Fall jackets

I finally finished sewing Megan's fall jacket. I finished Anna's awhile back but wasn't able to get Megan's done until last week. I had bought the fleece fabric at the same time in different colors when it was on sale. So Megan knew that she was getting a jacket eventually in the green fleece. She even resorted to wearing the unsewn fabric around the house saying "my jacket, my jacket". It was a subtle hint to her Mommy to sew her a jacket too.

I found the pattern on Ebay (Butterick 4908), unfortunately it has been discontinued. My mother-in-law, Dianne, helped me scale down the pattern for Megan's size. Overall a good sewing project and easier the second time. It has a good-sized hood and fun pockets for little hands. So cute or maybe it is just the cute girls!

Leaves Update

I am adding to my last post but it requires a post all its own. I was complaining about the leaves in my last post and how my yard was a magnet for all things falling from any tree. Anyway, we came home yesterday from church and all of the leaves were gone! My mouth dropped open because I hadn't seen the grass in my front yard for a while. It was such a big contrast compared to how we had left it three hours earlier. I know my neighbor doesn't read my blog but maybe he felt sorry for the pregnant mommy next door whose husband is out of town way too much for this time of year. Our neighbor owns a landscaping business so I think he had the equipment to do it quickly but very thoughtful nonetheless. We are gone for over three hours to church as well. What a nice gift to us and it wasn't even his tree that had given us all the leaves in the first place. I haven't had a random act of kindness done like this for me for a while and just reminds me I should be on the lookout for more opportunities myself to do unto others.

Thank you neighbor!

Too many leaves, So little time

Last weekend we made a small dent in the huge amount of leaves in our front yard. Anna and Megan have become expert leaf jumpers thanks to the huge oak tree across the street that continues to lose its leaves. I agree that it is important to be neighborly but sharing leaves is a little extreme! If I could somehow get our one tree to send its leaves across the street, then it would be even. Anna loves it when we make big piles and gets mad when we try to bag them up. The girls had a good time hiding in the huge pile.

It's a Boy!

We are happy to say baby boy Shaw will be here around March 14! The ultrasound was done this morning and without a doubt we are not having another girl. We love our girls but there is nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit. He looks healthy so, God willing, bring on the trucks and the dinosaurs! Anna is very happy and Megan is still a little perplexed at the whole idea.

November, really?

Okay, I can accept the fact that the year will be over in about two months. But with temperatures reaching up to 75 degrees today it is hard to feel like it is actually November 2nd. The trees are beautiful here in Missouri as they change into their fall colors and apparently I put away the short sleeves and sandals a little prematurely.

We saw Grandma and Grandpa Shaw off at the airport this afternoon. We had a great time with them and toured a couple cider mills that are not too far away. Unfortunately neither one of the mills gave a presentation of how the cider is actually made so I was a little disappointed.

Halloween

I can't say that I enjoy Halloween a lot. I definitely avoid the spooky, scary side of it as much as possible. I have noticed some houses in the neighborhood go all out and there yards are filled with as much as they can fit in every square inch. There is a house not too far down the road that has a lot skulls and dummies hanging from the trees. Definitely a morbid sense of humor and I say to each his own.

I enjoy watching my girls in their costumes and there wide-eyed discovery that yes, strangers really do put candy in my bag if I ring their doorbell. Last night, Anna was the experienced one as she raced ahead. We had a hard time reigning her in and had to ask her many times to just wait for Megan before she rang the doorbell. Both of the girls were on there best behavior for the most part and said thank you to almost everyone. Gordon and I walked with the girls and we all stayed out about 45 minutes. The weather was perfect and no jackets were needed here in Missouri. Megan was pretty funny to watch. As soon as she was finished at one door and before it was even closed she would yell out "Let's go to the next one!". The stars were out in the sky and every time she looked up she would sing out the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". She was the most excited when someone gave her a sucker and she was sure to let me know about it.

Here are the girls in their costumes. Anna was a bunny and Megan really liked being a flower. The costumes were really easy to put together with stuff we had on hand with a few things we bought at the craft store. Grandma Shaw helped sew a fleece tummy on Anna's pink top and pants. Martha Stewart helped out with Megan's flower collar. Felt squares cut into petal shapes, backed with craft-fuse and glued into bias tape to tie around her neck. I used RIT dye to change the color of her white shirt to 'Sunshine Yellow'. Anna has already told me she wants to be a banana for Halloween next year so I better get started on that one because I have no ideas!

How can it be?

My Anna turned five years old today. How can it be? Five years has gone by way too fast but fun nonetheless. We have made it this far with only one broken arm and one tooth knocked out after a short dancing career. We love our Anna. She has always been so compassionate and is always ready with a hug when I am having a bad day.

Anna wanted a princess castle cake and she was very specific about the design details. (Future architect?) Purple icing with pink windows of course! I did my best and must say it passed her inspection. Definitely the best princess castle cake I have ever made. Okay, okay, the only princess castle cake I have ever made. Happy Birthday my sweet Anna!

(A couple people asked how I made the cake. I used a 9x13 pan for the bottom and then a circle pan for the top layer with a cupcake on the very top. The sugar ice cream cones are easy to find at the grocery store and then I used wooden skewer through the tops to hold the cake together. I microwaved Starburst candy for 11 seconds so I could flatten them easily and cut them into pennant shapes or used a small heart cookie cutter for shape. Not hard to make at all.)