Weekend Happenings

The weather was beautiful this weekend! The sun was out, the sky was blue... wait, is this normal for this time of year? We've had a sunny autumn. Cold, very cold, but at least it hasn't been raining.

There has been lots of outside play. Walks, bike rides, eating rocks & flowers and tantrums. Yes, the tantrums get very intense when it is time to pack it up and go home.

Noah and the wild one. Yes, she is actually laughing!

A bushel of apples from our local farmers market. They smell so great! I've been threatened, I had better use every last one of them or else!

New pants for Bella. These were so fun to put together! Too bad it is too cold out to wear them. The material came from my Freecycle scrap bag, except the flower trim. Time to scrape together some cash and head to the fabric store for some warm material.

Long Overdue

About 8 years ago, or maybe it's been a little longer, I thought it would be so wonderful to sew my own clothes. I went out and bought a sewing machine. Then I set it up on my kitchen table and just stared at it. How hard could it be???

With a lot of help, and many grueling hours of sewing, I had finally put together four crappy looking curtains, each a different size. I was still determined, so I set to work creating a pattern for a skirt, then began sewing it. It was coming together, but one side was longer than the other, and the back didn't stay curved to my body, it stuck WAY out. Oh Well, I thought, no one is looking that closely at me anyhow. I pressed on... just to discover I was pregnant. Phew, I now I had an excuse not to finish. It wouldn't fit for long anyhow. I carefully put everything away.

Every time we move, de-clutter, or whenever I'm looking through old things for memories sake, I carefully pop the blue lid to a Rubbermaid container and peer in at my old sewing machine. Then I stick my hand in and feel the samples of the material I purchased...8 years ago. I've wanted to give it another try for so long, but have been afraid of failure. I have let so many years go by, so many of them wasted, paralyzed by fear. I recently received a bag of scrap fabric from freecyle, and decided to give it another go. Suddenly I didn't care about failing. What's the big deal anyway? I made two tiny items. Too small to actually use, but they have given me enough confidence to try to make Bella a pair of pants.

tiny pair of pants, maybe for a future doll?

small bag

Photos

A few Thanksgiving photos


Noah helping to make butterhorn rolls


Jaime cooked a wonderful Turkey!


Everyone is starved and ready to eat


Bella loved the cranberries most of all. I almost didn't make them because I don't care for them... usually, but these were delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This will be our first Thanksgiving without any extended family. We are so excited!! Don't get me wrong, we LOVE sharing this holiday with family, but since they are all in far away places, it will be our first time cooking the entire meal at our home, in our oven, just for the four of us. What better opportunity to try out some new recipes? On our menu this year:
-Turkey
-Mashed Potatoes
-Red Cabbage
-Butterhorn Rolls
-Cranberries
-Green Bean something or other, not quite sure yet
-Apple Pie

I will not miss Chinese takeout with my in laws, but I will miss their company. I also will miss my mothers cooking, because her cooking is unmatched in my book! My food just never tastes as good. I hope everyone has a safe and yummy day!

A Peek

A few of my favorite blogs have recently posted what their daily schedules look like, and because I know you're just dying to know, I thought I'd share mine. Okay, maybe you're not dying to know, but it's good fun to peek at someone else's routine.

7 am- wake up, nurse, dress, and play with Bella
7:30- make Noah's lunch and breakfast for us
7:45- slowly but surely drag Noah out of bed
8 - eat breakfast
8:30- clean up Bella, and get dressed, help Noah get ready for school
8:45 - take Noah to school
9:15- clean up breakfast stuff & kitchen, play with Bella until nap-time.
10:30 ish- put Bella down for nap, clean house, do laundry, bills, whatever else needs doing. Computer/reading time.
12 ish- Bella wakes, have lunch, clean-up, play with Bella some more (yes, I get to play a lot!), or go for a walk if weather is nice.
2:45- pick Noah up from school.
3:15 - snack for all of us, clean up again, then depending on the day we go grocery shopping, go to gymnastics, the library, a walk/park or stay home and... yes... PLAY!
4:30 or 5 ish - if I'm lucky Bella naps, start dinner while Noah does a few chores. Hang-out/play with Noah
6:45-7pm- Jaime comes home, eat dinner
7:30 - Bathe the kiddos, get them ready for bed. Make sure Noah gets everything ready for school the next day. Read some books, tuck in Noah. Jaime cleans kitchen.
8:15 -Put Bella to bed.
8:30 - shower, get ready for bed.
11ish- bedtime!

Overload

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and I'm starting to worry about the mass quantity of toys that will be coming our way. Our home is filled to the brim with excess toys, the novelty wearing off several minutes after acquiring them. Seriously.

We have a huge box full of toys that will be offered on Freecycle just as soon as I add a few more items. I think we could give three of these boxes and not miss the toys. I often avoid Noah's room, because there is just so much 'stuff' EVERYWHERE! It's no wonder he doesn't play in there very often. A couple of days ago I hosted a playday at our home, and tons of toys that had been put away (out of sight, out of mind) were brought out. Spilling out of his room into the hallway, living room, and downstairs.

We are fortunate enough to have several quality toys. Toys that encourage creative play. Toys that start fascinating conversations. Toys that are made from beautiful natural materials. These are the ones that get the most action. The brightly colored, flashing, singing plastic stuff gets shoved into some corner, rarely making an appearance.

In light of the massive toy recalls, I thought it'd be fun to give a list of a few places that sell 'safe, natural' toys. After all, quality is important, and often times less is more.

• rosiehippo
• palumba
• novanatural
• the wooden wagon
• quiet hours toys
• stump pond toys
• willow toys
• nico and zoe
• a toy garden
• a childs dream
• for small hands
• hearthsong
• magic cabin
• willow tree toys
• blueberry forest toys
• hazelnut kids
• three sisters toys

I'm sure there are many more.
We are saving for a kitchen and playhouse for Bella. Over the years I plan to give accessories as gifts. I hope this helps!

Goliath

Meet Goliath. He is our newest family pet. Despite my firm belief that 'exotic' animals should not be pets, somehow this little guy managed to find his way into my heart. His previous owner has recently become homeless, and could no longer care for him.


Noah really loves him. Now, if only Goliath were the cuddling type.

Beer? BEER!!

Ahem, I mean Root Beer!

Jaime has been brewing beer, real beer, for about 9 years or so. Our local brewing supply store also carriers everything you need to make soda... many different flavors, you could even mix them. Say... Raspberry Cream soda?

Jaime and Noah both love, love, love soda. I refuse to buy it! So this past weekend they took matters into their own hands, and decided to make some. It's surprisingly easy. Even if you don't have a beer setup. There are instructions for using old 2 liter soda bottles, and some yeast. A great science experiment for older children.

First Noah mixed sugar, A LOT of sugar (about 2 cups per gallon) and the root beer extract into water. Stir, stir, stir and occasionally dip your finger in to sneak a taste.


Transfer Root Beer into a clean keg. Oh yeah, and more tasting!


Have dad carry heavy keg into basement, and hook up CO2 tank for carbonation.


After a couple of hours, drink- slurp- gulp....and burp! In that order.

Once carbonated, you can fill reusable bottles and give as gifts. You can buy them at beer stores, or certain beer come bottled in these type of bottles. Grolsch?? I think is one of them. This is what they look like.