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.

we make a good team! (a year later)

For Christmas, Karl and I made the kiddos at wooden play kitchen. I've had my eye on a particular kitchen for years, since it is made in the US, is gender neutral, and appears to be quite sturdy (a must in this house!), but it just wasn't in the budget. So, last LAST Christmas. That's right... 2010 I drew out a plan on paper, we purchased all the supplies, and then failed to find the time to make this. This year we were determined. Karl was up until 2am on December 23rd (true to this family's procrastinating ways) sanding, drilling, and assembling this sweet kitchen. It turned out perfect! The kids love it, I love it, and so far it has already baked 137 pizzas and made 322 pots of wooden vegetable soup. LOVE! And a bonus? Since we made this ourselves, we were able to make it a pretty good height for our taller-than-average children. Hoping this will be played with for years to come.

The kitchen's current home is in our dining room. Some homes I go into I noticed that all the kids' toys are tucked away into bedrooms and the living room/dining room/kitchen all appears to be "adult" space. That's lovely for some families, but I really want to create a home atmosphere that is child friendly in every room. Though they do have toys in their rooms too, I don't want my children to feel like they have to be isolated in bedrooms to play, and my husband and I like to be involved in their play. So keeping some of the shared toys in common areas of our home is a good solution. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep it looking neat.

Oh, and that stick above it? That's where we hung the stockings. I'm not sure what to do with it now that the stockings are gone though. It's such a cool looking branch I kinda want to leave it there, but I'm not sure what to do with it. Hang a cute heart garland on it for Valentine's day? Make a cute felted bird's nest to tuck into one of the curves of it? Put it back outside where I tell Max everyday is where sticks belong? Hmmm... Any suggestions?

i'm loving...

This was actually a post of photos I put together last month, but for some reason it never got posted. What a beautiful winter afternoon it was with my boys. I'm thinking I need to move someplace where the sun is always shining. 

back to work!

sweet baby M helping mama knit.

Oh my, life sure has been busy with three babes! We are now back in school, and back at work. This is the first time I have ever worked right after having a baby. Mad was 5 months old when I went back to work at the school, but then I just worked a few months and the school year was over. after that I taught preschool for a year before having Maxi, and have stayed home up until last January. I had the summer off, then worked up until the end of October and am back to work already from my maternity leave. It's CRAZY hard to leave the kiddos everyday, but I can at least find peace in knowing I'm doing what's best for my family for now. I also find peace in knowing that the school year is over in June and I'll have the whole summer to spend with my three beautiful babes. :) Two of my children's grandmas (they have LOTS of grandmas!) spent time with the boys this first week I was back at work (THANK YOU!!), and next week is the start of going to Uncle Zach's house everyday to play with him and sweet Gavin, their one and a half year old cousin. What fun! I feel like the next six months are going to go by in a flash, which is bittersweet. I can't wait for summertime, but to think about tiny Milo being eight months old by the time I get to be at home everyday does make me a little sad, so for now I'll just concentrate on the fact that I will, in fact, get to be home with him (and the other two!) everyday in just six short months. Hopefully that will preserve my sanity. :)