Friday, June 25, 2010

Peter's First Homemade Outfit



I am so proud of this crazy little thing. I have had the pattern for over a year now and have just been waiting for a chance and reason to make it and that time came today! It is made out of an adult t-shirt, the original pattern calls for a large t-shirt, I used a medium one because that is what we have a lot of in our bin of old t-shirts. We have been keeping them in a tub every time we clean out drawers so we can make cheap clothes for Peter. The only thing I had to pay for was the 97 cent white thread to sew it together! The time doesn't really count right now because I have very limited hours at work, so really it is keeping me sane. The whole thing today only took under two hours and that includes printing the pattern, assembling the pattern, cutting the material, and sewing, and referring to directions. The next one won't take nearly as long because the pattern is already assembled and I know (generally) what I am doing. Also it must be fairly easy because I didn't have to rip out any seams while making it, while I was making shirts for Phil for the pioneer trek I had to rip out one seam 3 times! It was nice that this one actually worked out, otherwise Peter might not get some of the cool sleepers we have planned for him, such as tie-dyed, batman, and superman. Now I just need to borrow my niece Lucy to see how they fit! Good thing I get to see them before Peter comes! Also in the pictures you will notice the Afghan that Amy made for Peter! And the red hat that I randomly made and found funny, poor child--just look at the goofy clothes we plan on putting him in.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Savings High

So today we had our weekly family home evening night, which for us just means spending time doing something spiritual and something fun, but not necessarily at home. I spent my day at home cooking and cleaning and didn't feel like spending more time here so I needed a getaway. I also was going through some stuff of Peter's and found a giftcard to Kohls. Perfect for a family home evening, shopping for Peter! Well Kohl's is having quite a few sales for things at 80% off or more. Thankfully Phil is also just the right size for these types of things and found 2 pairs of corduroy pants for work/school one being Chaps ($9.90) and the other Hawk ($4.40) (I don't know it was from the teenager section...ahhh...did I just say that?) He also found a long sleeve brown shirt for layering ($2.60). We decided that it wasn't too bad of a price for brand name clothes that fit and were new and useful for the future and he used some money he got for Fathers' Day. We then headed over to the baby section to use Peter's gift card for him (on him) he got a t-shirt ($2.00), a polo shirt onesie ($2.80), camo shorts ($1.60), t-shirt ($2.40), polo ($1.60). These were all either 80% off or 90% off what they were marked. Since he still had some money on the card and he needed a photo book as well and they were buy one get one free. Finally I found a cute maternity shirt ($3.00) for myself and in pink one of my favorite colors! I love saving money while shopping I didn't realize how much we had saved until the screen at checkout said our total savings was $207 something! That's just crazy! Half of what we did have to pay for was on Peter's gift card leaving us with only $25 to pay! Oh I love it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Family Reunion


Phil has a nice size family (7 kids) with lots of boys (5) and since they are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all of the boys have decided to go on missions. Well 3 of the boys (Phil, Robert, and Thomas) overlapped their missions making it 6 years since the entire family has been together! Thomas just got back from his mission in Japan and the whole family meet up at home in Batesville to celebrate the reunion. The family has grown a nice bit within these 6 years. 3 of the 7 kids are now married and there are 4 grandchildren with 1 on the way! Oh and 1 of the 4 not married kids is dating someone, and she came out to visit as well...That made for a very large number of Calls. We had lots of fun. We spent one day at the Louisville Temple and a lot of time working on projects around the house. A tree house was constructed, a patio and planter paved and a front door and deck stained. All while I sat in a chair and watched! (and made them take drink breaks) We also spent some time trying to take pictures. I didn't get all of them but I had to be in a few as well! It was great to see everyone and look forward to seeing everybody again!

Baby Shower


We had a baby shower a few weeks ago for Peter thrown by my amazing friends Betty Jo and Amy. It was a great time and had the cutest decorations, invitations, and yummiest food EVER. Instead of a normal shower it was a book shower, so people are supposed to bring books for Peter either classics, from the registry or their personal favorites. He received enough books to fill up an entire shelf on his bookcase! (yes, he already has his own bookcase instead of using the family one) Thanks for all the great gifts! Enjoy some fun pics from the party as well.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Blurb


This website is amazing. I love it! It is a book publishing website. I heard about it on a few podcasts and from a friend of the family who is a photographer. I used it to make a gift for my brother-in-law's homecoming present. He sent an email home every week for 2 years while on a mission for our church. I kept all of those (thank goodness for free storage space in email accounts) and copied them into Word and then into their FREE software. I designed my own cover with a picture that I drew. He was quite impressed with it and promises that he will enjoy it for years to come. I loved making it and look forward to doing it again for gifts in the future.