Right this minute

Don't let this look fool you - she loves to help me mop the floor! lol



Daniel has fun looking through our map book. I'm thinking of getting a huge map of the world to put on our wall. D=Think the kids would like that Dale? :o)

Nesting

I think that I am nesting. I can't stop crocheting and sewing and ... and...

Emma found this locked notebook for $1 on clearance. Before we even got home with it I was sure that the keys would both be lost in 5 minutes tops.


So I sewed together some 1/4 inch elastic and crocheted around it. Emma requested a butterfly and a flower to attatch her keys to. A cute personalized bracelet and the keys only got lost the one time she forgot where she put the bracelet! lol








Aug 09

Music box then and now

When I was 7 years old I got the best Christmas presents. Some yarn, a crochet needle and a ballerina music box. I have a great memory of sitting on the living room floor with the music box open and tinkling away while I single-chained my way through the entire skein of pink yarn. Ahh - fun times. Not, I'm sure, for any other family members stuck in the living room with me!

Anyhoodle! I loved that music box and held onto it. Emma found it a year ago and immediatly fell in love with it. However, after such a long life it was getting a bit worn out.



I set out to find one that she could wear out all on her own.



I like the song this one plays more and it has a separate drawer for treasures. I think I want it! lol




She loves it which is what matters!











Aug 09

Why I get behind in posting

See - I would love to post more often and I even have a folder full of pictures and stories to post. But other things seem to always come up and sitting at the computer to blog gets put on the back burner. An example. I told Tuan that I would like to update my blog. Ok, sure, he said. But no sooner had I opened the computer than Emma informed me that we still had not split the vanilla beans (that I purchased over 2 mos ago!) to see and taste what was inside and make our own (gf) vanilla extract. So instead of blogging, the kids and I split the beans. Em and I tasted the seeds - not much flavor but a yummy vanilla aftertaste - D wasn't interested. lol Then we packed them in some vodka and we'll check on it every few days.

Winter - no Summer Bike Ride!

These pictures were both taken the same day believe it or not! (Em is riding D's bike and D is riding Em's) I just bought the boots for Emma so I think that she was excited to wear them. lol Last year she really wanted some black boots but I didn't want to shell out the $25 for a pair of toddler shoes. Unfortunately for me they never went on sale. They sell out so fast that they never need to mark them down. So I looked all over for a pair of boots for her birthday in Febuary. But the season was ending and I couldn't find anything for less than $50! Herm - she could wait 7 more months. Daniel - why else is he ever naked except that he's a toddler and it's great weather!

Snapshot Sunday

haircut!

I loved Daniel's long curls. But his hair was so soft that it would break off where the rubber band held it in a ponytail. It kept getting in his eyes and so it was time for a haircut. Being pregnant and all, I got more choked up than he did. When it was all cut he kept shaking his head. It must have felt very different!




My baby is grew up 2 years in 10 minutes!


Where did this little boy come from?

Snapshot Sunday

Last Sunday Em, D and I went to play with cousins while Tuan worked very hard at re-arranging the rooms in our house. The bedroom is now upstairs, the toy room is now downstairs and the old toy room is now the living room. So these are the only shots I got by the time the day was over.




But I have to say the new closet space is nice!

Fruits and Breakfast

A friend of mine ordered two fruit baskets and two breakfast sets from me. They looked so pretty and colorful when I packaged them up.


Another link to my etsy store - sorry about the broken link last time.















July 2009

Right this minute

This book was recommended to me by my sister. It really is a great book. We found each of the animals that are in our stuffed animal collection. Alas the snowman was not in the book lol) The other day Emma was teasing me with the pages full of pictures of spiders and beetles. Get it for your kids quick - it's out of print now. They'll love it!








July 2009

bike

Emma's bike tires were, to say the least, very worn out. They bulged and her front kept going flat. Also her chain was dry and kept falling off - a major pita to put back on while 7 mos pregnant in the middle of an alley. So I decided that it was time for some professional help. We took it to a bike shop and they tightened and greased the chain and put two new tires on. And her new tires are tube-less so they will never go flat!

I also got her a bike basket so he could carry her own water bottle to the park. Of course, she had her own ideas about what to carry in the basket!


It's so much easier for her to ride now. If only I could keep up with her!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We want to sing you songs!


And now it's your turn, Daddy! Sing us a song!












July 2009

Little heat seekers.

A game Emma made up. Each of us took turns being the teacher. Holding the pencil was mandatory. We learned such very important things like what to do when someone says STOP! And what to do in a ballet class. Important stuff!

Emma helped me pick the apricots that another freecycler so generously gave away and Daniel helped me mash them for the jam.

Face painting at the city park was $1 but mommy can do it for free. Hence the amateur rainbow on her cheek. (By the time I had finished the star and heart and horse and butterfly on her legs I was much improved! lol) New favorite horse courtesy of most recent garage sale? Check. Sweet dreams!













July 2009

Right this minute

What do you suppose they are conspiring to do?










July 2009

Don't cry over spilled rice?

Remember this snapshot sunday pic?



When my electric k-tec mill died, Tuan opened it up and tried to fix it. Unfortunately it needed professional help. So $40 later an electrician had replaced the started switch and something else and it ran great again. Then part of the plastic latch clip on one side broke. No problem, I can hold it tight as it mills. The a crack started up from the broken side. Then it just stopped working - right at the beginning of spring when all of the electricians are super busy with the farmers and their electric irrigation systems. Bugger. I talked it over with Tuan and I convinced him that this was really the perfect opportunity to get a new mill that had never had wheat milled in it. (My k-tec was from our pre-gluten-free days) So I researched and found the perfect mill. It was $300! So I researched some more and found a much more affordable hand crank mill. I want both so that I don't have to rely on the electricity to mill grains. So I bought the hand mill (won't mill popcorn though, bummer) and am saving up to buy the electric one.

I really like my mill. Millet, buckwheat and teff are nice soft grains and mill up relatively quickly. Rice - ugh! Rice is a hard grain. You have to find the sweet spot to angle your body and turn the crank at the right speed or it will just jerk and stick all the way around. I was getting frustrated with how hard I was having to work and jerked a bit to hard. The entire mill came off of the table and dumped at least a cup and a half of rice on the floor along with the 1/2 cup I had already milled. Serves me right. lol

It's hard to see, but that is rice all over the floor. The kids thought it was fun to help me by pointing out all of the rice I was missing as I swept up!









July 2009

A fun game they invented. Em would 'catch' D and he would follow her around until his turn to 'catch' her when she would follow him around. What would normally annoy them is fine and fun if it's part of a game. lol Fun to watch!














July 2009

Little Gardeners

A local nursery has a really great fall tradition. Every year they build a "pumpkin patch". Here are some shots from last year. All year Emma asks when we are going to go back to the pumpkin patch.


tractor ride

straw maze

slide

rope bridge

Last Christmas they hosted a fireworks display complete with a live band and free chili dinner with a toy donation.

Unfortunately they just went out of business. I am quite sad for Emma to miss the pumpkin patch and I will miss the Christmas fireworks.

All of that to explain this next picture! lol

I found these little gardening sets for the kids. They love them!









July 2009