Thursday, January 28, 2010

what happens

Just for the record, this is what happens when you try to piggy-back someone who only weighs 2 pounds less than you do...

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

finished (and nearly finished) goodies

I am still in love with this plum-colored yarn I found! I used it to make these little shorties - aren't they too cute?

And I'm almost finished with the other project for someone special in my family. I know it's terribly wrinkly looking, but it is a work-in-progress, and that's just the way these things go. I'm free-handing the words, which honestly made me a bit nervous, as I, ahem, do not have the best handwriting in the world... but I told myself that they're just lines like anything else I draw or stitch, and keeping that in mind seems to be working.

I have decided that I really like embroidery. For one thing it is a pretty cheap hobby. Five bucks could get you a hoop, thread, and a fat quarter, and then you're off. I also like it because drawing is not something that terrifies me, so I don't have to pay for patterns to stitch. I think the main trick with embroidery seems to be finding something you can actually use it for (I'm not into throw pillows), but I actually came up with a little list of things I could use some embroidery for, and tacked it inside my sewing cabinet.

And last of all, here's the Green Map, which is going in my little Etsy shop. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!


What do you think?

Monday, January 25, 2010

the weekend


The boys had a great weekend, playing games together and reading some more of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and discovering that Mama's water bottle has "Oz" written all over it! Hey, when I was little, I assumed that all states (just like other countries) had their own measuring standards. After all, all our shampoo bottles were always measured in Florida ounces (FL oz)...

Hoping for a little bit of sunshine, so I can get some pics of the work I finished this weekend! Have a great day!

Friday, January 22, 2010

bits of work

So for our latest "big" reading project I picked The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When we finish our school work for the day, me and the boys cuddle up on the couch and read two or three (translate: how ever many they can talk me into) chapters. Our copy has such great line drawings sprinkled throughout the text that I photocopied a couple and let the boys color them. When Levi was done he glued them onto a page for his school book, and then narrated to me as much as he could from the first five chapters, which filled an entire page.In case you are wondering, Micah is totally absorbing it too, because every once in a while he'll shout, "We saw dat in da movbie!" Which brings up another point: Levi is wondering why they made the movie different. Why did they give her ruby slippers, instead of silver shoes? (I know, I know, the red probably filmed better at the time...) I wonder what he'll think as we go further along... (dang. classic or not, maybe we should have read the book first, and then saw the movie for fun. note to self)


And some other work going on around here: some knitting on my needles (could not stop myself from buying that plum-colored wool, thank you for the gift card Gramma & Grampa!)...
A great deal of Bob-building. Micah likes to fix stuff to the tunes of the Bob the Builder CD (though both boys are getting a total kick out of the nearly-wordless Wall*E soundtrack - totally my kids!). He's been wearing his "Bob Builder Hat" a lot lately...


And some stitching I'm working on (with crayon tinting) for someone special...

In that second shot I turned on the flash so you can see the really light leaf motif built into the fabric, but you hardly notice it in real life!

Oh, and before I go, I want to say that Levi got an A+ on his spelling test! The harder words from this list, that he can now spell, are: Gramma, Grampa, Kevin, and Jesus. He had a tough time with Kevin. Three of the letters are the same as his own name, and they're in the same order, but the vowels make completely different sounds! He was really, really proud of himself when I wrote a great big A+ on his test!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

our first charity quilt is finished!

Isn't that exciting? Our first quilt for a little baby who doesn't have much is finished! We worked with a faith-based group, Margeret's Hopechest, to build this one! We contacted them through the email at their website, and they sent us the pre-cut fabric for the quilt top. Levi had a blast designing all the 9 piece blocks, and plus he decided (with a teeny bit of help from Mama) how to arrange the blocks when they were finished. He kept saying things like: "I think the baby will like green..." and then he would thoughtfully choose the next piece of fabric.
We finished the back with some super-soft and snuggly pirate material, and I did a simple turn & topstich for the binding (this was my first real quilt).

We'll keep working on our Log Cabin quilt for charity as we collect baby-friendly themed fabric scraps, but that will probably take a while!
And what did Micah think about all this, you might wonder? He patted the big sandwich of quilt I was layering together on the table, and asked me to make one for him next. You know, so "You can tuck me in wid it, Mama..."
How could I say no to that?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

friends

We had a great time visiting our friends the other day. Their two-year-old even shared his brand new Christmas train set with my boys!
You know what I love about this shot? It's the vest! Levi has worn that thing ragged -He wears it all the time. It hardly ever matches anything, and it got way squished out of shape, but he loves it. I actually had to re-block it after we got home that day (that's where you stretch a wet, knitted garment to the proportions you want, and let it dry that way. Wool is smart, so it actually stays there. Cool, huh?).

Hmmn... Maybe I should have made him two.

Monday, January 18, 2010

train track

Trains, trains, everywhere trains! Even Mama makes a wonderful train track!

Friday, January 15, 2010

WORMS!!!

Wow. When I started the homeschool adventure I had no idea that we would be farming worms. Seriously. But at Christmas we received two cool science kits: butterflies and worms. We decided to save the butterflies for spring, and do the worms first. They are boys, so that explains that!
See the black sides? They're actually panels that you can slide out, so you can see where the worms are, kinda like an ant farm.

And they only need to be fed once every 2 or 3 weeks! Awesome!


The kit came with several experiments you can do, so I'm sure we'll have a weekly worm visit around here for the next couple of months.
And the cool part (from Mama-view)? No cage to clean, no water bowl to fill. And after 3 to 4 months we'll take them outside and dump them into the garden! Perfect timing!
And the boys? Well, they got to help fill the worm farm and were fascinated by the 30 or 40 squigglers we put in there! They can't wait to see what's happening in there tomorrow!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

the hole


Um, yeah, tents are great, but lets build it in reverse and call it a hole, okay? I tell you one thing, you never know what you'll find around here if you turn your back to do five minutes of dishes! This was definately a new one on me, and the pair of them had a great time.

Monday, January 11, 2010

peanut butter play dough

Mix equal parts peanut butter and dry milk. Add a drizzle of honey. Instant, edible fun!

Friday, January 8, 2010

we love books

Levi and I are off to our first homeschooling review this morning, and he is so excited to show off his "book," which is a collection of some of the work he's done this year. His favorite parts? The drawn quilt-blocks with the picture he drew about The Quiltmaker's Gift and his science section, because that's where his animal sketches are.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

art, hugs, and crafts

Sometimes Levi and I do his art projects while his brother's resting. I drew the outline of the fish and he cut it out and then I had to do the holes. Then Levi oh-so-seriously taped down our bits of tissue paper all across the back. He was thrilled with the results when we flipped that fish over and hung it in the sunlight!
Later we had a cuddle after everyone had gotten their p.j.'s on, at Micah's insistence. He was hoping to convince his Mama that he could just rest on the couch with her all night (hardy, har, har)...


And here's my big boy, testing out his new mama-made vest that he insisted I needed to make him. We never wore anything like these growing up in south Florida, but around here, they're just perfect for keeping in the warmth without adding another hulking layer. He seems to like them, at least, and wore his to Tuesday church, proudly showing it off to the woman greeting us at the door.


Monday, January 4, 2010

More Christmas '09 Pics

More pics from Christmas!









It was such a nice Christmas! Thank you Gramma & Grampa!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Christmas Pics

So here (finally) are some of the pics from Christmas! Everything from our adventure in the car (yes, I let the no-TV thing slip on road trips), singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, stockings, and presents!















Micah wore that fish hat for hours - certainly made me feel like I'd spent my time well! I'll have more on Monday - Happy New Year's everyone!