Make your own Puppy or Small Dog Sweater.

If you have a tiny little dog like we do (did, she's MUCH bigger now) here is a handy way to make a sweater out of things you probably already have at home.  It's a sock sweater. 

When we brought our little Italian Greyhound home from the breeder it was during the hot-hot-hot part of a Phoenix summer.  She didn't need a sweater for outside, but sometimes the a/c gets a little cold inside so we made her a sweater out of one of my husband's old socks.  

It's pretty simple to do: 

1. Use the top part of the sock (the leg/ankle part, not the foot part). 

2. Cut out arm holes and cut off the foot part of the sock.  Make sure their peeing parts aren't covered!

3. Wiggle your little dog into it.  That's it!  

The hardest part may be getting the dog into the sweater and convincing him/her to wear it.  Ha!  This is our older dog when he was a puppy rocking the same type of sweater.  We thought it looked like a little white undershirt tank.  Hilarious!  He wasn't so sure about it.

So if you have a puppy or a tiny little dog and you need a sweater give it a try.  Let me know what you think!

Fisher Price Friday - Puzzle Puppy

Today on Fisher Price Friday I'd like to introduce you to a gigantic Lucky dog (aka Fido).  The Puzzle Puppy #659 is on the left and his tiny (regular sized) buddy Lucky is on the right.  The Puzzle Puppy is a stackable toy version of Fido.  He was made from 1976-1981 and is made for kids ages 18 months to 4 years.

We gave my little baby-girl (17 months) the Puzzle Puppy for Christmas.  She can't quite put it together herself yet but she is happy to take it apart!  This photo is her on christmas morning taking it apart for the first time. 

The puzzle breaks apart into 8 pieces.  The rings attach and fit around a central yellow rod.  

The black ears twist onto the yellow rod and the rest of the pieces slip over it. The bottom ring has the toy number 659 and the Fisher Price stamp.  It's a lovely little toy and super cute to see sitting around the playroom.  

If you like stacking toys check out the Giant Rock-a-Stack #740

Closet Organization - Kid's Bedroom

Today I thought I'd share how I organize my kid's bedroom closet.  I already shared my closet and now it is the girls turn.

My girls share a room and a closet.  Needless to say there are many many little itty bitty and adorable girl clothes to keep track of.  I prefer to have neat, organized and attractive storage spaces.  Fortunately the girl's room has a pretty big closet, so that makes it easier to tuck everything in and away.

I keep baby-girls clothes on the top since only I need to reach them.  I organize them by type (dress, shirt, jumper, etc) and sometimes by color.  On the shelves above I have 3 pretty boxes to hold bigger sized clothes and baby things (a memory box).  Notice that I use (almost) all the same kind of child-sized hangers for my girl's clothes.  It makes for a more cohesive look and the smaller size keeps the clothes on better.

On the middle shelf I stack the girl's jeans.  We don't need many jeans around here in hot Phoenix so this one shelf fits them just fine.  I also have a hair clip holder that was made for me by a good friend.  It's perfect for baby-girl's tiny clips.  It is also a perfect shelf (kid eye level) to put sonogram photos from each of my girls.  The bucket on the far right is decorated with the same fabric as my baby's crib set and is where the 5 year old puts her dance clothes.

To the left I keep a big white (IKEA) box with the next size up or current off-season baby-clothes.  I want easy access to them so that I can keep checking to see what she may fit.  The little box on the shelf holds off-season baby hats (in season are kept in the hall where we put on shoes).

The bottom of the closet has the 5 year old's clothes.  They're at the perfect height for my daughter since she's the one that picks out her clothes and (mostly) puts them away.  I try to organize her clothes by type and color but I have to let it go a bit since she's the one that puts her clothes back.  The white box on the bottom of the closet holds her off-season clothes that are still her current size just in case we need them (for out-of-state trips usually).

The other side of the closet holds some of their off-season clothes.  Especially the big winter coats.  The floor of the closet has the laundry hamper and two big fabric "boxes" that hold stuffed animals and dolls.  This keeps them off the floor but still at easy access.

This side of the closet has extra blankets on the top shelf.  The middle has one box for the clothes the 5 year old has outgrown (once it is full I move it to my closet to save for baby-girl) and another box with the next size up clothes for baby-girl.  The lower shelf holds baby books, mother's memory books, birthday books, a baby memory box and a jar of affirmations from my baby-showers.

So that's the closet.  What do you think?

For a bonus here is a tip for organizing baby clothes in a drawer.  I use the organizers from IKEA to help keep all her itty-bitty clothes by type (including one just for socks!!).  It makes it much easier to keep it all straight even if it still looks messy in this photo, ha!

Becoming Sister Wives - Book Review

I recently read the book Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown.  Now as you know I love to read books about Polygamy.  I am fascinated by this sub-culture that is living amongst us.

I've watched Sister Wives on TLC and had to check out their book when I saw it at the library.  I was hoping for some behind-the-scenes information on this intriguing family.  

So what did I think?  

Let me start out by telling you that this book is not fine literature.  It reads like it was thrown together haphazardly and in a hurry (which is probably was).  It is difficult to trudge through at times and it is clear that none of the Browns are writers.  

However, if you can get through the repetitive proclamations of how wonderful their family (and Kody) is there are some interesting tidbits.  Any fan of the show would appreciate knowing more about the early years of the Kody, Meri, Janelle and Christine courtships and marriage(s).  Also how they handle shared parenting and managing 3 (and now 4) households.  Good stuff.  

If you are a fan of the show then go ahead and check this book out.  It will scratch your curiosity itch.  If you are not a fan of the show and are simply looking for books on Polygamy I would pass.  Look here for more Polygamy book reviews and recommendations.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  

I hope that 2013 brings you lots of joy, friendship, health and Fisher Price Little People. :)