manly knits.

Here is a fun set of knits that I made for a friend to give to her man. I just wanted to show you, in case you might be inspired to knit a quick(ish) gift for a special guy in your life. For the scarf I followed the simple instructions for a striped scarf found here, but obviously I didn't stripe the whole thing, based on the request for "just a few stripes". I'd love to try it again sometime though, using this yarn.

For the mitts, I used the Manly Mitts pattern I found on ravelry. Will definitely be making them again soon. I could tell Karl liked them when he modeled them for these photos. :)

this moment.

from SouleMama:
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

The plus side to working.

(this might be a stretch, but I'm really pushing to make myself see ALL the positives here)
I figured it out! After my first two pregnancies, I lounged around in sweat pants until my pre-pregnancy wear fit me again, but one of the plus sides to going back to work is that I don't fit in my non-maternity clothes, yet most of my maternity clothes are too big and sloppy. I need work-wear. That means I NEED to go shopping, right? Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of it. Weird, I know. I do love new clothes to wear. I just don't enjoy trying to pick things out and I also hate getting all jazzed up to buy clothes and then finding out that nothing in the store fits me right. Plus, it is insanely hard to try clothes on while wearing a baby in the Moby and tripping over two kiddos. The last few times I've bought clothes (not any time recently, mind you) I avoided that situation all together and just ordered online with the knowledge that I could try it on in the comfort of my wn bedroom and just send back/exchange whatever didn't work out. Somehow, that seems easier to me and more enjoyable to me. But, staying true to my 12 in 2012 goals, I decided I need to either sew up some wardrobe fixes or go to a thrift store. Then the big storm came, and I decided shopping for clothes wasn't important right now so I put the idea aside. Then, since the big storm came, I decided I should get my little man Maximus some snow pants and Goodwill seemed like the place to look. While we were there I thought maybe I should swing through the women's section. I was in luck!! TWO pairs of pants that looked brand new and were in what I guessed my size might be, and when I got them home they fit perfectly! Woo-hoo to not wearing maternity pants to work. Hehe. Also, Mad scored three pairs of pants (one with the store tags still on them) and Maximus got a great little outfit, but they were fresh outta snow pants. Bummer. Anyway, add in the two books we grabbed to entertain Max while we shopped and we were outta there for just under $30. What a deal. I feel like a secret to be successful in a thrift store is going in without specifics in mind. This is hard for me, but I'm hoping to get lots of practice throughout the year. ;)

this moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

"this moment" is being posted on Sunday instead of Friday this week because we only JUST got our power back after being in the dark since Thursday morning. we had lots of lovely moments this week reading and playing board games by candle light, cozying up at my mom's house for warmth from the gas fireplace, and also spending the night at my brother's house. they live across town and got their power back on yesterday. but this photo from Tuesday takes the cake. we had a whole evening's worth of fun playing in our own little jug band. we had max on the drum, which he got for his birthday, daddy on the guitar, mad on the bottles, and mama on the "uke-a-lady". as you can see, this family is quite serious about music. ;)

a whole foot!

We woke up to over a foot of snow yesterday. Made me wish we had snow shoes or cross country skis. The kids were so funny playing in it. Maximus just kept falling over saying, "Uh-oh I'm stuck!" Then after getting helped out of his hole, we'd hear it again 2 seconds later. We definitely aren't use to this much snow around here, but I have enjoyed getting to spend a full week together as a family. Yesterday afternoon the power went out, which meant dinner by candlelight followed with Uno Moo and Candy Land. It was a nice change of pace! :)

Maximus and I having a gelato date last February at our fav restaurant.

The whole family has had the pleasure of being at home all week so far, with school being canceled and Karl's work on hold until the weather clears up. Can you say cabin fever?! It's much colder and way more snowy than usual, so we're not quite used to it around here. The kids want to play outside, but we lack adequate snow gear, so our ventures out to play are cut short by cold, wet pants (Maximus outgrew last year's snow pants and I didn't think he'd need new ones this year until it was too late!) and frozen cheeks. Speaking of the boy, it seems like little Maxi has been pushing my buttons and trying our patience in general lately, but then when we're worn out and about to be pushed over the edge he has little ways of making us laugh and putting things into perspective for us. Last night it was when he kept getting out of bed. He's a persistent little guy, that's for sure! Finally he started to settle down and called for Karl to come in there, asking Daddy if he would sleep with him. Karl walked in and I heard him ask Max to scoot over in his bed, followed by Max's response (in his sweetest voice), "No, Daddy, you can sleep on the floor. I'll get you a pillow." And then Max pranced out to the couch for a pillow and tucked his daddy in on the floor of his room. It completely cracked me up. He's in a funny place, having just turned three and beginning to really enjoy his role as Big Brother and his capabilities toward being independent, yet still sometimes wanting to have special time to snuggle with just Mommy or Daddy. He has never been much of a cuddler, the way his sister is, which means I really enjoy the special moments when he stops running long enough for a long hug, or insists that I read "just three" books to him at bedtime. I hope these last.

Here are a few snapshots that my amazing mother in law took on Max's birthday this weekend. We had a tiny party for him with some friends and family, and he had a great time. It was nice and little-boyish, complete with "dirt cake" and too many chips.  :)

happy birthday max!

January 2009

It was three years ago that Maximus joined our family, and has both filled our home with laughter and kept us on our toes ever since. Maxi boy, I hope you know just how much you are loved by each of us. Happy Birthday, little man. I can't believe how much you have already grown up in just three years. You have turned into such a sweet little boy and I so enjoy watching you grow and change.

this moment.

inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

our next build.

I am seriously loving Ana White's website. This "helping tower" is going to be our next build. It is quite similar to this one, which I've had my eye on for a few years, but just couldn't justify the purchase for our small home and budget. But, since we could build this one for a fraction of the cost, and since she also gives instructions for making it fold flat (!), we are excited to give it a try.

Ever since building a bookcase a few years ago, and then recently building the play kitchen, Karl and I have decided it feels so good to build things for our home that we have lots more plans on the horizon for building.