Helping Mommy Sew

Don't you love when toddlers want to help you with everything?

When I was rushing to put together our stockings over the weekend, Sydney decided that she wanted to help me sew. She planted herself firmly in my bin of fabric and helped herself to my Blackberry. She wasn't helping as much as she was hindering.... but it was still so cute. 

Mrs. E

DIY ~ Christmas Stockings

So we had a bit of a Christmas tragedy in our home this year....

Somewhere in the move from the condo to the house, we lost a box of Christmas supplies which included our hand knit stockings. I had worked hours on those stockings and they were completely personalized. I am so sad that they are lost and I am really hoping that they turn up at some point down the road. 

As a result, I was forced up to come up with a last minute solution. Since I am completely opposed to using store bought stockings I had to break out the crafting supplies and put something together. I decided on some super cute quilted stockings. 

The Supplies:

~ Craft paper

~ Fabric (One pattern and a coordinating solid for each stocking as well as lining)

~ Cotton Batting

~ Needles

~ Thread

~ Measuring tape

~ Sewing machine

The Process:

~ Using the craft paper cut out your stocking pattern. I used two different sized bowls and a pencil to create my pattern. It was fairly large to allow for seams.

~ Using your pattern, cut out one patterned piece, one solid piece, one piece of batting and two linings

~ You will also need to cut out the cuff of your stocking. This requires four pieces that are four inches wide and the same width of the stocking itself.

~ Pin the patterned piece of your stocking, the layer of cotton batting and one layer of the lining together. 

I was in such a hurry that I forgot to take pictures of the next steps so I will explain it in as much detail as possible. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section.

~ Using your measuring tape and needles, mark out every two inches down both sides of the stocking. These will be your markings for the quilting process (My quilting was more rustic and less exact.... I did a lot of eye balling)
~ Using the markers as your guides, sew a straight stitch diagonally across the stocking all the way down. 
~ Once you have sewn the diagonal stripes in one direction, rotate the stocking and sew the diagonal stitching in the opposite direction.
~ Working with the quilted piece as one layer of fabric now, place the back of the stocking (the solid fabric) facing good sides in on the front side. add the last piece of lining on top of the back section as well. Your fabric should be in the following order

• Front quilted piece with the good side up
• Back solid piece with the good side down
• Back lining piece with the good side up

~ Sew all sides together leaving the top of the stocking open. 

~ Turn right side out and press. 

~ Now it is time to create the cuff of your stocking. Sew the short ends of two of the cuff pieces together with good sides facing each other. Do the same to the other two pieces. 

~ Open up both pieces and press the seams flat. Line up the good sides o each piece and sew along one of the long edges

~ Open the entire piece again and connect the two short ends with the good sides facing in. This will create a tube shape. Sew this final short edge and turn and press the entire cuff so that the long seam becomes the top and you have the unfinished edges together. 

~ Place the cuff inside your finished stocking with the rough edges facing up. 

~ Pin all edges (rough edges of stocking and cuff) together and sew around the entire stocking top.

~ Remove pins and flip the finished cuff to the outside of the stocking and press. 

~ Your done!

I hung our stockings using a safety pin and a finishing nail. You may choose to sew in a piece of ribbon for hanging purposes when attaching the cuff to the stocking. 

What do you think? Is this something you think you could tackle on your own?

Mrs. E

Campbell Christmas Afternoon

Our second Christmas celebration this year was on the 22nd with my parents and siblings. 

We had organized a gift exchange with everyone. There are just too many of us to buy gifts for one another. David and I bought for both of my brothers girlfriends and Sydney got gifts from everyone. After some major scheduling debacles and some discussion on the location of the actual celebration, we decided that everyone would come over to our house for an afternoon of food and fun. 

Let me just say.... that when you get 10 people in a room with all of our Christmas gifts for each other it can get busy!

Everyone getting set up for the gift exchange

Our tree surrounded by gifts

Sydney helped me open my presents.

Katie, Taylor, Tyler and Bonnie opening gifts

Sydney checks everything out and waits patiently for her turn

We prepped a late light lunch for everyone that included home made turkey chili, mint chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, banana chocolate chip mini muffins, individual spinach bread bowls and chai tea.

I also put together these little beauties. Mini caprese salad skewers... yum!

Mrs. E

Chocolate Treats in Lethbridge

Prepare for an onslaught of Christmas related posts today. 

Work is quiet and I finally had time to upload photos to the blog last night, so all of our Christmas updates are happening today! Our first big holiday celebration happened in Lethbridge this year. I had to drive down to Calgary for a work Christmas function on Thursday the 13th so we decided that it would be a great time to take a day off and go down to visit my dad. We woke up early and headed out of town. I attended meetings and a lunch and our Christmas function. David and Sydney spent the afternoon visiting friends. By the time we returned to the hotel, Sydney was running a very high fever and we were trying to decide whether or not to take her in to be seen by a doctor. The decision was finally made and we were off to the Children's hospital. Nothing like a sick kid when you are staying in a hotel with no resources....

Under normal circumstances we would have just toughed it out at home and tried to give her some Advil and fluids but we had NOTHING. At the hospital we had them take her temperature and give us some Advil. By the time we got back to the hotel we were all exhausted. We were up and down almost all night and then we hit the road to Lethbridge early the next day. 

Syd was sick pretty much the entire weekend. Her fever came and went and David and I only slept in 2 hours stretches. Needless to say... it was exhausting. We spent our time in Lethbridge visiting with my dad and Grandma and hanging out in our pyjamas at the house. On Sunday, when she started to come around a little, Sydney's Papa gave her an early Christmas treat. Lots of chocolate to make a sick kid happy.

Mrs. E

Movie Review ~ This is 40

On Christmas Day, when all of the celebrating was done, and Sydney was fast asleep at Gran and Gido's house, David and I made an impromptu decision to go see a movie. It had been forever since we last went to a movie together so we took advantage of a spare moment. 

I had been begging David to go see "This is 40" with me. I had heard great reviews and it sounded like an awesome movie to go see as a married couple. It was just as good as I thought it would be. The movie centers around a couple turning 40 with their kids. Much of the content hit home. It was as if the movie had a tiny glimpse into every average marriage and household. The couple deals with dramatic teenagers, aging bodies, struggling to connect with one another, money issues and many other things. 

David and I laughed our way through the hysterical parts and glanced at each other knowingly when we understood exactly what they were going through. We may be younger than 40 but we completely identified with the characters. 

All in all the movie was hilarious. Paul Rudd's character was so much like David at times that I couldn't handle it. Right down to hopping on his road bike to go to for an "angry" bike ride after a particularly draining argument. Fun movies like this make me love my husband even more. 

Mrs. E

Working Through Christmas

I am a little bit sad to say that David and I will not be taking any extra time off this year for Christmas. 

We have had such a crazy year with weddings and an Ironman that we have completely run out of vacation time and will be spending our holidays in the office. The only positive side is that our office is closed for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. Half of the staff at our company will be taking off at the end of the day today and I will be going home knowing that I have to be back here on Monday morning... crappy. It is only making me more and more excited for the Maternity leave that I will get with this baby. 

How are your holiday plans looking? Are there many other people working through the entire holiday break?

Mrs. E

Thankful for Toddler Cuddles

We have had a rough parenting week this last week. Sydney has been incredibly sick and both David and I are seriously sleep deprived. I don't know if I have ever really been this exhausted. It all started on Thursday night when we were in Calgary with a high fever and a trip to the children's hospital. I will admit that by early Saturday morning I was getting frustrated with the lack of sleep and not knowing how to make Sydney feel better. 

Then we found out about Sandy Hook Elementary. 

I have never felt so emotionally invested in something that didn't directly effect me. I was shocked that an individual could commit such an unbelievably horrific crime. I was immediately brought to tears. I felt for those parents and the surviving children. David tried to tell me not to watch the news but I couldn't help it. I thought of how I would handle a situation like that, of how you move on after something like that and how it would forever impact that community and how we look at the safety of our children. 

I will admit, the first thought that went through my mind was that I would never let my kids out of my sight for the rest of my life. I know this is unreasonable, but as a parent all you ever want to do is protect your children from everything horrible in the world. You hope that when you send them to school they are safe and this weekends events have shattered that image for a lot of parents. I know that I will have to let our children go out into the world to learn and explore for themselves. The best you could do is a parent is let them go but always encourage them to make the right decisions and let them know that you are there to support them through every choice they make. Being a parent is scary. I struggle with trusting others and I know I need to let go. 

I realized fairly quickly that my feeling of frustration over having a sick child were ridiculous  Those parents would give anything to hold their child in their arms again and I had mine right there with me. Sydney and I spent the afternoon sleeping together, cuddled up in bed while her little sibling kicked from the inside. I knew in that moment that I was doing everything I could do as a parent. I was loving my children and protecting them the way I know best. 

My heart goes out to those effected by the horrible of events of this last weekend. I hope you find peace sometime soon. 

As for me... I am going to soak up every moment with those that I love this holiday season and I am going to enjoy every delicious cuddle from my sick little girl. 

Mrs. E