Easter - and the things kids say

I'm certain I've posted previously about the *ahem* wonderful things that my almost-4-year-old "big'un" says from time to time - like the time he condescendingly told another child at the playgroup
"You know, SOME people don't know how to share... and THAT'S sad."
Me - praying that the other child's mother didn't hear MY words just come out of my kid's mouth - eep!

And this year around Easter - my kiddos had some real gems - so I thought I'd share them with you. Laugh at my socially-awkward-child-induced horror if you will.

A couple of weeks before Easter, Big'un tells me he "needs to go to the library and get a book". Fair enough, so off we go to the library. We head over to the kid book section and he's looking around and I ask him "What kind of book are you looking for buddy?"

"An Easter Book"

Meanwhile, the kid's been sorting through the 40-odd Easter books that are right. there. on the shelf in front of him.

So I say
"Well, there's a whole bunch right there, so why don't you just pick one?"

He eyes me, as if to say - duh, Mom, OBVIOUSLY the book I'M looking for ISN'T here - and says

"I'm gonna ask the Lady" (he means the Librarian).

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).

Copper-Dopper Day!

Every family has them. Those wacky little things you do/celebrate each year even though they're not "normal". Some people celebrate the anniversary of the day they met (even if it wasn't a great meeting). Some celebrate house-iverarys, or car-iversarys.... we celebrate our dog-day. The day we first brought home our fur-baby: Copper!

We call it Copper-Dopper day, and today is the 4th one!

Hey there Fancycakes!

I'm big on DIY. 
My kids love pancakes.

Now, I know these seem like two completely unrelated statements... but they're not. Every single time we're in the grocery store we pass by the section with pancake mix in it and there's inevitably some gadget thing that makes your pancakes look like Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, Hearts, Stars, Flowers, Worms, etc etc etc. And my kids WANT them. My little one has a rather funny little sing-song (in a very deep, kind of "scary" voice) that goes "IwantitIwantitIwantITIwantITIWANTITIWANTIT!"

But, let's be honest - Mama ain't gonna buy a pancake thingy for like $8-$10 that makes ONE shape for the rare amount of times that I actually give in and make pancakes. No no. Mama's gonna D.I.Y.

SO - I started out by drizzling runny mix onto the griddle with spoons, basters, etc etc... it worked... but the results were meh.

THEN I went to the closest DIY paradise: aka Dollarama - and I picked up a couple of these:

 

Just your basic refillable squeeze bottle thingies. I think they're meant for condiments? They were 3/$1. 

Then, I make up my mix, water it down so it's CLOSER to the consistency you'd use for crepes, but not quite, and then funnel it into the bottles.

For the love of the Doctor - Craft-o-rama

I've just participated in a One Tiny Thing swap on my fave crafting website Craftster. The theme for the swap was Doctor Who - which I've recently become a HUGE fan of.

In any case, my partner received today and now I can post pics here of the Doctor related crafts I made :)
*I am not affiliated in any way/shape/form with BBC, Doctor Who or anything of that ilk. I do not sell these items, and they were made in the spirit of fandom pure and simple*

The most difficult craft I managed to put together was an honest-to-goodness "Bigger on the Inside" TARDIS tote. How? A foldable tote of course! I lined the bag as well, box stitched the straps to make sure they were strong and secure, made sure that the pouch was still useable as a pocket pouch when the tote was in use, and freezer paper stencilled on the TARDIS on the pouch and "Come Along Pond" on the other side.

Happy List

I'll admit that so far this year, my year of Organization & Happiness - I've posted MOSTLY about organization - and left happiness kind of in the dust. But the other night I really started thinking about it. I mean - really.

A few months ago, I saw this little infographic on a friend's facebook page:

 

It's cute, a little trite maybe, but funny enough to get a little laugh out of people... at which point they carry on with their day mumbling "I wish" or something to that effect.

And yeah - "I wish" it were as simple as that. Just 'change something' and you'll be happy. Well.... happi-ER, I guess.

I don't know what to say.... but thanks Craftster!

I'm a Craftster Best of 2011 Winner! 

I was a little shocked! But there it is boys and girls! I won for the freezer paper stencil dress I made for baby sis' birthday this past year.
Here's the link to the actual topic:
The MADNESS 

So.... yeah! Awesome! I'm pretty psyched!

Tea.

Incentive...

Just a quick post:
I've discovered an incentive to get the kiddos to clean up their rooms/playrooms.... apparently standing at the door with a garbage bag in my hands is great incentive to get moving and start putting things away....

I wonder if it would work with the hubs?

Ha ha. But seriously. Some incentive is definitely needed to keep them from sabotaging my KTP on a regular basis.

KTP Sabotage!

SO - Saturday evening just past we had a HUGE party at our house for the hubs' 30th birthday. It was a "surprise" and by that I mean - he pretty much figured it out, but was def. surprised at the fact that we fit about 50 people in our little house. Frankly - I was surprised at that. There was some cheeky talk about whether or not the floor would hold... but it turned out to be a pretty great night.

The house was immaculate (for like the first time since we moved there I think), the food was great (done up right by me, my Mom, and the Moms-in-law), the people were awesome (all our friends are, obvs.) and the party was generally considered a success.

And then I had to clean up. Again. Ugh.

It wasn't so bad, really, I mean, it was cleaning up the plates and cups, and the absolute MOUNTAIN of dishes that comes after a party like that, but otherwise, not bad at all. And Monday started the official first day of KTP.

Week of Cleaning Fury

As part of my goal of seeking happiness for 2012 - I've decided that I'd like to live in a clean and organised house. Now - with two kids 3 and under, a husband, a dog and a crazy crazy life - that's more difficult than you might imagine. In the past we've had a tendency to do a major "clean" once every month or so , usually in preparation for having guests over. In fact, the hubs has even gone so far as to comment to me that we "need to host more parties, because then the house will stay clean." Smart alec.

But he has a point. Cleaning up the whole house in one big push over and over again is, frankly, exhausting, and not a great way to function. So here's the concept. One more big push, one big clean - a five-day-fury as we've been calling it this week - and THEN - a scheduled amount of cleaning, every day for the rest of the year, to maintain the cleanliness. Now - cleaning the house does NOT make me happy, but living in a clean house DOES make me happy - so it's a minor trade off.

This week has been... something. Going room by room in the entire house, over the span of 5 days I have tidied, organised, purged, scrubbed, and reset virtually every spot in my house. And if you want to do it - this is what you can do.

First I started with some lists. And as you all know - I love lists, so that works for me.
An example looked like this:

Organized Misery? Or Happy Chaos?

So - as part of my goals for 2012, and in my search for happiness - I've decided that I'm going to get organized... and stay that way. Now - I love organizing. Actually - mostly I love lists. Seriously - I love a good list. I like sitting down with a clean, fresh piece of paper, writing that sucker out. I love looking at it to keep on track, I love crossing things off (with or without vehemence depending on the item). I do not function well without my dayplanner - which to be honest, is really just a book where I can make lists according to day of the week. I list when I'm going to sleep (which usually results in me saying "SHUT UP BRAIN" a few times) and I list in my head when I'm going through my day.

For example - this morning, I was up, brushing my hair and while I was doing that in my head I was thinking: Get dressed, wake up the boys, make tea, get breakfast, get the boys dressed, do your morning bus run. And then while I was on the bus I was thinking Get home, check email, write blog post, finish cleaning dining room (canning boxes under the stairs, laundry to the laundry room, toys back in the playroom), start on basement and both bathrooms today. (Even my lists have lists.)  Now I'm writing this post and I'm thinking: This afternoon if I have time, put spaghetti sauce on in the crockpot while I work on the other rooms.

Make It Yerself!

Update: Erin pointed out to me that this tutorial was missing some pretty important steps. (Uh, like HALF of them!) How embarrassing!!! So I have updated this post with a much better, COMPLETE tutorial. Sorry readers! And thanks Erin!

I complain about my purse a LOT. Most of the time it's while I'm rummaging around in the bottom, trying to find that secret corner - which I'm pretty sure actually contains a passage to Narnia because... honestly, WHERE do things go? - that my lip gloss, change purse, sunglasses, keys, etc have slipped into because they're "TOTALLY not IN here! Stupid stupid purse!" and then I say that I need 3 compartments, and I need LOTS of pockets, and I HATE when they put a zipper on the top of a purse, because, seriously, they're never strong enough... blah blah blah....

Well - I got spoiled this Christmas - my in-laws and husband's grandmother gave me a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW sewing machine! Whoopee!

So, I finally decided that I wasn't going to complain about my purse anymore, I was just going to sew it myself. So I did.

Now, I've sewn a few things.... mostly straight lines to be honest. I've NEVER sewn a bag, let alone a bag with lining.... but hey - go big or go home right? Okay, technically I was already HOME, but you get the point.

I buckled down, made up a pattern, and just went for it. And so I give you - The ULTI-MOM bag. Think Ultimate + Mom = Ulti-Mom

 

Looks pretty good huh?

To-Dos!

Okay - so I've been thinking about the whole "resolutions" thing... and how I never ever really do them. And while I'm sticking with "seeking happiness" for 2012, I think I need to make a list of To-Dos.

If you know me at all in "real life" - you'll know that I'm big on lists. In fact, I actually LIKE organising things... I just hate having to do it over and over and over. And let's be honest, with an almost 2 year old and an almost 4 year old in the house, I do a lot of things over and over.

But I'm thinking that if I give myself a list of things to do, then maybe it won't feel as daunting as saying 2012 RESOLUTIONS (please imagine RESOLUTIONS being said in the deepest, slightly scary, booming, movie announcer type voice - because that's how it sounds in my head).

And because - dear blog readers - I just love you so much, I've decided that I will share my list.... and my very likely failures to actually complete said list, and my not-so-likely-but-at-least-remotely-possible successes as well!

To start!

Well 2012 - let's see what'cha got!

SO.... I took a little break from blogging - mostly because I was crafting my lil' fingers right down to the bones trying to get everything done for Christmas. It was a hard slog - but we made it. The grand total?

• MANY jars of jam, pickles, sauces, etc. Too many to really count
• 1 pair of knit socks, men's size 12 for my brother-in-law - the FIRST socks I have ever knit, especially considering I just learned to knit in the round this past year. They fit - hallelujah!
• 3 freezer paper t-shirts - 2 for my other brother in law: a Star Trek inspired red t-shirt that says "Expendable" and a blue shirt that says "I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong". (If you know my b-i-l, you'd understand). And one black on black tee with the batman symbol and the words "I'm Batman" in batman font in the middle (batman/big bang theory fans) for my hubby
• A gaming pillow for my sister's boyfriend. He has a bad back and needs something a little bit more supportive to lean on when hanging out at home. He called it a torso pillow because I made it out of a sweatshirt - hey - as long as he likes/uses it - he can call it whatever he wants!
• 2 super hero capes, personalised with freezer paper, and 2 super-hero utility belts with flashlights, noise stick thingies, and pouches for my two lil'heroes 
• knit infinity cowl for my super-fash sister who works downtown (and knew what it was right away - thank goodness - since my Mother looked at it said "What IS that")
• 1 knit slouchy hat (by request) for baby sis plus a huge vinyl purple flower pin, hand sewn
• 1 pair of knit mittens for my sister-in-law
• A knitting loom - made by hubby for my mother-in-law
• A rain stick, made out of abs pipe, filled with kidney beans, and modge-podged like crazy for my Dad
• A knit cardigan for my Mom (my first ever real garment)

PLUS I made all of our Christmas cards
PLUS I did the requisite amount of Christmas baking

I. Was. Exhausted.

Homemade Anxiety

It's 13 days until Christmas. (well, the 14th day from now will BE Christmas, so you know what I mean). We're actually making progress on our homemade Christmas gifts, and I'm starting to feel like we might actually get everything done in time. But here's the thing. What comes with homemade gifts? Anxiety.

I'm starting to worry. What if they don't like it? What if it doesn't fit? What if they won't use it? Think it's stupid? Wish we'd made something else instead? And so on and so forth. That's the thing with homemade gifts, they come with anxiety on the side.

And be honest - have you ever received a homemade gift from someone and thought (Ugh....) and then had to plaster that seriously fake smile on your face and graciously accept it? I dread that smile. I'm so worried that we're going to see a lot of it this Christmas.