So back to this blog I sort of forgot about...

Well, it's been a little while. :-)

I think I left off around the end of October and Halloween.  And we had a little change-up at that time that is part of the reason I've been blogging less.  Our babysitter, Leah, moved to Boston.  And it's a wonderful move for her and we were happy for her to take that next step, but it greatly changed the routine around here.

This was one of those times when I really wish I had a job that I could easily break from for a short period of time, but medicine doesn't typically work that way.  I ended up switching my work schedule so that I could be off earlier on Thursdays, and added another half day during the week.  And it has been much, much better for us, so I'm thrilled with that part of the change.  The downside is that we have no coverage for sick days or teacher duty days, so I've been taking those days off as needed.  And I'm crossing my fingers that our new hospital employer will let me keep doing so. 

So, back to the pictures!  Leah's last day was Halloween, so we took some pictures when I got home from work.

My ninja and "Red Red Riding Hood" (as Anna called herself):

Anna's costume is McCall's 6187, with some significant bodice-lengthening to make it way less babydollish:

That toy in Anna's basket is a Big Bad Wolf from Ikea that came complete with a little grandmother stuck inside his mouth--which meant I had to introduce the kids to the more violent version of the story (instead of the watered-down version where Grandma gets locked in a closet).  They loved it.

Will wanted to wear his ninja costume from last year, and we were both thrilled that it still fit:

Goodbye hugs:

Not too horribly sad, though, cause she's got a few trips back to Florida planned for some wedding shoots.

Since John and I both worked pretty late, we decided to do a quick trick-or-treat stroll around the neighborhood and skip the school festival.  When we arrived back home, we parents were delighted to discover the kids were perfectly capable of handing out the candy...and we left them to it:

Next up....November in one post, I think.  Or maybe we will skip to Anna's ear piercing saga.  Stay tuned...

Handmade Holidays

I didn't make very many handmade presents this year.  I did squeeze in a knitted cowl for Leah:

And I finished my Facebook craft pledge gifts with an Advent pillow and an Advent package (not very handmade, but at least it was hand assembled):

I sent that one to Yomary for the kids to do; I used Advent verse printables from here and had candy for each day, along with nativity figurines for several days (from the Charlie Brown nativity) and some other activities and gift cards.  It was so fun to put together.

After Anna's refusal of my offering to make her a princess dress, I realized my years of sewing for my children--and having them enthusiastically accept the results--is limited.  So I decided to do a few holiday sewing projects for them.

I made the Puppet Theater from Little Things to Sew.  It's sewn on a canvas drop cloth and sized to fit in a doorway on a tension rod:

In action on Christmas Day (thank goodness for puppets in the Dollar Spot at Target, perfect timing!):

Both kids love to draw pictures and are very, very proud of their artwork.  I decided to print out fabric using their drawings (via Spoonflower) and make them some PJ's.

I have no experience with manipulating graphics (and no applications in which to do so), so I just scanned their pictures and uploaded them to Spoonflower without alteration, then tiled them on fabric.

Will's whale:

Anna's rainbow:

The fabric (cotton poplin) turned out well, although I wish I'd figured out a way to saturate the colors.  Anna's fabric was more faded than her original drawing.

I made the pants from the Oliver and S Sleepover Pajamas pattern.  Spoonflower fabric is expensive, so I just ordered enough for the pants and then appliqued some t-shirts from Old Navy to complete the set.

Kids modeling their new jammies on Christmas night:

They were a hit!  And I was thrilled they liked them as much as their new store-bought jammies. :-)

Yep, school started

Will and Anna started their new classes last week.  I meant to post a few pics on Facebook, but, well...I didn't get a lot of good pics.  I blame the models.  One has a super-crooked front tooth, the other one just wasn't in the mood for pictures.  Maybe it was the steamy humid morning; I know that made my camera sad.

Will is in Mrs. Karr's second grade class...

...and Anna is in Mrs. Hoffman's K4 class.

I realized about a week earlier that this will be the last year that Anna doesn't wear a uniform.  I kinda felt like I should've done a better job with a first day of school outfit, but a new top was all I could manage.  It's the Geranium top pattern, and it was a quickie and only took half a yard of scrap fabric.  Two thumbs up from me.

This is where they started getting antsy...

"Let's go already!"

One day years from now, Will is going to wish he'd worked harder on pulling that tooth before school started.  They had individual school pictures taken today--that tooth is still dangling, and Anna looks the same as above except for the lovely addition of a big bruise on her forehead.  I think this year's pics are going to be real keepers, yes?

Grand finales

The end of the school year also signaled the end of the kids' spring sports.  (If you don't mind calling Anna's dancing a sport...)

Will and John practicing before the last T-ball game:

Little sister keeping herself entertained:

Will and his coaches (really awesome coaches this year):

I finished teachers' gifts just in time--tote bags from this tutorial...

...some cute notepads from this Etsy shop...

....and gift cards.  Since I'm pretty sure that's what teachers appreciate the most. :-)

Last day of school:

Anna had her last dance class at the Little Gym:

On the last day, they performed a little routine for all the parents.  John recommended that I post the videos, because he said the still pictures make it look like Anna is more accomplished than she is.  Which is true.

Here's the tap dance video:

 

After the tap routine, they went into the gym for gymnastics, which is Anna's favorite part of class.

Anna finally conquered the beam:

They finished with a ballet routine:

 Of course, the finish is the main thing.  Anna did a prolonged and very thorough bow:

Then they got their medals!

So shy!

Group photo:

So stinkin' cute. :-)