Cowgirl Vest

So, I got a request for further details on how I made the cowgirl vest for the Papoose's Halloween costume. There's really not much to say... I didn't use a pattern; I just sort of free-hand cut the fabric after looking at a fleece hoodie of hers in her current size. The fabric was from my stash, some kind of faux shearling-type stuff with a suede-look on one side and fleecy texture on the other. The fringe I picked up at JoAnn's a while ago, planning to do something with it for this costume, though I had no idea what at the time. I just topstitched that on before sewing the vest pieces together. And the stars are just felt, machine-appliqued on. Really, everything was just very free-hand and completely winged, which I NEVER do, but I'm very much glad I did this time. It's nice to step outside your comfort zone and have the results be so satisfying.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Howdy

Holy cow, November! Hi! So...I thought I was back in the blogging world, and then...well, October kind of got away from me. The way a raging bull on a shoestring leash would get away from me. There is so much I need to talk about here that I'm almost too intimidated to even start. So, let's just go with some distractingly cute pics of the Papoose from Halloween and call it a day.



She was a cowgirl, of course, since the Earth revolves around all things "horsie." No, I did not make the skirt, but I did make the vest. And I was extra proud of myself for totally winging it with the vest...no pattern, no plan, no trip to the fabric store. It fit perfectly and totally made the outfit. She wouldn't wear a cowgirl hat, but she was wearing cowgirl boots. And she had a horse, she just refused to carry it.



Oh, and the green frosting? Wasn't aware of it until I saw the pictures. The pink nose? Leftover face paint from a Halloween party at Verizon that morning where they painted her as a cat. Cute, but she later looked like she had a cold!

I'm pretty sure this was the only time she held Biscuit, the horse, all night. It mostly rode, inexplicably, inside Mr. Ouiser's shirt all night. Don't ask me; you'll have to take that one up with the Ouisers.

A good shot of the back of the vest.





Another good shot of the back.

We handed out candy across the street at our friends', Ouiser's aunt's, house for a while before trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with the Ouisers. The Papoose gave some candy out herself, after much pep-talking. She very clearly wanted to do it, but when confronted with a big kid right in her face...well, we were proud of her.

Our neighborhood is a MAD. HOUSE. on Halloween. It was last year, too. Like no place else I have ever seen in all my 31 years of Halloweening. It's probably the nicest, safest neighborhood in our area, so I understand why, but criminey. I bought even more candy than last year and we still ran out. The Papoose learned to say "Trick or treat" by the third or fourth house, and also said "Thank you" and "Bye-bye" with minimal prompting.

After we put the girls to bed, the Husband and I and Mr. Ouiser hung out by the fire pit at the aunt's house for a while, relaxing and talking. It was great. That fire pit is great. It has a chimney so you don't smell too much like campfire afterwards and it's just perfect for pulling some chairs up to, roasting some hot dogs, and having some drinks.

The only thing missing was costumes for me and the Husband. Dude, I just CANNOT get the Papoose's costume and birthday party AND costumes for us planned all at the same time. But after three years of no Halloween parties to go to and no costumes for us, I'm done. Mark my words, next year, I MAY throw my own party, and we WILL have costumes because I WILL start planning earlier. Consider that my Feast of Samhain resolution. (Is that the right feast for this time of year? Dad?)

My Child Genius

I got so excited this afternoon: she counted to four all by herself for the first time. That little voice going, "One, two, three, four!" with such triumph!

Until I looked over and saw that there were only two sheep and one horse.

Then, she added another sheep and declared, "Ten, four, five!"

*sigh*

She's Got Mad Potty Skillz, Yo!

I expect props to go out to our girl, Papoosekin, for some very appropriate potty usage this morning. After peeing all over both me and the couch, she later completely redeemed herself by not only announcing her intent, but carrying out said action in its entirety, and in the potty. After much applauding and rejoicing, she rejected the proffered sucker and instead demanded a fifth reading of A Mud Pie for Mother. Bless that child's little bibliophilic heart.

Potty Power

Why I've decided that today is a good day to start potty-training, I have no idea.

Maybe it's because we're going to NYC in a couple weeks. Helping a newly trained toddler figure out how to go potty in airports, on planes, and who-knows-where-else in the city sounds delightful.

Maybe it's because we're about to be exiled to a hotel as our kitchen gets ripped out, asbestos and all. After we came back from Austin and found that the floor had been soaking in overflowing dishwasher water the entire week we were gone, destroyed down to the subflooring, had contractor after contractor come in and go, "Aw, hell. This whole floor's gonna hafta come up. These cabinets aren't gonna make it. And that wall's probably gonna hafta go, too," we're very thankful for homeowner's insurance.

Maybe it's the fact that it's the middle of the week, so there's no husband around to help me clean up the puddles.

Whatever the brilliant reasoning that led me to the conclusion that today is the day, the end result is the same: my leg has been peed on. The floor has been peed on. But the potty has also been peed in, a little bit, and I'm not holding down a screaming toddler trying to slap a diaper on her, so maybe it could be worse.

Aaaaand....We're back.

Alright, summer vacation's over. I'm back. I couldn't stay away from y'all forever. Plus, I sense that I'm one step away from receiving threatening letters from certain readers.

The feathernesters have had a heck of a summer. Most recently, we were in Austin for a week visiting Toddler Tamer and brood. Baby S is even cuter in real life than in her pictures; what a happy, easy-going baby. My Papoose loved her and asked for the "Baby" first thing most mornings we were there.

Cont'd five days later...

The Papoose is still talking about J and the "baby."

She's talking up a storm in general. Tonight, she got ice cream down her dress inadvertently that neither of us realized was there until I peeled her dress off of her, saw the bright red spot where it must have been freezing her, and it started dripping down her belly. "Oh, MAN!" she exclaimed, repeatedly, to much hilarity from her parents. She's awesome.

I have so much more to update, but I'm going to go ahead and post this very random and jumpy entry. I've gotta ease back into this bloggy thing, y'all.

Our Month in Pictures

So, declaring a hiatus seems to have relieved enough self-placed pressure to finally spur me to post. At least some pictures, if not much text. Enjoy.

Pool time

Wading in the creek

Figuring out the intricacies of water fountains

The robin family that hatched in the nest in the tree in our front yard. They've all flown away now, though we still see the parents around.

My future's so bright...

Rockin' out at the Farmer Jason concert

Typical conversation these days: "Papoose, is that a hat?" "No..." "What is it then?" "Not-a-hat!"

Happy Fourth, peeps!

Too cool to ride in the stroller these days

We use big, emphatic hand gestures these days. Especially when talking about horsies.

Getting up the nerve for a pony ride

Petting zoo...yes.

Pony ride...not so much.