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!

mama made

indulge me in one more shot of anna wearing the pumpkin hat... what a pumpkin!
here are some red shoes i made for her... like all of the shoes i make, they are lined with wool, so they are cozy, warm, and breathable... and above all--- fun and funky! i have a longstanding love of red shoes.. i even had my bridesmaids wear them even though their dresses weren't even red ;-) ... so of course my little lady needed some her size.
and here is another pair of cozy mama made shoes. ( also note the cute rick-rack hem of the dress )

now, let it be known: i may make a lot of things, but my house is not very well kept, and my car is a total mess... and i don't ever watch tv.

speaking of food

here are the classic " first food" pictures. she had a lot of fun discovering all the sensations of broccoli, and some of it actually made it into her mouth!

she also ate some baby food from a spoon, but where is the fun in that?

speaking of food: the blog- "smitten kitchen" has a delicious recipe for pumpkin bread pudding... it is very easy and very yummy!

6 months (and a half)

here are some of the pictures i took of anna on her six month birthday. now she is halfway to 7 months-- oh my! she has really turned into a different kind of baby: sitting up on her own... eating solids... and i know y'all will think i'm crazy, but sometimes when she is crying she'll cry "mmm" and i really think, since she hears Elisha saying it all the time, she is crying "mama"!here is my happy girl wearing the first dress i have made (i learned that following a pattern is easier than making up your own! ;-)

a mother's reprieve

what helps me put my brain back together the best of all after a day of mommy madness?

i'm sure everyone has the own recipe for coping... i have to say that i have lately found a delightful combo. i am really enjoying knitting hats while listening to jane austen... i love to read (and austen novels best of all) and knitting is so nice and calming... the repetitive nature helps release stress- i'm convinced. maybe b/c i am in a phase of life where my 'multi task' mode has to be on most all of the time, i now find that even when i am having "down time" i feel the need to multi task... it isn't enough to just enjoy one thing at a time...

ps-- the pic is of anna's sweet head in my first hat... the pumpkin hat is a bit big this year, but that just means she can wear it for years to come. the wool is soo wonderfully soft! it is purewool from Uruguay. it is a risky buy b/you have to wait months... literally months for it to arrive, unless you want to pay for fed ex shipping instead... and most of all you have to pick the colors from photos online which can be deceiving--- and their dye lots are extremely variable. but if you love the look and feel of minimally processed wool and you don't want to pay double digits per skein--- this is the way to go!

pps- i'm still working on that slide show issue-- any flickr folks feel free to give tips... or anyone w/ a free slide show host-- i'm very open to suggestions. and as anna was actually just 6 months, i'll need to get that slide show done too!