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  1. un-nesting

    May 18, 2012 by Megan

    We are less than a week away from the packers {not the green bay variety but equally large hawaiian and samoan men} arriving to pack our house.
    I’m dragging my feet on SO many tasks because it’s the exact opposite of what I want to be doing.

    I’ve got that 3rd trimester nesting instinct.
    It seems to be heightened by the assumption that this is our last biological baby.
    {we want to adopt in a real bad way but this army life complicates that a wee bit}
    Instead of taking down photos from the walls I want to be adding new ones.
    It’s all so much worse because our belongings aren’t due to arrive in ‘Bama till after Army Brat #3 arrives.
    Bye bye nesting instinct, hello newborn + sleep deprivation.
    I’d be totally content nesting in a new house in ‘Bama but the timing is all off.
    {i feel a bit like a petulant teenager who is throwing a toddler-esque tantrum}
    I have turned something that is a normal part of this Army life into an internal battle with no winner.

    My Soldier has been UBER gracious and stepped in areas where I can’t hack it and let me be OCD in areas that shouldn’t really matter.
    He’s a hurricane of productivity right now.
    What I see as chaos always results in order and I am so thankful that he can pull this off.

    Today I actually have energy!
    It could be due to the 12 hours of sleep I got plus begging My Soldier to pray for my strength as he kissed me goodbye at o’ dark-thirty this morning.
    I’m begrudgingly plowing through my To Do list while drowning my sorrows in iced coffee and See’s Candy.

    I have more un-nesting I need to accomplish, I just needed to vent to the vast Interwebs.

    Category army living | Tags: , , | No Comments

  2. last call

    May 17, 2012 by Megan

    I went to my 1st Memorial Service for a fallen soldier yesterday.
    Except this time is was for 4 fallen soldiers.
    I didn’t even know these men and yet I wept during the service.
    I was one of the few in a room of a LOT of women who could squeeze my soldier’s hand for comfort.
    The bulk of the women in the room have husbands that are still deployed in Afghanistan.
    Husbands that are still in danger on a daily basis.
    They sat there internally thanking God that it wasn’t their soldier while watching the tears of wives who’s soldiers will never come home.
    I totally understand where they were coming from, these were other aviators in a scenario that could have easily included any of our soldiers, mine included.
    It hurts to think about it too much.

    At the end of a Military Funeral or Memorial Service they do a last call.
    They call to ranks other soldiers in attendance and then call to rank the fallen soldier.
    They call this solder 3 times.
    It was heart wrenching.
    At the very end of the service, after they play taps, the soldiers in attendance file by and salute their fallen comrade.
    It was so humbling to watch as Generals and Colonels all the way down to Privates stood and saluted these men.
    As ho-hum as this Army life can seem at times there is a reality and a gravity to it that can’t be escaped.
    Yes this is a part of our lives, but each loss is painfully felt.

    It’s not the first time I’ve said it and it will not be the last, I don’t know how anyone does this Army life without Jesus.

    Category army living | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. sorting my life

    May 7, 2012 by Megan


    This is my life right now.
    Sorting, purging, sorting, and a bit more purging.
    This is actually a picture of My Soldier attempting to sort his professional gear into one area of the house.
    {pro gear doesn’t count towards our weight allowance, so if you walk into our front door right now it looks like a hunting lodge}
    The boxes are actually just place holders.
    Our packers will pack everything, right now we just use them as receptacles to sort everything.
    I feel surgically attached to my iPhone right now because all of my various PCS-related lists reside there.
    It’s not uncommon for me to wake up in the middle of the night an add something to the list.

    We actually have no clue when our movers will arrive.
    My Soldier hasn’t received paper orders yet.
    For you non-military folk that likely doesn’t mean much, but by comparison, most soldiers receive their paper orders 3-4 months before they leave, we’re supposed to be leaving in less than 4 weeks.
    {praise Jesus i’m not an anxious person. i do get a cheap thrill when my anxiety prone friends get a panicked look on their faces when they think through our current timeline}

    Currently I’m trying to sort our lives into various categories.
    This absorbs my days.
    {when i’m not hunched over the toilet losing my lunch}
    I’m off to sort, purge, sort, and purge.

    Cheers!

    Category army living | Tags: , , | No Comments

  4. grab a tissue

    May 1, 2012 by Megan

    So My Soldier has been home for a week.
    You should all be jealous because that means My Helper, The Cadet and I have been spoiled rotten for a week.
    Thus far reintegration has been overshadowed by the chaos of PCSing {which thus far isn’t going well}.

    I mentioned last week that our friend Amy of Amy Copeland Photo took pictures at the airport when My Soldier arrived.
    {smartest move in documenting our lives i’ve ever made. mad props to myself}
    Here are the photos from his arrival.
    :::WARNING: Thus far these photos have caused more tears than a Hallmark commercial:::

    There’s My Helper and her sign.
    She was a huge fan of holding a sign.

    Here’s The Cadet.
    He was less of a fan of holding his sign.

    :::Prepare for the waterworks:::

    Side note: notice the reaction the the people in the background.

    It was at this point that the earth settle back on it’s axis and all was at peace again.
    {that boy makes my ♥ happy}

    Many many thanks to Amy for sharing her gift with us so we could capture these moments!

    We’re off to deal with more PCSing logistics.
    Happy Tuesday!

    Category army living | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

  5. wiksten tova maternity style

    April 26, 2012 by Megan

    See! I told you was sewing a maternity wardrobe!
    This is the Wiksten Tova dress pattern that I put the simplest of maternity alterations into.
    It actually doesn’t look like the pattern has been altered at all which I love!


    I cut my normal size but before I cut the front piece I added 1.5″ to middle fold.
    {yeesh, how can it be so difficult to explain something that was so easy?}
    The front portion of the pattern is cut on the fold.
    Before I cut the fabric I shifted the pattern over 1.5″ and then proceeded to cut normally.
    :::see picture above:::
    Because the pattern is drafted to be straight at the bottom of the yoke and the center of the hem that is the only alteration I needed to make.
    It adds a full 3″ of fabric to the front of the garment to cover the bump.
    When it calls for you to gather this section of the garment I just did some extra gathering to make sure it lined up with the yoke.
    {hopefully the picture helps with that abysmal description}


    Here’s a close up of the extra gathers and the yoke section.
    You can also see the lovely woven fabric I used for the dress which I bought at JoAnn’s 2+ years ago.
    {and yes, i have been known to hoard fabric for that long}


    Oddly enough, my favorite part of the Tova tunic/dress {besides wearing it} is hand sewing the inside of the collar.
    Something about hand-finishing a garment makes it that much more enjoyable to wear.

    I’m off to take a nap, because I’m sick, pregnant, My Soldier is home…and I can!
    Cheers!

    Category sewing | Tags: , , | Comments Off

  6. he’s home!!!

    April 25, 2012 by Megan

    !!!!
    {pardon my gratuitous exclamation point usage}
    !!!!

    !!

    !
    {ok, i’m done}

    !

    After what seems like the world’s longest and simultaneously shortest deployment My Soldier is home from The Afghanistan!
    {cue the hallelujah chorus}
    We picked him up yesterday and I have spent the last 18 hours reveling in the fact that our family feels whole again.
    This super short deployment was WAY harder than his deployment to The Iraq which was 3 times as long.
    I don’t wish pregnancy and a deployment on anyone, not even my worst enemy.
    I’m glad that this short season is over and we are already knee deep in the chaos leading up to our PCS.

    My friend Amy played paparazzi at the airport yesterday and I’ll post those pictures soon.
    Sadly I have inherited a head cold likely from Melanie & Co. {curse this cold Mel!}, but hopefully it won’t keep me down for long.

    Cheers!

    Category army living | Tags: | 1 Comment

  7. Darling Ranges – Maternity Style

    April 19, 2012 by Megan


    Yay! I’m actually sharing something I sewed!
    This is the Darling Ranges dress from Megan Nielsen.
    I ♥ this pattern!

    Obviously it is not a maternity pattern but I made some alterations to make it fit the expansive baby bump {and the other lovely lady lumps that grow rapidly during pregnancy}
    As written the pattern is a breeze.
    It has the most clever neck hole facing/placket assembly ever.
    The problem with clever in patterns is that it often doesn’t make any sense the first 3 times you read it, but I promise if you follow the instructions exactly as written it comes together easily.
    {cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye}

    I used a fun swiss dot shirting from fabric.com.
    I cut the front of the dress a size up from my normal size, and then I still did a full bust adjustment to the bodice.
    {i might have needed an extra full bust adjustment ~ yikes!}
    I raised the neckline an inch and raised the waist to empire.
    {basically i redrafted the whole front bodice portion of the dress}
    Honestly, even with all the adjustments it was pretty easy.
    I finished this dress at the end of February and clearly the continued growth is causing this dress to fit a bit snug in some areas {ok, one area}.
    I also added a 4th button to the top (out of dire necessity) and lengthened the skirt to compensate from the length taken from the bodice.


    Can you tell I’m not a fan of being photographed?
    I tried taking photos in my usual manner but that’s really hard to do with a maternity dress, it just doesn’t hang correctly.
    I wore this to church on Sunday and the loverly wrinkles are as a result of sitting in it for so long.

    I’m excited to sew several non-maternity versions of this dress after bambino #3 makes an appearance.
    Shirt dresses are a God-send to nursing mothers everywhere.

    Megan Neilsen is actually hosting a Darling Ranges sewalong on her blog right now.
    She dives into several alterations you can make, not the maternity alterations, but she does mention those in the pattern itself.
    The sleeveless version is right up my alley especially since I’ll be moving to the oh-so-hot-and-sticky southern part of Alabama.
    {it’s practically florida}

    Happy Wednesday!
    I’m off to purge kitchen items for the move!

    Thanks to my friend Amy for letting me ambush her and take these photos with no notice on Sunday.

    Category sewing | Tags: | 1 Comment

  8. First, An Apology

    April 19, 2012 by Megan

    First off, many many apologies for my 2 month absence {2 months! i’m a terrible person}.

    In case you were curious about the unexpected disappearance (and even if you weren’t curious) here’s the low down.

    The 2nd month of deployment sucks.
    Like sink into a wee bit of a depression it was so low. That on top of growing this wee small child in my belly made February pretty unbearable. To make matters worse, My Soldier was not accepted into flight school in January and we were more than a bit devastated.  So, spur of the moment, I decide to get off of this rock I live on in the middle of the Pacific and spend over a month in Seattle with my parents.

    SMARTEST DEPLOYMENT DECISION EVER!!

    So whilst crashing with my parents, I visited with a slew of fabulous people whom I love, and I took a lot of time to rest.
    {i also took a lot of time debating over a new pair of warby parker glasses}
    Praise God Almighty for that month.

    While we were in Seattle My Soldier’s flight school packet (read Army school application) went before the flight board….again. I was pretty pessimistic and  already thinking through our back up plan and our back up to the back up plan.
    One morning he woke me up ALARMINGLY early {and yes, when your husband is deployed you sleep with your phone}. This could only be one of two things, either he was injured in the line of duty {knock on wood and throw some salt over your shoulder}, or he was accepted into flight school. Well he wasn’t injured and the smile on his face spelled things out pretty clearly even though I hadn’t exactly woken up yet.

    Have you ever prayed for something for 3 years? Prayed for it and worked your butt off for it?
    My Soldier has been working towards flight school since he sat down with his recruiter over 3 years ago.
    We have watched God move faithfully the entire time.
    He was going to be a helicopter pilot and all praise goes to God for that truth!

    While we were still just excited that he got in we got his school date in record time.
    And BAM!!
    All of the sudden a move we had anticipated for late fall was happening at the end of May.
    {the end of may! as in less than 2 months away}

    So here I am, back on island.
    Still crazy sick, still missing my husband, kids that are channeling Chucky and The Bride of Chucky, and a PCS to plan for.
    {three cheers for chaos!}
    But My Soldier is coming home soon and I’m SUPER excited about that.

    So that’s where I stand.
    I’m currently evaluating every single possession we own and debating if we should move it or purge it.
    We also are trying to spend as much time with people as we can before we leave Hawaii for southern Alabama.

    I’m immediately writing a post on the Darling Ranges dress I finished in Seattle.
    {2 posts in one day!}

    Category army living | Tags: | 2 Comments

  9. wiksten tank dress

    February 13, 2012 by Megan

    So there is this wicked virus traveling around this wee rock we live on.
    It comes complete with awful congestion and a cough that keeps you up all night.
    Bonus: we’ve had it for 2 weeks and there is no end in sight!

    So now that I can kind of breath, {emphasis on kind of} I finally got around to taking photos of my Wiksten Tank dress.
    {i’m not sure if i’ve mentioned this before, but i ♥ wiksten patterns}

    To accommodate the growing baby bump, (and all other lady lumps that are need accommodation) I sewed it up a size.
    Actually, I’m between sizes in Wiksten patterns, so I rounded up a size and then sewed a full size bigger.
    Right now it’s a little tent-like but oh-so-comfy.
    I wore it to church last Sunday belted above the bump and it was per-fect!

    I also got to use some fabric I have been hoarding.
    I have a wee small collection of select prints in the Moda Etchings line by 3 Sisters.
    Specifically all the script, map, and architectural prints.
    I took a page out of Karyn’s book and sewed it in a map print and pattern matched my pocket.
    Instead of bias binding the neck hole and arm hole facings I decided to use some cording to add a visual pop.
    I wish had used bias tape for a prettier hem finish but I didn’t have any and barely squeezed this dress out of the 2 yards of fabric I had on hand.
    The hem and I did not get along, not one bit.

    If you look closely you can barely see the pocket above the word ‘Front’ in my watermark.

    I love how it turned out and it will be so easy to wear in Hawaii or layer when it gets cold.
    I plan on taking it in at the side seams after baby has arrived.

    :::Apologies for those who anticipated seeing a photo of me in my maternity clothes.:::
    My Soldier/Live-in-photographer is down range at the moment.

    Category sewing | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

  10. maternity patterns

    February 7, 2012 by Megan

    So since the world of off the rack maternity clothes is either out of season for Hawaii or out of price range for my wallet I have decided to make some pieces.

    I raided my pattern collection {something i ♥ doing} and pulled several that will work.
    I have a few actual maternity patterns.
    Oddly enough they are all vintage patterns.
    I do have plans to sew a couple of Megan Nielsen’s maternity patterns later on down the road.
    The rest of the patterns are just normal patterns that I can make minor adjustments to and make them work for my baby bump.

    Apologies for the excessive photos.
    Proceed with caution.

    Wiksten Tank Dress
    {i actually already have this sewn up! i’ll share later this week}

    Simplicity 9427
    I’ll probably make version 3 and belt it.

    McCall’s 5921

    Simplicity 8125
    This actually isn’t a maternity pattern but I think with some minor adjustments it could work.

    Simplicity 6672
    Again, not maternity but could easily make it work.
    {tell me that anytime someone says “make it work” you hear it in Tim Gunn’s voice}

    New Look 6871

    McCall’s 6265

    Simplicity 3778

    McCall’s 6031

    McCall’s 5388

    Vogue 8380

    Butterick 5495

    Simplicity 2147

    I also pulled one of my Japanese pattern books.
    This is Stylish Dress Book and it’s full of nice drapey/roomy dresses and tunics.

    Yes, I totally realize that’s a lot.
    I don’t foresee myself sewing 14 garments before this baby is due because I have lots of other responsibilities like parenting Army Brats and puking.
    Ok, puking is not a responsibility but it feels like one with the regularity that it happens.
    So I’ll pull from  this stack of patterns as inspiration and fabric availability hits.
    I’ll update you on my progress!

    Category sewing | Tags: | 1 Comment

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