Squatter

I took this picture to send to D this morning but never got around to it. Oh, she amuses me so. I could probably fill a whole book with photos like this one, her in our bed. Almost always squarely in my spot. From a very early age. The older two had their phases in our bed, but never to this extent. It is part exhausting, part hilarious. Or maybe just hilariously exhausting. Someday this will be in the rear-view; as will her fox jammies, the diapers, the nursing. As much as I desperately want my own bed, or heck, my own room, I don't want to forget her like this. 

Valentines

A quick post about our last weekend, squeezed in before the next one rolls around. I can't keep up! 

Friday and Monday off from school meant a chance for lunch out at our favorite place, with my favorite people...

...which Matthew was asleep for so he go this picture later - 12 weeks old here! 

I really love my new water bottle - bought with the goal of keeping better track of and improving my own hydration. Naturally, the kids all love it, too.  Hands off! 

Don ripped his PJ pants in a major way, and rather than tossing them I took them to the sewing room the very next morning and turned them into...

William PJ pants! 

And as neither of us gets very Valentines-y most years I thought this was pretty sweet...

D lined up camellia blossoms from the bush in our front yard along the walk and in a heart in the grass.  Gotta love the PNW for such a lush showing in February. 

And in conclusion, a whole bunch of lovey doves! 

Weekend Outing

An unusually warm day Sunday was perfect for a hike at the ocean and a bit of beach time. Every single one of us had a lovely time. 

That's all I've got for now. The only thing I've accomplished this week besides housekeeping and child care/feeding/transportation/entertainment was making ten of these: 

Or at least that's what it feels like! Looking forward to a long weekend to catch up on everything else. Back here again soon! 

Projects and More

 

The "and more" thrown in to account for all the miscellaneous-ness at the end of this post. But first, two recently completed projects, I can hardly believe it!  I made the world's easiest knitted hat for Matthew, with the same yarn used to make William a hat when he was a (slightly older) baby. It isn't really that cold here, but there have been a few occasions when I have Matthew out of the car seat outdoors and he's needed a cozy little hat of his own. And I completed it before he outgrew it, horray! 

 

In the sewing department, I made a quilt! I talked about it last time so I'll just show a couple finished picture and move on. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. 

And the behind-the-scenes shot: 

The only way to finish hand-sewing the binding was to keep it out on my "workstation" corner of the kitchen counter. That way I could sneak a few stitches in between everything else going on here without having to set aside time for it. I don't always have my hands free in the evenings quite yet, so accomplishing this in little bits was the way to go. 

After that I cleaned out my scrap bag and grouped bits by project - knits from shirts that could be remade into doll clothes, cottons that should be quilt blocks, and some other ideas from my very eclectic assortment. I'm making it a goal to use up as much of this as I can before we move so I can feel some thrifty satisfaction of using up some of my oldest materials before setting up my new sewing studio, wherever that may be, with only the new and fresh things that inspire me going forward.  

Like these:

Some of those pieces I've had for awhile, some I purchased last month...but I have a ambitious dream of matching twin-sized boy quilts. 

Oh and last one, I think this will be next:

This quilt top was finished years ago.  I'm positive I blogged about it. It is not the greatest thing I've ever made, but I do still love the fabric and the colors, so I'm going to go ahead and out it together with the backing and binding I already purchased. It'll be nice to see it completed. 

Now for a few unrelated pictures, just for fun. 

I'm not crazy about picture of myself, but love this one for the sleeping boy, and my beloved piano and favorite painting in the background. Incidentally, that's Amy's violin book up there, open to Go Tell Aunt Rhody. She's made some good progress with the violin in the last month - working the tunes out on the piano first seems to help her a lot. 

Just when I was about to give up on this project, we finally connected with a supplier and got our firewood delivery. We can now happily ward off the damp chill for the next month or so with our cozy little fireplace. Stacking it was fun, too.  William asked me why I kept smelling the wood. I told him it smelled like home. 

D and I grabbed a breakfast date with only the littles while the big kids were at school last week. I have yet to put my finger on it, but this place we go gives me such a sense of nostalgia. 

We had some heavy rain on Friday night, and here that often comes mixed with hail. So weird. But the kids donned their winter-outerwear finest to play in the faux-snow on Saturday morning. I can't believe it has been over four years since any of us has seen real snow. 

Later that day we made playdoh! 

And achieved far better color results by using our liquid watercolor paints instead of food coloring. It is possible I was more excited by this than the kids were. 

 

And now that I'm caught up I'll sign off with this sleepy smile and head up to bed myself!