Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Wow. Already a week without a post! I have been doing a LOT of crafting, some for my Style School Online Class from Red Velvet Art , some for a few babies I know that are being born, have been born, or are getting older! Here is sneak-peak #2. Here is my Valentine's kitschy wall ornament. One of my favorite projects to do: a Modern Inspiration Wall, complete with a section for Goals, Current Projects, Inspiration, and a Secret Pocket! (That middle open space will be filled with another project from the class, but I have yet to finish it!) I have a love of all banners and bunting, and this one is no exception. I have fallen in love with making pom-poms [ these are what I use] and I loved Rachel Denbow's garland she made for a friend and was heavily inspired by it. I wanted one to be in girly, Valentine's colors, since Anikka's birthday is February 17! It is perfect, and I think we'll use it for many, many, birthdays to come! (sorry, I have yet to figure out a...

Yesterday's home tour was the "upstairs"; the third level where our bedrooms, bathroom, and playroom are. Today is our 2nd level. We actually have a tiny porch, which will make us very happy in the spring, where our bikes are hung from the top, Lukka's sand table is covered under snow, and our outdoor table & chairs are. Once you enter the front door, you have to go up two flights of stairs to get here! Hard for groceries & laundry (no Washer/Dryer in the place!), but okay for the tons of money we're able to save by living here. *** This room is the most 'multifunctional' (read: cluttered!). It has our dinner table, our huge office desk & computer, and our couch that could not be fit upstairs, no matter how hard we try. It's okay, it worked out since we love to watch House and Lie to Me on hulu every week! Here is one view right when you walk into the kitchen. The little wooden stove has found a cozy corner under our huge (craigslist ...

Well...this might be the only day in 365 that my house is this clean, so I had to take the opportunity to blog our "New House" tour! Since we live on the 2nd & 3rd story of a big ole' house, the lighting is not always great, in fact, because we have old windows, and some rooms with only one, it can seem really dark, even in the middle of the day. I have tried to keep it as "real" as possible, so I didn't turn on any extra lighting, these pics were all taken at 11AM, too! (Right before nap time, which is why they are so blurry; trying to get kids into jammies, read a story, nurse a baby, etc. etc. leaves me just a second to pop into each room & snap a photo!) Enjoy! *** Here is one view of our "playroom" or the living room. This is where our kids' toys & books are, two couches, and our dvd player/television, my spinner, and a rocking chair. It's a random room, but probably where we spend most of our time, since it is very cozy. ...

Sheesh, I know it has been a few weeks ( ahem ) since Christmas, but I had a lot of people wondering if I could take a picture of the kids' sweaters I knit them, following my :something to read, something to wear, something to play with: rule. I just had to finish them first... I made Lukka's extra large and with bulky yarn, on size 11 needles. It is a 100% wool that is brown & greens (he might even fit this until he's four, he's so skinny!). He loves it, but thinks it's warm. That's the idea, Lu! Here you can see the detailing a bit more, the collar is the reason I chose it --it's a simple sweater with easy K1, P1 rib around sleeves and bottom, and an overlapping collar! Here is a side-view of Anikka's sweater (turned cardigan). I loved this yarn even though it was only 70% wool, it was The Yarn Bee and was a beautiful blend of pink, purple, blue, and cream. I also thought it needed a pom pom on the hood, and that is my favorite part! Here...

photocredit Our little church and people around the world are grieving for Haiti. Grace Chapel is very invested with these people, who are the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. We have a sister church down there, and also support an orphanage. Last night there was a prayer vigil held for the victims of the earthquake that struck earlier this week. We send people every few months to Haiti to support these people with medical aid, support, and love. Friends of ours, Ben & Renee , professional photographers with strong love for Haiti as well, have poured their hearts out in the photos they've captured of the Haitian surroundings and mostly, the people, children, that live there in dire poverty. It seems the poorest of the poor never get relief from tragedy. I will link over to their post on Haiti ; " Pray for Haiti, Send Aid if You Can ". The GLOBAL ORPHAN PROJECT is one that they have encouraged to send through, since 100% donations that usually go to orphans are no...

My first day's project in my second online art class, Style School . It was supposed to be a floral wreath but not much one for flowers, I tweaked it a bit. More project previews to come...! (We have such bad lighting in our new rental house, the wreath is a grainy brown yarn & the pom poms are cream, brown, and teal.)

photocredit I'm going to let you in on a secret. I knew before I watched this movie, I would think it was cute. It has a killer soundtrack and two of my favorite actors and an IKEA cameo. I don't mind telling you that the only reason I will watch Elf is for Zooey Deschanel (still waiting on her full-length cd!) and I've got a thing for female scratchy voices. I love listening to them! Enter in the awkward Joseph Gordon-Levitt ( 10 Things I Hate About You ) and some karaoke and you've got a movie that has been nominated for 2 Golden Globes. But let's be honest.... photocredit I really just wanted to see Zooey's wardrobe. She's got killer taste! photocredit Girls--of course you'll want to see this movie! It's a cute comedy with a very good ending, narration Pushing Daisies -style, and a really interesting format (side-by-side "reality" & "imagination" for example). Even Stefan liked this movie, and he generally thinks my ro...

(I know you will be and I hope you are an excellent ma, and I will love you absolutely if you are not.)~ Gilead, p73 photocredit This was our local book club read for January, 2010. I've read Gilead, a novel by Marilynne Robinson , before, and the second time around went much better. The first time I read this, it was on my list because it was a Pulitzer Prize winner. It is very beautifully written, but not a page turner. The first time I read it I drug my feet into the ground and finished it kicking and screaming and only for the satisfaction of saying, "There! I'm done!" This time around, I absolutely loved the language, appreciated the tender story of the father, and found many quotable parts within it. Perhaps my change in life made me feel that way, from no kids, to now having two, or from simply being in a hurry to read it before, where this time, I took a solid two months to read it, and if I read 10 pages, that was a good day. I soaked up this book and c...

Just popping in to do a give my local readers some ideas for a snow day with an active toddler around! Normally, we are all about going outside in all seasons , but with today being the coldest day ever (seemingly) I just can't bear to take baby Ani outside. Got a little monkey on your hands who would also like to be outside but you're worried about blustery winds chapping those little cheeks? Here are some ideas! photocredit Bake your favorite sweets & start dinner ! If you're anything like me, I develop a twitch when it's time to start dinner before my husband gets home. Why not take a little longer and let your kiddo help you out. It might get messy, but hey! You've got tons of time to clean it up! :) Bubble bath + tub toys = Mom's best friend. Tub crayons also a plus. Pop them in with loads of bubble bath and some warm water and wash those little tootsies clean, and let them play for 20,30 minutes! Tea time! A tea set or cups & pourers of all shape...

I didn't get around to snapping a lot of photos this year, and the ones I did, unfortunately, are very blurry! This is the year I finally am going to get a new camera, and have been able to save a bit here and there for it. All we have is a little point and shoot, and I'm ready for a big girl. I might even let y'all name her. Anyway, here are a few peeks of our Christmas, it was slow, and relatively relaxing, and very mustache-related. Enjoy! Idea from my online Autumn Art Class , I made a whole bunch of these mustache mugs and handed them out as gag gifts. They are actually pretty cute. I kept one for myself, but my favorite was a set of 4 I made for a family friend. Included were: "Bush Boy" (above, left & right), "Frenchie" (middle), "Soul Brotha" & "The Hitler" (last 2 not shown). Can you guess what those two looked like? :) Every year for Christmas or birthday, we give our kids: Something to Read, Something to Wear, an...

photocredit This much anticipated documentary about the North American food industry did not let me down! I first watched the trailer on my favorite crunchy blog, WalkSlowlyLiveWildly , and I knew I had to add it to my Netlfix! Stefan and I watched this together since he also loves documentaries, and we learned many things about the lawsuit side of the big companies who own small farmers. The movie's premise is that a few large companies (who have a big, ahem , hand in lobbying/government decision making regarding food laws) are owning patents to food genes all the way to the products on the shelves at the grocery store. I have always heard (and tried to stick to) the grocery store rule: For the food that is healthiest, stick to the "outer limits". If you just stay on the outside of the isles, you will get through produce, meat & deli, dairy, and bakery (bread)/bulk sections, therefore not buying anything packaged "ready-made" or "ready in 5 minutes...

This was a really fun series to research & write about, and I'm glad to share it with you. If you'd like to read more of this series, you can read the Montessori post , the Waldorf post , and the Unschooling post . *** photocredit Homeschooling is a generally understood term to mean educating children at home, or without the public/private school day structure of 8-3, 45 minute increments of subjects from Kindergarten through 12th grade, or ages 5-18. The options for homeschooling are endless, ranging from using a curriculum book, tests, and standardized testing--just at home--or not using anything except the library, internet, and wonder of a child as in unschooling. Many people turn to homeschooling for any number of reasons like religious beliefs or temperment and needs of an individual child. I won't spend a lot of time on 'homeschooling' because I think it generally defines any education that isn't taking place in a 'school building, 8-3' ...