around here

:: i am quilting up a storm... the quilt top for elisha is almost pieced completely.

:: anna will walk holding one of our hands and will let go and balance on her own some.

:: andrew has been clearing vines and brush from our yard like a pioneer (and hopefully will come out unscathed by poison ivy- his arch enemy).

:: otis has been chasing squirrels like mad and hounding the chipmunks in the wood pile (while they, no doubt are laughing at how incapable he is at catching them).

:: our dear elisha--- well, he has been running rather high fevers off and on since thursday evening... asking to go night night at 6:00!!! ... refusing to eat most of the time (until he discovered pediapops)... having his first Saturday visit to the dr. where he not only had a 104 degree temp. but also threw-up curdled dairy {we learned the important lesson that diary doesn't mix well with fever... the fever causes it to spoil in ones tummy --- learn from our mistake!} he doesn't have strep or mono or chicken pox... not really sure what kind of virus, but we are now fueled with pediapops and he seems to be on the mend... stayed up until his usual 8:15 tonight.

:: the crib in elisha's room--- empty! he took his first nap in his big boy bed this afternoon... he took a break from his illness to sing and dance, capering about while we put it together in his room this morning. i looked everywhere for our video camera to catch the excitement on film, but it was nowhere to be seen. he said, " i a big boy, sleep in a big boy bed, but not a very big boy, i still need some people on my bed, (as he got 'chick' and 'lamby' and of course, 'duck' out of his crib and put them on his bed before i had even put the sheet on) and bwee bwee (his paci).

:our house-- a complete and total wreck... who really needs a clean house anyway?

the long overdue knit sweater(jacket) post

way back in the summer i started what felt like an incredibly ambitious knitting project... a sweater! but as it was a tiny baby sweater, and the easiest pattern the knit shop sold (just flat rectangles that you then seam together), i felt like i could at least give it a good try... and maybe finish it by winter.

i think the best thing i did was choose wool that i adored. i LOVE the malabrigo brand and especially the mineral red color of this sweater. it isn't your typical baby sweater, but it was something that i was excited enough to want to finish... and the wool was so beautiful and soft that it made the process so enjoyable.
i love that when anna wears this sweater i am reminded of the warm afternoons during our family's 4th of july trip to the mountains... i sat in the rocking chair on the porch and knit away while andrew's parents rocked my baby to sleep on the swing... i remember knitting in the car on the way home... and getting home and realizing that one of the sleeves fell out of the car 1.5 hrs north of the city when i hoped in the backseat to nurse anna... and i remember thanking God when andrew's parents found that lost sleeve on their way home ;-)

in our culture clothes can be so... disposable, we can get them for cheap and then get rid of them when the style changes... but i have really enjoyed the few pieces of clothing that have been expensive in the time invested in making them. so many memories are associated with the article before it is even worn... then it is worn more often b/c it is already a good friend. i may sound a bit crazy speaking of clothes in this manner, but i know some of y'all are nodding your heads!
when i made this i thought of it as a sweater, but now that we have gone whole winter and i have only just washed it for the first time ( after been worn almost every single day!) i think of it as a jacket... you don't wash jackets as often as you wash sweaters ;-) and as it is a fairly thick wool for a baby in the south it has been a wonderfully warm outer layer over whatever she has worn... and with our long cold winter this year-- it has been welcome indeed!

* i will highlight the skirt in a later post--stay tuned ;)
a sweater that just buttons at the top works well for sitting babies w/ chubby bellies and big diaper bottoms. since i'm her mother it is my job to think she is the cutest thing i have ever seen--- right?
ta da!

flannel love

thanks to the warm weather that is (i hope!) just around the corner, this dress will be hanging out in the closet for a good while. if you are in our area you may have seen enough of this little dress to know that it is one of my favorites! it is a simple "scrappy skirt" sewn into a onsie.( i made the mistake of using a Gerber onsie-- they are just plain crappy) ... the fabric is sooo lovely and snugly. it is anna marie horner's new line of flannel --"folksy flannel"... you may have already heard me mention her name... we aren't friends... yet.... but i'm sure it will happen! i just can't say enough about how thrilled i am with her fabrics and book(s). i will be showing off more things lately made with her fabrics soon.i didn't get a close-up of the dress, which is a shame b/c you will just have to believe me about how cute the tiny orange house applique is on the front. and you should also note the lavender rick rack along the hem... i love rick rack! the shoes are also from anna maria fabric- her home dec. line "drawing room"... i did make them... and with her busy crawling she is destroying them :-(

our yoguru

here is another breakfast scene. elisha could live on yogurt alone... but we try to keep him to one a day. and i just got the chobani? brand of greek yogurt at sam's... so healthy!

he had 'donuts with daddy' at school tuesday morning and daddy was so surprised -- he said that elisha is so quiet and shy at school... those of you who know him well probably share our surprise!

i am painting a big boy bed for ole e... i finally found a jenny lind spooled twin bed and am painting red... now if i can make some major progress on his quilt... my goal is to have it finished as a 3rd birthday present at the latest!

tooth 2, month 10

happy ten months to you anna! and happy (well, mixed feelings right now i'm sure...) 2nd tooth... speaking of, we have enjoyed the homeopathic teething remedies that have chamomile-- they are good for calming!this is a familiar morning scene... winter may not offer as many hours of sunlight, but we are so thankful for the heaping dose we get through our window during breakfast-- a great way to start the day! and we are so pleased with our hook to the table high chair-- very space saving!
late as usual- here is a moment captured on anna's 9 month birthday.

my own

it may not exactly be a haiku (don't have time to count syllables....)

crawling baby fights diaper changes,

thinks it is Armageddon.

Bordeaux's butt paste good for hair?

that gives you the general idea of changing table life around here ;-)

happy valentine's day!

more haiku

"great to be mama.

one crucial thing you miss, though:

closed-door pottying."

"hyper-exhaustion

sounds like an oxymoron

unless you are two."

one of my very favorites!--

"when she was my mom

she said no sweets before lunch.

hypocrite grandma."

"so very thankful

mascara, play sand, and ants

are all nontoxic."

and i really love this one--

"organic panic:

air, food, water, clothing, toys;

it is all deadly."

"keep hands to yourself,

try not to breathe at daycare (nursery),

a germy minefield."

--haiku mama

"interest waning;

how do you up the ante

for solo pooping?"

"yay! the perfect time

to strip down naked and scream-

when mommy's on phone."

--haiku mama

simple mom strikes again

i used to read the blog "simplemom" all the time... but for some reason (maybe i got craft blog obsessed?) i stopped. well, i just clicked over and i thought the latest post was right on! head on over there for some good reminders for stay at homers {http://simplemom.net/your-parental-permission-slip/}.. let your house be a mess and let them play by themselves sometimes - it fosters creativity (playing alone that is... although maybe the messy house does too ?.... here's to hoping something good comes out of it ;-)

little bits

"time to prune back toys:

they grow up walls like ivy,

infiltrate crannies."

"it's been two full days.

shoes are nowhere to be seen.

can you flush sneakers?"

"o, lovely naptime.

you are better than birthdays

with the gifts you bring."

---haiku mama

more of the same

"awake so early,

small boy rises with the sun.

can't snooze a baby."

on the note... of exhaustion:

"note for new mama:

falling asleep during sxx?

it's forgivable."

----Haiku Mama

hope y'all are still enjoying these little funnies... i am!

we are heading down to the basement... these days i make something are by far superior... and i am in need of superior right now! i have 300 5inch squares to cut out for elisha's twin sized quilt... as i am assuming that at some point he will want to sleep in a big boy bed (if you see a spooled -- jenny lind style twin for sale please let me know!) i am 1/3 of the way through w/ the cutting.... then i will have the sewing to do!

i am also wanting to get a darling sweater with owls along the top knit up for anna while it is still the correct season for sweaters (it will be short sleeved -- quicker to knit and easier to wear in a southern early spring) and of course i have about a dozen other projects on my list.

what do y'all do on a rainy day?

haiku

"forty thousand pounds:

how much stuff one baby needs;

afternoon car trip."

"hands clenched, smile subtle-

planning world dominations or dreaming of boobs?"

--- from Haiku Mama

haiku mama

i have this clever little book-- haiku mama(because 17 syllables is all you have time to read)... it is just a funny little gift type book... but i find myself quoting things from it throughout my day. i thought i would schedule some posts with a few verses from the book to entertain y'all when my blogging is infrequent. i imagine that most of the people reading this are deeply entrenched in parenthood and therefore will be as amused as i am... if you are not-- sorry.

especially those first few months i thought of this multiple times a day! ------

"sniffing newborn's head,

a primal urge takes over-

try not to eat him."

entertaining firstborns

the benefit of having two children is starting to really kick in! i have been working on dinner and my new crawlng/ pullling up baby is not here fussing at my feet, crawling after me as i move across the kitchen... trying to pull up on my legs, desperate for attention... no no- she is squealing with delight as her brother knocks things over w/ his cars! i guess it is double the trouble double the fun ;-)

hats off

here are our new hats... anna's is crazy and fun and of course i couldn't get the size right! it is a tad too small. but isn't the crocheted edge so fun ;-)

the funky flower button will hold the strap in place so she can't take it off

and here is my cloche- a fun 2o's style hat. a fun pattern to knit... my first hat that started at the top instead of the rim... tricky st first, but overall a great way to work. the pattern is "belle cloche" . i found it on ravelry.com .... if you are a knitter/crocheter of any sort you should really join ravelry (free)... i don't know why i resisted! you can search for patterns by yarn, gauge, free, top rated, ease.... anything! and you can see picture of other people projects. i highly recommend it. and it cracks me up every time i got to the home page and it says "where my stitches at" ... i know ridiculous that i find it so funny...

anna passing 8 months

she is almost nine months... so it is about time i posted her 8 month pictures. her hair looks quite red in a lot of these pictures. sometimes in real life it looks that way to- how fun!

loving her daddy

waving

and some more waving... see what i mean about the waving!

finally in the ground

i planted bookcoodles (sp?) of daffodils paired with hosta in the fall... but i just never got around to getting my tulips in the ground... until today. is it too late? i don't know yet!

in other news-- anna is crawling. she has been so different about it... elisha had this desperate need for speed and she is very calculated and elegant about it ;-) and she'll stop to wave every so often, to show you how thrilled she is with herself. as fun as all the new stuff she is doing is-- waving is still by far her favorite! she waves to the pretty things in her room all the time... a very friendly lady!

and along the same lines... she has also been pulling up. on occasion. that occasion being the middle of the night accompanied by much crying. needless to say- i am exhausted!

andrew and are making plans for some major backyard landscaping. we have been reading all about creating "rooms" in your yard... and reading a wonderful resource --"the backyard homestead"

i drowning under all the ideas i have for things to sew/knit/make... i have taken pictures of the anna's and my new hats; when i upload them i promise to post.

i am also working... as in maybe at some point getting paid for at least some of the designing i have been doing! more on that later ;-)

dirty hippies?

in highschool i remember thinking hippies were so cool... the tie dye, bell bottoms, long hair and beads. the grown-ups informed us that they really weren't so great-- there was a drug culture that was undesirable... not to mention, they were just plain dirty and smelly. while in college i didn't go the drug route, but i did go to enough concerts where i was surrounded by a thick fog of illegal smoke to decide that the scene really was not for me.
well, here i am all grown up (i guess- since i 2 kids, i must be?) and realizing that i am still very much drawn to those dirty hippies ;-) i have just followed a trail of links from a blog i read and am so interested in this whole "no-poo" thing! http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html here is an interesting article on it.... i need to figure out how to link things, don't i?
not only am i considering tossing out the shampoo... i am also attending a "chicks in the city" symposium on raising urban chickens. and andrew just bought me a book that i am so excited about : The Backyard Homestead- producing all the food you need on just a quarter of an acre! our gardening has not been super successful thus far, but we have great hopes. and the huge three sectioned compost bin andrew built over Christmas should make a big difference on that front.
as i am blogging away from home, you will have to make do with no baby pics :-(

these are the days caffeine was made for...

these have nothing to do w/ the following post... just here for those who only come here to see the kids... you know who you are ;-) (doesn't anna look like the gerber baby?)

we have been hit by a stomach virus. i was sick all sunday night and as weak as a day old kitten on monday... which is not a good thing when you have an 8 month old to nurse and carry around and a 2.5 year old to keep up with. andrew had to stay home from work to watch them until noon and then my dear mother graciously entered our contaminated home for the afternoon and monday night. oh... i thought i would be the only one... maybe it was just food poisoning... but no! tuesday night mama back home was sick as a dog and our little e was as sick as he has ever been. we were up from 2 am on... and he wasn't able to keep anything down until almost 2pm. i was almost ready to take him to the er to get fluids. so far anna has only been fussy and a few especially smelly dipes... and andrew felt queasy for a day. i pray we are in the clear! last night i was up every other hour with one or the other (sometimes both)of my babes as e was still feeling poorly and anna hungry(apparently a mama recovering from a stomach virus w/ no appetite and distracted by caring for another sick child isn't a good food source during the day.

i started the day about as grouchy as ever... but thanks to a cuppa the earl (grey) i am now swimming out of our sea of contaminated laundry and dishes ... not to mention the goodwill finds i picked up hours before getting sick. it was perfect timing to have picked up a handful of new movies from goodwill-- some old classics that are now new favorites ... the original charlotte's web, madeline, swiss family robinson, an a couple more richard scary videos (i love still having a vcr!)

if you are still with me...

i promise i will post some picture of the latest projects. i really want to share-- i know i am so behind!

baby, it's cool outside!

here are some pictures of warmer times ;-)

i just saw this on pottery barn's website... i really like it. i think i will make one next year.

i finally took the ornaments off of our tree today. what do you think about me admitting that ?;-)

it takes me a little time to get my feet on the ground after Christmas. we usually get a few house projects done that week between Christmas and new year, but then new year's day always knocks me on my butt. it really is a bit dramatic how my whole system all of a sudden says " HIBERNATE". january is dark and cold ... and we have had a few tragic deaths in my family during this particular month in the past. all in all-- i feel a desperate need to get under the covers and stay there for a month at least. well, w/ two littles around here-- that ain't happening.

we are staying in a lot, trying to keep warm... and i am knitting a lot... just seems right.

merry Christmas!

i am bustling this holiday season... i decided to make just about every single one of the gifts we are giving this year--- along with the handmade cards we sent.... crazy, right? actually, its the making of things that keeps me sane. i know that staying up til midnight some nights is taking it's toll on my sanity, but in general i am so much happier on the days i get to make something with my hands.

at the moment the biscotti is in the oven and my embroidery basket is full of cute little fabric bird pieces. i have several things in process on my knitting needles. i have a patchwork soccer ball half sewn for e... and a few project e and i have been working on together.

all that to say... sorry for the long absence once again...

i hope that your holiday is blessed with things that make you happy--- most of all the knowledge of God's gift of love He sent us in his son!

we are heading to the woods for thanksgiving week and then after that, anna and i are heading to the big apple to visit my sister ( i feel very brave to be attempting such a trip!) all this to say- i am taking a bit of a blogging leave and letting you know ahead of time.

just wanted to leave you with a picture of a less picturesque moment here: i am being covered in stickers while feeding anna while trying to knit at the same time-- ridiculous!

happy thanksgiving!

my atelier

i am beside myself to present you with my studio space! we are now using our basement for more than just storage and beer brewing. i finally have a home for all my creative endeavors-- and believe me, i know how very blessed i am to have such a space! i have two wonderful work tables from ikea-- one of which is height adjustable. that feature comes in handy now for cutting fabric, it doesn't hurt your back as it would to stand over a standard height table for long periods of time.... for now fabric is my medium (easy to pick up and put down at a moment's notice or baby's cry, as the case may be). later, when children are in school and i have longer periods of time to myself, i know i will get back into pottery and painting- and this space will most definitely accommodate such pursuits. i read a fair amount of a fascinating book while in college ; "the poetics of space: the classic look at how we experience intimate places" was an interesting delve into the different kinds of spaces and how they influence us. well, i am loving how my studio down in the basement-- in the belly of the house... one quote from the book about cellars : "there, secrets are pondered, projects are prepared. and, underneath the earth, action gets under way. we are really in the intimate space of underground maneuvers." well- these days there are an awful lot of "projects being prepared" in our basement (cellar).notice hints of a play area in the foreground... and children's play area, that is... the whole thing is a "play area" for me ;-)
here is my space-- arranged in a "u" shape, great for sewing, cutting and ironing ( which i have lately realized is so very important in sewing)

and here is the excellent sewing book by my favorite fabric designer that has taught me so much about sewing! and has some very fun patterns.... i highly recommend it!

------ on a side note, when i was looking back through "the poetics of space" i found a nice quote--"Over-picturesqueness in a house can conceal its intimacy. this is also true in life." how true how true!