i love goodwill

yes as in "peace on earth and goodwill to men" ... but also the store! i was reminded of what a treasure trove it can be today. i was just stopping in to get some wool sweaters to cut up for some projects i have been working on (perhaps you'll see those later ;-) then the bottom fell out-- there was no way i was going back out to the car w/ both kiddos in the deluge... so we just milled around. i think that is what you have to do @ goodwill (or tjmaxx etc) to find the buried treasure. i did get a couple wool sweaters and then i found lots of new organic cotton tees in baby/toddler size. one of them had the cool plant print you see in the picture- but the rest were blank, just wait for a cute applique... and only $1.50 each! in fact each item you see in the picture was $1.50 or less!!! that is two carved wood trivets- so cool and we have been needing some. the little chair is just so fab... it is my dream to have one my size and all i can say is - i am so glad i have a little girl who will love to put her dolls in this chair, b/c i would feel silly playing w/ it by myself. i really like the green glasses a lot-- so many of ours have broken that i was really needing to restock- we'll i got a set of ten for $8... not bad!

don't be fooled by the picture... we found many more treasures. we got a handful of good family night movies- black beauty, the old black and white classic 'shaggy dog', hamlet w/ mel gibson, a national geographic special on trains-- e will love it! and since our dvd player keeps breaking they are vhs-- a minimal $2 each. we also had fun looking through the children's books as it poured down rain- and walked away w/ some great ones... we got a copy of "goodnight gorillia" , and a really cute one called "chicka chikka boom boom"- about alphabet letters- i highly recommend it. elisha is loving letters these days and begged to read the book a second time before his nap. we got a few really wonderful "vintage" books i love the artwork and one is about creation and just great-- and did i mention-- only 75 cents!

and the fun didn't end @ goodwill; my little toddler loved being a helper by wiping off all our treasures w/ lysol wipes. of course, i wiped everything off too(especially after noticing that the woman checking us out had on latex gloves...) and now need to clean the two baskets i got-- i think i'll spray them off in the shower.

another nice thing about all our purchases- they are getting a second (or 3rd,4th...) life. i like that.

this weekend...

... i'm looking forward to :
kabobs on the grill
enjoying a clean house
and a clean car (notice the optimism)
dancing in the kitchen (it has been too long)
perhaps finishing a few sewing projects
maybe seeing monet's waterlilies
having an family old movie night...

what are you looking forward to?

where has the month gone?

yikes! this little one is almost three months old!! and i haven't even edited and posted the pictures i took on her 2 month birthday! i may or may not get a slide show posted... but i hopefully will at least get pictures taken on her 3 month b'day.... i'm hoping to do one every month of her first year-- we'll see if i make it ;-)

yes- her diaper cover is one that i knit for her-- i was thinking i would finish it as a "labor project" -- something to work on during early labor, so you aren't paying too much attention to contractions until you have too... i thought i would finish the binding on her quilt too(also pictured) as it turned out there wasn't time for that... i did work on them during that last week, which could count since i was having contractions off and on and obviously must have gotten some of the "work" of labor done b/c once things really started up (and woke me up) it was less than 6 hours until she was born--- and during that time i was trying to stay asleep... or at least rest in bed b/c i thought it was going to be a LONG day... and then i too a shower and then started to rush to the hospital and then as soon as the doc. saw me i started pushing ! so as you can imagine, i had to find time over the next weeks to finish my "labor projects" i am still planning to write out anna's birth story for those interested in every detail (who haven't already heard them all from the horse's mouth)... and for those of you who aren't interested i do hope you will just skip over it ;-) it may take until her first birthday to get it all written out though-- we'll see....

she puts up with it!

he is a good big brother- oh, so helpful... brushing her hair...

"gently" shoving the paci in her mouth...

and of course putting a car on her when she seems unhappy-- notice how confused she is by this last one ;-) mabe if she were male she would get it!

it's a wrap

we have now spent a good part of the summer just like this-- me knitting, anna enjoying her ride/nap in this wonderful baby carrier. you can buy a stretchy wrap like this one @ www.mobywrap.com or you can do what i did and make one. i promise this is as easy as it gets! you jst buy jersey fabric (~60 in wide bolt) that is ~97% cotton w/ a bit of lycra in it. you will need 5.5 yards, but you will get three wraps out of it. you simply cut down the lenght of the bolt to divide it into thirds-- see, you don't even need a sewing machine. now if you want to add a bit of pretty to it- then, you cut a ~ 14in square of fabric to add to the front middle. you can find instructions for use on the moby website- and probably youtube as well. it may seem tricky, but i promise after a couple of times it will be a breeze!

sponges

well, i tried a new kind of sponge-- but it only further convinced me that i am sold on the
brand i normally use. yes, it is a pain to have to go to william sonoma to get kitchen sponges, but well worth it. i buy a pack (i think ~ 10 come in a pack) of the smaller size and it probably lasts the better part of a year. they are so thick, so durable-- even when washed in the dishwasher a couple of times each week. i keep two in rotation, one is being used while the other is being cleaned in the dishwasher. it is great to know that the things you are cleaning with your sponge aren't gettting dirtier than before b/c of the nasty hidden germs in the sponge!

desperately...

missing my dear friends from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. if you haven't read it and made friends with them as well you are missing out. it is a charmingly delightful read- wonderful for book lovers esp!
i HATE reading books that end... which basically means my relationship with a book always goes south in the end. maybe i should read War and Peace so that i can at least delay the ending for a good long while ;-)
maybe i'll wait a few months - maybe even a year and then reread it... i have a handful of books that i regularly reread-- i just start missing the friends i made while reading them!

p.s. - let me know if you get to know the members of the guernsey island literary and potato peel pie society as well!

why i can't keep up w/ this blog...

between mothering this little thing... and this slightly bigger one...

i have been not only buying fabric as i mentioned in a previous post, but finally getting some order to my stash. i researched ways to organize fabric stashes online and then headed off to the comic book store to get the cardboard pieces that you back them with if you are a comic book collector( very interesting folk- i might add). i folded each piece of fabric around the boards making mini bolts and am sorting them in drawers. now i can see all that i have and get to it so easily! (ps- i have a drawer devoted to bird fabric ;-)

and one of the fun things i have made w/ some of said fabric is a little bag for knitting. it is lined w/ silky material so that the yarn slides off the ball easily but doesn't roll out of your lap. it has been so nice to have my yarn and needles for the sweater i'm knitting in one little bag that i can carry with me-- i can knit while keeping an eye on e!

the pretty green one is for my sweet cousin who knit baby booties for a... and the lovely pinkish knitted bit is a preview of the sweater i'm knitting for the little lady.

little lady

here is our little lady after church a few weeks ago... and yes i know it is ridiculous for her to wear bracelets, but i couldn't resist! i remember loving to look at the tiny jewelry box mama had with baby jewelry in it- the tiniest bracelets . as silly as it is, i think it is the very fun right of every mother to play dress up with their babies... it is pay back for changing their dirty diapers ;-) the lovely dress was made by her grandmother nana.

this is anna meeting my grandmother-nana. to avoid confusion we have told my children that she is grand nana, or gran nan. however, ellisha has started calling her " weegee weegee" b/c that is what she says when she baby talks to them. it is so cute... she has always done it when she sees even just a cute picture of a little one. Elisha thinks it is so funny, and i think it is so funny that he has picked up on it ;-)

around here

anna has made it through her second "wonder week" (i'm telling you- get the book!) she was needing to be held constantly-- i had my moby wrap(that i made) on for 8 hours last week and she was in it almost the whole entire time! but now she is taking a two- three hour afternoon nap-- in her crib and just hanging out in her bouncy seat alone for long periods of time... well, not totally alone- she has made a new friend. notice the lion that now hangs out w/ her. they have become fast friends... she makes faces and coos to him. i kind of feel sorry for her though b/c i don't think she realizes that he isn't loving her back ;-) it is so cute to see her meeting this little guy that elisha enjoyed looking at and talking to when he was her age.... and it has also been cute to see elisha come and make the little lion roar at her. there are some hazards associated with having a two year old brother, but i think the fun out weighs them for her. this is anna in he first back carry. i'm wearing her in a "gypsy mama" cotton gauze wrap that i got at the consignment sale for $20. andrew helped me get her there. i had things to do without her in front of me and she had no desire to be left alone, so this was the compromise... and she quickly fell asleep.

working on it

i'm not sure why, but i hate posting w/ out pictures. we have worked for hours to free up a measly 3 GB! but that is enough space for me to upload some more pic... but then th battery on the camera died. i have a lot of great pictures- and stories to go along w/ them-- so stay tuned!