Oh my! what a long, hard weekend! Poor Pookie's little illness became a full blown stomach flu on Friday. Our happy, bright eyed, active Pookie was listless and sad--not even her favorite show, "Curious George," could bring about a smile. Just today she has started to feel a bit better, so hopefully good health is just around the corner! Oh, and thankfully little Fig has not been sick at all--how this has happened I will never know, but thank goodness!

So now that everyone is starting to get a better, I can steal a moment to finally share with you some of the little guys and girls that I've been busy making. It's taken me two weeks, but at last I have four little birds with legs! At some point I'm going to take some real pictures of them and put them in the shop.

I really love the way they look, especially when they're standing on the window sill...

they look like they're just anxiously waiting for the snow and cold to go away...

so they can hop outdoors and fly in the warm spring breezes.

Not too much longer little birds...

I hope!

Yes, here's hoping for a bit warmer weather and a happy, healthy family sometime very, very soon!

Sadly most everyone here is sick...or teething. The girls have been either extremely upset or bordering on cranky thanks to sore gums and perhaps a little cold as well. My husband has a cold. Me, I'm okay, but I'm awfully afraid I'll be next!

I spent the girls' nap time cutting out one of my Vintage Vogue patterns and oh what a lot of work! I only managed to get two out of the eight pattern pieces cut out--the slippery fabric and small work space made it impossible to work quickly. I have a feeling that this dress is going to be a long time in the making...

Later today, while my husband and Fig were napping, Pookie and I started cleaning her and Fig's bedroom. It was a mess and desperatley needed cleaning! As we were cleaning Pookie pulled out her ballet slippers and wanted them on, next she wanted her tutu on, and then there was Pookie dancing and leaping. Of course I had to join in on the fun! I took a picture while she was having a quiet moment:


Pookie and I never did finish cleaning the girls' bedroom, but we sure had a great Mother-Daughter bonding moment. Sometimes a clean room isn't all that important...

Congratulations to my husband--at noon today he became an Attorney at Law! I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of him! He is an amazing husband and father and I know he's going to be an amazing lawyer too!

While he was several hours away being admitted to the New York Bar I was busy hanging a few decorations, marinating some steak for dinner and baking a small celebratory cake:

It's just a very basic chocolate cake, but I got a little more adventurous with the icing. I attempted an italian buttercream icing and really...it came out pretty good.

It was a lot of fun to bake and ice, but it was even more fun to see my husband enjoy the cake I'd made him. It was so nice to be able to do a little something for my husband--he's done so much for us!

So congratulations honey! Sit back, relax, take it easy, you deserve it!

Winter has arrived! We've had freezing rain, sleet, snow, very high winds, and single digit temperatures. The overall nastiness of the weather has kept us indoors quite a bit, but we dared to brave the chill and go out to a discount store this weekend.

And what luck we had! I found some ribbon...

and at ten cents a spool I couldn't help but grab a few!

And there was a huge bin full of patterns for only a dollar!! My two favorites...

...these lovely Vintage Vogue patterns. I grabbed some dollar a yard fabric to try the patterns out in and oh am I dying to get my sewing machine out and give these dresses a whirl!

It was one of those spur of the moment purchases. I was racing through the fabric store attempting to locate my Mom, Pookie, and Fig and ran past this:

I immediately fell in love with it, grabbed it and bought it! The picture just doesn't do it justice. It's a flocked taffeta, icy blue and chocolaty brown. I have five lovely yards all my own to make...something with, I just have to figure out what.

A little sketch of my darling Pookie in the circus...

...hanging from the trapeze and walking the tight rope.

I think Pookie would be quite perfect for the circus--she is just as happy upside down as right side up, she has no fear of heights, she has an endless supply of energy, and she's not afraid of anything!

It amazes me that in just six months Pookie has gone from needing help walking to running, dancing, jumping and (so very frightening for me) climbing/scaling furniture and leaping off!

I can only imagine what life is going to be like this time next year when our little Fig is up and moving...

Made this little guy to brighten my sister's office--

He has a tropical feel doesn't he?

And I'm so pleased with the legs. After days and days of endless leg making (and a rather sizeable pile of reject legs) I have finally managed to make legs that I like! Who would have thought that little bird legs could be so hard?!

And then there's this little lady--

Isn't she sweet?

It should be cold. We should all be inside sitting by roaring fireplaces, bundled in sweaters, sipping hot drinks and shivering at the thought of going outdoors. But no, not today. January has been inexplicably kind to us and with temps soaring well above sixty what else could we do but go to the beach!

Pookie immediately took off for the water

And even though the water was cold...in she went!

Fig simply enjoyed the view and did not enter the water

We stayed until the sun began to disappear

And we made it home before the rain started! It was such a beautiful, beautiful day, but oh does that fresh, salty, ocean air make you so very very sleepy....I think it's going to be another early night for me...

There has been a lack of posts recently due to a sudden lack of sleep. During all the driving to and from family holiday parties the girls napped and, unfortunatley, were no longer quite so tired when bed time rolled around. Little girl tiredness wasn't kicking in until late in the evening and last night hit an all time late of 10:30!
Yes, there were busy little feet tearing up and down the hallway, into the kitchen and on to the living room until way too late at night! So needless to say, by the time baby eyes were asleep I was too tired for blogging.
However I think we are finally back on schedule! At 8:30 tonight my two little darlings were fast asleep.
We've recently started reading books to the girls at bed time. Pookie is in love with her books, reads them constantly, but has a tendency to be a little rough on them and so all the non board books have been tucked out of her reach. So at bedtime as a special treat we read one of the "delicate" books. Tonight we
read the delightful "Toot and Puddle: Charming Opal." It is absolutley adorable and highly recommended by both Pookie and myself (and I'm sure Fig would recommend it too if she hadn't slep through my reading of it.)
Anyway, I think it's early bed time for me as well, I have a lot of sleep to catch up on. It sure is nice to be back blogging though!

One of many New Year resolutions was to be neater and so I spent the day sorting and organizing my crafting supplies.

And now I have a nice, neat, organized case of supplies...

and a nice, neat, organized box of felts (aren't all the colors beautiful!)

So now the question is...can I keep it that way??

Happy New Year everyone!

It snowed today!

And oh we were so excited! As soon as the snow had piled up deep enough we bundled the girls in their snowsuits and took them outside for a ride in their sled. We took a nice long walk pulling the girls behind us, a trip that was enjoyed by all.

Giddy up Daddy!

We want to go faster!

There is something so nice about meandering through falling snow. The world looks so beautiful with a blanket of white!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Opening presents sure is exhausting, isn't it?

Well, it's Christmas Eve and I'm finally calling it quits on the crafting. I tried to get everything I had planned done, but it just didn't happen. It's alright though, I'm happy with what I did get done and I'm quite sure the girls will be happy with it too!
I'm really happy about giving the girls so many handcrafted gifts. I'm hoping that they are gifts they'll play with and remember for a long time to come!
I think I'll try making more home crafted gifts for them next year as well...although I think I'll start the Christmas crafting early, maybe sometime in August or something. I had no idea that it would take so long to make everything!
Anyway, I did finish all the baby bunnies...but only got two adult bunnies done. Here they are sitting on the unfinished sleigh quilt (which I probably will have time to finish before it snows).

One adult to every two baby bunnies...I think that's enough adults to keep the little bunnies behaving.

Be good little bunnies!

And stay right there in the stockings where I placed you!

You have some little girls who are going to be very pleased to make your acquaintance tomorrow!

I took a quick break from Christmas crafting and shot some photos of some of the presents we've been making for the girls.

First there is the blanket with matching pillow that I made for Pookie.

Pookie has been using everything from clothes to floor mats to cuddle under (I don't know why), so I'm hoping that a new favorite blanket covered in her favorite animal (a cat) will replace those other items she insists on using.

The blanket is covered in the cutest little pictures of cats!

Then there is the sled that my husband made for the girls. It's his own design and he's worked long and hard on it to make it perfect! I'm absolutley in love with it, I wish it was big enough for me!

I just hope it snows for Christmas so we can use it right away!

Until then we can keep trying it out on the carpet. We took Fig for a little spin in it...even though it is a bit before Christmas.

Now it's back to work!

One, Two, Three, Four!

Four new bunnies! I've been busy, busy, busy hand sewing and these bunnies are just a few of the things I've been working on. Each girl is getting a bunny family (two adults, two children) for Christmas. I've finally finished the kid bunnies and am just getting started on the adult bunnies. The bunnies are also supposed to come with a picnic blanket and a little picnic basket with lettuce and carrots--we'll see if I can manage to get that done. If nothing else the girls will get the bunnies for Christmas and the accessories will just have to come later.

My sewing machine worked over time today as well. I finished sewing up the cushion for the sled and I quilted a blanket for Pookie. Tomorrow I have to finish Pookies blanket, make a pillow to go with it (she is very much in love with blankets and pillows right now), make the sled blankets, finish Fig's stocking and I have...five more days! Whew! Next year I'm starting much earlier!

At last, we decorated the tree!

Yesterday we decorated the tree. Decorating the tree is always a special occassion for us--we have a little party! We drank eggnog (my husband made it, it was so good, I've never had the real thing before!), ate cookies and petit fours, and then we hung the ornaments. A good number of the ornaments are handmade by my sisters and I from when we were children--walnuts covered in glitter, paper angels, toothpick mangers...it's a real trip down memory lane.Pookie had a lot of fun reaching in the ornament box and throwing ornaments all over the ground. When she finished with that she moved on to throwing ornaments off of the tree. We could hardly keep up with her, she was taking them off as fast as we were putting them on!

Fig kept herself busy attempting to roll over. When we were done she enjoyed lying under the branches and "oohing" up at the lights.

So now the tree is beautifully dressed and ready for Christmas. Fourteen more days!

Here's a little something my husband sent off to the North Pole today that I thought you might enjoy:

Santa Claus
North Pole, AK 99705

RE: Notice of Legal Representation; Petition to Receive "Nice" Status; Gift Requests

Dear Mr. Claus:
This letter will serve as notice that Pookie and Fig, two minor sisters, have retained me to act as their counsel in a petition to be awarded the status of "nice" on the official behavior roster of Mr. Claus (commonly known as "Santa’s List") thereby ensuring their eligibility to receive desired Christmas presents.
Under the relevant Christmas code, the status of "nice" must be awarded to "children who have demonstrated, for at least 10 of the previous 12 months, kind, caring, and thoughtful behavior towards other children and their parents, legal guardians, or other adults responsible for their wellbeing." § 1815 CC 40. This section has long been regarded as "the benchmark of Christmas behavioral standards, the standard against which all children are measured." 34 Elf Reporter 22 (1917).
My clients’ concerns are that a number of "bad" actions carried out during the past year—for example, destroying their father’s palm pilot by dunking it in bathwater, pouring mugs of coffee on the floor, ripping pages out of books, and generally making a mess—might somehow cause them to be assigned the status of "naughty." Such an assignment, however, would work a great injustice, depriving two little girls of a happy Christmas morning and, quite possibly, damaging their young Christmas spirits.
Although the older girl, Pookie, has admittedly carried out bad activities during all of the last 12 months, her good behavior, if combined, would constitute approximately 11 of the past 12 months. In other words, she has been good "most of the time," and we think the "10 of the previous 12 months" standard identified by § 1815 should be interpreted as a ratio requirement—namely, that children must be good 10/12ths of the time, or 83.3% of each day.
Any other interpretation would reflect an unrealistic expectation of childhood goodness and impose on children an impossible, unachievable standard. For what child (indeed what adult) can act perfectly for even a month? As Pookie has been good approximately 90% of the time, we think § 1815 is satisfied and she should be entitled to her desired Christmas present: a wooden sled.
The younger girl, Fig, presents a different case. As a mere infant, Fig does not understand the difference between "good" and "bad." It would be unfair, clearly, to punish her for actions she has no control over—such as waking her parents up in the middle of the night. She pleads infancy, pure and simple, and requests inclusion on the "nice" list. For Christmas she would like a hat and mittens.
I trust, Mr. Claus, that you will agree with our analysis. Thank you for your attention, and for all you do for children the world over. Merry Christmas!

At last!

It snowed!

And there were lovely icicles everywhere!

No, we didn't make it outside to enjoy the snow. Me and the girls were a bit under the weather today, so we stayed indoors all warm and cozy. It sure did look fun outside though. Maybe tomorrow...

Very little got done today, kind of like yesterday. Yesterday I got two loads of laundry done and that was all I seemed to accomplish that day. Today I only managed to get Pookie's stocking almost complete. But I did play silly games on the floor with the girls, read picture books out loud, watch Fig roll over for the first time, and help Pookie make drawings on the foggy glass door...so maybe I got more done than I realized. :)

The children were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of snowflakes danced in Mommy's head

And it did snow as promised! The snow came down fast and heavy this morning, but before we could get out of our pj's and into our snow suits it was gone. The sun had gotten a little brighter, the weather had gotten a little warmer, and all the snow melted. It was incredibly disappointing.
So since we are not having a white December outdoors I thought I'd bring a little bit of white indoors!

I started making houses for a little snowy village to go in the girls' room. It has been a very long time since I've worked with construction paper and glue sticks! After a very long time of cutting, gluing, and glittering I have only one and a half houses done and one very lopsided pine tree. It's a start though...

My husband also spent a long time on a house, a real house. He took a break from sled making and hung up lights all over the outside of the house. They look amazing! Here is a neat shot he took of the lights outside from inside the house.

And now after a long day of working on this and that it's time for me to grab a hot chocolate and a book, and curl up under the blankets. There's nothing like feeling warm and cozy when it's cold and windy outside!

The forecast says snow!!

And I really, really, really, hope they're right! If it snows tonight, then tomorrow morning I am getting the girls up, putting them in their snow suits, and taking them outside! I'm so excited!

I'm also excited that Christmas is getting close! I have a lot of work to get done before December 25th. I still have to finish the girls stockings, I really need to get started on the cushions and blankets to go with the sled/sleigh that my husband has been making for the girls, there are cookies to bake and candies to dip, there are a few other little gifts to get started/finish up...and then there is all the wrapping! It is going to be a busy next three weeks here!

The birds flew in for their photo shoot yesterday.

Afterwards, Claude

And

Wendy

Were off to the shop

These guys had their photos taken too...

but...

they're refusing to budge at the moment.

They will be in the shop sometime soon though!