kate is eight.

(so what? i wanted something rhymey, but "katie turns eighty" didn't work!)


a still-groggy katie eating her b-day breakfast.


katie with her birthday posse.


the cake.


making a wish.


opening presents.


austin and megs.


hard to believe, but this may have been the last party that these guys will be the "babies" at.

this year katie decided to raise money for PAWS of bremerton, a local animal welfare organization. this is also the organization that helped us re-home our kitty, mosely, shortly after moving to WA. she raised $61.00 to donate to this deserving organization. i am so pleased with the fact that she has a cause she is passionate about (that happens to be the same as her mama's!)

wow it's been over a month since my last blog post. sorry to all 3 or so of you regular readers out there LOL as always, thanks for reading! (and if you REALLY want to make my day, feel free to comment!)

lucky number 7.

last month my middle babe turned 7. having a birthday so close to christmas (just over a month after) results in having a pretty hard time shopping for her sometimes. being a minimalist-at-heart, i hate having to buy "stuff" for the sake of giving SOMETHING. this post gave me an idea, that i suggested to katie: "how 'bout we ask your friends to bring donations for the animal shelter instead of presents to your party?" honestly, i fully expected for her to shoot down that idea, but instead she loved it. at first she was a little hesitant ("i REALLY want to....but i also like getting presents".....i reassured her that she would still be getting presents from mommy and daddy.) so we celebrated with a ton of her friends at Chuck E. Cheese and everyone brought donations in her honor for the Kitsap Humane Society.




waiting at the desk for her donation receipt.


saying hi to some of the residents.


visiting a kitty in their new "cattery".

she raised $115.13 in the end. quite an accomplishment for a 7-year-old!

thanks for looking!

happy hearts outfit.

this was katie's V-day outfit. i found the fabric for the skirt at joann's and immediately fell in love with it--it's a pretty red/pink heart batik print. i used this tutorial for it and just eliminated the hem ruffle. the shirt was one she already had, i used samster mommy's tutorial for that and it literally took less than 5 minutes! i wish i had used a little more paint as the heart is a little faint at the top but oh well, live and learn.





thanks for looking!

DSi case

katie got a DSi for her birthday last week (TOTALLY nathan's idea. i would've just gotten her a barbie or something and she would've been happy.) she LOVES it though, especially the zhu zhu pets game she got with it...she's working on taking care of the little electronic critters so she can earn *new* pets :) anyhoos, it needed a case. and if any of you have ever looked for a case in the stores, you know how dire the selection is. so i decided to make my own! i looked at lots of tutorials before settling on this one i found on craftster.



i like the extra long straps that she can carry cross-body (less chance of her setting it down and losing it.) i used a fine wale gray corduroy for the outside and a *cute* puppy print fat quarter for the inside (that i've had sitting around forever, just waiting for the perfect project!)



here it is with the DSi peeking out :)



i loved rauni's design and followed it with only a few modifications: instead of using interfacing on the outside i used fusible fleece, for more padding. also, i didn't have any fun foam and was trying to only use what i had on hand so i used a piece of quilt batting inside the DSi pocket. and instead of the two snaps for the closure, i used velcro. NOTE: next time if i ever make another one i'll sew the velcro on BEFORE i sew the whole thing together. i couldn't fit the case with the tiny opening left on it over my sewing machine so i had to sew the velcro on by hand. tedious.

katie LOVES the case i made her, and hasn't taken it off since i gave it to her :)

thanks for looking!

for the animals.

after watching a heart-tugging commercial this morning about animal cruelty, katie decided that she wanted to donate some of her money to our local shelter. i helped her print out the form, but she filled it out and addressed and mailed it all on her own.







truly a girl after her mama's heart ♥

thanks for looking!!