Curious George Birthday Plans

As I have said before I am a huge planner.  I plan everything way in advance, not really sure why but I'm especially bad when it comes to birthdays and holidays.  I started thinking about my sons first birthday theme when I was still pregnant with him, crazy I know.  I'm sure I drive my husband crazy, actually I know I do, haha.  After thinking alot about it I decided, against my husbands wishes, to go with Curious George.  It is one of the first books I bought for him before he was born and I think he's so cute.  My husband would rather me do a football theme which i'm not at all against down the road, but there are very few birthdays your child has that they don't have input on the theme.  I know when Grant gets older he will have his own ideas on what kind of birthday he wants so I wanted to take full advantage of him not knowing any better, and I'm sure some day I will end up having a football themed birthday.

Here are some websites I have gotten ideas from:

*BirthdayPartyIdeas.com- go to there kid party ideas tab and they have ideas for every theme you can think of
*Kara's Party Ideas
*Grey Grey Designs- no curious george party on this site but an adorable Hungry Caterpillar birthday for a little boy named Grant.  Seeing this one almost made me want to change my theme, haha.
*P is for Party

I'm so excited to start making decorations and if I don't get started way in advance I know there is no way I'll get them all done.  Here are my plans so far...

1.  2 banners, 1 with a picture from each month of his first year, the other being a flag banner that says happy birthday Grant (made with my favorite toy, my cricut).

2.  Homemade cake with Curious George's face along with cupcakes with blue and red icing.

3.  Goodie bags made from curious george fabric.

4.  Appliqued birthday shirt

5.  Monkey themed party food- monkey munch being one of them

6.  Parent thank you gifts- mini loaves of banana bread

7.  Kid thank you gifts but not sure what they are yet.

8.  Main colors of blue, red, and yellow

9.  Homemade table cloth of curious george fabric for main table

10.  3 Balloon bunches of red, blue, and yellow in each corner of the dinning room

I'm so excited, makes me want to go out and look for little goodies for the party but I will try to restrain myself for the time being.
If anyone out there has done a Curious George Party send me the link, I'd love to see them.

Moving On

This weekend I crossed one thing off my to-do list- cleaning out my closet.  I've had trash bags and tubs full of my pre-pregnancy clothes just waiting for the day I would fit back into them.  Niave me thought I would fit back into them after the 6 week mark, oh how wrong I was.  While some of my clothes technically do fit, I no longer like the form fitting ones I used to.  As any mother knows, pregnancy changes your body in more ways than anyone could ever imagine and I wouldn't change a thing because I have my sweet little boy, but those clothes starred at me daily and I was tired of it.  I bagged them up into 2 large trash bags, threw them in the back of the suburban, and gladly gave them to my cousin.  Looking in my closet now, I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  I no longer feel an overwhelming need to fit back into those clothes or have the body I did a year ago.  I wouldn't give back one stretch mark my little guy gave me because he was worth every one of them.  Now it's time to move on and be happy with how I am now.

Another One

Yes, I bought another Bit of Whimsy pattern.  They are so addicting and bonus, this pattern is on sale for $6.00.  So I didn't have a choice, I had to buy it and I'm so excited to start on her.  This time I don't have anyone in mind to give her to but I'm sure I'll think of someone, haha.

This is the Jean Doll, isn't she cute!

Cloth Diapering

I am a pretty frugal person so when I got pregnant I tried to think of ways to save money.  One of those ways I found was cloth diapering.  One thing I found to be very aggravating was everyone telling me I was crazy for wanting to use them and how disgusting it would be to change and wash poopy cloth diapers.  Well I'm here to say, It's really not that bad.  If anyone out there is on the fence about it get a few and try it because it's not bad at all.  The only thing I have found is my son pees alot at night and it doesn't matter what I do he soaks through the cloth ones every time. So to save me from having to change his clothes, sheets, and blankets at 3 in the morning I use disposables during the night.

I searched many different sites online and looked at the different brands such as fuzzibunz but the price of $15+ per diaper was way too much for me.  There was no way I could afford to buy enough diapers to get me through a day or two at that price.  I was very fortunate to have my mom buy some all in one diapers for me as a baby shower gift but I also received the old school prefolds with rubber pants like my mom used when I was a baby.  Originally I didn't want to use the prefolds because I thought they wouldn't work as well and I didn't like the idea of using safety pins.  I think many moms may feel the same about this, so I bought some Snappis and I love them.  I actually find it easier sometimes to use the prefolds, rubber pants, and the Snappi than the all in ones.

Here's a picture of the Snappi's in case someone doesn't know what they are:

To give you an idea of how much money we save we used disposables during our christmas trip to ohio for 2 weeks.  During those 2 weeks we probably went through at least 3+ bags of disposables.  That's roughly 150 diapers.  We buy target brand which is about $7 for 42 diapers so that's 4 bags for a total of about $30.  If we were using them all the time it would be about $60 a month give or take depending.

When we use cloth at home and only use the disposables for night time and going out places, we probably go through about 3 diapers a night and if we are out maybe 1-2 (during the week we don't usually go anywhere so this is mainly just on the weekend).  That's about a bag of diapers every 2-3 weeks.  We save about 50% or more on disposable diapers.  Knowing those numbers is enough for me to deal with the occasional blow out and cleaning the  poops in cloth diapers.  Its worth it!

Freezer Chicken

I'm sure everyone else has heard of this before but just in case there is someone else out there like me who hadn't heard of it, I thought I'd share. 

I never think to marinade my food until I'm getting ready to cook it, which really doesn't work because you don't get the same flavor.  When I started scouring the internet for freezer recipes I came across this idea and loved it.  It is perfect for me the non planner (wierd because with everything else in my life I plan way ahead of time).  When you buy your chicken breast and get it home take out whatever you want to marinade it in and some freezer bags.  Separate the chicken into portion sizes that fit your family.  My son is too small to eat regular food so for my husband and myself I portion my chicken breasts into 2-3 breasts per bag.  When your chicken is in the bag take your marinade and pour it into the bag, use a generous portion and move it all around your meat so it's covered.  Label your bag as to what marinade you used, the date, how many chicken breasts are inside, and drop it in the freezer.

The day you want to cook it, take it out of the freezer and it will thaw all day in the marinade so you don't have to think about it.  My husband and I recently did this with plain old BBQ sauce and grilled the chicken and oh my it was so good and juicy.

The easy marinades we like and almost always have on hand:
BBQ Sauce- whatever brand and flavor you like.  If I have time I like to put my BBQ sauce in a sauce pan and add minced onion, brown sugar, and honey.  Let it heat through and oh my goodness its so good.

Italian Dressing

My all time favorite is a Mountain Dew marinade made of 2c mountain dew, 1c soy sauc, 1/2c olive oil, 1/4tsp garlic powder.   I will say this sounds gross and looks just as bad but you will love it.  The chicken comes out super juicy and flavorful.  It is a must try.

Spanish Hamburgers (Sloppy Joes but better!)-Freezer Friendly

I won't take credit for creating this recipe.  My mom gave it to me and where she got it I have no idea.  She has been making this for us instead of store bought Manwich for years and we love it and bonus this recipe freezes really well.  It tastes just as good thawed and reheated in the microwave as it does the day you bake it, perfect for all us busy moms out there.

Spanish Hamburgers

2lbs lean ground beef
2tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4c instant minced onion
2T sugar
1/4c mustard
1 1/2c Ketchup

thoroughly mix all ingredients in small baking dish (I use 8x11inch pyrex dish).  Bake on 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  Stir occasionally to separate hamburger.  Serve on hamburger buns.

Since I never think ahead far enough to put mine in the oven for an hour and a half, so I baked mine at 400 for a little less than an hour and completely forgot to stir it until there were only 5 minutes left and mine still turned out tasty.

Valentine Pouch Finished

I finished Grant's Valentine pouch and I'm actually really excited with how it turned out.  I did all of it by hand (probably would have finished it faster had I used my machine), this way I could stay in the living room while Grant slept in his swing.

Here is the front:

Here is the back:

I've seen many other crafters use buttons but I didn't have any I liked so I chose velcro (no point in spending money when you don't have to).  I hot glued the velcro tabs on the straps and the front flap.  This pouch was so simple to make and even doing it all by hand it would have only taken me a couple of hours had I not been interrupted multiple times.  If by chance there is someone out there reading this wanting to make one similar or just needing measurements so you can create your own unique pouch let me know.

I can't wait until next year when I can put little treats in this pouch and start a new Valentine's Day tradition. 

What I'm Working On Now

I have been wanting to make a Valentine pouch ever since I saw them on John and Kate Plus 8.  Back then I didn't have any children of my own to make them for, so when my son was born in October I knew I needed to make him one.  I realize he will only be 3 months old on Valentine's Day this year so he won't be able to enjoy it but I still wanted to make one.  Here is what I have so far...

Ive seen these pouches made from a bunch of different materials like fun foam, fabric, etc.  I didn't have anything of those materials in my stash and I had no intentions of spending money, so I decided to go with what I did had on hand, felt.  My husband is big on things I make for Grant not being too feminine (which he says I have a tendency to do), so I did his in black with only touches of red and white, no pink.  I'm not finished with it yet.  I still have to applique the G and hearts on, right now they are just sticking on there by themselves, put straps on the back, and add velcro to the front flap.  I used a blanket stitch around the whole pouch and it has red felt on the inside.  I didn't really used any measurements or a pattern, I just started cutting and came up with this, I think its the perfect size.
When I'm completely finished I will post more pictures.  I wanted anyone who may see this to have another Valentine pouch to see.

2 More Freezer Recipes

Here are two recipes I recently tried and absolutely loved, and the bonus is they can be frozen!

Garlic Pizza Crust

2T yeast
2c water
2T sugar
1/2 c oil
1t salt
6c flour
3 cloves crushed garlic

dissolve yeast in water and add sugar.  Wait a few minutes then add oil, salt, and garlic.  Mix in 3c flour and mix about 10 minutes until it leaves the side of the mixer bowl.  add remaining flour and mix.  knead until smooth.  split into 2 portions and place in freezer bags.
Baking:  remove from freezer and place in greased bowl.  Cover with towel and allow to  thaw and rise 3-6 hours.  Allow to rise twice in a bowl.  Punch down.  oil a baking sheet, using fingers press out to edges.
makes 2 pizzas, cookie sheet size.  let rise a bit and put toppings on.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. 

*my husband and I couldn't really taste the garlic so when I make them again I'm going to add a couple more cloves of garlic



Garlic Bread
1 large loaf french bread-sliced
1 stick or 1/2 c butter-soft
2 cloves garlic-minced
1/2 t dry parsley

mix butter, garlic and parsley.  spread thick layer over bread.  Put slices back together and wrap with foil, freeze.
Bake thawed for 25 min at 375.

*I like alot of garlic butter on mine so 1 stick of butter would not be enough for an entire loaf.  You may want to make a little extra just in case.  This is my favorite garlic bread,  I think its better than Texas Toast!

I will not take credit for creating these recipes.  I found them online but I'm not sure what website, oops.  They are both delicious and worth making.

Bit of Whimsy Doll-FINISHED!

Yes I finally finished my Bit of Whimsy doll and she turned out so stinkin cute I didn't want to give her away.  I did ended up finishing her friday night, so much for no procrastinating, but it was completely worth it.  As soon as the gift was opened Layla said "oohh" and immediately started chewing on her arm, haha, it was so cute.  My friend said it was her favorite gift Layla received, and said she liked it better than the American Girl doll she bought for her, that made me feel good.  Being a crafter I always see the "flaws" in things I make, so anytime I give someone a homemade gift I get a little nervous and wonder if anyone else will notice the little imperfections I see.

So here she is....

I love her little glasses and braids.  She was the perfect size for Layla, who turned 1 year old.  I didn't follow the instructions exactly.  In the pattern instructions it doesn't say to embroider the fact until the doll is all put together and stuffed,  I thought that would be more difficult since I've been embroidering for years, so I did this step right after I cut out the fabric for the face.  I also appliqued the hair on the front and back, just because I thought it would work better but you could easily use your sewing machine.  One of the best parts about this was all I had to pay for was the pattern.  Everything else required for the doll I already had in my stash, how many other toys can you buy for $10 that are this cute?

Happy Sewing!

Bread Making

I had never made bread before, mainly because I thought it would be really hard for some reason.  Yes that's right I was intimidated by bread making, just one more thing I have been wanting to make for years and never have out of fear of failure.  So, last night as I was getting everything out to start making dinner I realized we were completely out of bread. Since our budget is extremely tight I didn't even want to spend a dollar on a loaf of bread, especially because I knew I had everything to make bread in my cabinet.
Here is my finished bread:

Doesn't it look scrumptious.  My recipe made two loaves and it was quite tasty with our dinner.  I have to say I'm very proud of myself.  Here is the recipe I used.

White Bread

2c warm water

1/3 c sugar

1/2tsp white vinegar

3T oil

1tsp salt

1T instant yeast (I used active dry yeast)

4c flour, 1c wheat flour (I didn't have any wheat flour so I used 5c all purpose flour)

dissolve yeast in 2c warm water.  mix other ingredients together and kneed well.  Raise until its double in size.  divide and put into 2 loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. 

And there you go, easy peasy!

What I'm Working On

Yes I have started on my Bit of Whimsy doll for my friend's daughter.  Sadly I've had the pieces cut out for about 2 weeks and they have been sitting in my craft room all that time being completely neglected.  So, being as my friend's daughter's birthday is this saturday, I decided I really needed to get on the ball.  Of course that's easier said than done with a two month old.  Here is what I have done so far, yes I am making progress, haha.

I swore to myself I would not be working on this doll friday night or saturday morning so that means I have to get it completely finished tonight before I go to sleep.  So much for my new year's resolution of not procrastinating haha.  I am really excited to see her put together and finished, she is so cute just in pieces.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to show off a finished Beth Bit of Whimsy doll.

No More Stability

I did it! I put in my notice at work, the place I have been the last two and a half years, the place I have met two of my best friends since I moved from ohio to tennessee.  It was a little scary since I am a creature who needs stability when it comes to every aspect of my life but mostly financial stability.  Due to things I went through growing up I desperately feel the need to always have money in savings, know where my next paycheck is coming from, and know exactly how much that paycheck is.  That all being said, this is the first time in my life I chucked all that out the window in order to stay home with my 2 1/2 month old son.

I no longer have financial stability.  I no longer know where or when my next check is coming from, and the money that was in our savings account is now slowly diminishing.  While my husband does work and would normally make enough to cover our bills, (not spending money, just bills) his job is not stable.  It relies on the weather being good, which if anyone else out there reading this lives in tennessee knows the weather has been snowy, wet, and cold.  All three of those things means my husband gets to stay home with us.  While I love having him home to help with the little one, it sure does stink when friday rolls around and there is no check to put in the bank.

I am relying on the lord to help us through this time of instability.  My husband is one who always tells me not to worry and everything will work itself out and I am always telling him nothing works itself out, I work it out and he just says it works itself out.  This is the first time I am truly hoping it works itself out.  I am trying to work from home doing in-home childcare (my ad came out today, cross your fingers), I have plenty of experience with this but with childcare you never know when you will get people or how many so it's all up in the air for the moment.  My husband is looking for part time work on the weekends and if that doesn't pan out I can always look for something on the weekends in my field of nursing.  All of this is completely worth being able to be home with my son and see him grow and learn.  I am a firm believer that nothing comes without some sacrifice, and I'm ok doing that so I can have the piece of mind knowing my precious little one is home safe and sound.

So cross your fingers for me and send up a little prayer for my family.

Cream Cheese Pastry

Here is one of my favorite recipes. I make this for breakfast or dessert and it's perfect for taking to family get togethers or work functions.  It's simple and quick which are two things I love in a recipe.  I won't take credit for coming up with this recipe I actually got it from a friend I had in nursing school, so thanks a bunch heather!

Cream Cheese Pastry
2 (8oz) blocks cream cheese
2 rolls of crescent rolls
3/4 c sugar
lemon juice
vanilla
1 egg separated (keep egg white)
pecan pieces (I used walnuts)

mix cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk,vanilla, lemon juice.  grease 8x12 pan, spread 1-can crescent rolls out.then spread out mixture & spread other can of crescent rolls on top.  brush egg white & sprinkle pecan pieces on top. bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Christmas Pjs For Grant

I did get Grant's Christmas pjs done and just now got a picture of them, that's kind of sad I know.  They were so cute on him and so simple to make.  I printed a letter G off my computer and enlarged it to the size I would need for his little t-shirt.  I then cut the G out of the same fabric I used for the pants, used some heat and bond then ironed it to the shirt.  I then appliqued around the G to finish it off.  The shoes were made from this pattern by stardust shoes, and the pants were made from a tutorial by Handmade Mommy both were very easy to make.  Sadly I didn't get any pictures of Grant actually wearing these pjs but luckily my mom did, so sooner or later I'll have to have her email them to me.

Doll Pattern

 I have been inspired by the talented ladies at Bit Of Whimsy and MmmCrafts and their super cute toy patterns.  I have been wanting to make my own doll from scratch (not using someone else.s pattern) since I made my first black apple doll almost a year ago.  I always thought making dolls or stuffed toys would be really difficult and never tried any patterns until that first black apple doll.  After making it, I realized it was easier than I thought.  Recently I made a Mikey and Molly Monkey doll, putting the parts together were basically the same as the black apple dolls, which gave me more confidence in my doll/toy making ability. 

That confidence prompted me to buy the Bit of Whimsy doll pattern I had been eyeing for months.  After reading the instructions for the Beth doll I realized how basic doll/toy making can be.  I have a tendency to make things more difficult in my mind which usually helps me in procrastinating because I then get discouraged before even starting. 

So here is what I am promising myself and putting at the top of my to-do list, I want to finally make my own doll pattern.  If anyone is out there actually reading this little blog of mine maybe you can hold me to this promise because I know at some point I will hit a creative road block (like writer's block but for us self proclaimed crafty folks) and want to set this project aside. 

It may take me a little while to figure out the correct sizing and the small details but I figure if I take my time and just let my creativity take over I can do it.  I'm just hoping this confident attitude will stick until I actually get things started.  Being the mom of a 2 month old doesn't give me extended periods of "me" time to craft and create like I had before he came along (and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world) so I have to take the 10 minutes here and one hour there to get things finished.  My goal is to have a doll by May.  Why I chose May I'm not really sure, I guess I figure it is before my sister's graduation and birthday, mother's day, father's day, mom and dad's birthdays, my birthday and then all the holidays that begin in the fall.  I know once all those events start I will be extremely limited in time (even more so than I already am). 

I now have 4 months and counting......wish me luck!

Stay At Home Mom?

It has always been my dream to be a wife and mother and I always thought when I had kids I would be a stay at home mom.  When I pictured my future family I pictured me at home with the kids running wild and dinner on the table when my husband came home from work.  Nowadays it seems like a silly far fetched fantasy of the 1950's but regardless it's what I wanted.  Well after 4 years of college, thousands of dollars in student loans, medical bills, car payments, rent, and all the other day to day expenses, I came to realize my dream was financially impossible. 
During my pregnancy I tried not to think about strangers taking care of my precious baby and prayed daily a solution would present itself to me.  I had come to accept the fact that I would have to work to help support our growing family and that meant daycare was our only option.  I worked in a daycare for four years and I can tell you it's not like the horror stories you see on the news.  Most of the women who work there really do care about the kids they are taking care of and I can honestly say I got very attached to quite a few of them.  I still keep in touch with a couple of the families and they even attended my wedding.  Even knowing all that I know of daycare I still wasn't crazy about having my son in one.
After having my son I was over joyed to be able to take 12 weeks maternity leave and thought I would be content having that time with him knowing I would have to go back to work.  However the more time I spent with him the more difficult the idea of leaving him became.  As I sit here and watch him sleep so peacefully the idea of someone not talking to him in the same loving way I do, not holding him when he cries, or rocking him to sleep when he's tired breaks my heart and makes me tear up every time I think of it. 
So the question arises, is making more money worth him possibly not being in a loving environment?  Is having cable, internet, a new car, eating out frequently, and being able to buy more "things" really worth it? In one word...No. 
I currently have 2 weeks left of my maternity leave and have come to the conclusion there is no way I can leave my baby in someone elses hands just so I can have more material items.  My husband and I have thought long and hard about this decision since it will effect us greatly and finances will be more tight than ever.  When I think back to my growing up I don't remember what my parents bought me, I remember the places we went, the time we spent just being together. 
So, while I am really dreading telling my boss I'm not coming back, all I have to do is look into Grant's little face and I know there is no other place I'd rather be than right here with him in my arms.

Whoo Hoo! Bit of Whimsy Doll Pattern

I'm so excited, I just purchased a doll pattern from Bit of Whimsy.  I have been eyeing these patterns for months searching for an excuse to buy one, but at the same time feeling a bit intimidated by them.  In case anyone hasn't noticed I feel a bit intimidated by any sewing pattern that has more than 3 steps to it.  In keeping with my New Year's resolution to 1. stop procrastinating (this one has become a yearly tradition so it must be included), and 2. take more creative/crafty risks.  Which means if something intimidates me that means i'm going to suck it up and try it, no excuses.  Which brings me back to the Bit of Whimsy pattern, I bought the Beth doll pattern.  They are all super cute and I have every intention of buying one of the boy doll patterns  for my little man, probably for a Christmas gift this year.

My intention is to use this pattern to make a doll for a friend of mine's daughter.  Her first birthday is this month and I want to do something special and of course homemade.  So hopefully I will keep with my resolution #1, not procrastinate and have a finished Bit of Whimsy doll to show you soon!

New Year's Resolutions

Okay so I admit, every year I make some New Year's Resolutions and never follow through.  So when thinking of what I wanted my resolutions to be this year I really did want to pick things I might actually stick to.  My first thought, probably like most women, was to make one of my resolutions to lose the rest of my baby weight.  While I don't have a lot of weight left to lose I decided making that a resolution probably wasn't realistic being that I hate exercising and I am really not great at dieting.
So here are my resolutions:

1.  stop procrastinating -at least on some stuff, haha.

2.  take more creative/crafty risks-i'm intimidated easily by patterns and some of the projects I see all these talented blogging ladies coming up with.  So I want to finally start taking chances, after all what is the worst that can happen?

3.  make more holiday and birthday gifts homemade.-  I think i'm most excited about this resolution.  Every year I dream of a homemade Christmas.  I start off the year with all these great plans of homemade gifts thinking I have 12 months to get them all finished which should be plenty of time, only to have December roll around and be in a complete rush to get one or two things finished.  This is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to keep myself accountable and have someone/something to answer to.  So this year will be a busy one full of projects if I stick to this resolution.

Another Gift for Grant

I made Grant these shoes and matching onesie to put in his stocking.

The shoes were made using my favorite pattern from stardust shoes (i'm addicted to this pattern and find any excuse to use it).

Breast Cancer Molly Monkey!

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and is now about one month from finishing all her treatments and hopefully will never have to worry about it again.  She had been trying to think of something to give the nurses on her last day of treatment, when she saw me making Grant's Mikey Monkey she asked me to make a breast cancer molly monkey, and of course I did.

I didn't follow all the directions completely (a bad habit of mine since it usually gets me in trouble).  Since I had already made the Mikey Monkey I did a few of the steps out of order and didn't follow the directions at all with the skirt.  I used the measurements from the pattern for the skirt but only used elastic since I didn't have any biased tape and was ready to see her all finished.  My mom was very excited with the end result and said she can't wait to give it to her nurses.  Another project to mark of my list!

Molly and Mikey together

if you want to make your own go to mmmcrafts to get the free molly monkey pattern



Mikey Monkey!

I knew early on when I found out we were having a little boy that I wanted to make him a Mikey Monkey for his first Christmas, and I thought this would start the tradition of some homemade gifts for him each year.  Again I am a procrastinator and was working on this up until 30 minuted before it was time to open gifts with everyone.  Luckily my little man is only 2 months old so he didn't know the difference anyway. 
I admit I was a little intimidated by the pattern and instructions but decided I needed to suck it up and face my fear.  In all my Mikey took me about 5 hours to make, however if I wouldn't have been rushing to finish I would have avoided some mistakes and therefore saved myself some seam ripping.  I also was not using my own machine, I was borrowing my mom's which is completely different from mine.  Okay i'm done with excuses now, haha

So here is Mikey, I finally got to cross this off my to-do list,  isn't he the cutest!  I will admit I didn't get his hat and shoes done but he is still adorable without them (those are now on my to-do list).  I decided to only fill Grant's stocking this year since he wouldn't be able to open anything anyways.  Mikey was the perfect toy to be sticking out of his stocking.  My mom got a few pictures of Grant with his stocking and little Mikey peeking out, so sweet!
If you want to make your own go to the mmmcrafts etsy shop and purchase the pattern.

Christmas Stocking

At my mom's house we always open our gifts either the night before Christmas Eve or Christmas Eve  morning, and being the procrastinator that I am, I was of course working on my last minute gifts and things right up until we were about to start opening gifts.  You would think after years of New Year's Resolutions to stop procrastinating I would actually follow through but I don't. 
Anyway,  one of my goals this year was to make my son his first stocking.  I decided before he was born that I wanted to make all of our kid's stockings.  I thought it would be a great little tradition, and they would each have their own one of a kind stocking.  Since I am a procrastinator and I love fabric, which means I want it all and can never decide which fabric to buy for my projects (does anyone else have that problem?), I searched and searched for the perfect fabric and finally purchased it a couple days before Christmas Eve and didn't start making it until the night we were going to be opening presents. 

Here is the finished stocking.  I still want to put his first initial on it but that will be for later.  I'm so excited with how it turned out and I love the fabric chose, and the best part was it was on sale because it was so close to christmas.  I used the pattern from noodlehead but didn't follow the directions from that site.  Silly me thought making a stocking should be super simple.  Being as there are only a few pieces to work with, the outside stocking, inner lining, and batting, so how hard can it be right?  Well 2 hours later I was kicking myself for not following directions, O well I figured it out and will know better for next time.