I originally started writing this blog this morning and was writing about how relieved I was that things were starting to finally settling down for us after a rough couple of weeks!  Little man and our big pup were back to their usual selves by Monday, which was a great way to start the week!  I feel like I made some pretty big waves this week at work, so it’ll be interesting to see what the fallout looks like.  I was presented with a few opportunities to advocate for my team, and I took them!  I feel like I’ve been able to really utilize some of the skills I learned as part of my MHA program.  It’s great to see that my skills are immediately applicable!  Then Sunday hit…

Hubby and little man went for an epic bike ride this morning.  Little man recently traded in his balance bike for a regular pedal bike (no training wheels!), and has been rocking it!  It’s no surprise since hubby is an avid cyclist.  Must be in the genes.  He was doing phenomenally and decided to brave a rather large and steep hill towards the end of the ride.  He took a nasty tumble and went head first into the ground.  Thank goodness for his helmet (which cracked)!!  I’m so thankful that hubby has always taught our children the importance of safe riding.  He got some nasty scrapes to his face and legs and a bloody nose.  He’s fine, but will make for an interesting story when he goes to school on Monday.

We went to a party that afternoon, and the kids had a blast!  We had to get home in time for me to take some photos for the blog and for a pattern I’m testing, so we ran to the car after the party.  Party to keep the kids going in the right direction and partly to ensure they fell asleep on the way home.  Unfortunately, little princess stumbled and got some badly scraped knees.  She cried for most of the car ride home, making sure little man didn’t nap either in the process, and then finally fell asleep close to home.  She woke up almost the moment we got home and was absolutely inconsolable.  I feel awful!  Both kiddos had a fun, yet rough, weekend.

I kept working on our chain mail swim gear and made little man a Boo! Designs Rashie out of our 42 Custom Fabric swim!  He’s so excited for his knight swim shirt and can’t wait for our matching board short fabric to arrive so we can complete the look!  He’ll be all set to go for our water park adventure coming up!

This week I was lucky enough to help test the new Beltaine Fires tunic from Mother Grimm Patterns.  This tunic features a huge number of options, which is something I always love in a pattern.  The super simple instructions also make it a fast and easy sew!  I love that fabric choice can make this a casual top to wear on our family adventures or a dressier top that I can wear to work.  Regardless of what you use (as long as it’s a fabric with a nice drape), I can’t stress how comfortable it is!

For my first look, I made a handkerchief hemmed tunic with a banded bodice and pockets.  I used a beautiful floral DBP paired with a sage rayon spandex from So Sew English.  I love the look!  Did I mention this incredibly comfortable and flowy top has pockets!  I was a little worried about where the band would hit on my chest, since I’m on the larger side, but I was really pleased with how it fell in just the right place below my bust line.

For my second look, I wanted to experiment with some color blocking.  I had been holding on to this delicious purple polka dot rayon FT and matching purple/aqua blush lilly striped FT from So Sew English and knew it had to be made into one of these!  I made this one with a plain bodice, round hem, and (of course) pockets!

I had a beautiful black Imogen Boho border print DBP also from So Sew English that I knew would look wonderful as a tunic, so I used the plain option (no color blocking, bands, or pockets) for this one.  I wore this to work on Monday and got so many compliments!  I love them all!

*publishing of this post was a bit delayed because I couldn’t share the photos of the new tunic until now.  So excited I can finally share!