Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny over at Small Things for this week's yarn along.
Well, not much knitting happened this past week, with my mom in town, a first birthday party, and a lot of catching up on life to do! I did manage to finish Phoebe's aardvark, which will be her birthday present, along with the dress I finished up a few weeks ago. I also managed to finish up a knit gift for a baby-on-the-way, and managed to sneak in a few rows of Phoebe's tea-party top.
I am still reading Pride and Prejudice, although I am starting to get into much more, and it seems to be easier going. I am also still finishing up Eating Animals, and am loving it.
My next dilemma is choosing a book to have my class read next term for a literature review. I am debating between 4 books, 2 of which I have read previously (Soil Not Oil And The Weathermakers) and 2 of which I have not (We Are The Weathermakers and Eaarth). My plan is to read We Are The Weathermakers and Eaarth, and then to skim through the ones I have read previously to try and see which would be the best fit for my class next term. But, looking at that stack of to-reads (and all non-fiction on the same topic!) sort of makes me shutter!!
What are you reading and knitting?

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A First Birthday Party

We had Phoebe's first birthday party over the weekend. Her actual birthday isn't until Thursday, but my mom was in town and we wanted to include her in the celebration.
A couple of months ago, when we first mentioned Phoebe's party, Finn decided that it would be a mermaid party. And a mermaid party it was. And, essentially, he planned the whole thing...

First off, we needed a mermaid pinata. A mermaid pinata I asked? How on earth will we make one of those? And, it was actually even harder than I had anticipated. And, the only part that Finn would help with was the painting and the stuffing, so we couldn't even really blame the poor artistic quality on him! Instead of doing a traditional pinata where you take turns trying to bash it, we stuffed the pinata from a trap door in the bottom, and then taped a bunch of ribbons to the bottom of the mermaid. Only one ribbon pulled the trap door open and each child had a turn to come up and choose a ribbon to pull. Let me tell you- the anticipation was fantastic. If you are ever gutsy enough to make your own pinata, I would suggest the ribbon method. And I would also suggest making a shape that is not a mermaid.

Finn also insisted that I sew Phoebe a skirt out of mermaid fabric. Easy enough, right? Except that the only mermaid fabric I could find had to be ordered from etsy and was pretty expensive. But, it is darn cute.

And of course, a birthday crown! This one I needle-felted a mermaid onto. I thought it looked cute. Too bad she wore it for about 15 seconds.

For decorations, I made a PHOEBE banner out of some of the leftover mermaid fabric, and also made some simple felt garland, an idea that my friend Heidi had for her son's party recently. It was so cute that I just had to make some of my own....Finn made his own mermaid flags and also decorated the party bags with mermaids (some of them were superhero mermaids).

And, the best part.... cupcakes! Chocolate buttermilk cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and coconut cupcakes with buttercream frosting. All courtesy of Martha Stewart. I guess I should also thank her for the couple of pounds I have probably gained from eating the leftover cupcakes!

All in all, the party was a success, Phoebe only cried a few times, and nothing disastrous happened. I just can't believe my baby is already (almost) one. Pin It Now!

Weekending

Joining in with Amanda from Habit of Being for another weekending post....

Busy weekend, not a moment to relax.
Phoebe' first birthday party
(held a few days early so that my mom could join in too).
Lots of preparation and decorations,
cupcakes and snacks.
The party went off without a hitch!
(A separate post with details will follow soon...).
A farewell dinner with mom at a favorite restaurant
And a most delicious margarita to celebrate the end of a good day!

Sunday morning brought an early morning trip to the airport
And a sad goodbye to my mom.
A walk with the dogs in the rain,
and a much needed trip to the gym
(it had been way too long).
Lots of cleaning and laundry,
and a huge purge of my closet.
How refreshing!
A new bookshelf and shoe rack,
and some much needed re-organizing.
Some prep work for school,
Some meals using what we had on hand,
And leftover cupcakes for dessert.

Now, both kids are finally asleep,
and for the first time today,
I am going to sit, relax,
and probably fit in some knitting.

How was your weekend? Pin It Now!

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. Inspired by Soulemama 

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Upcycled Skirt

I made this skirt a few weeks back when I was feeling a creative surge. I was looking through my upcycle bin My upcycle bin is a bin (well actually it is 2 bins, but don't tell my husband) full of old clothes that are not worn in their current form... and I sometimes use them to create new clothes for me or the kiddos.

This skirt was once a shirt that I wore while I was pregnant with Finn. While it wasn't a maternity shirt, it's not something I would have ever picked if I wasn't pregnant and I knew I would never wear it again. So, I whipped up a quick skirt. It is a bit shorter than what I would usually wear, so it needs to be paired with leggings, but it is super comfy and I think it came out well.

I love having those little windows of time to myself where I can create.. especially when I can create something that is not on my to-make list. Those times are few and far between these days, so I have come to truly appreciate them.

Do you ever upcycle?

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Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny over at Small Things for this week's yarn along. I had a bit of a knitting catastrophe this week when I tried Phoebe's birthday dress on her and it wouldn't fit over her head. At all. Like, not even close to fitting over her noggin. Bummer, right? After much debate of whether I should cut and sew, undo, or just give in and give up, I decided to go the undo route. So... I undid the trim, and re-did the trim, but this time much more loosely. And luckily, I saved it. It fits, and it didn't come unraveled. And it still looks cute. Phew. Other than my knitting mis-adventure, I haven't had too much time to knit this week as my mom is in town for a visit. I still have a bunch of stuff on the needles, but I currently am focused on this aardvark that I am knitting Phoebe for her birthday. Cute, right?
I am still reading Pride and Prejudice. I am enjoying it, but also feel that the formal writing style is making it rather slow-going. I also just started Eating Animals. I enjoy Foer's writing style, so I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy this one.
What are you reading and knitting? Pin It Now!

Some Mama Time....

My mom is in town for a visit (which explains why I have been a pretty absent blogger this past week). I am so happy to have her here, spending time with us, and so happy that she is willing to withstand our very meager accommodations...Because we have such a small house, her 'guest bed' is actually the bottom bunk on Finn's bed. That means she has to sleep with the lights part-way on and is forced to get up by 6 a.m. to play I-Spy and Where's Waldo. But,.... at least she is not sharing a room with Miss Phoebe who currently thinks that 3 a.m. is the perfect time to rise and shine for the day. How did I get such early-rising children?
We have been busy ever since my mom arrived... I had to work 2 of the days and we have been preparing for Phoebe's first birthday party next weekend (yes, I have put my mom to work helping me craft!). Today, we finally had a chance to have an Oregon experience, and a true Oregon experience it was. We headed up to see Multnomah Falls. The sky was so grey that we couldn't even see the top of the falls and the rain fell steadily the entire time we were outside. Lush green vegetation, the roar of rushing water, and getting soaked..... now that is Oregon.
Hoping for a day or two of sun while she is here, but until then, I am enjoying some family time, even in the rain. Pin It Now!