Solana's Appliance

And we have a orthodontic patient in the family. Solana was pretty excited to get her new appliance in January. Is it just me or does she look really little in this picture?

As they placed it she kept licking the icky glue stuff they used to cement it in there. It made her gag. Here she is a little worse for wear but still hangin' in there.

Meet Solana's new expander.

The first couple of days were a little rough. She was sore for a bit but didn't complain too badly. I think I had the hardest time handling all the slurping and slurred speeech. I swear, I have this weird thing about mouth sounds. They are so annoying to me! LOL! But we made it though and she's now about to speak normally again.

We even went for a checkup a couple of weeks ago and you can already see the changes in her mouth. The only bad part about the expander is that there's a space between the roof of her mouth and the appliance where food can get caught. She got a popcorn kernel stuck in there once and couldn't even get it out with the water pic! Poor thing.

Fly a Kite

We had a warmish and windy day Friday. The girls couldn't wait to get out with their new kite. Dave barely got home from work when we all dragged him back out the door. It was wonderful!

Some Outfits I've Sewn

I've been sewing like crazy and the new serger that Dave and my parents bought for my birthday has helped a lot! Here are a few of my recent projects:

 A skirt for Kelly's 8th birthday! She likes goth and purple. Ii had a hard time with the goth but she seems pleased. Check out that pose!!!

A top for Chloe. This was my first top with straps! And her patch even matches...

 Flannel winter skirts for the girls. These were my first attempts at ruffles. I never knew how much work went into making ruffles!! Yowza! But I think it'll be easier now with my serger. 

 A birthday skirt for Mia's 9th birthday. She calls her style "Tomboy Girly." I think I nailed it. I know that she wore it to her birthday party but haven't gotten a picture of her in it, yet.

The first piece I've ever made for myself (besides pajama bottoms). This was actual a test piece for a pattern designer and I was really excited when she used my picture on her Etsy site.

This skirt for Solana is made from one of Dave's old shirts plus the scraps from my skirt. I'm particularly excited about this creation because 1) she looks adorable and 2) I used materials that would have otherwise gone to waste!

Bluebell's Haircut

Poor Bluebell has torn her ACL. We're not sure how extensive the damage is but we're hoping it's not all the way through and can heal on its own. Surgery is not something we want for her. In the meantime, we decided to shave off her winter coat since it's difficult for her to pop a proper squat on 3 legs. Less fur makes for a cleaner dog, if you catch my drift. 

Here's Dave working with his new dog razor and Solana is helping. She seems to be the only one enjoying the process, though. 

Shaving Cream Fun

The girls brought this idea home from Literacy night at Chloe's school and boy did they enjoy it! It made the kitchen smell pretty amazing, too!