Summer of No Pants: Week 2

Another week, another set of pretty skirts and dresses to show you. I made it through another week without cheating! And I actually accessorized one of those days. Can you believe it?

I'm getting a little more comfortable with taking pictures of myself everyday, but I'm still not liking it that much. It's all in the name of fun though! You readers won't judge my messy play room or lack of weight loss plan with you?

Day 8:


I wore:
- an old maternity top that I snipped that straps off of and turned into a skirt,
- a black summer top from Thyme Maternity.

Day 9:


It was a bright, shiny, awesome Friday (as you can see from the sun shining on my feet in the photo). I took the kids touring around to the library, all the way to Mickey D's and then walked home with a stop at the park for good measure. I wore:
- yellow sundress, thrifted
- my good ole training pants underneath because we walked and walked that day

And I even accessorized a little!


The starfish necklace was given to me by my mother-in-law after her trip to Halifax.

(also - check out how awesome my scar is healing. :D)

Day 10:




This past Saturday was beach day! So naturally I wore:
- my brown bathing suit, from the bathing suit place in the mall
- brown sundress, handmade

Day 11:


I was tired from my day at the beach, so Sunday was a lazy day. I wore:
- my pink towel dress, Winners
- a white tank top underneath, Thyme Maternity

Don't you love how Logan sneaked himself into this picture? Lane is also in the background. That's what I get for putting the mirror on the back of their playroom door.

Day 12:



Monday was rainy and gloomy. I opted for:
- a long dress, $15 at the mall

The kids have some sort of odd attachment to this particular dress. I have no idea why, but they love it so much. So expect this one to be repeated several times during this summer of no pants.


Day 13:

We had a pile of errands to run to get ready for our family time. I had an eye appointment and a pile of laundry to catch up on. I wore:
- easy purple ruffle skirt, handmade
- beige tank top, thrifted

Lessons I've learned during this week of the summer of no pants:
- I still wear too many maternity items, but I'm cutting them down :D
- Trying to accessorize when you have small children means you have to have a strong neck for all the pulling of the necklaces and a tough chain on that necklace
- Sometime you just want to wear runners. Maybe I need to invest in some of those walking sandals? Would they go OK with dresses?
- gardening in a skirt presents all sorts of odd challenges

Onto Week 3!

I hope you are enjoying my Girlie Girl summer posts. If you are getting tired of looking at my terrible photos, let me know, I won't be offended. If you are enjoying these silly frumpy mommy fashion posts, let me know as well. I've been getting mostly positive feedback for my little adventure into skirts and dresses, but I'm never sure and can always improve my posts to make them more entertaining etc. Send me your suggestions if you have any :)

The Nightman Cometh

Terry's brother's birthday was yesterday. His favourite TV show is It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It's actually one of our favourite TV shows as well.

We wanted to get him something relating to the show. We checked out the t-shirts and hoodies but could never find one in his size that was reasonably priced.

So I did a search on Etsy and found this poster from Team Wesler.


As watchers of this show know, a character named Charlie wrote a play called "The Nightman Cometh" and hilarity ensued. It was one of the funniest episodes on that show in fact. Perfect birthday present.

Of course the poster didn't come framed. Could you imagine how much that would cost to ship?

So off we went to the Thrift Store and found a frame for $4.00.


Terry convinced me not to paint the frame. I was going to paint it all pretty and really do it up. But Terry pointed out that the faded gold would make the poster look more authentic. Cuz who would actually put on a Charlie Kelly play? A lame dusty old theatre that's who! And they would have kinda faded gold frames to display the playbill as well.

Yeah... Terry is pretty smart when it comes to art. Who knew?

I found the most awesome scrapbook paper with little flecks in it that matched the flecks in the gold frame and put it all together.


The striped background of the scrapbook paper looks awesome in the frame with the poster.

Wouldn't you love to hang this up in your house? I totally want to keep it. But I'm sure the birthday boy will love it as well.

Another look at this creation just because I like it.

Happy Birthday Uncle Cory!

Vacay!

Terry is taking a few days off before Canada Day. So I'm taking a little blogging break for the next few days in order to spend some time with my family.

But not to fear - I still got ya covered. I was very industrious this past week and scheduled some fun blog posts to run while I'm on family time.

There will be Summer of No Pants outfits to peruse; a list of my favourite Canadian blogs in honour of Canada Day and various other redonkulous stuff as usual.

See ya on Monday!

Oh and since no blog post would be complete with a crafty photo (or at least that's what I hear), here ya go!


My pretty new bracelet display. I'll be bringing this baby to upcoming craft shows. It is eye catching without taking too much room on the table.


And it's just a toilet paper roll holder from the dollar store. Hah!

Macrame Monday: Hemp Bracelet with Wooden Beads (How To)

Here is my latest Macrame project. Pretty, natural, kinda hippy-ish hemp bracelet with wooden beads.

Want to make your own?

Supplies Needed:
- Hemp Twine
- Wooden Beads
- dowel for anchoring the project (optional - you can also tape your project to a table or other head surface)

Time Needed:
These ones only take me about a half an hour each to tie! Yay!

Skill Needed:
Basic Macrame Knotting (horizontal and diagonal clove hitch)



Step One:
You need ten hemp cords to work with for this project. I used my arm length and them doubled it for the length of the cords. Cut 5 this way.

Step Two:
Fold all the cords in half and place them around your project dowel. Gather all the cords together and tie them in an overhand knot.



Step Three:
Choose your leftmost cord for an anchor. Tie a row of horizontal clove hitch knots. When you reach the right most side, start tying another row toward the left.

Step Four:
Thread 3 wooden beads onto your project by putting 3 threads through one bead, then the four middle threads through another bead and then the remaining 3 threads through the last bead.



Step Five:
Tie another row of horizontal clove hitch toward the left.

Step Six:
Choose your outermost cords on each side of your project to act as anchor. Tie a diagonal clove hitch knot to form an "X".



Step Seven:
Tie another horizontal clove hitch row (this time starting at the right to keep it even)

Step Eight:
Repeat your beading and your clove hitch rows and X'es two more times.


Step Nine:
End your project the same way you began by tying two horizontal clove hitch rows and tying an overhand knot. Trim the thread to about 3 inches so that you have enough to tie the bracelet to your wrist.

*** Hint: working with hemp can be pretty scratchy on your fingers. You can wear your bracelet awhile and your natural body oils will soften it up. Or if you don't want to wait, you can soak your hemp in some hot water, then apply some hair conditioner and then rinse in cold water. This should soften it up a bit. ****




And if you don't want to tie these beautiful bracelets yourself, you can purchase the whole set at Tawny Bee:
Hemp Beaded Micro-Macrame Friendship Bracelets - Set of 3 on Etsy
Hemp Beaded Micro-Macrame Friendship Bracelets - Set of 3 on Zibbet


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Sharing this project with:
The More The Merrier Monday - The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Link Up Lounge - Deals and Dishes

My Two Cents About the Canada Post Strike

Back to work legislation has been passed to get Canada Post moving again.

I feel like I need to say something about this since I am primarily an online business owner who depends on Canada Post to deliver my product to customers:

1) Shame on you Canada Post for escalating a peaceful strike with a lockout. Your refusal to negotiate and your disregard for your workers is appalling.

2) Shame on you Canadian Government for passing back to work legislation in this dispute. You may say, "well the Liberals did it in 1997." Poor excuse considering that in 1997 there was no lockout in place. And then you pour salt into the wound by legislating workers back onto the job with an even lower wage than Canada Post was originally willing to offer. In a dispute where you needed to remain neutral, you rewarded management for being inept and stubborn and even did their dirty work for them. Shame.

3) Kudos to the NDP for trying to stall this miserable legislation for as long as possible. You gave it your best shot and allowed postal workers to have a little more time at the negotiation table. Unfortunately, Canada Post already knew that the Government was going to pass a bill benefiting them and stalled just the same until that happened.

4) I am proud to be Canadian. And part of my pride comes from living in a country that has wonderful unions fighting for workers' rights. The peaceful rotating strike did not inconvenience me as a small business owner and allowed for open negotiations with Canada Post with little disruption of service. I do not put any blame on Postal Workers. Fighting for a decent, liveable wage and job security through a recognized union is an inalienable right in Canada. One that I support whole-heartedly.

Until we develop some sort of transporter technology I will have to continue to rely on Canada Post to deliver my product to my customers. I am saddened that I have to rely on management that treats their workers with such disrespect. The government said that they were passing this legislation for me - to keep my business out of jeopardy. Let me say now that this legislation was not for me. I was perfectly willing to support union negotiations, delaying my shipping until a mutually agreed upon contract was reached.

So offer your local postie a cookie and maybe some refreshing lemonade when they're out hauling your Father's Day cards and Etsy goodies in the coming days. They are going to need our support and understanding.

Secret Mommyhood Confession Saturday #13

Something happened to me earlier in the week that I mentioned on Thursday's blog post. I just casually mentioned it, but it seems to have resonated with women.

In fact, I received a flood of comments and emails about this particular situation.

I thought I was the only one who suffered...

I was wrong...

You might even say that this is an epidemic affecting millions of women worldwide.

So I'm going to confess for all of you suffering in silence:

Wearing a skirt combined with summertime heat and energy filled adventures with children = chafing.

Serious chafing.

So serious that many of you women freely admitted that skirts are not an option even though they would make you feel pretty and update your wardrobe. Is this the real reason behind mommy jeans? OMG I think I'm onto something here.

No one wants to admit this little problem. Possible because it means that we would have to say the word "chafing" and I always giggle a little when I say it. It reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Jimbo Jones is trying to get with the Bart's new neighbour/loveinterest/babysitter. "My shirt is chafing me..." and then "Oh no, now my pants are chafing me."



Haha! Smooth moves Jimbo.

Or maybe we don't like to admit to chafing because it would mean having to admit that our legs, particularly our thighs are of generous proportion. But trust me, it doesn't matter what size your legs are, they still could rub together in all the wrong ways when placed outside in the heat.

Besides, I say love your legs no matter what the size.

Legs that are as strong and sturdy as tree trunks (and mine are definitely that no matter what size I am) belong to earth mamas who are capable of raising their babies to respect themselves, each other and the earth. Be proud of those gams!

In all those emails and conversations I've had this week, a few bits of wonderful advice have been given:

1) antiperspirant can be rubbed on the effected area before going out into the wild with the children. Makes sense doesn't it? Less sweat means less problems. Funny how I never thought of that. Guess I'm not as clever as I thought I was (but that's a confession for another day hehehe)



2) booty shorts (or training pants as Terry likes to call them) work very well. It's like those cute little diaper covers or bloomers that we like to put on our baby girls. They look cute under a dress and protect our legs from unwanted chafing. (Shameless plug: I have a few pairs of boy cut shorts available in the Tawny Bee shop if you need to stock up).

3) if you are like me and can't remember to do either of the above, diaper cream works wonders after you mess up your precious legs. And we all know that us mommies have plenty of that around the house!



Da da da da the blue can of soothing relief! Babies know it - why don't we?

So wear your skirts and show off those beautiful legs in comfort and enjoyment. You are mommy! And that is sexy.

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I'm sharing this confession over at All Work and No Play Makes Mommy Go Something Something. Come on over and read the other confessions, or write your own and link up if you dare.

Canadian Penguins?

Before we get to the penguins - I want to update all you lovely readers on my continuing healing.

It has been three months since I got my tissue valve (actually exactly 3 months yesterday). I went to see my cardiologist. And I had a marvelous check up! :D


The doc listened to my heart and said it was pumping along perfectly. He said my colour was a wonderful pink and that my heart felt like it had shrunk. Awesome!

He also let me know that I could stop taking my daily aspirin - the only blood thinner that I was on. Yay! No meds. I can't believe it. This is the best outcome I could have hoped for.

Doc asked me if there was anything that I couldn't do that I wanted to in terms of physicality. Nope! I've been going strong on the elliptical and lifting my kids and going to the park and I have the energy now to do anything! So HAPPY!!!


-------

But enough of that mushy heart stuff.


Onto the penguins!

I have been busy teaching my kids about Canada this week as you might have read earlier. I went to the Dollar Store to stock up on Canada stickers and various Canada Day stuff.


I came across this wooden puzzle. Awesome! Logan loves to put together puzzles and I can teach him where we live, where grandma and grandpa live, where uncle Davan lives etc.


Very good... until I looked closer at the puzzle.


I saw not one penguin ...


Not two penguins ...


But Three! Three penguins!



Gah! Since when are there free range penguins in Canada? Ugh...

I love the Stampede stuff in Alberta, the totem in BC, the RCMP guy and the hockey player. There are only one each of those. And three penguins!???

*Penguins are not found in the Northern Hemisphere in case you didn't learn in school (kinda like the makers of this puzzle)

Summer of No Pants: Week 1

I did it! I wore a skirt or a dress every single day this past week!

Here's the rundown in case you don't believe me.

Day One:

This was Logan's last day of school. I wore:
- camel coloured skirt, handmade
- macrame shoes, bought on Etsy
- Goomba tank top, Old Navy tank with hand done Goomba embellishment

And look I bought a full length mirror. I have a love hate relationship with this poor mirror already. I love that I don't have to rely on Terry to take my photos every day. I look like hell by the end of the day when he gets home. But I'm still way out of my comfort zone by having photos taken of myself every single day.

Day Two:

I spent most of the day outside with the kids on this Friday. I wore:
- Blue skirt, handmade
- Black Tank, it's so old that I honestly have no idea where I got it
- I wore shorts underneath this one, yoga shorts from La Senza

Day Three:


Look me on this Saturday! I look almost thin :D I wore:
- green Digg It skirt, handmade out of t-shirt (tutorial coming soon)
- Green Heart Tank, bought at the Heart concert 2007

Day Four:


We went to the Red River Ex on this Father's Day. I wore:
- purple pansies skirt, handmade
- purple tank, from Ricky's 2007


Day Five:

Back to the grind Monday. I cheated the most on this day by wearing a "dress" which I would never wear without shorts underneath. I usually wear this one like a top, but it counts! I wore:
- red sweater dress, Mariposa (about 15 years ago!)
- Black shorts underneath, Sport Check (also about 15 years ago!)

Day Six:


I decided to get back into the groove of not cheating and not wearing shorts underneath my skirt on this Tuesday. I wore:
- black Chimaira Tank, bought at Sounds of the Underground in Saskatoon circa 2005
- Brown corduroy skirt, Thyme Maternity

And Day Seven:

It was raining yesterday when I wore this. Hence the awful socks. I had to wear running shoes to keep up with the kids at the Dollar Store. I wore:
- red maternity top, given to me by my aunt
- black maternity skirt, Thyme Maternity

So, what have I learned this first week of the Summer of No Pants?

1) I haven't worn skirts in so long that I actually had some serious chafing the first day. I mean serious... I almost quit... owey! Shorts underneath my skirt while walking in the hot sun and playing with the kids is a must! Terry calls them my training shorts. I guess he's correct. I do need to train my body to wear a skirt again.

2) I wear way too many maternity items! Gah! I'll let you in on a little secret even though it isn't Saturday - I am actually larger in weight now than I was when I was at the height of both pregnancies. Bleh... I know... Some of my maternity clothes have been retired out of my closet because they are too small. Sad... need to fix this. I hope by the end of summer I'll have most of my maternity clothes gone out of my wardrobe. Except for that brown corduroy skirt (pictured above). I love that skirt so much!

Wish me luck for week two!

Summertime Plans: Canada Day

This week our summertime plans are all about the awesome country we live in!

It's Canada Day on July 1st. So we're going to explore things like:
- where Winnipeg is on the map
- where grandparents live
- where aunts and uncles live
- what makes Canada special
- the fun symbols on our coins (the loon, beaver etc.)

Terry is taking a couple of days off around the holiday, so we'll be planning out some fun activities to do on car trips. This means a trip to the Dollar Store!

On Friday, we'll be going to the library. Hopefully we can find some great books about Canada. We'll also have to be sure to check out the maps of Canada while we're there.

Our rain plans will be to colour printouts of the Canadian Flag. This will at least teach Lane the colour red. :)

Outside, we'll be exploring Canadian type things, like the big maple trees in the park next to our house. We might even go explore the grounds at the Canadian Mint (which is really close to our house!) We spent Canada Day at the Mint last year in fact.


My very Canadian baby last year at Canada Day celebrations. I might have to discover some new Canadian themed fabric and make her a size 2 bonnet for Canada Day this year.

I Wish That I Had Duck Feet Week Round Up: The Accessories

This week, we've been exploring what it would be like to have Duck Feet, an Elephant Nose, a long long Tail, a spout on top of our heads and Deer Horns just like the little boy in the I Wish That I Had Duck Feet book by Dr. Suess.

On Friday Logan strapped on his swimming flippers and ran through the sprinkler. We also tried strapping a hose onto our heads to see what it would be like to have a spout on top of our heads. Great fun - but we decided that having a spout would be very wet and messy!

The Deer Horns have had to wait. I was going to make some but decided that I would cheat and get one of those lovely deer horn hats that they give out at Montanas when we went there for dinner one night. Unfortunately, they ran out that night, so I didn't get any. We're still waiting on those.

We've been having loads of fun exploring what it would be like to have an elephant nose.


Cute!

Here's how I made the elephant nose in case you were wondering.


I started with two circles and one square with the bottom a bit wider than the top. I used blue fleece because that it what I had on hand.


I sewed the square together like a tube. Then I sewed the smaller circle onto the smaller hole at the end of the tube.


Then I stuffed the tube. I always use scraps of fabric to stuff my creations. But regular poly-fill would work as well.


Then I sewed the larger circle onto the big end of the tube. I bent the tube a bit to more resemble an elephant nose.


Then I sewed some scrap elastic onto the large end to form a loop. This elastic will hold the nose in place on your child's head.


Then I found some pink felt which I glued onto the small circle to resemble the end of an elephant nose. I used two oval scraps of the blue fleece for further decoration. I just hot glued these pieces in place.


Voila! Elephant Nose!


I wouldn't suggest that you place it over your child's nose. But on the forehead works well.

We've also been exploring what it's like to have a long, long tail.


Here's how I made the tail:


I sewed a long tube of animal-ish patterned fabric.


Then I added some yarn at one end of the tube.


I added two long ties to the other end of the tail for my kids to tie the tail onto their middles.


Ta da! Hours of fun for two curious children. And if you put all of these accessories on at once, you'll have your very own Which What Who kid! :D :D :D

We didn't get around to creating a costume box for all these new accessories like I had planned. So we'll add that into the plans for this upcoming week. Stay tuned tomorrow when I reveal my summertime plans for next week.

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Sharing my Summertime Planning projects with:
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Lil' Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna
Link Party #58 - Tea Rose Home
Hooo's Got Talent? - Night Owl Crafting
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now
Share The Wealth - Laugh, Love, and Craft
What Little Boys Are Made Of - Seven Thirty Three
Fantabulous Friday - Momma's Kinda Crafty
Friday Favs - Naptime Crafters
Play Date Link Party - Beneath The Rowan Tree