Making a dress dummy

Now I did have to have help on this one, so a big big thanks goes to Lynette @ Crazed Mind for being willing to help me out. I have been doing more sewing lately and making shirts and dresses for Poo. We are trying to get summer ready and she loves dresses . It is easy enough to try things on her and see where I need to make room or take some up. She is very good about being still so I can pin the hems and whatnot. For me on the other hand it is not so easy. I really want some new shirts for working in the garden and in the yard. I want something cooler that I don't have to worry about getting stained or torn. Unfortunately, I am not a model nor do I have a model's body. Things don't always fit me the way they do on the front of a pattern so I needed a dress dummy. Now if any of you sew then you know that dress dummies are not cheap. I definitely could not afford to buy one so we went old school, redneck, ghetto, or whatever you want to call it. Here is my DUCK TAPE dress dummy! Now go ahead and have your laugh but when you think about it this is perfect. It cost about 10 dollars which is very good for my budget AND it is exactly my body. Whatever it looks like on the dummy it will look the same on me. It is much easier for me to make changes in the design if I need to and it is simple to do. Here is how you can make your own dress dummy.

You will need: 1 VERY good friend to help you ( you will be immobile and they will have scissors) 3 to 4 rolls of duck tape ( depending on how stiff you want it to be) 1 very snug shirt you are willing to cut up (short or long sleeves depending on what you prefer)

First, put on your snug shirt and set you main taping lines. Under the bust is a good place to start. Then do across shoulders and under the arms. Now it is time to just spin and wrap the tape all around you. You want the tape to be snug but not to tight. You want your bumps to still be there and you will need to have room for the scissors to get under it to cut you out. After you have several layers of tape all over, make sure they are interlocking with the shoulder area and the arms so it is one uniform piece. Now you are ready to be released:) Cut the underside of one sleeve to the armpit. Now cut from the bottom of the same side up to the armpit. Now you should be able to slide out. Tape the seam heavily and stuff with whatever you have handy. Mine is stuffed with bubble paper , plastic grocery bags, and scrap fabric since I did not have a lot of any of them.

I was lucky enough to be able to put mine on a stand and tape it to the stand for stability. So now I have a wonderful dress dummy on a stand for around 10 bucks. That's about what it would have cost for 1 new shirt. Now I can make several shirts and maybe even a dress or two for me without the hassle of getting it all done and having to rip out a seam because it doesn't fit right. Yay!!

Wordless Wednesday

All I can think of when I see this picture is just pure BLISS. Thanks to Never Growing Old for the WW linky!

Senior Pictures

Well, this weekend we managed to go get Munchie's pictures taken at the local park. We took about 500 so she had plenty to choose from. There were also Poo, Papi and landscape pictures in there also but she still had plenty. She was very happy with the way they turned out and is very excited about being able to get her graduation invitations out to family and friends. She was having trouble deciding which one to use so she put 10 up on Facebook for voting. After getting so many different responses she went back and decided to give each person the photo they voted on so everyone would have their personal favorite. I thought that was very diplomatic and showed a lot of consideration on her part. I sure am proud of the woman she has grown up to be. Even though I am only her aunt I am just as proud as any momma could be! Here are some of the wonderful pictures we took that didn't make the top 10 but we both loved. All in all we just had a wonderful family day in the park together. The Poo got to play for several hours so she was quite happy and it was just a beautiful day. So sunny with a light breeze, just a perfect day all around.We were lucky enough to get some very good pictures and all get to spend time together. We even went for a little mini hike in the dried up creek bed where we got some of the best pictures of the day.She is making her own graduation invitations as she didn't really like the ones the school had to offer. I can hardly wait to see the finished graduation invitations. I bet she will do a wonderful job on them. She is very artistic and has good vision for the finished product. I am just so excited!!

No Internet

Just a quick note to say our internet has been down for a few days. It really sucked but now we are up and running again! Still not sure exactly what happened but I will get back to blogging soon. We have a busy weekend coming, we are planning to get the garden planted, the trees trimmed and brush removed. Hopefully I will get some pictures to share :)

It's a PARADE !

On Saturday we all got up early and drove to Dublin, the home town of Dr. Pepper. Why did we do this you ask? Well, they had a big St. Patrick's Day parade.The Poo had never seen a parade this big so it was sure to be an experience.

Granny M took us all to a wonderful breakfast and then we walked outside to watch the festivities. We had quite a car full and everyone had a wonderful time! The Poo enjoyed waving at all the people who were going by and seeing the princesses in their gowns on the decorated floats. She also ended up with a TON of candy which they were throwing from the floats. Sissy was kind enough to help her get the candy that was too far into the street for her to reach and all candies were then divided. The Poo came out with the lions share. It was wonderful to see the excitement on her little face as the parade came by with horses and music. She was amazed by all of it. She cheered and waved and laughed at all the floats and ponies.

We spent the rest of the day playing with loved ones and then had a cook out to end the evening. She sure was one tired little girl last night. I think she even fell asleep smiling.

Perfect Pairings

Psalm 30:5 (KJV)
“ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Thanks to That's Baloney for letting me join in on Perfect Pairings!

Monday on Wednesday

Well it was a bugger of a day to say the least. Somehow when the oil got changed on my blazer, the oil filter didn't get back on right , so when I went to drive it the oil filter came off and all the oil leaked out. Guess what happens next....You win!!! My engine seized up and my vehicle ceased to run. Now, it was a used vehicle that I still have 3 years of payments on and no warranty.
Just to add insult to injury, on the way home towing it, the person driving it rolled over the chain and ripped off half of my bumper. Yes, just half. No, I don't see how that is possible either but I saw it with my own eyes so I PROMISE you it was only half of it.
Trying to keep a good sense of humor about it all and not run screaming and crying at the top of my lungs! Instead I drowned my sorrows in blackberry cobbler and coconut fluff. It was a really nice end to a tragic day. Today we will be gone in a borrowed vehicle as Papi has a doctors appointment out of town. Great timing, right? Yes, that's why I got the oil changed. Hope everyone has a great day and I am hoping today is a he&& of a lot better than yesterday!
Make time to hug the people you love and maybe even the ones you don't love just to mess with their heads:)

Wordless Wednesday

Hahahaha!! What can you say to this? On her behalf, it was his idea and it was her birthday:)

Thanks to Dear Crissy for the WW linky!

Sunday Fun for All

What a great day we had! The Poo and I got started early outside, just the two of us since Papi had to work. It was a lovely warm but overcast day with a light breeze. We drew a hopscotch board on the sidewalk and played hopscotch for a good while. Then we colored on the porch with the chalk. After that we came in for lunch and Papi got to come home and play with us!! Yeah!!
Of course he didn't really play to much. He and Poo worked on the used riding mower we bought last summer. After about an hour they decided he should push mow instead and Momma should take the mower to the repair shop.
So while he was mowing we came back up to the front yard and she spotted her bike from last summer. She wanted to ride it on the sidewalk and went to town! She was doing so good we decided to try it in the street and just see how it went. She did GREAT! She rode it for about 6 blocks. I was amazed. After about the fourth time up and down the block she began really picking up speed. Excitedly she informed me that the faster she peddled the faster the wheels go! I am certain she is a genius for figuring that out all on her own. Now, I am not a huge fan of running but she had me going at a good sprint for about the last two blocks. Whew! After finally getting her to stop(only because there was a stop sign) she decided she didn't really want to ride all the way home. She rode about another half a block and realized it was much harder. That is when I explained to her we were going uphill now, so we walked the rest of the way home while I carried the bike.
Now if that wasn't enough fun for the day she decided walking home was so much fun maybe we could go for a walk. It was a beautiful day and Papi was still mowing so off we went! We live in a rural community so the streets are pretty quiet and safe. We took off and she asked if she could pick where we go. It sounded like fun to me so every time we came to an intersection she got to pick left, right. straight or turn around. We meandered for several blocks and then heard someone calling HER name, not mine. We start looking around and who did we find but Lynette, Dear Hubby and Granny M in the back yard of a relative of theirs. We stopped to visit for a bit and then headed home to get Papi and invite him to come join us all. Lynette walked to the house with us and on the way we decided it was such fun that us girlies would just start doing this every day! Papi did take a break and walk over to visit with us and we had a nice afternoon with friends and family.
Now, it has been a pretty full day at this point but after getting home she reminds me we had not flown our kites today and that was the first thing we intended to do this morning. To the kites we go! We flew kites for about an hour and had a glorious time doing so. Unfortunately it was about time to make dinner so we finally called it a day. Dinner, a bath, dolls and a story later I finally got to sit down. It really was a fun day! I tell you I just don't know how she has all this energy every day. I was exhausted by the time I got to lay down for the night. It was all well worth it though. I am so thankful when we get to have days like this when we are all together and having a good time!

Perfect Pairings

This is my first time doing Perfect Pairings. My friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind is the one who told me about it and I love the idea. So here is mine for today:

Mark 4:26
26: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.

This would be heaven to me. I love everything about gardening. I love being outside, showing my daughter where food comes from. I love the family time we all get together in the garden. I love the joy on her little face when she is able to pull something fresh right off of a plant and eat it without worry. I love the many blessing that come from a garden. The bounty God has bestowed upon us, the ability to share it with others and the joy that comes from it all.

I want to also thank That's Baloney! for letting me join up in the perfect pairings.

Beautiful Day

It was another beautiful day here today. You would never know it was March by the temperature outside. We went out today and watered the fruit trees that have already begun blooming. Naturally in doing this we also watered The Poo. She had such a great time playing in the sprinkler all afternoon. I am certain she got more of the water than the trees did.

After she got done, we came in and put on dry clothes for the rest of the evening. She still wanted to be outside so she colored and wrote on the front porch with sidewalk chalk. While we were coloring, I managed to snap quite a few pictures. They are beautiful pictures to me, I swear I am not partial at all. (fingers crossed behind my back) I added a few of my favorites to the blog. We had a really nice afternoon and got a little bit of work done in the process. I just don't think you can ask for anymore than that. I hope you all feel as blessed as I do everyday to have something to look forward to. I always look forward to my family time. They are the most precious gifts ever!

Eagles everywhere

Image by law_keven via Flickr We love the outdoors and nature so it only seems to fit that we are now watching nature on our computer. The Poo has really been enjoying watching wild eagle nests and seeing the moms and dads take care of the eggs and eat. This morning she saw one bring a fish to the nest to share with its partner. She has gotten to watch them turn the eggs and protect them from the weather. I think it is so cool that you can go to a website and watch a live streaming video of eagles in the wild. So far we have 3 sites that we are watching and one of them has 3 babies that have hatched. The Poo was amazed to get to watch the last egg hatch and see the eaglet come out. What a wonderful experience for a little princess and all the rest of us commoners! If you are interested in watching the eagles these are the 3 we are watching.

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html
http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html
http://outdoorchannel.com/Conservation/EagleCam.aspx

We have now also heard there is a humming bird nest you can watch as well. It is an amazing learning experience for her because she can see how they behave and is able to ask questions and understand fully what is happening. On Eagle Cam there is even a moderated discussion so if she asks a question I can not answer we can type it in and they will respond in chat with an answer. How cool is that? I know we are certainly enjoying it and we wanted to share with any of you who may not have known about it. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

A princess doing what she does! She is loving this weather and being outside!!

Following the WW Dear Chrissy Linky

Go fly a kite!

The Poo and I have been having lots and lots of fun these days. The weather has been nice and sunny but not too hot so we have really been pushing to get our outside time. She loves to be outdoors even more than I do, and thats near impossible. We don't always have a reason to go outside, so sometimes we just have to make up one. One of our favorite reasons to come up with is kite flying. We both enjoy it very much and you can include as many or as few people as you like.

We think the more the merrier but sometimes it is just the two of us. This last week we were able to get Munchie, Papi and Lynette to join us in our kite flying follies. This week we have purchased extra kites to share with Lynette's grandbabes. The Poo is really looking forward to getting to go fly kites with them and spend time outdoors with friends. She always enjoys when they come for a visit and doesn't even mind sharing her toys with them. It was her idea to go buy them each a kite, and I thought it was very sweet and thoughtful of her. I am a really proud Momma. She is turning out to be a great young lady.

Anyway, I hope to have more kite flying photos to share with you later but these are from last week. She handles the kite very well and sure does enjoy it! I think kites are fun for the child in everyone! She has even convinced Sissy (aka College Girl)to go flying with us soon. I will be sure to get plenty of pictures of that!

Got TONS done this weekend

We got a lot accomplished this weekend and even had a good time doing it! An over view of saturday : got the tiller and the mower running, got the garden tilled, got the composter fixed and filled, got some grass cut, had a great time with friends in the evening. Sunday was really good also. We spent our morning slacking while I cut up various fruits and cheeses and packed a picnic. We surprised the Poo with a picnic about 11 am and by noon we were up and running. Everyone seemed to enjoy the picnic and Poo loved that Munchie was here to picnic with her. Thanks to Papi's help, we got the porch cleaned off and swept again, got all the leaves raked out of the front yard, got some plants planted, got the flower beds weeded and aerated, and got everything in front watered. He even started working on the trim around the front door. We have had the new door for a year and a half and the trim has been propped up by the door all this time. My Seester(sister) came to visit when she picked up Munchie. I got to have a nice visit with her. We had sandwiches and chips for dinner so I didn't even have to wash dishes. Yay!
My knees are screaming at me today but it was worth it. Poo got to play outside all day for 2 days in a ROW! Talk about a happy girl. We should be able to start planting this weekend so I am very excited. It is cooler today but suppose to warm up this afternoon so I think I will use this time on inside things. I will re-till the garden on thursday so we can plant friday and saturday. There is a chance of rain on sunday and monday so that would be great! I think poo and I will put out the fertilizer on the garden today so it has some time to sit before we till again.
I know as bad as my knees are hurting whatever we do today we will be doing it a bit slower and with a few more frequent breaks. I hate Lyme disease. It just hurts all the time. I am glad that I am able to do as much as I do though. I have learned how to pace myself somewhat but my right knee is double the size it should be today so I guess I will have to listen to my body and slow it down a bit today. Poo says I can sit outside while she plays but I know there is no sitting when she is playing. We will still have fun!
I hope everyone else had a good weekend and got to spend time with loved ones. That's the most important part!

The Poo's new puppy

No,
I don't have to feed this one thankfully. She was lucky enough to get a Muttles for Valentine's Day. What is a Muttle you ask? Don't feel bad I had to ask too. Muttles are adorable little puppies that are a cross between breeds, a hybreed, if you will. There are 8 of them in all and each one comes with an adoption certificate, trading cards and tatoos which is big fun for a little girl. They also come with a code you can enter on their website so that your little one can go play with their new pet in a virtual world as well.

Now, they are pretty small and I was afraid the Poo would not be able to keep up with it but she has done really well. The only trouble we had was she wanted to sleep with it and her real puppy, The Prince, was jealous. He stole it during the night and tried to kill it. They are apparently well made as many of her toys have not survived a Prince attack but this did. Other than being a little crusty from the slobber and requiring a bath, the Muttle was none the worse for wear. Not to bad for an inexpensive toy (3.99) and she does adore it. Thanks to Lynette at Crazed Mind for giving her this cutie. She really loves it!

This is a review for Muttles. I received no compensation. Lynette received a Muttle for review purposes which she kindly gave to the Poo. The opinions are my own.

Saturday was a good day!

Munchie got to spend the weekend with us again, so we all got up early and went to see Granny M. Guess what she was doing, uh huh, making WAFFLES !!! Yay! The morning was cold and windy but it sure was nice to have hot waffles, home made jellies, bacon and sausage. We ate like little piggies and loved it. The Poo decided she wanted to stay and play so I took the opportunity to fuel my spring fever.

The sun had come out and it was another beautiful day. I came home, started the tiller and went to town. The before and after in the garden is sure great to see! Then Papi got home from work and decided he would take over tilling so Munchie and I repaired my home made ghetto compost tumbler. Ugly....yes, but it works very well. We got it all put back together and then I got the mower running and used the bagger to fill my tumbler with dry grass and leaves. Add water and there you go. We are officially up and running for spring. Compost on the way and first till on the garden done!
If that wasn't enough we then got to clean up a bit and go to a bar-b-que at our friends/family's house. The first one of the year but only one of many to come I hope. We got to spend the evening with wonderful company, great food and good times. We started watching a movie after dark. We watched Avatar for a bit but the Poo was tuckered out and started trying to fall asleep so we decided to head home and put our girl to bed. Everyone was in bed early for a change. It was just a great day! Thanks to our dear friends Lynette and Dear Hubby for the great food and even better company!

Lets Get Outside

Many of you know that the Poo and I spend as much time as possible outdoors. We fly kites and play baseball and kickball. We play red light green light and garden with veggies and flowers. We go for walks and go play at the park. She loves to be active and Papi and I encourage that as much as we can. Even if it is just coloring with sidewalk chalk. When Papi is not at work he joins us in our outdoor adventures and loves it just as much as she and I do. But even we run out of things to keep us outside and that is why I really have enjoyed reading a new book Lynette from Crazed Mind lent to us. 15 Minutes Outside : 365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids by Rebecca P. Cohen is a wonderful book packed with ideas to get you and your kids outside and moving no matter the weather. Rebecca shares her story of how she got the idea to get her kids out everyday and took a leap of faith to change jobs after 15 years.

In this book she has ideas for every month of the year and all kinds of weather. There are tips to get your kids imaginations going as well as their bodies. She has put in the tricks she has found to make things easier and quicker to get out no matter the weather and how to stay warm in winter and cool in summer. Some of the ideas are super simple and tons of fun, some require a little more planning but are worth the effort it takes to get outside. One of the ideas I really liked was create your own drive in. In the evening, get some lawn chairs or blankets set up, pop your popcorn and head out with your laptop or portable dvd player and enjoy a movie night outside with your family. Simple but not something I would have thought of on my own and a great way to have a nice family evening. I have really enjoyed reading this book and think the ideas are wonderful and enjoyable for all ages. I would recommend you check out Rebecca's website at www.rebeccaplants.com/outdoorliving.asp.

This is a review of this book. I recieved no compensation for this. Lynette recieved a copy of this book for review purposes and all opinons are my own.

Texas Tea Party

Last night the Poo was very sad. Her Papi, who is daddy when she is sad, had to go away for the night. He has sleep apnea and had to go for a sleep study. This was not ok with the Poo. She is not used to him not being here for bedtime and cried her little heart out when it was time for him to leave. It was made worse by the fact that he had to go so quickly after getting home from work since the study was in another town.

So to help her out we decided to make it a girls night and change the focus. We bake home made strawberry muffins, sliced fresh strawberries and strawberry whipped cream with strawberry tea in a REAL tea pot. What fun we had! She picked a table cloth and we had to put on dresses and rings and use our very best many at the tea party. It really took her mind off of Papi and gave us some much needed play time. She even shared her muffins with Lynette @ Crazed Mind. When it came time for bed it was the same old routine. Teeth brushed, potty done, nightgown on, story read and she crashed! No fussing or crying at all. She sure is growing up fast. I hope to squeeze in as many tea parties as possible before she outgrows them. If any of you would like to have your own tea party with your little ones here is the recipe for the muffins. They were great!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2/3 cup butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons strawberry extract

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

8 to 10 fresh strawberries diced

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and both extracts. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk while beating. Beat for 1 minute. Pour into two 9 inch round pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. We used a mini muffin pan and started checking after about 15 minutes.

Easy cake to make and so delicious. Would be a good birthday cake as well.

Dream Big

As most of you know, The Poo is a very active girl. She is also very bright and catches on to things quickly. She runs and plays all day and I do what I can to encourage that. We go fly our kites when the weather is nice or play baseball or kickball if there is no breeze. We go to the city park or walk to Lynette's house. Sometimes however, I want for her to be still and get some rest. Bedtime can be a hassle around here so we got into the routine of you have 30 minutes to get your wiggles out, go potty, brush teeth and then comfy and cozy its time for a story. The Poo loves for us to read to her.


She has quite a nice book collection. She gets books for birthdays and Christmas and as rewards when she does something new and keeps trying even though it may be quite difficult. Right now she is learning to write her letters and sound small words out.


As a reward for working so hard our friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind let us borrow a wonderful story for the Poo to hear at bedtime. Dream Big Little Pig by Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi is such a wonderful story. Poppy the pig has big dreams, just like my angel. In the story Poppy wants to be a famous star and tries many things. Nothing seems to work out for Poppy and the teachers keep telling her this just isn't for you. It is so sweet to hear Poo cheering her on " You can do it if you try!" Poppy dreams of being a figure skater and even though there are those who think pigs can't skate. Poppy achieves her dream just by doing something she loves. Poppy's family and best friend are very supportive of her dreams and it is very inspiring to a little girl who wants to be a football playing ballerina doctor. We have very much enjoyed borrowing this book and I am sure we will have to purchase this when it is time to return it.


It is a great story for boys and girls alike who have big dreams and parents who encourage them and help them to strive for their goals. The pictures are beautiful and the story reaches out to little ones and grown ups alike. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a small child. If you get the opportunity go buy it. I know we will!





This is a review for this book. I received no compensation and the opinions are my own. Lynette @ Crazed Mind received a copy of the book for review purposes.