Pink Poodle Birthday for Two, Please!!!

My two daughters have birthdays within four days of each other.  Isabella turned one (sniff, sniff!) and Hannah turned 9 (last year of single digits...another sniff, sniff!).  We celebrated each girl's special day on their actual birthdays, but we had one big party for the both of them.  Isabella didn't understand what all the fuss was about, but Hannah said she enjoyed sharing a party with her only baby sister.  We had a lot of pink...including the cupcakes!

My littlest princess was sound asleep when the party guests began to arrive, so I put her in her tutu while she was still half asleep.  She seemed to think that Mommy had lost her mind, but she was nice about it...  She even let my grandmother stand her up, still half asleep, so that I could get a picture of her.  I did add ribbon to the tutu.  If you read my post on this tutu, you will remember that I was still wondering what to do with it.  It was very easy to make (You can find a link for it on my post on the tutu.).

Here is a close up of the birthday shirt I made her...

One year olds that are about to devour their first cake will most definitely need a bib, so I made this for her just in time... (actually about an hour before the party!). 

"Hmmmmm...looks pretty good, and they don't seem to remember that they put this cake in front of me!"

"You mean you still are going to let me have this cake???  Cool!!!"

Since I made cupcakes for the guests and a cake for Isabella, I decided that I would make a special cake for my oldest birthday princess.  She told me that she loved it so much better than the Publix cakes we usually get because her mom made it for her with love.  Love my girl!!!  If you are wondering why she has enough make up on to star in a Vegas show, it is because she is on the dance team, and they had a costume practice that morning.  I was so worried she would catch her false eyelashes on fire!!!

A new dance bag from a sweet friend!

I made a special birthday shirt for Hannah too.  Last year, I didn't get to make her one because I was in the hospital giving birth to Isabella!

I love this picture!  My sweet boy, Aidan, was so proud to give his sister the card he made her and the candy bar that he got her!  He sat there patiently waiting for his turn to give her the present.

Daddy sharing a hug with his little birthday girl...

As much as I loved celebrating this special day with my two favorite girls, I am glad that the birthdays are behind us for awhile!  They are tiring!  :)



Silent Auction Projects

It seems like I either haven't sewn in a while, or I have so many sewing projects at once that there is smoke coming out my ears!  Right now, I have more than I can do...!  With Valentine's Day on Monday and two of my children's birthdays this week, I didn't think I would be able to sew anything for a silent auction benefiting my daughter's dance team....However, I did manage to whip up a few things yesterday, and then I "stole" one from my Etsy store.  :)  That only means that my Etsy store is seriously depleted, and I have more sewing projects coming up!

My corn bags (Therapy Bags) were very popular around Christmas, so I made two of those...

...and hooded towels are always a hit with the kids.  Since I couldn't monogram something for a silent auction (obviously), I used decorative fabric for the hood, and I really like how it turned out.  If you would like to try making one, "The Cottage Home" has a great tutorial here.  She has several fun tutorials.

I also took my cowboy bib set out of my Etsy shop (which I dislike doing) because I really wanted to have one more thing but ran out of time for sewing anything.  We shall see how it goes tonight!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!



A Tutu Swiffer

I cannot believe my baby girl will be a whole year old next week!!!  To celebrate her big day, I have been working on a special outfit for her to wear at her party.  Every little girl needs a tutu, so that is what I've made first.  I found a super easy (and free) tutorial here.  I could have made it much faster, but Isabella was helping me in my sewing room.

She was infatuated with the ironing board string.  Don't worry!  Nothing was on the ironing board!

I've never tasted an ironing board string myself, but apparently it tastes pretty good.

Once the tutu was finished, I tried it on her to make sure it fit.  She was scared of it at first, so I threw some ribbon on the floor to distract her...It worked!

After Isabella felt a little more comfortable with the tutu, she tried it out.

Word of caution... Do not let your baby crawl around your sewing room floor in her new tutu.  I found another use for the tutu... A SWIFFER!  There was so much fuzz, strings, and other sewing scrap gunk on her pretty new tutu...! 

I did put it in the washer on the "hand washables" setting, and it washed up just fine.  I then ran it through the "air dry" setting on my dryer, which I do not recommend unless you want it to look like a ballerina that survived "Twister."  I fluffed it up with my fingers and then set it under a heavy box...which I then fluffed again.  Good as new!

It is nice and fluffy now!  I plan to either add hanging ribbons or a bow to it before the big day.  I'll also be embroidering something special on a onesie.  I'll share the whole finished project once it's complete!

Featured Item!

My cowboy bib set with reusable snack bag is being featured on Etsy today!  My set was included in a treasury of cowboy and cowgirl themed items.  This set is in my Etsy shop, and it would make a great gift for a little cowboy!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Here is a recipe for you that packs a lot of flavor for just a little effort.  We are a large family, so one dish meals are usually the easiest...especially on nights when my daughter has dance class.  There are many versions of this recipe, and I've tried a few variations.  This one is my favorite.  It's from a Southern Living cookbook titled Our Readers Top-Rated Recipes.  Enjoy!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can diced tomatoes and chiles (Rotel)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

12 (6 inch) corn tortillas

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

• Saute onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high hear 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients; remove from heat.
• Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces, and layer one-third of tortilla pieces in bottom of a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  Top with one-third of chicken mixture and 2/3 cup of cheese. Repeat layers twice.
• Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes.  Yield: 6-8 servings.

 *You can freeze this casserole for up to 1 month.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.  (I am always meaning to do this.  It would be so nice to have a freezer stocked with ready-made, but homemade meals.)

It's really good garnished with sour cream, salsa, and even jalapenos!

It passed the taste test of my children..even my 3 year old!