Little

I feel like I was in a really good blog rhythm before our trip. Now, not so much. I don't feel like I have anything to say or share that's really blog-worthy I guess. But I have been working on some gift knitting so I'll share that. =]

The natural colored longies (which still need a drawstring) and red booties are for a friend who doesn't know what she's having.

The mismatch pair was born partially out a need to keep my hands busy on our ride home from NY and that was all I had left in my bag. (Except for the blue, I ran out and had to add that when I got home.) The other reason I made them was that a friend of mine was in labor with her 4th baby, and I wanted something to remind me to keep her in my thoughts and prayers. So those booties were made for her little guy! Even though they're kind of silly and mismatchy I love them so much for their story and uniqueness.

Home

We got home late Sunday night from a church missions trip to rural New York. 8+ hours there and the same back. 4 nights in a hotel and we used cloth the whole time. Z did really REALLY well on the ride, had a little trouble getting to sleep in the hotel and really started to come out of her shell more. I'm pretty sure her vocabulary increased on the trip too.

{I just can't help showing off that fluffy bum. And for clarification, we are in a parking lot in this picture. =]}

{Lots and lots of Ergo time - mixed with plenty of Mama (and others!) chasing.}

{We got some rain.}

{& Z learned to sing along with the radio}

I had a great time catching up with Karen and hope that the work we did at their church is a huge blessing. I know I was blessed to just be there and to see others pitching in to do God's work, while sometimes I had to just take a break to be with Z.

We're trying to get back into our daily rhythm now and it's getting easier each day. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I reminded myself that our housework/laundry/getting everything put away didn't all need to be done on Monday. We're just easing back into daily life. =]

{Ps sorry for the ginormous photos. I'm just too lazy to fix them... =/}

Daddy

Happy (late) Father's Day!


I just wanted to share this sweet photo of my girl and her daddy doing some work from home (Or, my parents' house. =]) on the weekend. There's nothing I love seeing quite as much as a daddy wearing his baby. <3

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

Today

I'm loving...

A silly little 19 month old!

Seeing her wearing handmade clothing. <3

Nutella cookies.

Simplifying Life: Toys

{This is what our living room looks like when Z is asleep. ;)}

Kids have toys. Most kids have so many toys that they don't even play with them all.

Ziva has her fair share of toys, and having her birthday a little over a month before Christmas it seems like she gets all her new toys at once! She has a very generous family, and we are so very thankful for all they give her, but sometimes the toy factor can be a little bit overwhelming when you're trying to keep a tidy house.

Last night I decided to sort out Ziva's toys to rotate. What this means is I chose a few toys and books to keep out in our living room and put the rest in a box in the closet. I'm planning on rotating out different toys weekly or biweekly, whatever feels right and replacing what's in the living room with a few things from the closet to try to renew her interest in them.

I also decided to move her toys from a basket, to a small bookshelf. This way she can easily see what she has there to play with and not just see a big overwhelming basketful of toys. With just a few things on the shelf, it's super easy for me to keep it looking neat and tidy, and to teach her how to keep it tidy as well!

{Top Shelf: Melissa & Doug Stacking Train, Plan Xylophone, stuffed animals.
Middle Shelf: Books, wooden puzzles.
Bottom Shelf: Drawstring bag, mini disc golf frisbee, old cell phone, balls, M&D alphabet blocks.}

I'm really excited about the fact that I'll be able to clean up the living room at the end of the day, and with hardly any effort it will look organized. There were times when the basket was overflowing with toys and books and stuffed animals, and even though everything was picked up, it looked anything but organized. I find it so much easier to relax with the hubs in the evening when my relaxing space is neat and tidy. =]

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

WIP Wednesday

The project: Boheme

The yarn: Cestari Fine Merino, in Country Lavender. This is my current favorite in the wool yarn catagory. My favorite part is picking out bits of hay along the way. <3

Made for: Ziva. Wanna know how teensy my girl is? I'm knitting her a size 6 months. Hehehe.

Mods: {Accidental} I got messed up on rs/ws, (due to messing up the increases and having to frog from the start of the lace pattern back to the first 2-3 rows... =[ ) so the button holes are on the opposite placket than the pattern calls for. I really don't think this is a big deal. lol.


I love this little sweater. I barely want to put it down! I just want to knit knit knit! And while I surely don't want to wish anything but this lovely weather we've been having upon us I do hope she can wear it soon! Maybe when they turn on the AC at the grocery store... it gets chilly then. ;]

One of my favorite things about this pattern is that it's knit in one piece. I absolutely hate seaming!

Are you blogging your WIP(s) today? Leave a comment linking to your post!

Savoring

Dear Sweet Ziva,

Today you came over to me, signed “milk” and said, “gup gup!” (Which in your language, means, “milk milk!”) I grabbed you and my knitting and settled down for a quick toddler-esque nursing session, you know, the kind where you nurse and simultaneously make me smell your feet, or play patty cake, or make a fist and knock on your head… that kind of thing that ends abruptly and you roll off my lap and run over to your toy basket.

Today you were so cuddly, you were clutching my hair with one hand and lying so still. Soon your eyes started to droop and you fell asleep, slowly breathing… in, out, in, out…

My head told me to go lay you down so you would get a decent nap and I could get some housework done.

My heart reminded me of the times when you would fall asleep every time you nursed. You only took up half as much room on my lap then. Today your legs hung over the side of the couch along with mine.

I stayed on the couch and continued knitting with you on my lap for about a half hour, relishing this time with you. The past year and a half has flown by, and I know that times like these are now fleeting and far between.

So today I chose to watch, hold, snuggle, love and just be with you. Housework will still be here tomorrow. Tomorrow you’ll be one day older than you are today.

I love you, baby.

Love, Mama

First Fruits

Recently in the ladies’ Bible study I attend we talked about giving our husbands the “first fruits of our labor.” In other words, the best, freshest, happiest us.

On a typical day the hubs leaves for work round 6:45-7am.**CORRECTION - apparently I don't know when my husband leaves... it's 5:45-6!** For quite awhile he’s just gotten up, gotten ready, kissed me goodbye (where I mumble something that’s supposed to sound like, “I love you.”) and he’s out the door. Sometimes I didn’t even remember him leaving when I wake up. That means the first me he really sees is the usually tired, sometimes frustrated, typically cooking dinner while a toddler gets into everything mama, who is happy to see him walk through the door so I can hand off the kid. Not just the girl he fell in love with all those years ago. Poor hubs.

A couple weeks ago I asked the hubs if he’d be willing to set his alarm 15 minutes earlier each day, so we could have that time to brew a pot of coffee, snuggle up on the couch, look out our picture window, and chat. He quickly agreed, and I’ve been getting up with him early in the morning and very much enjoying starting my day with him.

Last night we stayed up late, and this morning I slept in.

Man, do I miss our coffee chat today! I feel so much more connected to my husband throughout the day when we have those few minutes. Now I have to wait until after Z is in bed for that us time.

I think I’ve turned into a morning person.

I also love the time after he leaves that is just for me. I usually start a load of laundry the night before, so after he leaves I’m out the door on my way to the clothes line with a basket of laundry, wearing his rubber boots up to my knees and my pajama pants. I love breathing in the fresh, dewy, morning air and the feel of the damp clothes in my hands.

After that I usually like to come back in and check my facebook, email, blog roll, etc so that when Ziva wakes up I’m not distracted by these things and I can give her the attention she needs.

Thirdly is a hop in the shower without hurriedness. Bliss.

Occasionally I even prep dinner or knit a few rows before she wakes up.

Having this early morning time with my hubs really helps me start my day out right. Who or what are you giving your first fruits to?

Unplugged

I recently came across this post and we have been inspired to "unplug" one day a week. We chose Saturdays and for us, unplugged is:

- No TV (which was never really hard for us because we only had 2 channels. I say 'had' because last Saturday night we decided to put our TV in storage and just use our computer if we want to watch a movie or show on netflix.)

- No computer

- No iPod (unless we want to listen to some tunes, that's fine.)

We decided it would be fine to still use our cell phones. We don't have smart phones, and we don't talk or text a ton, so we decided to leave them on. Also, if the hubs and I want to watch a movie together after the kiddo is in bed that's fine too.

Saturday we were away most of the day, so it wasn't really hard. That evening after putting Z to bed we decided to rearrange our living room for fun. Everything pretty much ended up in the same place it had started. =P

The unplugging kind of rolled into Sunday. The computer was turned on and used a couple times, but there was also lots of this...



and this...



our thrifted pillowcase became this...



and our living room rearrangement gave us this...


Time is precious. From now on this family will be spending less screen time, and more face time.

Oh, and ps, check out this great review Delia from Knitted Together did of our blog! It's fabulous!

Thrifted

Sooo I'm trying to simplify our life by sorting through and donating things we don't use or need. I took a bunch of bags of clothing to Salvation Army yesterday which felt awesome, and I came home with less than I brought. I know, I know, I'm trying to get rid of stuff, but these things will be useful. =] (And loved!!)

Linens
The floral ones on top are 2 pillowcases I snagged for 1.99 (see what I'll do with them later!)
The ruffled one on bottom is an adorable crib skirt that was 4.99. The only problem is that Z's crib is on the lowest setting so it's too long... but I have an idea in mind. =]

Kettle
To replace my old one that was getting all rusty where the bottom joined the dome part. See? This one's all one piece, and it was only 2.99.

High Chair
I adore this chair. I love it's home-y country look. I love it's vintage-ness. I love that I had a brown one just like it when I was a baby. I love how easy it is to clean. I love that it was 6.99

Frames
(Well, one is a mirror.) To start our family photo collage. I have big ideas, folks. These rang in at (l-r) 3.99, .79, 2.99. Oh, and the one on the far right was originally light rose. I painted it to match our coffee table. (Pics to follow - it needs another coat!)

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

Mini Staycation

We were blessed with 4 days together this Memorial Day weekend. 3 of which we spent a lot of hours on the road, but for good reasons, and 1 we spent mainly at home enjoying each other and doing whatever we felt like. I took so many great photos and it was terribly hard to choose just a few to try to sum up our weekend, but here we go! =]

{Gleeful splashing after our picnic at the pond}

{A visit to Grammie&Grampa's and a walk around the farm}

{Proof of planting}

{A leisurely stroll through the woods}

{A special date to celebrate 3 years of marriage}