Rhino Challenge Accepted

Recently Reid and I were looking at costumes for him to wear for Halloween. I showed him all his choices on Amazon...dinosaur, fireman, dog, policeman and all were rejected. It wasn't until he saw a picture of a boy dressed as a rhino that he got excited. A rhino?? Seriously?? Of course the only one they had was a large size 6-7, and he's a 4. So I guess this was going to be a challenge for his crafty mom.

I waited and waited showing him many other fun costumes but every time he said that he wanted to be a rhino. Finally I decided to make the costume.

Supplies: 1 grey shirt
               7 sheets dark grey felt
               1 sharpie black marker
               1 crochet har
               1 toy rhino
               Glue gun

I studied the toy rhino and looked at how the plates on his back were shaped. I then cut the corners to form a round edge.

 Then hot glued them all down and cut around the back of the neck. Then I added the texture and 3D with the black sharpie! It's amazing the things you can do with a sharpie, they are my life. HA that's just sad.

I crocheted a hat for him following this basic pattern I found on Etsy. I added the ears which I am scared to say do resemble a pig too much, but I couldn't get the shape of the rhino ear. I added a horn which I also found this pattern from Pinterest.

And here is the finished product!!!! A Rhino for Reid!!!

xoxo
Laura

Emmy turns 1!!

We did it!! We successfully made it the first year with Emmy Katherine! 

These are a few of her favorite things: 

- Loves to eat however the slowest eater we have ever seen! 

- Huge sweet tooth. Haven't met a sweet she doesn't love. 

- Sleeps 12 hours a night and takes a 2 hour nap. 

- Laughs constantly especially at her brother. 

- Still in the 99th percentile for height! 

- Favorite animal is her panda bear and Jerry & Larry her pacifiers. 

- Extremely girly! Shoes, makeup, necklaces, pink, babies...

- Very quiet, only says 3 words. Favorite is "un-oh"

- Refuses any and every sippy cup. 

- Loves kitties! 

- Great at snuggling and prefers to be held most of the time by CeCe! 

Daily Baby Schedule Books

Before I had Reid I wanted something that I could document everything. You should see my planner. Want to know what we had for dinner on July 15? Or what time Emmy took a nap on December 8? I could tell you. How about the weather?! Yes I write that down too. So I figured I needed to create a book that would let me keep track of everything. This is how the first edition of the schedule book came about. I wrote down 365 days of nursing, when he had a dirty diaper, when he started which foods etc. This is going to be great blackmail for when he is dating! When two of my friends were about to have their babies I decided to make them a copy of them. Turns out they loved them! They said I should sell them. I was very skeptical. What if they don't sell. What if... what if... what if?! I changed up the books with notes from these friends about different options and how they used them. They are now not specifically geared toward breastfeeding, instead leave room for nursing AND bottle fed babies. I struggled with breastfeeding with both kids. Natural isn't always easy. We supplemented and ended up switching to formula at 7 months with Reid and 3 months with Emmy.

Here is a sample of the book: 

Each day has a blank line for the date and day to be filled in when the baby arrives. 

The days are divided into AM & PM columns. They are then divided by 30 minutes. The S column is for sleeping. Then there is the Side column for which side (L or R) you are nursing on. The next column is for Minutes nursed or Ounces. The next column is for Diapers (wet or poopy). The Other column is for small notes i.e. medicine, bath, solid foods, etc. Then there is room for daily notes. 

The books are offered in 3 choices: 3 months, 6 months or 12 months. 

There are 4 different cover choices in a variety of colors.

You can select to have a personalized name or a generic title. 

Each cover has 2 colors that can be changed to any of these color combinations. 

These books seem to be a very popular item on Etsy! Who would have thought? I am very excited to share these with the world. 

If you are interested in buying them please check out these links to the Etsy store. 

Chevron

Dots & Spots

Lines

Solid with Lines

Recent work and a sneak peek

A few new items I have been working on! (excuse the iphone pictures!)

A sneak peek of a few things that are in the making!

Pumpkins and Cousins

We went to a "pumpkin" patch a couple of weekends to pick out our pumpkins. The kids had a lot of fun picking the right one. Reid had to find a mommy, daddy, Reid and baby pumpkin! Makes you wonder if the pumpkins are how he actually sees us! Here are a few pics from our first trip.

Fun new jammies!

Little miss and her pumpkins!

Sibling love!

This one just makes me laugh! 

The following weekend the cousins from Austin were here visiting and we again went to get pumpkins! Dad was in town from Colorado so we all went over. Got a few pictures but getting them all to look the same directions is quite impossible. 

Gangs all here! They all could be related huh?!

The blondes! hahahahah

Crochet with love & yarn

Passion. I can't believe the passion I have found in crochet. Recently I posted a picture of a blanket and I had a request from a dear family member. It was for a large afghan. I searched high and low for the best yarn to match the colors. I worked many nights after everyone had gone to bed with a cup of coffee and my cat. And I love it all.

I put love into every stitch. I am finally proud of my work regardless if it is "Laura Perfect!" It feels so good to finally not have to be perfect. I feel free!

Here is a little picture from my phone. I will update with my professional pics when I download them from my camera.

And now we have a bird

Folks, I have always been a cat person. We've only had dogs, cats and fish. We did have a stinky turtle for about a week before we gave it to a house with stinky boys! So when I caught my outdoor cat attaching a small yellow bird I have NO idea what to do.


I came home from running errands and saw Glee, outdoor cat, attaching something. It's not an unusual thing since she is a great mouser. I jumped out of the car and saw a bright yellow bird. I pulled Glee off of the bird and took her to the front porch and told her to stay there. She didn't listen. I proceeded to try to get this bird away from the attack cat and help it fly away. The only problem is it wouldn't fly...

I quickly remembered a trashcan that I had just purchased at the store was in the back of the car. Fifteen minutes later she was in the trashcan. Now what?  I had no idea. I took the trashcan to the backyard and went inside to tell the babysitter that I wasn't in fact late I was chasing a bird. She looked a little confused until I took her and my son out to see our feathery friend....still in the trashcan.

After laughing and asking her what I should do, to which she also had no idea, I went to the front porch and grabbed an old bird house that I had randomly found on the side of the road. Can this store get any weirder?? It was old and falling apart but it would contain her better than the trashcan. A quick transfer with a gloved hand and she was in her new temporary home.

My son and I quickly went on an adventure to Petsmart to buy the essentials. Thank goodness they had food that said "Parakeet food" because I had NO idea what they ate. We got a cage and he picked out a toy, because what bird doesn't need a toy?! Off to home we went.

Fast forward and we still have the bird! Her name is Twitter and she is a yellow faced albino budgie. We called the local vets, ASPCA, and even the FW zoo. They actually said they get a lot of calls about birds but she didn't belong to them. So now we are bird owners, learning each day. She is still very scared but her wing has healed and we let her fly around a playroom and stretch out quite often!

Can I tell you??

HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS YARN?!?! No seriously. I love this yarn. The name of the yarn has never been so fitting.

I've tried a few different yarns over the years with knitting and various projects but for crochet this is my favorite. It's super soft. And as a Highly Sensitive Person the touch is very important to me. **another blog about that coming soon.** So after finding this yarn I found the one called Linen. I love this color! It's very soft and muted without looking dirty. It's my favorite and yes I did by all 10 at once...but 5 more my friend Heather bought for me at her Hobby Lobby! ;) 

Here is a blanket I whipped up with linen, white and a rosy cheeks pink. It's super soft and warm! I am also making it with a yellow, green and blue strip down the middle.  Etsy link! 

Fall wine holders

Fall is in the air! The sound of the crunching of leaves under your feet. The smell of pumpkins. The taste of the PSL from Starbucks. The feel of a fall breeze and wearing a sweater. All these things would be lovely to have right now. But lets be honest, we are in Texas!! We still have a plethora of hot weather to get through. Maybe one day I will make it up to the East Coast where I can imagine all these things are starting to happen.

I decided to do a few items for fall. Slowly starting to get more and more items posted. So without further ado, here they are!

Wine Holders

Of course as a mom of 2 I can say that I love my wine dearly! Especially when dealing with a 3 year old. Phew, that's another post in itself. I found this pattern here and have recreated them. I changed it a little with different stripes, flowers and embellishments, but it is similar. I think it would make a nice gift to a dinner party or a fun birthday gift. A little jazz to any wine bottle. Hoping to have a holiday series for any and every holiday.

Crochet Baby Blankets

Here are a few of my crochet blankets that I have listed on my store. They are crocheted in the popcorn stitch which is my new favorite stitch!! It's so soft and warm. Available in any color combination imaginable.

Link for purchase

Link for purchase

Open for Business!

I can't believe I did it!!

This has been years in the making. I have always wanted to have my own Etsy Store but didn't have the confidence to do it. Somehow this morning I sat down and just did it. I didn't give myself time to think about it and I think that's the best thing I could have done. I get so anxious putting myself out there for the world to see. But it is time to share my hobby and passion.

So far I only have a couple items ready but that's ok! Time will allow me to make more and figure out the true direction I want to take this store.

Here is the link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/LauraLizzies

xoxo

Laura

A little about it!

Do you know one of those people who seems to have a weird home remedy for everything? Like they are an offspring of Google? My son has a splinter, they say try this or this. My daughter has reflux, try this but don't try this it doesn't work. My cat has furballs, first eww, then try this. We all have this friend. It baffles you what comes out of their mouths and leaves you bewildered and repulsed by the things they want you to try. Well ladies and gentlemen...I'm that person.

From as far back and I came remember I've had this extra sense of random knowledge. Being a High Sensitive Person (HSP), and a future post, I feel it's my gift. I love researching random things like how many ways I can use baking soda. Trying new techniques when it comes to making things. My friends and family always laugh when I tell them what I have just tried, but much to their amazement when they try it, it does work. Not saying it works every time. Believe me I have had many many failed attempts at these remedies and crafts. But it's all in good fun!

A little background on me. I am a true Texas by birth. Grew up in the mountains of Colorado, no I don't ski, or hike, or like cold weather. Basically I got back to Texas as soon as I could!! Went to the best school TCU and am a diehard Horned Frog Fan. I cannot leave the city of Fort Worth. It's now my home!

In college I met my best friend aka The Hubs. Oh my gosh that is beyond ridiculously cliche. But I did!! We've been friends since 2002, met through a friend's friend's roommate's friends's friend one night in the dorm while watching a movie with two of the said friends and talked every days since! We were friends before we started dating at the end of college. Got engaged after college graduation and the day before my 23rd birthday. Married in the fall of 2006 and although it's not always pretty have stayed happily married. We bought our first house right after getting hitched and recently put on an addition. Honestly we can't leave this area, it's home!

In the fall of 2010 we welcomed our first born, the Reidster. He is now 3.5 and CRAZY. In a good way 75% of the time. The other 25% is when I question my sanity! He is all boy. Loves EVERYTHING baseball, cars, animals, planes and TCU. He's in preschool right now and is a social butterfly. While he does drive me nuts the things this kid says always keeps me on my toes!

After I had forgotten how much I loath pregnancy and completely blocked out the pains of labor we decided to try to another. And I got my girl!! For as long as I can remember I have wanted a little yellow haired, green eyed mini me. Well she arrived in the fall of 2013 with brown hair and brown eyes! We've all had a good laugh, even God, who knows I like to plan everything and it just didn't go according to my plan. She's been through a lot in her 8 months of life, but now she is the happiest and cutest baby in the world!

If anyone tells you that I am one cat away from being a crazy cat lady they are lying. Ok maybe they aren't! But I am good with the two fur-babies I have right now. I do love cats and have a weird sixth sense when it comes to the feline breed. Doesn't everyone have cats run after them when they are walking down the street? Or have ferrel cats trust them enough to clean out a neck wound? No?!?! Well anyway I love cats!

I also love to craft. I actually feel like it's a sickness really. I have more crafting crap than I know what to do with but am ALWAYS up for a trip to the craft store. The way you can tell a true crafter from an amateur is how many projects they have started and not finished! I'm with at least 7 right now that I can see and have at least 12 in my mind to start.

This blog is dedicated to everything that I know, want to know and am willing to learn. It's going to be a conglomeration of my home remedies, things I try from around the Internet and from Pinterest, my new and old craft projects, and ridiculously cute moments from my kids and family. I promise not to overload you with the cuteness because motherhood isn't always pretty so from time to time it will get real and nasty. But hey it's life right?!?!?!

So sit back and watch as the my crazy life unfolds before your eyes.