We Heart Crazy Hair Day

The princess has been planning for this day for almost a year now. Let's just say crazy hair day is kind of a big deal around here! This year we went with an octopus themed hairstyle. She really wanted it blue, which I'm not to crazy about (I think it looks a little spider-ish,) but what are you going to do? Even with its dark hue I think it turned out pretty awesome!

Belle and Boo

As much as I love that blanket on the post below, I'm getting a little sick of it being the first post I see when I look at my blog. I figure it is I about time I post something new! The weather here has been pretty lovely lately, and I am excited that Spring is here. There are buds on the trees, tulips and daffodils are blooming, the kids are playing outdoors, and Summer is just around the corner! It's been a little while since I have shared anyone else work, so I'm thinking today I will share some "Spring-y" prints from one of my favorite illustrators- Belle and Boo. Seriously, their work is adorable. Love them!

Bobble Blanket

I'm sure you have all been giddy with anticipation, but it's finally here folks...my Bobble Blanket Pattern! This colorful, textured little blanket is perfect for little ones. It's just the right size for the stroller, car seat, or carrying it around and cuddling.

Supplies

-U.S. I Hook

-3 skeins of I Love This Yarn! Super Soft for color A

  (or worsted weight yarn of choice)

-1 skein of I Love This Yarn! Super Soft each for colors B, C, D 

  (or worsted weight yarn of choice)       

-Yarn Needle (to sew in ends)

Guage

             Finished blanket will approximately measure 30” x 40”, but gauge isn’t particularly

             important for this piece.  

Abbreviations

             Ch-chain 

             st-stitch

             SC-single crochet

             DC-double crochet

             MB-make bobble

                     To make bobble work 4 open DC (will have 5 loops on hook.) 

                     Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.

            

Pattern

Using Color A Ch 110, turn

Row 1:       working into 2^nd ch from hook, SC  1 into each ch , ch1 and turn 

Row 2:       SC 1 into each st across 

Row 3-6:    repeat row 2

Row 7:       SC 6, with color B MB, with color A SC 11, with color C MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color D MB, with color A SC 11, with color B MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color C MB, with color A SC 11, with color D MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color B MB, with color A SC 11, with color C MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color D MB, with color A SC 6             

Row 8-18:  repeat Row 2 

Row 19:    SC 12, with color D MB, with color A SC 11, with color B MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color C MB, with color A SC 11, with color D MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color B MB, with color A SC 11, with color C MB, with color A SC 11, 

                   with color D MB, with color A SC 11, with color B MB, with color A SC 12

Row 20-30:   repeat Row 2

Row 31:        repeat Row 7

Row 32-42:   repeat Row 2

Row 43:        repeat Row 19

Row 44-54:   repeat Row 2

Row 55:        repeat Row 7

Row 56-66:   repeat Row 2

Row 67:        repeat Row 19

Row 68-78:   repeat Row2

Row 79:        repeat Row 7

Row 80-90:   repeat Row 2

Row 91:        repeat Row 19

Row 92-102:  repeat Row 2

Row 103:       repeat Row 7

Row 104-114: repeat Row 2

Row 115:        repeat Row 19

Row 116-126: repeat Row 2

Row 127:        repeat Row 7

Row 128-138: repeat Row 2

Row 139:        repeat Row 19

Row 140-150: repeat Row 2

Row 151:        repeat Row 7

Row 152-162: repeat Row 2

Row 163:        repeat Row 19

Row 164-174: repeat Row 2

Row 175:        repeat Row 7

Row 176-186: repeat Row 2

Row 187:        repeat Row 19

Row 188-193: repeat Row 2

Fasten off

Border

Row 1:   Using Color B SC 1 into each st until you get to corner, 

                SC 3 in corner (repeat 3x) working around blanket

Row 2:  Ch 3, DC 1 into each st around

               Fasten off.  Weave in all ends.

Phew! I know sewing all those ends in wasn't too fun, but that's it. You're done! If you have any questions or need any help along the way, please don't be afraid to ask me! Enjoy!

A Little Robot

It seems that I have had nothing but baby projects to share lately, but here is another one anyways. This cute little robot found a home with my sister's newest little guy, but stay tuned...

I will be posting a free pattern for the blanket that went with him soon!

In Case You've Missed Us

As usual I have been horrible at updating my blog. Since January is almost over, I've decided we've kinda missed the boat on posting what we were up to in December. In case you are still curious though, you might as well head on over here. My sister-in-law did a nice little post that pretty much shows what we were up to. Most of the pictures and activities done would be the same, and I'd hate to be redundant...so I will only copy this picture of the family instead of her entire post.

Maybe we'll expand on some of our December activities at a later date, but for now I'm thinking this is enough! 

Sock Monkey Hat and Shoes

I can not believe that it is December already! Seriously, where does the time go!? We've been busy around here, but I thought I would take a second to share another project. One of our fabulous teachers is expecting, so the princess and I thought this would be a fun gift to give her for Christmas. I have to admit that I love how these turned out. Don't know that the pictures do them justice, but we'll try anyways.

And here's a little close-up of the shoe. (I'm loving these soles!)

Jack Skellington

Last March, while in Disneyland, the prince wanted a Jack Skellington hoodie. He is a huge fan, it's one of his favorite movies. I wasn't willing to pay $50 for a toddler's sweatshirt however, and immediately thought, "I bet I can make him one." It's been a few months, but I finally made it. I figured now is the perfect season for it. It was my first attempt at freezer paper stenciling, but I doubt it will be my last. 

Let me just say, it's a hit! He doesn't want to take it off and he's been singing "Nightmare Before Christmas" all morning. Just in time for Halloween.

Owl Baby Gift Set

Let me start out by saying I don't do gender neutral. Everything looks either boyish or girlish to me. So when my cousin informed they were expecting their first and they wanted to wait to find out what it is, let's just say I was hoping they'd change their mind.  I have so many ideas for girl gifts or boy gifts, but zero that would work for either. I even contemplated making two different gifts and sending whichever one once I knew if it's a boy or girl. I ultimately decided against that though, because I want to send it before the baby is born (and that is a lot of work.). I'm not even going to tell you how many different shoes I made before deciding on these ones. (I can count at least four.) Here is what I finally came up with. Not sure how gender neutral it is, but I hope they like it.

Here is a better picture of the shoes. I embroidered "HOOT" on each sole.

So I beg of you, please, PLEASE find out what you are having for my sanity's sake!

Boo Banner

We are already getting into the Halloween spirit around here. We pulled out the fall decor today, so I thought I'd share my latest addition to our seasonal decorations. My porch was in need of a little something, so I created this burlap banner to hang above the entrance last year. This was a pretty simple project. All you need is some burlap, acrylic paint, and ribbon. Cut the burlap into the desired shape and size. (I cut  seven 13"x9" triangles for the flags.) Paint your design onto the burlap. Once the paint is dry, sew the ribbon along the top for hanging. That's it! Nothing too crazy--just a little planning! I'm still loving how it turned out. This year it is a little more weathered, but it still looks good. Now, I am thinking maybe I should make a couple of matching striped burlap pillows for the chairs out there.

Better Late than Never

My babies are growing up right before my eyes. The prince had his first day of preschool earlier this month and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. It seems that every time I blink weeks have passed me by. All he needed was a totally awesome batman backpack, and he was ready to go. I on the other hand am just a little bit sad. I must admit it is rather strange for me to have time at home with no children there. I do kinda miss them. They are fun to have around most of the time. I hope they are off having wonderful adventures, and I can't wait to hear about every single one of them.

Super Boy!

I finally got a the Prince/Punk's pictures done. They turned out better than I thought they would. I have to admit I was worried. The boy doesn't hold still for long, but I think we captured him perfectly. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

 Such a stud!

Painted Chipboard Letters and Canvas

This shelf and picture frame were looking a little lonely and practically every time I would walk by they would beg me for some company. I've been thinking about this for awhile, and have made a few different attempts to put something here. I'm a Wizard of Oz fan and thought it could be cute to add the phrase "no place like home." Other than that, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. My first failed attempt was a typography image transfer onto canvas. For some reason my image turned green, and let's just say didn't work in the space at all. My second attempt was subway art using all of the addresses we've lived at. Loved the design and concept, but something about it just wasn't quite right. The latest attempt I think may be the winner. This was a simple and quick project. I glued the chipboard letters onto the canvas and then painted the whole thing. I'm kinda loving the subtlety to it. The space looks a little less empty now, it could still use an accessory or two, but I think we are off to a good start!

First Day of First Grade

The princess has her first week of first grade under her belt. She LOVES it! Everyday we pick her up the first thing she tells us about is lunch.The girl is excited about the cafeteria. She is so happy to be in first grade and be going to school all day. I must admit that I am going to miss having her around all day, but I couldn't be more pleased that she loves school so much. I took my camera to the school with us to get pictures with her and her little friends on the first day, but she wouldn't let me take any.  Apparently I am already embarrassing, so I just have to settle for the ones in front of our house. Can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Sugar and Spice + Spunk to Spare

I've been terrible at pictures lately, so I decided it was high time we did a photo shoot with each kid. I have one shoot finished and am thrilled with how it turned out. Let's hope the other one turns out this well. (Fingers crossed.) I am having such a difficult time even picking which ones to show here because I love them all so much!  

I cannot tell you how much I love this girl!

Ready For Some Relaxation

We've been busy around here as usual. I always have this vision of nice and relaxing things in my head, but it rarely turns out that way. I've also have been horrible at getting pictures of our adventures along the way. Have no fear though, I took the little princess out for a photo shoot and got some gorgeous shots I will share later. Until then I plan on relaxing and wish I could do so here.

Image via Australian stylist Lara Hutton. I love her stuff.

A Warm & Sunny Weekend!

It is finally so warm and sunny here! It will only last a couple of days, but I will take all of the sunshine I can get. I thought I would share a few paintings today from one of my very favorite shops on Etsy, Janet Hill Studios. These paintings are the epitome of sunshine and cheeriness to me. They make me want those long Summer days. Enjoy. I'm heading out and basking in the sunshine, while I've still got it!

Disneyland

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to California for the princess’s National Cheer Competition (more on that to come later.) It just happened to take place right across the street from Disneyland, so we went there too. Our kids are the perfect age where they can ride pretty much everything, but are still young enough to be into it all. Plus, they had never been before, so we were all really excited. My sister-in-law and her husband met us there for a couple of days, and we had a blast. We literally had no down time. We fit everything in in those few days, in between all of the cheer stuff. We totally lucked out on the schedule this year. We’d wake up early for competition, and then would race over to Disneyland after, then repeated it the next day. The princess came home decked out in Pirate gear and has decided on a pirate themed birthday party this year. While the Prince was obsessed with Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas. Both sang "Yo-Ho Yo-Ho, a Pirate's life for me." for a couple of weeks. Not your typical choices for most kids at Disneyland, but I love it. We all came home thoroughly exhausted, but oh so happy! Can’t wait until next year, although I need a nap just thinking about it.

I'm Still Here

After about a year of neglect, I decided it was about time to get back to my blog. I’ve had a few people out there ask where I went and if everything is alright. We are all here and doing well, we have just been busy. Honestly, I have thought long and hard about whether or not to say farewell to my blog for good. I just couldn’t decide if blogging was a waste of my time. After a long hiatus I have decided that I’ve really missed it. I need somewhere I can document what is going on with my family, keep track of all my constant inspirations, and share my latest projects, and a blog is as good of a place as any other. While I probably should have a separate blog for each of these things, I’m awful enough at one blog; I don’t think I could manage multiple ones.  I figure this is probably more reflective of me anyways.  So please come in and stay while, and be sure to come and visit often!

Image over at Real Simple. Sadly this house isn't mine, but a girl can dream.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of All Ages...We're Going to the Circus!

I can not say this very often, but I am going to say it now. I was deprived as a child and have never been to a circus. So you may understand why I am beyond excited that we just won tickets to the upcoming show. I was reading the Babes in Hairland blog, and noticed that she was having a contest for circus tickets. All you had to do to be entered in for the first pack was come up with a fun circus hairdo on one of the kiddos, and the judges would pick their favorite one to win. I may be a total dork, but we had a lot of fun with this. Erika decided that she wanted to do something with a tightrope, and from that idea sprung forth a fabulous hairstyle. (Drum roll, please.) And now presenting...The "Tightrope Side Pony" in all it's glory!

The Luckiest Unlucky

Sorry I have totally neglected the blog. Sometimes life speeds along and it takes awhile for me to catch back up with it. On Father's Day my little prince fell into a bush. We took him to emergency thinking he would just need some stitches, but a CT scan and a few minutes later they were life flighting him up to Primary Children's Medical Center, the local children's hospital. They discovered that a stick had entered above his eye, followed along side the optic nerve, and had weaved itself through his brain narrowly missing his carotid arteries, and then just stopped short of his brain stem. The next few hours seemed like an eternity. Sitting in that empty OR waiting room, I prepared myself for the worst and thought of everything he'd never be able to do again. They prepared us for the likely posssibility that they would have to open up his skull to retrieve the stick, but they assured us that they had a surgeon who specialized in cutting the skull, another whose job it was to stop the potential bleeding, they had a specialist for every possible thing that could have gone wrong. Luckily, we didn't have to use most of them. Miraculously, his doctors were able to pull the stick out of the original wound without causing further injury. 

After we made it through surgery, it became a waiting game to see what would go wrong. Everyone was sure something would. Serious head injuries like this just didn't happen without devastating or fatal ramifications. We watched the families of some of our PICU neighbors with heart wrenching stories say their goodbyes. Fortunately, our luck continued. We were able to take him off all of the breathing tubes, and the first words out of his mouth was, "I want my Mama!" One of the best sentances I've ever heard in my life. His wound stopped leaking CSF fluid from the brain.  He was able to move all of his limbs. We moved out of the PICU to the Nuero-Trauma Unit. After about a week or so, we were finally released from the hospital ahead of schedule. (We were originally told we'd be there a minimum of 21 days.) We had weekly visits from Home Health, gave him a heavy dose of antibiotics every 8 hours through his PICC line, and he continued to make his miraculous recovery. The little guy somehow managed to escape all infections and pretty much made a full recovery.

The past few months have been such a whirlwind for me, and I can't truly put into words how I feel. It amazes me how quickly life can change, and most often during such ordinary moments. It's incredible how frail and  powerful life can be in the same instant. We truly are some of the luckiest unlucky people. It was so touching to see all of the support we were given. Often times from people we didn't even really know. I can't thank everyone enough for all of your thoughts and prayers. They truly worked miracles for us. Thank you! This has been such an incredible experience. Hopefully things are starting to return back to normal and I can return to some of my usual activities again, like blogging. While this pretty much ruled our Summer, I do have a few more things I want to try and post soon. Thanks again for all the love and support--he is still doing great!