(Sort of) Fantastic Mr. Fox, or, If You Can't Beat 'em, Do A Really Weird Craft Project At An Inopportune Moment.

My slightly retarded fox.

Sweet fox from Etsy at Sleepyking's. Isn't it cute?

What is it about a messy kitchen and a table smeared with syrup and Dutch Baby crumbs that makes me want to throw up my hands up and sew woodland animals?

This fox is the result of my procrastination. His face is a little bit crooked, and he isn't exactly fantastic, but it was a very satisfying project. I just traced a chubbyish fox with chalk onto some orange denim and beige wool felt, sewed the edges together, then stuffed it. (Actually, my kind husband helped me with the stuffing.) It was a gift for one of my son's friends. (Since most 6 year old boys don't normally request quaint hand made foxes, we provided him with a consolation cap gun as well.) I'm hoping my next fox will be more foxy, especially in the face.

Baby Blue Eyes

We have been having some beautifully freezing weather lately. That's an an oxymoron for some, but I love it when the snow is perfectly white and crisp and the sky is blue. The kids have been sledding, and the cold weather makes me feel like we HAVE to make super rich almond hot chocolate, and bavarian shortbread. We even tried our hand at Tapioca Pudding, which was the perfect comfort food. (I must have had really horrible tapioca experience as a child, because I had to work up to it.) I like to have enough wintertime to do all these wintery projects like paint birdhouses, make orange marmalade, homemade s'mores, and tissue paper flowers. (More a spring fever project, but still.) I hate to admit it, but this Texan has acclimated to Northern Idaho. Ask me about my amazing attitude in April. That's when I really get annoyed.

Yesterday the sun was shining through Eliot's window and I took pictures of Maria on his bed for a half hour. The light was perfect for showing off her blue eyes. They are so amazing to me, as mine are the dullest shade of brown. Having a baby that looks nothing like me, is definitely growing on me. Now I should go clean the kitchen and make dinner, but I might just try my hand at sewing some small woodland animals. Yes, that's definitely more important.

Winter Blues

Look at that face.

Sorry, but I have a sickness that makes me photograph Amaryllis plants. And ferns. And babies' feet (but everyone has that right?) To me Amaryllis plants are one of the best things about January.




I found this play fort on Etsy shop Coolspacesforkids today. The perfect answer to winter doldrums, AND it folds up as easy as a tablecloth would. My kids are going to have the ghetto version as soon as we can get our paws on some cheap Walmart sheets and an hour of sewing time.

A Short Break

So I took a short break from blogging. I would explain, but it's so tedious. (HINT: It involves a broken camera, way too much "morning sickness," and lots of paper plates.) Now that I have a camera again I have been getting the The Blogging Fever. Not a whole lot has changed with us in the last couple years, except now we have a backyard, four (4) kids, an astounding amount of Harry Potter paraphernalia (I blame the child in the second picture, blue hat), and a very loud drum set.