Change of color...

We're supposed to be moving here in just about a week, so I'm back to packing boxes.  Or maybe I should say I'm "repacking" boxes.  While I am very excited about the new home (more space!), I'm hating the process of boxing up everything again.
So for now all sewing, drawing, painting, crafting, you name it, has come to an end.  It's all in boxes.  Except this one thing...

...which you may remember.  It's been sitting unfinished for a very long time.  I kept intending to go out and buy more embroidery floss so I could work on it, but it just wasn't happening.  Finally, as I wasn't feeling wild about the color scheme anyway (what was I thinking? white and light pink? those colors would never show up! no one would ever even notice all my hard work!) I decided to just work with what I had.
And I have a huge pile of embroidery floss to work with.
I finally settled on using various shades of red and so far I'm liking it.  I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of flowers (yet again, I tried counting them, but there are just too many!), but I'm gonna give it another try.  And maybe, seeing as it's the only thing not in a box, I'll actually finish it this time.

Sunsets

Today was entirely unfun.  My husband had to work, which meant I largely forgot (or more likely ignored) the fact that it was Saturday.  By seven this evening I realized what a truly horrible day the kids had probably had--a Saturday stuck at the house with a very grumpy, short tempered mom, who insisted on doing housework all day, ugh!

Determined to squeeze some fun into the last few hours of our day, I rounded up everyone and drove down to the corner store for some ice cream treats.

Then we sat by the lake and enjoyed them.  And by the time we were done eating, talking, and giggling, Saturday seemed like a pretty good day after all.

Summer Skirts

Pookie is both incredibly tall and incredibly thin, so it's hard to find clothing for her that fits.  Occassionally, we find something that works, but more often that not we just end up with clothes that either fall off her or are way too short for her to wear.

My frustration with her wardrobe reached an all time high yesterday, so I finally just raided the fabric stash and made her a skirt.  I loosely followed the Lazy Days pattern over at Oliver + S and just one hour later, I had two skirts ready to wear.

Two identical skirts because Fig would not let me leave the sewing machine until I'd made her one too.

I ran out today and bought some more elastic so that I can whip up a few more of these.  Once we are settled I plan on getting out the patterns and making Pookie some dresses and stuff, but for now I'm sticking with these skirts.  I can whip one up in between packing boxes, which currently makes the Lazy Days skirt the perfect project for me!

And Back Again...For Now...

Well, I'm back...again.  My apologies for that really long break there.  It took two weeks to get internet access installed here at the new house and then, shortly after we got it, we lost it.  Some kind of problem with our internet service provider meant yet another week without internet.  So three weeks of no internet plus two weeks of packing, moving and unpacking equals a very long blog absence.  Sorry.

So what's happened since my last blog post?  Well, we have quickly progressed from winter to summer here.  I suppose it is technically still spring (the trees are still leafing out and the daffodils have only just begun to fade) but seeing as we went from wool coats one day to swimsuits the next, it does feel a bit like we skipped spring.

Not that I'm complaining mind you.  With the return of the warm weather, we've been able to spend a good portion of our days outside doing all the summery things we love.  We've already blown bubbles, licked popsicles, played in the sandbox, had a picnic, planted flowers, splashed in the kiddie pool, and covered the patio with chalk drawings.  Good stuff.

And when I haven't been busy outdoors playing or indoors cleaning up sticky faces, hanging up wet swimsuits, sweeping up dirt, and mopping up puddles, I've been working on a few summery projects.  Hopefully, over the next few days, I'll get a chance to share some them.

It's good to be back!

As concerns that "for now"-- I  might be missing from here, yet again, sometime soon. Word is we're moving...again, so at some point there might be yet another blog break while we pack, move and get settled...again. I'll let you know when I'll be disappearing though!

Bird Watching

Since somewhere around late fall, our backyard has been full of Northern Cardinals.  Unfortunately they stuck to the back part of the yard, meaning they were visible (hard to miss that red), but a bit too distant to see well.  So, hoping to entice those cardinals a bit closer, I finally bought a bird feeder to put outside the girls' window.

The news quickly spread and suddenly all of the other neighborhood birds showed up.  The girls have been loving watching the birds up close and have quickly learned the names of all the most frequent visitors (Cardinal, Chickadee, Titmouse, and Nuthatch) and are slowly learning the names of less frequent visitors (Mourning Doves, which Pookie insists are called "good morning doves" and House Finches) as well as the less interesting visitors (apparently Juncos are just not worth memorizing the name of.)

The kids have been much more observant than I expected and are quick to come and let me know when there is some new bird at the feeder.  The House Finches only just showed up the other week and I wouldn't have known of their existence but for the kids.

Of course, I started taking some pictures of the birds and naturally the kids quickly became a part of that.  They know exactly what birds we don't have a picture of yet and at least once a day one of them comes bursting into the kitchen telling me to "Come quick!  There is a *fill in the blank* and it is close enough for a picture!"  They've also been reminding me that we need to go for a walk so we can get pictures of the geese and the heron that hang out at the lake.

Now, I suppose the next question would be whether or not to start a bird book (like our bug book.)  I'm leaning towards no for now--we're certainly not still or quiet enough to capture any pictures of birds "in the wild" yet and my camera is currently not capable of handling such distant subjects.  However, it most certainly doesn't hurt to begin collecting pictures now annnddd....see where it goes from there.

Snow Day!

We're having a snow day!  A real snow day.  We've had a bit of snow here and there this winter, but nothing to compare with our much beloved and missed New England snow.  But today, snow, real snow.

The kind of snow you can make snowmen with and build igloos with.  So that is exactly what we did--we built and built and built until we were too tired and too damp to build anymore.

And then it was time for hanging out by the warm stove making hot chocolate and hot cookies.

Seasonally correct cookies and cocoas.  We couldn't ask for a better day!

Alphabet-ing

The two older girls and I have started working on letters/numbers during Little P's naptime.  We've been cruising right along with the consonants, but have suddenly encountered a bit of trouble with the vowels.  As it's Friday and it's raining and those vowels are being so very pesky, I thought we'd skip the more organized learning approach and just paint with letters today.

Because it is so much more fun to practice your letters when they're covered in paint! 

An Introduction

I know, I've been missing from this space again.  But this time I have a good explanation from my absence.  See I've been rather stuck in the dining room/kitchen/outdoors with this little guy.

Jasper.  The newest addition to the family.  He's brought a lot of joy, a lot of frustration, a lot of excitement and a little bit of calm to the family.  We're still in the process of potty-training, so I've been hanging out with him in the only non-carpeted rooms of the house, patiently (mostly) working with him.

But it's all good.  I've brought all my sewing supplies into the dining room and consequently I'm finally getting somewhere with some long overdue projects.

And that's where I am--sewing while attempting to decipher the difference between "I really want to go outside and play" and "I really need to use the bathroom."

We're getting there...

Up, up, and away

We get inundated with newspapers here.  Normally they go straight to the recycling bin (after removing the crossword of course), but lately I've been letting them pile up.  The newspaper is for wrapping household items in (I'm boxing stuff up, we're moving...again, same assignment, new house), but I thought it might be fun to use some for a papier-mache project.

It was the kind of art project I thought the girls would enjoy, but no.  Several minutes into the process they began complaining about how horrible sticky hands were and sweetly suggested that I might like to finish the project for them.  *sigh* I thought kids liked getting dirty?  Dirty, but not sticky perhaps?

The painting, glittering, and decorating that followed, they loved.

And now the girls finally have their hot air baloon.  It's just large enough to give their "wee people" a new view of the bedroom.

Rudolph

I spent way too long yesterday trying to make Martha Stewart pipe cleaner animals.  Most of them were a disaster (the elephants looked like they hadn't eatten in weeks and the pigs looked like very round pink mice), but the deer came out just fine.

I thought they'd make some great Christmas ornaments, but the kids won't hear of it.  They've been keeping "Rudolph" and "Clarice" safetly tucked away in their pockets, only letting them out for little evening strolls past the Christmas lights.
I guess I'll just have to make some more...

Who's responsible?

If you ask your littlest daughter if she is the one responsible for removing all of the ornaments on the bottom third of the tree...

And she gives you a look like this...

...should you believe her when she says no?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

(Almost) Two out of Three

After several afternoons spent in front of the sewing machine, I finally have the front of Pookie's doll quilt complete. I had no desire (and no time) to do a quilt quite as complicated as Fig's (those pieces were tiny and hard to sew together!), so I opted for a "scrappy" log cabin design.

So glad I did--the design is quick, fun and, best of all, uses up some a tiny bit of the fabric scraps I've been hanging on to. I'm thinking I might have to try making a full size one of these. Maybe during the February doldrums or something?

Now that I have Pookie and Fig's doll quilts almost finished, I need to start thinking about Little P.'s.  And quickly, I'm running out of time!

Slowly...

I'm making very little progress with the handmade Christmas presents. There really aren't quite enough hours in the day, it seems. So in an effort to squeeze a bit more free time into my evenings, I spent today making and freezing about a weeks worth of dinners. Not having to make dinner for several nights should mean enough free time to finish a few presents before Christmas...I hope.

Because really, this should be done by now, shouldn't it?

Recognize it? It's Fig's doll quilt that I first posted about back in April and jokingly said might be a Christmas present. Yes, I am that slow. But, at least it's getting finished, right? There's just a bit more hand quilting to do and then it's going to be a mad rush to get Pookie's and Little P's finished before Christmas.

Or at least before the 12 days of Christmas are up.

This Christmas.

Really.

I mean it.

Cupcake anyone?

I know, back to back posts featuring sugary goodness! However, these came in the mail today--or rather, the means of making these cupcakes came today. A little advent surprise package from my parents arrived full of all kinds of goodies including cupcake mix, icing, and sprinkles. Upon discovery of such goodies, a non-stop chorus of "Mommy can we!" and "Mommy puh-leeze!" immediately ensued.

After much discussion, I agreed that the cupcakes could be mixed, baked, iced, decorated, and consumed today if I had help cleaning the playroom up.

The playroom is now clean. The bathroom is also clean. Even the dining room floor is clean.

The cupcakes? They were delicious.

We just might have to make cupcakes more often!

Of Mice and Cookies

Oh my, where has the time gone! Since December first, we've been busy opening advent calendars (and gleefully gobbling up the chocolates found behind each doors), hanging up our outdoor lights, and decorating our Christmas tree. We've also spent a little while making sugar cookies.

Mostly Christmas themed cookies, but there were a few giraffes and zebras thrown in the mix.

These may just go down as the most memorable Christmas cookies ever. Not, mind you, because there is anything particularly memorable about the cookies themselves (they were tasty, but not that tasty), but because of the mouse.

Oh yes, a mouse. As I was removing a cookie tray from the stove drawer, a little mouse stuck it's head out and squeaked at me. Now, I'm not afraid of mice, but I really don't like being suprised by any of there kind.

And I certainly do not like finding a mouse where there shouldn't be a mouse.

So I suppose you can imagine how this went--three screaming little girls, one screaming me, and one mouse noisily running laps around the stove drawer.

I finally took the drawer outside and dumped it on the lawn...only to discover that the mouse was no longer inside. Oh no, that mouse was back in the house, waiting for me. There was one little triumphant "squeak!" and then the little fellow disappeared under the dishwasher.

Recent findings would suggest that he is not the only one of his kind present in the house.

Like I said, some very memorable Christmas cookies...

We spent the better part of last week in the car driving to and from a wedding. Two days northwest of here, I finally caught a glimpse of the mountains.And there they stayed, just out of reach. There wasn't enough time in our schedule to allow for any exploration...perhaps another time.

And now it's time to start baking some Thanksgiving pie!

New Wall Color

My husband was away on business all of last week and so (as I like to keep myself busy while he's gone) I decided to paint the livingroom. No small endeavor, it took me two and a half days to complete the project.

A quiet blue/grey color making me quite happy.

And Finally....

Little P's costume.

I know, she's in grey. Grey, not really a butterfly-fairy-princess costume color, so we've settled on her being a little moth fairy princess. A twilight kind of fairy.

The dress is a bit of a mess. The bodice went together easily, but the skirt gave me all kinds of problems. It's a little too busy looking, a little too heavy for the bodice, not quite even, lying flat and lifeless here, looking breezy and lively there. After ripping everything apart for the fourth time I decided enough was enough. She'll only be wearing it for trick-or-treat tomorrow. It'll be almost dark by the time we venture out in it. Chances are she will never want to wear it again. Why then does it have to be perfect? So I've stitched it all together one last time and am leaving it be...I think. I can't guarantee that, some time late tonight, I won't be frantically trying to make it look just that much better...but I'm going to try very hard to let it go, call it good enough, move on...

After all, it's almost November. Time to bake some pies or something!

Pookie's Costume

With just a few days to spare, I've finally finished Pookie's dress. She was very specific about what she wanted. She drew me three designs for her dress and then proceeded to point out the most important elements of each design. She wanted a flat dress, no ruffles, petals, flowers, long, butterflies, trees, some birds, a necklace...the list went on and on.

We managed to pare the list down a bit and ended up with just flowers and petals. Phew! Thankfully, she's happy with the finished product.
And now I have a half-finished dress for Little P. I need to complete...

The Bug Box/The Bug Book

It all started with The Bug Box. A cousin-in-law kindly sent the girls a few insect specimens. My mother packed these specimens in an old art box and added a few of her own to the collection. The girls quickly named it The Bug Box. They loved looking in the box, they loved examining each of the specimens with their magnifying glass and they loved quizzing each other on the names the specimens. But there just weren't enough bugs, so the girls went searching for some more specimens. They found a dead dragonfly, a dead grasshopper, a dead centipede, a dead wasp, dead moths, numerous dead beetles, and about thirty cicada moltings (that would be all those dirty looking brown objects in the largest compartment.)

The girls also found a number of live insects. They were very excited by these finds, but were disappointed that these live insects could not go in The Bug Box. "Do you think it will die soon?" the girls would ask as they followed some poor insect across the yard.

And so The Bug Book began. I would take the girls for walks and we'd look for dead and live insects. If they found a dead insect, we'd collect it for The Bug Box... ...if we found a live one, I would take a picture of it for The Bug Book. At least once a week we print off our latest pictures and add them to our photo album. I'm slowly working at adding names, dates, and locations to our pictures.
It has turned into quite a fun project for all of us. It has definitely made our walks much more exciting (who can spot the next new bug!) and has helped to make us all more observant.We've talked about other book possibilities (like a bird book), but have decided to stick with just insects for now. We have a lot more pages to fill in our photo album and a lot more "bugs" to discover.