Whatnot

Tis' the season for time to fly. After my last post, I headed out for an out of town business trip, an out of town concert (and to see a family member in that concert) and then finally unpacking (although my suitcase is still in the upstairs hallway) and some crafting...

I started a hat for Channy a while back with the thought that it would be yellow (his favorite color) and with some earflaps and ties. I wasn't sure if he would wear the hat since he's pretty particular about fashion (i.e. he demands to wear only a few items for reasons unknown).


Once I presented him with the hat in a nonchalant way, he immediately put it on his head and wore it all weekend (be still my heart!) and protested when I took it back to make a few adjustments. This is his favorite hat!


I am still trying to finish up my quilt(s), and a toddler sweater but I am not even thinking about Christmas and birthday presents - yikes!

Back on the path...

Back in the Saddle

What a whirlwind of weeks. After my last post, I prepared to head out for my "Finally People Can Safely Label Me As Certifiable" road trip. It was around 740 miles one way and we played this song a lot. This very much provided the perfect theme song to our trip.


Our first stop was in Louisville, Kentucky to visit my brother and his family. Much fun was had by all. The big day was spent at the pumpkin farm where I had to do some fancy illusion tricks to get my son to forget about his very large pumpkin and opt for a small gourd instead. Ava, as usual, loved everything.


Second stop was in Nashville, Tennessee to visit my brother-in-law and his wife. How cool of an aunt and uncle are they? My kids arrived there to presents and playing and lots of fun. Ava started crawling at my brother's house and perfected her technique here. She also perfected her pulling up and cruising technique. (Oh well, no time like the present, right?)



We spent some wonderful play time at the dragon park where the kids got to stretch their legs and run around and play. For October, this afternoon was very warm and Chandler requested to have his shirt off - which I granted.



Third stop was to an undisclosed location south of Nashville to visit friend, Jackamo and her family. Jack and I have been friends since college and haven't seen each other in three years. She's NEVER met my kids! Sad, I know. This was the main point of my whole road trip. We always email each other and sometimes will call to chat, and our conversations always ended in a You really need to come and visit me, on both sides, knowing that was an empty request but asking it anyway to show our affection for each other and the desire to see each other again.

Jack and I had a conversation like this in September and I thought about it and had a sort of awakening. Why not go visit? My husband was about to embark on a ten day quest to find the big one on October 1st, my kids were still in diapers but on a very easy schedule (i.e. good naps and no bathroom stops). Well, Chandler is in the midst of potty training but only demands to be changed if he goes #2. So ... why not?

It was so good to hang out with Jack and her family. They were very gracious and the best hosts. I enjoyed MANY cups of tea as Jack is an excellent tea brewer and has a lot of fun teas that don't necessarily come from the grocery store aisle next to the instant coffee. (See her recommendations on the sidebar of this blog.) Of course, each cup of tea was accompanied by a shortbread or carb-y/sugar-y concoction of some sort. VERY yummy.


The kiddos were off-schedule and tired and cranky sometimes, but were SUPER troopers for being ages one and two. It was so much fun just to pack up and go. I have always had an "I Can Do" attitude which has sort of gotten me into trouble in the past (note to self: never assume - especially when using the parental car). I never want to just say "I wish I could" and never actually do. So, when I felt that I was in a good spot ... I did. I definitely don't want to say years from now, that I wish I visited my friends more often.


Finally, we traveled back up to Lexington, Kentucky to stay the night with my other brother and his wife in their new home. They've only been married two weeks and are still trying to settle into their new home and they were the most gracious hosts. They picked up an extra box of crackers (I had finally run out on our journey) set up an extra pack and play and had everything ready for us.


By this time, we were exhausted but Chandler still had tons of fun in the park and he is totally in love with Aunt Katie so time with her was the best. He, Kyle and Katie spent Saturday morning at the local park while Ava and I ate and re-packed the car for our final leg home.


We finally made it after 7 days of traveling and we had so much fun. There was a lot of excitement when we finally pulled in our driveway and Ava squealed at the sight of Daddy and touched his nose.

I would do it again. Not any time soon but I would do it again for the fun, the experience and to keep my friendships going. Does that inspire you? Shall I quote that NIKE commercial that won't go away? Okay, I won't.


I did do some knitting while I was at Jackamo's house believe it or not. While we caught up in the evenings, I made two of these washcloths for her boys. I'm telling you, if you haven't tried them, you really should. They are so easy to whip out after you get the hang of the loop stitch and so cute as a gift. So yes, some crafting was still going on. Jackamo is an expert a this apron and hopefully she'll post an official picture of it someday.

Whew! I came home to the arrival of my new Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn - a whole bag of it! I am now finishing up an earflap hat for Channy and will start on some sweaters for the kids after that. Will keep you posted.

In the meantime...

Stay on the path.

Apologies!

I must apologize for my absence in blog-land. Last week I went on yet another business trip for a couple of days and came back with a lot of things to do for work so I've been in my office churning things out since then. How have you been?

I have had a craving for fruit and chocolate lately so I'm really having fun with the fresh strawberries and pineapple drizzled with chocolate sauce. Yum! It really satisfies my sweet tooth.

Well, there are babies, babies everywhere. So, I'm working on a couple of cute outfits as well as these super-cuties. Check them out! They look scary to make but are so easy. Give it a try! I just googled how to make a loop in knitting and off I went. I have a couple finished, except for the face, so I'll post those soon.

Oh, and I also got a quilting foot for my birthday - an early present from my hubby. So, even if my quilt-a-long quilt looks crappy, my quilting will look fun!

Back on the path...

I'm back!

I've been back for a while, but it seems like I've been gone forever. I did have a nice time in Oklahoma City and the group got a lot of things accomplished for work, but I really did miss my babies terribly. Oh, and my husband of course.

So we celebrated by going to the Frederick Meijer Gardens this past weekend to check out the butterfly exhibit, the children's gardens and play area and the sculpture gardens. This was our first time going and we loved it so much that we have decided that we are definitely coming back when everything is in bloom.


We spent some time in the arid garden indoors and it really made me want to go on vacation. Has anyone trouped to a tropical place with their VERY small children? Well, maybe someday soon, right?

Here are Channy and Ava contemplating the cacti.


Let me tell you how hard it was to take photographs in the butterfly exhibit. The exhibit lanes were too narrow for our double-wide stroller so we had to get the kids out and carry them through. They LOVED the butterflies but it is difficult, to say the least, to try to take steady pictures with one hand and holding a wriggling baby in the other. Here's an example...


So, this is the best butterfly shot I could manage.


We also walked over to the Michigan Farm where Channy ran around petting all the farm animal sculptures. He was having a great time running all over the place like an ant scurries around in circles before it reaches its destination. There was a dinner bell at the farm that Chandler really enjoyed ringing. Ava slept through most of this. I guess the butterflies wore her out.


Come and meet the letter people.
Come and visit the family!


Words are made of letter people...
A B C D, follow me!



Okay, so no one joined me in the Letter People theme song rendition, but those sculptures reminded me of my beloved childhood puppet show (it was your typical high-tech 70s children's show). So, I was inspired and threw out my jazz hands to sing the song with abandon. Joel pushed the kids farther ahead and pretended he didn't know the crazy blond woman trailing behind singing her heart out. Oh well. There were some beautiful and fun sculptures in the gardens, but the letter people were my favorite.

This reminds me that spring is coming and also that I have a lot of work to do in my yard.


Stay tuned for some crafty updates as I get settled back into my routine.

Back on the path...

Spring

Happy spring! So, it's officially spring according to the calendar and last week we were greeted with another round of snow! Luckily, it's much warmer now and all of this has melted. I just thought that I would share our coldness with you this week.


Speaking of this week, I am getting ready to head out of town for yet another business trip. I will probably be unable to post until Friday or later so please excuse the lack of postings until then. I never know how much free time I'll have on these trips and I'm definitely not cool enough to post from my phone like this gal.


But, good news on the crafting front. I have almost finished four bean bags and those should be coming together this coming weekend. I also have cut out around 400 squares for my quilt top so I'll be ready to finally put this quilt-a-long quilt together! I can't wait to see what it ends up looking like.



As you can tell from the photo, we're getting pretty stir-crazy around here and ready for some warmer weather (does the tent in the living room give it away?). Chandler and Ava love to spend time in the tent and Mommy and Daddy get to lay down in it for a few quiet moments before someone needs a diaper change or a snack.

Have a great week and we'll talk soon!

On the path...

Back Again

Hello there! I apologize for disappearing for a while there. Two weeks ago I went to a conference for work and came back with a nasty virus that had me flat on my back for two days. When I finally emerged from my bedroom two Sundays ago with my fever and chills having gone (hallelujah!), I picked up my son and threw out my back! The rest of that evening was spent lying in the hallway with my feet up and my back on a heating pad. Thank goodness my Mom and Dad were there and Mom read some Jeeves stories (by P.G. Wodehouse) aloud and made me laugh which hurt my back even more. It was worth it.


I finally feel slightly human again and am ready to craft, work and share photos. Above is me at the conference, pre-virus, hugging a giant furkin! The booth worker in the background doesn't look to happy, but he should be! Anyone who gets to hang out with an enormous furkin all day should be automatically ecstatic. Also in this picture you'll see the Amy Butler High Street Messenger bag I made out of some fabric I got for Christmas - an Amy Butler print and some chocolate corduroy. I wouldn't recommend using fabric that is too thick (like corduroy) since I had a very difficult time sewing all the parts together and broke a needle (and some skin).

Could I be any more happy with my AB bag and the giant furkin? I say "no."

Stay tuned for more pics on WIPs as well as my catch-up for the quilt-a-long. I am so very far behind that I may just finish all of these right before week 12 is up!

Back on the path...