Fancy Nancy Costume

So at first Bailey was going to be a precious pink ballerina/butterfly princess. We found these fabulous accessories at the Carter's Outlet on vacation about 2 months ago and they would be perfect for playing dress up later so we got them. I knew they would look really cute on her but didn't have a real theme going on until her school sent home a flier about story book characters. She needed to be a story book character for her school's story book performance and since we already purchased those accessories I was trying to think of someone that wore all those things....FANCY NANCY! We check her books out all the time at the Library so she loved the idea of being Fancy Nancy for Halloween....plus it makes me look creative and SAHMish (snaps for me!). A couple of weeks ago while we were at Target (eating our $1.50 combo of popcorn and diet coke while perusing the $1 section) I found FANCY NANCY socks! And guess what she was wearing...go ahead guess...a crown, a wand, a tu-tu, and BUTTERFLY WINGS! I could not believe it! The whole costume came together with a $1 find.

Bailey's Gymnastics Room

Well we finally had the carpet installed and the room is completed! It turned out really cute. We decided to put a TV in her room since she loves to watch her "mobies" or have it on in the background while playing. It has a dvd player attached to it and it was just sitting in the office so we figured it would get more use in her room and she practically knows how to operate it. I feel so blessed to be able to give her a room she truly loves - it was a lot of work on Blake's part and mine but to see her face light up when she saw all the details and things she loves in one room was worth it. Although when we asked her what her favorite part of the room was she said, "my toys!" Not the new bedding, new pillows, the TV, the cute knobs on her dresser, her toy bucket, her ballet barre, balance beam, her name on the wall, the ballet dancer on the wall, the hanging flowers...nope, she liked her toys the best and she didn't get any new toys so she liked what she already had the best. Oh well!

I was trying to think of ways to make it more about gymnastics than a dance theme. I found a few really cute rugs or thought about the puzzle tiles but since her room is carpet I knew they would come apart so after much looking I found a reasonable priced gymnastics mat! She loves it and now I have a great spot to do my ab workouts :)

These are the flowers I worked forever on. I found the idea from a blogger who posted the Martha Stuart pom pom kits and how easy they are to make. The balance beam was a yard sale find from a friend. I didn't know what we would do with it but I figured it would come handy in the future :) It was a maroon color so I covered it in pink felt and Blake pained the wood black to match the furniture.

She loves it!

I put the flowers in the two opposite corners of the room. We put the TV on her toy bench instead of the dresser since she likes it more eye level.

Bailey helped me paint these knobs. They are her favorite colors: pink and purple. We did them in 2 shades of each and did a flower pattern and polka dots on them.

I saw these done at craft fairs last year but people are charging $30 for these! I made this for about $5. Yes it took some time but it turned out so cute and matches her room perfectly. It was suppose to be a hair bow holder but it is so cute that I didn't want to clutter it with hair bows.

This is her new bedding that I found at BB&B. It has pink and purple flowers and it looks great with her black furniture. It is a bit "grown up" looking but it is so pretty! The picture above was actually my idea...didn't steal this one :) I wanted to do a gymnastics picture and could not find anything that would work for her room...oops I did steal the saying "Gymnast in Training". I also wanted to add a little Zeta in the mix so I put the fabulous 5 point crown on the tu-tu.

So I had envisioned the room to look just like this but with a free standing ballet barre made out of PVC pipe when my fabulous husband said he could mount the bar from her crib on the wall! Isn't he the best daddy! It looks so good with the bar mounted! We did end up destroying her "baby to toddler to adult" crib because he sawed down the headboard to fit a twin and then used the foot board pole to make the ballet barre...oh well I probably would have wanted a different crib for the next child anyway...that is if there will ever be another one.

Beginnings of Fall

We are still in the process of renovating the office and Bailey's room - the carpet people keep pushing the date back...the more they push it back the more $$ I better be getting off the final price. In the mean time I am still working on the accessories for Bailey's room. Last night I went to my parent's house to watch a movie with just my sister and mom. It was so nice to watch a movie and work on a project without someone asking questions (Bailey) or sitting on my supplies (Meiko). I loved working on this project and it turned out better than I planned. I will definitely be making more canvas prints!

This past weekend Blake and I cleaned out the storage shed...we have neglected it for a year and just kept throwing stuff in it until we couldn't walk in it anymore. While cleaning up I found 2 planters that were left at the house when we moved in. I didn't like the color but they were too nice to throw out. So we went to Home Depot and purchased cement colored/textured spray paint, winter flowers (pansies), and dirt. On Monday I had off so Bailey and I planted them together. Now to some people this may not be a big thing but this was my first time EVER planting anything. I mean sure I did the seed in a cup thing during elementary school but this was real flower planting. They look so pretty on my patio! Bailey and I did a great job for first-timers :)

Also this week Bailey started dance/gymnastics classes. I looked at a few places and thought we would have to wait until next year since enrollment for the fall had already ended but I called and they had one opening for her age in a night time slot so it was perfect! She took classes at her daycare one afternoon a week so we already had the shoes, tights, and leotard but not the baton! We went last week and had her baton measured for her little arms - I didn't know they did that. I figured we should have her in classes since her room is a dance/gymnastics theme :)Here she is after her first day...gosh she is so cute :) Olympics 2022 here we come!

This & That

I am still very excited about starting the process of owning a business but first things first - I am going to have a website on etsy.com selling personalized cookies and handmade items. I want to get this process going before jumping into real estate, buying furniture, refrigerators, tables, chairs....the whole package. Plus, if the website takes off then I will make enough income to not work when we move for Blake's training in the next year. I think what I am most excited about is the possibilities...there are options and it's my ideas and my motivation that will make it happen. My best friend is so excited as well which makes it fun to bounce ideas around with her.

We are STILL redecorating (meaning my house is still in disorder...going on week 3) Bailey's room to a gymnastics/dance theme and on Tuesday we started painting the new knobs for her dresser. I wish I had a picture of us working on it together. She loved helping me and then yesterday I did all the detail work on them and she said, "Oh mommy, those are so pretty! I helped paint those." I normally opt out of messy activities with Bailey just because I avoid cleaning when I don't have to. I am trying to be better at this so I am trying to find ways for her to help decorate and be involved with her new room transformation. There are a couple more craft ideas I have in store for it that she will be able to help me with. One thing I LOVE TO DO is make something beautiful out of something used, old, or cheap. I spent $6 on 12 chunky, round, wooden knobs and a few bucks on paint that will transform her old dresser (hand-me-down from when Blake was a child) into a fantastic staple for this room.

Yesterday I went online to Amazon.com to look at embroidery machines - the last time I looked the cheapest one I could find was $700 which is way too much to spend on a "hobby". But for some reason those machines have gone down in price! I was so excited so I texted Blake about it while he was golfing....I wrote like a whole page of reasons I needed it, reasons it was a FABULOUS price, ways I would use it, ways I could make things for him.....on and on....I got back the infamous "ok". I then did a few little clicks and it is on the way! Then I texted 3 close friends and they were just as excited as I was - I love how girls get excited for you! I am using Christmas money to pay for it which is good for many reasons: 1) it can stay in the box until after Christmas so I do not have to be overwhelmed with starting a new hobby 2) no one can ask me to do orders during Christmas 3) I don't feel guilty for purchasing something that wasn't "needed" but really really wanted for quite some time.

Big Plans

Lately I have been living day to day without goals...which is unlike me. Yes I have plans for how to decorate my child's room or crafts to make but what am I doing for my/our future - I have not made plans for the future in almost 2 years. I have been waiting on doors to open and God just says "Stay There!" I have tried using a crow bar for some doors but it hasn't worked...Thank the Lord. It's hard to just sit and wait and I have been praying for a push to go for my dream of owning a business. I'm just so scared of failure, but the more I actually open up about it to people they love my ideas. Still I have not pursued it until Saturday after speaking with my little cousin at a family reunion and she told me to not be scared of failing because I will never know unless I try. So I got all excited and thought about it on the 3 hour drive back home. I still wasn't 100% sure AGAIN until I was doing my quiet time and found this: "I can do EVERYTHING through HIM who gives me strength." And the thing is I'm so excited because I have SO MUCH PEACE about it - it's like God has been telling me all along to wait until he gives a "go" and right now he is telling me to "plan and wait". I don't know if I'm more excited about the business or knowing God is leading me in this direction. So who knows when it will happen but I am going to "plan and wait".