May Catch-Up...

I mentioned some special birthdays took place during my blog-absence.  One of the special days was a First!  We also happened to be traveling at the time, so we had to find a store bought cake to fit the occasion. 

I thought this one did it for us perfectly.  Girly, flowery, chocolatey and sprinkly!  We gave Sweet P. the opportunity to dig in, but she was much too polite.  So we cut a piece and let her get her hands into it that way.  It was very fun for all of us to celebrate her first year.  I think it was very meaningful even for Young Man.  You wouldn't normally expect a big brother to take so much interest in a little sibling, but he truly does.  It was very special for us indeed.

A first birthday at the beach.  In truth, hubby had to attend a meeting and we tagged along to enjoy a change of scenery and change of pace.  It was another first for Sweet P.  Wide sandy beaches and crashing waves were very interesting to her. 

Young Man knows exactly what to do in the waves.  He just now is beginning to enjoy the ocean.  I grew up in the ocean and bays and have always tried to share the love of the shore with him.  It's been a process.  We lived far from the ocean for the first part of his life, so he only got to visit the Eastern Shore waterways occasionally.  He did not at all enjoy the feeling the salt leaves on your skin after swimming and always wanted to swim in a pool.  Ugh.  I truly wanted him to love and appreciate the beauty of the water.  So without pressure, but lots of visits and participating in Coast Kids  programs, he has grown to truly love it now.  And it helps too that he's now big enough to stand those waves knocking him around. 

These little stickly gooey letters have been such a big hit around our house.  Since we had such a run on birthdays we've left it up for quite some time.  It's definitely time to come down now, but kids enjoy playing with these squishy letters so much.  I must make it disappear and let it resurface in the fall when we have another Big Day.

Oh the pleasure of solitude.  It's such a rare thing here, but so much enjoyed.  It's the kind of thing that cannot be anticipated at this station in my life, so when it happens it's a scrumptious, lovely, much welcomed thing!  I do love the hustle and bustle of noisy, busy-goings-on each day, but hey, give me a few minutes of alone time and I know just what to do.  This day in particular I just had a cup of tea and caught up on a pile of magazines that had been accumulating.

It just struck me how beautiful the colors are when so many little-people toys are lying about.  I'm usually quick to get everything in it's place, but this day it was comforting to look at all the colors and enjoy them where they were.

It's all those fun, bright colors that keep little hands so busy!

Yes, we also had Mother's Day in May.  My family gave me a coconut cream pie.  It's sort of a long running joke between Young Man and myself.  He always tries to find a way to tease me, so I let him in on how much I wanted a yummy coconut cream pie one day.  Ever since then, he brings that up to try to get to me.  So I told him he better learn to make one for me someday.  It's all in good fun.  I love joking with him.  Anywho, on Mother's Day he had his daddy buy a pie.  I was thrilled with the idea and enjoyed some coffee and crochet pattern browsing time.   Ahhhh.

Also, this summer I have given up the dining room table to the very important building of Legos.  I do love Legos.  This was a gift a very fortunate Young Man received and he studied and built for many hours, (with a little help), to build this robotic guy.  It was quite complex and actually walks around. 

 

This was Young Man's cake.  He really wanted a Roller Skating bday party this year.  Unfortunately, after breaking his arm roller skating was not an option.  So we celebrated quietly at home.  I don't believe kids need big parties each and every year.  I believe it's more important to celebrate with one's family.  We've had a few big kid-parties, but those memories stand out in a huge way when they're only once in a while.

And then there is rock hounding...  I must take this one on a rock hounding trip.  This was a kit he received as a gift and it was very much fun for him, but I know he would enjoy a real rock hounding experience at this age.  And I definitely believe in providing all the experiences one can for children growing-up.  You never know what gifts or talents or passions you might uncover.  Robotics?  Geology?  Cooking?  (You know, coconut pie)!  I would be happy with a chef in the family, lol...

So this is a long and rambling post, but it's my first attempt at catching up a bit and getting my thoughts in order.  Summer break has been moving way too fast.  It's good to look back and enjoy again.

See you soon with a very little crochet post!

Where does the time go?

I have completely lost a month.  At least a month...  Seems like more now.  We were so excited that the school year was ending and we were looking forward to some fun and down time to relax and just play. 

My poor little new blog has been soooo neglected.  Well, I knew that would happen, just not this bad.  So it's been a busy time, like for many of you.  Seems like everything happens at once, doesn't it?

One of my dearest, most favoritest ever people has had some health issues and has been hospitalized of late.  I try very  hard to be a good advocate for my loved ones when they need help, especially of the medical persuasion.  I do believe we are on the road to recovery now, but so much worry and time spent traveling to doctors and hospitals and looking after family affairs leaves one a bit depleted.   Note I am NOT complaining an ounce, just saying, "Whew, I'm tired."  But more importantly, "I'm Thankful!" for sooo much. 

So in my absence here we have had numerous birthdays, (some VERY special ones at that)!  I will have to share more later about that. 

One birthday resulted in my hubby baking a homemade cake ALL BY HIMSELF!  Yay! 

And chocolate, of course.

And then we managed to work in a little something fun for a swim team bake sale.  My poor Young Man barely even got to compete since we were out of town so much, but it's a wonderful team and a great opportunity for the kids.  These yummy little cupcakes were 'beach' cupcakes:  Graham cracker crumbs for sand and blue sugar for water.  Tiny umbrellas and a gummy fish in the middle, Yum!

I love my crochet.  The tiniest bit of time available to do it is soooo very precious to me.  I love to feel the yarn in my hands and love to walk past the colorful baskets of yarn in my house!  Ooooh, but that does put me ina rather bad mood to keep walking past and not be able to grab it up and hook a while....  So I finally finished this cute little bit of colorful crochet goodness.  I do have some loose strings to fix, and I certainly rushed the finishing process, not my best work.  But hey, I'm just so glad I finished something!

Oh and that reminds me of something else I happened to work in and forgot to get a picture of.  I'll add that later.  It's too cute and very little - girly....

So when there is yarn there is always a cat.  This is Young Man's cat, Axle.  He is very handsome and always full of himself. 

I hope you've enjoyed your months since my last post.  I hope all is well with you and look forward to settling in and being able to share more with you more often! 

xo

All Things Easter

Hope you all had a WONderful Easter!  It was a different kind of Easter for us, as we usually get to spend it with family.  This time, however, we spent our Easter weekend at home, just us.  We did partake in All Things Easter, of course.

I always try to decorate our home to reflect the fun and beauty of the season for the little ones.  It may not be much, but even just a little decorating goes a long way with little people.  Hopefully creating memories that will last and last for them.

This little bucket should leave quite an impression since it was knocked over and eggs rolled all about numerous times!  Even the cat had his paws into this little game.  When we came out in the mornings we would find this toppled and eggs everywhere.  Fun for all!

Yes, this would be the cat ...  Now he's trying to 'be the egg...'  Nice hide, Axle.

Do you make Easter Egg Trees for the kids at your house?  My grandmother always decorated her home and she did the neatest things that made the most lasting impressions on me.  One of the things I could always count on was her Easter Tree. 

In all of our Easter preparations we found this perfectly beautiful robin's egg on the ground.  No Easter egg could ever be dyed to match the beauty found in nature itself.  We searched bushes and trees looking for the nest where this egg belonged.  We were not successful, but the Young Man felt better for trying.  He's something of an animal whisperer if you know what I mean....

These are one of our favorite things at Easter time.  They are called Ressurection Eggs.  They can purchased already prepared but we made ours at home.  They help to give meaning to your Easter activities.  Once we've colored our eggs, made a huge mess, cooked a huge meal and overdosed on chocolate - it's good to slow things down a bit and get out these great numbered eggs.  Each egg has a surprise inside that relates to the meaning of Easter. 

Then it's time to get outside and have an egg hunt.  Whether you have a hunt with one child or one hundred, it's always fun and the kids are always happy and springing about to find the next prize.  Certainly, they want to see if there is a quarter inside or a bit of chocolate, but there is something special about that once-a-year hunt.

As far as weather was concerned, it was a spectacular day.    Just absolutely beautiful.  These clouds looked as if you could reach out and touch them.  I couldn't resist sharing them.

And I have to say that when I told you that this Easter was different for us, I really meant it....

Once all fun had been had and dinner was ready to be eaten, we were sitting out on our patio watching kids play when Young Man dropped out of a tree.  Now, if you know us at all you know that Young Man's feet have rarely been on the ground since birth.  That no longer surprises us, we just always make sure he does not climb too high.  On this particular climb, however, he was barely off the ground, hanging from a  low branch.  Just one slip and falling just the right way results in a loud 'whack' of a sound, followed by an alarming moan of pain.  What a way to end a beautiful, almost perfect Easter day. 

The upside:  He got to choose his favorite color for casting, he got to keep his x-ray, he didn't have to write for school work for a few days and now he feels so good I have to keep telling him to stay on the ground!
Thanks for visiting us!  I'll be back shortly with a hopefully done stripey thing!  xo, Chris

Colors and Stripes and Squares, oh my!

Before I get to the colors and stripes I want to share one of our favorite garden books.  This is primarily about gardening with and for kids, but I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy this little gem of a book.  It's called Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy.  It is an ablsolutely delicious book full of the neatest ideas for kids (and kids like me)!  And it will literally be delicious should you grow some of the treats inside.

As you can see by this picture, we were working very intently on planning our garden.  We may have missed the early spring planting season, but we will be ready for summer veggies here.  If only it grows as planned, lol...

This is one of our Favorite Gardens!  It is exactly as it implies - All Big Stuff.  This is our first year attempting this By-The-Book and we are very excited about it.  I promise to take pictures as we go and share with you and hopefully there will actually be something giant to marvel at!

I'm sure ours won't be picture perfect, but we certainly are going to try!  This illustration is very inspiring, isn't it?

This is such a wonderful perspective on gardening and the book helps you prepare and layout the whole thing.  Now just cross your fingers and hope for the best!  Come on sunshine, come on rain.  Let the growing begin.  Oh, now I'm just getting ahead of myself.  It's not even planted yet...

So for some color:

This is just a peek at my WIP.  It's still a stringy mess, but I'm so excited about it that I have not been able to take the time to finish as I go.  I just keep making rows and now squares.  I'm having so much fun making squares I'm going to have to find another use for them!  I was inspired by the colors and the whole granny thing (squares and stripes) by Lucy over at Attic24.  If you haven't checked out the Attic, you really need to.  Lucy is inspiring soooo many folks in soooo many ways.  It's really such a joy to check in on her.

Also, my lovely little recent accomplishment:

This is a little baby shrug.  It's adorable, really.  Rows of double crochet with shell edging and shell cuffs.  Too cute for words.  I added to the pattern and changed it up a bit, mostly to accomodate my Sweet P's little (um, chubby) arms.

This is the part that goes across her back from the shoulders down to her waist.

To be worn as such.  I find ponchos aren't too easy for her to wear yet at this age and this is a wonderful solution.   Just enough to wrap across the back and keep little busy arms warm.  I had bought 3 little rolls of cashmere blend yarn on sale a couple of years ago and have been waiting for just the right pattern to use it.  Finally, I found it!

Well thanks for looking and listening, friends.  I need to go do Happy Easter things with my little people and hopefully find time to finsh up my stripes!  I'll be back soon with more to show! 

Happy Easter!  Chris

Old Favorites

Hi there.  As promised I wanted to share a few pictures of some of my favorite things to crochet.  After making a couple of giant granny blankies I was feeling like I needed to get back to what I love most. 

That tends to be clothing and purses.  Here is a sweet little cardigan I made for Sweet P before she was born.  Of course she only wore this about 3 times before it was too small!  No fear.  I'll make another when time allows. 

And this little dress I couldn't resist when I found the pattern.  If I remember correctly, I did something different here than the pattern called for.  Anyway, once it was done it reminded me of Lucille Ball!  Does anyone else get that feeling?

I know this is just a swatch of a picture here, but it shows the beauty and depth of color in this shawl I made a couple falls back.  I was so in love with this shawl pattern and yarn that I asked hubby for the yarn as a Christmas gift.  If anyone is interested I will post a link to the yarn.  It was made by Manos del Uruguay. 

Last, but not least...  Purses.  Purses and  purses and purses.  They are just so much fun to make and all so different.  I really don't ever tire of making bags.  Oh, just remembered another favorite one I made and I don't think I have a picture of it!  Well maybe for next time then. 

Looking back at favorite projects is fun.  I can see all the quirky things I've done and the mistakes I've made.  And the time spent on each project, whew. 

So next I will give a look at a more recent accomplishment, although I could NOT get a good photo of it really...  Oooh, and my WIP!  It's a first for me, this one.  Lots of color and stripes and squares!  Color and stripes and squares, oh my! 

Ok, I'll go now as I'm just rambling on, but I did want to share some of what is fun for me and I hope it's fun for you too! 

Chat soon!  xoxo  Chris

Spring Things & Happy Thoughts

Hello again.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!  Since the weather has proven that spring is actually here, we have been spending a bit more time outdoors.  Except for all the rain we've gotten, we've had a good deal of time spent running around outside, getting the ground ready for a garden and just plain cleaning up. 

This beauty happened to end up indoors quite by accident after one of our outdoor playing adventures.  We had a wonderful gentleman from a local tree service come by and he told us that this is a Magnolia Tree we have.  A quite nice one apparently.  Anyway, during our young man's outdoor adventure time a sweet little branch got whacked off completely by mistake.  I just did not have the heart to toss this lovely branch aside.  No, no, it had to come in so I could see if it would bloom.  And it did!

Isn't that the greatest thing?  I just love bringing the outdoors in.  At least when it comes to plants and things.  My young man would love  to bring (and occasionally does) some of the frogs, bugs, etc. that he catches.  Last summer we had a lizard of some sort in the kitchen -  that was also a complete accident.  I think!

So lots of lovely, colorful faces are sprouting all around the yard and we make trips around the house each day, rain or shine, to take peeks and rescue any blossoms that have hit the ground so they can be repurposed in a vase indoors, of course.

Such as these.  The daffies had gotten knocked down and then I just couldn't resist taking a couple snips of the forsythia bush to put with the daffies.  They made the kitchen look so bright and cheerful!  A few little flowers from the yard can change a whole room.  I highly recommend it.  Go on out and find a little bloom or two of your own and just clip it and bring it in.  You will smile and be glad you did it!

I have been reminiscing about some of my favorite crocheted things that I've made in the past and I have some pictures together to show you, but I'll save that for the next post.  Then maybe a look at a little project I just completed and a work in progress! 

Hugs to all!  Chris

Spring's Beauty

Hello!  I could be so ashamed of myself for taking almost a whole month between posts!  But, I knew it would happen.  And it will happen again...

Anywho...  I really do want to share some Beeeautiful pictures of spring with you.  Now they aren't all sunny and warm looking, so don't be taken off-guard.  I happen to be one of those people who really loves a rainy day.  Rain just doesn't usually get me down.  We love weather here at the Bungalow.  We had planned a trip to visit Monticello in Charlottesville, VA and, okay, we did NOT get to play on the grounds and picnic as expected.  But it was so beautiful there nonetheless!

Gardens!  In the rain!  Could that be more perfect?  Since we are so excited about getting our own garden going, we were very happy to walk the rows of Jefferson's.

These lovely little onions looked so healthy with the tiny droplets on them.  I would love to have smelled them, but dared not touch!

I know there is an amazing view from these grounds that we could not see on this particular day, but the fact is it almost forced you to take a closer look and imagine the very people who worked this ground as if they were still present. 

Is it just me or is there just something special about a row of pots?

The cover of the weather just made everything seem so peaceful. 

There is so much to see at  Monticello.  It's time well-spent no matter what the weather.  And hey, it's just what we need to get our gardens growing. 

Spring thoughts to you all!  xo