a scarf and a few thoughts

Darling husband has a manly new scarf, made by me, to block the icy wind as he heads to and from work.  I used a thick, wool blend yarn on needles that were smaller than recommended, which resulted in a pretty wind resistant, muffling muffler.

He's not usually a 'scarf guy' but he's worn it already, to show his gratitude, and if he doesn't ...

... I'll wrap it around my neck and call it mine.  (Just kidding, darling - I'll share.)

Avery's been busy making a project of her own.  She watches me closely and having seen me finish up and mail off a birthday gift for my Mom, a plum coloured basket-weave scarf, she's been working away making a blankie for Gramma.  (It's coming along, but Gramma you'll have to wait a number of years.)

It feels good to have a project on the go, and even better to finish things.  January is a tough month and February can feel even longer, which is making me feel needy for good project ideas and fresh supplies.  It seems to me that my mind starts swirling with resolutions somewhere around this time every year.  It's now that I start feeling the weight of a winter slump, the funk of doing nothing and growing tired of my everyday routine and surroundings.  It's now that I need to back away from the endless feed of inspiration I can wander aimlessly through on the internet and start trusting my own instincts for creativity.  Just looking at the scads of pretties out there only fuels my dissatisfaction that those pretty things aren't here, and that I'm not crafty enough to make my surroundings look as delicious as what I'm seeing.  Seriously, it makes me feel so mad!  If I feel the need to add some pop to my life, it's up to me.

I'm reading a fun book called Savvy Chic: The Art of More for Less that Erin (Ava's mom) found for me on their recent holiday.  Although I've only dipped into it a little ways, it's reminded me that, while I've been feeling discontent with my current location, daily routines, and minimal budget, I'm not stuck - I just have to be more creative!

My attention was also recently pointed towards the new book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are and while I haven't seen it or been able to page through it yet, the title alone makes me wonder if it might be just the kind of book I need to challenge myself out of this current slump.

Onward and upward.  February will be fantastic.

flour pies

Almost every day lately, Avery makes a special request to do some baking.  With a lot of love and a lot of enthusiasm, she whips up pies and chocolate cakes for Daddy to come home to.  They're always for Daddy, and they're always made with the one simple ingredient of flour - or sometimes just oats (which I've learned are a LOT easier to clean up).

She can spend a good long time stirring, scooping, dumping, and a little tasting.  It's a wonder that she loves kitchen play so much since it isn't where I like to spend much of my time, but I suppose I am there an awful lot.  She has not tired of her little dishes and box of play food one bit, and she loves to play with water in the sink, spraying and washing and transferring.  

Sometimes a fancy outfit is in order, which I completely understand.

knee deep in snow

Our weather warmed up enough to entice us outdoors over the weekend.  Only zero on the thermometer and the sun was shining!  It felt like a rare opportunity that might be regretted if missed, so I bundled up Avery and myself and we set out for an adventure in our yard.

As soon as the door closed behind us, a blast of icy cold wind blasted our faces and made a big joke out of the warm temperature and sunshine.  Avery was not impressed in the slightest.  She kicked and cried and refused to be put down in the snow, which did look pretty daunting since it's been untouched through a good number of snowy days and had piled up pretty deep.  I stomped my way through part of the yard and created a trough for her to play in, and that seemed to ease some of her concern enough to be put down.

We were arctic explorers for a little while.  I have to admit that I was ready to pack it in a lot quicker than Avery, at least once she got her feet in the snow and realized it's pretty fun.  Her initial tears about being outside became tears at the prospect of being taken inside again, so I waited it out, but wow it was so cold!  I always pegged snow play as the Dad's duty, along with wrestling and taking the kids to the public pool, but sometimes the sunshine is going to call us outside and we won't be able to wait around for Daddy.  I think I'm going to need some snow-pants.

mad scientist

a little bed

We've been pretty determined not to bother moving Avery out of the crib until she showed us that she could get out herself.  Didn't see the point of bringing on new bedtime frustrations if there wasn't any need.  Visions of little Avery pounding on the bedroom door (still unable to turn the knob at least), slumping in a heap on the floor to stretch tiny fingers under the crack, and falling asleep there late in the night had our minds set to leave the crib as is until necessity called for a change.  What was it that swayed us and had Levi happily removing the rails and adjusting her crib into a perfectly sized toddler bed right before nap today?  

She asked for it!  A few times this week she's requested to sleep in a big bed and today her sweet smile and excitement at the idea won us over.  With fingers crossed we took down the rails and decided to give it a test run.  She was so pleased while Daddy worked and thanked him several times, a funny excited smile on her face. 

She did really good over nap-time and stayed in her little bed right until I came to get her.  So far tonight, being a couple hours into bedtime, she's also been quiet as a mouse and we're guessing all is well.  It was so darling to tuck her into bed tonight.  We both knelt by her side, said a prayer and sung a song, and she smiled up at us the whole time looking like she had everything she could possibly want in the world.

Over her nap I spent some time in my sewing room and made up an Avery-sized pillow just for her.  One of our guest pillows was sacrificed in the making, but I think it was a worthy cause.  She loves it and was happy to lay her head on it tonight at bedtime.  It's just so fun to see her world growing and changing month by month.  So many things she learns on her own and we adjust her surroundings accordingly, but the few that we seem to have full control over seem more daunting to me.  This was one of them ... and today we've done it.  

We're also proud to report that Avery has used the potty twice this week in very legitimate ways.  We can see that something is starting to click and it seems like a good time to jump in and tackle this next daunting challenge.  Both times we cheered for her and praised her for her accomplishment and I told her to come get a little treat as a reward.  Each time I gave her two little candies and told her "the first candy is for holding your pee until you reached the potty, and the second candy is for going on the potty!".  Each time she took her prize and ran back to the bathroom where she popped one in her mouth and threw the other one in the toilet.  Perhaps a little re-wording was necessary?  But then, I suppose the potty deserves a reward too for being there for her when she needed it.   Onward and upward!  Perhaps it's a good week for a little growing up!

lemon meringue

Big and little blessings have come to us in many ways in the past year.  Sometimes directly, and sometimes anonymously, but each time doesn’t fail to surprise us and make us feel so good.  The last gift was left anonymously ... a bag of little lemons left on Levi’s desk!  I told him it was likely that someone was sending a message that he’s being too sour, but he was quick to point out that the bag says “sweet” Meyer lemons.  Whatever the reason for the surprise gift of lemons, we were pleased and tickled by such a fun donation!  What to do with a bag of lemons?  I immediately thought of the new polka-dotted pie plate that I received in the Peters family gift exchange game and set my mind to making a lemon meringue pie!  Today was a good day to take on my little challenge (I’ve never made a lemon meringue before!) and found a yummy looking recipe (link here) on my favorite foody blog.  Not sure if I baked the meringue long enough, judging by how goldeny brown hers was, but we won’t know until tonight when we finally dig in and have a slice!  

Thanks to whoever thought a bag of lemons would be a nice surprise for us!  Very sweet indeed!

you found me

Today I unplugged my old blog.  It was a little sad for me.  Since my last post over there I lost all ability to publish and finally lost my patience with all the frustrations I've dealt with.  I'm starting from scratch again!  So here I am at this new home on the web - I'm so glad you've found me!

Unfortunately my old home on the web is completely gone and I wasn't able to leave a trail.  Please update your bookmarks and change your links if you have me listed on your own blogs!