6

Since I've been gone from this space many things have happened. One of the most important things is that my baby turned six. Six! How did that happen?

Here she is on the day she entered the world screaming her head off...all 7 pounds 5 ounces of her. So tiny and so cute...and so, so loud. My mom says it's payback.

Here she is at one. Look at those cheeks...don't you just want to squeeze 'em?

And at two years old the cheeks are still squeezable. Her loud personality was coming out more.

Three years old, no longer a baby. She has no fear of the camera or anything else.

Four years old and getting so big. The genetically frizzy hair is beginning to arrive.

Five years old, long hair, big smile...bigger personality.

And now she's six. A lover of reading and drawing and baby dolls. She'll eat just about anything and she loves spicy food just like her Dad.

She requested a mermaid themed party this year. Boy, oh boy, did she get a lot of mermaids. Oh, and here's this year's cake. And did I mention that this grown-up girl with maturing taste buds wanted a gluten-free red velvet cake? No? Well, she did and I found a great recipe....easy to follow and delicious! The recipe is really for cupcakes, but I just doubled everything (except the red food coloring, I used 3 Tbs instead of 4) and baked it in my 13X9 dish.

And this year's birthday outfit. There are capris under that mermaid tail made of cute mermaid fabric trimmed with fringe to match the shirt and headscarf.

And lastly, here she is with her most favorite gift of all...a new pair of sparkly shoes.

I promise to share some beach pictures with you soon. Happy summer! xoANG

birthday post...super late

I've been meaning to write a post about the recent birthday celebration and share pictures. It was super fun. The chosen theme, as I mentioned before, was a detective party. For the annual birthday outfit, I made a detective cloak of gray and black hounds tooth check that is lined with some adorable, tiny pink floral cotton and trimmed it all with black bias tape. I also made a matching a-line skirt, which was also trimmed with black bias tape. I found the pattern for the cloak over at Martha Stewart. Really, though, I only used the pattern for the collar. I kinda just winged it with the skirt and thankfully it fit just right.

I made the cake per request. Thankfully the birthday girl knew exactly what she wanted...a magnifying glass. No problem. She still wanted the final product to be a surprise so I made it after she went to bed. It's not my best cake work, but she was thrilled and that's really all that mattered.

There were many wonderful detective themed gifts. She also received some adorable clothes and toys and girly lip gloss. Besides wearing her cloak often, the gift that has gotten the most use is Scrabble Flash. Everyone that enters the house can't help but play it for a few minutes. If you love playing regular Scrabble, you'll love Scrabble Flash. Seriously. Oh, her most favorite gift, much to the cat's dismay, was a cat training kit.Oh yes, she's been training the cat. Although, as time goes by and I hear the excitement about him learning new things and being rewarded with treats, it occurred to me that our little fur ball is quite clever as it seems, from where I'm sitting at least, that he is the one training her to give him more and more treats. Either way, they're both happy.
Also, to make the day even better, my mom, my sister, and my niece all came to the party as well. It was really fun to have them here.

So there you have it. Finally, some photographic proof that someone special in the Clothesline house turned 8 years old!

eight

Eight years ago, eight days after Christmas she arrived. She was over due and I was huge. Huge, I tell you. January first came and went and still no baby. But before the end of January second we finally welcomed our first baby into the world. The best gift in the world, my new baby, me - becoming a mom, our family growing. It's hard to believe that it all began eight years ago. My, how time flies.

As you can see from the following pictures, she loves to dress up still...and in the same purple dress she got when she was just two years old. Now it's more like a tutu. When I told her to strike a pose for the newest picture in that dress she posed very much like a favorite Degas sculpture of mine.

Today we celebrated! It's been a whirlwind of a day. This year's chosen birthday theme was a detective party. There were cloaks and magnifying glasses and clues to follow in order to find the birthday gifts. She had a blast! Tomorrow I have a feeling we'll be spied on and probably get fingerprinted. I'll share more after we all come down off of our sugar high. Until then...I hope your new year has had a wonderful beginning, much like ours. xoANG

catching up in ten

It's been a little busy at the Clothesline lately. I thought I'd take a few minutes and ten pictures to share the last couple of weeks with you.

1. Birthday time! Even before breakfast the girls wanted Dad to open his gifts.

2. We enjoyed a delicious gluten free chocolate cake (mix by 'Cause You're Special) with the best ever chocolate cream cheese frosting.

3. We put up and decorated our Christmas tree. The girls enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree...so far, the cat has not knocked anything off the tree.

4. Ahhhh, the Thanksgiving turkey...all 24 delicious, juicy pounds. Hooray for the invention of the cooking bags! They work great every single time.

5. Perfecting the pas de chat in the last class of the semester.

6. Practicing an arabesque during free dance time.

7. Another pumpkin roll in time for a visit from my mom. It's not a proper holiday season without a slice or two of this dessert. Yes, it's gluten free...and delicious!

8. Busy crocheting by the tree making a gift for a very special boy.

9. Our first snow of the season. A light snow, maybe an inch or so...but on the day of the Christmas parade. It was frigid but wonderful.

10. Because of the snow I was able to finish up that birthday gift...a crocheted Pikachu. Free, wonderfully written pattern found here.

So, now we're all caught up. Time to finish the laundry, get some homeschooling done, measure-cut-sew Christmas gifts, and enjoy this time in my warm house with my healthy family while dinner simmers in the crock pot. Happy Tuesday. xoANG

{this moment}

Inspired by Amanda, I share with you this moment from our day.

On a cold, fall afternoon the girls designed wrapping paper to wrap gifts for a very special birthday. Sunday looks to be a day filled with gifts and chocolate cake for the most wonderful Daddy in the world. I wish you a wonderful weekend. xo ANG

warming up

...my sewing machine, that is. She's been sitting around, unused, for a while now. Christmas is coming and much sewing will be done. I've got bags, and shoe totes, and pillows, and lounge pants all on my to-make list. There may also be some soft, flannel scarves on that list, too. But my sewing machine needs to be eased into the holiday making season instead of overwhelmed all at once. Yes, she's funny that way. And yes, I'm a little kooky for talking about my machine like she's a person. Your point? Anyway, thankfully I had the perfect reason to get my sewing machine warmed up...an apron. Yes, my dear friend, the cake genius, had a birthday and much to my delight she wears aprons as much as I do. As I pondered and searched for a new style of apron to make I came across this super cute tutorial via One Pretty Thing and I knew it was the one. Simple, but with lots of little details...gathers, contrasting top stitches, sparkly fabric, unexpected, yet very flattering, empire waist. Yes, that's the one for her.

It just so happens that the Tie One On apron theme this season is Apple Cider and since I had in my hands a freshly sewn apron I just had to enter it. The calico trim is very fallish and apple-y, the off white trim has the tiniest bit of golden sparkles and reminds me of a freshly cut apple, and the top stitching, although difficult to see in the photos, is a delicious red. So yes, I think it's Tie One On worthy. And just for extra apple-y goodness I am holding a scrumptiously crisp granny smith. Oh, yes, that's me wearing the apron. I like to have photographic proof of each sewing project I complete. And man, oh man, when the Christmas to-make list is complete I will be making one of these beauties for myself. So what's on your to-make list this season? happy weekend xoANG

wordless wednesday

...well, almost.

Today I'm 37. That's me with my girls. We're all a little silly looking and have frizzy hair. But hey, it's 98 degrees here, we have an excuse. xo ANG

seashell birthday

There has been a whirlwind of activity going on here at the Clothesline. Between miss E's actual birthday on Wednesday, finishing up our homeschooling for the year by Friday, and preparing for the family gathering birthday party on Sunday, it's been non-stop action. So here, once again, I will inundate you with a series of photo collages in order to share with you the celebration of my baby turning five. She requested a seashell birthday this year...we do love the beach!

On Wednesday she opened a few gifts from us. She was super excited to get a real starfish...painted purple. She does love purple. She also got to choose the dinner menu for her birthday. She chose homemade tomato bisque and grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum! We also had some cupcakes for dessert. It's not a birthday without a little cake and a candle to blow out. And yes, the morning of her birthday we headed over to the mall and she got her ears pierced! She was very brave...not one sound of pain and not one tear.

Yesterday was the family party. She was showered with gifts, lots of purple stuff, and lots of love. It was really nice to have everyone come over. And yes, that picture in the center of the collage below is the birthday dress. I used Jennifer Casa's new, free, summer dress pattern, Leisurely. I changed the hem to a scallop to make it more seashell-ish. Miss E loved it and wore it all day. I used elastic thread for the first time, it was a little tricky for me, but it worked out just fine. I also used french seams everywhere so there's not a raw edge to be seen!

Okay, here's a better picture of the dress. The seashell fabric was the only kind they had at Joann's, it was on clearance, there was only a yard and a half of it left, and miss E thought it was beautiful! Yippee! Then we meandered around to find some coordinating material...perfect-stripes! I always enjoy making a birthday outfit to go with the cake theme that the girls choose. Here are some others from years past...here, here, here, and here.

Oh, and here's a close-up of the cake. I used the shell on the left as my inspiration. Then I just had to add a starfish on the edge. And yes, once again, I used my friend Theresa's method for making the most beautiful cakes. She is a cake genius!

So there you have it, my very detailed quick version of the birthday events, in a rather large nutshell seashell. Now I don't know about you, but I either need another cup of coffee or a really good nap.
Happy Memorial Day! I am so thankful for every ounce of freedom we have in this wonderful country of ours. xo ANG

the big five

Today is a special day in the Clothesline family.

This tiny little baby of mine,

that eventually became very roly-poly,

is no longer a baby.

She has, at last, become a big kid.

Alas, she is now FIVE years old,

with a five year old body big enough to match her huge personality.

Time does fly. It really does. I can remember when she was tiny, her loud, mouth-wide-open cry, her scooting - not crawling. And now she's five. Tall and fast. Sweet and helpful. Funny and full of love. Love for her sister, for her cat, and anything that crawls or leaves a trail of slime. She's complex, this one. Girly to the core...loving shoes and fancy jewels, but also loving to get dirty and climb and jump and play.

Happy Birthday Baby!