Permanent Room Dilemma and New Houndstooth Sofa

I just sent out my weekly blog update to a list of people who subscribed.  Why didn't you guys tell me that I had blog post diarrhea last week?  I think Frannie eluded to it.  I was a little crazy last week with the photostories and the video.  This week I will try to refrain from post overload of stories, so you guys can keep up. It might be hard because now everytime I go into the studio and I see a room set up, I want to do a quick story.  Boy do I have a lot of stories on the horizon.  The Anderson home design has been determined and I am in the process of tweeking. The Dinosaur museum was dismantled today, and I was so tempted to set up a new display for a new video.  Instead, I took pictures of the new sofa that I also did this past week.  Did I sleep at all this past week?  Let me think....  I do know that this morning I got up at 2:15am and haven't been back to sleep yet.

I will spend the next couple of days getting caught up on reading blogs.  I will also be making food for the store, because I promised people that I would have stuff available by August.  Can you believe tomorrow is August 1st.  This year is flying.  Making clothes for Julian and Jacob is also on my list for this week.  

The new sofa is of course, currently available in my Etsy shop.

New Video: Danielle Spends Quality Time with the Boys

Danielle took a couple of days off to rest after the Daddy/Daughter dance.  She didn't realize how exhausted she was from coordinating that whole production.  She also wanted to do something special for the boys, since she hadn't spent much time with them lately.

Double-click to see full view

I always try to do research when I am working on something new to me.  I discovered that there are way too many dinosaurs!  I identified quite a few of the ones I had, but couldn't figure some of them out. It was pretty comical.

Video Outtakes

I had to include a couple of outtakes from this video.  I can not begin to tell you how many times I had to pick up these kids. I felt like I was in a bowling alley. There would be one that would fall, and then knock everyone over. 

Special thanks to Ms. Leo for the blog post on swapping heads from the little kids onto the big kid bodies. My new big Tommy needs bigger clothes and a haircut, but he loves his new big body.

Roderick Discusses Danielle with Daughter Nicole

Last night Roderick had a talk with Nicole.  He has been thinking about taking his relationship with Danielle to the next level but he wants to check in with Nicole to make sure she is adjusting okay to all these new changes.

Rod: So I wanted to talk to you about Danielle and her boys. What do you think of them?

Nicole: I like Danielle. She's really nice and I think she's pretty. Julian is really fun. I guess Jacob is okay. He's always sleeping, so I never get a chance to play with him.

Rod: Well, I am glad that you like them. I like them, too. So if we started spending more time with them, you would be okay with that?

Nicole: Are you going to marry her?

Roderick is startled by her blunt question.  He wasn't expecting that, so he doesn't quite know how to respond.

Rod:  Well sweetheart, Danielle and I have not discussed marriage. 

Nicole: Well, if you guys did get married, would Julian and Jacob be my brothers?

Rod:  Technically they would be your stepbrothers, but if you wanted to call them your brothers you could.

Nicole:  Oh, okay.

Nicole: Daddy, can me, Nikaya, and Jessica have a sleepover?

And just like that Nicole has moved on to the next topic. Of course it involves her getting something that she wants.

Rod: When and where is this sleepover supposed to take place?

Nicole:  Jessica's house, maybe next weekend.

Rod: Well if Jessica's parents are okay with it, then I guess it's okay. You need to make sure it's okay with your mother.  You never know what she has planned for you.

Nicole: Thank you Daddy!!!

Roderick realizes that Nicole inately has her mother's negotiating skills. She is a pro at knowing just when to ask for something she wants. How could he say no when she is so cool about his relationship with Danielle. Ordinarily, he would say something about this because he doesn't want that behavior to become a habit, but he decides to let it go this time.

 

Nicole:  Can we go call them to see if it's okay.

Rod:  Do you see what time it is? It's too late to call tonight. Not to mention, it is your bedtime. You can call her tomorrow.  

Nicole:  Goodnight, Daddy.

Rod:  Goodnight, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning.

What's a Football Jersey without a Helmet

This morning I remembered that I bought a Falcon Helmet about a year ago. I quickly ran downstairs (not the basement) to the studio. Since I am so well organized, I was able to put my hands on it within seconds. I really must be living right!

It could stand to be a little bigger, but I am not complaining.

I finally looked through the pile of clothes and discovered the pants I spoke about yesterday are baseball pants.  Here is the top.  This outfit will come in handy, too.  I wonder if I have any bats in the basement.  Hmmm.

The following pictures were added after I received a comment from Thrift Store Dolls stating that David needed a football.  No problem.  I have a football. I went to the studio, opened up the drawer with all the sports stuff, and voila 2 footballs.  One large and one small.  I put David's helmet back on so that I could take another photo.  Wait a minute!  Where are the helmet straps?  Did they fall off?  Noooo.  This is a different helmet.  The one with the straps was also there.  I remember buying one helmet.  I do not remember buying two.  Thrift Store Dolls also wondered if we would see David on the field.  Of course my first reaction was, "Is she crazy?".  But now after my new discovery, it may be a possibility.....one day....in the distant future. 

As you can see, my son Tyler hasn't really picked one team.  He is on the fence about the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons.

The little jersey was a prize in a Happy Meal several years ago.  I have at least 3 more teams.

It's Morning at the Anderson Home

Today I started building the Anderson home. It is no where near done. I am just experimenting with different layouts.  I haven't found one that I like yet.  Here in the parent's bedroom, I don't believe any of this furniture is staying.  They are just place holders. The bed is too small for them, especially having 2 kids that sometimes end up in their bed.  The walls will not be white.  Let's hope for a luxurious bedroom.

Poor Ciana is sitting there waiting for the TV to be turned on.  Right now she is watching a blank screen.

Ciana: Mommy, can you turn on the TV?

Leslie:  Honey, wait for your dad to come out and ask him.

David: Did I hear my name?

(David is headed out to play touch football with a group of young boys. He tries to stay very active with the youth in the community.)

Leslie: Honey can you turn the TV on for Ciana? Sesame Street should be on by now.

David:  Sure.

David turns on the TV and Ciana is a happy camper.  Leslie proceeds to give Joseph his morning bottle. 

 Let's talk about David's Falcon football jersey.  I've had this jersey for over 8 years now.  When I bought it, I had intended to put it on one of my fashion dolls, but when I got home and compared the doll sizes, I knew for sure it would never fit my fashion dolls.  I was not happy. So the doll stayed in his packaging in the basement. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to rescue it  and use it for my Todd doll. He would be a little football player.

The doll (if you can call him that) on the left, is the one the outfit came on. Now do you see why I felt for sure it would never fit my fashion dolls?   Well when I went to put it on Todd (Tyler), it was way too big.  What the heck, I decided to put it on one of the big guys.  Lo and behold, it fit perfectly.  

Look at those shoulder pads!

 Remember the Barbie stuff I found in my closet a couple of weeks ago?  Remember the pile of clothes?  Well I have yet to go through the pile, but I saw a shirt in the pile that would fit Julian, Right next to the shirt I found a pair of sports pants that matches perfectly with the jersey.  I still don't know where those clothes came from.  I have never seen them before.

So here are the pants.  I don't really know which sport they are for.

Are they soccer pants?

Doesn't really matter.  David will be using them as extra football pants.

So this concludes our brief Falcon football jersey commercial.

 Back to our regularly scheduled show, already in progress.

David:  So what's on your schedule today?

Leslie:  I have to go grocery shopping, because I have nothing to cook for dinner.  Unless of course, you are taking us out for dinner.

David:  Hmmm.  You better go shopping.

Leslie:  Really?

David kisses Leslie and Joseph goodbye.

One last kiss for Ciana, and he is off to play football.

One last question....where is Jacob going in this get up?

Stay tuned.  You should know by Friday.  The dio is 90% complete.

This is the shirt I pulled from the pile for Julian. He was tired of his little shirts. He wanted to look like a big boy.

Found a Couple of Naisha's Relatives to Introduce

Naisha is Shantavia's best friend.  They've known each other since high school.  They try to still see each other as frequently as possible, but both being single moms and juggling hectic schedules, makes this a little challenging.

They are of Indian descent.

Left: Naisha's mom

Center: Naisha and 3yr old daughter, Kimaya

Right: Naisha's Aunt, Dr. Pai. 

Dr. Pai is our resident pediatrician.  You can see her in action in the Pediatrian Video.

Today I Started Building New Rooms

I am constantly trying to figure out how to do things faster and better.  As most of you know, most of my dioramas go up, I shoot the scenes, and then they come down.  I have to rebuild them when I want to shoot another scene in that room.  I decided to build a few permanent rooms, so that I can do more photostories and videos quicker.  Some rooms will still have to be built and taken down, but not as many.

First off, Shantavia's studio:  The guys delivered her new workstation today.  This is where she will frame most of her work.  It also has storage for her canvases  She was able to get the new floor laid in the work area before they brought in the workstation.  Behind the loveseat, she had wallpaper installed to complement the room.  She still has to get the lighting installed, and get all of her pictures hung.  The little white rug is just a place holder for the rug that is going to be delivered.  She put in a small TV, so that Jada could have something to watch while mommy works.

I then moved on to Joseph's nursery. He is Leslie and David's little boy.

Believe it or not, I didn't intentionally buy the lion and elephant cutouts, or the giraffe to match the picture on the wall. It just happened that way. Sometimes even I am amazed. I handmade the crib. This is actually the first prototype that I did. The cribs that I sell in my Etsy store are a bit taller than this one. Don't go running to the store, they are currently out of stock. However, it is on my list of things to complete soon.

 

Leslie is recently back from the Daddy/Daughter dance.  She is in the process of putting Joseph to bed.

He seems a tad bit fussy this evening.

He is dry and he doesn't seem to want his bottle.

Leslie thinks that he is just fighting sleep.  She hopes it won't be long before he gives in.  She is exhausted from all the dancing she did. She hopes that David is tired, too. She is in need of a good night's sleep. 

I then moved on to Nicole's room.  At least the room she has at her dad's house.  She is lucky enough to have 2 bedrooms.  This is probably the only one you guys will see.  Her daddy, Roderick, has a lot of work to do in this room.  He and Nicole are still deciding on colors.  He still has to build her desk.  The one that is shown is too small for her.  It is just a placeholder for now.  Once they decide on colors, they can select the wallpaper and the curtains.  It will be a great project for them.  

Lydia Thompson, the interior designer, has made some progress on Darius' place, but not enough to take pictures yet.  Danielle has also had some remodeling done on her home.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but it is pretty much ready to be seen.   She had a new laundry room installed, had some walls knocked out, some doors moved and the furniture has been rearranged.  It will be a work in progress for the next few months, but she is ecstatic with the improvements.  Pictures will be available soon.

Next rooms that will be created:

Roderick's bedroom

Jacquelyn Langford's Office

The Langford's (parents) Living Room and Dining Room

The Anderson's Kitchen, Living Room, and Dining Room

and many more!