Turkeys

I got pictures of these turkeys,

this pretty turkey,

and this turkey too.

But I some how managed to not take a picture of the actual bird. But trust me when I tell you that it was big and juicy (and done much faster than we had expected). We had a really nice thanksgiving. The kids had a blast running around together and the icebox cake that O helped me make was yummy, as always.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out around the house, a little bit of thrifting and fabric shopping. Some time in the sewing room and some time brewing a new batch of beer. It was cold and a bit snowy, so we really just hunkered down and enjoyed one another. And isn't that what it is all about this time of year?

Happy Happy, Thankful Thankful

Grateful for traditions, that kids still put olives on their fingers and that they still make hand print turkeys at school.

Happy Olive.CranberrySauce.Stuffing.Mashers.Gravy.PumpkinPie.Turkey Day tomorrow!

 

We have so much to be THANKFUL for today and always.

welcome back!

I am grateful today for co-workers who help make a hard day a little bit brighter.

It was my first day back from maternity leave today and this is what my office door looked like when I came in this morning. It was very sweet and it did help to make my day a little easier.

Fifi did great hanging out with my mom all day. I went home and fed her at lunch and snuggled her a bit too. When we got home around 5:30 this evening she wanted to nurse and then was out like a light. she is down for the count, being away from mom was a lot of work apparently. poor thing.

I did okay too. It was hard to go back, but I definitely wasn't a blubbering fool like last time. Having the short week to ease into things and also having my mom watch her this week makes things easier.

I am glad I am employed right now. sigh. being a (working) mom is hard.

roll over

roll over, originally uploaded by NessieNoodle.

our first dusting of snow.
there is talk of more to come over the weekend.
I am grateful to live in an area that has all four seasons. I love the rythm and the cycles of change every year. I love pulling out clothing that has been in hiding since last year makes me feel like I have gone shopping in my own closet.
I am grateful that Mother Nature replenishes herself and reminds us that sometimes we can't always contain or control her.

cup half full

I am more than half way through the gratitude project for this month. It really is a wonderful way to stop and take stock of those things I have, to focus on what I really am thankful for, especially as the holiday season and all that comes with it moves closer. Here is a peak of what I have been thankful for so far this month...

covered

I have been in the sewing room making goodies for friends and family. Camera straps are a quick and easy gift. Here are a few that I have made lately.

I used a mixture of tutorials, but really all you need to do is find some fun scraps in your stash, some felt and your imagination. Measure out 26x5 inches of felt (this is for the 'backing' and to give the strap a bit of padding, you could also use padded interface if you have it around) Then mix and match fabrics to measure the same length and width (so 5 inch wide scraps combined to equal 26 inches long when sewn together). Make sure to iron the seems open flat so they lay nicely for the next steps. Place the fabric wrong side down on the felt or interface (you will have the right side of the fabric showing and the felt/interface on the back)and fold down the ends over towards the felt/interface and secure with your sewing machine. This will make for a smooth and clean finish to the ends of the strap cover. I then did some free form 'quilting' and sewed the lengthwise along the strap, up and down about 3 or for times. This adds a nice detail and also secures the felt and the fabric together. Turn the whole thing so that the felt or interface is facing out and sew the sides together along the long edge to make a case. Turn right side out and then iron so it lays flat and neat. Slip it over your existing strap and there you go! a custom strap cover. Easy, no?

The next round I make will have a little pocket to slip my lens cap into- I am always loosing it, setting it down or sticking it in a random pocket of my pants or jacket. It would be great to have a designated spot for it to go. I even found a tutorial today that beat me to the punch of this idea on Craft Gossip.

The Foothills

We took a drive to the foothills yesterday. It was lovely.

This man was playing at the farmer's market in Auburn, CA where we bought some surprisingly, sweet strawberries and a bag of pistachios to snack on for the second leg of the ride.  It was beautiful out and just a tad warmer than it is in Reno right now.

We met up with some friends in Coloma. They were camping, but I'm not quite ready to spend the night in a tent w/ the girlie, so we just "sort of camped" by hanging out all day around the area and later, cooking our dinner over the campfire before heading back home. It was a perfect compromise.

After grabbing some lunch in Placerville, we headed up to Apple Hill and visited a couple of tasting rooms (We were going to check out the apples, but the kids were asleep in the car and so we switched up the plans. Daddy-O went in to the first tasting and I hung out with the babies until they woke up, then I got to taste at the second place while Daddy-O kept the kids entertained.).

If you haven't wine tasted in the El Dorado County area, it's well worth the visit. They are a lot more low key than the what you will find in the Sonoma/Napa area and many of the tastings are free.

At the second spot we visited they were very family friendly. O found this little horse toy in the parking lot that he wouldn't let go of for the rest of the afternoon and they even gave him a juice box so he wouldn't feel left out of the 'tasting' ;). The third place we visited, there was a baby about 10 months younger than O hanging out in the shop. The son belonged to the young couple pouring and running the place, grandma was also there and keeping a watchful eye on the little cutie. I like that they didn't mind the whole crew coming in (Fifi was in the carrier on daddy-o, it was very sweet).

What a nice autumn weekend drive with the family and a wonderful visit with friends!

2 months

Here we are again, another month has passed with our sweet little girly. We just returned from her two month check and things are looking wonderfully. She is gaining weight and is now 12lbs 2oz (putting her in the 81% for her age) her chubby legs to prove that and I could eat them up they are so cute. She is measuring 22 and 3/4 inches long- I knew she was getting tall because the 0-3 month sleepers were getting so hard to put on her. I feel like she is bigger than O was at this age. Things that I swore still fit him at 2 months aren't working for her at this point. I will have to go back and look at what his stats were and see what the difference is.

The biggest first for the month would have to be our trip 'over the hill' to Napa, CA last weekend. She was wonderful in the car and slept the entire ride there and back. She was so good with getting passed around among family and smiled big for everyone. The smiles and the cooing have to be my favorite milestone for this month. Fifi smiles with her ENTIRE body, it is just so sweet. First the grin will fill up her face, then the shoulders raise and finally her little body curls into a c shape. Usually there is a big coo or giggle to top it all off, melting the entire room when she does.  When someone else is holding her or she is hanging out on the blanket she looks to find me when she hears my voice and does the same for Daddy-O. She also follows O around with her eyes, taking in everything that her big bro is doing.

Often in the evenings we will set her up on the ottoman and let her go crazy doing what we call her 'baby jazzersize'. This includes all sorts of kicking, bicycling and arm swimming. It is really funny to watch and pretty amazing when you think about the strength she is building during her 'work out routine'. She is able to hold her head up pretty well while being held and when I put her on her tummy she can hold her self up on her arms for a bit of time before face planting or rolling over to one side.

She has been sleeping really well (knock on wood!) and can pretty much go all night without needing to be fed or waking up. She will stir and make noise, but won't always fully wake up and actually need something other than to fall back to sleep. If I do get up with her, it is usually around 2am and then maybe at 5:30am. I have been trying to change her diaper during at least one of these wakings because she often gets up in the morning soaked completely thru her diaper and into the sheets! We moved her into her own room because we felt like O was getting jealous of everyone in one room except him and also because she is pretty noisy with snorts and snuffs while she sleeps. We were waking up and then I was waking her up thinking she needed to eat when she didn't causing all of us to be tire and needing more sleep in the morning.

We are adjusting really well into a two kid family. I have even been home at least once a week for the day with both kids and survived. I do have to admit how scared I was to take this on at first, mostly because I was worried I would be stuck feeding Fifi while O got into mischief. Either I am really good at nursing and walking around or O understands that he has to stick around and behave while Fifi eats. The hardest part has been nap time for O. He wants to stay awake and not miss a minute of the action when we are home.  I must be quite the site when I head out the door with Fifi in the sling and O in the jog stroller in order to trick him into falling asleep after lunch. Oh well, what ever gets the kid to sleep, right?!

I am so excited to see who this little girl becomes, it just keeps getting better!
~~~~
and just for comparison....

Gratitude

Yesterday, as we drove up the driveway to the "Farm" for a celebration of life (despite the sadness), I was grateful. Grateful for the woman we were celebrating. Grateful for the smell of the vineyards, the oak trees and the horses. I was grateful for all the memories that came flooding back to me even if I was only 2 or 3 years old when they were created.

But mostly, mostly, mostly, I was grateful for family that doesn't share blood but who shares life-

If you don't have family like that, you should finds some.

~I am participating in a gratitude photo project for the month of November. Everyday, finding something to be grateful for and about. Just a week into this project and I am finding that each day I can hardly sum up just one thing to be thankful for. My life is full and that is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

a bag of apples

When life (or your in laws in my case) hands you apples, you make um...

You make all sorts of stuff that is full of Autumn goodness and probably a bit of cinnamon and sugar too.

behold the apple galette

the apple bread

and the plane old apple of course.

but don't forget apple-carrot-ginger juice to wash it all down.

yep, hand me apples any old time and I will hand you back something yummy.
and i f you find that you can't eat all of the apples you have been gifted, we have a few four legged friends who are happy to reap the left overs.

because you can

We did it early, but it's not to late for you!

why I don't mind peer pressure

Most parents are probably not into the peer pressure gig. It means trouble most of the time, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you too"? sorta stuff. I am sure I will be there soon enough, asking that very (stoopid adult type question). But when you live in a house with an extremely stubborn two year old (and what two year old isn't?) the whole concept of "everyone else is doing it" works for me.

You see, if all the other kids aren't using a binky all day he won't either or if they fall asleep at nap time he probably will too. If the other kids are going in the potty, he wants to try it out and knuckle bump you when he does the deed. And last night, after a 3.day.in.a.row.no.nap.taking, diaper change induced, kicking, screaming, tear-fest I could use all the peer pressure I could get. Because, what mom and dad say at that point doesn't matter one single M&M bit. I was at the point of me telling Daddy-O, as we were trying to shove the poor kid's arm in his pumpkin sleeve, "We want to do this more than he does. Let's let it go until next year when he gets the whole thing a little more."

But, when O. saw his buddy from  down the street wearing her pretty fairy costume telling stories of getting chocolate by just knocking on doors, well he FINALLY decided it was okay to slip that pumpkin costume on and get down to business.



Thanks to a little peer pressure O 'got it' and he didn't let go of that sweet little tulle and wing wearing girl's hand all evening long. M was happy to drag our little guy around the block and show him the ropes. And our hearts melted about as fast as a hershy bar does in your hand.

It turned out to be a pretty sweet evening after all and our grouchy little pumpkin turned his frown upside down...(and got a little chocolate too!)