Hi There Kitty added to the shop!

I had made one of these for a little girl in our lives that looooves a certain white kitty and happened to have an extra white sweatshirt in stock- so I just put it up in the shop - it is size 12 months - would make a perfect 1 year old birthday gift for a girl who can wear a white sweatshirt (that was NEVER me!)

Get to the link here

The Hippo Zoodie

I have this great repeat customer in Canada. She has been ever so kind to be patient while my ankle recovered. She asked if I could make a hippo zoodie and felt like it might be the perfect thing to spark my interest after a 2 month (unplanned sabbatical) - it turned out so so cute! I could see this as a great Halloween costume - even in different colors and go as Hungry Hungry Hippos! 

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Thanks Ashley - this was so fun to make and I hope you love it as much as me!

Spring at the VA Garden

I have blogged about this place before (here and here for starts) but wanted to share these pics I took the other day during a trip to get some veggies for our garden. We got a total of 7 plants for $5 - pretty awesome...and found out they have a market open on Wednesdays at the VA near the cafeteria where they sell their latest produce. You can also buy it at the garden, but they carry odd hours - Some people there will tell you that someone is only there until 11:00 a.m. and one guy told us he is there until 2 p.m. but from experience you are safer going before 11...everyone we have ever met here has been awesome - our plants are amazing - the price is the best - the free help people are just excited to give is beyond books (a lot of volunteers there are studying botany at CSULB or city college) - I just can't say enough!  Plus Spring time here is pretty eye catching, no?

Daybook Entry

(This entry is inspired by The Simple Woman's Daybook)

Outside my window...Wind...strong winds...making me think we will get a lot of complaints from our clients this week! (we own a pool cleaning business)

I am thinking...I need to finally get through my inbox once and for all!

I am thankful...for the community around me that has been such a support since I broke my leg. Also for my husband who has had to be daddy and mommy this past month.

In the kitchen...a meal plan set for almost the whole month! I should put Bryan in charge of this all the time!

I am wearing...my walking cast and comfortable clothes...same thing I have worn for the past 6 weeks!

I am creating...nothing right now...itching to get some sewing done again once i get this boot off...nothing like a forced break to make you want to get back at it!

I am going...insane being in the house all the time! 

I am wondering...how much longer...

I am reading...Just finished reading book 5 of Game of Thrones. Starting a new book this week!

I am hoping...for no injuries this month :)

I am looking forward to...a girls night tonight!

I am learning...to accept my limitations

Around the house...lots of messes...

I am pondering...plans for a big garage sale!

Hot Pink Dinos Added to the Shop!

Just added some new sizes - now available - Size 18 months, Size 2 and Size 4 

Get them while they last! 

Click here 

Daybook Entry

My favorite picture from last week - Bryson helped his brothers get dressed for church. 

(This entry is inspired by The Simple Woman's Daybook)


Outside my window...Sunshine! Another gorgeous winter day...my favorite kind of weather - sunny and comfortable in the day and chilly/perfect for a fire at night!

I am thinking...about how to be a better listener. I struggle in this area and its something I want to spend more time cultivating this year.

I am thankful...for good friends. for life-long friends. for friends who know all your good and all your bad and there is no pretense.

In the kitchen...lots of leftovers from Superbowl Sunday - good grief..did we have to do ribs AND salmon AND sausages? meat overload...but so good...

I am wearing...my lululemon sweats...i tell myself its kind of like dressing...

I am creating...a plan for this year to keep our family and business on track...not my most fun job...and definitely not a part of my skill set, but still excited about sticking to something.

I am going...nowhere today. sick kids. blech. we just got better - no fair! 

I am wondering...when this sickness will pass and the best way to treat it. Always the struggle of balancing natural remedies and knowing when to take them in. 

I am reading...Beautiful Creatures - my niece and I share a love of books and this was next up for our little book club.

I am hoping...to get away with only 2 days in the office this week.

I am looking forward to...a sunday afternoon spent with beautiful ladies.

I am learning...to adapt my expectations with my children. i believe this will be a life long pursuit.

Around the house...sick boys and piles and piles. already planning a big spring cleaning session

I am pondering...minimalism (see above)

A tooth tale

 (I had to share this story...it was just too perfect of an example of my daily struggles in parenting. )

So Bryson has had a loose tooth on the bottom for a while now - since Sept I think we first noticed it being a little wriggly. Then his mature teeth popped out behind...in fact they are like halfway out. He really wanted his tooth to be out. He asked him brothers to smack him in the face with a pillow (because he did the same to his friend Asher and ended up knocking one of Asher's loose teeth out) and so this weekend his dad and dad's friend obliged and helped him yank his tooth out. (then they also yanked out the neighbor tooth that had also recently come loose...but that is neither here nor there)

So i told Bryson - hey! lets make a tooth pillow together to make it easier for the tooth fairy! and he was down - so he picked the fabric, he cut the fabric - he designed the pocket and placement - i stitched it up - he stuffed it...voila! he put his teeth in it and that was that...

So - here is the thing. As a parent you have all kinds of expectations...even if you aren't aware that you do. I think I expected that when my child lost their first tooth I would become this magical tooth fairy and it would be this magic moment and him running into our room exclaiming, "Look!! I got a gold coin from the tooth fairy! My childhood is magical!!!" something like that...instead this morning at 4:00a.m. i have a 7 year old Bryson crying in my room hysterically that the tooth fairy took his teeth and that he wanted his teeth more than a couple gold coins because they mean more to him than money since they are his first teeth.

So...here is the other thing. I shouldn't be surprised. I think Bryson has challenged every notion or expectation I have had about mothering or what type of mother I was going to be, etc. I had visions of rocking my sweet baby to sleep in my rocking chair and singing lullabies...uh...nope...this kid, turns out, doesn't like to be touched. nevermind rocked, cradled, cuddled, co-sleep, NOPE...none of it. cuddling bryson is like cuddling a shark...never stops moving, can't be comfortable - prefers none of it. so - fine - i steal my cuddles and sneak in their room every night when he can't stop me.

I don't know...that is just one tiny example of about a million different ways in which my ideas, expectations, fantasies were not my reality. And, as a part of maturity and growing older, I am trying to roll with the punches, so to speak- because sometimes let down expectations do feel a rather lot like a punch...I am trying to be honest about them - trying to re-work my brain and sort out the "why" underneath that expectation. I think the hardest thing I have had to do is look at that honestly and evaluate my own motivations. Its hard. This past week there was a big blow out between him and I on a school project. I will spare you the details...but it ended up in me realizing that Bryson does best when Bryson is given a chance to do his best...on his own.

So...I tell Bryson - hey - lets write the tooth fairy a note. Telling her you would like your teeth back and see what happens. He became in a better mood instantly. Maybe making their childhood magical isn't about tooth fairies and santa claus...maybe its being the right parent for your particular child. Maybe its as simple as that.

2012 Book Review

I did this last year and thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of the books I read this past year - I was so shocked that I read as much as I did...I swear - its because of the Nook...I know there are some of you "purists" out there who still are anti-e-readers...but man - the convenience of buying a book from my couch...of being able to read the #2 book in a series the next day...its awesome! Here are some of my favorites - and the list of the books read and the order and my complicated rating system and coding system :) I really tried to make an effort last year to mix things up with non-fictions. I had wanted to read a biography or auto-biography and didn't get around to it, but want to continue having a good balance between "just for fun" books and more "mature" books...so please comment away if you have any good recommendations!

**                     1. Keep by Jennifer Egan - F
****                 2. Sleepwalk with Me by Mike Birbiglia - NSS
*****               3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling - NSS
****                 4. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt - F
***                   5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - YA
**                     6. Uglies by Rodrigo Corral - YA
*****               7. The Name of the Wind (Book #1 Kingkiller Chronicles) by Patrick Rothfuss - FAN
*****               8. The Wise Man's Fear (Book #2 Kingkiller Chronicles) by Patrick Rothfuss - FAN
**                     9. For Better or For Work by Meg Hirshberg - SH
**                     10. Love Does by Bob Goff - NSS
***                   11. Wildwood by Carson Ellis - YA
****                 12. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares - F
***                   13. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - F
****                 14. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler - YA
****                 15. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - C
***                   16. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - C
****                 17. Chime by Franny Billingsley - YA

* = why did i even finish it?
** = would not recommend, even to someone I didnt like.
*** = okay - still would not recommend
**** = a fun read and want you to read it too!
***** = probably finished it in 2 days and ignored my kids because it was so good

F = Fiction
NSS = Non-Fiction Short Stories
YA = Young Adult
FAN = Fantasy
SH = Self Help/Informative
C = Classic

Currently Reading: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia (LOVING it so far!)

Cool Kid Places - LA Zoo

Can you believe we live so close (less than 30 minutes on a traffic free highway) to the LA Zoo and had not been? We have been to the OC Zoo, the Santa Ana Zoo, the San Diego Zoo, but never LA. Part of it could be that it takes a lot of convincing my husband to voluntarily drive into LA...we lived there before moving to Long Beach and our business is still situated there and my husband still auditions there, so the glamour and appeal of LA is all but gone in our lives...still...we found ourselves taking the week of New Years off and wanted to do some home-town exploring, so off to the zoo. And you guys, I loved it! Such a great little zoo! I loved the walking path - loved the size of it - loved that there wasnt obnoxious vendors everywhere...the food wasnt bad either! I highly recommend it if you were thinking of checking it out. My husband gave Bryson some lessons with the good camera, so I am not sure which of these shots were taken by my husband, or my 7 year old...but above were some of my favorites of the day.

Also - if you are wanting to make a day out of it (We spent about 3 hours at the zoo and that was plenty) there are several other kid-friendly spots around the Zoo. The Zoo is inside Griffith Park, which also has a ton of park area, the Observatory, tons of hiking trails (of which some have spectacular city views and views of the "Hollywood" sign), Travel Town museum, horseback riding and tons more!

Simple Woman's Daybook

I think a good practice for this year, is doing the Simple Woman's Daybook entry once a month. I think it will give me a little more blogging direction and also will be fun to look back on the year in this light. So...here we go!

Today...

My favorite picture Bryan took at the LA Zoo

Outside my window...enjoying this unusual frosty mornings. trying to store the feeling of warm flannel sheets and comfy beds and chilly air for the next summer where sheets are too hot!

I am thinking...of my weekend and how busy, but how much fun we had - celebrating birthdays and going on dates and baking yummy things.

I am thankful...for my boys. for our health, when so many people we know are struggling with their health, its something I don't want to take for granted.

In the kitchen...home-made beignets this weekend - so yummy...but then again...how could fried dough NOT be yummy? makes me want to start doing doughnuts...

I am wearing...hot chillys and two sweaters and thinking i need to grab a pair of fingerless gloves!

I am creating...mainly zoodies right now are all that are touching my sewing machine, but i have quilt dreams in my head that aren't going away...

I am going...to start making some little changes for this new year. Don't you love new beginnings?

I am wondering...if I can somehow manage a nap today...lagging from a late bedtime last night!

I am reading...Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Don't be proud of me...its been on my shelf for five years. Finally at a place to not only read it, but enjoy it. And I am thoroughly enjoying it. Its always surprising how fast everyone falls in love - refreshing!

I am hoping...to get all my work done early this week, so I don't need to spend as much time in the office as I planned.

I am looking forward to...a trip to the snow? still unplanned...

I am learning...that I need girl time more often than I have had lately...

Around the house...lots of things strewn everywhere from a lazy cleaning weekend.

I am pondering...generosity

A few plans for the rest of the week: business meetings, drinks with friends, closing out 2012 in the office, hopefully some playdates and all around sillyness with my boys!