Living, Loving, Learning

Still hanging around.

We woke up to a beautiful snowfall, thinking around 5" ish . We could not wait to suit up and get into it! We actually bought Griff some real boots this time!! We grabbed our sled and headed over to the city park where we knew there were some decent hills. It was tough work at first, pushing each other down the hill, but once we got the snow packed into a run we had a blast. Well, 3 of us had a blast - I bet you can guess who didn't like it! But she loved swinging, even in 20 degrees!! We stayed out for about an hour before we really started to lose her! SO MUCH FUN! Griffin was excited to get back to this, though: Who has 4 thumbs and llluuuuuvvvvs hot chocolate? These guys!

Carlie came over to play yesterday. I was thinking about how both these wee ones live in the shadow of their big brothers. Don't get me wrong, they both have loving, creative, energetic, kind big brothers...but they don't have "girlie" play modeled for them. They live in a world filled with bugs, dinosaurs, cars, trains, knights, pirates and superheros. I decided it was time I start adding some feminine energy to their play, for balance, and what a more perfect time then NOW. After having a tea party, we pulled out the tutus. They each selected their own hat and since we were already playing with the finger puppets...well, now we have something. They absolutely loved flitting around the house, parade style, singing silly songs I was making up about butterflies. We had to stop in the living room for some spinning, so they could really understand the beauty of the tutu. They even had to have a hug, as if to say, "I am having a lot of fun with you!" ...

Today is Griffin's 100th day at school and to celebrate each kid is to wear a shirt with 100 things on it. Ta Da.....

So, I am working on a pretty big project right now that is going to be pushing my skills to the next level. Yeah, I love a challenge. I have never done any machine quilting so I decided I needed to practice on something. I found this quilt square that I had made last year but had turned out to small to use for that particular need. I found some decently coordinated fabric in my stash to back it with and went about learning to machine quilt. I actually really enjoyed it, alot more than I thought I would! It is far from perfect, but I don't think it's a terrible first piece. Back to the stash to find some fabric to brush up on my binding skills and Voila, we have a .......well, what is it exactly? I was thinking it could be a hot pad but the kids got a hold of it first and now it's a teddy bear's blankie. That works too, I guess!

Miss Lu thinks it is really fun to sneak up to my sewing table and start her own projects these days. While I want to encourage her to love art projects, her proximity to my rotary cutter scares me!! I have to be super careful to keep everything sharp put away. And if it is quiet for even a minute....I KNOW she is up to something!

So Griffin is teaching Lucy the art of dress up. I know, your terrified by this powerful knightress (or armed princess?)! She even has a...well, it's a saw, but she is pretending it's a sword, stuck in her pocket just like Griffin does. Although, Griffin usually has one sword in a pocket, one in the front of his pants and one in his shirt. I think he thinks its cool to reach behind his head to get his sword when confronted with a opponent. I love love love to see them playing together!!! It's a dream coming true.

This little one took a big step forward toward more independent play on Friday!!! Griffin wanted to go to Fun4kids as his reward on Friday afternoon. Lucy also loves it there, but just to watch the other kids play. Can I tell you how much I love that bit of drool on her chin...something only a mother could love? It is just so HER.... She has been really focused on the ball pit the last few times we were there and this time she was super brave and went in, all by herself!! I was so proud of her. This is a child that gets nervous when strangers (and family, for that matter) just look at her too hard. (I know, I know, ball pit..... contagious disease, scum, dirt, pee, all other forms of slimy nastiness. But sometimes, you've got to just cringe and let them do it anyways! It builds their immune system up, right? RIGHT????) She went in when it was empty, but even seemed to enjoy it when other kids joined her. She LOVES balls, so once she got comfortable....Let the games begin! Luc...

I, like all of you, have been consumed with distress over the earthquake in Haiti. The devastation there is absolutely unimaginable to me....let alone the living conditions there, pre-earthquake! I have seen on various news programs and again in e-mails I have recieved that you can donate $10 to the Red Cross , instantly, by texting "HAITI" to "90999". You will instantly get a reply asking you to text back "YES" to confirm your donation. This $10 charge goes onto your cell phone bill. It is a simple and easy way to do something to help. Sending wishes of healing, strength, courage, tenacity, needs being met, and peace to those in Haiti this morning and those who have loved ones there. If you know of other ways for us to help, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section.

These 3 bags were made as Christmas presents, but I didn't want to post photos until the last one had been opened. Now, I know it has, Voila.... They are kind of an all purpose bag, good for shopping, the library or just hauling around your stuff. I LOVE patchwork, so I was really happy to make these bags, and customize them for each person. The strap is adjustable, another nice touch to make it super usable. I plan to make up some to sell at my next sales opportunity! Anyone have any color combos they are loving right now? I always like to hear what people are really into each season.

I saw the directions to make this wreath a few months back, but just now got to make one. It was soooo easy and fun. For a fabric lover like myself, an ideal project. My only comment about this project is that it took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I think it took me about 6 hours all together. Cutting the fabric took a little while, but making a pattern with it really took some time. This one is, of course, for fall. I found the fabric on sale and loved it so now I will have to put it away for a while. It think it looks a little more "country" then I usually decorate but I am hoping it will still look pretty on my front door, come September. Now, I may just have to go out and get myself another "honey bun" in spring colors! :)

Arrrggghhhhh!! I just had a few more photos from the Christmas holiday that I wanted to post. Griffin is REALLY into dressing up (always pirate, ninja or knight) and he had Gran and MorMor sailing the high seas with him. And I had to post pictures of the hats the Amors made for the kids. I just LOVE handmade gifts....hmmmm wonder why! ;) And I had to put one last photo of Lucy and what probably was her favorite part of the holidays....cookies (you have to read that in the Cookie Monster voice!)

We got, like an inch of, snow yesterday. So, you know, OF COURSE, they had to cancel school. And, although we Michiganders roll our eyes, I know a big part of it is about getting the buses through the way out rural roads. And...predictably, school is cancelled today, but I think it is because it is soooo darn cold out. We had the to make the most of it yesterday, that's for sure! It actually wasn't too cold in the morning, so we bundled up in a mismatch of hand-me-downs (thanks Jessica!!) and layers. We get so little snow here, I didn't even buy winter boots for Griffin the past two years. I don't think it snowed at all last year, so no big deal. This year, I had to get super creative.....so I went with ghetto boots. You know, 2 large Ziploc bags and 2 rubber bands - HAHAHA. He didn't care and was just glad to get out. Lucy was VERY unsure of the whole white stuff bit. It took her about 10 minutes but she finally decided that she would use Griffin as a throne for...

It was so fun to see Lucy's excitement this year, as this whole Christmas "thing" was finally coming together for her. Oh...I see....this is what brother was talking about. We had a wonderfully relaxed and magical day. The kids started with stockings, the adults with mimosas. We were all donning our new Christmas pj's....and yes, you don't have to make fun of me behind my back, you can do it to my face, I totally am asking for it. I did buy Scottie dog pj's to match my daughters (I hang my head in shame of the cheesiness.....but we looked so cute! ;) ) Besides opening a mountain of presents, we fit in lots of giggles and cuddles, and of course, lots of great food. We started opening presents about 8:30 and I think the last one was opened about 6 pm...it was quite a day. Thankfully we had no where we had to be so if the kids wanted to stop and play with every toy as it was opened, it was no problem. We were soooo thankful that Bruce was with us for ...