hopeful

When we decided to move Finn and Emmett into the same room this past fall, it seemed like a natural time to redecorate. Out went the soft sculpture rainbow and butterflies from the nursery, in with something new. But what?

Not sure how we came up with bicycles, but the boys loved the idea and so did Sean and I. It wasn't a common theme, which we loved, and it was clear from the get-go that we'd have to create and gather a lot of the details ourselves.

I found fabric for curtains (and perhaps patchwork duvet covers in the future) here and worked that in wherever I could; curtain pullbacks, valances, a bulletin board. We found the bicycle print at Uncommon Goods and my mom got us the bicycle mobile from Signals. I found picture frames made of bicycle chains at Ten Thousand Villages here in Champaign, which we used to frame recent (or, in the case of E, recent-ish) pictures of the boys on their bikes:


 Ready for the irony? About a month after we finished custom creating our very original theme, the Pottery Barn Kids catalog shows up, including a featured new line of - yeah - bicycles. The fabric is almost identical to what I used for window dressing and the kids' bulletin board.

From Pottery Barn Kids

Oh well. What we lack in uniquity we hopefully made up for in effort. Here are a few pics of the finished room. Enjoy!

It's been just about a year since we invented Dapper Dinner here at our house. We've had many more since the inaugural event, generally born out of last minute spontaneity, and it has proven a valuable tool for making an otherwise unimportant night feel really special. We needed one of those last night...after starting the week in the middle of a polar vortex, we ended it with rain, rain, rain...the snow has turned to slush, the landscape is muddy and gray, and we all needed a pick me up. I suggested Dapper Dinner; Sean countered with "How about Jedi Dinner?"

We're a bit Star Wars mad around here right now. Action figures, Lego sets, movie viewings, books, dress-up. It's been lingering for a while now - the boys dressed as Luke and Yoda for Halloween, so I'm certain the fascination is at least three months old. Like most phases, I am confident it will pass, but in the meantime I'm having fun learning along with the boys.

Emmett is in the midst of one of those wonderful toddler phases wherein he doesn't just like cowboys...he sincerely thinks he is a cowboy. He spends his evenings trotting around the house on a stick horse and if he doesn't wear his cowboy boots to preschool, he most certainly puts them on upon his return.


It was therefore not at all difficult to decide on a theme for his third birthday.

Emmett's birthday happened to fall over spring break. Since we were planning on taking a little family getaway anyhow, Sean and I decided to pull all the stops and plan a cowboy overnight. So we headed to southern Illinois to stay in a cabin that we had rented many times many years ago (check it out!) and found an outfitter who was willing to take a just-three and a five-year-old along on a trail ride. That's right, my friends, horseback riding.

I let Emmett pick the dinner for his birthday night and, because I am a firm believer in showing up to rental houses with a meal ready to go, I was quite pleased with his selection. It was a three-year-old feast, ooey gooey super delicious baked macaroni and cheese (which I admit to finding by Googling "best macaroni and cheese ever") and a gigantic bowl of berries. I popped the mac and cheese in the oven while we opened presents, and it was warm and toasty by dinner time.

Cowboyed up

Big boot, little boot

The birthday cowboy and his mama

January can be a rough month; the holidays are over, spring is in the distant future, the days are cold, the nights dark. Sean and I had several discussions on this topic during the last lingering days of our winter break, and we decided to get proactive.

As you may recall, during the month of December our kids had an advent calendar that, in addition to chocolate, suggested daily fun activities for the family. I was a bit ambivalent going in, as the daily activities could have very easily lapsed into "another thing to do" at what was already a super busy time of year, but for the most part that didn't happen. The kids loved the experience and as a family we spent more time together doing the activities than we may have on a typical weeknight.

So we decided to kick off January with a brainstorming session of fun things to do and to attempt an activity a night. Listed among the ideas (which ranged from "themed movie night" to "build a marble run" to "have a dance party") was "have a fancy dinner." This event was shortly thereafter renamed "Dapper Dinner" by Finn: according to his teacher, this is his favorite word and is used at least five times a day.

Here's how it works:

• Plan a dinner that is slightly fancier than your usual weeknight fare.
• Pick a night. I highly recommend Friday - this is a night that all too often feels like any other weeknight, and "Dapper Dinner" made it feel extra special.
• Dig through your closets and find your fanciest duds. This is a great opportunity to put your kids in those dressy hand-me-downs that you may not have an opportunity to use otherwise. It's also a chance to trade in your mom clothes for a night. Finn was amazed by my dangly earrings (which I'm fairly positive I got in 1992 for my sister's wedding...).

Sean dressed the boys while I finished making dinner, and when Finn came down wearing a courderoy sport coat and one of his dad's ties, my heart melted:


Emmett followed close behind in his little blue sport coat and "lellow" tie:


And you know what? The night felt super special. We had crackers and olives for appetizers and let the boys drink sparkly water out of wine glasses. We played the "Cool Jazz" station on Pandora and danced around the living room with the boys. We ate a fancier than usual dinner (how often do we get to use those napkin rings we got for a wedding gift?) and had berries and whipped cream in shiny glasses for dessert. We had fun together.

I have a feeling that this will be the first of many "Dapper Dinners" at our house. But we won't have it too often, or it wouldn't feel special. 



Happy January, everyone!

...and all through this house, I've been scrambling to put the finishing touches on our brand new advent calendar. I've been meaning to make one for a few years now, and I've had heaps of fun scouring the Internet for ideas. I wanted something that we could use year after year but that we could change up a bit, and I also wanted something that would allow me to include advent activities along with treats. I loved this project on makoodle, and I've spent the last few weeks gathering the materials I would need to make it work. It did.


The step by step directions provided on the blog are quite good; I'll add a few tips for those of you who might be interested in taking this on:

• I used the free printable advent calendar numbers provided on makoodle. 
• The biggest expense was the party favor tins. They cost $20 for a set of 30 at Michaels. I used a coupon to save a bit on that.
• The 2" squeeze punch may just be my new favorite thing. I used it to cut the numbers (which were modpodged in) and the activities (which were taped in so we can change them each year).

• The biggest challenge for me was tracking down a magnetic square to hold the tins. I finally found what I needed on my third visit to Michael's. It's a 11.5 x 11.5 inch magnetic dry erase board. I loved the bright lime color so I skipped the directions about covering the magnetic surface with a decorative piece of scrapbooking paper. I also skipped the frame.
• The directions do not mention the need to put magnets on the back of the tins. You will need a roll of adhesive magnetic tape. Stick a 1" strip on the back of each tin.

• Sean and I had a lot of fun coming up with twenty-five advent activities to include in the tins. I wasn't able to use the free download for this part of the project because it is a PDF document and not editable (and I just don't think we'll be seeing the Christmas lights at Salt Lake Temple this year). So I made my own using Microsoft Word. You are welcome to download and customize them for your own use.
• Each tin houses two Kisses. If your children are anything like mine, make sure they are the same color each day...

I'm super happy with how this turned out and, thanks to my procrastination efforts, I don't have to wait long to see my kids' excitement either. Tomorrow begins Christmas at our house (Activity #1 - cut down the Christmas tree). Here's wishing a happy start for all of you!

Be still this librarian mama's heart -- my boys dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween. Do you remember Thing 1 and Thing 2? They are friends of the Cat in the Hat and make a late entrance in the book to wreak further havoc on the home. They are spirited and silly and they like to pretend they are completely innocent even as they are tearing up the joint...in short, the costumes were perfect for my pair.

We bought red union suits off of Amazon. They were $16 a piece and because I did not permanently attach the logos (see below), the boys can wear them through the winter. And yes, they do have a drop in the back. They are ridiculously adorable and I'm sure they'll show up in a holiday photo shoot or two.

I found the template for the logos on this blog. While my boys don't look nearly as sassy as these sisters, the templates were exactly what I needed. I printed them on fabric paper that you can run through an inkjet printer then cut them to size and whip-stitched them onto the front of the union suits. This made it a bit tricky squeezing the boys into the suits without being able to unbutton them all the way, but we figured it out. After Halloween, I pulled out the stitching, and the suits are as good as new.

The thing I am most proud of are the wigs:


Instead of purchasing blue wigs from the party store (which ran about $20 a piece), I wrapped blue feather boas (which I purchased from Jo-Anns) around old stocking caps and attached them with a hot glue gun. I particularly love how much height the wigs have with this process; Emmett in particular looks like a toddler version of Marge Simpson. As a bonus, the boys had warm hats for trick-or-treating. We'll be living with remnants of blue fuzz for the next few months, but that's okay.

And so, I leave you with memorable words of Theodore Seuss Geisel, who wrote:

t-shirt applique directions here

In lieu of a birthday party, Finn chose a family getaway for his fifth birthday celebration. We decided on Indianapolis and made plans to hit the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Caribbean Cove Water Park, with the added bonus of an amazing parent-selected dinner at Trader's Point Creamery...more on that later.

But what to do about a cake? I couldn't very well not make my kid a birthday cake, but without a party in the works, it kind of fell to the wayside. Throw in the timing (we left for Indy early on Saturday, which was his actual birthday) and it didn't really make sense to knock myself out. The solution? Cupcakes for breakfast.

To be perfectly honest, it was actually a muffin recipe. But once you add cream cheese frosting to a dense, sweet muffin, there isn't really that much of a difference.These were sooooo good, and super easy; we'll definitely be making them again this fall.

Happy birthday, Finn. You truly light up my life.


Pumpkin "Cupcakes" with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from here and here

Makes 12

PRINT ME!

1 1/2 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers or grease the cups.
2. Place the first six ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. 
5. Pour into prepared muffin tin, 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool, frost and serve!

Frosting
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. On second thought, I can totally believe it - I can hardly catch my breath around here, let alone compose my thoughts in writing. It has been a whirlwind, but we are slowly figuring things out.

I'll take a moment here to summarize a few things we've been up, and then maybe, just maybe, I can try to get back on track. I have been cooking, and even crafting a bit, and I occasionally remember to snap a photo or two...so I'd love to share some of that with you. Since the original intent of this blog was to prove that you can be a busy mama and still have hobbies, I have to prove myself right, after all.

• I'm knitting a few coasters for Sean's office...a super easy, super mindless knitting project that gives me some much needed meditative needle time to wind down at the end of the night. I love Cascade 100% Highland Wool - it's not too fancy (these are coasters after all) and it felts beautifully.


• We're on a whole grains, produce heavy cooking kick. Eating tons of roasted vegetables. Last week we roasted a huge batch then used them for paninis and pizza throughout the week.


• Finn wants a blanket to bring to school for naptime. Apparently the one he has been using is "too small," so we'll probably spend some time this weekend working on that. School is going really well for the boys...and they are super cute trotting out every morning in their backpacks. I sure miss them, though.

• I'm not home much, but when I am, I'm cooking and baking as much as I can. Made a few loaves of multigrain bread to get us through the week. Made a few batches of yogurt. And we are enjoying big weekend breakfasts...more on that to come.


• Have plans to make an apron that I can wear at work. In part because, frankly, I miss wearing an apron. And in part because there are parts of my work that are just plain dusty, so it'd be nice to have one on hand. Hoping to try the grownup version of this pattern with some kind of wacky librarian print. 

So there you have it. I'm secretly grateful for this rainy, rainy Saturday, and grateful for three days in my little house with my boys.


Here's wishing you all a lovely weekend.

We've now been in Montana for more days than it took us to get to Montana. We drove twenty-six hours over three days, put 1500+ miles on the minivan, and arrived none the worse for wear - it was a remarkably pleasant road trip, punctuated by hotels with swimming pools, many impromptu frisbee stops, and lots of stories and songs. The road trip bags came in very handy and, save the occasional colored pencil spillage, the kiddos were pretty independent exploring them.



Other road trip highlights included:

The obligatory stop at Wall Drug (and chance to run around in the sprinklers out back,  as evidenced by my very wet child)

Picnicking on my college campus - my freshman year dorm is right behind us

Stopping for ice cream in Livingston, MT - it tastes better with a view like that

Swirly whirly hot tubs.

I could insert a half dozen adages here about getting there being half the journey and all that, and while I will spare you the canned sayings, I gotta say it's true. I'll be back soon with a few posts from Montana...when I'm not fishin' or hikin' or explorin' or campin' or doing all the things we love about this great state. Stay tuned!

It's the same living room: a couch, a piano, an armchair, a coffee table. Things are moved around a bit, and the end table is now a corner table, but it's the same living room. In that perfect spot, in front of the stained glass that went up with the house over one hundred years ago, there is now an eight and a half foot Scotch pine that we lovingly selected, cut down, and dragged in on Saturday afternoon. Sean and Finn strung it with lights that day, and we all pitched in to decorate while listening to John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas that evening. It was a perfect night.



And with that tree, the space is somehow magically transformed. The same space where craziness ensues with frequency in my world of little boys seems calmer. Finn is less interested in popping in a DVD and happy just to search for ornaments on the tree. Emmett is delighted by the wooden train that Sean set up at the base. The white lights sparkle in the reflection on the shiny wood floors. The air smells like pine. The tree somehow makes quiet more permissible, and sitting in its glow feels like an activity in and of itself.

It is these little touches of magic that make the holiday season for me. Here's hoping you find your own simple holiday joys in the weeks ahead.

I am the very lucky mama of two boys...a gregarious, always busy four-year-old named Finn and a snuggly, curious nineteen-month-old named Emmett. I'm getting a huge kick out of watching them play together; it seems they are more interactive every day and that they sincerely care about each other. My greatest wish is that they will be good friends throughout their lives.





This blog is not, however, specifically about my boys (though like most moms who blog I could find plenty to say). My emphasis here is on hobbies and balance and perspective and all that good stuff. So a few thoughts on how parenting fits with keeping up on my personal interests:

• Babywearing

I could write for days about how much better my mothering has been because of the number of babywearing pieces I use. I own three different slings, two wraps, a mei tai, and an Ergo carrier, and I have used them all with great frequency for both boys, from birth on up. As far as hobbies go, I have the most luck with babywearing options that allow me to wear the child on my back - either a wrap worn on the back (like this) or the Ergo.  As of late, it's more often the Ergo, mostly because of Emmett's size. I will leave it to other websites to discuss the social and emotional benefits of babywearing; for purposes of this blog, I'll just say that babywearing allows me to do both things that I love (cooking, taking photographs) and things that need to get done (grocery shopping, laundry).

• Involve your kids

Finn helps me cook.  A lot. And it is not always helpful.  Sometimes it makes things take longer and even messes things up. But the long term benefits are obvious to me, from taking an interest in cooking (he consistently tells people he wants to be a baker when he grows up) to learning about following directions to wolfing up dishes he helped prepare. He also helps me with my sewing machine; his official job is to drop the presser foot before I begin sewing and to pick up the presser foot when I am finished. It's a supremely insignificant task, but it makes him feel like a part of what I am doing.

•  Use the time you have

It sounds silly, but I am most successful in having time to do my hobbies when I use the time I have to do my hobbies. I'll say up front that our house is not one of those houses where both kids nap synchronously for three hours every day and I duck into my studio for some me time. For one, there is no studio; for another, I haven't seen a three hour silent stretch in a long time. But that doesn't mean that I don't get a lot done.

When I was working as a school librarian, my schedule was extremely choppy:  see a class, have a fifteen minute break, do a few checkouts, have a twenty minute break, see two more classes, etc.  I was most successful at work when I took advantage of those breaks, as little as they were, and attempted to accomplish something during that time. It is much the same in my house. The time I have may come in strange segments but minutes are minutes and you have to use what you've got. I might prep dinner then play a few rounds of Candyland then knit a few rows while the boys play together then read a few books then work a bit more on dinner then take the boys for a walk. Once the kids are in bed, I have longer stretches to do my things, and I take full advantage of those times.

One final note: I claim no expertise. My best advice is to try a lot of things and see what works for you and your family. And when that stops working (as it will, as your kids grow and their needs change), try something else. That's basically my parenting philosophy in a nutshell, to be perfectly fair. Just don't forget to have fun; otherwise, what's the point?