Best. Investment. Ever.

We recently got a gymnastic mat. My motive was having the gals and friends to play independently for hours on end...I do have a lot of catching up with my crafting ;)
What I was not planning on was seeing the budding confidence in my once mediocre gym enthusiast. I regularly saw the look of discouragement in Marlee's eyes as she watched other girls in her dance class effortlessly complete a set of back walkovers. With some practice, she is learning not only how the muscles in her body work, but also to trust her body to work in ways she never thought possible. She still has much more to learn, but practicing on the mat in a playful way is giving her the confidence boost she needs.
Also, this has been the center of many recent play dates, which means I get to sneak away for a craft or two. Win-win ;)

Spring Ahead

What a lovely, springlike weekend! Last Sunday the high temperature was 28 degrees.  What a contrast to this sunny Sunday's mid 60 degree day. We took advantage of this fabulous day and meandered down to our community park.  We were please to see that the weather brought many folks out of the woodwork as there were all types of shenanigan's at the park on this late afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

It was refreshing to see people getting into the warm weather mode; volleyball, drinking some beers, watching the kids play. This first day of daylight saving time really reminds us that spring is, indeed, ahead.



 

 

Barbies, sleeping bags, and cameras, oh my!

I love when I complete the easiest projects in the world.  Recently we discovered there was a shortage of sleeping bags for the Barbies.  (What?! We didn't have one for each of the 760 dolls??!!)

 

I had some scraps of flannel and fleece.  I simply cut 2 5x17 rectangles and sewed right sides together.  As I was adding the top stitch, I added a 5x12 rectangle to the front of the sleeping bag to make a little pouch. 

 

 

I also found some leftover batting and sewed it between two pieces of flannel and came up with these nifty quilts. They aren't seamstress quality, but they are adequate for an afternoon of imaginative play.

 

 

The gals were very excited about the new addition to their collection.  They even staged a photo shoot for the dolls in their bags.  They took the dolls, sleeping bags, and a camera and this was the excitement and rage of their after school fun today. So unplanned, and so much fun.