TuTu Cute!

It took a lot of work to make this tutu, and even more to get a picture of Hannah in it. I was surfing the web a few days ago for ideas on how to make a Christmas tutu for pictures of Hannah. I found directions on how to make a tutu dress and saw a little girl in a red and green one and I couldn't resist. It didn't cost much, but I totally understand why people charge $50+ for them. It took a long time. I did the red and green, ran out, had to go buy more, then added ribbons and jingle bells. I finished it just a couple of hours before Hannah's appointment to have her pictures taken. The professional ones we did turned out OK, but not great. We just couldn't get her to be still long enough to get a good picture. I took 25 today and didn't really get anything great. We are going to a Christmas tree farm on Sunday, so maybe I can get something for the Christmas card then.

Even though it took hours and hours to make the tutu, I really enjoyed making it and I'm thinking of making me and Hannah matching ones for Halloween.

If you've got tips on how to change the background to make this picture Christmas Card perfect, let me know!

It's Been a Long Time!

Time flies in this busy, wonderful life. It's been months since I posted. I finally have a week off and a chance to catch up, so watch out for tons of posts coming. I've been busy teaching first grade, which I LOVE! I am so proud of how well all of my students are reading. I'm on the PTA board, which I will post a little more about later.
Hannah is loving her school. The first 2 weeks or so were rough on all of us, but now she says, "Yay, School!" and grabs her backpack every morning. She even wants to go on Saturdays.
I've been cooking up a storm. A big hit this fall has been Lemon Snowflake Cookies. I intended to make them for a fall potluck for both Toby and I to take to work, but we got a yucky stomach bug and I didn't want to share my germs. I ended up making them for a Veteran's Day program at my school. Everyone loved them. The recipe makes lots, too, so I even had a few to take to Hannah's teachers. This past weekend, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for Toby's family. It's a fairly new tradition that we started because we aren't here on Thanksgiving Day. Hannah and I are gearing up for a Christmas Cookie Playdate in about a week. We are going to bake the cookies and her friends are going to help us decorate them.
I've spent the last 24 hours making a tutu dress for Hannah. We are going to have pictures taken this afternoon in her Christmas dress and in this dress. I'll take some pictures of her in it when she wakes up from her nap.
Little by little, I'm getting the Christmas decorations out and trying to keep my house clean. I guess I'd better go use my last few minutes of free time to work on that some more.