monday morning

it is already warm. another 100 degree day lies ahead, i am sure.

i just came in from watering my garden and pulling out the tiny weeds that had popped up since yesterday. i picked my first 2 cucumbers! they were planted late in the season and were sorry to begin with so we weren't sure they would make it.

today i am wearing cropped hemp pants, an old navy halter top and flip flops. my hair is in a ponytail. it is getting long enough that i pull it back far too often. i can't decide if i want to cut it short again or let it grow a little.

i am on my way out the door to drop off a very special swap package, and maybe stop and get a cup of coffee. no plans other than that. maybe a trip to the book store. maybe more sewing. or knitting. who knows...

mama makes!

this time i made a new baby carrier. here is our new, mama made onbuhimo in action. joel dewberry sparrows on one side,
and a robert kaufman bird print on the other. this is the first carrier i have ever made and i love the way it turned out. there are a couple cosmetic things i will do differently next time, like that little gap where the strap meets the headrest, but that will be easy to modify.
and, just because i couldn't resist, cheery new cloth napkins for our table!

in the spirit of mama made visit make-baby-stuff.com for even more inspiration!

pizza friday

tonight was turkey pepperoni pizza. boring, i know. i didn't get to the grocery store to buy gourmet pizza toppings so i just used what we had on hand. it was very good though and the kids loved it. this time i added chopped, fresh rosemary from our herb garden to the pizza dough and it was wonderful.

i promise, next time pizza friday will much, much more exciting!

ginger blossoms, recycled shopping bag and tiny tees!

my sewing machine and i have been very busy this week. yesterday i completed this place mat, cloth napkin and pot holder set in the lovely ginger blossoms print from michael miller. it is for the bend the rules sewing swap and i will have a hard time packing it up and sending it away. but, i am sure i will get something lovely in the mail in exchange and i will be sure to share photos of my loot when it arrives. you can visit the BTRS flickr group to see more swap sets as well as other goodies created from the book.

and this little shopping tote was sewn from a beautiful thrifted print. i have just enough left for a little dress for esme' or maybe a skirt for mama. my friend jessica wrote up a very clever tutorial for these shopping bags. perhaps she can be persuaded to publish it for all to enjoy...

and i also found time to make up these cute little tees for harper and esme' for a very special local news appearance tomorrow~ i will be sure to blog about that later, but i bet you can guess from the tees that we will be talking about cloth diapering!

jam berries

under the bridge and over the dam

looking for berries, berries for jam

~from Jamberry by bruce degen

strawberries were on sale at my local grocery store this weekend so i packed 4 pounds of them home to make freezer jam!
here is the recipe i used:

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups crushed fresh strawberries (my 4 pounds of berries was just about 4 cups crushed, after we snacked on 6-7 berries!)
8 cups sugar
2 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin like (sure jell)
1 1/2 cups water

DIRECTIONS:
Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.

there you go~ easy peasy and oh, so sweet and yummy! our breakfast waffles and lunch pb&j's will be never be the same... or at least not until the freezer jam runs out!

summer lovin'!

my summer-time top ten, in no particular order!

1. the sun! i think i was about to crack under the pressure of gray clouds for months and months.

2. my garden. i absolutely love going out each morning to water the plants and see how they have changed. i have my first two tiny green tomatoes and several little cucumbers out there right now!

3. playing outside with the kids until dark. i love hanging out in the back yard watching them run and slide and swing~ esme' will swing for hours and hours. this is the first year she is able to pump her legs so she can swing with no one pushing her.

4. bedtime bath. the kids are filthy from head to toe by the time they come in for the night. sometimes they are barely recognizable! i love putting them in the tub and watching all the dirt and grime rinse away leaving squeaky clean kissable kiddos behind!

5. music! we love live music! alive after five is one of our favorite free events during the summer. there is nothing better than watching your barely walking 13 month old get his groove on at an outdoor concert *swoon*

6. freckles! what is cuter than summer freckles on little noses?!

7. weekend camping trips. okay, i have to admit, i have outgrown my love for sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, but throw in an air matress and i am, pardon the pun, a happy camper!

8. iced coffee!! i am especially loving the menu here!

9. my sewing machine. the change in the weather has promted me to put my knitting needles away and plug in my machine. my sweet, sweet hubby even made it possible for me to sew on the deck out back so i can stitch away while the kids play!

10. this guy has been a huge part of my summer soundtrack. we are looking forward to seeing him live this september, for the third time! we are GreeneHeads!!

wanna play along? visit ashlee at the mama's nest and link up your summer top ten!

milky on the go!

this is what our breastfeeding relationship has come to! harper often just stops in for a quick sip on his way to the next big adventure. there are times when i feel like a drive through restaurant (or breastaurant rather!) but as busy as he is these days there is still nothing sweeter than snuggling up in mama's arms to nurse when he is all toddled out.

i want to capture these moments and lock them away in my heart so i will never, ever forget how it was when he was little and mama was the most important person in his world. someday, when he is a big kid, i can remind him about milky on the go and we can giggle about how silly he was. and maybe it will remind the two of us of those special days when all we wanted was each other. mommy, baby and milky.

the box

our box became a puppet theater. if you look close you can see harper back in the corner messing with the stereo~ i guess he was in charge of the volume.
today we decided to cut a hole in the box to make the puppet theater even better. and i have volunteered to sew curtains for it. and just a few minutes ago i caught myself saying "be careful! don't rip the box!" yes, we love this box...

pizza night

tonight was homemade pizza friday~ the first of many i am sure! it ended up being only myself, esme' and harper. the big kids had plans with friends and tony was at work. so, on the menu this evening we had spinach and mushroom pizza on whole wheat crust. it was very good, but i think i may try a different crust next time. maybe an herb crust...
and look ma! no hands!


after we sufficiently stuffed ourselves with homemade pizza and cleared the table and cleaned the dishes (and the baby!) we took a little walk to dairy queen for even more deliciousness. have i mentioned how much i am loving summer?

just stopping in for a quick fly by post~ we have been busy with park days, free movies at the theater, running through the sprinkler and plenty of sewing. i might even have a few projects to share by this weekend!

esme's brand new car seat was delivered to our doorstep this morning and the box it came in has provided the kids with hours of entertainment. i have been able to clean the kitchen, fold laundry and sit to blog... all uninterrupted!! this, my friends, is huge around our house!

happy, happy father's day!!

to my daddy~

and theirs!daddy's are the best nap time snugglers!

have a wonderful day Dads everywhere~

the fun continues...

we all slept in today. like really slept in, each and every one of us, except for daddy who had to get up for work. it felt wonderful! we were outside until 9:30 last night playing. when we came in we popped up a big batch of popcorn in our whirley pop and watched a movie. then the girls slept on their bedroom floor in sleeping bags. i'm telling you this summer thing really suits us.

next week the big kids have day camp~ niko will be going to the discovery center and riley to padded football camp~ so we will have some sort of schedule to live by, but we will manage.

harper's new trick is to put his hands in his face every time mom comes at him with the camera. i am not sure how or why he started associating peek-a-boo with say cheese but it is adorable and frustrating at the same time. i would say a little more adorable than frustrating though!

ha! gotcha!

oh, that hair!

i am so over the top in love with those fluffy strawberry blond curls on top of your head~ you may never know the experience of your first haircut!

where the day takes us...

that pretty much sums up our summer so far. no school or appointments. no early bed times or alarm clocks. we have been taking it one day at a time and each afternoon has been filled to the brim with friends and popscicles and bbq's and bike rides. it has been rainy, more so than usual for this time of year, but that has not slowed us down a bit.

i have the sewing bug and have tried to sit in front of my machine each and every day, though sometimes only long enough for a couple seams. i sewed this celebration banner just in time for harper and esme's birthday party.

it is reversible so it is colorful and cheerful from either side. the instructions for this project came from the creative family by amanda blake-soule. LOVE this book!
i knit this cute little bag for a friend's birthday. this is the purl mc bigbottom pattern and lion brand jiffy yarn ~ super fast and super easy!
i lined it, complete with pockets and magnetic clasp and added a fabric handle and drawstring.
and a pair of soft flannel pajama pants for harper~ i have many more pairs planned for each member of the family! i traced a little pair of elastic waisted pants that fit him well and added a seam allowance and voila'! jammie pants in under an hour!
and i made this sweet little dress for a brand new little friend of the family. it is the same pattern i used for esme's birthday dress~ the two summer sundress.
today i am working on curtains for our bedroom. this is a project long, long overdue. i also have a blessing shower to attend in a couple weeks to welcome a new baby girl to the world. i think i will sew a couple cloth diapers for her. it had been a while since i have done much tiny girl sewing so all this pink has me thrilled!

my computer time has now expired~ i have a cherry popscicle and an evening bike ride awaiting me... and perhaps just a couple more seams at my machine...

beginning the journey

14 years ago today i was 40 weeks pregnant with my very first baby. the next morning i would become a mommy. nothing could have prepared me for the journey ahead. our journey has been at times challenging, but more wonderful than words can express.

i have blogged in the past about this boy, now well into his teenage years, growing into a young man right before my eyes. this boy~ he makes me proud, he makes me crazy, he makes me laugh...

he makes my heart open and love more than i ever thought possible.

it is with great joy that we celebrate the 14th anniversary of our birth~ his birth into the world and my birth into this blessed journey called motherhood.

june!

june brings the end of another school year, the beginning of another summer vacation, more birthdays and and daydreams of all the fun to be had!

we attended niko's 6th grade graduation breakfast friday morning. we let everyone else sleep in so it was just the two of us. we had a good time despite the fact that everything i say and do these days embarrasses her. really? because i think i am a pretty hip mom!

i had to capture this moment of my little guy enjoying his picture books. babies are fun to look at upside down! i had one of those panic moments when you suddenly realize that the baby has been too quiet for far too long. i was tickled with relief to find him entertaining himself so un-destructively.
we spent the better part of saturday morning at toy 'r us. they had a big birthday bash for geoffery giraffe which included fun hats and sashes, whistles, a noisy parade around the store and some fun craft projects involving crayons, foam cut-outs and glue. esme' was a little star struck but we did get her to pose for this photo with geoffery. when she saw the picture she exclaimed "it looks like i am wearing high heels!"
and finally a sweet photo of harper and esme' dancing with each other at a friend's beautiful wedding this morning. this is the one and only picture i got at the event. is it murphy's law for the low battery light to appear each time we leave the house with the camera?