...a crafty balance...

Summer Bucket List

2012-05-29T17:46:00.000-05:00

It seems like last summer flew by in our crazy world of new baby. Schools are finishing up around here and the day care is getting busier which got me thinking about all of the things I wanted to do this summer. Of course, as I started making the list it became a bit ambitious. The reality is that we both work full-time and opposite schedules which includes some weekends for Rykert. But a

Lordy Lordy Married for Forty*

2012-05-27T08:27:00.000-05:00

Today's my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, and it's certainly cause to celebrate. When my sisters and I were discussing gifts, I suggested that we buy an ad in the "Milestones" section of the Sunday newspaper. This was a joke, because I actually can't think of anything my mom would dislike more than that. I tried to convince them that she's just been joking around all these years and she'd

New Old Chair

2012-05-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I found this chair at an antique store. I like it a lot. And so does Scout. Notice the photobombing dog. So what to do with the chair? If you look closely there's approximately 4+ layers of visible chippy paint: 2 shades of pink, turquoise, red and maybe a couple more. You can also see bare wood in a few places. My options: Should I leave it be and let its

They Don't Make Them Like They Used To

2012-05-18T20:18:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we visited my parents, and Scout had a good time playing with the "vintage" toys. And so did I. You just never know what my dad is going to uncover in their basement, but for as long as I can remember there's been a big bucket of Fisher Price Little People. They still make a toy called "Little People" but they are much chunkier and have arms and legs and clothes. And frankly,

Rainbow Party: The Cake

2012-05-17T17:01:00.000-05:00

The interwebs are ablaze with rainbow layered cakes. And I'd be lying if I didn't say that I chose the whole rainbow theme just so I could make one. A few weeks before Scout's birthday, I had a trial run. I decided to make small, 4" cakes so that Scout had a rainbow cake to smash and the rest of the party would have the option of eating vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. The rainbow layers were

Happy Mother's Day

2012-05-13T19:30:00.003-05:00

To all the mothers out there, including my own, a very happy Mother's Day! Scout and I played with the vintage people at my parent's house this weekend.

Star Wars Day

2012-05-04T06:46:00.000-05:00

May the Fourth Be With You.

Rainbow Party: Foods

2012-05-02T17:17:00.000-05:00

If you peruse Pinterest, you will find no shortage of rainbow themed party ideas. And while I had hoped to incorporate the rainbow theme into the entire menu, I settled for just a few items. I was told that dyeing bread rainbow colors would be frowned upon. Veggies No blue veggies, and very few purple options at the local grocery. Fruit Kabobs Jell-O Making rainbow Jello is a

Rainbow Party: The Invitations

2012-04-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Once I decided on a rainbow theme for Scout's party, after careful consideration, I set to work on her invitations. I looked around Etsy and other sites, but didn't see quite what I wanted. I wanted them to be rainbow but also include her monthly pictures. I decided to make them myself using my very very rudimentary Photoshop skills. Addresses and phone numbers removed because I'm getting

A colorful party.

2012-04-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Scout's first birthday with a rainbow themed party. Her Birthday Suit. My sister likened it to a clown suit. From the back. She was unimpressed with the rainbow cake and there was very little smashing. Can you tell that I had a lot of fun planning? My parents not only hosted, but my mom did a lot of the party planning and research too. Is it too early to

12 months

2012-04-19T02:49:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning and discovered that the new version of Blogger ate this post. And I'm pretty sad about that, but I'll try to recreate it, as best I can. Dear Scout, Happy Birthday! It's really hard for me to believe that it's been a year since you came flying into the world. Yet, at the same time, I have no idea what we did before you were here. It's a cliche, but like most

Photo editing

2012-04-13T06:49:00.001-05:00

I take a lot of pictures. I post some of the best here, and even more on Flickr. Pretty much since I started blogging, I've hosted my pictures on Flickr. I think it's important to host photos on a third party platform and not use the Blogger photo uploading tool. Mostly this is because if you decide you want to keep blogging and some day you pick your blog up and self-host or host elsewhere,

A Sweater: Then and Now

2012-04-11T06:14:00.001-05:00

Back when I was gestating and Scout wasn't Scout, but was still Whatshername, I knit a little sweater. I loved knitting this sweater. It was intensely satisfying to knit away on this during that January. It wasn't perfect and I wasn't 100% satisfied with the buttons, but nonetheless I put it on display on the corner shelf of her room. And that's where it's been up until a couple of weeks

Weekending...

2012-04-09T17:27:00.002-05:00

We had a good weekend... Scout learned more about bubbles. We dyed Easter eggs with Kool Aid Beware the purple Kool Aid. A black egg results. Scout got close to the dye, but not too close... Scout got dressed in her spring best... A gust of wind blew a patio umbrella into my head in a most surreal scene, and I ended up with an egg of my own. But it went away quickly and I'm left with a

Is this thing on?

2012-04-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

Wow. I didn't intend to be gone this long. First, we spent an extended weekend in Louisiana. I had every intention of loading up some posts to go while we were gone, but I under estimated how much time I'd need to pack up all of Scout's stuff. Then we got home, and I under estimated how long it would take to get back into our routine. The problem with taking a blog break is that it's hard

11 Months

2012-03-19T02:49:00.002-05:00

Dear Scout, I've been thinking a lot this week about what I was doing one year ago. As your birthday nears, I figure I'll probably be doing more of that. One year ago, your grandparents had come to town to help us put your bedroom together and get prepared for your impending arrival. I was round, and I wasn't sure if I could get any rounder. But I did. You were moving around a lot. I

Beware of Squatters

2012-03-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

Apparently, in my pregnancy-induced fog I never told you this story. It's something that happened approximately one year ago. My parents had come to town to help me put some order to what would be Scout's room and to help with a few projects around our house (light fixtures, leaky faucets, etc.) After they had left, I looked down at our shed and asked Rykert if he or my dad had been down there

WWSW: St. Patrick's Day

2012-03-14T17:50:00.001-05:00

St. Patrick's Day is around the corner, and except for those fantastic sandals, this is pretty much what I hope Scout will be wearing on Saturday. The onesie was a gift from my sister, and I love it. I contemplated getting myself a matching t-shirt. I seriously love those shoes.

Sesame Street: Paul Simon

2012-03-06T19:49:00.000-06:00

I don't know much about current kid's programming. Scout's still a bit young to pay attention to tv. She will, on occasion, watch a short video on the iPad or computer, but it's rare. I guess this will likely change, but for now she just doesn't pay any attention to the tv - no matter what's on. Though she does like to dance to the Law & Order theme song, and this makes me happy. But if I

On blogging...

2012-03-02T09:55:00.002-06:00

Note: This post is heavy on the mechanics of blogging. I'm home sick. I've had a ridiculous cough for the past few weeks. The first week was really bad, but I was pretty sure it was just a chest cold. I didn't even miss a day of work. But yesterday, I dropped Scout off at day care and then, on a whim, stopped by the walk-in clinic. Apparently, I have atypical ("walking") pneumonia. She

WWSW: Leap Day

2012-02-29T16:16:00.001-06:00

Last week I learned from 30 Rock that Leap Day doesn't count. Apparently, you can do anything you want on Leap Day and it doesn't count. Seriously. I saw it on tv, so I'm sure it's true. Right? Either way, I spent my Leap Day pretty much the same way I spend most Wednesdays. Last night we had a thunderstorm, and it felt like spring this morning (though it took a turn for the worse by

Planning.

2012-02-27T20:40:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but February is coming to an end. I'm quite happy that I'm getting an extra day. So what have I been up to? Well, mostly I've been doing a whole lot of planning. Planning: Scout's first trip to Louisiana (including our first flight with baby). Planning: Scout's first birthday party. I have so many ideas. Planning: The 2012 garden. Planning: Bloggy stuff.

10 months.

2012-02-19T02:49:00.002-06:00

Dear Scout, Here we are at the 5/6th mark. You are getting so big, and you've developed the appetite to match. You eat huge meals and have been a bottomless pit for the past few weeks. You eat and eat and eat. Your favorite foods are yogurt and peanut butter Cheerios. We also discovered that you like dill pickles. You are crawling everywhere and fast. You crawl after Nola, who just sits

I made something.

2012-02-16T18:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't had much motivation to knit lately. I don't know why. I made a square for a blanket as part of a knit-along on a message board I frequent, but other than that, nada. A few weeks ago, however, I did dust off my sewing machine and fired it up. My amateur skills are rusty, at best, but at least I made something. I made these little pouches for my nieces for Valentine's. I had the

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T06:54:00.000-06:00

Our Valentine's went in the mail late, but they are on their way. In the meantime...