i spy with my little eye

i made an i-spy quilt for calvin.  it took me awhile... it was originally going to be a christmas present... then a birthday present... finally last weekend, it became a just-because present.

due to a bad storm school (my work) has been closed due to no power all week and it has been rainy so this quilt has been a major source of entertainment around here.  so perfect timing in the end.

he loves it.  i love how he describes the square he is spying.  today he spied one square "with hundreds of tea pots" when the square actually has about 20 tea cups.  i like to try to use vocabulary that he does not necessarily know to see how he figures it out.  for example, i spied a square with a lady in a red kimono and he picked up on 'lady' and 'red' to find the square and then we talked kimonos.  he can't contain his giddiness when i get close to the square he spied.  

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so kissable in her cousin's and then brother's handed-down pajamas.

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made for valentine's day from this pattern.

6 months and i'm getting better

maeve is 6 (!) months already. she amazes me everyday. she loves to smile, especially when she is watching calvin, who is by far her favorite person to watch. she is a snuggler and a talker, making sounds constantly. many of her teeth are coming in at the same time so she drools more that i have seen any baby drool. multiple layers of clothing get soaked through. i even made her some special drool bibs, backed with some thick organic french terry (my cousin calls them her 'droolry'). there is nothing i enjoy more that watching her sleep, peacefully next to me, gently sucking her thumb.

it is tradition in my family to celebrate half birthdays until we reach the age of 10 so we celebrated maeve's first half year with a little singing and a little rice cereal (which maeve spit out every last bit of) and a new birthday crown. do you see that fancy embroidery? i have been practicing. i got this book on sale at michael's a few months ago (just after i made this) and i have found this simple, colorful handwork fun and relaxing. i did a stem stitch for the M and a straight stitch with french knots for the little stars. i love how it turned out.

happy half-birthday maeve!

winter solstice

ours was filled with marshmallow making. we packaged them up with some hot cocoa and delivered a little solstice gift to neighbors and friends. we were lucky enough to have our first snowfall a few days ago, so a snowy walk ensued. then we snuggled up and read this, a favorite series around here.

happy winter!

relaxing continued...

sam granted me another day of pampering. he took calvin to lunch and christmas shopping while maeve and i hung out at home. i did a bit of christmas sewing and wrapping and just laying around. then when he came home he made my most favorite dinner... vietnamese spring rolls! they are a bit labor intensive so he doesn't make them that often, in fact the last time was february of 2007 when i turned 30. they were delicious, just as i remembered them to be. once again i am so very blessed.

today's reflection:

the best change i made this year to the place i live is adding a new resident. we are so very lucky to have her. and today was a huge day in her little life... for the first time ever... she rolled over.

relaxed

sam surprised my sister and i with a day at the spa today. massages and facials. it was my first facial ever... and well, let's just say it will not be my last. i feel so very thankful that even though our lives are brimming with to-do's (especially now during the holidays...), i have a husband that remembers his wife likes to be pampered, just a bit. i am so very blessed.

today's reflection: best new food

crock pot meals have to be my favorite new food. a student that i had when i taught second grade gave me one as a thanksgiving present one year and i never used it much, but recently it has made a resurgence. it all started with this delicious and so easy recipe that i found: crock pot salsa chicken. sam has also been into cooking indian food and he is getting really, really good. so that is sort of a new favorite too.

ps. in the picture maeve has on a hand knit sweater and hat my friend lynn gave her. i love the color and the sparkly buttons. thanks lynn! i dream of being such a skilled knitter one day...

martinmas!

these are the lanterns we made for matinmas this year. we just used jars, tissue paper and glue. it was very easy and calvin actually did 90% of it. he has carried it around everywhere since we made them. i overheard him singing "this little light of mine" today as he was playing with it. i only wish i had a video camera with me.

autumn cooking and craft

calvin and i made the maple nut granola from feeding the whole family a few weeks ago for my mom. she was coming for a visit and she loves yogurt and granola for breakfast. my mom didn't love it, but calvin and i sure did. it was delicious! great for breakfast, snacking or even dessert!

i also made the emerald city salad from the same book. as i was making it, i wondered if it would taste too earthy because it is mainly wild rice and kale. i loved it. calvin loved it. even my mom loved it. it was a terrific and very healthy salad to have it the fridge to put on the side of anything. my mom and i even put it on tacos.

my sister took calvin out for a walk and they collected some fallen pine cones, leaves and acorns. then they drew pictures of their collection. such a simple and wonderful idea. (the stick colored pencils came from my aunt, they were perfect for this project!)

a trip to the nature center

::sleepy sheep::

::guinea fowl::

::squash and pumpkins::

::leaves starting to turn colors::

::bee on a flower::

the nature center in our town has certainly changed in the last week. autumn is here. calvin collected about 50+ acorns, feathers and leaves. we don't have space for a 'nature table' so i created a nature box for him. every leaf he sees, he squeals with delight, "oh mom look at this one! it's really special." we had to have a talk about how he couldn't collect every leaf, acorn and feather... we had to leave some for other kids to discover. this satisfied him for a moment, but still he kept on collecting little bits here and there.

we start a class there this week that centers on autumn flora and fauna, with a bit of storytelling and art thrown in. i can't wait!

i have been doing a fair amount of sewing and knitting lately. i hope to share some of that soon...

goodbye

as the last day of summer comes to a close, i am taking a moment to reflect on the busy season it was for us this year and anticipate a glorious autumn. this was the summer of maeve. we anxiously awaited her arrival and then once she came, we have all spent our days watching, kissing, loving her. calvin did get a few (less than usual) beach days in, he could never have enough. we also spent some lovely evenings dining by the shore. we have had loads of family visiting, which is always such a treat.

but autumn... my favorite season now that i live in new england. the trees are already starting to change and show hints of the bright oranges, yellows, golds and reds that are to come. we are looking forward to more family and friends coming to visit us. the cool crisp air during the sunny days and cold, cold nights are already here. i have some major sewing and knitting in the works because autumn always inspires me to create.

goodbye summer... hello autumn.

birthday

it was sam's birthday a couple of weeks ago. i like to cook, but he loves to cook. he loves to make new and different recipes and he loves eggplant. i don't love eggplant. but for his birthday i was determined to find an eggplant recipe to make for us all that was tasty and everyone (including me...) would eat.

so i made rigatoni with eggplant puree. it was delicious. seriously. calvin and i ate eggplant happily (plus my sister and nephew too). sam said it was the best thing i have ever made.

sam also loves nectarines so i made a nectarine galette. it was my first time making anything pie-like from scratch. everyone loved it! i especially loved the almonds on top. fruity and nutty together is so good.

sam is one amazing guy. he works so hard at his job and then makes the most of every moment he spends with us. he cooks, he cleans and makes me feel special every day. happy birthday babe!

letters to friends

calvin is really into 'writing' letters lately. i have had loads of thank you letters to write lately having just had a baby, and so i let calvin write his 'thank you' letters next to me while i am writing mine. after he does his drawing and writing on each card, he gives them to me and i write down what he says about each one on the cards. i try to write verbatim because what he comes up with to say about each letter is so random and such a two-year-old train of thought.

them he slips them in an envelope, i address them and he gets to put on the stamp. he loves stamps because, to him, they are just special stickers. he loves (i love watching him) carefully put the stamp on each letter and then walk his letters out the mailbox. then he usually asks me if we can go to the person's house we just wrote a letter to and watch them get it and open it.

up goes the flag. i am grateful to have someone who shares my love of mail.

cute aside story... calvin was playing the other day with his wooden food and his lunch box. he had packed the lunch box full of all sorts of food, but among the food was a taco. on the top of his lunch box he has a label that says his name. he looked at the label just as he zipped the food inside and acted like he was reading it. he said, "dear taco, i want to eat you. love, calvin".

flowers for mama

my boys went outside to do some yard work the other day and came back in with these. calvin was so excited to give them to me. it had been a hard and tiring day... these made me forget about all of that.

more waiting, more sewing

here are a few more sewing projects that i have had a chance to finish since little miss has not arrived yet...

the martha stewart baby kimono (free pattern here). i love how it turned out, but the pattern is a little hard to follow and has some missing parts... but now that i have figured it out and done it once, i am inspired to make a few more. i think i will use snaps this time instead of ties for ease and speed of clothing changes. i made the smallest size, but hopefully the kimono style will fit for awhile.

and calvin got a new pair of pajama pants. i used a pair of pants that fit him well as a pattern and the method in simple sewing for baby by lotta.

so back to (waiting) enjoying each moment until baby arrives. maybe i will get some more sewing in, who knows...

a homemade outfit for baby

here it is.... a whole outfit for baby made by me. i set a goal for myself to make an entire outfit for the baby, but i sorta knew that i wouldn't really do it. i mean come on, i have never really sewn any clothes, besides pants for calvin and those left a bit to be desired in the fit department.

but now here it is! shoes from this pattern .

for the pants i made up a pattern loosely based on a pair of pants that i had from when calvin was a baby and the pattern in the creative family book by amanda blake soule. i made these way better the second time. they are a one-nighter project (which is so satisfying at the moment...). i have a few more in the works for calvin.

the shirts is completely made up by me (based on a hand-me-down shirt that a friend gave me). i learned a lot making this shirt, as it is my very first shirt ever. the arms and neck are made with lingerie elastic so i am hoping this shirt will fit easily over her head and she can wear it for awhile. after making it, i altered the pattern a bit and i might make another one before baby comes (depends on when she arrives...), but for now i am happy with this one and think that it is wearable.

hopefully i will have pictures to post soon of a baby wearing this mama-made goodness!

more sewing

i made this quilt a few weeks ago for a new little family member who lives all the way in portland oregon. he arrived on valentine's day, but had to wait a bit for his quilt to be completed. luckily he is very patient.

i love the kokka fabric on the back (from sew mama sew).  i did wacky diagonal quilted lines on the bottom portion in brown.

as you can see the quilting is not perfectly straight, but it gives it a nice handmade look, which i tend to like more that i like pulling out crooked sewing.

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watching... waiting... hammer ready. this boy loves to 'fix'.

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when grandma visits, chocolate abounds.