Flight 002 ready for takeoff!

I'm all for cute parties, but I'm even more about doing it on a dime.  This little airplane party fit that bill just fine.  

I started out making the invitations myself on Photoshop, and cut them to shape.  A $1 pack of envelopes were decorated with watercolor to look like little airmail envelopes.

I used about $5 of scrapbook paper cut into fourths to fold a massive quantity of paper airplanes during a week's worth of nap times.  A little string and hot glue finished those up.  The airplane garland was hanging everywhere.  I am generally anti-party favors but I couldn't have an airplane themed party without airplane food... the little grab-bags were filled with snack size pretzels and "peanuts" (Nutter Butter cookies!).  

We had 5 families in addition to ourselves to feed so I went for simple and did a big pot of chili and some hotdogs.  I threw the chili together the day before so that it just needed to slowcook on low all day before the party.  I ended up tossing all of our drinks in the sink with the glasses next to it for easy access.  Fruit and Veggie Capri-Suns for the kids.

Since the birthday-boy is allergic to eggs, we made two versions of Rice Krispy treats for the party.  Brown-butter vanilla bean, and Funfetti were super simple, cheap, and a big hit with everyone that came. 

The last of the decorations was my little runway table runner made out of brown wrapping paper and acrylic paint that I already owned.  Everything else was little airplanes we have collected for Myles.  Thanks to Dollar Tree and Aldi, this party was done for next to nothing with great food and fun for the kiddos.  And extra big thanks to my friends Karina and Brittany for helping me clean the house, and make the desserts.  I could not have done this without their help! 

crafting : bibs

 

Sew I have this new hobby...

Well, not that new.  I challenged myself this summer to learn how to sew.  I was inspired by a bib I purchased at a little local store here... In order to make myself learn, I challenged myself to make as many as I could before a collaborative yard sale so I could try to sell some... 

I ended up making about 12 or so... and sold a grand total of 0.  The day of the yard sale, it was a yucky post-rain mess, and we didn't really advertise that there would be kids stuff there because we weren't sure who all would bring how much.  Oh well, I have had several friends have kids this past year.  

Sew inside out first with a decent margin, leaving a gap to later flip it correctly.  Cut triangles out of the curved areas and slits in the neck area so that the bulky felt can lay flat once you flip it.  Then sew a close edge to complete it.  Add a button hole and hand sew your button.

So this is my new go-to baby present.  Because like I have said before, in those early months, you just can't have enough bibs.

This week alone we have a boy almost ready to be born into our small group, and a girl coming in March to another resident couple.  The wolves were left over from my last sewing extravaganza, the other 3 I used up parts of about 3 morning naps to complete.  So much fun to be able to give these to friends!

Generally, I use felt as a structural/sort of liquid barrier from the front.  And the front is whatever cotton print I find in the fat-quarters or clearance section of various craft departments.  I try to stick to colorful prints that won't show baby food stains so terribly.  And I always prewash before I craft so that they don't shrink up after I hand them out.

As for the button closure, that was the cheapest option I could figure out without having to buy any special hardware.  I originally wanted to do magnets but those are ridiculously expensive.  And I could not be happier with how the button functions and looks.  It is super easy for parents to fasten, but secure enough that baby can't just rip it off.

Myles never complained about his...  Unfortunately he almost completely stopped wearing 

bibs right after I learned how to make them!  But he was a pretty good model for me anyway.

I love just having this to do on occasion to take care of my DIY cravings in these long days of residency.  It is a little hard to find enough time to do anything bigger like build furniture or paint a room.  Getting to do this to love on our friends is a major bonus, and making myself learn how to sew is so so so fantastic.  I have since managed to make my own pillow sham for the couch, a small curtain for the kitchen window, and a crib rail protector when Myles started chewing the crap out of his.  What have you been crafting lately?

I'm linking up at this crafting Blog Party!

lets play a game

So last week I mentioned a project that two friends helped out with.  Well now I'm ready to tell you about that project.  Everyone has received their cards so I'm good with spilling it all on here.  Especially since it went over so well!

This little doozie was dreamed up over a month ago.  I had just met my friend Aly down here and found out she was into crafty things too, so I texted her one day and asked her for ideas for how to reveal the name of our baby.  Because lets face it... other than what he is going to look like for real, the name is all we had left to have fun with.  We didn't wait very long to let our families know about the pregnancy, and couldn't hold it in that he was a boy... especially since we had just moved and not settled in to our new surroundings/jobs.  So I am actually glad that Kyle decided at the last moment that we would not tell the name we had decided on.  Even though I was dying to tell everyone I talked to.

I knew I wanted to do a photo... but was quickly shown on Pinterest and Google Search that everyone was doing the same thing at the moment.

They are all cute ideas... I just knew that I wanted to add an element to the reveal... so all that to say... I was excited when Aly's reply was to do photo clues for the names.  

And so The Name Game was born.  I asked for Aly and her boyfriend Matt's help with the photos of Kyle and I...

We picked a Sunday we were all free and put it on the calendar.  Matt would take the photos, and for the sake of time, I would do the editing so I could print immediately.  So last week, we went to Reedy Falls Park after church and had a little fun.  Matt got some really great shots but only a few were right for THE photo.  Mostly... the belly wasn't very obvious... and what's a pregnancy photo without the belly?  Even so... I love these pictures!

None of these were quite right.  But I may still use them for my own personal collection.  But no worries!  Matt got a couple of shots just perfect for what I had in store.

So I picked, Photoshopped, printed.  All that was left was the main part of the project.  Creating the game.  This took an entire extra day of printing, cutting, decoupaging, and stamping.  But I just loved the end result!  Feel free to play along before you look at the last photos :).

Inside was "did you get it right?" followed by personalized messages and a copy of the chosen pictures (we sent out 2 different ones) with the answer.  So some of you reading this got one picture and you can see the other photo that went to others now!

In case you are playing along... the answer is coming up!

Soon!

Alright...

Now!

I loved hearing what people guessed.  Most people really over-thought the clues.  Kyle's parents broke out the atlas, my parents tried "decoding"the mile marker with a numbers=letters idea.  Others just thought the cities were options for names.  The game was definitely a hit and was worth the effort.

And the short explanation on the name:

Myles : the middle name of Kyle's grandfather Vernon who passed away in May.
Oliver : Kyle's dad's middle name and also the maiden name of his grandmother who just passed away.

We can't wait to meet our Myles!  I have been extra busy planning and working on his room lately!

The beginning of a new normal

image source 

For years now I've read from blogs of friends... Julia over at black tag diaries, Amy at That Winsome Girl, and various others from time to time... church leaders, traveling friends... I guess I decided its time for me to join in.

You see, I'm in the calm before the storm right now.  My husband, being a 4th year medical student, is a month away from finding out where a computer will decide we should spend the next 5 years of our lives while he is trained to be a surgeon... more on that later.  That day will hopefully set in motion many other new experiences for us: buying a house, moving more than 2 hours away from our previous location, and moving away from KY for the first time in either of our lives.

So why not?  Why not get in the habit now of semi-regularly writing a post about what is going on in our lives?  I plan to use this as a bit of a scrapbook... document photo sessions, craft projects, home improvement plans, dreams, thoughts, ADVENTURES.  Because that is what this next chapter of our life together is going to be.  A huge adventure.  I might as well look at it that way... otherwise I might just get swallowed up by the overwhelming dread of the unknown that is usually my passenger.  But what is the fun in that?

In the summer of 2009, I attended my husband's officer training graduation at Maxwell Air Force Base.  While there, I received some of the best advice of my life.  It holds true for not only military families, but medical families as well.  Especially for someone of my background.  An officer's wife shared with the rest of the spouses:

The best way to survive this is to change your sense of normal.

The normal I grew up with will never be the normal of my life as the wife of a surgeon or a military officer.  But if I can accept this new definition of "normal", and accept that the definition will never stop changing, I can do this, and have some fun along the way.

Any advice out there for the future of this blog?

Verse of the day: "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3