November Thankfulness

In the month of November we have always (as many of you also do) done a daily thankful post on facebook.  We started several years ago, thanks to my friend S, and it has become an annual tradition that I really look forward to.  As little V has gotten older, it has been great to see her perspective shift.  This year we are doing it a little differently.
Rather than posting it on facebook, where little V will never see it, we are making a wreath.  A wreath filled with leaves of thankfulness.  Every morning we each fill out our leaf for the day then pin it to the ribbon covered foam wreath.  The wreath is something that we all walk by several times a day and it serves as a daily reminder of how fortunate we truly are.

By Thanksgiving we should have an almost full wreath that we will set on our table, with flameless candles in the center and use as our Thanksgiving center piece.

full of wonder

Friday little V had the day off school.  We decided to have a relaxed day at home.  Little V suggested we stay in our pajamas all day and there was absolutely no argument from me.  We spent the day doing a lot but also doing nothing.  We tackled a couple home organization projects, did lots of laundry, and made a big dinner.  In the midst of all the relaxing busy-ness (let's be honest, you can't truly have a do nothing day with two children under the age of 10!)  I observed something truly remarkable between my children, they really love each other.  Of course they love each other, they have to right, they are brother and sister, but baby R was so much more content today just because little V was home.  They really enjoy each other.  Baby R is enthralled with every little thing that little V does, he wants in on the action.  And little V wants to include him in everything, she wants to make him laugh, protect him, and teach him things.  Of course I love my children, but witnessing the love between the two of them is remarkable.  I know we will have many (many) days of disagreements in our future (such is life, right?!?) but I want to always remember how they look at each other with eyes full of wonder.

The morning race

I am not a morning person, that is putting it mildly.  I'm really more of a don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even think about joking with me kind of morning person.  Both V's on the other hand, wake up bright eyed and ready to tackle the day. (We are not too sure about baby R just yet, but it's looking like he takes after the cheery two.)  Because of this combination of 'attitudes,' mornings can be kind of interesting around here.  They usually go a little something like this...

The alarm goes off before the sun rises (why do we do anything before the sun comes up, who's bright idea was that?) and little V happily bounces into our room, "Mom time to get dressed," she says.  I sleepily follow her into her room, where I crawl into her bed and slide under the covers while she gets dressed.  Then I slide out of her bed and somehow find my way to the coffee.  We fry eggs or make oatmeal depending on the mood, make a healthy lunch, get the backpack packed, come up with a hair-do, make the bed, and brush teeth. All the while big V is on baby R duty, diapering and feeding. It is a carefully executed, highly choreographed routine that gets us out the door at precisely 7:25 every school day.  We must never be late, little V, at a young age, has learned the importance of not just being on time but being early, she runs on Lombardi time.  This routine will get her into her classroom at 7:50, allowing her 10 minutes to complete her morning work and squeeze in a little socializing before the pledge of allegiance.

But this morning there was a slight hiccup.  We had the duties at the house covered, we got out the door at the right time.  This was something we never saw coming... a train!

According to little V, it was the slowest moving train she has ever seen.  With every second that passed her voice got  a little more concerned.  It was as if with each passing train car I could sense her blood pressure rising.  "Mom, we are going to be late.  Can't you go around?"  Unfortunately, there is no way to get around the train, our only option is to wait it out.  We can handle this, "we still have plenty of time," I try to explain to her.  I feel her calm down as the railroad crossing lights stop flashing and we begin moving.  But it seems we are not the only ones affected by the train, the back up of traffic into school is longer than usual.  Oh no, here we go with her blood pressure again.  I guess it's not just her blood pressure, someone in a car somewhere behind us honks their horn.  And then, the moment I never saw coming, my sweet little V turns around in her seat and shouts to the car behind us, "I KNOW you are not honking at us! Get a grip buddy!"

I guess I better look online for a train schedule, we don't need that kind of drama in the mornings.

Needless to say, we still made it to school on time, I guess there was just a little less socializing this morning.

 

Halloween

I love Halloween.  I love the weather, the pumpkins, the spooky decorations, dressing up, and I love homemade Halloween costumes (shocking, right?!?). This is the first year I've had to come up with 2 do-able costumes, but I think we did alright.

A little imagination and we turned this...

...and this knitting project...

...into these!

A fancy flamingo & the old man from UP.

Hope you all hit the candy jackpot last night!

a Sunday from Scratch

As usual, little V woke me up, yes it was still dark out, but I got up without too much fuss.  Good thing too, as we let the dog out for his morning business we were lucky enough to catch a view of a shooting star.  "Quick, grab a jacket!" said little V.  Onto the deck just in time to see another one!  Talk about a great way to start the day.  With the coffee pot going and the pancakes being made, little V made her very own constellation book.  And so the day began...

After pancakes came the usual Sunday business, news, laundry, dirty diapers, more coffee, baby giggles, jenga, and a trip to the grocery store.  Little V was my sidekick and in the midst of all that we also activated some yeast, mixed the dough, and set it in the corner to rise for what would be a loaf of homemade bread.

Lunch, coloring, homemade pop tarts (can you say heaven?!?), nap time, baked the bread, roasted a chicken, a game of secret spies, made a pot of soup, folded laundry, played outside, watched baby R explore by the lake, had a glass of wine with big V as the sun set, enjoyed an apple-goodness desert, brushed teeth, read books, and bedtime for the kiddos.

Today was the best kind of Sunday.

Oh yeah, we made butter too. 

(Not even kidding!)

a Summer re-cap

Because this blog is a journal for our family life, and because so much has happened in the last few months, I need to take a minute to jot it all down somewhere.  So here is the cliff notes of summer 2012...

School finished for the year, the dance season ended and we headed to the windy city...

Of course, we had to go to the American Girl doll store.  (What a place that is!  Who knew dolls need skateboards, but thank goodness our doll got her hair done!)

We headed out to Camp for the 4th of July.

We hit the beach in Virginia...

baby R's first dip in the ocean!

We packed up all of our belongings and...

have settled into lake life.

The blog is back!

WELL!  It has been far too long since I have taken the time to sit down and record the happenings in this household.   

With everyday that passes I am becoming more and more aware of how quickly my kids are growing up. While I would prefer to stomp my foot and insist all of this growing business comes to a complete stop, I have decided, rather, to get back in the habit of writing about our life.  Hoping that the time it takes me to write about it all will also provide a few extra moments for me to savor their childhoods.  Because in the blink of an eye my little V is now six (and a big time 1st grader!) and my little baby R is about to celebrate his first birthday.  

Why can't I just make time stop?!?

Nourishment

I've always believed in the power of breastfeeding, the magic of mama's milk.  I believe it makes stronger, healthier, smarter kids.  I am not, however, one of those crazy 'milk nazi's.'  If it doesn't work for you & your baby, don't do it because in this house we live by the creed "if mama ain't happy-no one's happy."  I enjoyed nursing little V.  she liked but was always ready to move on to the next thing (much like her personality now!)  But this baby of mine, this chubby little ball of happiness, he could be the poster child for nourishment by way of mama.  He get's so excited to nurse, grabs onto my shirt while he's feeding with those chubby little hands as if to say "thank you mama!"  I find the quiet time shared during his feedings are providing nourishment for the both of us in many more ways than just nutrition.  These quiet moments have become moments I really look forward to.  Of course they provide time for baby R and I to build the mother & child bond, but they also provide time for me to be still.  (Still can be so hard when there are two kids, a dog, a home, and a business all needing attention.)  In these  still moments I am given time to reflect, reflect on all of the wonder of our lives - a growing curious 6 year old, a wonder of a happy baby boy, the changing of our future lives, and the deepening bonds of our marriage.  This time when he is small will go by so fast, I want to always remember these quiet little moments of our life right now.  In these moments of reflection I find myself always left feeling recharged and immensely grateful.  Grateful for all of the love that abounds in this little family of ours.  Nourishment in so many forms...

Allowance

Little V has a new interest...money.  Yep, the girl is learning all about buying her own goods.  She wants to do it herself, buy her own toys, hot lunch, dollar spot goodies. There must be some serious recess talk going on about allowance, because little V came home one day with a plan. 
"Mom, what do I have to do for an allowance?"
I held back the, "what-who-how did she find out I should pay her for helping around the house shock" and calmly told her  I would talk to her Dad and we'd come up with something.
So, here's the run down:  little V has to make her bed everyday and do a few easy things on a regular basis (take out the recycling/garbage, load the dishwasher) for a weekly payday.  She can make a little extra for doing big stuff (vacuuming, mopping.) 

So far, I am really enjoying her new found interest...

Family Game Night (and a winner!)

There is a new favorite game in this house, so long UNO! 

Pictionary! 

(Our own homemade version, no fancy cards or egg timers here!)

Little V thinks it's the best thing since sparkly nail polish, even baby R is getting in on the action!

(by the way, don't you just think little V's boots with the dress is just so Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club?!?  Big V and I are getting the biggest kick out of this latest fashion adventure!)

And the winner is...

Amy W. is the winner of the kit to make these pendants.  Amy- I'll be in touch, congrats!

aren't they sweet?!?

We are really loving this crazy summer weather in March!  Hope you are spending lots of time outside soaking up the sunshine too!

Just a reminder... If you want to be entered in the drawing to win the supplies to make those pendants, you need to sign up to follow the blog before Thursday night!  Little V will be drawing the name of the winner out of a hat before bedtime!

4 months

Can you believe this little guy is 4 months old already?!?

I would love to tell you that we have fallen into a beautiful rhythm of life with a baby and a kindergardener, but the truth is that everyday we are flying by the seat of our pants (if we remember to put said pants on!)  Yes, things are pretty crazy around here, but this little guy is just about the happiest baby on the planet and we are all really enjoying every single smile and chuckle he makes.

He has gotten so big, so fast!  Aren't those chubby thighs just the best?!?

That super cool quilt he is playing on was made by little V and I before his birth.  A special gift that she presented to him when they first met.

Free stuff for you!

I have to share with you our most recent project... It was about the easiest little craft project I've ever done, and it turned out so cute (if I do say so myself!)

They are cute little photo pendants!  I did a pic of the kids, little V used some cool origami paper.  I got the idea and instructions from this website (of course I found it on pinterest.)  They were so easy to put together, we went ahead and made a whole slew of them for Mother's Day gifts.  (Sorry to ruin the surprise moms & grandmas!) 

Now here's the cool part for you, I scored a whole extra set of the goodies to make these pendants!  Who wants it?!?  Yep, this is my first official give-away...

If you want this cute little kit to make some cool pendants for you & yours, sign up to follow my blog. Little V will pick a name out of a hat from the followers next Thursday.  (Sorry, no commenting on facebook for this one, I need you guys to sign up through my blog to follow me.  I promise, just this once, it's okay to be a follower!) 

6

 Her constant excitement for life and inquisitive wonder inspire me on a daily basis.  Her endless creativity is awe inspiring.  I love the little person she has become and am so incredibly proud of the positive way she sees everything around her.  Her sense of humor is unstoppable.  Every second I spend with her is an adventure.  My life was changed in the best way imaginable on the day she was born. 

 

Happy Sixth Birthday, little V!

I love you more than you will ever know.

Super Human Strength

It's Saturday night, we have just returned home after a fun filled evening with friends.  The kids are snuggled into their beds, warm and cozy.  The eleven o'clock news is on and I'm anxiously awaiting the start of SNL while nestled warm under the covers.  Uh-oh, I left some bags in the car.  One of those bags contains the breast milk I pumped earlier in the day, other wise known as liquid gold, not a single ounce can go to waste!  I look at my hubby, also warm in bed, and ask him to go downstairs into the cold garage to fetch it out of the back of the car.  What a great guy; downstairs he goes, into the frigid night. 

Then I hear it, an incredibly loud clattering, the entire house rattles.  I can't believe my kids are not wide awake screamin' for momma.  Big V comes upstairs in a huff, throwing on jeans and warmer clothes.
 "What happened?" I ask. 
His response, "the garage door fell down." 
"What?!?"  And then, the response any caring wife would offer to her frantic husband, "is my Yukon okay?!?"  Yep, that's right, I sent my wonderful husband into the cold dark night to fetch the breast milk, the thousand pound garage door falls, and my first concern is my truck...
I am currently accepting nominations for wife of the year.

Somehow, big V managed to lift the door and back my precious Yukon out of the garage, it was parked in the garage when it fell.  (I will always wonder how he managed that, could it have been one of those moments of super human strength in the face of sheer panic?)  For the meantime, our garage door is very 'classily' roped up, appearing closed and functioning. 

The repairman comes tomorrow.

 

What to make...

Lately I have a very strong desire to make things.  Knitting, sewing, crafting, organizing, gardening, decorating, cooking, baking, I want to do it all.  (I blame pinterest, I am on pinterest overload.  I really think I need an intervention!) 

I would be getting a lot of these ideas accomplished if it weren't for this little face...





But I am going to make this...



http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Meringue-Pie-with-Graham-Crust-364673

Big V asked for lemon meringue pie.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

How about you, are you making anything these days?  Are you obsessed with pinterest too?  What is distracting you lately?

Sunday Sweetness

reading to little brother

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Dreaming...

I have a dream.  (No, this isn't my Martin Luther King moment!)  I have a dream of a house, a house on a lake.  With a backyard that gently slopes down to the lake, with a few big old trees.  One tree close enough to the waters edge that the rope swing hanging from it shoots you out over the water.  There is a dock at the water's edge, the kind of dock that you can stand on the end and cast a fishing pole, jump in to cool off in the heat of summer and sit on to lace up ice skates in the winter.  There is also a deck on the back of the house.  A deck that all of my family and friends can fit on, to eat and drink and watch the kids fish and swim and ice skate.  The deck leads into the house, right into the family room and kitchen.  (Yep, the kitchen over looks the lake!)  The house is filled with all of the things that define our family.  Not settings from Pottery Barn or any other furniture store, but the couch that is worn from all of the family movie nights, slightly stained here and there from juice and magic markers.  The walls are covered not with fancy art, but with pictures of our family made by our kids.  Shelves are filled with treasures found on our travels, items we fell in love with that could not be left behind, books that we have read a million times and will read a million more.  There is a fireplace that we gather around, to play games, draw pictures, and talk about our dreams.  Upstairs are the bedrooms.  Rooms that express our kids interests.  Little V's room is filled with purple and fuschia, turquoise and chandeliers.  Mermaids or an enchanted forest of fairies.  Baby R's room, who knows,   maybe walls covered with snowboarders?  Our room is a quiet, peaceful place for big V and I to end the day.  And there is another room, a room for anyone who wants to stay.  A room filled with comfy blankets and pillows, ready and waiting for family in from out of town, friends needing to crash after a fun filled day on the lake. 
Sounds like a pretty incredible house, doesn't it?  I will find it...

Wine

After days like today, wine is the only way to wrap up the night.  In fact, it is such an essential ingredient to the end of day madness that no fancy wine glass is required.

Cheers to you all!

Cupid

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope your day is filled with love.

Monday...

It was a very long weekend.  My studio girls had their first competition of the year (they did awesome by the way), we got our first official snow of the year (at least the first snow worth anything), the V's hit the slopes for the first runs of the year, and baby R has his first official cold.  All of this has led to one of "those kind of Mondays."  Appointments, snot, major to-do lists and general tiredness are making for a bit of a blah start to this week.  Not to mention, I haven't even started little V's Valentines Day gift... uh-oh!  I need to focus on all that sunshine outside to snap me out of this!

How is your Monday?  Do you have a case of the blah's today too?

A Super Sunday

This past Sunday was Super.  Yes, it was the super bowl (Way to go, Giants!) but it was super for another reason around here.  Little V and I did something we haven't done in far too long, we spent a day together, creating.  Nothing but me and little V getting crafty.  What did we make?  A lot of things actually, but it wasn't the final products that were the important part.  The important part was the togetherness.  It was a great day. 
In all honesty, I would like  you to believe that this day of mommy daughter bonding time was just a slice of our happy perfect little family life.  But the reality is (as I'm sure all parents out there have experienced) this quiet day of creating was born out of a punishment.  Yep, little V's sassy little mouth got her into some trouble.  The punishment, a day with absolutely no TV.  (Strange that it was Super Bowl Sunday, huh?) 
Funny how that "punishment" helped me to get things back into focus too.  A day without TV was just what the doctor ordered...

In case you were wondering what we did make, here's the list: a patchwork pillow, two hand-stitched stuffies, heart shaped crayons, a giant picture, homemade bread, and clam chowder!  Hope your Super Bowl Sunday was super too!

Off the needles

I have realized that it has been quite some time since I've posted about my knitting.   Just because I haven't posted does not mean the needles have slowed down.  (In reality, they have slowed considerably, it's not so easy to knit with a new baby in the house!)  There were some Christmas knits gifted this year and a couple projects already started and finished in the new year.  Here are just a few of the knitted goods spotted around the house lately...

Little V's Christmas mitts,

baby R's Christmas sweater,

Little V's tunic (there will be another post about this, it's a long story...),

a quick winter hat,

and a headband for me.

There are a couple projects on the needles currently and there were a lot more knits handed out to friends over the holidays.  I need to work on getting things photographed! 

All of my project notes are over on ravelry for my fellow knitters.

Diorama

This past Sunday, the V's made a little project for themselves.  You never know what will happen when these two put their heads together... 

A factory, a castle, a house, two cars, a lake with a dock, lots of trees, a huge sun, and an igloo.  They made a village!  (Well, a diorama of a village!)

The my little pony's and polly pockets promptly took up residency.

The polly pockets had quite the afternoon!  (As did both V's!)

Big V then used the diorama to teach little V all about perspective in photography while using her new camera.  Thanks for the great pics, little V!

Coneys and memories...

As you drive down the main drag of the town I currently live in and grew up in there is a little place with a big hot dog sign out front. You know those hot dogs with sunglasses on? Yep, it's one of those kind of hot dog signs. The parking lot is small, just like the building, and there is always a car for sale out front. The inside is covered with movie memorabilia and kitschy collectibles. (When I say the inside is covered, I don't mean the cute Max & Erma's kind of wall hangings, I mean every free bit of space on the walls and ceiling is covered with something. I've been going there my entire life and every time I notice something I haven't seen before.) There is only room for a few people at a time, 5 booths and 6 stools at the "bar" total. The menu is simple, coneys, burgers, grilled cheese, and fries cooked up right in front of you. You can also get a Vernors float or a chocolate milkshake with sprinkles. This place is Walt's and I promise you, they serve up the BEST coneys. Coneys and memories...
When I was a kid, every once in a while my Bumpa would pick me up from school. (Bumpa is my grandfather, in case you're wondering.) Whenever I would come out of school and see his red GMC Jimmy, I knew it was coney time. We would always go to Walt's. The order was always the same, two coneys with everything for Bumpa, a coney with no onions for me, and an order of chili cheese fries to share. We would sit and talk about things, sometimes big things like what was going on in my family or at school, other days it was simple things like the weather and when spring would come, sometimes we would just sit and look at all of the stuff hanging on the walls. To me, Walt's was our spot, my favorite place to spend an afternoon with my Bumpa.
These lunches with my Bumpa at Walt's continued through college and into adulthood. If we couldn't get to Walt's, then we run through their drive thru. (The Walt's drive thru is really just a window that opens and a sign on the outside of the building, but it works!) Just a few weeks ago I went through the drive thru and delivered the goodness right to Bumpa's favorite chair.
Nowadays, Walt's is one of little V's favorite spots. We go there whenever she has a half day. The order is always the same, a plain hot dog for little V, a coney with no onions for me, and an order of chili cheese fries to share. We sit and talk about things, sometimes big things like a new baby, sometimes small things like the weather and if it is ever going to snow, sometimes she asks me about all of the stuff on the walls. I hope that Walt's will always be a special place for her too.
Whenever we go I think about those afternoons with my Bumpa, how much I learned on those afternoons, how much I enjoyed those afternoons, how much I now cherish the memories of those afternoons. And I always notice something new amongst the stuff on the walls, today it was a signed Mohammed Ali photo.

Toothless Grins

The breakfast dishes are on the counter, the coffee table is covered with the remains of little V's activities- books, beads, and magic markers, the beds are un-made, the dog wants out, both V's are en route to school, and I am in need of a shower.  But here I sit, with baby R on my lap, making faces and silly sounds.  In return, I am enjoying one of the greatest gifts of parenthood, tons and tons of toothless grins...

Those cheeks are just outta control, aren't they?!? 

A Whole Year

It has been a whole year since I started blogging.  I initially started this as a way to remind myself of all I have to be thankful for, the big things like a healthy new baby and the little things like stories at bedtime.  A year later this blog has become more than that to me.  It has become our family scrapbook (since I'm really awful at actual scrapbooking!)  A way to record the fun things we do as a family, the moments we share.  It has also become a record of our creations whether it is my knitting or little V's art work.  I like what it has become, I really enjoy taking the time to write and reflect. 

I hope that you are enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing.  Let me know, if you want to keep reading I'll keep up with the sharing... (You can vote over to the right --->>>)

2012

Happy New Year!

Here we are, a new year in front of us.  I have so much to be thankful for when I reflect on the past year.  (If you've been reading along you know what a great year it has been.  Thanks for reading along, by the way!)  There have been great trips, lots of creating, incredible times with family and friends, birthday celebrations, success at the studio, and a new baby! 

As the new year unfolds, I am realizing I have everything I could ever dream of needing.  The things I want are just that, things.  So for 2012 I am going to make an effort to remember that I have what I truly need.  My hope is that by realizing the difference between my wants and my needs, I can learn to simplify.  (I'm hoping this will also be a lesson for Little V, who was ridiculously spoiled by everyone around her this holiday season, her head still hasn't stopped spinning!)

How about you, do you make New Year's resolutions?  What is yours for 2012?  Please share...