Back to School Shirts

The regular school routine has set in, and things seem to be moving along just fine. It has taken this mommy a little more adjusting than these two kiddos. 

They were both pumped and ready to go. Me, not so much.

I miss them.

The first day back broke my heart and I might have sobbed like a baby...in front of my baby...who is now a kindergartner.

My kindergartner might have shed a few tears because her mother lost it in front of her, but waited for her to leave. Such a strong little girl.

My first grader was a brave and happy little soldier. He's an old pro at this sort of thing now; in his mind's eye.

It does my heart good to see how happy they are with their teachers and their classmates. My favorite part of the day is when they get in the car at the end of the school day, smiles beaming, ready to tell me every detail of their day...competing to see who can tell the most.

Yes, I know these days are very short lived, and there will come a time when they won't say two words to me. 

I'm living in the moment and soaking it all in.

I love it.

We had a "morning of" photo shoot. This year wasn't nearly as fancy as last year's;o)

I will say that this impromptu photo shoot was a lot more fun and waaaay less stressful!!

 I made the kids' shirts to wear on their first day of school. I forgot to get good close up shots, so bear with me.

I found the fabrics from Hobby Lobby.

The shirt S.R. is wearing was created by using a pattern I had on hand. Super simple to put together, and took no time at all. I actually made it the night before school started because I am a last minute kind of gal;o)

 Here is a full view of the shirt along with a pair of shorts I found at a yard sale for $1...I really scored some awesome boutique deals that day.

This has to be one of my favorite shirts to date. I love the bright colors. Super fun!

 I asked E's permission before making his shirt. It needed to be something that didn't seem baby-ish. There is a fine line to walk when you mix applique and almost-7-year-old boys.

He approved, thankfully:o)

I made a pair of shorts to match, but when I finished them, I realized he might have been made fun of if he wore them. And we can't have anybody making fun of my sweet boy!

I haven't taken the time to make anymore clothes for them right now because we're about to head into Fall.

Hopefully I can get a few things together soon.

First Day of Pre-K

Today S.R. started preschool. She was so excited, and I was happy that she wanted to go. She was lost yesterday without her big brother to play with. I expected there to be an adjustment period....

 This little thing is a ball of fire, and sweet as sugar.

 I had so much fun taking her pictures. She already has a dramatic flare, and this type of thing was right up her alley...center stage, with all eyes on her.

 This is a rare shot of her being still..it doesn't happen often;o)

 I am so glad that she lets me play with her hair...now that it is FINALLY growing out.

Just like with E, I let her take some goofy shots. I caught her here when she didn't know I was snapping pictures.

 Attitude in it's purest form...:o)

 This has to be my favorite though...daddy's little girl. 

This child has been a light in our lives. She always has a smile on her face, and can light up any room that she walks into. God knew what He was doing when He sent us S.R. She is independent, but still wants to curl up in your arms and snuggle, and I LOVE that.

 She is considerate of her brother and her friends, and is almost always willing to help out.

Speaking of her brother, her demeanor completely changes when he gets home from school now. It's like she hasn't seen him in ages:o) They play together so well.

We are so blessed!!

******

Hopefully tomorrow I will get around to sharing the kids money holders...:o)

Gearing Up for Back to School

We are getting ready for school around here. The kids are super pumped, and so are we since both of them got the teachers we wanted them to:o) I have been labeling the day away. We meet E's teacher this afternoon and drop his school supplies off. Just a few more days of last minute play dates and odds and ends that need to be done before they go back and leave me all alone:o)

I am also working on some chore charts and hope to share those with you guys here in the next day or two. Have a great rest of the day!

Kid's Reversible Water Cozy

Today we have a guest post from Jessica at This Too. She has a great back to school tutorial to share with us....Take it away Jessica!

Thank you Crystal for having me here on Fussy Monkey Business!

Hello, Everyone!  I'm Jessica from This Too! - a little place where I try to document my crazy dreamed up projects and ideas while taking care of my husband and my 5 kids.  I love to sew, craft and I'm starting to dabble in woodworking, too.  Thankfully, my husband is very understanding of my need to create.

When Crystal asked for me to contribute to her blog with a tutorial for 'Back-to-School', I really had trouble coming up with something new to share with y'all.  I tried to think of something that would be useful for my own little ones.  I must confess, though, my 'back-to-school' consists of buying whatever is on the supply list provided by the school and then send them out the door to meet the bus on the first day.  (Sentimental, ain't  I?)  However, there were several times last year when one or both of the school age kids came home complaining about someone else drinking out of their water bottle.  Now, we could all just whip out that Sharpie and write in big black letters all over the bottle, but what fun is that?!  Things need to be pretty-fied not simplified.  :)

What you need:

Fabric A:

1 piece - 6" x 2"

1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"

2 pieces - 4 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Fabric B:

1 piece - 6" x 2"

1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"

Elastic:

1 piece - 1" wide cut 2 1/2" long

Ball Point Sewing Machine Needle  (needed later on in the tutorial)

You will also need your usual sewing notions, iron, sewing machine, pins, etc.

Let's get started.

First things first - if you decide to do some machine embroidery to decorate your bottle cosy, you might want to do that prior to cutting your fabric.  I think this was the second time I've actually used the embroidery setting on my machine, so I am nowhere good enough to use a small piece of fabric in the hoop.  If you are doing the decorating by hand, feel free to add it whenever it is easiest for you.

Here is mine.

Once you have your pieces cut, take the 6"x2" fabric pieces of both fabric A and fabric B and iron down 1/2" on both sides (lengthwise) of both fabrics.  (Ignore the stabilizing material you see below.)

Next, pin these pieces down in the middle of your 6" x 2 1/2" pieces of contrasting fabric.  (A to B and B to A)  Do a top stitch along both lengths right at the edge of your center fabric.  If you click on the picture below, you can see mine just at the edges.

Put right sides together and stitch along one length using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Then open and press the seam to one side.

Turn your fabric over and press the ends down about 1/4".  (This will make your job easier in a couple of steps.)

Now, put right sides together (again) and stitch down the other length and turn right side out.  Go ahead and press the seams and edges under really good at this point.

Okay.  Now grab those 2 pieces of 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" fabric.  Pin them right sides together and stitch down both lengths.

Turn this right side out,  press the seams and add a top stitch down the seams for a little decoration and to help it stay looking nice.

Now is the time to change your machine needle to a Ball Point Needle.  If you don't, you could end up with some really hairy looking stitching on your bobbin side.  Not Pretty!

Take your little piece of elastic and stick it in the middle of the little tube you just created.  Line it up with one end and place it in the middle.  Stitch this end closed making sure you stitch through the elastic.

Flip it around and do the same thing on the other end.  (The fabric will need to be scrunched down.)

Now, slip one end of your fabric covered elastic piece (until the seam is covered) and stitch it in place.  This is a lot of fabric to put through the machine, so take your time and work it through.  

 Once that is done, stitch the other end just like the first.  It's a tight fit, so once again, take your time.

And there you have it!  One bottle cozy to put on your little one's water for snack time or lunch.  Now no one will be able to say they don't know who that bottle belongs to!

And don't forget, we made it reversible!

Hope you all have enjoyed this.  If you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me.

Once again - Thank you, Crystal, for letting me crash your blog!  And to all you readers out there, come on over and have a look around This Too!.  I would love to have you!