes the holidays just a little more special.

Take, for example, Valentine's Day. In the past, this holiday hasn't meant much to me. Hubby and I aren't known for extravagant displays of gifts and/or cards on Hearts Day. Instead, it's more like, "Oh, we need a new car battery? Well, Happy Valentine's Day!" (True story- Happy Valentine's Day 2014!- we're so romantic ;-P)

However, now that we have Lil' Miss and Lil' Miss is in Preschool, Valentine's Day is a slightly bigger deal. Valentine's Day for the Preschool/School-Aged set means Valentine's cards and goodies!

While thinking of something for Lil' Miss to hand out to her friends, I'm constantly reminded of her current obsession, My Little Ponies. I mean, Twilight, Cadence and the whole of Equestria are staring me in the face every time I walk into Katy's playroom! (If you have a MLP fan in your midst, you can sympathize).

SOOOoo, I perused Pinterest for cute Valentine's sayings and stumbled across this idea, using Gogo Squeez, by the Funky Polkadot Giraffe. Bingo! One of the main MLP characters is named Apple Jack. As her name implies, she lives on an Apple farm and loves everything apples. Apple sauce, Apple Jack- a perfect pair!

With the help of Hubby (Brony by default ;-), we came up with some cute little 2" circles that featured Apple Jack and said, "Valentine, You're the Apple of My Eye." Then, I punched out the circles with my trusty hole punch and attached them to the applesauce pouches with ribbon. For the teachers- since I'm assuming that squeezy applesauce is not their thing ;-P- I used the same circles but attached them to some apple-shaped reusable bags.

Voila! Happy Valentine's Day 2014!

For those of you equally enamored with My Little Ponies, Friendship is Magic, I've shared the circles below as a free printable. Just click on the image, save to your computer and print. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day! ;-)

*This free printable is intended for personal use only. Please do not duplicate, sell, host or pass off as your own. If you would like to share this with others, please link directly to this post on All Things Katy!

**Sadly, due to Snowmageddon 2014, Katy doesn't have school, today. So, she won't be able to hand our her Valentines to friends. So sad!

Sentence of the Day-Cinderelly Step-sisters

This morning, Katy was coloring in one of her many coloring books. Today's choice-Cinderella (or, "Cinderelly," as she typically refers to it). She stopped to show me a picture of the step-sisters.

Very matter-of-factly, Katy said, "These evil step-sisters are despicable."

Laughing, I asked her if she even knew what the word, "Despicable," meant.

Katy replied, "Of course! It means they are mean and nasty- rude. They aren't very nice."

Ha! Right on target.

Snowmageddon 2014

"Bring on the SNOW!!!"

"Another winter storm hit the Carolinas and we got at least six inches, as of 2/12/14, 6PM, with more on the way...!"

"No, this isn't a blurry picture.... it's just a lot of snowflakes falling!"

"Daddy built Olaf, from Frozen.... 'cute little baby unicorn'..."

"Snow angel time!"

"Catching snowflakes on my tongue!"

"Snowflake tasting with my Daddy." :-)

Sewing Pattern Testing- Made for Mermaids- Aurora Everyday Princess Dress

Aurora Everyday Princess Dress

Truly a dress for everyday wear!

Sitting Pretty

Aurora Everyday Princess Dress- Back

I recently had the opportunity to test a sewing pattern for the talented Megan Gorman of Made for Mermaids. Gorman has a whole line of "Everyday Princess Dresses," perfect for little girls that love to dress up as their favorite princess.... all day, every day... but without the itchy fabric. So fun! So perfect for my little princess-wanna-be!

The Aurora Everyday Princess Dress Pattern is a simple peasant style dress with peplum accent. I chose to make a pink version of the dress (opposed to blue), but really, you could do this dress in any color/fabric combination! The pattern was easy to print, put together and follow through the tutorial. Since it's a peasant-style dress, there aren't any buttons or zippers to deal with (yay!). There is an optional shoulder sash (I did not do) that can be sewn, as well.

Of course, Lil' Miss LOVES the dress!! She couldn't wait to put it on and she had a great time showing it off in our "photo shoot." "Sew" fun to sew and "Sew" fun to watch Lil' Miss enjoy wearing the Aurora Everyday Princess Dress!

Thanks for the opportunity to test for you, Made for Mermaids!

Family Portait

Um, tell me this isn't the cutest? Okay, okay, I'm a little biased on the subject, but it is pretty cute, if you ask me! Katy drew this picture, this morning.

She told me it was a picture of our family- Daddy on the left, Mommy on the right and Katy in the middle. When I asked her why she was in the middle, she said while stretching out her arms, "Because you and Daddy love me so much!!" So true, so true, Katy Grace, we really do love you lots!!

On the bottom of the picture, Katy told me she drew a see-saw. I can see it, can you? I mistakenly asked her who the little sticks with circles (thinking they were people) were and she corrected me by saying, "No, Mommy- those are the handles that hold onto, when you are on the see-saw!" Ha!

Wordless Wednesday- Snow Bunny

Sentence of the Day- Daddy's Homer Game

This morning, Katy exclaimed, "Hunga-Bunga!" in response to something she was excited about. I was completely confused- I didn't know what she was trying to say.

Katy explained to me that it was from, "Daddy's Homer Game." You see, Ted has this game that he plays on his tablet. It has something to do with the Simpsons- I really couldn't tell you much more than that. I think what Katy meant to say was, "Cowabunga!"

Hahahahaha... guess it goes to show that she's listening... even if she doesn't always get it right. ;-)

Bento Box- Gogo Squeez

Pretzels and Honey Bunnies, Gogo Sqeez Apple/Strawberry sauce, String Cheese, Pepperoni and Carrot sticks.

Here's the latest Lunch Bunch lunch... I'm happy to report that Lil' Miss ate most of this lunch- even the carrot sticks!

Sewing Pattern Testing- Serger Pepper- Sheer Plaid Top

Sheer Plaid Top by Serger Pepper

I recently had the opportunity to test a pattern for another talented sewist, Irene Valle, of Serger Pepper. This time, I tested a pattern for me, the Sheer Plaid Top.

The Sheer Plaid Top is a super simple pattern that contains of three pieces- that's it! No zippers, no buttons, no fancy extras! The results, though, are a light, airy top that flows nicely. The top is done in a sheer material (I found my black and white fabric on the clearance table at Hancock Fabric), and can be worn over a long turtleneck, a cami or as a swimsuit cover-up. Since the temps here in the Carolinas have been downright frigid, I wore mine over a turtleneck. Come summer, though, I believe I'll make another, slightly longer, and use it as a swimsuit cover-up.

The Sheer Plaid Top introduced me to a new type of finishing seam technique called, The French Seam. Basically, you sew a straight line, iron, fold back on itself and enclose with another straight stitch in what is known as French Seam. I had never done one of these until this pattern, but it was such an easy, clean way to finish the seam and reinforce it (since it was a sheer material).

I tested size medium, but in retrospect, I probably could have done a small. The pattern is meant to be worn over something, so it's a little looser in fit. From start to finish, it took me about two and a half hours to sew (that includes printing, putting the pattern together, cutting fabric and sewing). This top is probably not something that I normally would have tackled on my own, for myself. However, after completing it, I love the end result and I'm so glad I sewed it! This would be a great beginner piece.

So fun! Thanks for letting me test this pattern, Irene! :-)