style.

this is what happened when madelynn found me trying to take a nap on the couch in my pj's. it was apparent that i was lacking in style. don't worry, she fixed that.
:)

incognito.

seriously, this silly moustache was fun for the whole family. the designer of this pattern is a genius.
:)

mo.

here's our update from movember. ok, we failed with the fundraiser, but now that we know it exists, we'll totally plan ahead for next year.
:)

just in time!

i'm so glad i finished these little guys up in time to toss 'em in madelynn's stocking.
next mission: attempt to make some little enough for maximus in time for christmas.

:)

handmade christmas:: part 2.

now that i am finally sitting upright for more than just a few minutes at a time, i was able to cut out all these pieces of fabric (thanks largely to my mother) for a sweet little project out of anna maria horner's book, seams to me. this is my first official project out of the book, but i can't wait to make each and every one!!

watch the mail!

love you!

:)

handmade christmas:: the gift wrap.

madelynn and i have been busy making gift wrap "envelopes" by cutting up and painting paper grocery bags.

most difficult...

this little project has by far been my most difficult knit to date.
i'm just glad i finished it...

:)

handmade christmas:: the stockings.

here they are! i'm so happy with how they turned out. in order of appearance: karl's, madelynn's, mine, and maximus'. max's is done in a cute santa toile. it's much more manly than it looks in the picture.

i have yet to finish all the names, but they'll look like this.

:)

a gift for a wiseguy.

:)

handmade christmas:: part 1.

goal: spend as little money as possible for christmas this year. focus: spending time together and starting traditions our little ones will remember. current project: turning this stack of fabric into stockings. :)

thanksgiving.

here's a boy who very much enjoyed his first tastes of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie.




he also discovered his spit bubble capabilities, which he takes very seriously.



and here's us attempting a family photo. we definitely have much to be thankful for. i hope everyone had a great thanksgiving weekend. :)

pieces...

Here are some pieces of Christmas knitting I've been working on, which includes my very first lace piece. And that's all I have to say about that... can't give too much away, you know.

hooray for knitted pants.

here are the pants i finally finished for maximus. these were a fun knit once i acquired all the correct needle sizes.

i'm not exactly sure what this face is saying... i think it's a mix of him loving the pants, being impressed with himself for sitting on his knees without falling over, and fear that he is about to fall over.

halloween:: the kids.

maximus as a turtle on his first halloween.


madelynn was a pumpkin fairy.


just before trick or treating with john and samina.

mo.

For the month of November, I'll be supporting my husband in his growth of a 'stache. He is participating in Movember and growing a mustache to raise awareness for and support prostate cancer research. Don't worry, I'll keep everyone up to date on his mo, beginning Movember 1st. Oh, and go here if you'd like to donate to the cause or to join our team. :)

happy fall.

i sometimes plan too much. i had a great craft project for madelynn to do today, but she insisted on making a hat. a "happy fall" hat. so i spontaneously folded a paper hat for her, but was completely puzzled as to what to do in order to make it be a "happy fall" hat. that's where she took over. she knew exactly what she wanted and did not hesitate to shove me out of the way and glue, glue, glue. turned out pretty original. and cute, too. :)

whoa, look what i can do!

i just found some pretty sweet photoshop actions online and was playing with some photos. can you tell a diference? well, can ya?

max's first pumpkin adventure.

our family visits the pumpkin patch, and enjoys guiding maximus on his first pumpkin adventure ever!

where has this been all my life?!

my only experience with wallpaper was in second grade. my teacher had a stash of tacky wallpaper samples we were allowed to cut up and glue to things for arts and crafts. also, whenever i see wallpaper on tv, it is usually on those home makeover shows where people are painstakingly and usually unsuccessfully trying to shred it off their walls. however, laying in bed tonight, i found i couldn't sleep because visions of wallpaper were dancing around in my head. i really want to make my kid's framed silhouette pictures backed with pretty wallpaper. weird? maybe. but i think it will be cute. so, here i am, online WAY too late looking at wallpaper designs. and here. is. what. i see. i think i am falling in love. aren't all those designs too cute for words? i see them fitting into a nursery in the future house of my dreams--i raise my kids peter pan style, all shoved in one room. call it a nursery. it sounds better than "all shoved in one room."

alright. now you all see my new obsession. don't judge me. i'm going to bed. :)

xoxo

sweet ride.

i oh-so-totally hope to win this sweet ride so that someday when i move into town i can rock the "soccer mom" look on two wheels!

something to aspire to...

I haven't read Elizabeth Zimmerman's books. In fact, I haven't read anything but childrens' books for a while. I like to completely immerse myself in my reads, and there's not much time for that with two littles running around. So instead, I knit. My mom knits too, and she reads. And she just so happened to read some Elizabeth Zimmerman. She told me Elizabeth Zimmerman had been known to knit while reading. That's some crazy-cool multitasking skills, if you ask me. Now, I don't think I'm comparable to Elizabeth Zimmerman at all--trust me, I'm not!-- but I do think that knitting while reading aloud to children is definitely something to aspire to!


PS- as if I don't already have enough cast on, I decided to also add the the list a pair of pants for Maximus. So cute!! :)

Be well!

tattoos!

We spend last weekend with Annie and Todd and baby Remi, and as a result, the whole family was tattooed! Madelynn and Maximus took advantage of Uncle Todd's tattooing skills, and so did Karl and I on a more permanent level. Max's, however, proved to be the most photo worthy even if it did wash off the bathtub later. :)

who'da thunk?

i never thought plain cheerios could taste so good. that is, until they were fed to me by these wonderfully chubby little hands. suddenly those little cardboard o's were heart-warmingly delicious.

more knits!

i am currently working on a few projects, only two of which are photo worthy though--a pair of cabled legwarmers for madelynn and a wool soaker for maximus. hope this post finds you well. :)

updates!

i finally finished another knit.

she's learning to pedal.

he sits up all by himself.
both babes are goofy...
...especially this one!!but you already knew that. :)