my life is dependant on batteries!

i have not been blogging, i missed wordless wednesday this week and i sent a swap package out a day late all because the batteries in my camera died! i couldn't send out a box of goodies without taking pictures of the loot first! so i will now amuse you with make up photos~

i participated in the winter swap at the sewing mamas forums and here are the pretties i made for the mama portion of the swap~ hand beaded earrings and bracelets. i had so much fun making them and have decided i need to sit down and make myself some jewlery now... add that to my constantly growing crafty to-do list!

and for the kid's portion of the swap i did sets of 4 handmade cards. i made a few extra for my girls... they love this sort of thing!

i finally finished that everlasting soaker that i cast on who knows how long ago. we love how this fits our chunky little guy. it is now our new favorite diaper cover~ he even wears it under his mama-made fleece pants!

tony brought out the boxes of christmas decorations and hung all the outdoor christmas lights today... he is so proud that he got this done before december! so our house looks very festive even though he forgot to put the terra cotta pumpkins away so they are still sitting on the front porch. i bought fabric and rick-rack today so i can sew christmas stockings for the whole family. i hope to have them done this weekend. i am also planning to sew a new tree skirt and an advent calender. i will be sure to post many pictures of my crafty endevours in the next few weeks... so long as the batteries continue to cooperate...

sitting up, teething and squash, oh my!!

my not-so-little guy is growing so fast! too fast actually~ i really need him to slow down so i can enjoy each stage. at 6 months old he is able to sit up without help and play now. we are hoping that the hair on the back of his head will finally grow back now that he is up and moving around more! he hasn't tried to crawl yet but he can roll all over the living room.

he also cut 2 brand spankin' new teeth a couple weeks ago. they came in a couple days apart. soon after they broke through the gums he went through a tiny biting mama phase when he was nursing~ OUCH!! thank goodness it was short lived! so he now has an adorable toothy grin but you would never know since he won't smile for my camera. trust me, it is the cutest thing!

yesterday was thanksgiving and harper had his very first bite to eat! he has been very interested in watching us eat lately and seems a little put out that we don't offer him anything at meal times. i baked and pureed a butternut squash from my friend monique's garden and served it up to him after we ate turkey. it was a very fun, messy, and exciting adventure (exciting for esme' who thought this was just the coolest thing EVER!) he didn't actually swallow much but rather pushed everything right back out with his tongue. i am sure he will be clearing his plate in no time!

and esme is still the proudest big sister around~ she loves her "little" brother!

fabulous, fun, GiVeAwAyS!!!

this is an ever changing list of GiVeAwAyS! YaY! i try my best to keep it updated for you. if you have a giveaway that you would like included please e-mail me and let me know about it!

Win a Sakura Bloom Ring sling and Aden and Anais Swaddling Blankets from Nature's Child - Wholesome goods for Mothers and Babies

wordless wednesday! silly grins!

the mom song

mamas, our work is never done! grab a cup of tea, sit down, and enjoy!! you can fold that laundry later...

what inspires me...

my favorite baby carrier~

my brand new socks~

the super cute skirt i picked up on super clearence!

and fresh from the dyepot, Spa Espresso on 3 ply merino~

my favorite amy butler print~

and Woodland Meadow on single ply merino~

i will be stocking these lovely yarn colorways and more on Nov. 23rd forBig Black Friday Shopping at Majestic and Inspired Mama Creations!

come check it out!

wordless wednesday! 6 months old already!

christmas giveaways!!

for all of you who love great bloggy contests (i can't be the only one!) visit 5 Minutes For Mom for the Christmas Giveaway 2007~ there are 6 great giveaways listed so far! good luck!!

it is still autumn!!

in our house anyway! i really feel like this lovely season has been rushed through. christmas is everywhere already... there are displays and decorations out, holiday music playing in every store and of course those tell tale festive red starbucks cups are to be seen all over. i just want to enjoy my favorite season as long as possible... at least until after thanksgiving!

so that being said, i am on my out on this chilly autumn afternoon to grab a cinnamon latte from my favorite locally owned coffee shop... no peppermint for me yet!

birthdays are delicious!

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, NIKO!!!!

discovering family fun!

our family visited The Discovery Center of Idaho friday with some of our cloth diapering friends. we spent 3 hours wandering and playing and having fun. riley and niko were out of school for the day and tony did not have to work. it was one of those rare times where all 6 of us were all together!

and what kind of a blogging mommy would i be if i didn't have lots of pictures to document our trip?!

here is niko making a pen drawing~

and riley, thrilled to be spending his day off with his family (he really did have a great time, i promise!!)
they have the cutest little play market, complete with shopping lists, carts, baskets, cash registers and shelves stocked with goods. esme' and niko spent a good chunck of time in there playing... i mean shopping!
esme', checking out. see her little bear on her back? she wore her the whole day.
this was the animal hospital. she was bandaging up a little bunny. when i asked what happened to the bunny she said "she lost her neck." yeah, that's bad, but nothing that a little gauze can't fix!

this is a chair where you pull yourself up with a rope. niko did the pulling for esme'...

and here she is pulling herself up.
this is one of our favorite exhibits... the bubble wall!
i realized after uploading all these pictures that we don't have any of harper! you can see him on my back... he spent most of the trip sleeping back there.
and i couldn't resist posting this cute little photo of esme'. we left there hungry and tired... and we can't wait to go back!

wordless wednesday! pumpkins!

last week jack-o-lantens, this week a squirrel's feast!

non toxic toys

we will be very careful this year when making our holiday purchases. the recent toy recalls have made us more aware than ever about what we let our kids eat, wear and play with. this is no easy task as only 10% of toys are manufactured here in the US. 80% are made in china and 10% are made in other misc. countries. another strike against parents is even if you find safe, natural toys made in the US they are often a hard sell to kids as they aren 't battery operated, extremely loud or adorned with a favorite cartoon or tv personality.

here are a few websites i have found that sell safe toys:

etsy is a great source for handcrafted and often one of a kind items

Rosie Hippo: http://www.rosiehippo.com/ they have over 1000 products and only 10 are made in China. These are clearly marked on the website.

Willow Tree Toys: http://www.willowtreetoys.com/ this link here will take you directly to the country of manufacturing - so you can search within that criteria.

The Wooden Wagon: http://www.thewoodenwagon.com/ european toys

Oompa toys: http://www.oompa.com// they have a blog and have set up a "made in Europe" category. Their very helpful blog provides is a lot of information about where European toy parts are sourced, and gives a toystore owner's perspective, who is also a mother. It's a great place to get some information like safty reports.

Magic Cabin: http://tinyurl.com/288ua4 all the toys have a country of origin listed and very few of them are made in china.

and if you would like to win some non toxic toys visit My Two Boys. they are having give aways throughout november. right now you can enter to win an adorable wood puzzle from La LaNatural or a cute little doll from Happy Green Bee! good luck!!

november!

really, november??! i can't believe it! i have been very busy, as usual. i am working on some toys for a hand made toy swap i am participating in with some other local mamas~ it is just another attempt to avoid any toys made in china this holiday! we are also getting ready for niko's 12th birthday. she will be 12 on the 12th!

and i have a couple knits in the works:

this is a wooly wonder everlasting soaker. it is supposed to fit up to 40 pounds so we will see how it works for my chunky boy! i am knitting it with gradient dyed peace fleece in my woodstock colorway.

and this is a pair of knucks! i took this pic a couple days ago and actually have this knuck completed and will cast on the second today... i hope! i LOVE this pattern! it is really easy and quick and i predict a pair of knucks for my whole posse this season! this is cascade 220 in heathered lime. i am knitting them on size 5's and they are perfect!

both of these wonderful patterns happen to be written by the same mama! pamela, have i reminded you how cool you are lately?!

Sesame Street - Buffy explains breastfeeding to Big Bird

this is a lovely clip from 1977. enjoy!