perfect chaos*

 summer vacation has arrived and the super busy, fun packed schedule was right behind. lots to do, lots to see, lots to make and lots to read. the kids and i signed up for the summer reading program through the public library. as soon as harper found out prizes and free books were involved he has talked about little else.

 esmé made a wall pocket for her teacher for an end of the year thank you gift. she picked out the fabrics and put her artwork on the front pocket and i stitched it together.

they are just like the wall pockets we made here.

 and she got straight A's on her report card! YaY! we heard through the grapevine that krispy kreme gives kids a free doughnut for each A. esmé earned ten fresh, sugary doughnuts for her hard work and she was sweet enough to share with her whole family.

 riley went from this...

 ...to this!

amazing what a haircut and shave can do!

 he graduated from high school the next day and yesterday he turned 18. i am such a proud mama!!

 harper picked up a new summer hobby. when he isn't reading books to earn cool prizes he strums away on this little guitar.

 the girls in the happy rainbow coop are growing so big! we should have fresh eggs by the end of july, i estimate.

i have been relying heavily on sweetened iced coffee with milk to get me through these hectic summer days. i use this cold brew recipe. i made a simple syrup by pouring 2 cups of boiling water over 1 cup of sugar and stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. i pour the coffee over ice, add a little of the simple syrup and top it off with a splash of 2%. per-fec-tion.

birthday number nine for esmé*

our sweet and sassy esmé rose is NINE today! 

nine. half way to 18. the last year her age will be in the single digits. a great big girl who loves bright red nail polish, skinny jeans and who desperately wants her ears pierced. 

when she was born a family friend said her name sounded like pig latin so we called her esmé-ooyay for a long time. and esmé rosie-toes. and her papa likes to call her esmé bublé, just because it has a nice ring to it.

here is esme's eighth birthday post.

this is a sweet post showing how she has changed and grown over the years.

and her love for crafting and creating can be seen here and here.

looking back at blog entries and photo albums today has brought us lots of smiles and some laughter as we remember all the fun and special times we have shared. i wonder how in the world i got so lucky to have such a cool little chick in my life.

happiest birthday, little miss.

♥

just now.

just now, on a whim, i decided to open my HP gallery and quickly choose a random photo to post. this was our last pumpkin harvest, three years ago. we haven't grown pumpkins since. i miss those crazy vines snaking around the garden and watching the pumpkins get bigger and bigger then slowly turn orange. i miss home grown jack-o-lanterns glowing on our front porch. i miss harper and esme being that tiny.

i still have those little brown corduroy pants and striped shirt that harper is wearing and i think they will fit luca this year. i just now decided that he will wear this very outfit to the pumpkin patch next month. yes, a pumpkin harvest photo of luca in his big brothers pumpkin harvest hand-me-downs will happen for sure.

we are also planning a big, crazy fun, backyard pumpkin carving party with all of our friends, something else we have not done for three, maybe even more, years. i can't wait. i love autumn. that is all for now.

thank you so much {and a giveaway winner!}

thank you for all the sweet and thoughtful happy birthday wishes that were left for esme. i read every single one of them to her and they made her day even more special.

today we choose a winner for our little knit kit giveaway {esme wanted you all to win, by the way}.

we will be making a kit for felicia of 3 little birds stitch. YaY!

{big sigh} we survived birthday month. and we had a whole lot of fun! i have a couple birthday craft tutorials to share with you as well as some party pics! i will work on getting them posted this weekend.

thanks again {and again} for celebrating with us, friends.

with love, erika and the may birthday bunch.

sweet birthday girl EIGHT {and a giveaway!}

 our sweet and sassy little esme is eight years old today. i stayed up way past bedtime making rice cereal treats with chocolate on top for her entire class. that is what she requested and i have to admit i was a wee bit relieved to get out of baking. it is birthday month after all - i have done my fair share of baking recently.

and now, onto esme's special birthday giveaway!

do you all remember the little knit kits i introduced last christmas? if not let me tell you all about them. they include a 2 ounce ball of hand painted wool yarn and small (6 inch) handmade, wooden needles that are the perfect size for small hands learning to knit. everything is contained in an adorable project tote.

 

and the wool yarn included with each little knit kit is a very special magic yarn ball. a magic yarn ball contains little treasures carefully wound into the yarn. these small surprises are discovered as your child knits the yarn! 

esme received her very own little knit kit for christmas and she started knitting that same day. she has made a few mistakes and has even ripped all of her work out and started over a couple times but even so she loves it!

 for this giveaway we are offering one little knit kit in the color/print of the winner's choosing! you tell us what your child would love and we will put a custom little knit kit together with handmade needles, a hand painted magic yarn ball, all neatly tucked into a cute project tote and send it your way! girly, boyish, or neutral, we can make a kit for anyone.

to enter simply leave a happy birthday wish for esme in the comments on this post.

we will choose a winner at random on the evening of may 25th.

PLEASE make sure you leave me a way to contact you.

i will e-mail the winner and discuss fabric options and yarn colors and their custom little knit kit will be put together and mailed within 10 days.

i can only ship with the US at this time. thank you for understanding.

also, i would love for you to follow my blog and stop by for another visit soon, or check out inspired mama MAKES! on facebook. neither are neccesary to win but they are pretty nice things to do.

and the fun doesn't stop here - it is giveaway day at sew, mama, sew so don't miss out!

HaPpY giveaway day, friends!

have fun, best of luck, i hope you all win something wonderful! 

comments are closed - we will post the lucky winner's name tomorrow! thanks friends!

small style :: when sweet small style grows up

i miss having a tiny girl to dress up. she was so girly too, in a uber-fun punky brewster kind of way. she loved skirts, she loved dresses, she loved shoes, and i thought she always would. these days jeans and a hoody are her standard uniform. stuff she can run and play and hang from the monkey bars in. she will be 8 (eight!!) next month so i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that she has such a strong opinion about what she wears. it just happened so fast, came so soon.

here are a few favorite girly frocks she (we) used to adore ::

esme 2008.

she wore this old navy skirt until it was so short that i finally snatched it from the dryer on laundry day and donated it. it was cute over bare legs in the summer and leggings in the winter.

esme in her handknit cupcake top 2008
she picked out the pattern and the yarn and mama put her needles to work and cranked out this little top for her. the fit was good for just a short time then it was passed on to another little girl. i knit her a new one in a larger size but she only wore the new top once or twice. she was totally over it *sigh*

super cute mendocino kindergarten graduation dress
i cut into my beloved heather ross mendocino mermaid fabric to make her this special dress for her kindergarten graduation. although she was head over heels in love with it she only wore it a few times for "dressy" outings. i have it tucked away in my sewing studio so i can repurpose it into something else - that is a discontinued print after all!

adorable knit circle skirt for family photos - 2010
i sewed her this circle skirt with a yoga waitband the evening before our family photo shoot last summer. the fabric is one of the michael miller knits that had just come out. it is very full and twirly - a feature that would have thrilled her just a couple years ago. it still fits her this year and she tells me she will wear it if i buy her little shorts to go underneath.

sweet skirt with ruffled side panels that i sewed last summer.
this photo was taken last weekend, the day we went to the opening of our saturday market. i about fell over when she emerged from her bedroom wearing a skirt (a ruffled mama-made skirt!!) i decided it was probably best to not make a big production over it but i did insist on taking several photos of her that afternoon.

so there you have it. we have traded small style for her style and i am little by little becoming okay with that.
growing big-but still little girl style - it's the jam friends!


i am linking up with mama loves papa today!

sunny * sunday * backyard * hoopfest

entire days spent outside, warm sun, glittery hoops, short sleeves, picnic lunches.

spring really does suit us well.

the un-inspired mama

i know the calender says it is october but the weather tells another story, therefore i have been completely un-inspired to do anything autumn related. our nature table has not been updated with all of my favorite decorations that represent my favorite season. my tee shirts have not yet been replaced by fall-weight sweaters. and hats... i really want to start wearing soft, hand knit hats! my inspiration for this space has also been missing lately. hopefully it will return soon, perhaps when the thermostat dips below 80 degrees and i feel on track again... we will see.

in my last post i shared a couple photos that were taken by a new friend, erin, a few weeks ago. if you go peek at her blog and scroll down a bit you can see a few more of our family's photos.

here are some other favorites from that afternoon ::

and, just for fun, a sweet little video of baby luca being entertained by his brother and sister. harper makes a couple appearances as well...
luca was very drooly that afternoon and a few days later we found out why when his very first tooth peeked through his gums. right now he has two tiny teeth. and he is still drooly.
enjoy!

egg funt!

we woke up early, anxious to see what the weather would bring. rain, snow, wind, sun- we have had a bit of it all this week. i reminded harper of our plans for the day.

"egg funt! esme' wake up! we are going to the egg funt!"

esme' emerged from her deep sleep and joined us for breakfast. then the kids were quickly dressed, baskets were retrieved from the closet and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, enough to share, were made and packed up.

before long we were at the easter egg hunt with a couple dozen little friends. kids filled the house, excitement filled the air and before long colorful plastic eggs filled the baskets.

lunch was eaten, large amounts of chocolate was consumed, games were played and then it was time to say good bye and head home...

... home for a much needed snuggle and nap.

happy easter, friends!

earth hour 2010 :: glow

candles, flashlights, story books, shadow puppets and giggles!
earth hour 2010 was a very good time. daddy had to work so it was just myself and the littles. esme loves the dark, harper had to be convinced.

and, just like last year, we decided an in the dark earth hour interview was in order. apparently sitting in a dark with a flashlight for an hour makes esme a wee bit silly. normally she does not speak in a creepy redrum-shining voice... perhaps she was trying to set the mood. who knows!

makes my day happy

yesterday morning while getting esme' ready for school i discovered this little note on top of her neatly folded clothes that she had picked out the evening before. her "sk8r" outfit was a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and a pink pullover sweatshirt with brown hearts. i am not a morning person. this was an undeniably happy way to begin the day. yes, esme' is awesome indeed!

mmmm, saturday!

esme' day and pizza making at flying pie, nothing better.

itty, bitty elf in the kitchen.

waiting...

munching on a masterpiece.

four full bellies later... thanks flying pie!

handmade holiday 2009 :: grandma and grandpa gifts

one more handmade holiday post, folks! these are the wall pockets that we made with esme's artwork on the front pockets. grandpa is fishing and grandma is cooking oatmeal in a super cute apron!

my favorite detail is that framed photo on the wall behind grandma... it is grandpa posing with his fish!

now that our handmade holiday has come to an end i plan to stitch up a wall pocket for everyone in the house! it will fit right in with the declutter season that is upon us, no?

project details ::
you can find the free wall pocket tutorial here. i supplied esmé with squares of muslin and fabric markers for the embellished pockets. i use some cotton webbing for the hanging loops on these pockets - quick and easy! and oh, so cute!

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making merry

cookies are baking, handmade gifts are being wrapped, and colorful stockings are hung. we had a lovely visit with the jolly one and prancer the other evening in his cozy tent at the botanical garden.

harper respectfully declined a face to face chat- i assured him that his kind letter that was sent earlier in the week would be perfectly sufficient. esme' put in a good word for him as well.

right now... anxious excitement fills the air along with the sweet smell of chocolate chip cookies and peppermint candy canes melting into mugs of hot cocoa. folks, we are santa ready!

merry and magical holiday blessings, friends!

four

i am still a mama to four, though the bigger of the kids are rarely featured here on my blog these days. they are busy with friends, and squeezing the fun out of every last second of summer. they are teenagers through and through, and that seems to mean something different depending on the day. some days helpful, some days not so much. but despite the drama, attitudes, and occasional (okay, frequent) eye rolling, i am pretty darned proud of the young people they are shaping up to be.

and did i mention that i am really anxious for the first day of school? i think i might need my own paper chain...

six

she asks every single evening if she goes to school in the morning. no, not yet. then we talk about how many vacation days we have left and look at the calender, and she seems to understand. then the next night, as i am tucking her into bed, she asks again. i think i will make her a paper chain or something to help her count down. first grade! she simply cannot wait and i can already feel the lump forming in my throat.

22 days and counting...