Kids are nuts! Well... mine are...

So, I don't blog about my kids very often... it's not that I don't have things to say about them, but often I start writing about something that I think is hilarious and halfway through I start thinking "Is this funny to anyone else? Or does it just make me look crazy? Or my kids crazy? Maybe we are crazy?!" etc etc etc. And then I delete it and write about crafts instead. Which is cool - but let's be honest, it makes it seem like I have a LOT of time for crafts... I don't.

Here's the deal. I've got two kiddos: Big'un is going to be 4 at the end of June, and Littl'un is going to be 2 on Friday. 2? TWO?! Two. Ugh.

And they're funny. Well, WE (the hubs and I) think they're funny. They say funny things - they make jokes that make no sense. And sometimes, when they're MOST funny - is when they're TOTALLY serious.

Example: The big'un got new rubber boots this year. Spiderman boots. Now - we KNEW that we had fire-man rubber boots SOMEWHERE in our house, so when little'un got to pick out his raincoat, he picked out a fireman coat because we had (foolishly) told him about the boots. Well, we couldn't find 'em. And he kept trying to wear the big'uns boots. Fights ensued, and last night, miracle of miracles - we found the fireman boots.

Stuffed Zucchinis!

About 2 months ago, a Clancy's opened up near us. We went in the first couple of days and splurged (and I mean SPLURGED) on two zucchini boats to have with our dinner. Well, at almost $4.00 each (for half a zucchini, people!) I knew we'd never be buying them again - but they were too good to not try to recreate. And I think I did a pretty decent job.

Mama's got a brand new bag!

Crafting up a storm lately, and among sewing a mini skirt for my sister before she goes on her honeymoon at the end of the month, and figuring out how to sew a shield, sword, tunic and belt for my littlest one's 2nd birthday next Friday (oh, that's a whole other post). I just wanted to share something that I've finally completed for me! That's right boys and girls - Mama's got a brand new bag!

Construction is basically the same as the Ulti-mom bag with a few design changes. Different shape, single pieces for the outside of the bag, grommets to hold up the straps (cool!) and a zipper added to the center pocket. Throw in a few coordinating little pouches and mama's ready to go!
Check it out:

 Sweet fabric I picked up from Ikea!

Grimm swapping

I've been participating in and organising a swap on my fave website Craftster for myself and other fans of  NBCs new show Grimm. There was a fair amount of interest, but due to timing etc, we've had a relatively small group for the swap. I'll admit - since it was my first time organising a swap on Craftster, I was relieved to have a small-ish group.

I did, however, go BIG when it came to crafting for this swap.

I LOVE fairy tales. I LOVE Grimm's stories, and I LOVE the new show Grimm which draws a little upon those stories, but gives it a quirky kind of twist. And I am completely, hilariously in love with one of the characters: Monroe.

Now, Monroe is the "big bad wolf"... only he's not so big, and he's not bad anymore. On the show they call them "Blutbad" (which is German for bad blood) but he says he's "reformed". Whatever the case may be, he's got some of the best lines I've heard on TV in a while.

I decided to make a few things for my partner:
1) A shell necklace similar to the one Nick buys for Juliette from the street kids in the episode Organ Grinder

Saying Goodbye to a sweet friend...

I'm sure you've heard people say it before. I know I've said it to people myself, quite a few times. But, if you don't have a dog, or have had a dog, you probably won't understand this post. But if you are a dog-lover, then you know - they're not just a pet. They're a member of your family. They can be your confidant, your comforter, a companion, entertainment, exercise and so much more. And yesterday I had to go and say goodbye to my sweet little blonde girl, Bailey. My heart is broken. But I knew it was time to say goodbye.

Unplanned hiatus

Hello blog-o-sphere,

So - I've been on a bit of an unplanned hiatus. For a few reasons. The main/first reason was that I was planning/organizing a super-amazing worship night at our church. We do them a couple of times a year, and I'm usually PART of the organizing type group, but for a few different reasons I felt like it kind of ALL came down to me this time. For that reason I was out of my head busy with song lists, order of service, powerpoint, interactive worship planning/prep, videos, dance prep, timing,  etc etc etc. Plus I had 3 practices a week being in the worship band and the liturgical dance group. So all of that, plus my regular stupidly busy life made me a little bit... ca-razy. But it's done now, it was a fantastic night, everything went fairly smoothly (one little powerpoint hiccup and the wrong music at the start of one of the dance offerings, but nothing's perfect).