most recent.

here are some things i'm working on at the moment.


:)

grumpy mornings.

although i wish everyone always woke up in my house on the right side of the bed, i kind of think its hilarious when madelynn has grumpy mornings--and i can also relate to her, being someone who needs to fully be awake and enjoying a latte before having the ability to engage in pleasant conversation, myself. anyway, this is how our conversation went this morning, after she comes out of MY room and slams the door. "good morning, madelynn. would you like some oatmeal with raisins for breakfast?" "YES! but first i want dessert, while i wait." i can tell she is already on the edge of a major breakdown, so i decide not to put too much emphasis on the fact that dessert does not come before breakfast in this house, and instead replied with, "oh, would you like some toast while you wait for oatmeal and raisins?" "but you said i could have oatmeal and SUGAR!" at this time, i just got up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast and then i hear, in a near panic, "MOMMY! WAIT!! you forgot to scratch my back!!!" oh dear, yes... how could anyone possibly wake up happy if they don't have their back scratched?! it heals all, i tell ya. from grumpy mornings, to nightmares.

spring means sewing. and going outside.

here's max sporting his newest super sweet mama-made shirt.

if you look really closely, you can almost see the owl i screen printed on it

.

i also finally got around to finishing this dress for madelynn. its made out of a bed sheet. she thinks that's pretty cool.

both of these items were completely inspired by tutorials i found at MADE. she's fantastic. and i'm LOVING the fact that i have something handmade to screen print on... the possibilities are endless!

:)

screen printing in seattle.

i am still partially recovering from last weekend, which i spent with my cousin in seattle. it was pretty much amazing. we got to go to honk fest in george town, shop at the brand new dick blick art store on capitol hill, and learn how to screen print. ok, so she already knew how, being that she's pretty much a jill of all trades. but i got to learn. screen printing is something i have been interested in for quite a while, as well as block printing. the closest i have gotten to either of those things is carving potatoes and printing with them. fun as that may be, the results aren't nearly as impressive as transferring drawings to screens and plastering the image all over anything and everything in sight (which i have been doing since i got home). i can't wait to take pictures and show everyone what i have been up to!!

:)

easter and other stories.

somewhere around last christmas my family kind of changed our stance on holidays. instead of focusing so much on the material things you find in stores and getting lost in the hustle and bustle of it all, we have decided to just take it slow. breathe in the real meaning of each holiday, rediscovering the history of each, and most importantly, we want to take time each holiday to be thankful and spend time together. so this has been the year we have begun to implement these thoughts. for easter this year we didn't have a photo-op with the easter bunny, the kids didn't get crazy huge baskets full of sugar, and we didn't exhaust ourselves by running to a whole bunch of egg hunts. instead, we simply enjoyed each other. in the days before easter we shared hot cross buns, dyed eggs together, and read about the origins of the holiday. and then on easter morning, john and sam decided to sponsor an egg hunt for madee and max. it was quite possibly the sweetest thing i have witnessed between the four of them. the two big kids hid all the eggs in their yard, and then teamed up to help each of the littles find them.

notice john's fort in the background. that kid will probably do just fine if stranded on a desert island... as long as he has duct tape! hey mom, need some quiet time? :)

and there they are. madee in her rubber boots (she's ALWAYS in her rubber boots!), and max in his soaking wet jeans. they had a GREAT time, despite maxi having a small run in with a fully charged garden hose. i hope everyone had an easter that was as heart felt and lovely as ours.

:)

in progress.

so it seems to me that i might post "in progress" knitting photos more often than i post about finished projects. there is a reason for this. the truth is, it's a whole lot easier to pick out scrumptious yarn and cast on than it is to finish an entire knit while trying to wrangle two very wonderfully active babes. but i do have lots of plans for fall knits. that is, after i finish two very important projects.

:)

priest point park in photos.