So sweet you'll get cavities

Thinking ahead, I was planning on making Tam a dinosaur costume for Halloween this year. I was already scoping yard sales/ sale racks for an all green sleeper to use as the base AND I had a pattern for the details.

However, fate led me to this awesome score...

Warning... this is about the darn cutest thing I've stuck Tam in so far...




Yep.

It's a DRAGON costume!

Complete with small wings coming out the rear and attached to the back of the arms.

Tam thought it was hilarious on him.

Can't wait for October now!
So totally worth $5 (and saved me the headache of sewing it)

Silverleaf Renaissance Festival

This past Sunday, we all got out the ol' renaissance outfits and traveled south of the city to the Silverleaf festival. We went to this festival last year as well and had a blast. However, last year Tam was not MOBILE like this year. We chose a day which was predicted to be sunny, but not wiltingly hot. (Ugh, these clothes are not pleasant when the temperatures are high). We also decided on hauling the small stroller just in case Tam got tired of walking around. Since there was oodles of rain / storms last week in this area of Michigan, the site was a bit of a quagmire. Eh...the mud simply made it more authentic.

Upon entering, er...stepping back in time, Tam was utterly confused. He did not want to let go of Brian's hand or my skirts. It was a bit funny whenever he tried to grab for me since I was wearing my hoop skirt. Tam would lean against my skirt...and keep on leaning until he fell over. After about an hour, Tam got bolder and started wandering around without our immediate contact with him. He did HATE the mud in his sandals though (what kind of boy is he?)

Everyone was really friendly though, and Tam elicited many smiles from the actors and vendors. He got quite a bit of free stuff by just being so darn cute and friendly (cookies, rocks, cloth bag, etc.)

Brian and I enjoyed talking to workers and reminiscing of our past fair jobs. We also got to watch a few of the shows. It was refreshing to see acts we hadn't seen before and hear some jokes that were new to us :-) Tam was most intrigued by seeing and hearing The Rogues, a drum and bagpipe band. He even danced to their music. I think Brian liked watching the CD-lady (and her cleavage) the best).

Other highlights of our visit:

• The Queen talked to Tam and he tried to give her a rock.
• Tamlin really enjoyed running up and down the hills at the site. I really wished our yard had a hill for him.
• Both Brian and I got many compliments on our outfits...I hope Felix Needleworthy (our tailor) gets some business because of it.
• All of us got through the day without getting any sunburn!

Latest craftiness

Me crafty...which is like being shifty, but with needles and less rapid eye movement...

For our friends' son birthday last week, I recycled a plain shirt into a birthday shirt for him.This was my first attempt at a cut-away design. In the close-up you can see that the second fabric is sewn behind the top fabric, then the top fabric is cut away. I tried to choose really bright festive colors that I thought the new 3 year old would enjoy.

I really liked the technique for ease of use and no wait time while paint dried (like in the freezer stenciling). I'll for sure whip one up for Tam's next B-day too!

Prior to our journey to the Silverleaf Renaissance Festival, I had to make Tam a suitable outfit. We went to this festival last year (recall this outfit?)
I knew I wanted to make something similarly simple, but closer in look to a smock and tunic ensemble.

Here's what I whipped up last Friday evening. I utilized an existing onesie and pair of shorts as the basis for a pattern for this outfit. I love the fellow mom blogs I follow that reminded me that patterns are EASY to make from current clothes :-)
I made the arms from a second fabric to give the look of it having a second smock underneath, without actually having to make another entire shirt. The fleur-de-lis is from the same brown knit as the arms and put on as an applique. Again, in the avoidance of actually hemming anything, I used bias tape for the edges. I did add a hook & eye closer at the top of the back for a better fit (after I took the photo). It should be roomy enough for Tam to grow into this year.

I love the model pose Tam's giving in these photos :-)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - County Fair

We went to the County Fair last week...

We saw lots of animals...

Tam even imitated a cow...

We saw lots of farm equipment...

And lots of wheels!

Tam's grown so much since last year :-)

Kiddo's second birthday thoughts

Am I a cool enough mom to attempt a fire-truck cake for kiddo's 2 year birthday?...

Hmmm...She makes it look so easy in this video. And one of the mom's I follow has also recently blogged about cake decorating here (Make it and Love it).

Maybe...

I've got a few more months before then to decide...

WTF

I was giving Tam a bath last night since he's a filthy little boy from running around outside all day. Tam loves bathtime. It always begins with him tossing at least a dozen toys into the tub while it fills with water. Once in the H2O, he plays happily while I scrub the scum off of him. Once I'm done, I let him just play for a while. He practices his kicking and blowing bubbles and keeps himself busy pouring water from bucket to bucket. Once he starts to prune, I tell him it's time to get out. He immediately responds to this command by prostrating himself in the tub and saying no,no, no.
I usually just pull him out anyways.

This time, he REALLY didn't want to come out of the tub. So I did the unthinkable according to the kiddo-raising books...I pulled the plug on the water while he was still in the tub. I guess that most kids freak out and think that they will go down the drain with the liquid .

Tam didn't really realize the water level was diminishing until it was nearly gone. Then, very solemnly, he looks at me. His facial expression completely conveyed the phrase "What the hell?! Where did all the water go?" This was accompanied with his hands out and shoulders shrugged.

Ah, man, I cracked up.
Then, I had to try to tell him the water was all gone because it was time to come out...while trying not to laugh too much at him directly.
Oh, man, I so wished I had the camera!