Legwarmies - Done!

These are so cute and so easy, you should really try some legwarmies yourself!







Have a great Thursday and stay on that path!

Works for Me Wednesday

I've been reading Rocks in My Dryer for a long time, but have never participated in Works for Me Wednesday. So, here goes...

I've posted about this before but this activity is OFTEN requested (demanded) in our house. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old, so I find that most crafts and activities are very short-lived, or just too complicated for a boy with the attention span of a fruit fly and a little girl who likes to lick things and then throw them.

One thing that my son will play, for a long time, is BEANS. He loves to play with dried lima beans. The beans are the perfect size for pouring, sorting, stirring, lining up and shaking. They are too big for ears, nostrils, and your baby sister's nostrils.


We love the beans so much that I use them as a special treat at the end of a long day. Perhaps I have a future accountant on my hands?

Head on over to Shannon's blog to pick up more helpful tips.

Stay on the path...

Mid-Week Lift

I can't stop watching this. For those of you who happen to be in my line of work - this is even more hilarious!

A WORD TO YOU MOMS - TWO SWEAR WORDS FROM THE OLD GUYS. Cover the appropriate ears. Who knew those fonts could be so crotchety?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Have a good Tuesday! Stay on that path...

Time Travel

I received the best package in the mail! It was truly bittersweet as the package came from one of my best friends, Anne Marie (AMK - pronounced "Aym-kuh"). AMK and I met in college; I was a transfer and we were both sophomores at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the very first real friend I made there and is pretty much the reason why I didn't go running back north during my first semester.

Back to the story: years ago, before I got married, our group of friends from Samford (mostly the girls I roomed with and that circle of friends) converged from all over the US to get together in Cincinnati (my home at the time). We had so much fun together we vowed to do it again. But, as you know, kids and jobs and other commitments got in the way. And in some cases, our bellies.

This summer, everyone decided that they should get together again - at our alma mater in Birmingham. Sadly, I couldn't work out a way to go; coming from Michigan down to Samford for one weekend driving just wouldn't work. It would take me almost a weekend to just get there. Flying didn't work either as my accumulated miles wouldn't get me a ticket that weekend. So, I am sad to say that I was the only one M.I.A. that weekend (Aug 1-2).

Being the good friend that she is, AMK got me some coffee from our fave coffee shop in college: O'Henry's. O'Henry's was the place where AMK learned to love coffee and where we would go for the best lattes and cappuccinos and a little live music. Sigh. She called and said that she wanted to get me a little souvenir from the trip. So, my plan is to brew some O'Henry's coffee, put on some 80s and 90s tunes and page through my photo albums...

While I do that, here is a little biography about my friendship with AMK (and the rest of the Bodacious Babes of Suite B ... and friends).

Anne Marie and I met at Samford during my very first semester there. We were in a dance troupe after failing to get into any of the other groups we auditioned for, we ended up being the two least enthusiastic dancers in the troupe. Well, it was something to do anyway...


NO! It wasn't THAT kind of dancing. Would you believe that this was our normal university attire? No? Well, we also participated in some campus singing/dancing competitions that required us to dress up in some clearly questionable outfits. Firey genie-like backup singer (me) meets 80s hair cave woman (AMK). Nice!

We quickly found out that we lived in the same dorm and would hang out on Sundays and watch movies in each other's room and usually take long Sunday naps. That is one thing that we both got so excited about on Sunday, crawling back into our jammies after lunch and snoozing for hours. Bliss...

The very next year, we became roommates and lived in this dorm:



His name was Ralph. Yep. We lived in a dorm with the word RALPH carved over the entryway. Nothing else. Just Ralph. Seriously.

We had some pretty fun suitemates in that dorm. It started out with Maggie and Jodi and then turned into Jodi and Christy. To round out the group, we had TaniaandChristy (yes, they were best friends, always together and thus, one name back in those days). TaniaandChristy (now, Tania and Christy) would have movie nights in their room and later, at their apartment, they would throw the best Halloween parties with good food and fun games.

Here is everyone (except Christy the suitemate - where are you Christy?)


Incidentally, Maggie is a very talented gal who, in this picture, is balancing that picture frame on her head to entertain us while we wait to be seated.

Oh, here's a picture with Christy the suite mate:


AMK and I were so close (and still are) that we would sometimes pose as one another at parties. I went as Anne Marie to her Sociology party when she couldn't make it that year. I wasn't a Sociology major nor was I a member of the Sociology club. But I went anyway, pouf-ing up my hair and donning her signature Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt. No one could even tell.

Here we are on our first day of our senior year. We decided to do "First day of school" pics like we did through grade school.


Can you tell which one I am? I think the red cast gives me away. ;)

We vowed to be roommates again after college, picking a place on the map and just up and moving there. We planned on living and working together and having fun as single girls in a big city. But AMK changed all that by getting married; couldn't be helped. So AMK became AMKT (for Trammell), but I couldn't get used to adding the T sound to the end of Aym-kuh. Hard enough.

I was the maid of honor at her wedding and it was so beautiful! She was the matron of honor at my wedding. We just had our babies two weeks apart last summer and I have yet to see Cooper, but when I do, he's in trouble! I'm going to smother him with kisses and hugs.

I am so sad that I missed the girls' weekend, but I plan on being there next time...

On the path...

I AM...

Take the Quiz here!

I mean, honestly, why does everyone act so silly?

She is the reason why I started reading all things Austen! Thanks, Troye, for sharing this on your blog.

On the path...

Let the Crumbs Fall Where They May

A Visual Journey...
Before the kids got up this morning, I could swear that the house was mostly crumb-free...















M'kay. Excuse me while I go shake out my pants and shoes...

On the path...

FO - Avita!

I am finished with my Avita pattern and am finally blocking it. It will be so cute on Ava in the fall as a tunic and next summer as a tank top!

I am also working on the second legwarmie to make a pair. I'm trying to use up my leftover yarn and I think that she's going to look like a candy cane with these. I am loving the off white with the cherry red though, and am thinking hats...


After struggling with the beautiful, bright patterns and the rules of 1)Fall, 2)Sturdy; I have finally come up with an idea and some fun yet in the fall category of fabric for my apron swap. It's all washed and ready to be cut. Sorry, I can't show this yet on my blog as my partner may be checking every now and then to see if I slip up.

Stay on the path!

Mommy and Me Morning

Yesterday morning, I decided that my boy and I needed some one on one time. So, after dropping baby sister off at daycare, we headed out to Panera for a muffin and chocolate milk (Chandler) and a coffee and bagel (Me). He was such a little man, ordering his muffin and choosing a place to sit. I think I most enjoyed our conversation as we sat and talked about the various people in the restaurant and the cars going by outside.

Then we headed off to a farm for some fresh produce and some u-pick. Sadly, there was no u-pick option but we did get some lovely sunflowers and a lot of great veggies dirt cheap.


A little green grasshopper distracted us in the parking lot and we followed it to a barn and some cows. We even got to pet a chicken! I think that was the highlight of his morning.


Afterwards it was off to exploring and story time at the Children's Garden. We had so much fun just being together and talking in the car. I can't wait for another date with my boy.

On the path...

August!

Isn't August supposed to be The Dog Days? Well, I guess I can't complain about the 70-80 degree weather, but some mornings we've had to break out the sweatshirts around here. So, that means that my tomatoes are still green! Okay, for those of you that think that Michigan is so cold that we can't even grow vegetables, don't worry. I'm growing them in pots which makes them go a little slower but the cool weather and lack of sun has made them very sleepy.

The above picture is about how far my basil has grown since May! I expected them to be as tall as trees by now, but they are only little guys. I am glad, then, that I planted so many! I'm hoping for a warmer, pesto-laden fall. My little tomatoes are still green, but I'm still hopeful. I'll keep everyone posted (as I browse your blogs with harvest tables full to bursting - grrr).

I am ready to block my toddler tunic! I'll send a picture as soon as I get her blocked. I am very excited. I bought enough pretty red yarn for a long dress, but we all know how that turned out. Sigh. So I have some leftover yarn that I'll turn into these ultra-cute legwarmies. Give it a try if you have some small ones to knit for!

New on the store-front: I've added red, white and blue to my cache of barrettes. My friend, Em, suggested that I add those colors because a lot of private schools use those colors in their uniforms and how great is it to color-coordinate? Thanks, Em! So I whipped up these lovelies for her darling daughter, Taylor Anne. I hope you like them, T.A.! Thanks again, Em. I'll be posting a set of these guys on my store site next week.


New on the kid-front: frozen monsters! I went garage sale-ing last weekend and ran into a really cool mom and her boys who shared with me the fun activity of freezing small animals/insects/dinosaurs in an ice cube tray. The PERFECT toy for bath time, swim time ... anytime! Chandler had such a great time watching the ice melt in the bath last night. Of course, the downside is that fits are thrown when it's time to put the Ice Age animals away and go to bed. Such is life.


And I have been loving the iced coffees this summer. Recipe courtesy of my uber-creative and fun SIL:


You can find the recipe here.

Oh, and for your Mid-Week Lift:


Did that make you smile?

Stay on the path...