Tootie's Sanctuary

Tootie now sleeps in a big double bed. Truth be told, she has for quite some time now. But it has taken me some time to put the finishing touches on her room. My vision STILL isn't quite finished, but it is close, so I thought I would share.
Over the summer, I took some quilting lessons, and made her a beautiful, colourful, cheerful quilt. It was such a great experience, and even though I took sewing lessons as a child, I really learned a lot of new techniques and tricks. It also made me realize that there is still lots left for me to learn!
Using those handy dandy new skills, I made Tootie two matching throw pillows:

And I also put together a body pillow cover for her. She loved having a part in it by helping plan out the placement of the squares.

Finally, I made some curtain valances last week. I still have some fabric left over, and I'm not sure what to do with it. I have few ideas, but am open to suggestions...
Here is a look at it all:

We still have plans to change the light fixture, repaint the walls (they have been the same since she was born), and hang a cool mosquito-netting type thing over her bed.
Updated pics will follow as progress is made!

** Cool fact: Tootie's bedside table was actually my bedside table as a little girl. I sanded it, repainted it and added new hardware for her a few months back. The little doll bed beside it was also one of my childhood treasures, made for me by my grandfather.

Spring Clean-up

When the snow melts, all the winter's garbage comes into the view. That terrible in-between stage between when the pristine white covering melts and the flowers start to sprout, the earth looks brown and drab and filthy. This morning, we took it upon ourselves to help Mother Earth breathe a little easier. We grabbed the wagon and a few bags, and we filled them up with trash. Our neighbourhood and favourite trail are now a little cleaner and ready for the green to start showing through.

The minis stopped everyone we saw along the trail to explain to them what we were doing. They were so proud of their good deeds. We rewarded ourselves with some fun playtime at the park afterwards.

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came! He came and he hid stuff and it was awesome! The minis had soooo much fun searching for eggs and discovering all the little surprises that he left behind. The Easter Bunny also brought Tootie a keyboard for her to practice her piano on, since she is now taking lessons. (Here's hoping she inherited some of the musical genes from Papashunga's side, cause goodness knows they are sparse on my side!)

Mr. Doo received a Blue Castle Tent, much like the pink Princess Tent that Santa brought Tootie. Now they each have a fun play haven for their rooms.

The Easter Bunny made our table very festive for us, which was great because Grandma and Grandpa were coming for Easter dinner. They came bearing treats, including some fun sunglasses and awesome headphones for the devices.

The eggs hanging from the pussywillows are (gasp!) felt.

The minis darted around collecting eggs for quite a while. Tootie grabbed all the pink and purple ones and Mr. Doo sought out the blue and green.

The minis also spotted some fun outdoor toys hidden away in the soccer net for outside use.

A little too much chocolate was ingested, a little too much crabbiness rounded off the end of the day. But all the times before that were lots of fun.

Happy Easter!

Fantastic Felt

I love felt. It is such an easy material to work with. You can make all kinds of cool stuff, and when I have a minute, I do. It doesn't take long and there are so many cool ideas out there.
My latest creations are a few new items for the minis' play kitchen. The minis have a fantastic retro kitchen that was passed on from a cousin. Not long after we got it, I scared myself reading a bunch of stuff about the dangers of plastic play food. As Tootie was still quite little, I decided to make some felt food for it instead. Every now and then, I add a few more things to keep it new and interesting.

Bacon and Eggs

Carrots and Broccoli

Ruffled chips and Bag

Ice Cream

Grapes

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Happy Birthday Mr. Doo!

It is hard to believe that three years have passed since Mr.Doo joined us in this world. The time has flown by in a myriad of exciting and fun memories. Mr. Doo's arrival was fast and furious, much like his sister's. As far as I can see, that is where the similarities end. The siblings are both wonders and wonderful, each in their own ways.
Mr. Doo has a sweet, easy-going personality. He is friendly and affectionate. He spouts hilarious statements on a daily basis and has the most expressive face a three year-old can have. Mr. Doo LOVES tractors, tools and play-doh. He embodies the definition of a hands-on child.

A few precious birthday related Mr. Doo-isms:

Cindy: "Mr. Doo, what present would you like for your birthday?"
Mr. Doo: "I have enough presents, I just want a tractor cake."
Done.

Everyone: "Happy Birthday! How old are you now?"
Mr. Doo: "Six years old".
Say what?

Before bed tonight...
Mr. Doo: "Are you done making my birthday now, Mom?"
Mamashunga: "Yes, I am."
Mr. Doo: "Thank you."
Awwwwwwww.

This past weekend, we celebrated Mr. Doo's third birthday with a farm-themed festivity. He loved every second of it. Check out the Parties page for details.

It is a guarantee that with each rising sun, his charms and personality will melt my heart anew. Happiest of Happy Birthdays Mr. Doo, you are so very loved.

Pinkalicious

Tootie and I had a very Pinktastic day yesterday. It was a girls day. We scooted on down to the neighbouring city to see a production of "Pinkalicious" based on the book of the same name.

We started the day off with Tootie's first drama class here in town. She sang, danced, crafted and loved every second of it. Saturday mornings of the next few weeks are going to be pretty exciting.

We headed straight into the city afterwards and hit up Subway for lunch, where we saw several other pinkerrific patrons with the same pre-show idea. Tootie ate up her whole sub but was most excited about her m&m cookie and pop (rootbeer is the current favourite) that went along with.

Tootie and I then headed over to the theatre an hour early for the pre-show festivities. She donned her pinkalicious dress in the van.

The theatre had a free-of-charge crown making activity set up for attendees.  Tootie made sure to put extra jewels on hers.

Also before the show, they had a photo booth, again free of charge. Tootie and I posed for the camera after Mamashunga waited 30 minutes in line. Tootie admired the fountain, making wishes and tossing coins as I waited.

Pinkalicious was an hour-long show of pink, pink and more pink. It blew Tootie's mind.