Future Musician

Dallin had fun with the toy ukulele we got him. He bawled when Russ finally put his guitar away.  (Russ apologized about his guitar playing, but I told him I doubt anyone who reads my blog can tell the difference. I could be wrong) The photos are from when we watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. He wanted to look the the DJ with the head phones and the glasses.

Sewing Fun

So, like I said before, I have been attempting to sew a few things. Here is what I have done so far. Sorry for bad pictures. But maybe its a good thing so that way you can't see all the mistakes. :)

I started with a purse I saw here. I saw it a long time ago and never had time (or the nerve) to try it. I decided to make it with a couple of fat quarters I got a while ago, nothing to expensive. I figured this way if it was awful I was only out a few dollars. The down side to cotton is I should have used something (interfacing I guess) to stabilize it a little more. The only reason it holds it's shape while hanging up in the picture is because I have metal closet doors so I used magnets to hold it in place :)Totally put on the fabric roses to hide the messed up top stitch. I also learned to pay better attention when I cut. The bag was suppose to be yellow/orange with red lining, but I mixed up my pattern. So it's red. I still like it. I don't know if I will use it. I plan on making a little wallet with the left over fabric. The problem is that I didn't add any kind of closer at the top. I was too impatient to wait till I would go to the store to buy a magnet button closure. (Add yes, I know I'm totally making up words for things, but you know what I mean, right?)

Dallin was so exited when I finished the bag. He informed me that it was "our" purse and carried it around the rest of the day. He would wear it like messenger bag. It is a little small to be wore that way, plus I don't think his dad was too thrilled with the idea of him wearing a purse, so I made him a messenger bag that I found here.
I scaled mine down. Also, once again I was impatient so I made a strap out of leftover fabric instead of buying a nylon one. (And yes, Dallin is running around in a diaper and PJ top at one in the afternoon.) He calls it his Charlie Bucket bag (and if you didn't get that reference, you need to watch yourself some Willy Wonka). You can tell the has already filled his bag full of cars.


Finally I made this. SO EASY. I mean, mine's not perfect, but is easily hides all the flaws. I have a whole list of t-shirt makeovers I want to try. Since I haven't really bought many clothes while Russ was in grad school, I think it's time to add to my closet. This is a cheap way to do it. The t-shirt was $3 at Wal-Mart and the ribbon only $.97, plus $2 for the thread since I didn't have the right color.

Not too bad, huh? Plus it is way comfy. I have the perfect black tank top to wear under this.
I'll keep you all posted on other projects. I'm sure my mother-in-law is so proud. I have come a long way from when she tried to teach me to sew.

Potter Park Zoo

Today I decided to take Dallin to our local zoo, Potter Park Zoo. It's not very big, not even close to Hogle, but big enough for Dallin and less than 5 miles away. It only took us about 2 hours to see everything, but I think I only saw 5 or 6 other families there at the same time. It was great. He could run were ever he wanted and I didn't have to worry about losing him in the crowd.

We spent a lot of time watching the lion. The lion had a lot to say and Dallin loved watching him and roaring back at him.
Dallin also had to explain everything he saw to me.What animal we where looking at and why the zoo was so stinky (because the animals needed to chance their bums he said). He didn't want to leave the giraffe statues, and he loved the animal cut outs. They had a lot of them.

They had an area with barnyard animals. Dallin got to feed the goats, which really was him giving me the food and me feeding the goats. I guess he thought they would bit him.
They had some cool fish, and we had to go the the exhibit twice. He kept asking to see the starfish.
Over all, it was a fun trip. They don't have anything great or any really large animals, but they do have lions and tigers and camels. The rest are mostly smaller mammals and birds. My favorite was the otters. They were fun to watch swim around.

Potter Park Zoo is located in Potter Park, so after we left the zoo we played on the playground for a little while. Let me just say it can be dangerous to sit under oak trees in the fall. There are a lot of falling acorns.

We seem to get a lot of rain in Michigan. About ever 3 or 4 days we get a storm. We have been keeping busy inside. I've been doing some sewing (I'll show pictures later if I remember). I think Santa might try and bring Dallin one of those rugs with the roads on it, but until then we need to be a little creative...Masking tape. Makes great roads, plus pulling it up off the carpet is just as much fun for him as playing with the roads was.

We also have been going to the dollar store a lot. We made some fun bath toys from items we bough there. Dallin was so sad when I wouldn't let him take them to church with him. We made
sponge balls and a boat with the extra sponge. Let me just say that the Dollar Tree is great for getting things to entertain a toddler!

Photo Fun

So sometimes I have random photos I want to share, but no real story behind them. So I have seen people have what they call "Wordless Wednesday." But since I can't promise it will be on Wednesday and also that it will be completely wordless, I decided to call it "Photo Fun" instead. Enjoy!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Today was MSU's annual Teddy Bear Picnic. We were excited to go. Dallin, however, was a little unsure about the whole thing when we got there.


They had all sorts of fun things for the kids. He got to pick out a new bike helmet, got lots of crafts and sticker, balloon hats, face painting, and much more. He even got a give his teddy an "x-ray" and got to take home a copy, plus he gave him and MRI and an eye test. Good news, Baby Teddy past every test. He is in excellent health. They even served lunch. The first hour we were there it was nice, a bit cool but nice. Then came the rain. We squeezed in the corner of a tent to eat lunch. Dallin was more interested in dancing to the music than eating.

We did walk around for about another 30 minutes in the rain. Dallin didn't want to leave. We were the only crazies in the garden. He loves the Children 4-H Garden, plus it is right next to the train tracks so you can see all the passing trains through the fence. It's really loud, but pretty cool to be so close. Dallin wanted to go through the Alyson Wonderland maze (as he calls it) over and over again. Finally we made him go home. He didn't cry or complain, but he sure did walk as slow as he possibly could.
After getting home everyone need to change because we were all soaked. Dad and Dallin enjoyed hot chocolate, The Incredibles, and a bowl of marshmallows for Dallin. Over all, it was a fun time. I can't wait till next year.

More Fun

We have been having more craft time. Dallin has been watching Ratatouille over and over. He thinks he is the chef now, so we made him and teddy chef hats. He has to wear it everything he does anything in the kitchen. It was so easy to make. The only time consuming part was pinning. you can find it here. The only thing I really changed was my band was a little smaller because my fabric wasn't the right length and I didn't have interface so I skipped that too and it still works just fine. I was thinking it would be a cute idea to have a cooking birthday party. Make a bunch of these and have the kids make their own pizza and decorate thier own cupcakes and such. Maybe when Dallin gets a bit older.

Then Dallin insisted that he had to be Buzz Lightyear with a box. For the longest time I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Then I remembered in the movie Andy uses a box to pretend to be Buzz. So we sent to work with an old diaper box an duct tape. The problem is I have to hide it because he wants to wear it everywhere. I know it's ugly, but he sure likes it.

And of course I need to make things because I have years of repressed crafter in me and now I have time I want to make something all the time. So I made another headband. I found the idea here. I liked the idea, because I love the thick headbands but they always crush my head and I can't stand to wear them. This is just a fabric cover over those cheap, thin, plastic headbands. What do you think? It is incredibly hard to take a good picture of yourself. :)


Off the crafty topic, we did have a family dinner and a movie the other night. We sent to a local diner and had some yummy food. Then we took Dallin to see Nanny McPhee returns. I think I liked it better than the first one. Dallin loved it and he especially kept talking about the crow and how Nanny McPhee didn't want him on her shirt. I don't know why he found that so funny.

And just for laughs, I wanted to share what Dallin said the other day. I was sitting on the couch and Dallin wanted to tickle my feet. He touches my feet and says, "What's this on your feet? Is it crust?" I couldn't help but laugh. I guess it's time for a pedicure. :)

MI Happenings

So I haven't really mentioned what Dallin and I have been up to, so here it is. We have found a park near our house that we go to almost every other day. It's called Hawk Island park. Monday we went and played at the splash pad. Dallin was really had a good time. Maybe we will got to the beach at lake this week too, if it doesn't rain. All the water fun closes after Labor Day.



Dallin is also mastering video games and the computer, for better or for worse. Russ will play Mario Party with Dallin. He can do it all himself. He also can use the laptop on his own to play games. Gives him something to do while I'm doing dishes.I can't remember where I saw this idea, but Dallin loves it. We sent to the Dollar Tree and bought foam sheets. All I did was cut them into shapes and they stick to the tile and tub when they are wet. Note to anyone who tries this, the hot pink color bled and I had to scrub to get the color off. It's safe to say that those colored foams all went into the trash.

Today Dallin and I made a bubble machine. I saw the idea here. Dallin had a blast. Only twice did we have "sucking on the straw instead of blowing" incidents. The best part was I had everything on hand but the straws, and I just picked those up at the grocery store.
I saw this idea and thought it was darling, so I had to try it. It didn't turn out quite like hers, and I did it a little different (I just used an old part of jeans). So here is the finished project (And yes, that is my toilet in the background. I didn't plan the place of my photo very well I guess.)

I'm not sure what I think yet. I don't know if it looks good or just like I'm a little girl. I'll let you know what I think after wearing it a bit.