Announcing

For a while now I have toyed with the idea of opening a shop online. I have found something I really love to do, which is sewing and creating, and I am past the point of making things for my girls. Believe it or not, little girls CAN have too many clothes. After some encouragement in the direction of selling the things I make, I have finally got this shop up and going.

Introducing:


I have opened an Etsy shop that you can find here:
http://www.monkeystyleboutique.etsy.com/
Please understand this is still in the infancy stages, and I will be fine tuning and adding to it in the coming weeks.

Why the name? I don't know about your kids, but mine are monkeys. I call them monkeys, they act like monkeys, they hang on me like monkeys, they are LOUD like monkeys, and so that kind of became my jumping off point...boutique style for my monkeys. My goal is to make clothes and gifts that you would find in boutique stores, for a fraction of the price. Right now, I've only got dresses and skirts listed, but I have lots and lots of ideas for the future. Mainly some boy stuff...although I'm not a mama to any, I've got some precious boys in my life that need cute stuff too. Also, I hope to add more "gift" type items (burp cloths, bibs, blankets, etc) soon.

Let me just say that I am waaaaaaaay outside my comfort zone here. Me? I'm right here. My comfort zone? Miles away from here. I have second guessed myself a hundred times on doing this, talked myself out of it dozens of times, and finally decided to just go for it. I may fall flat on my face and never sell one thing, but at least I will have tried. Self promotion is not my thing. Marketing is not my thing. But sewing? I think that's my thing. We'll see how this goes.

As Beth Moore says, you would not waste a prayer on me right now. In fact, I would covet your prayers as I try to get this going. Pray that God would bless it, that I will find a balance between this, full time work, and family life. Pray that my talent and skill will develop. And pray I don't lose my mind.

Dear John

I think it's normal for children to have imaginary friends. But is it normal for them to have imaginary husbands? This is what has been going on at our house for the past few weeks. Mattie has been going on about her husband "John". He lives in our house and they are raising all her babydolls together.

Let me give a little background; since she was about 3 years old, Mattie has wanted to get married. We have had MANY discussions about why 3yr olds and 4yr olds can't get married (how weird is that?). I think part of it is the obsession with being the bride...she loves to go to weddings, and one of her favorite shows on TV that we watch together is "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC where girls shop for and buy their wedding dresses at an upscale boutique in NYC. So, she is very into being a bride, but she is also very into the idea of having a husband.

And she is also VERY into her baby dolls. She has lots of dolls, but about 7 or 8 main baby dolls that she mothers. She carries them all over the house, many times making multiple trips to get them all in the same place at the same time. She'll say things like "these babies want me to hold them ALL the time" in an exasperated voice. Or I'll hear her talking to them, saying things like "no, honey, don't scratch your sister" or "no, sweetie, don't put that in your mouth". She changes diapers, puts them in PJ's at night and clothes during the day. It's a lot of work, and it's all very real to her. And very cute to watch.

So a few weeks ago, she tells us that she has a husband, and his name is John. We've been hearing about him ever since. Here's what we know about John:

-He has brown hair, and a brown mustache and brown beard
-He was a teacher/coach just like her daddy, but just this morning she told us that he got fired because he was late to work, but it wasn't his fault because he doesn't ever know what time it is (she has obviously been listening in the mornings when I tell her to hurry up or I'm going to be late and get fired).
-He's a good daddy because anytime we're away from the house, Mattie is only allowed to bring one baby doll with her, but John stays home and keeps the rest of them. Sometimes we have to "call" John and remind him of things, like this morning she asked for my phone, called John and said be sure to give all the babies cranberry juice for breakfast (what?). We've also called him to tell him to go get diapers or food in the past few days.
-Yesterday as we were getting ready to leave in the morning, she told me John was still in bed asleep, but she was going to wake him up with her flute. She wanted to know if I thought HE would think it was funny, so I said "sure he will". A few minutes later I hear her go in her room and blow her flute as loud as she can and then scream "WAKE UP, LAZYBONES!!!!" John is such a good sport, he did think it was funny...according to Mattie.

She talks a lot about "one day when I get married", and this weekend she told me that when she grows up and gets a real husband, John will go away. So at least we know he's just temporary.

Weekend Over?

Another weekend over, and back to work tomorrow. Ugh! I have spent the weekend working very hard on something new, and hope to reveal it soon. And I've been giving my Singer quite the workout, which is work I enjoy doing. Have I mentioned that I love fabric? It's a new addiction I've formed. I love beautiful colors, beautiful prints and designs...it's very inspiring to me. This is my newest stack I'm working on...already some Christmas stuff in there too.

I finished this skirt for Mattie last week, and it has been a hit with her. It's very "twirly", she says. These skirts are so cute with tank tops and flip flops...perhaps I should start sewing for myself some.

And, I shared this on facebook, but Presley got her first pedicure. I started painting Mattie's toenails when she was about this same age, but I don't remember Mattie being such a squirm worm. If you're wondering, I do this while she's in the highchair eating, and use quick dry nail polish. It was still kinda messy, but the results were worth it, I think:

This is exactly what my feet looked like in the last weeks of my pregnancy with Presley. Seriously!

Cutey Booty

I have been working on something new for Presley and I finally finished it....ruffle bloomers! And I could not love these how these turned out more! How cute is a tiny booty with ruffles on it?

I'm gonna be real honest here. I think I have mentioned before my love/hate relationship with headbands and big bows on babies. It's not something I typically love, and although I have done it, we usually stick to little baby bows on Presley. However, the day I bought the fabric for these bloomers, I was perusing Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite past-times), and I saw they had these headbands and flower clips for basically nothing, so I thought "what the heck"...it matched the bloomers I was making, I thought it might make a cute picture, and I spent less than $5 for both peices (did you mama's who buy these headbands and flowers know that Hobby Lobby has them? Way cheaper than boutique store prices).

And I have to say, I don't know that my baby has ever looked cuter to me! I laughed the whole time this was on her head because I could not get over the cuteness. And this is maybe my new favorite picture of PK:

I'm planning to have her pictures professionally made soon, and these bloomers will definitely be one of our costume changes.

I also wanted to share that the lady I bought the pattern for these bloomers from is the same one that I bought the ruffle dress pattern from. She has a great Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlelizardking

and also a great sewing blog. She recently featured me in one of her customer creations posts here (at the very bottom of the post):

http://littlelizardking.blogspot.com/2010/07/customer-creations-featuring-you-3.html

Kinda neat, I thought.

And finally, I am currently considering taking some sewing orders. I've had lots of interest in the things I've made, and lots of encouragement in that direction. If you or anyone is interested in me making something you've seen on here, or something different, please email me at:

nashley99@hotmail.com

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Nine Months

Holy smokes, nine months old. Three months and I’ll be writing a first birthday post. Say it isn’t so!

Dear Time,

Please go away and leave us alone. My babies are getting too big, too fast.

Thank You,

Presley & Mattie’s Mommy

This girl is as cute as ever. Happy as ever. Fun as ever. And such a joy to the Nash house.

She spreads lots of smiles:

And other silly faces:

And keeps us all laughing, all day long.

I jazzed up this plain little onesie for the Little Miss with some ruffles on the booty, and her initial on the front. Turned out cute, I think!

Since her booty is in the air all the time these days, I thought it needed some ruffles.
So, Miss Presley Kate, what are you up to these days?

-Still not crawling, but we have to be days away. You have it all figured out except for the moving of your hands. You’re popping up on your knees like it’s no big deal, and rocking, and scooting some, but you can’t figure out what to do with your hands. It’s hard!

-This weekend, we put up lots of your baby stuff that you’re not using anymore, like the swing, the bouncy chair, the baby bathtub. It made me so sad to see those things go back in the attic!!

-We are starting to sample some table food. Right now you are LOVING diced peaches and pears. Still loving graham crackers, cookies, puffs, and your favorite is the yogurt melts. You shake and squeal when I get them out of the cabinet. Still taking 4 bottles a day.

-You are still a champion sleeper. This past Saturday, both you and Sister slept till 8:00am. I never thought I’d consider 8:00am late for a Saturday, but it was wonderful!

-Something funny you do that I don’t want to forget…you do a fake *cough-cough* when you want our attention. And it gets louder and louder and more obnoxious the more persistent you get. It basically says “look at me!!”

And how could we not? You are the most precious little thing. I love the next picture so much:

Happy 9 month birthday, sweet baby!

How is this possible??!!

Sleepy Head

It's hard work eating graham crackers in your highchair. Poor Presley couldn't hold her eyes open after supper the other night. I gave her some graham crackers, and was cleaning up the kitchen...I turned around, and she was sound asleep. I cleaned her all up, got her out of the chair, and she never woke up....well, she did eventually, but not for about 30 minutes.

This girl used to sleep in her highchair too:

Noodles and Milk

When we found out we were expecting another girl last summer, I knew that we wouldn't need much new stuff. We had tons of baby girl clothes, all the necessary gear, and plenty of pink. So, I decided that since we didn't need much new, I would get to splurge on some special, personalized things for Miss Presley.

One of the things I bought was her personalized boppy cover. It is hands down my favorite "baby" thing she has. And if I've gotten one compliment on it, I've gotten hundreds. It's the pillow I take Presley's monthly birthday pictures with and I don't think it could be any cuter, do you?:

Even the reverse side is cute:

I even took it to the hospital with me when Presley was born:

This boppy is in just about all my early pictures of Presley and Mattie because this was the only way we would let Mattie hold Presley…on the boppy:

After buying it, I fell in love with the shop I bought it from, Noodles & Milk. Lots of cute things for babies, and lots of cute girl clothes. They’ve put custom orders on hold from now due to their soon to expand family, but they are offering something new!

Noodles and Milk is now selling sewing patterns. I had hesitated in buying patterns online in PDF form because I wasn't sure how easy they would be to use. I thought I liked store bought patterns with their thin, flimsy cutting pieces. But, I decided to give it a try. The first PDF patterns I bought were from Noodles & Milk, and I could not be more pleased. Super easy to use, super easy to follow, tons of direction and explanation, and lots of pictures. I'm sold on PDF patterns now, and have my eye on several more from the Noodles & Milk shop.

 

Noodles & Milk also has a blog that has recently been given a makeover (check it out, the link is in my sidebar). I love crafty blogs, and this is now one of my favorites. In order to promote the new blog and the shop, Noodles & Milk is doing a giveway, which I am now entered in by blogging about it! If you are crafty, love to sew, or love cute girl clothes, check out this blog or the etsy shop.

http://www.noodlesandmilk.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/noodlesandmilk

Our Fourth

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam,

God Bless America, my home sweet home.

I love that song. I love the 4th. I love America and our flag, and am so thankful for the country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy.

We started our celebrations on Saturday by grilling and chilling with friends, and then the fireworks display. I was worried how Presley would do with the fireworks, mainly because they were way past her bedtime, but also because they are so loud. She did great…she sat in my lap, laid her head back on my chest and watched and seemed to enjoy…she never flinched. We watched the fireworks in the same spot as last year, and it made me think back to last year when I was pregnant with Miss PK, and SO, SO hot.  Here’s me, Mattie, and my Presley bump in 2009:

I was praising God that she was in my lap, and not in my belly this year!

 

We started our 4th with church on Sunday morning, and had what I thought was wonderful service that was so appropriate for the day. It included a time of coming to the altar in prayer for our country, that to me was very moving. We can gripe all we want, and disagree all we want, and be dissatisfied with who is and who isn’t in office until we’re blue in the face, and it won’t change a thing. But the one thing that we can do that has the potential to change things is pray for this country and those who lead it.

After church, we hit up one of the fireworks tents in town, and picked up some small scale stuff to do at home later that night. We at a quick lunch at home, and then we ALL FOUR went down for naps and all slept about three hours. Normally this would make me feel yuck, as I don’t typically take naps, but I woke up feeling quite refreshed.

 

That afternoon while Matthew was grilling, I tried to get some pictures of my girls in their dresses. Presley was all for it, but Mattie…not so much.

Here’s PK looking like her happy self:

She was happy until she noticed the dogs looking at her. She was watching and watching for them…

And then Drake ran right up to her and licked her right on the face and ran away. She was so mad she threw down her flag:

Mattie would not look at the camera. I think she was contemplating Independence Day and reflecting on her freedoms:

That evening, I attempted to feed Presley her supper, but she was just not interested. She ate about half her usual amount and then locked her lips and wouldn’t eat a bite more. I left her in her chair while I was cleaning up the kitchen, and Mattie came along and said “I bet I can get her to eat”. And guess what. She did…Presley opened up like a little bird and Mattie fed her the rest of her supper.

Mattie mothers Presley so much, and is such a good little mama. When looking at the above pictures, imagine Mattie in a high-pitched, baby-talk voice saying “open your mouth, sweetie, open up” “good job, pwesley! you are such a good eater”.

 

After we got PK down for the night, and the sun went down, it was time to play.

We covered ourselves from head to toe with this stuff:

And still got mosquito bit.

Matthew had a huge fire going to burn up some brush and limbs, which is why it looks like our yard is on fire...it was:

We got Mattie started with some sparklers:

Instead of buying the cheapo, basic sparklers, we got some fancy ones that changed colors and really flared up about half way through. Mattie was a little unsure of them. Several times she threw them down and ran. Honestly, they were probably a little much for a 4yr old. Here she is looking a little scared:

Matthew trying to show her how it’s done:

And she gave it another shot, and ended up doing ok.

We bought things like sparklers, those black snakes that just grow when you light them, and a few popping firecrakers…like I said, small scale stuff. And we bought one innocent looking little lady bug thing, that we didn’t know what it did, but thought it must be harmless. We did it last, and turns out, it wasn’t too small scale. It lit up and blew off HUGE sparks, then flew WAY up in the air while making this LOUD screeching noise, all the while blowing off sparks, and flew all the way into our neighbors yard. You should have seen our faces!

It was a wonderful day. And now a short work week. There isn’t much that can beat that.

 

Just for fun, here's Mattie on her first 4th of July back in 2006.

 

Almost

My baby girl is *thisclose* to crawling. She is trying so hard, and just hasn't quite got it all figured out yet. I have been enjoying my immobile baby, but am thinking I might be ready for this now. Presley has become very attached to Mommy lately, and I cannot leave the room without her wailing and screaming at me. Not really crying, just yelling at me, like "get back here". I think if she could follow me around, it might make things a little quieter at the Nash house. I'm predicting I'll have a crawler within the next two weeks. Mattie crawled at 9.5 months, and Presley will be 9 months on July 12.  These pictures are actually from last Thursday, but she hasn’t made much more progress than this since then. 

 

 

 

Framed

Here's Presley, all framed and up on the wall. It looks kind of sepia against the wall color, but it's actually black and white.

Adventures in Sewing

This morning, I finished up the red, white, and blue dresses I was working on for my girls for the 4th. This was the first time I had used this pattern, and I loved how they turned out, so I decided to photo them since the chances of me getting a good picture of them while my girl's are actually wearing them are slim.

Here's a few other things I've made for them over the past few months.

This is one I made for Mattie, and it's kind of a modified pillowcase dress that uses a fabric tie instead of ribbons. I stayed up late one night working on this one and spent my lunch hour the next day finishing it up so that she could wear it in her VBS performance that night at Matthew's parent's church. Then when we got there, they put t-shirts on all the kids, so no one ever saw it...ha! Oh well...kind of the story of my life.


This was one of the first dresses I made for Mattie, and is probably one of her favorites. I bought this fabric during the time Dancing With the Stars was on, and we were watching it every week. Mattie LOVED all the elaborate costumes and dresses the women wore (my feelings on the half naked women on that show are for another post). She kept asking for a dress that shows her back like the dancers wear. So, that's what this dress became. It started out as a halter, but after a few near misses with waldrobe malfunctions, I added buttons in the back, and button holes on the straps, and it secures now. I also added the pockets to aid in her rock collecting. This is maxi-dress length on Mattie, and is so, so cute on.

This is another Mattie dress. It's just a simple A-line jumper, but at the time I was making it, she asked me to please make her a dress that covered her feet, meaning she wanted it very long. So, I added a few inches to the length, and again, added the pockets for rock collecting. This is another fabric I love!

These are maybe my favorite dresses so far. I love that they're matching, and I love how little Presley's is....it kind of looked like a doll dress when I finished it, and I will probably make the next size up next time just for the length. I loved this fabric and bought it quite a while ago, but only got around to making these about a week ago. Interestingly enough, I considered this fabric as an option for Presley's nursery about a year ago when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do in there. In the end, I went with pink, but I do love this. I knocked both of these out in one Saturday in time for church the next day. Expect to see my girls in lots of dresses like these in the future because they are fast and easy to make.

This is a twirl skirt I made for Mattie out of the scraps I had leftover from another outfit I made for Presley, that I just realized I didn't take a picture of. It's a criss-cross back pinafore top made from the brown fabric and lined in the polka dot, with bloomers out of the polka dot. Cute. I didn't have a pattern for this skirt, I just made it up as I went, kind of, using another skirt she had that was similar as a guide, and it turned out okay. She loves it anyway, because it twirls good.

I've left out a few things, but these are some of my favorites. I have some new fabrics that I ordered and got in this week that I'm planning on working with tomorrow. I've definitely been giving my Singer a workout lately.