Long Sleeve Peasant Dress

I made this long-sleeved peasant dress from the tutorial at Prudent Baby. It was really easy to do. I used her measurements except adding a couple of inches to the length and it still only hits Caitlin at the knees. She's so tall. I'm loving making cute dresses for her. I know I'll be doing this one again adding even more inches for length.

And would you believe this was the best photo I could get of Caitlin wearing it? She's going through a "I don't want to take a picture" thing right now. And when I can get a picture, it's a silly cheesy grin. Gotta love it.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm taking a little blogging break today to spend with my three Valentine's. I hope yours is as LOVELY as mine!

Daddy Daughter Dates

Before their special Valentine's date.

Taking a page from a coworkers book, Eric and Caitlin have started having a weekly "lunch date". I love it!! Something happened between Christmas and New Year's in our little girl's heart for her daddy. While she has always loved him, she really wants to be around him more now. She wants daddy to put her down for her naps instead of mommy. That's huge!! She will sometimes still ask for me after he has put her to bed, but hey, after nearly 3 years of being the only one she wanted at bed times, I'm ok with that.

Last Monday they went to Chick-Fil-A for a special Valentine's date. Look how excited Caitlin looks in the picture. She can't get enough of her daddy.

There's something to be said for a healthy father-daughter relationship. And I think that something goes along the lines of "Hallelujah", "Thank you Jesus", "Amen", "Praise God", "What a Relief". Or maybe just a restful sigh will do. From what I know and what I've read on the topic (I am by far not an expert), girls who maintain a strong and healthy relationship with their dad throughout their teen years have an easier time dealing with all the things that parents stay up at nights and worry about.

I love spending time with my girls. But to see Caitlin cling to her daddy makes my heart smile. I am so thankful.

Kid in the Kitchen

Tonight Caitlin helped me with dinner. We made homemade baked chicken nuggets and she did most of the breading. I cut up the chicken into pieces, and made an assembly line for her. She dipped the chicken into some melted butter, rolled it in the bread crumbs and placed them on the baking sheet. I know what you're thinking. You let your toddler touch raw chicken?? Yep. Sure did.

Because this was the first time I let her handle raw meat, I told her what to expect before she ever touched it. "The chicken is a little slimy, but it's ok." After the first nugget or two the breading was beginning to stick to her hands and she really didn't like that. But again, I talked her through it. "It's ok sweetheart. We can wash your hands when we're done." And she was ok with that.

After a doing a few nuggets together Hayley started fussing and I needed to pick her up. So I washed my hands and went to help her. Caitlin just continued breading the nuggets and putting them on the baking sheet. I think I'm going to have her cook more often!

It's extremely good for kids to help out in the kitchen. While most, including Caitlin, start by stirring whatever is in the bowl, kids need to learn more than how to stir brownie batter. I try to let her do as much as I can. Of course there are no using knives or handling anything on the hot stove yet. She's too young for that. But after a certain age (or maturity level), why not. It helps you and involves them in their food. Kids get to learn where their food comes from. They learn to appreciate the time and effort it takes to prepare healthy meals for them. And they have ownership over their food and hopefully eat it.

Sure, they make a bigger mess than you would have, but come on... Who cares if you have to clean up a little more if your kids are getting all those benefits. And just think, one day when they leave the nest, they will know how to make more than just noodles in the microwave.

Felt Heart Hairbows

Mandy over at Sugarbee Craft Edition made these cute Valentine hair bows and I just HAD to copy it. I've got two little girls and, although one doesn't have much hair yet, hearts are a must and not just on Valentines.

I made several so Caitlin could have a pair and a friend of hers could have some too. Aren't they just adorable!!

Mandy used a die cutter to make all of hers. I tried using my Cricut after reading that some people had success cutting felt with theirs. I had no such luck. Of course, I was using really cheap felt and not the 100% wool that others used with their Cricuts. That probably made a huge difference.

So, for those of you who don't have some sort of cutter, you can still do this project. It takes more time because you have to cut out all those little bitty hearts by hand. I made sure they were all the same size by making a template from some paper. I cut out two paper hearts; one bigger and one smaller. After that, the directions Mandy gives on her tutorial are exactly the same.

Tooth Bear

I made one of these felt tooth bears for my niece's Christmas present. It's the perfect gift for those big boys and girls who are just getting ready to lose their baby teeth. This one is for my one of my best friend's little boy. He's in kindergarten this year and hasn't lost any baby teeth yet.

Just put your baby tooth in the pocket and the tooth fairy will know where to find it. Then she can leave the money for the tooth in the same pocket so you can cash in the next morning.

It also makes it easier for mom and dad to 'help' the tooth fairy. Keep that tooth somewhere easy to get instead of stuffed up under some pillow impossibly planted under your kids head.


Check out Martha Stewart's website for a free pattern for these adorable tooth bears.

Family Cook Book Project

A few years ago our family decided to create our own family cook book. We wanted to collect all of those timeless recipes that remind us of each other. For instance, in our family, Thanksgiving just isn't right without a squash casserole. Or because I call my Mom and Dad every time I get ready to make their vegetable stew. I just can't seem to remember the recipe.

It took a LOT of time and effort. We had to email back and forth about a zillion times. Then there are those who don't email and you have to collect their hand written recipes and transfer them to the computer. At the end we had a 3-ring binder that doesn't fit in my cupboard with my other recipe books unless I lay it sideways. I WISH we had known about the Family Cook Book Project.

Family Cook Book Project allows each family member to log in and enter their own recipes. And as soon as they are entered, other family members can see it and begin to use it online. You can even set a deadline to have all the recipes collected for printing. If you have a special recipe that you want so-and-so to enter, you can use the special request tool.

Once you are ready to put the book together, you can add a dedication page, select the cover, and indicate any printing specifications. If/when you want to update your recipe book the next year or whenever, all your recipes are already online and just need a few new ones to be added. What I love about Family Cook Book Project is that you don't have to order a ton of books. Smaller families can order as few as 10 books.

If this is something that your family can use for your next family reunion or as a Mother's Day gift, check out the special deal offered to Gingerly Made followers below.