hello.

has it really been 6 months since i was here last?!?

we have been busy with a newly remodeled house and new family member.  it has been a crazy half year but things are settling down a bit and hopefully i will be back here on a somewhat regular basis.  i miss it and i have lots of bloggy ideas popcorning around in my head (along with a million other non-related, but important ideas) that always seem to come to the forefront of my mind during a middle of the night nursing session.

happy 4th!

sweet sewing

i made this little criss-cross pinifore for maeve the other night.  i made the pattern myself, based on a shirt that maeve already had.

it cuts out in just two pieces, the outside and the inside, which made it super easy...

and reversible!

she wore it a couple of times, but i decided it was a little bit small.  i have a slightly larger one cut out and will hopefully sew it tonight.  i gave the one pictured to a sweet little friend (her mom was my college roommate).

mud kitchen

i have been seeing so many inspirational mud kitchens over at let the children play, that i have been longing for one.  but since we are not living at home right now, i haven't been able to find a way to make one work for us.  then we went over to my friend roxanne's house and she created an amazing mud kitchen!  maeve loved it!  roxanne used freecycle to collect all of the necessary part and pieces.  her yard had lots of spare pine cones, rocks and sticks, perfect ingredients for a mud kitchen.

she also made a rock roll which maeve was not super interested in but i know calvin would love it.  i can't wait to make one at our house (someday)!  thanks for the inspiration roxanne!

celebrating the last of winter

the snow is (finally) melting. i am starting to see the blades of grass that have been hidden for months now. i can smell the cold rain falling. this has been a long winter for this california girl. spring is coming... i am longing for spring with my whole self, but mindfully trying to savor these last days of winter. when my mind wanders to thoughts of gardening and bulbs blooming and no jackets, i try to pull it back to today, now. to help me rediscover the love for days spent (mostly) inside i pulled out a few favorites last week.

finger paints. this changed our whole afternoon. it was freeing and fun. calvin loved making everything turquoise. he liked the impermanence of making letters in the paint and then then painting over them to make new ones. maeve loved swirling the paint around and around.

button sorting. this was a spur of the moment idea and it turned out to be very entertaining. she sort and then dumps and repeats. she then carries it around like a little suitcase.

so for today we are enjoying out last few days spent (mostly) inside, seeing old things with new eyes and new possibilities. i am enjoying the closeness of my little ones as we share the same space, as i know once spring is here and we head outside, we will have much more physical space between us. for now, we can still enjoy hot cocoa and the occasional winter song (maeve asks for frosty the snowman daily), warm soup from a friend and flashlight fun after dinner. this california girl is going to savor these last few weeks of winter, be present and mindful of how fast they will go.

more christmas crafting

sam and i have a tradition of giving each other an ornament each year.  we like to search and search for just the perfect, little, sometimes quirky ornament.  this year i found these little houses here and i just couldn't resist.  i took liberty with the idea of an 'ornament' but sam loved them just the same.  

maeve got a stocking this year!  last christmas somehow passed us by and little miss moo did not have a stocking.  i was determined to remedy that this year.  i had pink and green fabric fabric that matched the stocking i made calvin a few years ago so i decided to use it.  i wasn't sure about the whole matchy-match thing but i loved how they looked hanging together on our mantle.  i used the martha stewart pattern found here on her site.

snow day already called for tomorrow!  we are supposed to get 12 inches!  i am looking forward to an impromptu relaxing day at home with the little ones...

it fits (finally!)

the bonnet that i knit for maeve last christmas finally fits her! i knit so tight that i try to knit with larger needles but sometimes my gauge gets thrown totally off in the other (bigger) direction. but luckily her head grew in the last year, woo hoo!

i am diligently trying to finish a tunic i am knitting for her (that i started in the summer!) for this christmas.  i think i can, i think i can...

blueberries!

:: cal finding the perfect berries ::

:: cleaning our berries ::

:: making blueberry jam ::

:: eating loads of berries! ::

we went blueberry picking with some friends last weekend, and we have been relishing our bounty all week.  we made blueberry jam, which turned out way better than two years ago (which turned out very thick...).  i decided to use the strawberry jam recipe from this book because the strawberry jam i made last month was the best. jam. ever.  it calls for three cups of berries per one cup sugar but we did six cups berries per one cup sugar, which is what i did with the strawberries too, and it was perfectly sweet.  

i also made blueberry sauce (which trader joe's carried and was a family favorite for pancakes and waffles, but they discontinued it :( and all i could find at other markets was blueberry flavored syrup... yuck!).  i found this recipe and it came out pretty good too, not exactly the same as the tj's one, but it will do!

i love picking our own berries!  i love that we get to enjoy our berries all year long and remember the sunny, summer days of berry picking!

butterfly party!

for maeve's first birthday party, we threw a butterfly party!  i know a one year old doesn't really need a themed birthday party, but it just makes deciding on the decorations, sweets and favors easier if i have a direction to go in.

:: my sweet girl on the day of her birth, her birthday crown and party favors in bags! ::

:: party favors for the girls... pink shirts with a butterfly appliqué ::

:: party favors for the boys... gray shirts with a butterfly appliqué ::

:: decorations and party craft... watercolored coffee filter butterflies ::

:: butterflies as decoration ::



:: butterfly dress i made for maeve (oliver + s pattern) ::



:: close up of front pleating ::



:: butterfly cupcakes with very green icing! (tutorial here) ::



:: enjoying the cupcakes and green icing ::

it was super hot and humid on party day so we started inside, tried to go outside midparty because it felt like it was getting a bit cooler but after awhile we all agreed that it felt like we were melting so we migrated back inside.  

i had lots of fun planning and making for the party and i know maeve had fun. she loved seeing her friends and all the attention, of course!  happy birthday!       

happy birthday maeve!

:: one year ago today ::

my baby girl is one today.  my emotions range from elated that she is one and so independent to crying that my baby is one already... the last year seemed to fly by.  i feel so lucky to be maeve's mama.  she is kind and gentle and curious beyond her one year.  she loves her brother with everything she has and the feeling is mutual.  my heart melts when she calls out my name, but it is "hi daddy" that she says all day long, to everyone she sees.  she loves to sleep and still takes 3 naps on most days.  i have sung 'shady grove' to her as i rocked her to sleep since she was just a few months (days?) old, and now that song instantly relaxes her (and me!).  bird was her first word, due in part to her bird mobile and in part to our bird house which was host to a sweet finch family this year.  maeve is an avid crawler and has stood on her own a few times in the past week.  i hope she takes her time with learning to walk (i am not ready!).  she loves to climb the stairs, and we are working on going down feet (not head) first.  she loves to blow kisses, and does so to random people much to their (and her) delight.  her favorite foods are berries and broccoli and anything off of calvin's plate.  she laughs a lot and often for no reason at all (that i know of) she will burst into laughter!  

happy first birthday sweet baby maeve!

{this moment}

inspired by soulemama.

{this moment}

inspired by soulemama.

weekly menu (a week late) and easter craftiness

this weeks dinners were a little crazy... so i did not get a chance to post our menu but here is what we ate:
m: roll up sandwiches with bell pepper spears & hummus
t: tuna salad
w: spinich ravioli and strawberries
r: pesto pasta with chicken and bread
f: chinese take out at a friend's house
s: flank steak, quinoa and veggies
s: pizza with salad

not sure what i am making this week yet. it is spring break so i might try some new/more complex recipes since i have a bit time, but my list of things to get done is growing quickly.

the picture above is maeve in her easter dress and bonnet. i made the bonnet from this pattern. it was really fun to sew up and it was quick, which is always so satisfying. i loved how it went with the dress (which is from target). i also sewed some pants for both of the kids. i used the method in the creative family. i made both of the pants match, which was cuter than it was cheesy. i did not take photos yet though so i will have to post pics later.

yay for easter bonnets and dresses and bare baby feet in lush green grass!

28::26

more food for maeve... mango & peach.

28:20

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

28::5

hangin out.

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!

christmas handknits

{bonnet for maeve}

{turquoise hat for calvin}

i finished two hand knits this christmas. a bonnet for maeve using the pattern in last minute knitted gifts and a turquoise hat for calvin (which he requested) using the pattern in baby knits for beginners.

i am a very slow knitter, especially if i am trying to knit from a pattern. i did get some help from omi, who is an expert knitter, who showed me how to knit and purl a little differently and i increase my speed significantly, but completely changed my gauge.

i will keep at it though, stitch by stitch, row by row.

maeve's bird mobile

i used this pattern. it was so easy and she loves it! and i love it. we spent quite awhile yesterday just staring at it, twirl round and round.

i also spent quite awhile staring at these striped legs. the tights are hand-me-downs from a friend's chicken costume. i find them hilarious and so, so cute.

maeve

she is four weeks old already. it has been crazy in some ways (but in not in the ways i expected it to be) and so amazing. she is a very mellow baby, which is so great in a second. she has the cutest scratchy little voice. she coos quite often (i think she is chatty like her mama). she especially coos at her brother. the is something magical about siblings. calvin loves her and kisses her constantly, all over, which i guess we all do...

here is a pic of her in the outfit i made. the pants are a perfect fit. they are roomy enough for the bulky cloth diaper and so soft. i want to make a few more, but i am still searching for the time.