Weekend Project: Knit Valentine Heart Necklace

Next Thursday is Valentine's Day, and our daughter's school is having a little party... this means I have to send in 35 valentines, including a very special one for our daughter.  (Excited to share the final product with you!) Although I don't personally obsess over this holiday, I have fond childhood memories and traditions that I want to pass on to our daughter. So I thought I would get started by knitting her a little necklace she could wear on the 14th! I followed this knit heart pattern for the pink heart...

And for the necklace I made a purple icord with my awesome new Embellish knit tool I got for Christmas! (knitting dork alert!)

Here's a little 6 second video I put up on Vine today of my knitting process...

In all I think this project took me 1-1.5 hours...? I thought about adding two other hearts to the necklace in different pinks and purples, and maybe a white...? But I think that many hearts might be too massive and bulky for her to wear comfortably. 

And this weekend I might sew up a few of these little fabric hearts, via Design Sponge. I'm playing with the idea of filling them with beans to turn them into hand warmers for little coat pockets... Have any projects you are tackling this weekend?

Have a great one!

30 week bump and our daughter's thoughts on pregnancy

I'm 30 weeks this week, that means I'm 7.5 months pregnant and in 6 weeks I'll be tick tick ticking ... So yeah, gotta dig out the baby clothes and other baby gear and finish setting up the baby's room! In the above photo, taken at my folk's house the other night, it looks like they served basketballs for dinner and I went back for seconds! ZING!

But in general, everything is going great! I feel like we are having a boy... but I'm not as certain as I was with our daughter (I was 99% sure she was a girl)! That being said the husband and I are still bouncing around boy names while we have our girl name options pretty set. So who knows what that means? All will be revealed once the little one comes along!

I also noticed a little trend I'm guilty of, using the bump as a TV tray during my snack/ computer breaks at the toddler's nap time. Obviously some snacks are healthier than others! I'm going to miss my snack shelf.

And last night, our daughter got talking about pregnancy... I think she is still wrapping her head around this whole concept. She's pretty into it though. She loves reading the baby book she got from my in-laws for Christmas, and she loves to pat my belly and talk to me about the baby. I've also been showing  her more baby photos of herself, which I think helps her to understand her own experience and babyhood. It will be an adjustment but she's so helpful and sweet with others, that it should be a fairly smooth transition!?!

(the bump makes a good toddler hand rest too)

Home Video: "I Don't Bother You"

I have a fairly extensive nesting bucket list before our second one comes along... the biggest priority is to make an ultimate home video of all the clips I have taken over the past 27 months of our first born.  (this goes for pictures as well) There were so many instances this past fall where I wanted to share a clip right away, but alas I will admit it must not have been a priority. And so over the next few weeks you'll find little clips and bigger clips- of personal home videos here on the blog!

ABOVE: Our Daughter and her Dad play this new game, which is funny and sweet and almost a nightly tradition after bath... I just hope she understands it's just a game and it doesn't translate to actual sleepy-time (although her 2nd night in her new bed, proved to be quite bothersome... more on that later.) In the meantime this sleep deprived mother is watching home videos in order to focus on the positive aspects of her child! joking, kinda.

Halloween 2012

Before hitting the hay tonight, I wanted to share a little recap of our Trick or Treating this year before tomorrow turns us into November and looking ahead to Thanksgiving.

Above: We went to my parent's neighborhood to ring the doorbells of familiar folk. We went around the neighborhood with The Mayor of Munchkinland and the wicked witch of the west. aka my mom and niece. All costumes made by my mom the Mayor!

Despite appearances the little one was pretty excited about this adventure, just tired from an already big day at school where they had a little Halloween party.

She loved putting the candy in her little bag and quickly caught on to how awesome this whole thing is!

This house offered pretzels- which was probably the biggest hit!

The little group nearing the end of our trick or treating.  You can see the mash of leaves and debris leftover from the hurricane... but luckily nothing like other areas further north of us, where some will be celebrating Halloween on Friday to compensate for the hurricane clean up... and then there are towns that won't be celebrating at all this year.

And a little video... reminds me of the countless Halloween videos my grandfather took of us growing up. Our daughter had her "Trick or treat!" and "Happy Halloween!" and "Thanks You!!"-s down pact and I tried to capture some of them, with prompting of course. If you listen carefully you can hear her muttering to herself "More Candy, more candy, more candy" as she walks up another driveway.

Hope you all had a festive Halloween!

What to Watch: An Epic List of Movies for your weekend

Last weekend I got hit with this stomach bug and it knocked me on my a$$ for 2-3 days.  In that time all I could do was sleep and watch movies. In theory this sounds like an awesome weekend, but for me it was like being on a very long international flight (except more comfortable and with my own bathroom!).  I couldn't even knit, read, or write, simply lay there... (boo hoo, we get it!) My point is I watched an embarrassingly huge amount of movies. (whoops!) And I'm here to report back on what I saw.  Keep in mind that I'm not sure how great each movie was, given my state, but in general I found them pleasant and worth the watch.

Above: The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, a documentary that follows the Topp Twins, New Zealand's Lesbian sister singing comedy act.  I really enjoyed this film. I had never heard of the Topp Twins before and their bond is something else!

Korkoro, a film about a family of Gypsies living in France during WWII. It wasn't your typical WWII film. I enjoyed learning more about this side of the war and learning more about Gypsies in general, their culture, beliefs, etc.

Bread and Tulips, an Italian film set in Venice, is charming and scenic with a lovely little message about love and friendship. (ps: the trail is suuuuper cheesy! If I had seen the trailer beforehand, I might not have watched the film. It's much more understated than this.)

Following Sean, an interesting look at life in the 60's in San Francisco through the eyes of a four year old, and what his life is like as an adult.

The Country Teacher, I enjoyed seeing this sliver of life in the Czech countryside. It's a film where the lead character has to come to terms with his sexuality and how that relates to his new rural environment.

Young Goethe in Love. I love films that showcase the countryside, and I found this German film a lovely addition to the mix of Romantic period pieces. It had all of the same ingredients- star crossed lovers, costumes, too many mouths to feed, and drama.

Well I hope this has helped add a few films to your list for the weekend!

Check out more recommendations in my What to Watch blog series. 

I lud du tomorrow + other home videos

It has been a while since I did a major home video blast of the little one... her recent love of singing Tomorrow, from Annie inspired this video post. I still have a bigger goal of taking all the video ever taken and compiling it into one big file. Feels sort of strange figuring out how to navigate new technology so I don't just have it backed up and stored somewhere- only to forget about it, but rather have it all in one place... like the good ol days on a big wonking video cassette?  Anyway, enjoy the videos. There are more home videos after "the jump" aka- hit the "read more" text to see the rest.

What to Watch: Romantics Anonymous

There are some days, after taking care of the toddler all day, where I just need to sit and chill out during her nap time. This usual includes working on products for my etsy shop while watching a little movie. This week I watched the French film Romantics Anonymous. It's a sweet little gem of a movie, that like a piece of chocolate, was just the right way for me to spend my chill out time. To best explain it, it's as if the movie Chocolat and Amelie had a child. It's not as cinematically beautiful as those two movies but some of the ingredients are the same- a socially awkward women who loves to make Chocolate. Thus if you want a little cute feel good movie to watch, check out Romantics Anonymous (with a little chocolate to munch on while you watch!).

Home Videos: Loving on the dog and wrestlin'

She's taken to loving the dog during meal time... i.e. the only time the dog won't run away from her.

and horsing around with her Dad last month... they are building a bit of a tradition

Our Seashore weekend, in Pictures and Videos

At the last minute on Thursday, we took off to the shore for a long weekend.

It was a relaxing weekend, full of walks on the beach, time spent at the playground and a bit of yard work- 8 bags full of pine needles and other yard debris!

Above: the gang all loaded up on Thursday night.

This season's first trip to Cream Valley, the best soft serve hands down, the babe agrees!

Check out more pictures plus some videos after the jump! 

(click on the "Read More" prompt on the lower left)

What to Watch / Music Monday: that song at the end of "Girls" Overdrawn by White Sea

Have you guys been watching the HBO show, "Girls"? It's pretty funny. It has it's quirky moments for sure, lets just say it's not something I would sit down and watch with my parents! We have watched the first two episodes, and so far so good the scene with Mike Birbiglia in the second episode was hilarious! Anywho, you should check out the show. Here's the song from the credits of the second episode- Overdrawn by White Sea, I'm digging it- a fun riding in the car with the windows down- type of song!

"You're Coming with Me!", a new toddler video

The husband taught our 17 month old the phrase "You're coming with Me!" while washing the car this week. Here's a little video of her practicing her new phrase in the bath that night.

What I know about Parenting I learned from puppy kindergarten

As our baby continues to grow into toddlerhood, I've begun to realize how having a baby is kinda like having a dog... What I learned as a dog owner in puppy kindergarten (or dog training class) has translated into my parenting skills. I'll break it down into a small list to help make my ideas more clear and to possibly keep me from rambling. Read more, plus watch a hilarious video on the topic, after the jump.

An Example of some Bad A$$ Beekeeping

word.

I'll stick to the hives two feet off the ground.

... just because

ahhhh a very good ending to a very good series. I shamelessly will admit that I could and have watched this clip many times this past weekend... what a perv. KIDDING. It's just too good. If you haven't seen the series North & South then this clip is a spoiler- and do not watch it! 

You can check out more Downton Abbey - esque suggestions HERE (although I feel like North and South kinda kicks Downton in the butt).

"What's A Weekend?" IE why I Dislike Saturdays

I wish I suffered from Maggie Smith's ignorance about a weekend... and in an ironic twist I do. I'm sure most other mom's feel my sentiment?! There is no real break from motherhood... you simply have to adapt to the little mini vacations you get throughout the day. It's like the first birthday I had as a new mom- it was my 30th, thus it should have been extra special and in fact it was extra NOT. Baby's don't give a crap about special occasions, this goes for one's first Mother's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas with a baby and thus a Saturday means nothing to them as well. And after the some what numbing predicability of my week of childcare, one would hope that Saturdays would offer a break of some sort... an adventure (even the baby can come along lol). But no, I hate Saturdays because the husband works on Saturdays... a 13 hour shift in fact, so no I have no idea what a weekend is and neither does he... I'm looking forward to the time when a weekend will feel adventurous, lord knows when that will be!?

Love is Making Its Way Back Home

Josh Ritter - Love Is Making Its Way Back Home from Josh Ritter on Vimeo.

Check out this new Josh Ritter video I just heard about on the Etsy blog! It's so mesmerizing, reminds me of The Curse.

Testing the Walking Skills in the great outdoors...

I took some shotty videos with my cellphone this week of the little miss toddling about outside. She's been full on walking since Thanksgiving and her skills indoors are pretty impressive. She's getting really fast but still falls on occasion due to her balance, or slippery socks etc... But as you will see in this video, she handles her missteps like a little champ. My friend and I were talking about this yesterday- about how she doesn't cry or get upset when she falls... and I explained how it might be because the husbo and I decided a long time ago to just not react to her falling. After all babies take cues from their parents, so if we didn't rush in or make a big deal then she wouldn't either. Now that's not to say we don't respond. If she actually cries we do respond to her needs, but honestly this is soooo rare. For example we were playing in the driveway this afternoon, smashing up ice- as you do, and she took a face plant on the pavement. I just stood there watched and waited and she simply stood up and kept going, I was pretty amazed.

ANYWHO, the above video is 3 minutes long. I edited, but you know how those things go!?! So watch it at your will, I know it will only really interest friends and family (if even that!). But it's good entertainment to watch her fall and get back up. But no, this will not make the news, this video will not be the next Fenton! It's just a little look into her navigating the great outdoors. 

Have a great weekend!

UPDATE: after watching this video the thought occurred to me that perhaps her shoes are too small, and that's why she's not as steady.  And after further investigation and trying on a bigger pair- the answer is YES, they are too small.  Now she is on her 3rd pair... dam their feet grow fast.  I feel like a bad parent for not realizing this sooner, ah the learning curve of being a first time parent.

So this has been happening...

Just some videos of what the little miss has been up to lately at 13.5 months. She is full on walking and exploration is her number one pass time! Surprisingly I don't have any walking videos from this week, maybe because it's getting harder and harder to catch up with her! Other little milestones- she's very affectionate loves to kiss and hug us on her own initiative. She's been very chatty for a long time now, but she is using more words in appropriate situations and not just repeating us like a parrot. Like when her friend correctly velcroed her own shoe this week, Cordelia whispered "good girl" for her friend, a praise usually reserved for our dog Millie.

So here are a few videos, some long, some short.... hard to edit as a parent, so watch what you will.

Above: this week she hung out with her cousins Liam and Sophie after school. 

Talking on the phone in her crib. (cellphone vid)

Beat box remix, playing with some noise machines in her room. (cellphone vid)

What to Watch: Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Last night we watched Werner Herzog's documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams. I feel like my brain grew a few ripples during the course of watching this film. In college while on an Art Abroad to France in 2002 we went and saw some cave paintings... the experience was magical and unique but still felt like a bit of a tourist experience... Herzog's film, with its scenes of long, quiet and musical moments spent alone with the paintings, (without any narration) felt like church. Ideally what church should always feel like... it was a spiritual experience that one can have in nature, when in the presence of something truly awesome (awe-inspiring). To feel so connected to people from 25,000 years ago was truly remarkable.  I've always been fascinated with archeology and as an artist I love the line quality, gesture, and movements of these drawings... the drawings are really stunning.  There is so much more to say, more that I am still processing.  But do me a favor and watch this documentary. And I mean watch it in it's entirety, put down the phone, the computer and just sit with it. Because Herzog will make you feel as if you are actually there, in the presence of something wonderful.

(ps the trailer is nice but doesn't do it justice, I find it too choppy.) You can read more "What to Watch" posts HERE.

can't get a word in edgewise

I'm the dude in the tie, my family is the stain...

tragically true, tragically funny

Happy Holidays! 

; /