Birthday planning

We are beginning to plan for a birthday party around here. Ian will be 5 in 12 short days! He helped me write his invitations this morning and we've spent the past week talking about food and cakes (chocolate for sure... and he's adamant about it). We've decided on a late morning/ early lunch get-together and we knew right away that donuts must be on the menu. It will be an easy run to the donut shop for everyone else and for those of us with gluten intolerances, I will be making some homemade ones. I'm sure the boys won't be too upset to try my practice donuts this week. We almost have a 5 year old in the house!


And if today couldn't get any better with talks of birthdays and donuts... the sun is out. The windows are open and we are soaking in the sun and the fresh air. Our chickens were happy to have some company in the yard and clucked around our feet picking at bugs and grass. I know it's a few months away still... but Spring is definitely in the air today.

Cornmeal and quilts

Reason # 52 why I love my Vitamix: in a pinch, making cornmeal out of popcorn. Perfect.

_____________

And after 4 hours at the fabric store I finally picked out my fabrics for my quilt. I never expected it to take me so long but it was really worth it. I'm excited to start cutting out the squares and rectangles and start to see the top come together. Hoping it all looks as good together when it's sewn as it does in my head.

Life list for 2010

(Gluten-free crepes. Delicious.)*

January 25th and I'm just now thinking about what I'd like to do for this year. I think it takes me longer than most to actually get moving on something. I tend to think of an idea, let it roll around in my head for 6 months, and then start to move on it. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because there's nothing important about the date to make me stick them out. Plus, I'm usually recovering from the holidays and all I want to do is rest my brain for awhile.

But now that January is almost over and I've had time to sit and think about 2010, the ideas are coming. If there is one thing I have learned since becoming a mama, is that life is ours to make. I spent so much of my early adult years, married with no kids, worried about life and the future and getting caught up in what we had and didn't have.

From the first moment Ian was born and the years after, I have realized my thoughts on life, on our life, have changed dramatically. One thing I know for certain is that I'm doing exactly what I've dreamed of. Being a stay-at-home mama to 2 (almost 3!) boys and wanting to spend every moment with them and Jeremy. I don't dream of a daytime job, I don't dream of a ministry in the church or elsewhere, I don't wish my days away wanting to get out of the house or needing something to keep me from getting bored. I realize we have the freedom to make our days exactly what we want. And how my greatest wish for all of us is that we embrace living and enjoy it all, no matter how hard life may seem or how happy the current moment is. This is my life, my family. Every morning is ours to live, ours to be happy, ours to grab hold of and I plan on making it the best I can.

So with that in mind... my inspired list for 2010:

1. Have a baby! (See? Starting out positive with something I know I can do)
2. Get to the library every week
3. Take more weekend trips around Oregon, especially the coast.
4. Read more books
5. Learn to knit with double point needles for hats and socks
6. Sew more
7. Take more walks around our neighborhood
8. Get outside, even in the rainy winter and spring
9. Bake more
10. Visit more sites around town, especially with the boys
11. Take more pictures
12. Try new restaurants
13. Learn the names of wildflowers
14. Learn more about herbs and how to use them
15. Say Yes more often!
16. Laugh more
17. Live knowing that every day, in all we do, is about learning and education
18. Begin a homeschooling/unschooling plan for the fall
19. Make more crepes *

Just to name a few... I seem to come up with new things often so we'll see how the list grows over the year.

January days

Sitting here drinking my hot cup of decaf coffee with plenty of cream and a splash of stevia... just the way I like it. Missing Jeremy and Ian who left very early yesterday morning for a trip across the country to northern NY to visit family. I know they are having fun and being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa, building snowmen in the yard, and seeing the place Ian was born and the apartment where we first brought him home to. This is the longest I've been away from Ian but I realize that it's also the first time I've had such devoted time with Sawyer who will be a big 3 years old this spring.


I'm joining Randi over at her blog on her quilt-along project. I thought it would be such a perfect time to make my first quilt and keep me even busier while we wait for baby to come. In 6 weeks I'll have a new throw quilt for our couch and if I have a love affair with any thing... it's blankets to snuggle up with on the couch. Sawyer amazed me yesterday when he happily spent 3 hours with me at the fabric store. I'm not sure how he'll react when we go back today but I was too tired and brain-fatigued to continue yesterday. I just couldn't figure out how to coordinate 10 different fabrics in the colors I wanted. But I have a good theme going now, adding a few fabrics that I already had at home, so I just need 4 more and I'm done. Ready to being week one on Monday!

Baby is doing really well. He's growing like crazy and likes to keep me up at night. There are moments when I feel glad that I have a couple more months before he's here to plan and organize. But more often than not, I wish he were already here, nestled in my arms and wanting to nurse. I can't wait to kiss his cheek and breathe in his baby smell. I feel like he's a joy to us already.


Belly is big. I'm closer now to 30 weeks than I am to 29 and that amazes me. I'm so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and I'm anticipating a great birth too. I'm working on a bulky blanket for him and I have plans for a few more things as the weeks go on.

In the meantime, Sawyer and I have some fun to plan (other than our 2nd fabric store trip that is). I'll be updating my book list for 2010 soon... seriously rough start to the year in trying to finish some books I started. And maybe, maybe I'll get to writing more on here which is my goal. Social networking sites aren't exactly how I want to spend my online time anymore since it's so few and far between these days. There's just so many things to make and do and read. Plus, thoughts of homeschooling are starting to make their way in to my days since I have a soon-to-be five year old that will officially be starting our version of kindergarten in the fall. So, plenty to keep me busy and it's all making life very, very good.

January stars

I felt like January needed a little pick-me-up. I always think that it must feel a bit of a letdown after all the lights and decorations of December. So I picked up my crochet hooks and started crocheting. Before I knew it I had a good stack of stars sitting next to me (pattern here). I hung them in my kitchen.


Just beneath my jars...


It makes me happy to see a little more color in there. I think little Red agrees.

Looking back... 2009

Some of my favorite moments throughout the last year:

January

February
March

April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Looking forward to 2010 and all the possibilities, new adventures, chaotic moments, and amazing memories that are coming.

Handmade Christmas

Another Christmas is over and our tree came down yesterday. But there's evidence of it everywhere still... wrapping paper found crumbled up on the floor and new toys still being discovered and played with. I have a feeling this will last a good while.

This year we decided it would be fun, and a bit challenging, to make each other a Christmas present. We made it as simple as we wanted and it was really fun trying to imagine what the other person was going to come up with. What I didn't expect was how much we all enjoyed the process. I worried that it might make the Christmas season more hectic since it took more time to hand-make something than it does the buy a gift. But it didn't, the whole month actually felt more peaceful and less rushed. A tradition has definitely been born. Here's a glimpse of our handmade Christmas...

Jeremy took the hand drawings he did with the boys (blogged about here) and had them printed on t-shirts. They instantly recognized them and love them so much I think we may continue this idea through out the year with their drawings.

I made big floor pillows for each of the boys (another pic here)... something they could easily grab to read a book on or to watch a movie. I found the perfect fabric thanks to Randi at I have to say. I used the 5 different fabrics for the top piece and then cut up two terry-cloth towels for the bottom. I wanted a sturdy fabric that could get dirty from being on the floor but one that was also soft and easy to wash. The towel fabric overlaps in the back so it can easily be removed for washing.

The boys got in on it too. Ian made Jeremy a plane with wheels that can stand and Sawyer fashioned a trumpet out of paper and a paper towel roll.

Jeremy made me a "mama" collage. His favorite pictures of me pregnant, nursing, and holding our babies. I cried... it's incredibly humbling and moving to see myself from his perspective.

I knitted him a scarf (a bit cliche but he really needed one!)... knit in a seed stitch pattern in charcoal grey. I think it looks like metal and he wears it very, very well.

Lastly... Jeremy's mom did it again. Her raw talent amazes me and she has given us a gift we will treasure for life. Sawyer at 2 years old, drawn from this picture. Thank you so much Grandma!

____________

And a few pictures from our Christmas morning...

Hope your Christmas was just as amazing. On to New Years!

Christmas morning

Advent... the last candle is lit...
and the last ornament, a star, was placed on our Jesse Tree.
JESUS IS BORN!

Merry Christmas... from our house to yours.

Eve of Christmas Eve...

If only we had a little bit of the East Coast's snow right now. We're dreaming of last year when it snowed for days and gave us a beautiful white Christmas. I keep hoping we'll be surprised and wake up to a little dusting here and there but I don't think it will happen. We are enjoying every bit of December though with plenty of things going on.

We had cousins over to decorate (gluten-free, dairy-free!) cookies. The table was covered in frosting and little shiny bits of topping in every color. We had dinner and cider and lots of Christmas music. It makes me so thankful for family...

Sawyer insisted on red and doing it all himself.

I think he enjoyed it, even if he had to choke his way through the sprinkles.

________________


The presents are ready and nearly all wrapped. We tried to keep it simple this year as far as our gift giving. New books are ALWAYS on the list.

And a few handmade things that I'm so happy about it (more on them after the big day!).

And little gifts sent across the country to family far away.

_______________

The boys are counting down the days... Ian especially. Most of our mornings are spent bundled up with a blanket (around the heating vent) by the tree and reading or drawing or pretending to hang Luke up by his legs in the wampa cave. Eloise takes swipes at our legs or toes, whichever is closest. I love these days.

Decemberings...

Lots of gold tucked into corners. A new Christmas village on our mantle. It's little and glittery and I made it myself. I loved this idea for the "snow" and found a perfect tablecloth for the job.

Our Christmas tree star found at an antique shop is rusted in places and very, very much loved.

This year we've decided to make gifts for each other. Nothing too difficult, something within our creative range, and it can be as simple as it needs to be. I'm almost done with the my gift for the boys, Jeremy's working on his, and the boys came up with some great ideas to make for Dad. We've also been working on some smaller gifts for family. It requires lots of soapy water and felt roving.

It's messy, I won't lie. But the boys love it and I don't mind mopping up the floor afterward.

Christmas is happening everywhere we look. Only 10 days left!