ROLLLLL TIDE!

WHEW!!! I feel like I'm back from the dead. My Photoshop editing software was on the fritz and I just haven't had time to figure out what was wrong so I couldn't post pictures and I just felt like I was losing it. Well, I sat down tonight and it's really embarrassing how easily the problem was fixed. I feel like a genius, though . We moved this month and things have been a little out of whack but I'M BACK and it feels great. Here's an outfit that I made for Lil to help her show her team spirit at school on Fridays during football season.

A Little Frustration

I caught this expression while trying to get Lillian to pose in a dress that I made her. She wasn't up for the photo shoot at all and I didn't get the shot of the dress that I was hoping for but while uploading the photos from my camera, I found this little gem. I think it captures her frustration perfectly. I also think it fits nicely with the Shutter Sisters "stalk the moment" post.

I would love to see the moments that you've captured "by accident".

Family Time

When Chad isn't here at night, Lil is somethimes still up at 9:40 pm. Only because she doesn't "WANNA GO TO BAAAYED!!!" There's a bunch of other reasons too like she "wants some GUMMMMM!" Or she needs to "GO POTTY"--a phrase she rarely utters unless it's bed time. One of the best excuses is that she doesn't want to close her eyes. That leaves me saying 'you don't have to close your eyes, just go to sleep'. NOW!!!
Anyway, I was sitting down to post about what a great time we had at camp this weekend. But I sat down to post this over an hour ago and once I got the photos edited and uploaded and once I got the "GUMMMM!" and once I took her to the "POTTY" and once I realized it's now 9:50 and someone is still awake, I just don't have a lot of time to write about the fishing and the marshmallows and the swimming and all of the other fun stuff we did. So I'll let the photos do it for me. There was a first fish experience and some other cool stuff. Oh and a sweet little pic I snapped of her while she was pulling leaves off of the trees. Next time I'll start this after I put the little night owl to bed. I'll be typing away as she's sleeping with her eyes wide open.

With Love

I made this outfit for Lil with a lotta love. I did it in one marathon sewing session this past Sunday. It was so much fun! Both the top and bottom are from patterns purchased through You Can Make This--my new favorite site for patterns.

The back of the dress turned out perfectly and is probably my favorite part. It looks as if it is shirred but it is actually four pieces of elastic running parallel to one another.

I promise to update on my smocking soon. It is turning out better than I had imagined and I've even learned to "picture smock" and have chosen the perfect pattern for her Easter dress. More later but for now I need to enjoy this little outfit a little longer.

Just Enough

She now has just enough hair to pull up into pigtails. For months, Lil has been handing me pony tail holder after pony tail holder until her hair is littered with little sprouts of hair like water spouts---the elastic barely hanging on to those few strands. "More! More!" She would insist not realizing that she didn't have enough hair to support one ponytail much less "More!" So just the other day, I went for it. Eureka! We got two REAL ponytails out of those curls and now she feels like a princess.

As soon as I took this photo, I knew I would have to include it as a blog posting so I went ahead and edited it so that, when I found time to write, the photo would be all set to upload. Well, the next day I'm going through my favorite blogs and what do I see but this. I thought that was pretty cool. Almost the same shot. There's something so sweet about pigtails.

Learning

I feel that I'm all the time learning something. If there's ever a lull in the learning then I seek out something to learn. It could be something simple like learning what a charm pack of fabric is:) Yes, I'm one of the few sewers who still doesn't know what one is(until about 20 minutes ago). Or it could be something BIG like smocking. I've signed myself up for a smocking class that starts Monday. I'm so excited. Even more exciting than that is in February I'm taking a quilting class. I want to learn to quilt so badly. So, in the mean time I have put my little shop on hiatus while I learn some new moves. I'll keep you posted. Here's a few things that we've been up to lately:

We went to the Christmas tree farm to find the perfect tree. Well, I guess, I should say for the experience of finding the perfect tree. I like Frasier Firs and Frasier Firs do not grow in Alabama but lots of Pines do. So we bought a severely overpriced but absolutely beautiful Frasier Fir that had been shipped from North Carolina and kept fresh in it's own little pail of water. My brother and his fiance on the other hand love Pines for Christmas so Lillian got the full experience of riding the Mule drawn carriage through the Pine fields and then walking up and down the isles of trees with our pole to measure and find the perfect Pine. We always went to the tree farm growing up and I'm excited that Lillian will get to experience this year after year.





Afterwards, I stole a few shots on the porch swing.



And between all the baking and potlucks and parties and gift buying, wrapping and giving, I found a little time to sew.

The sweetest little set for a great customer:



The snazziest of collections for a college friend of mine:




And a little something for a sweet little boy.



Of course there was more ~ this being the giving season and all ~ but this post is long enough and there are tornadoes looming in the distance on this scary warm January day, so I'll put it to rest now and go check the weather.

Happy New Year to you all!

ahhh...vacation

I can't believe I was just there. In St. Martin, St. Thomas and the Bahamas. All of my photos look like postcards. It was just that beautiful. I missed Lillian so much toward the end of the week but the trip was long overdue and just so perfect.

There is one season in the Caribbean and it's a nice one but what a nice season to come back to with the changing of the leaves and Christmas right around the corner.

Busy in the Little City

Life around here has been hectic and heartwarming all at the same time. September through January is a busy time in the Gamble Household. There's my birthday, then Lillian's birthday, then our anniversary, then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. And in the middle of all of that Chad and I scheduled a week long vacation. Lillian didn't come with us and I can honestly say that I will never leave her for 8 days again....not until the back talk starts then we may have a room to rent.

The Craziness That Is My Life

So, I love dooce. This is one of the many blogs that I check up on daily. Heather Armstrong keeps me laughing with just about every post. Out loud. I was completely inspired by her monthly newsletters to her daughter so I decided to do the same thing for Lil. We are now in our 2nd year of Lillian's life and monthly I write to her. Just so I won't forget the little things that happen between the big moments. After the first 12 months I uploaded everything to shutterfly and made a photo book out of it. It's a keepsake that I hope she will treasure forever. We are now in the 23rd month so another book will be ordered soon. Some months are very sentimental, some are funny and some are just REAL. I'll share with you one of the real ones here. Please keep in mind that I love my daughter to no end and that perhaps I should have shared with you one of the more loving entries first but that would be no fun. Having said that, here's Lillian's 22nd month:

Dear Lillian,
You are now 22 months old. WOW! You will be a 2 years old in just 2 months. That’s a lot of twos. And speaking of twos. I vow to never allow the TWO of us back into Walmart at the same time. Our last trip was a fiasco. An absolute nightmare for everyone involved and I mean EVERYONE. The meat man, the pharmacist and even that little boy who was busy showing us how well some kids can act while shopping--WITHOUT opening five different snacks or being slipped some Tylenol PM.
Anyway, it all started when I decided to try Spin Class for the first time. I have been avoiding this class as if it had herpes because I knew my body would feel the effects long after the herpes had cleared. My plan: First I would go to work, then I would rush home to change, then I would go to Spin Class, then I would pick you up, then the two of us would hold hands and skip merrily into your own private hell---Walmart. That was a fool proof plan for sure but for some reason, I didn’t take into account the amount of sweating that I would do in this class. I probably didn’t think about it because I don’t sweat much. Instead my face turns so red it looks almost purple for two full hours after I’ve exercised. It’s embarrassing. Well, this class caused my face to turn purple AND caused me to sweat like a 400 lb man. Seriously. My hair was soaked. But anyway, I’m not the one who turned 22 months old today so on with the story. Okay, I looked like crap obviously so I drove over to pick you up with the air going full blast. Now the only difference is that my face is cold and purple and my hair is cold and wet and a little wind blown. When I arrive, you had evidently just finished jello wrestling with one of your buddies. I was initially relieved that you had gotten this out of your system at such a young age AND with your clothes on then I remembered that we had to go to Walmart. Your dress was covered in red jello stains. Wait, not just your dress but your shoes too. And Daddy hadn’t put a diaper cover on you that morning so your diaper was sagging below your dress. And not only that, but your face was stained with jello too. Right across your cheek so that when we got to Walmart, and you were screaming bloody murder because you were so excited to be there, it looked as though you were screaming bloody murder because I had just smacked you across the face. Hard. If this gives you any idea of how the rest of the trip went you‘re probably still way off. Not only was everyone staring at us because you were loving life so much but when they looked at us to see what the heck was going on they saw two humans who quite possibly had just been involved in some sort of disaster. A major disaster that had caused us both great harm. Anyway, I’ll never take you back to Walmart. You win. And, by the way, I know you put the tortillas back on the shelf after I put them in the buggy. I couldn’t find them when I got home. You didn’t have to do that. I had already decided not to take you shopping ever again when you started screaming because I wouldn’t let you eat the frozen fish sticks. You didn’t have to put those tortillas back. That was a low blow.
Love,
Mama

The Sweetest Thing

I could post some photos of recent projects here but in looking through my photos this one just jumped out at me. Is it not just the sweetest thing? Lillian has her head cocked to the side listening so intently to her Nana. I think they were both in heaven here. I did make the outfit that Lil is wearing so I guess I did find a way to work a project in after all.