Project: Organic Cotton Bandana Bibs

Reversible. For the drooly baby...

Project: Reversible bibs

Waterproof with pocket on one side for when we start him on solids, and organic cotton terry on the other side for when baby is super drooly (um, now).

My New Organic Fabric Arrived!

Gorgeous. I love the new fabric. And I love that it's all organic cotton.
Clockwise from bottom left:
1. More FANFARE by Cloud 9, but in a pink/orange color scheme. The only flannel in the group.
2. TEAR DROP GEM in sunshine, by Enchanted. A plain cotton weave.
3. BLUE YONDER CLOUDS in blue, by Cloud 9. Also a plain weave.
4. and 5. Mod Basics DOTTIE, in Pool and Grass. Same, plain cotton weave. I have to say, these were not my top choices of colors, but the one color I really wanted was sold out.

Project: Organic Pillow Cases

I'm in love with this organic cotton flannel. Fanfare. By Cloud 9. It's for the boy, who aggressively buries his face into his pillow at bedtime. Easy-peasy. The best kind of project.

Bento Sunday! Spaguetti dinner with cheddar toppings.

New tradition: 

Bentos Sunday night for school on Monday

There's time for me to make them

There's something for the kids to look forward to 

going back to school on Monday

Bento Magic! Pretty Carrots

I bought these little cutters in my 20s while traveling in some developing country in South America. 

Don't remember where.

The kids won't eat carrots.

Let's see if this does the trick.

Craft Hoarding

I just haven't finished my projects yet.
I haven't decided what to make with the fabric/yarn/paper yet.
It was on super sale and a total steal!

All symptoms of craft hoarding. Apparently it's a common affliction. Once you have to buy storage equipment or extra pieces of furniture to "organize" your stash of craft supplies, I think you have to ask yourself if you're a craft hoarder. Guilty. Definitely guilty. 

There's this funny post about signs that you're a craft hoarder. Yet, while reading it, I couldn't help but wish I could lay my hands on that must-have ribbon in photo #3. 

And OH. MY. GOD. I have toyed with the idea of saving dryer lint and dog hair! I didn't know you could actually felt cat hair! Hmm... What about dog hair?

Help me, I'm sick!

Swedish Pancakes

Well, I knew that somehow I'd screw this up.

A fool-proof recipe:
1 cup flour.
2 cups milk.
4 eggs.
Mix.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

What happened? The egg separated from the rest of the batter, and it looks like a Spanish tortilla. (I also threw in some pine nuts that the kids had left uneaten on their plates). Tastes ok, but I don't know what Swedish pancake is supposed to taste like. The kids saw it and said "huevos!" and peeled off the egg layer to eat first.

T's explanation: the cast iron takes a while to heat up so the elapsed time allowed the egg to separate while in the oven. Of course he used fancier words like "thermal mass" blah, blah, blah. I love my cast iron. They take my abuses without complaints. Next time I'll pre-heat the skillet. :)

Project: Updating Exterior House Colors

First off, I did not paint the house myself. I hired professionals. I chose the colors.

BEFORE

AFTER

Second, yes, I should have taken a picture of the house from the same angle. I forgot what the old photo looked like. Duh!

To my sweet darlings

I love your sweet smell.
I love your little chubby feet.
I love watching you sleep.
I love watching you eat.
I love hearing you sing. Off-key.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
Happy birthday.

Mad Barking

My heart always beats faster whenever Jack gets into one of those mad barking states. It means there's someone on our property. Nico looks at me with big saucer eyes and Izzy cries with a panicked face. This morning, it was only a deer. No biggie. Then I saw the other 7 deer on our front lawn. Why here? There's nothing yummy in our yard... The kids went from alarm and fright to high excitement at seeing the deer.

Life anew: FORWARD Facing

Life became 3 times easier after I moved the children's seats forward facing. I lasted as long as I could. 23 months. The last month became truly unbearable, then happiness returned.

If I ever go back to Japan

I'm going shopping in the textile district. I bet there are lots of interesting things to be found.... And I'll be sure to print out these directions from Vanessa at Design Dreams Japan.

New Mom Lessons Learned

1. Arrive at daycare when they're serving breakfast. Not earlier, and definitely not later.

2.  Reading Nico Dr. Seuss's alphabet book before bedtime: He tires out half-way through. Need to start reading from the middle of the book, or backwards, or he'll think the alphabet stops at "L".

I want... THIS play kitchen. Drool...

I doubt my kids would even notice the difference. But OMG... I love this! But sooo expensive! Those are all Plan Toy pieces!

Amazing things

Sometimes it feels like life is a blur of cleaning, feeding, laundry, food shopping, etc, etc. I want to make a point of pausing and admiring. For example: I love how Tim taught Jack to go down the stairs quietly. He used to romp up and down and wake the babies. Now, you hush him, and he practically tiptoes down. It's super funny. And super amazing. What a good dog.

Project: Fuzzy pompom hat for Izzy

First completed knitting project since the birth of the twins. Major feat, possible only because of the super bulky yarn knitting up in a few hours. That, and the fact that Izzy lost her warm hat during one of our walks and it was getting cooold. It's still a bit big on her, so hopefully she'll be able to wear it next winter too.

Happy New Year 2013: Fun in the snow

Takes forever to get snow ready, but it's nice that we can just step outside and play.

Snark Snark Grumble Grumble

Today, I decided that I absolutely hate the Prius for carting around the kids. They are rear-facing still, and the back passenger doors are slanted, so there's no head space for me while I struggle with fighting toddlers. I bump my face/head all the time unless I stick my head into the car too, and then there's this lame hook on the handle (you know, the one for hanging dry cleaning or a man's suit jacket) that's not removable and it always ALWAYS catches the hair on top of my head as I'm struggling with a crying kid. So on top of everything else, I'm getting my hair yanked by the car. Sigh. On the days when they happily get into the car, no problem. But it's hairy days like this morning when I really really want a bigger car. Not even a minivan. Give me the full size van. The school bus. The hospital shuttle. Anything. I keep reminding myself that it's just for one more year, and then they'll be front-facing, and the head-room issue will not be an issue anymore. But man, I'm going to take a jigsaw and hack that hook off!

Wishlist: Any doll by Mimi Kirchner

Aaahhh, where have I been hiding that only now do I find Mimi Kirchner! I want to be you!! Would sure love to have one (or several) of her dolls... Go to her blog for more photos of her incredible work.